"Prince Sanji!"

Sanji's eyes slowly opened as he groaned slightly, the beams of sunlight breaking through the gaps in his curtains. The door to his bedroom opened and he heard a loud sigh echo throughout the room.

"Young master, why are you still in bed? You need to attend to your duties for the day!" the male servant's voice tutted irritably.

Sanji moaned in response as he sat up with a yawn. His eyes were still half-closed as he looked around his elaborately decorated bedroom, trying to come to terms with this new day. It can't have been that late in the day as the Sun was glaring into his room through the thin, white material that was his curtains as it was just peaking over the horizon.

"Can't I just stay in bed?" Sanji asked, his voice still rough and heavy.

"Absolutely not! That is not the attitude a future king should have!" the servant gasped, completely taken aback by Sanji's words.

"Then maybe I shouldn't be king," Sanji muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Young master!"

"Fine, I'm sorry, OK? I'll get up,"

"Good. And put some proper clothes on!"

The servant quickly left the room as Sanji let out a loud sigh. He flopped back down onto the bed, staring up at the decorated blue material that hung above his four poster bed. He debated going back to sleep just to annoy everyone, but decided against it as he knew his servants and entourage would be coming in any moment to dress him and escort him around the palace.

He climbed out of bed and made his way over to the mirror, looking back at the figure standing before him. He didn't feel right in the robes he was forced to wear as a prince... Just standing here in his boxers with an over sized white shirt on he felt more like a person than he ever could in those uptight clothes.

Walking into his bathroom he freshened himself up before the servants all flooded into his room, carrying what he was to wear for the rest of the day. He stood still with his arms outstretched, rolling his eyes with annoyance.

"I wish you'd allow me to dress myself. I'm 21, I'm not a child," he muttered as the servants danced about him, wrapping him up in various materials.

He received no answer and so raised his head upwards, wishing this to be over quickly.

Most people would give anything to be in Sanji's position: the prince of a wealthy kingdom and the first in line to the throne. He had everything in life handed to him on a silver platter and had a line of girls all waiting to become his bride. Life couldn't be any more perfect... But Sanji would give up this life at the drop of a hat.

He wanted his independence, to be free to do whatever he pleased and to dress however he wanted. He'd even become a poor farmer if it meant he was free of the clutches of this palace.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Sanji was finally dressed. The servants left the room once more, informing him that his entourage would be here shortly. Alone in his room, Sanji walked over to his mirror once again.

Staring back at him was not the same man he had seen before. The servants had dressed him in his traditional blue robes, with a golden headpiece coming down at the sides of his face. With the slightest movement of his face, the headpieces jingled slightly and he caught glimpses of gold at the corners of his eyes.

"Ugh," Sanji muttered, turning away from the mirror with a grimace.

His entourage soon arrived, a group of girls dressed in extravagant dresses and carrying huge red fans. Despite his hatred of this place, he didn't mind this part of his role as prince.

"Good morning, ladies," Sanji cooed as he waltzed over to them.

"Good morning, Prince Sanji!" they all trilled in response, batting their long eyelashes at the young prince.

He smiled smoothly in response, standing still as they all assembled around him. The two girls stood beside him opened their large fans so that he was concealed from view to anyone looking at him head on. Another of the girls stood in front of the fans, carrying a small golden pole with a small lantern at the top and the final girl stood behind Sanji, holding the trail of his robe.

Just before leaving, the girl who was to be stood at the front of the procession turned around and handed Sanji his thin smoking pipe.

"Thank you, my dear," Sanji smirked.

The young girl blushed in response, smiling shyly as she quickly got back into position.

They then left the room, walking slowly so the girls were able to stay in position. Sanji blew a trail of white smoke into the sky, watching it slowly disappear into the air around him, a bored expression painting his face.

The palace was largely outdoors, mainly consisting of balconies that overlooked gardens or courtyards. The only large indoor parts were the grand hall and the part of the palace where all of the bedrooms were situated.

