#Zoro only wears what Usopp makes for him (in Winter)

[julissart]

Kiss kiss fall- *coughs* I mean- The mistletoe 🌺❣

Your company is the best gift 🎁

From my Fanzine 'My Brave Sniper' 🥰 you can download it here:

Ko-Fi

Option 2

Main Fanzine Post

[irisintheafterglow]

way hay, and up she rises! (opla!zoro x you)

summary: zoro leads the crew to an informant from his bounty-hunting days; they don't know his history with the pretty singer in the bar.

wc: 2.6k

cw/tags: swearing, implied fem!reader (wearing a skirt and makeup) but they/them pronouns used, basically singer/bodyguard trope, strangers to lovers, brief guy being an asshole (and protective zoro!), simp zoro, i love zoro, can you tell how much i love this man

note: do i imagine lucy gray baird when i think about reader singing in a bar? maybe a little bit. do i wish i could sing like rachel zegler as lucy gray baird? abso-fucking-lutely. i've been listening to a lot of random sea shanties lately so this is where that came from. hope you enjoy!

likes, reblogs, and replies are much appreciated!

“You’re sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Of all the times for you to doubt me, cook,” he says, catching the door with the toe of his boot and kicking it open, “I can say for certain, I have this under control.” His feet step through the doorway and he’s bombarded with jolly laughter, drunken singing, and a dancing fiddle. The patrons cheer with flasks and goblets in their hands, liquor splashing onto their neighbors when they slam their cups onto wooden tables. It’s warm like a hearth, not a hell, and the unkempt atmosphere wraps around him like a familiar blanket. Within seconds, he’s not a pirate anymore; he’s back to being a hunter. 

And there, swinging the edge of your skirt with a tambourine in hand, was you. The lantern light catches in your eyes in a way that makes them glow, enchanting him like a spell. You’re just as breathtaking as the last time he saw you, singing clearer than the stars shining on a winter night. When you speak, it’s like invisible ropes extend from your lithe fingers, grabbing each man by the ears and pulling them in to listen further. He’s no different, finding himself drifting toward your stage when a sudden hand tugs him away. 

“Hey, we’re going this way. Luffy found a table in the back,” Nami informs him over the controlled chaos of the bar. Her voice quiets as he follows her to a secluded corner, but her teasing was not lost to him. 

“Pretty interesting place you’ve led us to.”

“That’s one way to put it,” he replies blandly, still slightly awestruck from seeing you again.

“Got a crush on the singer?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he deadpans, sliding into the booth next to his beaming captain. He gladly accepts the bottle Usopp offers him, taking a swig without so much of a flinch when it burns down his throat and goes straight to his head. 

“What were you guys talking about?” Luffy pipes up and he doesn’t hide his grimace in time. “Did Nami say something to bother you, Zoro?” 

“Doesn’t she always?” An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of the swordsman’s stomach, one he could only explain by not having eyes on you. He was used to being here alone, where he could admire you without distraction. He knew he wasn’t ready for the crew’s interrogation about his history with you. “I just need something to drink.” 

“You’re already holding a bottle, if you’ve forgotten already,” Sanji reminds him. “Don’t make us drag your sorry ass out of another bar.” If looks could kill, Zoro couldn’t fathom the number of coffins the stupid cook would need. 

“Alright, alright,” Luffy interjects. “Zoro’s just been…stressed. We all deal with stress in our own ways.” 

“There are healthier ways to deal with stress than alcoholism,” Nami points out. “For instance, talking it out works wonders.”

“While I appreciate the concern, we’re here for information, not therapy,” Zoro states tersely, taking another gulp from his bottle. “We came a little early, so we’ll have to wait until the band is done with their set before we move in on the target.” His eyes drift back into your general direction, hoping there weren’t any guys giving you trouble. 

“Why can’t we just move in now? There’s enough chaos in the bar to be a distraction,” Luffy asks.

“Sanji and I could start a fight,” Usopp offers in response, holding up the cook’s wrist like he was ready for the first punch. “That worked last time.” Zoro shakes his head. 

“Too risky. The informant won’t say anything if we interrupt the music, especially if it’s a bar fight,” he replies, a fond look blinking across his face. “They’re a little…difficult, sometimes.” The pieces click together in Nami’s brain before he can stop her and the realization dawns on her in no time.  

“Your contact is the singer.” He shrugs one shoulder, not looking any of his crew in the eye and instead watching the growing crowd around your stage. “The singer you have a crush on?” Zoro’s head snaps back to reality and becomes all too aware of the heat growing on his cheeks. 

“I don’t have a crush on them,” he mumbles half-heartedly. 

“Aw, Zoro is in love!” Usopp sighs. “I always knew he had a heart.” 

“It’s not love. It’s just admiration, if anything,” he counters, but it’s no use. His crewmates were already on a roll. 

“I thought you said you had this under control,” Sanji recalls with a taunting smirk. 

“I do have this under control.”

“Your red complexion says otherwise,” the cook replies and Zoro’s frown deepens. It wasn’t part of his plan for the rest of his friends to find out about his relationship with you. In fact, accompanying him to the bar was not part of the plan in the first place. “Look, I’m happy for you. Honestly, I am. If you could do it, then I surely will find someone even better.” 

“That’s enough,” Nami cuts in before Zoro can unsheath a sword. He nods in curt gratitude, but she doesn’t let him off the hook. “However, as payback for not telling us about your little sweetheart, you’re gonna explain how you know them until their set is done.” 

“Says who?”

“Says us,” Usopp answers, holding up Sanji’s fist again and miming the cook punching him in the face. “Or, we’re gonna cause a scene and make them come to us first.” 

“You guys are impossible,” Zoro mutters under his breath. With a deep exhale, he establishes a single rule. “You don’t tell anyone about what I’m about to tell you, understand?” The crew nods. “Good, because if someone finds out about them, I’m gonna shave your heads while you sleep.” 

As with most people Zoro interacted with, you met him because of a fight.

“I didn’t need your help,” you had told him that night, resting your boot on a ribcage for leverage and yanking your sword from the dead assailant’s chest. “So, you can leave now.”

“I thought you said you had this under control,” he remarks, cleaning the blood from his blade and inserting it back into its sheath. 

“I do have this under control,” you reiterate with a glare. “It was just an off night.” 

“Pretty impressive for an off night, though your swordsmanship could improve.” His hand gestures vaguely at the half-dozen attackers lying at your feet, amateurs whose strength depended on their numbers. Numbers, which he'd helped you cut down when you didn’t show up at the meeting spot you’d agreed upon. 

“I can’t tell if you’re trying to insult me or compliment me,” you scoff.

“Doesn’t matter, as long as you keep talking,” he replies without missing a beat, following you through the backdoor of the bar and down a dusty hallway into what he presumed was a makeshift dressing room. “You could make a good career out of bounty hunting if you wanted to.” Closing the door behind him, he settles into a nearby chair and watches you tidy up trinkets on the vanity. 

“I don’t remember letting you come in here, much less telling you to have a seat.” Your guarded nature only intrigues Zoro more, but he’s more than willing to leave if you truly didn’t want him present. Something in his gut told him, though, that you secretly enjoyed the company. “And, no. I’m not interested in the violence of your world, only the information part.” 

“The information part you didn’t show up for,” he recalls with a scowl. You hum in fake sympathy at his displeasure. 

“And my sincerest apologies for getting attacked while on route to our meeting place,” you bite, shaking your head when he rolls his eyes. “Look, we’re here now, so just ask your questions and get out.” Zoro does ask his questions and you give him the answers he needs, but the lingering feeling of disappointment when he bids you farewell stays with him even after he collects the head you helped him find. So, with the reward money sitting heavy in his pocket, he returns to your run-down little bar the following week. 

Without the pressure of fulfilling a hunt weighing on his chest, he catches himself enjoying your performance a little too much. It was mesmerizing, the way you danced across the stage and blew kisses to drunken audience members. Zoro even found himself smiling when he was able to catch your eye. 

“I take it the hunt went well,” you say in greeting when he appears in the doorway of your dressing room. It’s after your band’s last set and you’re visibly more relaxed than the previous time he saw you. Instead of barging into your space, he simply leans a muscled shoulder against the doorframe, arms crossed and observing you remove your makeup. 

“It did. Your little tip about the maid worked wonders.” 

“She’ll always turn a blind eye if it means a little extra money.” 

“She also knew the place better than the maps I was reading,” he adds. “I wouldn’t think to talk to her if it weren’t for you.” You dismiss his compliment with a wave of your hand. 

“The Lady of the House’s true right-hand is not her husband, but the one that cleans up after him,” you muse with a satisfied smile. He’s still standing in the doorway, you notice from the corner of your eye. “You can come in if you promise to explain why you’re back again.”

“Consider the promise made, then,” he replies, shutting the door and taking a seat the same way he did the week prior. “I wanted to apologize for getting off on the wrong foot.”

“The Demon of the East Blue apologizing to me? What a world we live in,” you quip and he chuckles. “For the record, I wasn’t mad at you. Well, not entirely.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Yeah, I was mad at you for interrupting the set to ask your questions, but I can’t blame you too much. It’s your first time here, after all.” He listens to your explanation intently, like there was no other voice he’d rather be hearing. “But for future reference, interrupting me while I’m singing will make other clients I serve a little jumpy.”

“They think you’re conspiring against them?”

“Exactly. I try to keep the same after-the-show policy with everyone, so if I give priority to one person, they’ll question my reliability.” He nods, your irritation suddenly making much more sense. 

“And when they question your reliability, they attack you outside the bar,” he concludes. 

“Mhmm, which was why I was late for our meeting. For that, I am sorry.” Your voice is softer than the candlelight illuminating the small room and he finds himself being drawn into you again, like a magnet. An idea pops into his mind, one that was sure to cost him a few hunts, but he’s sure you’re worth it.

“Ever think about hiring stage security?” 

“For a dirty-ass bar like this? Definitely not,” you laugh. “Maybe if I were playing for the general of the Marines, but here? That’s funny.” You thought that would be the end of your conversations with Zoro, but decided not to question his intentions when he showed up the following night. You spied him sitting in the same dark corner with a glass in his hand, watching you like you were the only being that mattered in his world. As the songs pass, your eyes find him on instinct and you’re rewarded with a rare grin that makes your stomach float. No sooner did you start your last set of the night, though, did a new client come storming into the bar. 

He was a Marine defector, one that was trying to make it onto some pirate’s ship before the government found him. In the second drawer of your dressing room vanity, you had a list of ships and ports that would guarantee him a smooth disappearance into the sea. He desperately needed the list and, being a new client, was clueless about your after-show policy. 

“Alright, give me the list. Let’s go,” he hissed once he reached the front of the stage, his words barely audible over the sound of your band. You attempt to smile and play him off as another drunk, but your amiable expression disappears when he tries to grab the edge of your skirt. “I’m not fucking messing around. Give me the fucking list.” As expected, your regular clients started to shift uncomfortably in their seats, looking at you and the greenie suspiciously. In their minds, you were giving special privileges to a new guy. “Stop being a bitch and give me the list.” The man reaches out to grab your skirt again when a strong hand shoves him away from you. 

“Get lost. They’re in the middle of performing.” You steal one glance at the swordsman in front of you, the one resting his hands menacingly on the hilts of his swords. His broad shoulders become a wall in front of you, impossible to pass without risking instant decapitation. The new client scurries away and you release a shaky breath, sending Zoro a grateful look when he’s back at his seat. Please stay, you mouth wordlessly. I’m not going anywhere, he mouths back.

He stays with you during your official meeting with the ex-Marine, arms crossed and stationed in the corner of your dressing room like a guard dog. When the meeting is over and Zoro’s all but thrown the man out of the building, he walks you home and waits until he hears your door lock before leaving. He’s back the next night, and the next, and the next, and all the nights afterward for nearly a year. You start to ask him about his past, his hunts, and his dreams. Little by little, you both start to take down your defenses and trust each other with vulnerability. He’s late, sometimes, when he gets caught in a hunt; but, you always end up finding him waiting for you in your dressing room. 

After he kisses you for the first time, you start inviting him in once he’s walked you home, impatiently locking your door before pulling him to your room. It’s little things that make you fall in love with him: waking up to find him hogging all of your blankets, resting on his bare chest and relishing in the feeling of his skin against yours, running a hand through his hair until he wakes up with a sleepy smile. He falls freely, hopelessly, and completely in love with you, too. 

He knows nothing has changed when you rush into his arms as soon as you see him in your dressing room. 

“Hey, songbird,” he mumbles while his arms lock around your waist. “I burn from missing you.”

“I’ve missed you more.” Your voice sounds muffled against his shoulder as your arms wind tightly around his neck. He buries his face into the crook of your neck, pulling you as closely to him as humanly possible. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Zoro felt at ease. “I thought I saw you walk in, but you didn’t go to your usual spot.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I have some…friends with me,” he says slowly, nudging the door open to reveal his crewmates eavesdropping from the hallway. You smirk knowingly, running the pad of your thumb over his cheekbone. “Alright, alright. Just say it–”

“I didn’t know you could make friends,” you tease and he prevents you from saying anything else by pressing his lips against yours. “Wanna introduce me to them?”

“Give me a second, baby,�� he murmurs against your skin. “I need you to myself for a bit.”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[cyborg-franky]

Hey, I love your stuff, and I hope you're talking care of yourself <3

Requests, how do you think the Stargate would raceway react to finding a stowaway on their ship after Usopp screams bloody murder seeing them hiding in the storage area?

And 2 how do you think Ace/Zoro would react realizing that reader avoids them when shirtless cause reader has a crush on Ace/Zoro and seeing them shirtless makes them blush?

I picked the second one! I only did Ace because I am getting used to getting back into reader stuff. I hope that is okay <3

and thank yooou and I am... I had water near me at some point haha. -sweating-

Oh boy, you really should get used to this because the man hates wearing clothes, even in winter he’ll be walking around tits out without a care in the world because that’s how he rolls, that and his power keeps him nice and warm.

He wore a shirt once, there’s a wanted poster of him wearing one, though it seems like a distant memory.

Ace is fond of you, definitely has a big fat crush on you, and doesn’t really click you feel the same way.

That and every time he comes to hang out with you, sit near you, or even just accidentally pop up in the same hallway together the way you act, the way you run from him, adverting your gaze because it’s hard to keep your chill around Ace when he’s on display.

You can’t help sneaking a look but it makes you incredibly flustered.

Ace takes it to heart and asks others what your deal is. 

Marco and Thatch know right away, both smirking at one another because they know you avoid Ace because you get too flustered around him.

Both do not hold back when they drop you in it, telling him just why you hide from him, why you look so awkward when he’s just doing his duties and being hot in your general vicinity.

That makes him grin ear to ear, even with the blush across his freckled cheeks.

With this new found power and knowledge he likes to tease you, flirts harder, and purposely flexes and postures when he knows you can see, as you try and look away.

“Like what you see?” He asks when he leans on the table as you eat your dinner, you can’t run, Marco is on the other side of you and won’t budge.

“I… I..” You go as red as the beads he wore around his neck. But he laughs, loudly and good-natured, smiling softly at you and you relax a little.

“I like you too,” Ace says, sighing and itching his cheek, all the fake confidence he had a moment gone as he really, really thinks it over, looks at you, his nerves starting to bubble up inside as you still haven’t answered.

“Who told you…” You heard a chuckle next to you Marco, you shit. You were going to hide eggs around his office for a week after this.

“So you do?” Ace pressed as he chewed the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, I do, I really do…”

The smile that broke out across his face warmed your heart and you felt yourself smiling to match.

“Just one thing though,” “Anything.” Ace leaned in closer like you were going to tell him a secret.

“Please wear a shirt sometimes, my heart can’t handle it.” You confessed, the blush on your face growing, burning the tips of your ears and he laughed a little, putting an arm around you. “I’ll see what I can do since it’s you.”

[jessysapphireblue]

One Piece Advent Calender Door 2 Zoro

Door 2: Zoro and the Tree

The others came back at evening, all sitting around the table for dinner. “So, what kind of Island is it?”, asked Usopp. “A cheap town! Oh, Everything is so cheap and wonderful”, Nami swooned as “They´re preparing for Christmas”, smiled Robin and your eyes widen before “CHRISTMAS?!”, you shouted, hands slamming on the table, scaring Usopp and Brook, your eyes shining.

“You look like Luffy, Je” “Chopper, it´s Christmas!”, you squealed. “What is it?”, asked Franky. “Christmas? It´s a feast that you Celebrate in the Winter. In the cold month where everything seems so dark, you decorate your home with ribbons, Christmas stockings, you get a big tree that you decorate all the seasoning sweets! It´s a feast that you celebrate with family and friends! You get presents, food you get only once or twice a year and songs that you sing along by heart. Colors everywhere, warm clothing, santa hats you can wear and everything!”

The others looked at you. “someone is passionate”, laughed Jinbe. “Yes! In my home we also celebrated Christmas and where I was sent to also! Oh, you should have seen it. It was a wonderland! It made you warm up inside”, you outstretched your arms, talking with joy and happiness before the table laughed. “Never seen you so happy before. Well, the island is moving with a stream in a circle and this current ones goes slowly”, Nami smiled at Luffy, “If our Captain-” “Luffy! Could we spend Christmas here?”, you turned to your boyfriend who laughed. “Yes! I also want t eat this tasty stuff you said” You glomped him and pressed a big kiss on his lips. “I LOVE YOU! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!”, you gave him another kiss before jumping out, screaming across the whole deck. “She looks like a child so happy is she”, swooned Sanji. “I must agree to her things a lot more. She was so eager”, laughed Luffy.

~

It was the next morning by breakfast as “Ok! First, we need a tree”, you smiled. “A tree?” “Yes. In the middle of the deck, decorated with things and I can use my magic to light it up” “Are you insane?! What if the-” Nami stopped when you looked sad at her, like a kicked puppy and the navigator quickly melted.

“Yours's is fatal”, she admitted and you hugged her. “Thank you” Luffy laughed at that, Robin chuckling. “So, who will get it?” “We make a draw”, said sanji and held 11 strands on papers in a closed fist. “These two who have the colored strands get the tree” “Oh! I get all-” “ONE IDIOT CAPTAIN!”, shouted Sanji and Luffy settled for one and all pulled their strand. “Me”, yawned Zoro. “Oh no. He will never come back”, Nami and Usopp sighed loudly, Luffy simply laughing. “And me”, you smiled softly, making Sanji approach Zoro. “Mosshead, trade with me. I want to go with our Goddess” Zoro looked at you how Luffy declared that he wanted a big tree and stuff you could put on it. “Forget it. The tie was fair, Hentai-Brow” “HOW UNFAIR!”, Sanji wailed, hitting the ground. “He gets to spend time with our Goddess and I have to rot here”

He didn´t even noticed that the kitchen was now empty, only his wailing was heard.

~

Walking with Zoro, you guys looked around, tugging his sword sometime so he wouldn´t get lost. “Can´t we just get that one and good is?” “Zoro, we need a straight tree. I can´t just bend it straight” “Can´t you grow one?” “I will, once we find a good one” “Why not now?” “I can´t control their age. It could either be little or too big. I tried it once...I ended inside the tree. Looked like a scarecrow” That must´ve looked amusing”, he smirked at you. “You had no idea. And when we get back, you get some sake as a thank you, ok?” “Oh? Making deals with you is the best...and?”

You looked around, scanning trees while the swordman began to yawn. “Hurry up” ”A good tree needs to be carefully selected!”, you raised your voice. “Now you just mess with me”, he groaned. “Why, correct! It´s been a while since we two went together on an errant, Mr. King of Hell” A short scoff passed Zoros lips, arms crossed over his lips, yet smiling.

You circled a tree before clapping. “Onward my dear swordman!” “You´re not funny”, he admitted and came to you, ruffling your hair. “I know...but you´re smiling~”, you sang out and he shook his head, amused. “Jokes aside. This tree here”, you hummed and touched the bark. “Ok. Stand aside, little princess” “Don´t call me that!”, you pouted as he cut the tree down, falling in front of your feet. “There ya go, Goddess” “Just because Sanji calls me that...and Brook sometimes, does not mean you also have to” “Good then, squib”, he smirked as you throw him the ropes to make the tree ready for the walk back. “Good then, squib”, you mocked his voice before he looked at you. “Did you just mock me?” ”...what if?” He gave you a short laugh before lifting the rope. “Come on, little squib. Before I leave you alone” “We would see us in a couple of mins back, with your sense of direction”, smiling to yourself, you see him halter only to growl. “Now come on, swordman~ Give me your hand” “THE HELL I WILL!” “Come. You just get lost otherwise. I´m not hurting you” “I will slice you in half!” “Good luck. Lu will go rampage on you”

Zoro cursed under his breath, which made you laugh only more. “Jokes aside. I walk by you. Just have to tease you” “You will get such a payback”, he admitted as you two started walking back through the snow. “And I thought you see me as a little sister” “I do but-”, he stopped, his cheeks flushing. “I love you too, big bro” “SHUT UP!”, he shouted, which only made you laugh more.

~

Arriving by the ship you just heard. “THAT IS WAY TOO BIG!”, Nami nagged. “NO! PERFECT!!”, Luffy joined her by the railing, beaming, only to get hit by Nami. “I make a water bucket so the tree can stand in there until we bring it to the ship”, you said and went to work, tapping your pouch as a viral came, moving it to your will with your fingers, making the water come out. Luffy stretched his arms to the top, While Zoro lifted it. “Luffy, I can do it alone” “But the tree is spikey” “Because you touch it carelessly, idiot”, Nami groaned and Zoro put it in your formed bucket, and you moved the snow to stabilize it. “Done!”, you smiled. “WEEE BIG TREE!!!”

Zoro was in the crownest, training, when you peeked up. “Yuhu~ I bring some christmas snacks and eggnog” “Eggnog?”, Zoro stopped his training, wiping the sweat with a towel away when you came up. “Alcoholical drink for you. Sanji just made some and I sneaked a big cup away for you. If not to your taste, I could always make Glühwein” He simply raised an eyebrow at you before taking the eggnog, drinking it empty in one go, your eyes wide as plates. “puh! That was good”, he smiled. “HOW IN THE-” Zoro was simply amused of your shocked state. “One question...are you sure that you´re human?!” “Yes I am” “After this? I´m not sure...In one go?!” “Unlike you, I don´t faint after droplets of alcohol” “And unlike you, I still have a functional brain, Thank you very much!” You looked unamused before walking down.

He simply loved teasing you.

And with that the 2nd Day comes to an end~ we shall see us tomorrow.

[brainyxbat]

Chapter 5: Adventure in the Country of Sand! The Monsters That Live in the Scorching Land

(episode 97)

The crew continued their journey through the desert, heading to Yuba. Soon, the heat was starting to get to them. "Burning up," Luffy panted, using a branch as a cane for support, "Sweat won't even come out."

"Quit moaning so much, Luffy," Nami reprimanded, as she waved her hand by her face, "You'll only tire yourself out." His only response was a loud moan. "Guess he's not listening."

Chopper was no better; in fact, Zoro had to pull him on a small sled, because he couldn't walk. "I can't go on. I can't take hot weather. I'm fine in cold weather, though."

"It's 'cause of all that fur," Usopp groaned, walking the same way as Luffy; with a stick. "You should take off that animal suit."

Chopper turned to him with a glare. "What was that, you jerk?!" He suddenly turned big, as Zoro was unable to pull him. "Don't make fun of reindeer!"

"Monster!" Usopp screamed in terror.

"Chopper! Don't turn big!" Zoro glared back. "Or else I won't pull ya!"

Chopper didn't notice him, as his confrontation with Usopp continued. "Who're you calling a monster, Humongo-Nose?!"

"D-don't be stupid!" Usopp shook with fear. "I-I'll have you know this nose-"

"Just turn back already!" Zoro shoved Chopper down by his head, making him small again.

"No more fighting!" Venus scolded. Ace walked with them, not saying a word.

"You don't seem to be having a hard time, Vivi-chan," Sanji noticed.

