I Just Want to Be (The One You Love) - three_days_late (2024)

Caesar was lounging on the chaise, popping bonbons in his mouth as he watched TV. Annabeth was just about to find out that Denise had been sleeping with her fiancé Mark for the past three months, and he was glued to the screen, waiting for the sh*t to hit the fan in a spectacular array.

“Unbelievable!” Judge boomed as he entered the room, right as Annabeth was hearing the news.

Of course his f*cking husband had to ruin it by showing up in a whole mood.

He glanced away from Annabeth’s over the top sobbing — a sacrifice that he knew Judge wouldn't appreciate —to say, “And how was your day, darling?”

“Miserable,” he snarled, not even getting on Caesar about the pet name, so whatever crawled up his ass and died must be serious, “Do you know what my pathetic failure of a son has been up to?”

“You'll have to be more specific,” Caesar tutted, “All your sons are quite pathetic.”

“The one I actually hate,” Judge snapped.

Granted, Caesar never cared much for the five brats that came with Judge. But if Judge was calling this one pathetic, it could only be the third son, Sanji.

He honestly couldn't blame Sanji for cutting the Vinsmokes out of his life. They were insufferable on their best days, and just plain obnoxious on every conceivable level.

If Judge wasn't loaded and giving Caesar access to the many many labs under Germa Group’s control to run whatever experiments he saw fit — as per their marriage agreement — he also would've left and never returned all ages ago.

But unfortunately he was still banned for life from every major lab in both the eastern and western hemispheres, with a standing ban for the ones on Mars, should they ever exist. So the Germa labs were his only opportunities to continue his experiments, and so he needed Judge.

And he had to tolerate the brats.

Except Sanji, who was his favorite by virtue of him being absent.

“What has poor little Sanji gotten into this time?” He said, giving his husband a smirk.

Judge glowered, “He’s getting married.”

“Well,” Caesar huffed as he turned back to the drama unfolding on the screen, “My condolences to his future spouse, but I don't see how that concerns you.”

“That's the problem,” Judge roared, “He's getting married, and he's not inviting me, his own father, to the wedding.”

“Oh wow,” Caesar deadpanned as he popped another chocolate in his mouth, “Can't imagine the years of emotional and sometimes physical abuse would lead to this.”

“I don't give a f*ck if he wants me there or not,” he growled.

Caesar rolled his eyes, “Clearly.”

“The problem,” he unfortunately continued, “Is that he invited everyone else and specifically didn't invite me.”

“Well of course he-” Caesar paused, taking in the full meaning of his words, then turned back to him with a mocking grin, “Wait, when you say everyone, do you mean everyone?”

“He invited Sora, he invited,” he scowled, clenching his teeth tight before he spat out the name like a curse, “Zeff.”

“Well obviously,” he snorted, “He likes them.”

Judge plowed on, ignoring his correct statements, “He invited Reiju.”

That wasn't a surprise to anyone except maybe Judge. It was an open secret that Reiju still talked to Sanji, at the very least sending him birthday and holiday greetings. For f*ck’s sake she was at his restaurant opening, it was no surprise she was invited to his wedding, and nothing for Judge to get so mad about.

Unless…

“He invited Ichiji,” he growled, “And Niji. And Yonji. But he didn't invite me.”

Caesar laughed, he couldn't help it. This was way more delicious than reality TV.

Little Sanji had burned his father in the worst way possible: created an event where literally everyone else was allowed except Judge.

This was too good. He had to give Sanji points for the sheer audacity of it.

He glanced back at Judge when he calmed down enough to find him seething, his fists clenched tight as his sides, using every muscle and fiber of his being to stop from lashing out against him.

Caesar laughed harder.

“I'm sorry,” he wiped the tears from his eyes, not sorry at all, “It's just you hate Sanji. Why do you even care that he doesn't want you at his wedding?”

“I don't care,” Judge snapped, displaying the contrary, “I just think it's rude of him to not even offer his father — the man who raised him, who gave him much more than a pathetic failure like him deserved — a seat at such a pathetic, miserable event.”

“Cannot even imagine why,” Caesar snickered, “Wait, wasn't he with that…” Caesar waved his hand in the air, “Green fellow? With the swords and the scars?”

“Roronoa Zoro,” Judge said through clenched teeth, “Yes, that's who he's marrying. Allegedly. I won't know for sure, since he did not deign to invite me.”

Yes, Caesar rolled his eyes almost to the back of his skull this time, he clearly didn't care at all.

“How did you even find out?” Caesar rested his chin on the back of the couch to gaze up at him, “Since it clearly wasn't through a save the date?”

Judge shot him a glare that only made him grin wider before producing a crumpled piece of paper, “I found this when I went to visit Yonji earlier. I confirmed with Reiju that all of them were invited, and that Sanji had made the specific, deliberate choice to leave me out.”

Caesar took the crumpled invitation. A tasteful picture of Sanji and Zoro holding hands and giving each other goo-goo eyes under a willow tree while wearing white took up most of the invitation, set against a cream background with cursive font.

A very typical, extremely basic bitch wedding invite, all things considered. Honestly Caesar expected more from the brat.

Join us for the wedding of Roronoa Zoro and Sanji Black, the invite said, listing a date a few months from now, a QR code for RSVPing, and the venue, the newest and hottest restaurant around, All Blue.

Tacky and predictable. The whole event looked to be mediocre at best, and to top it off it would most likely be crawling with all of Sanji’s stupid obnoxious friends.

It was the last place in the world Caesar wanted to be anywhere near.

Except for the fact that Judge was explicitly not invited.

After knowing the bastard for as long as he had, being roommates in college, being lab partners during their first fellowship under Dr. Vegapunk, hell being married to him for a little over ten years, he liked to think he had a handle on his personality quirks.

Sanji’s wedding could have been a cook-out serving expired hot dogs held in a dumpster in a rat-infested sewer, and the fact that Judge was excluded made it the most important social gathering of the century to him.

And no, Caesar didn’t want to go, didn’t care or expect Sanji to invite him either, but seeing Judge so incensed over such a meaningless trifle was making his life.

The only thing that could possibly top it, he was sure, would be seeing little Sanji’s face if Judge did make an appearance.

Or better yet, seeing Sora’s face.

That thought sounded more enticing by the minute.

“You know, darling,” Caesar said, his fingers sliding up Judge’s arm, “Is there anything really stopping us from going?”

Judge turned his glare to him, “Huh?”

“You have the date and the address,” Caesar waved the invitation in front of him, “No reason you can’t simply show up during his wedding. See what a miserable failure he continues to be in person.”

It took a moment, but sure enough that evil smirk of his slowly began spreading across his face.

“You’re right,” he said as he gently plucked the invitation out of his hand, “If I just happen to have business in that miserable town that day, what’s stopping us from going to his stupid restaurant? Just to check up on things, of course.”

“Of course,” Caesar cackled as he settled back into his seat, “We just want to make sure little Sanji’s day is just perfect, after all.”

Judge smoothed out the invite as he called his secretary to rearrange his schedule. Meanwhile Caesar started plotting the perfect outfit to wear to the event.

After all, what was the point of crashing a wedding if you didn’t look fabulous doing it?

“Another one,” Tashigi said as she pushed the empty glass towards the edge of the bar.

“That’ll be your third one,” the bartender said as she took the glass.

“I can count,” she snapped at him, “Just get me another one!”

“Whatever you say, Lieutenant,” she shrugged as she poured her another vodka tonic, “You're in quite the mood tonight.”

She glared at him, snatching up her drink the moment he set it down to sip moodily at it.

And maybe she was in a mood, as she so eloquently put it. It was hardly her fault.

It was that stubborn, dumbass swordsman Roronoa Zoro’s fault.

Because if it wasn't enough that he beat her ass during the National Kendo Championship a-f*cking-gain, he had the cast iron balls to rub it in her face by inviting her to his f*cking wedding afterwards.

She'd competed against Zoro ever since they were even in the same kendo club in high school. He had always been just a little stronger, just a little faster, just a little better than her, and it pissed her off to no end.

Now while she dedicated her life to fighting crime and earning a paycheck, continuing kendo as a hobby (and still dominating the women’s field, thank you very much), Zoro worked at some gym to pay his bills, dedicating most of his life to kendo, making the gap between them grow even more.

And, if trouncing her in swordsmanship wasn't enough, Zoro had his love life more put together than her too, if him marrying his high school sweetheart was anything to go by.

She had put all her efforts into training and grades when she was in school, and into training and her career when she wasn't, and still Roronoa f*cking Zoro had her beat.

It infuriated her.

Like it was her fault that as a woman she had to fight for every ounce of respectability, both in kendo and on the force. Like it was her fault that she was too career driven to have time for a real relationship. Like it was her fault she didn't find her one true love in f*cking high school. Who does?

Roronoa f*cking Zoro, that's who.

She downed her drink and slammed the glass against the bar.

“f*ck him,” she murmured as she signaled the bartender for another, “f*ck men, with their stupid plans and their stupid hair.”

“A sentiment I can only agree with.”

She glanced over and saw a gorgeous woman sitting a few stools down. Her soft pink hair fell elegantly over one over her eyes, framing her unique swirled brow. Her luscious, equally pink lips brushed the rim of her martini glass as she set it down. She crossed her legs — her tight pink dress that hugged all her curves in just the right way rising up a little, she couldn’t help but notice — as she turned to face Tashigi.

Tashigi couldn’t stop the blush if she wanted to. She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, hoping to appear at least a little bit more put together than she felt.

“D-do you?” Tashigi stuttered out, and wanted to smack her head against the bar at how dumb she sounded.

The woman’s eyes slid away as she stirred the olive in her martini.

“Men are annoying, stubborn bastards,” she said as she took another sip of her drink, “And they only want to cause problems for others, no matter how stupid and childish they’re being.”

Tashigi hummed in agreement, her eyes watching her glass brush against her lips and vaguely wondering how the alcohol tasted on them.

“So,” the woman said as she moved to a closer stool, “You’re having boy problems?”

“No,” Tashigi said quickly, but then backtracked, “I mean, well, technically yes, but he’s my cousin. Not my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend. I hate men.”

Tashigi groaned internally. Who the hell talked like that?

“I see,” The woman leaned just a little bit closer, and Tashigi caught a whiff of her perfume, “I happen to prefer women too.”

Tashigi swallowed, adjusting her glasses as she tried very hard not to do something stupid like fall off the barstool.

She knocked her foot against Tashigi’s as she sipped her drink, “So your cousin is giving you problems?”

“Well, uh, he’s not really my cousin.” She bit her lip, her thumb brushing the rim of her glass as she thought about how to describe exactly what Zoro was to her, “He’s my cousin’s cousin. Like, my dad and her dad were brothers, and her mom and his dad were siblings.” She swirled her drink and grumbled, “So all he really is to me is a pain in my ass.”

The woman laughed, and it was as beautiful as the rest of her was. “Sounds complicated,” she said with a smile, “I can see why you're so upset.”

“Yeah, well,” she shrugged as she took a sip of her drink, wondering just how much she should tell her about this.

Maybe it was the three drinks talking, but Tashigi was pretty sure she was never going to see her again — she was way too pretty and far out of her league. What was the harm in getting some things off her chest?

