"Oi."

"Yeah Marimo?"

Zoro paused, continuing to stare distantly at the runway for another moment before turning to Sanji with an unusually hesitant look tainting his features. "Do you… Do you wanna get married when I get back?"

"What the fuck kind of question is that?"

"Well, we've been together for about three years now, and I just thought-"

"Don't drop a fucking bomb on me right when you're about to leave! Where the hell did this come from?"

"But I thought that-"

"Yes."

"Don't interrupt me you shitty- Wait, what?"

"Yes. I'll marry you. Do you need be to spell it out for you? God, I can't believe I fell for such a- Mmfh!" Sanji felt his head spin as Zoro kissed him in a way that was just a touch too intimate for a busy airport.

Zoro grinned at the faint blush that spread across Sanji's cheeks, smiling broadly at the blond's embarrassed expression. "I'm gonna miss my flight if I don't leave soon," he murmured softly, pulling in the other man for a tight hug.

"I don't think I would really mind if you did," Sanji whispered softly into Zoro's dark green camouflage jacket, giving the man another tight squeeze before pulling away.

"You gonna be okay Sanji?"

"I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about moron. I'm not the one who went blind in one eye the last time you took one of your little trips to some foreign land."

"That guy just got in a cheap shot and you know it! It won't happen again."

"It better not! I don't want to have to tote your sorry blind ass around when you get back. Now get out of here moron, I'm getting tired of looking at your ugly mug." Sanji snapped, resisting the urge to kick the man in the head.

Zoro shot the blond one of his signature smirks before reaching over to ruffle the man's hair. "See ya later Curly-cue!" he teased, turning on his heal and walking off towards the line for the security gate.

"You better come back here with your ass intact Marimo or I swear to god I will fucking kill you!" Sanji bellowed loud enough to draw in the gaze of listening passersby's.

Zoro answered with a quick, cocky sort of wave over his shoulder and didn't look back even once.

Sanji didn't even try and stop the flood of tears that pricked at the back of his eyes and flowed down his cheeks.

Sanji slammed down his kitchen knife, reaching over the counter and nearly ripping the phone off the wall almost immediately after its first sharp ring. "Hey!" he answered breathlessly, trying to prevent a grin from breaking out on his features.

"Hey Curlybrow. What are you up to?"

"Nothing much moss for brains, I'm just making something for the Christmas party later tonight. It's taking a while though. You know how much Luffy eats and I want to be prepared for the worst," Sanji answered, checking on the glazed ham in the oven before moving to sit at the kitchen table.

Sanji listened as Zoro let out a breathy snort that tuned into a low chuckle that sent the blond's stomach aflutter. It seemed like it had been much too long since the last time Sanji had been able to talk to the green haired solider when really it had only been a week. One very, very long, lonely week.

"That kid can eat anything if put his mind to it." Sanji remarked, tucking some loose strands of hair behind his ear.

"He really could. You remember that time he tried to eat a license plate on that one trip we took to Florida?" Zoro asked, falling into a small laughing fit.

"How could I forget? I still can't believe he was able to fit the entire thing in his mouth!" the blond laughed, remembering how utterly ridiculous Luffy had looked.

The two men simply laughed for a moment, allowing Sanji to relish in the sound of his fiancé's bubbling laughter.

The moment soon ended however and Zoro soon brought his laughter back under his control, leaving Sanji with a swelling pang of sadness and longing in his chest.

"It's too bad you won't be able to come to the party tonight," Sanji commented

"Yeah, you guys will be alright without me. I don't like parties much anyway," Zoro said in what sounded like an almost guilty tone.

Sanji's eyebrow quirked ever so slightly, feeling sick as dread built in the pit of his stomach. "At least you'll be here for Christmas though. Your flight is coming in early on the 25th right Zoro?" Sanji asked, praying that the Marimo wouldn't confirm his suspicions.

"Well…"

"Zoro," Sanji snapped, "What the fuck is going on? And you better not lie to me."

Sanji felt his heart sink as Zoro let out a loud, anguished sigh. "I'm not going to be able to make it by Christmas."

"Why- Why the fuck not?" Sanji questioned, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

"It's gotten pretty bad over here and I need to be here to lead my squad into the enemies' main base next week."

