"Do we have everything now?" Zoro asked, as he put yet another bag on his back. He was shopping for groceries with Sanji. They'd stopped at an island for the first time in weeks and they really needed to restock on food.
"No," Sanji sighed. "We still need more meat and I'd like to get some more spices too."
"Even more meat?" Zoro said, surprised, feeling his muscles ache under the weight of their groceries. He didn't think he could carry much more.
"You know our captain." Sanji said with a chuckle. He paid the guy who'd sold them their vegetables before they continued to walk along the market stalls. Zoro groaned as his muscles complained about the weight they were carrying. He should've just stayed on the ship with Robin and Chopper.
"I can carry some too, you know?" Sanji said, eyeing Zoro with worry.
"I'm fine." Zoro insisted, gritting his teeth as the aching got worse. Sanji rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything about it. Zoro could be so stubborn sometimes, no point in arguing with him.
They continued walking along the stalls until they reached a meat stand, owned by a pretty young lady.
"Hey pretty boy, what can I get for you?" She asked, winking in Sanji's direction. Zoro sighed silently, rolling his eyes. He should be used to this by now, but it still irritated him. Yes, Sanji was very pretty, Zoro agreed, which was exactly what made him so angry. He felt territorial, actually. He didn't like other people trying to get with Sanji. He wanted him to himself.
"Uhm," Sanji said. "I'd like ten of your best chicken, a hundred pounds of bacon and the biggest pig you can give me."
"Alright," The women smiled attractively, before going to fetch Sanji's order. Zoro eyed Sanji curiously. Much to his confusion, Sanji wasn't fawning over this young lady like he usually would. In fact, he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with her flirting. Now that Zoro thought about it, Sanji hadn't fawned over a single lady since they got on the island. He didn't even seem to have eyes for them. Zoro wondered what could be going on with the cook. He was acting very out of character. Had he finally grown out of this behaviour? Or was there something else going on? Before Zoro could ponder over it further, though, the lady returned with Sanji's order. Two men came with her, carrying the meat.
"Here you go, sweetheart." She said, smiling. "Would you like anything else?"
"No, that will be all." Sanji said kindly. He paid her and took the bags of meat from the men before Zoro could even try to. They started walking along the market again.
"I could've carried the meat." Zoro muttered, annoyed that Sanji wouldn't let him carry it, but secretly relieved that he didn't have to.
"As if," Sanji scoffed. "You've been groaning like an old man with back problems ever since you started carrying the last bag."
"I haven't!" Zoro argued, offended. Sanji scoffed again, laughing.
"I can carry some too. Let me share the burden." He said, looking at him with a soft smile. Zoro turned his head to look the other way as he felt his cheeks turn red. Unfair, Sanji was too adorable.
They walked in silence for a while.
"Why didn't you flirt back with her?" Zoro then asked, unable to keep his curiosity at bay. It was just too out of character for Sanji.
"What?" Sanji asked, confused as to what Zoro was talking about.
"The young lady at the meat stall. She was flirting with you, didn't you realize?" Zoro said.
"I did." Sanji said, looking away.
"Well?" Zoro said, expectantly. "She was cute, wasn't she? Why didn't you flirt back? You always flirt back."
"I don't know. Just not interested, I suppose." Sanji shrugged, avoiding Zoro's questions.
"You haven't been interested in any girl ever since we got on the island." Zoro pointed out. "What's going on with you today?"
Sanji sighed, running a hand through his hair, offering Zoro the rare chance of seeing his other eye.
"I've just got my eye on someone else." Sanji said, averting his gaze.
"Oh." Zoro replied. It wasn't that surprising. Nami and Robin were lovely girls, he must've fallen for either of them. It did hurt Zoro, though. It's never fun to hear that the person you love loves someone else. Zoro steeled himself, ignoring the pain. It is what it is and he can't do anything about it now. If Sanji loved someone else, Zoro would have to respect that.
"Alright." He said. "Now to find those spices of yours, right?"
"Right," Sanji agreed. There was something in his eyes that Zoro couldn't read.
"There's a spice and herb stall." Sanji said, before Zoro could ponder about it.
"Let's go then." Zoro said.
♧
"It's Nami, right?" Zoro asked Sanji as they reached the Sunny. He hauled the groceries onto the ship, groaning with relief when he could finally put them down. Sanji followed right behind him, sighing as he put down his bags.
"You're wrong." Sanji said, laughing as he panted from the effort.
"Oh, it has to be her." Zoro insisted.
"Nope." Sanji said, flicking Zoro's nose playfully before grabbing his bags again and making his way to the kitchen. Zoro felt his cheeks grow hot. He shook his head, smiling to himself before grabbing his bags and following Sanji to the kitchen.
