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The feast took longer to prepare than Sanji anticipated.
The cook hadn't seen the whole village when his rut started, since they headed straight for the cabin, so he only realised after it was over how big the population was. He was thankful to all the people who volunteered to help him prepare food for everyone, but he still refused to let them do too much work.
He didn't want to scare them away because of Luffy's insatiable hunger.
Once the sun had set, and everyone was sitting down to eat, Sanji finally allowed himself to stop working. He was starving.
He looked around at the various tables the villagers had set in the plaza, trying to find his crew as he cradled his food close to his chest. It didn't take long to find them, mostly thanks to Luffy and Usopp's laughter that could be heard from across the island.
Without really thinking, his eyes searched some more, hoping to find green hair and three swords. The events of earlier that day were still fresh in his mind, especially how Zoro had scented him so carefully, mixing their essence together in a way that fit so perfectly…
Sanji really needed to snap out of it. But it was hard when he noticed that the swordsman's eyes were already on him.
He was sitting near the others, but not close enough to have to engage with their partying. A bottle of cheap wine was resting on his lap, looking forgotten. Maybe it was empty?
Zoro gestured at Sanji to sit next to him, away from the chaos. How could Sanji say no? He really just wanted to relax.
And, well, the brand-new bottle of cheap wine he snagged from one of the tables was simply a kind gesture.
A gift, one might say. Sanji was already blushing at the implications, but he was still an alpha. It was in his nature, wanting to provide.
Providing alcohol was still providing.
They didn't speak as the cook sat down next to Zoro, leaning back against the wall of the local bookshop. Sanji simply sighed tiredly, putting his plate in his lap and handing the swordsman his bottle.
Zoro took it with a brief moment of hesitation, his eyes finding Sanji's with a silent question. He promptly ignored it, and instead basically stuffed his face with food.
Eating during a rut wasn't an easy job, at least not for Sanji. It was like his stomach filled with half of the portions he usually ate, but at the same time all his activity left him starving. Not a fun week, overall.
Zoro huffed in amusement and set his empty bottle aside, replacing it with the new one.
The silence was comfortable between them. They watched their friends have fun, laughed when they pulled clueless locals in their stupid dances. Sometimes, people passed by them and complimented Sanji on his cooking, leaving him beaming and happy.
Sanji hardly noticed how his body was gravitating towards Zoro's, or how much the swordsman kept glancing at him.
He felt good. He wanted this moment to last longer, even forever.
Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of him.
"Hey," Sanji said, setting his empty plate aside. Zoro hummed, showing he was listening. "Why didn't you warn us about your heat?"
Sanji saw Zoro's body tensing, and how he forced himself to stare forward and not look at the cook. He didn't answer right away; instead he left Sanji waiting so long he thought he would never get an answer.
"I don't like heats," Zoro said at last. He didn't add anything else.
Sanji knew that Zoro was never one to show off his secondary gender, so he wasn't really surprised.
"You can't hide it every time," the cook said, staring at the finished cigarette between his fingers, "I could have…"
He didn't want to think about that. He didn't like how his rut almost made him do something so deplorable—
"You didn't," Zoro said firmly, his gaze finally on Sanji. "I would have kicked your ass, if you tried."
Sanji smiled halfheartedly. He wished that was true, but they both knew that wasn't how heats and ruts worked.
"I'll tell you, next time," Zoro said, still looking at Sanji.
You? Did he mean everyone, or…?
No, he meant Sanji himself.
The cook blushed, but he still grinned, acted casual. "You better. I'll need to know when I need to save my clothes from your hoarding."
Zoro turned pink and looked away, grumbling something Sanji couldn't understand. The cook chuckled, and he decided to throw away the butt of his cigarette and lean over to grab Zoro's still half full bottle. He took a big swing of cheap wine, ignoring the swordsman's wide-eyed stare.
Sanji needed some liquid courage.
"As long as you let me have something to wear, you can have my stuff," he murmured, staying in Zoro's space and looking up at him.
"What if I don't leave anything out?" Zoro asked, a challenge in his eyes. His hands twitched, like he was fighting the urge to grab something.
"Then I'll kick your ass," Sanji said without missing a beat. Zoro smirked.
"You can try."
Sanji laughed, pulling away from Zoro to go back to leaning against the wall. The wine was still in his hand, though. He took another sip.
"Planning on out-drinking me?" Zoro asked, looking amused.
"As if," Sanji murmured. "You're, like, immune to getting drunk."
Zoro barked out a laugh. "Sure, whatever you say, curly brow."