Sanji and his entourage were travelling across one of these balconies now, overlooking the training garden for the palace's guards.

"Why are we here?" Sanji asked one of the girls.

"You are required to give a welcome speech to the new recruits we have joining the guards today, sir," she answered.

Sanji looked back at the garden and could see these new recruits already in the middle of their morning training routine. All of them carried a single sword in their hand and moved rhythmically in time with one another.

But there was one recruit that caught Sanji's eye... He was stood a little off to the side, but was watching the instructor nonetheless. What had caught Sanji's attention was the fact that this boy did not just carry one sword, but three with the third grasped tightly between his teeth. His movements were more fluid and graceful than that of his companions and yet he swung his swords with such aggression that it practically took Sanji's breath away.

He wanted to watch more of this curious swordsman, but he was quickly bustled down the stairs and soon found himself at the entrance to the training garden.

The boy Sanji had been watching, a young swordsman going by the name of Zoro, could see Sanji and his entourage from a mile away. He eyed them up curiously as they stood at the entrance to the garden, awaiting the instructor to notice them.

"Men, halt!" the instructor ordered, to which they all obliged immediately, noticing the arrival of their guest.

"All kneel for the prince of the Vinsmoke family, Prince Sanji!" the girl at the front of the group announced.

Zoro along with the other trainees got onto their knees, bowing their heads low. Zoro rolled his eyes slightly at this, finding the whole thing rather ridiculous. He couldn't understand why all this was necessary no matter how hard he tried... Royalty or not, a person was just a person. Class shouldn't define you as a person.

Nevertheless he was curious as to what this boy looked like... No one had ever seen the prince's face as his parents didn't like the "commoners" looking upon their precious child. The prince's servants were sworn to an oath not to talk about the prince to anyone but his parents, but Zoro had heard the rumours that circulated the palace.

"Greetings, newcomers!" a voice from behind the fans called out.

Zoro's ears pricked up. The prince's voice was mellow and clear... It was not as low as Zoro had expected, but was sweet nonetheless and Zoro found himself wanting to see the prince even more now.

The prince then read out his speech about how grateful he was for all of that they would do for the kingdom both now and in the future. Zoro wasn't concentrating on the words the prince was saying... He just couldn't get over the smoothness of his voice. All of the other trainee's heads were lowered, but Zoro's was raised ever so slightly as he stared at the bright red fans that hid the identity of the voice.

And then, for a brief moment, the fans parted slightly. They quickly returned to their original position, but Zoro had seen more than enough.

His mouth hung open as he played the image back in his head... That flash of blonde hair, the sparkle of the blue in his eyes, even the golden headpiece he had caught a glimpse of made Zoro's heart race. Zoro noticed he had had curled eyebrows which Zoro had to cover his mouth over in order to stop himself from snickering. Sanji had been looking at the piece of paper in his hand from which he was reciting his speech and his long eyelashes fanned out in front of his crystal blue pools that darted back and forth as he spoke. His mouth was long and thin with softly coloured pink lips that seemed to radiate life with the simplest of movements.

"And thus concludes my speech. I do hope you train to do your utmost best to protect this kingdom," Sanji said finally.

"Yes, sir!" the trainees answered in unison, snapping Zoro out of his daze.

"You may resume your training," Sanji permitted.

The trainees all raised themselves onto their feet once more, resuming their previous positions. Zoro picked up his three swords, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the blood red fans that still concealed that mysterious boy.

Behind the fans, Sanji took a deep breath after having just talked for such a long time. Him and his group left the training garden, the sounds of the instructor bellowing orders following them as they went.

For the rest of that day, Sanji attended to his duties just as usual. But at random intervals, when he least expected it, the image of the swordsman carrying three swords flashed in his mind. He was intrigued, but no matter how much he begged, he was not allowed to return to the garden.

The Sun was setting in the orange and pink sky when Sanji finally retired to his room and was relieved of his robes. He flopped down on his bed, now in his casual clothes, and sighed deeply. Another day of being forced to act like royalty... Same old, same old.

