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The Thousand Sunny had survived sea kings, warlords, and whatever questionable cooking experiment Sanji tried last Tuesday.
What it might not survive?
Roronoa Zoro having a crush.
On Sanji.
And thinking no one could tell.
---------
The first sign should’ve been obvious.
Zoro, legendary swordsman of the Straw Hats, future world’s greatest, human nap enthusiast, had started showing up in the kitchen.
Not for food.
He’d stand there, arms crossed, pretending he just happened to be stretching. Or guarding. Or breathing aggressively.
Sanji would glance over his shoulder, cigarette dangling lazily from his lips.
“Lost again, marimo?”
Zoro grunted. “Shut up.”
He did not leave.
He never left.
From the corner of the room, Nami leaned against the counter and sipped her tea.
“He’s staring again,” she whispered.
Beside her, Robin smiled serenely. “He does that when he’s flustered.”
“Flustered?” Nami raised a brow. “That’s his flustered face?”
Robin nodded. “It’s very subtle. Like a volcano.”
Zoro, of course, thought he was being smooth.
He told himself he only lingered because Sanji cooked well. Because the galley was warm. Because the idiot cook sometimes hummed while he worked, and that humming definitely didn’t make Zoro’s stomach do strange things that had nothing to do with hunger.
It definitely wasn’t because Sanji rolled up his sleeves.
Or because his voice dropped when he teased.
Or because when he leaned in too close
Zoro’s brain short-circuited
-----
Sanji knew.
Of course he knew.
He had noticed the staring. The way Zoro’s ears turned faintly red when their shoulders brushed. The way he got ten times more aggressive during training when Sanji watched.
Sanji lived for this.
One afternoon, he cornered Zoro near the mast.
“You keep hovering around me, moss-head. Got something to say?”
Zoro didn’t even blink. “No.”
Sanji stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough that Zoro could smell smoke and spice and something uniquely Sanji.
“Then why,” Sanji murmured, voice smooth as silk, “do you look like you’re about to fight someone every time I smile at you?”
Zoro swallowed.
He hated that Sanji could do that. That he could make the great Roronoa Zoro feel like he was the one being cornered.
“Shut up,” Zoro muttered.
Sanji smirked.
“Make me.”
From the deck, there was a loud whisper.
“I’m raising the bet to 5,000,” Nami announced.
Robin chuckled. “I’ll match it. They’ll crack before the next island.”
Zoro’s eye twitched.
“They’re betting on us,” he growled.
Sanji grinned. “On you, you mean.”
----
It escalated quickly after that.
Sanji brushed past him on purpose. Fingers grazing Zoro’s wrist. Hand lingering just long enough.
Zoro retaliated by trapping Sanji against walls during arguments. One hand slamming down beside his head.
“Say that again,” Zoro would growl.
Sanji’s eyes would darken.
“Jealous, swordsman?”
The air between them turned electric. Sharp. Dangerous.
The crew started bringing snacks.
Luffy thought it was hilarious.
Usopp hid behind barrels whispering, “Is this it? Is this the moment??”
Robin requested background music.
The tension became unbearable.
One night, after a long battle and longer day, the ship was quiet. Moonlight spilled across the deck.
Zoro sat alone, polishing his swords.
He felt him before he heard him.
“Can’t sleep?” Sanji asked softly.
Zoro didn’t look up. “I sleep fine.”
Sanji sat beside him anyway.
Too close.
Their shoulders touched.
Neither moved away.
For once, there were no insults.
No bets.
No audience.
Just the ocean breathing around them.
Sanji exhaled slowly. “You know I’m not stupid, right?”
Zoro’s hand stilled on his blade.
“…What.”
Sanji turned his head.
Their faces were inches apart.
“I see the way you look at me.”
Zoro’s pulse pounded in his ears.
“I don’t look at you.”
Sanji huffed a quiet laugh. “You look at me like you want to fight me.”
Zoro’s jaw tightened.
“And?” he challenged.
Sanji’s voice dropped.
“Like you want to do something else, too.”
Silence.
Heavy. Thick.
Zoro’s composure cracked first.
“Then stop teasing me,” he snapped, finally looking at him fully. “You keep pushing and pushing—”
“And what?” Sanji whispered.
Zoro stood abruptly, grabbing Sanji’s shirt and hauling him up with him.
Their chests collided.
“You think I won’t do anything about it?”
Sanji’s breath hitched—but he didn’t pull away.
“Prove it.”
That did it.
Zoro had fought warlords. Faced death. Bled for his captain.
But this?
This terrified him.
And he was done running from it.
His voice came out low, raw.
“Let me in.”
Sanji blinked.
Zoro’s grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t step back.
“Stop shutting me out with jokes,” Zoro muttered. “If you’re going to keep messing with me… then let me in.”
The teasing vanished from Sanji’s expression.
All that was left was something soft. Something honest.
“You big idiot,” Sanji breathed.
His hand came up slowly resting against Zoro’s chest.
Right over his heart.
“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
And then
He kissed him.
Not rough.
Not mocking.
Just warm.
Careful.
Like he was giving Zoro space to pull away.
Zoro didn’t.
He froze for half a second, then his hand slid into Sanji’s hair, deepening it. Slow. Certain. Months of tension unraveling in a single breath.
When they finally broke apart, both slightly breathless, Sanji’s smirk returned, but softer now.
“Took you long enough, marimo.”
Zoro rested his forehead against his.
“Shut up.”
From behind a stack of crates—
“I KNEW IT!” Nami shrieked.
“I believe that makes me 10,000 berries richer,” Robin added calmly.
Luffy popped up from absolutely nowhere. “YOU GUYS WERE FIGHTING WITH YOUR MOUTHS?!”
Zoro and Sanji jumped apart instantly.
“YOU WERE WATCHING?!” Zoro roared.
“Obviously,” Usopp said, munching popcorn.
Sanji sighed dramatically. “Romance is dead.”
Zoro glared at the crew.
Then at Sanji.
Then back at Sanji.
“…We’re finishing that later,” he muttered.
Sanji’s grin turned downright wicked.
“Looking forward to it.”
Across the deck, Nami clapped her hands.
“Next bet: how long before they admit they’re dating?”
Robin smiled knowingly.
“Oh,” she said. “They already are.”
And for once
Zoro didn’t argue.