“It’s like, he’s always been this thing in my life,” she sighed, reaching under her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose, “But only because of Kuina, my cousin. Even barely at that. His parents died when he was a baby, and he got adopted almost right away. I only ever really saw him when I was with her, and when she died, he just kinda,” she waved her hand in front of her, “fell off. Disappeared. He was much closer to Kuina than I was, and I was pretty much her f*cking doppelganger, so I think being around me hurt too much.”

The woman rested her hand on Tashigi’s, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It was years ago,” she shrugged, but didn’t pull her hand away, “But thanks.”

The woman smiled, encouraging her to continue, “So, yeah. I didn’t see him much until we ended up doing kendo at my uncle’s dojo in high school.” She clenched her glass tight, “Where he proceeded to kick my ass every f*cking time.”

“Must have been frustrating,” she said, running her thumb across Tashigi’s knuckles.

“Yeah,” she grumbled, “I used to beat him sometimes when we were kids, but not at all since.” She scowled and swirled her drink, “His adopted dad is some stupid sword nut, and I know he got special training from him.”

She groaned and rested her head in her hand, “And the most frustrating part is, if Kuina would have lived, she’d have wiped the floor with him. Every time. She was always the best of us and I…” She sighed, and softly admitted, “I could never keep up.”

The woman shifted so she was sitting in the barstool next to Tashigi. She gently took the empty glass from her fingers and pushed it and her empty martini glass towards the bartender as she signaled her over with her free hand.

“Can we get another round?” She asked with a drop dead gorgeous smile, “Put it on my tab.”

“Sure,” the bartender shrugged as she went about mixing drinks.

“You know,” the woman said when the bartender passed them their drinks, “I’ve always found that measuring yourself to others’ impossible standards to be a futile effort.”

“Really?” Tashigi looked her up and down, “Because you seem pretty f*cking up to standards from where I’m sitting.”

She laughed, a slight pink tinting her cheeks, “Maybe. But I did grow up with four brothers.”

“Wow.” Tashigi blinked, trying to imagine what that was like, “Four?”

She nodded, “Quadruplets, even.”

As an only child, she couldn't fathom having one brother, let alone four, “Sounds rough.”

She shrugged, “It is what it is.” Then her eyes grew distant as she looked away, “My father always had impossible standards for us, though. One of my brothers could never seem to rise to them, and was treated horribly by him and the others as a result.”

“sh*t,” Tashigi breathed out. As an officer of the law, her first instinct was to ask more and look into the suspected child abuse, but considering the woman was an adult now, she imagined the incident was well past the statue of limitations, so her more pressing concern was, “Did you ever…?”

“No,” she shook her head, her pink tresses bouncing elegantly with the motion, “No, I was always the perfect daughter he expected me to be.”

A knot released in Tashigi’s chest as she took a sip from her drink, “f*cking men.”

“f*cking men,” the woman agreed with a laugh, “Still, despite never rising to those standards, my brother was always the best of us. He could always do things the rest of us couldn't, even if he never saw the value in it. But that didn't make him any less than us, even if our father never saw or acknowledged it. He was always better than he gave himself credit for.”

The woman’s gaze turned to her, her hand coming up to cradle Tashigi’s face, “So what if you could never beat your cousin at kendo?” She slid her thumb across her cheekbone, the soft caress leaving sparks in its wake, “So what if you can't beat your cousin's cousin? You're out there doing things they could never dream of,” she leaned in, her lips a breath away from Tashigi’s, “And I think that makes you the best of them all.”

Tashigi was positive her face was as red as a tomato, not sure how the woman wasn't burning her hand where it was still touching her face.

“Y-you just met me,” she stuttered out, “You can't possibly know that.”

She hummed, her breath dancing across Tashigi’s lips as she said, “Let’s just say, I am a very good judge of character.”

Tashigi gulped, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and close the distance between them, but finding herself frozen in place.

“So,” the woman pulled back, her hand falling away as she did, and Tashigi felt cold and disoriented without the warm contact, “He must have done something a bit more recently since high school to get you so worked up.” She raised a brow, “Or are you much younger than I thought you were?”

“I, no no,” Tashigi shook her head, trying to snap out of the fuzzy headspace her touch had left behind, “He just, he beat me again today, and then to add insult to injury,” she scowled and looked away, “Invited me to his f*cking wedding.”

“I see,” her brow furrowed in obvious confusion, “That bastard. How dare he.”

And, yeah, when she said it outloud, her reaction did seem a bit dramatic all things considered.

“It’s like,” Tashigi groaned and ran a hand down her face, “He has his life so perfect and so together, and I’m sure he’s only inviting me to rub it in my face how much he has that I don’t.”

“Maybe,” her hand fell on Tashigi’s again, giving it a squeeze, “But, if you wouldn’t mind hearing an alternate theory?”

Tashigi pouted a little, pretty set on wallowing in her Zoro related misery for the rest of the night, but she nodded for her to continue.

The woman took a sip of her drink before she continued, “Granted, I don’t know him outside of what you told me, so he could be the exact duplicitous bastard who would invite their cousin to his wedding just to rub it in her face that he’s getting married and she’s not.”

“He is,” she insisted.

“And I believe you,” she pat her hand gently, “But — and this is just a possibility — maybe he invited you because he wants you there.”

Tashigi glared suspiciously at her, “Come again?”

“You said that you only really knew him through your cousin Kuina,” she stirred her drink, “The same must be true for him, his only connection to you was through her. You said they were close, and that he was adopted pretty young. You may very well be the only connection to his birth family he has left.”

“What? No way,” she shook her head, “Like I said, we’re not even really related. Besides, there’s still our uncle…”

Although, Uncle Koushiro was only Zoro’s uncle by marriage, now that she was thinking about it. His actual aunt — Kuina’s mom — died when Zoro was only a baby, so he’d never really met her.

Did Zoro remember any of his birth family outside of Kuina?

She felt a little guilty now that she was thinking about it. True, she and Zoro were never that close, but she brushed off almost any attempt on his part to connect with her in high school, too focused on beating him.

“He’s just inviting me as a replacement for Kuina,” she insisted, determined to keep her outrage at the situation, “He doesn’t actually want me there, he wants her. But she can’t be. I’m just some damn substitute.”

The woman hummed as she delicately placed her drink down, “Personally, I think it’s less you’re a replacement for her, and more you’re the last bit of her he has left.”

Tashigi frowned, swirling her drink as she mulled it over. It was true, Kuina’s death left a hole for both of them, and Zoro was missing from her life for years while she processed and moved beyond it, only reappearing years later, having done his own growing in the meantime.

Maybe the invite was less the power move she’d first assumed it was, and more a genuine call for connection, for family.

Maybe he did want her there, not as a replacement for Kuina, but as one of the last pieces of his birth family he had left.

f*cking hell. She was going to his stupid wedding, wasn’t she?

“Fine,” she groaned, determined to hold onto the last bit of dramatics she could, “I’ll go to his wedding. But I won’t like it.”

“Don’t let me pressure you,” the woman smiled, “Especially if you’re only going to ruin his celebration.” Her smile fell as she swirled her drink, “I think enabling two people to do that is two too many.”

“I would never, his fiancé is a f*cking saint. I’d never forgive myself if I ruined it for him.” Tashigi sat up a little straighter when the second part of her sentence hit, turning to give her a wide-eyed look, “Wait what? Enabling two people? What’s that about?”

“It’s nothing worth talking about really,” she sighed and looked away, hunching over a little, “I don’t want to bore you with my troubles.”

“I just spilled my guts out to you, laying out my whole torrid history in the process,” she prodded her gently on the shoulder, “I’ll be damned if I’m the only miserable bitch in this bar spilling secrets.”

That earned her a laugh, and the woman sat up and turned back to face her, “Well, if it’s not trouble.”

“It’s not,” Tashigi insisted, giving her hand a squeeze, “I insist.”

She finished off her drink in one large gulp, took a deep breath as if to steel herself, and began, “My brother, the one I mentioned before, he does not get along well with my father, for obvious reasons.”

“Yeah,” Tashigi nodded in agreement, stroking her hand and marveling at how soft her skin was, “I can imagine.”

“He's getting married,” she sighed, then glanced at Tashigi, “My brother, not my father. My father is already, well.”

A grimace crossed her face as she took a pointed sip of her drink.

“Anyway,” she continued, sliding a lock of hair behind her ear, “My brother hasn't spoken to my other brothers in years, but he's inviting them to the wedding as a show of good faith.” Her eyes grew misty with unshed tears, a small smile twitching at the corner of her mouth, “He's willing to give them a chance.”

“Wow,” Tashigi blinked in genuine surprise. She was about to ghost Zoro’s wedding just because he pissed her off. She couldn't imagine inviting the people who terrorized her throughout childhood to such an event as a show of good will, “That's pretty big.”

“Like I said, he's the best of us.” Her face darkened as she took another sip, “He specifically did not invite my father.”

“Good for him,” Tashigi grunted as she sipped her drink, “Let the bastard rot.”

“Agreed,” she nodded, resting her hand against her face, “But, my father found out. Both about the wedding and the fact he wasn't invited. Needless to say he wasn't pleased.”

“Oh no,” Tashigi winced. She dealt with enough entitled abusers to know that the only way it could play out was badly.

“He's planning on crashing the wedding,” Reiju scowled.

“Oh no,” Tashigi gasped, “He's not planning on getting violent, is he?”

“I doubt it,” she huffed a small laugh, “My brother is not ten years old any more, and can defend himself. And even if he couldn't, his fiancé and our step-father would be more than happy to step in.”

“Good for them,” she agreed easily.

“Yes,” a small, soft, smile appeared on her face, “He managed to get good people in his life.”

Tashigi smiled too at the sentiment, but then remembered what she had said before, “But, how did you enable any of this?”

Her smile fell, and Tashigi’s first instinct was to retract the question to get it back, but before she could, the woman said, “I’m…the one who told him. Both about the wedding and that my brother didn't want him there.”

The woman hid her eyes behind her hand, “This is my fault.”

“Oh bullsh*t.”

The woman blinked, startled out of her moping by Tashigi’s crass words, “Excuse me?”

“It's not your fault your father is a piece of sh*t hell bent on making everyone else’s lives miserable,” Tashigi said, thrusting her drink at her in emphasis, “So what if you told him about the wedding? You also told him he wasn’t invited. He’s the one ignoring your brother’s wishes and being a dick.”

“But-”

“Nope,” Tashigi cut her off by placing a finger against her pink lips, “No buts. Your father is a dick, and you are a beautiful, wonderful sister who cares. You are not responsible for his bad behavior. He’s a grown ass man who should know better.”

The woman blinked at her, and Tashigi could feel the smile spread under her finger.

“Thank you,” she said eventually, grabbing Tashigi’s hand and lowering it from her face, “I needed to hear that.”

“Y-yeah,” Tashigi’s heart leapt at the contact, her palms growing sweaty under the warm touch, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away, “Anytime.”

The woman’s smile grew, her hand shifting to intertwine their fingers.

The heat surged through Tashigi at the touch, almost making her dizzy with the force of it.

She hummed, letting her thumb caress her hand, “I should tell my brother though. About what my father’s planning on doing. Or at least our mother.”

“Yeah,” Tashigi nodded, reveling in her touch, “You probably should.”

She wanted to know more about this woman, wanted to know everything. Her name, her likes, her dislikes, what she looked like in the morning. Tashigi wondered how her pink hair would look against her pillow cases.

