Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Winter

“Hi there, thank you so much for coming out here today!” The woman extends her hand and offers a wide grin, both of which are reciprocated by Robin graciously.

“Of course, thank you for reaching out to me about this opportunity.” Robin says politely.

She can hear him grumbling already, but Robin has long become accustomed to ignoring him.

She shoots him a glare and he begrudgingly shakes the blonde woman’s hand. She tells them her name is Charlotte, and she welcomes them to the rink.

“So, we’re sort of going to sneak in up here.” Charlotte says as she leads them down a hall and up several flights of stairs. “He doesn’t know you’re coming today.”

“Oh?” Robin asks, she shoots him a look over her shoulder and he’s already glowering at her.

“No, he does not want this to happen.” She says plainly, “But he’s wrong, and an idiot, so I don’t care what he wants.”

“I think the ice freezes their brain cells after a while.” Robin offers a sympathetic smile, and Charlotte nods in agreement.

Charlotte leads them to a door that she cracks open and onto the very top row of seats. It’s dark up here, and dust clings to the air, the sound system is nearly too close, and the lights are nearly too warm.

She leads them a few seats in the back row, and they all sit together, Robin forces him to take a seat between the two women.

There’s gentle classical music filling the room, a dramatic swell and fall of violins and woodwinds, and far down below them, metal scrapes on ice.

A solitary figure glides around the ice, swooping gracefully, long arms flowing with the music. It’s a lovely thing to watch, to feel a swell of anticipation each time skates leave the ice, and Robin digs her elbow into his side.

“He’s been skating since he was two, competing since he was four, and known around the world since he was nine.” Charlotte says, “He’s got three Championship medals and four Grand Prix medals under his belt, and he’s dominated every tournament cycle he’s been in for the last five years.” She pauses and takes a breath.

“He’s at the top of his game right now, his physical fitness and stamina have never been better. He’s motivated, and he’s very determined.”

“So, he can skate by himself if he’s so wonderful.”

Robin kicks his ankle and glares at him, he glares right back.

“Unfortunately, that’s not an option. He’s a pair skater, so he needs a pair. You know?” Charlotte giggles nervously.

“Looks fine.” He waves his hand in a sweeping motion towards the ice below.

“Yes, but- “

“You can tell he’s missing something.” Robin says simply, her eyes tracking the movement on the ice once more.

They watch for several minutes, and his face darkens with each passing second. His jaw sets tight, his teeth crack as he grinds them together, he looks as though he may explode at any second.

“It’s boring. I’m sorry, no disrespect or whatever, but this just isn’t my thing.” He shakes his head and turns to look at Robin seriously. “I’ll find something else, let’s just go.”

Charlotte reaches for his shoulder, “Please, wait.”

The music crescendos to the end of the song, and the whole rink is silent for a moment, everything on a razor’s edge, a threadbare moment where fate hangs in the balance.

The music continues, a different song now, and more orchestral music fills the room.

“Thank you for your time, but I just don’t think I’m the fit for this.”

“What can I do to change your mind? I’ll pay double.”  Charlotte interjects, and Robin elbows him out of the way.

“Hold on now, if he doesn’t want to skate, he doesn’t skate. Please talk to me about money, let him make a gut decision.” Robin reminds her with a frown.

The beat of the music changes, and suddenly there’s bass, drum tracks, even rapping. Metal still carves through the ice below, scraping and cutting and grating.

“Please, Robin, he’s my only hope.” Charlotte says softly to Robin, “Male figure skaters who pair with males don’t grow on trees, and we’re willing to teach Mr. Roronoa everything he needs to know. Plus, we’re paying handsomely already.” She pleads.

“There aren’t many experienced skaters with his upper body strength wandering around.” Charlotte flashes big eyes up at Robin, and Robin sighs. She steels herself and turns back to him.

“Zoro.” She starts but cuts herself off.

He’s watching the ice, mouth open slightly, focused on the action below, his head bobbing in time with the jumps. The look on his face has changed entirely, and he looks intrigued now, curiosity shimmers in his eye.

“I’ll do it.”

Charlotte practically collapses, “Oh my god, thank you.” She gushes, she grabs his forearm before composing herself. “Thank you so much, please, we’ll do anything we can to keep this partnership alive.”

“Mm.” he shoves his hands in his pockets and wanders down the row, all the way to the stairs, where he descends to the edge of the mezzanine.

He leans against the railing and watches.

“How’s his temper?” Charlotte asks.

Robin crosses her arms and chuckles softly, “He’s a hockey player.” She reminds the other woman, who groans. “How’s his temper?” Robin nods towards the ice.

“Sanji’s temper is fiery on his best days, and inhuman on his worst.” Charlotte says, she runs her hand through her hair.

“They’ll make or break each other.” Robin says, she gives Charlotte a smile, “Want to get a drink?”

“Are you excited?” Robin asks as she holds out a coffee cup.

Zoro swipes it from her and frowns, “No.”

“Sure you are.”

Zoro sips from the coffee instead of replying, it's too hot to drink and burns his tongue immediately, which makes him bristle with listless anger

“This is a new task, right? A new goal.” Robin reminds him. “You love goals.”

He sighs heavily and rolls his head to the side to look at her, “I’m gonna give it my all.” He says shortly, annoyed that he even has to tell her that after all these years.

“I know you will.” Robin nods towards the building, “Shall we?”

Zoro pushes himself off the side of his car and starts towards the building, draining half the coffee in one scalding go. He’ll need the energy, and he wills it all into patience as he holds the door of the arena open for Robin.

Charlotte is waiting for them in the lobby, and she smiles brightly when they enter. “Good morning, welcome to your new home.”

Zoro shrugs, hiking his bag up further, “Yeah, thanks.” He can play nice, for Robin’s sake. Who knows what strings she pulled to even get Zoro near this guy.

“Sanji is on the ice, if you’d like to come meet him.” Charlotte indicates towards the rink, and they fall into step with her.

Zoro stops at one of the benches and sits, he retrieves his skates from his bag and begins lacing them on.

Robin and Charlotte chat idly nearby, and Zoro can hear the familiar sound of a Zamboni in the distance. He laces his skates with accustomed dexterity, and sighs at the comfort of wearing them once more.

Nothing can keep him off the ice.

He shoves his high tops into his bag and hands it off to Robin, then they all enter the arena.

The lower floor is mostly compromised of the rink, chilly air reminds Zoro of home, and he feels a knot in his shoulders ease. He sips from his coffee again, and it doesn’t burn his tongue this time.

At the opening of the rink, Zoro removes his blade guards and hands them over to Robin, then he steps onto the ice.

Across the rink, sharp eyes turn over narrow shoulders at the sound of skates behind him.

“Oh, you’re joking.” He laughs a little, a hollow noise. He skates across the rink, stopping a few feet short of Zoro and sizing him up with a harshly judgmental glare.

“No.” he crosses his long arms over his chest, his gloved fingers drum on his forearm. “Not happening.”

“Sanji, this is Roronoa Zoro.” Charlotte says, “He will be your new skating partner.”

“Charlotte!” Sanji all but stamps his foot, “Look at him! He is a brute, a muscle-bound ape. What am I supposed to do with him? Teach him sign language?”

Zoro chuckles, “That’s funny.”

Those eyes lock back onto him, full of irritation and discontent. “Oh, look at that, it talks. I assumed you had too much brain damage, forgive me. Whatever they’ve told you is a lie.” Sanji points accusingly at the women, “I don’t need you; I don’t need someone to find me a playmate.”

“What about a partner?”

Sanji balks at him, his shoulders draw back, and he huffs, that irritation seeps into every line of his face. He’s taller than Zoro expected, probably eye to eye with Zoro if they’re not in skates. Those sharp eyes are blue, deep like the ocean, and they burn with anger under the lights from the rink. The ice reflects how pale he is, making him look nearly ethereal with the swoop of blonde hair hanging over his face.

He's not bad to look at, even when he’s pissed like this. He might be sort of cute, even. Zoro can only imagine how beautiful he actually is when he’s not seething with barely contained rage, probably distractingly beautiful, probably beautiful enough to ruin Zoro’s life.

“If you think your skating could even come close to mine then you are living in the ultimate fantasy land. You’re Captain Delusion, congrats. What you do is primitive, you’re no better than modern day gladiators.”

“I take that as a compliment, sweetheart.” Zoro says, dropping his voice intentionally.

He scoffs indignantly, “Did you just flirt with me? You come onto my rink in those skates with a fucking coffee and flirt with me?” he asks, voice rising in anger.

It's so cute Zoro almost laughs, Sanji’s cheeks turn pink, and his nostrils flare out. Zoro doesn’t even have to try to piss the guy off! This might actually be sort of fun, maybe Robin is onto something.

Zoro glances at his coffee in his hand, then down to his hockey skates, then back to his coffee. “Yeah, I guess so. Good job, very observant.” He sips his coffee as Sanji sputters.

“Get off my ice. Now.”

“Oh, sorry, are you the only one who’s allowed to be a jerk?” Zoro cocks his head to the side. “I’m new here, still learning the rules.”

“The rules are get the fuck out of my face, and get those fucking skates off my ice!”

“What a mouth,” Zoro tsks, “I’m here to make nice, you know.”

“I don’t want to make nice.” Sanji crosses his arms over his chest, and he presses his lips together into a thin line. “Can you even skate?” he asks after a silent moment passes.

“Sure.”

“Figure skate.” Sanji emphasizes.

“I can ice skate, isn’t that enough?”

“Not nearly. You have no idea what it takes.” Sanji shakes his head. “Charlotte, seriously, why is this guy here?”

“Not a lot of guys fit the bill, babe.” She shrugs, “I’m a miracle worker for finding him.”

Sanji drags in a deep breath through his nose and skates to the edge of the ice, holding his hand out impatiently. Charlotte gives him his guards, and he steps out of the rink and takes a few steps.

“Come on, then.” He says over his shoulder, and he doesn’t look back. Zoro skates to the side and takes his guards from Robin, then follows after Sanji.

Sanji storms outside and has a lit cigarette in his lips by the time Zoro makes it out of the door. He drags in a deep hit, holds it for several seconds before letting it out into the wind, watching the smoke curl away.

“I’m being rude.” He says after a moment has lapsed, “I’m Sanji.” He turns and holds his hand out to Zoro.

Zoro shakes his hand, “Zoro.”

Sanji nods, takes another drag off his smoke, “Hockey, yeah?”

Zoro nods, “Hockey.”

Sanji hums, “How did I end up here?” he ponders aloud.

“Don’t really have to tell you how I ended up here.” Zoro says, vaguely gesturing towards his head.

Sanji nods, another long drag, “Yeah.”

They’re quiet, Zoro stares down at his skates, and Sanji smokes silently.

“Did they offer to teach you basics and training to get your physique up to shape?” Sanji asks, his tone slightly clipped.

“Yeah, I’m in pretty good shape, though.” Zoro defends.

Sanji stubs his smoke out in a nearby ashtray, “Sure, your muscles are very flashy. I’m certain they’re pretty, but I need you at your best. Okay? If you’ll give this your actual best effort, then I will give you a shot.”

Zoro tips his chin back, “How about if you give this your best effort, then I’ll give you a shot.”

Sanji snorts, “Please, Tarzan, you can’t keep up with my best effort.”

Zoro smirks, “Try me.”

Sanji raises an eyebrow and looks Zoro up and down, “Come on, then.”

He leads Zoro back inside and straight to the ice, where he begins literally skating circles around Zoro. Zoro lets him for a minute.

His lithe figure isn’t too bad as it flashes by Zoro, tight black and blue fabric clinging to his body. His slender arms, his narrow hips, his long legs. He smells good, too, sweet and musky.

He glides around Zoro in a spread eagle that seems to go forever, strong thighs holding his form perfectly.

Zoro smirks at him, pushes off, and begins skating. He can build speed faster than Sanji can, his sport demands the very best of him. If he can’t give it to hockey, he’ll skate.

He spreads his legs, leaning in the unfamiliar motion that strains his thighs a little after just a few brief seconds. He can still do it, though, and he sticks his tongue out at Sanji as their spread eagles swoop near each other.

Sanji simply turns, skates a few steps, and leaps into the air. His form is perfect, long arms tucking in, legs and skates coming together with practiced ease, and he flies.

He defies gravity, he gets so much height and speed that it makes Zoro gasp to see up close.

While he soars through the air, his body seems to just turn all on its own, four tight, unbelievably quick rotations, and then he lands just as gracefully as he took flight.

A single skate, his other long leg swooping out dramatically, and he skates away quickly. He makes two more jump passes around Zoro, a triple axel, and a triple toe flip into a double toe loop. Then he skids to a stop in front of Zoro, grinning proudly and spraying ice fragments on Zoro’s skates.

“I know you can’t do that.” Sanji says with a cocky laugh.

Zoro shrugs, “You’re right.” He turns and skates away, and he doesn’t even think twice before he throws himself into the air. It’s been forever, and there’s no way his arms are tight enough.

Kuina would cry laughing if she saw that jump, but Zoro smiles at the thought of her and it seems pretty steady as he finds the ice again. He double foots the landing, and he’s pretty sure it was just a single rotation, but hell.

The look on Sanji’s face is priceless.

“You- from-“ he sputters, “Did you just do a salchow in hockey skates?!” He shouts.

Zoro looks down at the skates and gives Sanji a cheeky grin, “Looks that way.”

He covers his face with both hands and groans into his palms. “You big, dumb gorilla.”

“Get off of my ice.” He points decisively, and Zoro decides they’ve had enough fun for one day. So he skates to Robin and takes his blade guards.

“What’s happening?” Charlotte asks, panic rising in her voice, “Are you leaving?”

“Come back tomorrow morning with a proper pair of skates.”

Zoro turns back to look at Sanji, who has his arms wrapped around himself as he stands in the middle of the rink. There's a thoughtful look on his face, and the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Be ready to train with Zeff.”

Zoro nods to him, and then he turns back to Charlotte, “In the morning, then.”

He can hear the women still talking as he goes, and he gets his skates off and his sneakers tied before Robin finds him in the lobby.

He packs his skates back into his bag and sighs, “Guess I don’t need them anymore.” He says, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Robin knows better, she’s closer to him than most people these days, and his disappointment at stepping away from hockey is well known to her.

“Like Luffy will ever stop bugging you for pick-up games.” Robin assures him, she squeezes his shoulder as he stands. “We’ll go find you some skates, come on.”

He doesn’t argue with her, because he’s learned not to after their years together, and he follows her to the parking lot.

He follows Robin as they drive to the store, even though neither of them are familiar with the area, she's much less likely to get lost than he is. He’d left hockey behind in more ways than one, and a major cross-country move has been the latest of those changes.

Robin had come with him, even after he’d insisted she stay behind in Florida, and Zoro is grateful in ways he'll never express to her. At least he isn’t entirely alone, especially since he won’t be finding a friend in his skating partner.

He texts Luffy as he trails behind Robin through the sporting goods store, half-listening to her talking about his new nutrition plan. He’s used to diets and structured meals and workout plans, this won’t be any different, he’ll just do what they tell him and train hard.

“Boulder sucks, dude. Cold as fuck and the skater hates me.” Zoro hovers his fingers over the screen, debating whether or not he should tell Luffy that the skater doesn’t like him. Luffy will worry for him, and he’s liable to do something insane if he starts to worry. Zoro sends the text anyway, maybe he can worry his friend into coming to visit.

“Can I see these in a size 13, please?” Robin asks an employee, who dips away with a smile.

“At least they’re black.” Zoro grunts, he takes the skate from Robin and turns it over in his hand. It’s sturdy, firm ankle support, thick leather, the blade is much thinner than he’s used to, and the toe picks look downright mean.

He won’t admit it to the skater, but he does have a lot to learn. It’s sort of overwhelming, considering he only has a few short months to catch up to Sanji’s two decades of experience.

It’s okay, though, at least Zoro isn’t starting from nothing, and he’s going to have the absolute best coaches and resources available to him.

It’s unfamiliar to lace up these skates, the motion seems like normal, but the skates feel foreign on his feet. They fit him well enough, he supposes, so he nods to Robin.

With the skates purchased and Robin’s 30 item to do list rattled off, she kisses his cheek and tells him goodbye, insisting he gets a good night’s sleep. Zoro gets back in his car and stares at the skates in his passenger seat. He flips the box open and snaps a picture, texting it to Luffy.

“New digs, what do you think?”

He gets a response before he’s even managed to put his phone away.

“Those and nothing else. Oiled up. Send pics.”

Zoro rolls his eyes and laughs in spite of himself, thankful his friend always knows how to make him feel better.

He drives back to his new apartment and lets himself in, he busies the rest of his afternoon with continuing to unpack.

He'd been in Florida for several years, had owned a home there, he'd planned on staying and building his life there.

He’d had enough to fully furnish his new three-bedroom apartment and still need to put some stuff in storage. In the guest bedroom, he begins sorting through all of the boxes labeled ‘Hockey’

One of the boxes contains a framed picture, Zoro picks it up and smiles at it. Their team, their first Stanley Cup, the best feeling in the world for the 19-year-old Zoro. He’d been on top of the world.

He catches a glimpse of his reflection on the glass, the bandaged side of his face glaring back at him, and he throws the frame down on the bed.

He goes to the living room and sulks for a while, scrolling through his phone until he’s bored, then napping aimlessly.

He's still napping on the couch when his phone ringing stirs him.

“H’lo?” he mumbles, face pressed into the pillows still.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty! You napping your day away?.” Luffy’s voice comes through the phone as bright and playful as if he was shouting in Zoro’s ear.

“Never a wrong time to nap.” Zoro defends, he rolls into his back and rubs his eyes, checking his watch. It’s nearly 7:00, he didn’t mean to sleep so late.

“So? How was it?” Luffy asks.

“He doesn’t like me very much, but I don’t think it’s personal. He doesn’t want a new partner.”

“Why get one then?”

“I guess he needs it, I dunno. I don’t understand their sport, this is probably a mistake.” Zoro sighs.

“Nah, it’s no mistake, Zo! It’s destiny, it’s your life path.” He says cheerily, as if he isn’t still playing hockey in Florida, living the destiny Zoro had carved for himself.

“Doesn’t feel like it yet, but I guess I’ll give it a go.” Zoro drags a hand down his face, “At least he’s hot.”

Luffy laughs, “Yeah, dude, I’ve been watching some of his more recent programs. D’ya see his little fishnet bodysuit in Moscow?”

Zoro huffs a laugh, and Luffy continues.

“You’re gonna paw all over him and throw him around in those little outfits! I hope he makes you wear a fishnet bodysuit, too!”

“I’m not going to paw all over him.” Zoro says with a fond sigh.

“Dude, he’s literally gonna wrap his legs around your head and you’re gonna hold him up there.” Luffy laughs brightly, “Think he’s gay?”

“Think he hates me, so it’s not gonna happen.”

Luffy hums, “Bet you change his mind, you’ll blow his mind with how amazing you are.”

Zoro is about to thank his friend for always lifting him up, but Luffy hasn’t stopped talking.

“Then you’ll blow his mind, know what I mean? Damn, could have left it at just blowing him.” Luffy tsks, “Lemme try that again. Then you’ll blow him, know what I mean?”

“Dude.”

Luffy laughs through the phone, and it’s so sunny that it makes Zoro feel the warmth of the Florida summer all over again.

“I miss you.”

“Yeah, I miss you.” Luffy sighs, “We’re all rooting for you, though, for real. If you hate this, just come back to Florida and we’ll find something for you.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Topless maids are getting big, maybe there’s something for you there.” Luffy suggests, “You can try it at my place first, we’ll see how it goes.”

“You need a decontamination team, not a topless maid, bud. I’ve seen your bathroom.” Zoro reminds him, and Luffy laughs.

It's easy to sink into the couch and banter with his best friend, and he’s glad Luffy invites him to play some video games before they get off the phone.

It’s a relaxing comfort to put his headset on and hear the voices of his friends. Luffy, Usopp, Franky, and even Nami hops on the game with them. It makes him feel closer to home, hearing the wash of his friends talking over each other, a loud chatter that’s somehow relaxing to him. He loves them, and they make his life so much better.

He falls into bed that night with a full heart, and renewed energy for his new task.

He’s going to be the best figure skater in the world.

“What are you doing?”

Sanji jumps out of his skin, clapping a hand over his mouth to muffle his barely contained shout, he turns to glare harshly at Vivi.

“You scared the shit out of me.” He whispers to her, and she smiles warmly.

“You’re hiding from hockey boy still?” she drops her voice, so she’s still on Sanji’s side. That’s good.

Sanji frowns and leans out to peek around the corner again, “I’m not hiding from him. I just don’t want to see him.”

Vivi chuckles softly but leans against the wall beside Sanji. “He’s pretty nice, you know. He always helps me with my workouts when we're in the gym, and we’ve talked and hung out a few times.”

“I don’t care how nice he is, beautiful, I’m not interested in talking to him.” Sanji sighs and slumps against the wall. “He’s still in there. I just want a damn smoothie.”

Vivi squeezes his bicep, “I’ll get your smoothie, babe, don’t worry. I won’t make you talk to the big, bad, hot man who happens to have amazing legs, by the way.” She winks as she turns the corner and heads into the break room.

Sanji glares after her, but stays firmly planted around the corner and doesn’t follow his rink mate.

It doesn’t matter how nice or hot or fuckable the hockey player might be, he’s useless to Sanji. The only qualification he has is that he’s technically capable of ice skating, otherwise, he’s just a dumb jock.

He's the frame, and Sanji is the artwork, and nobody likes a lousy frame. Sanji deserves only the finest, most talented, strongest frames.

Who has ever heard of a frame with green hair?

He’s wrong for figure skating, and he’s wrong for Sanji, and no, Sanji does not look forward to sharing the ice with him.

So yes, Sanji has avoided him, quite successfully, for nearly three weeks.

Three weeks of constant workouts, practices, training sessions, runs, hikes, and public outings of avoiding the biggest human Sanji has ever set eyes on.

At least he can see the hockey player coming from a mile away, his big, lumbering tits stumbling through the crowd.

More than once, Sanji has had to hide in locker rooms and bathrooms to avoid the idiot, who seems to get lost at literally every turn. It’s actually starting to be a pain.

To make matters worse, everyone keeps going on and on about how great the guy is.

Even Zeff has commented on how much the oaf has grown and excelled since arriving. Zeff! He’s never said anything nice about anyone!

Sanji is about to boil with anger when Vivi returns with his smoothie, she grins at his expression.

“Jeez, this guy really gets under your skin.” She teases.

He scowls at her over the edge of his cup, “I just don’t get what’s so great about him.”

Vivi smiles and tugs Sanji around the corner, leading him past the break area and towards the arena. “Maybe you should get on the ice with him and find out.” She suggests.

“Skate with him? Vi, he’ll hurt me, there’s no way he can handle tosses or spirals yet.” Sanji says incredulously.

“So don’t do tosses or spirals yet.” She shakes her head, “Work on your basics, footwork and rhythm. He needs to learn that with you, the way you would learn any program with any partner.”

Sanji rolls his neck, “I’m not babysitting him.”

“Look, Sanji.” Vivi steps in front of him and holds one finger up sternly, stopping them in their tracks. “You’re lucky to be on the ice this season, and you know it. This guy doesn’t give a shit about your reputation, in fact, I think he might not even know that much about your fucked up family shit.”

Sanji winces, Vivi rarely swears, but he knows how strongly she feels about his family situation.

“You need to start treating him with some respect, and you’re going to have to meet him halfway.” Vivi frowns, “You have to be willing to do some heavy-lifting, Sanji, be a partner to him.”

Sanji isn’t necessarily surprised by her scolding, but it makes him shrink all the same. She’s someone he loves dearly, and to know that she’s disappointed in him does sting a little.

Sanji rolls his eyes, “Fine. I’ll give it a try. For you.”

“For me?” Vivi smirks, she takes Sanji’s hand, “Babe, sooner or later, you’ll want to do it for yourself.”

“Think I’m gonna fall in love with him?”

“I already got $20 on it.” She grins and squeezes his hand, then pulls him into the rink.

After a few hours on the ice, running through programs as best he can alone, practicing his own jumps and spins, and skating with Vivi just for fun, Sanji heads towards the dance studio.

Ballet is a huge part of what they do, and the strict hours of training in the studio are some of Sanji’s favorites.

Probably because his father cared so little for the art, shrugged it off as being for women, and pushed the responsibility of ballet training off on Sanji’s mother. Sanji had always delighted in the time to spend with his mother and sister when he was a child.

So ballet always makes him feel better, and he always ends the day with it, which is especially nice on hard or disappointing days.

The dance studio is dark except for the front row of lights, where a barre runs the length of a wall to wall mirror. The hockey jock is there, head bowed, shoulders rising and falling as he tries to catch his breath.

He's wearing a pair of tight-fitting black athletic pants, and a yellow button up that hangs loosely from his enormous shoulders. He doesn’t seem to have heard Sanji, so Sanji freezes at the door where he stands.

After a moment of deep breathing, the lumbering beast rises onto his toes with painstaking effort, concentration building on his face. He keeps his eyes screwed shut, his lips pressed together firmly, and he brings one leg up, lifting his arm in an attempt at a graceful movement.

It’s sort of laughable, because he’s just so big that it’s hard to imagine him doing anything gracefully. Sanji doesn’t laugh, though, because it would disappoint Vivi if he did. This man is here to help Sanji, and he’s really pushing himself to do it.

His form is actually really nice, he just has no flow with it, so it’s obvious he feels awkward and uncomfortable.

This is a pretty big leap for him.

He holds the pose, tightening his core, trying to point his toes, exhaling slowly before he opens his eyes. He purses his lips with a dissatisfied grunt, and he comes back to standing on two feet.

“You don’t look as ridiculous as you think.” Sanji says, and that sharp grey eye snaps to him in the mirror.

“Your form is nice, but you lack confidence.” Sanji takes a step into the studio, the flooring under his feet and the way the light reflects off the mirrors snatches him back to his childhood home, his mother’s soft laughter, his sister’s challenging smile.

“It’s just weird to see myself like this.” He grabs a towel and wipes his face down.

Sanji hums softly and sets his bag down, he sits and begins lacing on his dance shoes. “It’ll be even weirder when you see yourself do it in one of the outfits. I recommend not watching yourself, I overthink everything if I do.”

“I don’t feel comfortable not seeing myself, I don’t know if I’m doing a good job or not.”

“Well, the truth is, you’re probably not.” Sanji says honestly, he leans back on his palms and looks up at Zoro. “You have to be willing to be really, really shitty at something before you can ever be any good.”

He bobs his green head, three golden earrings shimmer with the movement, a little frown pulls at his lips.

“But you’ve stuck with it, so… Thanks.” Sanji turns his attention back to his shoes, and the other man shifts on his feet in front of Sanji.

It’s quiet for a minute, and it’s actually not uncomfortable.

“I won’t let you down.”

Sanji looks up at him now, and the steely determination set on Zoro’s face makes Sanji draw a sharp breath.

Zoro turns and goes to leave the dance studio.

“Tomorrow morning, come to me first thing. Okay?” Sanji says to his back, and he nods before departing.

Sanji spends a while in the studio, until his muscles are lax and loose, his mind clear and focused.

He tells his rink mates goodnight and slings his bag over his shoulder, then loads up and drives to his apartment with his music playing too loud in his headphones.

He doesn’t take those headphones out, banging his head along to the fast electronic beat and twirling around his kitchen happily as he makes dinner. Sanji doesn’t give any more thought to the gorilla, because he only has so much time out of his day to think about wildlife, and he has plans anyway.

The doorbell rings and Sanji opens it a little after 7:30, finding the blond leaning against the doorframe on the other side.

“Hey, beautiful.” He croons, tucking his motorcycle helmet under his arm as he steps into Sanji’s apartment and tries to steal a kiss.

“You’re late again. Duval.” Sanji side-steps the kiss and shuts the door behind the other man. “Boots off, come on.”

He kicks his boots off and follows Sanji into the kitchen. “Smells good.” He comments.

“Thank you, would you like some wine?” Sanji asks politely. This man may be an egomaniac, and his punctuality is nothing to write home about, but they’ve been dating for several months, and Duval didn’t run for the hills when Sanji’s life fell apart.

That’s worth something.

“I’ll pour it, Sanji, don’t worry.” He smiles charmingly and steps into the kitchen, pulling two glasses down and selecting a bottle of red after a few moments of contemplation. “How was training today?”

“It was good, Brook has a fantastic program planned out. We’ll show the hockey player tomorrow, see if he can even hope to keep up.” Sanji rolls his eyes and holds his glass steady as Duval pours him some wine.

“He hasn’t run off yet?”

Sanji shakes his head, “No, and I guess I owe him some credit for that.” He sighs, “I just don’t see how he can ever be graceful about it.”

Duval shrugs and steers Sanji towards the couch, “Come on, it’ll be fine.” He assures Sanji, they sit on the plush sofa and Duval begins rubbing Sanji’s shoulders.

“I don’t see how it will be fine.” Sanji sighs, letting himself relax into the comfort being offered to him, he takes a slow sip of his wine. “This is my career on the line.”

“He already lost his, though. I doubt he’s trying to ruin your career; we’ve talked about this. He just wants to be on the ice, babe.” Duval reminds him gently. They have talked about this, multiple times. Duval is a hockey fan, claims it’s part of his blood, like poutine and maple syrup, but Sanji is sure most of those things are just Canadian jokes.

He’d even told Sanji about Zoro’s injury when it happened, showed Sanji the video until Sanji couldn’t stomach it and had to look away.

Duval has sympathy for King Kong, just like everyone else at the damn rink. Sanji has flat-out refused to introduce them both times Duval has asked.

“He could go be in one of those ice shows, like the anime themed ones. What’s the one you like about the volleyball team?” Sanji asks, and Duval pinches him playfully.

“Watch it,” he warns jokingly, and they snicker together softly. “Jerk.” Duval murmurs fondly, and he resumes rubbing Sanji’s shoulders.

Sanji hums softly and lets the blood flow freely from his fingertips to the roots of his hair, from his toes and all the way up. “How was your day?” Sanji asks, and Duval moves his hands to rub gently at Sanji’s back, blunt nails scratch softly.

“Uneventful. Two meetings that could have been emails, and at least six emails that should have been meetings.” Duval works his fingers under Sanji’s shirt and begins dragging his nails up and down the soft skin at the small of Sanji’s back. “Still waiting to hear back about the funding on the whole McCready affair, so it feels like we’re in limbo.”

“Aren’t they weeks late on giving you guys an answer about that?” Sanji asks, he leans forward more, letting Duval’s hands explore further up his bare skin.

“Mhm, three weeks tomorrow.”

“Rude.”

“Mm.” Duval leans forward, mouthing softly at the shell of Sanji’s ear and sending chills racing down his spine, “Isn’t it?”

“Some people just,” Sanji takes a sharp breath, leaning his weight back into Duval, who nibbles gently at the spot under Sanji’s ear, his hands slip around to rest on Sanji’s abs. “No manners,” Sanji murmurs, he rests his head back and lets Duval kiss down his jaw.

“I know,” Duval says, breath warm against Sanji’s throat, “If only everyone were as polite and thoughtful as you, darling.”

Sanji chuckles, and Duval lets out a rough laugh in his ear that makes it very hard to think.

“Dinner will get cold,” Sanji says through a gasp, letting it turn breathy towards the end.

“Let it. I missed you.”

So, dinner goes cold, their wine glasses forgotten on the coffee table, Sanji’s worries about the next day easing away.

Duval might be a total moron, but he’s a good distraction, and he’s supportive of Sanji. And well, the sex is pretty damn good.

After rewarming dinner and a movie on the couch, Sanji invites Duval to stay for the night and they shower together before falling into bed.

He’s too hard on the people around him. A fatal flaw, truly, it makes it nearly impossible to put up with him. Those who try have to try to get close to him, and even then, he inevitably pushes them away before long.

He can’t help himself, it’s practically a family recipe, and he’s hardest on himself out of anyone. That’s no excuse, and Sanji knows it.

Following a wonderfully soft evening, night, and morning with Duval, Sanji heads to the rink with a graciousness settled into his chest.

He's going to be nice to the jock today, and it’s because he wants to be. It’s because he feels loved, and for once, he’s willing to be patient with another human.

So, with two hot coffees in hand, Sanji steps into the arena to find the right winger lacing on his skates.

“Good morning,” Sanji holds out the coffee, “I don’t know how you take it, sorry.”

He looks strangely confused as he takes the coffee, “Thanks, uh, I’m sure it’s fine.” He glances at the liquid and sets the cup down before finishing with his skates.

“How are you this morning? Does your meal plan allot you enough calories in the mornings? I know they can be hard to get used to.”

Zoro leans back and squints up at Sanji in confusion, “I’m fine, and yeah, it’s been sort of strict.” He shakes his head a little and tries to shake off the look of confusion as he lifts the coffee and takes a sip. “But it’s fine, I usually only get hungry on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“They have you doing fasting days?” Sanji cocks his head to the side, “You shouldn’t need to lose any weight, you look great.”

“I guess I’m supposed to look like you, right?”

Sanji laughs, and he congratulates himself that it’s light and playful, “No, honey, that is not your goal.”

Zoro’s shoulders sag, “Okay, good. Cause, like, my waist will never be that tiny.”

Sanji laughs again, and he sits beside Zoro and sips from his own coffee, “Start skipping those fasting days, just eat like any other day. You spend more time in the gym than anyone else, so there’s no way your diet should be so strict.”

“Yeah, thanks, I will.” Zoro says genuinely, he stares at the steam rising off the coffee for a few seconds. “I guess you wanted to see me skate today.”

“I actually wanted to skate with you, if that’s cool.”

Zoro sits up straight, “Yeah!” he visibly reigns in his enthusiasm, “Uh, yeah, that’d be great. I need to learn how to skate with you.”

“Have you ever skated with anyone before?” Sanji asks.

Zoro nods, “Yeah, but it’s been a really long time. We skate together constantly in hockey, but it’s, you know, a lot more aggressive than what you’re looking for.”

“Yeah, body checking is pretty frowned upon in figure skating.” Sanji says with a nose wrinkle, and Zoro chuckles.

“Too bad, might make it more interesting.” Zoro shrugs, and it’s Sanji’s turn to chuckle.

“Trust me, more than once, I’ve considered throwing a punch on the ice. I sort of envy you for that.” Sanji says with a little shrug.

“Nothing better than earning that timeout, man.” Zoro grins, and he finishes his coffee. “Thanks for that, I needed it.”

“Sure, you ready?” Sanji asks, and Zoro nods, so they head to the edge of the ice and remove their guards before taking the rink together. They skate opposite one another, circling the rink several times as they stretch out and warm up some.

It's actually immediately obvious how much Zoro has improved, his form and posture are correct, and he nearly looks natural. It seems like he still doesn’t like the skates, but Sanji is sure that has less to do with the skates themselves and more to do with the fact that they aren’t the clunky things Zoro is used to.

“How long did you play hockey?” Sanji asks as they make a pass by each other.

“My entire life.” Zoro says, “Probably played my first game at 3 or 4, never looked back. Got scouted at 16, so I knew I was set.”

“How old are you?”

“25, you?”

“Same.” Sanji stops and Zoro swoops over to stop in front of him, facing him on the ice.

“What now?” Zoro asks, he looks around uncertainly.

“Just… would you mind answering a question for me?” Sanji cocks his head to the side, and Zoro nods.

“Why are you here?” Sanji asks quietly, and the room seems to go quiet around them until it’s thick and cottony.

“I can’t play hockey anymore; I have no depth perception with one eye.” Zoro lifts his hand and touches gently at the wound.

It’s still bandaged, not like it was when he got here, but there’s still a bandage covering the slit over his left eye. Sanji can’t imagine how horrible it must have been to lose it the way Zoro did.

“I love being on the ice, skating is in my veins. I just don’t want to let it go, and this is a way for me to push myself to be the best while I do it.” Zoro answers honestly, he clears his throat and taps his toe pick against the ice a few times.

“You’re the best in your game and having you as a partner would be the ultimate challenge for me to be the best. I knew you’d accept nothing less, especially after we met for the first time.”

Sanji blinks in surprise, genuinely taken back so hard it nearly confuses him. He’d asked for honesty, but he didn’t think he’d get it so readily, given with a vulnerability that Sanji reserves for those closest to him.

“Thank you for this opportunity, I won’t let you down.” Zoro says, repeating his words from the previous night, still just as vulnerable, just as honest, just as sincere.

Sanji nearly feels guilty, he’s spent almost a month avoiding this guy and talking shit about him, and he’s actually… alright.

“Thanks for answering,” Sanji rasps, and Zoro nods. “You, um… we should skate.”

Zoro nods again, so Sanji pulls the remote for the PA system from his pocket and hits play.

It’s his own playlist, so it’s an electronic song that Sanji would never actually get to skate to, but it’s a good way for them to get warmed up together.

Brook needs to show Zoro the program this afternoon, and they need to start working on it together. So, they’ve got to get comfortable together.

“Do we, uh,” Zoro holds his hands up, miming a ballroom dance hold.

Sanji grins, “We aren’t waltzing.” He begins skating backwards, and he loops his fingers around Zoro’s wrist to pull him along. “We’re just skating, just together. To the music.” He pulls Zoro closer and watches as Zoro shifts uncomfortably. He’s steady on his feet, his skating ability is unquestionable, and he’s taken quickly to figure skating fundamentals.

It’s probably only two minutes, but it feels like a weirdly long time before Zoro finally relaxes and settles in with being close to Sanji.

“It’s weird, I know. We don’t like each other and we’re kissing distance.” Sanji says.

Zoro smirks, “What is kissing distance?” He puts a hand on Sanji’s waist and pulls him closer, they swirl around together and begin skating through figures as though they’ve always done them together.

“It’s when you’re close enough to kiss someone, idiot.” Sanji rolls his eyes; he tucks under Zoro’s arm and glides in a circle around him. Zoro grabs him by the waist suddenly, hoisting him off the ice and tossing him into the air with no preamble.

Sanji tucks his arms, his body acting on instinct as he spins in three tight circles before Zoro catches him and helps him land gracefully.

“Hey, that was great!” Sanji grins with delight and surprise sparking in his chest, he feels invincible suddenly.

The song is in the last chorus, the beat fast and fun, and Sanji and Zoro trade a glance before taking off down the ice together. Step-in-step, like they’ve choreographed it and rehearsed it a thousand times, just flowing and gliding together.

At the far end of the rink, they split apart, turn backwards, and both leap into the air. Sanji does a quad Lutz, Zoro a double loop, so they’re not quite on the same level.

Still! A double loop!

He lands it, too, correctly, with only a small wobble.

Sanji grabs his shoulders, “Zoro!” he exclaims happily, he laughs, “Holy shit!”

Zoro laughs bashfully, he scuffs his skate against the ice. “Nah, I’m just trying to impress you, I want to keep up so bad.”

“Dude, you’ve got your doubles! What about axels? Lutz? Have you tried any triples?” 

“I have all my doubles, and I can do triples on the edge jumps. I haven’t got any triples on toe jumps yet; I’ve got the rotations, but I can’t land.” Zoro tells him.

“The toe picks are tough, huh?” Sanji taps his lip thoughtfully, “Come on, I’m excited now.”

They spend the morning skating together, running through figures and testing Zoro’s skills.

Sanji doesn’t trust him enough to really get thrown around, but they’ll get there quickly with how fast Zoro is progressing.

They skate together all morning, and Zoro rises to every challenge Sanji presents him. He stumbles, and he falls, and he wipes out big time on more than one occasion. But he gets up, shaking it off like it’s nothing, and pushing himself harder and with more focus, not stopping until he achieves his goal.

He lands his first triple toe loop just before lunch, and Sanji skates across the ice to jump on him as he cheers excitedly, “There you go! Told you that you just had to get those hips to go!”

Zoro catches him easily with one arm, and he laughs, his grey eye crinkles shut, and he laughs.

Oh.

He’s so bright up-close like this, and Sanji is positive he hasn’t heard Zoro laugh until now, in fact, seeing this look on his face, Sanji isn’t sure he’s even seen Zoro smile. Not like this.

This has little shimmers of pride dancing in his eye, his nose wrinkles a little, his shoulders shake, and he holds Sanji with one arm like it’s nothing. He skates off, pulling Sanji with him, and Sanji lets him, leans his weight into it and lets Zoro pull him around for a minute.

Sanji pushes himself against Zoro, his back pressed to that massive chest, and they glide together like they were made to do it. The energy feels different, and it settles into a knot behind Sanji’s sternum.

This might work.

At the end of the rink, Sanji turns and grabs his shoulders, “Come on, let’s go get lunch.”

They’re in a pub just a few minutes later, eyes locked over the rims of their pints as they gulp them down challengingly. Zoro finishes first, a triumphant laugh as his glass hits the wood, “First!” He calls childishly, and Sanji snorts in amusement, beer burning his nostrils and making him grimace.

“We weren’t even racing, idiot.” Sanji mutters, defensive in a competitive and fun way that raises his hackles and makes him want to gnash his teeth at Zoro.

“Oo-kay,” Zoro sings teasingly, “But if we had been, I would have won.”

“No. You don’t know that. I would have kicked your ass if I knew we’d been racing.” Sanji narrows his eyes; he pushes both of their empty glasses across the bar. “You’re a cheater.” He mutters, pausing to thank the bartender with a warm smile when he collects the empty glasses and replaces them with full pints.

“Whatever, you’re totally impressed with me.” Zoro says with a cocky grin as he takes his fresh beer.

“Not.” Sanji cuts in.

“You’re amazed by my motivation and commitment.”

“I’m amazed you know both of those words.”

“You’re so excited to have me as your partner now.”

“I’ll be excited when you give me something to be excited about.”

Zoro grins after draining half of his pint, “Be careful what you wish for, Blondie.”

Sanji holds up both hands and crosses his fingers on both, “I wish this was all a dream.”

Zoro’s smile tilts a little, bittersweet, like he’s tasted something sour and he’s trying to decide if it’s palatable or not. “Well, I guess we can agree on that.” He says, his gaze wanders to the back wall of the bar, narrowing in on a singular bottle and staring at it like it holds the answers to all the questions in the universe.

Sanji feels a little guilty, not much, but a little. He sighs, “Sorry, that was a dick thing to say.”

Zoro hums, “Now I’m surprised by the words you know.” He nudges Sanji with the toe of his beat-up high tops and is giving him a sideways smile when Sanji meets his gaze once more.

“How, um, how is everything? This was a big transition for you.” Sanji rubs his fingers through the condensation on his glass, mostly to have something to train his eyes on besides the way that Zoro’s hair trails over the tips of his ears and the low light of the bar makes his tan skin look darker than ever.

“It’s okay, really.” Zoro says, “I hated it at first, I didn’t want to be here at all. I’m settled in now, a little bit, at least. Vivi has been nice to me, she’s shown me around a bit. I also have Robin here with me, that helps.” He shares and Sanji nods along, eyes flitting away from Zoro every few seconds because it feels weird to look at him suddenly.

“The training and work outs and all that stuff is great, I can understand all of it, and it’s giving me lots of goals. I do well with something to focus on, so I’ve been surprised how much I enjoy it.” Zoro says honestly, he pauses to finish his beer, Adams apple bobbing as he swallows. Sanji can’t take his eyes off it. Until Zoro drops the glass from his lips, and there’s a little bit of beer lingering on his top lip, then there’s something else Sanji can’t take his eyes off.

He looks away, drains his own beer.

“That’s good.” Sanji says distantly, he grabs a menu from the bar top and busies himself looking at the food options.

None of them are truly up to snuff for him, but he’s at a bar with Roronoa Zoro, and he’s maybe sort of contributed to the worst chapter of his life in no small way.

Sanji has not given this man an inch, a centimeter, he’s barely even glanced down his nose at Zoro, and Zoro has just let him, too busy trying to piece something of his life back together.

So, yeah, Sanji will sit in a shitty bar and eat greasy burgers with Zoro if it quells some of the guilt welling in his chest. That’s what this feeling is, the tightness, the little bundle in his sternum, the way it’s hard to swallow when Sanji looks at Zoro. It’s guilt. He feels bad.

That’s all.

So, they eat their greasy burgers and drink their cheap beers and get to know each other just a little, chatting about movies and music and friends. When they’re done eating and Sanji leads Zoro to the skating supply store and pushes him down on the bench to be fitted for a proper pair of skates, he tells himself the same thing.

It's to help himself feel better, and if Zoro has skates he’s comfortable in, that’s all the better for Sanji!

So teasing Zoro about how big his feet are, poking at scars that run along both of Zoro’s ankles, picking the most pastel leather swatches he can find; it’s all selfish. Purely, solely, with his own intentions and wellbeing in mind.

After they order Zoro a pair of skates, Sanji leads him back to the rink and listens as Zoro tells an animated story about getting so lost he ended up on the wrong coast of Florida. Zoro stops at the entrance and waits for Sanji to finish smoking, and Sanji can’t stop the warm smile that takes over his face as Zoro finishes his story.

He feels better now, it’s easier to make eye contact with Zoro and not feel a strange, tight clawing on his ribcage. His guilt has ebbed, and he’ll have to remember that Zoro made him feel so guilty without even trying to, Sanji will have to be careful, he’ll end up bending over backwards for this guy if he doesn’t watch his step.

Back on the rink, Brook comes down from the sound room and introduces himself to Zoro with a polite smile and a handshake. Brook is their choreographer, a highly accomplished skater himself, and he’s created some of the best, most technically difficult programs in the world.

His love for music is what brought him to skating, and it’s what keeps him tucked into the little sound booth all alone. Sanji has caught him on the ice more than once, swooping and gliding about as he hums to himself.

The program he’s made for Sanji is one that Sanji is desperate to skate, it will challenge him like never before, and his bones ache with the need to throw himself so wholeheartedly into something like this.

While Zoro and Brook are talking, Brook has followed Zoro’s career for years and has been looking forward to meeting Zoro, Sanji spies that Robin has sneaked into the arena.

She’s a few rows back, where the shadow of the mezzanine hides her dark hair and tanned skin, but her bright blue eyes sparkle mischievously when she meets Sanji’s gaze. Sanji goes to talk to her, he’s always loved talking to women, and she’s gorgeous and soft and reserved. She seems so mysterious, an enigma he just can’t quite put his finger on.

She’s got a laptop perched in the seat next to her, she pulls one of her earbuds out as Sanji approaches, and she smiles warmly. “Hello, Mr. Skater.”

Sanji smiles at her, “Hello, Robin, dear. How are you today?”

“I’m fantastic now,” she says with a genuine smile that crinkles the corners of her blue eyes. She really is such a striking thing, the sort of beauty that makes Sanji wish he were attracted to women that way. Robin would be such a lovely girlfriend, wouldn’t she?

“What do you think?” she asks seriously, leaning forward and cocking an eyebrow that shows she's serious. “His fundamentals, his form, the ballet, where does he need to improve?”

“Are you his coach or something?” Sanji asks, he sits on the steps beside her and pulls his vape out of his jacket pocket and hits it.

“No, I actually don’t know the first thing about figure skating.” She says honestly, “Or I didn’t when we got here. I guess I’m his manager, technically, but we’re old friends. He just needs someone to wake him up on time and make sure he doesn’t get lost; he’ll push himself harder than anyone else would.”

Sanji nods, he smiles at her again, “Well, he should always keep his eyes on his fundamentals, but he knows that. He landed a triple this morning, and I could tell how uncomfortable he felt on those skates.”

Robin nods, she pulls a pen from behind one ear and clicks it a few times before jotting something down on a notepad in her lap.

“I took him to the supplier I use and had him fitted, they won’t be ready for a week or two, but I think he’ll feel better on his new skates. He can’t be afraid of those toe picks; he has to learn how to use them to his advantage.” Sanji continues, he hits his vape again and his eyes drift back down to Brook and Zoro.

Zoro is leaning against the edge of the rink, nodding along and laughing at whatever Brook is saying to him, and that big, bright, sunny smile is back on his face again. He practically lights up the rink.

“How do you think he’ll react to the outfits?” Sanji asks, he knows Charlotte gave the sketches and swatches to Robin a few days ago, and Sanji is beyond excited to skate this program with this theme. He hopes they don’t meet too much resistance from the hulking hockey player. It is a pretty tight outfit.

Robin just smiles, a wolfish glint to it that promises of darkness underlying the sweet smile. “I think he’ll look fantastic in them, you have an excellent eye.” She says simply.

They share a light laugh, and then Brook calls Sanji back down to the edge of the ice. Sanji props his elbows on the edges of the boards and leans his weight forward, rocking as much of it off his sore feet as he can.

Sure, he’s used to this grueling sort of training, but he’s only human and he’s just as prone to getting sore as anyone else. He wonders if Zoro is sore, if his feet are beaten to hell and he has blisters covering the skin. Sanji wouldn’t really think so, since Zoro had been in the middle of hockey season prior to arriving in Colorado.

Zoro watches Brook skate about, holding a ghost of a partner as he mimes the basics of the program, giving concise instructions along the way. Sanji and Brook have agreed to not get into lifts and spirals yet, they’ll start with step sequences and jumps, then work up to the tosses and more complicated skills. Sanji hasn’t decided how willing he is to get dropped by this oaf yet, and he’s certain that there’s bruises and a cold back in his future.

Brook skates the program three times, then comes to lean against the edge and catch his breath. “Questions?”

Zoro nods, “Why don’t you just skate with him?”

The question might have rubbed Sanji the wrong way yesterday, he probably would have prickled and lashed out at Zoro, but today they just chuckle together as Sanji digs his elbow into Zoro’s side.

“Alas,” Brook says dramatically, “I can’t lift my arms over my head anymore, I’ve been deprived of my ability to do acrobatics with a partner, by mother nature so cruel.”

Sanji rolls his eyes, a fond smile on his face. It is true that rotator cuff issues cut Brook’s skating career short, but it certainly hasn’t kept him away from the ice, and he’s made quite a name for himself as a choreographer.

“Too bad,” Zoro hums, “Thought I might have found an out.”

“Whatever,” Sanji elbows Zoro in the ribs again, “You’re so stuck with me.”

“This program is particularly relevant to both of you,” Brook says, “The theme is rebirth, like the Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the things that burnt around you.”

Zoro lights up at that, his shoulders straighten, and he smiles a little. “Yeah?”

“You, Zoro, who have lost so much in such a short time, rising up to the challenge and staying on the ice no matter what.” Brook says, and Zoro’s jaw sets firmly in determination, a glint in his grey eye that shows his pride in himself. Well-earned pride, truly, the kind that looks good on someone.

“You, Sanji, clinging tightly to that which you love, even as it’s ripped from your hands. You burn them down, you build yourself stronger, bigger, brighter.” Brook says, and Sanji tips his chin back, feeling that same pride Zoro is shining with.

“Both of you burn, burn like a wildfire. Then rise from the ashes of that which has burnt you, be reborn through the heat and the flames.” Brook says, “Skate with fire in your veins, and do this program the justice it deserves. Do yourselves justice.”

Zoro grabs Sanji’s hand and pulls him onto the ice, joy in his eyes and a smile on his lips that doesn’t falter for the rest of the day.

He smiles as they skate together, and he smiles as he falls, and he smiles as he ruffles the ice out of his green hair. He smiles as Sanji’s stamina runs out, and he smiles as they head to the ballet studio to cool down.

He still smiles here, eyes turned away from the mirror, body relaxed and looking a million times more at ease than he had the previous day.

It’s not so bad, actually.

Training with him.

This might just work, and Sanji feels infinitely more hopeful than he had the day prior, and he can tell from Zoro’s smile that the jock feels the same way.

The wind is blowing, the air is bitingly cold when they step outside, the sun fading into the horizon on the gloomy winter day. It hasn’t felt gloomy for a single moment, though, and Sanji has felt the sun on his face every minute of it.

“See ya in the morning, mosshead.” Sanji says over his shoulder, a lit cigarette already between his lips.

“Hey, twirly,” Zoro calls after him, and Sanji turns to look at him.

The last rays of the sun peek through the clouds and catch his face, bathing him golden under the greying skies, his skates hang around his neck, his bag slung over his shoulder, his ridiculously huge thighs on showcase in his tight-

Wait a second. Stop.

Sanji forces his eyes away from Zoro’s thighs in those tight black pants, making himself look at the serious face of his partner.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to be so nice to me today, but it means a lot.” Zoro says honestly, and that guilt slams into Sanji again.

And again.

And again.

Ugh, it practically flattens him to the snowy ground, smashing him under the weight of how poorly he’s treated this man. It’s not even like he's gone out of his way to be mean to Zoro, Sanji has just basically pretended he didn’t exist. He wouldn’t even grace Zoro with meanness, and that’s a new low for Sanji.

“Yeah,” Sanji says distantly, he takes a drag off his smoke, “Thank my boyfriend, I guess.” Sanji shrugs, watching Zoro’s face for any little reaction. “He dicked me down really good last night, I’m just in a good mood.”

Zoro laughs, eye crinkling, “Well, tell him I said thanks. Probably owe him a fruit basket or something.”

Sanji rolls his eyes, “He’d cream himself if he knew you even acknowledged his existence.” He says fondly, and they chuckle together.

“Have a good night, twirly.”

“Yeah, goodnight, moss.”

After the day Sanji finally decides he’s capable of being nice to Zoro, things go pretty smoothly for the next two weeks.

They skate together, they work out together, they train together, they eat together. They bicker, they argue, they get in each other’s faces, they yell across the ice, they have to be separated by Brook on more than one occasion.

“What did you just say to me?” Zoro snapped.

“You heard me, I asked if you have two left feet. What the hell was that?” Sanji motioned vaguely to the ice near them.

“Not everyone has been prancing around out here their entire lives, cut me some fuckin’ slack.”

“You’re the one always going on and on about how you’re my equal and shit! Prove it!”

“Me prove it? You’re not my equal! Take the fucking gloves off.”

“I'm not wearing gloves.”

“It’s a figure-“ Zoro huffed angrily, “Jesus Christ, could you be any more infuriating?!”

“Dunno, but I’ll give it a shot for you.”

It’s not always like that, but for some reason, Zoro gets the feeling that they both like it when it is. It’s sort of a game, and they feel like rivals as much as partners in this match.

Today hasn’t been a bickering day, though, it’s one of those quiet, serious days where they’re both under stress from themselves more than anything.

They’re trying to get a lift right, and it’s a complicated move. Zoro has to hold Sanji over his head for a while, continue to skate well, and then gracefully get Sanji back on the ice. He has dropped Sanji more than once, but they’ve yet to have a bad accident or fall.

He's usually so quick to catch Sanji that he doesn’t even hit the ice fully, and he always just gives Zoro a quiet look before they get back to it. Sometimes that look is hateful and scathing, sometimes it’s disappointed, sometimes it’s annoyed, sometimes it’s just frustrated and tired. But that’s it. He doesn’t yell at Zoro or complain about how terrible Zoro is.

Today the looks he’s shooting Zoro are unrecognizable, they’re almost sympathetic or pitying, like he’s sad Zoro is still struggling with this move.

This stupid goddamn move.

“Let’s take a break, I need a smoke.” Sanji says, he grabs his guards on the way off the rink, stopping to murmur something to Robin and Charlotte before he goes.

Zoro watches his back disappear, then he casts a glance at Robin to see that she has stood up and come to the edge of the rink.

“Zoro, why don’t you call it a day?” she suggests, “You’re overwhelming yourself with this one.”

Zoro grits his jaw tight, and he shakes his head, “I want to get it right before we go home.” He says quietly, “I promised that I’d…” he trails off and his eyes snap between Robin and the door Sanji just exited.

“He knows.” Robin says softly, and Zoro sighs.

“Just a few more minutes. Okay?”

Robin presses her lips together before she nods, “Of course.” Then she returns to her seat at Charlotte’s side.

While he waits for Sanji to return, Zoro practices his own jumps. He’s got all his triples except the axel now, Sanji has been super helpful with those. His new skates are ready to pick up, too, he got the call earlier, and he hopes those will help him feel better on the ice.

He can’t stop thinking about the lift, though, unable to wrap his mind around why he can’t get this move down. The stupid hand placement keeps tripping him up every time, he's so focused on it that he's not paying enough attention to keeping their balance. It’s exhausting, and he can’t keep his thoughts from wandering back to it every half-second. So, he’s really not focused that well, and when he pops off the ice and into the air, he already knows he’s got too much momentum.

He doesn’t care, he just tucks his arms and lets gravity do its thing as he careens to the ice hard on his side. He just stays there, lying on his back on the ice, eyes closed.

Fuck his life.

He hates this shit.

This is so fucking stupid.

Why is he even still here?

Pretending to be something he’s not, and for why? For skating? For money? For what?

Because his partner is stupidly hot and wears slutty little tight pants and wraps his legs around Zoro’s neck? Yeah, okay, that’s a good reason!

But really, what does he hope to accomplish? He’ll never be good enough to win, and all he’s going to do is hold back his extremely talented partner.

If all this does in the end is push Zoro back to that place, make him feel like an empty shell again, well, he’s not sure he could go on.

He's in his own little world, doomy and gloomy, eyes squeezed shut, letting the ice make his clothes wet and cold. He doesn’t care. What’s the point?

The doors to the rink open again, and it’s far too noisy to just be Sanji returning to the ice. Great, now other people can watch Zoro fail over and over and over and ov-

There’s a laugh, loud and bright and playful, it comes through a wide grin, accompanied by dark eyes that squint happily.

Zoro knows because it’s a laugh he’s heard for years, one of his favorites in the entire world.

He bolts straight up, scrambling to get his feet back under him as he looks up wildly.

“Hey!”

“Oh my god, hey!” Zoro nearly falls, “Luffy! Hey!”

Luffy breaks into a run, he vaults himself into the rink and runs across the ice effortlessly, slamming his weight into Zoro and taking them both to the ice immediately. He’s still laughing, bright and here, he’s fucking here!

Zoro rolls over and pins Luffy’s shoulders to the ice, and they’re both laughing. “Asshole! Why are you here?”

“Aw, that’s no way to greet your captain.” Luffy pouts playfully, he wraps his fingers around Zoro’s wrists, “Can’t I miss my favorite person ever?”

Zoro pulls them off the ice, he hugs Luffy tightly and crushes him to his chest as he skates off the ice with Luffy dangling from his arms. Luffy hugs him back tightly enough that Zoro can hardly breathe, laughing the whole time.

Sanji is watching, a fond, bright smile on his face. Fondness for whom, Zoro doesn’t know, but likely Luffy.

Luffy makes everyone fond of him, it’s like he can’t help himself. He’s so damn charming and sweet.

Zoro sets Luffy down off of the ice and grabs his guards.

“Can I steal him?” Luffy asks, clasping his hands together and giving Sanji his best puppy eyes.

Sanji nods immediately, “Of course, you two go catch up.” He says insistently.

Luffy grabs Sanji’s hands and tugs him closer, eyes warm and bright, “Thanks!” he kisses Sanji’s cheek, “Come out with us later, yeah?”

Sanji nods, and Zoro recognizes the look in his eyes, how charmed he is by Luffy already.

“Bring Duval, he’ll keel over dead if you keep him from meeting this one.” Zoro says as he tucks Luffy under his arm and starts pulling him out of the rink.

Sanji nods again, “Yeah, sure. Don’t forget about your skates.”

“Thanks, I’ll text you when we’re headed out later.”

Then Luffy pulls Zoro into the locker room and urges him to change into his sneakers once more.

“He’s so pretty!” Luffy whispers loudly, “Look at you! Look at these pants.” He plucks at the tight fabric on Zoro’s thigh.

“Keep talking like that, I’ll let you take ‘em off.” Zoro teases, and Luffy’s smile turns wild.

“Swear your ass has gotten tighter, too. You’ll have to let me check later to see if I’m right.”

Zoro stands once he’s got his sneakers on, and he pulls Luffy into another warm hug. “Missed you, asshole.”

Luffy takes Zoro’s bag and intertwines their fingers in his free hand, and they head out to Zoro’s car. Luffy drives them to the skate shop and Zoro leads him inside.

Luffy oohs and aahs over the skates on display, feeling of the leather and looking around with bright eyes, chattering away endlessly. He has a mini freak out when he sees Zoro’s new skates, which Zoro has to admit, they are pretty damn cool.

Black embossed leather, the purple anodized eyelets, the blades that fade into a bright green metal on the edges, they’re cool, and Zoro is excited to wear them.

Zoro takes Luffy back to his place, and they lounge in the living room and catch up for a while. Luffy lays on top of him, one hand pressed under Zoro’s shirt, he’s always been clingy, especially when they miss each other.

“Have you met his boyfriend yet?” Luffy asks, they’ve been quiet for a few minutes, just watching the TV idly.

“No, I haven’t.” Zoro says, “Big hockey fan, I guess, Sanji thinks he’ll lose it.” He personally thinks it’d be pretty funny to see Sanji squirm and get embarrassed by his boyfriend’s behavior, Zoro might even milk it, just to irritate Sanji as much as possible.

“I wonder how serious it is.” Luffy ponders aloud, and Zoro shoots him a look, “No, I mean, I didn’t realize how pretty he is. I might have to take him back to Florida with me.” He grins innocently and Zoro rolls his eyes.

“You’re more than welcome to.” Zoro says, he nestles into the couch and relaxes like he hasn’t been able to in weeks. Luffy practically lived with Zoro back in Florida, not because he didn’t have his own place, but because they both just preferred to be together most of the time.

He always feels more at ease when Luffy is around, something about his presence is calming, it’s safe, it feels like home to Zoro.

Zoro had longed for that home for years, and finding it in Luffy had taken mere days once they were teammates, something they both agreed on. So sharing space, whether it’s just being in the same house or they’re naked in bed together, it’s something Zoro craved.

Having Luffy here, lying on his chest, mouth slack as he nods off, it makes Zoro feel like he’s finally at home.

They nap for a while, and they wake up to the sound of Luffy’s phone ringing.

“Hl’o?” he says, holding the phone near-ish to his head, eyes still firmly shut.

“Wake up, let us in.” the voice in the phone says, loudly enough for Zoro to hear it clearly.

He recognizes that voice, there’s really only one person who is even capable of being that loud, and Zoro can hear his laughter somewhere nearby.

Luffy rolls off the couch and heads for the front door, where he’s barely got it unlocked before there’s people spilling into Zoro’s apartment.

Zoro didn’t stand a chance at getting up off the couch, not once he realized who exactly was stampeding into his home, and suddenly he has bodies piling on top of him and being way too loud.

Franky is the first to hit him, his huge body covers Zoro completely and makes him groan when Franky drops his weight on top of him. Usopp is right behind Franky, reaching over Franky’s massive shoulders to ruffle Zoro’s hair as he shouts his greeting.

Zoro struggles under them, laughing despite himself, “Franky, you’re crushing me!”

“With love, bro!” Franky sobs dramatically, he buries his face in Zoro’s neck and hugs him tight, then he stands up and pulls Zoro with him easily.

Ace is next, he practically tackles Zoro the second Franky sets him down, and they tussle for a few moments before they both laugh and hug each other tightly.

Amidst all the ruckus, Zoro still hears a voice he hasn’t expected, and it makes him choke up immediately.

“Zo-or-o!!” he calls out, dragging the name out for several long syllables to catch Zoro’s attention.

Zoro laughs out loud as the boy runs across the room and launches himself at Zoro, blindly trusting that he’ll be caught.

“Chopper! What the hell, dude, I’m so happy to see you!” Zoro hugs him tightly, picking him up and shaking him until Chopper laughs.

He’s the son of the team physician back in Florida, and he spends nearly every single moment of his life at the arena with the team. He’s a pretty damn good hockey player already, and he's made tough by his surroundings.

Zoro had clicked with him immediately when they first met, despite Zoro never really getting along with kids before, and now he’s one of Zoro’s favorite people alive.

It’s so good to see this snot-nosed little punk.

They’re all too loud and too big and too much as they wander all around Zoro’s new place, opening his closets and tilting his picture frames at odd angles and leaving the sinks running when they walk out of the bathrooms.

Zoro has missed them fiercely, their loud antics and the way they intentionally try to annoy him. He loves these idiots.

Luffy steals Zoro’s phone to call Sanji and they end up talking for 45 minutes, Luffy pacing up and down the length of the kitchen and spending a lot of time being entirely too charming. Zoro watches occasionally from where he’s sitting in the living room and playing a video game with Usopp and Chopper.

Ace and Franky lounge on the couch nearby, and it’s such a balm to have them all around that Zoro doesn’t even mind them barging in like this.

Ace asks lots of questions about skating, if Zoro likes it, how he’s feeling, how he’s done with the transition. Ace is sort of their unofficial big brother, even though a few of the guys are technically older than him. He’s actually Luffy’s brother, and the rest of them just adopted Ace as their own brother along the way.

He's smart and always thinks ahead, his advice is grounded and realistic, and he has a certain way of inspiring and motivating those around him. Ace loves them all, and he wants the best for them.

So Zoro answers his questions honestly, because Ace would probably worry about him if he thought Zoro was lying about anything.

Yes, he likes skating. It’s fun, it’s a challenge, Sanji pushes him to be better and better every time he does something.

Zoro feels fine, he’s a little lonely, but he stays so busy he hardly has time to notice. His rink-mates are all nice to him, Vivi is an angel, Brook has turned out to be cool as hell, even Sanji has warmed up to Zoro a little bit.

It’s been a big change, and he’d struggled at first. Zoro tells Ace how hard the first three weeks were, those weeks where Sanji wouldn’t give him the time of day. How much that had bothered Zoro and made him feel like scum, he’d been so discouraged, and struggling with the skating, too.

It all got so much better after Sanji finally turned the corner, his skating advice alone would have been a life-saver, but he’d actually sort of accepted Zoro as his partner.

He wouldn’t say those words, Zoro knows that, but Sanji has accepted him, whether he likes it or not.

After their game is over, they pile into Zoro’s car and their rental, and they drive to a local arcade bar.

Chopper immediately sets out in search of his favorite arcade games, Zoro in tow behind him, and soon enough, they’re playing air hockey together.

“How’s school?” Zoro asks him.

“It’s good. I read about a medical oddities museum I really want to go to!” he says excitedly, and Zoro lets the puck slip past and into his goal with a loud groan.

“Bet Robin would like to go with you.” Zoro says, he retrieves the puck and sets it back on the table.

“I think so, too! Where is she? I miss her so much.” Chopper says, “Does she like it here?”

“Ah, you know Robin. She’s happy anywhere she can read a book.” Zoro assures Chopper, who nods and smiles brightly as they return to their game.

Chopper narrowly beats him, and Zoro gives him a harsh glare as Chopper does a victory lap around the hockey table, laughing triumphantly. Then he stops at Zoro’s side and hides behind him shyly, peeking out at the person who has been watching them for a minute.

“Hello, how are you?”

Zoro looks over to see Sanji smiling politely at Chopper, a bright twinkle in his blue eyes, looking soft and gentle as he smiles at the kid.

“Good.” Chopper answers shortly, hiding behind Zoro more.

“This is my skating partner Sanji,” Zoro tells him, he rests his hand on Chopper’s head, “He’s the one who gave me a new job.”

Chopper nods, he smiles shyly at Sanji, “I’m Tony, but everybody calls me Chopper, so you should, too! Zoro is my friend, you took him away!!”

Sanji frowns dramatically, “Oh, no, I’m so sorry.” He clasps his hands over his chest, “I really need him, Chopper, he’s just right for me.”

Zoro can’t swallow, can’t breathe, his chest is entirely too tight. It’s not right.

Seeing Sanji here, speaking sweetly to Chopper, assuring the child that he’s looking after Zoro and making sure he doesn’t get lost. It’s not right, it makes Zoro’s bones feel squishy, his organs turn into lava and trickle down his insides in hot streaks. He’s melting, melting for Sanji, and that’s fucking terrifying.

Robin arrives and Chopper goes running across the bar to jump on her, leaving Sanji and Zoro standing by the air hockey table alone.

Sanji is still smiling sweetly, eyes crinkled and fond as he watches Chopper go. “He’s cute, how old is he?”

“Nine, going on 65, that’s our little old man there.” Zoro grins as the boy cries into Robin’s black hair, she’s probably his favorite person in the whole world.

“Is he one of your teammates kids?” Sanji asks, he turns to look at Zoro and there’s still a warm little look on his face.

“Dr. Hiriluk, our physician, Chopper is his son. He’s a great kid.” Zoro says with a smile, “I’ve missed him.”

“I’m sure.” Sanji hums softly, he casts a glance over his shoulder. “Um, Duval will probably be here any moment, and I just wanted to apologize upfront.”

“You’re so dramatic, it won’t be that bad.” Zoro says with an eye roll, “I can put up with you, I can handle anything.”

Sanji snorts, “We’ll see.” Then he turns to look over his shoulder, “Well, is my stupid boyfriend going to piss himself over any of your other friends?”

“All of them.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope.” Zoro grins, “You’re looking at some of the best in the world right here.”

“Great.” Sanji sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I need a drink, you?”

“Always.” Zoro smiles as he follows Sanji to the bar and allows his partner to buy them a round. Then Zoro leads Sanji to his loud group at their booth against one of the walls.

“Everyone, this is Sanji.”

“Hi, Sanji.” Luffy interrupts with a big grin, and Sanji smiles at him brightly.

“You met Chopper, this is Usopp, Franky, and Ace.” Zoro says, pointing at each guy as he introduces them.

Everyone greets Sanji and he tells them all hello with a sweet smile, and then he glances over his shoulder before looking back at the group, “Allow me to apologize in advance for my boyfriend’s behavior. He’s late, because he’s never not late, but he’s embarrassingly excited to meet Zoro and Luffy, much less the rest of you.”

Sanji offers to buy a round of drinks for everyone, then he and Ace head to the bar together.

Zoro watches them go, then turns back to the table to find his friends all watching him with wide grins.

“What?” Zoro asks with an eyebrow cocked.

“He’s gorgeous, that’s what!” Franky exclaims, “Robin, baby, you didn’t tell me you brought my man out here to meet a fallen angel.”

“Trust me, he’s no angel.” Zoro mutters, cutting a glare towards the bar area.

“He is pretty hot, Zoro, that’s all. You know Luffy wants to meddle.” Usopp says with a shrug, and Zoro feels his shoulders sag a little bit. He’d sort of forgotten how much his best friend likes to play wingman, and he'd actually picked the habit up from his brother. Ace is always trying to set people up, literally can’t stop himself from trying to play matchmaker, it was only natural for Luffy to follow his brothers’ lead.

Surely Ace isn’t actively meddling right now, when Sanji’s boyfriend is on his way here to meet them, Ace is smarter than that, right?

Zoro glances over his shoulder and back to the bar, he spots Sanji and then looks for Ace, but doesn’t immediately see him.

He scans the crowd, searching for freckles and black hair. He’s not a small man, it shouldn’t be hard to find him! He was with Sanji, where did he go? What is he plotting?

Zoro looks back to Sanji with an eyebrow cocked and has to do a double take.

Then they’re just staring at each other for a second, for a beat that drags on just a bit too long.

“There you are, come on, I swear, you’d think you would be on time for this.”

Sanji and Ace come back to the table, and Zoro and not-Sanji-but-somehow-Sanji are still staring at each other.

You’re joking.

You are actually kidding right now!

“Everyone, this is my boyfriend Duval,” Sanji says, and Zoro’s gaze finally darts between the boyfriends for a second.

No fucking way.

They’re the literal spitting image of each other; Sanji’s ego is definitely on display in his choice of partner. The same messy blonde hair, the same blue eyes, the same toothy grins when they’re happy, the same sort of striking good looks. The only real difference is their build, this guy is taller and much more built than Sanji is.

“Duval, this is Roronoa Zoro, my partner.” Sanji says politely, turning to look at Zoro as he introduces the pair. His eyebrows cock when he sees the look written all over Zoro’s face. Delight, that’s what Zoro feels like is written on his face.

But Zoro gives Duval a firm handshake, grinning as the man gushes about how happy he is to finally meet Zoro and how he’s made such a huge difference to Sanji’s life. Then Sanji digs his elbow into Duval’s back and clears his throat.

“The loveliest and most beautiful person sitting here is Nico Robin, of course. She’s Roronoa’s manager, and she’s kept Charlotte off my back for the last three weeks like an absolute gem.” Sanji says, he winks at Robin, and she gives him one of her secret little smiles. She shakes Duval’s hand and tells him how lovely it is to meet him.

When Sanji moves on to introduce the rest of the crew, which leads Duval deeper into a trance-like state, Robin and Zoro lock eyes.

Robin grins, bright and amused, and Zoro has to choke back his laughter, washing it down with a sip of beer as he and Robin exchange knowing glances. They might as well be having a full-blown conversation, and Zoro loves that he can share that energy with her.

Oh, this is going to be so much more fun than he thought. He never expected Sanji’s boyfriend to look so much like Sanji!

The rest of the night is the best time Zoro has had since he was last with this group of people. He laughs until his stomach hurts, he smiles until it threatens to split his cheeks, he talks until he has to catch his breath. He lets Chopper pull him around the increasingly rowdy bar and choose games for them to play together.

He lets Luffy pull him into a photobooth and have his fun, they stumble out with ruined hair and pictures that can’t be presented to polite company. Luffy shows them to Franky immediately and they both cry with laughter.

Duval is actually pretty cool, and Zoro isn’t sure why Sanji was so neurotic about everyone getting to meet. He’s a fan, sure, but he loves the game more than anything, and he doesn’t seem rabid or deranged.

He seems like a good guy, so Zoro takes it easy on him, because he’s so damn nice about everything. After he spends twenty minutes going on and on about how much happier Sanji is now that Zoro is his partner, Zoro decides that he and his partner need to have a conversation.

Zoro excuses himself, stops by the bar for a fresh beer, and then wanders around looking for Sanji. He finds him at a pool table with Ace, Luffy, and Usopp, where Usopp is doing trick shots and they’ve got an impressive collection of empty shot glasses scattered around.

“Hey!” Sanji grins when he spots Zoro, eyes lighting up bright and happy. “Hey, these guys are great!” he grabs Luffy’s shoulder and Luffy leans into Sanji with a grin.

“Yeah, they’re alright.” Zoro smiles at the group, who all chime in about how amazing they are and how lucky Zoro is to know them. “I was gonna step outside for a minute, wanna join?” he asks and Sanji nods.

The other three hang back, all of them miming something vulgar as Zoro leads Sanji away, animals.

Sanji is teetering a little bit, feet unbalanced and swaying as they weave through the crowded bar and out onto a significantly quieter back patio.

The cold air is a welcome rush, Zoro shrugs his jacket tighter and sighs, watching his warm breath cloud the air in front of him before disappearing in the wind. Sanji teeters right into his back, losing his balance almost entirely as he lights a cigarette and takes a hit.

“Duval is cool,” Zoro says, he takes a sip from his beer and steadies Sanji with one arm. Sanji rolls his eyes and exhales grey smoke into the cold air.

“Yeah, he is.” He says the words like they annoy him, but the fond smile on his face betrays his feelings. It’s nice to see Sanji happy, it makes Zoro feel warm and fuzzy for some reason.

“He really loves you, he can’t shut up about you.” Zoro says, and Sanji blinks at him.

“Really?” he asks breathlessly, his eyes dart back to the door like he needs to go find Duval.

Zoro nods, “Mhm, going on and on about how great you are all night.”

Sanji smiles, “Luffy is doing the same thing about you, every other word out of his mouth is your damn name.” he laughs, a flush rises to his cheekbones, “He showed me the pictures.”

Zoro groans, “Of course he did.” He rubs his eyes and pledges to torture Luffy in an especially cruel and unusual way later, and when he looks at Sanji again, there’s a big smile on his face.

“I didn’t know you were gay!” Sanji blurts out eloquently, “Is Luffy your,” he gestures vaguely with his cigarette, the cherry ember flashing through the darkness.

Zoro snorts, “It’s not that I’m gay, I just don’t care about gender. Doesn’t matter if I’m with a man or whoever, just matters what kind of person they are. Character is what I care about more than anything.”

“Pansexual.” Sanji cuts in, he hits his cigarette, “That’s pansexual.”

“Luffy isn’t my,” Zoro mimics the vague gesture Sanji had made and Sanji laughs brightly. “He just can’t keep his hands to himself, and like, look at him. What am I gonna do? Not kiss him? I’d let him fuck me through a brick wall.”

Sanji laughs out loud, head tipping back and his shoulders bouncing, and Zoro’s chest restricts. He tells himself it’s because they’re talking about Luffy, who Zoro loves more than anything in the world. It’s an easy lie to tell himself, because Luffy truly does make it hard to breathe sometimes.

