December 23 – 2 Days till Christmas

"You know, I feel like I haven't seen Saga or Law for a while." Zoro commented idly as he got dressed.

"Oh?" Sanji was already dressed and was brushing his teeth at the tiny sink in the room. He spat and wiped his mouth on the towel that was draped over the lip of the tiny basin. "Maybe we should go find 'em. There aren't too many places they could be."

Zoro hiked up his jeans before fastening his belt. "Yeah, alright."

Sanji grabbed his phone and keys, locking his door and following Zoro upstairs. Zoro was about to throw open the door when he heard a loud thud and a grunt from the other side. It sounded like Saga had fallen onto the floor and had possibly hurt himself. Concerned about the safety of his friend, Zoro pushed the door open. "Oi, Saga, you alright?"

Sanji peeked around Zoro and smirked. "I'd say he's more than alright."

Saga had, indeed, fallen to the floor, but that was only because a somewhat aggressive attacker had knocked him there with a fiercely heated kiss. Law was on his hands and knees, leaning over Saga's felled body and kissing him for all he was worth. He only looked up when Sanji's snarky comment came from the doorway.

"You can probably move back in here if you'd like, Zoro. Cause Saga and I'll be sharing a bed from now on." He smirked, that cocky grin accentuating his handsome, bad boy look.

"Who in their right mind would wanna share their room with a couple of love birds?" Sanji smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned up against the doorframe.

"Yeah, that's right. If Zoro's up here, you'll be right there with him. I'd rather not have to listen to the two of you and your half asleep cuddly love talk. It's cute the first time, but the cutesy one-liners get a bit old, Sanji."

Sanji and Zoro looked at each other and quickly looked away. They didn't even consider themselves lovebirds. Sanji felt awkward about the whole Ace thing, which Zoro was obviously keeping secret from him. Zoro felt awkward about having to try and keep Ace a secret.

Law straightened up so he was straddling Saga's lap. "Are you guys serious?" Had the two of them really not gotten together yet? What was taking them?

"Well, there's...it's..." Zoro stuttered, looking anywhere but at Sanji.

"Hey, Law, lemme get up." Saga placed a hand on Law's hip as he sat up.

"Mm." Law placed his hands on Saga's shoulders as he stood up, stepping away from Saga before helping him to his feet.

"Zoro. You. Me. We're talking. Now." He threw an arm around Zoro's shoulders and pulled him out of the room, forcing the marimo to walk backwards clumsily.

"O-Oi, Saga! What is—" The door closed on the rest of Zoro's sentence, leaving Law and Sanji alone in the room together.

Sanji's smug grin quickly found its way back onto his face. He pretended like he had had no idea Law was interested in Sage. A fact, if Zoro hadn't informed him, it probably would've gone completely unnoticed by the blonde. "So, you and Saga, huh?"

Law went over and sat down on his bed. "So, you and Zoro, huh?" He countered.

Sanji's grin faded again. "No, we aren't together. As you probably know, Ace is here."

Law didn't say anything, nor did he move. He just waited for Sanji to talk.

"Well, from what I saw, it seems that Ace wants to get back together with Zoro. Zoro must be giving it some sort of thought, because when I asked him about us he gave me the 'I need to think about it' spiel." Sanji went over to Zoro's bed and sat down. "I wish he'd think about my feelings some."

"That's probably why he asked to think about it, for your sake." Law offered. When he saw the confused look, he continued. "He just got out of a relationship, right? He probably just doesn't want you to be his bounce back. If I know Zoro, which I do quiet well, he's thinking about this very carefully. He's a pretty straight forward guy, but he will make sure to do what he thinks is best and what is right in his books."

o()o()o

"So what the hell is going on with you and Sanji? Dude, the two of you have been sharing a bed the past 3 nights, how can you not be together yet?"

"Keep your voice down! What if Ace hears?"

"It's not like he's creeping in the bushes and following your every move. And so what if Ace hears? You guys broke up, right?" Zoro was silent far too long. "Right? Zo—Don't tell me that you're seriously—"

"No! I'm not gonna go back to him. That wouldn't work out. I still love him, of course, but that will ebb with time, just as his feelings for me will die down. Besides..." Zoro shuffled a bit, "I...I think that I really like that perverted cook." Zoro blushed a bit and looked away.

"Then go tell him." Saga patted Zoro atop his head, smiling down at him gently.

"Quit treating me like a kid. You're only a month older."

"Well, 29 days if we want to get picky." He joked.

"Oh, shut up." Zoro punched his friend in the arm. "So, what about Law? How in the hell did that happen?"