“Hey,” Tashigi shifted closer, their knees brushing against each other, “Do you maybe want to…I don't know…”

A sharp noise pierced through the bubble that had settled around them. The woman pouted as she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, frowning as she saw what was on the screen.

“Damn,” she sighed as she placed the phone back in her purse, putting money on the bar instead as she glanced back at Tashigi, “And when I was having such a good time.”

She finished the last of her drink and stood up, her hands falling away completely.

Tashigi’s stomach lurched as she turned to leave, and without quite thinking it through, grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Uh,” she stuttered out, not sure what to say now that she had her attention again, “Will I see you again?”

The woman’s smile softened, and she leaned in to press a kiss against her cheek.

“I certainly hope so,” she said, grabbing the rest of her things as she left, leaving behind nothing but the lingering scent of her perfume and hopefully the remainder of her lipstick on her cheek.

Tashigi sighed as she slumped against the bar.

sh*t, she never got her name.

“Need another one, Lieutenant?” The bartender asked as she collected her empty glass.

“Just a water,” Tashigi sat up again, getting her own wallet out, “I'll close my tab.”

The bartender nodded as she left.

Tashigi glanced at the door, wondering, hoping to somehow meet that enticing woman again.

Not that there was much she could do about that. She had let that beautiful woman walk out of here without even getting her name.

She was such a f*cking clutz.

She took a deep breath, easing herself out of that downward spiral.

It was fine. She was good.

The odds of meeting that woman again were low, and Tashigi wasn't one to rely on anything like fate or chance. She knew the only thing she could rely on was herself.

Just because Zoro had found his soulmate didn’t mean she needed hers.

The woman was gorgeous, yes, but Tashigi was fine with being single. She was focused on her career, on helping people where she could.

She paid her bill, finished her water, and set off, determined to do her best with whatever came her way.

And, she groaned, she'd have to get a dress for the wedding.

The lunch rush had finally ebbed, giving Zeff enough of a chance to catch his breath.

He left Patty in charge of the kitchen as he made his way over to the office, where he found his wife sitting at the desk, a worried look on her face as she talked to someone on the phone.

He sat down on the nearby couch as she bit her lip and glanced over at him.

He raised a questioning brow, and she responded with a quick shake of her head as she turned most of her attention back to the person on the other end.

“No no, we’re fine.” She was quick to assure whoever it was, “We haven't heard from him.”

Zeff furrowed his brow as he leaned back, not liking the sharp edge he could hear in her voice.

Not a lot of things got to Sora. She was always the steady rock that Zeff relied on, both as his partner in running the Baratie and his partner in life.

One of the few topics that did make her uneasy, that got her pulling at her hair and tapping her foot against the leg of the desk like she was, was her ex-husband.

Zeff’s mood darkened immediately just by thinking about that rat bastard. Neither of them had seen or heard from Judge in about ten years, and if they never got wind of him again it would be too soon.

It may be cliche to hate your wife’s first husband, but in this instance Zeff felt he was justified.

“No, sweetie,” Sora continued, the nickname a strong indicator that it was one of her kids, “I haven't had a chance to speak with your brother yet.”

She was talking to Reiju then.

Not unheard of, but it wasn't every day Reiju called her mother. With the little eggplant’s wedding right around the corner, she'd been calling more and more, mostly to coordinate for her other three brothers coming.

Sanji had made the decision to reach out and invite them to his wedding despite their troubled history. Zeff wasn't sure what he would have done if he was in Sanji’s shoes, but however this ended, he was proud of his son for taking the step to mend his relationship with his brothers. He knew they didn't get along when they lived together under their father’s roof, but perhaps time had allowed them to grow and become the men Zeff always knew they could have been.

If nothing else, he would be glad to see them again after all these years, and see how they were doing.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Sora was saying, twirling a lock of her hair nervously around her finger, “Well, not fine, but manageable. You did nothing wrong, this is all on him, and we…” Her eyes darted away, meeting Zeff’s concerned gaze, “We’ll figure something out.”

She said her Love Yous and her goodbyes to Reiju, adding a “Zeff says hello too, and hopes you're doing well,” which he confirmed with a grunt.

When she hung up the phone, it was like a string was cut. She sagged forward with a groan, her hands sliding up her face as buried her fingers in her hair.

Zeff was up in an instant, dragging his prosthetic leg as quick as he could to her side. He gently took her hands in his, kissing the tips softly as he asked, “What's wrong?”

She groaned, looking up at him through tired eyes that made him want to fight the entire world just to see her smile, “Judge is coming to the wedding.”

The world seemed to slow around Zeff, his vision slowly being overtaken by red.

“What.” He spat out, doing his best to keep his emotions at bay in this matter, as he did with anything concerning that festering putrid rancid disgrace of a piece of sh*t, “The Eggplant didn’t invite him, did he?”

“Of course not,” Sora she closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, “But Reiju says he's coming anyway.”

“Like hell,” Zeff growled, clenching his fist as he looked away, “If he gets within twenty miles of the wedding, I’ll kill him myself.”

“You will not,” Sora chastised with a pout, “You are not going back to jail for that man.”

“Man is too polite of a term for him,” Zeff huffed as his wife sighed.

“Even still,” she turned and gave him her sternest look — which, in Zeff’s opinion, was one of her cutest — as she crossed her arms, “You are not going back to jail for him.”

Zeff kept his hard gaze on her for a moment, but — as he always did — he caved, and sighed, “Alright, but only because you asked.”

She took his hand from where it was resting by her shoulder and planted a soft kiss on the back of it, “Thank you.”

There was a reason that putrid spawn of Satan who wasn't even fit to wash Zeff’s dishes wasn't invited to the wedding. He wasn't wanted.

Judge had had plenty of opportunities to be a father to Sanji, to be a husband to Sora, two of the most amazing people Zeff had ever known in his life. He could never understand how he had squandered all those chances and instead chosen to be the world's biggest asshole, but Zeff was more than happy to rise and succeed where he failed.

Zeff had met Sora shortly before her divorce, just after he’d opened the Baratie. She had no money to her name, nothing but the desire to leave her husband and give her kids a decent life outside of his deranged goals and impossible expectations.

So Zeff had given her a job as a dishwasher. She couldn't do much at first, being born into privilege and having had all the hard sh*t done for her, but she was determined and eager to learn.

Eventually she moved from dishwasher to hostess to waitress. And sometime around then Zeff had fallen head over heels for her.

When she and Judge were officially separated, she moved in with him. When the divorce was finalized, the kids moved in with her.

Well, they moved in every other week. Despite being the human embodiment of a sack of sh*t, Judge managed to secure joint custody.

But it was fine. They got married, they made it work, even with the kids only every other week.

Zeff did his best to be as much of a father to him as he could. He loved them all. They were brats — some more than others — but they were kids. Kids with a sh*tty father who they were unfortunately trying to impress.

He started noticing pretty early on that Sanji was treated poorly. Zeff had certain rules — things he thought were obvious like don't hit each other — that he knew Judge didn't, if the amount of protest he got from the other three brothers when he enforced them was anything to go by.

But if Sanji never said anything, there was nothing he could do about it, save make his place safe for the Eggplant for as long as he had him.

This lasted until Sanji was a teenager, and he began running away from Judge’s during the weeks he was supposed to have him. Running right back to his mother and him instead.

The courts decided then that the kids were old enough to pick where they wanted to live. Sanji of course chose his mother, but his three brothers, swayed by their father’s money and lack of rules, had chosen Judge.

Reiju, ever the mediator, had chosen to keep living with both of them every other week, right up until Sora and Zeff had had enough of being so near Judge that they decided to finally move. Then, ever the pragmatist, she'd chosen to finish out high school with her father.

Zeff never blamed the kids for their choice. It stung, sure, and Sora was still heartbroken about it, but he considered them just as much victims of their father’s greed and manipulation as Sanji and Sora.

Instead he focused on parenting Sanji, making his little Eggplant the best version of himself he could.

And he'd done a good job, in his biased opinion. Sanji had gone to college and earned his degree, became a chef in his own right, opened his dream restaurant, and was about to be married to the love of his life.

A spitting image of his old man, if Zeff said so himself.

And, like a goddamn tumor on his life, Judge picked now to show his face again.

“Does the Eggplant know?” Zeff asked as he rubbed her shoulders.

“Not yet,” Sora sighed heavily, “I know he needs to know, but he's already so stressed.”

Zeff kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her, “It's better for him to find out now, from us, than from having that sh*tstain make a surprise appearance.”

“Maybe,” Sora ran her fingers across arm, “But what if he doesn't?”

“What?” Zeff furrowed his brow as he pulled away, “What do you mean?”

“What if he’s lying?” Sora bit her lip as she glanced at him, “What if he's just saying he's coming to leave Sanji with a cloud of dread and doom over the whole thing, but has no intention of actually showing up?”

Zeff frowned, his mustache twitching as he considered her words, “Hell of a mind game for him to play.”

“But you know he would,” she insisted, squeezing his hand, “He’d be able to make Sanji so miserable, prove he still has power over him, without having to lift a finger.”

“He would,” he stroked his mustache as he thought it over, “He also would actually show up. He hates being left out.”

Sora turned her watery eyes toward him, “I know. He's trying so hard to ruin Sanji’s big day and I just…” the tears spilled over, and she began sobbing, “I don't know what to do to stop him.”

Zeff pulled her against his chest, and she went easily, clutching his shirt as she cried her heart out.

“If I tell Sanji and he doesn't show up, Sanji anticipating him will ruin the whole day,” she muttered against his shirt, “If I don't tell him and he does, Sanji seeing him will ruin the whole day.” She pulled away, tears still streaming down her face as she looked at him, “It's like no matter what I do, he wins.”

Zeff took her chin in his hand and lifted her face, kissing her cheek gently.

“He doesn't win,” Zeff grunted, “No matter what he does. Either option proves how pathetic he is.”

The corner of her mouth twitched, a smile fighting to break free as she leaned into his touch.

“Sanji is chasing his dream,” he said softly as he caressed her cheek, “He's going to marry a man he loves who loves him just as much in return. He's happier than he's ever been and getting exactly what he's always wanted. He's already won.”

Sora sighed as she leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder, “I know. I'm just worried.”

“Of course you are,” Zeff said with a laugh, “We’re his parents. It's our job to worry.”

He kissed her forehead, then pulled back to look her in the eye, “He's been through a lot, but we raised him well. Sanji can handle anything life — or his pathetic excuse of a sperm donor — throws at him.”

Sora sighed as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug, “So you think we should tell him?”

“He's an adult,” Zeff confirmed with a nod, "I think he has a right to know. Besides,” he rubbed her back, “He's got the lettuce-head to support him, no matter what.”

Sora hummed, and they stood there for a long moment, simply basking in the presence of the other.

“How did I get so lucky?” She said after a while, “to get you in my life?”

“I’ve always been the lucky one in this relationship,” he laughed, kissing the top of her head, then her cheek, then placed a soft, tender kiss right on her lips.

He could feel the smile cross her face as she kissed him back and held him tight.

“Head Chef,” Carne said as he burst into the office, his face immediately going red when he spotted them, “Oh, and Mrs. Head Chef. Sorry, didn't mean to disturb.”

Zeff glared at him, but Sora just laughed as she pulled away.

“Sorry,” she said as she took a step back, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes, “Didn't mean to kidnap your head chef for so long.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Head Chef,” Carne looked sheepishly at her as he scratched the back of his head, “But Chef Zeff is needed in the kitchen.”

