Simply Watching

Zoro tried his best to stifle the loud yawn that escaped him as he sat up. Beads of light fluttered through the window signalling the rise of the sun and the beginning of a brand new day. Contrary to what others thought, Zoro was an early riser. He could sleep through just about anything, as was evident by the usual ruckus Luffy and Ussop caused, including Nami's furious beat downs of them. And yet, the moment the sun shone through the window, he woke up.

This was no doubt due to his younger years at the dojo. An early to bed, early to rise attitude had been quickly instilled into him and his fellow students. However, while he was an early riser, he had no qualms about staying up late. His training coupled with various naps throughout the day helped to stave away any exhaustion he might have felt.

He ran his hand through his hair, knowing that it was in his best interest to get a couple of hours of weight training in before breakfast. Strangely however, he found himself with very little desire to move.

He supposed it could be attributed to the figure currently occupying his bed. The blond haired man was still asleep but Zoro knew he would be awake fairly soon. Like him, Sanji pretty much got up at the same time each morning. Of course, rather than training, it was to prepare breakfast for everyone.

Feeling his body betray him, he lay back down. He gazed up at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to will himself back up to no avail. When this failed, he rolled on to his side, propping his head up with one arm to watch the other man breathing softly while he slept.

The sheets were wrung down by Sanji's feet, no doubt in part to the cook's habit of tossing and turning. It was because of this particular habit, that Zoro was often woken up in the middle of the night, as while being a heavy sleeper, an elbow to the face or even the occasional kick was bound to stir you. It was also because of this that Zoro would often wrap himself around the other man, using his strength to gently subdue him. He found that Sanji seemed to have a better night's sleep when he held him. Whether it was because it was more comfy or if the man just felt more secure, he wasn't sure.

He had once pointed it out to the chef who had then immediately told him to 'fuck off' while trying to conceal the redness of cheeks. He received quite a bit of satisfaction from teasing him about it, but after the twentieth or so kick to the face, he figured he had better ease off.

They didn't share a bed all the time, generally it only being after they had sex. At first it was either because they were too tired or didn't want to attract attention by sneaking out of each other's rooms in the middle of the night. Eventually however, it just became natural for them.

Unless Sanji had lookout duty, Zoro was always awake and away before him. Today, however, he felt compelled to stay, if not for any other reason than to watch his nakama sleep, feeling strangely endeared towards him at that moment.

He couldn't help but wonder how Sanji would react if he knew he was feeling this way. He imagined by probably demanding to know if he was brain damaged or something.

Half an hour or so passed – though he couldn't be entirely sure – and he lazily continued to watch him sleep.

Still asleep, Sanji rolled onto his back, slightly causing the part of his fringe that covered his left eye to flutter. Without thinking, Zoro lifted his hand and gently pushed the hair back into place. However, this action caused the sleeping figure to stir and a few moments later, Sanji wearily opened his eyes.

"Marimo?" he asked, drowsily.

For a moment, Zoro looked panicked, feeling as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't have. "Yo."

"What the hell time is it?" his bed-mate asked, yawning.

"I dunno, about an hour or so after dawn, I guess." Zoro replied, turning over on to his back.

"Eh? What's this? Oversleeping?" Sanji teased.

"Screw you. I've been awake for ages."

"So, what then? The swordsman slacking off on his training?"

Zoro huffed, refusing to answer.

"Still, it's pretty unusual for you to still be here when I wake up." said Sanji as he bent over to grab a cigarette and his lighter from the bedside table.

"Do you really have to smoke first thing in the morning?"

"You have your morning ritual and I have mines, asshole." Sanji replied, before taking a draw of his cigarette.

"Yeah, but mines actually involves doing something productive." Really, he just didn't want the place smelling of smoke first thing in the morning, but considering it was Sanji's room, he supposed he didn't have much say in the matter.

"So are you actually going to go train today?"

"Hm? Kicking me out, already?" the swordsman asked while he stretched.

"Well, I do have to go make breakfast. It'd be pretty weird you hanging around my room when I'm not here." he replied, through a puff of smoke.

"So by that logic, I should wake you up and kick you out my room as soon as I leave to train?"

"You know what I mean, asshole." he scoffed, putting his cigarette out on the ashtray next to the bed.

Zoro grinned.

Sitting up, the green haired man made a move to climb out of bed when a weight suddenly plonked itself on his lap.

"Why don't you stay a little longer?" Sanji asked, his hands resting at both sides of Zoro's head.

"First you want to leave; now you want me to stay? Why don't you make up your goddamn mind?" replied Zoro with mock irritation in his voice.

Sanji snorted before placing a soft kiss on the swordsman's lips. "Well, if that's the attitude you're gonna take, asshole, maybe I'll just skip making your breakfast today."

"You're really gonna withhold food from me? That's harsh."

"Moron. I didn't say anything about withholding food, just that I won't cook you breakfast."

"Well, I guess I'll just make my own food, this morning. Hope I don't burn anything."

Even though Sanji knew he was kidding, he still blanched at thought of someone defiling his precious kitchen. Zoro meanwhile, smirked, knowing he had won.

"Whatever." huffed Sanji. The blond was about to climb off Zoro when the other man wrapped his arms tightly around his waist, holding him in place.

"Let's stay here awhile." Zoro said softly.

Sanji looked surprised for a moment, before a small smile replaced it. "Moron."

Zoro grinned in response and Sanji lay his head down on the swordsman's chest.

"Won't you fall behind with your training, marimo?"

"Missing one morning won't kill me." he replied, contentedly. "Anyway, what about you? Luffy'll be devastated when he wakes up and breakfast isn't ready."

"He'll live. I'll just give him an extra helping at dinner." the cook explained as he lightly ran his fingers along the other man's side.

They lay in silence for a short period; Sanji listening to the rhythmic beats of Zoro's heart, while Zoro enjoyed the soft, feather-like touches of Sanji's fingers again his skin.

Lying here like this with the sun streaming through the window, it felt strangely perfect. It was then that it dawned on Zoro that they had both postponed doing the things that mattered most to them; training and cooking, the things essential for them to achieve their dreams just to spent time with each other.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zoro flipped Sanji onto his back and pressed his mouth to his, going in for a deep kiss. He ran one hand through the blond's hair and the other down his thigh.

Sanji looked slightly dazed as he pulled back. "Ma-Marimo?"

"Think we have enough time?" Zoro asked, smirking.

"Enough time? What are you- Oh." Sanji grinned. "Looks like I'll have to fork out even more steaks for Luffy tonight, then."

Zoro moved to kiss him again. "Hmm? I guess so."

Whatever it was they had, it wasn't just a casual thing. And Zoro, well, he found himself strangely alright with this. Not now, but one day, maybe soon, he would tell the shitty-cook how he really felt.

Author's Note: This is my first One Piece fic. It's just a short story, but I hope you enjoyed it. I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors. Thanks for reading!