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The new busboy is a ditz. Sanji is convinced that by the end of the day the Baratie will be completely out of dishes if nothing is done, because he has already broken so many. Zeff booted him out to go clear tables, but judging by the length of time he's been gone, either he's ditched like all of the useless waiters or he's fucking around and breaking more shit.
"Go check on him," Zeff says, as if Sanji weren't already planning on doing that, rolling his eyes at the old geezer as he lifts up a tray of food to be brought out.
"Yeah, yeah," he sasses back, sweeping out through the kitchen doors. As he weaves through the tables to deliver the food with a warm smile for the ladies present, his eyes seek out the busboy- what was his name, again? L… he's sure Zeff said it, but he can't remember- and find him standing at one of the tables, laughing and chatting.
Ah, yes- that was the group with the enchanting redhead beauty… Nami, Sanji believes her name was. He didn't get a good look at the other two in the group, of course being men that would naturally be less deserving of attention than a lady in need of flattering.
Tucking the now-empty tray under his arm, Sanji makes his way over to where the busboy is standing, still in that ridiculous-looking straw hat of his.
"Hey now, what are you doing lazing about?" Sanji asks. "You're here to work, you know."
"Luffy, who's this?" Nami asks, just as beautiful as she was five minutes ago- right. Luffy, that's his name.
"This is Sanji! I've decided, he's going to be our cook!" Luffy says brightly.
"Hey, now, I told you-" Sanji starts, a bit irritated by this continuing nonsense, but Luffy talks over him.
"Sanji, this is my crew! That's Nami, she's our navigator. Usopp is our liar and sniper!"
"It's nice to meet you!" Usopp says brightly. "I'll have you know I'm the great Captain Usopp, and I'm something of a chef myself! Why, this one time-"
"Zoro's our swordsman!"
"Hey! Don't talk over me!"
Blue eyes meet green.
(Everything
goes
quiet.)
Sanji can't breathe. His chest is tight, his heart squeezing under the pressure of his ribs trying to collapse in on themselves. All he can hear is a rushing sound in his ears, waves crashing on a shore, birds taking flight, wind over the ocean surface.
(Who are you?)
The light catches off of the three golden earrings dangling from the other man's ear. Three, like the number of the swords at his side. Three, like a castaway child's name. Three, like the triumvirate of the earth, sea, and sky. Three.
(Who are you?)
Green hair. Green eyes. A nose that looks like it was broken and never set properly. A smooth, strong jawline. Sanji's lips tingle with the urge to feel this man's skin against them. His hands are empty, waiting to be held, touched, caressed.
(Who are you?)
A failed experiment looks into the eyes of a demon and is seen. He sees him in return, strong and steadfast and… everything. How fitting that his hair is green, for he must be as sturdy as the earth itself. How fitting that he should be a swordsman, handling his blades to destroy, when Sanji handles his blades to create. How fitting that he should be a pirate, someone free, when Sanji is an anchor tied down.
(Do I know you?)
The waves rise and fall under his feet. The world spins on, but Sanji is no longer beholden to its gravity. The center of his universe has changed with just a single look- and judging by the stunned, aching, jagged expression on the swordsman's face, he feels it just the same.
(I must know you.)
The sensations running through Sanji's body are new to him. His tongue feels stuck to the roof of his mouth, his fingers quivering with the urge to reach out and touch.
(You're everything.)
Heat rushes through him to the beat of his heart, lifted up and weighed down all at once. He feels dizzy, lifted up by the rushing emotions and curious silence in his head.
(Are you…?)
The world surges back in as quickly as it left, sounds hitting Sanji like a wall of force. He staggers- when did he drop the tray? His cigarette is burning a hole into the floor. He can't look away. The moment has passed- what was that- but Sanji can't look away. Breathing is difficult as he blindly grinds his cigarette out under his heel- Zeff would kill him if he let it burn a hole into the floor- and the single movement breaks the spell.
What is this? What is this? Sanji's never- It's- He can't-
Oh, god. He can't do this.
Tearing himself away is the hardest thing he's ever done, spinning on his heel and striding toward the kitchen. One hand finds its way up to press over his mouth, breathing uneven and shaky as he bursts through the door and strides through without a word. He locks eyes with Zeff, who frowns- but then nods and jerks his head toward the back door.
Sanji emerges out onto the back deck and he grabs onto the railing with both hands, sucking in a deep breath. The cold wind stings his lungs, bringing feeling back into his limbs, and he coughs it out and does it again. Each breath is easier than the last- or at least, Sanji tells himself that it is, because as he pulls out his cigarettes and lights one with shaking hands, his chest is just as tight as the moment he locked eyes with that… man.
