Pairing: Zoro/Sanji.
Rating: Dunno. Not very explicit.
Takes place during episode 57.
Wordcound: 985
Sanji let the sponge rub against the plate over and over, until he was sure that the food was wiped away, and afterwards let his fingertips touch the smooth surface of the pottery to make sure that it was completely clean.
- “Here, Zoro.” He said automatically. Zoro grabbed the plate and started to dry it with slow, rhythmical movements, as if he was trying to learn some new kata while drying plates.
What never ceased to fascinate Sanji, was how the calm episodes in the middle of the most intense adventures never failed to merge the crew together to a strong, single unit. The periods where Sanji made dinner for the rest of the crew, - where Luffy tried to steal food, where Usopp told the tales of his own greatness and where Zoro practiced his strength, were more than just dull times. In a way, these periods were the ones which made him enjoy the life onboard of the Going Merry. He liked making food for people who enjoyed it. He liked to try and make Nami appreciate the food he prepared for her, - and he enjoyed the calm look on Zoro’s face when he got something he really wanted.
- “Here, Zoro.” He handed him another plate, and noticed how determined the other man’s plate drying routine was. It was just so… Zoro to look at every task as something he had to do better than anyone else, - even when it comes to drying plates.
- “Here. Zoro.” Sanji tried to clean the plates as quickly as Zoro dried them, but when it came to methods of overcoming everyday hindrances, Sanji and Zoro approached the problems as differently as possible. Sanji rubbed the sponge against the plate quite gently, and ran his fingers over the plate’s surface to feel if there were any stains left. Sanji acted emotionally, and tried to approach any situation with his fingertips. He handed Zoro the plate, and noticed how the other man quickly grabbed the plate and started rubbing it with quick, effective movements.
- “Here, Zoro.” Another plate moved from one hand to another, and Zoro looked at him as if something was wrong. Sanji didn’t bother. He had never before noticed how much he liked saying Zoros name. It was something about the sound of it that made his heart beat and his stomach ache.
- “Zo-ro.” He tried to make his tongue taste each different letter, as if that would help him understand why the name sounded so nice. He couldn’t tell whether it was the hissing sound it made, or the soft r. He repeated the name a few times inside his head, and was surprised that it made him happy. He didn’t notice that he increased the speed of his dishwashing, just to have another opportunity to say the other mans name out loud.
- “Here, Zoro.” Sanji said again, - his heart was skipping a heartbeat and then started to throb so much harder than it has done before.
Suddenly Zoro reacted, for the first time in an hour. Sanji had thought that the other man had been so deep within his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Sanjis attempts at starting a conversation, or that his new dedication to the dishwashing was taking over for his conversation skills, which now were even less impressing than they used to be.
- “You don’t have to say that, you know!” Zoro’s voice revealed how deeply annoyed he was.
- “Here… Zoro.” This time Sanji didn’t repeat the phrase out of routine, and Zoro’s reactions became more fascinating than his name. Sanji was testing the other man’s reactions. How would Zoro react when he mentioned his name? The other man leant forward, and pressed his whole body towards the counter, his mouth disformed into something mid between a grin and a sneer. Sanji looked at him, surprised. What made the otherwise calm man react so violently to the mere mentioning of his name? Sanji could smile, but he didn’t. He could put up a worried face, but he didn’t. Instead he just passed him the last plate, and instead of putting it in the other man’s hands, he held it behind his head, hoping that it would make straighten up again.
It worked. Zoro straightened up and made it all too obvious why he had been pressing his crotch towards the counter. His sneer had been replaced by intense blushing.
- “You don’t have to look at me that way, you know.” He said, his voice slurred by embarrassment. Suddenly Sanji realised what he had been doing all day, and what had made Zoro react so strangely. He had been caressing his name, pronounced it quite affectionately and made Zoro react upon it. It amused him. He dried his hands, and as he walked out of the room, he let his hand slip around the waist of the other man, and placed his hand firmly at his crotch. His soft breath made the short fuzz in Zoro’s neck stand up straight. He slowly moved his hand up and down, and noticed how quickly the other man started to make soft moans. Sanji bit the other man’s neck, knowing that it would leave a bruise, - and then, Sanji let go.
- “There, Zoro.” He said it with a giggle in his voice this time, and left the other man standing, still with a plate in his hand, still with a neck that was bruised by Sanjis teeth and still with a badly hidden erection.
Amused, Sanji started to prepare dinner. If he wanted his reputation as a love chef intact, he better prepare something special for Zoro this time, something good. Something that would make him come crawling to his bed at night. Deeply focused, he started to cut the vegetables to pieces.