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On one sunny afternoon right before dinner, Sanji asks a loitering Zoro to grab something from his locker, seeing as the swordsman had nothing better to do. He, of course, bribed him with booze, which quickly got the green-headed man up to go fetch a new recipe book Sanji had gotten from the last island they’d left just recently. The cook smirked at how easy it was to lure Zoro into doing a favor for him and returned to looking around the pantry, trying to spark some ideas as to what to have that night to eat.
During his thought process, color drained from his face. Remembering his dress from his time at Kamabakka Kingdom was still there in his locker since he had never had the heart to get rid of it. Sanji bolts out of the galley and races towards the bunkroom, and of course, freaks out when Zoro inevitably finds it, ripping it from the swordsman's grasp and practically begs Zoro to never tell a soul. Promising to hand over all the booze on the ship if he agreed, and Zoro does, but a sad feeling fills the marimo when the dress gets shoved into the back of the locker, never to be seen again.
Zoro realises that the sad feeling is coming from the fact that he wants to see Sanji in that dress. Badly. So much so that it keeps him up at night for several nights trying to picture the cook in said dress, but nothing would compare to the real thing, so one day when he's helping Sanji with dishes after lunch, he asks him. Turning to the cook who looked utterly stunned by the request. The expression made Zoro a little shy himself, pink dusting his cheeks.
"I'm just a little curious, is all," the marimo says as he finishes drying the last plate. "I promise not to steal anymore booze if you do."
Sanji shifted in his spot next to him, drying his hands quickly to pull a cigarette from his pocket to chew down on the filter. Contemplating his next move.
"Fine," he says. "But if anyone else sees me, you're dead."
Zoro then followed Sanji to the men's bunkroom, giddy about something he'd tried picturing for weeks since first time seeing the pink frilly dress. Now he was finally going to see it in person, leaving him rather nervous for what awaited him behind closed doors.
Sanji huffed as he opened his locker, still chewing on the same smoke as he dug out the pink article of clothing that had been driving Zoro up the wall for over a month, placing it onto the nearby couch to get to work on unbuttoning his dress shirt. The swordsman watched with interest, staring as the shirt fell from the cook's shoulders.
"Will you stop looking? It's creepy." Sanji scoffed, throwing his shirt at Zoro, who just laughed.
"We've changed in front of each other over a hundred times, what's the difference?"
"Usually the other guys are in here and I'm not changing into a stupid dress for a certain mosshead’s dumb curiosity." The cook puffed out his chest as he got to work on undoing the belt on his waist. "I still don't understand why you want to see me in it in the first place, it doesn't look good at all on a man. It’ll probably look better on dear Nami or miss Robin." He cooed as he uttered their names.
"I'll be the one to decide that, Curly." Sanji gave Zoro a quick look before continuing his undressing, pulling the pants down his legs.
"Just so you know, I'm not putting on the matching bloomers. Fuck that."
Bloomers, huh? Cute, Zoro thought as he suppressed a grin. Watching as Sanji grabbed the dress from off the couch to slip it over his head. Once the dress was pulled down and situated comfortably on Sanji's form, the cook turned towards Zoro with pink staining his cheeks, clearly embarrassed about the whole ordeal.
"There, happy now, weirdo?"
Zoro swallowed as he took in the sight. The dress fit Sanji so well, even if it did look a little tight around his chest and arms. Zoro figured it'd been awhile since Sanji had put it on and had grown since he'd worn it last. The pink suited him and his silky blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked...
"Pretty." Zoro let slip, watching as the cook's cheeks darkened into a bright red, somehow managing to make him look even prettier.
"Wha—" Sanji choked on his words, not knowing what to say to counteract the compliment he received from the marimo. He shied back when Zoro took a step closer.
"I said, you look pretty, cook." Zoro says again with a small grin. "You should dress like this more often, it suits you."
"Now you're just making fun of me," Sanji looked away, finding the floor much more interesting as he continued chewing on his cigarette.
"M'not making fun," Zoro frowned, taking one of Sanji's hands into his, his other reaching up to take the smoke from his lips, tossing it to the floor to brush blonde locks from the cook's face, tucking them behind his ear to witness two blue eyes turning their focus back on him. "You're beautiful, Sanji."
Blue eyes widened at the next compliment and the sound of his real name come out of Zoro’s mouth, cheeks still red as ever. The cook looked cute, but Zoro spared him from saying it aloud, afraid of the cook combusting right in front of him.