He was so tired of doing the same thing every single day of his life. He wanted to escape into the world, be free to do whatever he pleased... But his fate was set in stone. He ruffled his hands through his hair angrily before flipping onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow.

Just then, an idea popped into his head. He raised his head immediately, eyes twinkling as he looked at the door. He knew the guards would be on duty until morning, but they never came into his room unless he called for them... A sly smirk crept across Sanji's lips.

He clambered out of his bed and threw open the doors to his balcony. The sweet evening air washed over him and blew through his much less restricting clothing. He smiled as his bedroom overlooked the west as well as the palace gardens and so he was always given a lovely view of the sunset. This evening it seemed to be a lot bigger than usual, casting the surrounding sky in a soft orange and pink colour, highlighting the clouds in a lovely peach hue.

But Sanji didn't come out here to admire the sunset. Making sure to close the doors behind him, he flung himself over the balcony railing and grabbed onto the latticed wooden flower support that was covered in the purple climbing flowers that he had grown very fond of. The wooden support creaked, not accustomed to having the weight of a 21-year old male thrust upon it all at once, and so Sanji tried to tread as lightly as possible.

Slowly and carefully he climbed down the support until his bare feet came into contact with the soft grass. He took a moment to smile at his great escape before he dived into a nearby bush, being very careful not to get caught by anyone.

Travelling through the palace was hard enough with his face forcefully hidden from everyone else, but it was even harder when he was voluntarily trying not to be seen by anyone. He figured that he could easily just walk around the palace normally as most of the servants would have never seen his face before, but he still ran the risk of bumping into one of his own servants and so he decided the best course of action was to stay hidden.

After much diving behind pillars and into cupboards, Sanji finally reached the place he had been aiming for. Luckily, there weren't many people around so Sanji lowered his guard slightly.

The instructor's harsh voice met his ears once more as he took refuge behind a nearby pillar. Peaking out his head ever so slightly, he found the boy with the three swords almost immediately.

The group had clearly been training all day as they were all dripping with sweat and had lost the vigor and ferocity that they had showed this morning during Sanji's formal visit. But the swordsman did not falter once... He moved like clockwork, from one command to the next and Sanji became mesmerised by his swift movements.

Sanji was quite comfortable simply watching the group act out their normal training ritual, and before he knew it, the instructor called the session to a close. All of the trainees collapsed where they stood, panting heavily and groaning that their arms and legs were about to fall off.

Slowly, they all began to crawl back into the washroom that was just around the corner from the garden. The swordsman that Sanji had been watching, however, remained in the garden.

"You coming, rookie?" the instructor asked, walking towards the washroom.

"I'll catch up in a bit, I just want to finish up," he answered, not removing his sword from his mouth.

The instructor left and so it was just the swordsman stood in the middle of the garden by himself. The boy stripped off his shirt that was damp with sweat so he was stood in just his trousers.

Sanji gulped hard as he fully took in the boy stood before him. His cropped green hair ruffled slightly in the wind and Sanji could hear his small pants of breath from this close proximity. His muscles glistened with sweat, highlighted by the orange light of the sun and mixing with the parts of his muscles that were cast with shadow. The boy's skin was tanned compared to Sanji's olive complexion. Sanji noticed the scar he had stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip as well as the deep scar that blinded him in his left eye.

He found himself grasping the pillar he was hiding behind, his cheeks flushing red. When faced with one of the girls in the palace, Sanji simply found it in his nature to flirt with them... But this boy seemed to be different. His heart grew heavy and he bit his lip, his blue eyes flashing as he returned his gaze to the boy.

The boy tensed up suddenly before he began performing the same series of movements the rest of the group had been doing previously.

Sanji's eyes widened... With the slightest of movements, he watched the boy's muscles clench and release as he thrust his arms forward or adjusted his stance to suit the particular move he was performing. His eyes were staring straight ahead as he furrowed his eyebrows slightly in concentration. Sanji watched his eyes, glinting with determination, as they narrowed and widened at various intervals. Sanji saw an animalistic way about this boy... The way he moved, the way his eyes looked when he moved with his swords.

