Chapter Text
Zoro won the prefecture tournament and now qualifies for the All Japan Kendo Championship. His friends met him with obnoxious but welcomed cheers and congratulations as they filed out of the building. Nami and Usopp give him tight hugs, speaking of going out for food. Luffy tells him how "Awesome!" he was out there then passionately agrees with his friend's idea, exclaiming "I'M SO HUNGRY!". Sanji gave Zoro a hard slap on the back, congratulating him and calling him a “Skilled muscle-head.” Chopper had to be the most excitable as he squealed and did a cute jig of joy as he walked alongside his friends.
"Zoro, you were so cool! The way you won in a flash, I couldn't even see what happened and before we knew it you had won! I mean, I knew you'd win!"
Zoro ruffled Chopper's brown hair, "Thanks for sticking with me so far, guys. But this is only the beginning. I still gotta win the championship." He reminded everyone.
"Don't be such a downer and enjoy the win! You won! If you had stained my reputation by losing I would have added to your debt, so it's a good thing you did." Nami chided.
"Food! Food! Food!" Luffy bounced around the group.
"Yeah, if you lost, it would've helped my humble image. But, you won thanks to your senpai Usopp's support and guidance, so that looks pretty good for me too." Usopp added with a smug grin, wrapping an arm around Zoro's shoulder as they walked.
"I'm older than you." Zoro tried to point out but was drowned out by his other friend's loud interjections.
"Food! Food! Food!"
"Marimo, if you lost I woulda been a laughing stock! I could never be seen with you again. The ladies would think I'm lame for hanging with a loser broccoli head that couldn't even win the prefecture competition." Sanji feigned distress at the thought of it, dramatically clutching at his chest.
"Tch, it's not like I wanna be seen with an airhead like you anyway."
"Huh?!" The blond veered, looking down his nose at Zoro.
Chopper started panicking as it appeared his friends could break out into a fight any second. Again.
"You guys are so mean to Zoro even after he won!" Chopper cried, waving his arms frantically.
Outside the winter cherry blossoms were blooming in the trees, the occasional petal floating down like snow.
The sun was overhead but would later set and the warmth of its rays would fade to give way for the ever increasing coldness of the night. Right now, they had the whole second half of their day to enjoy.
They all headed for Usopp's beat up van in the parking lot, cramming in as he started up the old engine.
"Yeah duh, that's cuz we all knew Zoro was gonna win anyway so if he woulda lost that woulda been so lame, hahaha!" Luffy shouted too loudly for being so tight knit in the car, causing Nami to cringe at the side of him, "But Zoro is awesome so I knew that wouldn't happen!"
"Will you LOWER YOUR VOICE!" Nami gave luffy a punch over the head, "My ears are going to bleed." She complained. "I can't do this. Shotgun!" She ambled out the side of the van and opened the passenger seat door where Zoro was settling.
"Usually people are supposed to say that before they get to the car..." Zoro stepped out, not particularly caring where he sat.
Luffy had asked Chopper to sit next to him in the back. He insisted that he needed to stroke choppers soft brown locks despite being able to pet them just fine before. Sanji scoffed as the only spot for Zoro to take was next to him. Sanji sneered at Zoro for no real reason when he sat and Usopp reversed out of the parking spot.
"Your place, or the restaurant, Sanji?" Usopp called back.
Sanji flicked his lighter, fidgeting since he knows not to smoke in the car. "Nah, just head for the house. Zeff's at work and will get on my ass for using the kitchen during business hours for personal things."
Zoro couldn't help but smile in the car. He felt genuinely happy. Surrounded by his friends and still riding the high of winning the competition. The medal hung around his neck, the weight of it reminding him of what was to come. He'd get to face him again soon.
Usopp spoke about some wild bugs he had collected recently and Luffy shouted in awe. Nami gagged when the driver actually pulled out a jar from the glove compartment containing stag beetles. Luffy didn't practice car safety as he leaned over the back seat to snatch the jar. Chopper and him marveled at the bugs crawling over each other and Luffy was about to open the jar when Sanji smacked him over the head, "Don't take out those creepy crawlies in here, idiot!" But it was too late, in the struggle to take the jar from Luffy, the lid came off and the bugs poured onto Chopper's lap.