Just like this.

“You wouldn’t believe how many pictures of us in compromising situations are out there floating around.” Zoro continues, “Just Google our names sometime, you’ll see.”

“No, wait, wait.” Sanji giggles, hangs his cigarette between his teeth, and whips his phone out, fingers flying over the screen. He squints one eye at the smoke rising into it, he wraps his lips around the cigarette and takes a draw off it, cheeks hallowing slightly.

The wind picks up for a moment, blowing the smoke away, moving Sanji’s hair off his face. His eyelashes are so long, pale, thick things that always seem to catch Zoro’s attention.

Sanji laughs again, he holds his phone out towards Zoro, swaying drunkenly, there’s a picture on Sanji’s phone that Zoro has seen a hundred thousand times before.

It was Luffy’s first Stanley Cup final, and they’d swept their series with an unstoppable energy that carried them on to the Cup. They’d gone out on one of Franky’s boats, and the picture of Franky holding his speedo stretched over his head had immediately gone viral.

Franky’s nudity almost distracted from the fact that Luffy was straddled over Zoro’s lap, arms around his neck, tongue in Zoro’s mouth. It’s such an unbelievably lewd photo of all three of them, and it could have been a career ender for most people.

They’d just been able to laugh about it, and when they won the Cup a few days later, nobody even asked about the picture. It still gets shared around, Zoro sees it at least monthly.

“Okay, but why?” Sanji asks curiously as he continues to scroll through pictures of Luffy and Zoro generally touching one another too much.

“Why what?”

“Why aren’t you two together? The chemistry is so good! I’m sort of getting a chub.”

“Oh my- jesus- first of all!!” Zoro sputters, and Sanji laughs brightly, he swipes Zoro’s beer and drains the last of it. “Luffy is aromantic, so you know. I get to have my best friend, and sometimes he makes out or hooks up with me. But that’s it.”

Sanji nods seriously, he stubs out his smoke and reaches a hand for Zoro. It’s become natural to touch him over the past weeks, so Zoro doesn’t hesitate to take Sanji’s hand, the long, pale, elegant fingers of this arrogant man.

“Are you happy?” Sanji asks suddenly, voice soft and vulnerable.

Zoro hesitates, then nods, “I am.”

“Good.” Sanji says, he squeezes Zoro’s hand, “I’m happy, too. I’m glad you’re my partner.”

Zoro smiles at him warmly, “Good. So am I.”

Sanji leads him back into the bar, and when he catches sight of their group, he turns to face Zoro suddenly. He brings Zoro’s hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles, eyes locked with Zoro’s. Sanji turns Zoro’s hand over and kisses his palm, then the inside of his wrist.

Zoro is pretty sure he stops breathing.

Why is his face getting hot? Is it because they’ve just come in from the cold? Yeah, that must be why his cheeks suddenly feel warm and he’s all squirmy inside.

“Seeing you with Chopper makes me want to gouge my eyes out, it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Sanji murmurs, his drunken voice nearly fading under the rock music being piped through the speakers. He pulls Zoro closer, their hips meet, his free hand rests in the small of Zoro’s back.

Zoro can’t take a breath in. It’s too hot in here, and stuffy, too, and was it always so crowded? He’s just tired, and claustrophobic, that’s all. That’s all.

Sanji’s lips touch the shell of his ear, breath ghosting hot and moist when he speaks, and honestly, Zoro doesn’t even hear what he says. It’s just white noise, the blood rushing through his ears totally drowns out anything else, and Sanji’s words are nothing but static.

Then he steps away, eyes lidded, hands slowly dragging off Zoro, and he smiles in a way that seems like he might just eat Zoro for dinner. Then he turns and goes.

Zoro watches him, long legs carrying him through the crowded bar, and the blood slowly returns to where it belongs. A hand lands on his shoulder, and Zoro turns to look at the freckled face of Ace, who is already smiling brightly. He and Luffy are cut from the same cloth, there’s no denying that.

“He’d fuck you tonight if his boyfriend wasn’t a thing.” Ace declares, he pushes another beer into Zoro’s hands and pinches his left cheek teasingly. “Why ya blushin’, Roronoa?”

“Not blushing.” Zoro pushes Ace’s hand away, but the smile on his friend’s face makes him fold almost immediately.

He tucks his face into Ace’s shoulder and Ace gives him a tight hug, “I’ll chill, but only because his boyfriend is cool.”

Zoro snorts, “Thanks.”

Usually he doesn’t mind their antics, but he and Sanji have started getting along, and he’s unwilling to jeopardize that for anything. Especially his friends making crass jokes.

Robin and Chopper leave before it gets too late and the crowd too drunk, and watching Sanji crouch down and speak to Chopper as he secures the boy’s coat is almost too much. Zoro knows what Sanji meant now about gouging his eyes out, and his chest is too tight again.

Just because it’s Chopper! Zoro loves Chopper, that’s all there is to it!

Zoro hugs Chopper before they leave, “Robin and Sanji say I can come watch you guys skate tomorrow.” Chopper tells him with a smile.

“Well I’m looking forward to it, then.” Zoro says with a smile, and then he ruffles the sandy brown hair of the boy as he grabs Robin’s hand, and they begin weaving through the crowd.

Zoro drinks until everything is fuzzy around the edges, then he curls up to Luffy’s side in their booth and the ruckus of the bar becomes background noise before he drops off to sleep.

Waking up with Luffy on top of him, breath steady and even as he sleeps soundly, feels like being home all over again. Zoro shifts under his captain and rolls to his back, wrapping his arms around Luffy and kissing wild black hair.

“Mornin’,” Luffy mumbles, nuzzling his face into Zoro’s chest.

“Morning.” Zoro says, he stretches languidly and Luffy rolls over to bury his face in the pillows.

Zoro gets up and showers, then he’s back in the bedroom getting dressed before Luffy stirs again.

“You look more muscular,” Luffy says through a yawn, “Am I imagining things?”

“No, I think you’re right, I’ve lost a few pounds.” Zoro runs his fingers over the ridges of his abs, which he’s always been able to do, but they seem more prominent these days. “I’m on a really strict diet here, so I’m sure that’s why you can see a difference.”

Luffy hums, he resituates the pillows and yawns once more. “You gotta go?”

“Mhm, gonna make some breakfast first if you wanted to-“

Luffy has flown out of bed and attached himself to Zoro’s hip before Zoro can even finish his sentence. Zoro convinces Luffy to put something on before they go out to the kitchen.

Ace is asleep in one of the spare rooms, sprawled across the bedspread, and Usopp is on the couch snoring loudly. Zoro makes a big enough breakfast that those jackals can eat, provided Luffy doesn’t just beat them to it, and he smacks Luffy’s hand away as he cooks.

“What about you guys? How long can you hang around?” Zoro asks as he plates sausage and eggs for Luffy.

“Just today, the rest of the team will be in Denver later and we’ll have to go join them.” Luffy says, he smiles warmly as he takes a plate heaped with food from Zoro.

“You guys can come by the rink later, it’s boring, but you could see what I’m doing these days. Also, you have to see Sanji skate, it’s like porn.” Zoro says, he plates his own food, and they sit together at the kitchen island.

“Okay!” Luffy pauses shoveling food in his mouth for long enough to smile widely at Zoro. “Bring them to one of the games, he said he’s never been to a hockey game.”

Zoro smiles and nods, “I think Duval might try to go home with you guys.”

Luffy laughs, “You mean Ace, he wants to go home with Ace.”

Zoro laughs and nods, “Yeah, seems like he really might.”

After they’ve eaten breakfast together, Zoro gathers his things and says goodbye to his groggy teammates who are stirring about, then he heads out of the door.

Robin is in the parking lot waiting for him with an iced coffee, Chopper bouncing on his knees in the backseat of Robin’s SUV. “Good morning.” She greets warmly.

Zoro smiles at her as he climbs into the passenger seat and closes the door to ward off the bitterly cold air of the morning, shivering despite his resolve not to. “Morning,” he greets her softly, then he turns his attention to the backseat and climbs halfway over the console to pinch a ticklish spot on Chopper’s knee until the boy is squealing and kicking Zoro away.

Zoro lets Chopper chatter away at him for the short ride to the rink, he sips at his coffee and soaks up the presence of his loved ones. God, he’s missed this kid.

When they park at the rink and climb out of the vehicle, Zoro gathers his bag and holds his hand out towards Chopper. Chopper eyes his hand, then looks away.

“Come on, man, it’s really icy up here, I don’t want you to fall.” Zoro says, he gives his hand a little shake and Chopper shoots him a mischievous smile before darting away suddenly.

He runs several steps to a snowbank at the edge of the parking lot, where he scoops up a handful of sludgy snow and flings it at Zoro.

It's full of God knows what, but Zoro finds he almost doesn’t mind. “Dude!” he drops his bag and wipes the snow and pebbles and whatever else off his coat. “Go for the white snow, at least.” Zoro says with a fond shake of his head. He grabs a handful of fresh snow off one of the nearby vehicles and compresses it tightly in between his hands before hurling it at Chopper and nailing him in the chest with it.

Chopper shouts Zoro’s name and then dissolves into laughter, he gathers fresh snow and mimics Zoro’s snowball, holding it up for Zoro’s approval before hucking it at his face.

This continues until they’re just slinging loose snow at each other, faces flushed red, Zoro is laughing so hard that the cold air burns his lungs. Zoro pushes Chopper down into the snow and sweeps the hood of the vehicle he has Chopper sitting against, scooping an armful of snow down on the boy.

Chopper howls laughing, sounding so much like the giggly little squeals he made when he was a younger boy, and Zoro’s heart could explode with the love he has for him.

“Had enough?” Zoro asks, his chest heaving as he gasps for air, and Chopper nods as he laughs.

Zoro grabs him under his arms and tosses the boy over his shoulder, turning towards the rink as Chopper kicks and hits ineffectually at Zoro’s back and chest.

Robin has collected Zoro’s bag and is holding his coffee with a big smile on her face. Sanji is at her side, a cigarette and a coffee cup in one hand, his other hand stuck in his sweatshirt pocket.

The look on his face is warm and full of affection, he practically glows with it, his eyes seem so blue under the snowy grey skies of the morning. His cheeks have flushed the lightest color pink, probably from the cold, and Zoro is struck by how beautiful he is.

Chills crawl up his spine, and not from the melting snow dripping down his back, but from a sudden memory that has slammed into him.

Lips on his ear, warm breath, lilting, soft words murmured under the bass hit of the music.

What had he said? Zoro can hear the cadence of his breath, can feel the warmth of his hand in the small of Zoro’s back, but what words did he utter?

They all step into the warmth of the rink, Chopper has stopped abusing Zoro and has perked up to chatter at Sanji from where he’s slung over Zoro’s shoulder.

Sanji brushes snow off the pair, a sparkle in his eyes, and he leads Chopper away to give him a tour.

Zoro sheds his coat and his damp sweater, then he and Robin go to the rink where Zoro sits to lace his new skates on.

Charlotte finds them and bids them good morning, she and Robin begin chatting about outfits. She says Zoro’s name a few times, but honestly, he’s not even listening to them.

His eyes are glued to his skates, watching his fingers as he laces them on, completely lost in his thoughts.

Did Sanji kiss the inside of his wrist? Did Zoro imagine that? What the hell did Sanji say to him last night? Why did he get so close to say it, too?

They skate together every single day and Zoro has still never been that close to Sanji, never had the other man’s hands on him like that. What is this feeling sitting deep in his gut? Dread? Fear? Something worse?

A hand lands on his shoulder, “Zoro?”

Zoro blinks up at Robin, shaking his head to clear his thoughts, “Sorry, what?”

“What do you think?” Robin says patiently, she’s holding a board with a few fabric swatches and some sketches of outfits. The fabric is mostly dark, some fishnet, and a few bright swatches of metallic reds and golds.

It’s actually not bad. It’s flashy, and sort of sexy, even though Zoro can’t imagine himself wearing the outfit in the sketch with his name on it. The one with Sanji’s name on it is easy enough to picture the lithe, strong frame of that insufferable blonde wearing. Zoro can feel his lips on his ear and shakes himself again.

“They look great,” he says, voice pleased and impressed, “I’m sure I’ll feel ridiculous, but I actually really like it.”

Charlotte grins brightly, “Oh, good!” she eyes his skates, “New skates?”

Zoro nods, “Sanji took me somewhere, I had these made custom.”

Charlotte’s eyebrows fly up in shock, “H-he took you…” she trails off and she clutches her tablet to her chest, “Oh my god, thank you, I love you.” She throws her arms around Zoro’s neck, “Oh, you’re a life saver! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Zoro pats her back as she embraces him, shooting Robin a confused look over Charlotte’s head, Robin just shrugs with a smile on her lips.

Sanji and Chopper join them a few minutes later, and Sanji excuses himself to grab his skates. Chopper grabs Zoro’s arm, “Ride? Just a quick one?”

So Zoro puts Chopper on his shoulders and skates around the ice a few times, using some of his new skills to whip Chopper around and toss him a few times. One day Chopper will decide he’s too old for this, or he’ll grow too big to ride on any of the guys shoulders anymore. So, Zoro cherishes the big smile on Chopper’s face as Zoro swings him in a wide circle.

When Sanji comes back, he apologizes to Chopper and politely asks for his skating partner back.

They warm up for a while, a calm silence settled between them, a peaceful energy they’ve worked hard to build.

Luffy and Ace show up an hour or so later, and they lean against the edge and smile proudly as Zoro and Sanji skate around.

“Let’s see the program!” Ace calls, and Luffy whoops along excitedly.

Sanji and Zoro skate to center ice and take their poses, Zoro’s hand in the small of Sanji’s back, Sanji gripping his elbow, back arched. Luffy wolf whistles and Ace laughs before elbowing his brother.

Their music starts, and Zoro shuts his friends out, focusing solely on Sanji. This program has become muscle memory, the choreo, the tosses, the jumps, the spin combos, all a part of his brain like his DNA. The only thing they haven’t mastered is the death spiral, and Zoro knows it’s because Sanji doesn’t trust him enough yet.

They’re hitting all their marks otherwise, their timing and rhythm and flow are all exceptional, and their chemistry on the ice is palpable.

Zoro doesn’t fall and he doesn’t drop Sanji, so he counts it as a win as they do their last combo spin. He’s been so wrapped up in his mind that he’s hardly even thought about his new skates.

That is, until he grabs the boot and sees the flash of green on the blade, and then he’s grinning.

They fit so much better than his other pair had, and the look of them is so him that he can’t help but love them.

They’re both breathless as they finish, holding their ending pose for several seconds as their friends cheer for them.

Zoro lifts his head and meets Luffy’s eyes, and Luffy has a grin on his face that screams “Hah! Told you so!”

The pair take their bows and skate to the edge where their friends are standing.

“Wow, Zoro! That was amazing! I didn’t know you could skate like that!” Chopper yells out, stars in his eyes.

“That was hot.” Ace says with a demure smile, and Luffy jumps in place.

“It was so hot! I didn’t know figure skating could be so sexy!” Luffy exclaims.

Sanji just laughs, thankfully not bothered by the pair’s antics. “Figure skating can be very sexy, actually. I’ve never gotten to do any programs that play to the sexual appeal that I naturally ooze.”

Zoro mimes a gag, and Sanji elbows him sharply for it.

“Why not?” Ace asks curiously, innocently, in that tone of voice Zoro has learned means meddling.

“My old skating partner was my bother, and nobody wants to see you skate sexy with your sibling.” Sanji explains with a shrug, and Ace and Luffy laugh brightly.

Ace slings an arm over Luffy’s shoulder, “We skate pretty sexy together, don’t you think?”

Sanji smiles, “Like whips and chains.” He says sweetly.

“What’s that mean?” Chopper asks and then everyone is scrambling to tell the child not to worry about it.

Ace and Luffy hang around for a while longer, they meet Vivi and Brook and Zoro feels sure that Luffy would take them both back to Florida if he could. They all eat lunch together and then Ace and Luffy have to head to Denver to meet up with the rest of the team.

“Come hang in Denver this weekend.” Ace tells him as he hugs him tightly, “We’ll show skater boy how fun the ice can really be.”

Zoro nods, “Can’t wait.” He grins, Ace kisses his hair before releasing Zoro. He turns to Sanji and gives him a firm handshake.

Zoro wants to eavesdrop on their conversation, but Luffy has climbed onto Zoro and is whispering too loudly in his ear.

“I’m so proud of you, your determination always amazes me. You’re my best friend in the universe and I’d do anything to see you smile like you do around him.” Luffy kisses Zoro’s cheek, “You deserve to be happy. I love you so much.”

Zoro clings to his best friend, mind rattling through the millions of reasons he’s thankful for this man, and he buries his face in the crook of Luffy’s neck.

“I miss you.” Zoro murmurs.

“I know, I miss you.” Luffy squeezes him even tighter, “We’ll be there for every single second of your competitions, just as soon as we clench that cup.”

“Knock ‘em dead, Captain.” Zoro says proudly, he releases Luffy, who grabs his face and kisses him hard.

Zoro holds Luffy by the shoulders and grins when Luffy steps away, he smiles up at Zoro and then headbutts him playfully.

“See ya in a few days!” Luffy says as Ace pulls him out of the rink, and their loud, infectious energy seems to linger once they’re gone.

The rest of the day is boisterous and fun, they spend too much time laughing and not enough time skating, which earns them a pretty harsh lecture from Zeff.

Sanji mimes Zeff through half of the lecture and Zoro has to chew on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud. It’d suck to piss their coach off now, especially since he’s largely left them alone so far.

When their day is done and their time in the ballet studio drug out for a half hour over schedule, Zoro can’t help but feel closer to Sanji than he has so far.

“Come to Denver with us this weekend, we can skive off a few days.” Zoro says to him as they gather their things and get ready to head home.

“Really? I know Duval would love to see you guys play.” Sanji says.

“Yeah, of course, we’ll get some great seats. I sort of have an in with the captain.” Zoro shrugs

“You put it in the captain? Perv.”

“Wish I could put it in the captain.”

“Wish he’d put it in me.”

“Who’s the perv now?”

They grin at each other as they head down the hall and into the break area. Robin is on one of the couches with Chopper lounging next to her and playing on his tablet. He’s going to stay in Boulder with Robin and Zoro for a few days, and Zoro is psyched to have his little man around to hang with.

“Ready to go?” Zoro asks, and Chopper hops up with a grin.

“Robin said you promised to take me to that place with the big milkshakes!”

Zoro wrinkles his nose, “Milkshake? It’s, like, twelve degrees outside, man. You want a milkshake?”

“You had iced coffee this morning! That’s the same thing!”

“That’s true, moss, it is the same thing.” Sanji says seriously, nodding along with Chopper.

“Moss?” Chopper cocks his head to the side, and Sanji smiles at him warmly.

“Yeah, it’s what I call him.” Sanji says, “It’s a nickname.”

“Why Moss?”

“Green hair, he’s a mossball. Little marimo.” Sanji explains, “He calls me twirly.”

“Why?” Chopper asks, tilting his chin to peer at Zoro.

“I twirl around on the ice.” Sanji says, and Zoro is speaking before he can even stop himself.

“No, that’s not it. He’s got a birthmark in his left eyebrow, it grows in a little twirl there.”

Sanji’s lips part, his twirly eyebrow draws inward, he takes a sharp breath that he holds for several seconds. He clearly didn’t know that was the reason for Zoro’s nickname, and it surprises him for some reason.

“Why not just call each other by your names?” Chopper continues asking questions, unaware that he’s possibly stripping Sanji’s walls down with each one that tumbles out of his little, non-stop mouth.

“He didn’t like me when I first got here,” Zoro explains, “He thought calling me names would hurt my feelings and make me go away.”

“But it didn’t?”

Zoro shakes his head, and Chopper looks at Sanji again.

“Why didn’t you like Zoro?”

Zoro watches a wall shatter, it doesn’t just crack or crumble a little, it explodes to pieces before his eyes.

 Sanji’s entire being changes, his body language, his face, the way his eyes look, everything about him shifts in an instant and creates an entirely different human.

This new creation crouches down and cocks an eyebrow, light sparkling in his eyes, “Can you keep a secret?” he asks, voice dropping to a conspiring whisper. Chopper lights up and nods hard, clenching his little fists to emphasize his resolve. Sanji beckons him in, cupping his hands to Chopper’s ear and whispering to him for a second.

Chopper’s face goes all bright and excited, he laughs in bright delight, eyes squinting in happiness, “Really?” he asks, voice nearly trembling with excitement.

Sanji leans back and looks at Chopper seriously, a big, content smile on his face, then he lifts his finger to his lips and shushes Chopper dramatically.

Chopper mimics the motion, a grin on his face, and he nods, “Uh-huh!” he bounces away from Sanji and takes Zoro’s hand. “Come on, Zoro, it’s milkshake time.”

Sanji straightens, still smiling fondly at Chopper, his eyes nearly look misty. He finally looks at Zoro shyly, and he swallows so hard that Zoro can hear him before he speaks.

“Enjoy your milkshake.” Sanji says with a genuine smile, then he tells Robin and Chopper goodnight and goes.

They’re lying on the couch that night, Chopper lazing against Zoro’s side, halfway dozing off as a movie plays.

“Hey, Chop.” Zoro drags his fingers through the soft sandy hair that’s nestled against his stomach. “What did he say to you earlier?”

Chopper sits up and grins, “I can’t tell you; it’s a secret!” he claps both hands over his mouth and giggles into them brightly.

Zoro nods, “Good. You should keep your friends’ secrets, it shows you’re a trustworthy man.”

Chopper grins even brighter after having passed Zoro’s test, and he happily burrows against his side again and they’re both asleep in minutes.

It takes less than an hour to get to Denver from the rink, but with how many snacks Chopper has spread across the backseat, you’d think they were on a cross-country road trip.

Sanji is turned around in the passenger seat and watching Chopper pull off small bits of cotton candy and melt them on his tongue. It’s crazy how quickly this kid wormed his way into Sanji’s heart, but it seems like he has that effect on everyone around him.

Even Duval, who is not good with kids, has loosened up around Chopper and is currently laughing along to their banter from the driver’s seat.

“But then the next time that Robin called him, he didn’t even know where he was.” Chopper continues, telling yet another story about Zoro getting lost. “He said it looked like Mexico. He wasn’t even in the right park, Robin still doesn’t know how he even managed to get into Epcot.”

“Wait, Epcot? Weren’t you guys at Sea World?”

“Yeah, Robin says that’s why it’s so impressive.”

Sanji and Duval both laugh with Chopper, who smiles proudly at having amused the men with his stories.

He begged to ride with Sanji when they left the rink, and Sanji was already nodding when Chopper hit his first “pretty, pretty please?”

He’s so weak for this kid, it’s actually even warned him up to Zoro to see them interact.

Well, that’s not entirely true, but Sanji tells himself it is very, very firmly. He reaches over and tangles his fingers with Duval’s just for good measure.

He has a boyfriend. A great one, too, one who is patient and understanding and knows just the right way to bend Sanji over and make him forget anything has ever been shitty. If Sanji put a fraction of the effort in that Duval deserves, their relationship could fly, and this past week has really shown him that.

He's going to be better, starting now. Not just better for Duval, but for Zeff, and for Charlotte, and… well, for him, too.

Marimo deserves his credit, which will be the only thing Sanji will ever get to give him, so he should give it willingly. Hockey to figure skating has been a huge leap, but he’s handled it with flying colors, rising and never backing down.

Burning bright, coming up from the ashes, making himself new; just like their program. Sanji admires him, and he’s going to be better for him.

Most of all, Sanji is going to be better for himself, the person who deserves it the most. Even though it’s been a few months since Sanji escaped from his past, from his shitty family, it’s still hard to shake that headspace. He’s too hard on himself, a hallmark of his raising, exactly the way he was programed to feel about himself by someone who never loved him.

Sanji deserves to give himself all the grace and love that was never awarded to him before. He deserves to be better for himself.

They head to the practice rink where Zoro and Robin are waiting for them already, Chopper is spilling out of the car a moment later, arms laden with candy that he loudly refuses to share with Zoro, immediately walking back on his declaration when Zoro gives him a sad look.

“They’re cute together.” Duval says evenly, he doesn’t look at Sanji, but for some reason, the words feel like a jab. Hackles rising, Sanji swallows his anger down and counts to ten slowly before opening his mouth.

“Just because Chopper is so cute.” Sanji says, he smiles over at Duval, “Don’t think I’m cute with him?” he teases.

Duval shakes his head and smiles warmly, “You’re so cute with him it makes me want to puke.”

Sanji laughs, and Duval lifts his hand and cups Sanji’s cheek. “Do you want kids someday?”

Sanji leans into Duval’s hand, he wraps his fingers around his boyfriend’s wrist, “I want a gold medal. Then I’ll think about stuff after that, once my brain develops all the way.”

Duval smiles, “If you think your brain developing is going to fix this,” Duval motions at Sanji vaguely, “You’re in trouble, bud.”

Sanji laughs again and swats at him playfully. “Come on, I know you want to see them practice.”

They climb out of the car and follow after the others, who’ve already made their way towards the entrance. There’s a woman waiting at the door, and she gives Zoro a tight hug when they greet each other. Once they step inside the warmth of the arena, she turns to them and pushes her hood off, revealing the brightest orange hair Sanji has ever seen.

Underneath the hood and the orange hair is a beautiful woman with big brown eyes, she flashes a huge, winning smile at them. “Hello, I’m Nami, it’s so nice to finally meet you! I hope Zoro hasn’t made you completely crazy yet.”

Sanji shakes her hand and grins at her, “I’m Sanji, this is Duval, it’s nice to meet you, too. He’s certainly tried, but I’m being so brave about it.”

Zoro hums thoughtfully, “You know what, Nami? I don’t think I’ve mentioned you to twirly here at all, must have slipped my mind.”

Zoro’s being a jerk, but he’s actually sort of right. Nami hasn’t been mentioned, it’s not a name Sanji has heard once in their six weeks together. Sanji refuses to dignify him, though, so he just rolls his eyes playfully at Nami.

“He’s so full of shit.” Is all Sanji says, and it’s enough to make Nami light up again.

“Tell me about it.” She gripes, and she and Zoro exchange glares before Nami leads them towards the ruckus coming from the rink.

“Chopper!” someone calls loudly from the ice, “And you brought Zoro, how sweet of you!”

“Hi!” Chopper shouts happily, he takes off running towards the gathering of coaches and other people, to a man who scoops him up in a big hug.

Zoro has run onto the ice, and he’s currently somewhere in the middle of a dog pile of hockey players, everyone shouting over each other.

Duval leans against the glass and oogles a little, Sanji sits nearby with Nami and Robin, smiling fondly at his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. Sanji starts talking with Nami and soon they’re totally raptured in an animated conversation that has Sanji laughing.

She’s great! Sharp and funny and just the right kind of mean, she’s so rough with the players that Sanji can’t even believe it. She hits more than one of them, and they all slink off from her harsh glares and firey words, Sanji decides to worship the ground she walks on.

They’ve been there for a while when a pair of clunky skates stops in front of Sanji, and he looks up to find Duval wearing hockey gear.

“Guess what.” He says breathlessly, he’d be bouncing on his toes if he wasn’t already wearing skates. Sanji grins up at him, genuine joy welling in his chest, he knows how much of a dream come true this must be for Duval.

“Look at you!” Sanji whistles, he reaches out and knocks his fingers into the pads, “Don’t get too roughed up, I’ve got plans for you later.”

Duval leans down to kiss him briefly, and it feels like it always does when Duval kisses him. It’s nice, but the energy is always mismatched

 At least, it feels that way to Sanji. He knows it’s his own fault, too, and it’s one of those things he needs to focus on. Be better at.

Then Zoro is pulling Duval away, hooking an arm over Duval’s shoulders and pulling him to the ice.

Zoro is in his gear, too, right down to his jersey with his name printed across the back in big blocky letters. He looks so comfortable like this, so confident, so massively huge.

Seeing him glide around the ice like this is a totally different experience than watching him at practice, for more than one reason.

His skating is so different here, and not just because he’s hockey skating instead of figure skating, it’s immediately obvious to Sanji what the stark difference is.

Zoro loves this. Zoro lived for this.

Zoro lived for this so fucking much that he changed his entire life just to have something remotely similar to the life he’s spent 20 years working towards. He moved to Colorado and let some asshole be a total punk to him and still agreed to stay on and skate with him because he just loved this so fucking much.

Sanji knew that. Somewhere in the back of his mind, in the one little corner where he allows himself to think of Zoro.

Seeing it is totally different, though, seeing Zoro here, stick in his hands, body-checking the other hulking men on the ice, this is where Zoro wants to be with every single fiber of his being.

Sanji can match that energy, can do better than it, can soar high and above that energy. Sanji can create an atmosphere on their ice that feels more comfortable to Zoro, that’s a common ground for them. All Sanji has to do is just be better.

It’s actually insanely fun, Sanji is on his feet and smacking the glass surrounding the rink in just a few minutes. Nami is at his side, screaming and cursing at and threatening the men, explaining the rules to Sanji as the rowdy game continues.

She points out the people Sanji has already met and tells Sanji more about their roles on the team.

Usopp is on the bench right this second, she calls him their sniper, one of the strongest shooters in the league, and he’s the team’s not-so-secret weapon.

Franky is a left winger, and even though all of these men are huge, Franky still stands out. Nami says he’s the tallest in the sport, and that his nickname is The Cyborg for his unending stamina and resilience on the ice. He’s known for being aggressive and fighting on the ice, it’s said that getting hit by him feels like being hit by a train.

Ace is the goal tender, currently on an all-time club record of consecutive shutouts, looking to continue the streak tomorrow night.

Nami points out other teammates, too, coaches and crew members, pausing every few minutes to scream obscenities at the players. Sanji is in love with her, he is actively, free-falling, head-over-heels, red-hot in love with her.

Is his nose bleeding? He lifts a hand absently and it comes away clean. That’s good.

Holy hell, she’s something else.

His attention is on the ice though, because his big ham of a boyfriend is out there, surprisingly holding his own very well. Not that he’s managed to score against Ace or anything, but he’s still out there.

Duval and Zoro are locked in right now, shouldering each other out and trying to get the puck out of their little tussle, and Sanji feels his heart beat a little faster. He clenches his fists and leans against the glass, “Come on,” he mutters, he tightens his jaw involuntarily when Duval nearly loses the puck entirely, sighing a breath of relief when Duval recovers his grip.

Zoro drops his shoulder and pushes himself into Duval hard enough that Duval staggers back, he pops the puck out enough to whack it to Luffy. Sanji groans, he slams his fists into the boards and yells, “That was bullshit, Roronoa!”

Zoro laughs out loud, a mean, sharp sounding noise, and he skates directly to Sanji, “Whatcha gonna do about it, blondie?” He hits his gloved hand against the glass.

“Kick your ass.”

“Get on the ice.”

“Ooh, yeah!” Duval claps his hands excitedly from where he’s skated up behind Zoro, “Get on the ice, babe, that sounds fun!”

Sanji scoffs, “He’s saying he wants to kick my ass.”

“I know.” Duval grins, a bit feral, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Get on the ice, babe.”

With nothing more than a pair of borrowed skates, which, by the way, these things are fucking uncomfortable, he takes to the ice. Ace leaves his goal to dap Sanji up and grin at him widely, “Welcome to our world, beautiful.” He says, and it sounds like a challenge.

It actually is intimidating out here with them, all padded up helmets, neck guards, gloves, Ace in an insane amount of gear. They’re all huge, looming over him.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? They all think they’re better than him, they think he’s weak and prissy, and they’re wrong.

Dead wrong.

None of them have any idea how tough he is, how strong he is, how badly he wants this.

Usopp offers Sanji his stick, and Sanji meets Zoro at middle ice.

“First to three?” Zoro says with a smile.

“What are we betting?” Sanji accepts the gloves Duval offers him, letting Duval fuss over him while Sanji stares Zoro down.

“If I win, we start doing spirals.”

Sanji cocks an eyebrow, he’s surprised to hear that his partner is so determined. It’s not that Sanji doesn’t trust him, it’s just nerve wracking to let Zoro throw him around like that.

“If I lose, I’ll wear the outfit in the sketches I rejected.”

Sanji sticks his hand out immediately. He needs to see Zoro in that tight little blue number, he understood why Zoro had turned the idea down, and the designs they settled on are great. The rejected ones are by far Sanji’s favorites, though, without a doubt.

“Deal.”

Zoro shakes his hand firmly.

“Deal.”

They face off on center ice, Luffy drops the puck, and they’re on.

Well, Zoro is on, anyway.

He spends half the time bullying Sanji, not even bothering to move the puck down the ice, and even lets Sanji score a sloppy goal because he’s so focused on being a dick.

He's aggro on the ice here, big and mean, his size is intimidating, and the single eyed glare is beyond impressive. He slams two goals back-to-back just to prove a point, giving Sanji a playful smile as the puck soars into the net the second time.

Sanji isn’t helpless, though, and he’s more agile than Zoro is with all the padding on. He uses that to his advantage, utilizing his smaller size and quicker speed to steal the puck away from Zoro.

Zoro is on his heels, metal carving ice, sending chills up Sanji’s spine from the familiarity of the whole thing. Zoro swings himself out wide, and he slams Sanji into the boards, a hand firmly against the glass on either side of Sanji.

There’s a moment where time stops entirely, Sanji actually sees things happen in slow motion.

Zoro presses him completely against the board, the air escapes his lungs, the sound of Zoro’s gloved hands hitting the glass echoes loud in his ears. From behind the mask, there’s a single eye with a dark glint, and a playful smile tipping up the corner of his mouth, he chuckles softly.

God, could Sanji kiss him like this? The helmet probably wouldn’t stop him. The angle is wrong, and the sticks would likely get in the way.

But maybe Sanji could time it just right. Dig his fingers into Zoro’s jersey, drag him in until he can smell aftershave, kiss his lips and see if they taste like that ridiculously sweet coffee Zoro is always drinking.

He could kiss him, right here on the ice, claim him in front of all these people. Show them that Zoro came out here for more than one reason!

He doesn’t just have a job here, he has a future, and friends, and look! His partner cares about him, a lot! He wants them to know that Zoro is so, so special to him.

He could show them all how much that means to him, he’d let Zoro fuck him here on the ice if it got the point across.

Sanji is so unspeakably thankful for him, and he sort of didn’t even realize it.

Sanji licks his lower lip, and Zoro’s eye tracks it, lingering on his lower lip before he looks back to Sanji’s eyes.

Holy shit.

People hitting the glass is what brings Sanji back to reality, and anger and embarrassment take the place of all that gratitude he was just feeling.

“What the hell was that?” Sanji hollers, he gets his shoulders off the glass and bumps his chest against Zoro’s. “Cheap ass move there, especially to an unprotected opponent.”

“Oh, yeah?” Zoro taunts, “Whatcha gonna do about it?”

Sanji throws his stick down, it clatters to the ice, and the rest of the team goes wild. Zoro grins darkly, his stick joins Sanji’s on the ice. 

One by one, they both pull their gloves off, and they fall in perfect sync.

Less than ten seconds have lapsed since Sanji’s back hit the glass, but it feels like an entire lifetime has passed them by, and it’s an out of body experience as he watches his fingers curl into the white fabric of Zoro’s jersey.

Then he swings.

Sanji’s fist connects with Zoro’s jaw with a satisfying crunch, even though it sends pain blooming up his arm immediately, he can hear his boyfriend cheering louder than anyone else.

He gets another shot in, and then Zoro fists both hands into Sanji’s shirt and drags him in, winding up for a head-butt.

“Hey! Hey!” Sanji shoves at him, “No helmet!”

Zoro stops himself, then releases Sanji’s sweater with his right hand and punches him in the jaw, the exact same way Sanji had done to him.

They exchange a few more blows with an increasingly rowdy crowd, Sanji can even hear Chopper cheering along, and then Zoro manages to take Sanji to the ice. Then they’re separated by Ace, who ruffles the ice out of Sanji’s hair.

He penalizes Sanji and sends him to the box, even as Sanji protests and Duval loudly boos from the crowd, but when Ace closes him in the box, Sanji throws his hands up in victory.

Everyone is cheering again, laughing and shouting, and Zoro takes a nice, easy free shot straight into the net.

He skates straight to the penalty box with a big grin on his face, “Spirals on Monday, better come prepared.”

“Drop me and there’s more where that came from.” Sanji winks at him, nodding his head to where their gloves still lie on the ice.

“That makes it awfully tempting to drop you, twirly.” Zoro teases with a warm smile.

After practice is over and the team is ready for the game the next day, everyone goes out for dinner.

It's too loud and there’s way too many of them, but it’s great, and Sanji loves these guys immediately.

One of the guys on the team is a tall, dark, and gorgeous man named Law, and Sanji watches Luffy hang off him all night long.

Luffy seems highly affectionate, quite literally climbing his friends and loved ones at any point he can. He touches them constantly, and with Zoro, it’s even further than that.

Sanji’s brain betrays him with a flash of that photo strip Luffy had shown him at the bar, the one where Luffy had Zoro’s shirt rolled up and his left nipple between his fingers, the one where Zoro’s back had been arched, his head tipped back, eyes closed, lips parted.

Sanji grabs Duval’s thigh under the table, digging his fingers into the firm muscle and grounding himself with the denim under his blunt nails. Duval shifts closer to him, tucking Sanji under his arm with a little smile cast over at him.

Focus.

He repeats that word to himself over and over all night.

For the ride back to the hotel, his hands wandering farther up Duval’s thigh, his lips on Duval’s ear, whispering filthy promises.

Focus.

While he’s between strong thighs, thick fingers in his hair, a gruff voice telling him how good his mouth feels.

Focus.

When he’s folded in half, knees pinned to the bed beside his ears, completely exposed and left for Duval to have any way he desires, panting, wonting, begging for it.

Focus.

When their chests meet, undeniable pleasure spread through every distant corner of his body, Duval kisses him slow and tender, fingers soft in his hair. “I love you, Sanji.”

Focus.

This isn’t helping. God dammit why isn’t this helping?! This perfect, kind, patient, caring man loves Sanji! Why can’t he focus?

Sanji doesn’t realize how hard his breath catches in his throat until he’s coughing behind it, hiding his face in embarrassment, trying to melt through the mattress.

Duval just tips his chin back with one finger, “It’s okay, baby, you don’t have to say it.” He kisses the tip of Sanji’s chin, “I just wanted you to know.”

Sanji kisses him until he’s dizzy and breathless, and he drags marks down his back, and he gasps and moans to the ceiling, and he gives into the pleasure.

Still, when they’re clean and curled in bed together, Duval whispers those damn words again and all Sanji can do is squeeze his eyes shut.

Focus.

Duval doesn’t act any different the next day, so Sanji doesn’t either. He goes shopping with Nami, Robin, and Charlotte and spends most of the day listening to their warm chatter with a smile. It’s easier to focus around them for some reason.

He loves women, he loves seeing them love each other, he loves watching them work hard, he loves seeing them angry, or proud, or upset, or anything! Because he loves women.

Women have always been kind to him.

Women have always been safe.

Sanji loves women.

So, it’s easy to lose the knot between his shoulder blades, and to swallow a lump he didn’t realize was sitting in his throat. As the day goes on, it’s easier to laugh and enjoy himself with the women. He feels so peaceful with them.

“So, Duval.” Nami says, she’s piling clothes in Sanji’s arms as she pulls them off the rack. “How’d you two meet?”

Sanji laughs lightly, “Well, I tell polite company that I met him at a sponsor event. He’s a big-time marketing guy, it was an easy enough sell.”

“Wait, that’s not where you met him?” Charlotte asks, mouth open in a perfect little O of shock.

Sanji shakes his head with an impish grin, “Nope.”

“Spill.” Nami demands, turning her full attention to him with a big smile.

“We met at a rave, and it was, like, okay,” Sanji laughs, a little embarrassed, “It was a leather night, right? Like, a bondage kind of thing.”

“Uh-huh?” Nami eggs him on with a growing smile, she grabs for Robin’s hand and even Robin looks amused.

“So, he was there in this, like, motorcycle outfit with this sexy little harness. All leather and,” Sanji feels his face flush brightly and the women all giggle over him in a way that makes him feel happier than anything in the world ever has. “So I went home with him, and-“

“You did not!” Charlotte bursts in, she gives him a scandalized look, “You’re supposed to share your location with me!”

“Well, it’s fine, he turned out not to be an axe murderer.” Sanji waves her off and then shrugs a little, “I don’t know, he’s a pretty good guy, super supportive. He told me he loves me last night.”

“Aww,” Nami coos, “That’s so cute.”

“Do you love him?” Robin asks, and Sanji hesitates before he nods.

“I think I might.”

Robin smiles, and she leaves it at that.

They shop the day away, and their group goes to the arena when they finish with their day, and happy hour. Nami had insisted. So, he’s a little tipsy when Nami leads them to a private box suite looking over center ice, where their friends are already gathered.

Standing by the glass and looking down at the ice is Zoro, his hands shoved in the pockets of his black slacks. His shoulders are lax, but Sanji can still tell how perfectly his grey sport coat is cut to his frame.

Of course he has to show up dressed nicely.

Focus.

Duval is sitting with Chopper beside him, and they’re chattering away at each other, and Sanji bids it to fill him with warmth.

He watches for a moment, and his chest aches a little, and he tells himself it’s the ache he’s looking for. Crossing the room with a bright smile, he’s unsure why his stomach is sinking.

Chopper is laughing, though, and he lights up when he sees Sanji again. “Hey!” He gives a big wave, grinning at Sanji.

“Hey, Chopper man. How’s it going?”

“Good! Did you like shopping?”

“You know what?” Sanji sits on the other side of Chopper, leaving him sandwiched between Sanji and Duval. “I did like shopping, I think it’s fun. Do you like shopping?”

“I like shopping for books.” Chopper says, “Robin takes me book shopping sometimes, and I always have a lot of fun.”

“See? Shopping is fun. Even Duval likes shopping.” Sanji stretches his arm out to be able to grip Duval’s shoulder over the back of the chair.

Duval nods, “I like shopping for golf stuff especially.”

“Golf is boring.” Chopper says definitively, “Dad plays with his friends, and it’s such a drag.”

Sanji nods, “It is boring, bud, I don’t have fun when I play golf.”

“Do you like sports?” Duval asks Chopper, and Chopper beams brightly before launching into a list of all the sports he’s interested in. Hockey most of all, of course, which Duval can talk about until he’s dead, and it’s nice to watch and listen to their chatter.

It makes it easier to focus, to trace his fingers up and down Duval’s arm in an intimate little show of affection, to ignore the green-headed gorilla, to get lost in Chopper’s excited ramblings.

When the game starts, it’s easier than ever to focus, because he has no idea what the hell is happening. Duval explains rules and games and calls as they happen, in between his screaming and jumping around, that is.

Hockey is intense, Sanji knew that, but seeing even the well-dressed people in the box getting rowdy as the game escalates is a surprise. Duval explains a beef as it unfolds, apparently one of the opposing wingers has it out for Ace, and the entire team is well aware of it.

They’ve targeted the winger numerous times, and Franky has picked up a few minutes in the box because of his aggressive protection of Ace, and Sanji starts to better understand the brotherhood happening down on the ice below.

It’s not just a game they’re playing, they’re truly a family on the ice. They’re partners, and each of them depend on the other for their combined success, they win, lose, and fall together.

Sanji catches a glimpse of Zoro, who is at the window, looking down, a woman with a shock of greenish blue hair hanging off his arm. They’re smiling and having an animated conversation together, a casual friendliness surrounds them, and Sanji wonders who she is.

He's gotten to see a whole different side of Zoro this week, and it’s been making it really hard to focus, but maybe he’s been looking at it all wrong.

Seeing his partner as human has made his chest feel achy, made him squirmy and irrational, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Seeing Zoro surrounded by friends and teammates and people who adore him, seeing him hugging Chopper tight, face lax with content happiness, it’s nice.

Sanji can love him, just like they all do, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He can support and care for and respect Zoro without it being something to feel guilty about.

Sanji can be close to him, and touch him, and hold him, and build him up, and help him be his best.

Sanji can be his partner.

Holy shit.

All the pieces click into place at once, and it’s like a sudden ringing in his ears just stops, a weight falls off his shoulders, his spine straightens.

Duvall squeezes his shoulder, sending him an inquisitive look.

Sanji nods to him briefly, an indication that he’s okay, and he smiles warmly at his boyfriend. He leans over and kisses Duval’s cheek over Chopper’s head, and Chopper protests at their affection.

“Come on, I want to talk to Zoro.” Chopper demands, he wriggles off the couch and reaches for Sanji’s hand.

“I have to go with you?” Sanji asks, and Chopper nods seriously.

“Do I have to go?” Duval asks, and Chopper seriously considers it for a moment before shaking his head. Duval gives him a thumbs up and just grins at Sanji as Chopper pulls him away, clearly amused by how much the child has taken to Sanji already.

Sanji is amused by it, too, he’s not sure why Chopper loves him so much, but he’s certainly not one to complain.

The woman has caught sight of them over Zoro’s shoulder and is already smiling at Sanji as he and Chopper make their approach, she murmurs something softly to Zoro and he turns a smile over his shoulder.

“Look who it is, my favorite person in the whole world.” He turns around and makes a little noise of surprise, “Oh, Chopper, didn’t see you there, bud.”

Chopper glares at Zoro, and they both grin after a second of staring each other down.

“Hi, Chopper, how are you?” the woman asks, and Chopper ducks behind Sanji to peek out at her.

It reminds Sanji of how he’d hidden behind Zoro’s legs when Sanji first met him just a few days prior, and Sanji feels warmth knot tight in his chest as he rests his hand on Chopper’s shoulder in a show of support.

“I’m good.” He says shyly.

“That’s good,” she smiles sweetly, “I heard you’ve been hanging out with Zoro all week, huh?”

Chopper nods, “Uh-huh.”

“Do you like Colorado?” she asks.

“It’s cold.” He says, “But the snow is fun.”

She smiles, “I agree, buddy.” She straightens and smiles sweetly at Sanji. “I’m sorry, I’m being rude.” She holds a delicate hand out, perfectly manicured nails, expensive bracelets, a massive diamond on her left hand. She’s a trophy wife if he’s ever seen one, and what a trophy she would be.

“I’m Hiyori.”

Sanji takes her hand between both of his, shaking it warmly, “I’m Sanji, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“Oh, you’re Zoro’s new partner!” she clasps both of his hands, “Oh, I’ve been watching you skate since we were kids!”

He smiles at her brightly, and she keeps talking.

“I’d never seen two boys skating together before, but you were such a pretty little thing, weren’t you?”

She’s just excited, he reminds himself. Maybe she’s really been a fan of his, it’s not uncommon, he’s met fans before. She's also not wrong, special provisions had been made for Sanji and Niji to skate together, two males had never paired before the brothers.

“Oh, I was heartbroken when you cut your hair, but I guess we all grow up and change our styles, huh?”

The words cut him razor sharp and bone deep, he’s certain he draws a strangled breath as the pain seeps through his core, rough hands lock into the roots of his hair and yank his head back.

“I’ve heard so much about Judge and the rest of your family…” the words fade off into an echo that Sanji can’t understand. He’s still watching her, watching her painted lips move, watching the shift of her hair, the way her earrings wiggle when she speaks.

The room pinches around him, hot and tight, burning his flesh with every place the walls suddenly touch him, compressing him in tighter and tighter until he can’t breathe. He feels his lips part, but his ears are ringing again, louder than ever, like a siren contained in his skull, his throat itches and burns. Is he hyperventilating?

Fuck, he hopes not.

He looks over at Zoro and the entire world tips off its axis, then he’s stumbling out of the room.

His eyes stay glued on his feet as he staggers out into a hallway, completely unaware and uncertain of where he’s going, knowing only that he has to escape these walls enclosing him.

He doesn’t stop until he finds an exit door and shoves it open, tripping over the threshold as he bursts into the freezing cold night air. The wind immediately bites through his clothes and makes him shiver, he nearly collapses against the wall beside him, and the cold air burns his lungs.

He is hyperventilating, and the cold probably isn’t helping, but the walls have eased away from him now, and the hand isn’t quite as firmly locked into his hair anymore.

Fuck, this is so embarrassing. The first time someone mentions his fucking family he just falls apart? What a joke. He’d endured being with them for his entire life, put up with the abuse and turmoil and everything else they ever put him through, but he can’t even stomach the mention of them anymore?

Pathetic.

He doesn’t realize he’s crying until his face hurts from the cold tears streaking down his cheeks, and it just makes him feel even more like a worm.

God, who is he kidding? He’ll never skate out from under Judge’s shadow.

It doesn’t matter how much he changes his style or his programs or his name, everyone will still know.

That’s the Vinsmoke boy, you know the one.  Judge tried so hard with that boy.

Fucking pathetic.

Warmth drapes over his shoulders, he’s pulled off the wall slightly and the warmth wraps all the way around him, then he sags back against the cold wall again.

He tries to catch his breath, and when he manages to open his eyes a bit, he’s mortified that the person standing in front of him is Zoro.

Of course it is.

Sanji wraps his arms around himself and turns away from Zoro.

“Want me to fuck off?”

Sanji shakes his head, so Zoro leans against the wall next to him, and they’re both quiet.

Sanji allows himself to cry quietly until he calms himself some, and when his hyperventilating subsides, Zoro begins taking slow, deep breaths. It’s easy to listen to his breath and to follow along, inhaling through his nose, exhaling from his mouth, and he calms even more with each breath.

A little hand grips Sanji’s left hand, and Sanji nearly jumps in surprise. He didn’t realize Chopper was there, but the boy is looking up at him with big, concerned eyes. Sanji squeezes his hand and hopes it reassures them both, he offers him a thin, watery smile.

“Chopper, could you go get Duval, please? Just say Sanji needs him.” Zoro asks quietly, and Chopper nods before he dashes back inside the arena.

Zoro rubs between Sanji’s shoulder blades, his fingers firm and grounding, “I’m sorry, I know she didn’t intend to upset you.”

Sanji shakes his head, “Not her fault, please tell her I’m sorry.”

Zoro hums softly, “Do you know who Kuina Shimotsuki is?”

Sanji is confused by the turn this conversation has just taken, but he does indeed know the name. She was a singles skater, one he grew up competing alongside all over the world. She was an extremely talented skater from a long line of talented skaters.

She passed away suddenly in the middle of competition circuits when they were 16, and the rumors surrounding the whole affair had been nasty, to say the least.

“Yes?” Sanji says quietly.

“She was my best friend growing up, from the time we were 4, until I lost her. I understand the pressure families can put on their kids when it comes to legacy and shit. If you’ve experienced things like she did, then I’m really sorry.” Zoro says, and each word sinks deeper and deeper into Sanji’s skin, crawling straight towards that knot behind his sternum and digging in no matter how hard Sanji resists.

Zoro understands what just happened with frightening clarity, an almost unnerving observation that he made with absolute ease.

Sanji is in a total daze as he processes what Zoro has just said, and the next thing he’s aware of is warm arms wrapping around him and lips in his hair, the familiar scent of Duval’s cologne tingles his nostrils.

“You want to go?” Duval asks him softly, and Sanji nods, burying his face in Duval’s jersey. “Okay.” He kisses Sanji’s hair.

His arms are safe and firmly wrapped around Sanji, Duval speaks to Zoro softly for a moment, and Sanji tunes them out. His ears have stopped ringing, so that’s an improvement, but he’s completely drained, so tired that his bones hurt.

“See ya Monday, twirls.” Zoro says, he squeezes one of Sanji’s shoulders, and Sanji knows that Zoro’s feelings aren’t hurt that Sanji doesn’t say goodbye to him.

Duval leads him to his car and loads Sanji into the passenger seat with another soft kiss to his head. Sanji curls in the cold leather and leans his head against the frosty window, letting his eyes go unfocused and disassociating entirely.

He’s aware the vehicle warms up, the seat leather becomes comfortable, and he’s able to relax a bit with each second they put between them and the words that had sent him spiraling so suddenly.

It's not until Duval pulls into the extra parking space at Sanji’s apartment that he realizes they drove all the way back to Boulder. He sits up and gives Duval a confused look, “Why are we here?”

“I thought you might rather be home. Robin can get our stuff, it’s no problem.” Duval says, he turns towards Sanji and takes his hands over the center console. “Are you alright? Can you tell me what happened?”

Sanji nods, “I’m so embarrassed that I reacted that way. That woman knew of me, she brought up my family, and she made a comment about my long hair. Fuck, the first time I hear someone say his name and I fall apart in public, I mean, it’s humiliating.” He groans and digs the heels of his hands into his eyes roughly.

Duval shakes his head, “No, it’s not, stop putting yourself down.” He says gently, “You have every right to react that way, I’m sorry she upset you.” He gently takes Sanji’s wrists and tugs his hands down until they’re rested in Sanji’s lap.

“She didn’t mean to.” Sanji says, he picks at one of his fingernails until he rips it too far back.

“No, she didn’t, but it’s okay that it upset you. That’s not your fault, you don’t have to feel bad for anything.” He says, he reaches over and covers Sanji’s fingers, stopping him from picking at the broken nail.

“I’m sorry I ruined your evening.” Sanji mutters.

“You didn’t, okay?” Duval squeezes his hand, “I’m home alone with you now, got you all to myself. Hard to imagine a world where that’s a bad thing, isn’t it?” he lifts Sanji’s hand to his lips and kisses each finger, giving an extra kiss to the broken nail.

Sanji takes a sharp breath, “I love you.” He says quietly, the words come out before he even realizes they’re about to, but the way his heart rises into his throat makes him realize how much this man has come to mean to him.

Duval leans across the console and kisses Sanji’s forehead, “I love you.” He murmurs softly. “Come on, I’ll make you a drink.”

A hot toddy, a shoulder rub, and a blowjob have Sanji feeling much better as he falls asleep in Duval’s arms.

Maybe he can focus after all.

Zoro collapses onto his back on the ice, chest heaving as he gasps for air.

“Come on, you’re so close.” Sanji says, he’s crouching beside Zoro’s head, smiling reassuringly.

The death spirals are harder than Zoro had imagined, it looks so simple. Just fling him around! How hard can it be?

Stupid rules, stupid posture, stupid toe picks. Stupid sport. Stupid spirals that Zoro can’t get down even after nine days of constant practice!

Stupid!

Zoro peeks his eye open to glare at Sanji, who just smiles wider at him. “Come on, mossy, you fought for this, remember?” Sanji makes a fist and knocks it into Zoro’s jaw lightly.

It sends heat shooting down his spine, hot enough that he could melt right through the ice, the unbelievable slam of lust rushing through his veins at the memory of Sanji punching him. Does that make him weird? Possibly, but he’s choosing not to read into it too much. Just like he’s doing with the entire feelings-for-a-man-in-a-committed-relationship-who-might-hate-Zoro situation.

Sanji’s right, though, Zoro did literally fight for his right to death spiral, so he pushes himself off the ice with a heavy sigh.

“You know what the problem is?” Sanji says, and Zoro huffs lightly.

“I’m garbage?”

“Shut up, no you’re not.” Sanji rolls his eyes, “You’re thinking about it too much, just use the momentum and let it carry us through.”

“You make it sound really easy, and then it’s not.” Zoro says pointedly, he’s sort of whining, actually. He feels like stomping off and pouting like Chopper does, but he knows it won’t be nearly as cute if he does it.

“Here.” Sanji takes Zoro by the waist and starts pulling him around the ice. “Relax.” He says softly, voice in Zoro’s ear.

Zoro shuts down the part of his brain that desperately tries to replay the night at the bar, Sanji’s lips on his ear, his hands on Zoro’s hips. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, letting Sanji guide them around the ice as they twizzle and glide together.

“Just chill, follow my lead.” Sanji says, and it’s easy to listen to him. Zoro shuts his mind off and listens to just his body, and the cues from Sanji’s hands and hips. Zoro has never skated where he wasn’t leading, but it’s nice to follow Sanji.

He doesn’t try to lift or toss Zoro, which is fair considering their size difference, but he leads Zoro around until there’s nothing but the sound of their blades carving the ice.

Sanji takes his hands and spins them in a wide circle, not stopping until Zoro laughs. He leads them down the ice and drops to his knees in a dramatic powerslide, tipping his head back until it almost drags the ice, and Zoro laughs again. He grapevines and does all sorts of silly moves until Zoro feels better, and then he exchanges a grin with Sanji, an unspoken moment passes between them. Zoro takes Sanji’s wrist and leads him down the ice.

Keeping his core tight, letting the momentum spin them naturally, focusing on balancing his weight over his toes just right, and then they’re done. He looks back behind them to see the spiral his toe picks carved into the ice, grinning proudly and turning to look at Sanji.

“Told you so.” Sanji says with a smile, they stop, and he throws his arms around Zoro’s neck briefly. “I’m proud of you.”

Zoro doesn’t even have time to return the embrace before Sanji is stepping away, “Couldn’t do it without you.” Zoro says, meaning the words with more depth than Sanji can possibly imagine.

“You ready? Wanna try the whole thing?” Sanji asks, and Zoro nods.

They take their marks at center ice and wait for the music to cue them in, and then it’s just flow. It’s become a routine Zoro could do in his sleep, each step, each toss, each spin, one combo flowing to another, one jump leading to the next.

All he has to do is focus on Sanji, which is pretty much all he’s capable of doing these days anyway, the rest of it is just second nature. It’s still exhausting, of course, but Zoro’s stamina outlasts Sanji’s every time, and he easily hides how fatigued he is from his partner.

It's not until their music ends and they’re back on center ice together that Zoro realizes they’re done. They did their program.

He blinks at Sanji, who is smiling.

“Well?” Sanji says.

“I…I don’t know.”

“You did great.” Sanji squeezes his shoulders, “Run it again?”

So they do, again and again until it’s less of a blur for Zoro, until he can pick apart the things that need more work, the things he’s excelling at, where he needs to be stronger.

“You know what this means?” Sanji asks as they step off the ice and remove their skates to go to lunch.

“We can finally move on and learn our free skate.” Zoro says, he’s been looking forward to bringing this up for weeks now, he’s even asked for help. “I was thinking that we could do something fun, you know? Stay in line with our theme and you can do something that’s really your style. Rise and fly, right?”

Sanji is staring at him, lips parted, the crook in his one visible eyebrow tells of danger, and Zoro immediately bites the inside of his cheek. Fuck. How did that upset him?

“What do you mean?” Sanji asks, voice even and low, and Zoro doesn’t even understand how he’s made this man angry!

“I mean that you should skate how you want.” Zoro shakes his head, “Why does that piss you off?”

Sanji stands abruptly, “I skate the way I’m supposed to skate, that’s why it pisses me off.”

Zoro sighs a little, “What does that even mean? Dude, you have style and flair that you’re not showing on the ice. I’m just saying, wouldn’t it feel good to do your best?”

Sanji scoffs, “You think I’m not doing my best now?” he snips, and admittedly, Zoro shouldn’t roll his eyes at the question. “Just because you have no respect for this sport doesn’t mean I’m going to just turn my back on everything I’ve ever been taught.”

Sanji’s shoulders pull back and he’s once again looking down his nose at Zoro like he’s sidewalk scum. It’s a look Zoro hasn’t seen in weeks, and he certainly hasn’t missed it.

“I skate my best because this is what was drilled into me, with blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices you couldn’t fucking imagine. I’m only where I am today because I’ve stuck to what I know.” Sanji says, voice growing angry and heated.

Zoro stands, and Sanji instinctively takes a half-step back, “No offense, dude, but where you are today is scraping the bottom of the barrel. You’re stuck with me. Maybe if you were willing to take one step out of the status quo for once you’d have more of a name for yourself and could have found a partner who knows what the fuck they’re doing.”

“A name for myself?” Sanji’s voice trembles, he laughs bitterly, “My name is fucking Vinsmoke.” He spits it like it’s venomous, acrid and burning his tongue. “And before you go on preaching to me about the status quo, you don’t know a god damned thing about my family, or my life, or what I endured to be here today, so just do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up.”

He yanks his bag up off the bench and turns for the door angrily, taking several long strides before turning back to glare at Zoro over his shoulder, “But you’re right, I’m sure as hell scraping the bottom of the barrel with you.”

Then he’s gone, leaving Zoro with a sinking feeling that swallows his insides.

He gathers his things and retreats to the break area, Robin is on one of the couches with a book and Vivi is making them smoothies, chattering away about her outfit for her free skate. Zoro drops onto the couch beside Robin and rests his head on her shoulder, taking several calming breaths and trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

God, he’d meant to help Sanji, and it just made him angry. Not just a little upset, but truly, really angry.

“Why so glum, sugar plum?” Vivi coos, she pours him a smoothie from her blender and holds it out with big, concerned eyes.

“I just made Sanji mad at me.” Zoro grumbles, he takes the smoothie and takes a sip. “I didn’t mean to this time, either.”

“Oh, I thought you two had really been getting along.” Vivi pouts sympathetically, she sits on the couch beside him and combs her fingers through his hair.

“We have been, and I thought I was doing something helpful. I just said we should do our free skate in his style, then somehow that turned into a fight about his family and-“

Vivi’s face falls, “Oh.” She says softly, frowning.

Great, that’s a reaction that sparks a lot of hope.

“He’s very touchy about his family, Zoro, I’m sorry. Just give him some space, he’ll calm down.” Vivi squeezes his shoulder with a reassuring grip.

“Why is it so touchy, though? I don’t get it.”

Vivi shakes her head, “That’s not my business to share, I’m sorry. Sanji will tell you when he’s ready, just be patient.”

Robin nods when Zoro glances at her, and he takes another drink from his smoothie.

He doesn’t eat lunch, just lies on the couch and pouts on Robin’s shoulder for an hour. He doesn’t have an appetite anyway, and even drinking the smoothie is like swallowing cement.

He knows what he wants to say, if Sanji will even give him the chance to say it. Zoro struck a nerve, as unintentional as that may have been, and upsetting their fragile balance was truly not on Zoro’s mind anytime soon.

Zoro doesn’t understand what’s going on with Sanji’s family situation, and he only wants to know if Sanji wants to tell him, but it’s clearly something that carries a lot of emotional weight for Sanji. It makes him feel vulnerable and exposed, he carries it close to his chest, he doesn’t let anyone else share in his burden.

Zoro has a similar bundle, one he carries cradled to his sternum, only occasionally glancing down to make sure it’s still tight against his chest. Thinking about it just makes it harder to swallow, makes him feel like he’s sinking through hot asphalt.

Still, no matter how much the words claw his mouth on the way out, Zoro needs to say them. Zoro wants to say them.

So, after their lunch break is over, Zoro goes to a quiet place that he’s reserved for himself. It’s the first place he ever visited in this arena, the very top row of seats in that dusty mezzanine.

He's got one seat that he’s made plush and comfortable, piling pillows and stolen blankets into it like some sort of gremlin. It’s where he spends a lot of time, and he’s pretty sure nobody knows.

Well, Brook might, but it’s obvious he has respect for solitude, and Zoro knows the music man would be the last to intentionally disturb Zoro’s peace.

Zoro has spent hours and hours up here. Watching the others skate, sitting in the dark, thinking.

The doors below open and Zoro hears footsteps, then Sanji’s voice, followed by Robin’s. Zoro stands and goes to the edge of the mezzanine, watching Sanji look around briefly before sending Robin a perplexed look.

Zoro whistles, and Robin and Sanji both turn to him, “C’mere, Twirls.” Zoro swallows, “Please.”

Robin and Sanji both raise an eyebrow at him, but Sanji nods and makes his way towards the staircase. Robin stays put, and she and Zoro have another of those silent conversations before Robin nods and leaves the arena.

Sanji enters the mezzanine a few moments later, and he makes his way over to the stuffy seats by the lights where Zoro is sitting.

Zoro holds up a beer bottle, one of his own already grasped in his other hand.

Sanji shoots him a skeptical look but takes the beer and cracks it open before he even takes the seat next to Zoro.

They’re silent for a minute, just sipping their beers, and Zoro is testing how the energy between them feels.

Sanji is apprehensive, but not unreceptive or agitated, Zoro is pretty sure they can have a very productive conversation right now. Still, it’s like his tongue is made of sandpaper every time he tries to speak, and all he can do is try to wash the nerves away with the cold beer.

“I sat right here the first time I ever watched you skate. Did you know that?”

Sanji looks over at him, twirly eyebrow cocked, and he shakes his head slowly.

“Mhm.” Zoro nods, “Two weeks before I moved out here, Robin drug me out. I was only a few weeks out from losing my eye, and I was so goddamned angry with the world. Honestly, man, I wanted to die.”

The words make a flood of heat rush through Zoro’s body from his head to his toes, guilt and shame crash into him and slam into his ribcage, burrowing after that bundle of grief nestled at his sternum.

He’s never said those words out loud; he’s maybe never even allowed himself to complete the thought. Because he doesn’t mean it, not really, it’s just…

God, he felt like he was losing everything. Like everything he’d fought for had all been for nothing.

It wasn’t so much that he wanted to die, or that he couldn’t go on living, it was just that he’d lost everything he’d been living for. It was next to impossible to imagine a way forward, a productive and happy life for himself seemed so far out of his grasp, implausible.

“But Robin threw me on an airplane and drug me here and made me sit between her and Charlotte and watch you skate. I needed it, looking back, but fuck, I was angry.” Zoro shakes his head and takes a pull from his beer, “You were skating to some ballet piece, Swan Lake, maybe?”

Sanji nods shallowly, his eyes dart to the ice before he looks back to Zoro.

“I had such a bad attitude, and it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, so I called it boring and told Charlotte I was a bad fit, and I was going to leave. Go back to Florida and, I don’t know, mope for the rest of my life?” Zoro shrugs and shakes his head.

“But then a different song started, and it had all this bass, and like, rapping, and everything about you changed.” Zoro huffs lightly, “It was so unique and captivating, and it was like something I’d only ever seen one other place.”

Zoro takes a deep breath and sets his empty beer down; he leans back and props his feet up on the row of seats in front of them. “Know who introduced me to hockey? This punk ass little girl who thought she was hot shit, named Kuina. I mean, we were, like, four years old, and I still knew I hated that smartass attitude.” Zoro can’t keep the smile off his face at thinking back to the big-mouthed little girl who had bossed him around for years.

“We played peewee hockey together, and she figure skated as well. We trained and learned and grew up together. But we started getting a little older, the sport got a little rougher, and her father insisted that she give all her attention to skating instead of wasting her time with hockey.”

“So, that was when I started losing Kuina, and we were eight. I remember it so vividly, more than I remember anything from childhood. More than I remember my mother’s face, or breaking my arm when I was ten, or the color of my walls when I was little, I remember how she changed.”

Zoro’s eyes track up to the lighting hanging from the ceiling, it’s oddly not as painful to talk right now as it usually is when he’s talking about her. Therapy is harder than this, and Zoro adores his therapist, but this somehow seems just as safe and warm. Talking to Sanji seems easy right now, weirdly, so Zoro just keeps going.

“Her competitions started getting more intense, training got harder for her, I knew I was losing her, and I couldn’t stand it. She was all I had, my only friend, my only family. So, I’d sneak in and skate with her at practice, and I’d sneak her out and we’d go to this old frozen pond and play hockey together in the middle of the night. Just flashlights and the moon, and I had her again, ya know?”

Sanji leans over and grabs another beer out of the case at Zoro’s feet, he’s raptured in Zoro’s story and his face is soft and open. He doesn’t look angry anymore, and Zoro is grateful for that.

Even if all this accomplishes is bring them closer because they know each other, understand each other better, then that is a win. If Sanji hears what Zoro is trying to say, then that’s just icing on the cake at this point.

“So, we made a promise to each other that we’d both become the best on the ice in the entire world. She’d become the best figure skater, and I’d become the best hockey player. We started training together more, and when we told her father about our promise, he let us spend more time together.” Zoro smiles fondly at the memory. Kuina’s family had put Zoro through the best lessons, camps, and training days they could find. They wanted success for him as much as they did for Kuina, but truly, that had been part of the problem.

“She was electric, man, I’d never seen anybody who could skate like she did. All style and flair and big jumps, she could fly, like, fly.” Zoro grins, “She skated to songs nobody else did, she just did her, and it was amazing.”

That bundle in his sternum reaches out and grabs his ribs, clinging tight, begging to not be exposed in any small way. His heart speeds up, his stomach knots, he clenches his jaw involuntarily and the next few breaths he draws are increasingly tight. “Then she qualified for the Olympics.” Zoro says, nearly ragged, he clears his throat. “Everything changed overnight, suddenly there were rules and expectations that she’d never had put on her. Her family had always skated, her parents were both gold medalists, her siblings all went to the Olympics, and it was just Kuina’s turn. Then suddenly there were these traditions to uphold and… Kuina just started slipping away again.”

He swallows thickly and pries the bundle from his ribs, cradling it close still, terrified of it spilling over his arms. “It was her eating habits at first, she’d had an unhealthy relationship with food for years, and it’d become something more serious occasionally. She ended up in the hospital twice during Olympic trials, she was so malnourished and dehydrated all the time. She was sick, I mean, really sick. Her mental health would always decline badly when she was struggling with food, too, they were hand-in-hand. So, she would isolate, she’d go to the rink all night and sleep all day, she wouldn’t answer her phone, she wouldn’t go anywhere. She would lock me out, refuse to talk to me.”

Zoro had tried so hard. God, he knew she was struggling, and he had been so fucking scared for her.

He'd come home from a hockey camp to learn she had been locked in her room for four days, and her parents were just mad. Not worried, just angry.

Zoro had climbed up the side of the house and into her bathroom window, where he’d found her curled up in the empty tub. Bloody lines on her upper arms, red-tinged, puffy eyes, chapped lips that had parted with silent words when she had looked at him. All he could do was pull her into his arms and cry with her, try to be there for her like nobody else would be.

Zoro knew what was coming, he knew how thin her threads had worn, and he had clung to them desperately as he cried for someone to please help them. She was falling away; she was slipping faster than he could catch.

“I begged anyone who would listen to pull her out, and they just leaned harder. Pushed her more, drug her to more training, embarrassed her in front of coaches and judges. Until she was just a shell. Until she couldn’t bare it anymore.”

A warm hand rests on Zoro’s back, rubbing gently between his tense shoulder blades. Zoro looks over and Sanji is frowning, a soft, sad look in his blue eyes, he swallows thickly when Zoro turns to him.

“When I sat here for the first time, I felt like a shell, like I couldn’t go on, couldn’t bare it anymore. I felt like Kuina in that bathtub, begging to be set free from what life had become for me.” Zoro says, and the words are barbed wire in his throat, razor blades across his tongue. “Then I saw you skate to that electronic song, and it was like… it was like she was here. You reminded me so much of her, and I told Charlotte I’d do it without a second thought. You-“

Zoro laughs a little, he turns back to the ice and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You hated me when I got here, and I guess that made me feel… better.” He shakes his head and they both snort quietly. “You remind me of her.”

Zoro leans back and turns to Sanji, “I wasn’t trying to step on your toes earlier, okay? We’ll skate however you want, and I’ll keep my mouth shut. You’re the expert, I’m the muscle-bound ape.”

Sanji bites back a laugh, hooking his teeth over his lower lip, eyes sparkling, he rests one hand on Zoro’s forearm.

“I just want you to know that I’m here to support you and to be your partner, okay? I’m doing it partially because I want to be the best, I really do. But you remind me of her, and I want to challenge and encourage you the way I would have with her. Which means I want to see you skate with that energy I saw that first day, I want to see your gay ass little outfits, I want you to yell at me and argue with me constantly. I want you to break out of that shell and fly the way I know you can.”

Sanji laughs softly, and he slides his hand down Zoro’s arm and threads their fingers together, squeezing tightly.

“But if you want us to skate to Swan Lake or Mozart or the fucking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song, then that’s what we skate to. Okay?” Zoro says seriously, an eyebrow raising to emphasize his point, “I’m by your side, and I’m here to be the very best.”

Sanji’s smile is warm, something burning on his face that Zoro has never seen before, a light in his eyes that’s unfamiliar and comforting. He squeezes Zoro’s hand, “Like no one ever was?”

There’s something new sticking to Zoro’s ribs, clawing its way up his insides, and it’s hotter and more demanding than anything Zoro has ever felt before. Damn.

He'd been so afraid of talking to Sanji like this, being vulnerable with him, he hadn’t even considered what might happen.

If he cracked his chest open and spilled his guts to Sanji, it might bring them closer, of course. It’s why Zoro is here.

He hadn’t thought about this, though, the hot, tingly rush of being seen.

Sanji watched him spill his guts and he smiled. He sees Zoro.

“Well, catching them is my real test.” Zoro says, throat dry, lips chapped.

“Training them your cause?” Sanji continues.

“I mean, I did travel across the land.” Zoro is smiling, that heat has crawled up his chest and into his throat, taking over his face and into the tips of his hair. It’s like a candle flickering up, up, up.

“Did you search far and wide?” Sanji’s eyebrows rise comically, he nods like he’s impressed.

Zoro nods, “Gotta teach Pokémon to understand the power that’s inside.” He says seriously.

Then they grin, and both burst out singing the rest of the Pokémon theme song, their fingers still laced together, their empty beer bottles sitting at their feet. They’re laughing too hard to breathe, and Zoro takes Sanji’s other hand, holding tight, gripping his soft skin as they finish their silly song.

Sanji leans forward and rests his forehead to Zoro’s, his eyes drift shut, and they’re quiet as they both grin like idiots.

Sanji untangles their fingers and wraps his arms around Zoro’s neck, he moves his face to rest in the crook of Zoro’s throat, and he pulls him close.

It's sort of a weird angle, the armrest between them, a blanket stuffed between Sanji’s thigh and the plastic of the chair, but Zoro doesn’t give a shit. He just hugs Sanji back, tight, playing with the stray strands of blonde hair that he can reach with one hand.

To be seen.

To be understood.

They embrace for a minute, quiet, warm, peaceful.

“Sanji?” Charlotte’s voice echoes through the empty arena, breaking the trance of their moment some, Sanji leans back slowly, and his eyes go towards the ice briefly before he looks back at Zoro.

He's so close, looking at Zoro like he had that day they played hockey together. When Zoro boxed him in, his eyelids had gone all heavy like this, his lips had parted in this same way, his breathing shallow and-

“Thank you.” Sanji says softly, he leans in and kisses Zoro on the cheek, lingering for a few seconds before he leans back and smiles again. He lifts one hand to cradle Zoro’s cheek briefly, thumb tracing along his cheekbone.

Then he stands, “Yes, my love?” he calls to Charlotte, who whirls around and squints up towards the mezzanine.

“Can you please come down here? Your landlord is on the phone and he’s yelling about you smoking in the-“

“Ugh, this fucking guy?” Sanji cuts her off with a dramatic groan, “Yeah, I’m coming.”

He turns an apologetic smile to Zoro, “God forbid a man have hobbies.”

Zoro laughs as he watches him go, warmth and peace settling into his chest as he tucks his bundle back against his sternum. See? That wasn’t so bad.

Chapter Text

Spring

It remains that way, not so bad, a sense of being understood growing between them, and neither of them bring up the free skate for two and a half weeks.

They’ve mastered their death spiral, they’re nailing all their jumps, they have their lifts and tosses down pat, it’s a smooth and lovely short program that they’ve gotten to bring to life together.

They still eat their lunch together, sharing fruit, stealing each other’s coffees, sneaking out to local spots Sanji insists on showing him. They train together at the gym, spotting each other, shit-talking and pushing the other to grow and be better and stronger. They spend ballet studio time together, quiet and peaceful energy always settling between them.

They go out with their friends, Duval joins them a lot, and he and Zoro have gotten to talk hockey together extensively. It’s nice to sit with the couple and not feel like a third wheel, but rather, their friend.

It's also nice to see how much they love each other; how happy Duval is with Sanji nestled to his side and leaning over him to talk drunkenly to Robin at a crowded bar. The warmth he feels at seeing Sanji smile at Duval when Duval isn’t looking, it doesn’t make Zoro feel anything besides love for his partner. There’s no jealousy or envy, no ache in his chest, and Zoro is just grateful that someone else sees Sanji’s good side, too.

Ten weeks have passed since Zoro’s first day at the rink, and those ten weeks have been a much-needed rest for Zoro. He hadn’t realized how badly he had needed this, this challenge, this partnership, this community.