"I was born and raised here, so it doesn't bother me that much."

"But what's with all these hills?" Usopp griped. "I figured a desert would be more flat."

"This is a very old desert, so some sand dunes here are over 300 meters high."

"Th-three hundred meters?" He heaved. "No wonder it's like climbing mountains."

"It's too much," Luffy panted, "It's so hot."

"Just one drink, Luffy," Nami ordered, "Just one mouthful." However, he slurped up so much, his cheeks puffed out. "Don't drink so much!" Nami raged, as she and Usopp simultaneously punched the back of his head, making him spit it out.

"Let me have some too!" Usopp added. "That was 13 mouthfuls just now!"

"Hold on!" Sanji cut in. "You just had some! I'm next!"

A tussle broke out with all four of them. "Stop fighting!" Vivi exclaimed worriedly. "You'll only waste strength!"

"But she started it!"

"It's your fault!"

"Yeah! This is because of you!"

-

That night, the crew set up camp by some dunes, with a pair of tents and a campfire. "So hungry," Luffy groaned.

"Don't be so greedy!" Sanji scolded. "It's still raw! Don't eat that! Nami-san! Just a minute, it'll be ready soon!"

"Oh, looks pretty good!" Usopp smiled through shivering.

"Get away, you!" Sanji ordered at Luffy.

"Oh, come on!"

"Cheapskate! Let us eat!"

"Get away!"

A shivering Nami turned to Vivi in confusion. "It was so hot during the day! What's going on?!"

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorches during the day, but falls below freezing at night. The desert is fraught with unpredictable dangers."

Chopper admired the beautiful sky, as he sat by a tent with Usopp. "Oh! Look at all those stars!"

"Didn't you see stars on your winter island?"

"Winter island skies are always covered with thick snow clouds, so I've never seen this many stars before!"

Usopp shivered miserably next to him, unable to enjoy it. "I don't have the luxury of looking at stars right now."

"Cold weather doesn't bother me!"

To his chagrin, Usopp started snuggling his cheek in his fur. "That's because you wear such a warm suit!"

"Hey, you! Get away! Go hug Venus!"

"I don't wanna make her uncomfortable!"

"Just back off!"

"I can't help that you're so fluffy."

At that, an angry Chopper turned into his large form again. "Quit making fun of reindeer!"

"Monster!" Usopp screamed.

"Chopper, don't turn big," Zoro sleepily reprimanded, "We need your warmth."

"Yahoo!" Luffy jumped in, and hugged a small, delirious Chopper with Usopp. "So warm!"

"Come closer!"

"See? Warm, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Chopper agreed.

Vivi suddenly heard chattering teeth, and turned to see the young witch shivering terribly, while sitting on the ground. "Venus-san, why don't you join them? You sound like you're freezing."

"I d-d-don't want to b-b-be a b-b-burden."

"I'm sure they won't mind," Ace assured, "Though if you'd like, I can keep you warm."

Venus' eye widened, her mind racing, as her cheeks turned red. Portgas D. Ace was offering to... snuggle with her? For the whole night? Should she say yes? What if she does something stupid? It did sound nice; curled up in his arms, her head on his chest, with his fire powers keeping her warm. However, her shyness ultimately took over, and she shook her head. "Oh, uh... th-thanks, but... th-th-that's okay. I'll just, uh... yeah, uh, th-thanks, though."

"No problem," He smiled kindly, as Vivi stifled a giggle.

At that, Venus began crawling to her crewmates, and wondered where to lay. Settling with Luffy's back, she carefully grabbed Usopp's hand, and began slowly lifting his arm up to rest underneath, hoping he wouldn't notice.

She stopped when he turned to see her. "Venus-chan? You okay?"

"Y-y-yeah. J-just a l-little chilly."

"Oh, here." Usopp raised his arm, and held her as close to himself as he could, and to Luffy's back. "This feel better?"

She nodded, not noticing a blush flaring up on his face. "It does, thanks." Her head landed on his shoulder, and she immediately drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Usopp watched, as her back moved up and down rhythmically with her calm breathing. She was so sweet when asleep; and so darn cute.

"It must be a real surprise for you." Ace turned to Vivi at her observation. "I mean Luffy-san. I was surprised too, at first." She turned to them, as Chopper tried to push everyone away, deciding he wanted space; Venus was still asleep, so Usopp was trying to keep her undisturbed. "Maybe it's that he isn't captain-like, or that normal pirate captains are respected by their crewmates; but this afternoon, a simple drink of water caused that big fight. But... but you know..." The boys finally fell asleep, with Venus cozy under Usopp's arm, and her head between his and Luffy's. "The longer I've been with them, the more I've come to understand."

Ace smiled at her observation. "That's how Luffy does things."

"Eh?"

By now, Venus and Usopp's temples were rested against each other over her hood. "He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid. Despite how he seems, people always gather around him. Even though he's my little brother, he has a mysterious charm to him."

"Oh, you already knew."

"He and I do go way back. But thanks." He became curious at her intentions, as one of Chopper's front hooves was in Luffy's open mouth. Venus' nose was less than an inch away from Usopp's.

"Eh?"

"You were worried that I was concerned, right?"

"Yes. But it looks like I didn't need to worry after all." They began stargazing without a word.

-

"Whoa! I found a shrimp!" Luffy announced early the next morning.

"So this is a shrimp?!" Chopper asked excitedly. "Wow!"

After laying a still sleeping Venus gently on the ground, using his backpack as a pillow for her, Usopp approached them with skepticism. "Shrimp don't live in the desert!"

"See?!" Luffy held up his discovery.

"Oh, you're right! Is it a "desert shrimp"?"

"It looks yummy!"

"Hey, now! Are they edible?!" Usopp asked eagerly.

"Probably! Crawfish are edible, after all!"

"I've never seen a real shrimp before!" Chopper exclaimed.

Vivi stepped out of her tent, and stretched her arms; she panicked at what he was holding up. "Stop, Luffy-san! Throw that away!"

"No! That'd be a waste!"

"That's a scorpion! It's small, but it's very poisonous! You'll die if it stings you!"

"Oh, it's not edible?" Luffy frowned calmly in disappointment, as Usopp and Chopper tensed up. "How boring. You can have it."

Usopp jumped back when he held up the scorpion to him. "Don't give it to me!"

"Then I'll throw it away." Luffy tossed it behind his back.

"I'm sorry," Vivi said, "I should've mentioned it earlier."

"That's for sure!" Usopp agreed.

They turned to Chopper when he appeared to be on alert. "What is it, Chopper?" Luffy looked down at him.

He jumped up on a rock for a better view. "Something's... coming."

"Something? What?" Usopp asked cautiously, as they began hearing the sound of whistling.

Ace emerged from the other tent, and turned to where the sound was coming from with a smirk. "Oh? Is the wind picking up?"

Vivi watched the horizon carefully; it seemed like there was a group of tornadoes. She then gasped in horror. "Everyone! Hide behind the rocks!"

"What?" Luffy blinked obliviously.

"A storm! A sandstorm is coming!"

"Oh?" Ace watched calmly.

"Whoa!" Luffy exclaimed, as the ground began shaking. "Cool!"

"Venus-chan!!" Usopp grabbed her from in front of the tent, and yanked her behind the rocks with him, Luffy, and Chopper. He had also grabbed Burton's carrier in his haste.

"Again?! Deserts are nothing but storms!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I forgot to mention it, but sandstorms are one of the desert's dangers!"

Usopp cried out in terror, hold Venus tightly, as she slept like a corpse through the commotion. "Mention these things sooner!"

-

When daytime came, the crew's campsite was rendered to a sandy mess. Ace rose from being submerged, and ran to Vivi in concern. "What the hell was that?!" Zoro started to wake up, while Chopper did as well..

"Can't people get some rest?!" Sanji griped from laying next to Nami.

Usopp rose up from the sand, then pulled Venus up close by, as Luffy sat up. Venus yawned, and groggily blinked her eye open. "What happened?"

After recovering, they were on their way. "Hey! Sanji! Let's have a lunch!" Luffy decided. "A Pirate Boxed Lunch!"

"Not yet. Not until Vivi-chan says so."

"Come on, Vivi!" Luffy grinned towards her with hope. "Let's eat! I'm out of strength!"

"But we're only one-tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy-san."

"You're so dumb! Haven't you heard of this proverb?: "If you're hungry, eat"!"

"You liar!" Usopp puffed in exhaustion, as he walked with a stick. "Quit making stuff up!"

"All right," Vivi agreed with the captain, "Then what do you say we take a break at the next rocks we find?"

"Alright! Rocks!" He cheered, and stopped in front of the crew. "Guys! Let's hurry to the next rocks! Whoever wins rock-paper-scissors has to carry everyone's stuff!"

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp scolded.

"Shouldn't the loser carry the stuff?" Sanji pointed out.

Luffy held his fist in the air. "Alright, here goes! Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Hold up now!" Vivi tried to stop him, but the game commenced anyway.

"Hey! You went after!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Woohoo! I win!" Luffy cheered.

"Idiot," Nami griped.

As agreed on, they loaded their stuff on the sled for Luffy to pull along. "H-heavy," He panted, "So heavy. And hot. I won rock-paper-scissors, so why me?"

"It's because you won," Sanji replied, "Now shut up, and haul."

"Don't drop it now!" Nami added, and he groaned loudly in response.

Vivi turned to Venus, who was still holding her small pet carrier. "Venus-san, why don't you put Burton with our stuff?"

"I... I'm more comfortable carrying him myself," She replied warily, "I can't risk him falling over."

Using his goggles, Usopp looked over the horizon, and saw what Luffy was anticipating. "Rocks spotted a small ways ahead!"

"For real?!" He exclaimed happily, before barreling past everyone. "Break time! Food!" He sped off out of sight, leaving a cloud of sand behind.

"Whoa! He's fast!" Usopp gawked.

Up ahead, Luffy quickly slowed to a foot-dragging walk, and was relieved when he was under the rocks spotted. "Shade!" He flopped down in exhaustion. "Feels so good!" Out of nowhere, the sound of birds in distress rang through the area; Luffy sat up in curiosity, and went to investigate, leaving the crew's luggage. After turning a corner, he gaped in surprise; before him was a flock of strange birds with swirled cowlicks laying in the sand, as if they were hurt. He quickly approached the closest one, and dropped to his knees, picking it up in concern. "Hey! Say something! I'll go get you a doctor!" He set it down, and ran back where he came, still leaving everything behind. "Bad news!"

"Huh? He's coming back!" Usopp pointed out.

"There's a lot of hurt birds that can't move! Chopper!"

"Right!" He immediately sat up from his personal sled, and ran up to him in determination.

"Alright! Let's go, Chopper!"

"Yeah!"

"We gotta help the birds!"

"Birds?!" Vivi's eyes widened. Crap! "Wait, Luffy-san! Don't tell me these birds are-!"

He stopped running, and turned back. "Eh?"

-

When they arrived on the scene, Luffy screamed in terror; the sled was empty! "All our stuff is gone!" Zoro exclaimed.

"We've been had," Nami lamented.

"It's the truth!" He insisted. "There really were dying birds here!"

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it earlier. Warusagi birds are "desert bandits" that trick travelers, and steal their belongings."

"What?!" Luffy gaped.

"Birds playing dead?!" Usopp fussed. "That's dishonest!"

"Yes, that's how they are," Vivi choked up with guilt.

"They tricked me?!"

"Luffy!" Sanji grabbed him by the collar. "Is that all you can say for yourself?! There were three days of provisions in there! And you just had to let some damn birds steal everyone's stuff smack in the middle of this desert?! How're we supposed to cross the desert without food, or water now?!"

"It's not my fault. They tricked me."

Sanji leaned close to his face in fury. "Is your brain less than a bird's?!"

"Say what?!" Luffy glared in offense.

"Stop it, you two!" Zoro ordered.

He went to intervene when they kept it up, but Ace's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "There's no use. At times like this, it's best to let them have it out!"

Zoro pulled his headwear back with a smirk. "Yeah, huh?" He then sat on a rock close by. "Let's take a short break. This heat is what has them fuming. I'm sure we'll manage, food-wise. It's nothing that'll kill us. Let's just put it out of our minds."

"Yeah," Usopp agreed tiredly, "Just thinking makes me thirstier."

Luffy and Sanji were in their fight, then they spotted something up ahead: Warusagi birds, drinking their water, and carrying their bags! Luffy began running like mad after them. "Give us our stuff back!"

"Luffy-san!" Vivi called after him. "Don't chase them!"

"That idiot," Sanji griped.

"Hey, you!" Nami called after. "Will you be able to come back?!"

"Come back, Luffy!" Usopp shouted, but it was no use.

He just kept going. "Stop! You can't get away from me!" His pace started slowing, due to the heat, as the birds started flying. "Get back here!" They flew higher and higher, until he couldn't reach them. "Get back here!" He was startled when all of a sudden, giant plants with sharp teeth shot out of the sand! "What are these?!" He leaped away from their jaws, but one caught him, ignoring his kicks and punches, before retreating back into the ground. After a few seconds, its severed head resurfaced, along with him. "What is this thing? A mystery desert plant? Neat!" He beamed.

He turned around at a strange groaning, and watched in confusion; a furry-saddled camel was keeping itself from getting eaten by another plant! "What are you doing?" He then started laughing, as it struggled. "That's funny!" The camel then glared at him. "Huh? You want me to help you?" It nodded in confirmation. "Gum-Gum... Pistol!" He leaped up, and his punch popped the plant, so the camel ran up to him. "Good thing you didn't get eaten!" He laughed, before getting angry again. "Those birds got away, while I was beating these guys up! The desert sure is full of strange creatures!" He then turned back to the animal he rescued. "Hey, camel. What're you doing out here all by yourself?" It turned away, now on alert. "What's that?" He watched in the same direction, and a hole sunk in the dune. "Did you find something?" After a moment of nothing, the ground started rumbling, and before them, something huge started emerging. "What the-?!"

-

Usopp watched the horizon, as he attempted to fan his face. "What's taking Luffy so long?!"

"Yeah," Chopper agreed, as he laid face-up on the ground, "Do you think he got lost?"

"He has a horrible sense of direction, but always has to run off!" Nami complained.

"And there are so many desert dangers he doesn't know about," Vivi added.

"Y'know, isn't he hungry from not eating anything?" Sanji pointed out.

Everyone was silent, before Zoro stood up. "He's such a lost cause," He griped.

"You can say that again," Sanji agreed, following suit.

"Sorry," Ace gained their attention, "For my little brother's ineptness. I apologize for the trouble."

Suddenly, Usopp was on alert at the sound of familiar crying. "Venus-chan!" She was sitting on a rock, with her face in her hands; he frantically ran over, and knelt down in front of her in concern. "What's wrong?!"

"M-m-my spell book was in my backpack!" She sobbed. "My first one ever, and it's gone!" Usopp pulled her into a comforting hug, letting her cry in his shoulder.

"Spell book?" Ace quirked a brow in confusion.

"She's a witch from a Devil Fruit," Nami explained.

"Ah."

"Don't you already know the spells from it?" Zoro asked.

"Well, p-pretty much yes, but... it's special to me. It's the first spell book I've ever had; Mr. Rauru got it for me when I was first starting out."

"That damn idiot!" The chef seethed. "How dare he make Venus-chan cry! Let's go find him, so I can tear him apart!"

As he comforted her, Usopp saw Zoro and Sanji heading out where the captain ran off. "Good luck finding him!"

"Yeah."

He then turned back to Venus. "A-at least Burton's still here," He tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah," She sniffled, "I'm glad I held his carrier myself. Those nasty birds would've eaten him for sure." When he held it up for her, she smiled, and stuck her finger inside for him to prod at affectionately. "Thank goodness you're safe."

Just then, Chopper quickly sat up at some rumbling. "What's that?!"

Everyone watched the horizon, as Usopp protectively kept Venus close, as did she with the carrier. "What's this rumbling?!" Using his goggles, while she held onto his waist, he looked ahead at the huge sand clouds, as they heard a familiar laugh. "Another sandstorm?! No, wait! That's-!" He looked on in shock, as Luffy was on a camel, running towards them. "Luffy?!"

"No... it couldn't be!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Why is he on a camel?!" Nami questioned.

"So?! What's that chasing him?!" Sanji asked frantically.

Zoro tried to look, but the sand behind them was too thick. "I can't really see! But it seems more like something's in the sand!"

Behind them, a giant, purple lizard emerged! "It's huge!" Usopp screamed.

"A Sandora Dragon!" Vivi shouted in shock.

"A what now?!" He exclaimed.

"They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert, and they wait under the sand for their prey! They have sharp claws and fangs, but they hardly ever use them! The reason being that they tend to swallow their prey whole, because they're so large!"

Ace watched calmly from the shade. "He really does have a gift for attracting trouble."

"Setting aside the camel for a moment..." Sanji started.

"What star was he born under to be able to attract trouble like this?!" Zoro finished, before they went into action.

"Hey! Camel! Stop!" Luffy commanded.

"Luffy! Is it too much for you?!" Zoro asked frantically.

"We'll lend a hand!" Sanji added.

"Yeah! I brought some meat! Here goes, lizard! Gum-Gum..."

"Tatsu..."

"Épaule..."

"Whip!"

"Maki!"

"Shoot!"

All three attacked at once, everyone gaping in shock, as the giant lizard collapsed, now dead. "Y-you didn't have to go that far," Usopp cried with sympathy, as a wide-eyed Venus stared on.

"When they're fighting, you almost pity the monsters," Nami remarked. Just then behind them, another lizard popped up! "There's more?!"

"I forgot to mention it, but but Sandora Dragons hunt in pairs!"

"Mention these things!" Usopp, Venus, Nami, and Chopper reprimanded Vivi simultaneously.

Ace turned, and saw the predator before him, barely reacting. "Ace!" Nami exclaimed.

"Look out!" Vivi shouted.

He calmly stood to his feet. "What a nuisance. You wanna play?" It roared at him in response. "Oh, okay. If that's what you want." At that, he leaped into its mouth; when trapped inside, he released some flames, effectively cooking it from the inside, before emerging safely.

Everyone stared in awe, as it collapsed behind him, charred and smoking. "Wow, Ace!" Venus began swooning. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks!" He beamed.

Usopp rolled up his sleeve, and flexed his arm. He frowned in disappointment, as he poked at his bicep; too spindly. Damn.

Before long, using a rock as a stove, Sanji was cooking Sandora meat for everyone. "Check it out! These rocks are natural frying pans!"

"So, what's with the camel?" Zoro asked Luffy.

"I dunno," He replied through a mouthful of meat, "It was getting eaten by a mystery plant when I was chasing the birds."

"It doesn't seem to be a wild camel," Nami remarked.

"No," Vivi added, "It even has a saddle."

Chopper walked over in interest, thinking he looked familiar, and the camel perked up in recognition. "I knew it!" He smiled brightly.

-

The previous day...

After Sanji ditched him to approach dancer girls, Chopper started looking for some shade in Nanohana. 'This is bad,' He thought, 'I'm starting to have symptoms of heat stroke.' His vision was turning blurry. 'I need to go somewhere where it's cool.' Next to a building was a trailer; and the door was open. He sneaked inside, and laid on the wooden floor, feeling relaxed with a wide smile. 'Ah! That feels nice! I think I'll take a nap, until Sanji comes back. Is that okay? Is it? I guess it is. '

Just after he fell asleep, the door was shut behind him. "Is it closed?" The driver asked his co-worker.

"Yeah. Let's go."

"We don't want anyone finding it." Once he was onboard, the stagecoach started moving.

With Chopper inside.

When he woke up, he was alarmed at the rumbling movements, and the closed door. "Huh?! Where am I?!" He peeked out through the curtain, and saw a pair of mysterious men driving the coach; he quickly retreated when one of them looked his way, but thankfully, he didn't seem to see him. He turned small again, as he started to panic. 'Huh? Huh? Who're they? Where am I?' His eyes widened when a cabinet opened from a bump, and rifles fell out in front of him. "Rifles!" He accidentally shouted. When the same man peered in, he hid between two crates.

"What's wrong?"

"Thought I heard a voice. It's nothing."

When the curtain was closed, he began backing to the doors. 'I dunno what's going on, but they seem dangerous! I should probably get out of here quick!' He crashed into the doors when the coach suddenly stopped. "Oww!"

"Good work. That took a while."

"Yeah. The weapon store guy really raised his prices, that greedy bastard."

"It can't be helped. They're in huge trouble if they get found out too."

"Where's Koza?"

"Inside."

"We got a bit of food too. It's in the back."

"Got it."

The camel that pulled the coach yawned in boredom, watching the man approach the trailer. The man was surprised at what he saw; a reindeer laying on the floor, wearing shorts, a hat, and a backpack. "What is this?" Chopper tried to stay still. "They went, and bought a whole deer?"

As they talked to "Koza", Chopper managed to slip away, before another man looked in the trailer. "Hey! Wasn't there deer meat here?"

"Huh? Are you sure someone didn't haul it out already?"

"C'mon, do better checks, will ya?" He griped, before the camel nudged his back. "What?!" The camel hung its tongue out in parchment. "Water? There's some in that trough! Drink that!" It smiled in satisfaction, as it walked off with a green tarp over its back. "Hey! Let's get the rest out of here! Gimme a hand!"

"Right!"

Chopper stayed still under the tarp, as the camel strolled through the town casually, then stopped in the desert. Chopper peeked out cautiously, as the camel stared. "A-am I safe now?" It nodded in confirmation. "Whew! Thank you! But why did you help me?" He listened, changing back to small form, as it responded. ""I got no reason. I'm cool, ain't I?"" Chopper laughed nervously. "You're so strange!" He then jumped down, and waved in farewell, as it walked off to another town. "Thank you so much! He's a little strange, but he's a nice guy! I feel like I'm going to see him again! Still, who were those people? Oh well. Now which way is Nanohana?" He sniffed the air, before grimacing in disgust. Perfume. "This way." He headed in that direction. Hopefully Sanji has calmed down by the time he finds him.

-

He listened to it grunt. "Oh! Good for you!"

Luffy walked over, still eating. "Huh? You know each other?"

"Yeah! He gave me a ride when I escaped from Katorea!"

Usopp sat up from laying on the ground. "That's great! We can ride it?! That'll make things easier!"

"Yeah, that'll be a real help!" Sanji agreed. "Looks like it could carry two or three people!"

"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts!" Zoro added.

Luffy prepared to jump up. "Then I'll be the first one!" To his confusion, it bit his head to keep him down. "What was that for?!"

""I am a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, compassionate camel!"" Chopper translated. ""Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a lift, but no men allowed!""

Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji started beating the camel in anger. "This guy's a punk!" Luffy griped.

"Yeah! You let Chopper ride you!" Usopp added.

""I'm manly!"" He translated, as it flashed a confident grin.

The beating continued as soon as it stopped. "Quit being stupid!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Why you-!"

Nami managed to stop them, and started comforting him. "I'm so sorry! My crewmates are so ill-bred!" She petted its head, to its delight, as it knelt down. "You're a good boy! What should we call you?"

"Idiot!" Luffy voted.

"Moron!" Sanji added.

"Doofus!" Usopp voted.

""Lashes", it is then!" Nami decided, already on the saddle.

"Uhh, that's the weirdest one of all," Zoro remarked.

"Okay! Get on Venus, Vivi!"

"No, I can still walk!" The princess kindly declined.

"Just get on," Nami insisted, as he knelt back down, and Vivi complied. "Venus! Hop to it!"

"Yeah, whatever," She grumbled somberly, finishing her meat; she couldn't help but smile when Lashes nudged her face, her tears being wiped away. "Thanks." She climbed on between Nami and Vivi with Burton's carrier on hand.

"Hey you, what's the big idea?!" Usopp raged in jealousy.

"Pervy camel! Pervy camel!" The boys griped, aside from Ace, who stayed quiet, as Lashes stood back up with the three girls.

