Work Text:
Wrong or Right
—-------
Zoro flipped through his television, switching through sports, the news, and a rom-com. Unable to focus on any television program, Zoro switched his television off and headed to the kitchen. As he filled a cup with water, his hand jolted slightly when he heard the doorbell ring.
Treading up to the door, he opened it, and his eyes landed on a mop of blond hair. Sanji stood at the door, hands shoved into his pockets and a blue scarf firmly wrapped around his chin. The warm light fell on his face, his styled hair gleaming softly as soft specks of snow fell behind him.
“About time, shit cook,” Zoro said as he opened the door to let Sanji enter, setting his glass to the side. “Want anything to drink? There’s soda and tea.”
Sanji stomped the snow off his boots and snarked, “Huh, your proclivity of getting lost must be spreading like the moss on your head. You’re even losing track of time now? I’m plenty early.” Placing his boots by the door, Sanji made a point to ignore the prickly glare Zoro sent his way. “I could go for a soda,” Sanji added.
Zoro jerked his head toward the fridge, “There’s Sprite and Coke in the fridge. Feel free to help yourself to them. I’m going to get my jacket before we head out.” He went into his room, collecting his blazer draped over his chair and an overcoat for the freezing weather. Subsequently, he slid on a silver watch and grabbed his dress shoes from under his desk.
When Zoro walked out, Sanji, his hair curtaining his eyes, was sitting on the couch and had a Sprite in hand. Sanji looked up and said, “Did you receive the ticket I sent you? The show’s on in an hour, so I think we should head out now.”
“Yeah, it’s saved on my phone. I’m all set. I’m pretty excited to see The Great Gatsby as I haven’t read the book since high school English class,” Zoro admitted. In the privacy of his mind, Zoro thought, But not as exciting as the company.
Sanji grinned brilliantly, “I’ve been meaning to see it ever since I saw all the promotional material. I know it was a pretty last minute thing. I’m glad you were free.” He picked up his coat and looked at Zoro’s outfit up and down. “So you can clean up nice. I was starting to fear that you had no idea what a suit is.”
Zoro shrugged, “S’ too much work. Don’t know how you always wear these stuffy things.”
Sanji quipped, “It’s called having a good tailor. The suits fit you like a glove, and they’re perfectly comfortable.”
“I think you wear suits just to flex on the rest of us,” Zoro rolled his eyes, slipping his shoes on with a shoehorn.
“Now come on, moss. No need to be jealous,” Sanji said as he swept past Zoro, patting Zoro’s shoulder reassuringly.
—---
At the Broadway theater, Sanji held the door open for Zoro pompously and said, “Gentlemen first. See, I treat men and ladies equally.”
“Is this because I called you a performative male last week?” Zoro groaned as Sanji refused to budge even after Zoro tried to push Sanji in first. He knew Sanji was trying to prove him wrong with his antics, and he was not going to let Sanji win. It wasn’t fair, especially after Zoro had run into Sanji with a matcha, a cardigan, and a romance novel in a cafe. If that wasn't screaming “performative male,” then Zoro would eat his katanas.
“Hmm, maybe, maybe not,” Sanji smirked. “But you better go through, or you’re going to hold everyone else up.”
Zoro turned around and saw a group of girls stepping off a rideshare, resigning himself to his fate. It wasn’t worth the battle to cause a scene in front of a theater, especially ruining the night for other showgoers. But it would have been fun to rile up Sanji.
After Zoro entered, Sanji’s smirk widened knowingly, and Sanji opened the door further for the group of girls trailing behind. A brunette tittered behind her hand, “You guys are so cute! It’s not every day that I see a boyfriend open the door for his partner.”
Zoro watched the scene unfold, waiting for Sanji to tell the girl they were friends. People mistook them as boyfriends often, so Zoro or Sanji inevitably had to correct them too. Unexpectedly, Sanji smiled and said, “Why yes, he wounded me when he tried to deny my gesture. I’m glad someone’s on my side.”
The girl laughed and gave a small wave to Zoro as the group passed Zoro. As Zoro returned the wave, Sanji came up behind Zoro and declared, “Looks like I won this round! Even the pretty lady agreed with me.”
Zoro couldn’t help but crack a smile. It was just like Sanji to be inexorably pleased with himself after a compliment from a lady. “Fine, fine. But watch your back, I’ll get you next time, Curls. By the way, what was that all about? Why didn’t you tell her that we’re not dating?”
Sanji shrugged with a feigned nonchalance, “Why correct her? Besides, a lady is always right!”
Noticing that Sanji was deflecting the conversation, Zoro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. While it wasn’t odd for Sanji to support a lady’s viewpoint, Sanji had always charmingly corrected ladies that Zoro and Sanji weren’t dating by saying humorously, “We’re just friends. Envious, huh?” And then, as per usual, the girls would burst into peals of laughter.
Zoro’s go-to phrase was always, “Nah, we’re just friends.” It was succinct, just the way Zoro liked to communicate and didn’t leave room for further questions. While Zoro, at first, had thought about the cook as a friend who he enjoyed bickering with, Zoro had realized he was developing feelings for the cook the past year. It was really too bad Nami, their friend, had figured out his secret and was charging him to hear him talk about Sanji. Zoro knew that having a confidant was comforting, but it wasn’t like he was ever going to admit to the witch that she was doing him a favor and that she was still honestly more affordable than a therapist would be.
Before Zoro could respond, Sanji had already taken off and was showing the usher his ticket, so Zoro quickly pulled out his phone for his own. After the usher directed them down the hall and to the right, Zoro shifted topics, “So have you ever read The Great Gatsby? There’s also a movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio; have you seen that either?”
As Sanji scrunched up his nose, he confessed, “I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie since it was full of anachronisms when the film is clearly supposed to be set in the 1920s. I loved the book, though.”