After those ten weeks, something changes, and it changes on a day Zoro isn’t even at the rink.

Their rest days are sacred, few and far between, usually packed with errands and other things that have been pushed to the back burner.

Zoro has intentionally set this day aside to be alone, to rest, to sleep in, and to do whatever the fuck he feels like doing.

None of those plans included his phone ringing at 7:15. Zoro peeks his eye open and glares at the name on the screen, the twirly emoji four times, accompanied by the contact picture Vivi had made. It’s a cunty pinwheel, and Sanji had wheezed laughing the first time he’d seen it.

“What?” Zoro grouses, barely bothering to lift his head from the pillows when he swipes to answer the call.

“Good morning, sunshine, let me in.”

“Let you in what?”

“Your house.”

“Hm?” Zoro rubs his eye, “You know where I live?”

“Who do you think has been mailing you envelopes of loose glitter?”

“Honestly, Nami.”

“God, she’s great.” Sanji says, Zoro can hear the love-sick, hearts-in-his-eyes, googly voice Sanji gets when it comes to Nami. Duval just laughs about it, he promises Sanji is gay, says he has the videos to prove it.

Zoro sort of wants to see.

“Are you really here? I’m not moving all day today, so this better be a joke.” Zoro groans.

“Yes, I’m really here. Please let me in?” Sanji pouts, Zoro can hear it, his amusement at coming to know his partner's voice so well stubs any irritation at being woken up early.

“Fine.” Zoro rolls out of bed and hangs up, tossing his phone back on the sheets. He throws on a pair of boxer briefs before stumbling to the front door and opening it for Sanji.

Sanji comes through the door with a big smile and an armload of shit, which he takes straight to the kitchen and begins unpacking.

“I’m going back to bed.” Zoro announces, “Back left bedroom if you wanna join me.” He says over his shoulder as he shuffles back to his room and falls back into his bed.

He’s serious, he doesn’t give a shit that Sanji is here, he’s going back to sleep.

Serious or not, he hadn’t expected Sanji to actually join him.

Still, when he stirs an hour or so later and resituates his pillow, Sanji is curled in a little ball on the opposite side of the bed, sleeping soundly.

He’s wearing one of Duval’s t-shirts, a minor league hockey team who is well known for their cool designs. He’s kicked off his jeans and is in just his boxer briefs, long, slender legs tangled in the sheets.

Zoro settles in with a content smile and sleeps for a while longer. The next time he wakes, it’s a little after 10:00, and he’s got an arm wrapped around Sanji’s waist.

They’re completely spooned together, arms and legs tangled, they’ve even got their fingers loosely laced together. Sanji is still sleeping, breath slow and even.

Zoro sits up quietly, just enough to prop himself on one elbow, and he brushes Sanji’s hair away from his forehead.

He’s never seen the guy’s whole face, and he can’t help the giddy grin he casts down at Sanji’s sleeping face. Before he thinks better of it, Zoro leans over and presses a soft kiss to Sanji’s temple.

He rolls out of bed and heads straight for the bathroom, lingering in the doorway for a moment, eyes glued to Sanji on the bed.

He's a beautiful tangle of dark green sheets and pale skin, t-shirt riding up to expose his hip, the dip of his narrow waist. His hair still seems to glow a golden blonde, even in the darkness of the bedroom, laying over his forehead and cheekbone in a wavy little swoosh.

Zoro shuts the bathroom door and turns the cold water all the way up, dunking himself into the frigid spray before his mind can wander back to Sanji. It works for a few minutes, too!

Until Zoro congratulates himself on not thinking about Sanji in his bed, and then he’s thinking about Sanji in his bed, and then all he can think about is Sanji in his bed.

But really. Sanji is in his bed.

Sanji is in his bed, sleepy and groggy, wearing a too big t-shirt, and it’d be so fucking easy to get his hands on that soft skin.

Feel Sanji’s chest for himself, smooth skin under his fingers and palms, exploring around to find sensitive spots that make Sanji sigh.

Zoro could kiss his neck, bury his nose where Sanji’s cologne always smells the strongest, nibble at his earlobe. He’d ask the blonde if it felt good, if he wanted more, if the hungry look in his eye means what Zoro thinks it means.

He'd claim his lips in a kiss, hot, demanding, licking into his stupid mouth right away and tasting his cigarettes and that dumb vape juice. Sanji would gasp, would touch Zoro anywhere he could, would kiss back like he was starving.

Zoro wraps his hand around his growing erection, stroking himself to full hardness. Who cares? Not him. He’s gone weeks without jacking off over this idiot, he’s losing his composure at this point.

Ignoring his feelings is easy enough, pushing them down and not acting on them is well practiced. Ignoring his body is harder, the physical desires he craves have gone unfulfilled. Even Luffy pawing all over him right now wouldn’t be enough, and if they were back in Florida, Zoro knows exactly where he would be.

He's here now, though, his life is here, and he will have to find a way to get off without falling in love with his partner.

For now, though, this is good enough.

He leans his back against the shower wall and lets the water slick his hand’s movement, squeezing and teasing himself just right.

He doesn’t want to draw this out, no reason to, because he shouldn’t even be doing this anyway.

The masturbation is simple enough, but it’s the Sanji of the matter that complicates things.

Still, his mind is on pale skin and blonde hair, wondering what his precum tastes like, pondering the noises he makes when he’s sucked off. Zoro cums hard with the thought of his cock in Sanji’s mouth, begging to see Sanji swallow his cum with those blue eyes heavy with lust.

He washes that all away in another deluge of freezing water, mentally fortifying himself to go back to his bedroom to potentially find Sanji still in his bed. He gets dressed and is drying his hair when he opens his bathroom door to look into the bedroom.

Sanji isn’t in the bed anymore, and there’s a delicious smell floating into the room from down the hall and into the bedroom. Zoro follows the smell into the kitchen, finding Sanji at the stove, ingredients and things being prepped all over the kitchen.

Zoro sits at the kitchen island with a confused smile, “What’s all this, man?”

“Brunch, I suppose. Was going to be breakfast but you made me sleep for three more hours, so now it’s brunch.” Sanji says, he smiles over his shoulder, “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Zoro smiles, “Don’t make a habit of waking me up to let you inside before 8 am, got it?”

“Guess you better give me a key, so I don’t have to wake you up.”

“You wouldn’t have to wake me up if you were just sleeping beside me already.”

Sanji laughs, he turns back to the pan where he’s sautéing mushrooms, peppers, and onions in a delicious smelling sauce. “Might start getting crowded with me and Duval in there with you.”

“Especially once hockey’s over and Luffy moves into my bed for the next four months.” Zoro jokes, and Sanji laughs again.

“Bed full of hot men, whatever will you do?” Sanji drawls dramatically, and Zoro grins as he heads to the coffee maker.

“Cum, hopefully. A lot.”

Sanji throws a hand towel at the back of his head, and they grin at each other playfully. Zoro makes them both a cup of coffee, and at Sanji’s direction, a pitcher of mimosas as well.

They sit on Zoro’s balcony and share a huge meal together, the morning sun shining directly on them and helping ward off the chilly air. It’s warmed up considerably since Zoro arrived here, but it’s still a massive change to the climate he's long since become accustomed to in Florida.

They eat their omelets and drink their mimosas and eat some delicious little cheesy fig things Sanji made.

“You’re really good.” Zoro says, chewing one of the fig thingies, he’s already forgotten what Sanji called it.

Sanji raises an eyebrow over the rim of his mimosa, “Excuse me?”

“Cooking, you’re really good. This is probably the best breakfast I’ve ever eaten.”

“Brunch.” Sanji interjects, his eyes dart away. Is he being bashful right now? About this, of all things? He’s showed Zoro pictures of himself naked with less anxiety written on his face.

Zoro tilts his head to the side, he smiles a little, “Brunch, then, definitely the best brunch I’ve ever had.”

“Thanks,” Sanji pushes his fork around aimlessly, “It’s probably my favorite thing ever.”

“Well, if this is what all your meals are like, you’re damn good.” Zoro says sincerely.

“Yeah?”

Zoro nods, “Yeah, man, trust me. If you don’t believe me, we’ll ask Luffy when he’s back. Man loves some food, he'll tell you if it’s good or not.”

Sanji chuckles, “You know, I actually always had this dream.” He trails off and seems to gather his courage before he speaks again, like this is something hard and vulnerable for him to admit. Perhaps it is, though, which is something that occurs to Zoro.

Maybe Sanji was never allowed to have his own dreams, never allowed to pursue the things he wanted to pursue, never allowed to look at the world beyond figure skating and picture himself as part of it.

So maybe just talking about the things he desires for himself that don’t involve knife shoes is vulnerable and scary. So Zoro listens intently, leaning forward with an encouraging smile.

Good thing Luffy isn’t here, he goes a little feral hearing the word ‘dream’ and will commit war crimes to make someone else’s dreams a reality.

“Owning my own restaurant someday, maybe, you know?”

“Yeah? That’d be cool. What kind of restaurant?”

“Seafood.” Sanji says, “I’d want to leave Boulder, probably, just to have fresher options. Closer to a coast, the ocean, something.”

Zoro nods, and Sanji continues, shoulders straightening.

“I’d want to serve some sushi, some raw stuff, oysters and sashimi. But I just want to serve as much seafood as possible. Bring new things to people, find new ways to prepare food they’re familiar with, introduce someone to something new. Bring it all under one roof, a multinational cuisine trip through the oceans of the world!” Sanji gets visibly excited as he talks, passion in his voice that Zoro has never heard before.

This is a different spark in his blue eyes, one that screams of dreams and a life outside of the ice rink. This is a hopeful smile on his face, one that can see past the shadow cast by his family, his obligations, his skating career, whatever else he’s holding himself down with.

“Got a name for it?” Zoro asks, and Sanji nods, that warm, hopeful smile never leaving his face.

“The All Blue.”

“That sounds great, it’s a hell of an idea.” Zoro says sincerely, he nabs the last of the fig cheese honey things and pops it in his mouth. “Maybe once we get our gold I’ll drag you back to Florida and help you get your restaurant going. You restart my career, I restart yours.”

Sanji laughs, “I’d love that, moss.” He steals the fatty end of Zoro’s bacon, “What’s Florida like?”

“Well, sorta depends on what month it is.” Zoro says with a laugh, “Hot most of the time, rains a lot during the summers, hurricanes and all that. This time of year is really nice, though, super mild and the fishing is great.”

“You fish?” Sanji asks, he perks up and refills his and Zoro’s mimosa glasses.

“Yeah, all the time.” Zoro grins fondly at the memories of time spent on the water with his closest friends, “Luffy and I always said that when we retired from hockey, we were gonna become fishing boat captains. Like something straight out of Forrest Gump, we aren’t even gonna be any good at it. Just us and our friends on the open sea, no better life, man.”

Sanji laughs, “Which one of you is Forrest?”

“Oh, Luffy, for sure. You met the guy, right?” Zoro grins and Sanji laughs again.

“He’s fascinating, you know? Truly one of those people that makes you want to be closer to him, know him better.”

Zoro nods emphatically, “Yes, he is. He doesn’t realize it, either, doesn’t really mean to collect people the way he does. He’s just so special that it’s immediately obvious, people want to be around him.”

“Has he always been that way?”

Zoro laughs, he sips from his mimosa and grins at Sanji, “First time I met him was at a hockey camp, Ace was there, too. I was probably only 12 at the time, so Luffy was 8 or 9. Luffy was the most obnoxious little shit on the face of the planet, and even Ace was quick to be hard on him. God, could he play hockey, though. Easily kept up with guys 3, 4 years older than him, and he’s always been little and twiggy like that.”

“He’s really muscular.” Sanji says, and Zoro pauses to laugh meanly, poking Sanji with the toe of his shoe under the table.

“You think he’s hot.”

“So do you.”

“Cause I have eyes.”

“So do I.” Sanji snips, he pulls out a cigarette and lights it, leaning back from the table as he smokes.

“I was so hung up on him for years.” Zoro says, weirdly loose-lipped this morning. Is it the champagne? Is it the jerking off over this guy?

“I mean, I was in love with him so much it hurt to breathe. Neither of us understood the other, and so we just had miscommunications that kept us from being on the same page for a while. He loved me, and he treated me like anyone would treat a romantic partner, but I loved Luffy.” Zoro says.

Sanji swallows, takes a hit from his cigarette that he holds for a moment, “What happened?” he asks, like he’s asking for the end of a ghost story, as if he’s seeking something that frightens him, but he simply must know.

Zoro shakes his head, “It just stopped hurting eventually. Once it didn’t hurt, I could look it in the face and see life with Luffy by my side. Maybe not the way I had originally thought, but I will spend the rest of my life by his side. He’s my captain. He’s my best friend.”

“Do you still love him?” Sanji asks softly, eyes big and full of questions.

Zoro shrugs, “Not like I used to, you know? It still sort of aches sometimes, but it’s a good ache, a good reminder.”

“Of what?”

“Being alive. Pain keeps us grounded, it’s how we grow.” Zoro finishes his mimosa and shakes his head, “What the fuck is in these, dude? Got me whining about my best friend and shit.”

Sanji grins, “You made them, idiot, how am I supposed to know?”

Zoro sighs, twirling his glass around and watching the last remnants of orange juice swirl about the bottom, it sort of looks like their step sequence from their short program. Everything looks like figure skating these days, just like life used to be nothing but hockey.

Zoro has grown more than he even conceived of being possible ten weeks ago. He has changed, he has adapted, he has become stronger, he has truly become different.

Even though it’s been ages since Zoro looked at Luffy and felt that hot stab of pain that reminded him that Luffy couldn’t feel that same kind of love, Zoro has rarely talked about it.

Everyone in his life is so close, the whole team and crew spend basically all of their time together, and in addition to that, Luffy’s gravitational pull has really cemented them all together in a universe which Luffy is the center of.

That means Zoro has very few people on the outside, someone who is a third party and can be neutral, someone who likely doesn’t have an opinion about things. But Zoro’s on the other side of the country, and he’s sitting across the table from one of the most bluntly honest assholes he’s ever met, and he realizes that this is an opportunity he hasn’t been afforded in many, many years.

Since Kuina…

“So, what do you think?” Zoro asks, and Sanji gives him a confused look as he ashes his cigarette.

“Elaborate?” Sanji drawls, bringing the smoke back to his lips and letting the filter hang from his teeth as he refills their glasses with the last of the pitcher.

“About me.” Zoro says plainly, “I mean,” he laughs a little, takes another sip of the mimosa that has mostly become champagne as they’ve drank, “Feels like something’s wrong with me sometimes, you know?”

It’s Sanji’s turn to laugh, hollow and bitter in a way that Zoro has heard him laugh before, Sanji is very good at laughing at his own pain. “Trust me, bud, I know.”

“You’ve only known me for two months or whatever, and I’ve basically been a depressed piece of shit the whole time, I never leave the house unless it’s to skate or workout and I pretty much have no friends or hobbies or- “

Sanji cuts him off with a waving of his hands, “Whoa, dude, stop before I fall in love with you!” He says dramatically and they laugh together.

“So, you want to know what I think of you? Is that what you’re asking?”

Zoro nods, “Honest opinion.”

Sanji lights another cigarette as he stubs the previous out, he smokes in contemplative silence for a moment, seeming to choose his words carefully before he speaks. Zoro sits and sips from his glass, keeping his body language open and neutral as Sanji’s eyes appraise him for a moment that drags on for long enough to make Zoro want to squirm.

“I mean, like, physically?” Sanji asks, and Zoro grins.

“Sure, why not?” He shrugs, “Need me to take my shirt off?”

“Any excuse to get your tits out, huh?”

“Wouldn’t hurt you to get yours out a little more often, you know.”

“You’re hot. Obnoxiously hot, so hot it makes me angry. Then you open your mouth and say stupid smart-ass shit like that, and it just makes you hotter.” Sanji shakes his head, “I wanted to hate you so bad at first, and it wasn’t because it was you, I just didn’t… I mean, I was fucking miserable, yeah? I didn’t want anyone around me, much less a stranger that knew nothing and I shared no respect with.”

“But you just kept trying so hard, training so much, pushing yourself so far, and it got harder and harder to not respect you anymore. You promised me you wouldn’t let me down, and it started getting easier to believe you. You’re determined, stubborn, head strong as a motherfucker, and probably too brain damaged to realize when you’re out of your league. It basically makes you unstoppable.” Sanji says honestly, he takes a long drag off his cigarette, “I admire you a lot, and I couldn’t be happier that you’re out here and skating with me now.”

Zoro nods, “So you think I’m hot.”

“Oh my god I hate you so fucking much.”

“I think you’re hot, too.”

“Of course you do.”

“Mm, imagine if I had both eyes to appreciate you with.”

“Might be too much for you to handle, I’m actually only half as hot to you as I am to other people, it’s really hard for them.”

“They’re really hard? That’s believable.”

They grin at each other, and there’s a new warmth between them, one that is eased around the edges by their casual flirting. They’re truly starting to become friends; they’re starting to form trust and a partnership between them.

They head to the kitchen and clean together, Sanji connects to Zoro’s speakers and plays music that’s fast, hard, and fun, it reminds Zoro of Luffy’s taste in music. Zoro calls it “Computer beep-boops” just to make Sanji’s nostrils flare with rage, and this leaves them laughing at the sink together as they wash dishes.

Zoro has a dishwasher, but Sanji scoffs at it and insists on handwashing, so they roll up their sleeves and splash soapy water on each other, Sanji washes, Zoro dries.

They’re both still tipsy when they curl up on Zoro’s couch and turn on a movie, which evolves into an all-day movie marathon after Zoro finds out Sanji has never seen Star Wars before.

Sanji scoffs at it at first, but he’s so into it by the third movie that Zoro finds it endearing, the way his blue eyes sparkle with wonder and the way he gasps in shock at moments on the screen. It’s nearly childlike, it’s easy to see the youthful smile on Sanji’s face and realize that they’re really, truly, still so young in the grand scheme of things.

Perhaps they have been through things that changed them. Losing a dear friend after watching her slip away. Whatever the hell happened with Sanji’s family that sends him into full-tilt panic attacks at the mere mention of his father’s name.

There’s still time to put that all behind them, to grow, to become stronger, better, wiser, tougher, to become new over and over again.

They’re young, and they have so much ahead of them.

Maybe, just like Luffy, Sanji will always be by Zoro’s side. Maybe Zoro could be allowed to have him close like that, close enough to do chores and watch movies together, side-by-side on the couch. It’s exactly the love and intimacy Zoro shares with Luffy, and Zoro silently prays that he can have the opportunity to have this with Sanji.

The thought fills Zoro with a happiness he’d not been expecting, and he leans a little closer to Sanji on the couch.

By the time they start wanting some dinner, Sanji is pressed against Zoro’s side, one leg tucked to his chest, his arm thrown over the back of the couch, draped near Zoro’s shoulders. Sanji insists on making dinner, so they return to the kitchen and Zoro helps chop vegetables and herbs for Sanji’s overly complicated dinner.

Sanji insists it’s simple, but Zoro’s idea of simple must be very different from his partner's, judging by the amount of protein laid out on the counter. Still, Zoro isn’t one to complain about crab.

Sanji makes him a fantastic dinner, better than Zoro has had in most restaurants, leaving Zoro satisfied in a way he usually only gets from sex.

Fresh lump crab cakes, sea scallops basted in a honey chipotle bacon butter, a seafood pasta that’s so spicy it makes Zoro sweat after a few bites, a bright and flavorful lemony soup, roasted asparagus and eggplant, and a decadent chocolate mousse to wrap it all up, all paired perfectly with one of the best bottles of wine that Zoro has ever tasted.

They eat on the balcony again, the cool air of the evening is brisk around them as they talk and laugh together, sharing the most thoughtful meal someone has ever homecooked for Zoro. There’s something warm about eating Sanji’s food, and it’s not just the spice level of the pasta or the warmth the wine leaves tingling down Zoro’s throat.

There’s an undeniable warmth that lingers in it, and Zoro doesn’t know what name to give it, he’s unsure how to even describe it in the slightest. It may be just a meal, but it’s better than sex, genuinely, and not just because the cooking is that damn good.

“Man, if you can cook like this, I’m just gonna lock you in my kitchen. Forget skating or the Olympics or whatever, I just want more of this pasta.” Zoro leans back and grins, rubbing his belly to emphasize how full he is.

Sanji laughs lightly, “My mother taught me the basics, I just fell in love with it.” He sighs, sips from his wine, “I used to cook for her, sneak into the kitchen and make her that soup.” He nods towards the empty bowl in front of Zoro.

“I’d take it to her, in her bed, and she’d smile when she took a bite. Each time, like it was her first bite, and she’d tell me how good it was. Merci, mon soleil” Sanji says, and the thick syllables of the French language sound intoxicating on his tongue.

“What’s that?” Zoro interrupts, not even realizing he has until Sanji stops talking to smile at him.

“My sunshine.” Sanji says, “She always called me her sunshine, my sister was her moon, her night and day.”

It’s the first time Sanji has mentioned his own family besides in passing, and it’s the first mention of a sister. Maybe Zoro can press his luck, on this subject at least, it seems less touchy than Sanji’s father.

“What’s your sister’s name?”

“Reiju, but you might know her as Poison Pink.” Sanji says with a big grin.

“No way, the idol girl?” Zoro laughs brightly, “Franky is obsessed with her music!”

Sanji nods proudly, “Yeah, that’s my girl, man.” He glows with bright, beautiful, shimmering pride, every feature of his face lit up in a way Zoro has never seen Sanji look.

He's getting to see a new side of Sanji now. Finally.

Or maybe it’s right on track for them. Maybe it’s perfect.

“Reiju got away from my family first, and finally got me away back in January. I was in such bad shape after Grand Prix finals last year, I never would have made it if it weren’t for her.” Sanji shakes his head, “I’ve got great people around me now.”

Zoro nods silently, he watches as Sanji flicks a cigarette out of his fancy little case, lighting up the smoke with his engraved lighter.

“Do you know what happened with me and my family?” Sanji asks seriously, voice firm and unwavering. He needs to know. They haven’t talked about this at all, but they’re starting to be vulnerable with one another, they’re starting to try and understand each other.

Zoro shakes his head, “Honestly, I don’t. After I saw how you reacted to Hiyori that night, I’ll admit I was curious. But it’s something I only want to hear from you, and only because you want to share. Alright? It doesn’t make any difference to me.”

Sanji takes a long drag off his cigarette, exhaling with a soft groan, “Stop trying to be nice, it makes you look constipated.”

Zoro cuts him a glare and Sanji blows smoke in his face.

“I’m a quadruplet, did you know that?”

“Quadruplet?!” Zoro crows, sitting straight up and leaning forward, “There’s three more assholes just like you out there?”

Sanji shakes his head and cocks his eyebrow seriously, “All boys, and they’re all even bigger assholes than me.”

Zoro whistles lowly and Sanji nods, a teasing little smile on his face.

“We all skated as singles when we were young, then dad paired us off, kept one of my brothers off the ice, and pushed us until everything fell apart.” Sanji shrugs, “I got blamed for all of it, painted me to be the struggling problem child. Guess I was.” He laughs ruefully and sighs before wrapping his lips around the filter of the smoke again.

“But you know what’s the craziest thing, man?”

Sanji doesn’t wait for Zoro to respond before he continues.

“I thought my life was over when they cut me off, but I woke up yesterday and realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I thought about dying.” Sanji says, and Zoro stretches his hand across the crowded patio table, blindly searching for the warmth of his partner.

“Used to just be on my mind all the time, just hanging around, you know? I thought that was normal until it stopped happening.” Sanji drags in a deep breath, his chin wobbles and he shudders a little, “I’m so much happier now.”

He sobs after that, lifting one arm to bury his face in the crook of his elbow, his other hand wanders onto the table and his fingers stretch towards Zoro.

Zoro reaches the rest of the way forward and laces their fingers together, clasping Sanji’s hand firmly, running his thumb in an absent pattern. He doesn’t speak, because it’s not his place to speak, and Sanji is probably crying too hard to hear him right now.

So Zoro just sits with him, and holds his hand, and listens to the wind rustle through the small leaves forming on the trees below them. He props his chin on his free hand and stares out into the sky, still tracing his thumb over Sanji’s hand.

What happened to him?

Behind those closed doors, with that father, with those brothers. What did he endure? What did he survive?

Why did that happen to him?

What purpose did his father have to push and alienate this child in such a way that Sanji cowers at the mere mention of him?

What means were served by turning this sweet boy into a fretting mess that would rip his hair out for perfection? 

Who was served by manipulating Sanji this way? Traumatizing him?

It brings memories of Kuina rushing back, memories Zoro has repressed for years, memories Zoro has made himself forget.

Cool liquid running down Zoro’s forearm is what makes him realize he’s crying. Tears sliding off his cheeks and down his arm, he drags in a shuddering breath.

How could they do that to Sanji? How could they do that to Kuina?

Sanji squeezes Zoro’s hand, and Zoro squeezes back, and they look in opposite directions as they both shed silent tears.

Several minutes pass like this, but then Sanji scoots back from the table and comes to Zoro’s side, where he uses one strong leg to pull Zoro partially away from the table.

Zoro hesitates to turn and look at him, unwilling to let Sanji actually see him crying, some stubborn sense of pride unwilling to let him be vulnerable. Sanji crawls into Zoro’s lap, straddling over his hips and burying his face in Zoro’s neck.

Here, Sanji falls to pieces.

Zoro lifts one arm and wraps it around Sanji’s shoulders, completely lost for what he should do right now. He doesn’t know how to comfort this man, usually they just pick on each other when they’re feeling down.

Zoro doesn’t even have the heart to try that right now, so he just pulls Sanji closer with one arm, and Sanji wraps his arms around Zoro’s neck and clings to him.

Zoro wraps his other arm around Sanji’s waist, pulling them flush together, and he rests his face in Sanji’s hair and just cries with him.

Drunk and bone-tired and thousands of miles from home, Zoro cries with Sanji. With the broken man from a broken home with his fragile outer walls crumbling to pieces more and more every day, Zoro cries with him.

Sanji goes boneless eventually, tears soaking Zoro’s T-shirt where Sanji’s face is buried against his neck. They stay like that until it’s uncomfortable, and then Sanji rolls out of Zoro’s lap and quietly begins clearing the table.

Zoro joins him, and they don’t speak as they carry plates and bowls and food to the kitchen, or as they put away left overs, or as they stand at the sink and wash dishes together.

When the last dish is washed, Sanji splashes some cold water on his face and then flicks some at Zoro. They finally make eye contact and a silent moment stretches between them.

Sanji opens his mouth to speak twice, snapping it closed with an increasingly amusing look on his face, and Zoro can’t help but smile at him.

“I’ll kick your ass.” Sanji mumbles, and Zoro laughs softly. Sanji grabs his shoulders and pulls him into a tight hug before shoving him back hard enough to make Zoro stumble.

“I’m so scared,” Zoro drawls sarcastically, waving his hands in a mock gesture that makes Sanji grin.

“Better be.” He clears his throat, “Not keeping you up, am I?”

Zoro shakes his head, “No. Not keeping you from Duval, am I?”

Sanji shakes his head, “Princess is in Chicago for some conference. I just woke up early this morning and didn’t want you to be alone all day, thought I’d come grace you with my presence.”

Zoro chuckles, “That so? Well, then you’re welcome to stay tonight, it’d be a shame to deprive me now.” Zoro pushes himself off the counter with a smile and heads back to the living room, feigning the most casual air he’s ever put on and praying Sanji can’t hear his heart pounding.

Zoro has officially lost his mind, there’s no other reason he would have just invited Sanji to spend the night. The thing is, they don’t even have to share a room! There’s no reason for them to, but that’s why Zoro asked, isn’t it??

So he can sleep beside Sanji again, so he can feel the warmth and weight of another human near him.

Not just any human, either, one that Zoro cares for deeply. So much for stopping himself from developing feelings for Sanji, so much for setting boundaries and not falling in love.

Zoro settles back onto the couch and Sanji settles in with him, and even though the air feels thick enough to be physically restrained, neither of them acknowledge it.

Instead Zoro begins preparing Sanji for The Phantom Menace, which they watch as they sink closer and closer to one another on the couch.

By the time the end credits are rolling, Sanji has his head leaning against Zoro’s shoulder, completely pressed to Zoro’s side. They’re sharing one huge fluffy blanket, and Zoro’s eyelids are starting to feel dangerously heavy. “Wasn’t that bad.” Sanji murmurs, eyes barely open as the next movie begins playing automatically. 

“Bullshit, it’s terrible.” Zoro scoffs, and then everything is warm and fuzzy and it’s so nice to have Sanji curled up against him. It reminds him of Luffy so much that it makes his chest ache, and he finds himself sleepily wrapping his arms around Sanji and pulling him close as they both sink into the couch. Zoro cradles Sanji against his chest and hums happily, “Miss Luffy.” He mutters, and Sanji pats his chest as he curls against Zoro.

“Shh.” Sanji says, and Zoro is fast asleep a moment later.

Zoro stirs a few hours later to find Sanji asleep on top of him, arms and legs tangled together, the blanket resting around Sanji’s waist. Zoro drags his fingers up Sanji’s back before he thinks better of it, his pinky catches on the hem of Sanji’s shirt and pulls it up slightly, he grazes the soft skin of Sanji’s lower back with his fingertip.

Zoro burrows two more fingers under the fabric of the shirt, hiking it up further as he slowly traces Sanji’s spine, feeling the warmth of his skin and letting it all rush to his head.

He’s being really bold today, and he really shouldn’t. He and Sanji are finally on a good streak, and Zoro shouldn’t mess that up because his feelings are a mess, because he can’t think straight around Sanji sometimes.

It’s fine in the gym, and at the rink, and in the ballet studio, and even when they share quiet lunches in their hiding spot in the mezzanine, Zoro doesn’t feel his heart pound like this. Seeing Sanji in his kitchen, in his bed, curled on his couch, wrapped in his favorite blanket, crying in his lap, it’s all made Zoro want to keep Sanji here. To never let him out of his sight, to always make sure Sanji is safe and happy and having fun, that he gets to be himself, that he can do what he pleases with no worries hanging over him, to see him live.

Sanji stirs on top of him, and Zoro realizes he’s been dragging his fingers up and down Sanji’s back this whole time, his hand freezes immediately.

“Wanna get in bed?” Zoro asks, and Sanji nods, not really bothering to open his eyes as he rolls off of Zoro and tugs the blanket up to rest over his shoulders like a cape.

Zoro gets off the couch and leads Sanji down the hall, Sanji blinks the bleariness out of his eyes and yawns, he stretches his long arms over his head.

“Would you like to sleep in one of the spare rooms?” Zoro asks, because he figures he has to in order for it to not feel weird, even though he thinks it might have been easier for Sanji to just follow him in there silently.

Sanji shakes his head, “No, you’re lonely.” He says simply, voice wooly and thick, and he herds Zoro into the bedroom and towards the bed.

They climb into the bed together, and drowsiness overcomes Zoro the moment his body touches the mattress, so he’s lax and pliant as he sinks into the cool sheets.

Sanji settles in quickly and scoots back against Zoro, reaching for one of Zoro’s arms and wrapping it over himself. He tugs Zoro closer until they’re spooned together once more, and Zoro nuzzles a kiss into the nape of Sanji’s neck before he’s asleep again.

Sanji can’t look Zoro in the eye.

Sanji has done some pretty desperate things in his life, he’s been down bad more than once, and his reputation as a simp isn’t unfounded. Still, going over to Zoro’s like that reeked of a kind of desperation that Sanji hasn’t felt in ages.

Going and making him breakfast would have been fine, watching movies with him would have been acceptable, sharing dinner with him wouldn’t have been out of the question.

Climbing into bed with him at the end of the night and memorizing the way his breath evens out as he falls asleep? That was too far, even for Sanji.

He knew it, but he still couldn’t keep himself from staying the night, so he held onto Zoro tightly and slept in his arms.

Sanji had even made them breakfast again the following morning, before he went scampering away like a coward.

Who is he kidding?

That kind of desperate attention seeking is a remnant of a life he’s still running from, his need for approval is his greatest weakness and he’d shown his entire hand to Zoro.

Now Sanji can’t look him in the eye.

Zoro doesn’t act any differently on Monday morning when he comes into the break room with a warm greeting for Vivi and a playful kick to the back of Sanji’s knees. Zoro doesn’t act any different as he laces his flashy skates on and warms up with a regimen that would exhausted even an experienced skater. Zoro doesn’t act any different as he puts his headphones on and gets lost on the ice as he skates with his eyes closed.

Sanji assumes that Zoro is too stupid to act any different.

But it’s time for them to skate together, and Sanji has to face the facts. Zoro isn’t acting any different, so Sanji can’t either.

Solution: make them both so focused on something else that they both forget Sanji’s vulnerability entirely.

The free skate.

Sanji has avoided it for twelve days since he and Zoro fought and made up over Sanji’s reaction to Zoro trying to encourage him, but it’s time to face the music.

They need to pick some music.

So once it’s just them in the rink, Robin secreted away somewhere, Sanji feels sure, they meet at center ice and trade headphones.

Sanji plays a song for Zoro first, who bobs his head in time with the music and gives an approving thumbs up when the song ends.

Zoro pushes one of the headphones off his ear, “Maybe a stupid question, but is there a speed the song needs to be? Like, can it be too fast or too slow?”

Sanji shakes his head, “No, since we don’t have any choreography, we can design our program around our song. So we can pick as fast or as slow as we’d like. Did you think that was too fast?”

Zoro smiles, “No, I’m about to play a faster song, so I was just checking.” Then he hits play on his phone.

The beat is fast, fun, just the right kind of trippy Sanji usually looks for in his electronic music, the bass is immediately heavy and the build out makes Sanji want to dance. At the first drop, Sanji turns away from Zoro and starts skating with his eyes closed.

It’s instantly easy to imagine an entire program built around this beat, he weaves and twizzles and does a short step sequence that feels fantastic. At the start of the second verse, Sanji skates by Zoro and grabs him by the wrists.

They speed towards the end of the rink together, both of them turning and hitting a triple toe loop into a double flip, without even discussing it. It’s not one of their jumps sequences from their short program either, they just both did the same jump. They've become so cosmically in sync that it makes Sanji want to scream, further confusing the bundle of emotions that he's kept held tightly to his chest.

Sanji is laughing out loud when Zoro grabs him and throws them into an outside death spiral, and it feels like his best one so far.

The song ends after that and Sanji knocks the headphones off, “Brook! Play Zoro’s song!”

A few seconds pass before it begins piping through the sound system around them.

“You like it?” Zoro asks hopefully, eyes bright and excited.

Sanji nods, “This is it, it’s perfect.”

Zoro gives a fist pump and holds up both hands for a double high five, which Sanji gives him with a grin.

“We did the same jumps.” Zoro points out, nodding towards the end of the rink.

“Yeah, that was crazy. It just felt right.”

“I know, right?” Zoro nods in agreement. “How about the spiral?”

“It felt great, super balanced and perfectly timed. How’d it feel for you?”

“Perfect.”

They stand there and listen to the song until it finishes, then Zoro lays his hand on Sanji’s shoulder and squeezes. “What’s something we can do to make this program even harder?”

“Technical scores are the easiest way to increase the difficulty of the program. Do you understand how the sport is scored?” Sanji asks, usually he’d be short with Zoro over this, but there’s no reason to.

Zoro nods, “Charlotte and Vivi explained it to me.”

Actual angels, both of them, Sanji decides which pair of shoes to buy them both before he opens his mouth again.

“We can increase our scores by making the death spiral a more technically difficult one, that’s something we’ll have to work on. Jump combinations are the easiest way, stringing together hard jumps, putting the jumps in the second half of the program, we could raise our arms during some of the jumps. Position changes in lifts is a big one, too, that should be easy enough for you since you've got gorilla strength.” Sanji lists off.

Zoro cocks an eyebrow, “Raise your arms?”

Sanji nods, “Mhm, it’s harder to get your rotations without your arms tucked, plus it adds to the artistry of some jumps.”

Zoro holds his arms over his head, then tucks them to his chest like he would during a jump, Sanji can see the wheels spinning in Zoro’s mind as he tries to make sense of what Sanji is telling him.

After a moment, Zoro simply turns and skates away, building speed before popping himself off the ice and into a triple salchow. It’s his best jump, the one he always lands and seems most confident about. He only raises one arm the first try, but he gets all his rotations and lands steadily.

Sanji applauds as Zoro skates past him with a grin, “Good job, moss!”

At the other end of the ice, Zoro throws himself into the air again, both arms raised over his head with an elegance and grace Sanji is certain Zoro didn’t possess when he arrived in Colorado.

It’s actually breathtaking. Watching him leap, fly, soar, green hair and a flash of golden earrings, the biggest, brightest smile on his face as he flies. Three rotations, both arms raised, and only a bit of a wobble on his landing.

His first try at a triple loop with his arms raised and the bastard made it look effortless.

Sanji cheers excitedly, unable to help himself as he whoops along with Zoro. “You forgot to make it look hard, asshole!”

Zoro laughs, skating back towards Sanji and intentionally throwing a bad axel, landing it even worse just to make Sanji laugh.

Sanji wants to kiss him so badly that his bones ache.

They spend the next several hours choreographing together, figuring out their first jump sequence and practicing it to the song until they find the best place to do it.

When they’re both bone-tired and their feet are beaten to hell, they limp off the ice together and to the gym, where Sanji does a cool-down and Zoro does a workout that would kill most Olympians.

Zoro plays music over a speaker as opposed to wearing his headphones today, and all of the music is electronic music, most of it is songs already in Sanji’s playlist.

“I didn’t know you liked this kind of music.” Sanji notes as he leans against the squat rack and watches Zoro squat more weight than Sanji wants to fathom.

“Yeah,” Zoro says on a measured breath, “Love it. Luffy used to-“ another deep breath, “Take me to raves all the time.”

“Yeah? Duval and I are going to a show this weekend, Vivi will be there, too, you should join.” Sanji says.

“Yeah, thanks.” Zoro says, “That’d be really nice.”

Sanji nods, “Sure, it’d be nice to have you along.” He watches Zoro squat, eyes glued to thick thighs in tight athletic pants. Zoro is shaking slightly, a testament to how hard he’s actually pushing his body right now.

It’s a wonder, why is this man still pushing himself so hard?

Does he not think he’s good enough? Does he struggle with the same anxiety and self-doubt that he tries so hard to soothe for his friends? Does he push himself to the backburner to look after others?

“Need a spot? Looks heavy.”

Zoro smirks at him, “You’re gonna spot me?”

Sanji nods, “Sure, come on. It’s easy.” He matches Zoro’s stance at the squat rack, reaches out, and cups Zoro’s chest. One perfect pec in each hand, and he squats with Zoro, holds it, and rises again, squeezing Zoro’s stupid tits the whole time.

Zoro sets the weights in the rack and laughs out loud, his hands come to cover Sanji’s and he grins brightly, “Pervert.”

“If I was a pervert, I’d never take my hands off these things.” Sanji quips, and Zoro’s smile turns warm and familiar for some reason.

Suddenly they’re standing too close, sharing too much skin, too much body heat. Zoro’s gaze is too intense, lingering on Sanji’s lower lip for just a moment too long, making Sanji squirm too quickly.

It’s two steps forward and a step and a half back with this guy.

Every time Sanji thinks he understands Zoro, there’s a new wrench in the plans, and Sanji gets thrown back to the drawing board.

At first he wasn’t concerned with Zoro’s feelings, and now it’s almost all Sanji can think about.

What does Zoro feel for Sanji? Where is the line? Why does it grow blurrier every day?

Sanji steps back, fingers tightening around the ridiculous chest muscles one last time before trailing off.

“Wanna go grab a beer?” Zoro asks as he grabs a towel and wipes his face, slinging the towel over his shoulder casually. Is Sanji jealous of a towel?

“Sure, I want to shower before we go, though.” Sanji says, nodding his head towards the locker room.

Zoro agrees and the two of them head to the locker room together, where Sanji literally digs his nails into his palm to keep himself in line.

He chews on the inside of his cheek as Zoro pulls his shirt off, tossing it onto his bag and grabbing his towel from his locker.

When he turns around to face Sanji, Sanji can’t keep his mouth closed.

“Holy shit, what the hell happened to you?!” Sanji takes a few steps before he realizes, and by then it’s too late, his hand is already laying against Zoro’s chest. Zoro’s bare, sweaty, scarred chest.

There’s a long diagonal slash that runs from shoulder to hip, an old scar from the looks of it, one that was probably life-threatening when fresh.

“I’m okay, it was a long time ago.” Zoro says, and Sanji shakes his head.

“That’s not what I asked.”

Zoro grins, “Why? You worried about me?”

Sanji takes his hand back and rolls his eyes, “You wish.” He turns to his own locker and pulls his shower bag out, then strips his own shirt off and leaves it with his locker.

Zoro is openly staring at him when Sanji turns around, and Zoro doesn’t even bother to act ashamed at being caught, he simply raises an eyebrow as his lips tilt into an amused smirk.

What’s with that look? Nobody has ever looked at Sanji like that before, never set him on fire with a glance the way Zoro just did.

Sanji grabs his towel and goes straight for the furthest shower, where he locks himself in the stall and leans his head against the door.

Holy shit, get it under control, dude. It’s Zoro here, now is not the time to be feeling this way. Not here, not now, not like this.

Sanji kicks his shoes off and steps out of his pants, sighing at the bulge between his legs, what kind of teenager is he?

Still, under the hot stream of water, Sanji bites his knuckles and bucks into his closed fist with silent gasps threatening to be too loud in the bathroom.

Thankfully, Zoro still has his speaker and is playing music a few shower stalls over, so he probably can’t hear Sanji.

Sanji swallows a moan as he thinks about Zoro’s hot skin, his massive chest, his huge hands.

Sanji already knows exactly what it’s like to be thrown around by Zoro, knows how strong his arms are, how much power his hands hold.

It’s easy to imagine the familiar touch of Zoro’s hands in a different sense, to fantasize about the ways Zoro could manhandle him.

Even now, in this shower stall, Zoro would be able to lift Sanji effortlessly, pin him against the cool tile wall with ease, grind their cocks together under the hot water.

Zoro is probably big, thick, maybe Sanji would have to use both hands to wrap around both of their cocks to jerk them off together.

His cock twitches in his hand, precum dripping from the tip and making Sanji gasp softly. Fuck, it feels so good to think about Zoro like this. Sanji has never allowed himself to before, even when he’s really wanted to.

So why now? Why now when Zoro is less than 20 feet away?

Is it because Zoro could catch Sanji like this? He could hear Sanji’s moans, could figure out exactly what Sanji is doing in the shower right now.

Would he be mad? Would he pin Sanji against the wall and kiss him hard and rough, all teeth and tongue and mean questions?

“What are you doing in here, perv? You touch my tits once and have to go rub one out?”

Sanji whimpers, biting his knuckles again to silence himself, not even embarrassed that he’s turned on by the thought of Zoro talking dirty to him.

Maybe Zoro would push him to his knees, angle the showerhead away so it wouldn’t be in Sanji’s eyes, tell him to open his mouth and stick his tongue out.

Rub the head of his cock against Sanji’s tongue, pushing slowly into the heat of his mouth until he’s bumping down Sanji’s throat.

Sanji can take it, would let Zoro slide into his throat with practice ease, wouldn’t stop himself from grabbing Zoro’s hips and burying his nose against Zoro’s skin.

Zoro would be rough, because he would know it’s what Sanji wants, and he wouldn’t waste any time in threading his fingers into Sanji’s hair and beginning to fuck his face.

At the thought of being on bruised knees in front of Zoro, a cock in his throat and rough hands in his hair, Sanji cums. He bites his lip until he tastes copper to keep himself quiet as he strokes himself through his orgasm, holding himself up with his other arm braced to the shower wall.

He catches his breath as he watches his cum slide slowly down the shower wall, and he immediately wants to slap himself in the face.

He seriously did not just do that!

Zoro is in the fucking room!

Now what? Now Sanji just gets out and goes to drink a beer with the guy?! What the fuck was he thinking??

Sanji remembers exactly what he was thinking when he emerges from his shower and finds Zoro at the sink with his shirt off and a towel slung around his hips.

He was thinking that his guy is stupidly hot, and honestly? He’s right.

Sanji almost laughs to himself as he dries his hair alongside Zoro, some quiet little joke he has with himself. He just jerked off over this guy and now he’s just pretending nothing happened.

He holds onto the amusement over the situation all through the time that they sit at a sticky bar top and drink their pints, smiling to himself about his inside joke as Zoro talks. He tells Sanji how he got the scar on his chest, on a frozen lake in his hometown as a child and a bunch of clumsy kids with bladed shoes.

Sanji listens with a fond smile, leaning against his elbows, letting affection knot in his chest as Zoro tells him animated stories about his childhood.

When they say goodbye, Zoro grabs his shoulders and pulls him into a back-cracking hug, smiling at him as he bids Sanji goodnight.

Sanji is in a good mood, and the bar is close, so he walks a few blocks and rides the elevator up to Duval’s apartment. He’s knocking on Duval’s front door just a few minutes after saying goodbye to Zoro, and he still has a goofy smile on his face.

Duval opens the door with his phone propped between his ear and shoulder, and he smiles brightly when he sees Sanji on the other side of the door. “Hey, baby.” He whispers, reaching to grab Sanji’s hip and pull him inside.

Duval closes the door, pushing Sanji against it and pulling the phone away from his head to give Sanji a long kiss. He breaks away abruptly, “No, sir, I completely understand. I just want you to know the benefits.” Duval says, he mouths an apology to Sanji and returns to his office down the hall.

He’s been really busy since coming back from his conference, so they’ve only seen each other once since Duval got home, and he’d been so tired that he fell asleep after Sanji had been there for less than 20 minutes. Tonight may not be any different, since it’s already after 7 and Duval is still clearly on a work call, but Sanji could get to sleep beside him again at least.

Sanji takes his boots and jacket off, making himself at home with a glass of wine from the bottle Duval has open on the counter. Sanji goes to Duval’s office and finds his empty glass, then takes it back to the kitchen to refill it, which is where Duval finds him.

Warm arms wrap around Sanji’s waist and Duval kisses the back of his head, “Feels like we never see each other anymore, huh?”

Sanji turns around and leans against the counter, letting Duval’s arms stay wrapped around his waist, “I know, I thought you might be missing me.”

Duval smiles, he leans in and kisses Sanji softly, “Really? Seems like you might have been missing me.”

Sanji hums teasingly, he hands Duval his wine glass back, “Of course I’ve missed you, how dare you keep this pretty face from me.”

“I know, I’m the worst.”

“You really are.”

Duval kisses him again, one arm around Sanji’s waist, tongue sliding across Sanji’s lower lip, and then his phone rings.

Duval sighs as he steps back and looks over at his phone lying on the counter, “I’m sorry, baby, my boss will crawl all the way up my ass if I don’t make this guy happy.”

Sanji waves his hand, “It’s alright, not like I asked if you were busy before I came over. I can entertain myself, I just wanted to be around you.”

Duval kisses his cheek, “You’re a doll.” He answers the call and gives Sanji a thumbs-up when Sanji points at the refrigerator.

Upon inspecting the fridge, though, Sanji finds it seriously lacking in options and gives up on that idea, he came over here to relax with his boyfriend, not cook a five-course meal. So Sanji takes his glass of wine and reclines on Duval’s couch, flipping through channels until Duval is done with his call and joins Sanji on the couch.

They order take-out and Sanji just watches whatever he feels like, since Duval’s phone rings every seven minutes, so he largely spends the evening on Duval’s couch alone. He tries not to be irritated by it, especially since he didn’t ask before he came over, it’s not like Duval had a chance to tell Sanji he was too busy to hang out.

Sanji goes to pick up take out, and Duval is still on the phone when he gets back, so after waiting for a while, Duval comes and insists Sanji eat without him before returning to his office.

So Sanji finishes dinner by himself and takes the rest of the bottle of wine to the balcony, where he chain-smokes and drinks straight out of the bottle for the rest of the night.

Eventually, Sanji cleans the kitchen, washes up, and climbs into Duval’s bed alone. Duval had his office door closed, so Sanji doesn’t bother him before turning in for the night. He’s just buzzed enough that he doesn’t even mind as he drifts off to sleep in the cool sheets.

Sanji wakes up pissed.

A glance at the clock on the side table announces that it’s after 3:30, and Duval still isn’t in bed with him. Sanji climbs out of bed and wanders out into the apartment, peeking into the office and finding it empty before going to the living room.

Here, Duval is asleep on the couch, his leftovers from dinner still on the coffee table in front of him. Sanji cleans up the food before he shakes Duval’s shoulder, “Come on.” He says, “Come get in bed.”

Duval nods as he yawns, and he stumbles after Sanji into the bedroom and into the bed, where he curls around Sanji tightly.

“I’m sorry, baby, I barely got to talk to you tonight.” Duval says, he kisses Sanji’s neck. “I’ll make it up to you, yeah? Date night tomorrow?”

Sanji swallows his anger before humming, “Better be a really nice date.”

“Only the nicest.” Duval assures him, he props himself up and leans over to kiss Sanji’s cheek. “I love you, I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to spend much time together lately.”

Sanji cranes his neck back and kisses Duval briefly, “I love you, it’s okay. Let’s just sleep, I’ve got to get up early.”

Duval is snoring again in a few moments, and Sanji makes himself take deep breaths until his anger has ebbed some. It’s not Duval’s fault, so Sanji shouldn’t take it out on him, that wouldn’t be fair. Duval will make it up to him, he’ll dote on Sanji tomorrow, Sanji feels sure of that.

They’ll get back on track, they’ll get their schedules realigned, and they’ll keep moving forward.

This has been a good relationship; Sanji doesn’t have to remind himself of that. Duval has been good to him, has supported and loved him through some hard times, and Sanji is unspeakably thankful for that.

However, the days pass, and turn into a week, which turns into two, then three, then almost four weeks before Sanji really gets pissed.

It’s been ten days since he saw hide or hair of Duval, they never got that date night Duval promised him, he flaked out of the rave and Sanji ended up going without him, but last night Duval crossed the line when he entirely stood Sanji up.

Sanji storms into the rink the next morning, rage built so high in his chest that it’s hitting the back of his throat, making him feel absolutely sick with anger. He’s angry, he hasn’t been so angry in forever, and he’s probably never been so justified in his anger. He could understand that Duval was busy when he came back from the conference, and Sanji even excused the first week or so of Duval’s increasingly flaky behavior. Even after he bailed on plans and backed out of dinner reservations, Sanji forgave him, gave him grace, and even made excuses for him when Vivi asked what the hell Duval’s problem was.

That’s done. That’s been done for at least a week, and Sanji has done nothing but grow angrier during that time. It’s not like he’s hidden it from Duval, either, he’s made it very clear that he’s unhappy with his boyfriend’s behavior. Everything from the cold shoulder and the silent treatment to a straight up screaming match that ended in Sanji storming out of Duval’s apartment and slamming his front door as hard as he could.

So each night that Sanji’s calls and texts have gone unanswered, each night falling asleep alone, each cancelled plan and half-ass excuse is really on Sanji’s last nerve. He’s not even sure how Duval could make him not pissed at this point, though he knows in the back of his mind that’s just rage talking. 

He’s getting it out of his mind today. Either Duval changes his attitude or Sanji is done, and he’s got to make his peace with it either way.

Sanji sulks in the ballet studio while everyone else warms up on the ice or starts their day in the gym, and Sanji doesn’t go to the ice until lunch time when the others are all off the ice. Only once he’s here does Sanji put his headphones in and queue his song up twice. He’s going to need more than a few minutes with this, he needs the therapeutic catharsis that comes with sore muscles and bruised knees and cold, wet clothes.

He needs to fall, to get back up, and to fall again. Focus his rage Into skating, towards his own skills, towards things he can control.

So that’s exactly what he does, throwing himself into his program with every last ounce of rage that’s simmering in his veins. He pushes himself harder than he usually would, putting too much momentum into his jumps, continuing his spins past when his body screams for him to stop, doesn’t stop even when his chest burns from how hard he’s breathing.

When the song starts over, Sanji does it again, without so much as stopping to catch his breath before he’s throwing quad jump combinations and draining the last bits of his stamina. He doesn’t make it all the way through the song for the second time, literally falling to his knees on the ice and just letting himself burn all over with rage, sadness, disappointment, emotions he doesn’t even know how to voice.

The next song that starts up Is a Deftones song, and It’s an actual kick to the face while Sanji is down. He’s crying before singing even starts, and the lyrics just push him deeper. He gets up again and skates, slower, more like a dance this time. Flowing with the music, letting it wash over him in combination with his steps, spins, and jumps. He feels refreshed by the time the chorus starts, and he throws his head back and sings along as he glides across the ice.

He dries his tears and keeps skating, letting the cathartic feeling consume him entirely. How fortunate that he still has this, this safe place, this refuge, this thing he’s worked at so relentlessly for the entirety of his life. He hasn’t lost this yet, and Duval slipping away from Sanji only serves as a reminder of how much he needs to cling to skating. The ice has hurt him, has made him bleed, has pushed him to his breaking point more than once, has taught him lessons in the hardest way possible. It’s never abandoned him, though. The ice has never turned its back on Sanji, and it has never left him alone.

He stays on the Ice for all of their break, and he’s still there skating to a Green Day song when Zoro finds him, and even though Sanji’s feeling a bit better, he knows exactly what will make him really feel better.

“Skating all alone, handsome?” Zoro drawls, a playful smile on his face. He’s in a good mood today, probably because his team is kicking ass right now in their playoffs, he’s been fit to burst over his teammates all week.

“Are you eating a boiled egg?” Sanji asks with a shake of his head.

Zoro nods, holding his egg out, “Want a bite?” he takes a huge bite out of the egg and chews noisily.

“You’re so fucking disgusting.” Sanji pushes Zoro’s shoulder, “Is that your lunch, an egg?”

“What’s your lunch? Angsty skating? What were you listening to, Paramore? My Chemical Romance?”

“Go fuck yourself, those are both great bands.”

“I know, you have great taste in music. It was a backhanded compliment, ever heard of one?”

“Sure, something like: Shame that pretty head of yours is full of rocks, huh?”

Zoro grins, “You got the spirit.” He pops the rest of his egg in his mouth and removes his blade guards before stepping onto the ice with Sanji. “You actually still have the energy to skate?”

“What do you mean?” Sanji cocks his head to the side.

Zoro reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a sandwich baggie that has multiple boiled eggs in it. “I was in our spot; I saw you skating earlier. Sorry, I left when it seemed like I should have.”

“Oh. Thanks, I guess. I didn’t know you were up there; I just needed some time.” Sanji rubs his eyes, “Kinda having a rough month, sorry, I’m refocusing, I promise.”

Zoro shakes his head as he opens the bag and pulls another egg out. “Don’t sweat it, man, do your thing. I’m just along for the ride, remember?”

Sanji could almost appreciate Zoro’s support if he weren’t eating another egg, holding a bag full of them. Who does that? Who just munches on eggs? Why is he flirting with Sanji and being honest with him and supporting him through a rough patch and eating a bag of eggs?

“Okay, seriously, what the fuck is with the eggs?” Sanji snaps, he gestures with bewilderment at the bag of eggs in Zoro’s hand. “Are you Emmet in the first Twilight movie?”

“What?” Zoro drawls.

“You have a bag of eggs! Why is there-“ Sanji cuts himself off and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Give me one.”

Zoro holds the bag out to Sanji and grins as he gives it a little shake, “It’s a good snack, right?”

“This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” Sanji declares, then he takes a bite out of the egg and chews it as he ponders how exactly his life has ended up this way.

“For real, though, are you tired?” Zoro asks seriously, “Because I can think of better things for us to do.”

Sanji ponders it while he eats the rest of the egg, and he decides that he deserves to feel better, that he can do something to treat himself today. He might be dumping his boyfriend later, so yeah, he can shirk some responsibilities and sneak off with Zoro to do something unproductive.

“Sure, winger, think of something better for us to do.” Sanji says, and Zoro grins at him before grabbing Sanji’s arm and pulling him off the ice. They change into their shoes and grab their stuff before running through the rain to get to Sanji’s car, laughing as they slam the doors behind them and shake off together.

Zoro directs Sanji to a rock-climbing gym, where they climb for several hours, Sanji’s hands are going to be so sore, but it’s more fun than he’s had in ages.

After that Sanji takes Zoro to a little bakery and they split a baklava standing under the awning on the sidewalk, the rain still falling steadily overhead. Zoro raves about how good the treat is, and he tells a story about a bakery back in Florida that Luffy and Chopper both love. Zoro’s eyes fill with such love when he talks about his friends, especially Chopper or Luffy, and it’s a look that Sanji loves to see on his partner’s face.

They wind up in a sports bar with two-for-one drafts and hot wings, then they’re yelling over the Playoff games with everyone else. Sanji still doesn’t understand hockey, but it’s such a thrill to watch it when he knows the guys on the ice. He understands their love for their sport, and it’s a love Sanji has come to understand through Zoro’s eyes.

He’s buzzed and sharing a basket of fries with Zoro, they’re sitting on the patio seating so Sanji can smoke, eyes still glued on one of the TVs mounted to the wall.

They only need one more win to take this series, and it’s been hard-fought, which only makes Zoro more excited for his teammates. The rain has let up to a light drizzle and it reminds Sanji that summer is coming quickly, along with tournament season. He’s pretty sure they’re ready, Zoro has come a long way since arriving in Colorado, and Sanji feels confident and proud of their shared progress. So days like this are nice.

When they need a break, they can take one, and it’s a luxury that Sanji has never been awarded in his life. There were no rest days during his childhood, even on this exact day a year ago, there was no resting for him. He was getting ready to skate his last season with Niji, and it had been some of the most brutal days of his life. It seems so far away now, like a distant memory that Sanji can hardly recall. In reality, it’s been mere months since Sanji managed to get away from them once and for all.

He glances over at Zoro and smiles warmly, if it hadn’t been for the idiot moss head, who knows where Sanji would have ended up. Possibly not skating ever again.

Sure, he’s got cooking to fall back on, and his savings are nothing to scoff at, but his life would be horribly empty without skating, without the competitive drive that he’s known since he was a child. Thanks to Zoro, Sanji doesn’t have to give it up yet, and when he decides that his time with skating has run the course, it’ll be his decision.

Sanji takes a drag off his cigarette and exhales slowly, “Hey.”

Zoro looks over at him, his eye darts back to the TV before settling on Sanji. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say that I really apprec-“

“Hey! Look who it is!” A warm hand lands on Sanji’s shoulder, and when he turns to look, there’s a familiar face there.

Dammit, Sanji doesn’t remember this guy’s name. He’s one of Duval’s friends, or coworkers, or golf buddies, or something like that. They’ve met before, several times, and Duval likely wouldn’t be happy that Sanji doesn’t remember this man’s name.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Sanji smiles, friendly enough even though he was just interrupted from his moment with Zoro.

“Holy shit, dude.” The guy points at Zoro with his beer bottle, “You’re Roronoa, yeah? You’re the right winger!”

Zoro smiles, “Yeah, that’s me. Good to meet you.” Zoro shakes the guy’s hand, a tight smile still on his lips. He doesn’t look horribly pleased that someone has recognized him, and Sanji thinks back and tries to recall if he’s ever seen someone recognize Zoro yet. He doesn’t think he has, Zoro looks uncomfortable, not enough for a stranger to notice, but Sanji can see the extra tension in his shoulders.

“Man, Duval said you had a new partner that was a big name in hockey, but he didn’t let on that it’s this guy!” He gives Sanji’s shoulder a shake with the big hand that’s still resting there. Sanji sort of wants to snatch that hand off his shoulder and break every finger at each knuckle, instead he just smiles.

“You guys wanna join us? Duval isn’t here yet, cause of course he isn’t, but he’ll turn up eventually.” The guy says, he pulls a pack of smokes out and lights one, finally taking his hands off Sanji.

“Wait, Duval will be here?” Sanji asks, and the guy just nods as he smokes.

Zoro sends Sanji a sideways glance, eyebrow cocked curiously. He knows Sanji is upset about something, it’s been obvious all day, especially if Zoro saw Sanji skating during lunch earlier. Zoro’s too nice or too dense to be able to ask Sanji what’s bothering him, though, so he’s just been distracting Sanji all afternoon. It’s been a welcome distraction, so Sanji has sort of forgotten how upset he is about the whole situation.

Hearing Duval’s name come off this guy’s lips just pisses Sanji off. So, he’s got time to drink and watch hockey with his buddies, but he can’t text Sanji back?

Sanji excuses himself and pulls his phone out, he calls Duval and finishes his cigarette while the line rings and rings before rolling to Duval’s voicemail. Sanji stubs the cigarette out and curses under his breath, he glances back at Zoro and Duval’s friend, and Zoro is already watching Sanji. He looks worried, which is funny to Sanji, because he wouldn’t have even known what Zoro’s worried face looked like a few months ago.

Now it’s some sort of weird comfort to know that someone is concerned about his wellbeing. Not that Charlotte and Vivi aren’t, of course, but for some reason, Zoro’s concern for Sanji seems to carry more weight.

Maybe it’s because the tightness in Sanji’s chest is actually growing affec-

Nope. Not completing that thought.

Sanji’s phone dings and he glances down at it, it’s a text from Duval, the first one in five days.

“Sorry I missed your call, I’m booked up this evening. Maybe I can come see you tonight?” It's not a "you up" text, but it's damn near the same thing. He won't make time for Sanji, but he'll come get his dick wet.

Sanji snorts and shoves his phone in his pocket, he goes back to Zoro and grabs his arm. “We’re gonna go to the bar, would you be a doll and not tell Duval I’m here? I want to surprise him.” Sanji gives a smile that’s all teeth, and the guy doesn’t know Sanji well enough to know a warning has just been issued to him.

So he grins in response, “Sure thing. We’ll catch up with you guys.”

Sanji pulls Zoro into the bar, and they choose a high-top and sit together, Sanji puts his back to Duval’s group of friends and Zoro glances over at them with a frown before he opens his mouth.

“Did something happen between you two?” He asks, genuinely curious and not an ounce of judgment in his voice. He cares about Sanji.

Sanji nods, “Yeah, we’re in a stupid fight right now.”

Zoro hums, “That sucks, dude.”

“Yeah, but it’s whatever.” Sanji shrugs.

“Do you want to leave? We can go before he gets here.” Zoro offers, his attention is fully back on Sanji now, eyes earnest, hands laid flat on the table.

He’s got a thick scar on the edge of his right hand, just below his pinky finger, from the last time he set foot on the ice without gloves on, he’s said. Sanji’s still staring at Zoro’s hands when he shakes his head.

“No. I want to see him.”

Zoro chuckles softly, “Good. I want to see you see him. Maybe I want to see him see you.”

Sanji rolls his eyes, “You’re such a gossip.”

“Yeah, I hang around you, Charlotte, and Robin all the time. I was doomed from the start, now I need the tea.” Zoro nods with a playful grin. They order fresh beers, and Sanji has just taken a sip from his when he sees a familiar face come through the door. Thankfully Duval spots his friends before he spots Sanji, and he heads over to their table with a loud greeting to his friends.

It makes Sanji burn with rage, jealous rage, maybe, but rage all the same. Who the fuck does this guy think he is?

Zoro’s eyes are still on Sanji, even though the game is rowdy and the people in the bar are shouting over the televisions, even though it’s his own team, his closest friends on the ice. Zoro should be there with them, on the ice, fighting for their victory.

Instead, he’s a thousand miles away, sitting in a noisy bar, across from a man who meant nothing to him just a few months ago. He’s pretending to only be invested for the drama, but the look in his eye is telling of how much he’s concerned for Sanji.

He doesn’t say anything, though, he doesn’t encourage Sanji to go over, nor offer to sneak him out the backdoor. Zoro just sits there, drinking his beer, watching the game, occasionally glancing at Sanji, sometimes looking towards Duval’s group.

Duval isn’t in his work clothes anymore, so he’s changed at some point. Which means he had the opportunity to wash up and get dressed, he probably went to the gym after work, as he usually does. What has he been doing these days that’s so important he’s neglecting Sanji like this?

Does he even realize he’s doing it? Is it intentional? Is it just a misunderstanding? Maybe Duval is just really busy with his work and Sanji is feeling extra lonely because of that.

It’s not like Sanji is alone, either, he just misses his boyfriend like a phantom limb, and he doesn’t really think there’s anything wrong with that! This guy is supposed to be in love with Sanji, right? Would it kill him to have a ten-minute conversation before he went to bed at night? Or to send Sanji a text during the day to say he’s thinking of him?

Well, maybe it’s partially Sanji’s fault, then. He’s been so angry with Duval that maybe he’s accidentally pushed him further away, and maybe Duval doesn’t know how to deal with it.

They’ve never really fought before, little arguments, sure, but nothing like the last time Sanji was at his house.

That damn phone, though, Duval can’t stay off the thing these days. They’d finally got the chance to sit down and eat dinner together, they’d decided to watch a few episodes of a TV show they’ve been binging together. Sanji had been looking forward to it, and so he’d been disappointed when Duval got up immediately after dinner to make a phone call.

When Duval got off the call 45 minutes later, Sanji hadn’t hesitated to be a complete and total dick to him, and Duval had snapped, and Sanji had snapped right back. Sanji doesn’t even remember who started yelling first, but it was probably him, and he’d said pretty much everything except that he hoped Duval would drop dead in front of him.

The fight had ended with Duval telling Sanji to go fuck himself, which are words Sanji didn’t think Duval was capable of stringing together, and Sanji had responded with “I might just do that” and slammed the front door behind himself so hard it was almost satisfying.

They didn’t speak for five days after that, and they haven’t seen each other since, their communication has been limited to short texts and missed phone calls.

So, maybe the distance Sanji feels is partly his fault, and instead of antagonizing his boyfriend, he should start with an apology.

“Why do you look like someone is actively kicking you?” Zoro asks over the rim of his beer, he sets the beer down and glances under the table jokingly.

Sanji smiles thinly, “I’m just realizing I might have some crow to eat later.”

“Oof, that blows.” Zoro says, eyebrows knitting, “Do you want to talk about what’s going on with you two?”

“You actually want to talk to me about my relationship problems?”

“I mean, no, not really.”

Sanji grins and Zoro laughs softly.

“But I would listen. I’m the last person to give relationship advice, I’ve never had one, so I have zero helpful input.” Zoro says with a shrug.

“You’ve never been in a relationship?” Sanji asks, eyebrows raising towards his hairline in disbelief.

Seriously? This guy has never had someone snatch him up and spoil him? Take him on dates and bring him little gifts and buy him his favorite drink just because they saw it at the store? The man shaped like an upside-down Dorito has never had someone claim them all for themselves? The guy who just looks like he fucks, that guy has never ever been in a relationship?

Zoro shakes his head, “Nah, don’t even know when I’d have time for one. I’ve been playing hockey since before I even knew what feelings were, and losing Kuina emotionally stunted me. So by the time I got older and healed from that, I was embarrassingly far behind. Just felt like I didn’t even know how to flirt with someone, much less convince them to go out with me.”

“Never tried getting your tits out?” Sanji asks teasingly, and Zoro sticks his tongue out at Sanji before they laugh together.

“So, yeah, never been in a relationship.” Zoro shrugs.

“While you talked to women, I studied the blade.” Sanji teases in a put-on voice, and Zoro just knits his eyebrows.

“What?”

Sanji waves his hand, “It would take too long to explain 15 years of internet lore to you. Congratulations on touching grass or whatever.”

Zoro chuckles, “You know, I think it’s cool how you’re secretly a weird nerd.”

“Secretly?”

Zoro laughs and Sanji grins at him, guilt ebbing away and making it easier to breathe.

Sanji can just talk to his boyfriend, it doesn’t have to be anything dramatic, it doesn’t have to be a fight. He can just talk to the guy, and if it doesn’t go well, he’s got a drinking buddy to leave with.

Of course, if Duval wants it to be a fight, Sanji’s ready for that, too. He’s got the best backup he could imagine, and not for a fight, but for emotional support after the fight.

Zoro pretends to be an idiot, but he’s empathetic and kind-hearted, he pays attention to those around him and tends to their needs. He’s lost someone to mental health struggles before, so Sanji can tell how much Zoro values it, and he really would listen if Sanji wanted to talk.

“Do you want to go over there with me? I’m not going to start a fight here, that’s tacky.” Sanji says.

“Wait, starting a fight in a sports bar is tacky? Since when?” Zoro grins, he grabs his beer and nods towards Duval’s group, so they rise from the table and gather their things. Zoro follows Sanji as they walk through the bar and approach the table where Duval’s group is being too loud.

Sanji lays his hand on Duval’s shoulder when they reach the table, and he smiles when his boyfriend turns to see who’s behind him. Duval’s eyes light up and a big smile spreads across his face, “Hey!”

“Hey yourself, stranger.” Sanji says, keeping the smile on his face, he squeezes Duval’s shoulder and Duval reaches to cover Sanji’s hand.

“Come on, join us!” Duval’s friend calls, and they rearrange themselves at the table to accommodate Sanji and Zoro.

Zoro gives a wave to the group, not bothering to introduce himself, which Sanji is sure is no accident.

Zoro turns his attention to the hockey game once more, and he only glances over at Sanji twice in the first minute they’ve sat down, so at least he’s being normal about it. If anyone else recognizes Zoro, they’re polite enough to not rave over him, so Sanji can see the tension leave Zoro’s shoulders as he gets into the game again.

Sanji is content to sit beside Duval and rest his hand on Duval’s knee as they watch, Duval puts his arm around Sanji’s shoulder and kisses his hair when he pulls Sanji closer.

“I missed you.” Duval murmurs, and Sanji bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying something rude immediately. Instead, he just gives Duval a smile and returns to watching the game, he takes a few deep breaths and feels less anxious behind them.

When Sanji steps out for his next smoke, Duval comes with him, and Sanji can feel Zoro watching them every step of the way until they’re outside once more. Here, the cool night air is fresh and still smells like rain, Sanji drags in a deep breath and sighs.

They walk to the edge of the patio and Sanji leans against the railing as he lights his cigarette.

“I’m sorry, Sanji.” Duval says seriously, he takes Sanji’s hand and steps in front of him, his eyes are big and earnest. “I’ve been avoiding you, and that’s not the right way to handle our first fight. You’re right. I’ve been too busy lately, I haven’t given you the attention you deserve, and I was a dick when you told me you were lonely.”

Sanji sighs, he squeezes Duval’s hand, “I’m sorry, too, I said things I didn’t mean just to make you mad.”

“I did, too.”

“I know you’ve been busy, I’m a grown up and I should have handled things differently. I’ve felt really ignored since our fight, and I know I haven’t reached out and tried to make up, either. That wasn’t fair, I could have tried to talk instead of getting resentful that you weren’t.” Sanji says.

“No, don’t apologize for that. I’m the one who told you to go fuck yourself, I shouldn’t have, that’s not cool. I should have chased you into the hallway and not let you leave until we both felt better. You’re worth fighting for, Sanji.” Duval wraps his arms around Sanji’s shoulders, pulling him close, “I love you, I want you to be part of my life.”

“I feel the same.” Sanji says, he wraps his arm around Duval’s waist, relaxing into the embrace and letting Duval support his weight.

“Are you doing okay?” Duval asks after a moment has passed, he holds Sanji out by the shoulders and looks him up and down seriously.

“I’m fine, Zoro and I have our free skate down pat and it’s great. If it weren’t for my asshole boyfriend making me lonely, I’d be pretty damn good.” Sanji winks playfully at Duval, who gives him a warm smile before leaning in and kissing Sanji for several long moments.

“How are you? Is work still crazy?” Sanji asks when Duval steps back.

Duval nods, “Yeah, it is, but that’s no excuse for how I’ve been acting. It’ll get slower soon, I’ll be there for your competitions, couldn’t keep me away.”

Sanji smiles, “Thank you, it means a lot to me that you’re there.”

“Do you want to go? We can leave if you’d like, I can just take you home if you don’t want to be together this evening.”

Sanji shakes his head, “No, I’m not ready to go yet, this game is important to Zoro. Plus, all I’ve wanted is to be with you in the evening, so we’re going home together tonight.”

Duval nods with a smile, “Okay, baby.”

They head back inside together and sit at the table with their group once more, Zoro catches Sanji’s eye and cocks an eyebrow, so Sanji nods at him, and Zoro smiles.

Did they just have their first silent conversation? Sanji smiles to himself as he cozies up to Duval’s side.

The game gets insanely intense, so the bar becomes quite rowdy and loud. Sanji wouldn’t normally stay with such a commotion, but he’s actually comfortable and enjoying himself. The game concludes with a shoot-out, and Usopp is the one to take to the ice.

Zoro stands up at his seat and clutches his hands together in front of his chest, “Come on, Usopp, pull it together. You got this.” He mutters, then brings one hand up to gnaw at his thumbnail nervously.

It’s such a cute sight that Sanji could cry, his partner on the edge of his metaphorical seat, biting his nails for his friends and teammates. Zoro should be with them.

The entire bar goes insane when Usopp’s shot sails effortlessly past the other team’s goalie and into the net, Zoro must jump three feet in the air as he yells at the top of his lungs in excitement.

The team piles onto the ice, and Sanji can pick them all out by now. Usopp and Ace, Franky and Luffy, Barto and Law, he can even spot Nami at the boards losing her mind. His chest fills with warmth and pride for his new friend group, and he gets up to shake Zoro’s shoulders and congratulate him.

Zoro’s phone rings while he and Sanji are shouting over each other, and it’s a video call from Luffy, who is already screaming when Zoro answers the call.

“Zoroooo!” He yells, so loud it makes the speakers on Zoro’s phone crackle. “Zoro, we did it!!!”

One of the other guys in Duval’s group must realize who Zoro’s on the phone with, because he crowds in next to them, “Holy hell, dude! That’s Luffy!” He glances over at Zoro and suddenly realizes who he is, “Holy shit!” He grabs Zoro by the shoulders and spins him back to the table. “Let’s get this guy wasted!”

When Sanji and Duval leave a while later, Zoro is sandwiched between two of Duval’s friends and his eyes are bloodshot and bleary as he waves goodbye.

“He needs to be at the finals with them, don’t you think?” Sanji asks Duval as they walk back to Duval’s apartment, both of them drank too much to drive, so they have to leave their vehicles at the bar. Thankfully it’s not far to Duval’s and the weather is nice, so it’s nice to hold hands and stroll together.

“Yeah, he really should. We can figure that out, we’ll get him back to Florida somehow.” Duval agrees.

They fall into bed together and Sanji is nodding off just a few minutes later, grateful to be back by Duval’s side.

“I don’t make the rules, alright? That’s just how it is!” Sanji exclaims through his laughter.

Zoro drains the last of his Bloody Mary, and Vivi is passing him the pitcher before his empty glass even hits the table.

“Vi, is this man talking a load of shit?” Zoro points accusingly in Sanji’s direction.

Vivi shrugs, “Typically, yes. But he might actually be onto something. I’m queer and I only watch dude-on-dude porn.”

Zoro blushes, he turns away from her, and Duval howls laughing beside him.

“I’m telling you guys, lesbian porn is the best. The only people who know how to make women cum are other women, it’s science.” Sanji argues emphatically.

Robin grins brightly, “Maybe the men should just step up and be willing to learn something new.”

“You think either of these two know how to make a woman cum?” Sanji points at Zoro and Duval as he speaks.

“I’ve never tried.” Zoro admits with a shrug, too much vodka on his system already, is it even noon yet?

Duval hums noncommittally and waves his hand in a so-so motion, “Eh? I don’t really know. It’s so much easier to tell with dudes, no dude can successfully fake an orgasm.”

Zoro reaches across the table and steals one of the sliced peaches off Robin’s plate, it’s a weird pairing with his Bloody Mary, but they’re so sweet and juicy that he can’t resist.

“I don’t know about other women, but I am not faking an orgasm for some man. Make me cum, or don’t, but I’m not pretending. What do I get out of that? Ooh, I boosted a man’s ego? Get the fuck out of here.” Vivi shakes her head, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

“I’m not faking either,” Robin agrees with a nod, “In fact, I think women should start shaming men who don’t get them off. Sex is so much better if you make your partner cum before penetration.”

Zoro shoves back from the table and grabs his drink, he marches towards the patio as his friends all call out lewd things to his retreating back.

Zoro is a professional athlete, and he’s spent most of his life surrounded by nothing but men making crass jokes. So he’s used to locker room talk, he’s used to hearing objectifying speech.