"AAAAA!!!" Chopper and Sanji both screamed. Luffy's boisterous laughter filled the car.
"Oh my god, Luffy why the FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT!" Nami screeched, horrified at the thought of the bugs loose in the car. But honestly this behavior is nothing short of Luffy's usual antics. They all came to expect this of him.
"Oi, oi, oi, don't fuckin lose my precious children!" Being the driver, Usopp left the fate of his bugs in his friend's hands.
Zoro chuckled; he loved these lunatics. Sanji caught Zoro's chuckle and began to laugh as well, contagious. Pure strawhat absurdity. Chopper squealed at the sensation of bugs crawling down his legs, Luffy picked one up and inspected it, seemingly unconcerned for his friend in distress.
Zoro spotted a stag beetle crawl across his foot and he picked it up, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He tossed the bug onto Sanji's lap, who was distracted looking over the back of the seat, and Sanji squeaked . He swiped at the bug and clung onto Zoro's arm, "HOLY SHIT, FUCK NO, ZORO KILL IT!"
Zoro threw his head back and laughed some more, letting Sanji cling to him in fear.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE KILL HIM, LARRY JUST GOT A GIRLFRIEND!" Usopp cried as he pulled into Sanji's drive-way.
Nami jumped out of the van before it even reached a full stop. "Eek! You guys better catch all those fuckers, I do NOT want to come back to a surprise later." She headed inside.
Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp spent ten minutes searching the van for all eight beetles. Sanji leaned onto the hood of the car, puffing away at a cancer stick as Zoro watched his friends scramble through the car on all fours.
"You guys are lucky these guys are all alright or I wouldn't have hesitated to kick your asses! Isn't that right, Larry~" Usopp cooed at the jar, every one of his children unharmed and accounted for.
They all filed into the home and Sanji immediately put his pink apron on and took out all the ingredients he would need. Meanwhile his friends burst into the backyard. The day was way too beautiful and fresh to pass up, the sun shining on them from overhead. Nami sat on the grass below the one tangerine tree in the yard, whipping off her shoes.
Now that they were in a safer place for his little children, Usopp let his beetles crawl around in the yard. Luffy wanted to make them race and the others thought that was a great idea, so Chopper went inside to find some string. Luffy and Usopp collected some rocks to create a border for the race.
Zoro watched them for a few minutes then decided to check on Chopper who was taking a while, just to have something to do other than collecting rocks. His mouth watered when the delicious scent of Sanji's food hit his nostrils upon entering, the kitchen being right there. His legs carried him to the dish of onigiri sitting on the counter, plucking one up and taking a bite.
"Oh, made those snacks in the meantime. Can you take em' out back?"
Sanji effortlessly maneuvered around the kitchen. His elegance was hypnotizing and Zoro watched him as he chewed on the rice snack. Sanji had turned the kitchen radio on, whistling along to an old jazz tune, tapping a toe as he flipped around whatever was in the pan. Sanji poured something along with some ingredients into a food processor, pulsing it a few times. Something else was boiling in a pot on the stove as well. Next he seasoned some diced pork in a bowl and covered it, mumbling "Gotta marinate for 15 minutes." as he placed it in the fridge.
He began grating some carrots when he noticed Zoro still standing there, chewing and watching him cook. "Damn, are you so bad with directions you even get lost in thought, moss for brains?" He shook his head with a smile, only slightly perturbed by being watched. It wasn't unusual for people to watch him when he was cooking.
"You make it look so easy." Zoro commented gruffly, picking up the plate of onigiri just as Chopper sped past, holding a spool of thread he got from some random drawer in the garage. The aspiring doctor slid the glass door open then shut, shouting about racing bugs. Usopp and Luffy could be heard giving excited whoops.