"You really think so?" he asked and Zoro nodded. "Huh."
The marimo laughed at Sanji's dumbfounded expression, lightly squeezing the blonde's hand. "Is it really so hard to believe?"
"Well...yeah. I'm a man, Marimo, not a lot of people are willing to call men in a dress 'pretty' or 'beautiful.'" Sanji says with a frown.
"Who gives a shit what other people think?" Zoro says simply as he continues brushing Sanji's soft hair with his fingers. "What matters is what you think, Curls. No one else. So, what do you think about all this?"
"I..." Sanji shifts uncomfortably, looking down at his attire.
"I guess—I feel…pretty? Comfortable, too. Aside from this thing squeezing the life out of my shoulders and chest." Sanji finds it in himself to chuckle, and Zoro laughs along with him. "It really has been a long time since I wore it, I kind of...missed it, but that sounds silly though, doesn't it?" Zoro shook his head.
"It's not silly. It's normal to feel that way if it's something you like."
"I guess so..." Sanji says softly. "I really, really do like it." He all but whispers and Zoro smiles softly at that.
"Looks like we'll have to beg the witch for some money so we can do some shopping for you." Sanji smacked Zoro's chest with his free hand due to his name calling, but the swordsman already knew it was coming and laughed warmly.
"What would the rest think...about this?" Sanji asked, worry clear in his eyes.
"Do you really think any of them would judge you for doing what makes you happy?" The cook pondered for a moment, squeezing Zoro's hand when he lightly shook his head 'no.' Zoro smiled. "See? So there's nothing to worry about, other than getting funds from Nami. You know how stingy she can be." He joked, earning an eye roll from Sanji.
"You really think it's okay for me to dress like this?" Sanji pulled at the clothing. "It doesn't change anything, right?"
"It's more than okay, idiot. It doesn't change anything." Zoro huffed, pulling Sanji just a little closer. "You're still the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates whether you make a meal fit for a king in a suit or a skirt. It's honestly cool when you think about it."
"Cool? Sanji looked perplexed. “How the hell is it cool?"
"It means you're learning to be yourself, and that's the coolest part about it. I'm sure the others will think the same thing.” Zoro explains, jabbing Sanji in the side. “Now why don't you go and show everyone your pretty dress?”
Sanji wrinkles his nose. “Right now?”
“Why not?” Zoro turned Sanji around in his hold and lightly pushed him forward towards the door, to Sanji's dismay. “I'm sure the ladies would love to see you like this.” Zoro rolled his eye at his own words, especially when the cook flushed down to his neck and to the tips of his ears.
“And you're sure they won't get weirded out…?”
“Sanji.”
“Right, right. I know.” He said quickly, wringing out his hands nervously. “They want me to be happy.” He reminded himself before looking back at the swordsman from over his shoulder. “Now will you stop saying my name? It's weird coming from you.”
“I will if you stop stalling,” Zoro grinned and pushed Sanji even closer towards the door. “Come on, Cook, everything will be fine.”
Sanji took in a deep breath, taking a step forward to reach for the door handle, letting it out slowly as he gave it a gentle turn, giving it a quick tug to free it from the doorway. Salty air filled the space rather quickly as he opened the door further, just enough to spot the lawn below. He swallowed, willing himself to push forward and open the door all the way, but he faltered. His nerves got the best of him as his limbs began to shake.
Memories from when he was younger filled his mind, particularly one of him sneaking on one of his sisters dresses when no one was looking, wanting to look like his mother. His brothers soon caught him in the act, telling Judge about it right after, explaining it in fits of laughter. It was humiliating and earned him a pretty bad beating along with a lot of name calling, something he'd never want to go through again.
He took a step backwards, his back running into the swordsman's chest. “Zoro, I can't—”
Hands came up to softly grab at Sanji's biceps, calloused thumbs rubbing soothing circles into the skin. “You can, Sanji, m'right here and I'm not going anywhere.”
Sanji's tense shoulders relaxed slightly at the support, support he didn't expect from the marimo of all people. He let out a breath he was holding, taking a step forward once again with Zoro's guidance. The swordsman opened the door for him and the two made their way outside onto the lower deck. Sanji felt the cool grass on his bare feet.
“Oh, Sanji! There you are!” Luffy immediately ran over towards the two with a big grin on his face once he spotted them atop the side railing. “I was wondering what was for dinner, I'm starving!” Sanji shied back a little, but was quickly nudged forward.
