WHERE: Vallo: Castle Whitespire WHEN: December 31st, 2023 WHAT: One step forward, two steps back. Sanji and Zoro dance and have poor communication skills. WARNINGS: Lack of communication STATUS: Complete
Zoro had gotten lost. Again. It wasn't an unsurprising occurrence, given his directionally challenged nature, but he usually made it to where he needed to be with minimal fuss. Tonight would be no exception, as he messaged the others to go ahead without him.
He wasn't sure if he was dressedcorrectly for the occasion, but he had done his best and Robin had assured him that the look worked. Especially with his swords. Except when he finally got to the event, he found that maybe the swords hadn't been the best idea because of how dense the crowd was, but there was no way in hell he was going to leave them back at the Merry.
Luckily, he found Luffy near the buffet, obvious even with the mask on because of the sheer amount of appetite he was showing. “Leave some for the rest of the guests,” he joked, when he was within hearing range. Whatever Luffy said in turn was lost to the murmur of the crowd, because his eye was caught by a familiar head of hair not too far away, chatting with some random guest he wasn't familiar with. And if he had any doubts about it being Sanji, they would have been erased by how those shoulders sloped and the way his waist was cinched. He would know that waist anywhere.
Without another thought, he undid his holster and dropped his swords in Luffy's arms. “Watch them for me? Thanks,” he muttered distractedly, as he made his way to the chef that had been giving him a headache since they had gotten here. He didn't waste much time getting to him, reaching out to run one gloved hand down the man's arm, before holding it out. He was silent, but the gesture was clear: he wanted a dance.
Sanji would always enjoy a fancy party. A chance to dress up and try new foods, dance, mingle. At least, he usually would enjoy such a party. At the moment, he was being rambled at by a man who was very bad at taking a hint. Sanji's suit was impeccable, though - blue and black, with sharp lines and high heeled boots. He adjusted the matching mask on his face and nodded distractedly at the third mention of "very expensive racing horses". He was half a second from making up a terrible excuse to run away and look for Luffy and then others, when his eyes caught on a hooded figure with an incredible green oni mask.
The person was approaching him and his eyebrows rose as they got closer, until they were practically off his forehead at the offer for a dance. He'd have said yes just for curiosity's sake. Getting away from Mr. Thoroughbred was just a bonus.
"Sorry, it would be rude to say no!" Sanji swigged the last of his champagne and set the flute on a nearby table before taking the hooded stranger's hand and following him out onto the floor. He was almost sure it was a man. Not that a woman couldn't have such broad shoulders, but something about the way he moved felt familiar in a way that Sanji recognized as masculine and powerful. He hadn't danced with many men. He wasn't sure who was supposed to lead. But since he'd been asked, he assumed it probably wasn't him.
"I like your mask," he said, waiting. "And…well…" He gestured at the rest of the man's outfit and smiled crookedly. "Your…everything."
Zoro was good at a great deal of things. Swordfighting, drinking, and talking shit? A plus, no notes needed. But when it came to dancing, he wasn't so confident. That didn't stop him from trying though, as he mimicked the grasp other men around them had on their partners. He could fake it until he made it and his concentration was focused on that, until he felt more comfortable with how they were moving.
But his attention was drawn away from how Sanji felt under his hands and back onto what he was saying, when he flashed that dumb smile of his at him. Gods, he really was that far gone, wasn't he? Zoro had realized that the day he had moved out of Sanji's apartment, but it hadn't hit him until now.
Maybe that stunning realization was why he didn't answer Sanji back immediately. He merely tilted his head, a nod almost, to acknowledge the other man's words as they danced. For now, Sanji only had a silent partner.
Sanji frowned, both amused and confused by the continued silence. He supposed this was what he deserved for the flash of a thought he'd had when those arms went around him - that he wished they belonged to someone else. Someone annoying. And beautiful. And strong. Someone who wasn't interested in him. He needed to get that through his own thick skull.