Nami pulled her white hood back over her head. "Now we should make a little better time!" She looked back at Vivi, who was behind Venus. "We need to get to Yuba as fast as we can to talk to the rebel army!" She whipped the reins. "Giddyup, Lashes!"

At her command, he ran off, leaving the boys behind. "Hold on!"

"Wait, the boys!" Venus exclaimed, but was unnoticed, as she held the carrier tightly.

"Hurry, guys!" Nami ordered. "If you get separated, you'll never leave the desert alive!"

"Quit being stupid!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"I like this side of Nami-san too!" Sanji gushed.

"After them! Hurry!" Zoro urged.

"That pervy camel has Venus-chan!" Usopp added.

"He has Nami-san, and Vivi-chan too!" Sanji raged.

"Get on, Chopper!" Zoro ordered.

"Yeah!"

"Wait for us!" Once Chopper was on the sled, they began a mad sprint in Lashes' direction.

[kingsragesqueal]

someone already made a post like this and i don't mean to copy them but i find myself thinking about it kind of a lot so i'm gonna do one piece character animal crossing headcanons!!

Luffy: loves catching bugs and fishing, like it's definitely his favorite part of the game. he likes all the villagers and doesn't rlly have much of a preference, though he does rlly like the Lazy villagers bc he finds them very funny (and relatable). he doesn't care if he gets ugly villagers bc he doesn't care about character designs that much. he can't decorate his island or house for shit and just places items wherever with no theme or structure. doesn't use paths and puts waterfalls in random ass locations bc he thinks they're pretty. he's never gotten above a 3 star rating but he rlly doesn't care, though he is jealous that his friends get to have cool gold flowers

Zoro: loves the Jock animals for obvious reasons. doesn't care much about decorating his island or home like Luffy, but he is a bit more put together about it than him. his house is just a personal gym and he doesn't have wardrobes or closets bc he doesn't care what he's wearing. always forgets to use his net when shaking trees and ends up getting stung by wasps. constantly buying and crafting medicine. manages to get lost on his own island and often has to use the Rescue app, but he gets rlly grumpy and indignant when this happens. gets lost on his friend's islands too even if they're guiding him or they have clear pathways laid out.

Nami: takes getting that ca$h money v seriously. constantly planting money trees, hitting rocks, shaking trees, etc. doesn't trust Tom Nook as far as she can throw him. hates that u can't haggle with Timmy and Tommy or the Able Sisters on prices but still has a full wardrobe of cute outfits. she has orange trees behind her house and sells them in bulk. her house is lavishly decorated inside and out and she has the money and gold flooring. worked her ass off to get a 5 star island so she could have gold tools and flowers and likes to give (paid) tours to her friends to show off. she likes villagers w/ big personalities and cute/fun designs. rlly loves Tangy and other cat villagers. decorates her island w/ pride stuff and loves the fact that nintendo doesn't censor lgbt+ stuff

Usopp: like Luffy, fishing and catching bugs is his favorite part. absolutely loves popping balloons. goes thru a LOT of slingshots. loves crafting tools and furniture and would rather craft things than buy them. gets rlly excited when he catches a new type of bug and takes it personally when Blathers is repulsed by them. his island's name is Sniper Island and his character is a brave warrior of the sea who fears no tarantula. loves that there are natural hair options. doesn't rlly have a preference for villagers, though he doesn't care much for the Snobby villagers. would lay down his life for Merry. he loves when Flick comes to visit and has a ton of bug models decorating his house. he feels like he and Flick understand each other on a spiritual level.

Sanji: honestly wasn't even interested in ac until the 2.0 update when he found out u could cook now and kind of flipped his shit. loves the fact that u have to gather recipes and ingredients and the fact that u can make gourmet shit. doesn't like fishing but does a lot of it bc he likes having fish to cook. made his island one huge outdoor restaurant with lots of fancy tables, chairs, signs, mood lighting, etc. he doesn't like the Jock villagers bc they remind him of Zoro. prefers female villagers. always wears a suit and hates crafting things, would rather buy them from the shop. has a fondness for the mice villagers.

Chopper: can't decide between keeping his island in a perpetual state of winter or keeping his switch set to April so he can have cherry blossoms. rlly hates that u can only have sakura trees in April and wishes they were available year round. loves crafting medicine and giving it to villagers who are sick. he always has far more medicine in his pockets than is necessary, but insists it's better to be prepared. absolutely loves the fact that u can redeem ur miles for a cotton candy machine, but is a little sad that u can't actually eat the cotton candy. he loves Fauna; she's his favorite villager hands down. actually kind of likes villagers who are a little mean to him bc they remind him of Doctorine. gets excited about discovering new species of wildlife but feels guilty for scaring Blathers when he donates bugs and always whispers a little apology under his breath.

Robin: her island is very chill and relaxed. she has lots of bookshelves and fossils as decorations. absolutely loves digging up fossils and is very happy when she completes a dinosaur/prehistoric creature for the museum. the museum is her favorite place in the game and she spends a lot of time there looking at specimens and enjoying the calm music that plays. feels a little bad for bothering Blathers so much by waking him up and scaring him w/ bugs, but she finds his reactions very cute so she doesn't feel TOO bad. absolutely loves that u can decorate ur island with ancient ruins. she uses vines and statues a lot. she works hard to make her island look nice and have the aesthetic she wants but doesn't stress out over it bc in the end it's a game, and games are supposed to be fun. secretly ships Blathers and Brewster.

Franky: loves crafting and spends most of his time building shit. runs out of materials frequently. decorates his island to be loud and proud; lots of neon lights and colors and flashy things. kind of a retro 80's vibe going on but with futuristic elements. loves how the villagers of the island, Isabelle and Tom Nook all come together and act like a big family sometimes. maybe cried a little when he got a personal concert from KK and nice letters from the animals on his birthday ("maybe a little" meaning "definitely a lot"). loves KK Slider and rlly digs the vibes he has going on and collects his music. all in all just very Extra in the best way.

Brook: thinks the game is very cute and funny and plays it to relax while sipping some tea. loves the fact that u can actually play instruments in the game and has an entire orchestra in his house. his favorite villager is Lucky and he wants to protect him. decorates his island with instruments and tea settings. is scared of the skeleton that throws it's arms up when u touch it. it surprises him every time, no matter how many times it happens. gets a kick out of the fact that u can actually use the toilet and does it frequently just for kicks. always washes his hands afterwards ofc bc he is a Gentleman. wishes there were whale villagers but understands how that might be weird/hard to design. he isn't interested in island ratings bc he just plays as a hobby, not to achieve anything. also loves Blathers' little bowtie.

[tooweirdforyou]

Yes! Some male reader stuff! How about some nice and easy (bc I feel embarrassed lmaoo) just Monster Trio with a Male s/o! Little random ideas that you have lol. I don’t really mind if it dosent follow a story!

The Monster Trio With A Male! S/O

A/N : haha, don’t be. Thanks for requesting, and hopefully in the future, you have some more specific requests in mind. :DD hope you like this.

note : these are pretty general relationship headcannons. These are also short and quick, so I’m sorry ;-; hopefully, next time, you can give some more.. specific details? 😅😣

Summary : what life would be like if the monster trio had a male significant other.

-

Luffy

Luffy does not give a shit about your gender.

He really doesn’t. He just wants someone who can share the same energy as him and be strong, willing to put your life on the line.

He just loves the danger and loves someone who’s willing to challenge life and death with him.

Luffy hadn’t really thought about having a significant other, so he didn’t really think of a preference of gender, but then again, to him, it didn’t matter. Does it matter what gender you are? As long as you love the person, it’s fine and it doesn’t matter.

So when you admit to him your crush on him, he’s a bit dense of course, so he says the same until you clarify what you mean. When you do, Luffy comes to a realization and thinks a bit. Makino had told him confessions like these were important, so he decides to confess to you properly.

And properly.. in Luffy’s way. Which is him, standing on the Sunny’s head and facing the upper deck where the whole crew sat, and he shouts at the top of his lungs. He’d be staring at you as he shouts to the world that he wants you to be his. That he accepts your confession and he wants to be with you as well.

Regardless of your reaction or the crew’s, Luffy would just laugh and have a wide grin across his face as he hops down to in front of you and wraps his arms around you, his smile becoming softer and warmer.

He’d place his hat over your head and ignore the shouts and grins of the others towards him and his action and become so cheery when you thank him and hold his hand or something, however you react—

To Luffy, the benefits of having a male significant other, is that you two can bathe together without worrying about.. bodies being seen. Of course, only if you’re comfortable with it, but he likes bathing with you.

His favorite activity though, is just playing pranks on Usopp and Chopper, even Zoro, together. Just playing jokes and making each other laugh by doing stupid things with each other whilst getting reprimanded by Nami for being loud and messing around too much.

And he loves exploring. He’s naturally curious about most things, so when the crew comes to a new island, the first thing he does and wrap an arm around you and jump off to run into what he hopes is a new adventure.

But then again, anything that he gets to do with you and learning new cool things is always an adventure to him. As long as he gets to spend time with you anyhow, makes him joyful and happy. :D

“*inhales* [NAME]! I ACCEPTING YOUR CONFESSION! I LOVE YOU! I WANT YOU TO BE MINE AND BE WITH ME, WHEN I BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES! *exhales*”

-

Sanji

Honestly, Sanji would be the most.. iffy? About being in a homosexual relationship. But after quite a bit of bonding and actually getting to know you, Sanji would be head over heels.

At first, Sanji would question himself a bit, since he’s always grown to love women, so this change is sudden and overwhelming for him.

Then he might question you a bit, because he naturally assumes that all men would like females like him, but he doesn’t judge.

When he hears about your interest in men, or even your crush on Sanji, he becomes a bit flustered and extremely confused and avoids you at times.

But soon enough, the support and assurance from both you and his crewmates will let him know that this is okay and you’ll be there waiting when he’s ready.

Eventually, Sanji becomes pretty glad to have a male significant other. Like Luffy and Zoro, his instinct tells him that since you’re a man, you’re quite strong and he’s glad he doesn’t have to worry too much about you getting hurt,

But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t drop everything for you. If he sees even a scratch on your, asses are getting kicked with his diable Jambé.

His way of confessing when he finally gets the courage, of course, is during the night, where he can really just enjoy his time with you and give you a candlelit dinner before taking a stroll around the ship, or around the coast of an island they docked at.

He’ll apologize for thinking and taking so long, before pulling your hand to his lips and admitting his admiration for you and list all of your amazing traits and even the flaws that he adores.

Sanji would treat you as he does with every woman, maybe even more or even less. He’s not afraid to stand beside you and tell everyone you’re his. Sanji loves you.

He loves to teach you cooking, and seeing you wear his apron when he’s teaching makes his heart beat quicker, because it’s so cute. If anyone even dares to tease you about it, he’s going to kick ass before you can even blink.

Actually, Sanji would be even more glad to have a male significant other, because you would be like his best friend too. With women, he feels like he has to constantly be showing affection for them,

But with a male, with you, Sanji can actually be comfortable and enjoy long talks and jokes late at night together. He can just share a cup of tea or two with you and talk all night about anything and just truly be close and comfortable with one another, instead of how he acts with women.

“I feel like I can talk about anything with you. You make me feel comforted, safe and loved. Thank you for choosing and being with me, even if I took a while to take in your confession.”

-

Zoro

Zoro doesn’t give a damn about your gender either, he’s just never thought about it. His mind is never on a relationship, but his goal, his swords, his sake, and sleep.

So when it comes to having a significant other, a male one at that, he doesn’t give it much thought so he doesn’t really care.

but I will say, he does like having a male significant other.

He understands both men and women are extremely strong, you can’t compare the two genders, but seeing you and having a male s/o reassures him just how tough you are and sees it as a challenge, especially if you’re willing to spar with him.

Training sessions are a breeze, depending on your personality. If you’re a fighter, he does not hold back a bit, and he doesn’t want you to either. He’s going all out and if he loses? He’s annoyed at first before he finds it as a challenge and several more rounds happen after that.

If you’re not so much of a fighter, Zoro respects that but you have to be somewhat strong right? Otherwise Luffy wouldn’t really have invited you on board... if you need help and want to train, Zoro is there. He doesn’t go easy on you at all, but he encourages you in his own way, the best he can.

Zoro would confess to you bluntly, while you two are out patrolling or out hunting for whatever on a island the crew comes by. The two of you would be alone and he’d just say it.

Of course, he may also be awkward about it since he’s actually committing into a relationship, and he doesn’t talk about the details, he just straight up confesses, and the two of you are together.

Zoro actually rather likes having a male significant other, because one, he’s not quite.. good with ladies. He’d be awkward, unsure of what to say but with a guy, he feels more comfortable and relaxed.

He’d love sharing a cup of sake and just drinking and talking the night away, cracking jokes whilst sitting by the window or just out in the open air late at night. If he’s really drunk, you’ll find him talking about some deep stuff with you, and maybe professing his admiration and love for you. DON’T mention it in the morning.

Zoro’s favorite activity with you would probably be attacking enemies, if it wasn’t sleeping. Just any time the crew comes cross an enemy, you and Zoro are side by side and brutally slicing or knocking them down swiftly. Partners in crime, always up first to volunteer to take care of it.

Although Zoro does enjoy having the fun time to himself, he enjoys it even more doing it with you, because you two really compliment and work with each other, which he loves. It’s always a fun workout and challenge for you both, and plus, he’d make a bet on it, on who takes down the most.

“You up for a challenge, [Name]? There’s about 50 of them. It’s winter, so how about the loser sleeps on deck without any warmth?”

you take the challenge and either way, you’re both going to sleep together with a blanket anyways—

-

A/N : hope you enjoyed!! :DD I’m sorry if this is a bit messed up or like, not what you wanted / expected.. sorry for the delay too ;-;

This was pretty difficult. Ngl, because these seem more gender-neutral than male, 😅 so I’m really sorry.

[monkeydluffy19920]

I also noticed he’s wearing the circles like Nami does. Is there a reason for those circles?

——————————————————-

Greetings @icantthinkof1posts and many thanks for the submission :) I’ve never paid attention to this detail while watching Heart of Gold-tv special before so thanks for pointing this out!  Now that I look at the jacket pattern it surely reminds me of Nami’s skirt and jeans’ circles and after browsing her outfit gallery in One Piece fandom wiki it seems like these circles appear in many of her outfits:

The reason how those circles ended up in Sanji’s jacket in Heart of Gold probably remains a mystery forever but it indeed is a nice detail from the perspective of shipping. However, I think it is partly a coincidence, they both enjoy fashionable clothings and maybe they like same clothing brands. An interesting topic and for example my fellow shippers @pernanegra [x] and @sanjiafsincedayone [x] have written nice thoughts about clothing related to Sanji x Nami for Sannami week- event.

But in general, it’s actually pretty interesting to notice that Sanji and Nami indeed do seem to have some similarities and/ or “parallels” when it comes down to their style and clothing. For example in the following cases there seem to be something:

Sanji’s Alabasta’s outfit

First one might be very far fetched but I admit when I first saw the desert outfit after a long while, the sun on his sleeve reminded me of the logo of the Sun Pirates and guess who was part of the Sun Pirates? Arlong and then who was working under Arlong? Nami!

It’s hard to say did Oda-sensei mean any foreshadowing in this but now to think about the connection to the Sun Pirates came up later in the story line when Jinbei revealed to be close to Arlong.

Sanji knew about Nami’s backstory because Nojiko told it to them earlier when Nami struggled to fight against Arlong’s terror. She didn’t know Sanji knows so she was probably surprised why it was difficult to Sanji to face Jinbei’s confessions.

Actually the Nami’s backstory that returned in Mermaid Island arc turned unexpectedly into a parallel at the latest in Zou arc where Nami became the one who learned about Sanji’s backstory (well there was also Brook and the others but the point is, they both know their backstories)

A bit similar pattern in shirts

Before the Strawhats arrived to Alabasta, Nami wore this colorful heart-patterned shirt and later she changes it to the black/blue bikini top. Sanji also switches his outfit in Skypiea to this red-shaded and flowery patterns too that are a bit similar to Namis (who knows, maybe the same brand?)

 Punk Hazard style

Sanji’s winter outfit after the main adventures in Punk Hazard is stylish and has Nami’s colors and those S-patters partly resemble Nami’s iconic pinwheel tattoo. Her jacket instead follows a bit of Sanji’s suit jacket style (with 6 buttons)

Of course those swirls in Sanji’s jacket and in Nami’s could also represent the symbolism behind their names. My fellow shipper @eleamaya wrote a interesting analyze about their names:  Sanji = whirlpool  // Nami = Wave both things are linked to swirls.

The swirls can also be symbolism for Sanji’s curly eyebrows and now to think about, the symbol of the Arlong Pirates reminds a bit of a whirlpool if one looks quickly.

wearing blue and orange

There are obviously dozens of outfits Nami has worn but one thing that crossed my mind after browsing the One Piece’s fan gallery was that she wears a lot of blue, either the top or the bottom part which is nice because blue is a nice color.

(and yes I am color blind, I can’t distinguish blue and purple-ish well *laughs*)

Also Sanji likes to wear blue but also he has worn a lots of shades of yellow/orange.  Shipwise this  is an interesting thing to notice because their theme colors are blue and orange. Eleamaya linked it to the colors of the sunset which has these two very colors and she also pointed out there the common link in their names (related to the element of water).

(btw @sanjiafsincedayone‘s post about orange and blue sums ups well this theme)

ties

Both Nami and Sanji have been seen wearing ties both in canon and in Color Spreads, if we return into a earlier subject, Nami wears blue again in Water 7.

Offering the suit jacket to the lady

Sanji is a gentleman so it’s natural nice gesture for him to offer his jacket. First time he offered it to Nami when they survived the ordeals in Little Garden. Nami’s reaction was annoyed.

Later he gave his jacket when they were freezing in Punk Hazard’s cold side. Then Nami’s reaction was more friendly (she seemed actually be surprised about him doing it again). This is most likely because they’ve known each other for a longer time in Punk  Hazard arc.

Number 3 in clothing

There has been great analyzes about this topic but to sum it a little bit: Oda-sensei has given each Straw Hats a “theme”number that is based on their birthday and names, Sanji’s is 3.

He has worn number 3 in his outfit in Whole Cake Island arc in flashbacks when he was a child, mostly so their father and his minions could distinguish Sanji and his siblings.  Nami as well has worn number 3 in Water 7 arc. Actually Luffy has also worn numbers in the flashback arc.  but they are linked to his own birthday as far as I remember, Nami is only strawhat who has worn numbers “just for fun” so far but correct if it’s false.

Of course it might be that since  Nami was the third one to join the Straw Hats, her number also is therefore 3 which could be the reason why Oda-sensei made her wear that in Water 7.

clothing details in official art

@sanjiafsincedayone also wrote posts about the colors blue and orange and how they appear in One Piece. Oda-sensei likes to share his official One Piece art in Color Spreads between the chapters and in art collections (Color Walks) and once these are published, we fans then enjoy to find details that match to our OTP. 

Here are some of the stylish details that has been pointed out in Sanji x Nami posts about official art:

- similar/matching accessories

One thing Sannami fandom has pondered together is that they like to wear accessories, for some reason there has been a couple of drawings where the accessories are very similar to each other

(the picture below with giraffe theme is from Color Spread chapter 357 and the picture below with similar flowery necklaces is from Color Walk 5)

(They both seem to really enjoy wearing necklaces)

(and who knows, maybe that necklace that appears in Color Walk 4 could be the same as in  chapter 357)

When it comes down to similarities, there has also been same styled wristbands in chapter 878′s Color Spread

and sunglasses in the Color Spreads of chapter 941 and 835

Sanjiafsincedayone pointed out also that Nami seems to like to wear blue colored kimonos in Color Spreads

A couple of times Sanji and Nami either wear the same patterns in their clothes (i.e chapter 507)

or one wears swirls and the other rings (Chapter 937)

- character shirts, a (far fetched) foreshadow?

In chapter 692′s color spread Sanji wears a shirt where there is a character who l1ooks very much like Nami (with all the bikini top-style and curly hair)

Nami has actually worn character shirts as well, in chapter 578′s Color Spread. If the theory would be far fetched  then we could imagine that picture in her shirt could be referred to Alabasta arc (because of the cactus and desert) where he referred himself with a codename Mr Prince.

If we wanted to put this thought of this even more trickier we would think about Sabo’s background as a noble who never wanted to be a noble and ran away, just like Sanji did so that picture on her shirt could be also a parallel

but  since  the guy looks  more like Sabo perhaps it was more likely foreshadowing to Dressrosa when the Luffy’s long lost  brother made a comeback.  

And now to think about, Nami’s outfit in chapter 771′s and 588′s  Color Spreads could have foreshadowed the upcoming art since Sanji also wore ruffle-styled shirt before the tea party? (and actually, Nami’s WCI arc dress had ruffles too).

fun fact: Robin’s outfit in that Alice in Wonderland themed Color Spread was very close to what Sanji wore in WCI)

sweet escape

The gingerbread theme in chapter 902′s color spread was cute and as a shipper the view of Sanji and Nami sharing the same pattern icing/frosting/topping is cute (there were other Straw hats too in that picture but their patterns were different).

Movie 2 Clockwork Island

Last but not least in the list is One Piece’s second official movie. Yes, it’s a movie and therefore it’s non-canon but I find it interesing that out of all outfits and characters, Nami and Sanji are dressed as they could walk to the wedding aisle any minute. What makes it even more amusing is that Usopp and Zoro are dressed more traditionally and could bless their union *laughs*

And after the Whole Cake Island’s and Thriller Bark’s events and marriage theme that is quite a parallel in total (first Nami being the damsel in distress who needs to be saved from a forced marriage and then later Sanji being forced to marry because of his father’s policies) the more funnier the link between the arcs and  movie 2 feels (since there is too Nami being kidnapped and almost forced to marry someone she doesn’t want and the movie’s promo picture includes a bridal carry)

When it comes down to the concept of the word canon, It really depends on the shipper which is counted so called shipwise-material. For some everything is potential but dor some,  only manga as canon counts and  therefore everything else like side stories (fillers, movies), merchandising (ads etc.) is shipwise just so called “nice extra” (like some of these examples mentioned before) since  these filler-stories and movies are still mostly handwritten and directed by someone else than the main mangaka. Obviously Oda-sensei is the main supervisor and is very strict about what should happen and what not and he might do these detail things just for fun and it’s us reading it as signs for OTP. So all in all, as always said,

as much as we like to seek for details to support the ship,  it’s all about interpretation ;)

[eirist]

Winter Whimsies ❄️

WRAPPED AND WARM

Vignette #: 1

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: Vignette for the ZoNa Holiday 2020 at @zonamievents in Tumblr. December 16 theme: Snow Angel / All Wrapped Up.

Summary: “You’re all wrapped up and warm!”

“Zoro?”

Said man raised an eyebrow as the frowning navigator approached him. He was tempted to mirror her expression—as he was all too familiar that her tone and face clearly tells him that an admonishment is due soon.  

“It’s freezing,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone as she stood in front him—all bundled up in a coat and a bright red scarf. “Aren’t you gonna wear something warmer than your usual attire and haramaki?”

He made a disgruntled noise from the back of his throat.

See? He was right. That is her dressing-down face and tone.

He chose to ignore her and instead folded his arms across his chest, closing his good eye.

A huff escaped Nami.

“Don’t tell me this is some kind of training or whatsoever?” She asked in a snooty tone as she gazed at him disapprovingly.

He cracked an eye open. “And what if it is?”

“Tch. You’re gonna get sick.”

“I don’t get sick woman!” He almost snarled at her, wanting to drive his point home.

“I’m pretty sure that’s how you’re gonna end up if you decide to nap out here on the deck in that outfit!”

“Hmph!”

Nami sighed exasperatedly. “You’re not immune no matter how much of a monster you are Zoro! Plus it might start snowing any time soon! Let’s see how smug you can get once you end up in Chopper’s sick bay.”

With that she turned and walked away, leaving him alone as he surreptitiously watched her retreating form from a half-lidded eye.

