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The fire crackled merrily away in the tavern's fireplace, the aroma of fresh bread and hearty stew heavy in the air.
Outside snow was falling again, adding another layer of white on top of the old ones. The perfect weather to go looking for winter dragonia flowers out in the woods, the way Zeff had made Sanji do every winter before the solstice, ever since he took him in as his own.
Or it would be if Sanji wasn't flooded with work and a family laid up with the flu.
He looked outside longingly, sighed and added another log to the fire in a bid to keep the cold out. He used to hate snow, viscerally recoiling from the memories of the loveless home he'd left behind, far in the unforgiving north where he had never belonged.
Strange how a nice tradition could change a view.
How a good home, and the taste of candied, spiced petals on top of a simple cake could make those bad memories go away and drive even a cold hating half elf like him outside in search of the rare flowers with their vibrantly red petals and spicy sweet taste.
Not this year apparently, at least not before the solstice.
Luckily distraction wasn't far. He smiled when the door swung open and the background noise of people talking and eating was covered by Luffy's voice throwing around greetings and demanding food.
Nami and Usopp were with him too, talking in much more subdued voices.
And then there was the mosshead, sitting there with his arms crossed, swords resting next to the bench.
So he was going to stay a bit today, instead of just popping in to trade meat he'd hunted or shovel down a bowl of food before disappearing again.
Sanji should not be this excited about the prospect of a walking, talking plant hanging around, yet here he was.
Instead of following that line of thought Sanji busied himself with the servings for his friends.
The loaves of bread and a whole pot of stew were received with pleased whooping from Luffy and Usopp. His angelic Nami, with her lovely nose still a beautiful pink from the cold, thanked him too, shooing away his troubles with a smile.
"That the hog I brought you?" Zoro asked, right into Sanji's bout of adoration, sounding smug as shit, chugging his beer.
With a glare Sanji turned to the mosshead. "Yup, it was a passable kill, but I made it great."
He got a raised eyebrow in response and a non committal grunt.
God, why did Sanji like this asshole?
But then he looked so fucking pleased in his quiet way as he chewed and Sanji had to hurry behind his counters for safety and to get yet more food ready.
"Why don't you go sit with your friends, eggplant?"
Sanji almost jumped out of his skin at the gruff, tired voice and glared at Zeff, who had just come down the stairs.
"Because someone caught the flu and now I have to work non stop. Why don't you go back to bed before you keel over?" Sanji hissed back. "I'm gonna bring up soup in a minute."
Zeff narrowed his eyes at him but shrugged. "'M much better, but suit yourself if you can still handle it," he looked around the room. "Been a week and still no disaster," he said, nodded to himself and squinted at Sanji again. "Sorry about the winter dragonias, eggplant," he added, then clunked back upstairs.
'Better' Sanji's ass, he must be fucking delirious to say that kind of embarrassing shit.
When he had that feeling under control he turned to see if Luffy needed his seconds yet, only to find the mosshead already gone.
He knew that shouldn't feel so crushing. Who the fuck knew why -or with whom- Zoro was so busy lately, and it wasn't really his business anyway.
So what if he missed the quiet time after his shifts when Zoro would sit and they'd bicker… and sometimes talk.
About old friends lost and troubles overcome.
About Zoro's dreams of becoming the greatest of swordsmen, renowned throughout the lands and to the heavens.
And of Sanji's dreams to travel and find and cook the rarest of ingredients.
So what if Sanji had secretly hoped that they might chase their dreams together someday.
Exploring far off lands and fighting the whole world if need be, back to back. Hand in hand, when he dreamed boldly.
It wasn't like he could really leave this place behind anyway.
He gave Luffy his seconds and then brought up the soup, trying to not show his disappointment too much.
Luffy still grinned at him and told him it would be alright and Zeff gave him that look he hated.
Work kept him busy at least, but not so busy that he wasn't thinking about the mosshead.
And when the stream of guests tapered off towards the afternoon he was left with his thoughts and the nagging feeling that whatever he had hoped to be between him and the swordsman had been only in his head.
"Stop yer moping, eggplant," Zeff said, once again downstairs when he should be in bed. "Go look for yer friend."
There were a lot of answers to that like, Go to bed, old man, or He's not my friend, or Are you senile? Someone has to run this place.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asked instead, violently wiping a table.
"The one with the head of moss. Haven't heard you fight with that one in days. Been moping around ever since."
"Have not," Sanji said and wiped with more vigour.
"Have too, eggplant. I know you. Don't pretend to understand what goes on in your head, but I know when ye're hurt. So go find that oaf and give him a piece of your mind." He fell heavily into a chair, rubbing his forehead like dealing with Sanji was a chore. "Gotta ask for what you want in life, it's not just gonna come flying," he said and Sanji looked at him, really looked at his tired, gruff face. The only father he'd ever accept.
He knew.
