One Piece, "Cheap" -- Happy (belated) birthday, Sanji!
Title: Cheap
Fandom: One Piece
Characters: Sanji, Gin, Franky, Brooke, Kiwi & Mozu, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Robin, Zoro (light Nami x Usopp in the background, and pre-slash Zoro x Sanji)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: One Piece and its characters do not belong to me.
A/N: AU modern universe. Follows the “Going Express” storyline.
Dedication: Happy belated birthday, Sanji-kun!
1
On his birthday last year, Sanji had no money.
Gin didn’t have any either, but he showed up at the Floating Fish with a smile that promised some wonderful kind of trouble. Sanji slipped away from work without Zeff noticing, and he knew the old man would be pissed as hell, but, hell, it was his birthday. Gin took him to Chez All’s Blue, even though he hated the taste of fancy food, if just for the sake of seeing Sanji’s eyes light up. It was his dream to work there, to cook there, and Gin was the only one Sanji had told. Gin thought it was pretty silly dream, but at least it gave him an advantage when it came to birthday gifts.
They ordered very expensive dishes and Gin spoke in very fake French accent that made very expensive wine squirt out of Sanji’s nose. And when they tried to sneak out without paying the check, they got caught and claimed they were sons of the great chef Zeff. They still had to wash dishes. And Zeff was pissed as hell. He denied Gin entrance to the Floating Fish for a period of three months and really gave Sanji a verbal ass-kicking.
“I catch you skipping out on work again, you little shit, you’ll be out on the streets where I found you, got it?! And after I went through the goddamn trouble of making you fucking cake.”
Sanji would’ve felt bad, but Zeff let him eat the cake anyway, after shoving his face in it. So, Sanji only hoped that he hadn’t screwed up his chances of getting a job at All’s Blue and promised himself that on his next birthday, he would’ve made enough money to eat there and pay for it.
2
On his birthday this year, Sanji has no money.
His new group of friends doesn’t have any either, but they’ve got connections and manage to book Franky’s for the night. Sanji’s never been to the club, but he sees it when he walks to the train station after work and the flashing lights remain in his eyes for blocks after he’s passed by. Franky himself mans the bar that night and the drinks are free. The resident musician, a man with skinny legs and an afro, plays “Happy Birthday” on an electric guitar and a harmonica, at the same time. Two girls in yellow and red with unusual hairstyles and beautiful skin dance in cages.
Luffy, Sanji thinks, shouldn’t drink and should probably get down off the bar before he hurts himself. Usopp claims that no gift could be greater than a painting from him, but all he has is a pencil, so he sets to work drawing on a napkin until Nami drags him to the dance floor; Sanji’s already had a birthday dance with her and he’s still a little dazed from the feeling of her hips moving beneath his hands. Robin’s the one to tell him Zoro can’t make it, isn’t able to take the night off. That suits Sanji just fine and he tells her so before complimenting her on her dress that hugs all the right places.
The rest of the night is laughter and the taste of alcohol and good times…but they have to wash dishes (glasses, really) to pay for the drinks. They choose not to tell Sanji this until the very last moment, when they’re certain he’s too drunk and too happy to care.
3
On the morning after his birthday, Sanji sees Zoro.
They’re in the same car of The Going Express and at first Sanji doesn’t think Zoro notices him. He’s hesitant to approach him; they’ve never been together outside of the group and it seems weird to talk to him without everyone else there. And that seems like a weird thing to seem weird. But after a couple of stops, Zoro gets up and moves into the seat next to him and drops a box into his lap.
“Here. Sorry I missed your birthday thing.”
He doesn’t sound sorry at all, but there’s a cupcake in the box and it’s the best put-together cupcake Sanji has ever seen. He doesn’t want to call it a pretty cupcake, or a cute cupcake, because words like pretty and cute offend Zoro and it isn’t pretty or cute, really, it’s just nice. Very nice. Slightly expensive nice. All’s Blue nice. Sanji bumps knees with him and calls him “cheap,” but eats it, anyway.