He tried to focus on the dancing and to help nudge his partner to smoother steps instead. It was even starting to work. They were moving easier. Like two people who had danced well together on a battlefield - not that he knew that. Not knowing didn't stop him from enjoying himself, but it did leave him glancing over his shoulder. Hoping to spot a mop of green hair and a scowling face. He caught himself and turned back with an embarrassed smile.
"So. Do you talk? Do I get a name?" More people joined the dance floor and he was pressed closer by their proximity. He tried not to step on the man's feet and huffed a flustered laugh. "I'll settle for a favorite dish. I'll just call you…Braised Lamb Chop or whatever it is."
It had started off as torture, trying to blend with the rest of the dancers and move smoothly with his partner, but by the time Zoro was really starting to get the hang of it, Sanji spoke again, distracting him again. He really was awfully handsome in his outfit. The mask did little to hide his handsome features and Zoro reached out with one gloved hand to brush an errant strand of hair away from the cook's face, before bringing it back around to his back. Tightening his grip on him, and then dipping him like he had seen others do to their dance partners, he felt triumphant in his attempt when he didn't drop him.
It was only a little so that he could get away with not answering Sanji again.
Because he knew that the second he spoke, he'd give himself away. And Zoro was simply not ready for this beautiful moment to fall apart because of their constant bickering. Not yet, anyway.
Sanji was starting to have a thought. This much time in silence gave him more time to analyze the stranger. The way he held himself. The too familiar width of his shoulders and his posture. Just the space he took up and how it felt to stand close to him. It was all starting to add up in Sanji's mind and his eyes started to widen just as he was dipped.
He couldn't stifle a surprised laugh at that. He'd never been dipped, but he was a natural enough dancer that it was easy to shape his body the way it needed to go, to lift his leg a little to brace his knee against the man's hip on instinct. But the moment the laugh trickled away, he reached up to tear off the mask. Sanji needed to know.
His eyes blew wide and he clutched at Zoro's shoulder, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in this position.
"Marimo?" he whispered. As if he didn't have the visual evidence right in front of him.
And just like that, Zoro felt the moment of tranquility they had fallen into fade away. Sanji's damned curiosity couldn't have waited until the song was finished, could it?
Zoro's normally schooled disinterested face was full of expression at the moment of reveal. Surprise, chiefly, but also annoyance and embarrassment. “You couldn't have left it alone, could you?” He asked, feeling oddly betrayed by the whole ordeal, before promptly dropping Sanji and ripping his mask back out of the man's grip.
Then he stomped away, probably off to drink away the feeling of stupidity that was rising up in him.
Sanji made an undignified noise as he landed on the ground and quickly scrambled to his feet. "I--Come back here, you arse!" He was embarrassed and flushed red, but all he could think about was how it had felt to be pressed up against Zoro and dipped. Dipped! What had possessed Zoro? Was it all some kind of horrible prank? Or was the swordsman just even more embarrassed than Sanji?
He wasn't about to let the stubborn oaf abandon him without finding out. Sanji stomped after him and grabbed onto his arm as they got close to the bar.
"Can you just talk to me instead of running away?" Shockingly, he wasn't shouting. He was talking fiercely and quietly. There was an edge of pleading in his voice and he hated it, but there was no changing it.
Maybe in any other situation, Zoro would have stopped and shouted back at Sanji. That would have been normal for them. This time though, he stopped and let Sanji have his arm, while he thought of what to say. In all his years, none of his emotions had confused him like the ones he felt since meeting Luffy and the rest of the crew. And since getting stuck in Vallo with Sanji, they had started to become overwhelming.
They made him feel weak.
His job was to be the strong one, the one that didn't let petty emotions beguile him away from his duties. But time after time, every circumstance that had him and Sanji stuck together for any amount of time led him to stray away from his path. It led him to feel things in his heart that he had never felt before. He felt a flicker of the same, whenever it came to Luffy, but with this blond chef of theirs…it was different. It was more.