"And that's… okay with you?" He asked, suddenly feeling a lot smaller and weaker than he knew he was. Asking for permission.
A thoughtful hum. "Takes all sorts. And you have loads of worse qualities than a shit taste in partners."
The remark made Sanji huff a laugh, relief crawling through him and gently lifting a weight off his shoulders.
"So get the fuck out of here. I'm gonna take over. Don't make that face, 'm better and it's just gonna be clean up anyway. Bastards can feed themselves for one evening and drink themselves stupid somewhere else."
Sanji had no idea if he could trust that promise or if it was just words to calm him. But it hardly mattered with the wind of encouragement under his wings.
Before he could think better of it he had bundled himself up, taking special care to hide away his sensitive ears before slipping on the fur lined leather gloves to protect his precious hands. And then he was out of the door where his boots were crunching over the freshly fallen snow.
Now to find the big oaf.
So, Sanji thought, if he was a wandering piece of plant life, where would he be?
Probably taking a nap at home, so Sanji made his way to the little house he shared with Usopp and Luffy.
He knocked on the beautifully painted door, and was greeted by Usopp, who was wearing the hole riddled leather apron and gloves he usually donned for his chemical experiments.
"Hey man, is Zoro around?" Sanji asked.
The way Usopp's eyes shifted around at once made his stomach drop. He wasn't so stupid to believe that Usopp didn't know about his silly crush, even if he'd never verbalized it and this discomfort didn't bode well. "Ah, Sanji sorry. He's been out and about in the woods all the time lately," he said, then seemed to consider something. "But he's usually home around this time, before it starts getting dark. Says 'the paths move at night'."
Sanji would have laughed at this piece of idiocy if it wasn't so concerning with the evening sky already darkening.
"Nah, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'm sure it's fine," he said. "I'll see if he's close by and if not to hell with him."
Sanji wasn't comfortable at all with the look Usopp gave him. Stupid pitying smile. "Yeah, good luck." He said.
The door fell closed and Sanji was alone with his thoughts again. Well, with his thoughts and a set of large, too familiar footprints leading away from the village into the wild.
Fucking fantastic, but he must be on a hunt then, right? Weird, since he'd just brought home spoils and should be set for a while, but so much more preferable to an alternative where he was spending all his time with a lover. Then again, he wouldn't put it past Zoro to meet a lover in the icy woods. A hunting competition probably was Zoro's idea of romance.
But there was no point in dwelling on that and Sanji had already started.
Now he needed to find that ball of moss and kick his ass for these feelings.
At least in theory. In practice a half elf braving the winter weather in search of a terminally lost piece of moss wasn't exactly fun.
"Can't fucking believe this bullshit" Sanji muttered as he tracked through the snow, following the heavy boot prints.
His enhanced vision helped somewhat, even as darkness fell, but of course the whole process still took triple the time it would to track someone with a normal sense of direction.
Three times Sanji stopped on his way to smoke and to curse, looking at the ever darkening sky with pure annoyance and anger for having to wander around like this- and not at all worrying about some piece of shit moss that probably wasn't dressed for this shitty freezing weather even though he should know better. And not nervous at all about what he may or may not do when he finally found the plant.
As he took his pipe for the fourth time Sanji was getting frustrated and cold. He kicked at some snow and half considered turning around and coming back in the morning. See if he found a grass popsicle by daylight.
Just then he smelled a whiff of smoke and saw a flicker of fire and smoke in the distance.
Who fucking else could it be.
So with anger back in full force, bracing him for the confrontation, Sanji stomped through the white, until he reached the moss head. Bastard had spanned a canvas between some trees against the wind and was sitting on a log by his campfire. Obviously he was planning to spend the night there, like the insane human he was.
He just sat there, fucking calm as you please and munched on a piece of bread. Completely shameless, while Sanji had feelings for him. Asshole.
"Curly?" He asked with his disgusting mouth disgustingly full.
"The fuck are you doing here?"
Sanji couldn't help it. A laugh burst out of him even as he hurried into the fire's warmth. "What am I doing here? Fucking hell mosshead!"
"Crazy curly cook," the mosshead muttered and turned back to his food like this was not some insane situation.
"Did you get lost again?" Sanji asked and considered the glare he got in return a yes.
But there was nothing for it so Sanji sat himself down next to Zoro on the log. Making sure to stay as close to the flames as he could without violating Zoro's personal space. He dug out his tobacco and pipe for another smoke with a long suffering sigh, question on the tip of his tongue.
"Seriously mosshead, what are you doing out here?" He asked. Why haven't you been around, he didn't.
"Had to get something," Zoro said and stared into the fire, pointedly not meeting Sanji's eye.
"What the hell would you need to get out here in this fucking snow, mosshead?" Sanji asked. "You just had a successful hunt."
Zoro scratched his mossy head. Maybe he was sitting too close to the fire. His cheeks were burning red as he looked away and just mumbled something.
