Chapter Text
Zoro had imagined this more times than he could count, but reality was better than any fantasy.
Sanji was eager and making these little sounds that went straight to Zoro’s cock. His hands were everywhere: in Zoro’s hair, on his shoulders, across his chest. It was like he couldn’t decide where to touch first, like he wanted to memorize every inch of Zoro’s body through his fingertips.
“Slow down,” Zoro murmured against his mouth, catching Sanji’s wrists gently. “We’ve got time.”
“Don’t want slow. Want you.” Sanji’s voice was already wrecked, pupils blown wide with desire.
“You’ll get me, but we’re doing this right.” Zoro pulled back enough to meet Sanji’s eyes, holding his gaze. “This is about you, about making you feel good. So we’re taking our time.”
Sanji’s expression flickered with surprise then something soft and vulnerable that made Zoro’s chest ache. “Okay,” he breathed.
Zoro kissed him again, slower this time. He mapped the shape of Sanji’s mouth with his tongue, learning the taste of him. When he bit down gently on Sanji’s lower lip, the blond gasped and pressed closer.
He walked Sanji backward toward the bed, hands working at the buttons of his shirt with deliberate slowness. Each button revealed more skin and Zoro traced his fingers over every new inch. His fingers explored the hollow of Sanji’s throat, the sharp lines of his collarbones, the lean muscle of his chest and abs. Sanji returned the favor, fingers fumbling slightly with Zoro’s clothes. Soon they were both shirtless, skin against heated skin.
Zoro took a moment to look. Sanji was beautiful. He was all lean muscle and elegant lines, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his breathing. A flush was spreading down from his face to his chest and Zoro wanted to trace it with his tongue.
“You’re staring,” Sanji pointed out, though his voice held no real complaint.
“Can’t help it. You’re fucking gorgeous.”
Zoro pushed him down onto the bed and followed him, settling his weight between Sanji’s legs. The friction of their bodies pressed together made them both groan. Sanji’s hands found Zoro’s shoulders and back, mapping muscle and scars with reverent touches.
“You’re not so bad yourself, Moss.”
Zoro kissed down his jaw, his neck, finding the spot just below his ear that made Sanji gasp and arch up. “Sensitive there?” Zoro murmured, then bit down gently.
“Fuck, apparently.”
Zoro filed that information away and kept exploring. He kissed along Sanji’s collarbones, sucking marks into the skin. Sanji would see these tomorrow and remember what they did. The thought sent a possessive thrill through him. He worked his way down to Sanji’s chest, to the dip of his sternum, then paused at his nipples.
When he flicked his tongue over one, Sanji arched up with a moan that went straight to Zoro’s cock.
“Fuck.”
“Like that?” Zoro did it again, then took the nipple between his teeth and tugged gently.
“I think so, yeah.”
Zoro lavished attention on both nipples, alternating between his mouth and his fingers, until Sanji was writhing beneath him and making the most incredible sounds.
He kissed his way down Sanji’s stomach, feeling the muscles jump and flex under his mouth. Sanji’s abs were defined, a testament to all the fighting and training. Zoro traced each ridge with his tongue. By the time he reached the waistband of Sanji’s pants, the cook was panting, his hands fisted in the sheets.
Zoro paused, looking up at Sanji. “Can I?”
“Please,” Sanji breathed.
Zoro made quick work of Sanji’s belt and zipper, pulling his pants and underwear down in one smooth motion. Sanji’s cock sprang free, hard and flushed dark, curving up toward his stomach. Pre-cum beaded at the tip and Zoro’s mouth watered at the sight.
“You’re gorgeous,” Zoro said, wrapping a hand around the base. Sanji’s cock was hot and heavy in his palm. When he stroked slowly from base to tip, Sanji made a choked sound.
“You can’t just say…” Sanji’s protest died when Zoro squeezed gently.
“I can because you are.” Zoro stroked again, watching the way Sanji’s hips jerked involuntarily. “And I’m going to make you feel so good.”
Sanji, for his part, was pretty sure he was going to die tonight. Zoro’s hand on him was perfect. It was rough and calloused while his grip was firm and steady, applying exactly the right pressure. Really, it was the way Zoro was looking at him that really undid him. It was like Sanji was something precious, something to be savored and worshipped.
He didn’t want to get sucked in. He tried to remind himself this was just Zoro’s attempt to fix him, just pity or at the most, long-held carnal desire. Zoro didn’t feel the depth of emotion for Sanji that he held for him.
