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"Water." Sanji thrust a large bottle of water into Zoro's hands as he passed by with a tray full of frilly, fruity drinks and snacks for the ladies.
"You don't have anything stronger?" Zoro called after him.
"Not while you're training," Sanji replied, not even turning around.
Zoro had a nearly uncontrollable urge to get up and pick a fight so that Sanji would at least look at him, but he didn't. Patience was a virtue for a swordsman and no matter how much Sanji got under his skin, he was determined not to be the one to break this time.
This pattern they had where Zoro picked a fight, Sanji met him foot for blade, and then they ended up fucking in the storage room only for Sanji to barely look at him for days after, had to stop. And if Sanji wasn't going to get over his issues, then Zoro decided it was time to just stop the pattern. Like the adult he was.
Even if all he really wanted to do was yell insults until Sanji actually turned around and looked at him. He took a long drink of the cold water and picked up one of his smaller barbells, curling his arm while he watched Sanji flit between Robin and Nami, his stupid heart eyes popping out of his head.
He cringed at the display. It wasn't that he wanted Sanji to look at him like that. That was weird. But the moments when their eyes did catch and he saw understanding there, those were everything. He saw partnership and equality reflected back at him. That's what he wanted. He just wanted it to come when they weren't fighting--each other or someone else--or fucking.
So Zoro had decided to just stop fighting him. Entirely. Cold turkey. And somehow it was proving even harder than the time Mihawk cut him off from booze.
Sanji finally finished his embarrassing display and made his way back toward Zoro, leaning against the rail to light a cigarette and stare at the horizon.
"You okay?"
Zoro grunted in surprise, nearly losing count of his repetitions. The first words that popped into his mind were "do you care?" but he knew that would start a fight so he paused for a moment to switch arms before answering. "I'm fine. Are you?"
Sanji cut his eyes toward him briefly before quickly looking back out to sea. "You're acting weird. Too nice."
"I can be nice," Zoro replied. He made sure his voice was as pleasant as possible, which honestly was kind of hard.
"You can be kind," Sanji corrected. "But you're rarely nice. You haven't picked a fight in days. What's going on in that mossy brain of yours?"
"Maybe I'm tired of fighting."
Sanji turned fully around this time, an incredulous look on his face. "You? Tired of fighting? Mr. My Dream Is To Be The World's Greatest Swordsman is tired of fighting?"
Zoro sighed. He wasn't actually an angry person. Being a great swordsman required calm and focus. He could keep his calm in even the most vicious of battles. And yet Sanji managed to get under his skin like no one else ever had.
It was one reason he'd fallen in love. Sanji made him feel like no one else ever had.
"Maybe I'm tired of fighting you all the time."
Sanji recoiled back as if the words had hurt him and Zoro realized too late that he'd fucked up. For all his bravado Sanji was a deeply insecure man and Zoro treating him as an equal sparring partner meant everything to their relationship. And like always Sanji took the worst possible meaning from his words.
He dropped the barbell, ignoring the loud crash it made, and leapt up, grabbing Sanji's wrist before he could make an escape. He leaned close to Sanji's ear and murmured as softly as he could. "That's not what I meant. I'll never grow tired of sparring with you. Ever."
Sanji flushed, his cheeks turning bright red and his eyes darting around, looking anywhere but at Zoro. "Then what did you mean?"
"I meant that I don't want fighting to be all that we ever are."
Sanji's eyes shot open wider, his mouth opening enough that the cigarette fell to the deck. Zoro stepped on it to put out the flame before it could leave a burn mark. Franky was going to be mad enough at him for the scuffs from the dropped barbell as it was.
With a sharp tug, Sanji freed his wrist and stepped to the side, putting some space between them. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it with shaking hands. "Are you being serious?"
"I'm always serious," Zoro said. "About things that matter."
"You are, aren't you," Sanji muttered. He took a deep drag on his cigarette before finally looking up and meeting Zoro's eyes. "What exactly do you want us to be?"
Zoro took a moment to consider his words. He hadn't planned this conversation and he wasn't exactly a romantic like Sanji. He'd never intended to pursue a relationship at all, his focus entirely on his dream, but then he'd found his perfect match. "Partners. I want us to be partners in everything. In every way. For as long as we manage to stay alive."
Sanji blinked a few times before letting out a loud guffaw.
A wave of hurt rolled over Zoro at the sound and he wished he had his swords with him because he was about to break his promise and start a fight. But then Sanji stepped forward and grabbed Zoro's hand, squeezing it once. "It's not funny. I was just surprised. I didn't expect you to propose."
Now it was Zoro's turn to freeze in shock. "Propose?"
"Isn't that what you just did?"
He ran his words back through his mind and it did sort of sound like a proposal. He wasn't about to take back the words though. "Well, what's your answer?"
"How about we start with dating and go from there?" Sanji offered.
"Openly and exclusively," Zoro countered.
Sanji brushed a kiss to Zoro's cheek. "Deal. But give me some time to come out in my own way."
Zoro leaned his forehead against Sanji's. "Just as long as you keep looking at me."