Sanji smirked, of course he made it look easy. "Just about as much as you make beating some guy with a stick look easy." He finished grating the carrots and ventured for an onion in the fridge, chopping it up with practiced ease.
"That's true. Just like Chopper makes getting all A's in all his classes look easy."
"No, that's just pure supernatural genius right here."
"No it ain't, Chopper works hard. Just like I worked hard to hone my skills, and just like you worked hard to hone your cooking."
Sanji didn't really need to but he taste tested the boiled cabbage. Boiled to perfection. "Yeah~ we all work hard to get somewhere, I guess." The blonde shrugged as he began dicing the potatoes. He glanced at Zoro who stood behind the counter, still watching him. "Uh," He pointed at the plate in Zoro's hand with his knife, "the snacks?"
Just as Sanji expected any moment now, "SANJI, I'M HUNGRY!" Luffy nearly tore the sliding door out of its track as he slid it open. "Oh!" He snatched the plate and rushed back out.
Usopp knew if he didn't retrieve that plate, all the onigiri would be gone in just a moment, so he frantically swiped the plate from Luffy before that could happen.
Zoro stood there ,in his friend’s kitchen,, surrounded by the people he cherished the most. He saw them everyday, talked with them, ate with them, laughed with them, screamed with them. You name it, they were most likely together. Luffy was always there for his friends, he'd die before he ever abandoned any of them. Usopp tried just as much, he was always lending his handy skills whenever he could and providing entertainment with his tales and his music. Nami was basically the treasurer of the group, if it wasn't for her they'd all be constantly broke. Though sometimes Zoro felt like he'd be less broke if he wasn't constantly in debt either. Chopper was the group's doctor, carrying his first aid kid virtually anywhere and being especially attentive if any of his friends fell ill. He'd be like a nurse at their bedside.
Sanji gifted the group with his delicious food several times a week. He insisted on treating his friends to the best food whenever he could, and it brought him more joy than anything else. It showed plain as day in the way he smiled as he cooked, pouring all his love into the process. Then when his friends finally put the food into their mouths, there were stars in his eyes as he watched them melt into the flavor. Sanji always loved cooking and he loved cooking at the restaurant. He trained hard to be able to not only work there but be one of the best cooks Zeff had ever employed there. On the other hand, cooking for his family- that's what they were- was more rewarding than any time he ever cooked for a customer or even his fellow cooks at the Baratie.
Zoro wasn't really sure what he attributed to the group, not that he had to. He didn't know it but Zoro was the group's backbone, the support in any situation if he could help it. Zoro dedicated his time to his friends as much as he did to kendo training, and was just as passionate about them though he struggled to express it more often than not.
Sanji warmed up oil in a pot and took out the pork balls he had pre-made that morning to minimize the amount of time his friends had to wait to eat. He placed 6 in the pot, careful not to overcrowd the oil. He had 24 balls ready. In another bowl he combined the teriyaki sauce ingredients he would pour over the pork balls. The pork in the fridge should be sufficiently marinated by now, so he took it and threw it in a pan to sauté along with the grated carrot and finely chopped onion, adding tomato paste, drained pimento peppers and the seasoned diced potatoes.
He'd get some miso soup ready as an appetizer before the rest of the food was ready. He rounded at Zoro, starting to feel like his eyes were crawling down the back of his neck like bugs.
"Actually do something other than stand there like a creep and tell em' it'll be 15 minutes."
Without a word Zoro did just that, exiting into the backyard. The rest of the group didn't hesitate to come inside and settle at the round glass table in Sanji's dining room, Chatting as they waited.
Sanji liked doing everything himself, from making the food to setting up the table and serving his friends. Of course there were times his friends would help with the dishes and cleaning up afterwards, which Sanji greatly appreciated even if his inherent chivalry was pained at the sight of Nami doing anything she didn't have to.