“Oh, um,” Sanji wrung out his hands. “I was thinking of making something new for tonight, like a ham roast with a honey glaze with what we picked up the other day.”
Their captain drooled. “Wah, that sounds so tasty! I can't wait for dinner!” He said excitedly, holding his arms up to cheer into the sky with a big smile then ran off towards Usopp and Chopper, but quickly turned back to Sanji to call something out.
“I like the new style, by the way, Sanji! It suits you.”
Luffy laughed happily, no hint of malice whatsoever behind it. It made the cook's stomach swirl comfortably.
“Oh? Sanji has a new style?” Robin asked, looking up from her book with a kind smile. “My, that dress looks lovely on you.”
The blonde blushed furiously, taking a step forward as confidence surged through him, pulling at the sides of his dress. “You really think so, Robin dearest?” His heart melted when she nodded.
“It looks a little tight, however, maybe Nami can tailor it for you so it fits better? I'd also get you a pair of shoes to match, but I doubt anything we have would fit you.” She placed a hand on her chin, in thought. “Our accessories would work, though.”
Sanji let go of his dress and waved his hands up in front of him. “Please, there's no need to trouble yourselves!”
“It's no trouble at all, Sanji!” Nami called from the upper deck, causing the cook to quickly turn to look up, his dress fanning out slightly at the light twirl. “But I gotta ask to borrow it before I adjust the size, I wanna try it on. It's too cute not to!” She laughed with a bright smile on her face.
Again, the laughter held no ill intent or hatred towards Sanji, just pure care and love. It had Sanji on cloud nine.
“I'd be happy to lend it to you!” Sanji said quickly before looking back to find green hair whose face held a small smile. Sanji's body softened at the caring expression.
“Told you so, Cook.”
…
Sanji decided to leave the dress on for the rest of the afternoon and evening. He even dug out the shoes that originally paired with the dress, finding himself happy that they still fit snuggly after two years. A warm smile tugged at the corners of his lips when he looked at himself in the mirror of the men's bunkroom, now alone to admire himself. He felt pretty as he twirled himself around, a little confined by the tightness of the upper cloth, but pretty nonetheless.
…
“Are you sure this is okay?” Sanji, who was now back into one of his classic suits, asked as Nami and Robin dragged him down the street full of shops filled with women's apparel. His knees felt weak as the two women held onto his hands.
“It'll be fine, Sanji, come on!” Nami giggled lightly, squeezing the blonde's hand. “You do want more feminine clothes, don't you?”
“I do, but—” Sanji was cut off as a harsh push sent him forward.
“Then stop complaining and walk, Curly.” Their swordsman grunted as he walked behind them. Sanji huffed at the rude shove. He'd give the finger to the other man if his hands weren't currently occupied by two beautiful women.
“Why are you even here, mosshead?”
“Oh, he came along to play as a pack mule for us.” Nami grinned before looking to the side, finally finding a store that caught her eye, Sanji was quickly pulled into it as the other two followed behind.
The store was filled with beautiful dresses from all different types and styles, as well as stunning power suits with cute pencil skirts. Sanji's eyes travelled around the shop, admiring the stitching in each article of clothing. He smiled shyly when he pulled one dress from the rack filled with similar ones in all kinds of sizes and colors. It was a navy blue that looked to be tight to the body and had noodle straps.
“Oh? Did you find something you like, Sanji?” Robin asked, peering over his shoulder. He nodded. “Why don't you try it on? I think Nami already has a pile she wants you to try on as well.” She says with a sweet smile.
“I do, actually,” their navigator came over to them, holding a stack of clothes and quickly dumped them into Sanji's arms. “I think the fitting rooms are over there.” She said with a point over towards the right. Sanji nodded and followed Nami’s instruction to go and try on all the new clothes. He felt excited, like he was a child again back at the Baratie trying out new recipes.
Zoro let out a yawn as Sanji slipped behind one of the curtains in a hurry. He couldn't help but smile as he leaned his head back onto the wall he currently occupied.
“Hey Zoro, why don’t we try dressing you up in something, too?” Nami smirked, earning her a growl from the swordsman. “Oh come on, I'm sure we could find something that'd look nice on a big brute like you.”
“Not happening, witch.”
“I heard that, Marimo!” The cook's voice came from behind the curtain and it was quickly pushed aside. “Stop calling our wonderful Nami such heinous names!”
