Archive of Our Own ^beta

the cozy atmosphere of the winter island they were currently relaxing on had the captain of the straw hat pirates feeling like taking a dip in the onsen atop the hill.
which is why luffy was currently confidently leading everyone towards said onsen.
however, zoro had split from them about halfway up, because no one had their eye on him for half a second, which was enough for the swordsman to wander off and, of course, get lost on a straight path.
when the group arrived at the reception, the lady told them that it was already closed. she then, however, declared herself a huge fan of luffy, proudly displaying straw hat merchandise and even a stuffed little chopper plush - of course, she let them use the onsen.
"if a dumb-looking swordsman with green hair happens to pass by, that'll be zoro, so it would be very kind of you if you could show him the same hospitality you did us, my lady," sanji told the receptionist.
"yes, of course. roronoa-sama is just as welcome here as all of you! please enjoy your stay at our onsen!"

sanji felt a bit uneasy about this. as they entered the steaming baths and everyone happily plunged into the water, he was careful to not have anyone's eyes on him as he quickly slid underwater, relishing in the feeling, the relaxation of his muscles. though he had missed this kind of relaxed bathing, his thoughts wandered back to the cause of his worries almost instantly.
last night had been intense.
and even though everyone on the crew knew of his relationship with the swordsman, sanji still didn't want any of them seeing the marks and bruises the mosshead had sucked into the flesh of his abdomen and thighs.
because he had decency. unlike his partner, who would no doubt try to act like he wasn't proudly showing them off - so yes, there was a part of sanji that was glad zoro had gotten lost. he'd been extra careless, but in his defense: the swordsman had discovered how sensitive his neck was. so sanji, in return, had left hickeys and all sorts of love bites everywhere he could reach - he had to triumph over zoro somehow.
it had worked in the moment, the thrill and the rush of blood sweet and warm, but now, with a clear head, he was regretting it.

sure enough, the universe did not plan on sparing sanji, as zoro did find his way up the hill an astonishing few minutes later.
"zoro!"
luffy shouted, sanji froze, zoro waved in the doorway, still in his robes.
which he, of course, shed a few seconds later.
revealing an utterly pink and blue and all shades of purple stained chest area.
silence.
the crew stared.
someone whistled.
luffy's eyebrows contorted, confused.
robin had to hide behind her hand to stifle her laughter, jinbe didn't even try hiding.
nami and usopp gave each other wiggly eyebrows.
brook snickered, chopper looked like he'd seen a ghost.
franky gave sanji a heavy pat on the shoulder, then broke the silence: "nice work, brother."
sanji wanted to crawl under a rock and die.
this was among the most embarrassing things to ever happen to him, he was sure of it, and zoro's smug expression only further rubbed it in, which was not helping with his burning cheeks.
"get in the fucking water already, stupid marimo," he grumbled, trying to pull zoro in by his leg.
the latecomer was undeterred, however, because he made a show of submerging himself as slow as possible, to the amusement of everyone but sanji.
"i hate you," sanji spat.
"well you didn't last night," zoro retorted.
more laughter from sanji's backstabbing crewmates.
"i'm gonna fucking kill you, shithead."
"no you won't, love-cook. because then who's gonna make you scream-" zoro's head was dipped under full force before he could finish his sentence.
by now, the attention wasn't even on them anymore, but sanji was still not gonna put up with any more of his defacto-boyfriend's bullshit.
he pulled him back up by his hair and whispered into his ear: "you fucking monkey, have you ever heard of something called public decency?"
"yes, i just don't give a shit. besides, i don't see any strangers around. calm your brows, curly, our friends can take a joke."
sanji sighed and let go of him.
"that's besides the point. you know this sorta thing is embarrassing to me. and if you'd be honest with yourself, you would admit that you'd still have paraded my handiwork on your body around this onsen even if it was bursting with people."
zoro gave him an apologetic smile.
"can't argue with that. i'm sorry, okay? i'll ask ya next time. forgive me, sanji?"
the manipulative bastard, using his actual name like that instead of one of their usual snarky nicknames.
sanji had no choice but to give in.
"fine. you can earn yourself my forgiveness by giving me a massage, the usual. lower back's so tense, i swear it's killing me."
zoro grinned a mushy grin as sanji turned around in his arms, wading to the edge of the rock tub to cross his arms on the surface and lay his head on them.
obediently, zoro got to work on his back.
they both enjoyed these almost routinely massages equal parts, sanji loving zoro's hands on him as much as he loved the tension leaving him, and zoro just being happy to make sanji feel good.
he knew that sanji, unlike himself, who spent most of his free time tending to his own body during his daily workout sessions, did not care for himself like that and did not warm up or balance out the strain on his body that his unique fighting style produced. instead, sanji would forget all about it when he'd be in the kitchen, gleefully cooking meals for his friends.
hence, it was no surprise that zoro's skillful, rough hands did wonders for his tense body.

the crew looked on happily as the two made some small conversation while sanji turned into goo under zoro's ministrations.
although they never seriously meant to hurt one another, their newest relationship development had not at all quelled the steady bickering and physical fights between the two, and so this rare public display of affection lightened not only their mood but that of every straw hat.
"i think i don't understand romantic love," luffy said as he watched them. nami sighed.
"don't worry luffy, these two aren't the norm," she was quick to enlighten her captain.