That woman should stop fretting!

He returned to his catnap, ignoring the creeping sensation all over his skin as the weather turned much colder.

He was startled when something dropped on his head.

“Hey!”

It was gone instantly; only to be replaced by Nami’s face which was too close for comfort as her arms encircled him to place whatever she was holding on his shoulders.

He realized she was going to dress him with the coat she got from his locker.

How in the world did she even open it? It was locked!

This woman cannot be underestimated.

Nor opposed as she roughly pulled at the coat, giving his arm a good one, two, three smacks to get him to shove it inside the sleeve as they both glared at each other.

Zoro scowled yet still complied as he stared at the pretty, glowering face before him.

“Don’t you dare complain and take this off,” Nami was saying as she buttoned the coat close with enough force to probably choke him. “Or I’m gonna charge you so high you’ll be back to pirate hunting in no time.”

His cheeks felt suddenly warm. And he knows it’s not because of the winter clothes she was making him wear.

He felt like his head will combust when she removed the scarf around her neck to wrap it around his to warm him up.

Nami’s cheeks were flushed a damn cute red as she fixed the scarf. And he couldn’t decide if it was because of the weather…

…or him.

“There,” she grinned when he did not make any move or sound of protest. She patted his chest approvingly. “You’re all wrapped up and warm!”

Zoro snorted. It was the only thing he can manage to do because any complaints he has got stuck in his throat.

Suddenly a white flake landed on her hair… followed by another and another.

He fought the urge to touch it. Instead he looked up and she followed suit to see that it was finally snowing.

“Told ya it’s gonna snow!” Nami looked damn pretty pleased with herself. “There’s no getting wrong with this navigator.”

He grumbled under his breath. An agreement? A retort?

A thank you?

Whatever it was Nami choose to ignore it and focused on the flurry white delight that was falling down upon them.

“Oh it’s now snowing!” Luffy shouted as he ran across the lawn deck. “Let’s go and make snow gels!!!”

“Snow angels idiot!” Usopp corrected him as he followed the rubber man. “It has just started snowing we have to wait!”

Chopper was right behind them, squealing. “Maybe we can do it too once we reached the island!”

“Oi Nami! Are we there yet?!” Luffy yelled excitedly when he spotted her standing in front of the mast where Zoro was seated.

Nami rolled her eyes at Zoro. Probably because she already expects that Luffy’s gonna pester her until they arrive on the island.

Zoro observed her as she gave him one last smile before diverting her attention to their three overly enthusiastic, childish crewmates.

With one tugging at his own scarf-hidden lips, he burrowed his nose further into the soft, warm cloth.

It smelled of tangerines and her.

It was damn good decision to get him all wrapped up after all.

[gildedmuse]

Anonymous asked:

do you like any of the one piece manga colorspreads? if yes, which ones?

(Apparently you cannot answer questions more than once which seems like a flaw. People can always change their mind.

Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh that's right. the Strawhats are a acid punk rock band now . So the obvious next step is...

Devil Fruit's Angels

That's right, in this universe the Strawhats aren't marauders of the sea. They're marauders of the open road.

Look at this badass biker gang. And I'm not abbreviating for motorcycles. Luffy heard there were such a thing as a biker gang and took it very literally. Best of all, he got eight people to go along with this.

Eventually, he accidentally tore the bottom wheel rim from his bike, the Going Merry, but then they met Franky and since he was unaware of Luffy's stupidity innocence at this time, he built him an actual damn motorcycle. Zoro painted the sidecar to look like a shark (okay technically Usopp did the painting and Zoro bitched about it but he loves it if anyone scratches that paint job they immediately find themselves with their blades in their face). He just lays there, sleeping, sometimes doing weights while letting Luffy drive a fucking motorcycle.

Love that Nami weighed up her choices and her and Robin decide to ride with Usopp. Let's face it, he is easily the most responsible rider. Well, that's why Nami choose him. Chopper has two designated seats: Usopp's basket and Zoro's lap. So of course Robin has to sit where she can see Chopper.

Also, LOOK HOW FUCKING CUTE CHOPPER IS IN A BASKET.

Brook seems to be riding a penny farthing which is pretty amazing. He probably just had one in his garage from his youth. Sanji has wisely decided to ride backwards bitchseat so that smoke doesn't fly back in his own face. I am unable to see what Franky is driving. I assume his bottom half turns into a motorcycle. I mean why not?

The Strawhat Gang does pretty much the exact same shit they do as Pirates. I mean, Luffy even falls into water just as often. How? It's Luffy that's how.

Law's little group of anarchist ride around in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Fight me.

Winter Wonder Island

IS THAT PENGUIN WEARING ZORO'S HARAMAKI? HOW DID HE GET IT? DIES ZORO KNOW? DID HE GIVE OT TO HIM? DID ZORO THINK THE PENGUIN'S BELLY MIGHT BE COLD?

I love Nami and Chopper playing, though Chopper looks less pleased. Plus the polar bear and Luffy are just the same person/bear. And nothing can convince me Robin isn't currently getting a back massage by a walrus. That is how my bitch roles.

The Straw Helmets

And we're back to the AUs.

Total honesty time: I picked this less put of love (though I enjoy most the AU ones) and more to annoy a friend.. See, I know many a Norwegian. They are a super nice country, you guys.

Who get super pissed at popular depictions of Vikings. Which are wrong.

And yet this particular reimagining is so wrong it's like gone full circle. I mean it's still nowhere near accurate but damn is it awesome. Are they riding walruses? Oda knows the Vikings had horses, right? And reindeer?

And yet he's gone with the well known domestic walrus. Huh. It's a choice.

Honestly, Franky and Usopp's costumes look more gladiator than Viking (also, I know you are a pervert Franky, but you literally gonna die of hypothermia.) Chopper is apparently one of those famous Japaness Vikings based on his costume design while Luffy is wearing something I can 100% imagine Doflamingo owned at some point. And Zoro....

Well, there is a reason I have a tag called Zoro's sense of direction and/or fashion. Look at that thing. That is a mess. I love it.

Get Wet

Nami, babe, me, Brook, Sanji, and apparently Robin a appreciate how sexy you're being right now.

But all I see is Zoro's damn fine back with water forming little riblets around his muscles. Also, love the boy's smile as he watches Luffy. He totally knows what's about to go down and thinks it's fucking hilarious.

They Call It The Grand Line

Every member of the coward trio (plus guest member Brook) is freaking the fuck out and I love it. Chopper and Nami are cling to one another, Brook's soul has left his body, and I'm pretty certain Usopp has half climbed into the seat in front of him to grab Zoro. Which I cannot blame him for.

Meanwhile, Robin is watching this whole spectacle with mild amusement, Sanji is straight up grilling... While on the back of a rollar coaster, Franky is chowing down on some of that food and Zoro... Zoro is getting drunk. On a rollar coaster.

The only one who seems to be having any fun is Luffy, sitting, of course, on his special seat. Look at that kid, he's having a blast. Well now we know how all the other Strawhats ended up here.

A Game Of Chicken

There's a lot I could say about this picture, but all I'm going to say is this: Zoro is clearly riding a weird ass chocobo.

What else can beat that?

Pirate Olympics: Where Everyone Is Winner Wanted Man

Oh, look, it's another AU one!

Look, over all, everyone has a sport that is either well suited to them (except maybe Brook. I mean soccer? Really? Not, like short distance sprinting since he's the fastest strawhat or fencing? If it were winter he could participate in the skeleton - yohohoho!).

Let's just amire Zoro playing baseball THREE BAT STYLE. LIke a goddamn boss.

You Know What's Awesome? Drugs.

It doesn't even matter what's going on in this one, it's goddamn beautiful.

Just Another Sunny Day

[You know when I said I haven't read the manga yet? Well, also terrible with visual images - the world should be in words in my opinion. So this, it turns out, is not a colorspread but fanart by the very talented Frayten who I deeply apologize to for not crediting earlier. I'm keeping it though, because it's amazing art, it's been reblogged and at least now it's properly credit on the main post. Many thanks to @blueriza to for being a better fan than I am.]

I really enjoy this little switch up. I want to believe it isn't just Law fucking with them but they've all inhaled some kind of mind switching pollen of something. So one day Law just came out to find Robin making breakfast and heart eyes at all the men, Sanji eating nothing but meet and bouncing around like he was made of rubber, Franky trying to play the violin, Chopper taling wild stories about when he was captain, Usopp training for a couple hours before passing out, Brook worrying over everyone's health, Nami striking posed while talking about how SUPER it all is, and Luffy, for once in his life, perfectly calm as he sits there reading.

That would be hilarious but, yeah, obviously it was Law. Look at how Nami Zoro is threatening him. She know exactly who pulled this shit. And look at Law's smug little smirk.

Hey, you suppose Law flirted with Nami Zoro? I know it's Nami but she's still got Zoro's abs and ass. Just throwing that out there.

[kenbunshokus]

this is a (super late) update to this fic rec post! i was planning to just keep editing and updating that post, but it’s been so old it no longer appears on tumblr search system and all, so here we are. be ready for some old school zosans in the mix

all complete

absolute favorites will be noted with a ♡

list will be updated as i find more

story count: 30 fics

last update: jan 5th 2020

CANON-VERSE

Goings On by clarify  ♡

Zoro and Sanji understand each other, and sometimes have a very similar sense of humor. Even though they're worlds ahead of most, sometimes they can't help but to act their age.

easily one of my favorites. zoro and sanji are completely in character, being themselves and comfortable in each other’s spaces. for anyone who thinks zoro and sanji can’t get along in canon, this fic can easily prove them wrong.

Part Timer by 8ball ♡♡

Sanji really, really doesn't want to give Zoro a job at his restaurant. Zoro doesn't really even want to work there in the first place, but, well, there’s this thing with Sanji, and this thing with feelings and the whole thing is pretty damn stupid all together.

Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways.

a wonderful, heart-wrenching, roller coaster ride of a post-series fic. this fic is not just a mere fic — it’s a zosan magnum opus with guest appearances by so many other characters, lots of crew hijinks and a must-read for everyone who craves for a happy ending for these good boys.

Say It Again by 8ball

Zoro tells Sanji how he feels. And then again. And again. 

since we’re talking about 8ball i just want you to know i’d rec everything they’ve ever written, but special mention to say it again — a classic miscommunication trope fic done well where the miscommunication stems from fundamental misunderstanding of each other’s principles and views instead of just some plot-convenient coincidences. and soft zoro. god, he is soft.

The Wedding Night by cuethe-pulse (lj)

Zoro had never expected any of this.

major character death warning. don’t let the first few scenes fool you. note the warning; the last few lines were like a punch in the gut for me, except, you know, the good kind of punch. also, a quick rec of a drabble by the same author to soothe the pain after this one.

Roronoa Zoro: World’s Greatest Bug Killer by insaneidiot ♡

Sometimes, Zoro's life really sucks. He should've known better than to make fun of Sanji's bug phobia, though...

zoro’s internal monologue is hilarious  — until today, this author is still my go-to expert on zoro’s voice, especially his more sarcastic side.

Quitting’s Easy by insaneidiot

Sanji decides to quit smoking. This is not quite so easy as he thinks it will be. Also, his crewmates (excluding Robin and Nami, of course!) are assholes.

fun, fun strawhat hijinks and oblivious sanji. the crew dynamics and especially sanji’s voice are pitch perfect. there’s a hint of luffy/nami that you can easily scroll past if it’s not your thing.

I can’t stop thinking that i can’t stop thinking by hieiandshino ♡

In which Brook changes tactics and Zoro is not amused. Everyone else is, though.

holy shit is this fic hilarious. i love comedy fics that manage to slip in thoughtful observations and character study in between the hijinks, and this fic pulls that off with flying colors. 

The Walls See All by threesipsmore

Reiju hides a snail cam in her brother's room.

fun short fic from reiju’s pov. there’s never enough zosan set in whole cake island arc and this fic delivers.

Stormbird by Judin ♡

The Straw Hats' first landing in the New World is on Arashi Island, where it looks like they'll be spending a fun week attending the local festival and making new friends. Until they spot a strange pirate ship in the harbour, and Sanji starts behaving oddly. The Straw Hats become entangled with the mysterious Gently Pirates, a crew that harbour many secrets, and whose captain is a man out of Sanji's past who has the power to tear the Straw Hat crew apart. 

it cannot be overstated how wonderful this fic is, and how it could’ve fit into the canon just nicely, like a better-written one piece movie, except with zosan. not only are sanji and zoro in character, every strawhat gets a spotlight and has pitch-perfect voices. brook is especially lovely in this fic.

Unintended Consequence by itsmylifekay

A group of marines charge, Zoro slices through them, and in that instant Sanji feels his own eyes grow wide. Because there, on the arm now outstretched towards him, steel glinting in hand, is the stupid bracelet he’d given Zoro. The bastard is actually wearing it.

there’s a reason this is the most kudo-ed zosan fic on ao3 right now — it’s so soft without being ooc, and there’s a quiet undercurrent of affection laid throughout the fic that will warm you up from the insides.

Somewhere Between Sorrow and Bliss by srididdledeedee

Sanji has never cared for winter.

He can see himself, is the thing. There are bits and pieces that poke through, but it’s not all him. It’s like staring in a fractured mirror. He knows, intellectually, that the person staring back at him is himself, but his face is splintered and his shape is distorted and his body is wrong.

a fantastic character study on trans!sanji and how he comes to terms with his identity with the help of his crewmates. supportive strawhats are always a lovely addition to a zosan fic

Give In To Love by libbylune

Zoro knows better than to think about it too much, but between the rowdy festivals and ancient unexplained temples on this island, it's hard to forget about wanting Sanji.

i love how this fic puts as much focus on the boys after the confession as it does before the confession. a good case fic with its own unique island adventure and i’m always a sucker for soft!zoro

Laundry by libbylune

Dealing with Sanji makes Zoro develop a lot of opinions about clothes.

there’s absolutely nothing hotter than bi!sanji who’s completely comfortable with his gender identity and sexuality. also gay disaster zoro fumbling his words whenever sanji is around is 1) accurate 2) hilarious.

Language of Swords by HaveMyWeedCookies ♡

It took them for a while but finally, Zoro asked if Sanji wanted to hold his sword.

i love fics that explore zoro’s relationship with his craft and his swords, and adding zosan into the mix is something i didn’t know i needed. an interesting outsiders pov zosan in the pov of zoro’s swords.

Ghost of a Chance by sabershadowkat

“I know, for sure, that I didn’t expect to miss everyone so much, including you.” Sanji cut a glance at Zoro and rephrased correctly, “Especially you.”

this fic handles tropes that are usually associated with character death fics, but manages to end it with a happy ending. zoro’s devotion here is heart-wrenching.

Idiot Romance by sabershadowkat

"This has to be a joke," Sanji muttered, poking at the colored petals. Zoro couldn't have just given him flowers.

a classic  — this is literally the first zosan fic i’ve ever read — and a lovely one at that. sanji is oblivious and zoro attempts romance, not that zoro ever needed to.

festival night by thisislegit

“ANOTHER FEAT BY THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN, JORIRI.” The woman turned to Mr. Mohawk and with faux sympathy said, “Oh! Sorry, sir. Maybe next time. We can’t always beat the best, but we can do our best and that’s what matters. Do we have any other takers? ANY OTHER TAKERS READY FOR THE STRONG MAN CHALLENGE? HOW ABOUT YOU SIR? MADAM? YOU OVER THERE? ARE YOU INTERESTED?”

“What kind of shit name is Joriri,” said Zoro and Sanji in unison.

i’m an absolute sucker for fics that have zoro and sanji simply hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, comfortable in a way they couldn’t with their other crewmates, and this fic exemplifies that. just them being little shits and having fun with one another.

No Victory in Hesitation & the Past Has Its Lessons by EudaimonErisornae & vageege

Zoro has a lot of things he wants to say to Sanji, but he just needs one more day. || Zoro tries to fix a mistake he made in the past.

major character death warning. i died a little bit inside after reading this tbh. there are some devil fruits-explained time travel hijinks, but mostly it’s this looming, grim inevitability of death that’s written so pervasively throughout the fic that really got me.

Imperatives by dollcewrites

Zoro is confident in saying that Sanji is a man who doesn’t do what he’s told. Which is why, when a command accidentally slips from Zoro’s lips during foreplay, he is expecting to hear the cook’s scoff as he continues to do what he pleases.

i don’t tend to do pwp, but this isn’t just one — it’s a completely in-character piece about their relationship and dynamics.

when you say by bluewalk ♡

It's a long time in coming. Usopp can promise, but.

this fic is as much sanuso as it is zosan, and usopp here is — still very much usopp, but also a very beautiful take on his character as someone who spent a lot of time behind sanji’s back, and realizes that when he watches sanji’s back, he gets to see zoro’s, too.

a complete guide to falling in love by ThousandSunny

Sanji was trained in the Bridal Arts; this does not go unnoticed by the rest of his crew.

while the main ship is still zosan, the fic also focuses a lot on zoro and sanji’s relationship with the rest of the crew, and it’s one of those fics that really makes you realize how much of a family the strawhats is. a lovely read all around.

destructivity is a poison that run through our veins by wasteofmind

Zoro thinks that, someday, they are going to kill each other.

a dysfunctional take of their relationship. it’s fascinating in the same way a car crash is fascinating  — there’s an undercurrent of something violent, something visceral. this is one of the fics that inspired me to write migratory animals.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Ocean’s Child by 8ball  ♡

Here's the truth: Zoro couldn't swim. He fell in the water and sank like a stone because there had never been anyone to teach him how to move his arms. He forgot that if he screamed for help the water would get in his mouth, and he even opening his eyes hurt.

Here’s the other truth, the one that stays a secret: a mermaid saved him.

a fascinating retelling of the one piece canon with mermaid!sanji. it feels a lot like a love letter to the seas, and it’s mesmerizing how sanji’s mermaid backstory is seamlessly weaved into the one piece canon.

with you by Cirro

How to find your life partner in three easy steps: 1. Punch them in the face 2. Insult their cognitive abilities 3. Embarrass them so much they agree to marry you

a wholesome two-part modern au series. my personal favorite is the second part, where sanji brings zoro home to meet zeff — complete with the two of them teasing sanji in their own ways.

The Proper Reaction (or What To Do When Your Son Brings His Boyfriend Home by three_days_late

Holidays at the Baratie were always hectic, but it's nothing Zeff can't handle. Sanji's new boyfriend, on the other hand...

on the topic of meet-the-family: the only thing more fun than zoro meeting zeff is zoro meeting zeff and the entirety of baratie staff. also includes one of my favorite line about bi!sanji: “sanji loves nice girls and bad boys”.

Exclusive by cuethe-pulse

Zoro loves Sanji, Sanji loves Zoro. Zoro wants to be exclusive, so Sanji should, too. Right?

this is a circus/bakery au. yes, you read that right, and yes, it works. i went into this fic with a lot of doubts and came out very satisfied with how fleshed out everyone in this au is, and i’m forever in awe with how the author can set up an entirely separate, vivid universe with so few words.

Delivery by styx_in_the_mud

Sanji is stuck delivering pizzas when Patty is out of commission for a while. Zoro likes to order pizza after training. Both of them are sort of idiots, but Zoro can be smooth as fuck if he puts his mind to it.

a fun, in-character au with good ol’ banter and cute get-together.

The End of It All by xpiester333xx

Humans have been forced underground due to the effects of a chemical weapon that has made surface life impossible. Sanji lives in one of these underground colonies and though he dreams of bigger things his life has been mundane; spent following strict rules and obeying higher commands. Or it was, until a stranger shows up and changes everything.

the author labelled it as sci-fi au, but I personally think it’s more dystopian-like? either way, while this fic is on the long side, it manages to keep everyone in character until the very end, which is something that can’t be said for a lot of fics.

well, there we go! feel free to drop me an ask if you want to rec me fics or ask for a more specific/themed rec list; i’ll also update this post regularly !!

i also have an ao3 donutsandcoffee if you want to see my take on these dorks o/

[aaluminiumas]

Merry Christmas Chopper

Time flows differently at sea, especially on the Grand Line: the weather in this part of the world never followed the ordinary calendar people had outside the ocean, so a blizzard in the middle of the summer wouldn’t surprise anyone. The climate depended on the island itself, and the inhabitants stuck to their specific routine maintained throughout the years: the holidays of the Fish-Men didn’t coincide with those of the Minks thus a lucky traveler may get a chance to become acquainted with rituals and traditions of all races.

The Straw Hat Pirates had already seen a lot. That’s why Nami yearning for Christmas she last celebrated a couple of years ago, made sure that the ship steered for another Winter Island and then ordered to throw a real party. Initially, only two latched on the idea: Sanji who agreed to do anything offered by Nami, and Robin, as usual peacefully calm, whose multiple hands immediately embarked to festoon Sunny. Luffy seemed to worried about one thing only – whether they were going to have meat; Zoro followed his Captain’s suit and asked about drinks – again, following Luffy’s suit, he got punched in the head and crawled away with gloomy grumbling. As a result of the powerful blow, the swordsman deigned to hang a garland over his mat on the deck. Sanji waspishly advised not to remove it in the future in order to define the borders of the improvised botanical garden and what is the vantage point to feast the eyes upon the ugliest plant.

While Brook, Usopp and Franky were trying to part the fighters to the rippling laughter of their Captain, Chopper took advantage of the common turmoil and ran over to Nami. He had first-hand knowledge of Christmas: as resident of a Winter Island, he often celebrated the holiday. Even when other reindeer atrociously lambasted him, he kept believing in miracles and never doubted Santa and his presents. However, the presents weren’t the main concern: absolutely unspoiled, he was waiting for some other guest – the red-nosed reindeer, Rudolph, who was claimed to have been mocked himself. Since childhood he swore he would stay up till morning to see Santa and his famous sleigh; he was sure he would talk to Rudolph in the animal language asking how he managed to take the lead, to turn his flaw into an assert and to overcome the sneers. Unfortunately, Chopper kept falling asleep – and woke up with bitter frustration written upon the snout. Later in the morning he disappeared in his lab and crammed another book borrowed from shrewd Kureha who unexpectedly failed to grasp what ate him away every winter so desperately.

Nami wasn’t paying attention to the skirmish between the cook and the swordsman: she continued decorating her tangerine trees and enlaced the boughs with colored garlands even though they hadn’t yet reach the island.

“Nami,” Chopped called in a low voice awkwardly tapping his hooves against each other and snuffling, “Is… Santa coming to us?”

Puzzled by the question, the navigator nodded.

“Of course, Chopper. Santa comes to all good kids… and adults. To the bad ones too,” she narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips and slowly turned her head in the direction of the bickering friends. “But there is not enough coal for those in the whole world. It’s easier to send them to a mine.”

“Are there deer, too?” he went on, still meek and at the same time more enthusiastic. “Or is he traveling by ship? He can’t get here by his sleigh, right?..”

Nami looked at him, clearly perplexed: she wasn’t ready for such questions; practically deprived of childhood herself, she never had illusions as to Santa’s personality but the girl didn’t venture to shatter her friend’s faith in this mythological figure. To her Christmas was a day when she could finally express her gratitude and affection towards all the crew members (and to get a nice present for her outstanding navigation skills) but for Chopper it was an evening of miracles and didn’t want to wreck it all.

“Doctor-san,” Robin suddenly came to rescue with her low voice pierced with confidence, “his sleigh runs across the sky, not by the sea. Why would he need a ship if it is safer to travel above multiple dangers of the Grand Line?”

The archeologist’s words mollified the reindeer: his large woeful eyes beamed in a heartbeat. If Nami was able to fib a little, Robin would rather remain silent or elude.

“Don’t you happen to know,” Chopper hesitated for another moment rattling his hooves again, “when is he coming? I would… I would love to just have a peep… at Rudolph. I heard that he was… different from others. Just like me. But I have a blue nose…”

Even if Robin was taken aback, she didn’t reveal her astonishment in the slightest: her face remained serene and tranquil. With a small apologetic smile upon the lips, the woman shook her head and adorned his tiny antlers with a garland interwoven with a sparkling tinsel.

