Archive of Our Own

Sanji could feel the goggles digging in to his cheeks, knowing there would be an unflattering red mark around his eyes and not entirely caring. It was worth it; to be able to see the gentle slopes of the mountain in front of him, the way the sun made the snow gleam like starlight as he flew by. He bent his knees, leaning back the slightest bit so that his board would turn to the right, heading down a narrower path that led off-piste and through a dense forest of conifers.

He weaved through the trees expertly, reaching a hand out to run through the soft needles, his body thriving on the adrenaline and the freedom that the slopes provided. His family was on their annual holiday, spending a whole two weeks in the alps to enjoy the nice weather and the brilliant snow that had fallen just in time for their trip. They had chosen an inverted resort; one where the chalet was at the top of the mountain rather than the base, and Sanji had just woken up and jumped right into his first run, completely pleased that he wasn’t forced to wait for the lift.

The new snow was perfect for boarding. It was dry, light snow that sat high and packed down low. It made for a great ride, the combined lack of wind and the sun leaving nothing but smooth ground and the quiet solitude of forest around him. The slopes were the one place he got any real time alone when he was with his family, and even though he loved them, it was nice to have some room to think; to be on his own.

Sanji bent his knees, leaning his board to the left towards another crossway, mindlessly thinking about how nice it was to be with his siblings and his mother after two years. He had moved out when he turned twenty, and they hadn’t had a chance to have their annual vacation since then. They had all been too busy, Sanji neck deep in paperwork for obtaining the restaurant space below his apartment while his siblings all worked to survive their final years of college, needing to prioritize networking their way into good jobs rather than a family holiday.

His mother had begged them that summer to take some time off to reconnect once the rest of the quadruplets had graduated. Sanji had opened his restaurant and Reiju had passed the bar that year, and it felt like the perfect time to gather together and celebrate, all of their accomplishments only heightened by their presence together and the warm goodwill of the holiday season. Sanji smiled, raising his face to the sky as he leaned forward, increasing his speed as he flew down the slope, bursting through the line of trees while he basked in the freshness of the cold air.

A sudden force barreling into his side cut off his train of thought, sending him flying into the air with a shriek, one of his feet coming free from his board as he somersaulted through the sky. He couldn’t tell where the ground began and the sky ended, his world completely turned on its head as he panicked, trying to remember what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. Turn on his back, protect his head.

He twisted, feeling the air shift around him as he started to fall to the ground, casually remembering reading somewhere that relaxing your body was supposed to help prevent injury as his body tensed in preparation for impact. He wondered who, or what, had run in to him. He sure had been knocked a far way, it had felt like getting hit by a damn car.

Sanji choked on a gasp as his back finally hit the ground, his shoulder slamming into what felt like a wall and making a horrendous grinding noise. He heard a snap, barely able to recognize what direction the noise came from as he fought to recover his breath, his heart beating three times faster than it probably should as he slowly started to regain control of his body. He grabbed his helmet, wincing as pain lanced through his right shoulder as he pulled the goggles and the helmet off to give himself more room to move.

He needed to get his board off, needed to look at what had happened to his shoulder, figure out just how hurt he was. He was still only half way down the slope, if he needed to have his arm reset he would need to figure out how to get down and then back up to the chalet without upsetting it any further. He pushed himself up to a sitting position with the arm that didn’t feel like it was being stabbed every time he moved it.

He shouted as he pushed himself up, the pain in his shoulder completely dwarfed by the fire of pins that ran through his ankle when he tried to move to take his board off. He frowned, gritting his teeth as he glanced down to where his board was, twisted at an angle that shouldn’t be possible since it was still connected to one of his feet. He stared in dismay at where his ankle peeked out from above his boot, already growing red and puffy and turned in a way it was never meant to turn as snow melted against the skin exposed where the leg of his snow pants had ridden up his shin.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Sanji glanced up at the question, accompanied by the crunch of boots against snow as a shadow loomed over him. He came face to face with a puffy green jacket, his eyes raising until he met the image of his own reflection, mirrored in the orange hue of the goggles the man wore.

“Clearly not, why the fuck weren’t you watching where you were going, you absolute fucking moron. You clearly shouldn’t be riding here if you can’t do something as simple as avoid someone,” he seethed, glaring up at the faceless man who sat silently, waiting for Sanji to lose his breath. Sanji gestured to his ankle with his good arm when the man didn’t answer.

“I can’t fucking ride the rest of the way down with this. You need to get help,” Sanji instructed. At that point he just wanted to get off of the slope, even if it was with the help of the bastard who had caused this. The cold of the snow was starting to inch its way through the cracks in his thermal gear, making him panic from his lost mobility, he really didn’t want to freeze out here where no one would find him. The man put a hand to his helmet, glancing back behind himself before dropping it and walking out of Sanji’s sight, making him curse as he realized that he had probably left him to die on the slope.

Sanji was trying to figure out how he could roll down the rest of the trail without hurting his ankle or shoulder any worse when movement caught his attention, the man that had run in to him walking up with a pair of skis held in one hand and three poles in the other.

“Of course you fucking ski,” Sanji groaned, relief washing over him that he hadn’t been left for dead only stifled by growing irritation for everything the man in front of him seemed to be, “what kind of idiot uses three god damn poles, is this your first time or something?”

He heard a snort escape from the helmet, only making him more annoyed as the man leaned down, putting the skis onto the snow and shoving his feet into the bindings. Sanji watched in helpless mistrust, unable to do anything as the man silently prepared himself to finish the rest of his route. Once he was clipped in, he turned back to Sanji, the skis looking like damn duck feet as he waddled awkwardly closer to where Sanji lay.

“Come on, Curly,” the man said, shoving his arms under Sanji’s shoulder and knees and hoisting him up until he was holding him in his arms. Sanji shrieked as the weight of his board dragged down on his tender ankle, making him slap at the man’s shoulder as he weakly yelled at him to take the damn thing off.

The skier listened, putting Sanji in a very un-dignifying position where he was virtually cradled in one of the man’s arms as he gently pulled his board off, putting it on Sanji’s chest before replacing where his arm supported Sanji’s knees. The large goggles turned towards him, giving Sanji the impression that he was looking right at him as the man situated his ski poles, before pulling Sanji’s goggles down over his eyes.

“Hold on tight.”

That was the last thing the man said before placing one of the three poles into his mouth, like a damn maniac, and pushing himself forward until they were flying down the slope once again. Sanji tried not to yell as they swerved down the hill, the guy moving like he was following hidden switch backs underneath the snow, sliding back and forth and making Sanji feel like his stomach was in his throat. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, holding his board between them, terrified of the reckless skiing and not willing to be flung through the air for a second time that day.

“Get ready,” the man yelled, his voice muffled by the pole in his mouth as they approached a tall jump. Sanji yelled at him to stop, banging his fist against the man’s chest as he considered jumping to safety, his words going either unnoticed or blatantly ignored. Instead of throwing himself, Sanji decided to cling tighter to the man, hiding his face against his chest, hoping he would be able to use his body to cushion his landing when they inevitably crashed.

Instead, when they finally flew over the edge of the jump Sanji found himself blown away by the view he was met with, the steep angle of the slope matched with their height creating the perfect view of the beautiful world below. The white blankets covering the mountains fell away to dense forest that looked pitch black next to the gleaming white of the snow. The tops of the mountains were sharp and unmoving, piercing the clouds above with a like knives through butter.

Sanji tensed as he felt them land back on the snow, the man grunting as he tightened his hold on Sanji as they continued speeding down the slope. Sanji was caught between the exhilaration of racing down the side of the mountain and the fear and humiliation of finding himself being carried bridle style by a man wearing skis, of all things. He normally wasn’t one to judge what people did, but he just couldn’t fathom someone choosing the large clunky toothpicks instead of one beautiful, sleek board. It didn’t make sense to him at all.

He raised his head, eyes widening when he spotted the bottom of the trail, an unfortunate number of people milling about at the base of the ski lift, all about to witness Sanji’s complete and utter humiliation. He hid his face again, glad that he was covered head to toe in winter gear, the only recognizable aspect to it the dusty blue of his coat and helmet. As soon as they had rocketed down the last stretch of decline, the stranger holding him swerved to the side, sending a sheet of powder into the sky as he used the turn to slow himself down and move towards the ski lift, receiving more than one confused or annoyed look from the people lined up waiting.

Sanji refrained from screeching the barrage of insults that sat at the back of his throat, completely over being carried around like a damn bag of rice, but also not wanting to have to test his new injury so soon. Instead he sat, helplessly silent, listening to the soft whir of the lift and the recovering breathing of the man holding him.