Sanji groaned quietly, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "You'll come home after that though right?"

There was a beat of silence that made Sanji's heart clench painfully in his chest. "Right?"

Sanji listened as Zoro let out another harsh sigh before answering. "I think I'll be back sometime in early March."

"What?! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I wish I was," the man snorted, his voice lowering in pitch ever so slightly.

"You're already an entire month over your appointed leave and those shitty bastards are keeping you there for another three months? This is fucking bullshit and you know it!" Sanji was practically yelling at this point, doing nothing to keep his emotions in check.

Zoro listened quietly as Sanji began a loud rant, screeching almost incomprehensibly into the receiver, causing Zoro's ear to ring in borderline pain and he held the phone away from him to spare his hearing. Waiting another few moments until the screaming had subsided and pulled the phone back to his ear.

"You done?" the green haired man asked, smiling slightly at the cook's ragged breathing.

"Yeah." Sanji muttered softly, feeling the slightest bit embarrassed over his sudden outburst.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine you shitty bastard. Worry about saving your own fucking ass okay. I'll talk to you next week, yeah?" Sanji questioned, swallowing thickly as his voice began to quiver. God, this just pissed him off so much. What kind of shitty army didn't let people come home for fucking Christmas?

"Whatever you say curlybrow," the solider hummed quietly before hanging up, leaving Sanji alone with the deafening dial tone.

Sanji listened to tone for another moment before sighing and slamming the phone onto the kitchen table with more force than necessary. He let out a pained moan before banging his head into the table with a loud thunk. Well this sucked.

Sanji sat motionlessly, hunched over the table, and pressed his forehead further into the smooth surface. He sniffled quietly, trying to ignore the insistent tingling sensation that built up at the back of his closed eyelids. What a shitty Christmas Eve.

The cook let a wave of self-pity wash over him and was about to let out another whine when the doorbell suddenly rang.

The blond shot up immediately, almost falling backward in his chair at the hurried movement. He stared at the door for a moment, stunned that someone would bother him during his pity party that he had been right in the middle of before shaking his head and realizing how fucking ridiculous that had sounded even in his own head. It was probably just Luffy who wanted to arrive at the party first so no one would take his beloved meat in his absence.

Hastily wiping his damp eyes, Sanji got up from his chair to answer the door. Whoever was behind it began to knock insistently, causing Sanji's eye to twitch in annoyance. "Wait one goddamn second! I'm coming!" the knocking continued and Sanji swung open the door, ready to give his unexpected 'guest' a face full of the bottom of his foot. "Goddammit Luffy you don't have… to…to…"

The venomous words died in Sanji's throat and he simply stared for a moment, openly gaping at the man that stood on his front porch. No. Fucking. Way.

"Hey dartboard brow."

Sanji blinked, once, twice. He was still there. This had to be a dream. It had to be.

"Cook?"

Sanji swallowed, his throat suddenly seeming very dry. He worked around his jaw for a moment, words rolling around in his mind, trying to form a coherent sentence. "I… You… I thought…" was as far as Sanji got before his voice cracked.

Zoro gave the other man a small smile, entering the cramped entryway and throwing his brown duffel bag to the ground. Not wasting another minute the weary solider wrapped his arms around the blond that was obviously still in disbelief.

Sanji didn't move, letting the warmth from the other man seep into his body. A flurry of questions filled his mind but he couldn't focus long enough to even know where to start. He blinked in shock as warm tears rolled down his cheeks. When had he started crying?

"I see you're still using woman's hair products," Zoro murmured, nosing his way into Sanji's golden strands. "It smells like vanilla."

Sanji let out a chocked sob. He wasn't exactly sure what it was about Zoro's comment that got to him but it was enough to finally tear down his defensive walls and let his tightly concealed emotions run wild. The blond wrapped his arms tightly around Zoro's chest, continuing to sob quietly into the man's camouflage jacket. The shaking of his body quickly subsided as Zoro gave him another tight squeeze, bringing him back down to earth.