Zeff grumbled, but gave his wife one last kiss to her cheek as he made his way to the kitchen.

Sanji and Sora would be fine, no matter what Judge had to his sleeve. Zeff knew first hand that they were tougher than anyone else gave them credit for.

As for Judge, well, if he did show his pathetic ugly mug at the wedding, Zeff and his carving knife had a few things they'd always wanted to say to him.

Zoro returned to his apartment only to find his fiancé pouring over the seating arrangement, an ashtray full of cigarettes in front of him with one more clenched between his teeth.

Zoro sighed deeply as he put his jacket on the nearby hook and placed his motorcycle helmet in the closet, then sat down on the couch next to him.

“I thought we were done with that,” he said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder so he could peer at the paper too.

“Yeah…” he said distractedly, jabbing a finger at the table in the left corner, “You’re positive Mihawk’s work buddies are showing up?”

“Yeah, they RSVPed,” he nodded, “Crocodile already bought us a fancy humidor that somehow made its way to the registry, and he's not the kind of guy to drop money on something and not see it through. Buggy keeps saying he's gonna bail, but-”

Sanji turned so quickly Zoro was afraid he hurt himself, “Buggy’s not coming?”

“Relax,” Zoro rubbed his shoulders, “He keeps threatening to ditch when he sees Shanks, but Mihawk says that's what he always says before any event.”

“We put Shanks right next to Buggy,” Sanji’s eyes darted back to the paper as he shook off Zoro’s touch.

“Yeah?” Zoro raised a brow and crossed his arms, “Because we thought it would be hilarious.”

“But what if Buggy actually does leave the moment he sees Shanks,” Sanji buried a hand in his hair and clenched tight, “What if he doesn't even stay through dinner and he leaves a free meal and an empty seat and-”

“Whoa, hey,” Zoro sprung into action, pulling Sanji against his chest as he gently coaxed the hand away from his hair, “He's all talk, trust me. He's not gonna miss a free meal, especially with Zeff catering.”

Sanji relaxed in his hold, but only slightly, squeezing his hand right as he puffed on the stub of his cigarette.

“And so what if he does?” Zoro rubbed the back of his hand, “Do you really care if f*cking Buggy skips out early? He was a seat filler invite anyway.” He kissed the top of his head, “Didn't realize you guys were so close. Should I be worried?”

“I just don't want any empty seats,” Sanji grumbled as he exhaled the last of his cigarette away from Zoro’s face and tossed the butt in the ashtray with the others, “Is it too much to ask a seat filler guest to do their sh*tty job and keep the seat occupied?”

“Damn, Curly, didn't realize you were so conceited that you wanted all eyes on you all day,” Zoro joked.

But when his comment didn't elicit the expected outrage, he frowned and pulled Sanji closer, “What's wrong? I know you worry about wasted food, but Luffy will be there. Even if Buggy is enough of a bitch to leave before dinner, the food won't be wasted.”

“It's not about the food,” Sanji grumbled as he fished another cigarette out of his pocket, flicking his lighter a few times before it finally lit.

Zoro’s frown deepened. Sanji had a lot of hang ups around food, so he wouldn't have been surprised if that was what was making him so anxious. But if it wasn't the food, then Zoro was stumped.

Sanji took a deep hit from his cigarette, holding it for a moment before he blew out the smoke slowly, “Judge might show up to the wedding.”

Zoro’s mouth twisted into a sneer, his grip tightening where he was holding Sanji, “What. He's not invited.”

“Apparently,” Sanji growled, biting the cigarette filter, “He's planning on coming just to make my life miserable. Like his existence doesn't already do that.”

“What an asshole,” Zoro snarled, hating that he could still hurt Sanji like this, even after all this time.

Sanji hummed in agreement as he took another drag from his cigarette, “It's my fault. For inviting my brothers.”

Zoro frowned as he stroked Sanji’s side.

He hadn't cared one or the other if the Vinsmoke brothers showed up, but Sanji had been making a lot of progress reconnecting with his sister, and had wanted to extend the same chance to his brothers. The wedding had felt like the perfect opportunity.

It was Sanji’s life and Sanji’s choice. If he wanted his brothers there, who was Zoro to deny him?

He glanced down at the seating arrangement still clutched in his hand. They'd decided to sit them at the Other Family Table with Koshiro and Tashigi. Zoro’s uncle was always a calm, steady presence in the worst of circ*mstances, and he trusted him to handle the brothers even if they were at their worst.

And if their worst was too much, well, Tashigi was a cop.

He'd been surprised that Tashigi accepted his invitation to the wedding after she’d been so adamant about not going. They hadn't been particularly close after Kuina's death, even though he'd always wanted to be. But for some reason they just hadn't clicked without her there, despite Zoro’s best attempts to bond with her during high school.

But she was coming to the wedding, so that must mean something.

Maybe that was the exact feeling Sanji had when his brothers said they'd be there.

And Judge, asshole extraordinaire, was finding a way to ruin that too.

Zoro would love nothing more than to introduce him to his swords, but it was Sanji’s family, Sanji’s problem, and Sanji’s decision what to do with the man. And what Sanji wanted was to ignore him.

Which was why it was always so frustrating when the asshole showed up in his life anyway.

“It's not your fault,” he told Sanji, because it needed to be said, “You're never at fault for assholes being assholes.”

“Yes,” Sanji sighed as he ashed his cigarette over the tray, “but-”

Zoro slapped his hand over his mouth to stop his protests, “No buts. You didn't invite him, you don't want him there. Whatever he does on his own is his own problem. You know I'm right.”

Sanji glared at him, then began licking his hand.

Zoro held it even tighter until Sanji started biting, forcing him to let go with a gasp and a, “You're a menace.”

“Yeah,” Sanji snickered, grabbing Zoro's hand before it got too far and kissing the parts of his palm he'd assaulted, “But you love me anyway.”

Zoro glared at him for a moment, then sighed and admitted, “And I love you anyway.”

Sanji hummed, content with the answer as he turned his hand over to kiss the back of it, “You love me so much you're marrying me.”

Zoro smiled, pulling Sanji even closer as he leaned back further, “I love you so much I'm marrying you.”

“You love me so much you're making me yours,” he glanced up at him, his cheeks tinted a light pink that matched his lips, his smile and gaze soft as he reached up and gently stroked his cheek, “And you'll be mine.”

Zoro leaned down and captured his lips, showing Sanji as best he could just how much he cared for him.

“I was always yours,” he whispered against his lips as he pulled away, running his thumb across Sanji’s cheek in return, “Just as you're always mine. This is just a formality.”

Sanji hummed as he stared at him, his eye growing lidded as he continued his caresses.

“Even if that dickhe*d of a sperm donor shows up, he can't take that away.” Zoro turned his hand so he was holding Sanji’s, and interlaced their fingers, “He can't ruin this. Wedding or no wedding, we'll always have each other.”

Sanji’s smile grew, and when he leaned up to kiss him, Zoro could taste it for himself, could feel how much Sanji treasured and cared for him in each movement.

“You're so sweet to me,” Sanji sighed when they parted, his thumb running across his cheeks, ending with a light tap to his nose, “But we better be having a wedding. I didn't spend months fretting over sh*tty tablecloths to not have a wedding.”

“Of course,” Zoro snickered as he buried his face in the crook of his neck, “Like I'd get into further debt with Nami just to not be married to you.”

“Good,” Sanji said as he leaned further against Zoro’s chest, “I've grown quite attached to you.”

He glanced down at the seating chart still in his hand, a thoughtful frown on his face.

“There's no seat for him,” Zoro assured him, “Everyone will be there. If he wants to eat, he's getting table scraps on the floor.”

“Bold of you to assume there will be table scraps with Luffy attending,” Sanji chuckled, putting the paper down on the table next to his ashtray as he turned further into Zoro’s hold.

Zoro sighed as he lay down completely, holding his fiancé in his arms as he felt his breath even out.

“It’ll be okay,” Zoro assured him, his lips finding his forehead, “I promise.”

“I know it will,” Sanji held him tight, “You’ll be there.”

Zoro’s heart felt full to bursting as Sanji relaxed fully against him.

Everything would be fine. He'd make sure of it.

Zeff sat in the corner of the room as Sanji fussed with his suit.

Usopp, Sanji’s best man’s, girlfriend Kaya had eagerly agreed to let them hold the wedding in the backyard of her family’s manor. It was a beautiful setting for it, Zeff had to say, the house they were getting ready in even more so, although it seemed to be making Sanji even more nervous.

He tugged at the sleeves of his white suit, checked the cufflinks, fiddled with the blue tie, did anything and everything he could to keep himself busy.

And it was starting to grate on Zeff’s already shot nerves.

“Would you hold still?” He growled, making Sanji startle and turn to glare at him, “You’ve got more energy than an overboiled pot.”

“Sorry my impending marriage is such a huge inconvenience for you,” Sanji snapped at him.

“Did I say it was?” Zeff raised a brow, “It’s your frantic pacing that’s got me bothered.”

“Well tough sh*t,” he growled as he turned back to the mirror to adjust his tie, “You’ve never been married before, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Damn, kid, you’re right,” Zeff sighed as he rolled his eyes, “It’s not like I’ve been married to your mother for ten f*cking years or anything.”

Sanji froze, at least having the decency to look sheepish as he muttered, “It's not the same.”

Sora chose that moment to re-enter the room, looking just like an angel in her shining blue dress as she beamed at her son.

“What?” She asked, her eyes darting between the two of them, “What did I miss?”

Zeff nodded towards Sanji, “The Little Eggplant here was about to tell me how I know nothing about weddings or being married.”

Sanji flushed as he crossed his arms and scowled at him, “I didn't mean it like that. It's just,” He frowned, his eyes darting away, “it was easier for you.”

“Yeah,” Zeff snorted, “I forgot about Zoro’s crazy ex-husband looming over his every move, and the messy divorce and brutal fight for custody of his five kids you two are dealing with.”

Sanji’s flush deepened, his shoulders hunching “Not like that, I mean…” he sighed, turning back to the mirror with a scowl, “Nevermind.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Sora rushed forward, placing her hand on his arm, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he sighed again as he turned towards her, “Yeah the divorce was a sh*tstorm, but you guys were made for each other. You fit so well and were just so perfect for each that that other sh*t didn't even matter.”

“Of course,” Sora glanced at Zeff over her shoulder, giving him a smile so soft he could only melt at the sight of it, “True love can get you through all of life's hurdles.”

Zeff grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

“Yeah,” Sanji looked at them, his gaze going softer the longer he looked at them, “You both went through so much, but in the end you found each other. I've always wanted a love like yours.”

“And you found it,” Sora assured him, taking his hands in hers, “You found Zoro. You don't need a love like ours because you found a love like yours.”

She released him, instead brushing off the sleeves and shoulders of his jacket, “You found a love that's patient and kind. A love that is unconditional, that has and will stay by your side through everything life has thrown at you.”

She cradled her son’s face in her hands, “I know you're worried your marriage will be like mine and Judge’s,” she stroked his cheeks with her thumbs, “But it won't be. The love you two have for each other is rare, it's something that only comes along once in a lifetime if you're lucky. Together you two can face anything.”

“Marriage is a partnership,” Zeff added, “If you have a good partner, one who supports you, who works with you, you can make it.” He glanced over at his son, “And you and Zoro have proven time and again that you have what it takes to make it.”