"Robin?" Zoro asked when he entered the kitchen. He wasn't sure, but it had to be her, right? There were no other girls on the crew.
"What's got you so interested in my love life all of a sudden?" Sanji asked with a smirk, putting his bags down and opening the fridge.
"Just curious." Zoro shrugged, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.
"Well," Sanji said walking up to Zoro. He leaned in close so he could whisper to him. "You're wrong again."
This threw Zoro for a loop. If it wasn't Robin and it wasn't Nami, then who could it be? What girl could've captured Sanji's heart? Zoro retraced their steps. Something had changed in Sanji since they had gotten onto the island. Or had it happened before that? Now that Zoro thought about it Sanji had been acting off for a while now. He hadn't fawned over Nami or Robin, hadn't flirted with either of them. He still made them special food and drinks, but there wasn't any flirting going along with it. Something must have happened on the last island, then, Zoro concluded. But what?
♧
"Do I know her?" Zoro asked. Sanji was doing the dishes in the kitchen when the swordsman entered.
"Still going on about it, then?" Sanji asked, turning his head and smiling at him.
"Do I?" Zoro asked, ignoring Sanji's teasing.
"I'm trying to work, mosshead." Sanji sighed, putting aside the plate he just washed.
"Answer my question, cook." Zoro said, crossing his arms.
"If you keep insisting on finding out who I like, I might start thinking you're jealous of them." Sanji turned around, winking at Zoro. He leaned against the sink behind him.
"I just want to know who it is that caught your attention if it isn't Nami or Robin." Zoro said, leaning against the doorway. He fought back the blush that threatened to reveal the truth.
"Alright." Sanji said smugly, leaving his place by the sink to approach Zoro. "How about I'll give you a hint? Will you let me do my work then?"
"Sure." Zoro said, alarmed by how close Sanji was coming to him. Sanji kept coming closer until he was mere inches away from Zoro's face.
"I'm bisexual." He announced. "Now get out of my kitchen."
Zoro was pushed out of the kitchen and the door was slammed closed behind him. He stared ahead of him in shock. This meant practically everyone on the crew was an option.
♧
The next day Zoro spend his time observing Sanji carefully. It wasn't that difficult since the crew had decided to visit the circus together. This was perfect. Zoro would get the chance to observe Sanji with everyone and figure out who he liked. So Zoro observed.
He watched Sanji as he played with Chopper, he watched as he danced to the music with Robin, he watched as he laughed at Usopp and Franky when they tried to recreate the acts,… He watched it all. And nothing. Not even once did Zoro see a sign of love in Sanji's behaviour. Not once.
Zoro found himself pondering over it all alone in the crow's nest late in the evening. The others were all together in the kitchen, but Zoro had decided to leave after dinner, using the excuse of keeping watch, wanting to ponder his problem some more. He sat alone in the crow's nest, watching out over the island in the darkness. He heard a door open and close on the deck; he figured somebody must've gone out for some air, but then he heard footsteps coming up the ladder to the crow's nest. He turned around just in time to see Sanji push open the hatch and enter the crow's nest with a plate in his hand. Zoro frowned curiously, eyeing the piece of cake on the plate hopefully.
"I made cake for dessert. Figured you might want some too." Sanji explained sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. And then it clicked. Zoro's eyes widened in shock and his mouth fell open. Sanji stared at him for a moment, then put the plate down by the hatch.
"… I'll leave you to keep watch." He said awkwardly. "Enjoy the cake." He went back down the ladder and he was gone. Zoro's heart was racing a hundred miles per hour as realization started to kick in. It was him. Sanji liked him.
Immediately he swung open the hatched and slid down the ladder as fast as he could.
"Sanji!" He yelled out, seeing the cook reach for the door. Sanji turned around, looking at Zoro in confusion. Zoro ran up to him and crashed their mouths together in a hasty kiss. Sanji nearly stumbled to the ground, but Zoro grabbed him and wrapped him up in his arms, holding him steady. It took a while for Sanji's shock to leave, but when it did, he melted into Zoro's touch, kissing him back just as passionately. Zoro kissed him with all he had, pouring all his feelings, all his longing into it. When he finally did pull back for air, he was panting heavily. Sanji was panting too, staring at Zoro in shock. The two stared at each other for a while, drowning in each other's eyes. Then Zoro began to laugh with happiness, pulling Sanji into a tight hug. Sanji started laughing too, both laughing loud enough to catch the attention of the others inside. Zoro leaned in to kiss Sanji again just as the others came outside to check what was going on, but he didn't care. He was just so happy that Sanji liked him back that nothing else mattered.
"What the hell is going?" Usopp yelled out, staring at his two friends. Sanji and Zoro exchanged a look before bursting out in laughter.