The way Zoro looked at him and touched him was making it hard to hang on to that knowledge.
“Moss,” Sanji gasped. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to.” Zoro’s eye met his, intense and dark with desire. “I’ve wanted to taste you for years. So unless you’re going to tell me to stop...”
“Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
Zoro’s smile was wicked and predatory. He lowered his head and licked a stripe up the underside of Sanji’s cock, from base to tip, and Sanji’s vision whited out for a moment.
Zoro did it again, then swirled his tongue around the head, lapping up the pre-cum that had gathered there. “You taste good,” he murmured. “Better than I imagined.”
Before Sanji could try to formulate a response to that, Zoro took him into his mouth.
His back arched off the bed, a strangled moan tearing from his throat. Zoro’s mouth was hot and wet and perfect, taking him deep. Sanji’s hands flew to Zoro’s hair, tangling in the short strands. He tried not to pull, tried not to thrust up, but it was so hard when Zoro was doing that with his tongue.
“Fuck, fuck, Zoro.”
Zoro hummed around him, the vibration sending sparks up Sanji’s spine. He worked Sanji with his mouth and hand in tandem, finding a rhythm that had his toes curling and his thighs trembling. When he pulled off to lick another stripe up the underside, then sucked just the head while his hand worked the shaft, Sanji nearly came right there. Zoro pulled off for a moment, his hand still working him.
“You taste so fucking good,” Zoro said, voice rough. “Could do this for hours. Watch you fall apart on my tongue.”
“Won’t last hours,” Sanji panted, already feeling the pressure building at the base of his spine. “I’m already close.”
“Then come. We’ve got all night.” Zoro took him deep again, relaxing his throat. Sanji felt the head of his cock hit the back of Zoro’s throat.
The sensation was overwhelming. Zoro’s mouth was so hot, so perfect. The way he was looking up at Sanji through his lashes, like he was enjoying this as much as Sanji was, was what finally pushed him over the edge.
Sanji’s orgasm hit like a wave, pleasure crashing through him in pulses. He came down Zoro’s throat with a cry, his whole body tensing. Zoro swallowed around him, drawing it out, milking every last drop until Sanji was oversensitive and shaking.
When Zoro finally pulled off, his lips were swollen and slick. His eye was dark with satisfaction. He crawled back up Sanji’s body and kissed him. Sanji could taste himself on Zoro’s tongue.
“Good?” the swordsman asked, though the smug satisfaction in his voice said he already knew the answer.
“Understatement.” Sanji’s voice was completely wrecked. “Give me a second and I’ll return the favor.”
“No rush. We’ve got time.”
Regardless, Sanji was already pushing at Zoro’s shoulders, rolling them so Zoro was on his back.
“My turn,” he said, the hunger in his voice surprising Zoro.
Still, the swordsman welcomed it.
Watching Sanji work his way down his body was its own kind of torture. He took his time, kissing and licking and biting, leaving marks that Zoro would feel for days. He paid special attention to Zoro’s scars, tracing them with his tongue like they were something beautiful instead of reminders of battles won and lost.
When he finally got Zoro’s pants off and wrapped a hand around him, Zoro had to grit his teeth to keep from coming immediately. The sight of Sanji’s elegant hand wrapped around Zoro’s cock was almost too much.
“You’re big,” the cook said, almost conversational, stroking slowly from base to tip. “Bigger than Sadaichi. I didn’t do this with him, so I guess in some ways, you’re my first too.” Zoro choked on a groan at the words, pre-cum leaking from the slit. Sanji swiped his thumb through it, spreading it around the head.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.” Sanji’s eye met his, challenging. “Unless you’re going to tell me I can’t?”
“Fuck no.”
Sanji’s smile was triumphant. He lowered his head and licked the pre-cum from the tip of Zoro’s cock, causing Zoro’s hips to jerk involuntarily.
“Shit, sorry.”
Sanji just hummed and did it again, then took the head into his mouth. He wasn’t as practiced as Zoro, but what he lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm. He worked Zoro with lips and tongue and hand, experimenting, paying attention to what made Zoro’s breath hitch and his muscles tense.
“That’s it,” Zoro groaned. “Just like that, Cook.”
Sanji took him deeper, relaxing his jaw, and Zoro felt the head of his cock hit the back of Sanji’s throat. When Sanji swallowed around him, Zoro’s control nearly shattered.
“Fuck, Sanji.”
Sanji pulled off with a wet pop, stroking Zoro’s cock with his hand. “You taste good,” he said, voice rough. “Want more.”