“Unfortunately, Doctor-san, I cannot give you a proper answer to that. The number of good kids changes from year to year, and he has to pay a visit to them all. But I am certain this time he will stay a little longer: after all, you have done so many good things that you deserve a special present.”

Encouraged by the praise, Chopper was about to start dancing: the reindeer still couldn’t get used to the fact that he was genuinely loved and cherished even though aloof and unsociable Law tended to commend him every once in a while. And if Nami expressed her emotions in quite a ribald way, Robin tried to find the right approach to everyone not resorting to punches and manipulations – even a rejection didn’t sound adamant though her voice was always firm.

“Then,” the doctor scratched his blue nose, “If you see him… can you please wake me up? I promise not to fall asleep but,” here he got embarrassed completely, “Every year I just pass out and… I would love to…”

“Of course Doctor-san,” Robin interrupted him soflty, “We’ll be on guard.”

“Don’t worry Chopper,” Nami bolstered her friend, “A mouse won’t slip by Zoro, let alone an old man with a flock of deer. We’ll take care of it!”

As soon as their inspired friend rushed to his little laboratory equipped with all the necessary things for his endless experiments, Nami crossed her arms in the chest staring at Robin with a suspicious grimace on the visage.

“I certainly love your idea,” she muttered in a low voice, “But what is that you suggest us doing? We cannot steal a deer, put a red nose on it and introduce it as Rudolph. I couldn’t even think that he’s so…”

“Flustered? Excited? This is quite obvious,” the woman adjusted a glossy purple ball on the tangerine branch so its ribbon didn’t cover the image. “He doesn’t really have someone… to share his experience with. Whether we want it or not, we… do not fully understand him.”

“So what are we supposed to do? To turn ourselves into deer?” said Nami sarcastically. “Can’t even imagine myself… this way. I’m no doe. What kind of doe… would I be?..”

“The most beautiful doe in the world, Nami-swan! You will be the most charming female deer in th–”

Robin chuckled: Sanji didn’t manage to accomplish his laudatory ode as he got maimed which nonetheless failed to cool him down.

“You’re just in time, Sanji-kun,” the woman smiled thus provoking another bout of jitter. “Do you know the legend about Rudolph the Deer?”

Soon enough the whole crew began to arrange the Christmas party for Chopper. Nami, as usual, was in charge: she succeeded to draw attention to the discussion by heavy blows and threatening stares while Robin put forward various proposals that seemed suitable. Luffy only comprehended that Chopper ‘had some wrong Christmas’ and offered to pile the deer with presents but the idea implying a thousand of meat dishes didn’t sit well with the rest of the crew. Zoro supported his Captain on the topic of presents but added on his own behalf: let the swirlybrow make a present to them all by locking himself up in the kitchen throughout the celebration. Sanji pledged to cut the swordsman in pieces and feed seagulls, deprecated. Brook proposed to compose a song – and Robin’s hands writing down more or less reasonable suggestions, started jotting something in her notebook.

“Why not write him a letter?” exclaimed Usopp out of the blue. “It won’t replace Rudolph of course but… at least we will show we care about him.”

“And then he’ll eventually understand that Marimo is a good-for-nothing sentinel who hasn’t heard the thud of the hooves,” Sanji noticed melancholically, lighting another cigarette. “What a remarkably useless plant. Shall we toss it overboard?”

“I don’t need my swords to beat the shit out of you,” hissed Zoro flaring up. “Damn you, ero-cook!..”

It didn’t take much time to put things in apple pie order and reassert the breached discipline: Nami scattered the two in different directions, and both the swordsman and the cook rubbed their heads and squabbled in hushed voices not to instigate the navigator who seemed to like Usopp’s offer.

The preparations lasted for the whole day: Robin sneaked into the farthest corner of the deck to write the letter; Sanji wearing a funny apron garnished the desserts with cotton candy. As for Zoro, he had risked to get a carver knife between the eyes and now imitated some frenzied activity – according to the cook, it was ‘frenzied enough to outshine the quickest algae drifting with the stream’. Brook, laughing, was playing a song by ear while Usopp was wrapping the presents. Nami kept things tidy: she prevented Luffy from pushing his nose into every single box he saw. Franky, though, took care of it himself: he had cut out several wooden boxes for various trinkets. Now he improved his invention and fit locks into them – exclusively by the navigator’s request so eager to keep the spirit of Christmas. Albeit none of the tasks looked hard to finish, they appeared to be time-consuming, so none of the pirated noticed when and how the warm climate gave way to pleasant frost and slight snowfall.

Chopper went out to the deck only in the evening and started perusing snowflakes, so brittle and peculiar that they seemed to be knitted. They sank into his auburn fur and didn’t melt at all as if they morphed into a scintillating garland. Back at home they looked less fragile and yet bigger; accustomed to blizzards and cold, he learnt to ignore them and now, after all those visits to hot countries, a simply snowstorms morphed into a hibernal miracle.

He remembered the first time he saw himself in the reflection of the frozen river. He remembered his resentment for himself, that blue nose, and roared smashing whatever he could smash. He remembered how he nuzzled into white and fluffy snow hoping that the color of the nose would alter, and he, Chopper, would be just like others.

He also recollected the frosty redolence Hululuk’s fur coat exuded; he recalled Kureha’s perfume mingled with the fragrance of the wind. Her hands were always tender and smelled ice while Hululuk reminded him of the first snowflakes’ scent. It dawned upon him how much he actually could reminisce: that cheerful laughter, ridiculous stories the Doctor used to tell, and those midnight talks – they spoke about everything in the world. It was almost eternity ago when Chopper lost his best friend – and they still had so much to discuss. Hiluluk always supported him, and, probably in his own manner, taught the little reindeer to keep his head up.

“Merry Christmas,” a familiar gentle voice came; Chopper sharply turned in the direction of the sound and instantly noticed a figure he knew so well: it was a tad shorter than he remembered and moved angularly but the kind smile and warm eyes made everything clear. It was exactly the person who encouraged Chopper to become a doctor.

“Doctor Hiluluk!” the reindeer darted towards the man feeling he was barely able to squelch the tears that were about gush out from the eyes. “Doctor Hiluluk!.. How did you..? You are...”

The intruder laughed in a low tone and embraced his friend caringly.

“You’ve become so big and strong,” the doctor patted Chopper by the shoulder, “Are you happy with them?.. I’ve heard a lot about you, Chopper. I am exceedingly proud of you. You have become a talented physician. You are definitely second to none.”

The little reindeer didn’t release his friend – and almost ignored the praise. Millions of questions were swarming in his head but he didn’t hurry to ask them. Hiluluk didn’t insist on a decent conversation: he kept smiling looking at the reindeer cursing himself for the cruelty he had shown in the past. How could throw him out sugarcoating his atrocity and calling it care? Why didn’t he tell the truth letting Chopper make his own decision whether to stick around or to deal with his own life? Yes, that notorious quack felt ashamed and couldn’t disappoint his friend, but at the moment, after all those years, he finally realized that it may have been the only blunder he regretted so much. If he could turn back time, nothing of it would have happened.

“They do love you,” the guest drawled squatting before Chopper. “And protect you too. I am glad to know that you have found a family… despite everything. I am so sorry that I cannot be near.”

“But you are here!” the reindeer exclaimed blinking his watery eyes. “I’ll introduce you to my nakamas. They’ll like, I assure you! Sanji will cook the pies you are so fond of, Brook will sing for you, you’ll talk to Robin and–”

With a sad smile on the lips Hiluluk shook his head.

“Alas, it won’t do.” He sighed heavily. “You have a different life now… But,” he straightened up, “I have a little surprise for you, Chopper. I know who you are waiting for. Unfortunately, he cannot…”

Robin’s soft hand touched the glossy fur. Flummoxed, Nami noticed that Chopper finally awoke and placed a small box near the adoze reindeer: it was different from those that Franky had created. This one had incised ornaments and a carving of a certain mushroom on the lid. Still sleepy, Chopper kept staring at the present: did someone do that specifically for him?

“Open it, Doctor-san. This undoubtedly belongs to you.”

Robin’s honeyed mellow voice seemed to have pushed him, and the little hooves lifted the lid. Inside, there was a handful of pink powder – the same powder his friend had been working on, – and a letter with a stamp of a deer hoof. The whole crew gathered around: Usopp failed to wake him up, and panicked alarming the rest – even Zoro, normally apathetic and detached, scowled and rushed to rescue.

The whole ship was emblazoned and festooned. Nami had cleared the place underneath her tangerines, and now neatly wrapped presents were peacefully lying there revealing the cards written in Usopp’s and Franky’s untidy yet diligent hands. Sanji was serving cocoa with little cloud of marshmallow. Exclusively for Chopper he had created rosy petals of cotton candy. Robin, normally calm, adjusted bows, knots and decorations striving to make everything look like a picture. The evergreen lawn where the crew used to sprawl and relax, turned white: no one even tried to get rid of the glistening snow which reflected all Sunny’s embers and glimmers.

“Merry Christmas, Chopper,” Nami flashed him a broad smile.

“Merry Christmas!” shouted both Zoro and Sanji and looked daggers at each other.

“Su-u-u-u-u-u-per-r-r-r-r Christmas!” Franky struck a pose raising both his arms in the air.

“Mefwy Fuwissmas!” pronounced Luffy proudly munching on the ham he’d just stolen from the kitchen. A sound of Sanji’s powerful kick muffled another sentence he was about to utter.

“We love you, Chopper!” candidly declared Usopp.

“Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!.. Merry Christmas, Chopper-san. Thank you for suturing our wounds! Though… yo-ho-ho… I don’t have skin to be sutured! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!”

The little reindeer sniveled. Probably he should let his past go – to let it get dispersed in a blur of pink petals.

[nue-nue-nomi]

Hibiscus Night

//Trigger warning!! Self harm (scratching) and Angst//

Sunny was rarely silent, with having a crew as colourful, expressive and all together loud as the strawhats were it meant that a 'moment of peace' was few and far between during the day.

The night was a different story, it was as if someone had hit the mute button on each strawhat, well except for Luffy's snoring, but even those who tended to stay up later, namely Usopp and Franky working on projects, stuck to their own section of the ship and unless you passed by the door, wouldnt be heard.

Yes everyone would be asleep when the moon was high in the sky, excluding the person on watch and yet...

Sitting on sunnys figurehead was C, curled up and hugging her knees as she stared out at the vast ocean. Despite the cold night, as they were only recently leaving a winter island, she wore only her nightdress and her horns were missing. Clutched in her hand was the hibiscus she always wore in her hair, that seemed determined to never die.

C wondered if the little plant had the will of D, if plants even can have such a power.

Pale strawberry blonde hair blowing in the not-to-strong wind was the only movement from the strawhats seer, it was as if she was frozen, eyes stuck staring into the distance, here yet not in an unnerving way as she didn't blink.

Melancholy is what they called it in her books, a state of sadness that clung like a leech, but C felt like it was more than that. She felt the odd clash of both feeling so many mixed untamed raw emotions and yet nothing at all at the same time, as if inside was a void slowly taking away more and more of who she was.

She wanted to cry but she couldnt, whether because she had no energy or her stubborness in addressing this feeling caused her some physical side affects. So she closed her eyes, listening to the waves crashing against the sunny.

She hadn't realised she had been day dreaming, or what felt like that, until she felt a hand on her shoulder and a warm, familiar voice lulling her back to the real world.

"C...shush you're ok little one now stop that-"

Robins hands held her shoulders, and she felt another pair hold her own arms apart.

Ah.

Scratching.

C couldn't look Robin in the eyes, instead her head hung and she stared at the angry red marks lining her arms and legs where she had dug her nails in and scraped. It helped take away the endless static in her head on nights like these but she knew, deep down, it wasn't ok to do that to herself.

And yet-

"Oh sorry I just got itchy!" C grinned up suddenly toward robin, who in turn had a worried frown on her face.

Yeah. Robin was too smart to believe that, but to C, it was fact, her skin didn't feel like her own and after all at least she wasn't cutting. That was real self harm, for real people who were hurt and suffering.

Faker.

Robin seemed to decide it was best not to push, and C was grateful for it. "Please be more careful...do you want me to-"

But she was inturrupted by the voice of Luffy. His voice was that of him giving an order when he said:

"Robin you can go to bed."

Silently, and with one last squeeze on Cs shoulders, Robin left.

C turned around to see her captain standing on the deck, his face for once lacking that sunshine smile, yet also not wearing that murderous scowl she'd seen both in battle and in her visions of the future. He looked completely neutral as he walked up toward her and honestly it unnerved her a bit.

He plopped down beside her and silently took Cs closest arm into his own, looking at the scratchmarks though some had began to fade. C just stared, honestly no matter what she did she could never get a good reading on what luffy was thinking.

Suddenly she felt her anger flare up, not at her captain but at herself. She was an idiot, she probably was hurting luffy, making everyone else worry and being an extra burden they didn't need goddamnit why couldn't she be stronger and not some weak little flower!

Before she realised what she was doing, C had thrown the hibiscus into the air, aimed at the sea with her one free hand.

"HEY" Luffy yelled angrily and she saw one of his arms stretch to grab it, snapping back once he had a grip on the delicate stem.

His eyebrows furrowed together angrily.

"Why would you throw away your treasure?"

C just looked deep into his eyes, the static was fading but that dam of emotions she had barely managed to suppress was beginning to crack when luffy placed the flower into its usual home, nestled above her right ear and said in a voice so full of something absolute it broke her.

"I won't let anyone hurt my nakama, even themselves ok?"

And with that she sobbed. Hard and ugly she sobbed and Luffy just held her to his chest, placing his hat on her head and holding her tighter anytime her sobs or mumblings of her thoughts grew worse or darker until finally she fell asleep, cheeks still stained with tears.

No one said anything the following day, but everyone had seen their captain and seer sitting on the figure head that morning, C having slept late into the day as her exhaustion caught up with her, and Luffy refused to move. Even for breakfast though he drolled and tried to stretch his head and one arm in to steal some food, he ended up swapping with Zoro.

No one said anything.

Especially not how clingy C grew in the following days.

Reading with Robin, watching Nami draw maps, helping Usopp and Franky, cuddling and asking Chopper about medical things, singing with brooke, helping Sanji tidy up or cook and training or napping with Zoro.

There wasnt a moment for the next week where C was alone.

At night she slept with Luffy, either on Sunny's head or on the grass.

Her smile grew genuine again.

[bigsister11]

Merry Christmas to @emotrafalgar I am your Secret Santa this year for the @opsecretsanta2019 event! :)

I hope you enjoy these little drabbles I wrote (I couldn't decide on whether I want to write Lawlu or Zolu for you, so I did both).

<3<3<3<3

Snow can also be a good thing

It's snowing, Law realized as he opened up the door of the Polar Tang and almost turned back immediately. The sky was too grey and lifeless, the air was too cold, and the snowflakes were already landing on his face, his coat, his everything, uninvitedly.  

He had to get on the Sunny to have a talk with the Strawhats about the plan, the route, the navigation, the logistics, the food, and the— his to-do list was knocked out of his head the moment he stepped on the Sunny, as he got tackled by Luffy before his second feet could even touch the deck.

"Morning Toraooo!" Luffy laughed with an open mouth as he settled on Law's chest, and petted his face with a cheerful expression. "Long time no see, where were you last night? You missed the party!"

"Get off me Strawhat-ya," Law hissed, while he tried to push the younger captain off of him, and simultaneously tried to put his hat back on his head. He failed at both.

"Make a snow angel first, everyone already did one, even your bear!" Luffy chuckled, his eyes were shining, his cheeks were flushed in the cold. "My name is Bepo!" Law faintly heard his crewmate's protest from the far end of the ship. 

"Angels don't exist, now let me get up," he said impatiently. Luffy was too close, his smile was too wide, the tip of his nose was pinkish due to the cold, and he'd made Law's heart beat way too fast. A reaction to Luffy's proximity he'd been trying to ignore for weeks now. 

"Ha ha, no way," Luffy laughed, and leaned a bit closer to grab his arms, and move them up and down next to his body to make the wings. 

"We'll arrive at a new island in a minute, you have to do it no-," Law was suddenly saved by a huge snowball, which hit the middle of Luffy's back with such a momentum that it sent him flying. 

“That is for ruining my great ‘Snow-Warrior of the Sea Usopp-sama’ statue Luffy!” Usopp shouted, preparing his catapult for the next shot.

Law got up and out of the way, and looked around. The Sunny was full of snow forms that the Strawhats and, to his surprise, his crew made. 

There were snow reindeers, snow robots, some weird snow things Law couldn't recognize but supposed they were meant to look like fancy food, snow berries and treasure, snow swords held by a snowman, and some other unrecognizable figures as well. 

Bepo and Penguin were still working on a miniature Polar Tang with such a deep focus they made Law smile.

His attention went back to Luffy pretty quickly though as he couldn't look away for long. Luffy was jumping around to dodge the snowball attacks, his hands grabbing everything in his way for support, his smile was never fading and his laughs were making him get butterflies in his stomach.

Suddenly two long arms grew out of the deck in front of him, one holding his hat, the other brushing the snow off of it.

"Here you go Torao-kun." Robin appeared next to him. She looked at him knowingly, the corner of her mouth turned up a little. Law felt himself blushing and quickly put his hat back to cover his face.

Somehow her expression made him remember why he came on board in the first place. 

"Hey, Strawhat-ya" he tried again but as Luffy turned to him to answer, his eyes caught a glimpse of something behind him. 

"We arrived!" Luffy yelled enthusiastically. Law turned and saw the island responsible for the winter weather. It had a mountain shaped like a Christmas tree in the middle, and all types of colorful lights were illuminating from it. Wonderful. He was so not in the mood for any of this.

Suddenly, Luffy was next to him, put an arm around his shoulder and looked up to him with the biggest eyes Law had ever seen. "Let's go together, and explore!" he said, and Law completely forgot how to say no. 

As they docked, a flock of birds arrived to greet the ship and started to circle above them. They looked like big, green seagulls, with red beaks and golden eyes. 

"Ahh, they look delicious!" Luffy eyed them hungrily, still holding onto Law who felt his side warming up where their bodies touched. "Sanji, I have found our lunch, let's catch them all!"

"Forget it, Luffy!"

"I would advise against that Captain." Sanji and Robin spoke up at the same time, but Sanji fell silent immediately and let her continue. 

"First of all, the Mistletern bird is an inedible species and while I am certain this would not stop you, but they are also the sacred birds of the island of Snowflakia," she told them.

"The mistle- what?" Luffy asked back, but couldn't finish, because suddenly some of the birds struck down as if they were attacking them and after they dodged Zoro's and Brook's blades, Nami's Clima-Tact, and Bepo's claws, they landed on Luffy's hat, and Law's shoulder at the same time.

"What is your problem stupid bird!" Luffy tried to brush off his bird who looked incredibly smug with himself and stubbornly dodged his attempts. 

Law wasn't successful in getting rid of his attacker either. He even used his power to shamble the bird away from him, but it flew back looking at him like he was an idiot, and settled back on his shoulder. 

When he gave up, he saw Robin looking at them as she chuckled quietly. Next to him, Sanji looked as red as a lobster. 

"What?" he asked nervously.

"They are also said to be a companion to people who want to kiss their love," she added with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “They are named after the mistletoe and the tern after all. I’m positive they won’t leave till it happens.”

Law felt like his whole body was setting itself on fire. He couldn’t even dare to look at Luffy when he said: “It must be just a superstition.”

“No, it is true,” Luffy said as he stepped closer to him, took Law’s hand and put his palm to the middle of his chest. “Because I do wanna kiss you Torao. D-do you want to kiss me?” he stuttered.

Law couldn’t do anything but look back at him. Luffy was smiling and looking at him bravely, but his cheeks were dark red, his whole body was shaking. He must be extremely nervous as well, he thought and felt a little bit better. 

“Yes, I do,” he managed to answer and before he could change his mind he kissed Luffy right in front of everyone. His lips were soft and sweet, and Law felt him smiling into the kiss. He put his arms around Luffy and pulled him even closer. 

Whatever cold he felt before, it completely disappeared. When they parted, Luffy looked into his eyes and sighed. “I’m so glad, because I love you, but I was sure you didn’t love me back,” he whispered so that Law would be the only one who heard him. 

“I’m glad too,” Law replied quietly, still holding him in his arms. Luffy closed his eyes and put his head on Law’s chest. 

“Snowflakia is my favorite island,” he sheepishly added. The birds suddenly flew away still wearing the same smug expression as if they were saying we told you so.

“Let’s look around then,” Law answered, now completely in the mood for the snow and ready for a new adventure. Anything was great, now that he had Luffy on his side.

(As they went, they faintly heard Usopp’s panicked voice from the ship: “My lady is very far from here, how am I supposed to kiss her like this? Be reasonable birdy!”). 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luffy’s present 

When they meet up again after exploring the island separately, Zoro has a deep cut across his chest and the widest smile on his face.

“What happened to you Zoro?” Luffy asks angrily. “Who hurt you like this?” He is already ready to go back to hunt down whoever harmed his lover. 

“Calm down Luffy,” he replies and even though he is still bleeding he grabs Luffy and spins him around enthusiastically. “I got you something I know you will love!” He puts him down and gently kisses him on the lips, that is so happy and heartwarming Luffy almost forgets he’s gotten hurt.

However, before he can give it to Luffy, Chopper attacks him and drags him to the infirmary. He goes back outside to meet him right after Chopper lets him go. He can’t wait to show him what he’s got.

Luffy is sitting on the Sunny’s head, looking at the sea and he smiles up to him when he sits down next to him. The sun is already going down, painting them in the warmest colors. Zoro looks into Luffy’s eyes and sees the light reflecting in them. 

Zoro takes his hand, gently kissing the inside of his palm, making him blush. After all this time, he is still so in love with him. Then, he places a small, soft thing in Luffy’s hand: it looks like a blue sea urchin. Luffy looks back at him questioningly. 

“Eat it,” Zoro says, smiling, so he does. It tastes terrible. Zoro laughs at Luffy’s sour expression. 

“Come on,” he stands up, embraces Luffy, and jumps into the sea with him. 

Luffy has no time to panic, as Zoro pulls him up and their heads are out of the water in a second. Luffy takes an enormous breath he doesn’t really need and Zoro laughs at him, holding him so close Luffy can see his wet eyelashes.

“Oi Zoro, what was that for?” Luffy complains, his heart is beating very fast, his body reminding that he could sink any second. “I’m a hammer in the wa- “ he doesn’t finish as he realizes his legs are moving, pushing the water below him, his arms are also working, holding onto Zoro. 

“This is called the Kyanseru no Mi,” Zoro says. “I got it from the local marine base, I heard the rumors from my bounty hunter days that they were keeping it here. It can neutralize the ‘devil fruit curse’ for a whole day. You can swim and play in the water as much as you want for 24 hours. 

Luffy has no idea what to say. He is so happy, he wants to jump out of this skin. He puts his hand on Zoro’s face and kisses him. Zoro’s lips are salty and wet and he kisses him back fiercely as if he never wanted to let him go. 

“I love you,” Luffy says, and hugs him. 

“I love you too,” Zoro whispers in his ears.

“Oi, are you guys okay?” they hear Sanji shouting, next to him Chopper is staring at them, alarmed. “What the hell happened?”

Luffy lets go off Zoro and waves at them, making Chopper nearly faint. “I’m okay!” he shouts back. “Zoro got me a fruit that allows me to swim for a whole day!” 

The rest of the crew comes out for the noise and Usopp instantly jumps into the sea, dragging the swearing Sanji with him.  

Robin smiles down them and senses that this is a beginning of a party Chopper would be very sad to be left out off, so she brings a lifebelt out for him, and gently puts him into the water as well. 

Nami also joins them for a little, partly to look out for Chopper, and partly because the water is warm and nice. She leaves right before they start a huge water battle, which is followed by a jumping and diving competition as well. 

