Chapter Text
So, that was it. It was over. Luffy had become the Pirate King, and Zoro had defeated Mihawk in the process. Now what? Obviously, they would continue to travel, liberating empires and defeating Marines as they went, but Zoro didn’t really have a goal.
The next on the list was to find the All Blue, which was completed with surprising speed, and before Zoro knew it, Sanji was offering up a reliable apprentice chef from the new restaurant he was opening and leaving the crew, despite Luffy’s protest, but then, he would never deny any of them their dreams. Then, it was on to the rest of the poneglyphs, but that was proving an almost impossible task that Robin and Franky would often disembark from the Sunny on their own to complete. They often returned to the Red Line to visit Laboon for Brook, and to Fishman Island for Jinbe at various points since their acquisition of the One Piece, asserting their alliance with the Fishmen and desire for positive human-fish relations. Nami’s completion of her map was the longest-term goal of anyone in the group, and Luffy had promised they would sail to every island on the Grand Line until they finished it, Chopper offering various hints that he wanted to remain with them until then, and probably forever. Usopp returned to Syrup Village after a few more months of adventuring, a diamond ring in his pocket with great promises to the rest of the crew that they’d be receiving wedding invitations within the month. The invites didn’t come until half a year later. And through all this, Zoro still felt lost.
Luffy had the responsibilities of each of his nakama’s dreams, Nami had her map, Usopp had Kaya, Sanji had the restaurant, Chopper had to care for Luffy, Robin had the history she was chasing, Franky had Robin and the Sunny, Brook had Laboon, Jinbe was still fighting for the Fishmen and Merfolk, and Zoro was just a swordsman. After everything, he was still just a swordsman. A swordsman who missed his cook.
They visited the All Blue Floating Restaurant regularly, often bringing trouble with them. Sanji was almost always preoccupied with his cooking to spend too much time with them, and even then he only ever paid attention to Nami and Robin. After almost six years of pining, Zoro wasn’t sure why he couldn’t just move on. Sanji had his own life now, and Zoro knew he would never let him into it. The few times he found himself lost and stumbled into the Floating Restaurant’s kitchen, Sanji just yelled at him to get his disgusting ass out and a strong kick to the chest. And Zoro understood, he completely understood. There never was anything between them, there was no future cut out for them like there was for Usopp and Kaya, or Robin and Franky. Zoro had always known there would be a point when Sanji would leave, and Zoro would have to move on, but he just never could. When they didn’t visit, Sanji always wrote them letters, leaving questions and updates for everyone in the crew, minus Zoro (excluding an occasional insult, because that’s just how they were, and there was no point in wanting anything different).
When it was finally time for Usopp and Kaya’s wedding, the Thousand Sunny dropped by the restaurant to get Sanji, and Alabasta to collect Vivi, and the Straw Hats began their journey back to the East Blue.
Lined up beside Usopp next to the altar as they waited for Kaya to walk down the aisle, Sanji elbowed Zoro.
“I can’t believe this is finally happening. It’s been almost two years since we found the damn thing, and he said he would propose straight away,” Sanji grumbled.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for our brave sniper to work up the guts to propose,” Zoro rolled his eye. Of course the first words the cook said to him outside of the minimal acknowledgements of his presence were complaints.
“Usopp’s been obsessed with her for years, you would think it would’ve been easy for him by now,” he shook his head, and Zoro watched him as he looked around the venue with a smile. It was the smile he had when one of the girls would compliment his cooking, or when Chopper said something cute, it was one of pure adoration, of love, of peace.
“You’d think,” Zoro muttered to himself, because no one had to know how difficult it was for him to be around Sanji even after so many years.
Sanji raised an eyebrow, the smile dropping as he glared at Zoro, because of course that smile would never belong to Zoro. It was for the rest of the crew, it was never for him.
Near them, Nami, having been chosen as Usopp’s best woman, tried to calm down the sweating groom. Usopp’s whole body was shivering, Zoro thought he could hear his teeth chattering from where they stood next to the podium.
“Usopp, she loves you,” Nami reminded him again, trying her best to not look annoyed. “You need to calm down.”
“I know she does, but what if I get something wrong and then she doesn’t anymore? What will I do?” He stuttered, clenching and unclenching his fists. “Would you guys let me back on the Sunny if it all goes wrong?”
“No, because nothing is going to go wrong,” Nami sighed. “Listen, she’ll be here in a minute. Just take some deep breaths, you’ll be okay. Everything will be perfect.”