Sanji sauntered over with their drinks, which was some simple strawberry and cucumber water from the pitcher in the fridge. The soup was heating on the stove in the meantime. In front of Zoro, he placed a cold mug of beer. Zoro looked up at him, quirking his eyebrow and taking a sip with a smile on his lips. "Damn, I should win more often if it means free booze." But every one pf them knew the real reason he needed to keep winning.
"Gasp! Serving alcohol to minors? I might have to call the authorities!" Usopp feigned concern at his friend's illegal activities.
"As if they'd respond to your calls." Sanji scoffed, passing Usopp his fruity drink.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Usopp couldn't believe the implication his friend was making. "Are you talking about the possessed rabid raccoons hiding in the attic of my house!? I swear they're real and they're plotting against me!" Usopp lifted his drink in the air, starting up a monologue "I don't need the authorities anyway, the great Usopp won't let those rabid rodents eat my precious children if its the last thing I do!"
Nami sipped her drink and sighed in delight, "So simple. Yet so delicious as always, Sanji."
"Yea, can I get some more, Sanji!" Luffy demanded, tapping his empty plastic cup against the glass table (Yeah, everyone knows not to hand Luffy anything that can break).
"Me too, Sanji. Please." Chopper asked sweetly.
"And if you got the rest of that beer ya might as well give me the whole bottle if we wanna celebrate properly."
Jeez, Sanji's friends were high maintenance, but he would never mind. "Yes, of course Nami, right away!" He poured into her glass then set the pitcher on the table, "The rest of you oafs can serve yourselves." he went to stir the soup and got some bowls out. The blond scratched his chin, wondering if he should really let Zoro drink the rest of Zeff's beer... Fuck it, wouldn't be the first time he yaps at him for getting into his alcohol stash. He retrieved the bottle from the cabinet above the stove and set it down on the opposite counter and called out, "Here ya go, alcoholic moss-head."
Zoro leaned over from his chair and snatched it off the counter, actually surprised the cook gave in.
They all ate the appetizer with vigor, excited for Sanji's main course.
Braised potatoes with pork and then pork meatballs with teriyaki sauce and of course white rice as well as boiled cabbage with soybeans and daikon. Not the fanciest but it was certainly some of the tastiest food they had ever eaten. That's how every meal cooked by Sanji was.
Usopp slid his empty glass cup towards Zoro as they all ate, wiggling his eyebrows and eyes darting to the 50 ounce bottle of quality beer. Zoro obliged, he loved sharing booze with his friends. Not that any of them ever really drank, except the cook, who enjoyed some wine fron time to time.
Usopp grimaced after gulping it down, "Aughhhh, no matter the quality of beer I always think it tastes like piss."
"If you don't like piss then why'd you ask for some, stupid?" Luffy laughed as he grabbed some more pork balls from the center of the table, horking them down in a matter of seconds.
"Luffy, please dont fucking talk with food in your mouth." The red-head wiped stray pork crumbs that landed on her cheek, clearly agitated by Luffy's disgusting habits.
"Because I'm a man, of course! And men drink beer and shave their beards!"
"Your face is as soft as my ass was on the day I was born." Zoro laughed into his cup.
Usopp cried about his friends being assholes while Luffy clapped his hands and laughed.
The antics continued as everyone ate and soon they were all dazed with the sensation of full stomachs.
"Zoro, I woulda never forgave you if you lost cuz then Sanji wouldnt have made all this yummy stuff today." Luffy said groggily.
But everyone knew Sanji would have cooked for them regardless. But the win today certainly made the food taste all the better.
They all started to help with cleanup, picking up the dishes and cleaning off the table. Zoro decided to start washing the dishes and everyone else filed into the living room to watch a movie.
Zoro had been zoning out as he focused on scrubbing the dishes clean, thinking about the matches he won today and about the opponents he faced. They were strong, they posed a challenge, but soon they revealed where their skills lacked in the art of kendo and Zoro did not hesitate to take advantage of that. It only took half a second and it was over, just like that they lost their opportunity to advance.
