The Thousand Sunny bobbed on quiet waves, water lapping against the hull. Stars blanketed the night sky. The Straw Hat crew sat on deck, lanterns lit, enjoying the warm evening air. Franky strummed his guitar while Brook accompanied him on violin.
Zoro sat off to the side, in the shadows on the steps leading to the galley. He had a bottle of sake he’d grabbed for himself, and sat and listened contently as his nakama enjoyed the evening. The past few months had been constantly in motion, and it was nice just to sit on the Sunny with his crew and be in each other’s company.
Conversation roved from topic to topic, nothing too serious. Chores and upkeep, the last island’s bizarre fashion trends, the best meal that wasn’t Sanji’s. Sanji, himself, had disappeared into the galley to make snacks, the talk of food firing up Luffy’s insatiable stomach. While he was gone, somehow the conversation shifted to kissing.
“Vivi, of course,” Nami counted on her fingers. “A girl on Sabaody while we were waiting for everyone to get there. Another in Wano. A mark here and there.”
“Yo-ho-ho, I have kissed many a-person once upon a time,” Brook said with a flourish on his violin. “Alas, my kissing days are over, as I have no lips… because I’m a skeleton!”
“I have a SUPER history of SUPER kisses,” Franky spoke up. He turned a sincere smile to Robin. “But now these lips are reserved for my babe.”
Robin's smile in response softened her features in the flickering lantern light. “I have also had a few exchanges in the past, but nothing serious.”
Usopp cleared his throat and puffed up. “I have kissed Kaya – and a thousand others!”
“A thousand,” Nami said skeptically.
“On Dressrosa. Those people I freed from being toys showed their appreciation in kisses,” Usopp said. “Thousands of kisses. It went on for days.”
“For days?!” Chopper gasped.
“Yes! It still would be happening if the Mighty God Usopp wasn’t called elsewhere, to save more poor souls.”
“I kissed Torao,” Luffy said, and all eyes swung to him. “He squeaked and then disappeared, and in his place was a barrel of salted meat. It was the best kiss ever. Shishishi!”
“Sanji had wondered how you found that barrel,” Robin said.
“I’ve been kissed, too!” Chopper blurted suddenly. “On Zou, the minks kept kissing me on my nose.”
“Ha! You go, little-bro!” Franky clapped him on the back, sending him rolling across the lawn. “You’re a real man now.”
“Sh-shut up!” Chopper blushed and wiggled with delight in the grass. “Saying that doesn’t make me happy at all!”
Luffy jumped at the opportunity to wrestle with Chopper, dragging Usopp into it with loud protests. Zoro used the noise to cover his rising, as Nami turned to Jinbe, who sat on the lawn with his back against the tree. “Jinbe, how about you?”
Zoro slipped up the stairs, heading past the lighted galley toward the aft of the ship, Jinbe’s response fading behind him as he moved. “Fish-men do not kiss as humans do, but I will say that I have enjoyed company over the years...”
No voices called after him, which was a relief. He stopped at the aft rail, leaning his forearms against it, looking out over the back of the ship. The wake fanned outward, white curls of waves, as the Sunny sailed forward. A light clink of metal against the mast tapped rhythmically in the air.
Zoro breathed in the salty scent of the sea and tried to let it to loosen the tightness in his shoulders. It was stupid. He shouldn’t care that he’d never been kissed. He had more important things to do.
But it still caused something to twist inside him. More so knowing that even Luffy and Chopper had experienced it. That he was the only one on the crew who hadn’t.
Zoro didn’t dwell on things, but for a long time, he’d felt unlovable. Hiyori proved that at least someone liked him, even if he hadn’t been interested in her that way. The one time he had liked someone himself, years ago, didn’t end well and he paid for it every day.
He thumbed the damp label on the bottle in his hand. The others probably noticed his absence. Nami would have asked him next. His leaving basically announced his inexperience. He told himself he didn’t like people in his personal business, even his nakama. The whole topic was dumb, anyway.
Footsteps on the deck caused his shoulders to tighten more. He smelled cigarette smoke before Sanji settled against the rail beside him, face turned toward the sea. “Saw you sneaking past the portholes in the galley.”
Zoro grunted and drank. Maybe if he didn’t engage, Sanji would go away.
