Sanji stood on the balcony, leaning his arms against the railing as he raised his head up to the starry sky. He was dressed in his dinner suit, his black blazer hanging on the railing next to him. The sounds of the party were muffled by the floors that separated him from everyone else, but he could still hear all the shouts and the music that floated up into the air around him.

Taking a cigarette from the box in his pocket, Sanji placed it in his lips and lit it. He took a drag before exhaling deeply, watching the line of white smoke float into the inky black sky above him. The cigarette calmed his nerves slightly, but it did nothing to calm the racing thoughts that were shooting through his brain like a bullet. 

The past couple of days had been a blur... He had found out he was a member of the Vinsmoke family, he had met his own brothers for the first time and he had been reunited with his childhood sweetheart. It seemed only yesterday that he was laughing and joking with the rest of the crew, and now it was the night before his wedding. 

Unaware of his own actions, Sanji realised he had been biting the end of his cigarette and his hands were shaking. He quickly shook his head and took another drag to calm his nerves.

"Since when were you this much of a wuss?" he muttered to himself.

Sighing deeply, he returned his gaze to the sky. He remembered looking at the sky as a kid, always with a wide, childish smile on his face. The starry night sky always made him think of the All Blue... Would the All Blue be as beautiful as the night sky? Would it be as awe-inspiring and twinkling with life as the stars?

The light wind that blew danced through Sanji's blonde locks, shielding his facial expression from the rest of the world.

"There you are," a familiar voice called from the screen doors leading onto the balcony.

Sanji whipped around and saw Zoro's figure stood leaning against the door frame. Zoro too was dressed in a dinner suit, but with a traditional black tie instead of Sanji's small navy blue bow tie. 

"I just needed some air," Sanji answered, turning around once more.

Zoro stepped out onto the balcony and strolled over to join Sanji at the railing. He slid his right hand into his pocket and with his other hand he took a swig of the sake bottle he had took the liberty of bringing up here. 

"So, tomorrow's the big day, huh?" Zoro said after a moment's silence.

"Seems so," Sanji answered with a slight laugh. "Tomorrow's the day I stop being a pirate to become Purin's husband,"

"You said you knew that girl back when you were kids, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Purin and I have known each other since forever. She was my first love, so I guess it was fate that drove us back together after all these years,"

"If you loved her so much, why the long face?"

Sanji suddenly realised the smiling and happy facade he was trying to put up around the others had faded. He found himself with a darkened expression and furrowed eyebrows, a slight sweat on his forehead.

"It's nothing to you, Marimo," he muttered quickly, making his hair form a blonde curtain so he wouldn't have to look Zoro in the face.

Zoro glanced sideways at him. The cook was stupid, but that didn't deny the fact that he was one of Zoro's closest friends. He let out a sigh of annoyance before flinging himself up onto the railing so that his legs were dangling over the side of the huge drop beneath the two. He took another drink from the bottle before sloppily wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Luffy won't shut up about you leaving, y'know. In fact, they're all like that down in that hall... If you don't want to receive a lecture about how you should stay from each and every member of the crew I suggest we stay up here," Zoro said, trying to lighten the tone somewhat.

This made Sanji laugh.

"Even the girls? Man, the only time I get them to notice me and it's the day before my wedding," he joked.

"You set on leaving then?"

"Afraid so. I made a promise that I would marry Purin. A gentleman can't break his promise after all,"

"Even after all this time you're still a fucking lovesick moron," 

"Shut up, you shitty swordsman,"

Zoro smirked at this... He loved their fights. 

All of a sudden, Zoro started to fidget in his suit.

"What's gotten into you?" Sanji inquired, glancing sideways at the writing swordsman.

"This suit is too suffocating, it's like a prison," Zoro muttered.

With a growl of annoyance, Zoro whipped off his tie and threw his blazer off along with it. He began to unbutton his shirt, Sanji watching him as he did so.

"There. That's much better," Zoro said, now with his shirt hanging from his shoulders and all the buttons undone.

Sanji's eyes widened when he saw the full muscularity of Zoro's body. Zoro was thick with muscle, from his neck down to his waist. As he raised his head upwards, taking another drink from his bottle, his chest was highlighted in the light of the huge full moon in the sky above. Sanji found himself biting his lip as his face exploded with heat almost immediately.

"You alright? Your face is all pink," Zoro said, now having set the bottle down once more.

"Uh y-yeah, I think it's just the alcohol taking its effect," Sanji mumbled, hiding his face with his hands.

"You always were a lightweight," 

The two sat there for a few minutes, simply enjoying the silence in one another's company. This was a rare occurrence, of  course, as whenever the two were placed in a room for more than two minutes they would be at each other's throats in a matter of seconds. But it seemed that with the sudden realisation that they would be parting the next day, they wanted to enjoy every last second they could with one another... Although they never admitted that out loud.

"Y'know, we're never gonna find a cook like you no matter how far or how long we travel," Zoro said, breaking the silence.

After a moment of shock at this sudden revelation, Sanji let out a snort of laughter.

