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“Let’s go on a date,” Zoro proposed, weirdly enough. He wasn’t one to offer up the romantic stuff, but Sanji didn’t want to waste it or question it.
“Tonight, when we check out the island,” he continued, to which Sanji rapidly agreed with nods, littering Zoro’s face with excited kisses.
So as the night drew nearer, Sanji spent his time getting ready. Zoro didn’t understand the necessity of a five-step skincare routine; water did just fine for him. But he let Sanji do it anyway. He didn’t have much of a plan other than get Sanji nice and dressed up and find a fancy place to eat. He had been saving up money for a while now, scrounging up berry when he could. So by the time he asked Sanji, he’d be able to treat him to something nice.
“Are you ready, Zoro?” Sanji asked, approaching him in the men’s quarters as he adjusted his tie. Zoro peeked his eyes open to stare up at him, and a small grin formed on his face.
Zoro gazed up to look at him, admiring the suit Sanji had chosen. It was one Zoro had only seen him in maybe twice. The suit jacket and pants were a matching dark blue with subtle gold detailing. He had picked out a white undershirt and golden-colored tie to match.
“Asked you a question, mosshead,” Sanji playfully thunked him on the head with his fist. “Don’t look at me all lovestruck.”
Finally, Zoro snapped out of his daze and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready,” he hoisted himself up, stretching his arms into the air.
“Where are we going?” Sanji asked, moving in close to Zoro. And already, Zoro could anticipate the teasing that was about to come his way. “Or did you not come up with a plan? Like always?” He asked once more, a small grin on his face as he waited for Zoro’s response.
“Shut up,” Zoro rolled his eyes but the smirk present on his face was evident. “I’m doing something nice for you, the least you can do is lay off.”
“No can do, Zoro,” he said as he leaned up to press a chaste kiss to Zoro’s cheek. Sanji let it linger for a couple seconds before pulling away. “You’re just gonna have to learn how to cope.”
“Tch,” Zoro lightly pushed Sanji away, walking over to his locker. He opened it, pulling out a small bottle of cologne. Zoro spritzed some on himself, and the smell instantly hit Sanji. He walked over to smell it, a small grin forming on his face.
“You’ve been holding out on me, bastard,” he said, breathing in the woody, smoky smell. “I’ve had to deal with a stinky marimo this whole time when you had a nice smelling cologne right here?”
“It’s for special occasions,” Zoro said, putting the cologne back and closing the locker.
“Oh, really? So our first date wasn’t a special occasion?” Sanji challenged with humor.
“It was barely a first date in the first place,” he chuckled. Sanji just rolled his eyes and laughed.
“Still counts in my book.”
Finally, the two had fully prepared themselves for their date. Zoro counted his money before they left, and he was quite impressed with how much he managed to save up. He’d treat Sanji to some damn good food.
“Make sure to come back before the sun rises,” Nami leaned herself against the railing, watching as the couple left.
“Have a good date, you two!” Brook called to them cheerfully, standing just beside Nami. Zoro and Sanji glanced back, waving at them as they left. When they reached the street, Zoro let go of Sanji’s hand for a moment to pull something from his pocket. Sanji glanced over to find that he had a map, a simply drawn one, too.
“Usopp made it,” Zoro said before Sanji could speak. “He went into town earlier today and told me about the restaurant. Had him make a map for me.”
“I see,” Sanji smiled, looking down at it. An arrow pointed down the street; the one they were on now; before it turned left. So Zoro looked back up, swapping the hand he was holding the map so he could take Sanji’s hand again. They began walking down the sidewalk, the street lights just starting to flicker on. As they walked, they passed numerous different buildings. An apartment, a convenience store at the corner, a small cafe. Most of which looked to be getting ready to close for the night.
They usually didn’t have time for dates of any kind. Being on a pirate ship sort of limited the places they could go. Their ‘dates’ were typically picnics on the lawn of the Sunny, occasionally retreating to the crow’s nest or library for a little more privacy when they started to get handsy with each other. When they did stop at an island, they’d stop at a cafe or go to the beach as a date. But they never did anything fancy. So this was a first. And Sanji was excited. He liked getting dressed up fancy, and he liked it even more when Zoro did as well. Zoro rarely ever wore suits of any kind, so Sanji made sure to admire him every moment he could.
As they reached the turn they were supposed to take, Zoro turned right. But Sanji stood in place and held him back.
“Left, Zoro. We’re going left,” he reminded, gently tugging on Zoro’s hand before he realized.
“Oh. Right. I knew that,” Zoro grumbled, turning to follow Sanji. It was good Usopp had made a map for them because, without it, they would have gotten lost. Sanji would never in a million years trust Zoro’s directional skills.
As they headed down the sidewalk, they could just make out what they assumed to be the restaurant. It had a big light-up sign on the front, and Sanji could barely see a red carpet peeking out of the entrance.
“That’s it, right?” Sanji asked, pointing a finger at it.
Zoro nodded. “Should be. The… Soleil Doux.. I think it was called,” Zoro said, absolutely butchering the pronunciation of the French name.
Sanji chuckled. “Soleil Doux, ” he corrected with a smile. “Looks pretty fancy.”
When they made it to the front of Soleil Doux, a man stood in fancy clothing, glancing up when he spotted them.
“Do you two have a reservation?” He asked. Zoro’s eyes widened a little. Shit. He hadn’t even thought about reservations being an issue.
“Uh.. No,” Zoro shook his head. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit was about the only thing running through his mind at this moment.
“Then, I’m sorry, but we can’t let you enter. Full house tonight.”
Sanji and Zoro exchanged glances, both trying not to display their disappointment.