Usopp shuddered, but puffed up his chest. “Even the great Captain Usopp gets nervous sometimes, but do not fear! This is only a minor storm in the sea of life!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Nami grumbled, returning to her place next to Zoro as Usopp continued to talk himself into a sense of calm.
When Kaya appeared at the end of the aisle, Merry holding her by the arm, everyone went silent, minus the subtle hum of Brook's violin. Zoro had forgotten how truly beautiful the girl was, still being young and sick when they met. She was just a girl then, but she was a woman now, and it made Zoro feel old . She was only two years younger than him, but Zoro couldn’t help but feel like a proud old man watching the girl he met all those years ago at the beginning of their journey walking down the aisle. God, he could not be crying this early into the ceremony.
“Another,” Zoro slammed his pint down on the table, it being quickly refilled by whoever was scared enough of Zoro to do as he said.
“Zoro, you’re gonna kill me,” Nami groaned next to him. “How are you not dead yet?”
“You can drop out whenever you want,” he spat at Nami, multiple drinks behind him in their contest.
“I’m not… quitting,” she huffed, hitting her head against the wood of the table as Vivi approached her and began to rub her back, offering a glass of water as she trudged away, hurling insults back at Zoro.
“You have a problem, Marimo,” Sanji snorted, sipping the wine Merry had provided them. “You should cut down on your booze.”
“You should cut down on talking,” Zoro grunted, finally beginning to feel drunk rather than tipsy as he slammed the empty pint down. “Don’t wanna hear it from a guy who smokes a pack a day.”
“I have actually cut down to two a day,” Sanji informed him, snatching the pint before Zoro could take another swig. “Would you stop for a second?”
“Fuck you,” Zoro sneered, finding an empty glass nearby to fill.
Sanji scoffed, standing up and stalking away with an overly dramatic eye roll to where Robin and Jinbe were enthusiastically chatting about something and easily joining their conversation.
He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t. Because this was Kaya and Usopp’s special day, and he’d never be upset about that. Maybe he was a little grumpy about the fact that after so many years apart they still have so much love for each other, and they were clearly destined to be together, and they both feel so loved and are able to express that love healthily. And maybe Zoro was a little jealous of that, but after five years of pining after Sanji (who hates him) he thought he might be allowed to be a tiny bit jealous. But, he would never tell anyone that, because it was Kaya and Usopp’s special day, and he wouldn’t let his years of cowardice bring the mood down.
“Okay, why are you being pissy?” Nami cocked an eyebrow up, having sobered a little (and throwing up a lot), she was back to annoying Zoro to death. “Can you at least pretend to be happy for them?”
“I am happy for them,” he said to the wood of the table. “They’re gonna be together forever and I feel like a dumb gooey old ass man who believes in true love when I look at those two because they’re so right for each other.”
When he lifted his head from the table, Nami blinked at him a few times. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, it’s probably the alcohol talking,” he grunted, returning his forehead to the table as the piano began to play a familiar tune, accompanied by plenty of ‘Yo Ho Ho Ho’s from Brook and Luffy, more joining in as they went.
“So, why do you look like a sad puppy caught in the rain?” Nami sighed. “I’m being sympathetic here, free of charge. What’s wrong?”
Zoro glanced up at her for another moment warily, then his eyes shifted to the cook, looking at Brook’s performance with that stupid, dumb, awful smile of his that made Zoro’s heart beat in his throat. When he looked back at Nami, she was giving him that Look . The one that told him he was being a complete idiot and he was about to get the best life advice that he would never ever follow (he knew this because it had happened so many times before).
“Zoro,” she smiled. “You know, you are such an idiot.”
“I know,” he groaned, banging his head against the table. “But it’s been years, Nami. What am I even supposed to say to him?”
“You could try being nice for a change,” she suggested. “You could compliment him, or the food or be a normal person for once in your idiotic life.”
“I think he’d kill me if I did any of those things,” Zoro scoffed.
“You would probably enjoy that though,” she shrugged. “Listen, just… ask about the restaurant. He’ll actually talk then, and might be surprised enough to have a normal human conversation with you.”
Zoro grunted an agreement, rolling his head onto the side so he could look over at Sanji, tapping his foot to the music.
“You know,” Nami smiled as she looked over at him. “He doesn’t hate you half as much as you think. I’m pretty sure he actually misses you, all alone in his restaurant across the sea.”
“Pfft,” Zoro looked at her. “Like he’d miss me of all people. He only misses you and Robin, that’s clear enough whenever we go to visit.”