Saga blinked a couple times before laughing nervously a bit. "W-Well, 3 nights all to ourselves...kinda left a lot of room for talking and uh..." His face was burning bright red. Zoro loved to tease him just to see his friend's face change colors.

"You didn't..." Zoro smirked and quirked an eyebrow, "Did you really?"

Saga looked away and nodded a little bit, making Zoro laugh out loud. Saga had always had an issue with sleepwalking. When he and Zoro were still relatively new friends, he'd gotten out of his sleeping bag and gone to join Zoro in his bed without any recollection of how he'd gotten there. Needless to say, Zoro had freaked at the time, but he later learned that it was Saga's subconscious combined with his separation anxiety that made him seek out another warm body at night to cuddle with. Apparently, he'd done the exact same thing to Law.

"Every morning I woke up in Law's bed." He sighed, a slight grin on his face. "When I first got here, I had only had the sneaking suspicion that he had some sort of feelings for me, but I wasn't completely sure on what level his feelings were. When we woke up after the second night of my sleepwalking, Law kissed me and told me he liked me. He was...very forward."

"Yeah, well, that's just how he is. He knows what he wants."

"I gathered." Saga chuckled, "But I'm still a little iffy about a relationship. I mean, I like him will enough, but we go to two different schools, and I'm not even sure if I really like him like that yet." He glanced at Zoro, "No offense, but I don't wanna wind up like you and Ace. Law is one possessive mother trucker." Saga clearly had a few problems of his own to worry about, because it showed on his face exactly how troubled he was. Zoro brought the purple-haired man into his arms for a hug. "Haha, since when do you give hugs?"

"Shut up, bastard. A hug just felt right." He hugged his friend a little tighter and Saga brought up his arms and hugged Zoro right back without question. They'd been through so much shit together, and they were probably headed for a lot more in the future, Zoro was sure. But it was comforting to know he could always count on this guy to be there along side him, whether he liked it or not.

Their little moment was interrupted by a buzzing in Zoro's back pocket. Zoro reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, wondering who could be calling him. He frowned when he saw Ace's name on the display, but he answered anyways. "Ace? What's up?" Saga let go of Zoro and scanned the area, trying to see if maybe Ace was nearby.

"Yeah, I am...No, not really..." Zoro sighed gently, "Alright, I'll meet you there...Bye." He hung up. "Ace wants to meet me at Sky." He checked the clock. "Sanji's shift doesn't start for a couple of hours, so I'll be safe, but..."

"You always fall for the jealous type."

"Oh, shut up."

o()o()o

Ace was sitting at the table that he and Zoro always occupied back when they were together. He had ordered a chicken salad sandwich for himself and a Reuben for Zoro. He'd remembered that the green-haired young man had always loved those.

Zoro walked in about 5 minutes after Ace had sat down with their food, his cinnamon eyes darting to the table without even looking anywhere else. He'd figured that Ace would sit there.

"Hey." He sat down and looked at the Reuben, his favorite. Of course Ace would get him his favorite. He didn't touch it right away, though. He noticed that Ace hadn't touched his either.

"Hey."

They sat in an awkward silence until Zoro took his turn to talk. "So, what do you want with me? You called me out here for a reason, right?" He sounded a lot more aggressive than he'd meant to, but if he'd offended Ace in any way, the freckled young man didn't show it.

Ace smilied sheepishly. "What do I want with you?" 'I want to carry you back to your bed and do everything but sleep until morning.' Now wasn't the time for perverted jokes, so he kept the semi-serious thought to himself. "I just wanted to talk to you about where we stand. Where I was coming from when I first told you that I wanted to break up." He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I think...ultimately...us breaking up was the better idea. I know what I said yesterday and what I did yesterday, and that wasn't fair to you. I was being selfish and I let my desires get in the way of my judgment." He took another deep breath, calming himself before he began speaking again, his tone low and quiet. "I know...that you've been sleeping with Sanji."

Zoro's eyes widened and he felt panic settle into his system. "I-I didn't sleep with—"

"Zoro, I didn't mean sex." He smiled at Zoro's flustered expression. It'd been a while since he'd seen it. Ace had been the one to take Zoro's virginity, which was probably why Zoro had become so incredibly attached to Ace, his first, and so devastated when he'd lost that. "But you two did share a bed. I only hope that this is a recent development."

Zoro glared a bit. "Of course it was. It's only been a few nights." He was still unsure of how Ace knew about him and Sanji sleeping in the same bed. He hoped to god that no one had told him.

"I know. You wouldn't cheat on someone, that's not like you." Ace agreed. "So, even though we've broken up, do you think we can still be friends?" He held up half of his sandwich, smiling a bit.