Then he took Zoro deep again, and this time when he swallowed, Zoro’s hips jerked up involuntarily. Sanji didn’t pull away, just took it, and that was what did it.
Zoro came with a groan, pleasure whiting out his vision. He felt himself pulse in Sanji’s mouth, felt Sanji swallow it down. The sensation was so intense he thought he might black out.
When Sanji finally pulled off, looking pleased with himself, Zoro pulled him into a kiss. “Holy shit,” he breathed against Sanji’s mouth.
They lay together for a while, catching their breath, hands wandering lazily. Zoro traced patterns on Sanji’s ribs, his hip bones, the V of muscle that led down to his groin. Sanji’s cock was already starting to fill again and Zoro felt his own interest stirring despite having just come.
“Ready for more?” Zoro asked, wrapping a hand around Sanji’s half-hard cock and stroking slowly.
Sanji’s breath hitched. “Yeah. If you are.”
“I’m going to need to prep you. It’s going to take time.” Zoro rolled them so he was hovering over Sanji, settling between his legs. “I’m going to make you come at least once more before I fuck you. Is that okay?”
Sanji’s pupils dilated, his cock hardening fully in Zoro’s hand. He didn’t know why Zoro would expect any answer other than an affirmative in response. He was more turned on than he’d possibly ever been in his life.
He was half convinced he was going to wake up back in his bunk on the Sunny, his cock hard and leaking in his pajama pants, disappointed at all of this having been a dream.
But Zoro’s hands on him felt real. His lips against his felt real. The anticipation coursing through his veins as he watched Zoro retrieved lube and condom from the hotel’s dresser drawers felt real.
“On your back or your stomach?” Zoro asked, settling between Sanji’s legs.
“Back. I want to see you.”
Zoro’s expression softened. He leaned down and kissed Sanji, slow and deep, before pulling back. “It might sting or burn a little from the stretch, but it shouldn’t hurt. If it does, don’t just try and endure it. Tell me if anything feels wrong.”
Sanji nodded in reply. Zoro gave him a look in response.
“I mean it, Curls. None of your self-sacrificial bullshit. I want it to be good for you and I can make it be, but you need to let me know if it’s too much.”
Sanji felt a rush of affection mixed with arousal. Zoro was taking this so seriously. He was committed to taking care of him. Whether or not he loved Sanji the way he loved him, he knew Zoro cared for him and that was more than Sanji had felt before from any of his other sexual partners.
He leaned up and pressed a kiss to Zoro’s lips. “I promise, Mosshead.” Zoro reciprocated the kiss before coaxing him to lay back against the pillows.
Sanji opened his thighs, allowing Zoro to settle between them. He eased up a little, letting him put a pillow under his hips to make sure the angle was right.
He watched with nervous anticipation as Zoro slicked his fingers with lube, warming it between his palms. He traced one finger around Sanji’s hole, not pushing in yet, just circling. The sensation was strange but not unpleasant. Sanji forced himself to breathe and release the tension from his muscles.
“That’s it,” Zoro murmured. “Just relax for me.”
He pressed the tip of one finger inside slowly, watching Sanji’s face. It felt strange. Not bad, just unfamiliar. Different from last time when Sadaichi had rushed through this part, shoving his whole finger inside with little care or restraint. Zoro was taking his time, working the finger in slowly, letting Sanji adjust.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Keep going.”
Zoro pushed in further, his finger crooking like he was looking for something. Sanji’s brows furrowed and he opened his mouth, intending to ask him what he was doing, if he somehow managed to get lost in Sanji’s ass too. His words were stolen by a gasp as pleasure shot through him so intense he nearly came off the bed.
“There it is,” Zoro said, satisfaction in his voice. He hit that spot again and Sanji shivered helplessly in response, his cock leaking pre-cum onto his stomach.
“Fuck, what— What is that?”
“Your prostate. Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Fuck, that’s an understatement.”
Zoro kept working that spot, building the pleasure slowly until Sanji was a mess of sensation. He withdrew his hand and added more lube before he started to work a second finger in alongside the first. The stretch burned, but in a good way. Zoro scissored his fingers, stretching him open and drawing a moan from Sanji.
“You’re so fucking beautiful like this,” Zoro murmured, watching Sanji’s face. “All spread open for me.”
Sanji’s cheeks burned at the compliment.
“I’m not—”
“Yeah, you are. You’re fucking gorgeous.”
He shook his head in response, heat pooling in his gut at the pleasure he was getting from Zoro’s fingers.
“Zoro, please. I need more.”