“Sorry, ma’am, but he fell on the slopes, is there any way you would be willing to let us go ahead of you?” the man asked, walking them right up to the front of the queue. The older woman took one look at Sanji before ushering them forward, the man still not putting him down as they waited for the next lift to swoop around and carry them to the top of the mountain. Sanji was suddenly regretting begging his family to choose one of the inverted resorts that sat on the tops of the mountains rather than the base, realizing then that this odd encounter could have already been finished if they had gone for one of the more ordinary resorts.

He huffed as he felt the stranger fall out beneath him, taking his seat on the large metal chair before finally, finally, depositing Sanji on the seat next to him so that he could regain some of his agency. Sanji held his board tightly, glaring out at the ground slowly receding beneath them, refusing to pay attention to the dull throbbing in his ankle. The man next to him sat quietly for a few moments, pulling down the safety bar over their heads before reaching his hand out across the small barrier of space Sanji had enforced when he was finally free of the other’s arms.

“Zoro,” the man said, waiting for Sanji to grab his hand in greeting. He scoffed instead, shaking his head in disbelief and turning so that he was facing completely away from him, still sore about how he had been carried down the slope. The man, Zoro, he guessed, huffed an irritated laugh, retracting his hand and leaning back in the chair, making it rock uncomfortably. Sanji grabbed the metal arm, trying to stabilize it as he felt his center of balance pitch from the unexpected movement, shooting a murderous glare that likely was not visible through his goggles to the man sitting next to him.

“So first you run me over like a damn runaway toboggan, and now, what? You’re trying to make me fall to my death before I kick your ass?” he asked, needing the guy to understand just how pissed he was. There was no way he wouldn’t be paying for this, one way or another. Zoro shook his head, an exasperated laugh making Sanji glance over with thin eyes. He had a surprisingly charming smile, and it pissed Sanji off even more.

“Listen, dude, your head was in the damn clouds. I yelled at you to move but you weren’t looking where you were going, that’s no way to free ride. This isn’t entirely my fault, although I shouldn’t have expected a boarder to have enough of a brain cell to know what ‘move’ means,” he muttered the last part to himself, just loud enough that Sanji was still able to hear. He scoffed, wishing they were on solid ground so that he could use his good leg to kick the shit out of Zoro, completely insulted by his horrible opinion on snowboarders.

“I ought to break my board over your head, you planker,” Sanji growled, a small amount of guilt forming in his chest, knowing that he had had his head in the clouds. But the way the asshole had handled him still pissed him off. Plus, for some reason, he didn’t want this guy to feel like he was getting away scot free.

“Like that could ever be used as anything other than the lunch tray it is,” Zoro scoffed, using one of his three poles to smack Sanji’s board where it lay across his lap. Sanji pushed the pole away, kicking Zoro’s leg with his uninjured foot in annoyance. Before he could say anything in the form of a biting retort, however, Zoro grabbed him, picking him up in that same unflattering way that he had carried him down the slope as he slid off of the lift and back on to solid ground. Sanji squirmed for a second, before a dull pain in his shoulder made him yield, collapsing into the irritating skier’s hold.

Sanji didn’t say anything as Zoro skied over to the steps of the main lodge, using his pole to free his boots without putting Sanji down. He hoisted Sanji up, walking up the stairs of the lodge and in to the big house, knocking his boots on the mat in front of the door before wandering over to the cozy main room where resort goers were relaxing between rides. It was a warm room, full of leather couches with a large fire blazing in the giant stone fireplace in the center of the room.

There were a surprising number of people milling around, some holding cups full of steaming drinks as they chatted, completely ignorant of the odd picture the two of them presented.

“Is there a doctor here?” Zoro asked, projecting his voice to be heard over the din of the idle chatter filling the large space. The room grew quiet, save for the annoyed scoff from Sanji at the skier’s dramatics. A small kid with mousy brown hair stepped forward, looking every bit the way a doctor shouldn’t.

“I am, what’s wrong?” he asked, worry clear in his giant, doe like eyes. Zoro stepped forward, growling at a couple that was occupying one of the couches until they stood, walking away with a look of annoyance cast towards Sanji, which he felt was completely undeserved. Zoro laid him down, patting his helmet in a way Sanji could only take as condescendingly, making him sneer in irritation. He pulled his helmet and goggles off, throwing them to the floor and finally giving the man next to him the withering look he had been hoping to since they had first run in to each other.

“What’s the problem?” the kid from earlier asked, hovering over Sanji with little regard for his personal space, putting a hand to his forehead and then picking up the wrist of the arm with his bad shoulder, making him grunt in pain. The kid dropped his arm in surprise, glancing up at him and then over to Zoro questioningly.

“This moron ran in to me and sent me half way across the mountain. Fucked up that shoulder and my left ankle,” Sanji muttered, wincing when the young kid immediately started prodding at his shoulder, “listen, kid, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry I forgot to mention. My name’s Chopper, Dr. Chopper if you want to get specific. I know I’m young, but I have my license, I can help,” Chopper said, flashing a reassuring smile at Sanji before returning to inspecting his shoulder. Sanji made a noise of discontent, readjusting so he was more comfortably laid on the couch.

“It wasn’t completely my fault,” Zoro grumbled, reaching his hands up to pull his own helmet and goggles from his head. Sanji stared in wonder at the handsome face that appeared from beneath the helmet, taken aback by his strong features. He wasn’t sure what he had expected the man to look like, but it hadn’t been what he saw.

Zoro raised his glove, running his hand through his hair that had been flattened by his helmet, shaking it out until it was fluffy.

Green, Sanji realized belatedly, staring at the way the cropped hair stuck out all over the place, curling in against itself like it was…

“Moss,” Sanji laughed, shaking his head as he relaxed into the couch, feeling exhaustion slowly seep into the cracks left between receding adrenaline. Zoro stopped messing with his hair, frowning at Sanji in confusion.

Sanji shouted in surprise as pain lanced through his leg, making him kick on reflex, narrowly missing the doctor’s face. He stiffened, pulling his foot back to the couch with a soft apology, sneering when Zoro snorted next to him.

“Sanji?” the call of his name made him glance to the side, freezing when he met familiar red hair in his peripheral. Shit, this was embarrassing. He would never hear the end of this. He could feel a blush of embarrassment rising on his cheeks, his eyes flicking to the, damn it, the handsome man still standing over him, wishing he could disappear into the couch.

“Hi, Ichiji,” he sighed, leaning his head back until he could see his brother. Ichiji was grinning down at him, his arms crossed against his chest, looking right at home in his white snowsuit and thin sunglasses.

“What do we have here? Wiped out already?” he teased, his grin widening as he glanced around at the scene in front of him, one of his eyebrows raising when he noticed Zoro’s hovering. Sanji sighed, irritated that one of the people that knew him best was here to witness whatever this was.

“I’m fine,” Sanji complained, waving his good arm in dismissal. Chopper popped up from where he had been inspecting Sanji’s ankle, walking back over to grab his elbow, placing his other hand against the front of his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t say ‘fine’ is the right word,” Chopper said, slamming the hand on his elbow upwards, making Sanji grunt as a pop echoed through the room, “that was just dislocated, but it looks like your ankle is fractured. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but you’ll need to stay off of it for at least two weeks, and it’ll probably take more than that for it to heal fully.”

Sanji balked, staring at the kid in front of him and questioning again if it was possible that he actually knew what he was talking about. Although he had just reset his shoulder, and it seemed fine. Shit, this meant he wouldn’t be able to snowboard for the rest of his trip. He felt a sudden fury fill his chest, barely registering his brother’s supportive hand on his shoulder as he glared at the culprit, all embarrassment at his handsomeness falling to the wayward in his anger.

“I got to go on one run. One! In two years! And now I’m grounded for the rest of my time here?” he yelled, sitting up and grabbing the front of Zoro’s jacket, pulling him towards the couch, “you piece of shit, I can’t believe this!”

Zoro’s eyes widened as he watched Sanji’s melt down, his gaze flicking to Chopper and Ichiji as he waited for Sanji to stop talking. When he finally did, Ichiji stepped around the couch, knocking Sanji’s hand away as he stepped in between the two of them, rising to his full height in front of the moss haired man,

“You hurt my brother?” he asked sourly, voice dangerous as his fists clenched at his side, a dangerous sneer on his face. Sanji grabbed his brother’s arm before he did anything that would get them kicked out of the resort, appreciating his oldest brother’s protectiveness but wishing he would just bug off and let him handle this himself.

“Ichiji, it’s fine. I can take care of myself. Go enjoy the slopes, I’ll see you for dinner,” he said, trying to push him away. Ichiji glanced back at him, Sanji able to catch his calculating stare through the bottom of his sunglasses.