“Zoro, he made onigiri when we last visited,” she lowered her head to be at eye level with him. “He made so much that even Luffy couldn’t eat it all and we had to take some with us in containers. Yeah, he made all of our favourites, but he made that much onigiri for you , because he misses you, and he knows you probably aren’t feeding yourself enough without him there.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, and yeah that made sense, but that didn’t mean he had a chance with him romantically .
“You don’t know if you don’t ask,” Nami seemed to read his mind. “Next time he comes over, I’ll ask him to take care of you for a while, and you need to talk to him.”
“I’m not talking to him, Nami,” he whined. “I’ll do it another day.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll just postpone it forever. You’re doing it tonight or you’re never doing it. Also, I’ll cancel your debt if you talk to him, because I am sick of you moping around the Sunny like a lost puppy."
“I don’t mope,” he glared at her. “I don’t miss him.”
“Yeah, sure,” Nami snorted, and turned around. “Sanji-kun! Could you get me some juice?”
“Witch,” Zoro grumbled into the wood.
“Of course, Nami-swan!” Sanji preened, dancing off to where a waiter held a tray of juice, slipped a tiny paper umbrella that came from absolutely nowhere into it, and handed it to her with a little twirl.
“Is he… alive?” Sanji asked.
“Barely,” she sighed dramatically. “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t actually worried, but could you take good care of him for me while I go talk to Robin about something? I’m just worried he might choke on his own spit if no one’s here to watch him.”
“I’ll mind the idiot,” Sanji said, and Nami encouragingly punched Zoro’s back before she left.
Zoro lifted his face from the wood, glaring at the back of Nami’s head in the hope that she might explode.
“Oi,” Sanji raised an eyebrow. “You good?”
He grunted, deciding in that instant he would take Nami’s advice, too drunk to care otherwise. “How’s the All Blue?”
“The Marimo is asking about my restaurant?” Sanji scoffed. “I never thought I’d see the day you actually cared enough about something that isn’t to do with swords, has the alcohol poisoned you?”
Zoro blinked a few times, returning his face to the table. “Forget I asked.”
“No, no,” Sanji laughed, but then stopped for a minute, and when Zoro looked up he seemed genuinely… concerned ? “I’ll play nice.”
Zoro sighed, and rested his chin on his hand to keep it up enough to actually see Sanji.
“It’s going well, actually. The menu has expanded a lot recently. I’ve been trying some more West Blue inspired dishes, but I can never escape the classic East meals my old man taught me. There have been more Marines visiting the last few weeks, nothing we couldn’t handle but I think we need a big name to come by so we can make a reputation for ourselves. The old geezer visited two months ago and gave us a good talking to, didn’t say a positive word about one thing.”
Zoro laughed, imagining Zeff critiquing every detail about the restaurant the way he did with everything. Sanji looked at him for a moment, blinking like Zoro had just punched him.
“What?” He scowled.
“Nothing,” Sanji coughed. “Anyway, it’s good. Great even. All the staff are incredible, the customers are fascinating. They’ve travelled all over, I’ve heard a lot of stories since we started. Nothing to top our adventures, obviously, but still. I had someone worth over five hundred million the other day, ordered nothing but lobster. Law visited, which was… nice. He’s still a mystery to me sometimes. Oh, I saw that Marine girl you hate so much, what's her name? Tashigi. She ordered onigiri, which made me laugh. I tried to ask how she was but I think she thought she was being sneaky, so she just acted like she didn’t know me. It’s… weird, seeing people we knew. It’s not like I miss running into the Marine, but I don’t… I don’t know.”
“You miss the action?”
“No, not necessarily. We get plenty of action,” he slumped slightly. “I just miss…”
“The crew?” Zoro tried, and he completely blamed the alcohol for the chances he was taking.
Sanji huffed, but nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got plenty of amazing people around me, but I just feel like I’m missing something.”
“You’re lonely, cook,” he shrugged. “I get it.”
“I’m not lonely,” he scowled at him. “I’m just homesick.”
“Sure,” Zoro blinked, fighting his eyelid to stay open.
He watched as Sanji blinked a few times at him, smiling ever so slightly in a way that made Zoro think that he was almost imagining it. He looked affectionate and it felt so wrong for Sanji to look at him in the way he did the rest of the crew. He sighed, clearly thinking about something as he twisted a stand of hair in his finger for a moment, returning his gaze to Zoro as blond strands fell in just the position to reveal both of his blue eyes, crinkled with the beginnings of smile lines as he huffed a tiny laugh to himself.
