Archive of Our Own ^beta

(6)

"And we'll end it there for the day. I'll see you all next time."

Getting to his feet, he grabbed his little wooden shinai.

As he made his way towards the doors, he heard a sound from behind the far wall.

Heading over, he peered his head round the sliding partition.

There were twelve girls all dressed in ballet gear, and a tall woman in a black leotard and skirt.

"Okay everyone let's go from the top. One, and two, and-."

Although he hadn't noticed him originally, there was a blonde boy in the back row who was much younger than everyone else, and looked around his age. He was happily spinning and spinning with a huge smile on his face.

"Reiju sweetie, could you tell your brother to stop please." Came the voice of the older woman.

A pink-haired girl turned to him and tapped him on the shoulder before her hands moved around in weird motions.

The boy gasped a little before his eyes looked around at the other kids who were quietly giggling; he seemed to shrink into himself a little, his head lowering as he began to play with his fingers.

The pink-haired girl looked upset. Coming to a kneel in front of the boy she gave him a light pinch on the cheek with a smile before her hands seemed to move in that weird way once again.

"Zoro, what are you still doing here?" Came Master's voice.

He jumped and rushed to his feet.

"Sorry, Master."

He gave a bow before running out of the hall.

"One, and two, and three, and four, lovely, well done."

Feeling someone bump into him, he turned quickly to find that it was the blonde.

The kid put his hands up in apology before rushing on. As he slid open the door...

"Sanji! Where have you been; you know you have to be on time!" The tutor took a deep breath. "Get warmed up, you'll be doing stretches."

There was a pause before.

"Don't give me that look, mister, if you want to do the lesson with the rest of the class then I expect you to not be tardy, that's the rules. And where's your sister?"

Someone out of breath rushed past him a few seconds later.

It was the pink-haired girl.

"Reiju, there you are. Come on, get warmed up, you'll be doing stretches too."

"Sorry, Miss."

Zoro walked towards the opening and looked round the partition.

The blonde kid was dressed in his usual outfit of black dance tights and white shirt, his skinny frame truly visible.

He watched in amazement as the kid raised his leg high against the bar to stretch, even something so simple looking so elegant.

“Zoro? Are you coming?” Called Master.

He nodded quickly.

“Yes, Master!”

(7)

He’d decided that he was going to talk to the kid no matter what.

Truth was though, he was scared.

Walking up the path towards the sports centre, overheard someone shouting.

"What did they do?!" An angered voice asked.

No answer was supplied.

It turned out to be the pink-haired girl and the blonde having what had certainly sounded like an argument.

"I can't help you if you refuse to stick up for yourself."

Zoro took a seat on the bench.

Both sets of eyes tracked to him.

The girl glared at him before placing her hand on the boy's back and turning him to walk away.

Maybe now wasn’t the best time…

It took him another two weeks to build up the confidence again.

Not sparing a second, he caught sight of the blonde and immediately rushed over.

“Uhhh, hi.”

He got no response, the kid just continuing to lace his shoes.

Was he purposely ignoring him?

The pink-haired girl walked over and tapped the blonde on the shoulder, which caused him to startle.

Her hands moved around before blue eyes met his gaze with a smile.

“This is Sanji.” She introduced. “He’s deaf.”

Ohhhhh…

The blonde’s hands moved.

“He wants to know what your name is.”

“I’m Zoro.”

His answer was translated back before another reply came.

“He says that it’s nice to meet you.”

"Nice to meet you too."

Watching their hands move, he found it fascinating.

The pink-haired girl smiled.

“It’s called sign language. I can lend you some books on it if you’re interested in learning?”

He couldn’t have nodded quicker.

“I’ll bring them to the next session.” She smiled softly. “And I’m Reiju, by the way.”

The ballet tutor began to clap loudly for her students to gather round.

“We’ve gotta’ go, see you around.”

He gave a wave as they left.

(9)

Sitting down on the bench at the side of the hall, he tried to get his breath back.

Reiju walked over and took the seat next to him.

“Heads up, Sanji is going to be joining your class at school.”

His eyes widened.

“Really?!”

“Yeah. He’s been at the deaf school outside the city since he was little, but as he got older, he began to hate it there. Pops finally gave in last week so he’s getting transferred.”

He smiled.

Reiju did too.

“I thought you’d be happy.”

He nodded.