What he’s not used to is discussing it over brunch at 11:15 on a Saturday morning, but that’s exactly what they’re doing.

They’re at a drag brunch, and it’s so much fun that Zoro briefly considers doing it himself, especially after seeing a queen with a similar build as Zoro’s doing a dance routine that would destroy Zoro’s knees.

But they’re between performances and the bottomless Bloody Marys and mimosas have been flowing freely, and Sanji just had to go and mention that he’s “really into yuri right now.”

And of course, Zoro just had to go and ask “what the hell is yuri?”

The door opens and closes behind Zoro and familiar hands squeeze his shoulders. “Didn’t take you to be so shy.” Sanji teases, he removes his hands and lights a cigarette.

“Not shy, just wasn’t expecting to hear the word penetration come out of Robin’s mouth this morning.” Zoro huffs a soft laugh, “You did this on purpose.”

Sanji shrugs shamelessly, “I mean, kind of, yeah. I wanted to see your reaction, I didn’t know Vivi and Robin would join in like that.”

Zoro reaches for Sanji’s cigarette and Sanji hands it over with an eyebrow lifted. Zoro takes a drag off the smoke and then passes it back to Sanji, he slowly lets the smoke out into the gentle breeze of the warming day. He takes another sip from his drink and the liquor warms his stomach on the way down.

“How did you even get into something like that?” Zoro asks.

“Lesbians?” Sanji asks, “I’ve always been into lesbians, in fact, being into lesbians is what made me realize I’m gay.”

Zoro doesn’t even ask for the mental gymnastics, he just watches Sanji’s lips wrap around the filter of his cigarette. “I guess I just didn’t realize there was, like, a whole market for it.”

“Yeah, yaoi and Yuri, BL and GL, it’s a thing. Some of it can be toxic and red-flag, but some of it’s ridiculously sweet, like tooth-rotting. Some of it doesn’t even have sex, just romance between queer characters.” Sanji explains.

“Kuina was really into fanfic, I don’t know if it’s the same thing.”

“Wait, do you know who she shipped?”

Zoro knits his eyebrows in confusion.

“Like, who did she like as a couple?”

“Oh. Naruto and Sasuke, I think?.”

“Mm, a woman of fine taste.” Sanji grins.

Zoro can’t help but chuckle over the thought of Kuina and her habits, her secret guilty pleasures, the little things that only Zoro knew about her.

“Me being gay never made my life any harder,” Sanji says, he takes a drag off his cigarette, “My father never really acknowledged it, and my brothers were too busy being assholes about other things. Plus, I’m a male figure skater who pairs with males, I don’t think anybody expects me to be straight.”

Zoro nods, Sanji has a point, and he loves when his partner opens up unprovoked, it usually happens easily after a bit of clear liquor.

“It wasn’t until I got older and started trying to date that I realized how hard it is to be queer. Other people did not have it like I did, so few had supportive families. Not that my family supported me in any way, shape, or form. I was singled out for a lot of things, but never for being queer.”

Zoro had similar experiences when he had his first crush on a guy during high school, even though the guy claimed to also like Zoro, it never worked as easily as when a guy liked a girl.

“Since relationships were so hard for me in real life, I started looking for representation elsewhere, which is how I found BL.” Sanji says, he takes a drag off his smoke and leans against the railing beside Zoro.

“Since you don’t care about gender, dating for you would have been a matter of just finding someone who liked you. Makes sense why you’re still looking, huh?” Sanji rolls his head to the side to grin meanly at Zoro, his hair flops back with the motion and reveals the playful glint in his eyes.

“Go to hell.” Zoro grouses, no heat behind the words, fighting back a smile as he glares at Sanji.

“Sure, wanna sit next to me on the bus?”

“No, we’d probably have to be separated.”

Sanji laughs, shaking his head fondly, “We’re a good team, though. Not that we would have ever gotten along without this, but skating together is amazing.” His eyes track to the blue skies over head, his face softens.

“So?” he looks back at Zoro with that same playfully mean look as before. “What kind of porn do you like?”

Zoro huffs a laugh and swipes Sanji’s cigarette again, taking another drag before passing it back. “I like women and fucking machines.”

Sanji’s face lights up, “Okay!” He grins excitedly, his eyebrows raises in an indication for Zoro to continue talking.

“My favorite is probably solo guys, but just the um…”

“Mm, a cumshot compilation man. A cumpilation, if you will.”

Zoro huffs and looks away, scuffs his sneakers against the ground. Music from inside is his saving grace, “Come on, we don’t want to miss the next act.”

“I like seeing dudes ride dick until they cum, hands free is even better.”

Zoro sighs softly, he resigns himself to this conversation and takes a fortifying breath before turning to Sanji.

“Yeah, I like that, too.”

Sanji grins, “I really love a vocal top, too. Like, I wanna know it feels good for that man, too.”

Zoro nods in agreement, “That’s why I like the women with the machines, you can tell they’re actually getting to feel really good. Not just faking it, or trying to sound good for the camera.”

“I’m telling you, dude, this brings us full circle. Only women know how to make women cum.” Sanji insists with a laugh.

“I gotta agree with Robin, though, it’s a shame men don’t know how.”

“I know!” Sanji nods, “Men literally figured out we can cum from our ass before we learned one way to make a woman get off.”

“Okay, but we were literally built to cum from anal. Like there’s no other reason that thing is back there.”

Sanji laughs out loud, “See? I knew you weren’t shy. Wanna know all of my kinks listed in alphabetical order?”

Zoro hums teasingly, “How about just your top five?”

Sanji holds up one finger, “Exhibitionism.”

Zoro claps his hands over his ears like a child, his face feels like it’s on fire, and Sanji cackles delightedly.

The door opens again and Duval joins them, “Still picking on Zoro?” he pets Sanji’s hair for a moment.

“Yeah, I’m telling him my top five kinks.” Sanji grins.

“Ooh, wait, let me guess!” Duval taps his chin thoughtfully. “Rough head, sex toys, public sex, leather, and orgasm denial.” Duval rattles off without pause.

Sanji laughs out loud, “Very close! I don’t know that I would say sex toys are a kink, though?”

Duval draws one eyebrow in, “The ones you buy are.”

“I guess I might have said ‘monster fucker’ instead of ‘sex toys’ since it’s really just the weird peens that I’m into.”

Zoro wants to scream at the top of his lungs, this entire conversation is too much. Why does he go around getting himself into these situations, and why does it always seem to be with Sanji? 

“What about you, Zoro, what’s your top five?” Duval asks with an innocent smile, then he pauses when he sees Zoro’s face. “Oh, we’re taking this too far, aren’t we?”

“Boo.” Sanji chimes in, that same evil smirk still pulling at his lips, an amused glimmer in his eyes.

“Come on, be nice, Sanji. Zoro doesn’t have to tell us whether or not he’s into foot stuff.”

Sanji hums, “I guess we just have to assume he is.”

Zoro sighs, “I’m going inside, you two can sit next to each other on the bus ride to hell.”

“I think my top five are probably pillow princesses, Shibari-“

The door closes behind Zoro before he hears the rest of Duval’s list, and he heads straight for the table to quickly down enough vodka to forget hearing the words “monster fucker” come out of Sanji’s mouth.

As much as it might make Zoro flustered, it’s also ridiculously fun in a way that makes him giddy. It’s an easier trust that Sanji has been sharing with Zoro, because it’s fun and sort of flirty. Up until now they’ve had to learn the rough edges of their partnership, they’ve had to snag on one another time and time again to finally find some smooth spots.

This is one of them, teasing and flirting casually has been one place they’ve found that they seemingly don’t snag. Plus, to be fair, Zoro started this by telling Sanji a really lewd story about a sexual encounter in a locker room bathroom after a game.

Sanji had been so red during the entire story, had stammered through a response, and had spent the rest of their lunch break looking dazed and overheated.

After that, all bets were off, and it was like a competition to see who could embarrass the other more. Zoro didn’t realize how outmatched he was, but his partner is a freak.

The rest of their brunch goes by too quickly, and Zoro is a bit too tipsy when it’s all said and done.

Robin insists on helping Zoro get home safely, so they share an Uber back to his apartment, engaging the driver in a fun conversation on the way.

Zoro leans his weight into Robin as they climb the stairs at his apartment complex together.

“Hey,” Zoro looks over at her. She’s so tall, maybe even an inch or two taller than Sanji. “Do you think I’m drunk?”

She smiles, as warm as ever, “Yeah, I think you’re drunk.”

Zoro sighs, “What do I do?”

“About what?”

“You know what.”

Robin nods after a beat passes, they stop at Zoro’s front door, and she punches in the door code. They both remove their shoes at the front door and Robin dumps Zoro on the couch.

“Zoro, you know I’ll support you no matter what. I just want to remind you how hard you’ve worked at this. So unfortunately, it’s very simple.”

“I gotta get over it?”

Robin sits beside him on the couch and pulls him into her arms, she squishes his head against her chest and ruffles his hair. “Poor thing. You can’t seem to win for losing these days.” She kisses the top of Zoro’s head, “He has a boyfriend.”

Zoro groans, “I know, and the guy is actually cool and supportive. I can’t even play the “break up with your douchebag boyfriend” card. It’s not like I want to break them up, either!”

“I know.” Robin assures him, “You just have feelings for him, which I figured would happen.”

“Why did you figure it would happen?” Zoro pulls his legs up onto the couch and curls into Robin’s warmth. “Is it cause I’m stupid?”

She kisses his head again, “You’re not stupid.” She admonishes gently. “I can just see how well you get along with him.”

“We argue all the time.”

“Yes, but is that not what you want?”

Zoro chuckles roughly, “I don’t know. He grates my nerves just the right way, you know? It’s not just that he pisses me off, it’s how he pisses me off.”

Robin hums softly, “It’ll pass with time, just focus on training until then. One day, it’ll be a distant memory.”

Zoro takes her words to heart, and even though it makes his chest ache undeniably, he knows she’s right. He has to get over his crush on Sanji. It will affect them eventually; it will catch up to Zoro at the worst possible time.

So the next morning when he heads into the rink, he puts all of his energy into training. He pushes himself harder than usual, spending more energy than he usually does, and he feels better for it.

Zoro and Robin eat lunch together and Zoro goes to train with Sanji after their break.

Sanji isn’t in the rink when Zoro goes in, so he warms up by himself for a while. Sanji joins after Zoro has been in there for a half hour or so and his eyes look swollen.

Has he been crying? It seems like he’s crying all the time lately. Zoro knows that Sanji and Duval have been fighting a bit, but he thought they’d seemed fine yesterday.

Then again, Zoro has seen Nami go from being fine to being single in a matter of hours before.

Still, Sanji laces his skates on and warms up a bit away from Zoro in moves that seem to intentionally carry him away from Zoro.

So Zoro gives him his space, and another twenty minutes pass before Sanji joins Zoro in a synchronized jump from their free skate. After a few passes, Zoro takes Sanji by the hips and lifts him overhead, watching carefully as Sanji's body stretches and shifts in unbelievable positions. It's a sight to behold every single time, the way his legs stretch, the way his arms reach, he looks so unreal each time Zoro lifts him up like that. 

“What should I do with my hands during that lift? The one that isn’t holding you feels like it’s just flopping around.” Zoro asks once he sets Sanji back on the ice.

Sanji holds his arm out, his hand drapes delicately, like a marble sculpture. It’s such an effortlessly elegant movement, and Zoro feels silly when he tries to copy it.

Sanji snorts laughing, he helps Zoro’s arm position and moves each finger to where he wants it.

“Feel okay?”

“I feel like a mannequin.”

Sanji hums, “Mannequins don’t talk back this much.”

“You wouldn’t like it if I didn’t talk back this much.”

Sanji huffs a soft laugh, “You got me there.”

They do the lift again and Zoro tries the arm positioning, which still feels a bit awkward, but he’ll get there with it.

When Zoro gets Sanji back on the ice, he expects pointers from his partner, but when Sanji opens his mouth, a strange question comes out.

“Can I grow facial hair?” Sanji blurts out.

Zoro cocks an eyebrow, “I don’t know? Can you?”

“Yes, no, like… do you mind?” Sanji asks shyly. “Do you have a problem with me growing facial hair?”

The question makes Zoro ache all over, his fists clench with idle rage. Who made Sanji fret over such an unnecessary thing? Who made him feel as if even this was controlled for him? It makes Zoro burn, he needs to hit someone as hard as he can, and it’d be even better if it was the responsible party.

“No, I don’t mind. You’d look cute with it, like a little goatee like Law’s.” Zoro says, hoping his voice doesn’t shake with the rage he feels inside.

Sanji’s shoulders slump with relief, “Cool, that’s what I was thinking, too.” He clears his throat shyly. “Wanna try the triple toss?”

Zoro nods, then his hand reaches out and grabs Sanji’s shoulder as Sanji goes to skate away.

“Hey.”

Sanji is reluctant as he turns back to face Zoro.

“You don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff with me… okay? You can do whatever you want, I’m here for you, and nothing else matters to me.”

Sanji swallows thickly, his eyes go watery as he nods, “It’s just- it helps for me to ask you.”

It’s like a wall slams into Zoro. Sanji needs to be given permission to do even simple things for himself, it might even be the only way he can function without feeling anxious and on edge.

Zoro nods shallowly, “Okay.” It’s the only word he can manage right now, he’s afraid of what else might come out of his mouth if he speaks anymore right now. Instead, he just pulls Sanji after him and they begin practicing their toss.

They’ve done the toss a few times while Sanji’s phone rings repeatedly, and after several minutes pass, Zoro frowns in its general direction. “Do you need to get that?”

Sanji shoots the phone an evil glare, “He’d stop calling if he knew what’s good for him.”

The phone stops ringing, only to begin ringing again a few seconds later.

“Hmm, seems he might not know what’s good for him.” Zoro says lightly, hoping Sanji will joke along with him about how stupid men are.

Sanji’s clearly not in the mood, though, and he might as well stomp across the ice as he heads to the exit of the rink and grabs his blade guards.

Sanji rejects the call and glares at the screen, like he’s daring it to ring once more.

It does, of course, the pop song that’s Sanji’s ringtone begins humming away again.

“What?!” Sanji snaps as he puts the phone to his ear, “Do you have a fucking death wish?!”

Zoro can’t hear what the person on the other end of the call says, but he can hear that their voice is raised and agitated. Is it Duval? Zoro would have to get closer to eavesdrop, but he can’t think of another person Sanji would speak to this way.

“No, no, no.” Sanji rattles off, clearly attempting to interrupt the other speaker, “Duval, shut the fuck up. You cannot twist this around on me and try to make me feel like shit. I’m angry with you because of you! Your actions, your consequences! What is so hard about this?”

Zoro tries to give Sanji some privacy, which Sanji doesn’t seem terribly concerned about, but he focuses on a spin as his partner yells on the other side of the rink.

Okay, so he’s still fighting with Duval. It’s probably the same issues they’ve been having, which seems like Duval is basically ignoring Sanji, if Zoro understands correctly. He hasn’t asked for specifics, and Sanji hasn’t shared, but maybe he’d feel better if Zoro did ask. Just like how he had to ask Zoro for permission to do something for himself, maybe he must also be asked before he can open up about things.

Zoro listens to their increasingly heated argument until Sanji hangs up on Duval with a frustrated shout, then he turns his phone off and storms outside. Zoro is sure he’s going to smoke, so he gives Sanji some space.

When 15 minutes have passed and Sanji hasn’t returned, Zoro goes to find him.

Sure enough, he’s lying on his back outside the rink, eyes closed, and his face turned up towards the spring sun. The grass hasn’t quite grown back yet, but it’s starting to turn green and fresh as the weather warms. So, Sanji is a stark pop of blonde hair and pale skin as he lies on the brownish grass. He’s smoking, the cigarette held between his lips, hands folded on his chest, skates unlaced and lying on the ground beside him.

Zoro just lays beside Sanji, letting the sun warm his face, and it feels really nice. The air is still chilly, the breeze nips at Zoro’s arms, but the sun is amazingly warm. “Want to talk about it?”

Sanji snorts, “Not gonna bother you with shit like this.”

“Okay.” Zoro sighs, “Let me rephrase.” He rolls his head to the side to look at Sanji’s profile. “Talk to me.”

Sanji drags in a deep breath, and Zoro thinks he’s going to decline and simply go on trying to deal with everything himself.

“Okay, so this asshole has been on this ignoring me streak for, like, fucking weeks. Since he came back from the conference especially, but, like, he’s never been the most attentive. He’s always late, he never texts back, he’s flaky, just impossible to pin him down.” Sanji begins ranting.

“At first, I didn’t care because I just wanted something pretty to fuck me good. But then he stuck around even when I was at my lowest, so I started taking things more seriously. That’s when it seems like he started being flaky and shit. But I was fucked up, and I didn’t want to lose him, so I let it slide. Now it’s really under my skin, though.” Sanji says emphatically, he finishes his smoke and lights another immediately.

“He’s supposedly in love with me, he still claims to see a future with me, just all this bullshit. But it feels like bullshit now, you know?”

He doesn’t wait for Zoro’s response, and so Zoro just props his hands under his head and listens.

“It hurts my feelings because it’s like I’m the last thing on his mind. Not like I need to be the most important thing to him or anything, he’s important at work, he’s got his own hobbies and friends, so I don’t even feel like I’m asking too much from him. I just want him to think about me sometimes, to miss me, to want to talk to me, want to see me, want to have sex with me. But literally everything else comes first.” Sanji says, his voice wavers a little, he’s emotional and has every right to be.

“He won’t even deny that I’m not the first thing on his mind, he’ll admit that he’s not paying enough attention to me and that he knows I’m lonely. Nothing changes, though. So I’m mad at him, because we’ve been doing this for weeks now. This stupid yo-yo, rollercoaster bullshit. We fight, we don’t speak, we get over it, do it all over again.” Sanji shakes his head and falls silent for a moment.

Zoro realizes something as he watches Sanji lift a hand and wrap his thin fingers around his cigarette. Sanji’s belittling himself in his own relationship, and he more than likely doesn’t realize he’s doing it. In fact, he’s probably never realized that he does it with every relationship in his life. Putting down his own needs, desires, and wants just for the sake of not upsetting the other person. How afraid is he of losing people around him, of having their approval? 

“Then yesterday he tries to pile on me after brunch about how we can have such a nice time together when I don’t “get all pissy” like it’s my fault I’m pissed at him! Like I should just get over myself and, like, what? Expect less of him? The bar is literally on the fucking floor.” Sanji stubs his smoke out in the dirt and sighs. “Maybe he’s right, though. I mean, I am being a dick, and I’m not easy to be around.”

“No way, dude.” Zoro interrupts before he can stop himself. “You’re still being a dick to him because that’s what he deserves. It’s not like he’s put in any work to change, or to do anything to make you feel not pissed. That’s on him, and it’s a super douche move to try and put it on you like that.”

“Right?!” Sanji claps his hands together, “I’m not asking for the world, just text me back sometimes, damn!”

“Seriously, he should be groveling to you, not making shit worse.” Zoro says, he bites his tongue before he says something regrettable. He promised himself he wouldn’t interfere in their relationship, and he’s promised himself he won’t try to separate them. It’d be an easy opportunity to put down Duval, but it’s a better opportunity for something else.

Supporting Sanji.

Not as someone who wants to see Sanji become single and free to fit into Zoro’s fantasies, and not as someone who wants to see Duval be a shitty boyfriend.

As someone who has Sanji’s back, as a friend, as someone Sanji trusts.

“Then every time that shit is okay again, it’s because I make it okay again. I go and apologize for being rude and hateful and he’s all like, “Oh, it’s okay baby.” And then that’s it. He’ll let me make him dinner and suck his dick and as long as I act like everything is okay, it is. But God forbid I’m not in the best mood or get upset with him over anything! It all goes to shit then. Just like now, since I’m not crying and shit over him, he’s being a total asshole.” Sanji huffs, he drags his hands down his face again.

“Men are so dumb.” Zoro says, and Sanji laughs this time, short and bitter, but a laugh.

“Yeah, why is that?” Sanji muses, then sighs heavily. “I don’t know what else he expects from me, how am I supposed to react to this?”

Zoro hums softly, “Never been in your shoes before, so I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.”

Sanji sighs again, “Yeah, I’ve never been in these shoes before, either. This is my first serious relationship, or… it could be, I guess. I don’t suppose he takes me very seriously.”

“I’m sorry I don’t know what you should do, I’m just a stupid jock. I am here for you, though, and hopefully you know you can talk to me about anything.” Zoro says, and Sanji rolls his head to the side to smile at Zoro.

“Thank you, it means a lot to have someone to lean on. Even if your head is full of rocks.” Sanji reaches and takes Zoro’s hand; he intertwines their fingers and lets their hands rest between them. He turns his face back towards the sun. “Besides, I know what I have to do. I just don’t want to do it yet.”

Zoro squeezes Sanji’s hand and lets silence fall as they soak in the warmth from the sun. He’s grateful that he can share this with Sanji now, this trust, this ability to talk about things that are bothering them. Someday, perhaps Zoro can share even more with Sanji.

Chapter Text

Summer

Zoro is practically vibrating by the time the plane touches down in Florida, but he’s been buzzing since Sanji and Duval surprised him with plane tickets the previous night. Zoro has never packed his bags so quickly in his life, and he barely slept at all from his excitement. He hasn’t told anyone he’s coming either, so it’s a surprise for all of them.

Sanji came along, and Duval will join them in a few days once his work settles down.

Sanji pushes the sleep mask off his eyes once they touch down, and he sits up and stretches with a yawn. “You excited?” he asks Zoro.

“So excited, man, I can’t wait to see them again.” Zoro says with a grin, he’s got another person he’s going to reach out to and try and see as well, hopefully there’s time. He needs it.

 “I’ve never been here before, you know.” Sanji comments as he peeks out the window and looks around.

“Never?” Zoro asks, and Sanji shakes his head, then shrugs.

“Well, technically I skated a competition here when I was younger, 12 or so, but we never left the arena or hotel, so I don’t really count it.” Sanji says, Zoro can see the look in his eye grow distant, it’s a look Zoro has become unfortunately familiar with.

Zoro elbows him, “I’ll take you to Disney World.”

Sanji turns with a grin that brightens his entire face, “You can’t joke about that, asshole.”

They laugh together and there’s a fun and playful energy between them as they disembark and collect their baggage.

Once they’ve gotten their rental car and loaded their things up, Zoro takes to the driver’s seat.

“You know, I never asked, but how’s driving for you? Like depth perception wise?” Sanji asks curiously.

“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious.” Zoro drones as he pulls out onto the familiar roads.

“No, seriously!” Sanji laughs, “It doesn’t ever trip you up?”

Zoro shrugs, “Hasn’t yet, but I guess we’ll see.”

Sanji messes with the radio and fusses about the crazy drivers and teases Zoro endlessly.

Zoro drives straight to Luffy’s house, it’s mid-morning and Luffy is probably still asleep if Zoro had to guess. He’s got his jaw clenched tight from anxiety, excitement, and the pure thrill of being home again. Having Sanji by his side is nice, too, getting to show him around, take him to some of Zoro’s favorite spots and restaurants.

Selfishly, the thought of trying to sleep in the same bed as Sanji once more creeps through his mind. Zoro has tried to forget it, how nice it felt to have Sanji beside him, how unbelievably horny it made him is embarrassing anyway.

If Sanji knew Zoro had jerked off over him in the shower, he’d actually lose his mind, wander the wilderness like a madman. So Zoro has refrained from thinking of him like that, even though their free skate has this ridiculous move in it.

Zoro had actually blushed the first time Sanji showed him the lift, and once he had Sanji back on the ice he’d said, “Isn’t that sort of like…”

“Like eating pussy, yeah, it’s hot, right?” Sanji had grinned, and Zoro had only been able to agree.

Ever since then, Sanji’s legs wrapped around Zoro’s head has made blood rush somewhere it shouldn’t, especially for the outfits they’ll be wearing.

Zoro is attempting to squash the instincts inside him that scream for Sanji, and it’s getting harder and harder by the day. He needs to talk to someone about it, he has to get these feelings out of his way so he can act right.

They climb out of the car in Luffy’s driveway and Zoro leads Sanji to the door, he bounces on his toes as he knocks on the door.

“You excited?” Sanji asks, a warm smile on his face.

Zoro nods, “So excited, man.”

Sanji reaches and takes Zoro’s hand, threading their fingers together and squeezing, “Good.”

Zoro squeezes Sanji’s hand back, reveling in how good it feels to touch him, how good it feels to have Sanji by his side so frequently, so loyally. He's become Zoro's constant, more than skating, more than working out, more than any other person in Zoro's life, Sanji has become part of Zoro.

The front door opens and Trafalgar Law is on the other side of the door, looking disheveled and half-asleep still, he smiles when he sees Zoro.

“Zoro-ya!” He grabs Zoro by the shoulders and gives him a tight hug before holding him back, “What a surprise.”

“Hey, Law,” Zoro grins, reaching to wrap his hand around Law’s wrist, “Luffy still sleeping?”

Law nods, “Yeah, come on.” He lets them into the house and greets Sanji, who asks where the kitchen is, so Law shows Sanji the way. Zoro heads to Luffy’s bedroom on the second floor, heart pounding out of his chest as he gets closer and closer to the half-open bedroom door.

Luffy is a tangle of long limbs in the sheets, face lax and peaceful as he snores softly. It’s obvious Law slept in here with him, Zoro can see where his lanky frame was squished to one side of the bed, Luffy practically chased him off the bed by the looks of it.

Zoro kicks his shoes off and climbs into the bed, it smells like a combination of Law and Luffy, familiar cologne and shampoo clinging to the sheets. Luffy stirs a little when Zoro curls next to him and begins petting his hair.

“Torao, ‘m hungry.” Luffy mumbles without opening his eyes.

“Maybe Sanji will make you breakfast if you’re a good boy.” Zoro muses.

Luffy hums, eyes still closed, his breathing is quiet and even. Zoro loves him so much it almost hurts, a hot pang that aches in his chest, a feeling for which he’ll be forever grateful. Zoro’s lucky to have his captain in his life in any capacity, they all are, not only is he one of the most incredible hockey players of all time, but he's sunny, positive, helpful, and loving in an unflappable, immovable way. 

“I’m really proud of you.” Zoro says, his voice wobbles and he swallows before he continues, “All of you guys, but you especially. You pull everyone together better than any captain I’ve ever seen, you deserve all of this.”

Zoro kisses Luffy’s forehead, scratching his scalp with blunt nails, and Luffy’s eyes fly open.

“Zoro!” he wraps himself around Zoro like he has eight arms, crowing happily, “Zoro, Zoro, Zoro! You’re here!”

Zoro embraces him tightly, “Of course I’m here.”

Luffy’s shoulders start shaking, and he lifts his face out of Zoro’s chest to look up with eyes brimming with tears, “I missed you so much. It’s not right out there without you, it’s been really hard.”

Zoro frowns, he frames Luffy’s face, “Hey, hey, stop that. You should be happy, I’m not sad, am I?”

Luffy presses his lips together in a wobbly frown, he lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug. He doesn’t pout often, it takes a lot to dull this sunny man even a fraction, so he’s obviously been very upset about this.

“I miss you guys, too, and I’ll admit that it’s been hard to watch this series. But I’m here, this will be easier for both of us. Plus it looks like Law fits right into that winger spot, hmm?” Zoro taps his forehead to Luffy’s, and Luffy leans in and kisses him briefly.

“You’re not sad?”

Zoro shakes his head, “No, I’m really happy skating out there now, I promise.” He kisses Luffy’s nose, “What’s with this? You’ve been sad for me?”

Luffy nods, “I’m sorry, I was worried.”

“Don’t be sorry, silly. Come on, Sanji is probably already cooking.” Zoro says.

“Sanji is here? And he knows how to cook?” Luffy brightens immediately, sitting up straight and springing out of bed.

Zoro laughs and follows his captain, “Yes and yes. They surprised me with tickets yesterday, I didn’t even know I was coming.”

Luffy pulls on some athletic shorts and a T-shirt, he bounces across the room and hugs Zoro again, “I’m glad you’re here, Zoro!”

Zoro hugs him and laughs softly, “So am I, captain.”

Luffy takes the stairs two at a time on his way down, jumping off and landing loudly before shouting, “Sanji! Feed me meat!”

In the kitchen, Law is at the table with a cup of coffee and Sanji is already cooking. He embraces Luffy tightly before humoring him by letting Luffy taste what he’s cooking.

Law watches with a quiet, reserved smile on his face, that smile grows when he turns to speak to Zoro several minutes later.

“Luffy-ya has been worried about you.” Law says.

Zoro waves his hand dismissively, “No reason to, I’m happy out there.”

Law hums, “Because of him?”

Zoro swallows thickly before he nods, “Yeah.”

Law hums again, eyes trailing to Sanji.

“I was miserable here at first, too.” Zoro reminds him.

Law cracks a half-smile at that, snorting in amusement, “Yeah, we remember.”

Sanji serves them all breakfast, and after his first bite, Luffy’s eyes might as well turn to hearts and bulge out of his skull comically. “Sanji!” he shouts, “This is amazing!”

Once they’ve eaten, Luffy shows Sanji around the house and takes him outside to see the backyard. Luffy’s house sits on a canal, during the winter, manatees swim up and hang out by his seawall. It’s a gorgeous backyard, with a stunning view of the water around them, and Zoro had spent many, many nights back here with his captain. With his team. With his family.

Now Sanji is here, too, a warm smile on his face as Luffy leads him around by the hand and chatters endlessly.

Zoro pulls his phone out and finds the contact he’s looking for before calling, listening to the line ring three times before the familiar laughs comes through the phone.

“Ah, my love, I was thinking of you the other day!”

Zoro smiles, “That so? Must have been pretty damn bored.”

There’s a noncommittal hum, “Are you in town?”

“Yeah, I’ll be with them until they take the cup.”

“You’re hoping I can squeeze you in?”

“Something like that.”

“How desperate are you?”

Zoro grits his teeth, “Very.”

A light and airy laugh, “Alright, love, I’ll text you later. Lovely to hear your pouty little voice again! Don’t forget that life isn’t as shitty as you make it out to be!”

Zoro would argue, but the call ends after another brightly amused laugh, and he glares at his phone. He’s an idiot for even wanting to do this, but he knows it’ll make him feel better.

He knows he needs it.

When Luffy is hungry again, they all pile into Law’s vehicle and he takes them to a Greek restaurant that’s a local legend. They eat entirely too much, but Luffy still insists they go next door and get a baklava, which means Law leaves with his arms loaded with treats for Luffy.

At a small table outside, Sanji offers Zoro a bite of baklava, and Zoro is reminded of their evening together back in Boulder.

He still doesn’t know what issues Sanji and Duval have been having, but it does seem better these days. Sanji’s mood had been so poor, he’d lost his focus entirely and Zoro had no clue how to make him feel better.

It drug on for weeks, nearly an entire month, and Sanji looked more and more kicked every single day that went by. Zoro had tried pushing him harder on the ice, in the gym, in the ballet studio. Zoro had tried taking him out and getting him drunk, had tried taking him to cool restaurants, took him to a really neat art exhibit.

Sanji would normally perk up some, but a dark cloud hung over him, followed him around even when he was smiling.

Their shared baklava under the awning of a bakery, hiding from the rain, it was the first time in a month that Sanji had thrown his head back to laugh from his belly. Zoro’s stomach had turned over and tied in knots, the feelings that stir inside Zoro are far from just happiness for Sanji's improved mood.

He’s glad to see Sanji smiling easily again, whatever issues he has with his boyfriend seemingly settled for the time being. This is exactly why Zoro made that phone call earlier, exactly why he’ll go when he can. He can’t keep this up with Sanji. It will hurt one or both of them in the end, an emotional fallout that Zoro knows neither of them will be able to cope with at this point in their lives. They’ve both lost too much, too frequently, too recently, it would destroy Zoro entirely.

He has to stop this now, before their competitions start, before there’s real stress put on them and their bond.

Everyone is meeting at Franky’s tonight for a team dinner, and Zoro’s presence is still unknown to the rest of the team. He’s most excited to see Chopper again, of course, he always feels better after being around his little best friend.

After they eat lunch, they take Sanji to the beach after he admits he’s only ever touched the ocean once, and it was nearly 20 years ago. His eyes are wide and bright, lips parted slightly as he looks around. To Zoro, it’s just the sandy parking lot of the local public beach access, a sight he’d long become familiar with in his time in Florida.

Zoro remembers his first time seeing the Florida beaches, it was January, and the water had been surprisingly cold, but that hadn’t stopped Ace from dragging Zoro into the gently rolling waves.

At the edge of the sand, Sanji stops and unties his shoes, leaning on Zoro for support as he yanks shoes and socks off in an excited rush. It’s cute, the way his blue eyes never leave the ocean in front of him, the way his fingers dig into Zoro’s upper arm, the way he nods absently at Luffy’s chattering.

Zoro holds his hands out and Sanji doesn’t even look at him as he shoves his sneakers into Zoro’s hands and takes off across the sand after Luffy.

Law and Zoro both kick out of their boots as they watch their friends run towards the sea.

“You sure have a type, don’t you, Roronoa?” Law teases with a half-smile playing at his lips. It’s the way Law shows his affection for others, talking a little bit of shit, but in a way that’s somehow a compliment.

“What, people who don’t know I’m alive?” Zoro jokes back, and Law grins at him.

“Good taste, though.” Law claps him on the shoulder as they head down the beach after their friends. Zoro nudges Law in the side with his elbow, giving him a playful grin.

“See you picked up where I left off.” Zoro says, and Law laughs a little.

“Way he talks about you, feels like you’re still there most of the time.” Law sighs, “He’s been really worried about you, though. Sad, even, which is very unusual for him. He misses you badly.”

Zoro nods, “I didn’t know until today, I’ll be better about talking to him more often.”

“Thanks, that would help him feel better.”

They reach the edge of the water, the waves rolling across Zoro’s bare feet is familiar and fills Zoro with peace, warmth of the early June sun is hotter than he remembers. He’s missed this.

Sanji grabs his hand and pulls him into the ocean to their knees, “It’s so nice!” he laughs, “The water is so warm!”

Zoro reaches down and splashes some water up at Sanji, who lifts a hand to block it, turning his face away and closing his eyes as he laughs in delight. He’s so beautiful, and he’s done so much for Zoro.

Whether he even knows it or not, he saved Zoro’s life in more ways than one. He gave Zoro purpose, drive, goals to meet. He gives Zoro something to look forward to every single day.

Sometimes it’s a challenging work out, sometimes it’s an iced coffee, sometimes it’s a homemade meal. Sometimes it’s a dramatic insult, sometimes it’s a heated argument, sometimes it’s an ugly look in the gym.

All of it gives Zoro the same thrill, the thrill of being seen, being known by someone. All of it is a moment granted to Zoro by Sanji, made possible only by this gorgeous man in front of him.

Then Sanji uses both hands to sweep a big wave of water onto Zoro, effectively soaking him from the chest down, dousing Zoro’s warm and fuzzy feelings in an instant.

“Dude!” Zoro shouts at him, sending him a glare.

Sanji laughs out loud, and Luffy joins in before he runs full speed into the water and tackles Zoro at the hips.

Zoro is just grateful he had the presence of mind to leave his phone in the car, so he lets Luffy take him into the waves, resigned to being the butt of their joke because he loves hearing the two of them laugh like that.

It’s a bit of a shock, the water is chilly in Zoro’s opinion, and being suddenly thrust into the surf with his captain on top of him sort of sucks.

Zoro laughs anyway, because it makes him angry, the kind of angry that sets his jaw and makes his chest burn hot. He wants to yell at them, call them both names, storm away and pout a little.

But Sanji is doubled over laughing, hands braced on his knees, shoulders bouncing. Luffy is howling as he pulls Zoro up out of the seawater, only to push him down again and make Zoro sit in the shallow surf, Luffy laughs until he starts wheezing.

On the shore, Law is watching with a warm smile and a fond look in his amber eyes, love and amusement shining for his friends, his teammates, his whatever Luffy is to any of them.

Zoro has never been more grateful to be alive. The sun shines brightly, hot and intense in a cloudless sky, reflecting harshly off the shimmering surface of the ocean. A gentle breeze blows, sea birds call nearby, the waves roll over the sand, and his dearest friends’ laughter drowns out all the rest.

Law doesn’t even bat an eye when they get back in his SUV later, he just grabs a few towels out of the back and spreads them over the seats before the wet occupants climb in.

Back at Luffy’s, Luffy begins stripping at the front door, dropping his wet shirt to the wooden floor with an impish grin. Then he grabs the hem of Sanji’s shirt and tugs him close with it, he unbuttons Sanji’s shirt with that same grin, pushing it into the floor beside his own shirt.

“Luffy-ya.” Law scolds, “Don’t do that.”

“What? Wet clothes on the floor?” Luffy cocks his head.

“Undressing people without permission, maybe.” Zoro suggests as he undoes his own shirt and gathers Luffy’s and Sanji’s from the floor.

“Oh!” Luffy steps back sheepishly, “Sorry, Sanji.” He says earnestly.

Sanji shakes his head, a flush riding high on his cheeks, “It’s okay.” He clears his throat, “I would like to shower, though.”

Law leads Sanji to one of the bedrooms on the main floor and gets him situated for a shower, and Luffy takes Zoro by the hand and drags him upstairs to the main bathroom.

Luffy pins Zoro to the door and kisses him hard, “God, he’s so hot.” Luffy groans.

Zoro laughs softly, “Tell me about it. He’s going to make me insane.”

They shower together like they used to, washing one another’s hair and making each other laugh. Luffy talks about how long Zoro’s hair is getting as he styles it into a shampoo mohawk. Luffy wraps his legs around Zoro’s hips and Zoro pins him to the shower wall as they make out under the stream of water from overhead.

God, Zoro has got to get a grip.

After they’re all showered and ready to go, they head to Franky’s place and head towards the ruckus already rising from the backyard, following loud laughter and the smell of barbecue. Luffy jumps onto Zoro’s back and Zoro carries him piggy-back through the gate as Luffy crows out his greeting to the team.

“Zoro!” Ace calls out, he jumps up from where he’s sitting and comes sprinting across the yard to throw his arms around Zoro.

He shoves his brother off Zoro’s back and hugs Zoro tightly, “Fuck, dude, it’s so good to have you here.”

Zoro hugs Ace tightly, “Good to be here, man.”

Ace kisses the side of his head, “Come on.”

Ace pulls Zoro alongside him and everyone else takes turns hugging Zoro, greeting him warmly, messing with his hair and tugging on his shirt to get his attention. Barto spends five minutes crying on Zoro’s shoulder dramatically, waxing poetic about how badly he misses Zoro and how amazing Zoro is in general. The guy’s weird, but Zoro can’t help but like him.

Franky crushes Zoro to his chest and kisses his hair and doesn’t let Zoro go until he puts a drink in his hands, then he shoves Zoro into Nami with a childish grin.

She hugs Zoro tightly, stepping back to smile at him. “I’m glad you’re here, maybe Luffy will shut up about you now.”

Zoro chuckles, “Yeah, good to see you, too, Nami.”

“Where’s Sanji? Surely you didn’t come alone.” She asks with a smile that’s all teeth.

“I’m not that dumb,” Zoro turns to look around the yard, he points to where Sanji is in the middle of a clump, getting doted on like some sort of celebrity by the other men.

“Has he dumped the fuckboy yet?” Nami asks bluntly.

Zoro sighs, “Dude, what the fuck is up with that? He’s way too good for Duval, and not to undercut that Duval’s fine and been there for Sanji or whatever-“

“He’s literally a walking red flag,” Nami cuts in, “Manipulative, gaslighter, love-bomber, ran through, Leo.” Nami counts off, ticking a finger up with each point.

Zoro nods emphatically, “I know, but, like, I can’t say anything without it seeming like I’m trying to get in Sanji’s pants.”

“Mm, that is a dilemma. If only you weren’t actually trying to get in his pants.”

“That’s the least important part of what I want to do with him and you know it.”

“Whatever, I’ll talk to him. Is Duval here?”

Zoro shakes his head, “No, he’s busy at work, he’s supposed to be here in a few days.”

Nami raises an eyebrow suspiciously, “Red flag.”

“That he’s busy with work?”

“God, you’re stupid.” Nami sighs, “But I guess you’re also too stupid to ever cheat on someone, so there’s that.” She turns and heads towards Sanji with a wave over her shoulder.

Zoro’s phone buzzes, and it’s a text that reads “8:00 tonight, don’t be late.” And he sighs in relief, already feeling the weight slide off his shoulders.

Zoro eats dinner with the team, a huge barbecue feast with more food than they could possibly ever eat, even with Luffy and Ace’s appetites. They play cornhole and watch some of the guys play a game of basketball for a while, and everyone besides Zoro drinks pretty heavily.

Nami hangs off Sanji’s arm all night, growing louder and louder with every drink she consumes, and Sanji matches her energy perfectly, it’s nice to watch them.

To this day, Zoro has never exactly understood what Nami does for the team, but she’s been around since the beginning, and Zoro grew to have a sibling-like relationship with her. She’s fiery and stubborn in a way that reminds Zoro of Kuina, but Nami has a dark streak, and she’s perfectly willing to lie and manipulate her way through any situation. She’s tough in a way Zoro has always admired, the kind of grit that only comes from hard-learned lessons and rough experiences, and he’s felt a sense of responsibility for her since the day they met. Although, that could be one of her tricks, Nami’s certainly not above playing a long con if she needs to.

Sanji clearly adores her, though, in a way that makes Zoro delighted to see, the way Sanji smiles and laughs with her, the way his shoulders relax and he instinctively leans into her. It’s clear how comfortable he feels with Nami, how he implicitly trusts her, he’d hop up and run off a cliff after her and she wouldn’t even have to tell him to.

It's nice to be here, enjoying the warm night, surrounded by his friends and teammates, and to see Sanji in the midst of it all. So when the time nears for Zoro to leave, he seeks out Robin and finds her by a firepit near the pool.

She smiles warmly as Zoro approaches, and he goes to kneel by the chair that she’s sitting in.

“I’ve got an appointment, so I’m gonna leave Sanji here, and I’ll doubt he’ll even notice. Could you keep an eye out for him, make sure Luffy doesn’t try to kidnap him or anything?” Zoro asks her quietly.

She nods, “Sure, I can do that.”

“Thanks.” Zoro kisses her temple and stands up, “I’ll be back later.”

She smiles again, “Okay, feel better.”

Zoro rolls his eyes, “Yeah, trying to.”

He slips out of the backyard unnoticed and manages to sneak to the car and on the road without having to explain where he’s going to anyone. Of course, he could just tell them the truth and nobody would believe him anyway.

The drive doesn’t take long, and traffic isn’t so bad, so it gives Zoro enough time to get excited but not anxious on the commute over. He’s a little bundle of energy when he pulls into her driveway and climbs out of the car, he already feels so much better and he hasn’t even put eyes on her yet.

Zoro bounces on his toes twice after he’s knocked on the door, he’s so eager it’s set deep in his bones. The front door opens and he’s yanked inside, his back immediately slammed into the door, a leg pinned between his thighs.

“Hi there, cutie!”

Zoro is pulled into a tight hug, and he’s glad to return the embrace.

“Hi, Perona.” He greets, resting his head to her shoulder as she squeezes him. She smells like jasmine, her hair is soft against his cheek, her thin little arms are strong and squeeze him tight.

“Oh, let me get a good look at you!” She holds him back by the shoulders and inspects him with a happy smile.

“You healed so pretty, the scar is nice and even.” She says with a nod, she reaches out and runs one fingertip gently over his left eye, “You might be cuter this way, you know.”

“Thank you.” He mutters softly, dropping his gaze.

Perona tuts, “What was that?”

Zoro lifts his eyes and sighs, “I said thank you.” He grumbles louder.

She rolls her eyes, “Jeez, you’re gone for five months and forget how to take a compliment. I spent years teaching you how to say thank you.” She steps back and takes him by the hand, leading him into her living room and pushing him to his knees in front of the couch.

Perona sits on the couch and crosses her long legs, her clunky black boots stop mid-calf and her porcelain pale skin is on display under her fishnets, her pink and red leather dress has a flouncy skirt that she plays with as she gets situated on the couch.

“Now.” She says primly, “Tell me why you’re here, Zoro.”

“Because I’m losing my mind.” He says instantly.

She shakes her head, “Specifics, Mr. Roronoa.”

Zoro sighs and hangs his head, “It’s not that simple.”

“Fine.” She says, “Strip.”

Zoro pulls his shirt off, holding it out to Perona with a meek glance up, she takes the shirt with a warm smile and folds it neatly before setting it on the couch beside her. She holds her hand out expectantly and the process repeats until Zoro has no more clothes to hand over.

Laid bare like this, vulnerable and hot, it’s a familiar pang in his chest. She always knew how to get right to Zoro’s deepest parts, has always known exactly how to take Zoro apart.

“Tell me why you’re here.”

“Need to feel this way.”

“Why?”

Zoro shakes his head, so Perona beckons him forward.

“Tell me what you need, Mr. Roronoa.”

He rests his forehead to her knee, and she cards her nails through his hair.

“I need to be able to make it through competitions.” He says, “Focused, with my mind clear.”

“Why aren’t you focused? Why do you need my help?” She presses, and Zoro can’t answer her yet, so he just tips his chin back to look up at her.

“Mistress.” He murmurs softly.

“Can you tell me anything you need tonight, Mr. Roronoa?”

“I need my mind cleared.” He says simply, “And I want you to fuck me.”

“Good boy.” She praises, “Thank you for telling me. Let’s begin, shall we?”

Zoro isn’t sure how long passes before he eventually joins reality again, his body is sore and sated in a way he hasn’t felt in months, and satisfaction has set into his bones.

He lazily lifts a hand and rubs at his eye, gentle fingers card through his hair.

“Hi again.” Perona chirps, she kisses the top of his head. “You sure are a cutie.”

Zoro grunts, he stretches languidly and relishes the soreness of his every extremity. Perona is a professional, so the pain she inflicts on Zoro is well-practiced and purposeful, not just pain for the sake of pain.

“Gonna be able to focus now?”

Zoro nods.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Zoro yawns, “You should meet him. My partner, he’s something else. Sometimes he pisses me off so bad I can’t see straight, and the next second I just want to hold him for the rest of my life. I want to make him smile and laugh, I want to see him be happy, be able to do the things he wants to do. I want to give him a good life.” Zoro sighs and then laughs ruefully.

“Then he opens his mouth and I want to take him to the ice and beat the attitude out of his smartass mouth. I fought it for so long, and I think that just made it worse. Maybe I should have impulsively tried to kiss him or something, that way he could reject me, and I could move on with my life.” Zoro shrugs, the motion makes his shoulders twinge.

“Doesn’t he have a boyfriend, Zoro?” Perona asks, and Zoro nods.

“Scum. God, you’re the worst.”

Zoro laughs at her reaction, “I know. His boyfriend is alright, too, but I still haven’t respected their relationship in the slightest. I’ve opened every door for Sanji to feel something for me, and I feel terrible about it. Well, not that terrible, his boyfriend kind of sucks right now.”

Perona flicks him on the forehead and smiles when he shoots her an indignant look.

“Set boundaries, Zozo, do it for yourself or you’ll regret it later. You don’t have to treat him any differently, you can still be kind and patient and a good skating partner for him. But let go of any other ideas in that silly head of yours.” Perona says seriously. “If his boyfriend sucks, just be patient, don’t do anything stupid, don’t be impulsive. You’ll regret it, it’d be a disservice to any relationship you could potentially build with him in the future, and you’ll hate yourself for it. So stop, for both of you, be willing to wait for him, be willing to let him come to you on his own terms.”

This is the other reason Zoro needed to see her. Not just the pain, not just the pleasure, but the down-to-earth advice she gives him. She’s always been this way to him. More of a therapist than a mistress or a dominatrix. She’d slap him in the face if he said that, though.

Zoro nods, “Okay. I can do that.”

“Just change your expectations, you don’t have to try and change how you feel about him. Just focus on skating and being the best partner you can, everything else will follow.” She kisses his temple and pats his cheek. “Now, tickets. You got me two, yeah?”

Zoro huffs a laugh, “Yeah, they’re in my backpack.”

“Come on, I’ll make you some tea.”

They say goodbye later and Zoro steps out into the mild night with an undeniable ache in every corner of his body and a new spring in his step.

He pulls his phone out and has three missed calls from Sanji and five from Luffy, he rolls his eyes as he climbs into the car and gets on the road.

The next time the phone rings, he answers, only to be greeted by overly rambunctious laughter.

“He-Hey! He answered! Hey, Zoro!” Sanji laughs, “Uh, what was…” he trails off, “Oh! Where are you? I miss you.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Mhm. Where are you?”

“Headed your way, you still at Franky’s?”

“Uhhh, I don’t know.” Sanji answers, “Hey! Luffy! Wh-where are we?”

There’s a rustling and some more laughter on the other end of the line, Sanji calls Luffy’s name several more times. “Wait, hold on, here’s a pretty man.” Then there’s more rustling and muffled speaking before an exasperated voice comes through the phone clearly.

“Zoro-ya, they’re making me crazy.” Law complains, “Please come get him, they’re so loud together.”

Zoro laughs, “Which one am I taking?”

“Both if you love me.”

Zoro laughs again, “Where are you guys? I’ll head that way.”

“We’re at Ace’s, they’re mixing soju and beer.”

“I’ll be there shortly, I’m not far.” They end their call, and Zoro makes the drive with a smile on his face. He pulls into Ace’s driveway a few minutes later and heads towards the house. He can already hear music and laughter coming from the backyard.

Zoro lets himself through the back gate, and Ace starts hollering for him in a matter of seconds. There’s an impressive array of empty bottles and cans strewn over the tables around them, and Law looks like the only one who isn’t totally wasted. He sends Zoro an exasperated look and then glances across the circle in an indication for Zoro to follow his gaze.

On one of the lounge chairs, Luffy and Sanji are tangled around each other, arms and legs wrapped up, Luffy’s fingers slowly pulling through Sanji’s hair.

They’re louder than anyone else in the backyard, but they’re both so drunk, and talking over each other, that it doesn’t even sound like a cohesive conversation. It’s endearingly cute, and Zoro is able to identify that it’s actually Luffy that makes his heart turn over this time. His big, dark eyes are glued to Sanji so intimately that you could mistake them for a newlywed couple.

“Hey!” Luffy calls suddenly, “It’s Zoro!” He drags Zoro’s name out for several seconds, and Sanji begins to cheer along.

Zoro waves off the offers for a drink and goes over to the lounge chair that his friends are sharing.

“You’re drunk.”

“Yeah, but it’s cup season, we’re always drunk during cup season.” Luffy argues.

“I was actually talking to Sanji.” Zoro says with a smile.

“Yeah, but it’s cup season.” Sanji reasons, he wraps his arms tighter around Luffy. “Aren’t you happy?”

“Of course, I’m thrilled.”

“Boo, Zoro sucks!”

“Yeah, you never seem thrilled.”

“I’m delighted, come on, let’s go.” Zoro reaches his hand out towards them. Both men untangle their arms and reach for Zoro’s hand at the same time, then dissolve into a giggling fit once they realize they’re both reaching for Zoro.

“Aww, are you taking him?” Luffy pouts as Zoro takes Sanji’s hand and pulls him out of the lounge chair, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him.

“Yeah, you need to sleep, too.” Zoro says, he leans over and kisses Luffy’s wild hair, “Go easy on Law, yeah? Don’t be a nuisance and go home with him like you should.”

Luffy scrunches his nose, “Wanna go home with Sanji, too.”

Zoro shakes his head, “You’re drunk and capable of questionable judgement at best. Sleep it off, you’ll see him tomorrow.”

Sanji’s head lolls onto Zoro’s shoulder, “Hey, hey, um. Are you talkin’ about me?”

“Yeah, kinda. Ready to go?” Zoro answers, getting a better grip of Sanji’s waist and letting his partner lean his weight in.

“Um, no, can I go talk to Ace? And Law? And Barto? And Nami, is she around? What were you guys sayin’ about me?” Sanji rambles and Zoro sighs softly.

“Okay, say goodbye to everyone.” Zoro squeezes Luffy’s shoulder with his free hand and then turns to face the group once more. “Goodnight, guys, we’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Wait! Stay and drink! Just crash here! Come on, Zoro!” Ace calls out, eyes glassy and half-shut. Beside him, Barto nods emphatically, green hair loose and hanging into his bloodshot eyes.

“These two need to be separated, sorry.” Zoro tugs Sanji tighter against him, and Sanji gives a big wave to everyone.

“Bye, guys! Thanks for having me over, Ace, I love you forever!”

Ace grins, “I love you forever!”

“Wait, I loved Sanji forever first!” Luffy protests, and the brothers begin arguing loudly over who loved Sanji first.

“Need a hand?” Law asks, voice even and level despite the ruckus around them.

“No, I got him. Thanks, though. Good luck with the rest of these assholes.” Zoro says with a smile, then they say goodbye to the group once more and Zoro helps Sanji out to the car.

Once he’s loaded into the passenger seat, Sanji connects his phone to the Bluetooth and cycles through 10 second intervals of different Kpop songs as Zoro pulls out of Ace’s neighborhood.

They’re almost at the highway when his phone rings, and Duval’s contact info pops up on the screen in the car. It reads “Dick Daddy Duvie” with the eggplant emoji, the sweating face emoji, and three hearts in different colors.

“Bro, come on.” Zoro says with a chuckle and a headshake, he answers the call over the car speakers. “Hey, man.”

“Hey, Zoro, everything okay?”

“Du-val!” Sanji shouts, dragging the name out and increasing his tone as he does, “Hey, baby! Miss you!”

“Oh, he’s wasted.” Duval laughs.

“Yep.”

“You’re a saint, Roronoa.”

“Hey! Duval! Tea!”

“What is it, baby?”

“Okay, so you know Law?”

“Trafalgar Law?”

“Mhm.”

“Sure do.”

Sanji turns himself in the passenger seat and props his leg up, “Okay, so we get to Luffy’s, right? And Law comes to the door all shirtless and sleepy lookin’, and Zoro goes up to Luffy’s bedroom and there’s, like, this perfectly Law shaped place in the bed, right?”

“He was sleeping with Luffy?” Duval asks, clearly humoring his boyfriend, who lights up at the question.

“Right?! Like, is he? Are they sleeping together? Luffy has legendary pulls, man!” Sanji crows, “Also, guess what!”

“What?”

“Did you know that Franky, like the Cyborg, did you know that he and Robin are like, an old married couple?”

“Like they act like one?”

“No! They’re like, legally husband and wife! Like, they’re married, bro! To each other!”

“Wait, Robin and Franky?”

“Yes!!”

“Holy shit, I didn’t know that!”

“I know, I’m telling you, I’ve learned so much down here!”

Zoro laughs at their interaction, even though Sanji is drunk, and Duval is a thousand miles away, it still warms his heart to hear their lighthearted conversations.

“We shoulda just come to Florida and asked Zoro’s friends about him, you know? Kinda makes you feel silly that we looked him up online, right?”

“Wait, you looked me up online?” Zoro butts in, and Sanji laughs in pure delight.

“I’d hang up to save myself the embarrassment, but god knows what’ll come out of his mouth next.” Duval sighs.

“Also, Zoro disappeared for, like, four hours earlier! Where’d ya go, huh? You can tell me, we’re friends, we’re partners, I’ll keep your secrets! Where’d ya go?” Sanji grabs his arm and pokes him in the ribs.

“I went to see my dominatrix and got fucked senseless.” Zoro answers bluntly, and Sanji and Duval both just laugh like it’s a joke.

“Let me know when it happens.” Duval says.

“When what happens?” Zoro asks.

“Well, Sanji has an order to things, he's got four different stages of being drunk. Stage one is where you wouldn’t even know he’s drunk, just a bit more giggly than usual. He’ll be in that stage for a while.” Duval begins explaining, “Stage two is where he gets super flirty with anyone around him. Man, woman, little old people, doesn’t matter, this dude is flirting with them.”

Sanji laughs brightly from the passenger seat; he leans his head back and makes a long noise of amusement.

“Stage three is this, he’s loud, and he gossips like it’s keeping him alive. It’s all he can manage to do, basically just form sentences and gossip until he can’t breathe.” Duval says, “That’s what he’s doing currently.”

“Did you know that Duval has been following your career since you were in high school? He cut your picture out of the newspaper after you were drafted!” Sanji grabs Zoro’s arm across the center console, his fingers dig in and he laughs loudly.

“What’s step four?”

“He passes out. Totally out cold, and it’ll happen in a blink of the eye.” Duval says with a chuckle. “You’re getting to it, just hang in there.”

“Does he get sick?” Zoro asks, he cracks the window, and Sanji turns his face towards it like a dog.

“No, not typically. What’s he been drinking, do you know?”

“Soju and beer, but I don’t know what else he’s had.”

“You should be safe, but I apologize for him in advance. He doesn’t get a lot of breaks, you know, and his life was total hell a year ago. So, I try to cut him some slack and I want him to cut loose when he wants to.” Duval says seriously.

“He’s not bothering me, don’t worry about it.”

“You’re an angel.”

Zoro laughs, “Nah, man, you’re the one dating him, you gotta give him way more patience than I do.”

“Honestly, you actually have it way tougher than I do with him. He’s hard on you in the rink, his expectations of you are much higher than what he puts on me.” Duval says, he sighs a little, “He’s harder on himself than he is on you, I know that’s no comfort, but it is the truth. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for him, his life is much easier thanks to you.”

“Hey.” Sanji’s voice is much softer, slurred from the alcohol, face still turned towards the window. “You talkin’ ‘bout me ‘gain?”

“We sure are.” Duval says fondly, “You’re so pretty, it’s all we can talk about.”

Sanji chuckles happily at that, “You’re pretty. You’re both very pretty.” He yawns, jaw cracking with the exaggerated motion. “Can we get food? Snow cone?”

“I don’t think I can find you a snow cone at this time of night, but I promise I’ll get you one, okay?” Zoro teases, Sanji turns away from the window and curls in a ball in his seat with his face towards Zoro.

“Pinky promise?” He holds his hand out, pinky extended expectantly. Zoro links their pinkies together solemnly and Sanji is asleep before they even unlink their fingers.

“I think it happened.” Zoro says, and Duval laughs on the other end of the line.

“Told you, I could tell it was close.” Duval says, “He might be like this the whole time, so I’m sorry I sent you a thousand miles away to deal with his drunk ass.”

“It’s fine, don’t apologize for him. Will he remember any of this?”

“Yeah, actually, even when he passes out, his memory seems pretty strong when he’s drinking.”

“When are you coming out?” Zoro asks, he pulls into the driveway of their rental and puts the car in park. He finally unlatches his pinky from Sanji’s, reaching to pat him on the cheek a few times. Sanji doesn’t even stir, breathing soft and even as he sleeps soundly.

“Well, I haven’t told Sanji yet, but I probably won’t get to come to Florida just yet. I can meet you guys in Montreal in a few days, but work is just too crazy to get away right now.” Duval says, “He’s not gonna like that, so I haven’t been ready to spoil his mood and argue with him over it yet.”

“Ah, that sucks. Both work and having to argue with this guy.” Zoro says, though it immediately sets off alarms in Zoro's brain. Red flag, wishy-washy, flaky, all of Nami's words linger in Zoro's mind, what the hell is Duval's deal?

Duval laughs softly, “Dunno, seems like you enjoy arguing with him sometimes.”

“Man, it’s his fault for making it so fun to fight with him. I can’t help but take the bait, it’s so tasty.” Zoro says with an impish grin, and Duval laughs again.

“Tell me about it, man, when that eyebrow gets twitching and I know I’m under his skin, it’s hard to stop picking at him.” Duval agrees with a bright laugh.

“His face goes all red, like, steam might as well come out of his ears.” Zoro laughs along.

“Oh, dude, you ever seen him stomp his foot? Cutest damn thing he does, I swear.”

“Hang on, let me get princess inside. Don’t hang up.” Zoro says, and he climbs out and goes to the passenger side of the car. He opens the door and reaches in to unbuckle Sanji and tug him out of the car.

Sanji is truly out so Zoro resigns himself to carrying his partner inside. He scoops Sanji up and cradles him to his chest, “Jesus, bro.” Zoro grumbles as he climbs the steps up the front porch and punches the code in on the door lock. He kicks the front door open and carries Sanji into the closest bedroom, setting him gently on the bed.

Zoro stands up and straightens his shoulders, then he pulls Sanji’s shoes and belt off, trying to help him be as comfortable as he can.

Sanji grabs his hands, “Come to bed.” He whines.

“I’m not Duval.” Zoro reminds him, he pats the back of Sanji’s hand.

“You're Zoro. Come to bed.”

Zoro huffs a laugh, he pushes his fingers through Sanji’s hair, “What am I gonna do with you?” he muses, then switches the light off and leaves Sanji sprawled over the blankets.

Zoro goes and grabs Sanji’s phone out of the car, finally turning it off and getting their stuff out of the trunk.

“Still there?” Zoro asks, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder as he pulls Sanji’s things out of the back.

“Yeah, still here. Did you have to carry him?”

Zoro laughs, “I did, there’s no way he could have made that walk himself.”

“Sorry, man.” Duval says again.

“It’s fine, he weighs, like, twelve pounds. Besides, it’s basically my job to carry him around.”

Duval chuckles, “I guess that’s true, yeah.” He clears his throat, “I uh, I know we don’t get a ton of chances to talk, so I have something I wanted to tell you.”

Zoro kicks the front door closed behind him and sets the armload of stuff down on the nearest couch. “Okay.” He says, wheels spinning in his mind. What could Duval possibly want to say to Zoro that he’s unwilling to say around Sanji?

Zoro goes to the kitchen and goes about pouring himself some whisky.

“I know that Sanji can be a total pain in the ass, and that his flaws sometimes outweigh his good traits. He’s harsh to you, he takes out a lot of his frustrations on you, too.” Duval starts, Zoro chuckles dryly and drains the whisky in one go. He refills his glass and steps out onto the back porch, where he sits on the stairs and leans back to look up at the sky.

“He also relies on you more than he does anyone else, even though it probably doesn’t feel like it. He trusts you more than anyone, he needs you in his life, Zoro. You have no idea how much you changed him; how lost he was before you came into his life.” Duval says seriously, his tone low and even in a way that Zoro has never heard before.

“Before you came to Colorado, he was on the verge of…” Duval trails off, “I don’t know what he would have done, but he was at the end of his rope. Even though he’d gotten away from Judge and Niji, even though he wasn’t in that home anymore, it was like he was still there. Still under that man’s thumb, still struggling the same way he always had been.”

Zoro takes a sip from his drink; curiosity gnaws at him and demands he interrupt Duval and ask what the hell Sanji’s family situation was. He just listens quietly, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass. It's not Duval's place to tell Zoro, anyway, it'd be inappropriate to go behind Sanji's back to try and learn more about him.

“He called me probably twenty minutes after he met you, and he bitched about you for an hour. It was the most he’d talked in weeks, and it was the first time that there was life in his voice again.” Duval says, he chuckles, “When you moved out and started skating with him, there was light in his eyes again, and he finally started being excited about things again. Not just skating, either, but cooking, being around his friends, everything. You did that for him, Zoro.”

Zoro blinks, he didn’t know any of this, and he’s not sure what the feeling turning in his gut is. Why is Duval the one saying these things to him? It weirdly feels like a violation of Sanji's trust, like it's some secret being shared behind Sanji's back, being presented as praise for Zoro. It throws up red flags everywhere, it makes Zoro feel anxious and squirmy and desperate to get off the phone with Duval. 

“You saved his life, you brought him back to us, and even still, you’re the one that keeps him going.”

Zoro shakes his head a little, he swallows thickly, “No…” he hesitates, “I mean…”

“Trust me, man. I’m just his boyfriend. I could leave him tomorrow and he’d just keep going, someone else would fill that gap in no time, and it wouldn’t phase him. You’re his partner, though, Zoro. It would shatter him to a million pieces if you left, he would genuinely never pick himself up or move on. I know I have no right to say this to you, or put this on your shoulders, or anything like that. But I really, truly do mean it when I say that Sanji is alive because of you. Don’t tell him I said that, ‘cause it’ll piss him off.” Duval swallows loudly enough for Zoro to hear over their call.

“You were the first person to not know his situation and to see him as just somebody with talent and skill. You didn’t see him as a Vinsmoke, you gave him his first chance to prove he was more than what everyone else thought of him.  None of us knew how badly he needed that.”

Duval’s voice wobbles, he drags in a deep breath. “He was still at home when I met him, his talent and skills seemed so second nature that it didn’t even really impress me.” He sobs softly, “I didn’t even see him, Zoro. I didn’t know how badly he needed to be challenged, to prove his worth, to feel like he was good simply because he’s good.”

“Hey…”

“You don’t understand how much I watched him suffer without ever knowing how to help, and then you showed up.” Duval pulls the phone away from his head and Zoro can hear him trying to choke back his tears. “Thank you for the life you’ve given him and thank you for everything you continue to do for him, because I couldn’t do it.”

They talk for a while longer, Duval spilling his guts to Zoro in a way Zoro has never experienced before. The whole time, an uneasy feeling churns away in Zoro's stomach, Nami's earlier words ringing in Zoro's ears still, and Duval's vulnerability seems oddly suspicious.

Their call ends later, and Zoro goes to stand in the doorframe and stares at Sanji’s prone form across the bed.

What did this man live through? If Zoro had known even an iota of Sanji’s situation when he went to Colorado, would things have been different? Would Zoro have treated him differently?  What the hell is his boyfriend doing? Why is Duval treating Sanji the way that he is, what is his end game? If he thinks Zoro is so much better for Sanji, then why doesn't he just-

“Zoro?”

It snaps Zoro out of his haze, he goes to kneel by the bed. “Need something?”

“Water?”

Zoro goes and fills a glass, which he takes back to Sanji and helps him drink.

“Come to bed.” Sanji says again, he pats the space beside him, and Zoro only sheds his shoes and overshirt before climbing into the bed with Sanji.

They fall asleep next to each other on top of the blankets, a strange tightness in Zoro’s chest.

Their time in Florida flies by, and that’s probably because Sanji is drunk for most of it. At first it was just because it was fun, but then after Duval let Sanji know he wouldn’t be joining them until Montreal, it was because Sanji was pissed.

So, their week in Florida rolled by in an elongated drunken state, with Sanji leaning on Zoro more and more every day. Sanji was fighting being angry with Duval, and that just meant he was shorter than usual with Zoro.

They haven’t even skated all week. They tried once and Sanji was, admittedly, a massive dick to Zoro, and Zoro had left him on the ice with a hateful glare.

He’s barely talked to Sanji since then, but he’s continued to carry him to bed, make sure Sanji has enough to eat, and has looked after him with a pouty frown on his face.

He takes the window seat on the airplane and stares out at the clouds, chin propped in his hand, eyebrows drawn in angrily. Sanji doesn’t bother him, because getting in a fight on an airplane is just too tacky. Especially since Zoro sprang to seat them in first class. So, when they land in Montreal and climb into their rental car, Sanji isn’t surprised that Zoro continues to ignore him.

“Can we go skate later?” Sanji asks meekly.

Zoro rolls his head to the side and gives Sanji a once over from the passenger seat, the crinkle between his eyebrows doesn’t fade, he might as well gag in disgust with the look he gives Sanji.

“Yeah, I deserve that.” Sanji rubs the back of his neck, “I’m sorry, taking shit out on you isn’t fair.  I’ve been insufferable.”

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry, Zoro. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll try harder.”

Zoro sighs heavily, he drums his pointer finger on his knee in an absent pattern as they wait for the light to change.

“Let’s drop our stuff off first.” Zoro says after a minute has passed, and he doesn’t look over at Sanji again for the rest of the ride.

Sanji holds no delusions, he is not forgiven for his behavior, and he’s going to have to make it up to Zoro somehow. He can do that. He’s spent weeks now telling himself all this shit about being better to Zoro, now’s his chance to put it into practice.

They ride to the hotel in silence, and Sanji sort of zones out while they check in, he follows Zoro into the elevator with his head a thousand miles away. He’s chewing at his thumbnail absently, wondering what the hell has gotten into Duval lately, when Zoro holds a room key out to him.

“Here.”

Sanji takes the key, “What’s this?”

“Your room key.” Zoro says shortly.

“We’re not in a room together?” Sanji asks, belatedly realizing what a dumb question that actually is.

“Look, can we just-“ Zoro cuts himself off and takes a deep breath.

“Got it.” Sanji says, he takes the key from Zoro, “I’m sorry.”

Their rooms are across the hall from each other, and Zoro says, “Fifteen minutes,” over his shoulder as he goes into his room.

Sanji throws his luggage onto the bed and flops down on his face. He groans into the mattress and balls his fist up to strike at the pillows. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” He grumbles.

He flips over and stares at the ceiling. “Okay, just fucking skate, dude.” Sanji says to himself, “You know everything about skating, and that’s all you’re doing with him, anyway. Skating. So, focus up, stop fucking drinking, stop fucking moping over your dumb boyfriend, stop being so mean to Zoro.”

He sits up and goes into the bathroom to slash some water on his face. He changes into some athletic clothes and is stuffing his things in his gym bag when Zoro knocks on the door.

Sanji grabs his bag and joins Zoro in the hallway, “Sorry, I’m ready.”

Zoro leads the way as they ride back down to the lobby and head out to the car in the parking lot. He puts the address for the rink Charlotte found in his GPS and begins the drive.

“Coffee?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Sanji agrees, so Zoro finds a shop along the way. Once he’s downed half of his first iced coffee, Zoro’s shoulders relax.

He turns on the radio and finds a station playing 90’s R&B music, and he’s bobbing his head after just a few minutes.

“Whatever happened to music like this?” Zoro muses after a few minutes.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, music where the dude is just foaming at the mouth, down on his knees, crying in the rain, horny as fuck. Some guy who would crawl through five miles of broken glass just to sniff your pillowcase.”

Sanji barks out an unexpected laugh, “Need me a man like that.”

Zoro grins, “For real, though, all modern music is about how the guys are getting chased but refuse to get tied down.”

“So you’re saying dudes need to be more horny?”

“Yeah, bring back horny men.”

Sanji laughs again, shaking his head in amusement, “When’s the last time you were on a dating app?”

“Ew, gross, never.”

“Okay, well take my word for it, there’s plenty of horny men out there.”

“No, they’re thirsty. It’s different. Horny has longing behind it, you know?”

“Yearning, Zoro, you mean men need to bring back yearning.”

“Eh, tomato, toma-toh.”

Sanji grins as they pull into the ice complex parking lot, and Zoro waits for the song to end before he turns off the car. He grabs both of his iced coffees and nods towards the arena. “Let’s go.”

He still won’t make eye contact with Sanji, but at least he isn’t so visibly tense anymore. Maybe he’d been overstimulated from traveling, too, in addition to taking care of drunk Sanji for the past five days. 

Once inside, they change into their skates and begin their warmups in relative silence. Zoro wears his headphones and warms up independently from Sanji.

Once his muscles are lax, Zoro begins working on a jump sequence from their free skate. They’ve decided to raise their arms, and Sanji is glad they did, Zoro’s upper body is so muscular that lifting his arms is a thing of beauty itself, so seeing him move so elegantly is impossible to look away from. Charlotte sent Sanji a video of their short program a few days ago, and Sanji has watched it on a loop since then. Even he can’t take his eyes off Zoro while they’re skating, and their chemistry comes through even on video.

Once he’s loose and feeling more centered, Sanji joins Zoro in practicing their jump sequence. They still don’t talk, and Zoro still wears his headphones, but he does take Sanji close and do some of their other skills with him.

A toss, a lift, a throw jump they’ve struggled a bit with.

It’s part of their free skate, and it seems like they can’t figure out the momentum required for Sanji to get all his rotations without falling on the landing.

Today is no different, and Sanji falls the first four times they attempt the skill.

Zoro doesn’t attempt a fifth time, instead he grabs Sanji’s waist and hoists him into their most complicated lift. He’s finally got his hand placement down, and it doesn’t seem as taxing to hold Sanji up with one arm anymore. The lift goes smoothly, and Zoro shifts his arms to bring Sanji back down.

Sanji wraps his legs around Zoro’s neck, stretches his spine, moves his arms in time with the music. Zoro’s hands grip his hips, and Sanji does a complicated dismount, one where he moves his legs multiple times before returning to the ice.

It always felt scary to trust past partners in moves like this, but with Zoro, it’s as safe as anything has ever felt. His grip and his strength never waver as he holds Sanji through a graceful return to the ice. The momentum feels great, and so Sanji drops, he glides smoothly on one knee, spine stretching, head tipping back, but it certainly takes Zoro by surprise.

Zoro stumbles a little, catching himself on one toe pick, then he's quick to catch one of Sanji’s hands and whip him back around. Sanji returns to his feet, Zoro’s hand on his waist, their eyes locked.

Zoro stops, pulling Sanji to a stop as well, and he reaches up to pull one earbud out. “That scared me, I thought I’d done something wrong.”

Sanji shakes his head, “No, it just felt right. I’m sorry, that would have startled me, too.”

“I mean, it was, like, really sexy. Is that something we can do?”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, it is.”

Zoro pulls his other earbud out and shoves them in his pocket. “Wanna try the throw again?”

Sanji nods, so they start skating again. It’s a bit slower than normal this time, so Sanji is still in the middle of his fourth rotation when his skate hits the ice again. Gravity carries him the rest of the way down, nearly knocking the air out of him as his side hits the ice and he lets himself slide for a few feet.

“Fuck!” Zoro skates after him, dropping to his knees and grabbing Sanji by the shoulder. “You okay? That was too slow, fuck, I’m sorry.”

Sanji nods, he brushes the ice off his left arm, “It’s okay, I knew it was too slow and still tried anyway. I’m sorry.”

“Can you stop saying that?”

Sanji looks up and meets Zoro’s gaze, there’s a thin frown pressed onto his lips.

“I’m not mad anymore, okay? So get off those stupid eggshells and go back to being a dick to me.”

Sanji snorts, he holds his hand out to Zoro and Zoro pulls him up off the ice. “I won’t say it again, but I mean it. I’ve been the worst, and it isn’t your fault.”

“No, your stupid boyfriend is being-“ Zoro cuts himself off and sighs shortly, “Stupid. Men are so stupid.”

Sanji grins, he nods, “Yeah, we really are.”

It’s easy after that, and after an hour or so, the tension between them is completely gone.

“So?” Zoro asks as they change out of their skates, “What’s the verdict on your stupid boyfriend? Is he coming or not?”

“Yeah, his flight lands at 8.” Sanji says, he checks his watch, “If he’s not on that plane, I’ll strangle him.”

Zoro nods, “Understandable.”

They workout and shower before heading out, and they decide to have dinner before returning to the hotel.

They’re at the restaurant and enjoying dinner when Sanji notices someone give Zoro a dirty look. Zoro doesn’t even seem to notice, he just continues to eat and chat casually.

“Why does it feel like some of these people hate you?” Sanji asks quietly, leaning towards Zoro across the table.

“Well, it’s cup season, and hockey people know who I am.” Zoro says with a shrug. “Game three and four are tough, especially since we took the first two. We only need to lose here once to push to game five. So they’re hoping to have home advantage here, no different than we had back in Florida.”

It’s easy to forget sometimes, since Sanji simply thinks of Zoro as Zoro, his idiot partner who sometimes still gets lost trying to find Sanji’s apartment. But this man is a professional athlete, a well-known one, at that. He’s been playing for a long time, and his skill is mindboggling, he’s even been to the Olympics.

“I wish you could play.” Sanji says without thinking better of it, and he nearly slaps his hand over his mouth as Zoro looks up at him with a wry smile.

“You and me both, bud.”

“That was so rude, I’m so-“

“Ah! There’s that word again. Did you even know those words a few days ago? What has gotten into you, man?” Zoro shakes his head, his smile grows warm, “Besides, I’m happy where I am. I love skating with you, I love the new home I’ve found in figure skating.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.” Sanji says with a soft smile, “I am, too.” He takes a sip from his cocktail and sighs. “This shit with Duval has me all fucked up, I don’t know what else to do.”

Zoro shrugs, “Dump him.”

Sanji laughs shortly, “Yeah, I know, I've been avoiding that outcome.” His eyes trail off into the middle distance and he pushes his fork around through his food. “Zoro, you know… what happened with my family ruined me, and Duval helped me back up. He never left my side, not even when I was truly at my wits end.”