Zoro went to shoot something back but his voice lay caught in his throat, his eye finding its way towards the blonde, who wore the navy dress he'd picked out for himself. The dress was tight around his form, but loose enough to look comfortable to wear and ended at the middle of two strong thighs. Sanji was stunning and it took everything within Zoro to not reach out and softly caress the chef's bare shoulders.
“Woah, you look great, Sanji!” Nami perked up, clapping her hands together. “The color suits you so well, it really brings out your eyes!”
The cook flushed and quickly hid behind the curtain, more aware of his surroundings now that he wasn't bickering with the swordsman. “Shit—I, uh, didn't mean to come out just yet.” Despite his words, Nami dragged the cook out from behind the curtain to help show off his outfit. His cheeks burned even brighter at the attention.
“We should find you some shoes and accessories to go with it!” Nami held onto Sanji's hands in delight. “Oh, I'm sure some heels would look great!”
Zoro nearly choked as he pictured the cook's long legs in heels, the action gaining a curious look from Robin, who smiled knowingly. The marimo wished for death at that moment, but something quickly distracted him as Nami dragged off Sanji again to go look at all the shoes the store had to offer.
There were two women, giggling away and pointing over towards their navigator and cook. Their eyes held disgust and judgement and their lips quirked into nasty smiles that made Zoro's blood boil. He pushed off the wall, ready to go and see what the hell they thought was so funny, but arms sprouted above the two girls and suddenly a mound of clothes that had been previously hanging on the wall toppled onto them. Leaving them in a mess of clutter and an angry store owner berating them for it.
Zoro couldn't help but laugh, looking over to Robin who covered her mouth in a quiet chuckle. The two made eye contact for a moment, nodding to one another and returned their attention back towards Sanji, who lay oblivious to the whole thing as he stood distracted with Nami by his side, comparing shoes to one another.
The cook looked so happy and neither of them were going to let anyone ruin that.
…
Sanji hummed in delight, swaying from side to side happily as the knee length white skirt he wore brushed against his legs. The feeling was addicting and sent a large amount of joy through his system. He was swimming with happiness as he chopped fruit into perfect slices.
“Someone sounds happy,” The swordsman chuckled from the galley door that had been propped open to let in some fresh air. “What's got you so cheery, Curly?”
“Hmm?” He hummed. “Oh, nothing really. I just like this skirt Nami dear picked out for me quite a lot.” The blonde continued smiling as he worked, but was surprised when Zoro made his way around the counter to take in Sanji's entire outfit.
He was in the skirt, of course, as well as white short heels that had a wrap around his ankles to help stay in place. His top half was covered in a light blue button up that had slightly poofy sleeves that stopped just above the cook's elbows, tucked away neatly into the white skirt, balancing out the outfit perfectly.
Sanji tried focusing on the fruity parfaits he was graciously preparing for the ladies as a thank you for helping him put outfits together, such as the one he had on now, but it was rather hard with the marimo staring at him so intensely. Especially when the man finally spoke.
“You look cute, Curly, I always thought you looked good in blue.” Zoro says honestly, walking over to pick up a blueberry to pop it into his mouth so casually. The blonde blushed profusely and nearly chopped his finger while slicing a damn strawberry.
“Y-You—you can't just say shit like that, moss!” He stuttered, easily overwhelmed by compliments while dressed like this. “What's with you giving me so many compliments anyways?! You've never done this before!” Zoro just shrugged, stealing another blueberry and Sanji swatted him away.
“I just like you more when you're being yourself, I guess.” He said as he leaned back against the counter beside the cook. “Less annoying this way, too.” Zoro smirked, making Sanji pout.
“Well sorry for being so stuck up before,” Sanji sighed as he continued cutting up all the strawberries before disposing of them into a bowl along with all the washed blueberries before Zoro got his hands on stealing a few more. “Guess stopping myself from being…myself gave me a bit of an attitude, huh?”
“It wasn't that bad, it's just…” Zoro paused for a moment, looking down at the floor. “I could always tell something was bothering you, but I could never figure out what it was. It's good to finally know now, I guess.”
Sanji stopped what he was doing to glance at the swordsman, who looked awfully shy all of the sudden. The cook smiled softly, turning back to grab two dessert glasses to fill them to the top with yogurt and fruit.
“Aw, was the marimo worried about me? How sweet.”
“Whatever makes you happy, princess. Just hurry up and finish those so I can eat the leftovers, Cook.” Zoro scoffed, but Sanji froze, snapping his head to look at him. Nearly dropping the glasses he was holding.