“Alright, thanks.” Zoro said with a sigh, squeezing Sanji’s hand in his own before turning to leave. Once they got far enough away. Zoro let out a few mumbled curses. He has just completely fumbled their one and only fancy date night.
“Hey,” Sanji frowned, looking over to him. “It’s alright. We can just find something else to do.”
“I know.. But I’ve been planning this for weeks. I wanted to take you somewhere nice,” Zoro sighed, defeatedly running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t even think about reservations.”
“It’s alright, Zoro,” Sanji repeated, trying to get him to relax. “I saw a convenience store a little down the block. Maybe we can get some snacks there and take a walk together,” he offered in an attempt to cheer Zoro up.
Zoro let out a sigh but nodded, not without continuing his complaining. “That’s fine… I just… I’m so pissed.”
“I know you are,” he frowned. “We’ll make the most of tonight. It can still be a date night, okay?” Sanji said softly, leaning in to give Zoro’s cheek a small kiss. Maybe Sanji’s words were helping him because he got out of his slouched posture and rubbed his temples one last time.
“It can still be a date night,” Zoro nodded, parroting Sanji’s words back as confirmation.
Sanji, trying to recall where he had seen the convenience store, guided Zoro down the street. And at the very corner; being one of the only places open; was the convenience store lined with red and green neon lights. Not nearly as classy as Soleil Doux, but it would have to do in terms of food. If they got hungry later, Sanji’d just fix them up something a little better, as compensation.
They walked into the convenience store, looking wildly out of place in their expensive tailored suits. Zoro let go of Sanji’s hand softly so he could wander. He made his way to the chip aisle, his eyes glazing over all of them as he passed.
Sanji made his way to the beverages, pushing his hands into his pockets as the chilliness from the freezers hit him. At the bottom of the glass freezers were a few cans of beer, which struck Sanji’s fancy. He was never much of a beer drinker, but Zoro was an avid enjoyer of any and all alcoholic beverages. And any drink tasted good to Sanji if he was enjoying it alongside Zoro. So he opened the fridge and reached down, grabbing two cans of beer.
His head poked back up, searching the aisles for his mossy-headed lover. When Sanji spotted him, he walked over and stood beside him as he squinted at the chips.
Sanji waited a moment before making himself known. “It’s not that serious.”
Zoro glanced up and over at him. And as he did, his eyes caught something, which caused his brain to refuse to respond to Sanji’s comment. When Sanji caught Zoro looking away, he turned to see what it was. Presented on a roller grill were taquitos, dozens of them.
“Convenience store taquitos?” Sanji questioned, moreso questioning Zoro’s strange choice—because he knew that’s what he’d pick.
“Hey, I can enjoy a good taquito every now and then,” Zoro shot back, already walking over.
“I wouldn’t say good ,” Sanji mumbled but followed after him anyway. There were a few small bags and a pair of tongs. So Zoro snatched a couple bags, picked up the tongs, and plucked a few taquitos from the roller.
“Strange meal,” Sanji commented with a chuckle. “Beer and taquitos.”
“Food of kings,” Zoro chuckled in response, handing his bag of taquitos to Sanji before heading to the cash register. When they paid, they promptly exited the store, cracking open the beer as they did. Zoro took a long sip, relishing the taste.
“What now?” Sanji asked after recovering from his sip of the bitter beer.
“Dunno,” Zoro said with food in his mouth, swallowing the bites of taquito he had taken before washing it down with a swish of beer. “Make our way back to the Sunny, I guess,” he shrugged.
“That’s no fun,” Sanji shook his head before taking a bite of his taquito. Surprisingly—for convenience store food—wasn’t bad.
“Then do you have anything fun in mind?”
Sanji thought about it for a moment before shaking his head and shrugging. “The beach is always an option.”
“You’re right,” Zoro hummed. “We’ll stop by, then. It's not too far from the Sunny.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Sanji smiled.
They continued their walk down the street, drinking their beer and eating their taquitos. The sight of two men in fancy suits downing cans of beer and eating convenience store food was probably out of the ordinary, but they couldn’t really care. If they were in it together, nothing else mattered.
The walk to the beach was short, filled with occasional chatter. When they made it, they tossed their now empty cans and bags in the trash before stepping foot on the beach. Sanji’s hand hovered out by his side until his finger caught Zoro’s and he held on tightly. Zoro smiled, letting their fingers interlace as their feet hit the sand.
They approached the lapping waves, standing just before them, admiring the sheer vastness of the ocean in front of them. Stars speckled throughout the sky and without them, they wouldn’t be able to see where the dark ocean started and where the midnight sky ended.
Sanji, his whole life, was drawn to the ocean. From a young age, he recalled staring out at it in awe, wanting desperately to be closer. And Zoro, in his youth, would sit on the beach near the dojo, watching the rolling waves swallow up the sun.
How many times had they gazed at the ocean at the same time? How many times did they stare out into the vast blue and wonder what else was out there?
Somewhere, deep down, it comforted Sanji knowing they had always been connected by the ocean. Far before they knew it, before they knew each other. And it comforted Zoro knowing they’d always be connected by the ocean. Far into the future. No matter what forced its way between them, the ocean would always be there.
Sanji turned to Zoro, and he caught it from the corner of his eye, turning to meet his gaze.
“Love you,” Sanji whispered lovingly.
“Love you, too,” Zoro answered back in the same tone. He leaned in and captured Sanji’s lips in a kiss. They stood there, hands intertwined, waves lapping at their feet, and they knew this night couldn’t have ended better.
When they pulled away, Sanji was the first to speak.
“This was a good date. Even if things didn’t go to plan.”
“So I didn’t horribly disappoint you?”
“Of course not. We salvaged it.”
“That’s good,” Zoro smiled, leaning back in for one more kiss to finish off their date.