Sanji sniffled, hiding his watering eyes behind his sleeve, “You think?”

“We know,” Sora said as she pulled him into a hug.

Sanji hugged her back, holding her tight as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

Zeff watched them for a moment, then stood and made his way over to them, wrapping his arms around both of them.

“You did good son,” Zeff said as he held his family close, “It's a hard thing to achieve, but you made it work. I am so proud of you.”

Sanji reached up and placed a hand on his arm, giving it a slight tap that said it all, “Thanks.”

Zeff grunted, holding them a little tighter before he eventually let go.

Sanji sniffled, wiping stray tears from his eyes as he made some final adjustments, then turned back to them, “Well? How do I look?”

Sora's smile wavered, then she suddenly burst into tears.

“Mom!” Sanji shouted at the same time Zeff said, “Sora!”

They both lunged forward, each grabbing an arm as they lowered her down to a nearby chair.

“Sorry,” She sniffled as she wiped her tears away, “I'm sorry, I just…” She glanced up at Sanji, her smile wide even as tears continued running down her face.

She took Sanji’s hands in hers, giving them a light squeeze as she said, “You look wonderful. It just hit me all of a sudden that my baby boy is all grown up.”

“Mom,” Sanji said softly as he knelt down in front of her, “I’ll always be your boy.”

She pushed his hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ear, “You're a young man, and you're building your own family now. You don't need your silly old mom anymore.”

“I’ll always need you,” Sanji insisted as he leaned into her touch, his gaze darting up to Zeff, “Both of you. You guys have always stuck by me and I…” His eyes grew watery too, and he turned away, “I owe you everything.”

“It's just what parents do,” Zeff insisted.

“Yes,” Sora nodded in agreement, “You don't owe us anything.”

She stood up, pulling Sanji to his feet and into a hug.

Zeff was content to stay back and let them have the moment together.

It was strange to think about his little boy growing up. It was all part of the parenting process, he knew, watching them leave the nest and stretch their wings. And it wasn't like Sanji was going anywhere, not really, but a part of Zeff ached knowing Sanji was taking yet another step away from him.

It was a bittersweet thought. He would always love Sanji, always be proud of him and everything he achieved. But at the same time, he would always miss him.

“Alright,” Sora wiped the rest of her tears away, “We’ve got to pull ourselves together and get you married.”

Sanji nodded, his eyes still a little wet, and Zeff dug through his pockets to find his handkerchief.

Sanji took it with a slight blush, dabbing at his eyes before handing it back to him.

Soro brushed Sanji’s shoulders, making sure his jacket was clean and ready for his big moment.

“Okay,” Sora nodded, satisfied with her work as she took a step back.

Her eyes watered again when he took him all in. Zeff had the handkerchief ready for her, but she held her tears back as she took Sanji’s face in her hands, tilting his head to place a tender kiss on his forehead.

“I'm proud of you,” she said softly as she pulled away, voicing the words Zeff was thinking, “I’m proud of the man you've become.”

Sanji smiled wide, his eyes tearing again as he nodded.

Zeff shuffled awkwardly, replacing the handkerchief in his pocket and instead pulled out an old pocket watch, figuring now was as good a time as any for this particular gift.

“Sanji,” he said, bringing his attention to him, and offered him the pocket watch, “Here.”

Sanji frowned, his face pinching in confusion as he took the watch, turning it over in his hands, “Your watch? You've had this for as long as I can remember.”

Zeff nodded, “It was my father’s watch. And now it's yours.”

Sanji’s eyes went wide as he glanced at him, “Zeff, I…if this means that much to you I can't-”

“It's meant to be passed from father to son,” he insisted as he crossed his arms, “So it's about time I gave it to you.”

Tears leaked out of Sanji’s eyes at that, but before Zeff could get his handkerchief out again Sanji threw his arms around him in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered as he held him tight, “Thank you for wanting me. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for everything.”

“Of course,” Zeff wrapped his arms around him too, and tried his best to hold back his tears, “It's what fathers do.”

Based on the look Sora was giving him, he wasn't sure he was succeeding.

When they pulled apart, Sanji hooked the end of the chain to his pocket, and slipped the watch inside.

“Besides,” Zeff said as he blinked his tears back, “It's good luck right? You need something old.”

“Right,” Sanji ran a hand through his hair, “The watch is old, my socks are new, my tie is blue, and for something borrowed…” He glanced around, his eyes landing on an old straw hat on the table.

Sora picked it up for him, placing the string around his neck and letting the hat flop against his back, “You can always count on Luffy, can't you?”

“Yeah,” Sanji adjusted the string, then turned to face them with his arms held out, “How do I look?”

Sora smoothed out his lapels as she stepped away, “You look perfect.”

Sanji smiled wide, making him look ten years younger, and Zeff was struck by how much his son had grown over the years.

It seemed like only yesterday he was chasing his new dishwasher’s brat out of the kitchen. Now his son was getting married.

Where had all the time gone?

There was a knock on the door, and Usopp entered with a grin.

“You ready?” He asked, flashing the group a thumbs up, “Because it's showtime.”

“Right,” Sanji cleared his throat, gave his tie one last quick adjustment, and followed his friend out the door, “Time to get married.”

Sora came up next to Zeff and wrapped her arms around him. His arm came up on reflex to pull her close to him.

“We did good with him,” she said as she looked up at him, “Didn't we?”

Zeff leaned down and placed a tender kiss to the top of her head.

“We did great,” he said, holding her tight, “He's great.”

He glanced at the door Sanji left from, “That's one hell of a kid we raised.”

Sora smiled, leaning up to place a soft kiss against his lips that Zeff returned easily.

The door opened again, and they pulled apart to find Sanji scowling at them.

“Are you two going to stay here and make out like teenagers,” he said as he gestured towards the open door, “Or are you gonna come walk me down the aisle so I can marry the love of my life?”

“Damn sarcastic brat we raised,” Zeff grumbled.

Sora laughed as she kissed his cheek, “He takes after his father.”

Zeff barked out a laugh as they followed after Sanji, ready to see their son get married.

The wedding was outdoors in some goddamn backyard of all places, because of course it was.

Judge had spent the whole drive over complaining about how improper it was to not get married in a church, how it was a disgrace and an insult to the sanctity of marriage.

“I bet there won’t even be a priest,” he scoffed, “Bunch of f*cking heathens if you ask me.”

He did not appreciate it when Caesar reminded him that they got married in a courthouse by a clerk.

“That was different,” Judge insisted, “We had extenuating circ*mstances.”

Those circ*mstances were Judge being jealous that Sora had Zeff and wanted a spouse to gain an edge in the custody fight — not that it helped any since he got joint custody, and if anything the court held marrying the first person who would have him against him — so they didn’t have time for a proper wedding. Caesar hadn’t cared, he’d wanted the marriage done as quickly as Judge did for his own reasons, namely access to his vast wealth and labs.

But as always, Judge considered himself the exception to the rules he wanted others to live by.

They arrive at the venue, and discover it was less of a backyard patio and more of a garden. There were fairy lights strung up amongst the trees and flowers everywhere in full bloom, creating an almost magical atmosphere and adding to the whimsy of it all.

Caesar wanted to puke. How dull and cliche could you get?

They got out of the car and walked over to the flower archway that appeared to be serving as the entrance to the garden. Just inside in one of the back rows, Caesar spotted the plethora of colored hair that made up the brat pack.

As they approached the archway, a tall woman with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes in a purple dress, and a huge man with a blue pompadour and giant arms wearing nothing but sunglasses, a suit jacket, a bow tie, and a speedo cut them off.

Judge glared at them, crossing his arms in front of him, “Can I help you?”

“Judge and Caesar Vinsmoke, I presume?” The woman said as the man crossed his arms too, “You weren’t invited.”

“This is my son’s wedding,” Judge scowled, “I have every right to be here.”

“This is the wedding of Roronoa Zoro and Sanji Black,” she said, an icy edge to her voice, “Neither of which claim you as their father. You are not invited.”

Judge growled, and Caesar snickered. He always got a kick out of Sanji choosing Zeff’s surname over Judge’s. It never made sense to him. The Vinsmoke name opened so many doors, and now that Caesar had it he was never letting it go, even if Judge died in a mysterious lab accident that he definitely wasn’t planning. But Sanji was what they called a free spirit, and had ditched the name — and the privileges — as soon as he was able.

His loss, Caesar supposed. But he could always appreciate the interesting shade of red Judge always got when he was reminded of the slight.

“My children,” Judge gestured at the brat squad just inside, “Are already here. It would be rude to let them in and turn me away.”

“Listen, buddy,” the man said as he lowered his sunglasses to the tip of his nose, “My wife said you weren’t invited, ‘cause you’re not. Why don’t you just turn around before this gets messy, huh?”

Judge ground his teeth hard enough for even Caesar to hear, but he was always good about reigning in his temper in public.

“Surely we can come to some kind of agreement,” Judge said, putting his most pleasing smile on his face, “What will it take for you to let me in there?”

The woman smiled back, completely unphased, “Perhaps if you slice open your stomach and let your blood stain your legs red as all your organs flop uselessly about, then we can talk about letting you attend.”

Caesar shivered at the violent description, and subtly shifted so he was further behind Judge and further away from the scary lady.

“Are you threatening me?” Judge growled, low and dangerous as he took a step forward.

The man quickly stepped between them, his hands out in front of him to ward Judge off, “Now now, we don’t want any trouble, and we certainly don’t want the cops sniffing around. Why don’t you two just make like a tree and leave, alright?”

Judge growled, digging his feet in both metaphorically and literally. With Judge’s pride now on the line, Caesar knew they were going to be here a while.

He sighed as he backed away, letting Judge do what Judge did best and try to negotiate his way into the wedding through Sanji’s bloodthirsty guard dogs.

Caesar didn’t even want to go to Sanji’s stupid wedding. Yes, the look on Sanji’s face when he saw them would be the entertainment of a lifetime, but in his opinion it wasn’t worth all this effort just to get into the front door.

It was just a stupid wedding for an idiotic man and his even more idiotic fiancé. He didn’t see why the damn thing was being guarded like it was the Mona Lisa, or something of actual worth.

But Caesar had put on his best suit for this, all in an attempt to show up Sanji, Sora, and all their little friends. If no one even got to see him, if he couldn’t even rub his life and his success in anyone’s faces, what was even the point of all this effort?

No, somehow, some way, he had to get into this wedding.

Caesar glanced around, and noticed that while the archway was protected by these buffoons, there was nothing stopping him from walking around to the side and slipping in between some of the trees.

So, with his wonderful husband serving as a distraction, Caesar did just that.

He found an empty seat next to a man with a ridiculously large hat that he felt reasonably sure he could hide behind.

Caesar glanced arounding, finding the brat pack in the back row again, not quite mingling with the other guests, but not looking as out of place or as uncomfortable as Caesar thought they would, much to his disappointment.

He scoffed and crossed his arms as he sunk further into his seat. He didn’t see Sora anywhere, and he was fairly confident he wouldn’t know anyone else here.

There wasn’t much of a point of surprising complete strangers with his magnificent presence. He had no choice but to wait until the actual wedding started to reveal himself for the biggest impact.

What a drag. This day was already becoming so tedious.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

Caesar flinched and glanced up at the man sitting next to him. He stared back at him with piercing yellow eyes that seemed to peer into his very soul, and made him want to crawl under a rock and hide.