“Fine,” he said after a minute, relaxing his posture, “but I’m telling mom.”

Sanji groaned, putting a hand to his eyes in exhaustion, annoyed by this entire experience. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, and now he had an injury that was likely to not only ruin the rest of this trip, but effect his ability to work when he got home.

He heard the shuffle of Ichiji walking off, humming at the pat to his head he received as his brother left them. When he finally took his hand away from his eyes he found himself conspicuously alone with Zoro, Chopper nowhere to be found.

“Where did Dr. Chopper go?” he asked with a frown, his voice flat as he eyed the skier coolly. Zoro frowned, turning around in a full circle before finding an empty chair at a nearby table. He grabbed it, pulling it in front of Sanji and sitting down heavily, crossing his legs and unzipping his puffer.

“He went to get what he needed to splint your ankle. Listen, I’m standing by that this isn’t fully my fault, but I do feel really shitty about it. I’ll sit out with you, like solidarity, or something. Keep you company,” he said with a grin that made it really hard for Sanji to stay mad at him. Damn attractive bastard. Attractive bastard that was saying he wouldn’t go skiing anymore since Sanji couldn’t board. Attractive bastard that said he was going to keep him company.

Sanji’s eyes widened as he realized what exactly that meant, Zoro was planning to stick around, spend time with him. Holy shit, not only was he injured, but he was going to have to sit around with this guy he should hate, but who instead he found oddly charming, in an annoying, moronic way.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. My whole family is here, I won’t be alone,” Sanji excused, waving him off nonchalantly. Zoro shook his head, crossing his arms over the unnecessarily tight black turtleneck he wore, making it hard for Sanji to pull his eyes away from his chest,

“I insist. It’ll keep me away from my brat sister, anyways,” he said, smiling at Sanji warmly, “there’s worse ways to spend a vacation than with a snooty blonde.”

Sanji scowled, back to being annoyed and wishing his ankle wasn’t hurt so he could kick the bastard. First, how dare he talk about his sister in such a manner, no lady deserved to be referred to as a brat. Second, he didn’t deserve to be referred to as a brat either.

Chopper came back at that moment, interrupting the brewing argument as he fussed about, setting Sanji’s ankle in a surprisingly advanced splint considering the materials he had. He instructed Sanji not to put weight on the leg, telling him that he would try to track down a pair of crutches for him but that it would likely take some time.

Zoro had gotten him and Chopper each a mug of hot chocolate while the two of them spoke, a surprisingly sweet gesture for such an irritating man. He wrote down his room number on a notepad that it looked like Chopper carried with him everywhere, thanking him profusely for his help and receiving an odd bashfulness from the young man who scampered off not long after.

Zoro sat down on the chair facing Sanji again, his own mug of hot chocolate that Sanji was fairly certain held a little bit more baileys and a little less hot chocolate tucked in his hands. It was just the two of them in the large room at that point, most of the people who had been in the chalet out on the slopes as it was nearing mid-afternoon. Sanji immediately felt an awkwardness fall in the air between them, unsure what he was supposed say now that his injury had been resolved. He wasn’t good in these situations, left alone with an undeniably attractive man, especially one he had started off on the wrong foot with. He almost always made an ass of himself.

“How long are you here for, Curly?” Zoro asked, a soft smirk on his face as if he could read Sanji’s thoughts. He felt his cheeks heat as he thumbed at the rim of his mug, staring in to it like it would give him the answer he needed.

“We’re here through New Year’s,” Sanji mumbled, glancing up at him through the fringe of his bangs. Zoro hummed, taking a sip of his drink before responding,

“Us too,” he finally responded, smiling faintly as he leaned back in his chair, “guess we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other.”

Sanji blinked at him, the realization that Zoro was genuine in his promise to keep him company sinking in slower than it should have. That was two weeks, what were they supposed to do for two weeks when Sanji couldn’t even walk? Talk with each other? Likely.

“Does your family come here often?” Sanji asked, cringing when he realized how reminiscent the question was of a sleazy come on. Zoro smirked, shaking his head and laughing lightly,

“Yeah, at least once a year. My dad used to be a pretty good skier, and I’m training as one now so we frequent places like this pretty often,” Zoro explained, making Sanji roll his eyes at the reminder that the man was a skier. It was interesting to learn that he was trying to go pro, though, since his earlier performance was less than impressive.

“How’s a guy go pro when he can’t even avoid another person on the slope?” Sanji jested, grinning at the pout the words caused from the other, “I’m joking, relax. I get it, it’s hard to dodge something when you’re using such inferior equipment. You should consider switching to boarding.”

“Boarding’s for insecure people and high school boys,” Zoro grumbled, setting down his mug and crossing his arms over his chest. Sanji’s jaw fell open in disbelief, a fire of defensiveness for his beloved hobby nearly making him stand to confront the bastard, only held back by the reminder of the splint on his ankle.

“Boarding is way cooler than whatever the hell it is you do. Skiing is the most boring winter Olympic sport, like okay, we get it you can go down a hill fast or go off one jump and land successfully. Snowboarding has much more range, those athletes have to be as creative as they are talented,” Sanji seethed, his face growing hot with anger as Zoro watched him placidly, completely unimpressed by his rant. As soon as he finished his point, Zoro stood, putting his hand out for Sanji to take,

“You only think that ‘cause you haven’t seen me ski for real,” he said, grinning down at Sanji’s unhappy glare as he shook his hand in a silent request. Sanji frowned at the movement, judging his options for a beat before putting his hand out and slapping it in to Zoro’s, bracing himself to be pulled from his seat. Zoro hoisted him up as his grin widened, Sanji keeping his injured leg off of the floor and hopping until he was standing solidly on his healthy leg.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to ski if I couldn’t snowboard,” Sanji mumbled, feeling self-conscious, worried about how they would make it out to the slopes with only three legs. He would absolutely not stand for a repeat of being carried in to the chalet, he was set on humiliation for one day.

“Stop looking like I’m about to throw you in a snow bank, I have a recording on my laptop,” Zoro laughed, motioning for Sanji to hop over to him, “c’mon, I’ll help you walk until you get crutches.”

Sanji stared at him incredulously, not sure how willing he was to see what exactly Zoro meant by ‘help him walk’. Not seeing any other option, however, and knowing full well he would only be able to hop on one foot so far, he eventually jumped over. He stifled a gasp of surprise when Zoro grabbed Sanji’s arm and threw it over his shoulder and then wrapped his own arm around his waist. The closeness was uncomfortable, oddly more so than being carried bridal style, and Sanji couldn’t help the blush that washed across his face, uncomfortably aware of Zoro’s wide hand clasped firmly against his waist.

“You can lean on me and jump with your good foot, I’ll take it slow, just let me know if you need to pause for a second,” Zoro said quietly, surprisingly thoughtful in his assistance. Sanji nodded, staying silent as they started to walk and hop towards the hallways that led to the rooms in the back of the building. At first Sanji had assumed they would be able to reach wherever Zoro was leading him without needing to pause, but ten minutes after they began walking Sanji was forced to tell Zoro he needed to stop, rubbing his hand down his thigh where it was starting to cramp a little bit from the tension.

He glanced around, frowning as he eyed the room numbers near them, slightly confused. They were facing back towards the main room again, apparently they had turned around while Sanji was focused on not tripping flat on his face, moving slowly back towards exactly where they had started.

“Why, uh, are we going back to the main room? Did you make me walk just for the hell of it?” Sanji accused, looking over to Zoro with a look of confused mistrust. Zoro frowned, glancing over his shoulder back down the hallway before looking where they were headed, looking absolutely lost.

“Oh,” he said simply, turning around again with a frown. Sanji tried to process what was happening, looking down the straight hallway in front of them in confusion, not entirely sure what was happening,

“What’s your room number, Mossy?” he asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as he waited for the moss to respond. Zoro gave him a put out look, opening his mouth as if to argue before rolling his eyes at the way Sanji raised his brow in warning,

“113,” he sighed in defeat, glancing at the nearby doors as if it would be one of them. Sanji balked at him, unsure which piece of information to react to first; the fact that Zoro had been leading them in the exact opposite direction of the room before he had turned them around, or the fact that he was in the room directly next to the one Sanji and Yonji shared. He eventually landed on anger.

“So you are messing with me. What, thought it would be funny to see how I walked like this?” he yelled, kicking his injured leg out towards the man without thinking. Zoro caught it by his knee, a bewildered look on his face as he shook his head vehemently.