Zoro hums, “I get it.”

“Why don’t you ever ask about that?”

“About what?”

“About my family.”

Zoro lifts one shoulder, “Didn’t really seem like my place, at first, I guess. Lately it just seems like you have a lot on your plate already, I haven't wanted to overwhelm you by prying into your past."

It might be easier to tell Zoro about it if he did pry into Sanji's past, or even if he expressed an interest in it. But Sanji supposes the silent politeness is more in line with Zoro’s character, and Sanji will eventually have to come out and say it.

Not because it matters to them, but because it matters to Sanji, and he’s come to see that he matters to Zoro. Zoro cares about him, and Sanji is grateful for this man’s presence in his life.

“It’s probably on the internet.” Sanji says, “I mean, we weren’t on the ice, but we were at the kiss and cry, and Judge had some shit to say under his breath, and I fucking snapped. It had been building for years, and I was coming undone under the pressure. But I fumbled a triple loop, and Niji dropped me on a lift, so we were already on edge.”

“Hope you hit him.” Zoro says with a smirk, and Sanji can only laugh softly.

“No, I never managed that. Would have been cool, though.”

“You can hit me if I drop you, you can even do it on the ice. In fact, I love getting hit on the ice.”

Sanji rolls his eyes, “No, we’re gonna win together. I’ll hit you at the kiss and cry.”

“Is that really what it’s called? The little bench after you skate?”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, and I almost always cry, so prepare yourself.”

Their dinner passes quickly, with them bantering and teasing each other like they always do, and Sanji feels worlds better as they head back to the hotel. Zoro heads to the gym for yet another workout and Sanji awaits Duval’s arrival.

It’s a little after 8:30 when the phone rings and Duval’s smooth voice comes through the phone, complaining about a couple breaking up in the seats next to him, and Sanji feels relief flood through him once more.

He’s upset with Duval right now, no doubt about it, but he’s still grateful for this man. So, upset or not, Sanji still jogs across the parking lot and jumps on his boyfriend once he arrives at the hotel. Duval showers him with kisses and apologizes for missing Florida, and he takes Sanji back to the hotel room and begins the process of making up for it.

The next day is game day, and Zoro spends the day skating with Sanji. They figure out the throw, and they add a new combo spin during their second choreo sequence.

Sanji’s eyes find Duval in the seats while they’re practicing, and he wonders how his boyfriend feels at seeing Sanji pressed against Zoro like this. There’s no real love between the partners, if Duval is bothered by the partnership, it doesn’t show. He spends most of the day on his phone and laptop, still working even so far from work.

He likes Zoro, too, spends their lunch break talking hockey with the winger. Duval joins them in the gym after their practice, and he sticks close to Zoro for the entirety of their workout. Zoro heads to be with the team after their workout, and Sanji and Duval go to dinner together before heading to the game.

Sanji manages to bite his tongue through dinner, but they’re sitting in traffic as they approach the arena, and the song on the radio is lame, so Sanji can’t help himself.

“Does it bother you to see me skate with Zoro?”

Duval turns to look at him with an eyebrow cocked, “Huh?”

“Like, does it make you jealous?”

Duval chuckles softly, “It makes me jealous of you, but that’s not what you’re asking.”

Sanji swats at Duval playfully, “I mean, my old partner was my brother. This program is pretty hot, I was just wondering if it bothered you to see me and Zoro all over each other.”

“Sanji, you’re a professional figure skater. This program is sexy because of you, because of how amazing you look. I mean, your hands alone are insane. The artistry you put into these performances is amazing to me. It gives me chills to watch you skate, and it always has.” Duval reaches across the console and squeezes Sanji’s thigh. “Now, I wouldn’t want to see you and Zoro all over each other off the ice, but on the ice he’s just your partner, and he's doing everything he can to make you look good.”

Sanji lays his hand over Duval’s, “What about our friendship off the ice?”

Duval hums softly, “You lean on him a lot, he’s definitely the one you go to for emotional support. But it’s been five months and you haven’t left me for him, so I don’t think you’ll wake up tomorrow and be head over heels in love with him or anything.”

Sanji lifts Duval’s hand and kisses his knuckles, “I’m sorry, I’ll lean on you more. There’s been distance between us for weeks now, but maybe that’s my fault as much as yours.”

Duval runs his fingers through Sanji’s hair, “It’s not anyone's fault, we’re just both really busy right now.”

At the rink, they make their way to the private box with rowdy crowds of people. Metallica plays over the PA at the rink and it seems like everyone sings along, filing to their seats with their overpriced beer.

Sanji isn’t totally comfortable with this crowd yet, but he can see why people love it so much. The game is rough, and so is the crowd, but that’s exactly the appeal.

In the box, Sanji immediately recognizes some of the people, and is overjoyed to find Robin seated beside Zoro and Chopper.

“Robin dear! When did you get in?” Sanji reaches to squeeze her hands.

She smiles warmly at him, “Hello, Sanji, I just got in a few hours ago.”

“Sanji! Sit down with us!” Chopper demands, and he makes Zoro scoot down to make room for Sanji and Duval. Sanji cozies up to the seat next to Chopper and smiles over at the child.

“Whatcha doing?”

“I just did a scratch-off with Zoro!” Chopper exclaims proudly.

“Ah, what a wonderful influence he’s being.” Sanji smiles over his shoulder at Zoro.

Zoro is leaning easily against Duval’s side, smiling broadly at Chopper. “It’s a tradition.”

Chopper clenches his fists and nods emphatically, “It’s why we’re gonna win tonight!”

Zoro leans over the others to give Chopper a high five, “Damn straight, Chop!”

“What’s yours, Duval? Not washing your jersey?” Sanji pokes his boyfriend’s arm playfully.

“Well, that only works for the Eagles.”  Duval explains.

The game starts shortly after and something catches Sanji’s eye.

Do Duval and Zoro seem weirdly closer than before? In fact, hasn’t Duval spent more time with Zoro than Sanji since arriving here?

Sanji finds his gaze singled in on Duval’s back, it feels like time slows down around him, his heart turns over in his chest.

Why the hell is Duval being so weird lately?

Why does he ignore Sanji entirely some days? Why does he always seem to have convenient excuses for his prolonged absences and silence? Why does he treat Sanji to things like he feels guilty?

Why does he seem so on edge sometimes when they’re alone?

Sanji’s heart throbs. He drains his bottle of water and makes himself take ten deep breaths.

His ears stop ringing and he glances over to where Chopper is playing Minecraft on his tablet.

“This not exciting enough for you?” Sanji nudges Chopper with his shoulder.

Chopper shrugs, “It’s fun, but we’re already winning a lot.”

Sanji chuckles softly, the kid has a point. Call it traditions or whatever else, but Zoro and Chopper’s pre-game confidence is well placed.

They’re up 6-0 right now, and Sanji has learned that’s a pretty big deficit. Still, Zoro and Duval seem pretty excited, arms around each other’s shoulders as they watch the game.

Sanji enjoys the rest of the night, it’s nice to watch Zoro sprint onto the ice with his team after they win, and it’s nice that Duval gets sloppy drunk and hilarious. Sanji still can’t shake those suspicions, even as he pulls his boyfriend’s shoes off and helps him into bed at the end of the night.

“You sure are drunk, huh?” Sanji combs his fingers through Duval’s bangs.

“Like you last week.” Duval says, eyes closed, body going lax by the second.

“Jerk, I was drunk ‘cause my boyfriend keeps blowing me off and being a total dick.” Sanji flicks Duval’s neck and stands up.

“Aw, baby, I was just kiddin’, come lay down.” Duval whines, and Sanji kisses his forehead.

“I’m gonna wash up, I’ll be right out.” Sanji tells him, and Duval nods.

When Sanji comes back to the room a few minutes later, Duval is snoring steadily. Sanji curls in bed beside him and tries to shake off the nerves, but he doesn’t sleep at all that night. Duval's increasingly strange behavior is getting harder and harder to ignore, his flakiness has gone from annoying to an actual issue, and the way he tries to blame Sanji for everything is getting really, really old. It's not just a red flag, it's straight up toxic, it's not funny anymore.

Sanji gets out of bed at 4:15, dresses in his athletic clothes, and slips out of the hotel room, he needs to clear his mind, he needs to refocus. 

He’s closing the door behind him as quietly as he can when the door across the hall whips open and Zoro steps out. They both jump at the sight of the other, a shock that stills them both in their tracks for a moment.

Zoro breaks first, rolling his eyes and closing his door, “You scared the shit out of me.”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“What are you doing?” Zoro asks, he turns towards the elevators and begins walking.

“Can’t sleep, was gonna go for a jog or something. What about you?”

Zoro runs a hand through his hair, “I was gonna go skate.”

“Oh.” Sanji says, he hadn’t been expecting that answer. “Mind if I come?”

Zoro clears his throat, “No, that’s fine.”

So they get in Zoro’s rental and grab coffee before driving to the rink in the early hours of the dark summer morning.

“So when do we start?” Zoro asks, “Competitions confuse me.”

“We’ll start competing in August. I figure we’ll do a B competition or two, just to get a feel for skating together. Those points don’t really count either way, so even if we bomb, it’s fine.” Sanji explains. “Zeff thinks our best bet will be to do the Challenger series and then go for Championships. I always grew up skating the Grand Prix and the Championships, but the Grand Prix would be hard for us at this point.”

“Are you worried about me?” Zoro asks.

“No, I’m not worried about you, but you’re an unproven skater, and we’re a new pairing. We aren’t carrying over scores from last season, so we have to start somewhere.”

Zoro nods, “Okay, and when they see that we kick ass, we can skate whatever we want.”

Sanji laughs, “Basically, yeah.”

“Hell yeah.” Zoro nods proudly, and he keeps that look of pride as they pull up to the rink and Zoro lets them in a side door with a code that he won’t tell Sanji how he got it.

He looks proud as they warmup and he looks proud as he begins practicing a sit spin.

Sanji starts trying a new twist into a spin, one that’s dramatic and has a lot of flair on it. He can kick his toe picks down and spray ice when he switches feet, and it feels cool.

“Hey, dumb question.” Zoro says, he skates across the ice and stops a few feet from where Sanji is spinning.

Sanji stops, “Let’s hear it.” He says with a grin.

“Do we do the same program the whole time?” Zoro asks.

Sanji shrugs, “We can, yeah. We don’t have to, though. My recommendation would be that we do one program for the Challenger series and then a different program if we make it to Nationals.”

“When we make it, you mean.” Zoro corrects him, and Sanji smiles warmly.

“Yes, you’re right.” He nods in agreement.

“Well, when we make it to Nationals, we should do your program.”

“My program?”

Zoro nods, “Yeah, the one I saw you do the first time I saw you skate.”

“Oh, I call it my rebel skate.” Sanji says with a shy laugh, “It’s not really a program, and I’ve never skated with another person to that song.”

Zoro shrugs, “So? Make it a program, tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“I don’t know…” Sanji trails off, “I came up with that choreo as an outlet, like a cathartic thing, you know? It was just a bunch of skills I was never allowed to do, so it was sort of just for me.”

Zoro hums, “I got ya. Well, I won’t push for it, but it’d be nice to see you do things you weren’t allowed to do. I like it when you rebel.”

Sanji nods shallowly, and he watches Zoro’s back as he skates away and begins doing a jump sequence. Emotions overwhelm him all at once, everything he's bottled up for the past five months rises like an eruption, he nearly blurts out everything about his past, his brothers, his father, his mother. He nearly sprints across the ice and begs Zoro to see him and understand him and know what he’s been through. Words build like bile in the back of his throat, and it’s all he can do to choke it back.

“I think Duval is cheating on me.”

Zoro turns around sharply, “What? No way, that dude is obsessed with you.”

“No, I mean it. His behavior over the past few months has been weird as hell, and he’s always making excuses and avoiding being alone with me. He’s always on his phone, he doesn’t make time for me anymore, we go weeks without having sex.” Sanji lists off, “I couldn’t sleep at all last night, it’s driving me crazy.”

Zoro purses his lips, “Damn.” He murmurs, “What are you gonna do?”

Sanji shakes his head, “I don’t know, I mean… I’ve never dealt with something like this before.” He swallows thickly and all at once the emotions he had shoved down the previous night crescendo. He’s exhausted from a lack of sleep, he’s overwhelmed by the thoughts he's been chasing in a circle, and he’s terrified of losing Duval. “What if I’m not good enough for him?” his voice wobbles and he sobs softly, letting the first of hot tears streak down his cheeks.

Zoro crosses the ice quickly, he wraps his arms around Sanji and pulls him close, “Shh, stop that. If he’s cheating on you, then he’s not good enough for you.”

“What did I do wrong?” Sanji clutches his hands together against his chest and buries his face against Zoro’s shoulder.

“Sanji, no. You haven’t done anything wrong, this isn’t your fault.” Zoro assures him softly, he rubs his hands up and down Sanji’s back, rests his cheek to the top of Sanji’s head and envelops him in the most comforting embrace Sanji has ever experienced.

“I don’t want to lose him, he’s been there for me through so much.” Sanji shudders as he weeps, shoulders shaking, and Zoro squeezes him tighter.

“Then you need to talk to him, not just assume the worst. If he matters to you, then don’t give up. Don’t let him avoid you, be annoying, be needy, be an asshole if you have to. Fight for him if that’s what you want.” Zoro says firmly, he rocks them gently in place, keeping Sanji pressed firmly to his chest. He holds Sanji until Sanji calms down and pushes back from him. Zoro frowns as he looks at Sanji, he tuts softly.

“You look like shit.” He pulls Sanji off the ice and they sit on a bench at the edge of the rink, Zoro offers Sanji his spare iced coffee. It’s far too sweet, and the triple shot of espresso always makes Sanji’s hands jittery. He drinks it anyway, because it’s Zoro’s way of feeling better, and he’s clearly just trying to look out for Sanji.

“My mom would always drink her coffee cold.” Sanji says after they’ve been sitting there for a few minutes. “She’d make a big cup in the morning and she’d just nurse it all day long. Take tiny little sips of the cold coffee, I always remember that smell. Looking back I realize she was probably just trying to avoid our father, otherwise she probably would have warmed it back up.”

Zoro hums softly, “I don’t remember my mom very much, they both died when I was 5. They both drank coffee, I remember smelling it first thing in the morning, but that’s all I know about that.”

“I was 13 when my mom died, and I know it wasn’t her fault, but it ruined my life. I was so angry for so long after that, if it weren’t for Zeff, who knows what I would have done.” Sanji says, he traces one finger through the condensation on the side of the cup. “I just missed her, and it was so hard once she was gone, I didn’t realize how selfish and bitter I was until I was much older.”

Zoro nods slowly, “I spent probably three years refusing to even accept that Kuina was gone, so I just never went through any sort of grief. I stayed stuck in denial until I went to Florida, and I woke up one day angrier than I had ever been in my entire life. It all hit me at once after that, and it made me bitter for months.” Zoro pauses for a moment. “Chopper was just a little boy, three, maybe four years old. I might have lost myself if it weren’t for him.”

Sanji leans back and sighs heavily, “Jeez, this sucks.” He groans.

Zoro snorts, “Yeah, your life kinda blows.”

Sanji laughs shortly, “So does yours.” He leans back and heaves another heavy sigh, “Alright, enough moping. Don’t you ever get sick of me?” Sanji stands and stretches after throwing the question away like it means nothing.

“Haven’t yet, but keep trying.” Zoro says in response, and he joins Sanji on the ice once more. They skate with renewed energy until a little after 7, and then Zoro drives them back to the hotel. They part in the hallway, and Sanji leans on his door once it closes behind him.

He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, thankful for the idiot jock once more, and then he pushes himself into the room.

Duval is still sleeping soundly, and Sanji joins him in bed once more, dropping off to sleep in a matter of minutes once he’s curled in the sheets.

They sleep in a bit, so it’s after 10:30 when they drag themselves out of bed, and Duval suggests they get brunch, so he goes to invite Zoro while Sanji gets dressed.

Zoro seems quiet as they drive to the restaurant together, he reclines in the backseat and doesn’t talk much, even with Duval chattering at him. Is he being cold because of what Sanji said to him earlier? Is Zoro sizing Duval up and trying to decide if he’s cheating on Sanji?

Surely he’s not that much of a jerk, right? Sanji knows Zoro is capable of being a massive dick, it’s the only way he’s managed to keep up with Sanji after all this time. But just taking Sanji’s suspicions to heart and being rude to the man who has become one of his closest friends? Surely, Zoro is above that.

When they get to the restaurant and are seated, Duval excuses himself outside to take a phone call, and Zoro leans as far back in his seat as he can.

“You’re right, he’s on his phone a lot.” Zoro says with a soft groan, he tips his head back and drags in a deep breath.

“Right? He’s being so weird…” Sanji chews at his thumbnail and stares at Duval’s back through the windows. “Do you think-“ Sanji cuts himself off when he turns to look at Zoro. There’s a fine sheen of sweat covering Zoro’s forehead, his jaw is clenched tight, his breathing seems shallow and labored.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sanji asks, he reaches out and touches Zoro’s forearm gently.

Zoro shakes his head, “Just my stomach, it’ll be better after I get some food and coffee.”

Sanji nods, pressing his lips together thinly, Zoro’s in visible pain, and it makes Sanji’s chest tight to see.

When he was younger, getting hurt or sick was basically taboo. Sanji wouldn’t have been allowed to rest, no matter what, so he’d learned to hide his own pain and ailments well at a young age. Seeing people expressing pain so clearly always makes Sanji’s stomach roll, he’s just not used to it, and he has no idea how to help, so it makes him uncomfortable.

Sanji grabs one of the water glasses off the table and passes it to Zoro with a frown, “Do you need anything?” He asks, and Zoro shakes his head shortly as he sips at the water.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” He says, he pushes back from the table and hobbles towards the restroom, one hand pressed into the middle of his stomach.

Sanji has never seen Zoro not feel well, he doesn’t even seem to get hungover after drinking excessively, he’s never even complained about his feet hurting or a headache or anything.

Duval comes back inside a few minutes later, cocking an eyebrow, “Where’s Zoro?”

“He’s not feeling well, like, he looks like shit.” Sanji says with a frown. “He seemed fine earlier, and he was fine last night, so hopefully this passes quickly.”

Duval hums, “Is he in the bathroom? Should we check on him?”

Sanji nods and checks his watch, “It’s only been a few minutes.”

Duval sits beside Sanji and leans over to kiss his temple, “It’s cute to see you worry about him, you know? You had your heart set on hating him, so it’s nice that you decided to let him into your life.”

“Whatever, he’s still a meathead jock.” Sanji grumbles. “Besides, I didn’t want to hate him, he just made it easy to.”

Duval laughs, “He’s a great guy, you can admit it.” He pokes Sanji’s ribs and teases him for a few more minutes until Zoro joins them again.

He looks slightly better, and he’s able to sit up straight, so Sanji and Duval don’t hover and worry about him loudly the way they both want to. They both keep an eye glued to Zoro throughout the meal, and they’re both reluctant when Zoro suggests they go practice for a few hours after eating.

Still, Duval drives them all to the hotel to gather their things and then takes them to the rink. Duval sits at the edge of the rink and works, still keeping an eye on the ice as Sanji and Zoro warm up.

Zoro seems slower than usual today, and he’s clearly pushing himself unnecessarily. Sanji skates over to him and grabs his arm.

“Hey.”

Zoro’s pupils are dilated, his breathing shallow again, his jaw is set firmly, nostrils flared as he tries to breathe steadily.

“Do you need to go to the ER?” Sanji asks quietly, “You need to be honest with me.”

Zoro shakes his head, “No, just give me a few minutes.”

Sanji nods after watching Zoro for a moment, “Okay, but I’m not doing lifts, or tosses, or spirals with you today.”

Zoro cuts him a glare, which is intensified by how gruesome his face looks right now anyway, and Sanji has to smother the instinct to laugh. He's gotten so used to picking at Zoro this way, but this is different than sore ankles or a gnarly fall, something is truly wrong with Zoro right now.

“I told you I’m fine.”

“Okay, then I’m not fine. My ankle hurts, I’ve got a headache, my left big toe is cramping, my hair looks bad, I'm just not feelin' it today.”

Zoro holds a hand up and sighs softly.

“I won’t make you get off the ice, but don’t stay out here because of me, alright?” Sanji squeezes his shoulder and then turns and skates away. When he passes by Duval, they exchange worried looks, and Sanji goes back to practicing a new twist he’s attempting.

Zoro powers through, but he’s clearly lethargic and struggling, his stamina is severely reduced, too. Still, for three hours, the idiot lumbers through training and doesn’t admit that he’s even in pain.

Sanji does some things with him, some choreography and step sequences, and they do two side-by-side jumps until Sanji can’t stand it and makes up more excuses for why he won’t do the jumps again. He just can’t listen to Zoro’s labored breathing for one second further, and he decides they should break for lunch.

Zoro goes to one of the empty benches and lays on his stomach for the entire hour, he nearly dozes off twice, but Sanji can see the moment the pain intensifies and keeps him awake both times. Duval and Sanji are mostly quiet as they share lunch and watch Zoro nervously.

“He’s not okay.” Duval says after a while.

 “No, he’s not.”

“How do we get him to see that?” Duval ponders, “Maybe Luffy or Ace?”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, but they were filming something with ESPN this afternoon, I don’t want to bother them.”

Duval hums, “Why can’t you just tell him to take care of himself?”

“We don’t listen to each other, Duval, it’s basically the cornerstone of our partnership.”

“Well, will he listen to me? I can’t stand to see him like this.”

Sanji shrugs, “I doubt it, his head is totally full of rocks.”

Duval nods with a sigh, “At least they’re the pretty shiny rocks.”

“Ooh, like the ones in the gift shops?”

“Yes! I always wanted to eat those by the handful.”

They laugh together softly, and the pang in Sanji’s chest eases slightly. Maybe Zoro is right, maybe Duval is too obsessed with Sanji to cheat on him. Maybe he’s worrying about nothing, and he should just have a conversation with a man who has become very important to him.

“Hey, lately I’ve been worr-“

Zoro suddenly pushes himself off the bench and stumbles out of the rink, hacking and gagging like he’s about to puke. Duval and Sanji are both on their feet a second later, Sanji’s conversation totally forgotten and both of them only concerned with Zoro’s wellbeing. They follow Zoro to the outside exit, and Duval holds his hand up.

“Stay here, he might get sick. I’ll keep an eye on him.” Duval says softly, he sends Sanji a worried frown before stepping outside.

Even that, Duval knowing Sanji’s aversion to seeing people get sick, a small consideration given to him by someone who knows and loves him. He feels so foolish all at once, like he can’t even believe he was concerned about Duval stepping out on him. This guy wouldn’t, he’s stuck by Sanji through worse things than Sanji sorting his life out. No way he’d throw away their relationship, no way he'd do something like that to Sanji while knowing everything Sanji has just lived through and gotten away from.

Sanji paces nervously at the exit door, gnawing at his thumbnail until his finger is sore. Why won’t Zoro just admit he doesn’t feel good and go rest? He’s so goddamned stubborn, but this is just ridiculous.

Duval comes back inside 15 minutes later and pats Sanji on the shoulder. “Just talked to Law, he’s coming to get Zoro.”

“Is he okay?” Sanji asks, eyes darting over Duval’s shoulder.

“No way, but he insists that he is.” Duval shrugs, “Maybe Law can talk some sense into him.”

“Did he get sick?”

Duval nods, “Yeah, I think it’s the pain getting to him.”

Sanji sighs, “Okay, let’s get his stuff together.”

Duval helps Sanji gather Zoro’s things, and he sits outside with Zoro until Law arrives. With Zoro sent away with someone with a brain, Duval returns to the rink and his work, and Sanji returns to skating.

A while passes before Duval comes and leans on the boards, “I can’t focus.” He says when Sanji skates past him.

Sanji nearly has the twist move down, and his left side is only mildly damp from him falling repeatedly. It’s been so long since he skated without Zoro, and he’s gotten used to a partner who seems to be a pro at keeping Sanji from falling.

“I know, I can’t either. I should have landed this by now.” Sanji says with a frown; he stops in front of Duval and intertwines their fingers.

“Haven’t seen you skate by yourself in forever.” Duval says, he squeezes Sanji’s hand, “You look so lonely out there.”

Sanji smiles and tugs at Duval’s hand, “Join me, I’d be less lonely with my boyfriend by my side.”

Duval nods, a soft smile on his lips, “I know just the guy to help you out.”

So, a few minutes later he’s holding Sanji’s hand and pulling him around too fast, both of them laughing. He ignores his phone ringing; his eyes stay glued to Sanji like it would physically pain him to look away. He compliments Sanji’s skating and calls him pet names and kisses his hair sweetly. They skate around and hold onto each other like this for a while, and Sanji finally comes out with it.

“I’ve been worried that you’re cheating on me.” Sanji says.

Duval frames his face and looks at him seriously, “What?”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, I guess I feel kinda silly about it now. But I didn’t even sleep last night, just stayed up and worried.”

Duval frowns deeply, “Sanji, of course not. Why would I do that to you?”

“You wouldn’t.” he shakes his head, “I’m sorry I felt that way.”

“No, hey,” Duval tucks Sanji’s head under his chin and wraps him up tight, “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I’ve not been as attentive or present as I need to be lately, and I guess I told myself you’d be okay because you have Zoro.”

“But that’s Zoro, baby, I want you.”

Duval kisses the top of his head and rocks him back and forth, “I hear you, I’m so sorry.”

Sanji immediately feels better than he has in weeks, and he silently thanks Zoro for his surprisingly good advice. Talking to Duval was the answer, not fretting or growing unnecessarily suspicious. Just a conversation that’s worth having to preserve a relationship worth fighting for. It's not like it was even some long, drawn out, painful conversation either. Sanji got straight to the point, and Duval didn't hesitate to assure Sanji and ease his worries in just a few words. Still, after their talk on the ice, Sanji is drained and ready for a nap, so Duval takes them back to the hotel.

Zoro hasn’t returned, so Sanji and Duval lay down to nap for a while. Sanji wakes a few hours later to Duval pacing up and down the hotel room, his laptop balanced precariously in one hand, his phone cradled against his shoulder. He’s cursing the person on the other end of the line, using language Sanji has never heard cross Duval’s lips. He’s harsh, stern, frowning a lot. Maybe Sanji has never actually seen Duval work before, he ponders as he watches his boyfriend. Maybe Duval staying in his office and taking his calls outside was a way of keeping his work and personal life separate.

It’s actually kind of sweet when Sanji thinks about it that way. Duval didn’t want Sanji to see that he’s secretly an asshole to his coworkers.

“No, Jacob, I might actually beat you with a 9 iron when I see you next time.” Duval says, he sets the computer down and pinches the bridge of his nose, “You really can’t fucking deal with this yourself?”

Duval pauses and allows the other person to speak for a few seconds before cutting them off, “Dude, I’m in fucking Canada with my boyfriend for game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, think really hard about the next words out of your mouth.”

Duval only lets the guy get a few words out before hanging up on him and throwing his phone to the head of the bed with a frustrated groan. He covers his face with both hands and lets out a long breath. “I’m sorry, I don’t want you to see me like that.”

Sanji smiles a little, “It’s okay, it’s kinda hot.”

Duval drops his hands and laughs softly, “These people are so fucking stupid, babe.” He flops across the bed and groans. “They need me to come back.”

Sanji frowns, “What? Now?”

Duval nods, “Yep.”

“They’re joking.”

“I so wish they were, baby.”

Sanji runs his fingers through Duval’s hair, “Want me to break your leg or something? That might buy you some time.”

“No thanks, Tonya Harding.” Duval rolls to his back and cocks his neck to look at Sanji, “I don’t suppose you want to go home with me.”

Sanji smiles, he runs his fingers down Duval’s cheek and cradles his jaw, “I’d love to, actually.”

Duval sits up and grins, “Okay.” He hugs Sanji tightly and kisses his hair, “Then I selfishly want you to come home with me, please.”

Sanji hugs him back and chuckles, “I selfishly accept your invitation.”

“Okay, let me call Jacob and make him feel like shit some more. Could you get us on the next flight back to Denver?”

Sanji nods and grabs his phone, he’s got them on a 6:00 flight within a few minutes, then he gets up and begins packing their things.

Duval tries to call Zoro once he’s done with his work call, but it goes to voicemail.

“I guess I’ll just text him.” Duval shrugs, and he messages Zoro to let him know what’s going on.

It feels rebellious and fun as Sanji and Duval run through the terminal to make their flight on time. They’re breathless as they take their seats, and Duval leans over to kiss Sanji with a smile on his face. They share a pair of earbuds and watch two movies on the way home, drinking tiny cocktails and teasing each other easily.

When they get back to Duval’s apartment late that night, it’s easy to fall into bed together and feel good. It’s easy to curl in Duval’s arms, sated and feeling reassured, and it’s easy to sleep peacefully.

Sanji is still technically on vacation, so he sleeps in the next morning after Duval leaves for work. He wakes up and takes a long shower, then makes a decadent breakfast that he eats on the balcony.

After Sanji cleans up from breakfast, he goes and gets his phone off the charger in the bedroom, and he’s got a missed call from Zoro.

It’s from last night, and he texted Sanji right after calling.

“Just making sure you guys made it back safely. We lost tonight in overtime, so it’s back to Florida for game five.” Then there’s seven sad face emojis, and Sanji can’t help but smile. He already knew the guys had lost, and he’d already mourned with Duval over it. Zoro doesn’t mention his own well-being in the message, so Sanji calls him.

He answers on the third ring, sounding half-asleep. “H’lo?”

“Good morning, sunshine. How do you feel?”

Zoro groans, “Sad.”

“Not about hockey, genius, how does your body feel?” Sanji rolls his eyes and begins making up the bed and picking up the clothes strewn across the room.

“Sad.” Zoro says again, and Sanji huffs in amused frustration.

“Hurts still.” Zoro answers, his voice still sounds strained, and Sanji wonders if he was sleeping after all. Maybe he’s still in pain like he was the day prior.

Listening harder, Sanji can hear noise in the background, “Where are you?”

“Airport, we’re headed back to Florida.” He answers, he grunts softly and tries to repress the noise.

“Did you go to the doctor?” Sanji asks with a frown.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Dude, you are not fine! Will you please stop being so stubborn about this?” Sanji grabs the empty glass off the bedside table and begins walking towards the kitchen with it.

“It’s like, if I could just take a huge shit, I’d feel better.”

Sanji groans, “Gross, man!”

“What? It’s the truth!” Zoro laughs a little, and then groans.

“Hey, you know, that actually sounds like it could-“

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep.

The electronic lock slides out of place on the front door, and Sanji stops in the living room and turns to look at the door. He wasn’t expecting Duval to be back so soon, but what a pleasant surprise!

The front door swings open and, arms laden with various bags, a woman steps into the apartment.

Sanji feels his spine turn to steel, his blood runs cold, every muscle, tendon, nerve in his body immediately set on edge. Alarms go off in his head, every single one of them, every single moment that Duval was weird starts flashing before Sanji's eyes.

The woman freezes after a few steps, she stares at Sanji, then smiles bright and friendly. She doesn’t seem to think anything is very strange

“Hi there,” she tilts her head to the side and squints her eyes in a friendly motion.

“Can I help you?” Sanji asks slowly, his voice feels like molasses on a frigid winter morning. His brain is running in overdrive, but every motion and breath feels painfully slow.

“Sanji?” Zoro asks on the other end of the phone. His voice is distant and far away, Sanji doesn’t really hear him.

“I’m Amelia, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was here while Duval was gone.”

His name comes off her lips easily, gracefully, like she’s familiar with the way it tastes. Sanji’s heart slams into the back of his ribs like it’s trying to claw out, tearing through muscle and bone, the pieces all start clicking into place faster than Sanji even processes.

She drops her armload of stuff on the couch like she’s done so a thousand times before.

“Sanji? What’s happening?” Zoro’s voice is concerned, as warm as if he was beside Sanji right now.

Sanji just ends the call and drops his arm to his side. “Who are you?”

She blinks in confusion, “Amelia, has Duval not told you about me? He’s my boyfriend.”

The floor falls out from under Sanji entirely, he doesn’t even try to catch himself as the world crumbles down. It falls on his shoulders and pushes him further into the pit, he hears himself drag in a strangled breath.

“Mine, too.”

Her dainty little hands fly up to cover her mouth, her wide brown eyes instantly brim with tears, “W-what?”

Sanji nods, just a dip of his chin. It all makes so much sense now, how stupid he's been, how much Duval has led him around by the nose.

“No, i- he-“ she stammers and shakes her head like she can’t believe it.

Sanji can’t believe it, either, or doesn’t want to believe it, rather. It actually fits perfectly, this is why Duval has been so weird, this is why he can't make time for Sanji, this is why he's always on that damn phone.

His chest is too tight, his heart hammers in his ears, his jaw creaks, his eyes burn. The glass in his right hand shatters, and neither of them even have any reaction to it. Even as blood drips to the floor, Sanji and the woman just stare at each other through teary eyes.

“How long?” She asks thickly, her shoulders wobble, she still covers her mouth with both hands.

“Ten months.”

She sobs hard, her mascara begins streaking down her cheekbones. “Six months.” She chokes out. She opens her eyes and looks at Sanji, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t know.”

Sanji crosses the room and pulls a stranger into his arms, they embrace tightly and weep together, babbling apologies that they don’t owe one another.

Sanji bawls, cries harder than he can recall in ages, until his stomach hurts and his throat aches. God, he knew better, he knew exactly what was going on, he'd called it, he straight up asked Duval to his fucking face! Sanji should have ended this months ago, when the red flags started looking like they were actually red and not just annoying quirks, when the gaslighting got worse, when Duval totally love-bombed Sanji as soon as Sanji started getting closer to Zoro, when Duval started openly manipulating Sanji and Zoro. Sanji weeps over all the wasted time, the spoiled emotions, the lingering anxieties washing away with each tear that falls. 

Amelia comes to her senses first when she realizes how badly Sanji’s hand is bleeding, and then she pulls him into the kitchen. Sanji leans against the counter and dries his tears as she delicately fishes pieces of glass from Sanji’s palm.

“He was supposed to be in Montreal until tonight. I was going to surprise him, our six-month anniversary was yesterday.” She says softly, her face turned downwards as she focuses on Sanji’s hand.

She’s gorgeous. Curly brown hair, big brown doe eyes, high cheekbones, a sharp jaw that spills into a long, thin neck. Sanji never thought of Duval as someone who dated women, so he’d never given much thought to what kind of woman would catch Duval's eye. She’s an attractive woman, and the way she’s so tender with Sanji right now speaks volumes to her character. She must be a good person, sweet and kind in a way that some women exude so effortlessly. It’s a trait that always reminds Sanji of his mother.

She’s soft-spoken and seems shy, but their situation is incredibly awkward, so that may play a part. Sanji always thought he’d like a woman with more fire in her veins, someone like Nami who’s fierce and strikes fear into the hearts of lesser men. Or perhaps someone like Robin, who is reserved, but secretly a morbid, macabre freak underneath her kind smiles. Amelia seems like a good woman, and Sanji’s heart aches for her.

“Was he even in Montreal, or was that a lie, too?” she mumbles to herself.

“He was in Montreal with me. My partner’s team is in the Stanley Cup finals.” Sanji answers her, and she looks up with a frown.

“He was so different last week.” She says with a head shake, “I should have known something was up when I got to see him every night.”

Sanji laughs shortly, “Oh, when I was in Florida, and he was bailing on me ‘because of work’? I guess he did have plenty of time to spend with you.” He doesn't mean for the words to come out with such vitriol, this woman doesn't deserve an ounce of his wrath, she's already having to be the bigger person. 

She drops Sanji’s hand into the steam of cold water and withdraws her hands. “I didn’t know.” Her eyes water again, she looks wracked with guilt and remorse. She’s angry, too, and just like Sanji, she has every right to be.

“No, I know you didn’t. I’m sorry, I’m just pissed.” Sanji says softly. "This isn't your fault, he's lied to both of us egregiously."

Amelia takes his hand once more and finishes cleaning the glass from it, then she bandages his palm gently and tells Sanji about meeting Duval at a conference for work in Denver. Once Sanji is bandaged and the glass cleaned up from the living room floor, they stare at each other again in a numb silence. They’re both weirdly peaceful as they talk things through, and they both agree that they will take their things and leave, that Duval isn't worth fighting over, or for, for either of them. What he's done to both of them is unforgivable.

Sanji has every intention of giving Duval a piece of his mind, but he honestly just wants to be alone right now.

His bones ache as he gathers his things from around the apartment, a pit swallows his insides whole as he goes through each room and leaves no trace of himself behind.

His hand trembles as he stands at the kitchen counter with a notepad and a pen, and in the end, all he manages to write is:

You know why I’m not here.

He’s numb inside as he loads his trunk and drives home, and he doesn’t even feel anything when Zoro’s phone goes straight to voicemail.

He doesn’t call Charlotte, he doesn’t reach out to Duval, he doesn’t go crying to his sister.

He just drives home with eyes that hurt, with a sore throat, with a heaviness in his limbs. He carries his things inside and drops them in a pile in his living room floor, then goes straight to his bed and curls up in a ball.

He must fall asleep, because he rouses to his phone ringing.

Duval.

Sanji stares at the name until the call rolls to voicemail.

He’s called Sanji 17 times, left 11 voicemails, and sent 28 texts begging for Sanji’s attention. It’d probably be twice as many if Duval weren’t also groveling to Amelia.

Sanji can only see the first two sentences of the most recent text Duval has sent him.

“I know I majorly fucked up. But please don’t let it end like th…” the rest of the text is blocked by the notifications, and Sanji makes no move to read it.

He stares at those words.

I know I majorly fucked up.

The words on the screen grow blurry, and Sanji begins sobbing again in a matter of second. How could Duval throw it all away like that? Did it ever mean anything to him, or was this whole thing just a way for Duval to get his kicks? He rejects three more phone calls in the next five minutes, and he lets himself feel awfully sorry for himself.

He deserves it.

He deserves to impulsively get tattoos and piercings and hook up with strangers. He deserves to get wasted and be obnoxious and too loud. He deserves to scream at Duval until his voice goes hoarse.

His phone rings again and Sanji answers without looking, “Look here you piece of shit, I don’t know what you fucking expect me to say to you right now!”

“Sanji-ya.”

Sanji freezes, he’d been expecting Duval. He pulls his phone back, it’s Zoro’s contact info, but it’s Law on the line.

“Law?”

“It’s Zoro-ya, they’re taking him back to surgery now.”

The world falls out from under him for the second time that day.

The sun shines brightly into the room, slanting across the bed at just the right angle to light up Zoro’s face.

He turns away from the light with a sleepy groan.

“Close the blinds, you’re bothering him.”

“But it’s bo-ring!”

“Luffy, that’s so immature. Your best friend is laid up and all you care about is that you’re bored.”

“Nu-uh, I’m also hungry.”

“You’re also too loud.” Zoro mumbles, his throat is so dry it feels like nails scraping it when he speaks.

“Zoro!”

Everyone descends on him at once, Nami, Luffy, and Ace all leaning over the bed at various angles.

Nami kisses his forehead, “You scared us.” She says, “I’ll get a nurse.”

“What happened?” Zoro asks, he vaguely remembers boarding a flight from Montreal to Florida, but that’s the last thing he really remembers.

“You got really sick on the flight; they had an ambulance on the tarmac when we landed.” Ace says, he brushes his fingers through Zoro’s hair. “You really scared us.”

“Hey, guess what!” Luffy’s face leans even closer, he kisses Zoro’s temple with a loud smack. “We won last night!”

Zoro blinks blearily, “You won last ni-“ the realization nearly makes him leap out of bed, “What day is it?” he crows, his voice cracks and he coughs.

“Thursday!” Luffy crows back, “We won the cup last night!”

“Oh my God, congratulations!” Zoro reaches for his captain and realizes how weak he feels. It must be the drugs pumping into his IV right now, he’s also been asleep for two days, so every movement feels lethargic.

Luffy grasps the hand Zoro is reaching out with, and he squeezes it tight, “I tried to wake you up yesterday morning, but you wouldn’t open your eyes.”

“’Tried to wake you up’ is putting it nicely.” Ace says with an eye roll. “Surprised they even let him back in here.”

Nami returns with a nurse who checks on Zoro and tells them a doctor will be along shortly to speak with Zoro.

They start telling Zoro about the game and showing him highlights on their phones, and he sort of has a hard time keeping up. He still feels so sleepy, it’s hard to keep his eyes open.

The door to his room opens again, and Law comes in with his arms full of food. “Zoro-ya.” He says with a small smile and a breath of relief.

On his heels, Sanji comes through the door, arms just as full with coffee and food. He lights up when he sees that Zoro is awake, his face becomes as radiant as staring directly into the sun, seeing him takes a weight off Zoro's shoulders in an instant.

“Well, well, look who it is. Mr. I’m-Fine-Get-Me-Some-Coffee-I-Need-To-Take-A-Huge-Shit.” Sanji sasses immediately, he begins passing out coffee, starting with Nami and working his way around the room.

“Go to hell.” Zoro grouses, silently pleased that Sanji is here and talking shit to him.

Sanji comes to the edge of the bed and holds out an iced coffee, “I’m in a hospital in Florida with you, how much closer can I get?”

Zoro takes the coffee, and Sanji leans in and kisses his forehead softly. “You had me worried sick. If I ever tell you to go to the doctor again for the rest of your life, you’re required to listen to me.” He pats Zoro’s cheek a bit too hard, a warm smile on his lips.

“I still don’t know what happened.” Zoro realizes, he turns to look at Ace, who is tearing into a gyro like it owes him money. For how much he nags Luffy’s eating habits, this man is just as bad.

“Your appendix ruptured on the flight.” Law answers from the other side of Zoro’s bed, “You were in really bad shape by the time we landed.”

Zoro stares at Law for a second before turning to look at Sanji guiltily, “Okay, I’ll go to the doctor when you tell me to.”

Sanji nods grimly, but his eyes are warm as he strokes Zoro’s head twice before sitting beside Nami.

A doctor comes along shortly and explains what they did, she orders for Zoro’s meds to be backed off until he feels more lucid after he complains, a nurse comes in shortly after and changes the bandages on Zoro’s wound.

It’s a few inches long and sits just above his hip, it follows his body nicely, it’ll make a nice looking scar. Zoro stops himself as he goes to say so out loud, but only because he catches sight of Sanji over the nurses shoulder.

Sanji looks gaunt, his eyes darkened and hollow, it’s as if his energy and life have been sucked from him all at once. Zoro doesn’t have it in him to make such a face twist even more.

As Zoro’s mind begins to clear, he becomes confused about Sanji’s location leading up to this. Had Zoro hallucinated Sanji leaving? He was in pretty bad shape back in Montreal.

Honestly, he knew it, too. Not specifically what was wrong, but he knew something was very wrong. Not until it was too late, really, and by that point, the only person Zoro felt like he could ask without it being a burden was gone.

“Didn’t you go back to Colorado?” Zoro asks once the nurse is gone.

Sanji nods, he props his elbows on the edge of the bed and leans forward in his seat at the foot of Zoro’s bed. “Yep, I was there for a whopping 19 hours before getting back on a plane.”

“That explains why you look like shit.”

Sanji’s face twists, his lips purse before smoothing into a thin frown, his eyes look misty and like he desperately wants to burst into tears. “You’re one to talk.” He says, voice thick.

“Zoro,” Luffy chides, “Be nice to Sanji, he came all the way out here just ‘cause Torao told him you were going to surgery!”

Zoro shuffles his legs tiredly in the bed, “Sorry, sorry, I’m just really out of it.” He mutters.

As the day wears on, more teammates ramble in and out of Zoro’s room, kissing his hair and nagging him for not taking care of himself. They bring him little treats and gifts, candy hidden in their pockets, jerseys and hats with the team's Stanley Cup champion branding on it.

Eventually night falls and everyone heads home, reassured that Zoro’s condition is improving and that he’s stable. He’ll be able to go home tomorrow, and even though he’s only been cognizant for a few hours, he’s wildly ready to get out of the hospital already.

They push a pain killer into his IV and it makes him groggy after just a few minutes, so he curls on his left side and lets his sleepy gaze linger on Sanji.

Sanji had insisted he would stay behind, had shooed Luffy and Ace off when they lingered, and he had made himself as comfortable as he can on the little lounge chair next to Zoro’s bed. He’s on his tablet, reading something, a steaming mug of tea clutched in his free hand.

“Last time I was in a hospital was after the accident.” Zoro says, and he watches as Sanji’s eyes trail off his tablet and lock onto Zoro.

“What accident?”

“When I lost my eye.”

Sanji sets his tablet to the side and turns his full attention to Zoro. “I’m sure you have some bad memories about that.” He hums softly.

Zoro props one arm under his head and nestles into the crook of his elbow, “Mhm.” He yawns for a few seconds, “I remember hitting my back and seeing that guy stumble over me. I watched that skate come towards my face, like the world had slowed down, and then it was like I was on fire.”

Sanji grips his tea tighter, “What exactly happened?”

“Just a freak accident, his skate went between my face and eye shield, and he had so much momentum that it broke the shield and took my helmet off. His blade just slashed me, I passed out after that, or I just don’t remember what happened.” Zoro explains, he latently realizes that he never actually told Sanji about losing his eye. Just like so many other things between them, it’s remained unspoken for months now.

“I knew I was gonna lose the eye, and I remember being put in the back of that ambulance and praying to die.”

Sanji draws a sharp breath.

“Even when I woke up in the hospital, before I even tried to open my eyes, I could tell. The skin felt so tight, it hurt so bad, I knew it was gone, that it had ripped my face open, that I’d never look or be the same.” Zoro continues, “I just hoped it was a bad dream, some weird out-of-body experience before I died. But then I could hear Luffy and Nami arguing, and even the afterlife wouldn’t be cruel enough to curse me with their bickering forever.”

Sanji reaches to take Zoro’s hand, he squeezes it warmly, something hot pulses through Zoro’s veins, something gravitational and earth-shattering on most days. The pain medicine makes everything feel distant and fuzzy, so the feeling that comes with Sanji's touch is just as slow as everything else, wracking through Zoro like a chill down his spine.

“I was fucked up after that, for weeks, until Robin drug me out to Colorado and I met you. It was the only thing that kept me going, you, and figure skating.” Zoro’s eyes are heavy, his body lethargic once more.

“Rest.” Sanji says, he kisses the back of Zoro’s hand, “Starting tomorrow you’ve got me as your personal nurse, and I won’t stop until you’re back in skating shape again.”

“What about competitions? What if I’m not ready in time?” Zoro forces his eyes open once more, worry filling his veins.

Sanji covers Zoro’s eyes with his hand, “Don’t worry about such useless things, just rest.”

Suddenly, it’s impossible to ignore his demands, and Zoro falls into a deep sleep just a moment later.

The next day, Zoro is discharged into Sanji’s care with aftercare instructions and pain meds to help Zoro be comfortable while he heals. They messed with his muscles when they cut him open, so he’s more sore than he realized once he’s up and about.

They stress how important it is for Zoro to walk, stay hydrated, and eat well, then he climbs into Sanji’s rental and they leave the hospital behind. Zoro sighs and reclines the seat back, he stretches his arms over his head and watches the clouds overhead through the sunroof.

“Where are we going?” Zoro asks after a few minutes.

“Got us a place to stay, I figure you’ll rest better where Luffy isn’t getting wasted.” Sanji says.

“You’re probably right.” Zoro rolls his head to the side, “But you’ll let me go get wasted with him, yeah?”

“You can’t drink with this medicine.” Sanji says nonsensically.

“But we won the Stanley Cup!” Zoro whines, “I wasn’t even conscious when it happened, either. Isn’t it bad enough that I can’t play with them anymore? My organs are exploding and I didn’t even get to see the most important game of the year.”

Sanji sighs heavily, “Okay, I get it, I get it. Your life sucks and everything blows.” He shakes his head, “I should have stayed in Montreal with you, made you go to the doctor. Then they could have caught it before it ruptured, we wouldn’t be in this boat. I’m sorry, I should have been paying better attention to you.”

Zoro squints at Sanji, “You have a real talent of making everything your fault, huh?” he sighs, “It’s my own fault for not listening to you. If I’d just let you take me to the doctor the first time you asked, all of this could have been avoided. So it’s my fault.”

They’re quiet for the remainder of the drive, and Zoro can hear how tightly Sanji grips the steering wheel the whole time. He’s so on edge, Zoro can’t understand why he’s taking this so hard. Maybe he’s concerned that Zoro won’t be healed well enough by the time competitions start. The only reason Zoro is even part of Sanji’s life is to skate in competitions with him, so it’s a valid worry.

The rental house he takes them to is a nice ranch style home on the river, a dock out back that overlooks thick mangrove lines. Sanji takes Zoro’s things into the main bedroom and puts his own bags in the room across the hall.

“How do you feel?” Sanji asks him once they’re settled.

“Stiff, mostly. I’m sore, obviously, but I can tell I laid down for too long.” Zoro answers, “Can I go for a run?”

Sanji shakes his head, “Not yet, but we can go for a walk.”

Zoro agrees, so he goes and changes into a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, but when he pulls his sneakers on, he recognizes a problem.

He finds Sanji in the kitchen, “I can’t tie my shoes.” He says, pointing at the loose laces, “I tried, it hurts.”

Sanji kneels in front of Zoro and ties each shoe, checking with Zoro to make sure they’re not too tight.

Looking down at the top of his head, even his hair seems to grow in a little swirl at his crown, Sanji tips his head back and looks up at Zoro, and the sight steals Zoro’s breath.

He looks so tired, the dark circles under his eyes have set in, they look permanent, his usually neat appearance is unkempt, and somehow endearing.

His hair shifts back when he looks up at Zoro and reveals the slightest glimpse of a rough patch of skin at Sanji’s hairline above his right eye.

Is that a scar?

Zoro has seen Sanji’s whole face so seldomly, he can’t recall if Sanji has a scar there or not. It doesn’t seem like the time to check, or to ask about it, so Zoro logs it away in the back of his mind.

Sanji is looking at him expectantly, “Zoro?” he asks, soft confusion in his voice.

“Hm?”

“Does it feel okay?”

Sanji should be banned from getting on his knees and using Zoro’s name like that.

Zoro nods, he’s still not really sure what Sanji asked him, or what’s supposed to be okay or not. So he just nods, and Sanji stands up and turns to grab two bottles of water off the counter behind him.

“Let’s go.” He nods his head towards the front door and they walk out together.

Zoro is tempted to break into a run and see how his body feels, but even just walking makes his abs feel tight and sore. So he resigns himself to meandering at Sanji’s leisurely pace, stretching his arms and shoulders as they walk.

“It’s so hot.” Sanji complains after a few minutes.

Zoro nods, “Yeah, it’s brutal. This isn’t even the hottest part of the year, either.”

Sanji makes a face, “God, I’d rather be cold every day of my life than ever deal with this.”

“Being cold sucks ass.”

“No way, just put on more clothes, get a blanket, the cold is fine. This sucks ass, this is miserable! What am I supposed to do? Peel my skin off?” Sanji rants emphatically about how much the heat sucks for the next twenty minutes, and then they turn around and head back towards the house.

‘We’ll walk for longer this evening if you want, but it’s too hot right now.” Sanji says. “We can go to the grocery store, I’ll cook you anything you want this week.”

“Oh, dude, those crab cakes you made me that one time. And that lemony soup thing. And I don’t know what kind of drugs you put in your breakfast burritos but none of them hit the same as yours.” Zoro lists off, he taps his chin thoughtfully.

“Have you ever made shiratama dango?” Zoro asks.

Sanji shakes his head, “No, but I bet I can. What is it?”

“They’re just like these little sweet dumpling things; I think it’s basically just sweet rice flour and water.” Zoro explains.

“You’ve never made them either, I take it.” Sanji smiles teasingly.

Zoro shakes his head, “No, I’ve been in America since I was 6. I lived with my grandmother for a year after my parents died, and then when she got sick, I came here with Kuina’s family.”

“Wait, you weren’t born here?” Sanji interrupts.

Zoro shakes his head, “No, but I’m an American citizen now.” He puts on his best country accent, “These colors don’t run, baby.”

“Literally never do that again.”

They laugh together, and Zoro lifts his hand to press softly at his side. It aches when he laughs, but it’s a good ache, probably because of who he’s laughing with. It’s nice to see Sanji’s face light up again, he’s looked so exhausted since Zoro woke up.

“Anyway, I remember my grandmother making shiratama. Kuina’s mother would make it for us sometimes, too.” Zoro says, “I haven’t had any in ages, though.”

“I’ll make them for you, you’ll just have to let me know if they’re any good or not.” Sanji agrees.

They drive to the grocery store, and Zoro trails behind Sanji as he picks out produce and meat, in fact, the cart is loaded full before Zoro thinks to ask.

“How long are we staying here?”

Sanji shrugs, “Well, it’s not like we can skate right now. Not until your doctor says you can, anyway. So I figured we could stay here while you heal, that way you can be around your people.” Sanji explains, he inspects the grapes in his hand closely. “Once you’re back on your feet, we can skate at the team’s practice rink. Once we’re ready to start competitions, we’ll go from there.”

“Wait, so we’re staying here for, like, weeks?”

Sanji nods, he doesn’t make eye contact as he puts the grapes in the cart and continues walking.

“Is that okay? Like, are we allowed to be away for so long? What about Duval? Won’t Zeff get pissed at me? You came out here in such a hurry, what if you-“

Sanji turns to him and grabs his shoulder, “Hey, I told you not to worry about all that bullshit. I’ll take care of everything, all you need to do is heal properly.”

Zoro nods after a second, there’s an unusually tense energy between them. Sanji’s spine might as well be a steel beam, his limbs even look stiff as he turns and walks away. What exactly is happening in that man’s head? Zoro ponders it quietly as they finish shopping, and by the time they’re loading the car up, he’s actually kind of tired.

Back at the house, Zoro falls asleep on the couch within minutes, lulled by the sound of Sanji unpacking the groceries and putting things away.

When Zoro wakes up in the late afternoon, he stretches languidly and stares up at the rotation of the ceiling fan.

Maybe it’s just the stress and the long week he’s had, but there’s definitely something different about Sanji. Even Zoro notices, and he’s not exactly the most astute person around.

He’s lost in thought when a sound catches his attention. The rustling of water, a sound Zoro knows well. He drags himself off the couch and out onto the lanai.

Sanji is in the pool, swimming laps, strong legs moving him across the length of the small pool with ease.

Zoro sits at the edge of the pool and dips his feet into the water. It’s cool and refreshing, it makes him wish he could dunk his whole body in, but he knows better.

Sanji would lose his mind over pool chemicals and a healing wound, and Zoro just doesn’t have it in him to pick on Sanji right now.

Sanji notices Zoro pretty quickly, but swims ten more laps before he turns to the side of the pool and swims to Zoro.

He’s a gorgeous swimmer; he looks so elegant as he turns his body under the water and pushes off the bottom of the pool. He surfaces right in front of Zoro, grabbing the edge of the pool on either side of Zoro’s legs.

His hair is still so blonde even when wet, and with it pushed back from his face, Zoro gets a good look at Sanji’s entire face. His eyebrows both have bits where they grow funny, the inside of one and the outside of the other, like they’re trying to turn in opposite directions. There is a scar above his right eyebrow, it’s just a slightly different shade than his skin, so it’s probably an old scar, and his hair appears to be grown over the top of it.

The circles under his eyes look darker, he somehow looks more exhausted. Zoro feels a pang of guilt at the sight, Sanji is taking this really hard, and Zoro is afraid to ask why.

He’s almost certain that Sanji is worried about competitions, a mental calculation puts them at roughly 4 and a half weeks out from competition start. Best case scenario is that Zoro is fully healed in four weeks, which means they have a full month of not practicing any of their more technical skills. Sanji has years of experience, he won’t become so rusty in a mere month.

Zoro, on the other hand, stands to regress quite a bit in a months time. He’s kept up with Sanji as well as he has through sheer determination.

He doesn’t remember exactly when it started, but at some point, being at the rink for 18 hours a day became part of Zoro’s routine. He rarely slept or ate or did anything that wasn’t practice.

He practiced without Sanji, he practiced with Sanji, he said goodbye to Sanji in the parking lot and then returned to the ice on his own.

A month without a lift, a toss, a throw jump, a spiral, it’s sort of terrifying to Zoro.

It would upset Sanji if he found out, but maybe Zoro could sneak around him…

“Why do you look like you’re up to something?” Sanji asks, his head tilts to the side as he eyes Zoro suspiciously.

“Oh, I usually am.” Zoro shrugs, “Wanna guess?”

“You’re scheming how to sneak off and practice by yourself.”

Zoro’s mouth opens involuntarily, his eyebrows screw in against his better judgement, an indignant scoff is rising in his chest. Sanji just smiles.

“See? Knew it.” Sanji pushes himself out of the pool and sits beside Zoro, “Please don’t, okay?”

Zoro has seen Sanji shirtless before, at least once, and he can’t recall.

“Have your nipples always been pierced?” Zoro has to grip the edge of the concrete to resist the urge to reach out and tease the barbell through Sanji’s nipples.

“Since we’ve known each other, yeah. I don’t always wear jewelry, especially when skating I usually just have spacers in.” Sanji explains, he subconsciously lifts his left hand and fiddles with the piercing through his right nipple. There’s a fiery opal on either end of the barbell, and Zoro is desperate to wrap his tongue around them.

“Do you have any piercings or tattoos?” Sanji asks, he turns and catches Zoro staring at him and just chuckles softly.

“I have a tattoo, but just the one.” Zoro says, he leans back on his palm and it stretches his stomach in a way that’s slightly painful, but nice. “What about you?”

Sanji nods, “I have several tattoos on my upper thighs and hips, and I’ve got other body piercings as well.” He doesn’t elaborate, and Zoro’s mind immediately begins to run as wild as it can .

“How do you feel?”

“Okay, I guess, I’d love a shower.” Zoro answers.

“Sure, we can do that.”

“We?”

“It’s a figure of speech, I’ll let you do this on your own.”

“Aw, too bad.” Zoro teases, and Sanji turns away quickly. He goes to wrap a towel around his waist, but even from behind, Zoro can see the tips of his ears turn red.

The nape of his neck flushes, too, a sweet pink color that Zoro wants to lick, nibble along his hairline.

“Come on, stinky.” Sanji calls over his shoulder as he goes into the house, and Zoro smiles as he follows.

Picking on him might be off the table, but flirting in his general direction still seems to cheer Sanji up some. It’s a language Zoro has learned to speak well over the past several months, and it’s one Sanji is proficient in.

He flirts with everyone around him, a casualness to it that makes it playful and fun. Sanji flirts like he breathes, it comes just as naturally to him as his heartbeat. Zoro follows into the house and intentionally gets in Sanji’s way as Sanji tries to gather things for Zoro’s shower.

Although, with Sanji bare-chested like this in front of Zoro, Zoro is genuinely distracted. There’s a treasure trail that meanders away from Sanji’s navel and down beneath the towel around his hips, it’s light blonde and drying in tight little curls.

“Dude, it’s like a brick wall is following me around.” Sanji huffs as he digs through Zoro’s suitcase, “Where the hell are your toiletries?”

Zoro blinks, “Oh, they’re in my backpack.”

Sanji turns around with a baffled look on his face, “You have the intelligence of a brick wall, too. Why didn’t you say anyth-“ he cuts himself off and sighs. “Okay.” He says to himself before grabbing Zoro’s backpack.

“I actually didn’t realize you were looking for my stuff, my bad.” Zoro says, he leans against the bed where Sanji is digging through bags.

“Well, you’re the one who wants to shower. Plus, you didn’t think it was weird that I’m digging around in your stuff?” Sanji says with a head shake.

Zoro shrugs, “Didn’t really think much of it, you’re probably the person who knows me best these days. I don’t mind you being in my business.”

Sanji looks up from under his eyelashes, a smile hinting at the corner of his mouth. “I’m flattered that you trust me, but you should really-“ Sanji pulls Zoro’s toiletry bag out of the bottom of the backpack, and something clatters onto the floor at their feet.

A strap of leather with a metal ring set in the middle, the leather is embossed and finely crafted, it’s almost pretty enough for Zoro to wear it every single day.

Sanji is staring at it, he’d halfway bent down to grab it before he realized what it was, and then he had just frozen.

Zoro sighs and starts to crouch to grab the item off the floor, “It’s just a collar.”

Sanji stops Zoro from crouching and grabs the piece of leather like he’s not sure it’s even real. “I know what it is.” Sanji says distantly, “I don’t know why you would have it, though.”

“I told you.” Zoro shrugs easily, “I went and saw my mistress and got the absolute daylights fucked out of me.”

Sanji’s eyes widen comically, his lips part in a little noise of shock.

“I’m talking on my hands and knees, face down, ass up, spreader bar, gagged, blindfolded-“

“Okay!” Sanji actually covers his ears, his face burns redder than Zoro has ever seen him flush before.

Dammit, he hadn’t meant to tease Sanji, the guy just makes it so easy! Zoro grins proudly, and Sanji loses out at fighting back a bashful smile as he hands the collar off to Zoro.

“Now you know how I felt when you told me about meeting Duval at a leather rave at a BDSM club.” Zoro teases, he takes the leather and watches as Sanji’s face falls.

Zoro might as well have slapped him in the face, Sanji visibly darkens before his eyes. He frowns, bites his bottom lip to stop it from trembling, and nods briefly.

“You got this, yeah?” he mutters, then shuffles out of the room.

“Hey, Sanji. Hey!” Zoro calls after him, he follows him as far as the threshold of the bedroom. “I didn’t mean to upset you, man.”

Sanji just waves his hand dismissively over his shoulder, “It’s fine.” He says, and the tone of his voice confirms that it’s anything but. “Call if you need anything.”

Zoro watches as Sanji’s back disappears down the hall and around the corner.

Okay, so that bothered him. Maybe he’s more embarrassed by Zoro’s openness than he’d realized.

Zoro clearly just crossed a line, but he really hadn’t meant for Sanji to find that thing! Zoro tosses the collar onto his bed and frowns at it, blaming the leather for upsetting Sanji, and he heads to the bathroom.

After a nice long shower that soothes Zoro’s body wonderfully, he pulls a pair of shorts on and shrugs a button up shirt on, leaving it to hang open.

He goes to find Sanji as he’s drying his hair, “Hey, I need a bandage.” He points at his stomach.

Sanji nods and turns away from chopping vegetables to wash his hands thoroughly.

He doesn’t speak as he carefully bandages Zoro’s stomach, he keeps his eyes trained solely on his task, his shoulders stay drawn up nearly to his ears.

He looks like someone kicked him, and he looks like he’s living in anticipation of when the next one will come.

“I’m sorry.” Zoro says to the top of Sanji’s head. Somehow, Sanji tenses even more at hearing those words. “I should have been more respectful of your boundaries.”

Sanji sighs heavily and his shoulders drop after a few seconds have passed. He looks up at Zoro, “It’s okay, really. I’m just really tired, it’s been an insanely long week.”

Zoro nods, “Yeah.”

“I mean, my organs didn’t explode or anything.”

Zoro huffs, “I don’t recommend it.”

“But I’m exhausted and emotional. Don’t worry, I’ll feel better after sleeping.” Sanji assures him. “We’ll have a great dinner and go for walk, watch a movie later or something. It’ll be nice.” Then he gets up and returns to the kitchen.

The words are meant to make Zoro feel better, but it seems like they were said for Sanji’s benefit. At least Sanji relaxes, and Zoro sits on the couch in the living room to give Sanji some space.

Zoro can hear him humming softly as he prepares dinner, and the painkillers make it easy to sink into the sofa and relax.

Outside, thunder rolls in the distance, dark clouds begin rolling over the western bank of the river.

“It’s gonna rain.” Zoro says, he pushes himself off the couch and steps out onto the lanai. Lightning strikes nearby, cracking through the air with a fantastic noise.

Within a minute or so, rain begins falling from the dark grey clouds.

It starts heavy and becomes torrential quickly, so hard and heavy that it’s the only thing Zoro can hear. Lightning cracks nearby again, and the resulting boom of thunder shakes the house.

Sanji yelps in surprise from inside and Zoro laughs out loud.

He’s missed the rain like this, the heavy thunderstorms on the summer afternoons, the way the air feels so crisp during them.

His phone rings and Zoro pulls it out and answers it.

“Hey, man.”

“Hey, Zoro, how are you feeling?”

“I’m alright, actually, it’s not too bad.” Zoro answers.

“That’s good, you really freaked everybody out, man.”

“Yeah, everyone keeps saying that. I guess it kinda doesn’t feel real to me, ya know?” Zoro shrugs, he scuffs one foot through a puddle that has formed on the concrete around the pool. “I barely remember anything from back in Montreal, I should have listened to you guys.”

“Is it raining?”

“Yeah, really hard. Is it loud?” Zoro asks, he makes no move to go back inside, he’s enjoying the way the wind blows misty rain on his face too much.

“Yeah, it is pretty loud. Well, I’m glad you’re doing okay. Could you tell Sanji to call me later?”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

He ends the call and pushes his phone back into his pocket, then he tips his head up and watches the rain fall.

Sanji joins him a minute later, “Wow, it’s really loud.”

“Yeah, it is. Hey, Duval said to call him later.” Zoro relays the message to Sanji.

“Does it rain this hard a lot?” Sanji asks.

“During the summer it does, but then during the winter it hardly rains at all.”

Sanji hums, “And hurricanes?”

“Typically not a concern until later in the summer.”

Sanji nods, “It’s cool, I like this kind of rain.” He smiles a little, and the next time it thunders, he only flinches slightly closer to Zoro.

“It’s stupidly hot during the day, but I could get used to this. Once we have our gold and I…” Sanji trails off, “Maybe I’ll convince you to bring me back here someday.”

“Convince me?” Zoro looks over at Sanji and cocks an eyebrow, “We have a deal, remember?”

Sanji glances up at him, “Really?”

“Yeah, you keep me on the ice, I bring you to the ocean for a seafood restaurant.” Zoro says seriously.

Sanji’s mouth twitches into a smile, “I’m gonna make you wait tables.”

Zoro grins, “With my attitude, you’ll be rolling in repeat customers.”

Sanji shrugs, “I’ll make the uniform super skimpy so your tits are out all the time. Nobody will care about your punk attitude or your rude mouth.”

Zoro huffs a laugh, “Well you might get some repeat customers, but no promise they’ll be the kind you actually want.”

Sanji hums, “Who cares? A seafood restaurant of my own, living my dreams, waking up and being able to smell the ocean every day, trying my own recipes, calling my own shots. It sounds like an actual dream come true.” His eyes are far away as he watches the rain fall, and Zoro allows himself to admire the openness on Sanji’s face.

He looks so tired, the dark rings under his eyes, the haggardness that seems set into his forehead, the way he’s subconsciously grinding his teeth. Yet, somehow, he seems to have found a new sense of peace.

“You know I’d be there, right?” Zoro teases.

Sanji turns his chin to look at Zoro, his eyes shimmer warmly, a smile tips up the corners of his mouth, everything about him softens and grows warm and welcoming. “Yeah.” He leans his head against Zoro’s shoulder and his eyes track back to the falling rain, “I’m starting to think that it might not be such a bad thing for you to be there.”

Zoro bites his bottom lip to stop himself from leaning over and kissing Sanji’s hair, so he leans his head against Sanji’s and they watch the rain begin to slack off in silence.

When it stops raining, Sanji straightens up and lights a cigarette. “Will it stay nice and comfortable for the rest of the day?” He tips his chin back and lets a curl of smoke into the breeze.

“No, more than likely it’ll get super muggy now.” Zoro says with a shrug. “Enjoy this while it lasts.”

Once Sanji has finished smoking, they go to the kitchen together and make dinner. Sanji is at the sink when he makes a noise of excitement, “Oh, look! A double rainbow.” He grabs Zoro’s arm and pulls him out the front door. He doesn’t release Zoro’s wrist as he stares up to the sky, a smile on his face, “How pretty.”

Zoro doesn’t take his eyes off Sanji, couldn’t if he even wanted to. He seems different. Why, exactly?

Zoro ponders this question as they return to cooking, as they sit on the lanai and share dinner, as they wash dishes side-by-side.

He ponders as they go for a walk after dinner, as they watch the sun set over the river, as the stars begin to peek out overhead.

Why is Sanji different now? He’s not acting any different, and he’s not talking to Zoro any different, and he’s not really treating Zoro any different. He’s just more concerned with Zoro’s well being than normal, but that makes sense.

So, what’s different? Why can’t Zoro put his finger on it?

They watch a movie after going for a walk, some heist movie that Zoro half-watches disinterestedly.

Has Sanji always chewed on his nails? He’s been doing it a lot today, his cuticles are red and torn from his constant gnawing.

Is that new, though? There’s much about this man that Zoro doesn’t know, hasn’t observed, he still has so many questions about Sanji.

“Hey.” Zoro says in the middle of a big action scene.

Sanji glances over at Zoro, his eyes dart back to the TV, then trace back to Zoro. He drops his hand, he’d been chewing on his nails for several minutes, he rubs absently at the torn cuticles.

“Where are you from?” Zoro asks, and Sanji stares blankly at him for a moment.

“I was born in Utah, we moved to Denver when I was 3, though. So, I’ve been in that area ever since.” Sanji says. “What about you?”

“From Japan we moved to Milwaukee, we grew up there. I went to a special high school for athletes, they had an insane hockey program. The school was in Georgia, so I was there for four years. I got scouted there, then went straight to Florida after graduation.”

“So you’ve been in Florida for a while now.”

Zoro nods, “I consider it home. Kuina’s parents are still in Wisconsin, but I haven’t seen them in a while. Luffy and the team are my family.”

Sanji smiles, “My rinkmates are my family. Zeff has been like a father to me for longer than I’ve ever wanted to acknowledge.” He pauses and worries the cuticle on his left hand. “Earlier you said that I’m the person closest to you these days.”

Zoro nods, turning his body on the couch to be facing Sanji more, keeping his face open and relaxed.

“The same goes for you with me, but I’ve still kept you out so much. I don’t want you to think I’m lying to you, or hiding things from you, or trying to alienate you.” Sanji says honestly, “It’s just hard for me, and I’m ashamed and embarrassed of the things in my past. One day, I’ll be able to tell you everything.”

Zoro shakes his head a little, “I can wait.”

They’re both quiet for a moment, watching each other closely, and Sanji lets out a soft exhale after a moment has passed.

“Thank you.” He says, “I should tell you that more often.”

Zoro smiles a little, “Tell me more about you.”

Sanji furrows his eyebrows, “Like what?”

Zoro shrugs, “What’s your favorite season? What’s a food you hate? Favorite color, when you sleep the best, what gets you motivated, what your favorite workout is, what’s the best fruit and why.” Zoro lists off, and Sanji laughs before settling back in the couch.

He talks, and he keeps talking for two hours straight. He answers Zoro’s silly questions, he tells Zoro about hidden talents and childhood ambitions. He talks about learning how to cook, about the first time he ever skated on a frozen pond, about his first time getting drunk.

He talks until Zoro grows sleepy, eyes heavy and body sinking Into the couch with each passing moment. He still chatters as he urges Zoro off the couch and into the bedroom.

He doesn’t even stop yapping as Zoro pulls his T-shirt off and settles into the sheets. In fact, Sanji sits on the edge of the bed and talks in an increasingly soft voice until Zoro falls asleep.

The days pass like that, quiet, restful days. Filled with early morning walks, luxurious meals, and evenings filled with good company.

Luffy comes over a lot, Ace makes several visits, Nami drops by to check on Zoro more than once. People bring him food and alcohol, sweets, spicy treats, more coffee than Sanji will allow him to drink.

Luffy comes for him one day, and after convincing Sanji they'll be safe, takes Zoro with him to a press conference. They treat Zoro like he’s still a team member, and he even gets his turn with the Cup like he was one of the guys who fought for it.

Luffy kisses him and encourages him and dotes on him constantly. It’s nice to be around him again, and they spend most evenings lazing about the living room together while Sanji makes them fantastic desserts.

The whole time, like an album on repeat, Sanji talks.

Sanji talks about wading through cold rivers with his older sister, he talks about breaking in his first pair of ballet shoes in the studio of his childhood home, he talks about growing his hair long and perfecting the way he tossed it over his shoulder.

He talks about the first time he snuck into the kitchen and made something eatable, he talks about the first time he landed a quad, he talks about getting his first car, he talks about sneaking out for the first time.

Five days of constant talking, his voice has become Zoro's favorite noise, the best melody to hear. On that fifth night, Zoro hears Sanji's voice again.

Zoro had already gone to bed, and he’d only woken up because he was thirsty. He’d been standing at the kitchen sink and gulping down the glass of cool water when he hears Sanji.

Broken and angry, speaking with his voice raised, shaking with tears as he talks.

Zoro drifts closer to the bedroom Sanji is staying in, leaning towards the door curiously and attempting to listen to Sanji’s phone call.

“You need to stop dragging this out! Get it through your head, dude. You fucked up, this is what happens when you fuck up! I have no place for you in my life, just like you clear-“ he’s cut off, and then he’s just yelling, “No. Wrong! You’re so full of shit!”

Zoro tries to go back to bed after that, but he feels restless and uncomfortable for the rest of the night. It’s after 3 in the morning when Zoro rises from his bed and silently gathers his things, he slips out the backdoor and makes his way to the rink.

It’s been a week since his surgery, and he’s been healing just fine. His bones ache, though, ache with the need to be on the ice.

It still hasn’t really set in for him yet. That he’d been in such bad shape, and that the cost of that was missing his team win, getting to be part of it in some way.

He hasn’t processed it, but he’s yearned for the ice under his feet ever since waking up.

He laces his familiar skates on, groaning softly at the twinge in his side as he stretches before stepping onto the ice. He won’t be able to do a lot of stuff, but it’s no matter.

With the ice under him once more, his mind is instantly clearer than it’s been in days. He feels more like himself in a moment, and he’s able to shake off days of listlessness in minutes.

Gliding quickly across the ice sheds his woes, his bitterness at missing the final, his self-pity over having to adapt once more to life’s curveballs.

A camel spin shakes the anxiety he’s had over competitions, sending it spiraling and skittering away like shards of ice, confidence fills the emptiness as he finds his groove.

A double salchow makes him feel a thousand times lighter, makes his shoulders straighten once more. Sanji has really opened up in the past few days, and all Zoro had to do was ask for that openness. He trusts Zoro so much more now, and he’s been a fantastic, giving caretaker over the past week. He brings so much to Zoro’s life, and he only asks for a capable partner in return. Zoro will be that for him, will rise to the challenge, prove himself as many times as he needs to. He will help Sanji win, and be the absolute best he can be.

Guilt ebbs in on Zoro as he does a triple loop, Euler, double axel jump combination. Sanji would be very cross with Zoro if he knew Zoro was here. And he’d probably be even more angry if he knew Zoro had snuck behind his back to be here.

Zoro shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be compromising Sanji’s trust and efforts in him this way. He’s clearly been going through a tremendous amount of stress, Zoro shouldn’t be making that any worse for Sanji.

Zoro still pushes himself, until his muscles scream with weariness, and his watch tells him he’s been at it for nearly two hours. He feels great, and so he should just head home.

One last pass around the ice, one last jump sequence, and one last combo spin, and then he’ll-

Slam!

Zoro flinches instinctively, he yanks his head over his shoulder, and his momentum teeters. He loses his balance in an instant and falls to his back at the moment Sanji’s face appears at the edge of the rink.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Sanji yells, his voice wobbles, “Are you actually the stupidest person who has ever lived? Why can’t you just listen to me?!”

He storms onto the ice, quicker than Zoro can catch his breath and get back to his feet.

Sanji’s hands grip Zoro’s shoulders tightly, he forces Zoro’s back to the ice. “Do you give a shit if you live or die?! Why do you keep fucking tormenting me like this, Zoro??” His voice breaks, tears streak down his cheeks.

He grabs the hem of Zoro’s shirt and roughly yanks it up, revealing the bandage around Zoro’s stomach. Blood has seeped into the gauze, an angry crimson color that lets Zoro know the wound is actively bleeding. He hadn’t realized, though. It didn’t hurt at all.