It had been a month since Sanji had joined the class, and he’d settled in pretty well.

Thankfully he knew enough signs where they could talk together naturally, and the blonde would help him with the ones he didn’t quite understand.

Sat out in the yard, he was halfway through a sandwich when a thought came to his head. Swallowing down his bite, he turned to his friend.

"What made you start doing ballet?"

Sanji, who had a grape halfway to his mouth, paused and placed it back in the tub.

'SISTER BABYSIT ME'

"Oh so she had ballet lessons and you went with her?"

The blonde nodded.

"So you were just naturally talented then?" He smiled.

His friend blushed, tapping him lightly on the arm.

“You’re going to be a world famous ballerina one day, I know it.”

The blonde scowled.

“What?!”

'BALLERINA NOT'

"Then what are you?"

'BALLET DANCER'

"That's the same thing!"

'NOT!'

He broke out laughing at how much his friend was pouting.

It earned him a hit on the shoulder.

‘FUNNY NOT!’

And that only made him laugh harder.

(10)

Master was sick and so kendo was cancelled for the week.

Sanji and Reiju had used this as an opportunity to drag him to their ballet lessons, and so there he was sat at the side of the hall watching them.

It was during the break when the blonde walked over and took a seat next to him.

There was a question he'd been meaning to ask for years, and he felt like it was a good time to ask it.

"Hey, Sanji?"

'Y-E-A-H?' His friend fingerspelt with one hand while taking large gulps of water from a sports bottle with the other.

"How do you... you know?"

Sanji furrowed an eyebrow.

"If you can't hear the music then how do you know what you're doing?"

The blonde smirked.

'NEED NOT'

"How?"

'FEEL'

Zoro was very confused.

"Feel what?"

'VIBRATION'

"Oh... okay."

'KNOW JUST. FOCUS'

"That's amazing!"

Sanji beamed.

(11)

He was just about to head out of the locker room when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find a very nervous looking Sanji standing beside him.

A piece of paper was shoved towards him before the blonde rushed off.

With a furrowed eyebrow, he looked down at the envelope and realised quickly what it was.

Inside contained an invitation.

'The Merry-Go Sports Centre presents The Nutcracker

Sanji as the Sugar Plum Fairy

Hiyori as Clara

Pudding as Herr Drosselmeyer

Kaya as Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker

Conis as the Cavalier

& Reiju as the Mouse King'

He smiled.

As he sat watching the show, he found himself mesmerised by the blonde.

He'd obviously seen every show his friend had been in, but something about this one seemed different.

Sanji just seemed so… perfect.

He didn't once look scared, or mess up the choreography like the others, he just owned the stage and it was incredible to watch.

After the show, he rushed over and sneaked to the side of the stage behind the curtain. It didn't take long for the blonde to appear.

His eyes caught sight of him immediately as he rushed over excitedly, his hands flying all over the place.

'THINK WHAT? OKAY I? ENJOY YOU?'

He nodded.

"You were amazing!"

His friend's eyes widened before a beaming smile came to his face.

'THANK YOU ZORO'

It was after his next practice that he overheard an interesting conversation.

"...your performance last week only cemented what I've been telling you for years. Ballet schools are hard to get into, but I have no doubt that you would pass the audition." The ballet teacher encouraged. "I know you've always declined but I really believe you should give it a good long think. I mean it when I say that talent like yours only comes around once in a very long while."

He was amazed by what he was hearing.

The blonde however only gave a simple nod before walking off.

He quickly pretended that he hadn't been eavesdropping but it didn't exactly look realistic.

Sanji raised an eyebrow before smirking.

'COME ON'

As they were walking through town, he couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"I heard what your ballet teacher said, you should be really proud."

The blonde wrapped an arm around himself.

"I could go to the audition with you... I mean if you wanted me to of course... I don't have to."

'GO NOT'

"Oh okay, that's fine; I mean... you probably want Reiju there right and-."

'NO. GO NOT I'

He furrowed an eyebrow.

"Why?"

'WANT NOT'

"Well that's bullshit."

Sanji scowled.

"Well I mean, you love ballet, and you are incredible at it."

'BALLET NO KNOWLEDGE YOU'

He found the reply insulting.

"So what if I don't?! I've been training next to that class since I was three, I know what a terrible ballerina looks like compared to a good one."