“What? No, Curly, I… was getting us there,” he said sheepishly, his cheeks coloring slightly. Sanji only grew angrier at the blatant lie, waving his arm around him,

“Obviously not, unless you’re telling me you’re stupid enough to get lost in a straight hallway,” Sanji said angrily, leaning back against a wall to give his leg a break. Zoro’s eyes widened, before flicking to the ground, the light blush on his cheeks only getting darker as he seemed to wrestle with something internally. Sanji withered at the realization that the silence between the two was as damning evidence as a confession, something in his chest melting along with any anger he had held towards the moss.

“Oh my god, you are that stupid. Of course. Come on, I’ll lead,” Sanji said, hopping over and holding his arm out, smirking at the newfound ammunition. Zoro pouted at him, leaning to the side so that Sanji could wrap his arm over his shoulder nonetheless as they started to walk in the direction of the rooms at Sanji’s lead. Zoro grumbled the entire way, saying that he just thought it would be good for Sanji to stretch a little bit and that he wasn’t lost, his excuses completely ineffective now that Sanji knew what was happening.

When they got to the room, Zoro took out his keycard from his jacket pocket, tapping it three times before it worked, and opening the door to a surprisingly busy looking room. He walked Sanji in, setting him down on a chair in the small living space,

“I’m gonna grab my laptop for you and then I’m gonna go change out of my gear quick, since I won’t be needing it any time soon,” he said as Sanji looked around the room, taking in the abhorrent number of suitcases of varying shades of pink.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a heavy packer, Mossy… or so fond of pink,” Sanji teased with a smirk, settling back into the comfortable chair and stretching out his hurt leg to lay against the chair across from him. Zoro threw a scandalized look over his shoulder as he walked over to the second bed against the far wall, pulling a backpack up from behind it,

“Those aren’t mine, my duffel’s over there. Those eyesores all belong to my sister, we’re sharing the room,” Zoro explained, pointing lazily to a small olive green duffel at the back of the room. He pulled his laptop out while Sanji considered what he said, curious what kind of sister the moss had, that she would bring all of this with her just for two weeks.

“Here,” Zoro said, putting the laptop up to his knee and opening it, before handing it over to Sanji, “you watch that, I’m gonna go change while you change your mind about skiing.”

Sanji stuck his tongue out at him before waving him away and looking at the video the moss had pulled up for him to watch. It was just a white screen, paused pointing down at snow, but when Sanji pressed the play button he was greeted by the camera flipping around and facing the cheery smile of a guy that looked just a bit younger than Sanji was, a scar under his cheek and an out of place straw hat sitting on his head.

The guy waved at the camera before turning it back around, shakily pointing it behind himself and up a hill where Sanji could vaguely see the silhouette of what he assumed was Zoro, likely waiting for the cameraman to signal to him. The camera started shaking furiously before going still again to reveal that Zoro had started to move, gliding down the slopes in a much more relaxed fashion then when he had slammed into Sanji earlier that day. He seemed to be enjoying himself, slowly weaving his way down the slope like he didn’t have a care in the world, growing larger as he started to close the distance between the cameraman and himself.

Sanji watched on, unimpressed up to that point as Zoro finally made it to the cameraman, thinking that this was all Zoro had to show him until he saw the moss veer towards the camera, slapping his helmet twice as he passed. He heard a loud whoop from behind the camera as the guy holding it panned down to a beat up snowboard he was apparently sporting as he kicked off the small jump he had been standing on, flying down the slope as he fumbled the camera up to face back towards Zoro. He boarded closer, reaching out a hand to high-five Zoro as he rode past, panning the camera back to face the moss as he rode.

Sanji watched as they flew down the slope, Zoro starting to do small jumps, as they made their way down. The camera movements from the snowboarder made it more exciting than it actually was, making Sanji feel like his point was being proven the longer he watched. That was until they started hitting real jumps. Sanji’s jaw dropped when he watched Zoro go off of a huge jump, and then turn completely upside down, flying through the air with his head leaned back as he put his arms out, like he was enjoying the wind in his face as he fell head first downward.

He flipped back right side up at the last second, making it seem completely effortless as he returned to slowly weaving across the slope again, looking like he was enjoying the casualness of the ride. Sanji found himself holding his breath the next time a jump appeared, watching in rapt attention as Zoro used the pole he had held in his mouth to swing himself around a tree so that he was perfectly lined up with the jump, crouching as he shot up the incline. He sprang forward, gaining a surprising amount of height as he flipped twice, crossing his skis in an ‘x’ that kept Sanji’s eyes glued to his movements, not believing he would be able to land the move.

Instead of the crash Sanji expected, Zoro twisted in the air, landing backwards on the slope, his hands in the air as the cameraman took the same jump, whooping loudly into the microphone of the camera while Zoro continued skiing backwards while he celebrated. The video cut off there, leaving Sanji alone in the quiet room again, staring at the now black screen as he tried to process what he had watched.

“So what’d you think?” Zoro’s voice nearly made him jump out of his skin, not having realized the moss had come back into the room at some point while he was absorbed in the video. He glanced up with wide eyes, finding the skier leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a blue oversized knit sweater, his black turtleneck peeking out of the neckline, and he had abandoned his snow pants in preference of a pair of nice gray chinos, respectably fashionable.

Sanji stared for a minute too long at the nice picture he struck before glancing back to the black screen in front of him, closing the lid of the laptop slowly. He held the computer out to the moss silently, waiting until Zoro took it from him before he spoke.

“Alright, you win. You’re not as shitty of a skier as I thought you were,” Sanji admitted, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, “I want to go to my room to change into something more comfortable.”

Zoro laughed, shaking his head and putting out a hand for Sanji to take, pulling him to his feet and wrapping his arm back around his waist while Sanji set his arm over his shoulder.

“I told you. You should switch to skiing, I bet you would be good at it,” Zoro said, squeezing his arm around Sanji’s waist in emphasis and making Sanji’s face erupt in flames at the feeling of the other’s hand against his hip.

“Hell no, not in a million years. Boarding is still better, I only admitted that you’re not horrible at that sorry excuse for a winter sport,” Sanji complained, flicking the side of Zoro’s head, and only partially thinking about just how free the moss had looked, “now take me to my room.”

Zoro listened, albeit with a few grumbles of his own about spoiled snowboarders. Sanji had to keep Zoro from turning the wrong way when they walked over to his room, starting to think the poor guy wouldn’t be able to find his way out of a circular room if his life depended on it.

Sanji hadn’t expected to be met with the bright green hair of his youngest brother when they walked into his room, the two nearly slamming in to him as they walked through the door. Sanji immediately started cackling as he realized the two had nearly the same green hair, pointing at Yonji before reaching up to ruffle Zoro’s hair with a mocking grin.

“Who the hell is this guy?” Yonji asked, pointing at Zoro with his thumb as he leaned over to tie his boots. Sanji studied Yonji’s attire, guessing that his brother had slept in and was just about to go hit the slopes, “it didn’t take you long, we’ve been here, what, eighteen hours?”

Sanji balked, letting go of Zoro and hopping on his one leg to put distance between the two of them, his face growing bright red as he shook his head defensively. Yonji barked a laugh when he looked over and saw Sanji’s reaction to his assumption, finishing tying up his boot and walking over to where Sanji was leaned against a wall.

“Why are you standing like that, you trying to impersonate Zeff? I know you look up to the guy but I’m pretty sure two’s better than one in this regard,” Yonji laughed, slapping him hard on his back and making him fall forward as his balance was pushed by the hit.

He started to fall, unable to catch himself with only one leg, trying to decide whether or not to risk his wrists to catch himself or to try and turn on to his back. Instead he was caught before he could decide, two strong arms wrapping under his as his face fell into a surprisingly soft chest.

“Watch it,” Zoro growled at Sanji’s brother, while Sanji could feel his face falling into something ridiculously silly from his face suddenly being buried in such a strong chest. He felt another pair of arms grab his shoulders, pulling him back until he was being held up by his brother, dopey grin exposed for all to see.

“Sheesh,” Yonji laughed, shaking him gently, “earth to Sanji, you still there, dude?”

Sanji shook his head, glaring at his brother in warning as he pushed him off. Yonji only laughed harder, until his eyes finally dropped to the foot Sanji had lifted in the air, making him pause. He glanced back up to Sanji, his eyes narrowing fiercely as he looked over to Zoro with a calculating stare.

“Did you hurt him?” Yonji demanded, venom in his voice as he walked around Sanji to reach the moss. Zoro held up his hands defensively, backing up a step before nodding in confirmation silently. Sanji grabbed Yonji by the arm, tugging him away from the moss and towards the door instead,

“Back off, Yonji, we’re fine. I’m fine. I’ve got it covered, no need to abuse the poor moss ball. Go enjoy the fresh snow,” Sanji instructed, ushering him out and ignoring the look of uncertainty from his brother as he closed the door.