"What?" Sanji asked and only received more mumbling. "Fucking hell, you plant, I traipsed all the way out here to get your disoriented ass, so do me a solid and tell me why." Gently he kicked Zoro's ankle for emphasis and of course him not telling Zoro the why's and whatfor's of his presence was not the same thing at all. He certainly wasn't the insane one for running after Zoro in this cold for- what even, a confession, answers?
Bless the idiot for not thinking that far. "Who asked you to?" He spit at Sanji and yeah, he was still red in the face and that was not the fire. That was a blush. A very, very attractive blush. "Wasn't supposed to be like this," he muttered and sighed like dealing with Sanji was some impossible chore. Asshole.
But he did turn towards his pack and then presented Sanji with a leather pouch.
Sanji narrowed his eyes and untied it, finding two dozens of winter dragonias inside the silk lined bag.
"You always get these for the solstice- right?" He asked, sounding way too insecure for the Zoro Sanji knew, almost shy. "Been talking about 'em too, for those cakes or something?"
Sanji looked at the rare flowers, completely lost for words. They were beautiful specimens too, the long red petals vibrant and curling upwards beautifully, with crisp white tips and a gentle aroma emanating from the bag.
"You got these," Sanji said, because he had to clarify. "For me?"
The moss head was muttering again and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Is this where you've been the last few days? Searching for flowers in the cold?"
He must have, they never grew in the same spot, and only ever a few per patch. This directionally challenged idiot must have scoured miles and miles for this many.
Sanji carefully packed the flowers away, trying to control the smile tugging at his mouth that no doubt would make him look like an absolutely besotted fool. Trying to control his relief and happiness and the fucking joy at this gift, at these news.
And then Zoro was suddenly looking at him, fully, taking him in before a lopsided grin spread over his face. "Worth it," he said.
It was unfair how attractive he looked in the warm sheen of the fire. So unfair that maybe Sanji went a little mad in that moment, surging forward and pressing a clumsy kiss to Zoro's cool lips, one arm wrapping around his neck, the other hand splaying over his cheek, earrings chiming under Sanji's fingers.
Satisfaction slammed into him with the contact. Then he realised what he was doing. Panic wanted to set in and doubt started to eat at him. Both were crushed out of him in a bear hug, all of Zoro's stubborn strength holding him tight.
Zoro was pressing kisses on him too, just as clumsy as Sanji's own.
Soon his head was dizzy with the attention, the swordsman's warmth bleeding into him when they rearranged their cloaks to wrap around the both of them, cuddled up tight and warm in the light of the flickering fire.
It took a while until Sanji felt like he'd had his fill and even then he stayed close.
Like this, snuggled into Zoro's furnace of a body as he stared into the fire, at the jumping sparks and flames, he wasn't cold at all. Even the cloudy sky that allowed only a few stars to shine through was inviting somehow, making sure the night wouldn't turn much colder and wrapping like another blanket around this new reality in which Zoro brought him rare flowers and wanted to kiss him and hold his hands.
"We're really gonna stay out here tonight, huh?" Sanji asked.
"Got another blanket if you need it, the town moves so I don't like going back in the dark."
He said it so matter of factly that Sanji didn't know whether to laugh or cry or both. He decided on very heavily rolling his eyes and cuddling in closer while motioning for the extra blanket.
As Zoro pulled it out and handed it over Sanji realized how… uncharacteristically prepared that was.
"This isn't the first time you got lost overnight, is it?" He asked and delighted in the red flush on tanned skin.
"Those damned flowers of yours are hard to find, Curly," Zoro answered and looked away, without letting go and without complaining when Sanji wrapped them both in the extra blanket. He also still held Sanji's hand under the blanket's warmth, rubbing his rough warm thumb over Sanji's hand.
Sanji's heart beat hard and fast and he hid his smile in all his layers.
Days and nights, for a few silly flowers. For him.
"But you sure like 'em. Didn't expect you to jump me," Zoro said. Because of course he did.
Somehow Sanji managed the trick of kicking his ankle hard without pushing his warmth away a single inch.
"You sure like me, going to all this effort," Sanji shot back.
But instead of the snippy comeback there was silence and his hand squeezed gently.
"I do," Zoro said and looked at him firmly. No hint of a tease or embarrassment.
Sanji sputtered, lost for words and probably red as a lobster.
"So if I leave town in spring to go on a training trip… You gonna come along, Curly Cook?" He asked and Sanji could only sputter more. God fucking damn, he needed a pipe.
But first he needed to pull his shit together and not fuck this up.
"Yeah, I will," he said, careful of his voice when the mosshead grinned at him. The wide smile that made him look as young as he was and so stupidly giddy.
This time Zoro kissed him, making Sanji feel warm and safe by the light of the fire.
As the night wore on they kept bickering and talking about the future, drinking and smoking and like that whiled away the hours until they could safely find their way home.