Zoro smiled at the familiar gesture and picked up half of his Reuben. "We can surely try." They tapped their sandwiches together in a mock toast. Soon, they were able to laugh and talk like they used to, the time slipping away from them as if they'd never been apart.

o()o()o

"Hey guys!" Nami walked into Usopp and Luffy's room, smiling. She had just gotten off the phone with her sister and was excited to hear that Nojiko would be coming down for the holiday. Like Ace, Nojiko had graduated the year before and was experiencing her first year of college. "Guess what! Nojiko's coming into town on Christmas!" She looked over at Usopp's stupidly happy face. "What's up with him?"

"He's on the phone with Kaya." Luffy explained in a quiet voice. He'd been hushed by Usopp multiple times and had finally remembered to keep his voice down whenever he spoke.

"Kaya?"

"Remember that blonde girl we met last year?"

"Oh! The one that sent him those chocolates on Valentines Day?" Nami frowned a bit, her brow furrowing in thought.

Luffy nodded. "He's been on the phone with her for the past half hour. I'm soooo booored~" Luffy whined for what Nami could safely assume was not the first time.

"I love you too, Kaya~ Okay~ Goodbye~" Usopp hung up and flopped back, that stupid, wide grin never leaving his face. "Ahh~ it's so great to be in love~" He warbled, lost in thoughts of his beautiful girlfriend.

"Is she coming up again this year?" Luffy asked, glad that his friend was finally off the phone.

"No, she's gotten really sick again, but she said she got my package, and we're gonna open them together over Spyke." He rolled around with the phone clutched tight to his chest. "What did I do to deserve this happiness~?"

Nami couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. She herself hadn't ever been in a real, reciprocated love. She'd fallen in love last year, but the guy she liked had gotten snatched away, completely unaware of her feelings. Even if she had confessed sooner, her first love already held someone in his heart.

"Hey, Nami, do you know if Robin and Franky will be here again for Christmas?" Luffy missed their crazy shop instructor and their scary strict yet equally nice history teacher, even if he didn't like taking the class, he liked her quite a bit.

"They're spending their first Christmas as newlyweds this year. Why on earth would they want to have it here?"

"But they love us..." Luffy pouted.

"Well still, I wouldn't want to spend my Christmas with my new husband hanging around a bunch of kids."

"We're not a bunch of kids to them! We're their friends too!" Luffy argued, pout growing deeper.

Nami sighed, there was simply no winning with this guy. "I know, but they probably just want it to be the two of them this year. Maybe they'll be back next year."

"Buuut~" Luffy's phone went off. He hurried to answer it. "Yo!...Yeah! Cool, okay!...Ohh~ I bet Nami is gonna love that...yeah okay...Usopp too...alright...Be there in a sec! Bye!" Luffy hung up, a huge grin stretching across his face.

"What's going on?"

Luffy's grin grew until it practically broke his face in half. "We're sneaking into the Stulo tomorrow. We're gonna watch a movie on the big TV there for Christmas eve! It's gonna be soooo cool~"

Nami's cat like grin broke out on her face. "You were tight. It sounds like a wonderful idea." Sometimes is amazed her how well Luffy knew her, despite only knowing her a little over a year.

"But right now, we're gonna go over to Zoro's room to plan and play video games and eat popcorn and other yummy snacks!" Luffy enthused. Even Nami was excited about everyone spending some time together, even if it was just watching the boys play video games.

"Ahh~ Kaya~" Usopp sighed, seeming to have completely missed the entire conversation.

Nami's irritation shot up through the roof, and before she could think about what she was doing, her fist came out. "Pay attention!"

o()o()o

Everyone was all cozied up in Law and Zoro's room as they played games, having already figured out when and where to meet up before the break in and who would be responsible for what. It was Ace and Luffy's turn at the game, and their brotherly competitiveness shone through like never before. Sanji and Zoro were sitting close, but they didn't want to slap Ace in the face with their closeness so they maintained a respectful 5 inch distance. Saga and Law, on the other hand, were perfectly willing to cuddle. Law's possessiveness seemed to work well with Saga's tendency to cling. Law didn't want Saga going anywhere, and Saga didn't want to go anywhere. They were a good couple. Law had Saga sitting between his legs and his arms wrapped around Saga's waist. You could tell he was itching for more, but Saga had talked to him about how he wasn't quite ready for further intimacy. The kiss earlier had even been a bit too much, but Law was willing to be patient, for the moment.

Nami and Usopp were getting along quite well. They were up next for a round of Street Fighter II. Nami kept loyalty to her gender and played as the only female Character, Chun-Li, while Usopp chose someone who matched closely to his level of manliness: Zangief.

"Crouch and kick! Crouch and kick!" Zoro commanded over Nami's shoulder.