Sanji twisted around to promptly knee Zoro in the stomach, joying in how the swordsman gasped in pain and surprise. Then, he grabbed one of his wrists and pulled it closer to his face.
Zoro completely froze, staring at Sanji with wide eyes, but the cook didn't even notice. He simply melted against the swordsman, breathing in that relaxing scent while he cradled the bottle close to his chest.
"You smell like moss," he murmured, finally looking up at him.
Zoro was so red, he looked like a strawberry. The green hair really put the picture together perfectly. Sanji chuckled.
"What? You think you're the only one that can court the other?"
Zoro opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. He looked at a loss for words. "So, you…"
Sanji frowned at him. "What did you think happened today?"
Zoro shrugged, helpless. "You're weird most of the time. I never know with you."
Oh, what the fuck. Idiot Marimo. Sanji pulled back from the wrist, glaring at Zoro. "You might want to rethink what you just said, if you want to have even the slightest chance."
Zoro paled, and he immediately started stuttering half-assed apologies and explanations. Sanji simply stared at him, at least until the swordsman grabbed his hand and brought the back of it to his lips.
Sanji blushed, forced to look away. The idiot knew how to get to him, it wasn't fair.
"I'm sorry, alpha." Zoro said in a soft, low voice. That was precisely what Sanji imagined for a whole week, to hear that voice call for him like that, to hear him cry out for his alpha…
Sanji yelped and kicked Zoro so hard, he flew to the other side of the plaza. The festivities stopped as everyone turned to stare at them, at Sanji who was a blushing mess, curled into himself to hide what that stupid fucking voice did to him—
Zoro started laughing like he didn't just get kicked for flirting, and the festivities started once more. Only Nami and Robin continued to stare at them, both smirking like they knew what happened. Had they been watching them? Sanji loved and cherished the ladies of the ship, but shit, those knowing looks made him want to drown.
Sanji stood up, thankful that he was wearing semi-loose pants that could cover his temporary problem, and marched towards the mosshead he decided to court, for some reason. Zoro was grinning at him, way too happy after what happened, but Sanji didn't care.
He grabbed the idiot by his ear, and started dragging him away from the party.
Zoro protested, of course, but not enough to actually pull away. It was like he didn't really mind, so Sanji pulled his ear harder. He knew the Marimo felt that.
"Are we going to fuck?" Zoro asked once they were out of earshot from the party.
Sanji dropped his ass on the floor. "Do you even know how courting works? It takes more than one cycle."
Zoro looked at him like he killed his favourite puppy. "Why are we following those stupid rules? We're pirates."
Sanji groaned, flopping onto a bench and covering his face with his hands. Was he still in time to change courting partner?
His stupid fucking heart seemed to disagree with the idea. Figures.
Sanji decided to simply ignore the idiot's current question. "You can't speak to me like that right after the rut ends. It's evil."
Instead of showing any kind of remorse, Zoro smirked smugly. "It worked."
Sanji tried to kick him again, but this time Zoro blocked the blow. "You like when I speak to you like that?"
"I'd rather you not speak at all," Sanji muttered, sitting back down.
Zoro frowned, flopping down next to him. "What can we do while we're courting?"
Did he really have to explain it to him? That ruined the whole magical moment for Sanji. Or, well, he always imagined courting his future partner to be something romantic, filled with passion.
After he discovered that Zoro was planning to court him, many new fantasies surfaced. All with the same amount of romance, even if they involved the swordsman. Somehow.
"Have you ever asked someone how it's supposed to go?" Sanji asked tiredly.
"Yeah," Zoro started, and something in his tone made Sanji look. He suddenly looked gloomy. "They always told me that as the omega, I just needed to take gifts until I decided to let the alpha in the nest."
Well, that was… a very oversimplified version of real courting. It wasn't just about gifts, it was also about actions; proving the alpha could take care, comfort, and provide for the omega.
Oh, that didn't sound like Zoro at all. Of course, he wouldn't like that version.
"It doesn't have to be like that. Courting is about…" Sanji started, taking Zoro's arm to start gently tracing a pattern on the inside of his wrist, right above the gland. "It's about proving yourself worthy of your partner."
Zoro stayed silent, but his attention was solely on Sanji. Like nothing else mattered.
"You show that you will be there, and you will protect the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you will provide for their needs. You…" Sanji trailed off, finding the swordsman's eyes.
He wanted to prove to Zoro that he was worth it.
