The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 10

Sanji was worried when Zoro got up to get booze when he found out more about their children. Is this not the future that Zoro had wanted to have with him? The girls just sat there not making a sound as they could see something was bothering their other dad. Sanji continued to rattle on in his mind sinking deeper into his dark thoughts. Was the upcoming wedding a mistake? Should he just leave and never look back? Even though they had kids in the future it didn't change anything since they met them before they were supposed to causing the timeline to be altered. Surly if they have kids in the future it was a mutual want and they were still together. Wait were they still together or did this drive them apart? The girls only said that he and Zoro were their parents but they never said that they stayed together. On the other hand, they did say that as of now they were their only children so they had to be together right? Sanji began to spiral and looking back at the girls didn't help. They looked so much like him and Zoro that it freaked them out a little. How were they able to adopt kids that look so much like themselves and who let some pirates adopt two children in the first place? The girls looked back and forth at each other trying to figure out what to do as they had never seen their Father like this. Well except for that one time when he told them about what had happened to him as a child and his family. Before they could devise a plan Sanji shot up from where he was sitting and began to casually walk toward the kitchen as well leaving the girls there confused.

Sanji made his way toward the kitchen hoping that Zoro was in there still somewhat sober and hadn't got drunk and jumped overboard. Not that he thinks Zoro would do that but in the back of his mind there is this voice telling him he would. Sanji had finally reached the door to the kitchen and walked in. There he saw Zoro with his hands on the counter looking down at a bottle of booze. "Great he's drunk" was Sanji's first thought when he walked in and saw the booze. "Zorro," he said in a quiet but also nervous manner. Before he could even react the green-haired swordsman turned around and pulled him into a passionate kiss. The cook didn't know what to expect but this was definitely not in the cards. He began to relax and kissed back just as aggressively as his partner. He was relieved. Well, that was until he noticed the swordsman's cheeks were stained with tears causing him to pull away but still hold on to the swordsman as he looked him in the eye. He went to speak but was cut off which surprised him as it was Zoro who had cut him off. "I love you," he said before wrapping him in a hug. Ok, now Sanji was REALLY worried. Crying and being this emotional were not a part of the swordsman's usual characteristics. Sanji had wanted to ask him if he was okay but instead he piped up with another question instead. "You're not mad?" he asked as if he was walking on eggshells. Zoro pushed him away while still holding his arms firmly "Are you crazy? I am more than okay with it." he said as he began to smile and start tearing up again. " The closest thing I had to family was Kuina and her father. I had been alone most of my life that I can remember. And you've said in th past about how bad your family was and how you wanted to take my name instead. We both have a chance at a brand new start." he said causing Sanji's breath to halt as he remembered all the things his so-called family had done to him and put him through and then he started to really begin to think about what his fiancee was saying. He was right. This was their chance at a happy life with the perfect family. Zoro chimed back in one last time before they let go of one another "And we got lucky. They both look and act so much like us. It's hard to adopt kids like that" he said now smiling as he gave his lover a kiss on the cheek. What he said and what he was thinking earlier had just hit him like a ton of bricks and now he was shaking. it all started to click thanks to Zoro bringing up Germa.

Sanji had never told Zoro the full extent of what his father did to him or how he had treated him and what his upbringing was like and now he is beginning to realize that maybe he should have as the realization sets in deeper and deeper. Now the tables had turned and Sanji was the one acting weird and Zoro was the one concerned. "Hey Cook are you ok?" he asked getting a very shocking response in return. "Oh fuck". That was all the cook could manage to get out of his mouth before running towards the kitchen door. He burst out of the kitchen like a bat out of hell and looked over the railing startling everyone a little. He then spoke, "Girls can you please come here just for a second". Kuina and Sora were at a loss for words but did as they were told and re-entered the kitchen with the younger version of their dad. He had looked like he had seen a ghost. The rest of the original Strawhat crew were also taken aback by the cook's outburst. However, the future straw hat pirates just exchanged glances before all coming to the conclusion of what was happening as they all had small grins on their faces. Ah yes, they knew this story well since the whole family liked to tell it so much. What would be revealed about the past however was just the sky starting to turn dark but not yet unleash a beast of a storm.

A/N-sorry that it has taken me forever to update this I have had some curveballs thrown my way this year that I was not expecting. The biggest or at least the most shocking one was that I was recently diagnosed with autism. they said that it is possible to be diagnosed later in life but I just was not expecting it. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with being autistic and yes I know people can live perfectly normal everyday lives with it. that is not the problem. the problem is just that it wasn't the result I was expecting and took me by surprise but In the end, I realized the diagnosis explained a lot of things and made me really think and remember things that I had done as a kid that were early signs and me, my mom, and my dad never suspected because we just thought it was a kid thing and I would grow out of it but as I was thinking I realized how much worse certain things got as I have gotten older. I am not ashamed to have autism and neither should anyone else it just clears up my view and understanding of myself and that can be overwhelming sometimes.