Luffy wins the jumping one and Zoro wins the diving but it might be because it scares Luffy a little to dive down that much. He hunts down a huge fish though and Sanji gets out to cook it for them. 

By the time the moon comes up and paints the water in beautiful silver light, only Zoro and Luffy stays behind. 

“Lean back,” he tells Luffy and holds his head in his palms while he is floating. 

Luffy closes his eyes, and he hears his own heart beating. He has never been this happy. He feels Zoro’s hand, holding him up, and he is doing the only thing in the world that should be impossible: he is in the water and he can enjoy it fully without being afraid, or immobilized. 

He reaches up and pulls Zoro down for a kiss. 

“Today, I have already done the impossible with your help,” he whispers after they part. “Tomorrow, I will become the King of Pirates.

“Of course you will,” Zoro whispers back, his voice trembling a little. “My King.”

[vannahfanfics]

Could I request a Nami and Bepo friendship fic with the theme "Mittens," please? I'd just love a cute fic starring my two favorite navigators!

Here it is, lovely! I threw some dashes of LawNa in there just because I know you love them so much LOL. Thanks for the wonderful prompts and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

EDIT: This lovely image was drawn by @searchfortheonepiece whom from this moment forth has all my love and affection. 

Even Polar Bears Need Mittens, Too!

Nami was painfully aware of two things upon waking up that morning. Dirst, the ordinarily comfortable warmth of her bedroom had been replaced by a bitter, breath-fogging chill. Second, the soothing rocking motion of the waves beating upon the Thousand Sunny was eerily absent. Panicked, she threw the covers off herself. She immediately hissed in displeasure and flung the warm, soft blanket back on as the winter air leaped forward to dig into the sensitive bare flesh of her legs with eager teeth. 

She rubbed her palm over her legs to find that goosebumps had already sprouted. Treading more carefully this time, she gathered the comforter around her body to serve as a fluffy shield from the cold and eased out of bed. She hopped around, not wishing to touch the icy wooden floors with her bare feet for too long until she found the slippers she always kept at her bedside. 

After a few minutes of digging, she was able to procure a set of winter gear— slim-fitting, dark jeans, black combat boots, a maroon knitted sweater, a black overcoat inlaid with ginger faux fur, and a pair of maroon gloves with a matching beanie complete with a black pom-pom. Dark colors absorbed the sunlight better and made Nami’s tresses of tangerine hair pop all the more (because a girl always had to consider her image!). 

She walked out into the hall, and it was no wonder it was so cold. Snow flurries buried themselves into her hair, decorating her like glitter, while others spiraled down the current into the hall to flutter lazily down to the iced-over wooden floors. Shivering, she carefully walked up the icy steps out onto the Thousand Sunny’s main deck.

The Grand Line’s unpredictable weather patterns had struck again; the Sunny looked like it had ventured into the Arctic. Snow was steadily falling from the cloudy heavens. It had piled up on the deck about half a foot deep and decorated the balustrade in a fluffy layer. Everything else was completely encased in a sheath of fine, crystalline ice. It wove fern-like patterns within the glass windowpanes, the only reference to the green world in this universe of white and gray and blue.

“Zoro?” she called as she tromped through the snow. Sinking up to her calves, Nami had to take extra-large steps to keep from tripping in the thick icy fluff. The swordsman was often awake in the wee hours of the morning. Yet, he was usually taking an early morning nap around the time the others were awakening, and Nami knew that the dense man could easily sleep through a snowstorm and awaken with hypothermia or frostbite— if he didn’t just wake up a solid blue corpse. 

Thankfully, it seemed the chill had roused him plenty. He came stomping through the snow dressed in a coat, though the lout insisted on keeping his chest bared to the unforgiving winter’s bite. Sanji, with a small snow shovel propped on his shoulder and wearing a blue winter coat lined with cotton, came tromping along after him.

“Nami-swan! Please tell me you know when this damn blizzard is gonna end!” 

“Why does that matter? We can just sail out of it,” Nami shrugged. 

“Not exactly,” Zoro grunted and gestured to the railing of the ship. Nami sloughed through the snow until she got to the edge of the boat and immediately groaned in annoyance. The sea was frozen over in a solid block of ice. Even if they attacked it with pickaxes and tried to coax the Sunny to the faint line of warm blue water hovering at the ice’s edge, it would take days to do so. Nami grimaced at the thought. Who knows how long that’ll take, and it’s cold as balls out here! 

“Guess we’ll just have to suffer,” she moaned. Raucous laughter at the end of the deck caught her attention; she turned to see Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy gathering up little handfuls of snow and flinging them in each other’s faces. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth; they were idiots sometimes, but it always did do her heart good to see them having some good plain fun.

“Hey, why don’t you make us all some hot chocolate?” she called to Sanji. “I’ll see if Law is okay in the submarine, too.” 

While the cook tossed heart eyes her way and dashed off to cater to her whim, Nami walked the edge of the boat until she reached the place that the Polar Tang moored against the Sunny.

After the business in Wano, the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates’ alliance had decided to appreciate their company a little longer (which was more Luffy’s doing than Law’s). Franky had rigged up a handy contraption to allow the submarine to the Sunny without damaging it when they were fully underway, and by combining the natural sailing capability with the submarine’s engine, they had improved their speed by fifty percent as well. 

“Law? Hey, are you guys popsicles in there?” she called as she climbed down the set of ladder rungs leading to the submarine. The soles of her boots striking the surface of the uppermost deck made dull clunking noises. She walked across the deck to the door, preparing to knock, but was startled when it was suddenly thrust open. She instinctively jumped backward.

She pinwheeled as she lost her balance and tipped back, but before she could land on her behind, the submarine’s captain grabbed her firmly by the elbow and hooked his foot under one of hers to brace her. He held her up by the strength of one arm, which brought a hint of rose to Nami’s cheeks and reminded her once more of how strong Law was even though he hid all his muscles under that long coat of his.

“Careful, Nami-ya. I wouldn’t want you hitting that pretty head of yours.” 

Nami’s relationship with Law was an interesting one; one never knew what would come out of their mouths, whether it be purred compliments or insulting jibes. They yipped at each other like a couple of cunning foxes in a perpetual game that dangerously bordered on courtship; it was not uncommon that their words and looks mirrored those of two individuals in a saucy game of “hard-to-get.” 

Sure enough, his mouth curled in that undeniable smirk that just begged Nami to retort with some minxy jibe, but with the persistent cold seeping beneath her coat to nibble at her skin, she decided to save it. Using Law’s grip as a bracer, she straightened herself up and ensured that she had a solid stance on the ice. It was only then that she could get a good look at him and see that he too was not immune to the brisk weather, as he had zipped his coat up to hide his sprawling tattoos and had white gloves on his hands. 

“So, I imagine that we won’t be escaping this climate anytime soon,” he guessed with one glance at the surrounding ice.

“Nope.” She glanced up at the sky to analyze the speed of the clouds. “The system is moving pretty slowly, so I guess that we’ll be trapped in this ice storm for at least a few days or so.”

“Damn… It’s taking our heating system all it can to keep all the metalworks from freezing over…”

Before the two of them could exchange any more words, a snowball exploded in Law’s face and sent him shooting back into the depths of the Polar Tang. The furry bulk of the arriving Bepo provided a soft landing, thankfully. Nami made no attempt to stifle her laughter as the Surgeon of Death came stalking back out, shaking snow out of his face and hair. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who had flung it at him, either. “Straw Hat-ya, you imbecile, now is not the time for games!”

“Trafalguy! Come have a snowball fight with us!”

“Did you not hear me?!”

“A snowball fight?! We wanna play!” came the simultaneous chiming of Penguin and Shachi from the entryway, and Law let out a strangled urk! as the two boys muscles past him to scamper out onto the deck of the Polar Tang. They slid around on the ice like a couple of buffoons for a few minutes trying to reach the ladder, eventually resorting to easing over on their hands and knees.

“Aw, come on, Law, they’re just having fun. We might as well play in the snow; there’s nothing better to do,” she smiled as she listened to his crewmates’ raucous hoots and hollers of laughter drift down from the Thousand Sunny with the occasional stray snowball.

“I don’t play, Nami-ya.”

“Law! Will you come build a snowman with me?” 

As Chopper’s innocent sing-song voice preceded his little furry form and hopeful eyes peeking over the railing of the Sunny, Nami watched Law’s body stiffen. He flushed pink and pulled down his hat, mumbling under his breath for a moment, before he thickly called up, “I’m coming, Chopper-ya…” 

Nami chuckled heartily as she watched Law Room himself up beside Chopper, who jumped up and down and hugged his arm elatedly. Not even the Surgeon of Death can say no to our sweet little Chopper.

“N-Nami?” 

The navigator turned her head as the polar bear Mink abruptly addressed her.

“What’s up, Bepo?” His watery black eyes could not bear to meet hers but flickered downward to train on the intricate icy patterns adorning the wood. His nails clicked lightly as he tapped them together in a nervous fidget. “Would you mind teaching me more about maps?” 

Nami blinked slightly in confusion. In the time that the two crews had spent together, the talented cartographer had been sharing her knowledge of maps with him. Still, she wasn’t sure why he wanted to do such an everyday activity when the opportunity to do something new and fun had presented itself.

“Wouldn’t you like to come play in the snow with us, Bepo?” she suggested with a bright smile. The poor thing couldn’t blush, but she could tell that he was embarrassed from the way he flattened his ears to his head and twitched his massive body.

“I can’t… My paws get cold.” 

Nami had no idea how a polar bear’s paws could freeze but considering the circus troupe of colorful people she sailed with, anything was possible. 

“Everyone else can play just fine because they have mittens, but we’ve never been able to find any in my size,” he lamented while holding up his clawed paws. Naturally, no market would sell mittens for a bear. Poor thing! He doesn’t deserve to have to sit out while everyone else has fun! Nami thought as a pang of pity pierced her heart. She grinned brightly and reached up to grab one of his furry paws with both of her hands.

“Don’t worry, Bepo! Come with me. I’ll whip up some mittens for you!” she assured him before whirling on her heel and pulling him across the deck of the Polar Tang. The bear just silently shuffled along behind her. 

She trekked back through the snow covering the spacious deck of the Sunny. It was falling so heavily that the small trench she had produced just a few minutes ago had already largely filled, forcing Nami to track a new path through the thick fluff. The layer had already thickened up to her knees. Nami pulled out her Climatact to help shovel the snow to wither side to help clear her way, but only with marginal improvement; very soon, her arms were aching. 

“Jeez! You wouldn’t think snow would be so heavy. I’ll have to get Franky to shovel some of this stuff off before our deck collapses!” she panted. Bepo, despite his bulk, seemed to have no problem pushing through the snow; after a moment of watching her struggle, he let out a nervous mumble before lightly tapping her on the shoulder. Nami paused to turn around, leaning on her Climatact for support. His tiny ears fluttered, and his little nails clicked together as he considered something silently for a moment. Then, to Nami’s surprise, he leaned down to pull her gently into his big furry arms.

“U-um, I thought it would be easier this way…” he admitted shyly while scratching the side of his head with one claw. Nami beamed, wrapped her slim arms around his thick neck, and nuzzled her nose into his fluffy cheek.

“How considerate! Thank you, Bepo.” She felt the bear’s skin warm as he did the Mink equivalent of blushing, and his words were an incoherent gush of mumbles. Feeling a burning gaze, Nami glanced over her shoulder to see Law staring intently from across the deck. 

“Jealous?” she called over while sticking out her tongue. Law snorted in derision and pulled his hat down over his face, but Nami could see the haze of pink over his cheeks. “Don’t worry, Law, I’m sure Bepo would carry you too if you asked him!” she laughed while rubbing the top of Bepo’s head through his hat.

“Ugh, Nami-ya, that’s not what I—” he snapped at her, then flushed further. Grumbling under his breath, he whirled around to instead re-focus his energy on the half-finished snowman that Chopper was molding with his hooves. Nami laughed mischievously again before looking back at the polar bear, who was just trying to pretend that Nami hadn’t been so boldly flirting with his captain.

“Mittens, right? Let’s go!”

Bepo carried her the last leg across the deck in record time. He gently set her down on the steps once they arrived, and Nami carefully picked her way down them, holding one hand against the frosty wall to aid her balance. She would hate to ungracefully slip and tumble down the stairs to earn herself a bruised bottom or sprained ankle on a day that promised a lot of fun. 

She led Bepo to her and Robin’s room. His massive frame barely was able to squeeze through the threshold, and he took up a large amount of space, requiring Nami to navigate around him as she searched her belongings for old clothes that she could retrofit into a pair of mittens for him.

“I’m sorry if I’m in the way…” he sighed apologetically and resorted to his nervous tick again. Nami smiled brightly up at him as she rifled through one of her trunks of sweaters.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Bepo. You’re never a bother!” It was no secret that he was a little insecure, and so Nami always tried to do her best to encourage him. He smiled shyly and shuffled his feet, indicating that Nami’s compliments were warming him a little. 

“Ah-ha!” she cried merrily as she procured a lovely yellow wool sweater patterned with black stripes. “It’ll match your jumpsuit, too!” she grinned as she poked at the jolly roger emblazoned on the fabric as she passed him. She walked over to a small sewing machine situated on a table in the corner. 

With how much Nami loved clothes and saving money, she of course knew how to sew, and with the boys tearing their clothes to shreds all the time, she had invested in the small machine to make quick work of the many repair jobs. Bepo lumbered over to stand over her shoulder to watch her work, ears fluttering in curiosity; smiling, Nami leaned back so that he could observe her handiwork.

“You’re going to make mittens from that sweater?”

“Mhmm. There’s no sense in letting this fabric just collect dust,” Nami nodded as she cut out the patterns of the mittens using a large pair of shearing scissors. Tossing the rest of the fabric aside into a little basket for later use, she turned on the sewing machine and put the fabric in place. She felt Bepo release an awed breath over her shoulder as the needle began punching thread into them at high speeds. 

Nami’s nimble fingers guided the fabric to form the seams. In no time at all, she had produced one bear-sized pair of mittens, complete with holes in the fingertips so his claws wouldn’t shred the fabric. His ears flattened to his head as she whirled around in her little stool to hold them up. “Here you go! Try those on.” He very gently took the mittens in his paws before slipping them on, pushing his claws through the added holes and flexing his hands experimentally. He then gave Nami a huge smile that crinkled his already small eyes.

“Thank you, Nami! They’re wonderful! Now I can play in the snow too!” he rejoiced and jumped from foot to foot. Nami giggled and stood up from her chair.

“I’m so glad you like them.” 

“Nami! Will you make snow angels with me?!”

“Of course!” She grinned, then gasped in alarm as Bepo suddenly took off to squeeze out of the doorway and hurry up the steps. “Hey! Not so fast; you’ll fa—” 

She heard a startled yelp followed by a series of rapid thunks that could only be the polar bear Mink tumbling down the stairs. 

She exhaled deeply with a wan smile, shaking her head before walking out to see if he was all right. She found him on his back at the base of the steps in the process of rolling over; it seemed the fall didn’t do much, as he immediately scrambled back to his paws and went shambling up the stairs with an excited, impatient, “Come on, come on!”

“I’m coming!” she assured with another laugh and carefully followed him back up to the winter wonderland that the Sunny had become. For the next several days, the two crews busied themselves with all sorts of winter revelry, and Bepo made sure he showed everybody the marvelous mittens that the gracious Nami had made for him…

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to perusemy Tableof Contents!

[nightmareduringxmas]

[ONE PIECE] [ZOSAN ADVENT CALENDAR, DAY 7] MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji (mentioned: KidLaw, UsoppNami, FrankyRobin). Characters: Roronoa Zoro, (Vinsmoke) Sanji, Monkey D. Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Nico Robin, Trafalgar Water D. Law, Franky, Brook, Tony Tony Chopper. Mentioned: Eustass Kid, all the time. Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me. Warnings: Title comes from the song “ All I want for Christmas is you ”, by Mariah Carey. This is an unrevised work, so I’m sorry for my mistakes. Summary: It’s a winter island they are in. The snow falls from the sky on a slow dance, and Zoro feels that if he stares at the snowflakes, they’ll stop in midair. The village they are is warm and homey. Lights adorn houses and markets, statues of a fat man wearing red clothes are everywhere. It’s part of a tradition at this time of the year, one of the men that greeted them at the port said. They are celebrating something and the Strawhats are in the middle of it. Not by their choice. The log pose takes thirty-one days to settle and so they are forced to be around these people and celebrate their Christmas thingy. Law doesn’t like it. It will take too long, why thirty-one days exactly, why people keep kissing me whenever I stand too long in a place. Questions, questions. Nami only shrugs. “We can’t do anything about it. And at least they aren’t trying to kill us.” “Yet.” Robin reminds them, smiling. “Maybe the main point of this celebration is to kill us and have a feast with our flesh.”

Read on: AO3

It’s a winter island they are in. The snow falls from the sky on a slow dance, and Zoro feels that if he stares at the snowflakes, they’ll stop in midair. Even he must admit it is beautiful, almost romantic, but he could live without Nami’s sighs every time she stares at the ice falling slowly from the sky.

The village they are is warm and homey. Lights adorn houses and markets, statues of a fat man wearing red clothes are everywhere and reindeers are treated like gods (Chopper loved it, even though many called him a raccoon when they saw him). It’s part of the tradition at this time of the year, one of the men that greeted them at the port said. His cheeks were red with something and when Zoro asked about what kind of drink, he answered Joy. So far he has not found this type of booze around, though every barkeeper he asks laugh and tells him he will find if he looks deep enough (deep where?).

They are celebrating something and the Strawhats are in the middle of it. Not by their choice. The log pose takes thirty-one days to settle and so they are forced to be around these people and celebrate their Christmas thingy. Something religious, apparently.

Law doesn’t like it. It will take too long, why thirty-one days exactly, why people keep kissing me whenever I stand too long in a place. Questions, questions. Nami, who is too intrigued by the number of days, only shrugs. “We can’t do anything about it. And at least they aren’t trying to kill us.”

“Yet.” Robin reminds them, smiling. “Maybe the main point of this celebration is to kill us and have a feast with our flesh.”

The eerie silence that would have settled on them for a few minutes is broken by Luffy screaming “MEAT!” and soon there is a discussion of who would be tastier.

They all vote on Chopper, who bursts crying in fear.

Day one

The Cook taps his shoes on the deck of Sunny slowly, every two seconds. They barely reached the place and he soon changed his usual black shoes for black boots with white fur adorning it. Once Zoro asked him why he changed his shoes on winter islands and not on summer islands and the Cook stared at him as if he was an idiot for about five seconds before answering that his shoes can take the heat quite well, but its sole are too slippery for iced ground. It made sense in that way many things the Cook did make sense to Zoro: almost none. When he told him this, the Cook attacked him and they soon were stopped by the Witch who became even better at aiming barrels at them.

Zoro stares at the boots and the rhythm they make, how the snow soon falls with the tapping and wonders if the weight of them make any difference on the Cook’s kicks. Before he got fully acquainted with his swords they too felt too heavy for some movements. The Cook barely uses those boots, does it not feel strange when he puts them for the first time? In a battle, would this make any difference?

“Well?” The Cook says and Zoro looks up, to stare at the Cook’s eyes, well, eye, the way the smoke from his cigarette disappears on this weather, on this whiteness. He has a small notebook in hand and his cheeks are a little red.

Did he find it? Joy?

“‘Well’ what?”

The Cook huffs annoyed. The tapping stops. “Do you want to eat anything special?”

“Booze.”

“That’s not food!”

“Says you.” Zoro answers and stares at the sky. Snow is coming down heavier, a sign of a storm. He should go to the crow’s nest and sleep there. The cold doesn’t affect him anymore.

“Says everyone that has a brain, you moss—” The Cook stops midsentence and inhales smokes, the tip of the cigarette becoming redder with the movement. “Do you want to eat anything special?” He repeats his question and grips the pencil harder.

“Booze.”

“BOOZE IS NOT— FINE!” He writes it down. “Anything else?”

Zoro frowns. “You really gonna make some booze? You know how?”

“Of course I know how, it’s not that hard.”

“Great, I expect it today.”

“YOU CAN’T MAKE ALCOHOL SO FAST!” The Cook screams again and Zoro just stares him hard enough, offended. That’s not true. It’s easy to make booze. It’s everywhere, on every island and in every bar. Can’t take so long.

“I don’t believe in you, shitty Cook. I want it today.”

“YOU’RE IMPOSSIBLE.” Sanji screams and throws the notebook on Zoro. It hits him on his chest and falls on his lap.

After the man leaves, fuming and stomping hard on the ground, Zoro picks the notebook and notices something odd: there is only his name on its pages as if he has only asked Zoro for food.

“Tch. He probably got this one for me after he filled three with the girl's requests.” He says to no one.

Day two

The Cook brings him soup when Zoro is training. It’s weird all in itself, because normally he would just scream food is ready and wait for everyone to show up. Zoro, who is kind of hungry but too busy doing weights, is pretty sure he didn’t hear anyone screaming.

“It’s pumpkin soup.” The Cook answers before Zoro— well, Zoro wasn’t going to ask. It’s food. It’s soup. He doesn’t need the receipt.

“Ok.” He says. He puts down the weights he had and walks over to the Cook, who holds a small spoon. “Thanks.”

The Cook smiles a little and his cheeks get red again. The wind must be very strong out there. “No problem.”

Silence settles in as Zoro takes the bowl and the spoon. He feels the Cook stare at him and doesn’t know what is going on. He looks at him, with his stupid smile and the way his fingers brush his golden hair out of his nose. There are some snowflakes melting on his fringe and Zoro wonders if he feels them touching his skin. If he shudders when they do.

Zoro suppresses himself a shudder and looks at the window. He can’t see anything with the snow and the wind.

“Cook.” Zoro whispers.

“Yes?” The Cook answers, expectantly.

“Is someone watching us?”

“JUST EAT YOUR DAMN FUCKING FOOD, YOU STUPID, BRAINLESS MARIMO, I CAN’T BELIEVE I—”

He leaves after that, his words growing lower as he walks away from the Crow’s nest.

It’s Pumpkin soup, Zoro finds out after he tastes it. The same receipt the Cook made on the last island. The same one Zoro liked so much he repeated over and over and almost had to fight the witch for more.

Day Three

“Do you want to go to the park with me?”

“What?” Zoro asks.

“The park. Where the big tree is being decorated. They said they’ll light it up today.”

Zoro frowns. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.

“Nevermind.” The Cook says after a moment, and his voice sounds a little dejected. “You wouldn’t find it not even if you tried.”

“HEY.”

Day four

“Here.”

Zoro stares at the cookies. They smile at him, small men all dressed like the so-called Santa Claus.

“I didn’t ask for cookies. I asked for booze.”

“I know. Be patient.”

“I don’t like sweet things.”

“I know. But I made these for you, so.” He puts the plate next to Zoro and leaves. “You better eat them.” The Cook threatens.

Zoro gives them to Luffy.

Day five

Hot cocoa is great before training. The Cook keeps talking to everyone how he found this place that has this amazing cocoa and how one of the women of the village gave him some receipts he wants to try and that he hopes they (the Witch and Robin, though he does stares at Zoro and Chopper when he says it) enjoy it as much as he did making them.

It’s good. Delicious. His have dark chocolate and Zoro likes to think of how much the Cook knows him. Even Law seems impressed and he finishes his beverage too quickly to be normal. The Cook sees this and his smile is so wild something ugly inside Zoro curls. He gives his own cocoa to Law and when he tries to refuse, the Cook says it would be a pleasure to share his food with Law, if he liked it so much.

Zoro tries to finish his own hot cocoa as fast as Law did, but all he gets is a burned tongue.

Day six

Zoro is awakened by music. Soft music, cheerful and entirely too Brook, even if that doesn’t make much sense. Before Brook, every music was just music played my a musician, but now he knows the differences as it is played, the same way he is capable of identifying the Cook’s kicks by intensity and even smell (they burn the air and the leather of the shoes when they are coming, even when his leg is not on fire).