“But, yeah. The restaurant’s good. How are things on the Su–”
“I’m in love with you.”
The music stopped.
Zoro’s eye snapped wide open. What . He didn’t mean to say that out loud. He didn’t even think it. It just… slipped out. He thought he could throw up, the cook’s face was pale, his eyes wide, mouth half open. He looked out at where the crew stood with the rest of the party, all of them watching him with wide eyes, all except Luffy, who was giving him the Look that Zoro thought might make him die if he kept eye contact any longer. And how loud had he said that? The whole party was watching him now, even Brook, who was almost never broken from the spell of music.
“Holy shit, he said it,” Usopp whispered to Kaya, and of course Zoro could hear it because he could hear a fucking pin drop with the amount of silence surrounding him. “I owe Nami so much money.”
“Excuse me,” he swallowed, standing and forcing his numb legs to move, swaying off, slow at first, but growing into a run as he escaped the wedding venue.
He was going to throw up. He drank too much. Why would he say that? He was such an idiot! That was the worst timing, the worst thing he could have possibly said. God, he would never be able to look Sanji in the eye again. He could never ever visit the restaurant. He could never even breath in the same vicinity as him for the rest of his life without wanting to commit seppuku. He found a road that he vaguely recognised and trudged along it, just wanting to escape.
He found himself on the beach after about fifteen minutes of stumbling around in the night, pulling his knees to his chest as he sat on the sand and still feeling like he was going to throw up. He needed to meditate, he needed to nap, he needed to do something , but he just sat there and looked out at the moon rising over the ocean, hoping that he could blame the booze in the morning.
“There you are, you idiot,” Sanji’s voice reached Zoro’s ears some time later, Zoro had really lost track of how long he had spent on the beach. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Go away,” he muttered. “Tell Kaya and Usopp I’m sorry and leave me alone.”
“Why should you be sorry? They were cheering for ages after you left.”
“Cheering?” Zoro looked up at him, and oh . Sanji was smiling at him.
“Marimo,” Sanji sighed, sitting down next to him and pressing his shoulder into him. “I may not love you just yet, but, I can’t believe I’m saying this… the feeling isn’t entirely unreciprocated.”
“Huh?” Zoro really was going to throw up.
“I like you, you dumbass,” Sanji smiled at him. “I never thought I stood a chance because I thought you were like, too samurai for romance.”
“What does that even mean?” Zoro laughed, loosening his posture as he looked over at Sanji.
“I thought you were into monk stuff or something. You know, ‘don’t indulge in temptations or pleasure’ sorta thing,” Sanji blushed.
“Cook, I’m a pirate and I drink like a mad man, I promise I am not a monk,” he raised his eyebrows at him. “I only didn’t do any of that… stuff… because I was… y’know.”
“In love with me?”
“That,” Zoro cleared his throat, sure he was bright pink. “So… you’re not going to murder me?”
“No, unfortunately that will not be happening today,” Sanji sighed. “Maybe some other time.”
Zoro snorted, unfurling himself from his self-pitying ball. “And, you’re not mad?”
“I’m fucking over the moon,” Sanji smiled. “But, I must admit, not the most romantic way to confess.”
“Give me a break, I didn’t even realise I was going to say it until I said it,” he mumbled. “It wasn’t even in my mind, you were just looking at me that way you do, and then my mouth was moving.”
“What way do I look?” Sanji scoffed.
“Your brows relax and you don’t care about whether your hair is covering your eye anymore, and you’re not quite smiling, but your eyes crinkle, and you only do it when you think no one’s watching,” Zoro offered, and it was completely the alcohol’s fault that any of these words were escaping his mouth.
“Oh,” Sanji just stared at him for a moment. “I didn’t know I did that.”
“Yeah, well, you do,” he shrugged quickly, resting his chin back between his knees and wanting to bury himself in a hole in the sand because what the fuck did he just say?
He jumped slightly when Sanji’s hand found his neck after a few moments of silence. He let his fingers explore the top of his spine, feel the little hairs at the bottom of his scalp, slide to the side of his jaw, and guided Zoro to face him, tracing lines on his cheek with his thumb.
