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Had he been doomed when he saw that man? Blond hair that shined through and reflected the sun. Radiant, but dangerous; the type of energy that could easily kill a man. Even him.
The way the man walks; the way his shoes click on the floor even in the restaurant full of chatter, and the way his hair sways with each head movement internally drives him crazy.
Though, the only problem was that he loved women a tad bit too much.
That scumbag hit on Nami like she was already his everything. Although Zoro really liked that blond, he had to admit that even the womanizer behavior was extremely irritating. It annoyed him too much for his own comfort, but who was he to care?
He kept it locked, about to continue with a swing of some cold water, hoping to ease himself a little before he shoved the glass of water to Luffy after noticing a booger in it.
What a way to get him fired up.
After all the events that happened, he really just wanted a quick nap, get a cook from the restaurant and then move on;
He didn't know Luffy would want that snobby, handsome prince-charming on their ship! But he'd have to deal with that little chef later — he wanted to focus on how he felt for that guy.
Zoro doesn't really know why he felt like that in the first place, but when he first saw Sanji (if that was his name), he felt a wave of competition and something else that felt too gentle. The way his heart suddenly skipped a beat was probably enough to tell him he was in love with that waiter, but he saw nothing appealing to that swirly brows; just a man who worshipped women.
He knew Sanji would only have eyes for women, so there's be no point in him being head over heels for him either — why should he waste his time on him?
But the feelings got to him hard.
Everytime Zoro sees Sanji pass by the deck, walk around the kitchen doing whatever, and when they had their little fights and encounters — he felt more alive than he does when he sleeps. He feels happy with that dartbrows, and he'd never admit that to himself, let alone anybody else or the cook himself.
"You seem a little different, Mr. Bushido." Robin bluntly points out to him as he walked by her. She held a glass of whatever fancy drink that cook had made for her and a book in hand.
"...Huh?"
"I noticed your ears turn a little pink whenever you look at our cook."
Zoro blinked at Robin, feeling his own face turn red, and it was as if steam was coming out of his ears or something from embarrassment. He sputtered, before stomping away to the Crow's Nest to ease himself and get away from that women.
Robin did make him a bit scared if he had to admit. Or if that was the right word. Maybe he was more on guard when she was around because that woman always sees everything. Every little detail, and while it doesn't bother him much — it's creepy behavior if it's directed to him.
He felt her eyes burn into him, but he never really thought she'd pay attention to his ears or something. Hell, he didn't even know that she noticed he was looking at the cook.
It was embarrassing to get caught, but at least if he wanted to make small conversation about the cook to her, it wouldn’t that hard...if she doesn't bring that up ever again.
⚔️
"You're such deadweight. You do basically nothing around this ship besides fight, sleep, train and eat my food!" Sanji kicked Zoro on the side to wake him up, as they were arriving to their next destination.
"C'mon, get up, mosshead. I need some help with carrying groceries."
Zoro rubs his eyes, immediately having to hear the cook's annoying voice nagging at him. Seriously, it was irritating. "I think you can do it yourself."
Sanji scoffed at the claim, "Just come along with me, Franky said he's gonna be watching the ship anyway, so just go along with me."
"Why do you want me to come with you so badly?"
"I already told you, you imbecile!"
"Geez! Okay! I don't get why you're so fussy..." Zoro muttered that last part, which earned him a glare from Sanji.
That feeling caught him again, but he brushed it off as usual. His stomach was filled with something weird. Butterflies? That's what many people say it is when you like somebody.
He doesn't like that bratty swirly brows. He swears he doesn't, but that changes when he does fight with the cook.
Zoro stands on his feet and watches Sanji get off the ship.
He admired everything about him.
Zoro follows along, although he doesn't really want to. Everytime he's close to dartbrows, everything in his body feels like exploding. Is that how Sanji feels with women?
His feelings feel excessive when it comes to the cook. He only sees him as a crewmate. Not friends. Not brothers. Not lovers. Hopefully not lovers.
Maybe he does love Sanji, but as a crewmate. He admires him sometimes, thinks about him, sometimes dreams about him as well. That doesn't make him have any special feelings to the cook.
Zoro wanders in his head, and before he knows it, Sanji grabs his wrist and pulls him to him.
"Seriously, why can't you stop wandering everywhere besides where I'm going? It's like you don't know what a straight line is. I pity you for your lack of directions, marimo."
Zoro feels his heart beat a little faster, from the cook's touch (which isn't gentle, but that's okay), and the silly nicknames.