The only thing that matched the thrill of that final win was being met with his friend's dazzling smiles right after. He was worried about the day feeling out of place, he didn’t want a big deal made out of it but the day almost seemed like any other. The medal weight around his neck reminded him that today was slightly different. It marked the fated meeting with the man he strived to face again.
“I dont wanna watch Happy Feet again.” Nami’s voice filtered in through his thoughts. “But, I haven’t seen the Scooby Doo live action in years.”
“Awe. . .”
“Scooby Doo, yeah!!”
“Alright it’s settled then, but it's gonna have to be the second one. Not saying the first is bad but the second is way better.”
“Alright, agree to disagree on that one….”
Zoro snorted at the sound of his friends bickering. It was never something that could bother him, he loved the sound of his friends' voices, talking over each other and generally having a good time.
"Washing the dishes from your own victory meal? That's so humble." Sanji mocked, setting a pot and a pan next to the sink. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper knew their way around Sanji's things and they were good enough friends to comfortably settle in his living room without him.
Then Zoro thought about Sanji, who was currently piling up the dishes next to the sink. The cook and him shared a different kind of dynamic than he had with the rest. Since the start there was always a sort of rivalry between their ideals. They bumped heads often and only met due to mutual friends. In time, though, as they all spent time together a bond started to form between them just as it had with everyone else. Arguing and raising their hackles at each other was routine, almost like a ritual. Sanji was someone he could count on to take the load of tension out of his body when he didn’t even know he needed it when they fought. Perhaps it served the same purpose for the cook as well.
At times there would be moments like this one, where they were separated from the rest and had a different kind of interaction than the usual shouting and sparring.
“Oh, yeah.” Zoro snapped out of his reverie. “It’s no big deal.” Sanji knew this but he couldn't help but tease the green haired boy.
“It’s great that you finally have a use, moss-head, but leave the rest to me.” Sanji tried to motion Zoro to move away from the sink, turning the faucet off.
Zoro stayed put though, and turned the faucet back on before grabbing a pan from the counter and started scrubbing it, “Nah, I already started.”
The way the scene was developing was familiar, the verbal snark would soon evolve into a physical fight if it kept going on like this. Zoro’s heart actually picked up the pace, already knowing what was next.
Sanji sighed with frustration at his stubborn friend, a visible vein on his forehead now. He took a step onto Zoro’s personal space, sneering into his face.
“I’d ‘preciate it if you go join the others and let me take care of it.”
“Yah? Well, I feel like washing the dishes, curli-que.” Scrub, scrub, scrub.
This time Sanji pushed at his shoulder, causing Zoro to drop the pan in the sink and get suds on the tile floor. The cook seemed to always be the first to get physical; it amused Zoro. Despite enjoying how easily the cook gets riled up, Zoro grimaced.
“Oh, I was wondering when you’d finally want a piece of the winner.” Zoro pushed Sanji back twice as hard, knocking the cook flat on his ass and immediately retreating, exiting into the backyard to avoid breaking anything indoors.
“Mother fucker!” Sanji chased after him, “The only piece of shit I want is for broccoli bastards to sit their ass inside!” He flipped onto his hands and aimed a blow right at Zoro’s head, which he easily blocked with a forearm, not that it didn’t hurt. Zoro often had bruises all around his body from his quirels with the cook.
“That doesn’t even fucking make sense, lol.” Zoro swiped at Sanji with his fists, which the cook dodged, cartwheeling around him.
“Saying lol out loud doesn’t make sense!” He aimed another kick at the back of Zoro’s head but Zoro was quick and without turning around he caught the cook by his leg above. “Oh, fuck.” Sanji was launched over Zoro’s body. He landed on his back, the oxygen being knocked out of him, “Augh!” He groaned and before he could collect himself Zoro was on him, pinning his arms and legs to the grass, a devilish smirk on his lips.
“Lol.” Zoro said again quite cockily as this was his second win in one day. The rush of fighting was an addiction in and of itself, but the glow of a victory with the adrenaline still pumping through his system was another drug entirely.