"You don't need protecting, and neither do I," Zoro said, using the hand Sanji was holding to cradle his jaw. He brought their faces together, and for a moment Sanji believed he was going to kiss him, but he stopped once their foreheads touched. "I won't stand in the way of your dream, and I don't want you to stand in mine. We can stay at each other's sides, not to protect, but to support."
Sanji was staring with wide, watery eyes. When did he- How- What?
"Since when can you speak like that?" Sanji pretty much whined, leaning into the hand cradling him close. "You're always such a brute, and now you're saying the right things…"
Zoro smirked and kissed his cheek. "I have my moments."
Sanji rolled his eyes, but he still leaned into him, like a child starved from affection. And wasn't that fitting?
Alphas were always treated like they didn't need love or cuddles, like being "tough" had to be their whole personality. Sanji didn't fit in that standard.
Zoro didn't fit the omega standard either. Sanji liked that.
"Let's go back to the ship, I'm exhausted. The couch is calling for us."
Zoro perked up, looking hopeful. "Us?"
"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter," Sanji grumbled, standing up to light a cigarette. "You will need to earn sex."
"I wasn't thinking about sex…" The swordsman grumbled, pouting cutely. At least it was cute to Sanji. If a stranger saw him they would probably run away screaming, hoping he wouldn't kill them.
"Good, because I just want to get drunk and lay down. You can lay down with me, I guess."
Sanji found it adorable how eager Zoro was to simply cuddle, especially when the man grabbed his arm and started dragging him back towards the party. "Let's go."
"That's the wrong way, idiot."
"No it's not!" Zoro said, promptly changing direction.
"Still wrong."
"Shut up, idiot cook!"
Sanji had gotten properly drunk, by his own words. Zoro thought it was hilarious.
They could still hear the music from the party, and for the first time since they started sailing together, Zoro saw Sanji actually dance. It wasn't coordinated, and he almost dropped to the ground multiple times, but it was beautiful.
He was beautiful.
"Come on, you mosshead brute, come dance with me!" Sanji exclaimed with a bit of a slur to his voice. He had an empty bottle in one hand and a finished cigarette in the other, and he threw the latter to grab Zoro's arm and drag him up from his sitting position.
"Mosshead brute? Do you even hear yourself?" Zoro asked, clearly amused.
"Shut up, you… you idiotic piece of seaweed…" Sanji grumbled, moving Zoro's arms around like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
The swordsman simply raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking. I'm sure you don't know what that's like." Sanji continued to move his arms around, then he shrugged and started doing the same thing, but to the rhythm.
"You look so dumb right now." Zoro said, unable to take his eyes off him.
How did he get so lucky? Sanji actually liked him, and he looked so…
"Yeah, and you look lame, Marimo. Dance!" Sanji grumbled, shaking his arms like that would convince him.
"I'm not the dancing type," Zoro said simply. "And you promised me a couch with a pretty alpha."
Sanji stopped, gaping at the swordsman like he said the most out of pocked thing ever. His already flushed face turned ten shades darker. Zoro smiled smugly.
"You- I- Shut up, you bastard!" Sanji cried out, landing a kick right on Zoro's side that left him out of breath for a moment. But he didn't have time to do anything about it, because Sanji had dragged him back up and forced Zoro's arms to wrap around his waist. "Stay here, or you're not getting the couch."
Zoro tightened his hold on Sanji, and leaned in closer when the cook wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "We could go to the hammocks, but I don't think we'd fit in one together. You'd probably hurt your precious back."
Sanji rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you know I'm just not used to hammocks. We had beds at the Baratie."
"My apologies, your highness." Zoro snickered, letting his forehead lean against Sanji's. He started swaying them in place, the best he could do in the dance field.
It seemed like Sanji forgot to be mad.
"It's not fair that you don't get drunk," he murmured, his voice soft.
"I can get drunk, idiot," Zoro said just as softly. "You're just a lightweight."
"That's not true, I like wine." The pout on his face almost made Zoro kiss him right then and there.
Would it be okay? Sanji probably wanted to wait for that, too; he wanted things to be done right. Even if it pained him, Zoro pushed that desire down.
"You don't drink it enough to get on my level."
"If I did, I would go into a coma, and poor Chopper would have a heart attack. Do you want Chopper to die, Marimo?" Sanji grumbled, leaning more of his weight into Zoro as they danced. "And I only like the good wine, not the cheap stuff you drink like it's water. Nami-san would be mad at me…"
"We can't have that," Zoro chuckled.
"Damn right."