“How many of you are there? How many times am I gonna get threatened this trip?” Zoro muttered once Yonji was out of the door, scratching the back of his neck while Sanji smirked at him. He jumped over to where he had his suitcase at the bottom of his bed, pulling out some lounge clothing while he talked,

“At least two more times. My mom might get at you too, but she’s much more forgiving. It’s my sister you have to worry about, she’s the most protective, even over Yonji there,” Sanji said, nodding to the door in indication of which brother he had been talking about. Zoro frowned, clearly uncomfortable as he wandered into the room and took a seat.

“Let’s go find food after you change, Curly. I’m hungry,” he said as he pulled one of the books Sanji had brought with him off of the small coffee table, glancing at either of the covers before tossing it back onto the table. Sanji nodded, smiling over at him as he hopped with the clothes he had grabbed towards the bathroom.

“I’ll do you one better, I’ll make lunch.”

_____________

Zoro had quickly learned that Sanji was an absolutely incredible cook, even down a leg, and had spent the rest of the first day telling Sanji as much, as well as just how well he would get along with his friends. Sanji brushed it off, laughing at the idea that he would ever see the moss after their vacation, and trying not to think too much about just how much he would like to. Especially when Zoro described his friends, telling Sanji about growing up next to his best friend, Luffy, and how they climbed to the tops of the nearby mountains in his hometown during the winter to go skiing.

He also told Sanji about how he had met his friend Usopp, who apparently had been a very skilled pitcher in middle school, and had been throwing snowballs at his friend Kaya, purposefully missing so as not to actually hurt her. Apparently Zoro had fallen victim to one of his stray snowballs while walking by. After Zoro had shoved his head into a snowbank in retaliation and Luffy had invited the two to get dinner with them, the three had become fast friends. The stories Zoro told Sanji made him laugh more often than not, and he found himself falling utterly for the guy who had ruined his vacation, listening to each story with rapt attention.

They were left alone by family for the most part, other than the interrogation Sanji received once he was alone with his brothers at the end of the night. Sanji didn’t even meet any of Zoro’s family until three days in to their predicament. They were working on a puzzle, having raided the chalet’s underutilized game cabinet for something to do when sitting around and drinking had run its course. They had found a puzzle of an old pirate ship, and had been arguing over whether to start with the edge pieces or the center of the puzzle for close to twenty minutes when they had been interrupted by bubble gum pink hair.

Sanji had thought that it was Reiju for a fraction of a second, before he spotted the pig tails and openly snorted at the idea of his sister wearing her hair in such a fashion. He had immediately offered for the woman to join them, as she had shown interest in what they were doing, only to discover that the woman was Perona, Zoro’s fabled sister. He had immediately started gushing over her at Zoro’s expense, irritating his hesitantly titled ‘friend’ to no end and delighting the moss’s easily humored sister. She had been ecstatic to discover his willingness to insult the living plant, and had immediately declared Sanji as her favorite of Zoro’s friends.

She had ended up joining them for the rest of the puzzle, much to the annoyance of Zoro and the excitement of Sanji. They had made great progress once she had joined, Sanji finally able to win the argument as to whether they needed to start with the edge pieces by outvoting the moss. The argument from that had jumpstarted a blaze of embarrassing stories from Zoro’s childhood that Sanji absolutely ate up, begging Perona for more once she finished each story. She had been more than willing, telling Sanji all sorts of stories, most including his two friends or Zoro getting lost.

She had even called Zoro’s friend Usopp at one point to corroborate a story when Sanji had said he just couldn’t believe it. Usopp had introduced himself over the phone as the ‘leading expert in all things Zoro’ and then gone on to not only confirm the story about Zoro getting sent to the principal’s office their senior year for breaking the gym teacher’s shoulder, but also tell them a story Sanji truly believed was fabricated about when Zoro had nearly killed Usopp with a sword for pouring him a glass of apple cider vinegar instead of whiskey.

Zoro had eventually chased Perona away after threatening to show Sanji a photo of Perona’s hair cut from sixth grade, making Sanji laugh at the odd relationship the two had. Before leaving Perona had begged him to join them for Christmas dinner, convincing him by explaining just how dreary Christmas was with no one but Zoro and their unsocial father for company. Unable to say no to any woman, Sanji agreed easily, ignoring the glance of surprise from the moss sitting on the other side of the table and the fact that he had his own family’s dinner to attend. He was sure his mother would be less than thrilled.

It wasn’t until the day before Christmas that either of their parents got involved, however, Sanji conveniently failing to mention anything about Christmas dinner to his mother or his siblings. The two had yet to run in to one of their parents when they were together until, of course, the most inopportune time. When Sanji had realized Zoro wanted nothing to do with books and puzzles anymore he had convinced him to watch Christmas movies with him instead, and the two had ended up in Zoro’s room on his bed with his laptop propped up on a few pillows. They had made it through the first Home Alone and then half of the second when Zoro had fallen asleep, surprising Sanji when mossy hair had fallen on to his shoulder just when he was about to make a comment about how no one could survive that many bricks to the head.

Sanji glanced over with wide eyes, finding the peaceful face of a dreaming moss ball against his shoulder, a small trail of drool already forming at the corner of his mouth. Sanji couldn’t help the twinge of affection that lanced through his chest, his hand reaching out without thought to card through surprisingly soft green hair. He hadn’t expected to fall so hard for the moss, especially considering what had happened should have ruined Sanji’s vacation, but the moss was surprisingly funny, and charming, and sweet, and it really hadn’t been his fault, after all.

He had been waiting on Sanji’s every beck and call, even after Chopper had gotten him a set of crutches. Zoro had claimed he was just doing the right thing after the fourth time Sanji had told him he really didn’t need to bother, but the blush that sat high on his cheeks from the words made Sanji think that he wasn’t the only one that was starting to crush on the other. He had already been thinking about how to go about asking the moss if they could stay friends after they went their separate ways, especially once he learned they only lived a four-hour drive from each other.

Zoro huffed in his sleep, adjusting so that he was closer to Sanji, his head falling against Sanji’s chest, and an arm slinging across his waist, sleeping peacefully while Sanji was left to panic alone, not sure what to do in a situation like this. He considered just watching the rest of the movie and then leaving, but the warmth of Zoro next to him was inviting, and another part of him wanted to give in to the sleep tugging at the back of his eyes. Zoro just looked so peaceful lying there, and it would be cruel to move him, and Sanji was pretty tired. But he should leave, it would be rude to stay when Zoro was clearly ready to go to bed. He looked so peaceful.

“Zoro,” Sanji’s eyes whipped open at the unfamiliar voice, glancing around himself until he found the source, and blinking in confusion at the hollow honey gold eyes that blinked back at him from where a tall dark haired man stood over Zoro, shaking him gently. Sanji felt the weight next to him shifting, his mind slowly collecting what was happening as he glanced at the black screen of Zoro’s laptop which had fallen off to the side of the bed. Shit, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

“Hello,” he muttered awkwardly, waving as he sat up, effectively tossing Zoro off of him. The tall man watched Zoro fall from the corner of his eye before turning back to Sanji and staring at him critically, completely ignoring the delayed groan of pain from the moss.

“Hello,” he said simply, leaving Sanji feeling awkward and unsure as silence lapsed back between them again. Sanji pushed himself into a more comfortable position, fighting the raging blush that was covering his face as best he could.

“I’m uh-, Sanji,” he said, cringing at the uncertainty in his voice, able to guess who this was but not wanting it to be true.

“Hmm. And what are you to my son ‘uh- Sanji’,” the man asked, making Sanji’s heart sink as his suspicions were confirmed. He felt his face heat as he thought of what to say, not sure how to interact with Zoro’s dad when he had just woken up from a nap.

“Leave him alone, you creepy old man.”

Sanji breathed a sigh of relief, thankful Zoro had finally fully woken up enough to interfere before he said something completely incriminating. Zoro’s dad turned a withering stare on his son who was too busy brushing himself off to notice the look. Feeling slightly guilty for getting Zoro in trouble, Sanji figured he should clear the air since Zoro probably had no idea what was going on.

“Sorry, sir, we were watching Christmas movies and I guess I fell asleep,” he apologized, receiving a glance from Zoro that he chose to ignore, “I’ll get out of your hair so that you can enjoy the rest of your evening together.”

He started to reach for his crutches, only for Zoro’s father to pick them up, glancing down at them with a raised eyebrow before looking back to Sanji, who sat like a deer in headlights wishing to be anywhere else. Zoro’s dad smiled, surprisingly a more terrifying thing than his normal stoic expression, something more like a sneer, as he handed the crutches over to Sanji.

