ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 55 - Zoro

The Heart Pirates, apparently, weren't the only ones that were called, or the only ones that were nearby. Nor, Zoro discovered later that evening, were they the only ones off-ship that had laid odds on a relationship between Zoro and Sanji. Jimbei and his crew had come, along with a group of villagers they'd helped several islands ago.

It was a lot of people, even with the three ships linked. And it seemed like Nami was collecting from almost all of them.

If it weren't for a bottle of sake and Sanji at his side, flirting and whispering those sweet words every time Zoro got frustrated, someone definitely would've gotten cut. Probably Nami first, to be honest. He was trying to blend in to the party atmosphere, really he was. But while he appreciated that people had come out to celebrate, he had a different celebration in mind. One that was much more private, for starters. But instead he was surrounded by people dancing, eating, and drinking. It almost looked like it was supposed to be a wedding celebration instead of just a couple getting together. Nami and the others had really gone overboard.

"Dance with me?" Sanji interrupted his musings, those long fingers stretched towards him in invitation.

"I'm not much of a dancer, cook." It wasn't strictly true. He could dance decently. He mostly didn't like the attention that dancing brought.

"I don't care. You can step on my feet for all I care. I still wanna dance. You'll let me dance with my boyfriend, right? For one song?"

Zoro sighed and stood. "My inability to say no to you is going to get me in so much trouble...." But he smiled as their hands intertwined and Sanji pulled him to the 'dance floor'.

Of course Sanji was an excellent dancer. Of course he could find the beat effortlessly as he spun and swayed and slid and shimmied. Zoro tried to keep up with his lithe, gorgeous boyfriend. But it was so distracting, especially when Sanji's hands kept brushing his hips and grabbing his hands.

"You're so stiff. Relax and let me lead, mon chou." Sanji used Zoro's shoulders to flip over his head, then slid back in front of him

"I told you I'm not much of a dancer," Zoro whispered. And now he felt that it was true. Compared to Sanji, he may as well have been a puppet when it came to dancing. He tried to spin Sanji, to feel like part of the show. Sanji made it look easy, elegant — far more so than it probably should've been.

"Relax. All you need to do is catch me," Sanji said again, pulling up right to Zoro's ear. Then he gave a pull to one of Zoro's hands and Zoro let himself follow it, let Sanji pull him into a spin. Then a twist, then what felt like a million other spins, with a few steps and slides in between.

All the while, Sanji would whisper directions that Zoro would obey. "Lift me," and Zoro's hands found their way to those hips, lifting him easily above his head as the force spun them both. Sanji's leg looped around his arm as Sanji flipped himself around it and back to the ground.

"Catch my hand," and their hands would clasp and Sanji would pull himself into a partial lunge, then tug on Zoro's hand until he returned the motion. Then his blond pulled him into more spins.

To an outsider, it would've looked like Zoro had led it all. Sanji was so good at that subtle lead that only a trained eye would be able to tell.

The song wound to a close, and Zoro felt like he'd been in a whirlwind of motion. One last whisper came: "Catch me."

He found himself, breathlessly, in a low lunge that looked like he was dipping Sanji. Sanji was able to breathe easier than Zoro, though his eyes were shining with excitement and his face was flushed. Zoro pulled his boyfriend back up to eye level as the crowd that had gathered clapped and the song changed. "How'd you do that? Make me move like that?"

"Dancing is a conversation, Zoro. I know how to get you to talk. Plus, I'm probably the only person besides yourself who best understands how you move when you fight. Didn't you realize that some of that was taken from your fighting style, but without your swords?" And Zoro did, now that he mentioned it. Some of the movements had felt too familiar.

"You're gorgeous like this, you know," Zoro said, pulling his boyfriend closer, almost as if they were going to slow dance. "Exhilarated. A little breathless. In my arms. Are you happy, Sanji?"

"Very. And I'll be more so once this winds down a little and I can steal you away." The blond ground his hips very slightly against Zoro's, letting him feel a growing bulge. Zoro's own body immediately responded in kind as his breath caught ever so slightly.

"And here I thought I'd be stealing you away. And I'd be happy to do that anytime, by the way."

Sanji looked around, measuring the crowds and their drunkenness. "You know what. Yeah. They've pretty well stopped paying attention to us, there's enough food still out and booze still flowing. Let's go. But if you still want to carry me, wait until we reach the kitchen, okay?"

Zoro nodded, and they managed to saunter casually towards the kitchen, nodding greetings at anyone who noticed them. Sanji almost got pulled into a conversation, but Zoro gave the converser a glare and they backed off.

Finally they made it to the empty hallway outside the galley. Zoro pressed his boyfriend against the wall, not kissing yet, just staring at him hungrily. "Do you remember what happened here?"

"The first time I asked to kiss you."

"Kiss me, Sanji?" Zoro asked, invading Sanji's space a little so that there was barely any space between their lips.

And Sanji leaned in to close the distance, kissing Zoro the way Zoro knew he'd done that second kiss, gentle and promising and beautiful. Finally he pulled back. "Now, are you going to take me to bed, lover?"

"Fuck yes." Zoro scooped up his blond easily, the new pet name striking brilliant chords within him. "Tell me the way."

And Sanji did, between fierce, hungry kisses.