“What am I supposed to do when you fight me so hard? Why do you refuse to let me help you?! Why are you-“

Zoro sits up and wraps his arms around Sanji’s neck, he pulls Sanji in and firmly holds him in the crook of his neck. “Shh.” Zoro soothes softly, he rubs Sanji’s back with one hand. Sanji collapses to the ice between Zoro’s legs, he goes boneless as he sobs in Zoro’s shoulder.

“Why can’t you just let me take care of you?”

“I’m sorry.” Zoro says quietly, “I’m sorry, Sanji, you’re right.”

Sanji finally wraps his arms around Zoro’s back, and then he sobs even harder.

“I- wa-was right, Zoro.” Sanji says brokenly through each sob, painful, rasping breaths that sound like they burn his chest.

“What?” Zoro asks quietly, he leans his head to Sanji’s, “Try to breathe, slow down.”

“He w-“ he chokes on the next sob and coughs hard, shoulders rattling pitifully in Zoro’s grasp. “Duval was cheating on me.”

Zoro gasps softly, he squeezes Sanji tighter. “Sanji…” Rage fills his entire being, all of those red flags they'd all ignored have finally caught up in the worst way, a total betrayal of the months of trust Sanji had put in Duval.

“She showed up at his fucking apartment when I was there! They’ve been together for six months!” Sanji wails again, “The whole time I thought he was supporting me through the worst part of my life, he was-“

Sanji just weeps after that, for several minutes, until the ice soaking through Zoro’s pants makes him shiver. He doesn't even notice the cold, the anger coursing through his veins is enough to keep him hot for ages, his jaw clenched tight prevents him from saying anything comforting to Sanji. He's not sure if he's shivering from the cold or from his attempts to conceal the fury inside himself, it just feels like tremors in his muscles that make him itch to hit something.

Only after several minutes have passed does Sanji come to his senses and pull Zoro up off the ice. They go to the bathroom and Sanji washes his face before checking on Zoro’s wound, which is inflamed, but none of the stitches are torn.

Sanji changes the bandage with trembling hands and bloodshot eyes. He doesn’t speak anymore, not as he gathers Zoro’s things, not as he opens the passenger door of the car for Zoro, not as he drives the few miles back to their house.

He doesn’t speak as he herds Zoro into bed, and he doesn’t speak as he lies on the opposite side of the bed and stares off into space.

So it’s no surprise that he doesn’t speak when Zoro pulls him closer, and it’s not so shocking that he’s silent as he curls into Zoro’s arms and falls asleep.

The ice glides by underneath him at a breakneck speed, he still pushes himself harder, faster, putting all the power he can into his legs. The sound of his blades carving through the ice is familiar, comforting, slicing away beneath him like it’s where he belongs.

Using all his momentum, he throws himself into the air with a dramatic jump split, it feels good, nice and tight, and he finds the ice again smoothly. He still has insane momentum going, so he does a twist, and just because he’s feeling bold, turns backwards and attempts a backflip.

He gets the flip, and he lands it, but with a bit of wobble.

“Dude!” Zoro shouts from the edge of the rink, “That was insane!” He drums his hands against the boards excitedly, a big grin on his face as Sanji turns and skates towards him.

“Are you allowed to do that? Can we do it in our Free Skate? Do I have to be able to do it, or can just you do it?” Zoro babbles off all at once, practically vibrating in place.

Sanji laughs softly, “We can do it, and you don’t have to be able to do it for us to incorporate it. It is allowed, as of last year, so I’ve never been able to do one during a competition.”

Since the night Sanji caught Zoro skating in secret, four weeks have passed, and it’s brought a whole new Zoro to light.

He’s been cooperative, he listens to Sanji, he tells Sanji what he needs, and he’s all-around an open book. He’s patient, he’s understanding, he’s been a total sweetheart ever since that night.

Sanji isn’t sure if it was because he’d revealed what had happened with Duval or if Zoro just felt guilty for making Sanji worry about him so much. Either way, Zoro’s totally different now.

He only skates when Sanji says he can, and only does skills that don’t make Sanji nervous, and he focuses his energy on exercises and things that don’t strain his body.

But it’s been four weeks, and Sanji’s got to let him loose on the ice once more. In addition to that, they need to return to Colorado, an inescapable fate that Sanji has avoided for weeks now.

At first, he’d only intended to stay in Florida for two weeks, just until Zoro was back in fit enough shape to travel without it straining him. Then the third week rolled around and Zoro found out Sanji knew how to ballroom dance, and their nights shared dancing on the lanai have become some of Sanji’s favorite. Then the fourth week arrived, and Zoro learned that Sanji can play the piano, so they’ve been visiting Nami almost daily so Sanji can play the upright in her dining room.

Thinking of Zoro’s wellbeing has made Sanji selfish, selfish of Zoro’s time and attention, selfish of anything to do with Zoro.

Sanji doesn’t want to return to Colorado, where their lives wait for them, where they have responsibilities and expectations. They’re ready to skate competitions, Sanji has no anxiety about that. But still, their time in this little bubble has been so nice that Sanji’s selfish desire to stay is almost overwhelming.

“Hey, let’s go do something.” Zoro wheedles, he drapes himself over the boards, “My nurse is letting me drink some these days, let’s go get a beer.”

Sanji huffs a laugh, “Sure, can we run home really quick so I can shower?”

Zoro nods, “You’re the boss.”

Sanji had never fathomed a world where Zoro acquiesced Sanji’s whims, but selfishly, he wants to continue living in it. What if they return to Colorado and Zoro goes back to just being regular old Zoro?

Away from Sanji, in his own apartment, in his own world, leaving Sanji to be his own person. That fear of being alone is selfish, and Sanji isn’t even ashamed that he succumbs to it every time. He’d spent too much of his life alone, now he’s an adult man who doesn’t know how to be on his own. Rather than go home and face that fear head-on, he’s dragging his feet and keeping them in Florida under the guise of looking after Zoro.

After showers and them both getting ready, Zoro insists on driving, so he takes the wheel and they wander around together. They go to the mall and waste some time, they walk around a pond in one of the local parks, they hide in the shade and share an ice cream while Sanji complains about the heat. He is looking forward to leaving Florida for that sole reason, he’s too damn hot all the time, and he’s looking forward to returning to Colorado for the mildness of the summer in the mountains.

They wind up at a cantina that overlooks the water and settle in with spicy margaritas and some of the best guacamole Sanji has ever tasted, they sit on the same side of the high-top table to be able to watch the sun glisten off the ocean.

Zoro stretches back in his seat and lets out an elongated sigh, “I feel great, man. Can’t thank you enough for helping me get back on my feet.”

Sanji props an elbow on the table and leans his chin on his fist, “Yeah, of course. What are partners for, after all?”

“Thanks for looking out for me in the first place, too. I should have listened to you to start with, I know you’re only thinking about what’s best for me.” Zoro stretches his arm along the back of Sanji’s seat and leaves it draped there. “I was so hazy and confused, I wasn’t even sure you had left. I kinda remember talking to you on the phone, and then I just woke up in the hospital.”

Sanji nods, “It scared me when Law called me, I was so manic I just threw shit in my bag and got on the next flight. Had three layovers, it was so silly. I should have waited, but I couldn’t breathe easy until I saw you again.”

Zoro sips from his margarita, licks the lingering of the salt rim and lets his eyes track out over the water. “If it hadn’t been for you, it would have fucked me up that I missed the final. I mean, I’m still upset about it, but… six months ago, something like that would have destroyed me.”

Sanji huffs softly, “Well, we’re both stronger than we were at the beginning of the year, yeah?”

Zoro looks back at him and nods, “Yeah.” He finishes his drink and pushes it to the empty side of the table. “So,” He swipes a chip through the guacamole and chews thoughtfully, “We need to go back, huh?”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, unfortunately. I can’t keep pretending we’re here for your sake, and we need to make sure we have our loose ends all tied up before we start competing.”

The wind picks up and sends napkins skittering across the table, they watch them flutter across the floor, and Sanji turns to make a joke to Zoro. Only one of the stray napkins flies straight into his face when he does, and he sputters on his cutoff sentence.

Zoro bursts out laughing immediately, he plucks the napkin off Sanji’s face and covers his own face with one hand. “Shut down by a napkin.”

Sanji feels his face flush, and Zoro peeks out from behind his fingers with a sparkling grey eye. “You’re so cute when you blush like that.”

Sanji blushes even harder, he feels the tips of his ears burn, he clears his throat and looks away with a pout. “You’re picking on me.”

“Me? Never.” Zoro reaches and fixes a few stray pieces of Sanji’s hair, his fingers gentle as he fiddles with the blonde locks. “This is just how I talk to you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Picking on me.” Sanji gives Zoro his best glare and Zoro laughs once more.

“I can’t help it! I just want to pull your pigtails and see how mad I can make you.”

“What are you? A first grader?”

“Ah, come on, I’m at least a third grader.”

Sanji hums, “Explains why you and Chopper get on so nicely.”

Their light hearted banter continues throughout the day, teasing and joking with one another as they finish their drinks and find an arts and crafts fair happening in a park. They drink fresh smoothies and pick out bracelets for one another from one of the vendors. They decide to head back home when the sky starts clouding over and the wind picks up, another afternoon storm rolling in off the ocean.

They stop by the liquor store on the way home and arrive back at their house with their arms laden with entirely too much alcohol. Sanji makes them more margaritas and they turn on the radio on the lanai as it begins to rain, they watch it rain and drink together.

It feels like they’re bidding goodbye to this chapter of their lives, this period of peace before they throw themselves into the chaos of competition season.

Sanji would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it, to the drive and spirit that always carries him through comps, to the determination that sets in every time he steps onto the ice. To have Zoro by his side this year, it’s all the more reason for Sanji to look forward, he finally has a supportive and capable partner.

“Hey.” Sanji stands up and holds his hand out to Zoro.

Zoro takes his hand and stands, margarita still clasped in his other hand, he smiles at Sanji warmly. Was he always so warm when he looked Sanji’s way? A gaze so hot it could melt even the thickest ice on the coldest winter day, was that always the way he glanced at Sanji?

“We’re gonna kick ass together.” Sanji says confidently.

Zoro sets his drink down and places his free hand on Sanji’s waist, he pulls him in closer, until their bodies nearly touch. “Yeah, we sure are. You know why?”

Sanji leans in more, caught in the pull of the moment, the falling rain, the soft country song humming through the radio. “Why?”

“Because you’re dedicated, head-strong, and incredibly talented.” Zoro says, he takes a slow step forward and it’s easy for Sanji to let him guide them around in a slow waltz together.

“Is that what you say to yourself in the mirror every morning?” Sanji teases lightly, but he leans the rest of the way forward and rests his head against Zoro’s chest.

“No, I talk about my tits a lot more in my morning motivational speech.” Zoro says, a soft rumble of laughter in his chest.

Sanji hums, “Your tits are a crucial part of my morning motivation as well.”

They both chuckle softly, and Zoro tightens his hold on Sanji’s waist, their legs brush together as they waltz.

“You should give yourself some credit, too. I’m amazed and proud of you every day, you could have given up on all this a long, long time ago.” Sanji says, “No matter what happens, though, you keep going with your head high.”

“Well, I appreciate it, but really… I would have given up if it weren’t for you.”

Sanji nods, he draws in a slow breath that feels tight in his chest. “Yeah, I would have given up without you, too.”

Zoro’s hand slides up Sanji’s back, he cradles the back of Sanji’s head tenderly, rests his cheek to Sanji’s hair. “That’s why we’re gonna kick ass together, cause we’re real partners. We’ve got a good bond, we understand one another, and we expect greatness from ourselves and each other.”

Sanji fully wraps his arm around Zoro’s waist, they’re still rocking in time to the music, but they’re just embracing each other, the gentle patter of the rain filling the gaps of silence. From where his head is resting, Sanji can hear Zoro’s heartbeat, it’s faster than normal, and it seems awfully loud pressed against Sanji’s temple like this. Sanji traces his free hand down from Zoro’s shoulder, fingertips grazing lightly along the collar of Zoro’s shirt, and he rests his palm against Zoro’s sternum.

He lifts his head and tips his chin up to look at Zoro, and Zoro looks down at him in return. His hand still cradles Sanji’s head, his fingers splay out, his eye is heavy and half-lidded as he looks down at Sanji. Zoro’s heart speeds up deceptively, and Sanji suddenly realizes that Zoro is nervous right now.

That one word shifts the world beneath him, and Sanji feels himself straighten slightly. His hand that’s resting on Zoro’s chest wanders up, and he wraps that arm around Zoro’s neck, pulling Zoro’s face down until their noses brush together.

Zoro’s eyelashes flutter softly, he exhales slowly, his jaw tips towards Sanji almost unconsciously.

Ah, what the hell? Why not?

Sanji tips his jaw up and their lips graze together lightly, he hears Zoro draw a sharp breath of anticipation.

Lightning cracks through the air, followed immediately by a thunderous explosion of noise that shakes the house around them. Sanji jumps, he barely manages to not yell in surprise, and he flinches away from Zoro before burrowing back into his chest.

Zoro laughs warmly, both arms wrap around Sanji’s waist, “Scared, little bunny?”

“Little bunny?” Sanji asks crossly, he cuts Zoro a glare that feels weak.

Zoro grins, nods, “Yeah, cute little cotton tail thing, floppy ears, soft tummy.”

Sanji shakes his head, “I hate you.”

Zoro leans in again, “I don’t think you do.” There's so much life and love lighting up his eye, he glows as he closes the gap between them.

The doorbell rings, and Zoro groans in utter defeat. “The universe fucking hates me.”

The doorbell rings again and again, and they hesitantly step away from one another. Their moment is broken, and the sound of the falling rain suddenly seems louder than before. The doorbell rings several times in quick succession and Zoro makes an enraged noise similar to a wild animal.

He turns and storms into the house and yanks the front door open.

Luffy and Ace come spilling into the house, Law, Nami, Franky, and Robin all hot on their heels, shaking off their wet clothes in the foyer.

Sanji had kind of forgotten they were all coming over for dinner, but it’s no matter.

They needed to be interrupted anyway, Sanji doesn’t need that kind of distraction with his partner as they start competing. In fact, their unresolved tension will probably be obvious on the ice, might even play to their advantage.         

Sanji is happy to let Nami cling to his side as he prepares dinner for everyone, he bosses Ace around the kitchen and joins in on Law and Luffy’s drinking game for a few minutes before returning to cooking.

The whole time, he can feel Zoro’s gaze on him, intent and single-minded. Zoro wants to pick up where they left off, Sanji is no idiot. Well, he is a massive idiot, actually. But that’s neither here nor there. They can’t cross that line, not right now.

For multiple reasons, too, and Sanji knows that he at least owes Zoro that much of an explanation.

They eat and drink happily with their friends, and even when the night grows late and their friends get too drunk, Zoro still watches Sanji.

Franky and Robin take one of the bedrooms, Law and Luffy take one of the others, and Nami sprawls out on the large couch in the living room. Sanji lays with her and pulls his fingers through her hair and they have an in-depth discussion about 90’s fashion making a come back.

It's not until Nami falls asleep with one arm draped over Sanji’s waist that Zoro interjects himself. He’s been with Ace for most of the night, and when Sanji climbs off the couch, Ace falls into the warm spot and is snoring in a matter of seconds.

“Ready for bed?” Zoro asks, and Sanji nods.

All the other rooms are filled, so Zoro follows Sanji into his bedroom and they get changed with their backs to each other.

“Are we pretending nothing happened?” Zoro asks.

Sanji turns to face him, and Zoro is watching him through the mirror hanging on the wall.

“No, of course not.” Sanji murmurs.

Zoro turns around and looks Sanji in the eye. “We can, if you want to.”

Sanji swallows at those words, his throat is tight, his chest is heavy.

“I’ll wait for you, Sanji.”

Sanji crosses the room and pulls Zoro into his arms, rests his head against Zoro’s shoulder. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You helped me start over.” Zoro says, he pulls Sanji in tight and kisses his hair for several long seconds.

They crawl into bed together, peace settles between them as Sanji pulls his tshirt off and presses his hands to Zoro’s bare torso.

Zoro pulls him close, and they fall asleep together in a tangle of limbs, sharing skin, sharing emotions, sharing themselves like never before.

Sanji watches as Zoro looks around with wide eyes, his mouth open slightly, a surprised look on his face.

“Well?” Sanji holds his hands out and gestures broadly, “Different than you thought?”

Zoro nods, he looks around slowly, taking in the sight of standing rink side at his first figure skating competition.

“Nervous?” Sanji asks, and Zoro turns to look at him with a confident smile.

“Nope. You nervous?” Zoro’s smile turns to a grin as he speaks, “We’re gonna kick ass today. My partner told me I shouldn’t worry, and he’s pretty hot, so I tend to believe what he says.”

“You just believe what hot people tell you?”

Zoro nods, “Yep, sure do.”

“Well, you’re right, we are gonna kick ass. And I’m not nervous either, this is a cake walk for us.” Sanji says, and he returns Zoro’s grin, then they share a double high-five.

Zeff hobbles in, Charlotte on one arm and Robin on the other. “You boys ready?”

“Hell yeah.” Zoro says excitedly, and Zeff laughs at him.

“You’ll be up third in group four, keep yourselves loose, don’t put out too much energy before then.” Zeff instructs. “Sanji, if you burn a hole in that outfit with a damn cigarette before you get on the ice, I’ll kick your ass harder than you could imagine.”

Sanji just pulls a face in Zeff’s direction, “That was one time.”

“Keep an eye on him.” Zeff says to Zoro, who nods in response.

“Let us know if you need anything, okay? Just a call away, and we’ll be here when it’s time for your warm up.” Robin says, and then she and Charlotte leave with Zeff.

“So group four, I’m guessing we have some time to kill.” Zoro says, “What do we do?”

As Sanji goes to answer, he realizes that he has no idea what they do. When he’d been with his family, every detail of his day was calculated down to the last minute. He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without one of his siblings, and Sanji had learned the consequences of sneaking off the hard way.

He remembers being jealous of the others, though, seeing them buy cotton candy from the concessions and gabbing happily with their friends.

“Come on.” Sanji says with a smile, and he grabs Zoro by the hand and they head out into the halls around the arena.

They wander around the vendor and sponsor booths, sharing a popcorn that leaves an oily residue on Sanji’s fingers.

One of the vendors recognizes Zoro and they start talking about hockey, so Sanji leaves Zoro there and wanders away to look around. He buys them matching keychains from a local artist who has a small table set up, and he chats with her for a few minutes about her art. Zoro wanders past without glancing at Sanji, and Sanji recognizes when the idiot is on his way to getting lost, so he bids the artist a good day and hurries after his partner.

“Hey, don’t get lost, I need you today.” Sanji says as he catches up to Zoro and grabs his shoulder.

“But you’re the one who wandered off, I was looking for you.” Zoro defends.

“You walked right by me, sunshine.” Sanji shakes his head and winds his arm through Zoro’s. “Should I get one of those backpack leashes for you?”

Zoro sends Sanji a sideways grin, “You can put a leash on me, sure.”

Sanji shoves Zoro away, flushing as he tries to glare meanly at Zoro. “You’re such a pervert.”

“Mm, takes one to know one.”

Sanji rolls his eyes and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, but Zoro takes one of Sanji’s wrists and tugs his hand back out of the pocket. “Better hold on to me tight, I might get lost.” His hand slips down and he laces their fingers together.

It’s not as if it’s the first time they’ve ever touched hands or even held hands for that matter. But for some reason, Sanji’s heart pounds anyway, like he’s a middle schooler with a crush.

His brain helpfully supplies the memory of Zoro’s heart pounding against Sanji’s temple, the night in Florida where they nearly crossed a line, when they very nearly kissed. His heart speeds up until it’s almost hard to take a breath.

“You wanna watch some of the other skaters? Even though this is a B comp, everyone’s pretty good.” Sanji says.

“Sure. Do you know anyone skating?” Zoro asks as Sanji begins leading them into the arena.

“I didn’t recognize any of the names, most of the people I know will be doing the Grand Prix circuit, or they’ll be in the Challenger series with us.” Sanji says, they find two seats in the upper section and sit together. It feels like they’re at their home rink, in their hiding spot where they share lunches and fond memories.

The pair on the ice right now is a very young pair, still teenagers, probably their first year skating as seniors. Sanji passes several minutes explaining scoring as it happens, pointing out deductions that will be taken before the judges even do so.

The pair on the ice finishes their program with no issues, and Zoro is smiling brightly as he applauds them.

“They’re good. Bet you were better at their age, though.” Zoro nudges Sanji with his elbow.

Sanji chuckles softly, “My first year skating as a senior was a total disaster, actually. I was only 17, and 17-year-olds are notoriously smart, you know. So I was making great decisions at the time, totally didn’t affect my skating.” He grins self-deprecatingly and Zoro laughs softly.

“I was scouted by 17, and I also had my first situationship with a guy. Wasn’t a bad year for me, actually.”

“Oooh, Zoro had a boyfriend.” Sanji sings childishly, he prods his fingers into Zoro’s ribs until Zoro laughs and pushes his hand away.

“Wouldn’t call him all that. He was in the closet, or just curious, it meant nothing to him.” Zoro dismisses easily. “Now, I went to a hockey camp that year with Ace, wanna hear about that?” he wriggles his eyebrows scandalously and Sanji grins.

“Absolutely I do.”

So for the next three groups that take the ice, Zoro regales Sanji with tales from his high school days. It’s downright raunchy at some points, chock full of adolescent behavior, and so fun that Sanji laughs until his cheeks hurt. When it’s time, Sanji leads Zoro to the waiting area, and they begin stretching together, Zoro continues his story, and their easygoing energy flows between them like it always has.

When their group goes to the ice to warm up, Zoro shows off. Sanji skates near him and smiles fondly as he watches his big ham of a partner throw quads and glide around in complicated footwork patterns. He’s gorgeous to see out here, in a way Sanji has nearly gotten used to without meaning to.

Their outfits are mostly black, and Zoro’s has a mesh back and sleeves, with red and gold embroidery rising from his waistline. Sanji’s outfit is similar but has bell sleeves, and a plunging v neckline that’s held together by strands of red leather.

Robin had also somehow convinced Zoro to wear a bit of makeup, and the shimmer dusted on the insides of his eyes, subtle wing liner, and glossy lip looks incredible on him.

If Sanji hadn’t wanted to climb him like a tree before, this would have sealed the deal.

Their group is called off the ice and the first pair take their starting pose; Zoro comes and throws his arm around Sanji’s shoulder.

“I’m so excited.” He murmurs in Sanji’s ear, he’s breathing heavily from his warmup, and Zeff will probably yell at him later for burning through so much stamina in warmups.

Sanji has seen Zoro skate though, knows the limits of Zoro’s energy and strength better than the others, and he has nothing but confidence as he playfully knocks his head into Zoro’s. “I’m excited, too, you stupid jock.”

Zoro kisses his cheek, just a quick peck, then he rubs the lip gloss away with his thumb. “Prissy skater.”

They turn back to the ice and watch the first pair’s program, a beautiful artistic piece, set to an orchestral number that hums with curiosity.

Zeff, Charlotte, and Robin are all there at their sides, and Sanji realizes that this doesn’t feel at all like it used to.

In fact, this is an entirely new experience. He feels unwavering support from their coaches and managers, coming from people that Sanji trusts with his life. He feels an unmistakable confidence in himself, in his abilities, in finally getting to show off a new side of himself on the ice. He can set new personal bests, he can aim for world records, he can fly without anyone holding him back!

Most of all, Sanji has the unshakable, dauntless, unyielding loyalty of his partner. Someone who trusts Sanji implicitly, who listens to Sanji’s concerns, who treats Sanji as an equal. Not just an equal, but someone smart, qualified, experienced, and Zoro has leaned on Sanji every single step of the way. Zoro has looked up to Sanji, has relied on his instincts and knowledge in a way that nobody ever has.

The trust, the bond, the loyalty, the companionship that they’ve built over the last five and a half months. The support, the encouragement, the perfectly timed compliments, the carefully worded criticism. The shit-talking, the banter, the arguments, the space, the understanding, the time spent learning. Every single second that Zoro has spent becoming the partner he is for Sanji, it brings the world into a different light.

This world where Sanji can come out of his shell, show off on the ice, be loose and have fun off the ice. This world where Sanji can hold his head high, where he can make his own choices, where he doesn’t live with constant burdens hanging over him. This world where he is enough, where he goes through his days without being put down, where he doesn’t have to feel small, insignificant, unworthy, or undesirable.

Sanji is free.

For the first time in his life, he takes an easy breath.

He’s never felt this way, not after leaving his family, not after finding a new partner, a new life for himself. Not after the months of therapy, not after changing his name and his style and every single thing about himself that reminded him of them.

He never felt this sort of freedom.

Freedom that fills him with joy, with undeniable warmth, with love.

Zoro grabs Sanji’s hand and points at a nearby screen, which the graphic has just changed on.

The screen reads: Roronoa Zoro and Sanji.

Just Sanji.

He has to bite back tears of happiness, and a grin splits his face like never before as they take to the ice while their names are called over the sound system.

Zoro takes Sanji into their beginning pose, and when their eyes lock, Sanji can’t help but laugh. He covers his mouth and forces himself to school his emotions, but his cheeks feel warm as he drops his arm into starting position.

When their song starts, when they start their program, when the ice flies under Sanji’s feet once more, he can’t keep that smile off his face.

He laughs the entire time, joy compressing his chest so hard he can’t breathe.

Sanji loves to skate, loves it like the air in his lungs, loves it like he’s never loved before.

As Zoro catches Sanji from a toss and they find themselves skating chest to chest, they laugh together. Genuinely delighted, both of them, amusement and happiness shine on Zoro’s face in a way Sanji has never seen before.

When they finish, holding their ending pose for an appropriate amount of time, they both howl with laughter.

Sanji throws his arms around Zoro’s neck and buries his face in the moron’s neck, and they laugh so hard that it hurts.

When their score puts them in a commanding lead over their nearest competitor, Zoro is the one who shouts excitedly. He grabs Sanji by the waist and spins him around and around, yelling in Sanji’s ear the whole time.

When Zoro finally sets him down and the world is spinning too fast, Sanji nearly collapses with the need to kiss Zoro. To share this happiness with him.

This happiness that only Zoro has brought, that was only made possible because of Zoro coming into Sanji’s life. Coming into Sanji’s life and wading through all the bullshit, and taking Sanji by the hand. He’d led Sanji out, patiently, almost tenderly, and he’d brought him here.

To a world full of sun, and support, and the love of the people around him.

To a world where Sanji can finally live.

It hits Sanji like a runaway train, speeding down the tracks with no semblance of slowing down.

It isn’t just lust that he feels for Zoro, it isn’t just sexual attraction, it isn’t just Sanji’s thirsty ass simping over yet another hot man with very little happening between his ears and a whole lot happening between his legs.

Sanji is in love with Zoro.

Maybe he always has been, since the moment he came into Sanji’s life, since the moment he stepped foot on the rink with Sanji. With hockey skates, a coffee, and an attitude that set Sanji’s teeth on edge.

Maybe Sanji has always loved Zoro.

Sanji rides the realization like a high all through the day, and when all the short programs are finished, Sanji and Zoro are still in a very strong lead. They all go out for hotpot that night, and Sanji sits across from Zoro at the table so he can bump his feet into Zoro’s and give him flirty looks all night.

They say goodnight in the hallway and Zoro lingers with a warm smile as Sanji’s hotel room door closes, Sanji has to go bury his head in a pillow and squeal softly like a little girl. What a fantastic day!

He’s never set a score so high; he’s never skated a program so beautiful, and he’s never felt so wonderful at the end of a competition day. It makes him all the more excited to skate their free skate in two days, and he begins dreaming of their future competitions on the more prestigious circuits.  Sanji should have known Zoro wouldn’t have performance anxiety; they could have gone straight into harder competitions without needing to test the waters.

Even if Zoro had totally bombed today, it wouldn’t have been because he was nervous, it would have been because he’s a big dumb gorilla.

Sanji laughs out loud and rolls over to hug a pillow to his chest, he pulls his phone out and texts Vivi. “I owe you $20.”

She video calls him screaming at the top of her lungs just moments later, and they talk on the phone for over an hour. Sanji literally lays on the bed and kicks his feet as he blushes and raves about how wonderful Zoro preformed earlier.

When Sanji finally falls into bed that night, he sleeps with a smile on his face and the happiest dreams he can remember in a long, long time.

They spend the next day practicing and watching the other competitions, and it feels like Sanji is floating the entire time. Floating on little heart shaped clouds that smell like vanilla and buttercream. Floating on a nice, warm, lazy river, with the sun on his face. Floating on a feeling that makes him feel invincible, powerful, unstoppable. Feelings that fill him with joy, excitement, anticipation for what comes next.

It's easy to smile, to laugh, to enjoy the competition. Sanji offers commentary during the whole thing, and Zoro might watch Sanji yap more than he watches the other skaters on the ice.

It's easy to hold Zoro’s hand between his own, tracing his fingertips over the rise and fall of Zoro’s knuckles. It’s easy to smile as he talks to Zoro, to see the warmth that shines on Zoro’s face, to hear the affectionate tone Zoro speaks to Sanji in.

The two of them slip away that night and wander around the town. They find a smoke shop with a coffee shop in the back, and an adult store on the top floor of a bookstore.

Sanji buys a book with cool illustrations of sea animals in the book store and a vibrator in the adult shop. Zoro wanders after him in the adult store with the new book clasped in his hands, chattering over a gorgeously colored double-page illustration of a coral reef. He talks about free diving in the Florida Keys for easily a half hour, it’s a hilarious story full of mishaps with their first time spearfishing.

They get gigantic burritos from a food truck and sit on a bench in the park to eat, Sanji sits cross-legged on the bench, turned to face Zoro as they eat, and they laugh the whole time.

It’s so easy to laugh with him, whether they’re laughing together or at one another’s expense, Sanji laughs with Zoro more than he has anyone else in his life.

When they’ve finished eating, they take a leisurely walk around the park. Zoro holds their leftovers in one hand, he slings his other arm around Sanji’s shoulder. Sanji carries their purchases in one hand, he keeps his other arm around Zoro’s lower back, his hand slipped into Zoro’s back pocket.

When they get back to the hotel, Sanji pulls Zoro into his room, “Look, I got us something.”

He pulls the keychains out, they’re a pair of figure skates that attach with magnets hidden in the little laces. They’re a bit childish, meant for school-age best friends, but Zoro still grins like it’s the best gift he’s ever received.

“Aww, and you have the matching one?” Zoro asks with a smile.

Sanji nods, he holds his own up and shows Zoro how their magnets attach to make the pair.

“That’s so cute.” Zoro grins happily, “We’re so cute, man.”

Sanji laughs out loud, “I know, right?”

Zoro wraps his arms around Sanji and pulls him in for a warm embrace, he rests his cheek against Sanji’s head and slowly exhales. “Thank you.”

Sanji holds him close, he briefly considers asking Zoro to stay the night, but the instant the thought enters his brain, his dick twitches. So that’s off the table.

There’s no way Sanji could have this man inside him tonight and still behave tomorrow.

So Sanji settles for kissing Zoro’s cheek and murmuring, “Goodnight, idiot mosshead.”

He tells himself it’s for good reason, keeping Zoro at this distance is perfect for their competitions. It’s ambiguous, whatever is going on between them, so it’s enough to be noticeable tension without it being enough to spark rumors that they’re dating.

Excuses, just a bunch of excuses. Sanji has been making them since Zoro’s appendix ruptured, and he’s gotten quite good at it. There is no shortage of lies he can tell himself to convince himself it’s okay to do this to Zoro.

Maybe it’s selfish, but Sanji is starting to come around to the idea of being selfish. Not with everything, but for himself, yes.

The next morning Sanji and Zoro eat breakfast with the rest of their crew, Sanji traces his fingers up and down Zoro’s thighs while they eat.

As they prepare for their day, there’s a thousand of those little touches shared between them. Lingering glances, silent conversations, unspoken affection flowing effortlessly. When it’s their group’s turn for warmup, Zoro fusses with the leather lacing Sanji’s neckline.

“You should start wearing your piercings out here, I bet it’s not obvious. Plus, it’s sexy, so who cares if it’s obvious?” Zoro’s knuckles graze over the bare skin exposed on Sanji’s chest.

Sanji’s piercings and tattoos were both hidden secrets a year ago, nobody knew he’d done something to mar his body in such a way. Now though, there isn’t anyone to hate what he’s done to himself. There’s only people who love him, support him, want to see him be his absolute best.

Sanji catches Zoro’s hands and presses a kiss to his gloved knuckles. “I’ll let you help me pick new jewelry for all of them, how about that?”

A light flush rises to Zoro’s cheekbones, and he smiles warmly. “All of them?”

Sanji just pulls him onto the ice with the rest of their group, and they warmup with everyone else. His thighs feel tight with arousal, he could probably burst under normal circumstances, and it makes him feel powerful all over again.

Not only does he have this idiot’s support, he’s truly got Zoro’s affection. Whatever Zoro feels for him, it’s not subtle, and Zoro has made no efforts to hide it ever since Florida. How could Sanji feel anything but invincible with Zoro by his side?

As they watch the first pair preform, Sanji leans over to murmur softly to Zoro. “All of them.”

“How many is that? Just so I know how many I need to pick out.” Zoro asks with a flirty smile, he bumps his hip into Sanji’s.

Sanji hums teasingly, “Five including my nipples.”

Zoro fakes a scandalized gasp, “Where are the other three, sir?”

Sanji just hooks his teeth over his lower lip as they laugh softly together.

“Alright, lads, enough giggling.” Zeff says, he puts a hand on both of their shoulders and separates them. “Zoro, keep your core tight on that spiral. Sanji, don’t pull any of your punches.”

Sanji holds his fists up and throws a mock punch towards Zeff, who smiles at him proudly.

“That’s my boy.” He ruffles Sanji’s hair, and Charlotte immediately begins fixing it.

Robin touches up Zoro’s lips and adjusts a few pieces of his hair, she smiles at him with all the warmth of an old friend, and she squeezes his shoulder silently.

“Sake bombs tonight?” Zoro asks her.

Robin grins, “Only if you win, you know the rules.”

“It’s basically impossible for them not to win,” Charlotte supplies, “They’d have to pretty much do nothing for this program in order to fall behind enough to not medal.”

“I’m about to go out here and throw my whole pussy, we’re gonna win.” Sanji says with a determined clench of his fists.

Zeff groans and Robin covers her mouth to muffle her soft laughter, Zoro and Charlotte have the same familiar grin on their faces.

Their names are called, and they take to the ice, skating around a few times before meeting at center ice and taking their starting position.

“Are the other three all in your dick?”

Sanji blushes brightly, he can feel his ears turn red, “And if they are?”

Zoro gives him a coy smile, and their music starts.

This program feels different now, and Sanji doesn’t even have to wonder why. When they first choreographed this program, there was no love lost between the two of them. Sure, they had worked hard to become partners, and they understood one another much better than they had previously. But there was no shared affection or warmth between them back then.

That time is gone, long ago blown away with the winds of change, and as the earth has continued to spin, they have grown and changed alongside one another.

Today, they do this program not just as partners, but as two people who love one another. Two people who want to perform their best, not just for themselves, but for each other. Two people who haven’t received an acknowledgement of their feelings for the other, nor voiced them out loud. Yet, two people who rest assured that their affection is not unnoticed, unappreciated, or unreciprocated.

It feels natural, the ice under foot, Zoro by his side, a song Zoro selected coming through the speakers. Fast and fun and full of life, making the audience get on their feet and cheer along excitedly.

It’s such a flashy program, and Sanji just can’t wait to see videos of it later, can’t wait to hear reactions and commentary on their performances. He can’t wait to give interviews, to do live videos, and to interact with the fanbase once more. It’s always been his favorite part of tournament season, and now he has a big, stupid, lovable partner to do it with him.

Zoro is grinning like a madman when he sets Sanji down from a lift, and Sanji reaches to caress his cheek lovingly, they lean their foreheads together as they glide, and then they’re turning away. Speeding down the ice, step-in-step, perfect synchrony flowing between them. Skates leaving the ice in unison, bodies twisting in time, the sound of their blades scraping the ice once more. Like a song, like a melody, like a rhythm that Sanji will never forget.

All that’s left is their death spiral, and it feels like it flows better than it ever has, sinking into that perfect song they create together. The entire arena is on their feet as the music cuts, the cheering drowns out the announcer over the PA as Sanji and Zoro both gasp for air.

Zoro scoops Sanji up out of their ending pose and cheers along with the crowd, skating to the edge of the ice with Sanji clutched to his chest. It’s a wonder they don’t fall, but they’re both laughing so much that it wouldn’t make a difference. They’re having fun, and Sanji finds that he actually doesn’t give a fuck what else happens.

It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says, or what the standings are, or what this means for their future.

Zoro never gave up, Sanji never gave up. They both dedicated themselves to excelling, to staying on the ice, and to making the most of their lives.

Together, they helped one another back up, and together, they started over.

Sanji plops himself in Zoro’s lap as they wait for their scores, and Robin rubs Zoro’s shoulders and softly speaks encouragements over them. Charlotte and Zeff have their poker faces on, as they always do during these events, but Sanji can see the light sparkling in Charlotte’s eyes. Everyone feels the same sort of excitement, it’s palpable between their group right now.

There’s no anxiety, because Charlotte was right. When their score flashes on the screen in front of them, Sanji feels all the air leave his lungs.

A perfect score. They lost nothing to deductions, and got every single point on their GOE. Every single tenth of a point that should have been awarded to them flashes on the screen before them.

Sanji almost wonders if it’s a mistake, but he doesn’t have time to fret over it. Because Zoro jumps up with Sanji still in his arms, Robin and Charlotte cheer along with them, and Zeff just gives them that same proud smile as before.

It’s a bit like a daze as they join the other winning teams out on the ice at the end of the competition, as they take their first place trophy, as they laugh together.

This is what Sanji had been missing all those years, all those wins that had felt empty, all the effort that felt like it was spent in vain.

He’d never known why, he’d never been bold enough to ask why it felt so empty to win, to be one of the best in the world, to be a living prodigy. He’d never been brave enough to look it in the face and wonder why it felt like nothing.

Honestly? He still doesn’t know why it felt so empty before.

All he knows is that now, curled up to Zoro’s side in the backseat of Robin’s SUV, the trophy in between their feet on the floorboard, this is the fullest he’s ever felt in his entire life.

Chapter Text

Autumn

Zoro has never considered himself a very smart man if he's totally honest. 

Athletics always came to him naturally, and so he’d always focused on using his talents and skills to get ahead. Thus, he’d never put too much stock in being a very intelligent individual, plus he's had three concussions before the age of 25, so he's probably brain damaged, too.

However, he’s proven himself wrong. He might be the smartest man alive, and all it took was a few words to prove that. 

He’s sitting in the back of the ballet studio and watching Sanji and Vivi film a dance video to some kpop song, and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried. 

Sanji seems so much brighter these days, like staring into the sun. He’s changed the way he dresses, his facial hair has gotten thicker on his chin, and he went and got a wavy perm after their first competition. It looks so damn cute in his hair that it sort of makes Zoro want to scream. 

Even now, with Sanji wearing a pair of baggy cargo jeans, a white cropped tank top, and a colorful orange and pink cardigan paired with pink tinted sunglasses, it gives Zoro cuteness aggression. He wants to punch something because Sanji is so damn cute. He wants to yank Sanji into his lap and hiss at anyone who gets too close to them. He wants to lock Sanji away in a tower and bring him extravagant gifts for the rest of time. He wants to brand his body with Sanji's name, mark himself as Sanji's, mark Sanji as his own.

Instead, he sits at the back of the studio and watches Sanji and Vivi dance, a fondness swelling in his chest until it aches to breathe. 

Sanji catches Zoro’s gaze in the mirror, and he grins warmly, Zoro can practically hear the soft laugh he suppresses, his eyes sparkle as he turns his attention back to the camera. What a wonderful treasure that Zoro gets to see him like this, gets to live in this world with Sanji. The world where things are infinitely brighter, warmer, happier, a world they’ve worked insanely hard to get to. 

It’s why Zoro doesn’t mind waiting for Sanji, even if it takes years, Zoro knows he’ll never grow impatient. Because he can see Sanji like this, smiling, full of life, happy to be alive. 

Sanji looks at Zoro like it makes the world spin around, like he painted the grass green just for Sanji to enjoy it. Sanji’s hand brushes against Zoro’s with all of the tender affection in the universe, dragging his fingertips over Zoro’s knuckles in an attempt to memorize every inch of his skin. Sanji’s warm voice comes through Zoro’s headphones, chattering about how big the mangoes at the grocery store are, pausing mid-sentence to coo over a cute baby. Sanji spins on his toes in the kitchen, one hand still sauteing vegetables, the other hand reaching to slap Zoro away from the meat resting on the counter, a dangerous arch to his eyebrow. 

Zoro prayed for this, for this close proximity, for this intimate life they share, for Sanji by his side, washing dishes and watching movies together on their rest day. 

Zoro ached for these days, for these moments together, and he’ll spend the rest of his life just like this if he can. If, someday, by some chance, Sanji decides that he’s ready to take another step forward, Zoro will be there to take that step with him. He’ll be perfectly happy to wait alongside his partner, and to be patient as he gets to live for the first time in his life. 

“I think that’s it!” Vivi grins and goes to grab her phone off the tripod. Sanji is breathing heavily as he joins Vivi to watch the video back on her phone, his cardigan dips off one of his shoulders, revealing pale skin and sharp muscle and bone. 

He smiles as they watch, they talk softly to each other, laughing at themselves on the screen. 

Zoro watches with a fond smile, they’d offered to teach him the choreography so he could do the video with them, but they’re both so good that Zoro feels he would look silly if he joined. 

Vivi’s phone goes off with a notification and she yanks the phone away from Sanji and hides the screen against her chest. It’s too late though, Sanji has seen whatever just popped up on her screen, and he’s screaming laughing. 

Vivi yells for Sanji to keep his mouth shut, she jumps on him and smacks his back as they both laugh so hard Sanji starts wheezing, and it makes Zoro want to cry with joy. He adores seeing Sanji like this, it’s such a balm to his heart. 

When they leave the arena for the night, Sanji leans close to Zoro with a conspiring smile on his face. 

“Guess who’s texting Vivi naughty things.” Sanji waggles his eyebrows playfully, “I’ll give you three hints: Orange hair, mean to men, loves money.” 

Zoro gasps, “No way, Nami?!” 

Sanji nods so hard it must make his head hurt, “Yes! I only saw the first six words of that text, but good lord!” 

“Isn’t this, like, a total betrayal of Vivi’s trust?” Zoro elbows Sanji in the side. 

“No way, that’s my bestie, we’re allowed to talk shit about each other.” Sanji defends, he grabs Zoro’s arm, “Come over for dinner, I’ve got something in the slow cooker that should be amazing.” 

Zoro nods, “Sure, sounds great.” They reach their cars, and Sanji pulls Zoro closer with the arm he’s still clinging to.

“Want to stay tonight? I’ll behave.” 

“Define behave, because I doubt you even know what you just promised.” 

Sanji’s smile is coy, “I won’t do anything you don’t like.” 

“That leaves nearly everything on the table.” Zoro retorts, he slips his hand along Sanji’s waist, “Will you do things I do like?” 

“That depends.” Sanji’s voice drops as he leans closer to murmur in Zoro’s ear, “What do you like?” His lips tease the shell of Zoro’s ear softly, he exhales slowly. “Actually, I’m more of a visual learner. You might have to show me.” 

Zoro swallows so loudly it’s nearly comical, he tightens his hold on Sanji’s waist. Sanji’s lips trail down Zoro’s ear, pressing feather light kisses to his neck, warm and leaving a tingle racing down Zoro’s spine. “Are you sure we have enough time? You know how thorough I am.” Zoro murmurs, he tips his head to the side, and Sanji’s teeth graze the tendon in his neck. 

“You really shouldn’t be worrying about such useless things, you know.” Sanji says against his neck, voice playful, he presses his lips to the place his teeth grazed. 

Zoro brings his free hand up to cradle Sanji’s head, fingers dancing into the soft waves, desperation eating at his bones. He needs this man in a way that’s concerning to his health. 

Zoro’s phone goes off, and he sort of doesn’t even hear it, so it’s a bit of a surprise when Sanji reaches into Zoro’s pocket and pulls the phone out. 

It’s a notification from Zoro’s doorbell, and there’s 9 of them in the last minute. 

Sanji holds Zoro’s phone up in front of his face to unlock it and then swipes the notification open. 

The live camera comes up and reveals a dark brown eye pressed in close to the camera. 

“Zo-o-o-r-o-o!” 

“Hi, Luffy!” Sanji exclaims, he presses the button to unlock Zoro’s apartment. “Make yourself comfortable, Zoro will be there in a few!” 

Then Sanji locks Zoro’s phone and pushes it back into Zoro’s pocket. 

“You want him? I’ll just send him to yours.” Zoro offers, defeated in a way that doesn’t even take the wind out of his sails anymore. He’s just used to being kept away from Sanji on some sort of cosmic level that must be the sick sense of humor from some sort of higher power. It sucks every single time something interrupts them or stops their time together, it’s like being edged for weeks on end. But still, Zoro promised patience, and it’s not grating to give it to this man. 

“No, go home.” Sanji kisses Zoro’s neck once more and then takes a step back. “I’ll bring dinner over, you know he’s going to be ravenous after traveling.” 

Zoro sighs, “Yeah, thanks. I’ll go get some alcohol before heading there. If you beat me home, you know the door code.” 

Sanji nods, “Guess you’ll have to teach me some other time, huh?”   

Zoro shoots him a dirty look and Sanji laughs as he rounds his car and climbs into the driver’s seat. Zoro would be half-convinced that Sanji is the one orchestrating their interruptions if it weren’t for the fact that Sanji is definitely just as horny as Zoro is. 

Zoro drives back to his apartment with the windows down, enjoying the lingering warmth of the early September day, it’s started to cool off quite a bit, especially at night. It’s only a matter of time before it’s cold again, and their competitions seem to only take place in cold cities. 

He’s managed to cool his head by the time he arrives back at his place, and Luffy has already made himself at home when Zoro makes it inside. 

His captain launches himself across the room and latches to Zoro in a tight hug, clinging to Zoro and chattering about the B competition they’d done a few weeks prior. Luffy kisses Zoro’s hair over and over, praising Zoro incessantly. 

“I missed you.” Zoro says, holding onto Luffy tightly as he kicks his shoes off and makes his way into the living room. 

They collapse on the couch together, Zoro nuzzles into Luffy’s chest and drags in a deep breath of his familiar scent. Luffy smells like the sea air, bright and fresh, and it feels like home to Zoro. 

Luffy hums happily as they snuggle together, “The way he looks at you during the free skate is insane.” He says against the top of Zoro’s head. 

“I haven’t watched it.” Zoro says, and Luffy gasps. 

“What?! It’s so hot! You gotta watch it!” 

Zoro shakes his head, “No, I don’t want to.” 

The lock beeps and the door opens, Sanji comes in with his arms full and a sunny smile already on his face.

“Hi, gorgeous!” Luffy untangles himself from Zoro and nearly trips as he climbs off the couch and goes to take some things from Sanji’s hand. He drops a loud kiss on Sanji’s cheek as a greeting. 

“Hi, Luffy, it’s good to see you!” Sanji hands over a cold bag to Luffy and kisses him on the cheek. “Congratulations on your contract extension!” 

“Thanks! Did you see how much money they’re gonna give me?” Luffy crows, he doesn’t wait for Sanji to reply, “9.5 million!” 

Sanji shakes his head, “That’s insane, dude. Amazing for you, I’m so proud of you guys.” 

Sanji and Luffy go into the kitchen and Luffy chatters about hockey and how well Sanji did in the competition. 

Sanji pulls the crockpot out of the warming bag and goes about prepping food as he listens and nods along with Luffy. 

“Oh! Did you know Zoro hasn’t watch your performance yet?” Luffy says suddenly. 

Sanji pauses and turns to look back at Zoro, “Really?” 

“Nope!” Luffy answers. 

“Why not?” 

Zoro lifts a shoulder, “I’m worried I look ridiculous, and it’ll make me feel some type of way.” He says honestly, it’s gotten so easy to be open and honest with Sanji. It’s always been easy to share with Luffy, because the guy just doesn’t let anything get to him. It’s been a work in progress with Sanji, though. 

Sanji frowns, “But you used to watch yourself play hockey, right? That’s, like, a strategy thing, yeah?” 

Zoro nods. 

“This is no different, just seeing what might need work. Charlotte records every practice; I watch everything we do.” 

Zoro swallows thickly, “But you’re good at this, you look amazing when you skate.” 

“So do you.” Sanji interjects. 

“I feel silly sometimes still, like everyone can tell I’m too big, and not graceful enough. What if I look ridiculous, or like I’m holding you back? If we’re totally mismatched then-“ Zoro snaps his mouth shut and the room is completely silent. 

Sanji comes into the living room and sits beside Zoro with a deep frown on his lips. “You know I’m way too much of an asshole to keep you around if you weren’t a good partner.” 

Zoro chuckles softly, the words are such a balm to his nerves, he nods. As much as Sanji has come to care for Zoro, that one undeniable fact remains very true, if Sanji truly felt Zoro wasn't up to snuff, he would find another partner to skate with.

“You look amazing, and you are good enough, and that’s exactly what everyone thinks.” Sanji assures him, he takes Zoro’s hands and squeezes them. “Watch the video, let us prove you wrong.” 

Zoro leans into him and Sanji embraces him, rubbing his back softly and kissing the side of his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you felt this way.” He says softly. 

Zoro finally unclenches his jaw and shakes his head, “I didn’t tell you, you couldn’t have known.” 

Sanji leans back and pats him on the cheek, “Be more confident, you’re sexy as hell.” 

Then he stands and returns to the kitchen, where Luffy is leaning against the counter and watching with a warm grin. 

The look in his eyes is so familiar, so full of warmth and love. Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut, managing to read the room for once. 

Zoro nods him over and Luffy comes to curl to Zoro’s side again. It’s nice to hold him until Zoro feels better, like hugging a puppy. 

“I have something for you.” Luffy says. 

“Yeah? Is it a bug?” 

Luffy laughs, “Not this time.” He sits up and grabs his backpack from the floor, he shoves his hand down in one of the pockets and produces a small box. He holds it out to Zoro, a big grin on his face. 

“Aren’t you supposed to get down on one knee?” Zoro jokes as he reaches for the box. 

Luffy laughs and snatches the box back from Zoro’s reach, and he’s all smiles as he pushes himself off the couch and into the floor on one knee. 

“Zoro, from the minute I saw you-“ 

“Hey!” Sanji interrupts, “That’s my line!” 

Luffy laughs out loud, and he opens the box to show Zoro what’s inside. 

It’s a huge chunk of white gold with hundreds of diamonds sparkling in it. His name is etched in the side, his number underneath it, the team logo set in the center of the ring. 

“Holy shit.” Zoro mutters. “I get one?” 

“Of course you do, you’re still part of the team.” 

“I didn’t even see you guys win.” 

“Yeah, cause you were trying to die, you know you can’t get away from us that easy.” 

Sanji comes back to stand by Zoro’s side, he gasps when he sees the ring. “Oh my god, that thing is huge.” 

Zoro takes the ring out of the box and turns it over in his hand. “Thank you, captain.” 

“Want me to put it on you?” Luffy teases, he sits on the couch beside Zoro again. 

Zoro shakes his head and turns to Sanji, he takes Sanji’s right hand and slips the ring onto his pointer finger. 

“Jeez, it’s massive.” Sanji chuckles, he lifts his hand to inspect the ring closer, “I’ve never seen one of these in person.” 

“This is Zoro’s fourth one.” Luffy supplies helpfully, he holds his own hand up, “My third, but Ace says if I wear them all, I’ll have to fight people for them.” 

“If you had three of these on, I’d be afraid to take a punch from you.” Sanji turns to Zoro again, “Can I see the others?” 

Zoro leads them into one of the spare bedrooms and pulls a box out of the closet. There’s a safety deposit box inside that he unlocks and pulls the other three rings out. They’re all in their boxes still, and they’re all just as opulent and shiny as this one. 

He used to wear them, at least the most recent one, but he hasn’t even looked at them since his accident. 

Sanji reaches into the box and pulls something else out, clutching it in his hands like it’s precious. “Why is this stuff in here? Aren’t you proud?” 

“It’s just bronze.” Zoro dismisses. 

“It’s an Olympic medal, you stubborn turd. I’ve been chasing one of these my entire life.” Sanji snips. 

“Here.” Luffy reaches and takes the three ring boxes from Zoro, then he marches into Zoro’s room and displays them proudly on the dresser, each box open to show off the ring inside. “Now we both know you’re doing that thing again.” 

“What thing?” Sanji asks. 

“That thing where he never lets himself be good enough, or strong enough, or proud of himself.” 

Zoro rolls his eyes, “Can we not do this?” 

Luffy frowns at him, lips pressed firmly together. Sanji chews on his lower lip, worrying his thumb back and forth over the design on the medal face. 

Zoro sighs and takes the medal from Sanji, he hangs it on the wall alongside the team pictures, and he allows himself to feel a swell of pride as he steps back and looks up at it. 

He’d gotten to represent his country in his sport, and he’d only been 20 years old at the time. 

“Now, let’s go watch videos of you being hot.” Luffy says, and he pulls Zoro into the living room once more. 

Luffy joins Sanji in the kitchen and makes cocktails that are strong enough to poison a small horse before he plops himself on the couch beside Zoro. 

He begins talking about a charity he’s found that he’s going to start working with, a Florida based program for queer kids. Luffy has worked closely with charities ever since his career began, his first several significant paychecks went to various outreaches. He’d lived between Zoro’s and Ace’s couches for months before he finally decided it might be cool to have his own place. 

Luffy and Ace had grown up in the same orphanage, then were lucky enough to be adopted together, so the brothers both had soft spots for charity programs geared towards kids. 

Luffy talks animatedly about the program until they finish their overpowered cocktails and Sanji has dinner ready. 

Luffy talks all the way through dinner, only pausing to shovel food into his mouth, and it’s as endearing as it is disgusting. 

Zoro finds himself with his chin propped in his hands and listening to Luffy intently by the time they’re done eating. Sanji is just as enamored, cleaning the table without taking his eyes off of Luffy. 

Luffy washes dishes with Sanji, bumping into him and smiling charmingly. 

Come to think of it, this is the first time Luffy has been around Sanji since Sanji got over his breakup. 

He might just take this opportunity to do a very Luffy thing and weasel his way into Sanji’s pants by being charming, funny, kind, attractive, and an all-around amazing human. 

Zoro feels the need to go into the kitchen and physically separate the two of them, a hot stab of jealousy that makes his chest ache. 

He’s actually seen these two roll all over each other and not felt this way, they’ve possibly even kissed before, and it never bothered Zoro. 

So why does he have to dig his fingers into his knees to stop himself from making Luffy come sit on his hands beside Zoro. Why now? 

Once the dishes are clean and leftovers stored away, Sanji and Luffy join Zoro on the couch. 

He’s worried they might try to make him watch the competition videos, but they just settle on either side of Zoro and turn on the TV. 

“We’ve been watching the Harry Potter movies, I’ve never seen them before.” Sanji tells Luffy as he pulls up the movie. 

“No way! These are great, which one are you on?” Luffy crows excitedly, he slings an arm around Zoro’s shoulder and throws his legs over Zoro’s lap. 

“Prisoner of Azkaban.” Sanji replies. 

“Oh, they haven’t even gotten good yet. Goblet Of Fire is my favorite, that’s when they get good.” Luffy says. 

“No way, they’re good from the start. The first one is such a classic.” Zoro argues. “Besides, his favorite is gonna be Half Blood Prince.” 

“Oh, you’re calling it?” Luffy pokes Zoro playfully.

“Yeah, his favorite character is Draco.” Zoro explains. 

“I love that little bastard.” Sanji says with a grin as the movie starts. 

Sanji leans against Zoro’s side and drapes an arm over the back of the couch, he plays with Luffy’s hair with that hand, long fingers in the messy black waves. 

He snuggles to Zoro, wrapping his other arm around Zoro’s bicep and resting his head to Zoro’s shoulder. 

They settle in like that, a little pile on the couch, and Luffy falls asleep in less than 30 minutes. 

They stay like that, holding each other, and they watch the movie in a comfortable companionship. 

“Do you want to stay?” Zoro asks softly once the credits are rolling. 

“Sure, can I borrow some clothes?” Sanji answers, he sits up and stretches his neck. 

“Yeah, you know where everything is.” Zoro says, and Sanji untangles himself from Zoro, presses a kiss on his shoulder, and gets up off the couch. 

He doesn’t look back as he shuffles towards Zoro’s bedroom, arms stretched over his head, a picture etched into Zoro’s mind in a heartbeat. 

Zoro watches him go, then turns and smacks Luffy’s cheek a few times. 

“Hey. Let’s go to bed.” 

“Kay.” Luffy replies without moving an inch. 

“Come on, you’ll fuck your back up sleeping like that.” Zoro nags, he tugs Luffy off the couch and tosses him over his shoulder easily. 

Luffy dangles limply, making no move to hold on nor escape Zoro’s grasp. He rides draped over Zoro’s shoulder into the bedroom, and Zoro throws him on the bed unceremoniously with little reaction from Luffy. 

He simple mumbles something incoherent and begins lamely trying to undress himself. 

“Want some help?” Sanji teases as he comes out of the bathroom wearing a pair of Zoro’s sweat pants and one of his tshirts. 

Luffy nods, so Sanji goes and helps Luffy out of his jeans and T-shirt. Luffy is snoring before his clothes even hit the floor, and Sanji smiles warmly at him. 

Zoro climbs into the bed and Sanji is right behind him, leaving Zoro lying between Luffy and Sanji. 

Zoro lays on his side and faces Sanji, who does the same thing, he rubs his fingers up and down Zoro’s bare side. 

“I won’t push it, since it seems to be something that truly bothers you. You should consider watching us skate, though, even if it’s just a practice video. You’d feel so much more confident if you saw how amazing you look.” He reaches to cup Zoro’s cheek, he pushes his fingers through Zoro’s hair.

“When we first met, I didn’t know what our future looked like. Everything was so miserable, being happy or successful wasn’t on my mind at all. But everything is different now, all thanks to you. You worked so hard for us, Zoro, and no matter what, that makes us unstoppable. No matter what, we’re winners, because neither of us gave up even when everything fell apart.” 

Zoro buries his face in Sanji’s chest, Sanji wraps him up tightly, he kisses Zoro’s head for several long seconds. 

“If anyone should see the fruits of that hard work, it’s you.” He says softly. 

Zoro nods silently, he squeezes his eyes shut and wills himself to fall asleep quickly. As he starts to drift off, Sanji kisses his hair again, he whispers something that Zoro doesn’t quite catch. 

Why was Zoro hiding those rings and that medal from himself? What exactly had he been thinking when he locked them away like that? 

Strangely, he can’t even recall, and he falls asleep reassured that life has led him exactly where he needs to be. 

It's their last full week of practice before heading to the competition, and Luffy tags along to hang out the next day. 

It's the first time Luffy is seeing them in their outfits, and he has a hornier reaction than Zoro had been expecting. 

Especially to Sanji. 

His eyes are sparkling darkly as he watches Sanji do a little spin to show off the outfit. He looks up from under his lashes as he fiddles with the leather ties on Sanji’s neckline. His hands skim over Sanji’s waist briefly, he whistles lowly in admiration. 

Sanji might as well skip away after showing off his little outfit to Luffy, and Zoro isn’t sure which one of them to punch first. 

He looks over and sees Luffy staring at Sanji as he skates away, a little smirk on his lips, and Zoro is surprised how much it bothers him. 

This is Luffy, sure, he loves to flirt nearly as much as Sanji does. But it’s never meant anything to him besides with Zoro and Law, he just doesn’t feel romantically about people. 

Sexually, though, Luffy has never hesitated to sleep with someone if he felt like it. 

Seriously, he wouldn’t decide he felt like sleeping with Sanji, right? He’s selfish at times, but he’s not an asshole. 

Why is Zoro so angry with him, then? 

Zoro joins Sanji on the ice and they warmup together. If Zoro holds him closer than usual, if he lets his touch wander more than normal, if the brushes of his hand linger longer than they typically do, Sanji doesn’t comment on it. 

He allows Zoro to hold onto his waist as they discuss lifts and hand placement. He leans his weight on Zoro’s side while stretching his hips. He rests his forehead on Zoro’s shoulder as he catches his breath. 

He's become to close, so familiar, engrained in Zoro, their hearts beating in unison. 

What was it like before? What did the world feel like before Sanji? How did Zoro ever make it without him? 

What would he have done if they had never met? If Zoro had decided not to skate with Sanji? Imagine if he had been there just a few minutes earlier, if he had never seen Sanji skate to that one particular song. 

Zoro wouldn’t have even known that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life, he wouldn’t know that it would have been the single most regrettable thing in his current life. 

What if neither of them had made it through that part of their lives? 

Sanji swings in quickly, Zoro should catch him and pick him up so they can do their toss. His mind is just one step behind, though. 

Sanji slams into him, they both stagger but manage to stay on their feet. Zoro wraps his arms around Sanji’s waist and buries his face in Sanji’s neck. 

“Zoro?” Sanji asks softly, his arms hover at his sides before he pats Zoro on the back. “Are you okay? I thought we were doing the triple Lutz toss?” 

Zoro shakes his head, “Yeah, we are. Sorry. Just let me stay like this for a second.” 

Sanji hums and his arms tighten around Zoro, “Okay.” 

Zoro loves Sanji so much, so much it makes it hard to breathe. He’s so grateful for Sanji, for everything this rude asshole has added to Zoro’s life. He’s everything to Zoro. 

“Can I see the videos?” Zoro asks without lifting his face. 

“Of course.” Sanji pats his back and they stand there for another minute before heading to the edge of the rink. 

Sanji gets his phone from Luffy and pulls up Charlotte’s video of their competition. 

The free skate is up first, and when they enter their starting pose, Sanji laughs. He covers his mouth with one hand, but his eyes crinkle and shimmer even through the video. His cheeks flush brightly, he looks so happy and free and beautiful that it takes Zoro’s breath away. 

Zoro can’t take his eyes off the screen, as he watches them speed down the ice in perfect unison, jump with synchronized movements, and laugh together like they’re the only two people alive. They look like they’re having so much fun alongside each other that Zoro sort of forgets it’s him in the video. It makes him smile to watch, to see them flying and laughing together, to see how incredible they look together. 

They’re such an excellent pair, their bodies fit together just right, and the way Sanji looks when Zoro lifts him over his head is an incredibly beautiful sight. It’s art, it’s a performance Zoro didn’t think he was capable of putting on, and in his arms is the most exquisite being alive. 

Their program ends and Sanji jumps on Zoro laughing, the video ends with them skating off the ice and Charlotte screaming loudly in the background. 

Zoro doesn’t take his eyes off the screen, so Sanji swipes to the next video and it begins playing.  

This one starts with them whispering to each other, giggling together once again. Zoro recalls their flirting with ease, the coy conversation about Sanji’s possibly pierced dick, and he smiles as he remembers Sanji’s teasing words. 

This program is different to watch. 

Sure, it’s just as electric, just as artistic, just as beautiful. 

There’s something more to it, though, another edge. Something hotter, something more sensual, more intimate. The way they touch one another, the way their eyes lock, the way their bodies communicate. It’s overflowing with so much chemistry that Zoro feels like he’s interrupting something. Like he’s stumbled upon a private moment and should avert his gaze. 

Is this what other people feel like when they see them skate? Do they sense the tension between Zoro and Sanji? Is it palpable in the air around them, choking others off the same way it chokes Zoro? 

In the video, Sanji caresses his cheek, their foreheads meet briefly, and an entire lifetime of love and dedication flashes before Zoro’s eyes. 

He can so suddenly see a future with Sanji by his side. Not just as a figure skating partner, but as his best friend, as his confidant, as his lover, as his husband. 

There’s a life blooming between them, one filled with warmth and understanding, being seen and known by someone who has chosen to stand by your side. There’s love growing in their lingering touches and longing glances, the love of someone working hard to support and encourage you to be your best. There’s so much sexual chemistry that it nearly feels too hot to watch, but certainly too hot to look away from, a burning passion that screams a yearning desperation. 

Seeing their program fills Zoro with the utmost confidence, not just because he does look amazing, he does look like he’s worked insanely hard, he has changed his life. He’s grown, he’s adapted, he’s overcome all of these insane challenges. It’s visible. 

Right there on the screen, that’s him holding a lithe, gorgeous man overhead. That’s Zoro doing a combo sit spin, body stretched at incredible angles, muscles on fine display in the flashy outfit. How could he feel anything but incredible about himself after seeing this, after seeing the results of the hours, the days, the months of grueling work he’s put into this. He’s beaten his feet to a pulp, he’s changed his workout routine, his diet, his every habit, and it shows. It’s obvious that he deserves to be skating by Sanji’s side because he looks amazing doing it. 

On top of that, he can see the way Sanji looks at him as they skate. The way his eyes snap onto Zoro’s face as he comes out of the death spiral, the way his arms wrap around Zoro’s shoulder as they take their ending pose at the center of the rink. Everything that Zoro feels for Sanji is mirrored right back, Sanji looks, smiles, and touches like he's just as desperate for Zoro as Zoro is for him. 

The video ends and Zoro can’t breathe for a moment. 

He’s nearly afraid to even look up at Sanji. Will he be able to stop himself from kissing him? Will Zoro be able to control his hands, or will they simply reach out to frame Sanji’s beautiful face? Will his fingers want to tug at the dark hair on Sanji’s chin on their own accord? Will his arms resist the urge to pull Sanji close? 

In the two and a half months since Sanji’s relationship ended, Zoro has done very well to resist all of these urges. He’s even excelled with not thinking about Sanji while he touches himself, even though the idea of masturbating over Sanji is incredibly tempting every single time. 

It gnaws at his insides now, his bones ache with the need to reach out and touch and know. He wants to feel Sanji’s heat, he wants to smell and taste his skin, he wants to know every single inch of this infuriating man. 

The one standing by his side, an arm around his shoulder, warmth radiating off him like he’s Zoro’s own personal sunshine. 

“Told you that you’re hot.” Luffy says after a few quiet moments have passed. 

“Yeah.” Zoro clears his throat, “You were right.” 

“Still worried we aren’t a good match?” Sanji asks softly, his voice kind and patient. 

Zoro shakes his head, “Thank you for everything.” He finally looks over at his partner, and the world tilts off its axis. 

Slow drip coffee and home-made banana pancakes. Sandalwood cologne and fruity scented candles. Soft blankets on the couch and too many pillows on the bed. Shoes piled by the front door and laundry tumbling in the dryer. Quiet mornings and lazy afternoons. Sunny days, rainy nights, the wind in the trees.

There’s an entire life of love in Sanji’s eyes. 

An entire life of love that Zoro is going to share with Sanji. 

An entire life of love reserved only for them, built for them, by them.

Zoro pushes his face back into the crook of Sanji’s throat, and he forces himself to take several deep breaths to regain his composure. 

It’s incredibly tempting to kiss Sanji, to share these feelings with him. 

But it’s not the time, and Zoro knows it. So he’s happy to take deep breaths and feel Sanji’s warmth like this. 

When he feels better, they return to their practice with a renewed energy, and Zoro makes a rash decision. 

He’s going to surprise Sanji with something. 

Something that’s a lot of work, something difficult, something that could take Zoro a lot of time. He’s going to learn the back flip. 

They eat dinner at Sanji’s place that night, and Luffy and Sanji share too much wine and end up rolling all over each other on the couch as they talk. 

Strangely, it doesn’t bother Zoro anymore. The hot stab of jealousy is gone, his worries over his captain trying to snipe his partner is just an echo of the anxiety that gnawed at him. 

Not only would Luffy never do that to Zoro, but Sanji wouldn’t either. They both love Zoro, in different ways, perhaps, but they share a strong bond and an intense love for him. 

Zoro has nothing to be jealous over, because Sanji loves him. 

In fact, Zoro could take him to a whorehouse and let him sniff around until his nose bled. Zoro could set him loose in a sex club in Berlin with a dozen bottles of poppers. It wouldn’t matter what sort of liberties and freedom Sanji was given, because he is in love with Zoro. 

Even now, he lifts his head from Luffy’s throat, his lips swollen from kissing and nipping at Luffy’s skin, and he turns his head over his shoulder. 

His eyes search for Zoro, lock on with an intensity that remains unrivaled, and he smiles. 

He looks for Zoro constantly, eyes always roaming across the ice, across the gym, across the room, across the bed. Sanji searches for Zoro even when he’s near, even when they’re in arm’s length of one another, Sanji still reaches for him. 

Even though his touch and his presence have become as familiar as Zoro’s left hand, Sanji still smiles like it’s the first time he’s ever been allowed to smile at Zoro, his hands are still as tender as if it’s the first time they’ve ever touched, and his eyes are filled with more love every time Zoro looks into them. 

No matter what Sanji decides, no matter how much time he takes, he’s going to make his future by Zoro’s side. There’s no reason to be jealous, insecure, or apprehensive about anything, because there’s an unwavering, loyal dedication between the partners. 

Suddenly Zoro is able to find his peace at seeing his captain and partner tease each other like this, and in fact, he wouldn’t mind seeing them do something together. 

Zoro goes to sit in the armchair beside the couch, and he reaches out to brush his fingers through Luffy’s hair with a fond smile on his face. Luffy tips his chin up to smile at Zoro, Sanji buries his face in Luffy’s throat and drags in a deep breath. 

“Smell so good, Luffy.” Sanji says with his face pressed into Luffy’s neck. 

“It’s Zoro’s cologne.” Luffy threads his fingers into Sanji’s messy hair, his other arm wrapping around Sanji’s shoulders. 

“Mmm.” Sanji takes another deep breath, “That’s why it’s so nice.” He sits up and reaches for Zoro, Zoro leans towards him with a gaming smile. 

Sanji fists his hand into Zoro’s shirt and drags him in suddenly, he presses his nose to Zoro’s chest and drags in a gulp of air. “Smells different on you.” He murmurs, he lifts his head and his lips brush Zoro’s neck softly. 

Zoro exhales slowly, “Yeah?”

“Mhm.” Another deep breath, he presses light kisses to Zoro’s skin, his tongue darts out and teases the side of Zoro’s throat. Then Sanji collapses back on the couch and wraps himself around Luffy, and they stay like that until Sanji starts to nod off. Zoro cleans the kitchen and Luffy carries Sanji to bed and lays with him until Sanji goes to sleep. Zoro leaves a note on the kitchen counter and he and Luffy head back to Zoro’s place. 

Luffy is drunk and giggly in the passenger seat, and he excitedly agrees to help Zoro learn the new move.

Back at Zoro’s, Luffy curls up to Zoro’s side and is snoring in just a few minutes. Zoro falls asleep feeling more confident than he has in weeks, assured once again that he deserves to be here and that his hard work is paying off. 

The next morning, Zoro finds Zeff first thing in the morning, a coffee for the coach and a smile on his face. 

Zeff gives him a skeptical look as Zoro approaches with the coffee, “Well, you must want something.” He says as he accepts the cup and takes a sip before giving Zoro a look. 

“You’re not wrong, but it’s nothing bad.” Zoro assures him, he leans against the boards beside Zeff and watches the other skaters warming up. The singles in the club are wildly talented, but Zoro doesn’t really know any of them all that well, besides Vivi. Actually, Sanji doesn’t seem close to any of them besides Vivi, Zoro will have to find out why that is. 

“Well, out with it, then.” Zeff says, he downs half the coffee at once and snaps his fingers at one of the skaters, who turns with a meek frown and apologizes to Zeff immediately. “Don’t apologize, my boy, just do it better.” 

“I want to learn the backflip, I want to be able to do it with Sanji at the Pairs Challenge.” 

Zeff looks over at Zoro like he’s just sprouted two extra heads. “Have you lost your mind, Roronoa? There’s no way you can master it in nine days, you should have had this bright idea months ago.” 

“I didn’t even know Sanji could do it until we were in Florida.” 

“Then you should have thought of it then.” 

“Come on, man, please help me out with this. I know it’s a stretch, but I know I can do it.” 

Zeff sighs, “We’ll start later. You’ll have to start in the harness, I’m not just putting you on the ice to break your neck.” 

Zoro claps him on the shoulder with a grin, “Thanks, Luffy already agreed to help.”

“Why not Sanji?” Zeff asks him, another skeptical look in his eyes.

“I want to surprise him, I wasn’t going to tell him.”

Zeff sighs, “Love really does make a man stupid. Fine. Don’t tell him, but remember that I couldn’t even get you through your triples until Sanji helped you.” 

Zoro shakes his head, “That was months ago, I’m different now, I’m stronger.” 

Zeff huffs a fond laugh, “That you are, my boy. Alright, go get busy, don’t wear yourself down too much today.” 

Zoro spends the rest of the day with an extra spring in his step, and he doesn’t lose it for any reason. Not when he drops Sanji after lunch and gets chewed out worse than he has in weeks, not when he stubs his toe in the gym and Luffy and Sanji cackle meanly, not even when his phone falls off the bathroom counter and the screen shatters.  

Nothing sullies his mood, and harness training goes extremely smoothly. Zeff even agrees to let Zoro try on the ice the next day, with guide ropes, but still, in only a day. 

The next day goes just as well, and the flip proves less of a challenge than Zoro had thought it was going to be. He lands his first full backflip unassisted at the end of the second day of attempting it, and he could cry at his own success. 

Another day of watching videos of Sanji’s flip and trying to get the timing perfected and Zoro is feeling confident and prepared, but there’s something more to it, something he has become unfamiliar with over time. 

Pride. 

For the first time in months, Zoro feels unspeakably, immensely proud of himself. It’s not as if he’s not accomplished things he should be proud of, and it’s not as if the people around him aren’t proud of him for his efforts and accomplishments. In fact, between Luffy and Sanji, someone tells Zoro they’re proud of him twice a day. 

It’s just been words, though, and Zoro has let them fall on deaf ears over and over, ignoring his own achievements and growth in some sort of silent protest. What good has it even done him? Why has he been so adamant about feeling this way? He’s worked so hard, and just like Sanji had told him, he’s the one who deserves to see that. 

He speeds down the ice, popping himself into a quad lutz, then a triple loop, then a double salchow, and he laughs. He swoops and glides and twizzles in complicated footwork patterns, his arms flowing in time with the music and his movements, and he laughs even harder. At center ice, he throws himself off the ice and soars through another effortless backflip, landing it steadily, and he throws his head back and whoops with excitement. Zoro skates hard and fast, throwing his most complicated and technical skills, and he laughs until he’s breathless. 

When his stamina runs out, he flops onto the ice and lets it soak into his clothes with a chilly reminder that he’s alive, he’s here, and he’s done everything within his power to stay on the ice. No matter what, he put his head down, and he put his all into it, and now he’s here. 

Now he’s ready to fly to New York and put his all into these programs, to give his everything to his partner, and to become the best in the world alongside Sanji. 

Sanji.

Zoro laughs again, covering his mouth with one hand, and he feels his cheeks flush and burn warmly. 

Zoro loves him so much. 

“Zoro?” 

Zoro cranes his neck back and sees Vivi standing at the edge of the rink, she’s pulling her blade guards off, and she skates to Zoro’s side. “You okay?” 

Zoro nods and sits up, “I’m great, actually.” He says with a grin, which she mirrors happily. She holds her hand out to him and helps Zoro up off the ice. 

“It’s late, why are you still here?” She asks as she dusts some ice off Zoro’s shoulder and grimaces at how wet his back is. “Aren’t you cold?” 

Zoro nods, there’s a chill that threatens to make him shiver, but he’s delighted anyway. Because he did it! Even Zeff said it couldn’t be done, and it took Zoro less than three days! 

“I’m practicing a new skill, it’s a surprise for Sanji.” Zoro says, he pulls his jacket off and it’s a bit warmer without the damp fabric clinging to his skin. 

Vivi grins, “That’s cute, you two are so cute. How’s it going? Need any help?” 

“It’s great, I feel super good about it. I’m afraid to do it again right now, I’m exhausted, but I’ll show you tomorrow if we get a chance.” Zoro gives Vivi a playful look, “Speaking of two cute people…”

Vivi blushes, “Ugh, he told you, didn’t he?” 

“He’s physically incapable of keeping his mouth shut when there’s gossip, of course he did.” Zoro says with a smile, “But hey, if you can put up with her horrible attitude, good for you.” 