“Not yet. I need to make sure you’re ready.” Zoro added a third finger, working it in slowly. The stretch was more intense now, but he was also hitting Sanji’s prostate again, keeping the pleasure building.
“Please,” he gasped. “Zoro, now.”
“Not yet,” he repeated, causing Sanji to whine in protest, something he’d be embarrassed by later. “Besides, I want to taste you first.”
Before Sanji could process that, Zoro was pulling his fingers out and lowering his head. His tongue replaced his fingers, licking over Sanji’s hole. The cook’s mind went completely blank.
Zoro’s tongue was hot and wet, circling his rim before pressing inside. The sensation was so intimate, so intense, that Sanji felt tears prick his eyes. No one had ever done this for him. No one had ever taken such care, had ever wanted to taste him like this.
“Zoro,” Sanji moaned, his voice breaking.
Zoro pulled back just enough to speak. “You taste so good,” he said, voice rough. “Could eat you out for hours.”
He dove back in, his tongue working inside, licking and sucking and driving Sanji out of his mind. When he added his fingers back, working in tandem with his tongue, Sanji couldn’t hold back.
His orgasm hit without warning, pleasure ripping through him so hard he couldn’t breathe. He came untouched, his cock pulsing and spilling onto his stomach. Zoro kept working him through it, drawing it out until Sanji was oversensitive and shaking.
For a moment, Sanji existed only in sensation, in pleasure and relief and overwhelming gratitude all tangled together as he floated back down to earth. His body was still trembling, his chest heaving. He was vaguely aware of Zoro’s touch gentling against him, coaxing him through the aftershocks with reverent fingers and soft kisses.
He had no clue how he was meant to give this up after tonight.
Zoro was just as filled with emotion. Watching Sanji come apart was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His face was flushed, his mouth open on a silent cry, his whole body quivering with pleasure. Zoro worked him through it, slowing his movements as Sanji came down, before he crawled back up to kiss him.
“You okay?” Zoro asked, wiping the tears from Sanji’s cheeks.
“Better than okay.” Sanji’s voice was completely wrecked, his visible eye glazed with pleasure. “That was... fuck. I didn’t know it could feel like that.”
Zoro felt a surge of possessive satisfaction. He was doing this. He was making Sanji feel this good. He was making him forget about that asshole who hurt him, replacing those memories with something better.
He rolled on a condom, slicked himself up generously and positioned himself at Sanji’s entrance.
“Ready?”
“Seas, yes. Please, Zoro.”
Zoro pushed in slowly, watching Sanji’s face for any sign of discomfort. Sanji’s expression was tight, but not pained, just overwhelmed. His mouth was open, his breathing rapid and his hands clutched at Zoro’s shoulders.
“Breathe,” the greenhead murmured. “Just breathe for me.”
Sanji took a shaky breath, his muscles relaxing and allowing Zoro to sink in a little further. The heat and tightness were incredible. It took all of Zoro’s control not to just thrust in all the way. But this was about Sanji, about making him feel good.
He paused when he was halfway in, letting Sanji adjust. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Keep going. Want all of you.”
Zoro pushed in the rest of the way slowly until he was fully seated. They both groaned at the sensation. Sanji was so tight around him, so hot. Zoro had to close his eye and count to ten to keep from coming immediately.
“You feel amazing,” he praised, his voice strained. “Is it okay for you?”
“You’re so big. Feels so full,” Sanji panted.
“Good full or bad full?”
“Good. So good. Move, please move.”
Zoro started to move, slow and careful, watching Sanji’s reactions closely. He was attentive to every subtle shift in Sanji’s expression, every catch of breath, making sure he was reading the signals correctly. He pulled out almost all the way, pausing for just a heartbeat at the edge, then pushed back in, setting a steady, measured rhythm. Each movement was intentional, building gradually as he gauged Sanji’s comfort and response, adjusting his pace accordingly.
When he angled his hips just right and hit Sanji’s prostate dead-on, Sanji cried out sharply, his voice breaking with pleasure. His nails dug into Zoro’s broad shoulders hard enough to leave crescent-shaped marks that would still be visible tomorrow, a reminder of this moment etched into his skin.
“There, fuck, right there.”
Zoro adjusted his angle and thrust again, shifting his hips just slightly to the left until he found the perfect position. Now he was hitting that spot with every stroke, each thrust deliberate and precise. Sanji was making the most incredible sounds. They were raw and unfiltered. Gasps that caught in his throat, moans that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest and broken pleas that dissolved into incoherent syllables. His voice cracked on Zoro’s name. Zoro wanted to memorize every single one of those sounds, commit them to memory so he could replay them later when they were apart.