Becoming a little bit too infatuated with this boy, Sanji was not concentrating on what he was doing. His hand slipped from the pillar he had been gripping and he stumbled forwards, over the stone railing separating the garden from the wooden planking that came just before entering the palace.

He landed on the floor with a thump and tumbled over himself so that he came to a sitting position on the green grass. He rubbed the back of his head that was throbbing painfully before a shadow above him blocked the sunlight from his view.

Sanji looked up to see the boy stood in front of him, eyeing him up curiously.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Sanji stood up once more, dusting himself off as he narrowed his eyes at the swordsman.

"The more important question is who are you?"

"You were the one who was spying on me,"

This revelation made Sanji squeak slightly and he felt his face grow hot. He averted his eyes with a small sigh.

"Sanji," he muttered. "My name's Sanji,"

"Yeah, right. As if I'm gonna believe-" Zoro began, but he stopped when the boy moved his face into the sunlight.

He recognised that messy golden hair and blue eyes anywhere... Although he wasn't dressed up in his fancy royal clothes and lacking his headpiece, there was not a doubt in Zoro's mind that it was him. He even had that ridiculous curled eyebrow. Sanji raised his eyes ever so slightly and they locked onto Zoro's who melted at the sight of the seemingly never-ending shade of blue that was his visible eye twinkling in the twilight.

"If you don't believe me then it's your loss, I guess," Sanji said.

"No, I believe you," Zoro said quickly, scratching the back of his head slightly.

"Well?" Sanji prompted.

"Well what?"

"What's your name?"

"Zoro,"

"You know for a swordsman, you're pretty rude," Sanji scoffed.

"I just don't take well to pompous idiots like you," Zoro retaliated.

"You ought to have more respect for me! I'm a prince, y'know!" Sanji growled, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh that's right, flaunt your authority all over the place just like every other stuck up noble," Zoro spat sarcastically.

Strangely, Sanji found himself smiling at Zoro's words. It was a breath of fresh air to actually argue with someone instead of for them to just fall on their knees and not once look you in the eye.

"Alright, little miss swordsman. Don't get your panties in a knot," Sanji joked.

"What are you doing out here anyway? I heard you always had to go places with that entourage of yours," Zoro asked.

"I just needed some air, I guess. It can make you insane all that prince stuff if you don't take any breaks," Sanji admitted, jumping up to sit on the stone railing.

"It must be so hard having everything handed to you like its nothing," Zoro said, but Sanji saw him smirking.

"Oh shut up, you stupid moss head," Sanji laughed.

The two began talking more, a mixture of arguments mixed with actual conversation. Sanji discovered that it was Zoro's first day on the job and that he had come looking for training before he was setting out to sea.

"You're lucky. You can just up and leave this place whenever you want," Sanji said.

"What do you mean?"

"I'd give anything to travel out to sea. To leave this life and everything in it behind and just be my own man... People think it's so easy to be royalty, and that's probably true in some cases. My parents certainly seem to enjoy their lavish lifestyle. But it's just not for me... I hate it in fact. All the parties, all the formalities, it's all so suffocating that I feel like I'm going to scream," Sanji muttered, staring up at the sky.

Zoro took in Sanji's face, painted with such sincerity and sadness that he felt a pang of sympathy deep within his chest.

"Sorry. My head's pretty messed up at the moment," Sanji laughed lightly, shaking his head so that his blonde hair danced about across his face, making Zoro swoon.

"Y'know, for a poncy rich kid, you're not so bad," Zoro muttered in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"You say something?" Sanji asked, looking at Zoro.

"Doesn't matter," Zoro said.

"Rookie! Come on, you've been out here enough!" the voice of the instructor shouted from around the corner of the garden.

"Coming!" Zoro answered quickly.

He began to walk towards the sound of the voice, but Sanji grabbed his hand just before he could leave.