“Ah, so you are the young man my son injured. My daughter told me about you, I apologize for any of his poor behavior to this point. Are you here alone, or do you have family with you?” he asked, his demeanor changing quite suddenly much to Sanji’s surprise. Zoro grumbled something from where he stood in the corner of the room, making Sanji glance to him for support. Zoro just shrugged in response, gesturing for Sanji to answer the older man with a look of matched helplessness.

“I am here with my family, sir. My mom and my four siblings,” he answered, looking back to Zoro’s dad as he stood. He wasn’t sure what direction this was going, but he was sure it was going to be something he wouldn’t be excited about.

“Please son, call me Mihawk. If your family is not busy with their own celebrations, we would love if you all would join us for dinner tomorrow. Call it an apology for your injury, and curiosity on my part, to meet the family of the man my son seems so fond of,” Mihawk said, making Sanji blush furiously while a shout of indignation came from the corner occupied by moss.

“C’mon old man, his family probably wants to spend the evening together, not trying to break the uncomfortable silence of a dinner with us,” Zoro sighed, grabbing Mihawk’s shoulder and trying to pull him out of Sanji’s path.

“I’ll talk to my family and let you know. Thank you for the invitation, it’s very kind, I would love to join your family tomorrow,” Sanji smiled, not mad at the idea of getting to spend Christmas dinner with Zoro and pacifying his family. Especially if Zoro was as fond of him as Mihawk seemed to think he was.

After finalizing the plans for the next day, they said their awkward goodnights as Sanji hobbled over to his own room, pushing the door open, wanting nothing more than to just fall asleep.

“Someone’s home past their bedtime.”

Sanji glanced up at the sound of Yonji’s voice, already prepared to chew him out, only to go silent when he was met with the presence of all four of his siblings in front of him, their eclectic collection of hair colors startling. Sanji frowned, feeling like he was walking into an intervention with the way Niji looked like a grieving mother and Reiju looked pissed. He wandered into the room, not making eye contact with any one of them for too long as he went about his normal nightly routine, not sure what to do with all four of them looking at him like that.

“How was everyone’s day?” he finally asked, breaking the irregular silence between the siblings. Instead of anyone answering, Reiju walked over and Pushed Sanji to sit down on the bed, backing up once he was seated to cross her arms over her chest.

“What’s going on with you, Sanji?” she asked accusatorily, looking completely put out as the rest of his siblings murmured in agreement behind her. Sanji stared at them wide eyed and unblinking, fully confused by their question and not sure how to answer.

“Not much?” he asked more than answered, laughing uncomfortably at the noises of disbelief he received from his siblings, “what’s going on?”

Reiju shook her head, turning around to sit down only for Ichiji to stand instead, making Sanji frown. Ichiji taking the lead meant only one thing. He was about to be lectured.

“Listen, Sanji. We were worried about you when you got injured, because we know how much you hate sitting still, and how bummed you must be to not be able to board while we’re here,” Ichiji started, sitting on Yonji’s bed across from him so that he could look at him while he talked.

“We all agreed to take a certain part of the day off from the slopes to come spend time with you so you wouldn’t be lonely, but every time one of us looks for you you’re nowhere to be found. Not to mention you seem overly happy, which is great, sure, but we expected a little bit more… drama, from your loss of a vacation,” Ichiji explained. Sanji could already feel the excuses piling up in the back of his head, for some reason feeling like he had been caught in his growing feelings despite the fact that his siblings weren’t accusing him of anything other than acting strangely.

“I guess I just enjoy this time of year too much to let something like this ruin it?” he tried, shaking his leg in indication of what he meant. Each of his siblings gave him their own version of an unimpressed look, waiting for him to give up the act. Yonji was eventually the one to break the silence with a malicious laugh, making Sanji nervous for what was to be said.

“It’s his new friend, obviously. The green haired guy, Sanji’s always with him now. It’s like they’re dating or something,” Yonji laughed, making Sanji’s cheeks turn a bright red as he avoided the eyes of his siblings, instead looking out of the window to watch the slow fall of fresh snow.

“What’s Yonji talking about, Sanji?” Reiju demanded, standing and walking in front of Sanji’s line of sight so that he was forced to meet her gaze. Unable to lie to his sister, Sanji deflated, looking up at her pathetically as he finally admitted what he had been doing that week.

“The guy that ran into me, his names Zoro. When we found out I wouldn’t be able to board anymore this trip he decided to sit out with me and keep me company. I think I really like him,” he admitted softly, receiving various gasps and exclamations from his brothers while his sister remained silent above him, glaring down at him.

“That’s disgusting,” Reiju said, making Sanji’s eyebrows jump in genuine shock, not having expected his sister to be the least supportive of his siblings, “only you would have something that cute happen to you on a holiday vacation.”

Reiju’s face broke out into a wide grin, making Sanji deflate heavily from relief, a matching, albeit more shy smile making its way onto his face. His siblings started to bombard him with questions, asking everything they could about Zoro until Sanji was thoroughly exhausted. His mom came in half way through the interrogation to say goodnight, and Yonji immediately ratted Sanji out, making him hiss in annoyance, swearing he would get the little shit back by the end of their vacation while his mom gushed about how great it was that Sanji had been able to find a friend under his circumstances.

Sanji had let it slip that they had been invited to Christmas dinner by the moss’s very intimidating father, despite the fact that he had figured he would graciously turn down the offer the next day. Unfortunately, everyone in his family seemed absolutely ecstatic at the idea that they could observe Sanji and Zoro together, as well as meet the other man’s family. Sanji pointed out that they weren’t even dating, and it was weird to be meeting each other’s families at something as intimate as a holiday dinner when they had only known each other a week, but his protests fell on deaf ears, his siblings already planning how to test Sanji’s ‘new partner’.

__________

Christmas morning was spent alone with his family. It was exactly what they had all needed from their trip, an incredibly cozy morning with all of them, exchanging gifts and eating an extravagant breakfast put on by Sanji, who had woken up an hour early to compensate for his healing leg. His mom had made them take a Christmas photo, bringing them all out into the main room of the lodge which was packed with other visitors to take an incredibly embarrassing set of photos in front of the large Christmas tree there.

Sanji’s gifts had been a hit, as he knew they would be. He took great pride in his ability to pick the perfect gift for someone, and he had managed to find something for everyone that was a nice combination of useful and personal. Reiju especially had loved the wool blazer he had gotten her, which he had embroidered an encouraging message into the inner pocket of. He wasn’t unhappy with the gifts he had received either, although he had a suspicion that at least two of his brothers had received help from his mother in picking gifts for him, as he had only received new kitchen gear from the company he had mentioned he was looking at to his mother.

He had told Zoro the day before that he would likely be free for a while after noon if he was interested in doing anything. He had left himself just enough time to slip in to the gift shop in the main building of the resort, picking up something that the moss would like, but wasn’t too personal. It had become clear that there was no getting out of dinner with Zoro’s family, and if it was to be that way, then Sanji wanted to be properly prepared.

That afternoon when Zoro knocked on the door, Yonji pushed Sanji onto his bed and dashed to the door, leaving Sanji dumb struck and panicking as he pushed himself up to run after the asshole. Yonji’s attitude towards Zoro completely changed after learning that Sanji was genuinely interested in the brute, as he peppered the man with questions, ushering him in to their room without a word of warning to Sanji.

Zoro looked completely out of his element, throwing a wide eyed plea for help towards Sanji, as he half answered Yonji’s incredibly invasive questioning. Sanji considered letting his suffering continue, finding it amusing as much as horrifying, but quickly put the thought aside when Yonji asked Zoro what ‘his type’ was.

“Okay, we’re leaving. See you at dinner, Yonji,” Sanji said pointedly, grabbing his crutches and pushing Zoro out of the room as quickly as he had been pulled in. As soon as they were alone in the hallway Sanji turned to Zoro, smiling sweetly and reaching a hand up to ruffle through his soft green hair.

“Merry Christmas, Mossy. Surprised your family didn’t decorate you for the occasion. A waste, really,” he joked, making Zoro smile enough for that adorable crinkle to appear next to his eyes as he leaned his head into Sanji’s touch.

“Merry Christmas, Curly. I like your sweater,” he responded, reaching out and brushing Sanji’s arm in indication, effectively releasing a swarm of butterflies in Sanji’s chest. He and his siblings had a tradition of wearing the personalized Christmas sweaters that their mother had knit for them the year prior, and this year Sanji’s was a red and green sweater with spatulas crossed over each other around the body, surrounded by patterns of different foods and the words ‘the Baratie’ stitched into the bottom all the way around.