“You’re so tight and perfect,” Zoro groaned. “Look at you. You’re taking me so well. This is how it should be for you every time. This is how good you should feel.”
“So good, Zoro. You’re so good,” Sanji moaned helplessly, clinging onto Zoro as he continued to thrust into him.
“Is this what you needed?”
“Yes! It’s so— fuck, Zoro, I need you.”
“You have me. I’m right here.”
“Need you all the time. Don’t wanna let go,” Sanji whined in response, his nails digging into Zoro’s skin. “Please, don’t let me go.”
Zoro pressed a fierce kiss to Sanji’s lips. “I won’t,” he promised. “Just stay with me, Cook. I’ll give you what you need.”
“Harder,” Sanji gasped. “Please, Zoro, harder.”
Zoro increased his pace, thrusting deeper with more urgency and intensity. Sanji’s legs wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling him closer with surprising strength. The cook’s heels dug into the small of Zoro’s back, urging him on. The new angle let Zoro go even deeper than before, hitting spots that made Sanji’s breath catch in his throat. They both groaned at the overwhelming sensation, their voices mingling together in the heated air between them. Zoro’s grip on Sanji’s hips tightened as he maintained the relentless rhythm, sweat beading on his forehead from the exertion.
“Touch yourself,” Zoro said. “Want to see you come on my cock.”
Sanji wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking in time with Zoro’s thrusts. The pleasure was overwhelming, building higher and higher with every thrust. Zoro was hitting his prostate with every stroke, sending sparks of pleasure through his entire body. Sanji felt like he was going to fly apart.
“Zoro,” he gasped. “Zoro, I— Fuck, it’s so good.”
“That’s it,” Zoro groaned. “Let me hear you. Want to hear how good I’m making you feel.”
“So good, so fucking good.” Sanji was babbling now, words spilling out without thought, tumbling from his lips in a breathless rush. His mind had gone hazy, unable to form coherent sentences anymore. “Never felt like this, never— oh, Zoro.”
His fingers clutched desperately at Zoro’s shoulders, nails digging into warm skin as waves of sensation rolled through him. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire, sparking with electricity. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”
Zoro thrust harder, deeper, his hips snapping forward with increasing urgency. Sanji could feel the pressure building at the base of his spine, coiling tighter and tighter like a spring wound to its limit. His cock was leaking pre-cum over his hand, making the slide slick and perfect, and every thrust pushed him closer to the edge. The sensation was overwhelming, bordering on too much, but he craved more.
“You’re mine,” Zoro growled, his voice rough and possessive, dripping with need. His fingers dug into Sanji’s hips hard enough to leave bruises. “Mine, Sanji. No one else gets to touch you like this. No one else gets to see you fall apart.”
Sanji’s breath hitched at the words, heat flooding through him in waves that left him dizzy and desperate. The claiming tone in Zoro’s voice made something primal stir deep in his chest, something that recognized and responded to the raw possession in those words.
“Yours,” Sanji agreed breathlessly, the word tumbling from his lips without thought. “All yours, only yours. Always.”
Zoro’s rhythm was relentless now, pounding into him with powerful thrusts that drove the air from his lungs. Every movement sent shockwaves of pleasure radiating through Sanji’s body. He could feel his orgasm building like a storm on the horizon. It was different from the others they’d shared tonight, this was deeper, more intense, like it was coming from his very core. This wasn’t just physical pleasure, it was something that reached into his soul, claiming every part of him.
“Zoro,” he gasped. “Zoro, I’m going to— I’m—”
“Come for me,” Zoro demanded. “Want to feel you come on my cock.”
Sanji’s orgasm hit like a freight train barreling down the tracks at full speed. Pleasure crashed through him in devastating waves, so intense he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but feel every nerve ending in his body light up like fireworks. His vision went white at the edges as the sensation overwhelmed him completely. He came hard over his hand and stomach, his whole body tensing and arching off the bed, muscles locked tight as the release tore through him. His toes curled, his fingers clenched in the sheets.
Through it all he could hear himself saying something, words tumbling out without permission, without conscious thought.
“Love you. Fuck, I love you, Zoro. I love you so much.”
Zoro’s rhythm faltered for just a heartbeat and Sanji’s eyes flew open wide, horror flooding through him like ice water even as pleasure continued to pulse through his trembling body in relentless waves. He’d just— he’d said— oh god, what had he done? The words had slipped out in the heat of the moment and now they hung in the air between them like a confession he could never take back.