"Come to my room later," he said.

"What?! Are you crazy?"

"Please... If you can, just come," Sanji pleaded, casting his eyes to his hand that was locked onto Zoro's.

Zoro looked into his face and tried to resist those eyes of his... But no such luck.

"Fine," he said with an exaggerated sigh. "I'll try, OK? But no promises, rich kid,"

Sanji told him the location of his bedroom before they both parted ways, Sanji reluctantly letting go of his hand.

After safely returning back into his bedroom without anyone seeing him, Sanji couldn't stop the shy smile that was stuck to his mouth. He was laying on his bed with his balcony doors wide open, filling the room with a gentle summer breeze that cooled his body. The night sky was filled with twinkling stars that captivated Sanji's amazement, shining into his room and making his dark marbled floor sparkle beautifully.

He patiently awaited Zoro's arrival, hoping that the damn swordsman would keep his word and show up. He hugged his pillow, burying his face into its soft fluffiness as he remembered the image of Zoro in the garden. Picturing the movement of Zoro's muscles brought the colour back to Sanji's cheeks and he squeezed his pillow tighter, trying to stop his heart from racing. He closed his eyes to get a better picture of Zoro in his head, an unconscious smile crossing his lips.

A little while later, Sanji awoke, unaware that he had fallen asleep. His face was still pressed up into the pillow, but his face was much hotter now. He removed the pillow from his face and rubbed his eyes groggily, yawning loudly. It was still night time and so he deduced that he couldn't have been asleep for very long.

He sat up with a stretch, when suddenly there was movement in the sheets next to him. His head whipped backwards next to where he had been laying and found Zoro's sleeping figure lay there.

Sanji yelled out in shock, tumbling backwards into his bedside table and knocking nearly all of its contents onto the floor.

"Young master?! Are you alright?!" the guards outside Sanji's door called out as Sanji heard them getting up from their chairs.

"Shit!" Sanji cursed in a hushed whisper.

He looked back at Zoro who showed no signs of waking despite all the noise that was being made. Just what would it take to wake this guy up?!

Thinking on his feet, Sanji covered Zoro with the sheets, but the lump hidden by the sheets had a clear person-like shape to it.

"God damn it," Sanji muttered.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath for bravery, he climbed on top of Zoro and covered up to his neck with the sheets.

The guards finally entered the room, a worried expression on their faces. Their eyes locked onto Sanji tucked up suspiciously tightly in bed and seeming to be a lot bigger than usual.

"Is everything alright, young master? We heard you yell out just a moment ago," one of them said, eyeing him up and down.

"Y-yes, everything's fine! I just knocked something off my bedside table and it startled me is all," Sanji rambled, the feeling of Zoro's body underneath his own making him blush.

"You're face is all flushed, sir! Are you becoming ill?" the other guard asked.

"Hm? Oh, I think I'm just a bit hot is all... I'll change into some lighter clothing in just a moment," he answered them with a sheepish smile.

They nodded slowly, still skeptical of Sanji's erratic behaviour. Eventually though, they left the room, leaving Sanji and Zoro alone together.

Sanji sighed with relief as he lowered the sheets once more, releasing himself from the warm prison it had become. Without the threat of being discovered by the guards, Sanji took into account the situation he had managed to work himself into.

Zoro was still asleep as Sanji was rising and falling gently in time with the gentle snoring of the young swordsman beneath his body. He could feel Zoro's muscular chest pressing up into his back, not exactly the most comfortable thing to lie on, but surprisingly soft and comforting at the same time. Zoro's soft breathing ruffled the back of Sanji's mop of golden hair, making Sanji shiver slightly at the sensation.

Realising that this would be an odd scene for Zoro to wake up to, Sanji rolled off of him and instead propped himself up on his elbow to admire Zoro from this angle. His tanned skin was cast with shadows from the darkened room surrounding them, but Sanji could still see all of his main features highlighted by the light of the dazzling stars that were still shining through his open doors.