"Wahh I'm trying!" Nami jumped in the air and gave a flying kick, jumping completely over her target. She frantically began pressing buttons, viciously attacking the edge of the screen.

"Turn around, turn around!"

Nami was able to do that much at least, and unleashed a button mashing fury upon Usopp's character. Everyone was surprised to see her get an almost instant KO. "Yay! I won!"

"That was only the first round." Usopp explained. Though he quickly learned that, despite the fact that he had played this game numerous times, he was defeated by Nami's random button mashing technique.

"Yay! I won, I won!"

"Alright, now, I think we have an unsettled score, huh dartboard-brow?" Zoro smirked at the blonde sitting next to him. They'd never had a chance to have their rematch, but tonight, Sanji was going to wipe the floor with Zoro's ass.

"You're on, baka Marimo." Sanji picked Guile this time. He was still blonde, as Sanji still wanted to prove that blondes were best, but he wasn't going to be that weak-ass Ken again. Well, he wasn't sure if it was that he'd chosen a lame character or that he just sucked at the game. Either way...

Zoro picked Ryu again, and as soon as the game began, he was on Sanji, the electronic cry of "Hadouken" and "Shoryuken" played in quick succession between the swipes and smacks of more standard punches and kicks. "You're not even putting up a fight, curly-curly eyebrows."

"Shut up!" Sanji finally figured out the command for a flash kick and knocked Zoro back. The two of them battled like no tomorrow, but eventually Zoro won the first round. The tables were turned, however, when Sanji won the second round. "Heh, look at that Marimo."

"Yeah, you still haven't won." It was like only the two of them were in the room, everyone else forgotten as they fought the final match, however, the clock counted down before either one of them came to a definite victory, resulting in a dual loss. That didn't stop them from arguing.

"My bar was higher than yours when we went down! That means I won!"

"No way! you must've been looking at the bar backwards, cause I clearly had more than you!"

"Bullshit!"

"Oh, yeah? Prove it, blondie!" The two got into a playful wrestling match, crushing empty chip bags and knocking over soda cans that, thankfully, no longer had soda in them. Everyone took this as their queue to leave. It was late anyhow, and they'd be up late again tomorrow and they wanted to get good sleep.

Zoro eventually managed to pin Zoro, clamping the blonds hips with his legs and pinning his arms to the floor by the biceps. "Haha! I pinned you!"

"Okay, but I still won the match."

"No, I pinned you, therefore I won the match."

"You did NO—"

"Guys, its late, just take this back to Sanji's room." Law complained as he got ready for bed.

Sanji and Zoro's cheeks both tinged a faint red as they got up from the floor and headed downstairs, not saying anything more.

"What's gotten into them?" Saga asked from where he sat on Law's bed.

Law just shook his head. "No idea."

o()o()o

Sanji and Zoro sat on the edge of Sanji's bed, awkwardly glancing at each other from time to time. The silence kept piling on awkwardness until Zoro finally spoke. "I talked to Ace."

Sanji tensed a bit. "O-Oh? And how'd that go?"

"Well," Zoro sighed, "we affirmed that we've officially broken up, and we're gonna try to be friends."

Sanji smiled broadly, looking a bit like a kid in a candy store. "That's great!" He wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist and pulled him in close for a hug.

"But Sanji, about us..."

Sanji pulled away. "What about us?" He asked, hand absently rubbing up and down Zoro's side.

"I don't know if we should...you know...be together."

"Sanji felt his heart crash onto the floor. "What?" He tried not to raise his voice, but damn was it difficult. "Why not? What's wrong with us being together? We like each other, so what's the problem?"

"I just don't want you to be a bounce back..." Zoro muttered, still not looking at Sanji.

The blonde got down off the bed and kneeled in front of Zoro. "Zoro, are your feelings or whatever you have for me so shallow that you feel you only like me because I was convenient? Do you feel that the only reason you and I are here, together, is because it would give you some sort of ego boost? That's not like you at all, Zoro."

Zoro blushed, feeling sheepish, embarrassed, exposed...he didn't even know why he'd contemplated the idea that he would use Sanji in that way. He was brought out of his musings when he saw a lazy, blue eye suddenly very close to his own cinnamon ones. "I like you, Zoro. For the longest time I've fought against these feelings, but now I'll fight for them with every ounce of my power." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Zoro's. He was a little shaky with his unsettled nerves, but the reassuring hand behind his head quickly calmed him down. He pulled away and tenderly kissed Zoro a few more times, the sound of their lips smacking together was painfully loud in the completely silent room. "Come on," he whispered, "lets go to bed."

Author's Note

I CAN MAKE IT, DAMMIT!

-PD