Becoming One

Conversations With A Meal

Things had to change.

If he wants their relationship to change he's got to step forward. He's got to try to learn more about Zoro. He's got to start someday and what day better than today. Sanji turned his head to see Zoro sitting on the floor. With lunch here, and the soup mostly done Sanji thought what better way to get to know Zoro and talk to him than a meal. It was pretty silent last night and this morning.

"Here you go." Sanji tells Zoro as he sets down the large bowl in front of Zoro.

"Thanks." Zoro says taking the warm bowl but Sanji could tell something is wrong. Was it the talk about Salomon?

"What's wrong?" Sanji asks genuinely concerned.

"Soup always tastes better with rice." Zoro says with a shrug.

"You're right. I wish they had a rice fields here too." Sanji says taking a spoon full of the soup, certain soup recipes taste better with rice and this is one of them. Zoro spits the soup out of his mouth, coughing as he laugh. Sanji just stares at Zoro, shocked that he's laughing but also curious about what there is to laugh about.

Zoro wipes his eyes. "Sorry, the face you made..." He takes a deep breath he laughed so hard, "it look like you were really trying to think about a way for it to happen." Zoro answers.

"Well, even if there is a way no way we can make it happen. I suck at building things." Sanji says. Zoro calms his laughing.

"Really? But you cook." Zoro says, understandably sounding shocked.

"Cooking and building is different. If you were to ask me to build a house I would fail." Sanji says getting Zoro to raise one of his thin eyebrows.

"But you build gingerbread houses." Zoro points out.

"Usopp made templates for me. I just put the pieces together." Sanji shrugs. Zoro lets out a hum as he eats, thinking about what to say next.

"Well, all I can do is cut things up. I can't build anything either." Zoro tells Sanji. The blonde smiles. He likes this, he will keep it going.

How about... "What are your swords named?" Sanji asks. Zoro pauses his movements, spoon touching his lips.

"Are you just asking because I mentioned it?" Zoro asks. Sanji shakes his head. Then he nods after thinking about it.

"You mentioned it and now I'm curious. I'm not even completely sure how you got them." Sanji says.

"I've always had Wado, it was..." Zoro looked away, not sure how to tell Sanji about it, for now he'll be vague, he sure Sanji doesn't want to know the whole story, "it was given to me, Wado Ichimonji has been with me since before I started my journey myself, Sandai Kitetsu belong to the shopkeeper on Loguetown. He gave it to me for free. And you know Enma, I traded her in for Shusui." Zoro explains looking at his swords with a smile. Sanji takes a look at his swords too. They all look unusual and pretty at the same. He's not a sword person but he'd be pretty blind as a chef to not know when to appreciate a nice blade. 

"Who gave you Wado?" Sanji wonders looking at Zoro who stare at him. Sanji blinked a couple times and Zoro only stare at him still. "Zoro?" Sanji calls him. Zoro blinks coming out of whatever daze he was in. 

"You actually want to know?" Zoro asks. Sanji gives him an offended face.

"I wouldn't asks if I wasn't really curious." Sanji tells him, frowning at Zoro a little, does he think so low of him. But he hasn't shown a caring side to Zoro so he can't blame the green haired man. 

"Okay, sorry, it use to belong to a girl named Kuina. She was the daughter of the dojo I would go to. She always beat me no matter how hard I trained but I still challenged her. She passed away after we both made promises to become the greatest. So I asked for Wado, promising to myself that I would become the greatest for both of us." Zoro grins. Sanji stare at Zoro, seeing him in a new light. It's so different from his dream. It's a little more of a selfish dream, while Zoro's dream came from an unfulfilled promise, a promise turned into a dream. "Are you okay?" Zoro asks bringing Sanji out of his thoughts. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just so different from my dream." Sanji answers back.

"How did you know about All Blue?" Zoro asks, Sanji stare for a while. The way Zoro asked made it seem like he believes it's out there. 'How did you know' instead of 'where did you hear,' Sanji gave a smile. It's almost like he and Zoro were meant to be hit by that flowers pollen. 

"I use to read it in books when I was little." Sanji says, Zoro continue to eat, Sanji blushes as he continues. He wants to show himself, every side of himself, to Zoro. "I don't know if you know but I'm not close with my biological family, I never fit in with them so I was mostly by myself reading books on cooking and came across one about All Blue, and dreamt about finding it myself. By then I was already into cooking." Sanji smiles bashfully to Zoro who chewed his food, cheeks filled to the brim. 

Zoro swallows, "So you've been cooking since you were young." Zoro looks at Sanji who ate some himself. "I thought you started cooking when you meet Zeff." Zoro tells him. 

"No, I was cooking before him. He just taught me better, taught me what he knows." Sanji tells him.

"Ah, so he was like your sensei." Zoro answers. Sanji lets out a puff of a laugh. That's what he's comparing it to? But he's not wrong.

"What about you? Did you start learning sword fighting after meeting Kuina?" Sanji asks.

"No. I don't remember how it started but I was always fighting, going from town to town, dojo to dojo, challenging the strongest fighter and beating them. Until I stepped into the dojo Kuina lived in. Her father is the sensei teaching there. I asked him if I could challenge the strongest one there. It was Kuina he set me up against. I lost. Fast. But I didn't give up." Zoro gives Sanji a smiles of his own. Sanji lets out another puff, laughing silently to himself. He knows there are some things they have in common but to think they both were doing what they love before meeting their sensei's, as Zoro put it. Zoro is eight months younger than him and they both grew up in different seas but he wonder how it would have been if they were raised in the same place. Would they have gotten along well if they met when they were younger or would they have fought like they always do? 

He couldn't help but wonder if Zoro changed at all from when he was younger? Surely Kuina's death changed him? He knows his mother's death did. Kuina must have been like an older sister to Zoro. 

They talked as they ate, and this time Zoro and Sanji did the dishes together. Their talk continuing as they did the small chores of cleaning the dishes and the small living room, even as they got ready for bed. They took quick showers, dressed in their pajamas and got onto the futon. 

Though, they still laid with space in between each others, with their own pillow and blanket. 

*Achoo!* Sanji turns to Zoro who let out another sneeze. "Cold?" Sanji asks.

"Yeah, without Chopper here." Zoro answers, moving the blanket to wrap around himself more. Trying to keep the warm air inside and warm himself up. 

"Here," Sanji says, moving to get close to Zoro. He moves his pillow closer to Zoro, moves his blanket to cover Zoro's blanket. He joins Zoro in his blanket. 

"What are you doing?" Zoro asks but doesn't push him away. 

"I'm not warm like Chopper but it's better than nothing." Sanji says hugging Zoro. Zoro stares for a minute before letting out a sigh, saying he's given up. Sanji is right. Another body is better than no body. 

It's a blur after, didn't think he would sleep so fast in Sanji's arms.