He was perfectly structured... Everything about him was sharp and chiseled, no doubt the result of many years of training. Sanji played with the three golden earrings he had in his ear, knowing full well that he would not awaken.

Growing in confidence, Sanji stroked Zoro's mesmerising shade of green hair. It was short and rugged, perfectly suited to a personality like his yet strangely soothing to play with between his fingers.

As he was playing with Zoro's hair, he leaned forwards ever so slightly so that he could hear every beat of Zoro's heart, every breath he took, every tiny noise his body made... Sanji began blushing for the hundredth time in an hour unable to process the fact that he was so close to Zoro in this kind of situation.

He gently rubbed the tip of his nose on Zoro's exposed shoulder before raising his head as if to make for Zoro's lips, but he stopped himself just as his nose pressed into Zoro's. This was stupid...

He smiled slightly, still reveling in the moment despite his blunder. Deciding it was high time the damn swordsman woke up, Sanji climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom before grabbing a cup of water. He walked back into the bedroom and made his way over to the side of the bed where Zoro lay.

He covered Zoro's mouth with his hand before confidently pouring the contents of the cup over the unsuspecting swordsman.

Zoro's eyes snapped open with a start and he yelled out in shock, but his shout was muffled by Sanji's previously placed hand. Once Zoro had processed what was happening and had stopped yelling, he slapped Sanji's arm out of the way and narrowed his eyes at the snickering prince.

"You fucking moron," Zoro muttered as he shook his hair out, spraying Sanji with small droplets of water.

"You weren't waking up! What else was I supposed to do? And why were you asleep in my bed?" Sanji asked.

"I came like you asked me to and you were already asleep when I got here," Zoro paused for a moment as if remembering the scene, casting his eyes downwards as he blushed slightly. "So instead of waking you up I decided to wait until you woke up. But I guess I must have been tired from training today and fell asleep,"

"Well that does sound like something an idiot like you would do," Sanji scoffed.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you. We're getting out of here. Tonight," Zoro suddenly announced.

Sanji stared back at him, blinking in disbelief.

"What?" he said.

"You heard me! This place isn't tough enough for me to train here so I'm heading out to sea. I was gonna leave without you, but yesterday you said you really wanted out of this place, right? So, let's go!"

Sanji still continued to stare despite Zoro repeating the proposition twice.

"You can't be serious! I mean, yes, I'd love to leave, but we can't just up and run away just like that! We need a plan of action, where we're gonna go, how we're going to get there..." Sanji rambled.

But before he could finish his sentence, Zoro had jumped out of the bed and ran over to where Sanji stood. Before Sanji could protest, Zoro sweeped him up into a bridal style and took a running leap from the balcony down into the garden.

Sanji's mouth hung wide open as he stared back at Zoro's confident smirk.

"You're not gonna get anywhere in life with that kind of attitude. Where's your sense of adventure? Hold on tight! I'm not putting up with any of the sneaking around bullshit you try and pull. We're getting out of here, right here and now!"

Zoro began running through the gardens, making a straight beeline for the palace gates that still stood a fair distance from the actual palace. Sanji instinctively gripped Zoro's shirt as he ran, but Zoro's arms were wrapped tightly around his body and he had no intention of dropping him. Sanji closed his eyes, surrounded by Zoro's scent which was making him lose control of his inhibitions... In all fairness, Sanji should have made the trip easier on Zoro by running himself, but he was perfectly happy being carried by a guy who smelled so great.

Before they knew it, they had made it out the palace gates. They were crashing through the forest that hid the palace from the rest of the kingdom and still Zoro refused to let go of Sanji. They soon found themselves in the grassy hills where Sanji would often play as a child.

The scene in the bedroom repeated in Sanji's mind and he found himself staring up into Zoro's face. There was a determined smirk on his face and a flash of adventure in his eyes, attracting Sanji to him all the more.

"Zoro... I-!!" Sanji began.

He was interrupted by Zoro's curse of, "Oh shit!!"