"Was that a compliment, Marimo? Well, it's true, you never are going to find a cook like me," Sanji said. "Funny... You never said that to me when we first met two years ago. You seemed to be under the impression that the crew could function perfectly without me,"

"You did insult me in case you've forgotten. Besides, I couldn't stand the sight of your swirly eyebrows. We've had a lot of adventures since then, haven't we? Arlong Park,  Drum Island, Alabasta, Skypiea..."

"Water 7 and Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark..." 

Sanji suddenly stopped as soon as the words of that fated place crossed his lips. The vivid image of Zoro stood with crossed arms and dripping with blood flashed before his eyes. 

"Thriller Bark," Sanji repeated, looking at Zoro. "Remember that place?"

"Do you really think I could forget?" Zoro said with a slight smirk. 

"You were a real jerk back then..." 

"And by jerk do you mean, 'guy who brought himself to the brink of death so he could protect everyone for the crazy psycho that was Kuma'?"

"You knocked me unconscious!"

"I stopped you from doing something stupid!"

"Oh, so it was stupid for me, but a perfectly OK thing to do for you?!"

"Are you really doing this now?!"

The two butted heads, teeth gritted as they narrowed their eyes at one another. At this close proximity Zoro saw himself reflected in the crystal blue pool that was Sanji's visible eye. His swirly eyebrow was furrowed with rage but Zoro couldn't take him seriously... He looked rather cute when he was angry.

"Well it worked in any case. And everyone's still alive, so stop talking about it," Zoro said, drawing away from the blonde-haired boy.

Sanji huffed with annoyance, turning away from Zoro and looking out from the balcony. Zoro smiled at his sulking before taking another swig from his drink. 

As he was drinking he caught a glow out of the corner of his eye. Bringing the bottle away from his lips, Zoro looked out from the balcony where the light had come from. 

Rising up from the very bottom floor of the building, paper lanterns were being released and illuminated the surrounding area in a soft orange light. All of the lanterns had different patterns on, but each was just as lovely as the last.

Zoro looked at Sanji and found him looking out at the lanterns as well. He was watching them with a small smile on his face, his mouth open slightly in wonder. Zoro noticed how his eyes were twinkling with a childlike wonderment that made him look younger than he actually was.

The orange glow made Sanji's hair shine, a beautiful shade of blonde that swirled and twirled with the ever blowing wind.

Thinking this would be his final chance, Zoro decided it was now or never. He hauled his legs around and jumped back onto the balcony.

"Say, you know on Thriller Bark? Would you say I managed to stop you from doing something you'd regret with that punch?" Zoro inquired as Sanji turned to face him.

 "Well, yes, you did knock me unconscious, you damn swordsman," Sanji said.

"Then I guess I can stop you from doing something stupid this time around," he smirked.

"What do you me-"

Sanji began his sentence, but was interrupted when Zoro marched over to him and silenced him by kissing Sanji directly on the mouth.

Sanji made an odd squeak of shock at the sudden gesture, his eyes widening as his face burst into a blush. Zoro smiled into the kiss as he saw Sanji's expression, but continued pressing into him nonetheless. As soon as Sanji had managed to process the situation, he loosened up. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through Zoro's cropped green hair, grabbing what he could in the palm of his hand.

Zoro moved with the kiss, almost picking Sanji up as the two traveled over to wall. Zoro pushed Sanji against the wall and pressed his mouth further into Sanji's. Zoro stroked the back of Sanji's blonde locks and savoured their soft touch as the kiss became more passionate.

The lanterns continued to rise around them, shining on the scene perfectly as the two reveled in what they had been fighting to hold back for so long. 

They pressed noses against one another as their tongues brushed over one another. Despite Sanji being the romantic type, he was not at all experienced in the art of kissing. He clumsily fell over himself in an attempt to express his passion. Zoro on the other hand seemed to  be a natural. He brushed over Sanji's mistakes and simply smiled whenever they happened. 

Sanji's hand caressed Zoro's cheek before traveling down his body so that he was at his chest. Sanji began to trace the line of Zoro's muscles, catching him off guard slightly and making him stumble in the kiss somewhat, but he quickly regained himself.

The two withdrew from each other for a brief moment to catch their breath. Zoro's hands moved down just as Sanji's had done, coming to a halt at Sanji's top button. He whipped off Sanji's tie and quickly unbuttoned his shirt so that he had access to his chest.

"You're still not as strong as me it seems," Zoro teased as he looked at Sanji's muscles.

"Oh, shut up," Sanji said, grabbing Zoro's head and pulling him in for another kiss.

As they kissed, Zoro repeated what Sanji had done to him, Sanji pulling Zoro further into him as he did so. 

The second half of the kiss didn't last as long as the first and before long they had separated once again, panting slightly but smiling nonetheless. They rested foreheads against one another, staring into each other's eyes, blushing madly.

"I spent two years trying to convince myself I wasn't gay. You have just shattered those two years in the space of about five minutes," Sanji joked, caressing Zoro's face.

"So what do you say, you shitty cook? Will you stay?" Zoro asked, his voice low.

Sanji leaned forward and gently grabbed Zoro's lower lip between his teeth. He kissed Zoro once more before laying his head on his shoulder and wrapping his arms tightly around Zoro's body. 

"What do you think, you damn marimo?"