Of course, Sanji always did the opposite of what Zoro wanted. After taking another drag from his cigarette, Sanji said, “What’s going on in that mossy head of yours?”
Zoro’s jaw ticked. “What’s it to you?”
Sanji blew out a stream of smoke. “You look out of sorts. Fuck me for giving a damn.”
Zoro hunched. He and Sanji’d had words after the dust had settled on Wano, about Sanji’s mid-battle request, about his marriage thing, about choice and consequences. They’d always had a prickly friendship, but a friendship nonetheless. Sanji could be an asshole, but he cared deeply about his nakama, even at his own expense. Zoro could say the same about himself.
“It’s stupid,” Zoro muttered with an aggrieved sigh. “They’re talking about kissing.”
Sanji got it immediately. To his credit, he only snorted softly. “I take it Hiyori-san didn’t kiss you?”
Zoro shook his head. “No. I didn’t like her like that.”
“You like anyone like that?”
“Once.”
Sanji took another drag from his cigarette, turning his head to glance at Zoro. “No kissing?”
Zoro’s face twisted at the memory. “Ended up in the hospital and now I don’t know where I am more than half the time.”
Sanji went silent, tapping ash over the back of the ship. Zoro appreciated the lack of pity.
They stood in silence for a minute. Zoro watched the water as he finished his bottle of sake. The stars reflected against the surface of the sea, making it look like they were sailing in the night sky. A fish jumped nearby, its splash a faint sound beneath the rustle of the sails.
“Would you rather wait til you like someone to have your first kiss?” Sanji asked eventually, his tone casual, curious. “Or would you want someone who liked you in that way to kiss you?”
Zoro thought about the answer. He hadn’t actually looked at anyone since the first guy, back when he was fourteen. After the hospital, it was like his brain had forgotten how to imagine being with someone – when before, it had been all he thought about.
He couldn’t picture doing anything with anyone. It hadn’t bothered him. He barely noticed, most of the time. But the conversation on deck made something twist uncomfortably. It made him feel inadequate, like something in him didn’t work right.
Once again, unlovable.
“I guess if someone liked me enough to kiss me, I’d be okay with it,” Zoro said. At least then he’d know what it was like. If he waited, he might wait forever. He should have just let Hiyori do it.
Zoro tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, his chest still tight. He exhaled in annoyance at himself. His gaze dropped to scowl at the bottle in his hand. He needed to forget this stupidity and go train.
The hand on his shoulder was unexpected. He and Sanji didn’t touch much unless they were fighting foes or each other. But Sanji had been a bit different since Wano, more open. Something about honoring his mother. It was on Zoro’s tongue to make a jibe when warm breath brushed his cheek, followed by the soft press of lips.
Zoro startled, fumbling the empty sake bottle. It tumbled into the sea. His gaze jerked to Sanji, wide-eyed, pulse jumping.
Sanji stepped away from Zoro, taking a pull on his cigarette. A small smirk curved one corner of his mouth. “I could’ve reused that bottle,” he said, before walking off.
His footsteps faded around the side of the ship. Alone, Zoro’s heart hammered in his chest. He cupped his cheek. He could still feel Sanji’s lips against his skin. He looked in the direction of the galley, stunned. Sanji liked him?
Luffy’s voice raised from the main deck, instigating a loud rendition of Bink's Sake. The rousing tune kicked up. A night bird crested low over the waves, darting down to snatch a fish near the surface.
Warmth hummed low in Zoro’s abdomen along with an unknown flutter beneath his ribs. He ventured back to the main deck, saw Sanji passing out snacks while singing along. Sanji glanced up at him when he stopped on the steps, something warm crinkling at the corner of his eye. Zoro felt his face heat and the flutter returned, as the melody of the song filled the air.
A rubber arm flashed out and caught his waist, and with a shout of protest, he was yanked onto the lawn. Robin offered a fresh drink to him, Nami shoved a rescued plate of snacks into his hand. Chopper climbed onto his lap and Usopp bumped jovially against his shoulder. Franky and Brook danced around them as they played. Jinbe laughed heartily, keeping a clapping beat. Zoro joined them for the chorus, happiness bubbling in his chest.
Sanji had kissed him.
Maybe he wasn’t unlovable, after all.
End