“Uh, yes, well,” Caesar laughed awkwardly, “I’m, uh, Gastino,” he said, giving him the literal first name that came to him in case his own was on some kind of Kick Out Immediately list that all the other guests knew.

“And, who is Gastino?”

“I'm, uh, an old old friend of Sora’s,” he explained with a laugh, “but it’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”

“I see.” Was all he said, swirling a glass of wine that he somehow had, despite there being no obvious place to get drinks.

Caesar frowned when he offered up no information about himself, then asked, “And, you are?”

“Mihawk Dracule,” he answered, his gaze already sliding away from Caesar as he lost interest, “I’m Zoro’s, well.”

Instead of finishing the thought or offering any explanation, he sipped his wine.

Caesar vaguely wondered if it would be more or less suspicious of him to continue the conversation, but before he could properly think it through, he was saying, “Zoro’s…”

“Guardian,” he finally finished, “Although I suppose the term doesn’t quite apply anymore now that he’s an adult.”

“Oh, huh,” Caesar continued, “So you adopted him or something?”

“More or less.”

Mihawk went back to his wine, not saying another word.

Caesar was content to let the awkward silence stew between them, but he happened a glance back at the archway to check on the situation.

Judge was still arguing with the blue haired man, but his wife was examining the crowd of wedding goers, no doubt noticing his absence and on the hunt for him.

He shuddered, remembering how vividly she had described killing Judge, and did not want her to find him, lest she inflict an equally gruesome fate on him.

So he turned to Mihawk and continued the conversation, “You don't strike me as a relative. How did that come about?”

Mihawk hummed as he sipped his drink, “It's a long story.”

“We seem to have plenty of time,” he crossed his legs and leaned forward, feigning interest. If he could get into a conversation with Zoro’s sort-of-father, perhaps the guard dogs out front will leave him alone, “I acquired children myself, so I'd love to hear how you got yours.”

Mihawk’s eyes slid over to him, his gaze piercing him to his core.

Caesar wondered if this was a mistake, and that perhaps Mihawk would kill him faster than the woman would.

At least it would be painless, he reasoned as he gave him a smile to entice him to continue.

Mihawk continued to glare at him, but then began, “I used to do government contract work a long time ago. Someone I used to work with there later became a social worker.”

“Oh,” Caesar perked up, “I did government contract work for a bit myself.” Mostly running experiments in the science divisions while interning with Vegapunk, but a connection is a connection, “What did you do for them?”

Mihawk just stared at him, his eyes unblinking as he took a long and deliberate sip of his wine.

“Right,” Caesar forced out a laugh, “Not important. So, your old coworker was a social worker?”

“Yes,” he continued, his gaze never leaving Caesar, “He had two kids with nowhere to go, so while I was away on business he left them at my house.”

“He just…left them there?” Caesar frowned, “At your house? All alone without even asking?”

That sounded like something he would do, and probably did do with the brats at one point, it was hard to remember sometimes. He knew when they were younger he did have a habit of giving them $500 of spending money and leaving them places for the day while he did his own thing, but he had to stop when Sanji complained to Sora about it.

Stupid brat. Eight years old was definitely old enough to learn how to fend for yourself, no matter what those prisses in child services said.

“That would be highly irresponsible,” Mihawk said, shaking Caesar out of his reminiscing, “He stayed with them until I returned and explained the situation.”

“Which was what,” Caesar laughed, “That he was dumping two brats on you because no one else wanted them?”

“That it was an emergency and they had nowhere else to go,” he corrected, calm as ever.

“No one?” Caesar raised a brow, “No family hanging around for them?”

“Perona had no one that could be found, and she'd been shuffled between foster homes for a couple of years at that point,” Mihawk explained with a frown, “Zoro did have an uncle, but the accident that killed Zoro’s parents also killed his wife, and he felt he was ill-prepared to take care of both his daughter and Zoro by himself.”

Caesar tried to keep the amused grin off his face, but he couldn't help it. Something about other people living his worst nightmares always made him so happy inside, “So you got saddled with the kids?”

“Kuma knew that I had the space and the means to take care of them,” he continued, “Which is why he thought to bring them to me.”

“Means?” Caesar gave him a quick once over. He was dressed well, he noticed, too extravagantly perhaps, but his outfit certainly looked expensive, “You're rich?”

“Very,” he confirmed as he sipped his wine.

“Fascinating,” Caesar leaned a little closer.

“Anyway,” Mihawk shuffled just a little bit away from him as he continued, “I agreed to look after them until more suitable homes could be acquired for them. A few months became a few years, and before I knew it I had adopted them.”

“Wow,” Caesar sighed in sympathy, “Unfortunate that you got stuck with them after all. I ended up with five kids myself after I got married, so I know the feeling.”

Mihawk stared into the depths of his wine as he swirled it, “I wouldn't say that.”

Caesar tilted his head in confusion, “Wouldn't say what?”

“That it was unfortunate,” he continued, sipping his wine, “I may not have expected or sought out parenthood, but it was still one of the best things to happen to me. I was a bit of a recluse before Perona and Zoro appeared in my life, and it wasn't until they appeared, until I had these small humans relying on me, that I realized just what I was missing by isolating myself. They helped me not only reach out of my shell but connect with the world at large once again. And for that I will always be grateful.”

Caesar nodded along, although privately if he had as much money as he assumed Mihawk did, he'd be happier with the child free isolation.

“Unexpected, yes,” Mihawk continued, “I'm sure I was an unexpected addition to their lives as well. But raising them was never unfortunate. In truth it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

He peered at Caesar over the rim of his glass, “If you have children, you should understand.”

Caesar turned his words over in his mind as he thought about it.

While it was true he mostly married Judge for his money, it wasn't like he was unaware he came with five brats, and that marrying him meant they were partially his responsibility.

Similar to Mihawk, fatherhood had never factored into his life plans. And when he found himself suddenly thrust into the role of being a step-father for five children, he had tried his best to ignore them.

He glanced back at the brat pack. Had he missed out on some grand opportunity like Mihawk described? Had Judge’s kids helped him grow and changed him for the better in ways he simply couldn’t understand as it was happening? He had been a major part of their lives, after all, had watched them grow, had nurtured them and helped them through all of life’s struggles, and helped them bloom into the outstanding adults here today.

Caesar snorted as he turned back around.

As if.

All kids were brats, and the adults they grew into were just bigger brats.

The only impact Judge’s kids had on him was that they spent all of the money that should be Caesar’s. If he had one regret in his life, it was that he didn’t make their lives miserable enough for them all to disown Judge like Sanji had.

He hadn’t miss anything not being involved in their lives.

“If you say so,” he said to Mihawk as he settled back in his seat.

“Mihawk!” A shrill voice shouted over the din, “Where the hell are you?”

Mihawk and Caesar turned to see a pink haired woman in a lacy black dress scanning the crowd. When she spotted them she immediately marched over in a huff.

“Perona,” Mihawk greeted with a nod, “Aren’t you supposed to be tending to Zoro?”

“Yeah,” she put her hands on her hips and glared at him, “So are you! You know you’re supposed to walk him down the aisle, yeah?”

Mihawk casually sipped his wine, “I assumed you were handling that.”

“We’re both supposed to be handling it,” she snapped, “Sanji is having both Zeff and Sora walk him down, so Zoro wants both of us to walk him down to balance it out! We talked about it at the rehearsal dinner!”

“It was mentioned at the rehearsal dinner,” Mihawk said as he finished his wine and pocketed the glass, “As I recall, no one decided on anything.”

“Well, it’s been decided now! Nami sent me to look for you, and we’re not getting started until you get back there,” she grabbed his arm and tugged him to his feet, “So let’s go.”

“Fine,” Mihawk said as he followed her out, “If this is what Zoro wants.”

Caesar watched them go and snickered to himself.

Yeah, he was right. Kids are the f*cking worst and he was better off keeping them at a distance.

Without his buffer, Caesar took another look around. The woman was now searching through the assembled guests for him, and seemed to have recruited another large man with dark curly hair in a kimono and a tall, almost skeletal looking man with an afro to help her.

Caesar sank further in his seat to avoid their wandering eyes, but his phone picked that moment to let out a loud ping, alerting everyone in the area to his presence.

He scrambled for his phone, quickly silencing it as he read the text message that flashed across his screen.

Hubby💖😍❤️🔥👨❤️👨💍💋🔥👨❤️💋👨💗💌😘♥️🥰❤️🫶: Where are you? These morons won’t let me in. We’re going to beat them to the reception venue and see them that way.

He scowled at the screen as he shoved his phone back in his pocket. Damn bastard can’t even come up with a solid plan about how to best ruin his own son’s wedding.

Caesar grumbled as he crossed his arms, sulking for the sake of sulking more than anything else.

He was only here for Judge, it wasn’t like he cared about ruining Sanji’s big day, but the stupid idiot couldn’t even find his way into an outdoor ceremony.

The music started, and a hush fell over the crowd as they turned their attention to the archway.

Zoro appeared first, dressed in an all black suit, broken up by a dark green tie, blue pocket square, a ragged red vest under his jacket, and — Caesar was terrified to see — a white sword strapped to his waist. Perona held onto his left arm, while Mihawk stood on his right. They made their way between the rows of chairs, stopping under the largest tree in the grove where a young man with messy black hair and a scar just under his eye was waiting for them.

Once they arrived, Perona kissed Zoro’s cheek, and Mihawk gave his shoulder a firm pat before they sat down in the empty seats in the front row. An orange haired woman in a stunning dark green dress followed after them down the aisle, stopping right by Zoro’s side and whispering something in his ear that made him grin.

His best man, probably. Caesar chuckled as he imagined Judge’s reaction to the impropriety of having a woman be your best man.

Good thing he hadn’t made it in after all. He’d be bitching about it for days.

The music shifted, dropping to a much slower tempo, and Sanji, Sora, and Zeff appeared at the beginning of the aisle. Sanji looked pristine in his all white suit with a light blue tie, the only flaw the old straw hat that was for whatever reason tied around his neck, and while Sora and Zeff wore matching light blue outfits reminiscent of the sky.

Caesar rolled his eyes at the cliche of it all.

Although he had to admit, Sora did look good.

They made their way down the aisle, stopping just in front of Zoro. When they did, Sora kissed Sanji’s cheek, tears glinting in her eyes, and Zeff pulled him into a one-armed hug that Sanji returned. When they pulled apart, Sora and Zeff sat down next to Mihawk and Perona in the front row, and Sanji’s best man, a man with dark curly hair and an impossibly long nose dressed in a light blue suit, made his way down the aisle.

When he stood by Sanji’s side, the officiant cleared his throat and began, “Yo!”

Caesar groaned and ran a hand down his face. This was going to be one of those ceremonies.

“Glad you all could make it,” he laughed, and oh wow, Caesar just noticed the flip-flops, what the hell, “Like the invites said, we’re here today ‘cause of Zoro and Sanji.”

Zoro and Sanji reached out and grabbed the other’s hand.

“I’ve known them for, like, ever,” the officiant continued, a wide smile splitting his face, “I’ve never met two people who go together better, who make each other and everyone around them better, who support and protect each other more, who have each others backs through and through no matter what.” He laughed as he glanced out over the assembled group, “And I know a lot of people.”

The crowd laughed. Caesar rolled his eyes so hard he was surprised they didn’t get stuck in the back of his head.