“Morning.” Zoro says to nowhere in particular and the music changes for a moment, making him smile. He can hear Brook’s tone when the arc touches the string.

The songs Brook is learning are the ones he listens every night when he goes to sleep. In this island, it’s tradition that a group of people sings to others these songs and now that if he has been on this place only six days, he knows them all by heart. Sometimes Robin hums it when she is reading and Franky did new versions on his guitar. Chopper likes Jingle Bells specifically and Usopp is trying to record them for him, as a present — something else they do at the end of the month. Give presents to each other, something Zoro thinks is ridiculous, because he can show he loves his Nakama by getting strong to protect them, not by giving them some stupid object that will soon wither by time or be destroyed by an enemy.

The funniest thing? Law hates them. He loathes every song that is sung on this island and once he did threaten those villagers who came to sing for them in the ship. Luffy laughed too much and said something about telling a kid about this, but Zoro didn’t really get it.

He walks around the ship and the music follows him, almost if it was part of the wind, and in moments like this Zoro understands why Luffy wanted so badly a musician in this ship.

When he enters the galley unannounced, the image that greets him is of the Cook reading a book with his glasses falling on his nose, staring at the words very intently as something delicious smells on the background. Zoro tilts his head to read the cover and it has something to do with Christmas. Again.

“Cooking book?” Zoro wonders as he fetches himself a glass of water.

The cook mumbles something he does not hear. “What?”

“I said—” and his voice has that dangerous edge that always has when Zoro does not hear him the first time, almost as if he asked him to repeat what he said on purpose (only most of the times). “—it’s a short stories collection.”

“Oh.” Zoro comments and drinks his water.

“Law wanted my opinion on it.”

“Oh.” Zoro mentions and he fetches himself a second glass of water, because his mouth is suddenly dry.

The music outside changes for one much more cheerful that makes the Cook close the book and go scream at Brook to change the music. Something about not being able to read the mood.

It becomes his favorite song.

Day seven

“Did you like it?” The Cook asks suddenly when they are once again alone in the galley. The song Brook played yesterday starts again, almost the moment they are left alone. The Cook’s ears became redder the moment it started. Is it a sexual one? Is that it?

“What?” Zoro asks.

“The cookies.” The Cooks supplies and stares at Zoro for a moment before looking at his feet. Zoro’s eyes follow his. He doesn’t get it. His boots are clean. There is no need to stare at his shoes if they are not dirting his precious kitchen.

“Oh. Yeah.” Zoro says. He meant that he knows about the cookies, not that he liked it, but Zoro finds himself unable to explain this for the other, who just smiles brightly and makes all sort of questions about the taste and other things. He comments on things Zoro doesn’t even know what is about. Cooking, probably.

Zoro doesn’t have the heart to tell him he didn’t, so he grunts and nods and hesitates on his response. It seems to be enough.

The music gets louder and louder and suddenly Franky starts singing about the fact that all he wants for Christmas is someone. The Cook keeps smiling when Zoro leaves the galley, his insides both warm and cold — the same way he gets when he finds a worthy adversary.

Later, when they are eating breakfast and the Cook mentions the cookies again, Zoro finds himself staring at Law, who glares at him as he eats his oatmeal.

Day eight

The little men stare at Zoro with a dumb smile. His brothers and sisters do the same and Zoro can’t hold their empty glares.

“You said you liked it.” The Cook comments, his voice tingling with an unsure tone.

“Uh, yeah, I did.” Zoro tries to explain himself. “I just didn’t think you would… Do more.”

Much more. Three times more.

The Cook stares at the window, eyes warm, cheeks flushing. “I thought it would be nice to practice a little more. Ginger men are not something I’m used to making.”

Could have me fooled, Zoro thinks.

He opens his mouth to thanks the Cook and take some and leave before the truth comes out, but it’s too late. Luffy barges in asking for meat. Zoro starts to sweat.

“LOOK ALL THESE COOKIES. THE SAME ONES YOU DID FOR ZORO! ARE YOU FINALLY MAKING FOR ME? THEY TASTE SO GOOD! YOU’LL GIVE ME YOURS AGAIN, RIGHT ZORO?”

There is silence.

“What.”

.

Usopp grimaces as his hair gets gradually wetter and wetter. Snow isn’t exactly good for it and he is taking extra care of his hair now that they are spending so much time on this island, but. But he might have to bring in the big guns just because of all these tears.

“It’s okay.” He says as he pats Sanji in the back. “I know. It’s okay. He’s an idiot, but you knew this when you decided to fall in love with him.”

“I DIDN’T DECIDE ANYTHING.” Sanji screams right at his ear. Usopp flinches. “IT JUST HAPPENED, I WAS FINE WITH NAMI-SWAN.”

“Right. I’m sorry.”

Usopp sighs again and curses Zoro.

Day nine

Robin comes at him in the morning and tells him the Cook will buy extra groceries for a special dinner on a special day, as it is a tradition on this island. “It would be wonderful if you helped him.”

Zoro narrows his eyes, sensing the small threat in her smile, in the way the warmth doesn’t reach her eyes. She’s not just offering advice.

Though Robin is Zoro’s favorite female companion, he prefers the Witch on these. Her threats aren’t veiled. They are also not as dangerous as Robin’s.

“Why would I do that?” He asks, analyzing her.

Robin’s grin widens. “Because then he would have to ask Law and I have a feeling he would not oppose.”

So here is Zoro, walking right next to the Cook and he feels like he was fooled into doing something. He doesn’t know what, exactly. The Cook at least isn’t bitching and seems glad Zoro so promptly offered himself to go.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” The Cook asks, looking around. The market is bursting with life, people smiling as they shop, smiling as they eat, smiling as they live. It’s very utopical and entirely unnerving if you ask Zoro, but not right now.

The Cook too is smiling like them.

Zoro smells his cigarette and it mixes with the smell of hot food, baked or fried, around them. It remembers him of the Cook on his own kitchen, preparing dish after dish and not expecting a eulogy after people eat — though their Nakama do tell him how much the food is delicious (most of them, anyway. All but Zoro, really). His hair shines with the lights around the place, changing color as they pass. Yellow is one of the primary colors, Zoro knows this much. It mixes easily with every other color, the beginning of thousand others.

“Yes.” Zoro says. “Yes, it’s great.” And his eyes never leave the Cook’s face, his shadow, his body.

Day ten

“Are you sure—” The Cook starts “—That Joy is the right name.”

“Yes.” Zoro hisses and they hop from bar to bar. “I asked what the guy was drunk on to be so red in the face. And he said Joy.”

The Cook stares at him for a long moment. They are still shopping for groceries, though today only the lighter stuff. They have time to wander from bar to bar and ask if they have Joy.

The barkeeper at the bar on the main street, a woman of huge bosom that winks too much at Sanji, leans suggestively at the table she just cleaned and says: “I sure do, honey. But it’s gonna cost ya.”

The Cook’s nose bleeds so much Zoro has to take him back to ship for a transfusion.

“I’M NEVER TAKING YOU TO A BAR AGAIN!” Zoro keeps screaming all the way back, disgusted.

Day eleven

Zoro wakes up and does what he normally does: he walks around the ship a little and then fetches himself a glass of water. Brook is already up, playing on his violin, and he nods at Zoro before changing the music halfway. It’s the same one he always plays when he sees Zoro, apparently. It is suspicious, sure, but if the Cook hates it, then he’s fine with it.

He always had more patience.

What he doesn’t have is enough intelligence to understand why, when he opens the door to the galley, Law is hanging weird plants all over the kitchen. He stares at Zoro as Luffy does sometimes when they catch him eating off the clock, but soon Law’s face becomes neutral again.

The Cook is nowhere to be found.

“Good morning, Zoro-ya.” Law says and moves on from another part of the ceiling to hang…

“What is that?”

“Mistletoe.”

“What?”

Law huffs. “I finally figured it out why people kept kissing me when I got out on the city. It’s a tradition, you see.” He hands another one and then moves closer to the sink. “When two people are underneath one, they must kiss. On the cheek or on the mouth. Now all I have to do is look up and avoid these things.”

“If you want to avoid, why are you hanging these in the galley?”

“Perhaps—” Law starts and looks at the ceiling, as if making sure all the mistletoes are in place. “I want two certain people to kiss.”

Zoro frowns. “Why?”

“It’s due. And I am not patient with those things.”

Oh. Oh. “So, who do you want to—”

“Why are you at the door of my kitchen—?” The Cook screams as he barges in, shoving Zoro inside the galley. Brook’s music becomes faster somehow, those apt fingers speeding up. “What is this?”

Zoro feels his heart break. Oh.

“Good morning, Sanji-ya.” Law says, his voice the same monotonous tone. “I’m just here for some coffee.”

Liar.

“Why is there mistletoe on my kitchen? All over it?”

Law’s eyes fall on Zoro. He arches an eyebrow, as if prompting him to say something. Anything.

Zoro can’t. “Law put them up.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Oh.

The Cook sputters something, gets red-faced and stares at Zoro. Who stares at Law, glaring. Who stares at Zoro, challenging him.

Brook keeps playing the same song, but this time he changes the tone. It sounds like one of those songs used in public plays to show the audience they are nearing the cliffhanger or that something (usually really bad) is going to happen.

“Do it, then.” Zoro suddenly says and they all fall into silence.

Even Brook.

Law snaps. “Oh, for fuck’s sake— Fine! You think I’ll—? Fine! I’ll do it!”

“What?” The Cook asks and when he looks at Law, he is pulled into a kiss, on the mouth. With tongue.

Something in Zoro breaks and this is new. He leaves, mouth dry, eyes wet. All he hears is Brook barging in the galley seconds after he leaves. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THIS ISN’T THE PLAN!” Brook screams.

“THE PLAN DOESN’T WORK WITH IDIOTS!” Law screams back.

“THERE IS NO PLAN! ONLY YOU GUYS RUINING MY LIFE— WHERE IS USOPP!”

Zoro doesn’t hear anything anymore.

Doesn’t understand either.

Day twelve

To keep things normal between them, the Cook makes him onigiri. They taste bitter, nothing like what they tasted before Law kissed the Cook and Zoro hates himself for this. For being so jealous of something so frivolous. For letting this affect one of the things the Cook always loved — to feed people. Nakama. Them.

Zoro does his best to keep things cool between them. Normal.

He ignores the Cook. Eats and keeps quiet, even when Law isn’t around — he has been curiously absent from yesterday’s breakfast, lunch, supper, dinner and today is the same. Eats and keeps quiet even when Luffy stares at him, intently.

It’s fine. Everything is fine. Will be fine. Soon he’ll get over it and soon Law will leave them and soon the Cook will stop making these sad faces at Zoro and opening his mouth and closing, but not saying anything.

Zoro finishes eating as fast as he can and leaves without saying anything to anyone.

And if he trains harder, it’s because he knows he can use these feelings into making himself stronger. And if he hopes Law dies before he ever comes back to the ship, well, he still has a lot to learn.

Day thirteen

Usopp comes to him before Zoro manages to escape. Between training and miserably eating next to the Cook — who keeps trying to start a conversation, before shutting himself up and proceed to eat too — he is trying to find Joy, because now he could use a very good drink.

“Zoro, I want to talk to you about what you saw a few days ago.”

Zoro grunts. “There is nothing to talk about.”

“Are you sure…? Because I feel we should talk about whatever you thought you saw. I mean, Sanji and Law kissing? Pfff!” He waves a hand around and starts talking about all the possible ways to read into that, all of them unrelated with the possibility of Law and the Cook being in love with each other.

Zoro admires Usopp’s ability to lie to himself. He creates intrinsic readings of one moment that is quite clear and, well, they could fool Zoro had he not seen Law kiss the Cook in the mouth.

Why he is telling Zoro this is another mystery.

“Maybe Law was trying to get something out of it, you know?” Usopp says and he stares directly at Zoro. He looks serious. “Like… Make someone see something that is right in front of them…?”

Oh.

I’m such an idiot, Zoro thinks and smiles sadly. He puts a hand on one of Usopp’s shoulder and pats him a few times. “I understand.”

Usopp blinks. “You… You do?”

“You need to let him go.” Zoro says. “The Cook… He chose someone else, Usopp. It’s not healthy.”

“...Oh my God Law is right, you are an idiot!”

“What?”

Day fourteen

Chopper invites Zoro to walk with him around town to talk to the reindeers and Zoro is glad for it. Now that Law and the Cook are together and he knows Usopp too had feelings for him, Zoro feels as if he is a stranger on Sunny. That he doesn’t know what is going on there anymore. Things were fine two weeks ago… Now…

“Zoro, you don’t like Sanji?” Chopper asks during their walk. His expression is worried, almost sad.

“Uh…”

“Because he likes you, a lot.”

“Uh…”

“Robin told me you guys fight to show affection, like you’re mating animals—”

“What?”

“—but now you seem so distant.” Chopper sniffs and looks so sad a small girl that passes by them moans at this. Her companion holds her hand, pushing her away from Chopper. By the looks of it, she was going to grab him and hug him. Not that Zoro can judge her for this.

“We— Hm— I don’t— Uh— Uhhh— Look! Candy!”

“WHERE?!”

Day fifteen

Zoro stares at the Beli given by the Witch with suspicion.

“What?” She says, smiling too much. “I’m not going to charge you for this.”

“Yeah, right.” He says, snorting. “Don’t think you can fool me, witch.”

The Witch rolls her eyes. “I promise. I won’t. This is for you to buy presents to everyone.”

“What.”

“Presents.” The Witch says again, slowly. “You know. As it’s tradition. I figured it out you weren’t buying because you had no money, so, because I am an angel, I decided to lend you some.”

Zoro snorts again.

“Just get the money, Zoro.” The Witch hisses and slams her hand on the table.

“I’m not going to buy anyone anything.” Zoro mumbles. He won’t stay out in the cold looking for presents that mean nothing. Absolutely nothing. Buying a book to Robin means nothing if compared to what he can give her if he gets stronger. What he can give them all. Their dreams. This means more than ephemeral gifts.

The Witch doesn’t think like him, however. “Yes, you will.” She smiles and Zoro is not afraid all of sudden. He is not. “Because if you don’t, I’ll start charging 300% interest on what you own me.”

“You can’t do—”

“—But if you buy me a good gift, maybe it’ll be enough to forget this idea…”

“I don’t even know what you like.” Besides treasure. Maybe he can give her more treasure?

“But you know someone who does.”

Zoro freezes. “No.”

The Witch smile widens.

.

The Cook almost drops the plate when Zoro barges in. Seconds later, Brook starts playing that goddamned song again and, okay, Zoro knows why the Cook doesn’t like it.

“Yes?” He asks, sounding too hopeful. Zoro’s heart clenches.

“The Witch—”

“DON’T CALL NAMI-SWAN THAT”

“—is forcing me to buy a gift for everyone. And I need help with that.”

“Oh. Sure. When do you want to go?”

“Tomorrow.” Zoro says and the pained expression on the Cook’s face makes his stomach churn. “What.”

“I— Um— I’m going with Law. Tomorrow.” He explains. “He asked me a few days ago before—”

Before the kiss is what he means.

“No problem.” Zoro says and stares at the window. The snow falls outside. Behind her, the village’s lights shine as bright as when they first arrived. Things were easier, better then.

He hates this island. Hates what it did to him, to them.

Zoro looks back at the Cook, who does not look at him. “The day after?”

The Cook smiles. “Sure.”

Day sixteen

“Zoro,” Luffy says, face still serious. “I’m your captain. You should do everything I say!”

Zoro huffs. “I already told you” He looks around. Fuck, where is the Cook? Can’t be that hard to find the man around all these people, where is— Oh, there he is! “I’m not going to spend the money the Witch gave me with meat.”

“WHY?”

“SHUT UP, I’M TRYING TO FOLLOW SOMEONE HERE!”

The woman walking past them jumps when Zoro screams and narrows his eyes, protecting her shopping bags, as if they were following her. Why would he follow her anyway? He’s a pirate, not a thief and, anyway, she’s not the Cook, who is seemingly on a date with his—

—His Law? What are then in this moment? Are they boyfriends? Lovers? Fuck buddies? Zoro hates all possibilities and yet every time the Cook smiled at Law as they talked, he wanted to ask are you happy? Are you happy with him? I want you to. To be happy. You deserve it.

His heart hurts so much Zoro could stab it to see if it would stop for just a moment. What if he died? Better than feeling this for(ever) god knows how long.

“No, you’re not. You’re lost again.” Luffy points it out and smiles. “Shishishi you lost Torao and Sanji three stores ago.”

“No, I didn’t.” Zoro says. “They’re right there.”

He points to the blonde man he just found as if to make a point, but when he turns, it’s an Okama. She stares at them and blushes, winking.

“Shit.”

Day seventeen

It’s the day after tomorrow and Zoro is nervous. So nervous Robin sat with him and told him that everything would be fine. That the Cook’s feelings for him wouldn’t change if Zoro did something stupid because he always does something stupid and it didn’t help. Zoro wants the Cook to feel something else. Something close to what he feels right now, for him.

Hell, he could do with just a mild attraction. He can do all the loving; he just needs the Cook.

“Oh.” Robin says after a moment. “Call Cook-san by his name.” She smiles. “I’m sure he would like that.”

And here they are. Zoro looking around necklaces with such intensity they could melt. Truth is, he doesn’t — can’t — look at the Cook right now. Not when he is dressed in a black overcoat that looks new and expensive. Underneath it, the grey sweater keeps him warm and covers his tie and white shirt. The wool pants he is using hug his thighs so perfectly even some women stopped to admire. And yet the Cook barely looked at them, all the time talking to Zoro, showing him where he bought his presents for each of their Nakama.

Zoro wants to ask him what he bought Law.

“You must really love her, huh?” A saleswoman says and Zoro laughs out loud. “Nah, I just don’t want her bitching to me and saying I bought her something ugly on purpose.”

“You—” The Cook appears out of nowhere, as if he knew Zoro was trash talking the witch. “—Nami-swan is a goddess! You don’t deserve to buy her anything!”

“Tell her that, then.”

They start arguing about the witch and suddenly the saleswoman laughs. “Oh. I see how it is. My mistake, then.” When Zoro opens his mouth to ask what she is talking about, she shows him a ring so shiny he flinches a little. “What about these?”

“Nami-swan likes necklaces better.” The Cook comments.

The saleswoman looks at Zoro. “Do you have anything like this for a necklace?”

“I have cute pendants.”

The look at each other and Zoro smiles. “Do you have anything that looks like an orange?”

.

When they are done and all the gifts are bought — and Zoro must confess he feels a little nervous, not knowing if they will like what he bought them — and they are going back to the ship, Zoro remembers what Robin told him. About calling the Cook his name. His original one.

“So— Hm.” He starts and his mouth feel suddenly dry.

“Yes?” The Cook — Sanji — answers and looks at him. There are snowflakes in his hair and Zoro really wants to brush them away. Touch those golden locks and kiss them and—

“Nevermind.”

Coward, he thinks and he sounds like Mihawk.

Day eighteen

Law is drinking tea inside the galley and so Zoro goes again in the city. He bought a present for him after the Cook reminded Zoro he had to, but that doesn’t change anything. Law doesn’t deserve the Cook. He isn’t even going to stay around them much longer. It will end in heartbreak and one of them wears his heart on his sleeve — always shows it around, to girls, most of the time.

Zoro thinks he could take care of it. He would be careful. He could be kind.

His steps lead him to the same place he bought the Witch’s orange pendant. Before he even recognizes him, the saleswoman from the day before comes out, smiling. “You!” She says.

“Yeah?”

“I thought you wouldn’t come around here anymore, but here you are! I recognized you because of your hair—”

“What do you want?”

If the Cook was here, Zoro would be kicked by his gruff tone and unkind words. However, the girl only laughs and shoves him inside the shop again.

“I have something to give you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Her smile widens before she starts searching for something inside her pockets. “You know, when  saw you yesterday I knew it had to be you.”

Zoro freezes at that. Of course. His hair. She must have recognized him from his wanted poster. He looks at her, really looks. If she is a pirate hunter, she surely doesn’t look like. She poses no threat, and maybe that is her biggest advantage. However, when she exclaims like Chopper sometimes does when someone gives him candy, Zoro relaxes. Nah, she’s just some dumb woman.

“This is for you.” She says and gives him two rings made of wood.

Zoro frowns. “I don’t have any money.”

“It’s on the house.”

“Ha?”

“It’s a family tradition. My great grandpa was very poor, but he was so very in love with my great grandma he became a jewelry maker himself to make a wedding ring out of wood for her. He was quite talented and soon he found work in this jewelry shop. The owner, when he died, passed it away to him since he had no kids himself. He taught his daughter, who taught my dad, who taught me!” She laughs again. “He always said his love for his wife saved him and because of that, every year on this month, he would give a couple wedding rings made of wood as a good luck charm. My grandma said he always knew who to give — because you can feel true love when you see in front of you. So—” She places the two rings on his palm. “—I want to give you this.”

Zoro frowns again. “Nice story, but as I said, I’m not in love with the witch.”

“But you are in love with that blonde man, aren’t you?”

He blushes. “What? No—”

“Everyone with two eyes can see.” She says and giggles a little. “You’ll be very happy with him.”

“He doesn’t love me.”

“As I said.” The saleswoman leads him out of the shop. The rings on the palm of his hand are already warm. “Everyone with two eyes can see.”

Before he can ask what that means, she slams the door on his face. Rude.

Day nineteen

“Strawhat-ya.” Law says, voice very serious. “Stop eating the decorations. They are not edible.”

“They look so yummy, though! Shishishi”

“...No, they look like plastic, which is exactly what it is.”

“You’re no fun, Torao!” Luffy whines as Law takes away from him the wreaths they are supposed to hang on every door. Law looks at Zoro as he passes by the Aquarium and narrows his eyes at his direction.

Zoro looks back at his job — decorating the Christmas tree — and tilts his head. It looks like shit. He can feel Law’s judgment from the other room, by the way he hits the nail on the door.

“It looks like shit.” The witch says, staring from her place on the seats of the Aquarium, book open in her lap and hot tea on her hands.

“IT LOOKS FINE TO ME!”

“Do it again, Zoro.” She orders him before looking back to her book.

“Why don’t you do something besides boss everyone around.” Zoro grumbles as he dismantles the tree once again.

“I heard that. You own me twice as much as you did before.”

“YOU WITCH, I’LL KILL YOU.”

“Ten times as much as it did before, is that it?”

“WHAT KIND OF MATH IS—”

“Did I hear twenty times as much—”

“...”

The Witch hums something and Zoro wishes they never saved her from Arlong. He doesn’t even know how much he owns her now. Not that he did before, since the amount always changes at least three times a week.

“Nami-swan, you look beautiful today~” The Cook’s voice breaks the silence and Zoro almost drops the tree on the ground. The Cook and the witch stare at him for a few seconds and he politely ignores them. “I see you are busy.”

“Oi, what does that—”

“Never for you, Sanji!” She says sweetly and as the Cook melts because of this (why it had to be him? Of all the men on this ship, why it had to be the pathetic one?) she asks: “Are you asking around already?”

Asking for what?, Zoro wonders as he places the star at the top of the tree, first and foremost. It’s said to be last thing on the tree, but Zoro didn’t want to decorate the Christmas tree. He didn’t want to decorate anything, really. The villagers, however, gave lots of decorations for them and since it was free, the Witch gave everyone something to hang around the Sunny. Since Zoro refused many tasks, she said he would join her on decorating the most important thing: the tree.

That fucking Witch.

“Yes!” He says. “I’ll start the cooking tomorrow. Have you decided yet, my dear?”

“I’ll have a lobster frittata. I never had it before!”

“Oh, it will be my pleasure to prepare it, then! I’ll make the best one I have ever done in my life!”

“What’s that?” Zoro asks, suddenly curious. He never heard of lobster batata.

“It’s a special dish I will make to my mellorine because she deserves everything~” The Cook answers and that’s not even the response he wanted.

