ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 16 - Sanji

Sanji slammed the doors behind him as soon as he entered the kitchen and leaned against them heavily. However tough he thought that arrival and announcement would be, it had somehow been tougher. He'd have to thank Luffy later for giving him an out. Not that he doubted the captain was actually hungry. Luffy was always hungry.

He heard Nami yelling at Zoro, then Chopper yelling at Nami and found himself able to breathe a little more, even smile. Familiarity. This was his comfort zone, the kitchen of a ship full of noisy, energetic crew. The blush faded from his face, and he forced himself to stand up again. He had a job that needed doing, after all. Zoro, the flower, the time on the mini-Merry, it could all wait. Dinner couldn't — at least not for longer than it took him to light one of the cigarettes he kept in a drawer — not when he'd been gone for nearly two days. Sanji locked the door as he moved away from it. It wouldn't do for Luffy to sneak in and eat all the food.

Normally, it was easy to go on auto-pilot when cooking. Once he decided on a recipe, his hands would chop and season and prep unattended, allowing him to think about whatever he wanted. Today though, he wanted his mind occupied. He didn't want to think about anything but his job. A smile crossed his face as he checked the refrigerator and found exactly what he was looking for. It wasn't a style of cuisine he made often anymore, but the last island — the island Zoro had taken off from — had been rich with ingredients that were somewhat uncommon this far into the Grand Line: spinach and lamb and soft goat cheeses and chickpeas and olives and a variety of herbs and delectable wines. And he'd taken advantage of it. Even better, whoever had taken over cooking hadn't touched them.

He began chopping, roasting, and mixing, until soon the only thing on his mind was the flavors his hands were creating and a verse from an old song, which he began humming. Spanakopita was started first, then braised lamb chops, chicken kabobs, hummus and tapenades, zucchini boats, a delicious bean soup, baked fish in a spicy tomato sauce and several dessert dishes filled the table before he finally unlocked the door. Grabbing the captain (who tried to dart in the second the door was opened with his normal cry of "FOOOOD!") with one hand, the cook hollered at the rest of the crew to come eat.

Zoro was the last one in the door, still sweaty and shirtless from his first 'real' workout in weeks. Sanji couldn't quite bring himself to look the other in the eye. Or look at him at all, for that matter, not when those glistening muscles confounded him so. He looked at Nami and Robin, instead, trying to focus on making sure they got their food first before Luffy stole more than his already sizable share. They were beautiful, too, in that delicate way that always reminded the cook how fragile they were. 

Zoro wasn't delicate. Even when he'd been leaning over the side of a boat coughing bloody flowers that apparently grew because he loved Sanji, he hadn't seemed weak or fragile. And despite everything, Sanji really wasn't sure what he felt or what he SHOULD feel. It was never supposed to be Zoro. And yet....

Sanji's eyes had wandered from his task, snaking up a certain muscular body until they met with a steely gray one under a dark green eyebrow. The swordsman gave a small smile, just enough to acknowledge the gaze, then turned back to his plate. And the blush Sanji had been trying to keep down returned again as he realized that the only seat the others had left open was, of course, next to the person he had kind of been hoping to avoid for a few more hours. He knew they'd have to talk more eventually, figure out what rules they'd need for this... thing, but... it could wait, right?

"Hey, Nosebleed, do we have any booze left?"

Sanji was about to retort to the nickname with a kick and a "Not for you," until he realized:

Zoro had actually asked. He never asked, unless he'd already found an empty liquor cabinet and was trying to locate more.

Well, if Zoro was working on his table manners, maybe a different direction was called for. Sanji gave a smirk and moved away from the table without a verbal response. He grabbed two bottles of a particularly tasty wine he'd been saving, nine wine glasses that they almost never used, and an extra bottle of Zoro's usual sake. He poured the wine into the glasses and stacked them carefully on a tray before returning to the table, leaving the sake on the counter in plain sight.

"Meant to serve this anyways. I know we don't usually do wine, but I think it'll complete this meal nicely," he announced, passing out glasses. Luffy chugged his and kept eating, which was about what Sanji expected, but everyone else took a cautious sniff and a small sip. He gave the second to last one to Zoro and took the last one himself, lowering his voice so Zoro could barely hear. "Show me you can be classy enough to drink wine and you'll earn your sake, Marimo." He smirked his challenge as he took his seat and began eating.