Filing this new piece of information about Sanji away, Zoro replied, “I’ll have to take your word for it as I haven’t seen the film.” As Zoro and Sanji settled into their seats, Zoro checked his watch, noting that the production would soon begin. The chatter in the audience was palpable, swelling as people increasingly filtered into the theater.
As the lights dimmed, Sanji whispered, “I hope you’ll enjoy the musical numbers. I’ve got a few favorites.”
Feeling his ears heat up due to Sanji’s closeness, Zoro whispered, “I’m sure I will.” Zoro sunk into his seat, hands gripping onto his arm rest, and wondered, What have I gotten myself into?
—----
As the lights came back on for the intermission, Sanji turned around, his eyes shining with exhilaration, and sighed, “Wasn’t that last number just perfect? It has been my favorite since I heard it. I could really feel Gatsby and Daisy’s longing for each other.”
Zoro checked the playbill and read the title of the last song, My Green Light. “Huh, green? Looks like you don’t hate green as much as you profess to,” Zoro ribbed, expecting Sanji to argue his liking the song had no correlation to his dislike of Zoro’s mossy-green hair.
When Sanji hadn’t spoken even after a long pause, Zoro fully turned to look at Sanji’s face, seeing that Sanji was blushing from head to toe. Finally, Sanji said hoarsely, “You know I don’t.”
“I know,” the words fell out of Zoro’s mouth before he could blink. “The song was really beautiful, with Gatsby and Daisy being drawn to each other. Gatsby’s anxiety about whether Daisy would remember him, or whether she would even look at him, was quelled by the duet.”
Sanji smiled relaxedly, “Yeah, the song is a vulnerable moment for both of the characters. I enjoy how songs can convey emotion so strongly; what was your favorite song so far?”
“New Money,” Zoro grinned with a glint in his eye. “I think it would be Nami’s favorite too.”
“I could agree with that deduction,” Sanji acknowledged. “What do you say we go get a drink?”
“You know I would never turn down a good drink,” Zoro quipped, gathering his coat and preparing to head to the exit.
“Not that way, idiot. That exit leads outside, and we’re trying to go to the bar,” Sanji grabbed Zoro’s shoulder when Zoro started toward the stage.
After Sanji had ordered champagne and Zoro vodka, they returned to the theater, just as the play was resuming. Sanji set their drinks down in their cup holders and slowly sat down, allowing Zoro to take the left seat. The curtain lifted, and the pair were swept into the story of The Great Gatsby once more.
—--
When the play ended, the audience bustled out on the street, and Zoro lost track of Sanji in the fray. Before Zoro could reach for his phone to call Sanji, a warm hand grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the crowd.
Sanji let go of Zoro’s arm and smirked, “It was a good musical, right? It was pretty faithful to the book, but it was a shame that they didn’t do more with it.”
Nodding, Zoro followed Sanji down the sidewalk. “Yeah, I don’t see plays a lot, but this was fun.” As Zoro fell in stride beside Sanji, Sanji’s hand brushed against Zoro’s left hand. Zoro flinched against the contact, unsure of what this signified.
Zoro didn’t want to read too much into their hands brushing together. But the night had been oddly like a date, they had gone to a play, been mistaken for a couple which Sanji didn’t correct, and Sanji had fully blushed after Zoro had teased him? What if he was getting the wrong idea about tonight?
Fuck it, Zoro thought. Overcomplicating things wasn’t how he lived his life and if Sanji was trying to reach out, then Zoro had to meet him halfway, didn’t he?
Grabbing onto Sanji’s hand firmly, Zoro squeezed it and looked into Sanji’s eyes when Sanji turned around. Zoro tried to look into Sanji’s eyes imploringly, watching to see if he should continue. When Sanji made no move to pull his hand away, Zoro said, “Sanji, I love you. Will you be my boyfriend?”
Immediately, Sanji pulled him into a hug, surprising Zoro. “Yes, you dumbass. I love you too. Although this didn’t turn out the way I expected, the result is pretty damn good. I’ll have to thank Luffy for his help with a big feast.”
Zoro carefully wrapped his arms around Sanji’s back and inquired, “Why Luffy?”
“Since I was worried about confessing and ruining our friendship, he told me to take you on a "date" and warned me to avoid our usual haunts. I was testing the waters, so to speak.”
“But you never said this was a date,” Zoro remarked, confused.
“Ah-ha, that was the point. The plan was to take you on a date without letting you know and see if you were interested in me at all. It’s called plausible deniability.”
“You sly fox,” Zoro teased, brushing Sanji’s bangs back from his face. Sanji’s face was flushed by the cold, and the snow was now falling down in a flurry of snowflakes, gently landing on Sanji’s eyelashes. “Can I kiss you?” Zoro breathed, entranced by Sanji’s lips.
“Yes,” Sanji said, eyes locked with Zoro’s. Zoro cupped his hand to Sanji’s cheek and went in for the kiss. Matching Zoro’s passion, Sanji deepened the kiss, his other hand gripping Zoro’s short hair. With Sanji's movement, it caused Sanji's scarf to fall next to their feet, but neither bothered to pick it up.
After a few moments, they finally pulled apart and Zoro asked, “Was that ok?”
“More than ok,” Sanji said, his face red. Zoro resolved to himself that he would make Sanji look like that again, cataloguing this moment into his memory.
“Good.” Zoro bumped his forehead against Sanji’s and glanced at the snow-covered ground. “Let me get your scarf for you.” Without missing a beat, Zoro crouched to pluck Sanji’s scarf off the ground, wrapping the woolen scarf around Sanji.
“Ready to go?”
Zoro clasped his hand in Sanji’s and encouraged, “More than I’ll ever be. Lead the way.”