Vivi laughs,  “She only has a horrible attitude towards men, and I kinda think that’s sexy. Robin hooked us up, and I think Nami was skeptical at first, but I’m glad she came around.” 

“Well, I wish you two luck, it’d be nice to see her be happy, I guess.” 

“It’s nice to see Sanji happy, thank you for that.” Vivi says earnestly, “You’ve been so good to him since you got here, even when he hasn’t deserved it, you deserve all the flowers. I’ve known Sanji for a long time, and I’ve never seen him like this before.” 

Curiosity wrenches the reigns out of Zoro’s hands and goes barreling straight forward, Zoro has wondered about why Sanji and Vivi are so close, and he’s hardly gotten a chance to talk to Vivi without Sanji around in months. So his mouth opens before Zoro even knows what’s going to come out. 

“How did you two meet?” He asks, and he’s grateful it’s an innocent question and not some embarrassing half-thought that he blurted out. 

“Competitions, I was a pairs skater when I was a kid, so I’d see Sanji and his family a lot. He was always really quiet and never played with the other kids, so I’d sit with him and talk to him when I got the chance. Then when we were 13, Sanji was actually my partner for two years.” Vivi explains. 

“No way, Sanji was the one throwing you around?” Zoro asks, he almost can’t picture it, but he’s so used to seeing Sanji as his partner, as the entire spectacle of their pair. 

Vivi grins, “Yeah, he was really good. But we got older, and I had a growth spurt before him, so I started skating as a single when we were 15. Then he…” She trails off briefly, “He went back home, and nobody saw him for over a year.” 

The words are heavy, a burden that sits hard on Zoro’s shoulders and chest, and his heart aches for Sanji and whatever he lived through. 

“It’s not my place to tell you about his family, and it’s not up to me to speculate about what he endured, and I’m sure he hasn’t been forthcoming with you over it, either. So thank you for your patience with him, he’s learning just as much as you are these days.” Vivi says, her eyes fill with love and determination for her friend, “Hopefully you know what it means to be by his side, how much it matters to him that you’re here.” 

Zoro nods, “I know.” 

Vivi smiles and reaches to squeeze Zoro’s bicep, “Go get dry, Sanji will kill you if you get sick a week before a competition.” 

“Sanji!!” A familiar, high-pitched voice calls out, followed shortly by quick footsteps. 

Sanji turns around just in time for the lanky kid to throw himself into Sanji’s arms with an excited squeal.  

“Almost didn’t recognize you with all that ass back there. Holy shit, your body tea, babe!” 

Zoro snorts and Sanji sends him a mild glare, “Zoro, this is Dellinger, he’s a huge pain in my ass.” 

“Am not! You love me.” Dellinger pouts as he unwinds his arms from Sanji’s neck. “Ugh, the facial hair? Seriously, you’re so fucking fine, not fair.” He turns to Zoro and holds his hand out with a big grin, “You’re Sanji’s new partner, yeah?” 

Zoro shakes his hand and offers a friendly smile, “Yeah, I’m Zoro, good to meet you.” 

“Stop! Oh my god, what a hunk of muscle, Sanji! Mm, he’s yummy!” Dellinger grabs Zoro’s bicep and squeezes. 

“You shouldn’t go around feeling up strangers.” A new voice says, mirth riddled in his tone. Sanji turns to grin up at Dellinger’s partner. 

He’s looking at Zoro, though, sizing him up with a suspicious glance. “Great, he’s hot.” He sighs like his life is all just one big trial. “I’m Cavendish, Dellinger's partner.” He extends his hand to Zoro, who shakes it firmly. 

Cavendish hugs Sanji briefly, dropping a kiss on both cheeks, “You look fantastic, darling, I’m so glad you’re here.” 

Sanji grins, “Just wait until you see him skate, Cav, it’s insane.” 

“Yeah? Wait until you see us, we’ve made some big changes this year.” 

“Is that so?”

“Yeah!” Dellinger exclaims, “Our program is so hot this year, and my outfit makes my waist look so snatched!” 

Cavendish rolls his eyes slightly, ignoring his partner’s antics like he usually does. 

Dellinger is only 20, but he’s been partners with Cavendish since he started skating at senior level. His maturity is still seriously lacking, and his mindset is a touch deranged for Sanji’s liking, but he’s one of the most impressive skaters on the ice today, and he’s definitely Sanji’s biggest competition. 

Cavendish is likely Zoro’s biggest competitor, he’s another overly large man with a male partner, and his attention-seeking mentality alone makes him a threat. He’s gorgeous, he’s charismatic, and he’s a total media darling with the knack for spinning things in his favor. 

Cavendish and Dellinger teaming up was the only way to keep them from eating the other alive, and together, they’ve proven to be Sanji’s biggest fight for the last few years. 

Things will be different this year, though, and Sanji knows it deep in his bones. So he’s not nervous at all, and he looks forward to having fun with the other pair. They’re not the only pair Sanji knows, this entire competition is a who’s who of pair figure skating, and some of the best in the world are here. 

“Where’s your beautiful manager?” Cavendish asks politely, even though Sanji knows his intentions are anything but polite.

“Charlotte is off somewhere with Zoro’s manager, just wait ‘til you see Robin.” Sanji says with a grin, and Cavendish returns the smile with a cocked eyebrow. 

“I look forward to seeing them both.” He says warmly, then he turns back to Zoro. “I’m being nosy, but I know your team took the cup a few weeks ago.” 

Zoro nods with a proud smile, “My captain is here, so are several of my other teammates. I’ll introduce everyone later.” 

Dellinger squeals, “Wait! Is your goal tender here? I’d love to have an Ace up my sleeve if you know what I mean”

Sanji scoffs and Zoro chokes on his laughter, covering his mouth as he coughs with a grin still on his face. 

“I’d love to see the ring later, and I’d be delighted to meet them all.” Cavendish says, completely immune to anything coming out of Dellinger’s mouth at this point.

“Oh, I have his ring.” Sanji holds his hand out and Cavendish takes Sanji’s hand to inspect the ring. 

He whistles, “Impressive, Sanji. some men don’t get a single diamond after a decade, and here you have a hundred after six months.” 

Sanji flushes and glances at Zoro out of the corner of his eye, and Zoro is smiling proudly at him. He’d never officially given Sanji the ring, he just put it on Sanji’s hand that first night and never took it off. 

It’s huge and ridiculous and in Sanji’s way every single minute of the day, but he’ll be damned if he gives it back without being explicitly asked. The sparkle of diamonds and sapphires on his hand is nice, but even nicer is Zoro’s number on one side, and his name on the other.

This must be what it feels like wear a boyfriend’s letterman jacket, only this one is worth 30 grand.

They stick with Dellinger and Cavendish for the rest of the afternoon as they get checked in and settled at the competition. 

They all go out to dinner that night, joined by Luffy and the handful of hockey players who are here for the competition. It’s loud and ridiculously fun, and Zoro sneaks drinks for them from Ace the entire night. 

Sanji points out other pairs that he knows, leaning too close to Zoro to gossip about everyone he lays eyes on, letting his hands wander wherever they please on Zoro’s shoulders and thighs. 

Luffy and Dellinger hit it off, and Cavendish surprisingly sticks to Law’s side the entire evening, and Sanji loves seeing their worlds come together like this. It’s a lovely reminder that Zoro isn’t just his partner in a professional sense, but rather that he’s become deeply engrained in every aspect of Sanji’s life. He’s become so familiar, like he’s just an extension of Sanji’s own being, hearts and breath in perfect rhythm. 

It's a reminder of how hard this man has worked to be here, and how thankful Sanji is that neither of them ever gave up. 

Back at the hotel, Sanji makes some flimsy excuse about why he needs to be in Zoro’s room, and Zoro has an equally flimsy excuse as to why they need to be alone. Ace herds the rest of the group away with a wink, and Zoro flips him off as they disappear around the corner. 

“Let’s go, we need to get our sleep.” Sanji says, he wraps his arm around Zoro’s shoulders and leans on him as Zoro opens his hotel room and they stagger inside together. 

Sanji flops onto the bed and stretches languidly with a long yawn, “Will you take my shoes off?” 

Zoro chuckles softly, but he removes Sanji’s sneakers without a comment, and he rubs the arches of Sanji’s feet for a few minutes once the shoes are out of the way.

“I got you something.” Zoro says, his hands trail off Sanji’s feet and he goes to grab his backpack off the couch. He produces a small  box that he offers to Sanji with a coy smile. “I didn’t want to guess wrong about the other three pieces of jewelry, so you’ll just have to show them to me first.” 

Sanji grins, he sits up and takes the box, which he opens to reveal several pieces of body jewelry. They’re all for his nipples, an assortment of barbells, rings, and a few sexy dangly ones, Sanji can’t help but laugh. “Thank you, Zoro, you’re sweet.” He smiles up at his partner and holds the box out between them, “Help me pick?”

Zoro reaches in and pulls out a set of barbells, blue opals on the ends, an anodized blue metal barbell. “These reminded me of the set you were wearing in Florida.” 

Sanji sits all the way up and pulls his sweater and T-shirt off, he trails one hand up his chest and teases the piercing. “I still have those in, they’re my favorites.” 

Zoro hums, he lifts one hand, and it hovers mere inches over Sani’s chest, until Sanji nods to him, and then Zoro’s fingers fiddle with the piercing. One of them swallows loudly, Sanji isn’t sure who, but it makes Sanji flush all over. 

“How far down does this blushing go?” Zoro ponders, he lifts his hand and cups Sanji’s jaw, “Makes me want to see every inch of you turn red.” 

“Zoro.” Sanji murmurs, he wraps his fingers around Zoro’s wrist, leans his cheek into Zoro’s palm. Why hasn’t Zoro kissed him? Sanji would let him. 

In fact, Sanji would have sex with Zoro if it was something they talked about and agreed to. 

“Will you put these in?” Zoro asks, his voice is growing husky, and his pupil is already wide when Sanji looks up at him. 

They go into the bathroom and Sanji cleans the new jewelry and takes the current pair out, Zoro leans on the counter beside him and watches with his arms crossed over his chest and his nails digging into his palms. Why does he stop himself from touching Sanji? They both want it, they share the same feelings, desires, dirty thoughts. So why don’t they touch each other? Why don’t they kiss? Why don’t they sleep together? 

Zoro had promised to wait for Sanji, and it’s gotten easier to believe him every single day that goes by. Zoro truly would wait for Sanji until the end of his days, staying patiently by Sanji’s side and making sure he’s happy and safe. 

In moments like this, it’s easy to forget why Sanji is still making Zoro wait, even though it wasn’t an easy decision for Sanji to make at the time. 

He changes the jewelry while he contemplates his own choices, and he looks up into the mirror to see the sparkle of the blue opals shimmering against his pale skin. 

“They’re so nice, the color looks good on me.” Sanji says with a smile, he turns to face Zoro and finds him clinging to the edge of the bathroom counter like it’s his one tether to reality, like it’s the only thing keeping his feet on planet Earth. He stares at Sanji’s chest until his eye twitches, and then he drags in a breath so deep that it seems he’s been holding it for several hours. 

“Yeah, it’s a great color on you.” Zoro says, he clears his throat and looks down at his feet, “Sorry, I don’t remember how to make eye contact with you.” 

Sanji laughs brightly, he reaches to pry Zoro’s hand off the edge of the counter, and he leads him back into the bedroom. “You ready for bed?” 

Zoro shakes his head immediately, “No, I can’t sleep right now.” 

Sanji gives him a coy look over his shoulder, “Why not?” 

“I’m so hard I could pass out.” 

Sanji doesn’t mean for his eyes to immediately trail south, he had no intentions of openly trying to stare at Zoro’s crotch this evening, yet his gaze moves before he’s even fully processed the sentence out of Zoro’s mouth. 

“Perv! You’re such a perv, I can’t believe you tried to ogle my cock!” 

Sanji just cackles, he covers his face with both hands and feels the embarrassed flush spread over his skin quickly, “Holy shit, I can’t believe I did that either.”

Zoro laughs, though, as hard as Sanji has ever heard him laugh, his eyes crinkle shut with delight and he clutches his chest as he laughs loudly. “You’re so fuckin’ funny.” He goes to his luggage and digs out a pair of sweatpants and his toiletries. “I’m gonna shower.”

“Definitely not gonna jerk off, right?” 

“Mm, definitely not, it’d be morally wrong to fantasize about you in the shower and I pinky promise I’ve never done it before.” Zoro holds up three fingers, “Scouts Honor.” 

“Oh, that’s morally wrong? Cause I’ve fantasized about you in the shower while in the same room as you.” 

“ What?” Zoro practically drops his things as he turns to look at Sanji with wide eyes. 

“Yeah, you mean you’ve never jerked off while literally in the same room as me?” 

“No!” Zoro laughs, a half-confused sound, “I always go to the next room over.” 

Sanji grins, “What a gentleman. I do not have your manners, I’m truly sorry for that.” 

“You’re being serious right now? You’ve actually jerked off while in the same room as me?” Zoro looks completely mind-boggled, “When?!” 

Sanji can’t help but tease him, it’s so much fun. “Like, when’s the first time it happened? Or, like, you wanna know every time it’s happened?” 

Zoro holds up one hand, “Actually, I want you to stop talking entirely. Never speak to me again, pervert.” 

Sanji follows him to the bathroom, “The locker room at the arena.” 

Zoro shuts the bathroom door in his face and Sanji can hear him make a noise that’s half excitement, half confusion, a defeated kind of groan from a man who is at the end of his rope. 

“Hell is hot, twirly!” Zoro calls once he’s done groaning, and Sanji just laughs. 

Its tempting to do something impulsive and rash, like undress and be waiting for Zoro when he gets out of the shower. Or literally bending himself over the bed and stretching himself until Zoro could slide right in and fuck him deep. Or barging into the bathroom right now and stripping Zoro bare, getting on his knees and taking Zoro into his mouth. 

Instead, Sanji lies face down on the bed and counts backwards from 200 until he loses his place, then he rolls over and grabs his phone. 

The group text from the hockey team is going crazy right now, Luffy sending pictures that are mostly dimly lit blurs with vague faces in them, and Usopp complaining about the quality of the pictures. 

Sanji has managed to calm himself down almost entirely by the time Zoro returns to the room and flops into bed. So Sanji goes and takes a freezing cold shower, thinking deeply about anything but Zoro’s tits, and he makes it through the shower with no issues. 

By the time Sanji dries his hair and goes back to the bedroom, Zoro is sound asleep with the TV playing an old western movie quietly. 

Sanji sits on the bed beside him and runs his fingers down Zoro’s cheek, cards them through his hair softly. His heart is so full right now, surrounded by love and laughter like never before in his life, and Sanji credits this green-headed moron with every single bit of it. 

A thought wiggles into the back of his mind. A thought of giving up skating all together. Not because he has to, but because for the first time in his life, there’s a world outside of skating. 

If Sanji wanted to, he could wake up tomorrow, tell Zoro he’s done skating forever, and that would be it. Nobody would fight him on it, he wouldn’t lose everything, he wouldn’t be shunned, discarded like trash, it would simply be his own decision. 

Sure, Zoro might be disappointed, and Charlotte would definitely chew him out. 

But Sanji could just get on a plane to Florida and have the exact same unwavering support he has at this exact moment. He could open a restaurant, he could become a coach, he could learn a new skill, he could do absolutely anything his heart desired. By his side would still be this big, dumb, mosshead jock, waiting, watching, helping. 

Sanji leans over and presses his lips to Zoro’s forehead, “Zoro.” He whispers softly, he rubs the tips of their noses together, then rests his forehead to Zoro’s. Sanji cups his jaw, fingertips reverent of the skin they touch, and his chest is so tight he can’t breathe for a moment.

“I love you. Thank you for the life you’ve given me.” Sanji whispers, “I’ll spend every day of the rest of it by your side, helping you the way you’ve helped me.” 

He caresses Zoro’s cheeks with his thumbs, kisses the scar over Zoro’s left eye, and buries his face in Zoro’s neck. 

Sleep overcomes him quickly and he rests safely by Zoro’s side. 

Zoro opens his eyes to glare at Robin, who is already smiling sweetly. “That hurts.” He grouches, and her smile grows wider. 

“You’re being a baby.” She continues to smudge the eyeliner under Zoro’s eye, assessing her work and then nodding in approval. “There, all done, baby.” She announces, then steps back and smiles at Zoro. Over her shoulder, Luffy is standing there with his fists clenched, a grin on his face, looking like he’s liable to explode at any second. 

“You’re so hot!” Luffy bursts out, he reaches under Robin’s arm and grabs for Zoro’s hair, Robin smacks his hand away. Luffy frowns and shakes his hand to wave off the pain, but he brightens as soon as he looks at Zoro again. “Seriously, makes me wish I could skate with you. Wanna go to the bathroom with me for a few minutes?” 

It's so jokey that most people wouldn’t take him seriously, but Robin rolls her eyes fondly and Ace smacks the back of Luffy’s head, Zoro smiles at his captain and shakes his head. “Sorry, Luff, prior engagements.” 

“Aw, too bad.” Luffy grins broadly, “After, then?” 

Ace smacks him again, and Luffy turns to glare at his brother. “What? He’s hot.” 

“You can support him without sticking your dick in him.” Ace says, and Zoro just resist the urge to slap both of them, Robin would have to fix his makeup if they got in a fight. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Luffy asks earnestly, eyes wide and genuine. He’s taken too many pucks to the head over the years, maybe there is something to be said about contact sports, maybe it does stunt some of them. 

Charlotte joins them and smiles at the group as they all greet her loudly. “I’ve been sent to make sure you don’t get lost.” She tells Zoro happily. 

“I wouldn’t get lost, jeez, he’s so dramatic.” Zoro rolls his eyes and turns back to his friends. “Well, see you guys later.” 

Luffy squeezes his hands hard and everyone calls their wishes of good luck after him as he and Robin follow Charlotte. He’d slipped off to find his friends once he was dressed to show them his outfit, and he actually might have gotten turned around in the series of back hallways. Zoro takes several deep breaths as they walk, he’s not nervous about competing, but there is a weird anxiety lingering in his chest. A strange sense of foreboding that gnaws at him, making each heartbeat feel harsh and off-kilter. He feels better by the time Charlotte leads them into the waiting area with the rest of their group, and seeing Sanji on the other side of the room helps him feel better, too. 

Dellinger and Cavendish are in their group, so Sanji has cling-ons, and it’s nice to see. Even though he suffered while with his family, people still loved him and were happy to see him at competitions and events. He still has a community of people around him, some of them who have likely known him for years. 

“Okay, I’ll be sending you the bill from my eye doctor.” Dellinger says as Zoro approaches, “Since you’ve blinded me with your lethal face card.” 

Zoro grins, “Period.” 

Dellinger squeals, “Wait, you’re so funny!” 

Sanji laughs at their interaction, and he reaches to take Zoro’s hand, “Luffy didn’t maul you?” 

“Nah, Robin stopped him.” Zoro says with a smile, he squeezes Sanji’s hand. “Come on, let’s stretch.” 

They warm up together while the group meanders around them, screens on the wall playing a live feed of the competitors on the ice. Zoro is stretching Sanji’s legs and looking around, the energy in the room isn’t nervous or tense like he’d been expecting. 

It's excited, buzzing with fun, everyone on the edge of their seat to see their peers perform their very best. Zoro is more familiar with a more competitive style of things, he’s never desired for the opposing team to preform badly, but he’s certainly wanted them all to lose. Even though every person here is a competitor, they’re also a sort of team, an inclusiveness of their community where they expect greatness out of each other. 

“This is great.” Zoro says, he looks down at Sanji with a smile, and then realizes they’re in a bit of a compromising position with the way Zoro is stretching Sanji’s legs out. He should possibly consider thinking before he opens his mouth, being around Luffy seems to drain his brain cells from time to time. “I meant this, you know. Not, not this.” 

Sanji laughs out loud, he covers his mouth with one hand and his eyes sparkle brightly, he’s so gorgeous when he laughs like that. He looks so young and unburdened, like a free man who has nothing holding him back, like nothing has ever drained an ounce of his youth. 

“Are you excited?” Sanji asks. 

Zoro nods, “Yeah, this is fun, I’m enjoying it.” 

Sanji sits up and looks around, he smiles contentedly, “Yeah, it is fun.” 

Zoro reaches for his bag and pulls out a small pouch that has several scratch off tickets tucked inside, he tears one off and holds it out to Sanji. Sanji accepts the ticket with his eyebrow cocked, and Zoro pulls the chain off his neck and holds up the coin attached to it. 

“What’s this?” Sanji asks. 

“Pre-game ritual, it’s my tradition with Chopper before hockey games. If the ticket’s a winner, so are we.” Zoro explains, he holds up the coin, “This is my lucky penny, also a gift from Chopper, so you know we’re guaranteed to win.” 

Sanji grins and accepts the penny, he begins scratching off the film on the ticket, “Double Chopper blessings, aren’t we so lucky?” 

Zoro nods, “Yeah, it’s a bummer he’s in school right now, wish he could be here.” He smiles fondly at the thought of the child, and he watches his partner scratch away at the lottery ticket. 

“$5 and a free ticket.” Sanji announces after finishing the ticket, “That’s a good omen, I guess.” 

Zoro nods proudly and takes the ticket back, “I’ll prove it to you, ticket’s a winner, so are we.” He accepts the coin back from Sanji and puts the chain back around his neck, tucking the coin under his outfit securely. 

They people-watch and banter lightly until it’s their turn to go to the ice and warm up, and then Zoro rolls his neck and cracks his elbows and shoulders. It’s game time, this is where the real fun is. 

The figure skating has become so natural to him, it’s the artistry that he needs to pay attention to, so his warm up is miming holds and tosses while practicing his own free hand position. 

Sanji throws a few jumps nearby, conserving his energy carefully, just warming up his landings. He’s worked really hard on his hip mobility and ankle strength recently, Zoro has noticed that Sanji’s workouts have become more focused and increasingly difficult. 

He looks more steady than ever, proof his hard work is paying off for him in noticeable ways, and it makes Zoro soar with pride. 

Any sense of anxiety or doom that clung to him earlier is completely gone, and confidence fills him entirely, certainty in their efforts and the work they’ve put in consumes him whole. 

This is about to be their best performance ever, Zoro has never felt more sure about anything in his life, and so he’s delighted that they’re up first in their group. 

Sanji had said he doesn’t like going first, but Zoro would rather just get it over with so he can relax. Even if it means judging himself against the others for the rest of the day, he already did his best and that’s all there is to it. 

The other skaters are called off the ice and Zoro and Sanji grin at each other across the rink, and Sanji winks at him brightly. 

They have a brief moment on the ice to themselves, and they skate in a slow circle around, swooping closer and closer to one another with each step. Their names are called, and Zoro leads them to center ice, where they take their starting position. 

Zoro grins down at Sanji, who mirrors the look back up at Zoro, all the warmth of love and affection shining on his face. Zoro hopes that’s what Sanji sees when he looks at Zoro, too. He hopes Sanji knows. 

Their music starts, and it’s on, Zoro locks in instantly and gives it his all. His holds feel fantastic, his hand placement feels strong, their throws feel well timed and balanced. Zoro lands his jumps well, doesn’t wobble on their combo spin, and gets the step sequence right in their choreo bit. 

Sanji does perfectly, as he always does, a star shining so brightly that Zoro barely deserves to skate alongside him. He’s so remarkably strong, his jumps have so much power, he moves with impeccable grace and finesse, he’s beauty personified in the flesh. 

Zoro would go to war for him, would work his hands to the bone, would learn the art of sculpting just to memorialize the details of this man’s collarbones. Zoro wants to kiss him until his lips are swollen, wants to make him writhe in pleasure until tears prick his eyes and streak the liner down his pale cheeks, wants to see him come apart brick by brick until he’s completely bare before Zoro. 

Lust fogs his mind as he watches Sanji fly through their death spiral, his eyes trail to Sanji’s chest without permission, his breathing feels heavy for reasons beyond physical exhaustion. When Zoro pulls Sanji into their ending pose, he nearly dives in to kiss him, a nearly unignorable instinct that screams through Zoro’s skull. 

Then Sanji throws his arms around Zoro’s neck and laughs, he spins them around excitedly, “You’re incredible!” 

Zoro pulls him in tightly, “God, you’re so good, you look so fantastic!” 

They continue to shout praises at each other as they wave to the crowd and judges, the entire arena on their feet and screaming for them, and they leave the ice hand-in-hand. 

Their team is there with blade guards, jackets, water bottles, and more compliments to shower on them. 

Zoro can’t take his eyes off Sanji as he beams, glows, shines radiantly with pride and happiness. He’s in a total daze as they’re lead to a bench where they wait for their score. 

What had Sanji called this? Kiss and something, kiss and cuddle, kiss and… is Zoro staring at Sanji’s mouth? At his pretty, painted, parted lips, wrapped around his water bottle while he drinks deeply, at how he gasps for air when he gulps the water down. 

Zoro turns his head away in confusion, and Robin squeezes his shoulder and leans in, “I’m proud of you, Zoro.” She says softly, and Zoro reaches up to squeeze her hand. He reaches to pull Sanji against his side, and Sanji leans into Zoro as they watch the screen before them. 

Should Zoro make a move? It seems like Sanji wants him to. Is now really the right time to cross that line, though? Or is there even a right time to do something like that? 

Besides, now isn’t the right time for this train of thought, and he shakes himself hard. Why is he so distracted? Did it affect him on the ice? Was his performance worse than usual because he’s unspeakably horny for his partner? 

Their score appearing before them says Zoro is worrying for no reason, as their names appear immediately in second place, with one of the highest grades of execution so far. 

Zoro jumps up and cheers, dragging Sanji along with him, who laughs and jumps around happily. They’re gonna win this thing, and Sanji doesn’t even know what Zoro has up his sleeve yet. 

They’re herded back to the green room, where they’re congratulated heartily by the others. 

“Not bad for a professional meat head!” Dellinger crows, he squeezes Zoro’s arm, “You look pretty damn sexy out there!” he proceeds to turn to Sanji and say a bunch of things Zoro doesn’t understand. 

He's unsure about most of the things that come out of Dellinger’s mouth, Sanji calls it brain rot, Zoro can see why. The things he says to Sanji seem like gibberish, something about a missing person report for Sanji’s waist, but they seem to be nice things to say. Zoro is pretty sure of it, anyway. 

Dellinger and Cavendish skate two pairs after Zoro and Sanji, and Zoro has mostly caught his breath by then. He cools off with slow stretching, and Sanji does the same thing as they watch the other pair skate. 

Their throws are insane, the height Cavendish can toss Dellinger to is mind-blowing. 

Sanji explains that it’s because of their size difference, using the analogy of a gorilla and a fly, that it’s the most sought after pairing on the ice. 

Dellinger isn’t even five feet tall, and Cavendish is taller than Zoro, so their size difference seems almost laughable. 

But they’re able to do some incredible things together, and their program is as hot as Dellinger had promised, a nearly scandalous display on skates. 

“They are sexy.” Zoro says as they watch the pair wait for their scores. 

“Yeah, but it’s too sexy. It’s trying to be sexy, you know? Our program is sexy, but it’s different.” Sanji comments, he’s rolling his legs out slowly, Zoro sitting cross-legged beside him. 

“How so?” Zoro asks with his head cocked to the side. 

“Chemistry, mossy, ours is off the charts, and real. Cavendish is a notorious womanizer and Dellinger is one of the gayest men alive, there’s nothing between them. You and I are actually seconds away from fucking at any point in time.” Sanji says like he’s discussing the weather. 

“We are?” 

Sanji looks over at him and grins, “Aren’t we? Isn’t that why you couldn’t make eye contact with me last night? Why you had to cling to the countertop?” 

“You were the one trying to look at my dick.” 

“That was after, and you brought your dick up first.” 

“It’s pretty debatable which one of us is bringing my dick up.” 

“See? This is what I mean, I’m about to ride you right here and now.” 

“Why not later? Why not last night? Why aren’t we doing this?” 

“Are we really having this conversation right now?” Sanji asks, suddenly serious. 

Zoro licks his lips and swallows, “I want to know we’re on the same page, I want to hear you say it. Don’t you want to know how I feel? When’s the right time?” 

Sanji pushes himself off the floor and holds his hand out to Zoro, “Okay, let’s find some privacy, we should talk.” 

It’s as simple as taking Sanji’s hand and climbing off the floor together, gathering their bags, and heading into the hall. It’s simple because it’s always been simple between them. 

First they were nothing, Sanji even viewed him as a rival, and then they were friends, and then partners. Simple, building respect between one another, working together to achieve a common goal. 

This is no different. Zoro knows what Sanji will say, he knows what he will say to Sanji. 

I like you. 

It’s more than that, but they’ll start there. 

I like you. A lot. Romantically, sexually, emotionally. 

They’ll decide when things are right for them. When they should kiss, when they should touch each other, when they should take things further. 

Zoro knows exactly what will happen, and just like being on the ice, he’s never felt more confident than he does at Sanji’s side, knowing what they can do together. 

They can be happy, safe, and loved by one another for the rest of their lives. Yes, they might struggle, they might fight, they might butt heads, but they’ll do so together. Because it’s perfectly simple when they’re together, just the two of them, finally, just the two of them! 

“Sanji.” 

Sanji stops dead in his tracks, his jaw cracks from how tightly he grits his teeth, his body language shifts in an instant. 

“You got a lot of fuckin’ nerve, I’ll give you that much.” Sanji says lowly, then he turns around to face Duval. 

Zoro glances between them, should he let them talk in private? No, right? Because Sanji clearly doesn’t want this. He should stay, even if he was once friendly with Duval, this man hurt Sanji. This man who could have loved and supported Sanji during the hardest part of his life made the active choice to hurt Sanji. 

“Yeah, I know. I know I have no right to be here, and you have every right to hate me.” Duval says, he holds out the large bouquet of flowers that he’s got clutched in his arms. “It’s selfish of me, I just wanted to see you like this again. You two did incredible, congratulations, Sanji. You deserve the world he can give you.” 

Sanji stares at the flowers for a moment, his eyes dart up to Duval’s face, and he falters. Sanji rocks on his feet and then looks over at Zoro, his eyes set in determination once more, and he takes a step towards his ex. 

“You know, there’s a part of me that’s glad you’re here. A part of me that still wonders why I wasn’t enough for you, what I could have done to be better for you.” 

Duval shakes his head and Sanji holds a hand up, “No, don’t interrupt me. You can let me talk, or we can end this right now.” 

Duval swallows and nods for Sanji to continue. 

“There’s a part of me that wants to fall to your feet and cry for you to love me, beg for an explanation that makes it all better. Why did you do that to me? When you knew how low I was, why did you do something that would take me lower? If I had found out about her in February, Duval, I would have…” Sanji shakes his head, “It would have destroyed the tiny bit of my soul that was still fighting, and you know if would have. Yet, you carried on, for months, and you lied to both of us about it. So even though there’s a part of me that’s happy to see you, you have burned all of those bridges.” 

Duval nods, his eyes locked onto Sanji intensely, “I know. I’m sorry.”

Sanji nods, “Yeah, I’m sure you are. I believe you’ll figure your shit out, and I don’t think you’ll ever do something like that again… but you can’t go back, and you know it.” Sanji holds his hands out and Duval passes him the flowers. 

“Anything you’d like to say?” Sanji asks, he rubs the petal of a rose between his thumb and forefinger.

“Just that you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known, and you should be so proud of yourself. Thank you for fighting, for always being so tough, for fighting your way through everything. I- I know I ruined things, I can’t go back, and I’m sorry. You are incredible, and you’ve grown so much, and you’re going to achieve everything you ever dreamed of.” 

Sanji is quiet for a moment, “Thank you.” He turns to look at Zoro, “You owe Zoro an apology, don’t you.” 

It isn’t a question, but it strikes Zoro as strange. Why would Duval owe him an apology? He didn’t ever do anything to Zoro, in fact, he was usually really cool to Zoro. He’d been friendly, and had included him, and had never acted any type of way about Zoro and Sanji’s partnership. 

But Duval nods, and to Zoro’s surprise, he turns to Zoro with a sad look in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, dude, I used you to make myself feel better about what I was doing.” Duval says genuinely, “I knew how you felt about him, and I thought that if you made a move, or if you convinced him to like you… it was dumb, and wrong of me to do that.” 

Zoro nods slowly, he’d not even realized it, because as Sanji has said a dozen times, his head is entirely full of rocks. Duval used him, used him to absolve the guilt of what he was doing, used him to try and push Sanji away so that Duval could escape any blame or guilt. It sets Zoro’s chest on fire in a way that hurts him physically, how dare Duval do such a thing? Had he intentionally gotten closer to Zoro so that if something did happen between Sanji and Zoro, Duval could be the victim? He could play it off like one of his own friends had stolen his boyfriend, he could act like he’d been betrayed by both of them, when that couldn’t have been further from the truth. He’d manipulated Zoro so that he could further manipulate Sanji. 

Sanji nods, “Anything else?” 

Duval swallows, “Can I see you again?” 

Sanji shakes his head, “No, I’d like you to go back home, and I’d like you to stay away from me and Zoro.” He takes a step back from Duval and looks over at Zoro once more. “As you can see, I’m happy and safe, and I’ve got great people looking after me.” He looks back at Duval, “That should be enough for you, if you ever actually cared about me.” 

Duval nods, his eyes brim with tears and he clenches his fists by his side. “I’m happy for you.” 

Sanji dips his chin once, “Goodbye, Duval.” 

Duval drags in a strangled breath, his lower lip wobbles pitifully, “Goodbye, Sanji.” 

Sanji squeezes Zoro’s shoulder and turns and walks away from them, he doesn’t look back, and he doesn’t call for Zoro to follow him. So, Zoro stays there, staring at Duval as Sanji’s footsteps recede away from them and disappear entirely. 

Duval stares after Sanji, eventually he rubs his eyes harshly and turns to Zoro. 

“He handled that much better than I ever could have.” Zoro says coldly, “I want you to suffer.”

Duval nods, cheeks wet from silent tears streaking down his face, “I know, he’s so strong.” 

“Yeah, no thanks to people like you who do shit like this to him. You were already messing around with that woman when I came out to Colorado, you could have just- I don’t get it, dude. Why would you do that to him? He leaned on you, he trusted you, he needed you! All that shit you said to me in Florida was just- just bullshit! Just you trying to make yourself feel better about what a piece of shit you are. You didn’t stand by and watch him suffer without knowing how to help, you stood by and let him suffer and actively made it worse for him. He- If he had found out and hurt himself- I…” Zoro shakes his head, his entire body trembles with rage, he’s never been so close to starting a fight off the ice. “I hope you see him do great, incredible things with himself, with his life, with his career. I hope you see him win, and be the best he can be, and I hope you know you could have been by his side for every single second of it.” 

Duval sobs softly, he wipes his face on the sleeve of his jacket and nods slightly. 

“How dare you show up and ambush him like this. In this back hallway, creeping around, hoping to catch him alone so you can try and fuckin’-“ Zoro cuts himself off and grits his teeth tight for a moment, “Making everything about you till the bitter end, huh?” 

“I don’t even care that you manipulated me and used me, because I never needed you. I have friends, I have a support system, I have a family. Sanji needed you, and you turned your back on him and still pretended to stay by his side. I hope you regret it for the rest of your life, and that you never ever hurt someone the way you did to him.” Zoro clenches his jaw shut and shakes his head. 

“I deserve that, Zoro, I know I do. I didn’t come here to try and make things worse, you know.” Duval says thickly. 

“Hey! Where’s Ass McGee? I wanted to take a picture with him in our outfits! Also, did you see our scores? We’re totally gonna overtake you two tomorrow, I can’t wait to see the-“ Dellinger cuts himself off as he stops at Zoro’s side and stares at Duval, “Wait, do I know you?” 

Duval glances between Zoro and Dellinger with a frown set deeply on his face. 

“No, holy shit, you’re that guy! You fucked my friend last summer! Oh my god, you’re a total slut, did you know that? Ran through like a Motel 6 mattress! You were dating Sanji? Fucking barf.” 

Duval huffs a long sigh, “Yeah. I did know that, actually.” He gives Zoro a pitiful wave, “Thank you, Zoro, I wish you both the best of luck.” 

“Oh my god, do you actually think Sanji needs that from you? Sad! You’re so fucking miserable! Wait, you ruined another relationship, didn’t you? Hah! What'd you do this time? Is it cause you're a boring fuck? I heard you're all thrust no tecnique.” Dellinger practically chases after Duval as he makes his way down the halls, berating him until Zoro can’t hear them anymore. Zoro goes to find Sanji, but runs into Cavendish instead, who is looking for his own partner. 

“Have you seen Dellinger?” Cavendish asks as he approaches. 

“Yeah, he’s yelling at a useless man. Have you seen Sanji?” 

Cavendish smiles a little, “Yeah, he’s being overly charming with an attractive woman. Now we can both be more specific, or we can keep stating the obvious.” 

“Sanji’s ex-boyfriend showed up and Dellinger is running him off.” Zoro says.

“Mm, good boy. Come on, Dellinger will find us later.” He leads Zoro back to the arena and finds their teams easily. Sanji is sitting in between Charlotte and Robin, his head resting on Charlotte’s shoulder. He looks exhausted, bone-tired in a way that Zoro knows is from more than their day skating, and he just wants to make everything better for his partner. 

Zoro sits on the other side of Robin and rests against her side, she rubs his back comfortingly, seeming to sense the tension lingering between his shoulder blades. Sanji and Zoro are still in second place, with Cavendish and Dellinger in a close third, and the pair in first is only a little bit ahead of both of them, so it’s a tight race still. 

Sanji smiles happily through the end of the day, a skill he has likely perfected over years of having to smile and be okay even when he felt like shit. He’s silent for the car ride back to the hotel, and he waves off any offers to go to dinner or out for drinks, he tells Charlotte he just wants to take a shower and go to bed. 

Back at their hotel, Zoro goes to his own room and showers, then lays on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. If he’s feeling this emotionally drained, he can only imagine how Sanji is feeling, and Zoro is caught in a debate of whether he should go try to comfort his partner or let him have some space. 

His debate is interrupted by a knock on the door, and it’s Sanji on the other side, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a greasy bag of fast food in the other. 

“Wanna eat with me?” Sanji asks when Zoro opens the door, so Zoro nods. 

“Come to my room.” Sanji says, so Zoro shoves his feet in his slippers and follows Sanji two rooms down the hall and into the room. 

There are bouquets of flowers all over the room in various vases and cups, there’s a multitude of stuffed animals and other trinkets on every surface of the room. Cards with well-wishes from strangers stand on the dresser and roses and tulips from people who just want to see Sanji do well. Yet, in the midst of all these gifts, the bouquet that Duval had given Sanji earlier seems to stand out the most. It’s the only one not in a vase or getting water in any way, it’s just laying there in the paper it was wrapped in. 

Sanji opens the bottle of wine and pours two paper cups of the red wine, passing one to Zoro and holding his own up for a toast. 

“We’ve got this in the bag.” He says with a proud twinkle in his eyes, and Zoro nods in agreement. 

“Hell yeah we do.” He taps his paper cup to Sanji’s and they take sips from their wine together, then sit at the table and begin unpacking the food out of the bag between them. 

“I just wanted to say thanks for earlier, you help me more than you even know.” Sanji says as he passes fries to Zoro, digging some condiments out of the bottom of the bag. 

“Don’t mention it, I wasn’t sure what the right thing to do in that situation was.” Zoro says, he shoves a handful of fries in his mouth. 

“What you did was great, you were calm and let us talk. Dellinger said you two were talking when he found you guys, was everything okay?” Sanji asks curiously. 

Zoro nods, “Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t very nice, but that’s what he deserves. I’m proud of you for being so strong and calm with him, I probably would have been a total dick to him.” 

Sanji grins, “Don’t worry, Dellinger is enough of a dick for both of us. He’s nice to me, but he’s actually a huge bitch, I’m sure whatever he said was worse than anything you could have come up with.” 

“Dellinger called him ran through like a motel mattress.” Zoro says with a snort, and Sanji laughs out loud. 

“See? His brain works in unbelievably bitchy ways.” Sanji props his chin on his hand and glances at the bouquet Duval gave him. “I guess I wasn’t surprised he tried something like this, it was easier than I had been expecting to send him away. You’re to thank for that, you make me stronger.” 

“Well, the feeling is mutual.” Zoro says evenly, he takes two of the burgers and drains the wine from his cup, tapping it on the tabletop in an indication for Sanji to refill it. Sanji pours more wine in the cup and glances up from under his eyelashes.

“Did you still want to talk?”

Zoro lifts an eyebrow, “Do you? I wasn’t going to bring it up since you had him to deal with, I don’t want to wear you out.” 

Sanji shakes his head, “This is the opposite of wearing me out, I promise. Plus, I’d let you wear me out, you know.” 

Zoro chuckles softly and Sanji reaches across the table to take Zoro’s hand between his own. 

“I like you.” Sanji says, “I’ve had feelings for you since almost the beginning, and I thought it would go away, so I just ignored it. But you’ve done more for me than anyone ever has in my life, you’ve worked hard for me, you’ve built me up so much. How could I ignore that?” he looks down at their hands, he traces Zoro’s knuckles slowly. “Even if you didn’t feel the things I did, I couldn’t deny it anymore. When I got the call that night you were going into surgery, it was like the world had fallen out from under me, and it was impossible to not acknowledge how I felt about you. I had to be by your side as soon as possible, and I will do anything it takes to stay there.” 

“I knew I’d let you ruin my life after our first conversation, I’d let you drag me around and use me and leave me in the dirt when you were done, anything to have your attention. By the time that I realized what my feelings meant, I was too deep, and no matter what I tried I just couldn’t convince myself to stop feeling the way I did. You were never easy on me, you didn’t cut me any slack, you pushed me to be my best, and I came to rely on you for almost everything. It wasn’t just like you helped me learn how to do quads, and it wasn’t just that you treated me like an equal part of this partnership.” Zoro swallows thickly and licks his lips, he squeezes Sanji’s hand tightly, nearly overwhelmed by the urge to climb across the table and get as close as possible to Sanji. “You kept me from being lonely, you included me in your friend group, you showed me around, you came over and kept me company on days off. When I just needed someone around, there you were, taking over my kitchen and listening to kpop. I got so greedy, Sanji, so, so selfish. I like you so much, I couldn’t live without you anymore.” 

Zoro pushes back from the table and goes to climb into Sanji’s lap, wrapping his arms around Sanji’s shoulders and burying his face in Sanji’s neck. 

Sanji laughs softly, his arms wind around Zoro’s waist, “You’re so big.” He mumbles, but he rests his forehead to Zoro’s shoulder and sighs slowly, his fingers trace the outline of Zoro’s spine. “I like you.” 

Zoro nods, “I like you.” He mutters into Sanji’s neck. “What do we do next?”

Sanji hums, he pushes his hand under Zoro’s shirt and scratches his blunt nails down Zoro’s back teasingly, “Dunno, but we should do it right. I want this to last, not just be a fling or something we do for a few months.” 

Chills race down Zoro’s arm from Sanji’s scratching, he shivers with anticipation, “Yeah, I agree. But I’ve never been in a serious relationship, so I don’t know what to do.” 

Sanji chuckles, “Yeah, I’ve never started a relationship that I intended to take seriously. I mean, maybe we just date, right? Go out, spend time together, see where things lead. But since we’re both going into this with the same mindset, and since we both know how the other feels, that’s the right thing to do.” 

“So communication, basically.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

Zoro nods, he sits up and leans back to look at Sanji seriously, “Then I’m just gonna tell you things.”

Sanji smiles warmly, “Okay, tell me things, Zoro.” 

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on, and your hair is so soft, and everything about you is cute. Your attitude, your foul mouth, the nape of your neck, the way your waist and hips meet. I want you so bad, I want you to be all mine in every single way.” Zoro says, and it’s like a dam has broken, finally being able to say some of these things to Sanji has set Zoro’s mouth on fire. “Your legs drive me crazy, like, I can’t breathe when I think about them. I want to kiss every inch of you, taste you, feel you like you’re part of me. I want to wake up beside you in the morning and fall asleep with you at night and spend every single second of the time between at your side. I want to eat your food and wash dishes with you and fold your laundry and see you every chance I get. I want to see you be happy, successful, living your dreams, doing anything and everything you want.” 

Sanji squeezes him tight, “Zoro.” He murmurs, he threads his fingers into Zoro’s hair and gently pulls Zoro closer, until their noses brush together. “Kiss me, you idiot.” 

Zoro cups his jaw, thumb caressing the soft skin on Sanji’s cheek, every bit of his skin is like silk, and Zoro can’t wait to feel every single inch of it against his own bare flesh. Their breath mingles together as they draw closer, eyes half-shut and watching one another with affection, arousal, desire. They linger there for a few long seconds, just hovering right on the edge of the line they haven’t dared to cross, both of them hesitating for the last time before they plunge themselves onto the other side, into whatever waits for them there. 

Zoro closes the last bit of distance, their lips meet softly, slightly parted, breathing as one, and it stays soft and timid for a moment. Sanji’s eyes flutter shut, his head tilts to the side, his fingers tighten in Zoro’s hair, the hand around Zoro’s waist twitches hungrily. Zoro deepens the kiss, greedily watching Sanji through a half-closed eye, watching as Sanji’s cheeks flush and his eyebrow raises slightly. A strangled groan spills over Sanji’s lips, and Zoro drinks it down, immediately parched and desperate for more, and Sanji must feel the same. They both open their mouths to the kiss, tongues sliding together, breathing heavily in unison, hands beginning to wander with no rhyme or reason. 

Sanji’s hand slips down Zoro’s neck, fingers brushing against his left ear, making Zoro’s earrings jingle slightly as they bump together, and he digs his nails into Zoro’s shoulderblade. 

They kiss until they’re breathless, only separating a few inches when they break the kiss, watching one another in a moment of silent reverence. 

Zoro stands up and pulls Sanji out of the chair, he backs up a few steps and topples onto the bed, bringing Sanji falling onto his chest. Sanji buries his face in Zoro’s chest, hands greedily groping the firm muscles, and he groans loudly. 

“Fuck, I’ve been dying to get my hands on these stupid things for months.” He says, voice muffled from where he’s got his face smashed in Zoro’s chest. He yanks Zoro’s thighs apart and settles between his legs with a rough breath, sitting back and running his hand through his hair. “You’re so hot, it’s nearly cruel. Get to look like this and be the most effortlessly athletic person alive, and you’re a good person? Not even fair.” 

“You think I’m a good person?” Zoro asks, reaching to rest his hand on Sanji’s hip, just desperate to touch him, like Zoro’s palms itch for Sanji. “Will it disappoint you when you find out that I’m not?” 

Sanji threads their fingers together on both hands, he lifts them one at a time and pins Zoro’s wrists to the bed over his head. “Will it disappoint you when you learn new things about me?” 

Zoro shakes his head, “No, I want to know everything.” 

Sanji gives him a surprisingly serious look, “Some of it is ugly, bad ugly. I’m scared of telling you.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I don’t want it to change the way you think of me.”

“You couldn’t change my mind about you if you tried. But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, you never have to. You are free, and I’m here to support you.” Zoro says reassuringly, selfishly he wants to tear down Sanji’s walls and know the most vulnerable parts of him like none other. Zoro can be patient though, he can wait until Sanji lets him in and trusts him with it. 

Especially if patience looks like this, pinned to the bed with his legs wrapped around Sanji’s hips. 

“But we can start easier, right? Whatever steps you want to take, those are the ones we take.” Zoro squeezes Sanji with his thighs, “Especially if it’s these steps, I like these steps.” 

“We can’t have sex tonight, we need to be resting.” 

“I’ll let you guess which three words I heard out of that sentence.” 

Sanji huffs a soft laugh, and he leans over and kisses Zoro again, soft and loving, the same way Zoro has longed to kiss him for months. “I like you.” He says between tender kisses, “I like you so much.” 

He lays on Zoro’s chest, wrapping his arms around Zoro as best he can, and Zoro holds him close. It feels so good to have Sanji in his arms like this, it’s truly no different than it used to be when they’d cuddle while watching movies, or when they’d hold one another as they fell asleep together. Yet somehow, it’s an entirely new experience, having Sanji curled to his chest, running his fingers through Sanji’s hair, grazing the soft skin on the nape of Sanji’s neck. 

“Your heart is beating really fast.” Sanji says quietly. 

Zoro chuckles, “Yeah, I wonder why.” 

“Hey, do you have any idea how incredible you are? You couldn’t even figure skate at the beginning of the year, and the way you’ve taken to the discipline is amazing. You probably don’t even realize how difficult some of the things you can do are, but you are going to be one of the best in the world. Not because of me, Zoro, because you’ve put in the work, and because you’re naturally talented in a way beyond comprehension.” Sanji says seriously, he drags his fingertips over Zoro’s bicep. “You should be so proud of yourself, you’re going to achieve incredible things.” 

Zoro squeezes Sanji tightly, “I knew I had a lot to learn, but I’ve always been good at physical stuff, so I just went to Colorado with hubris at my side. After meeting you that first day, I had so much work to do, but I also had a reason to do all that work. I wanted to skate with you so bad I could taste it, even if I’d been awful, I would have skated for 18 hours a day and trained until my feet bled.” 

That’s what Zoro did anyway, but Sanji doesn’t need to know that, he’d probably just nag Zoro for pushing himself too far unnecessarily, and Zoro just doesn’t want to see those beautiful lips turn down into a frown anytime soon. 

“I know that’s what you did, winger, don’t play with me.” Sanji teases, he pinches Zoro’s bicep and they chuckle together softly. 

Right. This man is one of the strongest people on the planet, he’s lived through things, he’s overcome, he’s kept his head high, he’s kept himself going and growing. Zoro doesn’t have to hide silly things like his own self-doubt and insecurities from Sanji, in fact, it would be a disservice to both of them for Zoro to not be totally upfront with Sanji at all times. 

Zoro probably can’t fix any of Sanji’s problems, he certainly can’t change the past, and he can’t instantly heal the wounds that linger from the things that Sanji has lived through. On the other hand, Sanji is smarter than Zoro, he’s a more experienced skater, he understands more and thinks strategically. If Zoro is feeling wobbly in a jump or doesn’t like hand placement in a lift, he should immediately tell Sanji, not push himself to be able to do something he feels he must do. Sanji could suggest a different hand position, he could tell Zoro a different way to hold his legs, a different exercise to help make things easier. 

“My only goal when I started doing this was just to stay on the ice, I had no ambitions or finish lines, but that’s going to change.” Zoro promises, he takes a deep breath, “I didn’t realize I was going to be good, I was so sure I was going to hold you back, so I was just telling myself I’d do this season with you and then let you go. Let you go find a partner who could actually go places with you, could qualify for the Olympics with you, who could be as good as you are.” 

“Idiot.” Sanji mutters, he settles in on Zoro’s chest and nuzzles his cheek against Zoro’s muscles with a goofy smile on his face. 

“I’m just going to keep being greedy with you, though, and now I want to be the one who does those things with you. I want that gold now, I want to be the best in the world with you, I want to set new records and be everything we can together.” Zoro rolls over so he’s got Sanji cradled to his side, and they wrap their arms around each other, letting their faces linger close together. 

“I’m glad we’re on the same page, but that’s what I was going to do with you whether you wanted to or not, just so you know. I wouldn’t have let you go, I would have followed you around the world and made you be my partner. If you think you’re greedy, I’ll blow you out of the water, my selfishness knows no bounds.” Sanji says earnestly, “I’m only still on the ice thanks to you, and I only know I have a life after the ice thanks to you as well, you’re stuck with me. It’s really your own fault if you think about it, you’ve always been so good to me, it’s not like I had much of a choice.” 

“I’ll give you anything you want, anything. ” Zoro promises, he kisses Sanji briefly, “It’s probably tacky to say this, but I have a lot of money.” 

Sanji laughs out loud, his eyes crinkle, shine, and Zoro is kissing him again before he realizes it. Reaching to thread his fingers into Sanji’s hair, pulling him closer, savoring every place their bodies touch, kissing him like Zoro has craved. Sanji melts against Zoro’s side, humming softly as Zoro licks into his mouth, a smile still on his lips as they kiss. 

“Like, a lot of money? I might be high maintenance, you know.” 

“Mm, it’s no secret what they were paying me. Just cause you drive a nicer car than me doesn’t mean I can’t afford you.” Zoro kisses the tip of Sanji’s nose, “Fancy cars, expensive shoes, a nice restaurant on the water, a home with a big yard, season passes to Disney World, a rottweiler named Daisy,”

Sanji laughs again, he frames Zoro’s face and rests their foreheads together, his eyes flutter closed and a content smile spreads across his face. 

“You can have it all, I’ll give you the world.” 

“You’ll spoil me.” Sanji snuggles in closer to Zoro, “You’ll create a monster.” 

Zoro kisses his forehead and settles onto the bed beside him, “Fine by me, as long as you’re my monster.” 

“I like you.” Sanji says again, he settles next to Zoro and closes his eyes. “Thank you for everything.” 

“What about this one?” Dellinger leans over to show Sanji his phone. 

Sanji blinks and looks up at Dellinger, “I thought we were picking out a song?” 

“We are.”

“This is a picture of your asshole.” 

“My dick’s in it, too.” 

Sanji sighs and looks at the picture again, “It’s good, lighting isn’t terrible, and whatever position you were in to take the photo is impressive.” 

“Aww, you’re such a sweetie.” Dellinger goes back to looking at his phone, “This guy is here with a few of my other friends. Hooking up with him is fun, he’s a total soft dom, I always cum so much with him.” He doesn’t wait for Sanji to reply to that, “What about you, babe? Got all that ass now, anyone up in it? Duval was a total wash, right? Heard he’s a boring lay.” 

Sanji shrugs, “He just needs the right partner, he’s really into a pillow princess, and that’s just not for me. Just because I was bored doesn’t mean it was bad, necessarily.” 

“You’re being too nice.”

“I couldn’t stand it, oh my god, I wouldn’t even be into it cause my mind would be wandering!” 

“There we go.” Dellinger smiles and glances across the room to where Zoro and Cavendish are stretching together. “What about Mr. Tits? You two have clearly unresolved sexual tension.” 

“It remains unresolved.” Sanji sighs, “Not for much longer if I can have my way.” 

“What about your dilemma?” 

Sanji cocks an eyebrow, “What dilemma?” 

Dellinger looks at Sanji like he’s stupid, “That man is obviously a bottom.” 

“What?” Sanji laughs dumbfoundedly, “No he isn’t, look at him!” 

Dellinger casts a judgmental gaze across the room, scrutinizes Zoro with a glance, and turns back to Sanji. “Bottom, babe, all day. You’re telling me you can’t smell your own kind?” 

“I didn’t even think he was gay when we met.” 

Dellinger busts out laughing, a catty, mean sort of laugh, “Hilarious!” 

Sanji rolls his eyes, “Bitch.” 

“I’ll give you $100 if I’m wrong, but between you and me, I would flip for him. Beefy tits and an ass like that? I’d eat him for dinner and dessert.” Dellinger waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than thirst over my partner?” 

“Not when he looks like that.” 

They’re called to line up and Zoro and Sanji gather at the front of the line, Sanji takes Zoro’s hand and squeezes. Their practice this morning was one of their best so far, Zoro has a newfound confidence that sends him soaring to new heights. Sanji already thought he was unstoppable, but competing well has unlocked something new, a drive that Sanji hadn’t been expecting. He should have, of course, since this man has played 75+ hockey games every year since he’s been allowed to. 

Winning today will make them unbeatable in the future. If they set a high enough score today, over 200, Sanji will be absolutely thrilled speechless. Winning today would set them on a road, steamrolling ahead, coming for blood with anyone who gets in the way. 

Sanji takes several deep breaths as their names are called and they enter the rink at the head of their group, and stepping onto the ice with Zoro is as familiar as waking up in the morning. 

Sanji makes two quick laps, warming his legs up, and he sheds his jacket, passing it to Charlotte when he skates past her. He throws a double lutz, he does the bounce steps from the choreography sequence, and he stretches his arms thoroughly. 

Zoro does long, lunging steps to warm up his thighs, he bounces through the same steps as Sanji, and he does a few double loops. They can’t get too hot in their warmup since they skate first, a point Zeff has drilled into Zoro with painstaking effort. 

At their B competition, Zoro had done a few quads in his warm up, and Zeff had been likely to pop a blood vessel when they got off the ice. He harped on Zoro about it every day since then, stressing how different competitions are, how badly Zoro needs to conserve his stamina and strength. 

It would appear the message has gotten through, because Zoro comes to take Sanji’s hand after four minutes and they cool down their heart rates as best they can before their program. 

“You ready?” Zoro asks with a smile. 

Sanji nods, “Yeah, we won $20 on that scratch off earlier, everything is going perfect. Plus you look better than ever, I’m so excited.” 

“I have a surprise for you.” Zoro says, his eye sparkles mischievously, the little smile on his face is like a child with a secret. 

“Yeah, what is it?” 

“I’ll tell you in five minutes.” He clicks his tongue, “Just curious, what score would we need in order for me to see the other three piercings later?” 

Sanji shakes his head, “No way, I’m not acting like this is some sort of reward system. We’re gonna do our best, we’re gonna win, and I’m gonna suck your dick in the shower later.” 

Zoro laughs, their one minute warning goes off and they skate over to their team. Sanji takes a few drinks of water and Charlotte fusses with his hair and tells him how pretty he is like he’s a pampered dog. 

Robin squeezes Zoro’s shoulders and smiles proudly, “Show ‘em what you’re made of.”

Zoro nods confidently, and then it’s time, their names are called and they take center ice to a crowd that’s already on the edge of their seats. 

Their program yesterday was electric in a way that’s stunning even to Sanji, he truly had not expected them to do so well, he’s never been in first after short programs. The crowd is already charmed by them, taken with their story, and wants to see them do well today. Even people we don’t know their names and who will forget what songs they use and who came here to support someone else, they all want to see Sanji and Zoro do well. 

It's evident by how they’re cheered at center ice, and as they take their starting poses and smile at the judges, there’s a charismatic energy between them that feels palpable in the air. 

This free skate is such a challenging and difficult program that it’s even a tough one for Sanji, he’d never be able to do such a program with any other partner. Especially not with one who has less than a year under their belt in the discipline. It's absolutely astounding how good Zoro is, and Sanji already has a thousand things to tell the press about how incredible he is. He can’t wait to brag about his partner, and this is exactly why. 

The program starts with such a dramatic flair, and they move into their first lift in just a few seconds. They do a position change, then a spin, then a step sequence. The first part of this program is showing off how great they look together, how easily Zoro can move Sanji around, and their chemistry. It’s fun to watch, full of energy and theatrics that Sanji would have never expected Zoro to do. 

But Zoro smiles big and makes animated faces and has so much fun on the ice that it’s infectious, he makes everyone else have fun just by watching him. Getting to be his partner is such an honor, and Sanji is so thankful for him that it’s almost too much. He’s such a wonderful ray of sunshine in Sanji’s world, in anyone’s world who gets to be close to him. 

Every day that goes by is better than the last, and skating alongside Zoro has become the most satisfying, fulfilling, gratifying thing that Sanji has ever done. 

Sanji is so fortunate to have a partner alongside him that he trust this way, that he knows will keep him safe, who will preform his best, and who will make Sanji look fantastic. Watching their short program from the previous day is an out-of-body experience, different than watching practice videos, different than their first competition, different than watching through the mirror in the practice room. 

It's still him, and it’s still Zoro, and it’s still their program set to their music, yet it’s like watching two strangers accomplish a feat that seems unimaginably insurmountable. He forgets it’s his own body twisting through the complicated throws, landing the complicated jumps, bending at impossible angles through the lifts and the spiral. 

For the first time in his life, Sanji is able to watch himself skate and see how good he is at it, see how beautiful he looks doing it, be amazed by his own skills and talent. 

The step sequence with the fun little bounce steps goes smoothly, they’ve struggled to stay in time during practice, but Sanji is pretty sure they do well. They lead into the second part of the program with a triple axel throw, and Sanji sticks it perfectly, the crowd is instantly on their feet. 

They have a side-by-side jump sequence next, a quad lutz, triple toeloop, and the energy in the room swells even further. There are so few pairs who can do the side-by-side quads, this is even Sanji’s first one in a program because he’s never had a partner who could keep up with his quads. 

They race back down the ice, another side-by-side quad salchow, single echuler, double loop, all cleanly executed jumps from Sanji, and Zoro is still on his feet and in time. He doesn’t look tired in the slightest, either, still grinning and watching Sanji with a sparkle in his eye. He seems more excited than usual, he’s amped up about this, and it’s endearing to see. He truly didn’t understand how good he was going to be at this, and even now, Sanji is pretty sure Zoro has almost no grasp of how incredibly difficult the things he’s capable of are. 

Another toss, Zoro enters this one from a spread eagle, they have a position change and a return to ice that’s incredibly difficult, especially for how tired Zoro should be. But his arms don’t tremble, his hands don’t shake, his smile never falters, and he looks absolutely fit to burst when he sets Sanji back on the ice. 

Their next element is Sanji’s back flip, and Zoro has been so enthusiastic about it that it makes Sanji even more excited. There’s a few male singles who can do them, but Sanji is the only pair skater who is attempting one in their free skate. He feels great about it, too, his ankle strength is better than ever, and he’s specifically trained this flip to exhaustion for the sake of doing it well. It’s worth a lot of points if he can execute it well, and as he turns to build speed for it, he glances at Zoro one last time. 

Zoro is locked in on him already, and it’s like time slows down, his smile seems brighter than ever, and the look in his eye is so full of affection and care. No matter what, they have worked hard, and no matter what, they will always have one another. 

Sanji turns his face directly to the judges and smiles hugely as he turns back and kicks himself over. It feels perfectly tight, the ice swoops by beneath him in a blur, and his skates are as solid as ever when he finds the ice and catches his balance effortlessly. 

The arena explodes, it’s difficult to even hear their music anymore, the entire place is on their feet, and Sanji feels like screaming along with them. He nailed it, he doesn’t even need to see it, he knows how good of a flip that was. 

To round it all off, they have quad axels immediately after, a quick push down the ice, and quad loops, and the crowd stays cheering, the energy is off the charts. All that’s left is the spiral, something that Zoro struggled with that has become one of his best elements, something he looks unrealistically beautiful doing. He’s built so well for these things, he’s so incredible out here, and the outfit he agreed to wear is enough to make a grown man cry. 

It's a good thing their program is over now, because Sanji only manages to hold their end pose for a few seconds before he’s throwing his arms around Zoro’s neck and screaming excitedly. Zoro holds him tightly for a moment, and they take their bows as they laugh breathlessly. 

Sanji’s ears ring from the adrenaline as they skate to the exit and take their guards from their screaming team members, who embrace them and pat them on the back and rain praises on them loudly. Zeff looks as proud as he ever has, and he claps Sanji on the shoulder as Sanji drains his water bottle greedily. 

They’re corralled to the kiss and cry as the audience finally settles down, and the judging has already begun as they sit on the couch. Sanji looks up to the overhead to watch the replay, and he’s pleased when the bounce steps are perfectly timed. 

“He doesn’t even realize.” Charlotte says with a laugh, she squeezes Sanji’s arm and shakes him a little, “You don’t even know!” 

“What?” Sanji calls, not taking his eyes off the screen as he watches himself fly through huge jumps and tosses. They look so incredible, what a program! 

Zoro nudges him in the side and reaches to take Sanji’s hand, he threads their fingers together and squeezes, “Remember how you said I’m too stupid to know how hard this stuff is.” 

“That’s not what I said!” Sanji laughs and Zoro joins him, they bump their shoulders together and look up at the overhead again. 

They should have their scores any minute now, and Sanji would be lying if he said he didn’t want to grind his teeth to a fine powder from anxiety. They deserve to do well, they deserve to score well, they have difficult elements and complicated artistry! Look how synchronized they are, how perfectly timed their every step is, how graceful and natural it looks! 

On the overhead, Sanji watches as he turns into his back flip, grins at the judges, and soars like it’s nothing- a chill wracks his body in an instant, like his blood is made of lava and ice at the same time, and Sanji leaps off the couch with a scream he’ll be embarrassed over later. 

Right now, he doesn’t care what he sounds like, what he looks like, or how much of a fool he makes of himself

Zoro did the flip. 

Zoro learned the back flip, too! Without ever mentioning it to Sanji, without ever once practicing it alongside him, without ever letting on that he even wanted to attempt it. Side by side, in perfect time, on the beat, a gorgeous back flip from both of them. 

Sanji pulls Zoro off the couch and jumps on him with another inhuman scream, babbling incoherent nonsense, tears pricking his eyes. Zoro is laughing, he holds Sanji easily, and a moment later, he’s screaming, too. 

The crowd is thunderous again, and Sanji cranes his neck to look up to the screen. Their score starts with the number 2, and honestly, Sanji doesn’t even see the rest of it before he bursts into tears. 

He’s a total mess after that, clinging to Zoro or Charlotte as they’re moved away from the kiss and cry, shouting over Dellinger, crying the most freeing tears of his entire life. 

Sanji is so grateful to be alive, and his heart is full of love, and the world is beautiful, and things have never been better. 

Zeff shoos off other skaters who are crowding on the pair and he makes them cool down with stretches and catch their breath, Sanji manages to stop crying after a minute or two. 

“Can’t believe you pulled it off, Roronoa.” Zeff shakes his head with a little smile, “You are by far the most talented skater I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching.” 

Sanji sticks his tongue out at Zeff, who shoots Sanji a look, “You already knew how to fly, little bird.” 

“You two are in for long haul, you know. With momentum like this, programs like that, and that look I see in your eyes, we’re in this for the gold.” Zeff says seriously, he crosses his arms over his chest. “You two have just proven that you have a serious shot at the Olympics in two years, and everyone will know it after tonight. Well done, both of you, bloody well done!” 

“Thank you, coach.” Zoro says with a broad smile. 

Sanji launches himself into Zeff’s arms, he hugs his neck tightly and takes a breath that feels too tight. “I didn’t know that I could fly until you helped me, I owe everything to you. I love you, thank you for taking me in, thank you for keeping me safe.” He says softly to his coach, who falters for a moment. 

He hugs Sanji tight, crushing his ribs until he can’t breathe anymore. “You’ve always been too stubborn for your own good, but you’ve come farther than anyone ever thought you could. I’m so proud of you, son, you’re such a fine young man.” 

Everything is completely hectic after that, and Zoro and Sanji don’t get a single moment to themselves for the rest of the day. As more and more pairs take to the ice, the lead that they’re in grows and grows. Nobody comes close to them, even Dellinger and Cavendish are several points behind, and it becomes clear that they’re the obvious winners. 

They’re interviewed together multiple times, and then a reporter who typically covers hockey for a major sports network finds Zoro and asks for a few minutes of his time. Charlotte leads Sanji away for a few minutes so he can have a breather from the press. It’s not nearly as overwhelming now, this used to be his absolute nightmare, and Niji had a talent for making everything worse. 

Sanji is finally rejoined with Zoro just a few minutes before the medal ceremony, and it’s the first time Sanji has seen just how impressive of a lead they had for this competition, and even though he’s exhausted and overstimulated, he’s never been more pumped in his life.

Its not as if it’s his first time on a podium, but god it feels like it, it’s like he’s never felt this sort of reward in his life, it’s as though everything else has been meaningless. 

Even looking at his own hands holding the medal, he knows they’re his hands, his rings, his painted nails, but it’s so foreign to him.

They talk to more people, more judges, more press, they smile until their faces will freeze that way, they give one another knowing looks the whole time. 

Finally, it’s over and Robin finds a side door to sneak them out of, where Luffy and Law are waiting for them with a car to take them to the hotel. Zoro has his arms loaded with stuffed animals and flowers, and Sanji has a massive bouquet in his arms, and they’re both so tired they can only drag their feet as they shuffle through the hallways. 

Luffy is at the door with a grin, he refrains from physically jumping on top of Zoro, but it’s a damn near thing. 

“Congratulations! You two did so good, it was so cool, and you both looked so sexy! It’s not even fair how good you are, Sanji, nobody else looks as good as you do, your jumps are insane! The lady behind us was like, “Aahhh!” when you did your flips!” Luffy rambles excitedly, he takes some of the things out of Zoro’s arms and leans onto his toes to kiss Zoro’s cheek, “You’re incredible, too, I’ve seen your body twist all kinds of ways, but never like that!” 

“Thank you, captain.” Zoro says with a tired smile, “I’m ready for bed.” 

Luffy opens the trunk of the SUV and piles the stuff inside, once he’s helped them load everything up, he hugs both of them fiercely again, petting their hair and telling them how wonderful they both are. Sanji is grateful to have this immaculate ray of sunshine, the personification of pure joy, the sweetest and most positive person on the entire planet. Zoro brought him into Sanji’s life as well, at a time that Sanji needed someone to smile at him, tell him how special he was, tell him that he was pretty, to have literal stars in his eyes after watching Sanji skate. Luffy came to Colorado and simply slotted himself right into Sanji’s world, making room for himself with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Luffy loved Sanji from the start, and he’d supported Sanji implicitly, without needing a reason, without expecting Sanji to do something in return. 

Luffy opens the backdoor and Zoro and Sanji slide into the seats, Sanji sighs heavily and leans back in the seat. 

“Congratulations, you two.” Law says from the driver’s seat, he pulls away from the arena. 

Hands cover Sanji’s eyes from the third row seat, a soft voice whispers, “Boo.” In his left ear. 

He reaches up to take the soft, small hands off his eyes, he whirls around in the seat and is greeted by a warm smile, her eyes sparkle even in the shadow cast by her bucket hat and the darkness of the car. 

“Rei!” Sanji cries out, his eyes brim with tears again, he climbs over the back of the seat and falls into his sister’s arms, “How are you here?!” 

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything, babe.” She kisses his cheeks and forehead, then cups his face and holds him back to look at him, “You look so good, I’m so proud of you.” 

Sanji buries his face in her hair, he hugs her tight and takes several deep breaths. “You were so right.” 

“I can see it on your face, oh, Sanji.” She sighs and rubs his back, they stay like that for a moment before Sanji sits up and kisses her forehead. 

“Zoro, this is my older sister Reiju. Rei, this is my partner Roronoa Zoro.” Sanji says, he turns to smile at Zoro with tears in his eyes, and Zoro is grinning at Rei already. 

“It’s so great to meet you, Reiju, Sanji speaks highly of you.” Zoro says politely, he motions over his shoulder to the front seats, “These two didn’t give you any trouble did they?”

“No, no, Law was perfectly helpful.” She smiles brightly, eyes crinkling. 

“Wait, you’re Sanji’s sister?” Luffy crows from the front seat. 

“Who did you think she was?” Law asks tiredly, the tone of his voice indicating that he doesn’t even want an answer to that question. 

Luffy hums an I dunno sound, and Zoro rolls his eye fondly. Rei reaches over the seat to touch Zoro’s shoulder.

“You’re incredible, Zoro, had you really never figure skated before?” she asks curiously. 

“My best friend was a figure skater growing up, so I actually knew a lot more than I realized I did when I moved out to Colorado. It had been almost a decade since I had done anything, but it was sort of like riding a bike.” Zoro shrugs dismissively. 

“Riding a bike on a tight rope over the Grand Canyon maybe, don’t belittle what you’re capable of. The quad axel is the hardest jump in the world, people who have skated for decades can’t do them, and you nailed two in the past two days.” Reiju says insistently. “There are men you competed against today who will never skate at your caliber and have been doing it ten times longer than you.” 

“You should see him play hockey!” Luffy chimes in helpfully. 

“What a talent you are, Zoro, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better for my brother.” Reiju leans her head against Sanji’s shoulder, “Is he being mean to you?” 

“Yeah, but I like it, don’t worry.” Zoro smiles charmingly, and Sanji sticks his tongue out at him. 

“He’s got excellent manners with women, but he’s always been such a dick when he talks to men. I suppose we taught him well, he’s so much stronger than anyone else I’ve ever known.” Reiju says with a smile, “He takes after our mother so much. Has he cooked for you yet?” 

“Reiju.” Sanji sighs, he pulls her hat off and combs his fingers through her pink hair. She’s been so good to him, looked out for him relentlessly, made sacrifices for him that have likely protected his life more than once. Sanji couldn’t have asked for a better sister, even if there were times that he didn’t understand her intentions. 

Zoro spends the rest of the ride back to the hotel raving about how amazing Sanji is, how good his cooking is, how encouraging he is on the ice. He and Reiju immediately have a vibe, she holds Zoro’s hand over the back of the seat and nods emphatically as he talks, it makes Sanji delighted to see them getting along like this. He’d been looking forward to Reiju meeting Zoro for months, because it feels like the fruition of everything she wanted for Sanji. 

Sanji wants to tell Zoro everything right here and now, wants to spill his guts entirely, even with Luffy and Law present. Sanji wants to talk about Reiju’s sacrifices, wants to brag about how she always took care of Sanji, wants to explain everything about their mother. 

Sure, it’ll be painful, and yes, it will exhaust Sanji beyond all imagination. But it will be so worth it to know that Zoro knows, that he sees what the siblings have lived through, that he understands why Sanji is the way he is. 

Back at the hotel Zoro says goodnight to Sanji and Reiju in the hallway, a tired smile on his face, his eye already half closed. 

Sanji has barely closed the door to his room behind them before Reiju is grinning like a manic cat stalking down its prey. “Tell me everything.” 

“Isn’t he amazing?” Sanji sighs. 

“Total dreamboat, where the hell did Charlotte even find him?” Reiju asks, she wanders around and looks at the bouquets around the room. 

“Playing hockey down in Florida, he was injured during a game and just wanted to stay on the ice. Do you remember Kuina Shimotsuki from when we were kids?” Sanji says. 

Reiju nods, “Yeah, she was the girl who died.”

“Zoro grew up with her, they raised Zoro from the time he was six, so he already knew a lot about figure skating and didn’t even realize it. It only took him three weeks to start landing triples.” 

“Three weeks?” Reiju shakes her head, “Holy shit, Sanji, he’s a machine.” 

“That backflip tonight? I’d never seen him do it before, that was a total shock to me.” Sanji sighs dreamily, “He’s been so good to me, Rei, not just skating.” 

Reiju’s hand lands on the only bouquet that stands out, lying on its side on the table, wilting away, her jaw ticks. “Charlotte told me Duval was here yesterday.” She says coldly. 

“Yeah, he was, but it’s okay. It was actually weirdly not so bad to see him, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It crushed me when that woman showed up, I couldn’t believe he would do that to me. Like, what the actual fuck? It raises my blood pressure just to think about it, it makes me boil. So I felt sure that seeing him in front of me would shatter me, but I felt so peaceful when I saw him standing there.” Sanji shrugs a little, “Finding out he was cheating on me was the last straw, but I knew who he was, I knew how toxic and manipulative he was. I just didn’t have the heart to face it yet, I wasn’t ready to let go of someone who I thought had been there for me. Honestly, it had to be something that horrible to push me away from him, if it had been anything that I could have found it in myself to forgive him for, I wouldn’t have had the courage.” 

He takes a deep breath and thinks back to the previous day, what exactly had he felt when Duval had said his name for the first time? Rage at first, that had quickly turned to doubt, self-loathing, and shame the second they made eye contact. Then he'd turned to see Zoro by his side, and suddenly everything had been okay, having Zoro at his side gave him a type of strength that he's certain he didn't possess at the beginning of the year. "Plus Zoro makes me so much stronger, he makes me a better person in every single way."

Rei sheds her jacket and falls onto Sanji’s bed, “You have feelings for him.” She says, and it’s not a question. “Does he know?” 

Sanji rolls his eyes sarcastically, “No, hiding my romantic intentions has always been a strong suit of mine. Don’t you remember how subtle I’ve always been?” 

Reiju laughs, a musical noise that Sanji misses deep in his bones. It’s their mother’s laugh, the same way Rei tips her head back, the same crinkle in her nose, she’s the spitting image of their mother, and Sanji is so grateful she’s still in his life after all the bullshit they’ve been through. 

“Do you know how he feels? Have you two talked about it?” 

Sanji lays on the bed beside her and props his arms under his head, “He’s been in love with me since the first time I said his head was full of rocks, and he’s never been good at disguising how he feels. We talked last night, we’re on the same page.” 

“Are you two going to date?” She asks, she rearranges herself on the bed so she can rest her head on Sanji stomach and her eyes drift closed in a few seconds. She’s probably so tired right now, she had a new album come out three weeks ago, so she’s been neck deep in press since then. Plus she’s preparing for an upcoming tour, and she was chosen as a brand ambassador for a major fashion house. 