In their rush to escape the palace without being caught, Zoro had not really been concentrating on where he was placing his feet. He had slipped on the muddy grass at the top of a rather large hill and was now tumbling down it, Sanji falling with him. They bumped into each other as they rolled, but unable to stop the increasing momentum they were gathering, they could not stop themselves.

With two large splashes, they landed in the lake that had been waiting for them at the bottom of the hill, both startled at the sudden immersion in water.

Sanji had been the one to fall the deepest, now shaking his head within the water to try and regain his senses. He looked up and saw Zoro swimming down to his level, looking rather dazed and confused himself.

Upon finally reaching him, Zoro floated in front of Sanji upside down due to the direction from which he had swam. Sanji looked into Zoro's eyes, blurred slightly as a result of the surrounding water, trying to see through him. His green hair swayed ever so slightly with the direction of the flowing water and his cheeks were puffed out so he could retain as much oxygen as possible.

This was the man who had rescued him from his own fate... Rescued him from a life he thought he would never be able to escape. Was there any possible way he could express how truly grateful he was? Well... Sanji could think of one.

Before Zoro could protest, Sanji swam forward and kissed Zoro.

Zoro was taken aback at the sudden expression of love from the otherwise moody prince, yet he didn't pull away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Sanji's chest in order to anchor him down, pushing himself further into his mouth.

Sanji's nose brushed up against Zoro's chin as he felt the latter grip him tightly. The waves that the two were creating in order to get as close to each other as they possibly could rung through their ears as their kiss increased in intensity.

The lake was a stunning shade of blue mixed with green and clear as a summer's day. Usually the lake would be silent and peaceful, the only activity it received being the sluggish movement of the small fish that lived near the bottom of its substance. The undisturbed atmosphere of the lake had led to it becoming the home of many aquatic creatures, taking refuge in its placid waters.

But tonight the lake was alive with passion, a flurry of movement and unexpressed love exploding into a firework of compassion and caresses. The fish of the lake, unaccustomed to this sudden change of pace, hid under and around the rocks, watching the scene with anxiety.

Unable to hold their breath for much longer, the two drew away from one another reluctantly, swimming up to the surface once more. They gulped some much needed air upon resurfacing before both of them hauled themselves onto the grassy bank, still panting like a pair of dogs.

Before Zoro could even fully catch his breath once more, Sanji pounced on him and pinned him to the floor, meeting his protests with another collision of lips.

Now that they were on dry land without the restriction of water, they found the whole experience a lot easier. Having already kissed enough in the lake, the two soon drew away from each other, Sanji smiling down at Zoro with a satisfied smirk.

Zoro flipped him over so that he was on top and leaned down to Sanji's level. Instead of going for his lips, Zoro kissed Sanji's neck. He continued to kiss despite Sanji's protests that he was ticklish there. Sanji's face exploded with heat, the sensation of Zoro's lips on his skin driving him crazy. He grabbed the back of Zoro's head and gripped a handful of his green hair in his hand, burying his face in the curve of Zoro's neck.

He wrapped his legs around Zoro's body, pulling his hips in close to Zoro's and rubbing them against each other slightly.

Having finished with Sanji's neck, Zoro leaned in to kiss Sanji on the lips again. Another passionate kiss ensued, Zoro grabbing the back of Sanji's head and rubbing his hand through his heavy, wet, golden tresses. Both wanted more than simply kissing and touching... But that would have to wait for another, more appropriate time.

The fires of infatuation that had been burning so brightly slowly dwindled into small flames as the two finally released one another and lay panting on the grass.

"You may be annoying as hell... But you sure do know your way around a body," Sanji complimented.

"I never knew I was gay... I mean, I could have sworn I was straight," Zoro laughed.

"That's what they all say,"

Sanji clambered back on top of Zoro, but simply lay down on his chest this time. Zoro placed his hand on Sanji's back, hugging the latter tightly. A lifetime of adventure awaited them... With all the freedom and experiences that came with it.

The prince and his swordsman.