Sanji kissed him, or maybe he kissed Sanji, he wasn’t sure, but their lips were touching and holy fuck Zoro was kissing Sanji. His eyes were wide when the blond pulled away, grinning with cheeks tinted pink. Zoro blinked a few times, processed whatever the fuck just happened, and pulled Sanji back in, his hands sliding up to his jaw and cupping his face and what the fuck was happening because Zoro was biting Sanji’s bottom lip and then Sanji’s tongue was in his mouth .
“Come with me,” Sanji said quietly against Zoro’s lips. “Back to the All Blue.”
Zoro frowned, pulling their faces away to look back out at the ocean. “I can’t.”
“I know,” Sanji laughed lightly, but Zoro couldn’t mistake the disappointment in his voice. “It was worth a try.”
“Someone’s gotta take care of Luffy,” he sighed. “And protect Nami. I know you’d kill me if she got hurt. I told Luffy I’d follow him forever, and I… I meant it.”
“I know,” Sanji repeated, smiling softly. “But, visit more often?”
Zoro nodded. “We will. I promise.”
Sanji took Zoro’s hand. “I want… I want this, Zoro.”
Zoro swallowed, and let himself fall against Sanji, resting his head on his shoulder. He wanted it too, desperately.
“Go,” a voice behind him said, and he whipped around to see seven heads duck below a sand dune followed by various ‘Shhh’s.
Luffy’s head stuck back up, giving Zoro the Look .
“Go,” he repeated.
“You know I can’t do that, Captain,” Zoro tried his best to smile, even as he was aching.
“But you want to,” Luffy stared right at him, like he was looking into his soul rather than his body. “So you should go.”
“You need me on the Sunny,” Zoro replied calmly. “I can’t.”
“Pfft,” he pouted. “We don’t need you. We want you around, obviously, and you’re, like, the coolest swordsman ever, sorry Brook. You’re one of us! You’re nakama. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what makes you happy. If we need you, we’ll come get you.”
Zoro blinked at him a few times, noticing each Straw Hat stick their head up from behind the dune. “Were you all listening?”
“I told them not to!” Usopp squeaked. “Please don’t kill us! Specifically me. Please don’t kill me on my wedding day!”
Zoro glowered at him, very much considering it, but decided against it when he thought about how happy Kaya looked as she walked down the aisle.
“I will spare you, Usopp,” he grumbled, and looked back over to the cook, who was watching him carefully, hopefully.
He glanced at Luffy, a smile having replaced the Look as he nodded enthusiastically.
"Stay?" Sanji asked again, softer this time as he squeezed his fingers.
“Give me a month,” Zoro said quietly as he looked at their hands, Sanji's fingers curving perfectly into the pads of Zoro's palm. “Next time we visit the All Blue, I’ll give you an answer.”
Sanji smiled. “I’ll write every day.”
“You’ll annoy the shit out of me, and make me go broke from paying the New Coo,” he snorted.
They looked at each other a little longer, communicating between blinks and little shifts in expression. They wanted this, they both did, Zoro said to himself, like a mantra. I want this, Zoro. God knew he wanted this too.
“Alright, everyone. Show’s over,” he yelled at the group, dusting sand off his pants as he stood and offering a hand to Sanji to help him up, when he stumbled a little under his own weight.
“How many drinks did you actually have?” Sanji snorted, helping keep him stable as they followed the group back to the village.
“Like fifty or something. I lost count after Nami quit,” he couldn’t keep the tiniest of smiles on his face as Sanji wrapped his arm around Zoro’s waist to stabilise him.
“Your liver is going to give up on you one day, you idiot,” Sanji laughed, but held him close as they walked back to town.
“We’ll be back in a month,” Zoro promised for the millionth time as they stood on the deck of the All Blue Floating Restaurant. “I’ll see you then, okay?”
Sanji nodded, pulling him in for a short hug, and cupping his face with his hands as they pulled apart, watching Zoro like he might disintegrate in a moment.
“Okay,” he finally said. “See you then.”
Zoro smiled into his hands, but pulled him away as he looked up at the Sunny. “You could come with us? Take a month off?"
“They need me here,” he smiled. “And I already took a week off for the wedding.”
Zoro nodded understandingly. “I get it. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”
“Okay,” Sanji smiled. “Okay.”
Zoro finally let go of Sanji’s hand, and walked back onto the Sunny. Franky looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“That’s so sweet, Zoro-bro,” he sniffled. “You guys are so cool.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he scoffed. “Let’s get going.”
Sanji waved until Zoro couldn’t see him anymore, and Zoro stayed at the back of the ship, watching the restaurant fade from view, knowing this would be the longest month of his life.