'BALLET DANCER I'

"Sure..." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Plus, I've seen every single show the Merry-Go put on, and went with you on every trip to all those ballets over the years. Seeing you in The Nutcracker, it really did remind me of all those professionals."

He knew his anger was rising but he couldn't help it.

"So you can try and make me look like an idiot, or point out that I'm uncultured, do whatever you want, I don't care; but I do care that you're coming up with every single excuse possible just to avoid whatever it is that's scaring you."

Sanji seemed taken aback.

"So please, tell me what's going through that head of yours."

The blonde took a breath.

'GO CAN'T'

"Why not?"

'PAPA'

"What about him?"

'EXPENSIVE'

"You don't want him to have to pay for it?"

His friend nodded.

"And you know he would if you asked?

Another nod.

"Could you maybe get a scholarship?"

Sanji scoffed.

'GOOD ENOUGH NOT'

He smirked.

The blonde raised an eyebrow, clearly a little angry at that.

'WHAT?'

"You're not just 'good', Sanji, you're really good; you would absolutely win the scholarship if you applied."

'REALLY THINK SO?'

"One-hundred percent."

His friend rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head.

He was almost certain he could see him blushing.

Sanji reached out his hand and found his, intertwining their fingers.

'T-H-I-N-K A-B-O-U-T' He fingerspelt with his spare hand.

"Good."

The blonde smiled.

'THANK YOU'

"You have nothing to thank me for."

(12)

It took months for Sanji to make his decision, but once he had, he'd knuckled down even harder.

The ballet tutor was given him private lessons now, and so the blonde spent the rest of his day after school, and all of his weekends practicing.

When they'd asked what the best ballet school was, she'd immediately stated the most highly regarded to be The Paris Opera Ballet School.

They weren't too far away from it, but it would still require Sanji moving to the capital.

Reiju, who was eighteen now, had plans to go with him.

Apparently Sanji was just young enough to be eligible to the 1-year training course, which then saw potential admission as a full-time student to the school.

His friend's next batch of concerns came from not only the fear of messing up the audition, but also not being accepted because of his hearing.

The tutor had quickly quashed those thoughts, stating that his dancing would do the talking instead.

In the end, Zeff had invited him to come with them to Paris for the audition.

Sanji didn't sign on the way there, his nerves having made themselves known, and so he reached out and held his hand, bringing a smile to his friend's face.

Pacing back and forth, he felt sick to the pit of his stomach.

He knew he shouldn't be worried because the blonde was going to be amazing like he always was, but he couldn't help himself.

When Sanji emerged an hour later, he looked exhausted but happy.

"Did it go okay?"

His friend smiled.

'THINK SO I'

He smiled too.

"Good."

As it turned out, the blonde's audition was better than good, it was perfect.

'Flawless' was the term the acceptance letter had used, and Sanji hadn't stopped sobbing since, overwhelmed with joy.

"I'm so proud of you, Eggplant." Zeff stated proudly, almost tearful himself.

'THANK YOU ALL FOR SUPPORTING ME'

And his own tears had fallen soon after.

(13)

Sanji had passed the first year with flying colours and was now a student in the main school.

With the blonde living at the school in the boarding house, he only saw him on the holidays he came home for.

He didn't mind though, knowing that his friend was enjoying himself so much made it all worth it.

(15)

The kid's home had given him permission to spend the summer with Zeff and Reiju in Paris, and he hadn't wasted a second in getting packed up to go.

He didn't have much to his name, just a backpack that had seen better days, some clothes, and his shinai, but that was all he needed, especially if it meant he could see Sanji again.

School was boring without him, and half the time he didn't even bother showing up.

Reiju had lectured him when she'd found out, with him quickly discovering that she was truly terrifying when she was angry.

The old man had lectured him too.

He still enjoyed kendo, but it wasn't the same not having Sanji across the hall, and the new class were terrible.

But maybe he was a little biased…

(17)

A letter had arrived for him.

"You never get letters?" One of the social workers at the house commented. "Anything exciting?"

He ripped it open instantly and pulled out the contents.

It was an invite.

'Dear Roronoa Zoro,

You are cordially invited to The Paris Opera Ballet School's Summer Performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House.'

Noticing a cast list below, he didn't have to look far to find Sanji's name.

'Sanji Black as "Oden" the Swan Prince, & Odi'

He smiled.

The change of genders meant that the blonde was too good for anyone to even consider not giving the lead to him.