“What did you just call me?” Zoro looked at him weirdly.
“What, you mean cook? I call you that all the time, what's the problem?” Sanji shook his head, taking a breath.
“I, uh, meant the other thing…”
Zoro looked confused and took a moment to think back on what all he said…until it hit him. “You mean princess, don't you?” The blonde nodded, cheeks flushing a soft rosy color. Zoro tried hard not to grin, but his efforts were futile. “What, you like being called that or something?”
Sanji quickly turned away with a huff, continuing his preparations. “No, I don't. I just wanted to make sure I was hearing right, is all.”
“Okay, princess,” He teased, enjoying seeing the cook get all flustered in front of him. It made Sanji look even cuter in the outfit he had on. “Just let me know when you're done so I can finish off the rest, okay, beautiful?” Zoro couldn't help but laugh as the blonde froze from just a few words, walking off to leave the cook to his own devices.
Sometime after the parfaits were given to Nami and Robin, Sanji wandered over towards the swordsman who already lay sleeping under one of the trees on the lower deck and kicked him in the side. Zoro groaned, cracking his eye open to gaze up at Sanji.
“You told me to come get you when I was done, didn't you?” Sanji huffed, pulling a cigarette out from his skirt pocket along with his lighter to set it aflame. Zoro nodded and let out a deep yawn, stretching lightly before standing up to get close to Sanji's side to whisper something in his ear.
“What a good princess you are.”
The tips of the cook's ears flushed red, making Zoro laugh, which earned him a hard kick to his side.
…
Zoro frowned as Sanji walked around the deck handing out snacks to their shipmates in one of his older suits. No skirts, dresses, or cute blouses in sight. It had been like this for a few days, so much so that Zoro was growing concerned, worried that Sanji was reverting back into old habits. That was until Zoro noticed something as the cook made his way over to hand him a plate full of onigiri.
“Your hair's getting longer,” he said as he took the plate from the blonde's hands.
“Oh, you noticed?” Sanji asked shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind his left ear. Never his right. “I thought I'd try growing it out a bit. Can always cut it off if I don't like it, right?” Zoro nodded, picking up a rice ball to bite into. The swordsman was surprised when Sanji made a move to sit next to him on the lawn, leaning up against the wall and stretching his long legs out in front of him, but didn't say anything.
“What's on your mind, Marimo?” He asks, tilting his head to the side as he looks out towards Franky showing off a new invention to Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, who all looked at it in delight. “Something bothering you?”
“You worried about me, Cook?” Sanji shrugged.
“Just thought I'd show you the same compassion you've been showing me recently. So what is it?”
Zoro sat back, much like the cook, legs spreading out so he can tap his old boot to the side of Sanji's worn dress shoe. “Nothing you need to worry about.” The cook frowned at him.
“Come on, moss, what is it? You know saying stuff like that is gonna just make me worry more.”
“So you are worried,” Zoro grinned, but Sanji looked at him seriously.
“Zoro.”
“Okay, okay. Fine,” Zoro sighed, his grin dropping from his face as pink settled on his cheeks. “Why haven't you been wearing your other outfits?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your skirts and other frilly shit,” the swordsman explained, looking at Sanji now, a little nervous when the cook looked right back. “You haven't worn any of that stuff for like—a whole week almost. Did you get scared or something?”
Sanji's eye was a little widened, surprised by the question, but a warm grin spread across his face.
“Do you miss the other outfits?” Zoro's cheeks darkened.
“Just answer the question.”
“I didn't get scared,” he answered honestly, looking down to his hands. “Everyone has been so kind and open to me, it's hard to get scared around them.” He chuckled softly, a hit of warmth behind it. “I just…well, I just felt like wearing my suits again this week. Felt right to me. Each day is different, to be completely honest, but the ‘suit days’ just happened to all line up in a row.”
“So no, I'm not scared,” He reiterated and continued, turning his head to look back up at Zoro with a smile. “Just experimenting.”
Zoro nodded, understanding better now, and gently reached over to take one of Sanji's hands into his. “That's good. As long as you're being yourself, princess.” The swordsman grinned, watching happily as Sanji's face flushed from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. He was so handsome and cute. Just pretty all around.
“God, I hate you.” The cook groaned, elbowing Zoro in the side but he just laughed and squeezed Sanji's hand. Savoring the warmth and gentle smooth skin.
“I love you, too, Cook.”