Zoro knew that Sanji could throw him off with those powerful legs so he made sure to hook his heels behind Sanji’s knees so he wouldn’t be sent flying if the cook tried anything. But it seemed the cook wasn’t trying anything more than futile squirming in Zoro’s grasp. He couldn’t gain the momentum to, and plus his legs were sore from training the day before.
“Damn you!”
“Why dont’cha get up, dart-brow?” Zoro was having a field day with this.
He hadn’t noticed before but the beer he drank had been making his head swim a little, his face flush with the exertion as well as the alcohol in his system. Looking down at the squirming cook, red-faced from anger and sheen of sweat on his skin, he felt too hot all of a sudden. Once again he was getting lost in the cook and he didn’t realize the blond had stopped squirming and was looking straight back at him with those ocean-blue eyes.
“Y-youre being creepy again.” Sanji was looking up at eyes that looked back at him with what seemed like an enraptured haze. Half lidded, iris blown to its limit as it stared into him. He wasn’t so oblivious to know what that kind of look was. His heart was beginning to hammer in his chest and maybe he was also starting to freak out a bit.
Zoro has been on an adrenaline rush for most of the day. The rush before the tournament, the bigger rush of going against an opponent, and the satisfaction that came with winning. e got to spend time with the people he loved most, he felt happy. Then he got to eat some of the most delicious food while surrounded by them and even got buzzed off some quality beer. Lastly he got to engage in one of his favorite activities: a 1v1 with the cook. Hooking back onto that addictive sensation of adrenaline flooding his system once again. He was ecstatic, he was buzzed, he was high off adrenaline. In this moment he was caught by sanji even when sanji was the one caught beneath him.
zoro wasn't a sexual being. But he wasn't a virgin, though. He’s hot, of course a girl would want his dick. At the time he lost it he was buzzed but not drunk, hormones running rampant, dick hard, and the girl he was with knew exactly what she wanted and he just let her have her way with him. Ever since then he hasn't gotten close to a girl, and even tends to avoid girls that seem to have ulterior motives. You could say he was a bit irked by the experience afterwards. Especially when she just never talked to him again because apparently he was a bad fuck and she said as much before she left. That confused Zoro to no end. She was the one that had wanted him, he didn’t want her. Zoro sucked at emotions, but he certainly didn't lack them. So that experience had left a sting.
In this moment though, feeling kind of sky high, he just let the words on his mind out into the air between them.
Zoro may have mumbled it under his breath, but being a few inches away from his mouth, Sanji heard it clear as this fall day.
He actually groaned, voice rumbling deeply, “You’re lookin damn delicious right now, cook.” And had the audacity to lick his lips, eyes flickering to lips that were agape in shock.
Sanji engaged in his freaked-out-escape maneuver, twisting his legs out from under his distracted opponent. With a thump, Zoro landed on his back beside him and Sanji was quick to stand up, eyes wide and on the green-haired boy.
Zoro sat up with a groan and looked up at the cook, rudely shaken out of his daze and the realization of what he said creeping on him.
“Uh. . .” He stood up and hurriedly went back inside, not looking at the blond, presumably to join the others just as Sanji had asked of him in the first place.
Sanji blinked out his stupor and pulled out his box of cigarettes out of reflex, lighting one up.
Commence confused mental ramblings.
“What. . . just. . . happened?. . .Wait is zoro gay? I mean he did date that one girl...but I haven’t seen him with any girl since... He’s too busy being a musclehead, that's why. That doesn't make sense.. I thought gays were, like, flamboyant? I mean I don’t give a fuck if he is gay but like is he gay for me??? I did give him that beer damnit, was he drunk? Nah, he was buzzed but still. . maybe it was just, like, random? He wasn't thinking straight? Hah, of course he wasn't, he can't even walk in a straight line. . .” He chuckled to himself for a second, then Zoro’s expression, looking down at him from above, flashed in his mind and he clutched at his hair in frustration, puffing smoke out through his nose.
Whatever happened, Sanji was going to just forget about it and never mention it again.