“I can – and have – talked about how great Zoro and Sanji are in length,” he nodded towards two people in the front row, “Just ask my brothers.”

“He spent like two hours waxing poetics when he first met you assholes,” a man with dark hair and a smattering of freckles laughed.

“He spent like two hours waxing poetics about you guys last night,” a blond man with a burn scar on his face confirmed with another laugh.

The officiant laughed, “Anyway, what I have to say today about you guys doesn’t really matter. This is about you, Zoro and Sanji, coming together and making official what everyone has known for years: that you are in love, that your love makes you stronger, that you’re at your best together.”

He took a step back and gestured at the two of them, “So, I’ll let you guys say it to each other.”

Ugh. Not handwritten vows.

Caesar repressed a groan as he slumped further in his seat.

Maybe Judge was the genius he claimed to be for getting his ass banned from this thing. This was going to be a dull, mushy mess full of feelings, wasn't it?

“Marimo,” Sanji said as he took Zoro’s hands in his, “I spent months trying to find the words to tell you how much you mean to me, and after countless struggles I think I finally found them: f*ck you.”

Caesar snorted and sat up a little straighter. If this was going to end in a break up, maybe it would be interesting after all.

“You came into my life at the worst possible time like a hurricane destroying everything in its path. I couldn't fight you, no matter how hard I tried, and some nights I wonder if you were always inevitable. You took everything I thought I was and demolished it, broke through my walls like they were nothing, leaving behind a damn sh*tty mess of rubble in its wake.”

Caesar leaned a little closer. He wondered if Zoro would cry in front of everyone. He very much hoped he did.

“And you took that mess in,” Sanji continued, a smile slowly spreading across his face, “And you loved it. You've loved every broken, messy bit of me. You saw something in that mess that was worthy of love. You pulled me out, you saved me, and for that I can never thank you enough.”

Oh f*ck, he was being mushy about it. Caesar made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat and slumped down in his seat again, preparing himself for the worst.

“You've changed me for the better, you’ve marked me in ways that can never be erased. For better or worse, there are parts of me that will always be and feel like yours.”

Sanji brought his hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles, “So f*ck you, Marimo. f*ck you for sticking with me through all the sh*t life’s thrown at me. f*ck you for forcing me to be the best version version of myself because you refused to settle for anything less. For knowing I could be. f*ck you for changing me so completely.”

Sanji reached up and cradled his face in his hand, “And f*ck you for making me never want to go back. I’m yours, Zoro, each and every messy part of me is yours.”

He took Zoro’s hand and carefully slid the ring the officiant offered him on his finger, then brought it to his lips to place another kiss right on the metal.

Zoro blinked, wiping the tears away from his eye as he stared at Sanji, the affection on his face clear as day.

Caesar wanted to hurl.

“Okay,” the officiant beamed, his annoying smile wider than ever as he turned to Zoro, “Your turn.”

“Right, yeah,” Zoro cleared his throat, rolled his shoulders as he turned back to Sanji.

“Curly,” he began as he took Sanji’s hands in his, “You know I'm not good with words. I express myself better through actions, but I was told that today words would be appreciated more than me bringing you fresh meat to cook.”

He turned towards his best man, who shook her head slowly.

“So I'll do my best to use my words,” Zoro sighed and turned back to Sanji, “Which is hard in and of itself, because there are no words to describe what you mean to me.”

Caesar rubbed his temple, praying for lightning to strike him dead where he sat so he doesn't have to listen to another word of this garbage.

“How do I describe someone that fits me so completely?” He continued, “How do I express how much you complete me? How we are so intertwined that I can't tell where you end and I begin? How there is no part of me that hasn't been touched by you? How do I explain how it feels to be around you, how you lift me up, how just being with you makes me the best version of myself?”

Caesar coughed into his fist to hide his disgusted retch, and yet the torture continued.

“There is no me without you,” he went on, “You are my partner, Sanji, now and forever.” He lifted Sanji’s hand, caressing the knuckles with his thumbs, “Not a day passes where I don't think you're the best thing to happen to me. There is not a single part of me that doesn't love every part of you. I’m yours, from now until forever.”

Zoro picked up his hand and slid the ring on his finger, rubbing a thumb across it tenderly before he lifted it to his lips to place a kiss on it.

Sanji sniffled, wiping the tears away from his eyes, and Caesar was tempted to bash his own head against a rock to end the suffering.

He didn't realize how stupidly in love these idiots were.

His wedding vows had been quick and painless, in that there were none. The clerk had asked if either of them wanted to say a few words, and Judge had snapped at him to get a move on.

Love was a fine emotion all things considered, but in Caesar's opinion it had no place in a marriage. Caesar had loved before, of course, passionately too, but she ended up refusing him in the end, instead marrying some other man who treated her like sh*t. Then she divorced him and married a f*cking chef.

So all love had ever earned Caesar was a broken heart and an empty bank account.

In his expert opinion, doing things just for love was the quickest way to end up broke and alone.

A marriage was a partnership — although not the sappy sentimental crap these idiots were talking about. It was a contract, an agreement between two parties who each had something to gain from the other.

If such glaring weaknesses like love or affection were involved, then you were already letting your partner walk all over you. Marriage was a constant battle, after all, and if you weren't winning, you were losing.

Caesar scoffed as Zoro kissed Sanji’s knuckles. What a pathetic display for a pathetic couple.

Maybe he had been married to Judge for too long, if he was starting to sound like him.

Disgusting.

“Okay,” the officiant said, that stupid grin still plastered on his face as he pulled some note cards out of his pocket, “Now I gotta say this stuff Nami told me to.”

Caesar sat up a little straighter. This was the part where they asked for objections, right? Sure it would absolutely get him kicked out, but at this point he was more than ready to leave. And why not cause a little dissent and chaos along the way by objecting?

How should he do it? A torrid affair with Zoro seemed like the easiest way, and he began thinking of how best to paint Sanji as a cruel man who drove his so-called love into the arms of his step-father.

But instead of continuing with the proper ceremony, the officiant squinted down at them for all of a second before tossing them in the air, “But these are dumb.”

f*cking heretics, ruining his fun.

Zoro’s best man groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead as everyone else laughed.

“Sanji,” the officiant turned to him, “Do you want to marry Zoro?”

Sanji chuckled as he squeezed Zoro’s hand, “I do.”

“Zoro,” he turned to him, “Do you want to marry Sanji?”

“Yes,” Zoro said with a delighted laugh, “I really do.”

“Awesome,” the officiant laughed as he turned back to the crowd, “If you guys have any reason you think they shouldn't be married, now's the time to speak up!”

Caesar opened his mouth to do just that, but a hand clamped over his mouth, leaving unable to say anything.

“He wasn't asking you, Mr. Vinsmoke,” the cool voice of the woman from before hissed in his ear, “After all, you weren't invited.”

Caesar thrashed about, but her grip was relentless. He eventually accepted his fate, grinding his back teeth together as the ceremony continued without any interruptions.

“Then by the power vested in me by that online thing Sanji and Ace made me do last month, I now pronounce you husbands!” The officiant clapped his hands, “Now kiss!”

Zoro and Sanji did so, holding each other tight as they lost themselves in it.

Caesar growled under his breath as the woman let go to clap along with the rest of the cheering crowd.

“Now,” she glanced down at him, her icy stare piercing him to his very core, and he was suddenly afraid for his life, “Get out. And if I see you again, they will never stop finding your body.”

Caesar laughed shakily, “Don’t you mean, they’ll never find my body?”

Her stare darkened, “I do not.”

Caesar gulped, but slipped out between the trees without another word.

He found Judge standing by the car, the scowl sharp on his face as he spotted him, “And just where the hell were you?”

“The wedding,” Caesar gestured at the grove behind them, “Like we agreed.”

“Did you even read my texts?” Judge snapped, “Or are your eyes just as useless as your brain?”

“My eyes are perfectly functional, my sweetest honey buns,” Caesar said, taking sick pleasure from the low growl coming from Judge, “But they’ll take forever to move from here to the restaurant. We still have time to beat them there.”

“So you just left me stranded out here by myself for an hour?” He growled.

“It's not my fault you’re so inept you couldn't find your own way in, googly bear,” Caesar said with a long put out sigh, “You're lucky your co*ck works better than your brain or else I'd simply have no use for you.”

“Shut the f*ck up, and knock it off with the pathetic pet names or I'll knock you out,” he snapped as he gestured at the car, “Let's go.”

Caesar sighed again, but decided his easiest option was to simply do as Judge asked and get in the car.

The sooner they were away from this disgusting display the better.

About five whole minutes into the wedding, Tashigi realized she didn’t know any of Zoro’s friends.

She knew Luffy, of course, everyone knew Luffy, and she obviously knew Sanji. She did remember Nami and Usopp from high school, and had definitely met Chopper once or twice. She maybe kind of remembers seeing Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jinbei at some of the matches, but it’s hard to recall.

Everyone else, no clue. Wouldn’t have been surprised if Zoro just invited random people off the street to mess with her.

She managed to find her Uncle Koshiro on what she assumed to be Zoro’s side of the aisle, and sat next to him the whole time, trying her best not to make eye contact with the green haired man with the pointed teeth and nose ring sitting nearby.

There was a guy throwing a fit just about not being allowed in, but from the looks of it Robin and Franky had him handled. He was being loud and obnoxious about it though, and Tashigi wondered if she should step in.

But when she glanced back sometime later during the ceremony he was gone, although Robin, Brook, and Jinbei had yet to take their seats.

She was about to turn back towards the couple currently exchanging vows, when she caught sight of several people in the back row of Sanji’s section with multi-colored hair.

There were three men, each with green, blue, and red hair, and a woman on the end with pink hair who looked very familiar.

She turned towards Tashigi as if feeling her gaze on her, her eyes going wide when she recognized her, and there was no mistaking it.

She was definitely the woman from the bar.

What the hell was she doing at Zoro’s wedding? Did she know him? Zoro knew a hot woman who was maybe into her and never bothered to introduce them?

But she was sitting in Sanji's section, so maybe she knew him. She wasn't one of his exes was she? And that whole conversation at the bar was just a ruse to get her to drop her guard and let something slip so she could win him back?

The woman smiled when her eyes met Tashigi’s, a small one, but it was there and it was for her, and just that was enough to make her blush something fierce. She gave her a little wave that Tashigi awkwardly returned.

“Friend of yours?” Uncle Koshiro whispered.

Tashigi flailed about, knocking her glasses askew. She glanced quickly at the woman to see if she saw that, and found her giggling a little, giving her a wink before turning her attention back to the ceremony.

Tashigi readjusted her glasses as she faced forward as well, “Just, you know, a person. That I know. Maybe.”

Uncle Koshiro laughed, a knowing glint in his eyes as he turned his attention back to the vows.

They were sweet, all things considered, a little sappy maybe, but they clearly meant a lot to Zoro and Sanji.

Was she jealous that Zoro had found the love of his life? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, she was really glad to see him with someone who loved him so much, someone who understood him on every level, and who he loved just as much in return.

Of course she wanted that for herself — who didn’t — but she couldn’t begrudge him for having found a beautiful, perfect version of it first.

She quickly glanced back at the pink haired woman, who was watching the ceremony with rapt interest.

Well, she couldn’t begrudge him anymore.

“Awesome,” Luffy laughed loudly, bringing her attention back to the front, “If you guys have any reason you think they shouldn't be married, now's the time to speak up!”