Sanji shifted, moving so his face was pressed against Zoro's neck. The swordsman could hear him breathe in deeply his scent, could feel him relax even more against him.
Zoro always hated his omega scent. It made him feel soft, weak. If someone smelled him, they immediately thought of him as a good for nothing omega who only wanted to mate and breed.
Growing up, he learned ways to change it, even if only slightly, to throw alphas off. He made himself aggressive, trained until sweat was all you could smell, sank his sword into any alpha who still had the courage to approach him. It worked so well that at the sound of his name, people immediately assumed he was an alpha.
When he discovered alcohol, well, everything became easier. It was hard to guess someone's secondary gender while they smelled like booze.
After he joined Luffy, Zoro started to feel less on edge. The captain was uninterested in his gender, that much was clear from the start, and Nami or Usopp were both Betas, so he had no reason to fight them off.
When the cook joined, Zoro thought he had to become aggressive again. He attacked him, and they fought constantly, but Sanji never treated him weirdly because of his gender. He had no problem fighting back, even if Zoro was supposed to be a "weak omega".
Sanji wasn't insulted by Zoro courting him. He didn't have the instinct to protect him when they were fighting enemies. He seemed to like their dynamic the way it was, without needing to be dominant or some shit like that.
Zoro was the one holding Sanji under the night sky, not the opposite.
"I want to lay down," the cook grumbled against his skin, tightening his hold around his shoulders.
"Finally," Zoro said, just to piss him off. He actually hadn't minded dancing, even if it was just them swaying around to the wrong music, like idiots.
They walked into the galley, and Sanji dropped onto the couch like a dead weight, groaning to imaginary pain. Zoro grabbed the empty bottle from his hand and put it on the table, then he poked the cook to get him to give up some space. The couch wasn't that big.
Sanji simply groaned.
"Spoiled brat," Zoro said, roughly pushing him to the edge so he could sneak in behind him. Sanji kicked him a few times, but in the end Zoro won, and he was hugging the alpha tightly from behind.
Sanji's scent was strong in that position, and he smelled like the sea. Zoro had never cared much about the ocean before, he only sailed because he had to, but after that small taste of his scent, at the start of his heat?
He couldn't get enough of it. If he had to swim every day to get a simple whiff, he would.
"Clingy, are you?" Sanji chuckled, pulling Zoro's arm tighter around him.
"Like you're complaining." The bastard was using his arm like a pillow.
Sanji turned around just to stick his tongue out before facing forwards again. Zoro smiled.
They stayed in silence for a while, comfortable in the other's presence. At least, until Zoro moved his hips a bit, trying to avoid an… unfortunate accident.
"If I find out you got hard, I'm kicking your ass."
"I didn't! And if I did, it wouldn't be my fault! I'm a man!" Zoro couldn't keep the blush off his face. He was being accused of something that didn't even happen. Idiot cook.
"You're a brute, more like."
Sanji moved until he was facing Zoro, instead of having his back against the other's chest. The swordsman wasn't happy at first, but he quickly changed his mind once he saw Sanji's face.
The cook had a light blush on his face. Was he embarrassed at the idea of Zoro getting horny over him?
Okay, maybe seeing his face just made the problem worse. Good thing that his crotch wasn't in a danger zone anymore.
"You seem comfortable with a brute," Zoro grinned.
Sanji pouted. "Shut up, I'm giving you the privilege of napping with me right now. In normal circumstances, you would have only been able to do that after three weeks."
Zoro's eyebrows raised sky-high. "Three weeks? When the hell are we doing the rest, in a year?"
Sanji just stared at him. That was something intimidating in that stare.
"Aye, aye…" Zoro grumbled, pressing Sanji closer so he wouldn't look at his face.
The cook yelped, then he went awfully quiet. Zoro waited a moment before looking down to check on him. "You good?"
Sanji hummed, but didn't add anything else. Zoro started to have an idea about what was happening.
"Comfortable?"
Sanji waited before humming again, this time in defeat. Zoro rolled his eyes. He better not think of them as boobs; he was not that type of omega.
"Curly dumbass."
Sanji didn't answer, but he did wrap his arm around Zoro's torso, getting more comfortable.
In paradise with an idiot. It sounded like the title of one of Robin's romance novels. For how scary she was, she did read weird shit sometimes.
It didn't take long for Sanji to start snoring softly, the exhaustion of the long rut added with the cooking and partying knocking him out easily.
Zoro was soon to follow, always ready for a nap, but not before he nuzzled the alpha to get the most out of his scent.
His alpha, soon enough.