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Sailing with Zoro was a lot like sailing with an overgrown moss bed with half the brain cell of a sea king knocking around in that near empty head of his.
It isn't to say he isn't smart in his own way. He's plenty intelligent when it comes to swords and training regimens and whatever else Zoro cares about. He just never seemed to be particularly... emotionally intelligent. That's how Sanji sees it, at least. He never seemed empathetic either. He's always the guy who questions a crying person as if crying was something alien to him.
Zoro is as logical as Sanji is emotional. Before he even allows himself to feel, he tries to come up with a valid reason to feel it in the first place. It’s almost psychopathic behavior, if Sanji was gonna be honest about it. It’s partly the reason why he and Zoro don’t quite get along as much as their crew would like. Zoro would much rather logic (or slice ) his way out of a situation than ever put himself into someone else’s shoes and feel what they’re feeling.
It was like that up until after they left Drum Island.
The addition of Chopper into their crew changed a lot of the group’s dynamics. It was particularly lovely to see Nami and Vivi dote on the little reindeer like a little brother. Usopp and Luffy also got much more playful now that there is a crew member much younger than both of them. Sanji even found himself making extra dessert on the side for Chopper when no one was looking.
The most shocking change though was how Zoro treated Chopper.
Sanji expected him to be like his usual self. He didn’t change much when Vivi was added to the group. He certainly wasn’t like this when he interacted with Karoo, who by all intents and purposes, was also a cute animal. He was mildly more irritating when Zoro found out that Sanji was in the crew now. So, he really expected his treatment of Chopper to be no different.
But Zoro was unexpectedly… gentle with Chopper. Sure, they all were but Zoro’s hands have not known what gentle meant probably since his infancy. He’s broken more forks at the dinner table than Sanji could count. When Zoro handles Chopper, the little reindeer would make tiny sounds of contentment, almost nuzzling into Zoro’s hands when the swordsman reaches over to give him pets. Zoro carries Chopper carefully too, cradling him against his chest securely after he’s rescued him from nearly drowning again.
Seeing Zoro and Chopper together makes something unfamiliar stir in Sanji’s heart.
He’s known for a while — probably since Little Garden — that he’s had a bit of a thing for the unruly swordsman. He wishes he could only be attracted to women, because women are god’s gift to this wretched earth, but he unfortunately has to also be attracted to men. And not just men. He found that he likes them a little rough, a little mean if he can take it, probably a bit stoic as a challenge, and Zoro just so happens to be that type of man.
Zoro being patient and kind to Chopper throws him for a loop that his heart was not ready for. He sees it everywhere. Chopper hides behind Zoro sometimes when Luffy is being rowdy, crying out his name and bunching up Zoro’s pants with his little reindeer hooves. Zoro’s gentle hand on top of his head would always calm him down somehow. Other times, Zoro would have Chopper perched on his shoulders when they’re out scouting a forest. Chopper would excitedly point at some plants for his medicinal stock and Zoro would wordlessly walk over and lift the reindeer doctor up above his head so he could reach it.
Even if Chopper was perfectly capable of morphing into his bigger human form, Zoro still prefers to lift him up himself. And Chopper doesn’t mind it either. In fact, he encourages it.
He’s not like this with all children, of course. No man is perfect after all. But he’s doting on enough of them that it drives Sanji just a tiny bit insane.
“Chopper is one of us,” Zoro said once when Nami scolded him for not being as soft to one of the village kids as he is with Chopper. “I only take care of the people most important to me.”
That statement has Sanji wondering what Zoro would be like if he one day has a kid.
“A kid?” Zoro asked when Sanji brought it up during their shared watch one night.
“Yeah. Have you ever thought about having your own?” Sanji took another drag of his cigarette after asking that, mentally cursing himself for even bringing it up. The image of Zoro playing with Chopper already has his insides twisting up something funny. How much more if he imagined Zoro taking care of his kid? A small mini-Zoro running around with a sword in his mouth and his father chasing after him with a bright smile—
Sanji pinched himself harshly to stop his imagination from running wild again. Get it the fuck together!
Nothing prepared him for what Zoro had to say next though.