And Zoro had stupidly thought that maybe a mask would let him act on it a little, without Sanji none the wiser. That way, their nakama wouldn't feel weird like in the time following Serendipity Hills. But the other man had to rip his mask off and ruin that.
He closed his eyes and breathed deep. “Just wanted one dance.” It was quiet, that confession. All too honest, really, so he added, “That was all.” That rang less true, but he hoped the other man wasn't quick enough to pick up on that.
Sanji wasn't sure what he'd expected Zoro to say. He supposed he'd expected a grunt and a "forget about it" before the swordsman grabbed a bottle and fled. But here he was closing his eyes and saying something that lit Sanji up from the inside out. His breath caught. He still had his hand on Zoro's arm and he curled his fingers into his sleeve.
"You…" He blew out a flustered breath and threw his hands up in the air. There was a helpless and baffled little smile on his lips. "You could have just asked. I might have passed out from the shock, but I'd have woken up eventually." And he wasn't in the habit of telling Zoro no, no matter what all their arguing looked like. If anything, he quietly - annoyingly - went out of his way to say yes. He just tried to do it in a way that wouldn't have those dark eyes paying too close attention to him. Zoro's attention was like lightning on dry grass, only Sanji was the stupid grass.
It didn't feel like a rejection, but it wasn't anything resembling admittance of something more either. Sanji continued to baffle him, but at least he wasn't mocking him. Not in any real way, anyway. Zoro still wished he was easier to read, but at least the pounding of his heart was starting to settle some.
“Right. Well, if I had asked, would you have said yes?” Then he shook his head. “Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know. I'll let you get back to chatting people up.” Was there a hint of jealousy in his words? Maybe. There were a number of beautiful women here. He had no doubt Sanji would find someone more interesting than him to spend time with.
Sanji rolled his eyes, but for once, it was purely affectionate. "You're an idiot," he said fondly. "I haven't chatted anyone up in…" God, how long had it been? Longer than he realized. Long enough to be noteworthy and way too damn telling. Rather than expose himself with the truth, he made a dismissive gesture and reached past Zoro to grab a colorful bubbly drink and pressed it against Zoro's chest for him to take.
"It doesn't matter. The point is, you saved me from a very boring conversation about horses and if you abandon me now, I will never forgive you." There. It sounded like a challenge rather than the needy hope that it was. "And anyway. I would've said yes. I like dancing."
I like you, Sanji thought, a little manically. His eyes were soft with the truth of it, but he glanced back down to the drink table and claimed a second glass for himself.
Well, who was he to say no to alcohol? Accepting the drink that was shoved at him, Zoro held it with some suspicion - why was it orange??? - before sighing in defeat. He was just doomed to be just out of reach of what he really wanted, wasn't he? Because he may not be able to vocalize it but it was obvious to him why he kept picking fights with the blond and why he kept orbiting him like the world's stupidest moth. Staring at the other man, he felt that stupid warmth in his chest that always showed up when Sanji was around.
But all Sanji wanted was a convenient escape and someone to dance with.
Gods, Zoro felt pathetic. But he breathed deeply and pushed it all aside. He could do this. He could stick around and ignore his feelings about the situation like the best of the sad saps out there. “Well, guess I can't do that then.” The swordsman smirked and clinked his glass against Sanji's, before chugging it and burping like the heathen he was. Depositing the empty glass on a nearby high top, he nodded at the dance floor, where Luffy was awkwardly dancing with his swords. “Come on. Let's go save him from himself.”
Sanji huffed a laugh and downed his drink as quickly as he could. Admittedly, it wasn't as fast as Zoro and he had the ungentlemanly need to burp as soon as he was done. He covered his mouth as he did, but it was still embarrassingly loud.
"This is why I don't slam back drinks." Following Zoro's nod to the dance floor, he felt his embarrassment quickly replaced with joy. "He looks perfectly happy to me," he said, "but I think even you are a better dancer than your swords." Feeling bold, Sanji pressed a hand to the back of Zoro's neck as he passed, letting his fingers drag against his skin. "Let's find out."