“What about you, Zoro? Did you chose already?”

“Choose what?”

“He did, already, Nami-swan.” The Cook answers and Zoro glares at him. “Marimo chose alcohol.”

The Witch laughs. “That’s not even food!”

“I know!”

“Oi, what are you talking about?”

The Cook tilts his head to one side. The fringe covering one eye falls out of place and shows the blue iris. Zoro loses his breath for a moment. What a rarity, to see both his eyes like this.

“Don’t you remember? I asked if you wanted anything special dish and you kept telling me you wanted booze.”

It feels like years ago, but the memory comes. “Oh. That. Right.”

“Do you want something else, Zoro?” The Witch asks, voice soft. “I’m sure Sanji will do it, since you asked for booze and, well, it’s not food.”

“Pumpkin soup.” Zoro says suddenly.

The Cook’s smile is so beautiful Zoro hurts just by looking at it. The rings he kept in his pocket suddenly feel heavier than all of this weights. He should throw them at the see and stop hoping.

“Pumpkin soup it is.”

Day twenty

The kitchen becomes off limits and Zoro pretends he doesn’t care. Well, he really doesn’t, except when he notices he has not seen the Cook all day. It’s weird to not see one of his nakama for a whole day when they live together and as soon as he notices he is wandering near the galley for no reason but to catch a glimpse of the Cook, Zoro decides it’s his great chance to forget him.

He can use these days to forget the Cook, to force his heart to give up on him.

He spends the whole day at the crow’s nest, meditating.

Day twenty-one

In a bar, he finds not Joy, but this man that looks a lot like the Cook. The same eyes and almost the same face and he seems interested, so.

He kisses him and he feels wrong. Zoro tastes booze, but not cigarettes. His fingers are calloused and ill kept. His legs are weak.

“No.” Zoro says suddenly. Steps away from the man and leaves.

Day twenty-two

Franky and Usopp are doing something for the Cook. Robin and the Witch comment this to him as they eat on the aquarium, both looking a little bit angry at the Cook.

Weird.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know.” Robin says. “They were excited, however. Could not even go to sleep.”

“Yeah.” The Witch nods and she looks particularly resentful at that. “Assholes.”

“How do you know they didn’t go to bed?”

“Just eat your oatmeal, dear.” They both say at once. And, well, he does.

Day twenty-three

“Have you seen him today?”

Law looks up from his book to stare at Zoro. “What?”

“The Cook. Have you seen him today?”

“No.” Law says slowly and stares at his book for a moment before he closes it, securing the page he was one with a withered leaf. Zoro wonders where did he get it or from who.

(can’t be the Cook, that is for sure)

“We should talk.”

“We are.” Zoro tries and smirks as Law rolls his eyes.

“Funny. Look, I’m not—”

“TORAO, THE BIRD IS HERE!” Luffy screeches from the deck.

Law gets up so fast that Zoro is pretty sure he forgot his shadow in his haste.

Day twenty-four

The first nakama Zoro sees when he wakes up and leaves the crow’s nest are Franky and Usopp. They seem tired, but are restless as they talk about whatever they build to Sanji. When they see him, they exchange giddy — yes, giddy — looks and try to look as if they didn’t know something Zoro doesn’t.

They fail.

“What.”

“Nothing! You’re just in for a SUPER SURPRISE!” Franky screams and then starts to cry a little. “Love is beautiful, bro!”

Usopp just shrugs, but he is smiling, and Zoro narrows his eyes at him. He gulps. “Nothing! Nothing bad is going to happen! You’re just— You’ll see.”

“I don’t like where this is going.”

“We wouldn’t need to do this if you weren’t an idiot.”

“What?”

“Eep!”

.

The Cook is still cooking and Zoro knows what that means. It means tons of food, great food, food he made thinking of the others when the point of this whole island tradition is to spend time together.

Or so he was told.

At least he’s not the only one who didn’t like all this. Luffy seems moodier and because of that Law is too unsettled. He stops asking for meat and just starts screaming for the Cook. “Sanji this and Sanji that”, silly things that he never really gets answers, before he annoys Law into doing something with him. Chopper asks Usopp and Franky every ten minutes if the Cook is alright. If he is eating, if he is sleeping, if he is tired. Usopp says he is fine, he is okay, but doesn’t disagree when the Witch mumbles that the Cook is working too hard. Franky tries to cheer them by saying how super the food is going and that the Cook will be seen after today.

Robin and Brook just offer to help the Cook in something and when they disappear too, it’s obvious they won the argument and are keeping an eye out for their shitty Cook.

Zoro waits.

Zoro waits and Zoro thinks and Zoro feels like he is losing a battle, because the Cook is there when he closes his eyes and when he opens and when he listens to the others or when he listens to himself. It’s overwhelming to have every sense filled with the Cook, even more now that he hasLaw, and yet it’s not enough.

He hasn’t seen the Cook in almost a week.

.

And when it’s near midnight and the Cook opens the door with a smile and tells them it’s ready, the smiles he receives are not because they are grateful he cooked to them, but because they missed him so much.

.

It’s glorious, delicious, perfect, as always. And the Cook eats and the Cook laughs and Zoro closes his eyes and thinks of the wooden ring (still) on his pocket and understands now why love is enough for some people to live.

Day twenty-five

Midnight comes with fireworks and Merry Christmas echoing in every household of the village, in every ship docked, and in Sunny. When they are satisfied with the food and with talking on deck, watching the stars and the fireworks, listening to songs sung by Brook and Franky — and Usopp and Luffy when they get shitfaced —, Robin remembers it’s the day to exchange gifts.

Usopp, Chopper, Luffy and even the Witch are not able to not open their presents, and they race to the aquarium the moment it is mentioned. Robin stares at Franky for a moment before he excuses himself and leaves, that demon woman following him, his shadow almost hiding her completely.

Zoro finally gets it. He stares at the two before his eyes fall on the Coo— on Sanji and he is suddenly not there either. Near Zoro, Law stares at the sky, as if expecting to see some bird carrying letters and gifts coming for them. He wonders if he is thinking of his nakama. He must miss them more than he lets on.

Brook, who was following some songs echoing through the village with his violin, stretches and mentions something about a cup of tea. “I’ll join you.” Zoro says even though he doesn’t drink tea, but Brook doesn’t comment on that, only nods.

They enter the kitchen, only to find it empty and Zoro tries his best not to look disappointed. He was better at schooling his emotions before, but this island and it’s stupid traditions have ruined this.

(or was it you?, his mind supplies and it sounds like Perona)

“You’re in the way.” Zoro jumps when he hears the voice near him and when he looks back, there is the— there is Sanji, holding something in his hand.

“Tch.” He answers and moves to let him enter the galley. His eyes follow Sanji’s back and when he turns, Zoro is forced to look away. That is when he notices Brook has slipped away and they are alone.

“Here.” Sanji says and extends a package for him.

Zoro knows that form.

“Did you find Joy?” He asks, surprised, but when he tears the thin material open, he stares at a bottle of something that doesn’t look like a strong drink.

“Nope. I think you got conned on that, Marimo.” Sanji says and Zoro can hear the smile in his voice. “This is something I promised, though.”

“You—?” And then it hits him. He looks at the drink and opens it. The smell of apples are very distinguished and his heart aches. He brings the bottle to his lips and tastes it, only to find it is as perfect as the pumpkin soup, or the tender, or the potatoes or anything he ate a few hours ago, in the company of their nakama.

“This is what you were making all these days?”

Sanji huffs a laughter. “Of course. It was hard, but Usopp and Franky are awesome like that. Don’t worry. There are more. I just wrapped it in as a symbolic gesture.”

“Thanks.”

Sanji shrugs, but he is smiling too much, his eye is sparkling with something warm. Zoro looks at the ceiling, sees the mistletoe — dried and dying — and remembers what Law said about the tradition surrounding this small plant. A kiss.

He stares at Sanji and how he doesn’t have a cigarette in his mouth. How he too stares at Zoro and—

Zoro drinks some more apple cider. Tries to drown that desire with something made by Sanji, by his hands and his mind and his knowledge, because it has to be enough.

Be enough, he asks all the gods he never believed in, knowing it won’t be answered.

Day twenty-six

Law is smiling. It’s weirdly unsettling and when Zoro asks Luffy about it, he just laughs and says he received some good news and hey, is Zoro gonna eat that? And of course Zoro is going to eat that, stop trying to steal his food.

Anyway, it makes Zoro wonder what could've be. It makes him wonder if Sanji would be able to make a man smile like that after a night —  after his voice lowers and he finds something else to occupy his mouth with —  and he shivers at the idea. Zoro also feels something akin to jealousy (real, poisonous jealousy) and decides it's time to cool his head off as he searches for something else that also seems impossible for him.

Joy.

Before he can leave by himself, however, Sanji decides to join him, saying he wants to buy some more potatoes. “You'll cook soon?” Zoro wonders, a little suspicious and Sanji scoffs.

“Of course I will! Not right now, but soon.”

“We have food to feed— " he stops his observation as he remembers Luffy and his will to eat the entire ship. “Right.”

“Yeah.” Sanji says and they soon fall into a comfortable silence.

As if.

Zoro's comfortable silence is for those he has finished a conversation, have sorted everything out with. With Sanji, there's always something else to be said when they are not fighting —  each other and strangers.

Now the silence is worse than poison because holds the promise of unfinished business and unrequited emotions.

“Why are you looking for it?” Sanji breaks it first. He never liked the quietness, being raised in a loud environment, stressful and dangerous. A kitchen of a former pirate doesn't sound as calm as a kendo dojo. “Joy, is it?”

Zoro shrugs “I want to taste it. And it keeps me busy.”

Sanji snorts. “And here I thought you liked laziness.”

“Not these days.” He confesses and his voice sounds too sincere, he bites the inside of his cheek when Sanji stares at him. “If I sleep too much, I freeze to death.” He explains.

Sanji laughs, and Zoro thinks of Law's smile.

Fuck.

“Are you happy?” He asks suddenly and Sanji tilts his head or at least seems to do by the corner of his eyes. Zoro keeps his head straight, eyes staring at where he is walking. In his head, he wishes for an enemy.

“What do you mean?” Sanji asks after a moment. His voice is hesitant and small.

“I hope you are. Law seems to be a nice man.” Zoro explains and flinches at the way he says Law. There is some bitterness in his tone. Some angry resignation.

Sanji stops walking. Zoro doesn’t.

.

“I don't understand.” Sanji confesses, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and an unlit one on the other. “Why is he still talking about Law?”

Usopp sighs at the same time Nami-swan does. If Sanji wasn’t so confused and distracted, he would wonder why those seem to be in symmetry with the other.

Luffy, who is a little bit of an idiot but knows his nakama enough to understand what is happening between them, only turns to Sanji and says: “Maybe he didn't understand Law has a boyfriend.”

“HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND.” A voice screeches from somewhere and Sanji, Usopp and Nami-swan jump. Luffy only giggles as he hears Franky screaming “STOP TALKING TO THE WALLS, BRO, IT'S SUPER WEIRD.”

“How did he hear that?” Nami-swan asks Usopp, voice low and he just shrugs.

“I guess this is part of Things We’ll Never Truly Know or Understand About This Wolrd.” Usopp says, shrugging. “Together if How Zoro Can Be So Blind.”

Sanji mutters something and then hugs Luffy who only pats his back and tells him about all the kinds of meat he wants to eat tomorrow. Now would be awesome, too.

Day twenty-seven

The Witch follows Zoro after breakfast to remember they are going to leave the island soon. “We left some orders to be collected after Christmas and Chopper is going to get them today. Go with him.” It’s not a request.

“I don't remember Luffy dying and you becoming the captain, Witch.”

“Luffy, Zoro doesn't want to go get meat!” She speaks louder and Zoro flinches.

“ZORO, GO GET MY MEAT, IT’S CAPTAIN’S ORDERS!”

The Witch’s smile is so pleasant that Zoro wants to drop her on the freezing ocean.

.

Turns out, there is a lot they ordered on this island during the month. Medicines and food, yes, but also ink, notebooks, paper, some instruments, wood... Things that would take Chopper a long time to collect and bring to the ship.

All the while, Chopper is talking about animal's different mating rituals that he has read in a book recently and Zoro just wants a distraction, really.

This is when he looks around and sees Franky and Robin on a date.

It's a date alright. Zoro knows that because Franky is wearing pants and Robin's hair is done in a different way. Her clothes seem nicer than usual, too.

“And then the morse stands on his mate's body and looks like he is actually standing on a dead body, but the books said it was still alive, even with all the blood and— ROBIN! I got the books you ordered from the bookstore! Do you want them now?” Chopper screams and runs to her before Zoro can stop him. She turns to look at him and though her smile is kind, her eyes show she is surprised. Franky chokes on his coffee the moment Chopper comments he has pants on. “ARE YOU OKAY? SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR!”

“You're the doctor.” Zoro comments casually.

“IT’S TRUE! HANG ON, FRANKY, I’LL COLLECT SOME BLOOD!”

“There is no need for that, Doctor-san.” Robin says and pats one of Franky’s arms. They cling a little, being metal and all and Franky gives them a weak smile. “Yeah. I’m super! Just... Choked on my drink.”

“And you don't even have blood, right?” Zoro says, but then he gets genuinely curious. “You don't, right?”

They all stare at Franky, and Chopper slowly takes a syringe from his pocket, eyes shining.

.

Later that day, when Franky is avoiding Chopper and Chopper is looking for Franky, Law in tow because he too never wondered about this, Robin sits near Zoro on the Crow's nest and asks: “When did you learn you liked Cook-san?”

“Uh…”

“It can't be this month.” She goes on and maybe this is revenge for earlier. “I have the impression you already knew, just didn't realize the depth.”

“Thriller's bark.” He answers.

“Oh.” She says. For a moment Zoro wonders she will ask the context, but she doesn't. He narrows his eyes and wonders if she already knows.

This woman.

“What about you? When did you realize you liked Franky?”

She turns to smile at him. Her eyes are cold. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Swordsman-san.”

The Crow's nest temperature drops three degrees and Zoro fears.

This woman.

Day twenty-eight

“Let’s fight.” Sanji says and Zoro stares at him. They were on deck, cleaning out the snow that has poured during the night.

“What?”

“I said—” And suddenly he is just there, feet against an unsheathed Kitetsu. “—Let’s fight!”

Sanji throws another kick, right at Zoro’s stomach and he skids through the deck, wet and slippery because of the ice. Zoro grits his teeth as he charges towards the Cook (Sanji, but he is never Sanji when they are fighting, is he? Sanji cooks and Sanji smiles and Sanji shines during the day and even during the night. In a fight, he is all Cook, dangerous feet and dangerous hands, even if he doesn’t use them — have you seen he using a knife? He would be just as dangerous with a sword, if he wasn’t so afraid — and this glint on his eyes that promise death and blood), unsheathes Kitetsu and watches him dodge easily, as if he was dancing instead of fighting.

It makes Zoro angrier somehow. Angry because he doesn’t seem to take Zoro seriously and angry that he lost him to Law, Law, who isn’t even nakama. I should have been faster, he think. And stronger. And kissed him instead of telling Law to do it.

When the Cook starts to hit again, Zoro slips and suddenly his back is against the main mast and the Cook is just there, ankle pressuring Kitetsu. Their faces are so close that Zoro can taste the cigarette on the Cook’s breath. Something falls near them and Zoro glances down — something dangerous, yes, but.

Mistletoe.

It’s tradition, Law voice tells him inside his head. He sounds as if he is smirking at Zoro.

Zoro kisses the Cook.

Kisses him like he is going to bite him, angry and bitter, and the Cook — Sanji — is so surprised he slips and falls.

They stare at each other for what feels like hours instead of seconds.

And then Zoro leaves.

Day twenty-nine

He doesn’t go back to the ship until it’s morning of the next day. He wanders around the village, still annoyingly cheerful, and drinks on bars and gets into fights. Zoro expects the anger to simmer down, but it doesn’t. It just keeps coming and coming, like lava coming out of a volcano in eruption. He wishes it had happened before, not when they are ready to leave and stay in close proximity — Zoro, Sanji and Law — for gods know how long.

Still, there is nothing he can do and they can’t afford to waste more days around here, so—

So he comes back when the sun is rising.

The first person he sees is Law.

“Not now.” Zoro grunts as he passes the man.

“When, then?” Law asks and he sounds almost sarcastic. “When? Because we need to talk, Zoro-ya.”

“Not. Now.” Zoro warns.

“You’re mistaken.” Law says and Zoro turns his body to stare at him.

“Just—” Zoro sighs. “Just make him happy. Don’t ruin him.”

Law tilts his head, smirking as if he is delighted with something. “You really are mistaken, Zoro-ya.” Zoro opens his mouth to snap at this smug motherfucker when Law just continues. “There is nothing between Cook-ya and me.”

A pause.

“What?”

“I have no intentions or feelings for him. And he feels nothing for me either.”

“You kissed—”

“—Because you didn’t. I thought you would do something then, not— Not plan our wedding, but alas.”

Zoro narrows his eyes, angrier now. And not even he knew he could be this angry at someone he trusted. Kind of. A little bit. Enough to fight alongside him. “You didn’t tell me.”

Law laughs. He just throws his head back and laughs as if it was the funniest joke he had ever heard.

Probably was.

He leaves again and heads to a bar.

Day thirty

To say that he always wanted to spend two days just drinking and brooding over Sanji is a far stretch, but life is surprising like that. At least he hasn’t started complaining to anyone who sits next to him. Not like the man sitting next to him that is complaining something about—

About Joy.

“What?” Zoro says suddenly and turns to see the man who is drinking because the Joy of Christmas is gone. “It’s gone?”

“Sure is.” The man says and sniffs a little. “It’s gone now.”

Zoro curses and the man nods and drinks some more.

“I spend the whole month looking for it.” And all I found was a headache. And heartache.

“That’s the thing about Joy. You may look for it, but it only comes when you stop searching.”

“Yeah— What?”

“Joy is a state of mind, my lady always said to me.”

“It isn’t a drink?”

The man bursts out laughing.

.

“Let me tell you this, young— What’s your name?” His voice is slurred and he points out not to Zoro, but to the space next to him. Zoro only directs his finger in the right direction.

“Zoro”

“Let me tell you this, young Zoro. You think you can find joy at the bottom of a bottle, but you can’t. You can’t. Joy is a state of mind. Is when your more than happy, more than— More than—”

“Happy?”

“Yes. Your happy and then your joyful and your thankful and your—” He drinks some more. “You can’t find it at the bottom of a bottle.”

“You’re doing this right now.”

“I’M MOURNING IT.” He says and slams his glass of sake on the table. “Joy is easy to find in Christmas because everyone is happy and cheerful and there are lights and children and—”

“And joy.”

“Yes! Now go find yours!”

“I—”

“GO FIND IT WHILE YOUR STILL YOUNG!”

Zoro just goes. This isn’t the only bar at the village anyway.

Day thirty-one

On his way back to the Sunny, a little drunk and less confused, Zoro finds some people putting some decorations. "More celebration?" He asks, half curious and half amazing. How many things do they celebrate?

“It's New Year's Eve!” One of the women say. “Don't you celebrate the beginning of a new year?”

“No. There is no point celebrating something like that.”

“Well, here we celebrate. We have gatherings and we kiss at midnight for good luck.”

Zoro snorts. “Mistletoe?”

“Oh no. That is just for fun.” The woman laughs. “We kiss our loved ones on New Year's Eve.” She sighs dreamily. “I kiss my wife every time one year ends and the other begins so we can have a good year together and make all our dreams come true.”

“Does it work?” He asks.

“That depends on what you're aiming for.” She says and their eyes meet. She smiles knowingly.

.

He reaches the Sunny and is greeted by everyone.

Well, not everyone.

Sanji is nowhere to be seen and the Witch and Usopp ignore him and, yeah, he guesses he deserves that. “You look terrible, Swordsman-san.” Robin says instead of hello. “You should sleep a little.”

Zoro came back wanting to talk to Sanji and sort things out, but, yeah, sleep sounds great too.

.

He wakes up and it's night already. He looks out of the Crow's nest and sees darkness.

(we kiss our loved ones on New Year's Eve)

Zoro runs. He barely knows how he left the Crow's nest so fast but he runs towards the deck and runs and runs and—

“What the hell!” Sanji screams as Zoro barges in the kitchen. He opens his mouth to scream again but is muffled by Zoro's mouth on his.

He doesn't let go this time. Zoro wraps his arm around Sanji's hips and holds him there. Slips his tongue inside Sanji's mouth and that seems to wake the Cook up because his hands wrap around his neck. All the places his fingers touch becomes warm, hot even and something in Zoro spreads as he finds himself unable to hold back a smile. He has been an idiot all this time, the way Sanji kisses him keep telling him this, but it’s ok. They have time now. They have this now. And they will have this tomorrow and the other day and for the next year and beyond.

Oh, that's it, isn't it?

Joy.

“Bastard.” Sanji mutters against his mouth and breaks the kiss. “I should kick you right now.”

“I know.”

“You just bring me headaches.”

“I do.”

“I love you.” Sanji whispers and before Zoro can say it back, he kisses him. “Go take a shower, you smell of death.”

“You don’t seem to mind.”

“I do, very much.”

“Come with me.”

Sanji kisses him again. Moans against his lips and Zoro brushes his hard-on against his. “I have to cook.” He remembers.

“And here I thought it was past midnight.”

“What? No, it’s seven— Oh, the kissing thing.”

“Yeah. I thought I had lost my chance.”

Sanji steps away, cheeks red and eyes malicious. This man. “Don’t worry, if you did, I’m pretty sure Law would kindly step in.”

“You little shit—” And Zoro brings him close again.

.

In the end, Zoro manages to have Sanji take a shower with him. A long one. And when midnight arrived, they decided they could move past kissing and onto more meaningful, hotter ways to celebrate the New Year.

Law and Luffy stare at the Crow’s nest. “Shishishi, finally!”

“I’m never setting foot there again.” Law complains.

“Did Kid write back?” Luffy asks suddenly.

“Yeah. He’s going after Kaido.”

“Shishishi so we’re gonna rescue him after defeating Doflamingo?”

Law huffs. “Probably.”

Day one

“You are leaving already?” The same man who greeted them when they docked on this island asks, curious. “Most people tend to stay longer.”

“We have places to be!” Luffy says, expression serious and unwavering. “Boyfriend’s to save—”

“‘HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND.” Law screeches.

“— And people to defeat!”

“Alright.” The old man says. “I understand. Well, but first, take this.” He extends a box of wine bottles to them. Luffy takes it, nodding, and passes to Zoro, who runs one of the bottles to read the label.

It reads Joy.

“For good luck!” The man says at the same time Zoro screeches: “SO IT WAS A DRINK AFTER ALL?!”

“Why, yes.”

“I looked everywhere.” Zoro explains. All his nakama nod, even Robin and Chopper. “We looked everywhere.”

“The only person who produces and sells is Nancy. Her grandmother, Joyce, was the one who created this drink.” He explains, smiling. “You know, the woman with a big bosom that has a bar downtown.”

There is silence on the Sunny.

And then.

“IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU SHITTY COOK!”

“MY FAULT? HOW IS IT MY FAULT?”

“YOU HAD NOSEBLEEDS AFTER SHE ANSWERED MY QUESTION!”

Nami sighs as Sanji kicks Zoro and he defends the attack with Shusui. “It’s good that things are back to normal.”

“Yeah.” Usopp says. “‘Normal’”.

A/N.: So I decided to join the advent calendar even if I didn't know what to write. I chose day 7 because it's my sister's birthday and felt symbolic (she doesn't read OP, jokes on her).

I kept thinking of what to write and all that, but nothing would come. No idea, no nothing.Until three days ago this came and I obviously lost control, but there it is.For those who are wondering what song is Brook is playing all the fucking time, click here.Anyway, I hope you guys like it and Merry Christmas <3

No, I didn’t forget the rings. Zoro did, tho.