"It's not any of your business. Now let go of me!"
"I don't trust you to walk without my aid because you always get lost! So just go along with me, okay?!" Sanji fussed at Zoro.
Zoro stayed quiet and scoffed, but of course he still went along with Sanji.
His heart was fluttering, and it was irritating.
🌀
Sanji wouldn't want to admit that he liked Zoro, but that familiar feeling inside him was screaming. His heart raced everytime he made physical contact with him, but it's quite obvious he doesn't like him back. Hell, the mosshead probably doesn't understand the concept of love, let alone being able to love him.
He think about it, and always remembers how the marimo doesn't show any interest in women. It's like his swords and sake are the love of his life already.
Sanji nearly drops a plate in the sink as he hears the door slam open. Who else could it be other than Luffy? Not even the swordsman opens doors like that.
"SANJIIII!!!" The voice pierced his ears, but he felt happy hearing the captain. "I have a question!"
Sanji turned the water off for a moment and turned around to look at Luffy. "What is it?"
Luffy scratches his head for a moment, as if he's actually thinking.
"Do you really like Zoro?" Luffy asks with a smile on his face.
Sanji stared at Luffy, feeling his ears burn a bit, but maybe the captain doesn't mean it like that.
"What do you mean by 'like?'"
"Do you like Zoro?:
"What do you mean by like..?"
"Do you have any feelings for Zoro like with women?"
"No- I mean — uhm, why would you want to know? I don't like that mosshead like that.." Sanji sputtered as he replied. Hopefully Luffy was dumb enough to know he was lying.
"Tell me the truth, Sanjii! Zoro likes you, so you must like him back!"
Sanji blinked at Luffy for a moment. The silence was deafening, and he felt his face burn red, his grip on one of the plate he was still holding was tight.
"Luffy. I'm sure —" Sanji paused for a moment, since it was the perfect opportunity for him to technically confess through Luffy, because he'd definitely tell Zoro.
"Fine. I do. Now leave me alone."
Sanji hears Luffy's giggles as the doors closes, and he can only wonder if he's underestimating Luffy as he continues to wash the dishes.
⚔️🌀
Arriving to the next island, Nami seemed to be a little more giddy, which obviously made Sanji happy, because he loves seeing women happy. (Weirdo).
"Is it okay if you two watch the ship together?" Nami pointed at Zoro and Sanji. Which, seemed like the worst idea in humanity.
"What?! Nami, can't I just go with you or Robin? Plus, I-"
"You always complain about Zoro, so I think it's time you two try to get along for once! Also, you keep making damages in the ship, so it's a great time for you two to at least try to get along!" Nami very quickly and suspiciously reasoned with Sanji, which he couldn't argue with Nami. Why would he try to go against a beauty's reason?
Zoro was oddly compliant with it, since he didn't say a word about it. Hopefully he can just avoid Sanji to begin with since he felt embarrassed for loving him.
Sanji waved bye to their crew and blew some kisses to their archeologist and navigator, before feeling a sense of unease as soon as they went out of view.
He felt Zoro staring at him, like his eyes were physically piercing his skin, and he felt even more uneasy as he turned around and went face to face with the swordsman.
"Are we gonna clear this?" Zoro asked after a moment of silence and staredowns.
"Of what?" Sanji played dumb, hoping to get out of the situation and go back to the kitchen. The sun glared down at them, which made Sanji feel only more nervous since he was already sweating from the heat.
Zoro stared at Sanji, as if examining him. The silence between them made Sanji think he did something wrong, and maybe it did.
"You know, don't you? You aren't clueless." Zoro replied, leaning against the railings of the Sunny. Sanji looked at Zoro, feeling his ears burn again.
Sanji stayed quiet for a moment, looking at Zoro before glancing away to the sea below. "Yeah. Maybe." His voice was softer and quieter than he wanted it to be, but he hoped Zoro had heard him.
Zoro hummed, setting his swords aside on the ground and approaching Sanji. The cook didn't move, and took a step forward. Before they both knew it, they were only several centimeters away.
Sanji, his face flushed, took the opportunity to grab the swordsman by the collar and boldly clashed their lips together, their teeth accidently bumping into each other — but pain didn't matter.
Zoro grabbed Sanji's waist with both hands with a touch so gentle, the cook thought he was dreaming.
Sanji pushed Zoro away softly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, somewhat satisfied. "Does that make it clear?"
Zoro smirked,
"Yeah."