“Don’t laugh but uh,” Zoro looked away, almost bashfully, and Sanji’s eyes widened a bit at the action. “I’ve always wanted kids. I never really knew who my parents were all that much. But I still want a family, ya know?”
“H-How many kids?” Sanji asked before he could stop himself.
Without hesitation, Zoro answered. “Three.”
Three? Plural?!?
“But I don’t think it’s gonna happen.” Zoro said out of nowhere, which has the tension in Sanji’s shoulders dissipating slightly. It’s not gonna happen? That sounds like quitter talk — and a quitter Roronoa Zoro isn’t. But something about the way Zoro’s slightly dejected look has Sanji moving a little closer to him, their shoulders nearly brushing. It’s the only way he knows how to give comfort to the man. It’s not like they’re… close.
Right?
“What makes you think that?” Zoro seemed surprised that Sanji was interested in continuing this conversation. Sanji is just as surprised as he is, to be quite honest. Still, Zoro considered the question seriously, his brows furrowed in deep thought.
“It’s a little impossible, I think.” Zoro glanced at Sanji briefly before looking away. Sanji didn’t even have enough time to digest what that look meant. Zoro turned and leaned his back against the railing, tilting his head up towards the sky to watch the stars. Sanji continued to watch the swordsman, somehow knowing that even if a meteor shower were to occur right now, his eyes would only ever be on Zoro.
“Adoption is great, first of all. I’m not saying that’s not a viable way to have a kid. But um…” Zoro coughs a bit, the cool air of the night turning his breaths white. “I want it to be my kid, yeah? Where if you look at them… you would know they’re my child.”
“A biological one?” Sanji concluded and Zoro nodded once in affirmation. Sanji supposes that’s a valid thing to want. Sanji himself doesn’t have the best experience with his own biological family. But it doesn’t mean Zoro can’t want to have one of his own. One thing’s for sure, Zoro is nothing like his own bio dad. He’s a little dumber, maybe a lot more clueless, but he’s… determined. He’s loyal and generous and just the type of guy who would actually make a fantastic father.
His interactions with Chopper were proof enough.
“What about you, cook?” Zoro asked suddenly and Sanji raised an eyebrow at him. Zoro turned his gaze away from the stars for a brief moment. “Do you want kids?”
“No,” was Sanji’s immediate response. He laughs a little to himself, the bitter self-deprecating feeling crawling up his skin again. “I’m a little too… unfit to be a parent.”
“I don’t believe that.” Zoro turned to face Sanji fully, arm propped up on the railing, hand dangerously close to Sanji’s own. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it already, cook, but you take care of everyone on this ship more than you give yourself credit for. And I actually fucking hate it when you talk shit about yourself—” Zoro pauses for a second, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second, and coughs loudly. “—Besides, I’m the only one who can do that.”
A long, tense silence follows after Zoro’s mini-outburst. Sanji doesn’t know how to respond to it besides listening to the rapid beating of his heart against his chest. On one hand, he’s flattered that someone does notice how much he takes care of everyone. But on the other hand, isn’t that just something you should do to prove you’re worthy to stay on the crew? They could find any other cook to replace him, Sanji’s sure of that. So, he has to go a little above and beyond to make sure his place on this crew is secure… right?
Just as Sanji was sure that his heartbeat was back to a normal pace, Zoro decided to speak again.
And his heart nearly stops entirely.
“I think you’d be a great dad.”
Zoro said this directly to him, unwavering in his piercing silver gaze, and Sanji almost found himself lost in them. Almost. Because Zoro came back to his senses and looked away again, the reddening tips of his ears were visible despite the dim moonlight. But the damage was done.
I think you’d be a great dad.
Somehow, that thought makes him smile.
Subconsciously, his brain conjures up images of Sanji bottle feeding a baby in his arms. Sanji letting a chubby little toddler help him around the kitchen. Sanji reading a bedtime story while wide ocean blue eyes stared up at him from beneath an unruly head of moss green hair.
And maybe… one last image of Zoro taking a baby from Sanji’s arms, gentle and patient and soft, and staring at his child like it was his whole world.
He blinks and looks out into the ocean, blowing a cloud of smoke into the salty sea air. If they turned into little hearts as they dissipated, Zoro said nothing.