“Do you want to get some lunch? The café’s open today,” Zoro asked, nodding his head down the hallway. Sanji smiled, nodding and starting to hobble on his crutches down the hall with Zoro in tow.

“My family wants to come to your Christmas dinner. I’m sorry, I tried to tell them it was rude to intrude on a holiday, but they weren’t having it,” Sanji said as they walked, bumping his shoulder lightly in apology. Zoro glanced over at him, scoffing softly before looking ahead again, a light tinge of red dusting the tops of his cheeks.

“We want you there, the only reason I said you shouldn’t is because my family isn’t the most… jovial,” he sighed, not complaining when Sanji yanked him by the arm to keep him from turning the wrong way, “I just figured you would prefer to be alone with your family.”

Sanji hummed as they walked into the small café, unable to keep the giddy smile off of his face from finding out that Zoro did want him there, he just didn’t want him to be uncomfortable. They walked up to the counter, ordering and then finding a table as they waited for their food to be ready.

“Well, I’m excited, if we’re seriously not imposing. It’ll be fun,” Sanji said, trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince the moss head. Zoro smiled at him softly, nodding at the server who brought them their food.

“Is there anything I should know about your family?” Zoro asked, taking a sip from the coffee he had gotten and eyeing Sanji curiously.

“They’re all dirty liars,” Sanji responded, taking the opportunity to negate anything incriminating his siblings could try and claim that evening. Zoro smirked, a twinkle in his eye as he studied Sanji’s face carefully.

“You got a lot of embarrassing stories you don’t want me to hear, Cook?” Zoro asked with a grin, leaning forward and kicking Sanji’s uninjured foot gently under the table. Sanji kicked back, with a little more force, accompanied by a look of warning.

“I guess you’ll find out.”

__________

“Oh, there is no way he did that. When he was nine?!” Reiju nearly screeched, taking Sanji aback by her uncharacteristically unreserved attitude. Sanji’s family had joined Zoro’s family for dinner at five, almost two hours ago, and yet they showed no signs of being ready to depart any time soon. Zoro and Sanji were both weathering the experience valiantly, with the assistance of a few too many drinks, dodging questions about what they were and suffering through a laundry list of embarrassing stories that only family could know.

Reiju and Perona were already fast friends, and they had been telling each other some of the worst stories out of the lot of them. Perona was clearly out to get Zoro, which didn’t come as a surprise to Sanji as she had seemed that way when he had interacted with her before, but it surprised him to see his own sister participating with gusto. There were a few stories that Reiju told that even had Zoro temporarily forgetting his own embarrassment in preference of needling Sanji. Reiju had even let slip the story about when Sanji had kept a hidden pet mouse when he was five in a shoe box under his bed.

Luckily Sanji wasn’t left without his own ammunition, learning stories about Zoro that he knew he would be able to hold over the moss for years to come. Especially the story Perona had just told about Zoro breaking five teeth when he was nine, when he had tried to lift a literal boulder with his mouth alone on a dare. Sanji had pried open Zoro’s lips in an attempt to see which of his teeth had been damaged, only for Zoro to try to bite his finger off like the maniac he was.

Their parents were getting along swimmingly, as well, much to Sanji’s relief. His mother looked like she was having a genuinely good time, and the two were speaking quietly to each other over glasses of wine at the other end of the table, their eyes occasionally flicking over to where Zoro and Sanji sat conspiratorially. His brothers had gotten their interrogation of Zoro out of the way first thing, ignoring the heaps of ham, potatoes, and greens being placed on to their plates in preference of harassing the moss until he looked like he would turn blue from embarrassment. He had handled the questioning rather well, making Sanji blush on more than one occasion when he blatantly admitted that he was interested in someone, and that his type was blondes with bratty attitudes.

Despite the fact that dinner was going well, Sanji was eager for it to end, and nearly bolted from his chair the second his mother sighed tiredly, indicating that their evening was wrapping up. He held himself still, instead, as his mom began to excuse herself, telling Mihawk how nice of an evening it had been and how she hoped they had the opportunity to do it again in the future. She had shot Sanji a meaningful look at that, followed shortly by Mihawk’s knowing stare, which made Sanji shiver uncomfortably.

His siblings joined his mother, saying their goodnights to Zoro’s family. Perona and Reiju were already making plans to see each other again, exchanging phone numbers and talking about patisseries they had each been wanting to try. Sanji was almost jealous of how easy it seemed for them to be able to just make plans, something he and Zoro had yet to talk about.

Speaking of the moss, Zoro was currently going through a second round of interrogations much to Sanji’s embarrassment, as his mom had finally gotten a second alone with his poor friend, and was speaking to him seriously near the door. Sanji turned, saying an appropriate good night and thanks to Mihawk and Perona, before dashing as fast as he could on crutches to save the moss from his ever involved mother.

“Sorry, Mom, I just need to borrow the moss for a second. I’ll meet you guys back in our rooms?” he said, pulling at Zoro’s elbow. His mom smiled broadly, nodding her head before turning back to Zoro.

“Don’t keep him out too late,” she said, pulling Zoro in for a hug and giving him a kiss on the cheek that had both he and Sanji turning bright red from the familiarity of the action. Sanji groaned, tugging Zoro away as the moss said a polite and slightly uncomfortable goodbye to his mom before turning back to follow behind Sanji quickly.

Sanji walked them quietly back towards their rooms, Zoro following without complaint or question. As soon as they stopped in front of their respective rooms, Sanji turned to Zoro, patting him on the shoulder,

“Wait here for a second,” he said, waiting for Zoro to nod before turning to his room. He rushed inside, trying to be fast as he grabbed the small wrapped bag that he had prepared earlier that day.

“So, listen, I know we didn’t talk about doing anything, but it’s Christmas, and I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with you the past week, and so I got you something…,” he said awkwardly, smiling shyly as he lifted the bag for Zoro to take. It took him a bit longer than normal to take the bag, his eyes wide in surprise as he stared at the unassuming package in the air between them.

“You shouldn’t have, Curly,” Zoro finally said, his voice cracking slightly as he took the bag, staring down at it unblinkingly, “but thank you. I, uh, I got you something too.”

With that he fumbled the bag into the crook of his arm, reaching behind himself into his back pocket and pulling out an unimpressive folded piece of paper, handing it to Sanji who stared at the paper in equal surprise to the way Zoro had looked at his present, finally taking it when Zoro waved it at him.

“Thanks, Mossy,” he said quietly, staring down at the paper curiously. A piece of paper could contain anything, he couldn’t help the apprehensive curiousness about what it could be.

“You go first,” Zoro said, a nervous grin on his face as he leaned forward, clearly excited to see Sanji’s reaction. Sanji eyed him, feeling as if it was rude to open his gift first but not knowing how to argue that point without sounding stupid. He unfolded the paper, his eyes taking a second to adjust to where the print was on it, turning it the right side up to read it properly.

Full course dinner for two at Red Line, March 02.

Sanji stared down at the page, his eyebrows slowly rising. The Red Line was one of the nicest restaurants in the country, which served an unbelievably expensive set course dinner that was touted as being an otherworldly dining experience because of their creative use of molecular gastronomy. Sanji had been dreaming of eating there since he was in college, but had never been able to rationalize the cost.

“Zoro, I can’t possibly take this,” he said, his gaze rising to meet the sparkling gray of Zoro’s own. Zoro smirked, shaking his head,

“I insist. Merry Christmas, Curly. Sorry it’s so far away, it was the earliest opening they had,” he smiled, reaching out and closing Sanji’s hand over the paper, “I know it’s kind of a trip from where you live, but if you don’t want to drive back the same night and need somewhere to stay you’re more than welcome to crash at my place, I live just down the street.”

Zoro’s flush grew at that, while Sanji’s eyes widened as he glanced back down at the paper in his hand.

“This is for both of us, then?” he asked, waving the paper in indication. Zoro’s grin fell a little at that, as he reached a hand up to scratch at the back of his head in discomfort.

“Ah, not necessarily. It’s your gift, for you to use with whoever you want. Obviously whoever you do bring is welcome to stay at mine, too,” Zoro said, clearly trying to play the location of the restaurant off as purely accidental. Sanji laughed weakly, shaking his head and glancing down at the paper again, feeling completely out of his element.

“No, no I want to go with you, if you can,” he said, glancing up to find Zoro beaming at him with one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen from the man.

“Of course I can. I’ll free up the whole weekend,” Zoro said happily, making Sanji flush in happy embarrassment, “I wanna open your present now.”

Sanji balked at the reminder of the comparatively stupid, and cheap gift he had gotten Zoro, panic lancing through his chest. He reached out for the small bag, Zoro immediately pulling it out of reach with a frown of confusion.