The door swings open behind him.
"Don't," Sanji croaks through a voice that feels paralyzed with fear as he stares out at the waves, "I don't want to hear it, old man. I don't know- I don't know. There's- out there, a- it's- I've never felt this before, it's- oh, god." He hunches over, one hand pressed to his forehead. He feels feverish, leg jittering as anxiety creeps up into his throat. "I can't. I can't do this. It's- it's like- but I'm not- I'm not- I don't like- like men, I-"
"I do."
That isn't Zeff. Sanji spins around, heart slamming up into his throat, arms jerking up as if he could push away the man he knows is standing there.
He can't. The space between them is too much.
"Like men," the swordsman clarifies. He takes a step forward.
Don't come near me, Sanji wants to say, panicked by his own reactions to this man- this fucking man- but his tongue is back to being glued to the roof of his mouth. He grabs the railing behind himself again, struggling to breathe. The swordsman steps forward again, and again, until Sanji could reach out and touch his face if he could make his hands work.
"...have we met?" Sanji finally manages to ask.
"No. I don't believe so." Steadfast green eyes carry wonder, curiosity- desire. "My name is Roronoa Zoro."
Sanji's heart skips a beat. Zoro's voice fills some empty space in his chest, sending hot shivers over his skin. They travel up his back, his shoulders, all the way up across the back of his head and leave him with a tightness in his throat.
"I'm Sanji," he says.
"I know. Luffy said your name." Zoro takes a half-step closer. Sanji can't look away.
"Oh." When did his hands move? His fingers are curled into the fabric of Zoro's shirt.
Sanji breathes out; Zoro breathes in.
"Are you sure?" Zoro murmurs.
"About what?"
"Not liking men." Heat radiates off this broad-shouldered man. His arms are on either side of Sanji.
"...oh."
Zoro's lips are so close. Sanji stares at them- his own lips tingle. Where did his cigarette go? He doesn't know.
"Well are you?"
"I- I thought I was…"
Inch by inch, Sanji can feel the way that Zoro's body slowly presses against his own. They slot together perfectly, foreheads resting against each other.
Zoro's lips are warm. Sanji's breath hitches as he clutches at Zoro's shirt. He's never been kissed like this before- like Sanji is something precious. His eyes flutter shut, breathing softly through parted lips as he tastes the ocean spray on Zoro's mouth.
When Zoro pulls away, Sanji chases him. His grip tightens, their mouths collide- something desperate and aching tears open in Sanji's chest. Arms curl around his waist as they trade soft, frantic kisses- Sanji is held, held tight, and he holds on in return.
He's complete. He's whole.
"Come with us," Zoro growls, voice deep and hungry in a way that makes Sanji ache somewhere deep in his stomach, his knees weak.
"I can't," Sanji gasps, hating the words that he has to say- but no matter how Zoro is making him feel, he can't just leave. He owes a debt that he can't ever repay.
"Why?"
"Owner Zeff, he's- I can't leave him. I owe him-"
Sanji just about jumps out of his skin as the door slams open to reveal an irate looking Zeff. He tries to pull away, but Zoro just holds him tighter, turning so they can both see the man standing in the doorway.
"Eggplant, I will put you on that ship myself if it means getting rid of you," Zeff growls. "You've wasted enough of your life hanging around here as it is, so get your ass gone!"
The words hit like a knife to the heart and Sanji sucks in a startled breath, eyes wide. Zoro shakes and for a moment, Sanji is afraid he might have to stop Zoro from pulling his swords- but then the sound reaches him and he realizes Zoro is laughing.
"So much for that," Zoro says, a grin on his face, and Sanji is breathless for an entirely new reason now.
Fed up with the bullshit going on- with him, with Zoro, with everything- Sanji twists free of Zoro's arms and levels a kick at his head, sending him crashing down to the deck.
When he lowers his foot, he can see that Zoro is looking at him like he wants to eat him. Sanji freezes on the spot, trapped in place like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf in the face of this sudden, naked desire directed his way, his heart speeding up in his chest as he swallows.
"Flirt on your own time, stupid eggplant!" Zeff's kick lands square in the middle of his back, sending him tumbling head-over-ass. "Get your ass back into the kitchen!"
Sanji doesn't need another excuse. He flees, full of jittery, nervous energy, feeling the weight of Zoro's eyes on his back.
(And when Luffy asks him again to join, when the Don Krieg pirates have come and gone, Sanji can't find it in himself to even pretend that he'll do anything other than join his crew.)