Zoro was still moving, still fucking him steadily through the aftershocks that made his legs shake and his breath hitch. His large hands gripped Sanji’s hips firmly, possessively, keeping him in place. His expression was intense but not angry or disgusted like Sanji had feared. His eye was dark and burning with something Sanji couldn’t quite identify but felt all the way down to his bones. It was fierce and obvious in the set of his jaw, in the way he looked at Sanji like he was seeing him for the first time.
“Say it again,” Zoro demanded, thrusting deeper.
“I—” Sanji’s voice broke. “I love you. I love you, Zoro.”
Zoro groaned low and deep, the sound rumbling from his chest as he thrust hard and deep one final time, his own orgasm hitting him like a tidal wave. Sanji felt him pulse and throb inside, felt the way Zoro’s whole body went rigid and tensed above him, muscles locked tight as pleasure overtook him completely.
Zoro collapsed on top of him, all that solid weight pressing Sanji into the mattress, both of them breathing hard and ragged, their chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath. Sweat slicked their skin where their bodies pressed together and Sanji could feel Zoro’s heartbeat hammering against his own ribcage.
Still, an undercurrent of fear ran through him that he couldn’t ignore. Not after what he’d just confessed. Whatever happened next, he had no idea. Zoro was holding his heart in his hands, and he’d either crush it or keep it safe.
Zoro’s mind was reeling, thoughts spinning in a dozen different directions at once. Sanji loved him. He’d actually said it out loud and meant it. Zoro could see it in his face, clear as day, could feel it in the way Sanji was holding him, arms wrapped tight around his back like he never wanted to let go. The words hung in the air between them, heavy with meaning and possibility. But was it real or just the sex talking? Were the endorphins and pleasure flooding through both their systems making Sanji say things he didn’t actually mean, things he might regret once the haze lifted and reality came crashing back in?
Zoro pulled out carefully, as gently as he could manage. He got up and disposed of the condom before reaching for a towel. He took his time cleaning them both up, his hands moving slowly, almost reverently, across Sanji’s skin. The cook’s body was still flushed and warm beneath his touch. Sanji was quiet now, so unlike his usual self, watching him with an expression that was painfully vulnerable and uncertain, like he’d just laid his heart bare and was waiting for Zoro to reject him, to laugh it off or pretend he hadn’t heard.
“We should talk,” Zoro said, settling back on the bed.
“Yeah.” Sanji’s voice was small. “We should.”
They settled facing each other on the mattress, the space between them feeling both too close and impossibly far. Sanji looked small in a way that made Zoro’s chest ache, so full of fear and dread that it seemed to radiate off him in waves. His shoulders were hunched inward, protective, and his hands trembled slightly where they rested in his lap.
The usual spark in his eyes had dimmed. Zoro wanted to pull him close and never let go, to wrap his arms around him and promise that everything would be okay, but they needed to be clear about what this was. They needed to talk first, to lay everything out in the open before they crossed a line they couldn’t uncross. No matter how much his instincts screamed at him to comfort, to protect, they had to do this right.
“Did you mean it?” Zoro asked. “What you said.”
“Yes,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know it’s too soon, and I know this was supposed to just be about giving me a better experience, but—”
“I love you too.”
Sanji’s head snapped up as his eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I love you. I have for years.” Zoro reached out and cupped Sanji’s face in his hands. “I didn’t say it earlier because I wasn’t sure if you were just caught up in the moment. But if you meant it—”
“I meant it.” Sanji’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I’ve been falling for you for months. I just didn’t let myself acknowledge it before because I didn’t think you’d ever feel that way about me.”
“I do. I love you,” Zoro replied, pressing their foreheads together.
Sanji felt an overwhelming sense of relief roll through him at the words as he leaned into Zoro’s touch.
“So what now,” the swordsman asked.
“Now we figure it out. Together.”
“Yeah, we can do that.”
“The crew’s going to have opinions.”
“Let them.” Zoro pulled him close and Sanji went willingly, tucking his head in the crook of Zoro’s neck. “You deserve good things, Sanji. I’m going to make sure you get them.”
“You already did.” Sanji’s arms tightened around him. “This was... everything I didn’t know I needed.”
“Good. Because I’m not done with you yet.”
“Oh?”
“We’ve got all night. And I plan to use it.”
Sanji pulled back enough to meet his eyes, his smile wicked.
“Then what are you waiting for?”