Almost bursting with excitement, he hugged the invitation to his chest and ran off to his room.

Zeff had bought him a suit.

He'd tried to talk him out of it, but when the old man had reminded him that they literally wouldn't let him in if he wasn't wearing one, he'd been more willing to accept his kindness.

Fiddling with his tie, Reiju's hand came to tap it away.

"Leave it!" She hissed in a whisper.

"Alright! Sorry."

The orchestra finished their warm-up and a few minutes later, the curtain rose.

As a familiar blonde took to the stage, his eyes widened at his sheer beauty.

He was so graceful as he effortlessly moved around the stage.

Reiju was sniffling beside him, and he was sure Zeff had tears of pride in his eyes too.

They loved Sanji so much, and it never failed to make him smile.

The blonde ended up winning the most prestigious award of the night, and the old man didn't stop clapping for a good ten minutes afterwards.

The second he was able to leave his seat and go see Sanji, he took the stairs two at a time in his eagerness.

Looking through the crowds of parents and students, he eventually found him being congratulated by a man who he guessed to be a tutor.

After waiting patiently for them to finish, he walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Sanji turned before his face lit up.

'ZORO!'

Smushed into a hug, he held the blonde back tight. Pulling away just a little, he raised a hand and gently traced his finger down his friend's cheek, mesmerised by the eye makeup which completed his look as the Swan Prince.

He looked so beautiful.

"You stole the show, you should be proud."

'ZORO…'

The blonde turned a bright shade of red.

He leant closer, Sanji’s breath catching in his throat before he drew him in and pressed their lips together.

The blonde’s hands came to rest on his cheeks.

As the beautiful moment came to an end he smiled, stroking a strand of Sanji’s hair behind his ear.

'MISSED YOU I'

"I've missed you too."

They kissed once again.

(22)

Living together in an apartment in Paris now, he loved nothing more than watching his boyfriend practice in the spare room they'd transformed into a ballet studio.

At the age of just twenty-two, Sanji was already world-renowned. Named as a generational talent, his future was bright, and casting invites just kept on coming.

And he was so proud.

He'd been putting it off for months after his brain kept constantly reminding him why Sanji was too good for him.

But this time…

This time he wasn't going to let anything stop him.

~

Leg raised high on the bar, he watched as the blonde stretched.

Those beautiful blue eyes came to meet his gaze after his boyfriend noticed him enter."

'ZORO'

"Morning, baby."

Sanji smiled, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

'FLATTERY WILL GET YOU EVERYWHERE.'

He chuckled.

"Good."

Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Can you remember the day that we first met back at the sports centre?"

'OF COURSE.'

"I was a lonely kid back then. I'd been alone for so long, trapped in that children's home, that I'd forgotten what it ever felt like to truly be loved, and then I met you."

He sniffled, lip wobbling as he struggled.

"You are everything to me, so thank you for showing me that I can be loved."

And with that, he got down to one knee and fished the box from his pocket.

His boyfriend’s hand flew over his mouth.

'ZORO! OH MY GOD!'

He held out the box and flipped the lid.

'SANJI BLACK' His fingers shook as he signed. 'MARRY ME YOU?'

The blonde gasped before he launched himself at him, smushing their lips together seconds later as they kissed greedily.

'OF COURSE WILL I'

Relieved beyond comprehension, he smiled around another kiss.

'I LOVE YOU MY BEAUTIFUL SWAN'

Sanji, who seemed overwhelmed from emotion, buried his head against his shoulder before his hands rose.

'I LOVE YOU TOO MY SWORDSMAN'

He slid the ring onto his fiancé's finger before pressing a kiss to it.

"The press are going to have a field day with this."

The blonde chuckled, admiring the ring with watery eyes.

'WORLD KNOW MINE YOU'

He smiled.

"I'll leave you to your stretches."

'DISTRACTED TOO NOW'

He smirked.

"Apologies."

'EXCEPTION MAKE TIME THIS'

The blonde pecked him on the cheek.

'SPECIAL DINNER MAKE CELEBRATE'

"Can I help?"

Sanji grinned.

'BURN EVERYTHING'

"No I won't!"

His fiancée burst out laughing.

'SURE…'

Scowling, the expression lasted only a few seconds before softening back to a smile, overflowing with love.

'COME ON'

The blonde took his hand before leading him towards the kitchen.

And one year later, they were married.