"You've turned into such a girl since I've been gone shit cook," Zoro muttered, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

Sanji let out a quiet sniffle in response, inhaling the green haired man's steely scent that sent shivers down his spine. The blond took another shaking gasp of air and wiped his eyes before finally regaining the ability to speak. "I hate you, you shitty bastard," he murmured in a trembling voice that he would have been ashamed of had the circumstances been different.

Zoro simply hummed and ran his fingers through Sanji's hair. "We've been hugging for a long time. If I didn't know any better I would think you actually liked me shit cook."

"Shut up!"

"Make m-mpf" Zoro smirked as the blond pressed his lips heatedly against his own. He responded eagerly, letting the blond invade his mouth with little resistance. Zoro let himself be pushed up against the door with a loud thud.

Sanji took the lead, fervently running his tongue against the roof of Zoro's mouth, taking pleasure in the moans that he elicited from the other man.

They continued for what seemed like only seconds before Zoro started to feel rather lightheaded from the lack of oxygen.

Sanji nearly whined when Zoro pulled away, watching impatiently as the man took deep, exaggerated breaths. The blond looked eagerly from Zoro to their closed bedroom door, squirming excitedly in the soldier's tight hold.

Zoro didn't seem to notice and slid his hands onto the blond's shoulders, which seemed to vibrate with pent up energy. "Oi cook. I gotta tell you something."

"What?" Sanji huffed in annoyance, irritated that the green haired man had ruined the mood.

Zoro stilled for a moment and Sanji could almost see the gears turn slowly in the moss brains head before he seemed satisfied with what he had come up with. "I got you," he paused "a ring."

"You got me a what?"

"A ring"

"A ring?"

"Yes, a ring."

"Why the fuck did you get me a ring?"

"So we can get married."

"…Oh."

"Yep."

"Is this your idea of a proposal you shitty bastard?! Do you have any class what so ever you tactless asshole?" Sanji screeched, trying desperately to escape Zoro's unyielding hold.

"Is that a yes?" Zoro teased, watching as Sanji's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

"Like hell it is! Let me go!" the blonde continued to squirm, letting out a small whine when he realized that the Marimo wasn't going to release him from his hold.

"Not until you say yes,"

"Fuck you."

"Later. You need to say yes first."

"I already said yes once. Why do I have to say it again?"

"Because I said so," Zoro said, nodding to himself self-assuredly.

Sanji grumbled quietly to himself, looking anywhere but Zoro before finally gathering the courage to look the other man in the eye. There was another beat of silence before he finally answered with a slight pout "Yes."

"Was that so hard?" the Marimo asked, finally releasing the blond cook from his hold with a smug grin.

Sanji simply glared at the other man as he pulled out a small blue box from his front pocket. His grimace turned into a full blown blush as Zoro clasped his hand with tenderness that he didn't think that the Marimo possessed. Sanji smiled ever so slightly as his stomach exploded in a flurry of giddy flutters and Zoro slid the ring on his ring finger. It was a perfect fit. The damn shithead must have taken a lucky guess about his ring size.

"It's really pretty actually kind of pretty Marimo. I'm impressed." Sanji quipped, lifting his hand to examine the simple golden band.

"Yeah I got it after-"

"Except you put it on the wrong hand," Sanji snorted, the fluttering in his stomach quickly turning into unrestrained giggles.

"What? No I didn't! See, I put it on your left hand!"

"No Marimo, that's your left." Sanji tried to explain through his bubbling laughter.

Zoro pouted openly as Sanji doubled over in laughter.

The blond clutched his stomach and laughed for what seemed like hours until he couldn't breathe. "How… How did you even find… your… your way home you directionally challenged mossball?" Sanji gasped, attempting to regain his composure.

Zoro gave the cook one more glare before grasping the blond's chin and giving him a kiss that made Sanji's oxygen depraved head spin wildly.

"What was that for?" Sanji questioned, pulling away suddenly from the other man with a quiet gasp of air.

"To shut you up."

"Oi!"

Zoro smiled and wrapped his arms around the cook's thin waist in another tight hug. "Merry Christmas Sanji," Zoro whispered, nuzzling lovingly into the cooks neck.

Sanji couldn't help the small grin that plastered across his face as his heart nearly burst with warmth and affection "Merry Christmas Marimo."