“When the time is right, yes.” Sanji answers. 

Reiju yawns, “Why not now?” 

“Just wanted to give myself some time to love myself instead of hopping between relationships.” 

“How’s that going?” 

Sanji sighs happily, “It’s great, Rei, you were right. I have friends, I have people who love me, and I’m so much happier now.” 

“See? Told you that place blew a whole bag of dicks.”

They laugh together at their shared trauma and a few minutes of peaceful silence pass as they both relax into the bed. 

“Do you ever hear from any of them?” Sanji asks. 

Rei takes a moment to answer, “I’ve tried, but it’s no use. Yonji is so far up dad’s ass, Ichiji has his own Vinsmoke legacy shit going, and Niji is always going to be Niji.” 

“Ichiji and Niji are lost causes, they’re not even human anymore, just Judge’s puppets. Yonji, though, I thought we might could get him out. He’s never been on the ice, he always got treated different than the rest of us, maybe he might want a life of his own someday.” Sanji says, he brushes his fingers through Reiju’s hair.

“He’s never thought for himself before, he likely never will. Once Dad is gone, he’ll just become part of Ichiji or Niji’s shadow, and he’ll never know there’s anything else out there.” She says gently, like she’s breaking bad news to Sanji, even though it’s something Sanji knows already. 

“Well, I was worse than him, and you still got through to me.” Sanji reasons softly. 

Reiju rearranges herself on the bed and snuggles to Sanji’s side, “You and I were never anything like them, babe, that’s exactly what was wrong with us.”

Time grows fuzzy and slow, Sanji struggles to open his eyes after he blinks. “Need a shower.” 

“Mhm.” Reiju agrees sleepily, and that’s the last thing Sanji remembers. 

The next several days are a total blur of press, content creation, training, parties, events, and still trying to spend as much time with Rei as possible. 

This means that there isn’t a single second of their days that aren’t coordinated down to when they can pause and catch their breath, and even though Sanji and Zoro spend a lot of time together, it’s never alone time. In fact, Sanji isn’t sure they’ve exchanged a private word since they stepped off the ice at the end of their free skate. 

So even though he’s fulfilled and thankful for the time he got to spend with his sister, Sanji is so grateful to slide into his airplane seat beside Zoro. Zoro gets situated in his seat and pushes his headphones off to rest on his neck before he turns to Sanji. 

“Hi,” Zoro holds his hand out, “I’m Zoro, some people call me Roronoa, it’s nice to meet you.” 

Sanji laughs and shakes Zoro’s hand, “Hello, I’m Sanji.” 

“Just Sanji?”

“Yeah, like Madonna.” 

“Cher.”

“Shakira.”

“Rihanna.” 

“Prince.” 

They laugh together and Sanji leans in to kiss Zoro’s cheek briefly. “These last few days have been so crazy, it’ll be so good to rest when we get home.” 

Zoro nods and sits back in his seat, he laces their fingers together and their hands rest on the armrest together, “Think Zeff will let us have two days off?” 

“In a row?” 

Zoro nods.

“No, no way in hell. One of us would have to get the flu.” 

Zoro fakes an unconvincing cough and then puts on a pitiful face, “Coach.” He croaks exaggeratedly, another fake cough. 

Sanji laughs, a warm grin splitting his face, his heart pounding into his ribs like it’s trying to lead directly into Zoro's hands, “Great job, he'll definitely buy that.” 

Zoro does a little fist pump with his free hand, Sanji smiles at him warmly and rests his head on Zoro’s shoulder until it’s time to take off. 

They watch a few episodes of the show they’ve been binging, sharing a pair of headphones, leaning together and holding hands comfortably. It’s so wonderful to have Zoro this way, and Sanji is unspeakably thankful that they talked over this competition, that they were both willing to take that next step. 

It hadn’t even been that difficult to be honest and vulnerable with Zoro, especially after he witnessed Sanji and Duval saying goodbye, it was easier than ever for Sanji to speak how he felt. Zoro was just as open, the same way he’s always been, his heart on his sleeve and his arms open wide. From the second he stepped foot on the ice with Sanji for the first time ever, Zoro has never hidden the way he felt, he’s always allowed himself to experience his emotions. 

The fact that he’s so good at processing his emotions makes him an unbelievably calm person, which is why it’s so much fun that Sanji knows just the right way to get under his skin. It’s almost even tempting now, Sanji could do something as simple as pull the headphones out of Zoro’s ear and lock the phone screen, but with the right shit-eating grin so it pisses Zoro off. 

This man is so in love with Sanji.

Sanji rolls his head to the side and watches Zoro for a moment, taking in the way he looks at this exact second in time. 

Zoro’s grey eye stays focused on the phone screen, he’s worrying at a cuticle on his left hand, he’s got the side of his bottom lip caught between his teeth slightly. The scar over his left eye has healed so nicely, it looks less puffy every day, someday it will fade and the edges will become blurred. His dark eyebrow jumps in reaction to the show, jumping into a sharp arch for only a second before furrowing in deeply. Sanji can’t help but smile, he’s always loved how loud Zoro’s face is, even when the winger manages to keep his mouth shut, his face says it all. 

What does Zoro look like with his natural hair color? What color is it? Black, probably, if Sanji had to guess, although these days he is half convinced that Zoro’s hair really is green. 

Zoro finally notices Sanji staring at him, he looks over with a smile, “What?” 

“How do you make time to keep your hair so perfectly dyed?” Sanji asks with a grin, he lifts his hand and brushes through the hair behind Zoro’s ear. 

“I told you, it grows this way.” Zoro shrugs, an easy smile on his face. 

Sanji hums noncommittally, “I’m gonna catch you one of these days.” 

“See, that sounds like a challenge.” Zoro’s eyebrow raises daringly, the smirk on his lips is full of good-natured playfulness. 

Sanji trails his fingers down Zoro’s jaw, the urge to kiss Zoro is almost overwhelming, it makes it hard to breathe for a moment. 

“Hey, you wanna do something?” Zoro asks suddenly. 

“Like what?” Sanji asks dazedly, his mind feels like it’s wading through honey, arousal sits heavy in his gut. 

“Not what you’re thinking, perv.” Zoro scrunches his nose up teasingly, and Sanji chuckles softly. 

“What exactly am I thinking, Zoro?” 

Zoro leans in, lips grazing against Sanji’s ear lightly, his breath tickles as he exhales slowly. “You’re thinking of convincing me to go to the bathroom with you, you’re wondering what the quickest route to being on your knees is.” 

Sanji huffs a soft laugh, “Not a bad guess.” He says lowly, he caresses his fingers along Zoro’s neck, stopping at the collar of his shirt. “But I’m a lover first and a slut second, so I won’t try to convince you our first time should be on a plane.” 

Zoro grins at him, “Aren’t you the romantic?” he teases, he lifts Sanji’s hand and kisses his knuckles, then he rests his forehead against the back of Sanji’s hand and takes a few slow breaths. 

How much longer is this flight? Too long, definitely, so long that it’s actually designed specifically to torture Sanji. 

He’s on the edge of his seat for the remainder of the flight, his mind running as wild as it can, and he’s set in anticipation by the time their flight lands in Denver. The process of gathering their luggage and commuting back to Boulder is excruciating, dragging on endlessly and making Sanji feel fidgety. 

Finally they arrive back at the rink where Zoro and Sanji’s vehicles are parked, and they all unload their things from Robin’s vehicle, everyone lingers for a few minutes as they say their final congratulations and tell Sanji and Zoro to get lots of rest. 

“So,” Sanji says as he closes the back of his car and turns to Zoro, “Wanna come to mine?” 

Zoro nods, “Yeah, I’ll follow you.” 

Sanji glances across the parking lot to where Charlotte and Robin are still talking beside Robin’s vehicle, he looks back to Zoro with a grin. Sanji bounces over on his toes and grabs Zoro by the hips, tugging him in close and smiling at him coyly, Zoro responds by leaning down to kiss Sanji deeply. A slow, languid kiss that lingers in every beat, determined and purposeful, the kind of kiss Sanji won’t soon forget. 

He's dazed as Zoro steps away from him, eye lidded, breath slow and heavy, arousal written on his face plainly. 

“Sanji!!” Charlotte screams from across the parking lot, and Sanji and Zoro both break into laughter. 

“Go!” Sanji calls, and he and Zoro both scramble for their vehicles, climbing into their own cars as Charlotte still yells after them, and he laughs childishly as they pull away together. 

He’ll tell her about it later, when he absolutely must, but for now, this thing with Zoro is just for the two of them. They deserve it, they deserve time alone together, and they deserve to finally be able to spend that time truly together. 

First things first, though, and it’s a big one. 

Is Zoro a bottom?

If so, then what? Sanji has been entertaining the thought of topping, though he’s uncertain he’d been any good at it at first. 

Not that that would stop them, Sanji knows they’d easily overcome such a minor hiccup, and it’d be something to look back on and laugh. 

Thankfully it only takes a few minutes to get to Sanji’s place, and he’s on top of Zoro the moment the front door closes behind them. Zoro lifts Sanji effortlessly, Sanji wraps his legs around Zoro’s hips, his arms around broad shoulders, and they kiss hungrily. Zoro pins him to the wall as they kiss, using one strong leg to support Sanji’s weight enough for his hand to grope around greedily on sanji’s hips and ass. 

“I’m not letting you rest at all.” Sanji groans into Zoro’s mouth, and Zoro bites his bottom lip. 

Zoro carries Sanji into the living room and tosses him on the couch, he leans back and pulls Sanji’s shoes off, then kicks off his own. 

“Hey, question.” Sanji says, he props himself up on his elbows, “Are you a bottom?” 

Zoro huffs a soft laugh, “Yeah, typically, but you’ve lost your mind if you think that’s getting in my way.” 

Sanji grins, spreading his legs and letting Zoro settle between his thighs, “Cool, glad we’re on the same page. I’ve never topped before, but I’d be willing to try for you.” 

Zoro smiles, his eyes soft, “You’re sweet, I’m definitely vers enough to fuck you, don’t worry.” 

Sanji laughs and fists his hand in the hem of Zoro’s shirt, “Good. Let’s shower, come on.” 

They climb off the couch together and Sanji leads Zoro to his bathroom, he turns on the water and turns back to Zoro. Sanji fiddles with the hem of his shirt once more, Zoro’s hands join Sanji’s and he guides him through pulling the shirt off. 

Over Zoro’s green head, long, muscular arms extended and flexing with every subtle shift, the corded muscles moving elegantly before Sanji’s eyes. His broad shoulders, his massive chest, his big arms, his thick fingers, he’s so beautiful. Zoro pulls Sanji’s shirt off next, Sanji wraps his arms around Zoro’s neck and they press their bare chests together with a shared soft sigh. Their lips meet tenderly, their hands begin to wander lovingly, seeking out sensitive spots on the other’s skin. 

Zoro’s back muscles are so well defined, Sanji’s fingers rise and fall over each dip and divot in his partner’s frame, he memorizes each part of Zoro that he touches. Should he ever forget, he’ll do this again, map out each and every bit of Zoro’s body until it’s committed to the deepest part of his brain. 

Their kiss grows more desperate, their tongues slide and wrap together, nipping and sucking on one another’s lips as they get messy and horny together. Sanji’s hips twitch forward on instinct, his hardening cock throbs, his lower stomach flips over excitedly. Zoro’s hands wander his lower back, grab at Sanji’s ass, skate down his upper thighs, and he begins groaning into their kiss. 

“Fuck, I want you so bad.” Zoro moans, he digs his fingers into Sanji’s hips, “Can I undress you? I’m dying here.” 

Sanji nods, “You’re dying? I’m about to go into heat, you have no idea.” 

Zoro laughs as he unbuttons Sanji’s pants, he grips the waist and pushes them down, “I’m trying really hard to restrain myself, don’t tease me too much.” 

Sanji puts his hands on Zoro’s shoulders and pushes him down as Zoro strips Sanji’s pants off, he pushes Zoro to his knees in the floor, then rests one hand on the top of Zoro’s head and looks down at him. 

Zoro swallows thickly, eye wide and pupil dark, he bites his lower lip as he stares at Sanji’s hard cock, twitching excitedly before his face, and Sanji is mesmerized by the sight before him. 

Zoro looks so good on his knees, his hands rest on Sanji’s thighs, his lips part breathlessly, “Oh, fuck.” He says on a soft exhale, “Look at you.” 

Zoro wraps his hand around Sanj’s cock, his thumb immediately stroking over the two ladder piercings, his pointer finger grazes over the dyode piercing, “Fuck, that’s so sexy, it makes my head spin.” 

Sanji swallows loudly as Zoro’s fingers tease at the piercings for a few moments, he grips Zoro’s hair and sighs shakily before diving down to kiss Zoro again. All tongue and teeth, dragging Zoro up to kiss him roughly, and they moan together. Sanji’s hands fumble slightly as he helps Zoro out of his pants, and that’s the moment he briefly considers passing out. 

He's perfect. Oh, it’s the prettiest cock Sanji has ever laid eyes on, it’s thick and veiny and uncut and ugh! He can’t wait to feel that thick head deep inside him, he burns with the need to feel those balls slap against him as Zoro fucks him hard. 

They stagger into the shower together, not breaking their kiss, and Sanji pins Zoro to the wall and grinds their hips together desperately, greedy for friction, his entire body going numb from the waist down in anticipation. 

“You’re uncircumcised.” Sanji gasps into their kiss. 

“You really have dick piercings.” Zoro groans in response, and his hips rut forward on their own accord, their cocks slide together deliciously. 

Zoro grabs Sanji by the hips and spins him around, pinning Sanji’s back to the tile shower wall, and his hand goes between them to wrap around Sanji’s hard cock. He strokes slowly, watching intently, like he’s desperate to see Sanji’s reactions, and Sanji is desperate to show him. Sanji locks eyes with Zoro, not daring to look away for even a single moment as Zoro strokes him, slow and steady, fingers exploring curiously. 

Zoro’s gaze darts back and forth between Sanji’s eyes and his hand around Sanji’s dick, his mouth falls open and he breathes heavily, there’s an edge of desperation in his touch already. 

“You’re gonna have to fuck me some day, I need to feel these inside me.” Zoro says, he exhales shakily, Sanji can see him starting to unravel. 

He wants Sanji so badly, it’s visible, it’s palpable, it makes Sanji feel so powerful and sexy that it’s a total head rush. 

“Yeah, okay.” Sanji agrees, he pushes Zoro back by the shoulders and takes a good look at him, trying to catch his breath for a single moment. 

He’s sexier than Sanji has ever realized, underneath his distractingly huge tits is one of the most gorgeous bodies in the world, beautiful hips, defined abs, thick thighs. Sanji puts one hand on Zoro’s hip and turns him around, eyes roaming greedily as Zoro’s body shifts and bends as he guides it. 

Sanji kisses the nape of Zoro’s neck, down to his shoulder blade, nipping his spine, and Zoro leans forward with a soft groan, he braces his arm against the shower wall and pushes his hips back into Sanji’s crotch. 

Sanji groans at the sight before him, he grabs Zoro’s hips and ruts his cock forward, it slides between Zoro’s ass cheeks lewdly. 

The sight of it makes Sanji moan, but he’s laughing a second later, his thumb tracing the outline of black ink on Zoro’s flank. “You are so fucking funny.” Sanji grins, and Zoro turns a wide smile over his shoulder.

On Zoro’s left ass cheek is a tattoo like a brand, centered perfectly, it reads, ‘Prime Beef’ and Sanji seriously checks to see if he has a nose bleed. 

“Look at your body, Zoro, fuck you’re so sexy.” Sanji groans, he wraps his arms around Zoro’s chest and pulls their bodies flush together under the stream of hot water. He grinds his cock against Zoro, groaning softly in Zoro’s ear, his hands gripping any skin they can. 

“You can fuck me,” Zoro rotates his hips in a slow circle, grinding against Sanji just right, “You can fill me up, I’d be so tight for you, you can fuck me and fill me with your cum.” 

“Fuck, Zoro.” Sanji groans, he spins them around and pins Zoro’s back to the shower wall, he shoves his thigh between Zoro’s and wraps his hand around both of their cocks. He can’t take it anymore, he really can’t, Sanji is going to lose his mind if he doesn’t make this man cum. 

Zoro holds onto Sanji tightly, his head tips back, mouth falling open, eyes screwing shut within a few seconds. “Y-yeah, fuck, that feels so good. Rub the heads together,” Zoro pleads, then moans loud and sharp when Sanji does as he asks. Sanji strokes them with one hand, he rubs his other palm in a slow circle over both of their tips, it makes Zoro twitch against him. 

Zoro cries out softly, brows raising, body going taut, and Sanji is on the very precipice of losing his sanity. He needs to cum, he’ll be able to think more clearly afterwards, he needs to cum, and he needs to see Zoro cum. 

Sanji begins stroking them quickly, rutting his hips forward against Zoro, rocking their cocks together in time with him jerking them off. Sanji’s cock leaks, throbs, pulses in his grasp. He’s so turned on, he feels like he’s going crazy with need over Zoro. 

“Oh, fuck,” Zoro groans, “Your cock is so wet, I can feel your precum, that’s so sexy, Sanji. Cum for me, fuck, make yourself cum, let me see you.” 

Sanji releases Zoro’s cock and wraps his hand around just his own length, he begins jerking himself off with a singular focus, he grips Zoro’s hip with his free hand. Zoro idly strokes his own cock as he watches, taking deep breaths through his parted lips, watching Sanji intently. 

The feeling of Zoro’s desperate gaze burns into Sanji, sending a jolt down his spine, and his orgasm is on him in an instant. He cums with a soft cry, hips jerking forward, gasping at how good it feels, warmth flooding him as he wrings his climax out. 

Sanji’s cum splatters over Zoro’s cock, Zoro groans lowly, panting softly, intentionally trying to catch as much of Sanji’s release over his shaft. Zoro strokes himself with Sanji’s cum, it makes a lewd squelching noise that makes them both moan, and Sanji falls to his knees.

He pushes Zoro’s hands away and wraps his own around Zoro’s cock, he rolls Zoro’s foreskin back and slowly licks around the head of his cock. “Uncut is so hot, if I’d known…” Sanji takes the tip of Zoro’s cock into his mouth, moaning around it. 

Zoro gasps, he covers his mouth with one hand, sinking his teeth into one of his knuckles. “Sanji.” His hips buck forward as he chases the heat of Sanji’s mouth, “Fuck, please, I’m gonna lose my mind.” 

As much as Sanji wants to tease him, Zoro must be just as desperate as Sanji was to get off. They’ve been a long time coming to get here, and they’re both so hopelessly in love with one another that expressing it this way is a need more than a desire. 

So Sanji wraps his hand around Zoro’s cock and strokes him in time as he works more of Zoro’s length into his mouth. Zoro’s cock is nice and thick, enough that it stretches Sanji’s jaw without being too uncomfortable, he’d love to get his face fucked by this man someday. 

He’ll tell Zoro as much soon enough, he’ll disclose all his filthy desires, he’ll expose the deepest wishes in his heart. He’ll beg to be fucked in a dressing room, he’ll grovel for Zoro to fuck him until he squirts, he’ll do anything for Zoro to drag him to the showers after a rough training session. 

Sanji gauges Zoro’s reactions, listens to the way his breath hitches when Sanji’s hand moves a certain way, when his tongue glides over a specific spot. He needs to see Zoro cum, he needs to taste it, has needed it for months now.

It’s been such a long road to get here, and Sanji knows he still owes Zoro a lot of answers, a lot of vulnerability, a lot of raw honesty. Sanji will stop hiding, will stop running, will never try to escape Zoro knowing Sanji in a deep, intimate way. 

Sanji is going to tell him everything, is going to give him everything, is going to be the best he can be by Zoro’s side. 

Zoro digs his fingers into the back of Sanji’s head, his hips thrust forward unsteadily, “Sanji, fuck, you’re gonna make me cum. Fuck, your mouth feels so good, baby, yes!” 

Sanji’s eyes flutter, he sucks Zoro hard and fast, matching the rhythm that Zoro set, letting Zoro’s cock bump down his throat more and more with each thrust of Zoro’s hips. 

Zoro is so loud, how Sanji adores a loud partner, hearing Zoro gasp and moan and swear makes Sanji feel unstoppable, like the most incredible person on earth. Zoro’s cock throbs between Sanji’s lips, his hand flexes against the back of Sanji’s head, his hips stutter, he groans Sanji’s name, gasping sharply as he reaches his limit.

“Ah- Sanji- it- mmh!” Zoro cums hard, it shoots down Sanji’s throat, filling his mouth with how much he cums. Sanji swallows Zoro’s release greedily, relishing in the salty flavor that lingers in the back of his throat. Zoro thrusts shallowly and slowly into Sanji’s mouth, riding out the aftershocks of his orgasm against Sanji’s tongue. 

He moans softly with each breath, his eye hardly open as he looks down at Sanji with all the love in the world shining on his face, he cradles Sanji’s face with one tender hand. 

Zoro finally pulls out of Sanji’s mouth, his thumb immediately catching Sanji’s bottom lip and holding his mouth open gently. Cum still lingers on Sanji’s tongue, mixed with his saliva, Sanji rolls his tongue in it and lets it hang out of his mouth slightly before he makes a good show of swallowing it. 

Zoro exhales slowly once more as Sanji opens his mouth again, his eyelids feel heavy as Zoro leans down to kiss him hard. 

They embrace tightly and make out slowly through their shower, they wash each other’s hair and body, gentle wandering hands eager to learn. 

After their shower, they curl in bed together naked, arms and legs tangled together. 

“I gotta go home for a little while tomorrow, but I’ll come back and spend the night again if you want.” Zoro says as they cuddle close. 

“Oh, if I want you to?” Sanji teases.

“I’m being nice, you know, giving you time to prepare yourself.” Zoro smirks tauntingly. 

“You don’t want to stretch me?” Sanji asks genuinely.

“Baby, don’t ask dumb questions, that’s my job.” Zoro kisses his nose and Sanji scowls at him. “I’m gonna stretch you until you beg for my cock, I love fingering my partner and feeling them open up for me.” 

Sanji sighs softly, “I’m clean, by the way, I can show you my last test if you want. If you actually take the time to stretch me properly, I want to fuck raw, and I’ll let you cum inside me.” 

Zoro groans, “I’m clean, too. I want to cum inside you and then finger you until my cum all runs out of you.” 

“I have an orgasm control kink, and I’m a total slut for a hands free orgasm. From behind is my favorite position, especially if I’m restrained or in sensory deprivation.” Sanji rambles off tiredly. 

Zoro kisses Sanji’s face several times, peppering kisses along his cheeks and jaw, “I’m a service top, but I’m a submissive bottom. I’ll try anything twice, especially for you. I’ve wanted you for months, whatever you want, I want to give you.” 

Sanji nuzzles into Zoro’s neck, and they hold each other close for a few warm and quiet moments.

“Reiju was the only one who was nice to me growing up, and it was only if we were alone, or with our mother. If any of our brothers or father were around, Rei was just as cold to me as the others. I didn’t understand it, that she was keeping herself safe, it just hurt my feelings.” Sanji says suddenly, his heart throbs at the childhood memories, and he presses forward. 

“Our mother died when I was 13, and Reiju convinced me to run away. It hurt, the way she pushed me out, the way she screamed in my face to get away and to never come back. So I ran, and I got on a bus, and I got off where I knew we’d gone and skated before.” Sanji settles into Zoro’s arms, he’s not sure why this is the story he’s telling. He could explain his brothers, their father, he could talk about his mother, he could tell Zoro any number of things, yet somehow, explaining how Zeff and Reiju saved him seems most important. 

“I was able to find the rink, and even though it was the middle of the night, there was still one stodgy old bastard there. Zeff came out to smoke, and I was sitting there by the front door, huddled under my jacket, and he never asked why I was there. Zeff just took me inside, and later that night, I went home with him. I was too scared to ask questions, I was too scared to wonder if my family cared that I was gone. Even though it hurt, I didn’t want anyone to make me go back home.” Sanji pauses for a moment to sort his thoughts, and Zoro’s hands stroke his back comfortingly. 

“I started training with Zeff, and he paired me with Vivi, and that was that. I lived with him, he fed me, he helped me grow and learn so much. He taught me how to drive once I turned 15, he told me there wasn’t anything wrong with having a crush on another guy, he helped me heal.” Sanji swallows thickly, “Then we were at a competition one day, and my brother Ichiji was there, and it was the first time I’d seen any of them in over two years. He told me Reiju had run away and was in trouble, and he told me that our father would keep her safe and wouldn’t make her go back to skating if I came home.” 

Zoro exhales slowly, “Bastard.” 

“I was dumb, I never should have believed anything he said. But I went home with him that day, I don’t even remember if I told Zeff goodbye, or if I told anyone what was going on.  I was scared for Reiju, and he knew I would be, he knew he could use us against each other.” Sanji says, Zoro kisses his forehead for a few seconds. 

“Ichiji took me straight to my old room, and he locked me in there, and that’s where I stayed. Nobody told me anything, I beat on the door until my hands bruised, I screamed until I lost my voice, I cried until I got sick. Food would be brought to me every day, but that was it, nobody spoke to me for months. They just left me there, and I watched the seasons change out my window."

“At first it was so hard, and I had a really long period where I was so depressed I wouldn't even get out of bed or eat. Then I was angry, so angry I hurt myself over and over, just a hot ball of rage, lashing out at everything. After that, I was sort of numb to it, and and eventually I convinced my brother Yonji to bring me some stuff. So I taught myself to cook, and it didn’t feel so bad to be in there anymore.” 

Zoro mutters something under his breath, he squeezes Sanji tighter, “I’m so sorry.” 

“Rei found out they had me locked up there, and she came back home and went back to skating in exchange for our father letting me out of the room and back onto the ice. She had been busting her ass going through idol training, and she was supposed to debut with a girl group, but she gave it all up and agreed to skate with Ichiji again. I was paired with Niji, and life just carried on like usual.” Sanji explains. 

“I was so fucked up, though, and even though I was the strongest skater out of my brothers, I was mentally the weakest. I was so depressed for years, just going through the motions of skating, training, and trying to survive. But it became familiar, and it wasn’t so hard anymore, so I just kept going. But then Niji and I didn’t qualify for the Olympics, and he just- “ Sanji takes a breath, “Went insane, beat the shit out of me like he wanted to kill me, got on top of me and tried to strangle me and-“ 

Zoro squeezes Sanji so tight it nearly hurts, but it’s so grounding, safe and comforting, and Sanji is thankful for this big, dumb jock. Sanji has come to trust him so much, and as more than just a skating partner. As someone Sanji desperately wants to build a life with, and as someone Sanji needs by his side for the remainder of his days. 

This sort of honesty is raw, and it will leave Sanji exhausted, but he's so, so safe here in Zoro's arms. 

“I had long hair back then, it was gorgeous, I'd been growing it since Judge locked me up, it was sort of symbolic for me. Niji-” his entire torso constricts, from the back of his throat to his tailbone, it's like his body has been encased in cement. “He had me pinned down and he took one of my skates and-” Sanji's hand raises involuntarily, the ghost of Niji’s motion, his hand trembles as he puts his hand down and touches his forehead. 

He wears his hair over it, and Zoro has probably already seen it by now, but the scar that dips down onto Sanji's forehead out of his hairline is the thing he hates most about himself. It's such an ugly reminder of his past, of his brother, of the things he's endured, and it's on his face of all places. He pushes his hair back and tips his chin up to look at Zoro, and the sight takes his breath away. 

Zoro looks pissed, so unbelievably angry that it stills Sanji's heart for a moment, his eyebrows are drawn in, his lips pressed together thinly, his jaw clenched tight. Still, beneath all the anger in the universe, his eyes soften and fill with kindness, compassion, and empathy when Sanji looks into them. Zoro frames the right side of Sanji's face and kisses his forehead, he exhales slowly, he traces one finger along the length of the scar, which extends several inches back into Sanji's scalp. 

He'd needed stitches, so they'd had to shave a pretty big chunk of his head, which led him to buzz the whole thing and let it start growing all over again. It's been almost three years since then, and Sanji loves how he looks now, but the whole ordeal had left a deep impact in many ways.

“Rei left for good after that, tried to convince me to leave with her, but I was just too afraid. I mean... he could have killed me, so I was too afraid to upset him anymore. So I stayed, and I kept skating, and I eventually started acting out. Partying, drugs, drinking until I blacked out, sleeping with strangers, getting in fights, more drugs, I was off the deep end. It just meant training was harder for me, Niji was harder on me, father was crueler to me, even Rei was worried I was a lost cause. I thought I was, I had given up, I felt sure I’d get killed eventually. Overdose or mouth off to the wrong person or get behind the wheel totally hammered. I didn’t care anymore, I wanted it to end, so it all got worse and worse until last year. I was at the end of my rope, and after our practice session before the Grand Prix finals, I overdosed on purpose.” 

Everything is totally silent for a moment, the sheets shift softly as Zoro wraps his arms around Sanji and kisses his hair. 

“Niji had Narcan, though, brought me back, I came to as he was beating my head against the floor, yelling in my face about what a useless idiot I was. He spent the rest of the night just sobering me up, and the next day, he drug me around the ice behind him. I was lethargic and miserable, and I genuinely wanted to be dead, like, desperately. So when we got to the kiss and cry, and I was limping because he’d dropped me so hard, I lost my shit. I started screaming about how I was on drugs, how I was a slut that fucked any man around, how I wanted to die, how awful my family was. I had these horrible bruises on my chest, and I ripped my outfit to shreds, just looked totally out of my fucking mind. Security drug me outside kicking and screaming, and there Zeff was, arms crossed over his chest, this grumpy little frown all screwed up on his face. He and Reiju helped me get clean, found me a therapist, and helped me get my own place once I was stable. Reiju hired Charlotte from another family similar to ours, and Charlotte found you a few weeks later.” Sanji takes a deep breath, “I was still in such bad shape when you came out here, and I probably would have ended up going off the deep end again if it’d not been for you. So…thank you, you’re just as important in my story of redemption and recovery as Zeff or Rei, and it means so much to have you by my side.” 

They kiss for several long moments, Zoro’s hands are gentle and loving as he frames Sanji’s face. 

They’re quiet after that, Zoro likely processing everything Sanji has just dumped on him, and Sanji falls asleep to the sound of Zoro’s gentle breath. 

Zoro rubs his thumb over the cuticle on his middle finger, is that nail too long still? Sanji probably has a nail file, Zoro feels certain of it, but he didn’t answer his phone when Zoro called on the way over. 

Zoro punches in the door code and lets himself into Sanji’s apartment, kicking his boots off by the door. 

“I’m here.” Zoro calls over his shoulder as he scoots his shoes in line with Sanji’s, smiling at the loafers and doc martens sitting beside each other. 

“Hey!” Sanji calls from somewhere in the apartment, “I can’t find my phone, can you call it?” 

Zoro sheds his jacket as he walks into the living room, “Yeah, I tried to call you earlier. What are you making?” 

Sanji smiles at him across the large kitchen countertop, “Cacciatore” His eyes roam down Zoro’s body, “Look at this, love this shirt.” He leans back from his cooking and admires Zoro for a moment, a warm look of affection clouding his eyes. 

“Do you think this cuticle is too sharp?” Zoro holds his finger out to Sanji, leaning against the kitchen counter. 

Sanji runs his fingertip along Zoro’s cuticle, “I don’t know what you mean, I guess, but I have a nail file if you want.” 

Zoro nods, “Sure, whenever you’ve got a minute.” 

Sanji leans in and kisses Zoro briefly, a smile still on his lips. “Hi.” 

Zoro smiles, “Hi,” he kisses Sanji again, “I missed you.” 

Sanji hums softly, “Watch out, I might think you have a crush on me or something.” 

Zoro chuckles, they kiss again, slowly, Zoro’s hand wanders out to skim along Sanji’s hip. 

The oven beeps and Sanji glances towards it, “Let me get this finished, then I’m gonna annoy you so much. Will you pick a bottle of wine?” 

“I don’t like this game.” Zoro frowns at Sanji’s wine rack, “This one.”

Sanji smiles over his shoulder, “See? You’re good at it. Let it breathe for a minute.” 

So Zoro opens the wine and then pulls his phone out. 

“When did you have your phone last?” Zoro asks as he pulls up Sanji’s contact info and hits dial. 

Sanji shrugs, “I was reading earlier, then I took a shower. I listened to music in the shower, so maybe in my room somewhere.”

There’s a delicious explosion of smells when Sanji throws something in the pan with a dramatic flair, and Zoro smiles as he turns towards Sanji’s bedroom. 

He doesn’t hear the phone ringing and doesn’t see it lying around, so he calls again and wanders back to the living room, where he hears vibrating coming from the couch. 

Zoro shoves his hand into the cushions and his fingers just barely graze the phone, he has to pop the footrest out, then Sanji’s phone falls under the couch. Zoro drops to his knees and pulls it out from under the couch. 

“Here’s the nail file,” Sanji says, he sets it down on the coffee table beside Zoro. 

On Sanji’s phone screen is a picture of him and Zoro, one they’d taken together in Florida, one where they look so happy, and the world around them looks so bright. Instead of Zoro’s name at the top of the screen, it reads "Mossy" with three green heart emojis

“Oh, you found it. Thank you! Did the couch eat it?” Sanji grins happily as Zoro stands up with the phone clutched in his hand, he turns back to the kitchen and returns to his cooking. He cocks an eyebrow when he sees Zoro’s face, “What?” 

Zoro holds his own phone up, the exact same picture of them is on his phone background, a giddy smile spreads across his face, a giggle rises in his chest, "You like me." He sings childishly, he circles the counter and goes to poke Sanji's side, "You totally like me."  

Sanji throws his arms around Zoro’s neck, tugs him in with a soft moan, and seals their mouths in an intense kiss. Zoro grabs his hips, backing Sanji into the nearest counter, already tilting his head and letting Sanji’s tongue slip into his mouth. 

Zoro feels desperate in a matter of seconds, his breathing at once becomes strangled, his heart begins racing uncontrollably, the need to touch Sanji is almost overwhelming. 

Sanji digs his fingers into Zoro’s hair, moans softly, ruts himself off the counter to grind against Zoro slowly. Zoro can’t take his eyes off Sanji, he bites Sanji’s bottom lip just to watch the way his eyebrows twitch, he groans lowly just to hear Sanji moan in response. 

Oh, he’s going to drag this out, savor every single second of it, memorize it down to the very last detail. This is immediately a thousand times better than anything Zoro’s brain could come up with, his fantasies don’t hold a candle to the real thing. 

He never could have imagined the way Sanji’s eyelashes flutter, never in his wildest dreams did he think of Sanji’s nails digging into his back just right, he couldn’t have fathomed how incredible it feels to grind against Sanji’s growing erection. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to touch you like this.” Zoro groans, he frames Sanji’s face and sighs heavily, his palms tingle, his face feels numb. 

“I’ve wanted it for longer.” Sanji says, “Remember?” he pushes his hands under Zoro’s shirt and begins tugging it up. 

Zoro raises his arms, and Sanji pulls his shirt off, he drags his fingertips slowly down Zoro’s biceps, forearms, hands. Sanji lifts Zoro’s hand and presses a kiss to his palm, then the inside of his wrist, he leans in until his lips brush the shell of Zoro’s ear. 

“If you follow me to the bathroom, we can do anything you want for fifteen minutes.” Sanji whispers, his voice husky and soft. 

Chills run down Zoro’s arms, he threads one hand into the back of Sanji’s hair, his other hand comes to cup Sanji’s jaw, thumb running slowly over Sanji’s lower lip. “At the bar.” He can still hear the gentle cadence of Sanji's voice as he whispered in Zoro's ear, his hands soft and gentle on Zoro's wrist, hip, his eyes lidded and hazy with alcohol and lust. Damn, he's so glad he didn't hear what Sanji said that night.

Sanji nods, he nips the tip of Zoro’s thumb, “It was the first time I got drunk around you, I knew I had to be careful after that. You didn’t follow me to the bathroom, though, which was smart, I just wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. I would have regretted it later, it would have ruined anything between us in the future.” 

Zoro drags in a slow breath, “Honestly, I didn’t hear what you said that night, otherwise I would have followed you. But you’re right, it would have been a mistake, just like all the other times I opened the door for something to happen between us.” He looks at Sanji seriously, “I’m sorry, I never respected your relationship, and I had to fight myself at every turn to not drive you two apart.” 

Sanji smiles a little, he tugs Zoro closer, “I forgive you, and I’m sorry for always blurring the line between us. I wanted you to have feelings for me, I wanted your heart to race the same way mine did, I wanted you to think about me every minute of the day. I should have just broken up with Duval, that would have been the right thing to do from the very beginning. I was too much of a coward, until the bitter end, I was too afraid to look it in the face.” Sanji shakes his head and his eyes grow distant. 

“I knew he was manipulating me, and there was a part of me that recognized that he love-bombed me after you and I started getting closer, but I had no idea just how toxic he was because I was too scared to acknowledge it. He could have drug me around like that for years if it hadn’t been for you, because it wasn’t until he started manipulating you that I realized how incredibly toxic his behavior had become. I’m so sorry he did that to you, he took advantage of your feelings, your emotions, your mental state, and it had nothing to do with you at all. You didn’t deserve to be drug into my relationship drama.” Sanji says genuinely, eyes big and sad. 

Zoro shakes his head, “You don’t have to apologize for him, Sanji, and you don’t have to feel bad for his actions. You never did anything wrong, okay? Sure, we both had feelings that we maybe shouldn’t have, but we never acted on them. Everything else isn’t your fault, so don’t be sorry for any of it.” He tucks Sanji’s head under his chin, “I like you.”

Sanji laughs softly, he rubs his cheek against Zoro’s bare chest, “I think this counts as witchcraft, by the way. Tits in my face, saying nice things to me.” 

Zoro cards his fingers through Sanji’s hair, letting the waves dance over his skin slowly, “Just you wait, cotton tail, I’m reaching the end of my restraint.” 

Sanji scoffs, “Again with the bunny thing. Besides, I haven’t had restraint in weeks, so I don’t know what took you so long.” 

“Can’t help but wanna tease you.” Zoro tips Sanji’s head back and kisses him lightly, only separating enough for his lips to hover over Sanji’s, Zoro still watches him through heavy eyelids. Sanji’s lips remain parted ever so slightly, his lower lip trembles slightly, a soft sigh spills over his lips and ghosts over Zoro’s. For some reason, he sort of snaps. 

Zoro wraps his arms around Sanji’s hips and lifts him effortlessly, even when Sanji flinches in shock and wriggles in Zoro’s grasp with a laugh, Zoro carries him into the living room and throws him on the couch. 

Sanji grins up at Zoro from the plush blue fabric of his fancy couch, Zoro wonders distantly if it’s an expensive couch, if it’s the sort of piece of furniture that shouldn’t have cum on it, but he just honestly doesn’t give a shit anymore. He fumbles slightly as he unbuttons Sanji’s shirt with excited hands, fingers that tremble in anticipation, each millimeter of skin exposed by the fabric falling away is something Zoro needs to commit to the deepest, most indelible parts of his memory. 

He's so solid, muscle packed onto his lithe frame in a way that makes Zoro’s head spin, he’s not nearly as bulky as Zoro is, but he’s toned perfectly. Sanji had been very thin when Zoro met him, and as time has passed, his cheeks have filled out, his hips have grown, and the extra thickness of his thighs makes Zoro’s mouth water. Dellinger had been onto something when he kept going on and on about Sanji’s ass, and even now, Zoro grits his teeth in desperation to feel every inch of this man beneath him. 

Zoro pushes Sanji’s shirt off, and Sanji helps get the piece of clothing off and away from them, then he wraps his arms around Zoro’s shoulders and pulls him down into a kiss. Zoro only lasts a second or two, though, because he’s distracted by a shiny flash that catches his eye. He leans back again, hands coming to rest on Sanji’s waist, fingers already wandering up, up, up to the gorgeous dangly golden chains hanging from Sanji’s nipples. 

The delicate jewelry lays so nicely in contrast to his pale, hairless chest, sitting so pretty on those dusty pink nipples that Zoro has been desperate to touch for months, and the knowledge that Zoro chose these cute little pieces of jewelry just makes him feel like passing out. 

This incredible, remarkable, unbelievable, sexy man has chosen Zoro, has stumbled into Zoro’s life, seen the worst parts of it, and decided to stay right here, by Zoro’s side, underneath Zoro in bed, helping him up off the ice after a fall, driving when it rains because he knows it’s hard for Zoro’s vision, cooking him delicious treats, choosing Zoro again and again. 

Before he even realizes he’s moved, Zoro is descending on Sanji, the fingers on his right hand have already wandered to Sanji’s chest, teasing around the firm muscles they find along the way. Sanji threads his fingers into Zoro’s hair, hips jerking off the couch unsteadily, his breath soft and low. 

“Zoro, please.” Sanji murmurs, head tipped back, hair already growing messy. 

Zoro glides his tongue slowly over Sanji’s left nipple, his thumb teasing at the other, he grazes his teeth over it, catching it in a light bite before latching his lips to it. Sanji’s whole body jolts, he gasps, his hand in Zoro’s hair digs in, a strangled moan slips over his lips. 

Once the nipple grows swollen in Zoro’s lips, he switches to the other one, his hands begin wandering further, exploring more and more of Sanji’s body. 

His upper arms, the insides of his elbows, the soft place on his wrists where his pulse thrums away. The edge of his ribcage, the crook of his waist, the sharp ridge of his hip, the dip of his navel, the wirey little curls that disappear underneath his pants. 

Zoro has to stop himself from whining as he unbuttons Sanji’s pants, has to take slow, open-mouthed breaths as he strips the fabric away from long, strong, pale legs, his heart hammers in his ears as he sinks to his knees between Sanji’s parted legs. 

Sanji swallows loudly, his hand rests in Zoro’s hair, his pupils are wide when Zoro looks up at him. “This is crazy.” Sanji murmurs, “I didn’t realize how intense it would feel.” 

Zoro nods, he leans his head against Sanji’s thigh, wrapping both arms around his thighs and tugging Sanji’s hips towards the edge of the couch. “I know, my head is spinning.” Zoro sinks his teeth into the place where Sanji’s thigh and groin meet. 

Sanji twitches, his hips jerk, his cock slaps against his stomach, he gasps and moans high in his chest, needy, desperate noises that go straight through Zoro. Zoro puts one hand on Sanji's thigh, spreads his leg wide and pins it to the couch, he swallows thickly, unable to look away from how damn beautiful Sanji is. 

The pierced dick alone would do it, it's no joke how much Zoro is into that, but he's so pretty down here that it's unreal. That little trail of curly hair leads straight to his cock, which has a nearly trimmed patch of curls sitting at the top of it, and the rest of him is hairless. His balls are drawn up tight, twitching with each heartbeat, and he's perfectly pale and pink all the way down to his hole. 

There's a dark plug nestled inside him, Zoro's jaw clenches, he groans through his teeth, he rubs his thumb along where the flared base sits against Sanji's rim. “You’re going to make me lose my mind.” 

Sanji huffs, a soft moan rising at the end of the breath, “Zoro, you gotta do something, fuck, anything.”  

Zoro nods absently, he wraps his hand around Sanji’s dick, stroking slowly, rubbing his thumb over those damn ladder piercings. The soft skin stretched over the metal tucked under it, the shiny golden balls tucked on either end of the barbell, Zoro leans in and runs his tongue over it slowly. 

Sanji twitches, his cock throbs, and something glorious happens. 

Zoro had been able to tell the night before, that Sanji gets wet, his cock leaks obscenely, precum dripping from his tip and making Zoro's mouth water. He can see it now, though, it's not mingled with the shower, not being washed away before Zoro can put his eyes on the clear liquid running down Sanji's head. 

As Zoro slowly licks over the piercings, up to the one in the head, Sanji's cock leaks the whole time, a slightly salty fluid that Zoro laps up immediately. He wraps his tongue around the head of Sanji's cock, moaning involuntarily at the taste of Sanji on his tongue, and he lets the whole tip slip into his mouth. 

Sanji holds onto Zoro's hair with a vice grip, his other hand digs into the couch cushion, nails bared into the fabric harshly, his mouth hangs open as he gasps in pleasure. He doesn't take his eyes off Zoro for a single second, like it would physically harm him if he missed anything right now, if he didn't see every moment of Zoro swallowing him down. 

The piercings rub against Zoro's tongue, he moans at the feeling, his mind goes completely fuzzy as he bobs his head slowly and works more of Sanji's cock into his mouth.

The head of Sanji's cock rubbing against the roof of Zoro's mouth is some sort of strange pleasure, the way he tastes, the way he smells, the way he twitches under Zoro, it all clouds Zoro's brain. 

Soon, he's acting on nothing but instinct, barely even cognizant of his own movements, completely and totally lust drunk off the feeling of Sanji's cock in his throat. All he can hear is the noises Sanji makes, each moan, each hitch of his breath, each long exhale. 

All he can feel is Sanji, soft flesh under his palms and fingertips, he's not even sure where he's touching anymore, just touching for the sake of contact, of friction, of something to hold him to reality. 

A breath sucked through bared teeth sharply, a low cry that's a mixture of shock and pleasure, a soft body that jolts slightly. Zoro is going too fast, he's out of it and isn't thinking straight, so he’s sucking Sanji's cock hard and fast, definitely too intensely for the moment. 

Zoro slows down, he pulls off gently, presses a kiss to each piercing, looks up with an impish smile, “Sorry, got carried away.” 

Sanji has one trembling hand over his mouth, eyes heavy, “You didn't hear me complaining.” 

Zoro laughs softly, “Yeah.” He grips both of Sanji's thighs and pushes them back, folding him in half with slow, purposeful movements. He knows exactly how Sanji's body can stretch, has watched him for months, has trained with him for countless hours, has seen exactly what Sanji is capable of. 

He keeps Sanji's legs pinned back with one hand, letting the other one roam across the bare thighs before him, just as pale and perfect as every other inch of skin, the dark green plug a stark contrast that Zoro can't look away from. He leans down and runs his tongue slowly along Sanji's rim where it's stretched around the base of the plug, Sanji gasps loudly, his legs thrashing in Zoro's grasp. 

“Sanji, fuck, can I take this thing out?” 

“N-not here, the couch.” Sanji answers shakily, “Don't wanna mess up the couch.” 

“Yeah, I figured as much. Let me guess, the kitchen counter is unsanitary?”

“Don’t even think about it.” Sanji peeks out from behind his legs to glare at Zoro briefly. 

“You’re no fun, you won't let me take you to the bedroom yet either, will you?” 

“Nope, I’m in the middle of cooking.” Sanji gives Zoro a mean smile and then flops back onto the couch. “I’m having loads of fun, just so you know.” 

Zoro licks his rim again just to shut him up, and he licks and sucks and kisses all over Sanji, from his stretched hole, all the way back up to the piercing in the head of his cock. 

“What’s this called?” Zoro pushes the curved barbell with his tongue. 

“That one's a dyode, the other two are typically called ladder piercings.” Sanji tells him, he runs his hands through Zoro’s hair, “You want some? I'll take you to my place.” 

Zoro licks Sanji's cock head again, he hums around it, “Maybe.” He dips his head once more and begins sucking Sanji's dick in earnest. 

Sanji won't let him take the plug out right now, won't go to the bedroom with him, won't even get bent over the kitchen counter? Fine. Zoro knows just the answer to that. 

He moves his tongue just right, shifts the base of the plug around, bobs his head quickly, moans around Sanji's cock, listening to the symphony of noises Sanji begins to make. 

His thighs begin to tremble, his cock gets even harder between Zoro's lips, he bites the knuckles on his left hand, his right hand stays anchored at the back of Zoro's head, his hips begin to buck forward. Just when his breathing and moaning starts peaking, right when his balls begin to throb, the moment his mouth parts in a cry of pleasure, Zoro pulls off and squeezes the base of his cock, pressing his thumb to the slit. 

Sanji gasps twice, his next breath is a shaky laugh, “You-hah- you bastard.” he exhales, “Do it again.” 

So Zoro does, wraps his lips around Sanji again and sucks him teasingly, darting his tongue around the slit, swallowing him all the way down and humming, 

He lets Sanji fuck into his mouth, digs his fingers into his hips, grabs desperately at strong thighs and squeezes them around his own head. 

Sanji groans, he tightens the grip of his thighs around Zoro's head, rocking his hips up into Zoro’s mouth, “F-fuck, you’re so hot. Your mouth feels so fucking good.” 

Zoro looks up at him from under his eyelashes, and Sanji moans slightly when they make eye contact, he brings one hand to cup Zoro's cheek and a loving smile spreads across his face. Zoro lets his eyes drift closed and loses himself to the taste and feeling of Sanji so close, letting Sanji bring himself to the brink of orgasm with Zoro's mouth. 

Just when it seems like Sanji might cum, Zoro pulls off abruptly, he rubs his palm in a slow circle around Sanji's tip and Sanji jolts with a soft cry. He pushes Zoro's hands away, his legs tremble, he makes the softest little whiny moans and Zoro immediately needs to hear them again and again. 

“You’re so mean.” Sanji gasps, his back arched, his thighs tight, arousal clearly coursing through his veins with each beat of his heart. 

“Did you make yourself cum earlier when you were stretching yourself?” Zoro asks, he presses a kiss to the inside of Sanji's thigh, hands gentle and slow as he rubs them over Sanji's lower stomach, hips, trying to ease him slowly away from the brink of climax. 

Zoro is no stranger to edge play or orgasm control, but he's never been the one in charge, so he's careful to keep an eye on Sanji. They haven't established any boundaries or even discussed things of this nature, but they do trust one another, and Zoro will do anything he can to take care of Sanji. 

“No, I'm a glutton for punishment, so I didn't cum.” Sanji says, his back muscles relax until he can sag into the couch and catch his breath. 

“Good, I won't tease you too much.” Zoro rests his cheek to Sanji's thigh and looks up at him, rubbing his hands over Sanji's boney hips. 

“You can tease me, it's okay, I like it.” Sanji assures him with a smile, he ruffles Zoro's hair, “You can do it one more time and then either we have to have sex or you'll have to give me a little break.” 

“You’re the one who said we couldn't go to the bedroom, and you wouldn't let me take the plug out either.” Zoro pouts, he spreads one of Sanji's legs and runs his thumb over the base of the plug again, “I want to be inside you so bad I feel like I'll go crazy, even if it's just my fingers, I want to feel you.” 

Sanji exhales shakily, “Maybe you're the one who should ask not to be teased, hm?” 

Zoro shakes his head and leans forward to suck Sanji's balls into his mouth, left and then right, pressing his tongue to the sensitive place right beneath his sack. “I love it.” Zoro says thickly, mouthing his way up Sanji's shaft again before swallowing him down once more. 

Again, they dig their hands into each other and make a melody of noises unlike any Zoro has ever heard, Sanji fucks into Zoro's mouth slowly at first, building to a bruising pace and drawing himself towards climax once more. 

It's so insanely sexy the way that he cradles Zoro's jaw and grips the back of his head, the way he's not afraid to rock his hips just the way he wants so he can feel the best in Zoro's mouth, the way his hips tremble each time he withdraws slightly. Sanji feels good, it's written on his face, in the way his fingers flex, in the way his breath hangs in his throat. 

The next time he pulls himself entirely out of Zoro's mouth and then he's diving in for a kiss, wet and sloppy, dragging Zoro onto the couch and pinning him down. 

Zoro is so hard he seriously might pass out, Sanji settles his weight over Zoro's hips and Zoro grunts softly at the friction. “Feels so good to touch you.” 

“Mhm.” Sanji hums as he kisses his way down Zoro's jaw and neck, he nips under Zoro's ear and exhales slowly, “Fuck, you make it so tempting to just… do nothing but this for the rest of my life.” He rolls his hips forward and his cock drags along Zoro's stomach, leaving a wet smear of precum there. 

“If you insist.” Zoro grips his ass, spreading him with greedy fingers, desperate to feel the heat of this man swallow him whole. 

The oven beeps and Sanji lifts his head to look in that direction before his eyes fall back on Zoro, “Dammit.” He purses his lips and is clearly deep in thought, so Zoro smacks his ass playfully. 

“Well? You gonna feed me dinner first?” 

Sanji rolls his eyes and climbs off the couch, “Like, yeah, but I don't want to.” 

“I don't want it.” Zoro grabs Sanji's wrist and tugs him back, “I hate eating, food is gross.” 

Sanji laughs, “Shut up, what'd you do with my pants?” He looks around and spots his pants lying a few feet away. 

“Have I ever told you I'm allergic to pants? It's a pretty severe allergy.” Zoro says, he tugs Sanji back once more. 

“But you're wearing pants.” Sanji points out. 

“Yeah, I'm only allergic to them when they're on you.” Zoro says with a serious nod. 

“Hm, but you've only ever been around me with pants on?” 

“It's a new allergy, you know, sometimes you just develop a new one.” 

“That might make skating hard.” 

“No, I'll get better later.” 

Sanji laughs again and Zoro finally lets him pick his pants up out of the floor, but Sanji doesn't pull them back on. “Will you get that out of the oven, please?” 

Zoro nods, and he watches Sanji turn and strut down the hallway towards his bedroom, bare ass swaying with his movements, long, muscular legs that flex with each step. 

The oven beeps again and Zoro drags himself off the couch, adjusts himself in his pants and goes to wash his hands with a heavy sigh. This is so much fun it should be illegal. 

He pulls the food out of the oven and pours them both a glass of wine, he goes about setting the table, attempting to get some blood back into his brain and other extremities. 

Sanji returns to the kitchen wearing a silky teal green robe, it's got a fringe that hangs from the hem and skims his knees, there's little lace details at the top of the collar, it lays beautifully over his pale skin. He turns to the food immediately, the tips of his ears burn pink, the nape of his neck begins to flush. As much confidence as Sanji always seems to exude, there's still someone shy and anxious hiding under the bravado, and it's cute to see him nervous in front of Zoro like this. 

“That color is gorgeous on you, you look good enough to eat.” Zoro says, he takes his seat at the table and sips from the wine glass. 

“You’re sweet.” Sanji says softly, he plates their food and brings Zoro his plate first, the same way he always does. Insisted on it, and was so adamant about it that Zoro had finally had to learn to just sit down and let Sanji feed him. He sets the plate down, kisses Zoro's forehead, and today he rubs Zoro's earlobe between his thumb and forefinger. 

“Thank you, baby.” Zoro leans his head into Sanji's touch, “It smells delicious.” 

Sanji grabs his own plate and sits across the table, “Oh, I meant to tell you to bring your skates. We could go get them sharpened tomorrow, and I've got an eyelet that needs repair.”

“They’re in my car, we can go, and let's go to the bookstore, too. I want volumes 7 and 8.” Zoro says, and they chat casually and plan their day as they eat their dinner. 

They've finished eating and are still sitting at the table and chatting over their wine when Sanji stretches his leg out under the table and nudges his toes under Zoro's pant leg. 

“Are you sure your pant allergy is just for my pants? I didn't put any back on, just to be safe, but what if it spreads? You should take yours off just to be safe, you know.” Sanji smiles teasingly, he props his chin on one fist, his other hand clasped around the stem of his glass. 

“Hm, good suggestion. Any other smart ideas?” Zoro smiles coyly, and Sanji grins warmly.

“Loads, I'm full of good ideas.” He pauses for a second, “If there's anything you'd like to do, you can tell me. I'm pretty open-minded to anything with you, so I want you to feel comfortable telling me what you want.” 

Zoro nods, “Well I haven't topped in…” he ponders for a moment before humming, “Like, six years? So I might cum embarrassingly fast the first time, but I can usually go for two or three rounds.” He says honestly. 

“Okay, I can, too, and like I said the other night, if you'll be careful with me then you can cum inside me.” Sanji says, and the words make Zoro throb, he squeezes his thighs tight. 

“I'll be careful.” Zoro promises, he leans forward and reaches for Sanji's hand, “I just want to feel you, you know? Later we'll figure out when you'll put me on a leash and when I'll get on my knees for you and all of that, but I just-” Zoro squeezes Sanji's hand. 

Sanji gets out of his chair and comes to straddle Zoro's thighs, he's fully naked under the soft robe, the fabric barely covers half of Sanji's hard dick when he settles into Zoro's lap. “Yeah, I agree.” He kisses Zoro's cheek, and Zoro turns his head to get a proper kiss. 

Sanji winds his arms around Zoro's neck, their kiss deepens, Zoro slides one hand under the robe and around Sanji's waist. Sanji twitches under his touch, body shuddering in anticipation already, and Zoro can feel his own wires starting to snap. 

“Twirls, you gotta- please, I'm going crazy.” Zoro gasps between kisses, Sanji smiles as he nips at Zoro's lower lip. 

“Let’s go then.” 

Zoro stands straight up, wrapping Sanji's legs around his hips and holding him easily with one arm under his thighs. Sanji giggles softly, he holds on tighter and leans down to kiss Zoro's neck, lick the shell of his ear, moan softly against Zoro's skin. 

Zoro's nearly stumbling over his feet as they stagger into Sanji's bedroom, Zoro throws him onto the bed and steps back with a ragged breath. 

Sanji laughs as he lands on the bed, the robe falls open around his waist and leaves his beautiful body on display before Zoro's eyes, legs spread, one hand already reaching for Zoro, eyes warm and happy. Zoro has never been more in love with Sanji than he is right now, at this very moment, his chest nearly bursts with it. 

Zoro undresses himself quickly, without ever taking his eyes off Sanji, solely focused on his partner stretched out before him, and then he’s falling into the bed with Sanji. Settling between strong thighs, leaning over to press himself to a pale chest, wrapping his arms under narrow shoulders, pressing his skin to Sanji’s at every place he can. It’s electric, tingling down Zoro’s spine, numbing him from the hips down, dragging him into a hazy pleasure that clouds his mind once more. 

Sanji sighs and ruts his hips up, his arms lock around Zoro’s back, his legs wrap around Zoro’s hips, “It feels so good to touch you.” 

“Lube? I need to make you cum so bad, I’m gonna lose my mind.” Zoro presses his face into Sanji’s neck, he nips at the tender skin under his ear, he brings one hand around to pinch his left nipple. 

‘Ye-yeah, on the bedside table, there.” Sanji nods towards the side and Zoro separates long enough to grab the squeeze bottle before descending on Sanji again. He’s on fire, burning like he’s got a fever that could melt his brain, the only thing that cools him in the slightest is the touch of Sanji’s skin. 

Zoro has never felt so desperate in his entire life, the way it sets him ablaze is something he’ll never forget, this ache that’s entirely new and exciting. He will chase this exact high for the rest of his life, and he’ll let himself be surprised by Sanji each time, and he’ll never forget what it means to share this with his partner. 

“Can I take it out now?” Zoro asks on a breath, he spreads Sanji’s legs and leans back to look down at the plug. 

“Yes, just go slow, it’s-” His breath hitches as Zoro grips the base of the plug and gives it a gentle tug, he stretches so beautifully as the flared part of the plug slowly slips from his hole, he sighs a breathy little noise as Zoro pulls it out of him.

Zoro can only groan softly, dig his fingers into Sanji’s thigh, try to keep himself from drowning in desire too soon, and watch as the plug comes fully out and Sanji’s body clenches around nothing. 

Zoro huffs a soft breath, “No shot you ever get away from me, baby, you are just-” he sucks in a breath through his teeth and falls to his chest on the bed, and he’s licking Sanji’s stretched rim before he even realizes he’s moved. 

Sanji gasps in shock, “A-ha- Zoro!” his hips jump and Zoro stills him by grabbing both boney hips and squeezing, he lifts Sanji’s hips and lower back off the bed and pushes his tongue into Sanji’s entrance. 

He’s so soft and hot around Zoro’s tongue, the flesh on his hips gives under Zoro’s fingers with the most delicious squeeze, Zoro’s cock throbs at the taste, the smell, the feeling of Sanji on his lips, on his tongue this way. 

“Fu-fuck, yeah, oh my god that feels so fucking good.” Sanji wraps his legs around Zoro’s shoulders, he uses his heels to nudge Zoro in even closer, one hand locks into Zoro’s hair and drags him up just a little, “Right there, yes, oh!” 

Zoro grabs blindly for the lube with one hand, easily holding Sanji’s hips up with one arm, and he fumbles with the cap until he manages to open it and slick his fingers. Zoro leans back enough to get his hand between them, and he rubs his middle finger against Sanji’s entrance, watching as it seems to suck his fingertip in. Zoro pushes his finger in fully, groans out loud at the feeling of Sanji’s warmth, and immediately pushes a second finger in. “Oh my-fuck, holy shit, you feel so good.” 

The urge to fuck Sanji right this instant is nearly overwhelming, but Zoro knows he has to keep his cool and do this right, he wants to make Sanji feel good more than anything else. So he curls both fingers and sweeps upwards, watching Sanji's face through lidded eyes, waiting until- 

Sanji's head tips back, his chest heaves, his cock squirts out precum obscenely, it's milky and dribbles from his tip as Zoro continues to finger his prostate. Sanji moans, his back arches beautifully, “Oh, Zoro-” he gasps, “I wanna cum, please.” 

“No, not yet, I want us to cum together.” 

“Then fuck me please.” Sanji pleads, “Zoro, please fuck me, I want it so bad, want to feel you.” 

“Shh, shh, I will, baby, we will.” Zoro shushes him, he adds a third slick finger and Sanji stretches easily, “You did a great job with prep, you're taking my fingers so well.” 

“Ah- I'm so close, please, please!” Sanji reaches down and grabs Zoro's wrist, he pushes Zoro's fingers even deeper inside him, his cock leaks more of that milky fluid. 

“Fuck, look at you.” Zoro groans, “You’re so wet, that's so sexy. Fuck, are you gonna do this the whole time I fuck you?” 

Sanji just cries out, his body stretched so taut he could snap at any second, his face has flushed so beautifully red, his eyes water with blissful tears. 

Zoro presses his pinky against Sanji's rim, and it slips in easily alongside his other fingers, “There’s four, baby, you're doing so amazing. Oh, you feel so good.” 

“Zoro, I'm ready, I promise, you gotta-” he claps a hand over his mouth as Zoro strokes his prostate again, each finger grazing over it slowly, one after the other. 

His cock stands up straight and quivers, his balls throb and pulse, more of that milky fluid slides down his shaft and down his stomach. 

He really wanted to take his time more than this, he wanted to go slow and drag it out, but he's on the edge of losing his mind, and right now the only thing on his mind is seeing Sanji writhe in pleasure. 

He pulls his fingers out and Sanji thrashes, he gasps wetly, his hands scramble for purchase on Zoro's thighs, he starts three half-formed sentences before just moaning loudly. 

“I wanted to take it slower, I'm sorry, I can't hold back anymore.” Zoro says, he grabs the lube again and slicks his own cock, which is hard enough to burst, purple at the tip, throbbing with each of Zoro's lightning fast heartbeats. 

Sanji throws his arms around Zoro's shoulders, wraps his legs around Zoro's hips, spreads himself for Zoro, “Please, love, fill me up, want you so bad, so bad.” 

His eyes are hazy, far away, he's totally lust drunk, too, focusing only on getting off with Zoro, with feeling good with his partner, exactly the same way Zoro feels with him. 

Zoro nudges his cock head against Sanji's hole, pressing his hips forward slowly and watching with rapture as Sanji stretches for him. It's indescribable, he's so hot, so wet, so tight as Zoro pushes the tip inside him. 

Sanji gasps Zoro's name, his fingers dig in, his mouth falls open and he nods slowly over and over, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, more.” He begs, nudging Zoro forward with his heels. 

Zoro's entire body burns as he sinks further in, it's like his dick is melting as he fills Sanji up, as soft, rippling walls grip Zoro tightly. “Oh, man.” Zoro exhales, he glances up to make sure Sanji is okay, and is thoroughly reassured by the look on Sanji's face. “You feel so good, never felt so good in my life.” 

There’s a gorgeous pink flush that’s spread all the way down to Sanji’s chest, dappling his ribs with a cotton candy sprinkle, his cheekbones become misty from the moisture in his lidded eyes, every muscle, tendon, nerve in his body is pulled tight towards Zoro. His entire being here, bared completely, entirely in the palm of Zoro’s hand. Not just his body, but his heart, his soul, his everything, given to Zoro with hard-earned trust. 

Zoro pushes all the way inside him, nudging their hips together completely, he wraps one arm under Sanji and pulls him closer, burying his cock inside this incredible heat as far as he can. “Haah- fuck, baby.” Zoro groans, he cradles Sanji’s head and presses their bodies together, letting Sanji dig sharp nails down his spine, and they kiss hungrily. 

They’re both on the absolute edge for one another, the energy is so intense, Zoro almost can’t even focus for how sharp the pleasure is, and he can tell from the haze in Sanji’s eyes that the feeling is mutual. He slows down their kiss, he cards his fingers softly through Sanji’s hair, he rubs his other hand softly down Sanji’s side, he rocks his hips slowly, deeply, grinding in time with Sanji’s own hip movement. 

Sanji’s eyes flutter open after a minute, he frames Zoro’s face with one hand and he swallows thickly before he smiles, “This is crazy.” He kisses Zoro softly, thumb stroking Zoro’s cheek. He buries his face in Zoro’s neck and holds him so tightly that it’s hard to breathe. 

Not because Sanji’s actually making it difficult to breathe, but because now that the sharpness of the pleasure has eased off and Zoro can think a little bit more clearly, this is the most incredible thing he’s ever experienced in his life.

Not just the feeling of being fully sheathed inside Sanji, not just the way his body squeezes Zoro as he takes deep, shuddering breaths in the crook of Zoro’s throat, not just the way Sanji’s cock throbs between them, straining against Zoro’s stomach in a plea for release. 

It’s the way it feels though, on an entirely different level, deeply, emotionally, cosmically, this is the warmest, happiest, safest, and most loved that Zoro has ever felt in his entire life. His chest constricts tightly, his eyes feel heavy, he feels his lip wobble as he laughs softly, it’s a noise that comes out closer to a sob. “Sanji.” He murmurs softly, kisses the side of his head, “I’m gonna move.” 

Sanji nods, he presses his lips to Zoro’s neck and moans when Zoro withdraws his hips a tiny bit. 

“Is it okay? Does it hurt?” 

Sanji drops his head back to the bed, and he laughs, a soft, musical noise that becomes one of Zoro’s favorite as soon as he hears it, “No, sunshine, you feel so good. I love it, it’s amazing.” 

Zoro pulls out until he’s got just the rim stretched over him, and then he plunges back in, a deep, slow, languid rhythm that he builds as he lets Sanji’s body become accustomed to Zoro’s girth. Fucking him slowly, but still rocking his hips hard enough to make Sanji shudder, pleasure claws into his spine too quickly. 

“Baby, I’m gonna cum, do you want to cum with me?” Zoro begins thrusting faster, a bit harder, he leans back and changes his angle so he can fuck into Sanji’s prostate. 

Sanji twitches and quivers, “Y-you’re so mean, why are you so mean to me?” One of his hands fists into the blankets over his head, wrapping the sheets around his hand in a search for something to keep him grounded. “I have to w-wait forever to cum but you can ju- ah! just bust whenever you want?” 

Zoro snaps his hips forward hard, “Mhm, but you’re more than welcome to fuck me if you’d like to do it some other way.” he grips Sanji by both hips and begins fucking him hard and fast, chasing the heels of the orgasm that’s right there. All he can watch is the way Sanji’s cock throbs and leaks between them, twitching with each thrust, precum flowing from his tip in a nearly endless stream. “Besides, you love this. Look at you, look at your cock, you love this.” Zoro wraps his hand around Sanj’s cock and he falls to absolute pieces before Zoro’s eyes. 

His spine snaps towards Zoro, hips jolting unsteadily, his body shudders and grips Zoro tight, his cock throbs in Zoro’s hand and cum is filling Zoro’s fingers a second later. 

Zoro pulls out of Sanji and takes hold of both of their cocks in his hand, he begins stroking them quickly as Sanji throbs against Zoro’s shaft, his cum slicking the movements of Zoro’s hand and making it hot and incredible. 

Sanji cries out, he grabs Zoro’s forearm hard enough to bruise, his shoulders jerk off the bed, his hips jump against Zoro’s, he moans and groans and gasps for air, the most beautiful, unbelievable thing Zoro has ever laid eyes on. 

His orgasm is on him a second later, and he’s cumming on Sanji’s still twitching cock, spilling his release across Sanji’s stomach, mingling their cum together on his fingers. He digs his free hand into the bed to keep his balance, pumping his hips slowly as he rides out his orgasm with groaning breaths. 

He manages to open his eyes after a few moments, and he’s suddenly being flipped over and his back pinned to the bed. 

“You are such a jerk, you know.” Sanji grabs Zoro’s shaft and nudges it back against his entrance, he lowers himself slowly as he lets the tip slide back inside him. “I told you to cum inside me, didn’t I?” 

Sanji slams his hips all the way down, sitting completely in Zoro’s lap, squeezing tight around Zoro’s overstimulated cock, he leans back and puts his hand on Zoro’s shins, and with no preamble, he begins to ride Zoro. 

“Yo-you’re insane!” Zoro grabs Sanji’s legs and thrusts up to meet Sanji, “I was still- fuck! Oh fuck, you feel so good!” 

“Yeah? Do you like it?” Sanji rotates his hips on his next thrust, his cock twitches at the stimulation, it’s still hard and has gone back to leaking with each shift of Zoro’s hips. 

“Like it? I love it, I love the way you feel, the way you swallow me entirely, the way your cock throbs, I’m going insane. It’s like I’m melting inside you, it feels so good, Sanji.” Zoro groans each time Sanji's hips slap down, the sound of their skin and breath becomes the only noise in the world. 

“You’re perfect, you're so perfect.” Zoro knows he's still talking, he knows his mouth is still moving, but he has no control over it, nor has he any idea what the next words out of it are going to be. Most of it is just ceaseless praise, spilling off his tongue, making his mouth water as he tastes each sweet word, words that have been bottled up for months, locked away behind an unbreakable barrier. 

Zoro can let his mouth run wild right now, though, he can call Sanji pet names, he can tell Sanji how sexy his thighs are, he can sink his teeth into the inside of Sanji’s wrist, kiss the palm of his hand, suck long fingers into his mouth. He can let himself go numb from the waist down, everything becoming heat and friction as Sanji rides him with a singular focus, he can let this gorgeous creature use his meger body for pleasure, for warmth, for love, for whatever Sanji ever wants from him. 

Sanji drops his knees and rides Zoro with short, purposeful thrusts of his hips, his chin tips back, his long throat quivers as he drags in strangled breaths, his spine goes tight once more. It’s truly the most incredible thing Zoro has ever seen, the definition of his muscular chest, the dainty chains hanging from his nipples, the flushed skin, his solid stomach, the flat little dip of his navel, the two prominent veins that run down to that gorgeous, dripping wet dick. Zoro goes to grab Sanji’s cock, but Sanji bats his hand away before Zoro even gets a grip on him. 

“No, let me cum like this.” Sanji says, breath trembling, “It feels so good, you’re shaped so perfect, love the way your head feels right here.” He rotates his hips in a tight little circle, then drops himself all the way back, “All the way inside me feels so crazy, especially like this, like you’re gonna split me in half. Couldn’t even tell if it hurt or felt good at first, but now-” His breath catches, “You’re gonna make me cum again.” 

“Yeah, fuck, let me see you cum, cum for me.” Zoro grips his hip tightly, rocking Sanji back, his heels grip for purchase on the soft sheets as he fucks up into Sanji’s heat. Sanji grips him tighter, his insides shuddering as his orgasm builds, his cock throbs, Zoro has to actually clench his fists to keep himself from touching it. A sudden bubble of laughter rises in his chest, he’s grinning when he tips his head back to look up at Sanji’s flushed face. “I’m so fucking happy.” 

Sanji’s hips stutter, his thighs tremble and close in on themselves, he throbs and pulses around Zoro, his nails bite into Zoro’s skin perfectly, he cries out as he cums again, hips rolling in unsteady little rotations as he streaks his release across Zoro’s stomach. His head tips back, mouth falling open to release loud moans and half-formed words to the ceiling, Zoro grabs him by the biceps and pulls him down as he trembles through his climax. Zoro flips them over easily, getting his feet under them and throwing Sanji’s shoulders back into the bed, he puts one long leg over his neck and begins a bruising pace. 

Sanji’s still cumming, and when Zoro starts fucking him so suddenly, he shouts, voice going whiny as he turns his chin up to Zoro, “Zo-Zoro! It feels so good, don’t stop, it’s so good!” 

Zoro is holding Sanji’s hips off the bed entirely, his back arched obscenely, one leg wrapped around Zoro’s hips, the other around his shoulder,  and Zoro can pound into him relentlessly like this. Fuck into him hard and deep, watch the way Sanji’s eyes flutter each time Zoro hits all the way inside him, grip the place where his hips and waist meet and use his own body for leverage. Sanji’s cock still twitches between them, a moan spills over Zoro’s lips at the sight of how pretty Sanji looks right now, skin flushed and kiss-marked, eyes heavy with pleasure, face lax in satiated bliss, lips swollen and parted around trembling breaths.

Zoro wraps one arm around Sanji’s thigh, it’s like he’s lost control of his own hips, he’s just along for the ride as he slams himself into Sanji, his eyes flutter closed with the murky pleasure that eats its way up his spine. He’ll do this for the rest of his life, he’ll love it more and more every time, he’ll love this man more and more every day. Anything- absolutely anything that Zoro can do to make Sanji feel good, he will do with the singular focus of a love-stricken fool. Bend over backwards, get walked all over, go to the ends of the earth and back, hang the moon, paint the sunrise, change the fabric of time and space, it doesn’t matter in the slightest. Zoro would stop at nothing to please Sanji, to make him happy, to see him feel free and live his best life. 

Right now, all he has to do is snap his hips forward, let Sanji’s back arch more in his grasp, reach and pinch one of Sanji’s nipples, and he can see how good he’s making Sanji feel.

Zoro is cumming in the next instant, an orgasm so strong and sudden that he folds over on himself a little, he buries himself deep inside Sanji and can only rock his hips as he fucks his load into his partner. 

Sanji’s hands are warm and gentle as he rubs Zoro’s arms, he pulls Zoro closer and leans up to kiss his jaw slowly, whispering sweet nothings against Zoro’s skin while Zoro cums inside him. “Love feelling that all the way in me, Zoro, feels so fucking good. Love being so close to you, I love this so much.” 

The pleasure is a bit too sharp for a few moments, so Zoro has to pull out and catch his breath, his ears ringing as he watches Sanji’s hole drip onto the sheets. Zoro exhales slowly as his thumb wanders out and gathers up the smear of cum leaking out of Sanji, he pushes it back inside Sanji’s hole. 

Sanji twitches and sighs, “I might can do one more, then you’ll have to have mercy on me.” 

Zoro nods, he lowers himself down and kisses each of Sanji’s thighs, he pushes two fingers into Sanji’s stretched hole. “I’ll lose my mind if I go again, you’d have to throw me in the ocean to bring me back to my senses.” he spreads his fingers and stretches Sanji’s rim, cum drips from inside him. “But you gotta let me taste this again.” he runs his tongue over Sanji’s entrance, and then moves to swallow him down completely. 

He’s slow and purposeful as he dips his fingers deeply into Sanji, rubbing his insides gently, pulling his own cum out with each stroke of his hands. He sucks Sanji’s cock languidly, humming around it softly, letting himself go hazy once more with lust, with desire, with the deepest, most incredible love Zoro has ever felt in his entire life. 

He drinks down every bit of precum Sanji drips, he rubs Sanji’s prostate intentionally, and when Sanji’s thighs go tense again, Zoro lets his cum slide straight down his throat. 

His ears still ring as he rubs Sanji’s hips, as he presses soft kisses to Sanji’s stomach, ribs, shoulders, cheeks, hair. His breath is still heavy and uneven as he gathers Sanji in his arms, pulls him tightly to his chest, and buries his face in Sanji’s hair. His chest burns like never before as they hold one another, pleasure still singing in the air around them, the bed wrecked beneath them, their skin marked with traces of one another. 

Zoro’s eyes drift closed as he squeezes Sanji to him, a love in his chest like he’s never known before, a happiness set into his bones that he’ll never forget, and a light in his life that will never ever fade so long as this perfect man right here stays by Zoro’s side.