“No, Zoro, give it to me. I’ll get you something else,” he said, fumbling his crutches as he tried to reach up to where Zoro held the present, “Seriously Zoro, I wasn’t as creative as you were, it’s stupid in comparison.”

Zoro laughed, avoiding Sanji’s grabbing hands and shaking his head. He eventually jumped back until he was a few paces away from Sanji, opening the bag and reaching in to take out what was inside.

“I want whatever this is,” Zoro said stubbornly, pulling out the mug with the stuffed bear inside of it. Sanji covered his eyes in shame, not wanting to see the disappointment that was sure to accompany the reveal of his lame gift, knowing there was no way Zoro would like something so lame and cheap when he had spent so much on Sanji’s gift.

A loud rumble of laughter had Sanji peeking through the gap in his fingers to find that Zoro had just found the small flask attached by the leather koozie surrounding the mug. He picked up the green Christmas bear from inside of the mug after it, looking at it with a soft smirk before putting it back. Sanji covered his eyes again, leaning against the wall and wishing he could sink into the floor to avoid whatever sad thanks he was about to receive for such a stupid gift.

He was left in silence, eventually breaking it himself when he shrieked in surprise upon finding himself suddenly lifted into the air by his waist, the arms wrapped around him squeezing until he wheezed for air while his heart made a valiant attempt to leave his body.

“I love it, Curly, it’s perfect. Thank you,” Zoro said with an earnest voice, the smile evident in his tone. Sanji coughed, staring down at where Zoro was looking up at him, his cheeks growing unbearably warm. He wriggled until one of his arms was free, a sudden bout of stupid bravery making him reach out to hold Zoro’s cheek, leaning forward until their foreheads were touching.

Zoro’s eyes grew to twice their usual size, his arms tightening around Sanji’s waist as he picked up on Sanji’s queues,

“Thank you Zoro. I’m pretty glad you tried to run me over, you know,” Sanji said, smiling softly and leaning in to press a kiss to Zoro’s lips.

“Wait-,” Zoro said, making Sanji pause just as he was about to kiss him, his eyes widening with worry that he had done something horribly wrong. He pulled back, looking at Zoro in confused worry while the moss looked like he was somewhere between solving a math problem and shitting himself.

“What are you doing New Year’s Eve, Sanji?” he finally asked, lifting a hand to brush Sanji’s hair behind his ear. He frowned at him, confused by the odd question at such an inappropriate time, not happy with the lack of answer as to why he had stopped the-

“Oh my god,” Sanji said, his head falling back in disbelief as he took a second to laugh at the ceiling. He looked back down at Zoro, shaking his head with a shit eating grin on his face, “I ruined your little plan, didn’t I?”

The tips of Zoro’s ears turned bright red as he glanced to the side, avoiding Sanji’s gaze in preference of looking anywhere else before he nodded mutely. Sanji laughed, falling into Zoro’s hold and hugging him instead,

“Disgusting. Of course you’re secretly a romantic, on top of it all. You can’t get me a gift like that and not expect me not to kiss you, though, you moron. But yes, I’m free on New Year’s,” he said, patting Zoro’s shoulder to tell him to put him down. Zoro smiled wide, putting a hand to Sanji’s head and pulling their foreheads together again,

“Start the new year with me, Curls,” he said, making Sanji’s already stricken heart melt into a puddle at his feet.

“Yeah, alright.”

__________

It was cold enough outside that Sanji was able to see his breath fog in front of his face, his teeth chattering against the frigid air as he and Zoro sat, perched on a railing overlooking the backside of the mountain where a cozy tourist village lay. There was a small festival happening in the streets of the town, complete with a Christmas market and free hot chocolate, and tourists ran all over the place, taking in the new year festivities and corralling their sugar crazed children as best they could. There was a countdown happening in the main square, the giant clock barely visible from where Sanji and Zoro sat observing from above.

They had decided to forgo the merriment below in preference of something a little quieter, although Sanji was beginning to question the decision the longer they sat in the cold, his coat barely doing anything to keep him warm. They had also made the foolish decision to bring a bottle of champagne out with them, Sanji completely disappointed by the fact that he hadn’t considered how stupid it was to drink a cold drink in below freezing temperatures.

Luckily when Zoro had realized how cold he was he had immediately opened his coat to make room for him, letting Sanji lean in to the furnace of his body heat in search of protection from the cold air. It was nearly bearable that way, more so once Sanji had gotten sufficiently tipsy from the champagne, the alcohol making the air feel warmer than it was.

“Five minutes to midnight,” Zoro muttered, squeezing the arm he had wrapped around Sanji’s waist. Sanji smiled, leaning his head against Zoro’s shoulder as they watched the weaving pattern of people ice skating on the man-made rink in the center of the town. Sanji turned his head slightly so that he was able to look up at Zoro without lifting his head from his shoulder, the movement making Zoro glance down at him.

“We should say five things we liked about this year and five things we’re excited about for next year, one each minute,” Sanji said, smiling at the look of disinterest on Zoro’s face. He nudged him with his shoulder, “Come on, it’ll be fun. If you do it, I’ll forgive you for hurting my leg.”

Zoro scowled at him, his eyes thinning in annoyance as he readjusted how he was sitting, leaning his head down against Sanji’s to mirror his position.

“Fine,” Zoro said, the rumble of his voice vibrating against Sanji’s skull, “I liked meeting you, I’m excited to spend more time with you.”

Sanji scoffed, rolling his eyes at the predictability of the moss’s answers, even if it still made him blush. He flicked Zoro’s knee, the hit completely ineffective due to the cotton gloves he wore.

“I liked opening my restaurant, I’m excited to start being more ambitious with my dishes,” Sanji said, not wanting to copy exactly what Zoro had said, and feeling like he needed to show Zoro the correct way to play. Zoro grunted, letting the words die between them as they waited for the next minute, both taking small sips from their drinks. Once it struck, Sanji took the lead in hopes of inspiring some creativity from the moss.

“I liked getting to see my family for the holidays this year, I’m excited to take more trips this year,” Sanji said, silently looping the idea of visiting Zoro into the second part. Zoro was silent for a few seconds before he spoke, his breath ruffling the hair at the top of Sanji’s head.

“I liked meeting you, and I’m excited to spend more time with you.”

Sanji rolled his eyes, picking his head up and leaning back so that he could meet Zoro’s eyes.

“You can’t choose the same thing twice. Pick something else.”

“I don’t want to,” Zoro said, eyes serious. The clock dropped another minute behind them, three minutes to New Years.

“Well then there’s no point in doing this,” Sanji complained, crossing his arms against his chest to protect from the cold nipping at him due to the distance now between him and the walking furnace.

“I’m being honest. Highlight of my year, and I’m hoping it’ll be the highlight of next. Why do I need anything else?” Zoro argued, trying to pull a resistant Sanji back in to his side. Two minutes to New Years.

“I feel the same, but there’s still lots of other things to look forward to,” Sanji argued, unwilling to concede his point. Zoro sneered, leaning forward in challenge and raising an eyebrow,

“I liked breaking your leg. I’m looking forward to trying to do it again next year,” Zoro said snidely, making Sanji’s mouth drop open in offended shock. One minute to New Years.

“I liked getting you to do everything for me, and I’m excited to get you to do it again next year,” Sanji said with an evil grin, butting his forehead against Zoro’s, feeling nothing but affection for the man next to him despite how irritating he was being. Zoro’s sneer turned to a grin, and he lifted his hand to cradle Sanji’s cheek, making Sanji’s smile drop as their eyes met. Sanji’s breath hitched as he leaned forward, meeting Zoro in a soft kiss just as the first of the fireworks exploded in the sky above. He caught the back of Zoro’s neck just as the moss was about to pull away, instead pulling him back in for a firmer kiss. Zoro chuckled against his lips, pushing forward to kiss him back as the lights flashed overhead.

The door behind them slammed open, bringing with it the laughing merriment of the crowd of people celebrating inside of the resort, breaking them from their quiet moment as Yonji and Niji pushed their way onto the patio, waving flutes of champagne in the air and cheering loudly. Sanji glanced at Zoro, grinning at the put out look on his face and picking up the bottle of champagne he had next to him,

“Come on, Mossy, let’s join the party,” he said, smiling and nodding back to where his brothers were yelling at them. Zoro grinned, grabbing the bottle of champagne from his hand and pressing a soft kiss against his lips.

“Happy New Year, Curly,” he said, pulling away just enough to speak. Sanji brushed their noses together, his eyes scrunching closed from the uncontainable happiness bubbling in his chest,

“Happy New Year, Mossy.”