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A childish cry began to be heard in the middle of the night. Zoro opened his right eye slightly and exhaled wearily. He tightened for an instant the embrace in which Sanji and he had fallen asleep, and kissed him through the hair.
- I'll go...
He advanced down the hallway, rubbing his eyelid with his hand, and peeked out the door of the children's bedroom. Kuina was crying, and Kouji was awake too.
He walked over to the girl's bed and picked her up in his arms. She had had a nightmare again. He began to rock her and whisper soothing words until she seemed to calm down. Then he tried to tuck her back into bed, but she clutched him with all the strength a three-year-old could muster, and looked up at him with pitiful little eyes that he could never say no to.
Zoro smiled tiredly but sweetly at her, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and reached into the darkness for the armchair they had in the room for such cases, settling his little girl in one of his arms.
- Dad... -said Kouji, breaking his silence, “I also want to....
- Come here, come on,” he replied with a soft laugh, extending his free arm to make room for him.
And so, feeling his children's breathing become deep and slow again, he fell asleep again.
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Sanji awoke not knowing what time it was, and immediately noticed the absence of his love and life partner in the bed. It was cold, so he must have been out for a while. He stretched, enjoying the solitude of the room for a moment, and soon, still drowsy, he sat up and left the room.
Of course, Zoro had fallen asleep with the children. That image, even with the years that had passed since Kouji had come into the family, never failed to soften his heart.
He snapped a picture with his cell phone. Zoro sound asleep in the armchair, his head cocked to one side and slightly thrown back, Kuina snuggled against his chest, and Kouji resting in his lap, protected from a possible fall by his father's arm. He reached over and caressed the face of the man who had been her husband for nine years. He watched his expression as he woke up, alert for the first second, and relaxed as soon as they exchanged glances, charged with tenderness. Some friends had warned them, before they had the children, of how such a big change in her life could jeopardize their relationship. But it hadn't. They felt closer than ever. And seeing how the man he still loved after so many years showed his sweet side with the little ones had only strengthened their relationship.
He took his daughter in his arms to put her back to bed, and Zoro tried to do the same with the boy, but he woke up before he could be put to bed and immediately asked to watch TV, waking up his sister, who of course joined the request.
- Not yet, it's too early. Play together for a while and after breakfast, we'll negotiate it. - Sanji answered, stirring the blond hair of the eldest.
Of course, in that house, meals were respected, and screens were forbidden during them.
Sanji circled his husband's shoulders and kissed him briefly and affectionately on the mouth. Zoro rested his hand on his waist and said good morning with a tender half-smile. Looking at him as he only looked at him.
- Do you want to go back to sleep for a while? I'll make you some coffee, you want some breakfast? Shall I put you to bed?
The cook was in productive mode as soon as he got up. His love language was, of course, acts of service, and cooking for his loved ones was at the top of that scale. Zoro raised his eyebrows and gave him a fleeting kiss again. Grateful for the life he had by his side, he whispered an I love you in his ear, so he wouldn't have to hear Kouji complain for the umpteenth time about how cloying they were, in his own words.
- If you could get me a coffee in a little while, you know I'd really appreciate it.
And they pulled each to one side of the hallway, the marimo to the bedroom, and the eyebrow-curled one to the kitchen, while the children played at building towers with blocks and knocking them down almost instantly.
Sanji started preparing glasses of milk for the children and decided that morning deserved some pancakes. The house was peaceful except for the noise coming from his children's room. He prepared the mix and set about making a mountain of them before calling them to eat. He helped the little girl onto the chair while Kouji was already starting to eat the first one with his hands, without pouring anything into it.
- Wait, wait! - he said laughing, as he poured them their favorite caramel syrup and brought them bowls of wild berries.
The children ate happily, and chatted animatedly. And Sanji couldn't be happier than to be a spectator of their joy. He took a picture again, sending both through the family group chat, and started to prepare the coffee pot for the next breakfast shift.
After a couple of pancakes apiece and two little faces full of candy, Kuina began to get down carefully from the chair, and Kouji, without anyone saying anything, but looking at his father out of the corner of his eye to make sure he was watching him, began to clear the breakfast table.
- Dada,- he said hugging his legs, which was the height he could reach, - can we watch cartoons for a while?
Sanji bent down and started wiping his little face, at first without giving him an answer, but knowing that they both knew he had already won him over, and when he said yes, he jumped on his neck and gave her a slobbery kiss before running off impatiently to sit in front of the TV.
He wiped the little girl's face as well and, holding her in his arms for the sheer pleasure of still being able to do so, went to the couch with her and picked up the remote, putting on their favorite pirate series.
He poured the black coffee, steaming hot, into Zoro's favorite cup and went to the bedroom, where Zoro was sleeping again.
He left it on the bedside table and slipped between the sheets for a little while longer, cuddling him from behind. Zoro grabbed his hand and deposited a kiss on it, emitting a few moans still half asleep.
“I watch his back, he watches my hands” was the thought that crossed his mind.
And he decided to tease him a little so that he would turn around and give him some kisses. It had an effect, because he rolled over until he was on her back, protesting, but hugging him against his chest, still with his eyes closed, and they kissed again, this time more softly, without onlookers.
- I love you. -he whispered again.
It had taken him so long to tell him... and once he had, he hadn't been able to stop.
- Hmmn, and I love you, marimo.
He sat up and went out to the small terrace they had in the room to smoke a cigarette. Zoro watched him from the bed. The man of his life. The one he had stopped fighting and had made his life a home. He was the luckiest man in the world.
He took off his shirt, which was covered in sweat. Took a sip of his coffee, appreciating that he had chosen the large green cup he liked, and walked over to his man, grabbing his ass over his pajama pants. He hugged him from behind and Sanji let his weight fall on him. He couldn't control the urge to kiss his neck. He loved to feel the way he kept giving himself over to the pleasure of physical contact, like the first time after a few drinks they threw themselves into each other's arms. He turned around to look into his eyes, stroking the back of his neck with one hand as he finished his cigarette. They kissed again.
- Happy anniversary, mon chérie.