Predictably no one did — who would object to such a perfect couple — but she did notice some movement off to the side that was probably nothing.

“Then by the power vested in me by that online thing Sanji and Ace made me do last month, I now pronounce you husbands!” Luffy clapped his hands and grinned his wide sunny smile, “Now kiss!”

They did, enthusiastically so, and Tashigi found herself clapping along with everyone else.

She noticed Uncle Koshiro wiping away a stray tear behind his glasses and smiled at him, “Always knew you were an old softy.”

“Hush,” he laughed, giving her a playful nudge with his elbow, “Like you’re not happy for your cousin.”

“Not really my cousin,” she mumbled, but it was lost over the rambunctious cheering as the newly wedded couple made their way down the aisle, flower petals tossed about over their heads.

A few landed on Tashigi’s face, and she spluttered as she spit them out of her mouth. When her vision cleared, she glanced over at where the pink woman had been sitting, only to find her and the others gone.

Tashigi frowned. If she left so early, she probably wouldn’t be going to the reception.

Maybe she was an ex. Why else would she skip the reception?

Or, didn't Sanji have some kind of bad history with his birth family or something? Maybe she was an estranged cousin.

Still, her heart sank at the idea of not seeing her at the reception.

Two chances to get her name, and both times she fumbled.

What a f*cking klutz.

The wedding party hung back to take more pictures, but the rest of the guests slowly made their way over to Sanji’s restaurant, the All Blue.

The restaurant was as impressive as they come, situated right at the end of the docks so it overlooked the ocean. The dining room was a huge space completely encompassed with windows, so every table could see the seascape. The back deck was made of reinforced glass so diners could see all the sealife swimming beneath as they ate, and the buzz was that that experience was what had earned All Blue its Micheline Star so quickly.

And, of course, with Sanji as the head chef, the food was absolutely divine.

Zoro had brought Tashigi there a couple of times after their matches — his treat, he always said, as if he wasn't sleeping with the owner — and every dish Sanji served her was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

For the reception, all the tables were inside, and it looked like both the All Blue and Baratie staff were hard at work in the kitchen. Her mouth watered at the mere thought of the menu Sanji would have prepared for his own wedding.

The doors to the back deck were wide open, letting in the natural sea breeze. She could see lights surrounding the deck, both on the railings and the ones below the glass, and Brook and his band setting up out there, so she figured that was serving as the dance floor.

Tashigi made her way through the dining room as the rest of the guests drifted in, looking for the placard with her name on it, when she noticed Jinbei off to the side talking to the man who had been trying to get into the ceremony earlier.

She subtly made her way over in case he needed a hand. Knowing the kind of people Zoro usually hung out with, they probably wouldn't want official police intervention, but she was off the clock today, and a little back up never hurt anyone.

“This is unbelievable,” the man scowled, “And no way to treat a guest.”

“It would be, if you were a guest,” Jinbei said, calmly but with a slight flex to his biceps, “All the tables are filled with people who were actually invited. There's no room to seat you even if we wanted to. And may I once again stress that we do not want to.”

“I am the father of the groom,” he growled, “And I demand a seat.”

“You are no such thing,” Jinbei replied, his voice sharp and icy, “Leave. Now.”

“The rest of my children are here,” he gestured towards a table off to the side where the three men with red, blue, and green hair were sitting, “I demand a sit at their table.”

“That table is full,” Jinbei’s eyes narrowed, “All the tables are full.”

The man growled as he took a step forward, but a hand on his arm held him back.

It was the pink woman, she was surprised to see, her face pinched as she clutched at his sleeve.

“Father,” she hissed, shocking Tashigi further, “Please, you're making a scene.”

“And who's fault is that?” The man roared, “If these idiots knew how to run an event-”

Jinbei cracked his knuckles loudly, silencing him.

“I'm not going to ask you again.” He said, slowly and deliberately, his tone very clearly not f*cking around, “Leave. Now.”

The man growled, but then a smaller man slid in front of him, his whole demeanor reeking of slime and dishonestly, putting Tashigi instantly on edge.

“I'm so sorry for my husband’s behavior,” he said, voice dripping with false sincerity, “He was simply crushed when he was barred from his son’s wedding. He is the first of his children to get married after all, and you can't blame him for being so worked up.”

His eyes went wide, tears forming in them as he whimpered, “I raised Sanji like my own after his mother so cruelly left him. We were so close when he was younger…” He sniffled, pulling a handkerchief out from his sleeve and dabbing his eyes, “I’d been looking forward to this day, to seeing my dear, sweet Sanji all grown up and starting his own family, but,” he sobbed, “I hadn't realized the distance between us had grown so much.”

Jinbei’s face remained as impassive as ever, the only change a slight narrowing of his eyes, not buying it for a second.

“If poor little Sanji doesn't want us here, we’ll gladly be on our way,” he continued with another whimper, “The last thing we want is to cause our dear, sweet child any trouble. but…”

He rested a hand on his stomach, “We've spent all day trying so hard to get here, and haven't eaten a single bite.”

“All the meals are spoken for,” Jinbei responded almost before he'd finished speaking, “There's no spare food left for you.”

“I understand,” he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead as he swayed a bit, leaning into his husband for support.

His gaze sharpened as his eyes slid to Jinbei, “But isn't the All Blue’s policy to never turn a hungry person away?”

Jinbei stiffened, his eyes darting away as he thought it over.

It was obvious he didn't want to let them anywhere near the reception, but even Tashigi knew about Sanji’s need to feed anyone and everyone. He never turned away a hungry guest, even if they couldn't pay, even if they were assholes.

It was clear that Sanji did not want these people at his wedding, but from what little she knew of him, she felt fairly certain he would also want them fed before kicking them out the door.

Jinbei seemed to come to a similar conclusion, heaving a heavy sigh as he turned back to them.

“Fine,” Jinbei said curtly as he nodded towards the kitchen, “We’ll see if we can have the staff prepare a small something for you. To go. You can wait out back until it's ready.”

“Out back?” The large man snorted, “Like a common mutt begging for scraps?”

“It's either that,” Jinbei crossed his arms, “Or you leave right now with nothing.”

The man growled, having more to say to him, but his husband put a hand on his chest and shoved him back a step.

“Thank you,” he said, placing a hand in Jinbei’s arm, making him flinch, “We really do appreciate it.”

Jinbei grunted, shifting away to escort them to the kitchen.

Before he left, the large man whispered something in the pink woman’s ear. She stiffened, her face going pale as her eyes slid over to him, but she didn't say anything as he turned to follow Jinbei and his husband.

The woman just stood there for a moment, and Tashigi wanted to go there and comfort her.

She held back, instead mulling over what she'd overheard, the pieces slowly falling together.

She felt like a moron for not realizing it sooner. Sanji’s estrangement with his birth family, the woman at the bar’s troubles with her own, they were both going to a wedding, and how could she have missed the swirled eyebrows?

She was Sanji’s sister.

The realization made her relax, relieved she wasn't Sanji’s ex. From what she knew, he had terrible taste in women.

Sanji’s sister caught sight of her, blinking in surprise before she raised a hand and waved.

Tashigi awkwardly waved back, and found herself making her way over to her.

“So,” she said with a little laugh, her smile twitching in the corners, “How much of that did you hear?”

“Oh, uh…” Tashigi was never good at lying, so she said, “Most of it.”

“I see,” she froze, her smile falling only slightly as she stood just a little taller, “Well, I imagine you have a lot of questions for me.”

Now that she mentioned it, there was one burning question that she'd been meaning to ask her, “What's your name?”

She blinked at her, a laugh escaping her lips in light airy breaths.

Tashigi’s own lips twitched up in a smile as she waited anxiously for the answer.

“Reiju,” she answered, her smile growing wide and much more genuine than it was before, “Reiju Vinsmoke.”

Reiju. Tashigi turned the name over in her mind, liking the sound of it more and more.

When Reiju quirked a brow, she realized maybe Reiju wanted her name too.

“I’m, uh,” she thrust her hand out, “Tashigi. Shimotsuki Tashigi.”

Reiju’s chuckle sounded like wind chimes on a summer evening as she shook her hand, “It's nice to finally get your name, Tashigi.”

“Y-yeah,” she nodded, a blush lighting up her face, “You too.”

“And,” Reiju nodded towards the nearby table, “Looks like we'll be sitting together.”

Tashigi followed her gaze and saw the two name cards on the table.

Right next to each other in curling cursive were the names Reiju Vinsmoke and Shimotsuki Tashigi.

“Oh,” Tashigi grinned as she noticed Uncle Koshiro and Reiju's brothers sitting down at the table too, “I guess we are.”

Reiju grinned as she took her seat, and Tashigi returned it as she took hers.

“So, Tashigi,” her name rolled off her tongue like it belonged there, “I guess we have time to talk.”

“Yeah,” Tashigi nodded with a smile, “I guess we do.”

When they finally arrived at All Blue, Brook took a moment to pull Zoro aside.

He was still high from the thrill of finally being married to Sanji and was hesitant to leave his fiancé — his husband’s side, but Brook said it was urgent, and Sanji was busy getting the final touches on the cake ready.

“What’s wrong?” Zoro asked as Brook led him out to the deck. Everyone was busy inside with the co*cktail hour spread that was already out, so they had some privacy for this discussion.

“It seems Mr. and Mr. Vinsmoke tried to attend the ceremony early,” Brook said, wringing his hands, “Ms. Robin dutifully ran them off, however it appears they simply came here instead.”

“sh*t,” Zoro growled, looking around as if they’d be right there waiting to jump Sanji unexpectedly.

“Indeed,” Brook nodded, his afro bouncing with the movement, “Jinbei stopped them, but they claimed they were hungry. The All Blue’s policy is to never turn away anyone who’s hungry, so…”

“So Jinbei agreed to feed them before they left,” Zoro concluded with a scowl.

He couldn’t blame Jinbei, especially since he knew that was what Sanji himself would have done. He was good like that, it was one of those things that Zoro adored about him and also frustrated him the most.

Still, a part of him was very disappointed he didn’t just let the bastards starve.

He glanced back at Brook, “Are they still here?”

Brook picked at his fingernails, “Technically speaking…yes.”

“What?” Zoro growled, his fists clenching at his sides.

“Jinbei sent them out back to await their food,” Brook quickly explained, “But the kitchen is backed up with preparing food for the actual guests.”

“Dammit,” Zoro muttered as he turned away.

If they could shuffle them out of here before Sanji noticed them, that would be best. But if they were here to cause trouble, Zoro doubted they'd leave quietly.

“Just keep them away from Sanji,” Zoro insisted, “He doesn't deserve to deal with them today of all days.”

“Deal with who?”

Zoro froze, turning slowly to find Sanji standing behind him.

“Oh would you look at the time,” Brook exclaimed as he glanced down at his bare wrist, “I really must see if all the cellos are in tune. If you excuse me.”

Before either of them could even think to stop him, Brook gave them a quick bow and went back inside.

“Marimo?” Sanji stepped forward, his brow furrowed, “I’d prefer not to start this marriage off on a lie. Who don't you want me to deal with?”

Zoro took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly before he said, “Judge and Caesar are here.”

“Ah.” Sanji stiffened, frowning a little as he glanced away, “I was wondering if he was going to try something. Now I guess I have the answer.”

Zoro stepped forward, grabbing Sanji and pulling him against his chest.

“Jinbei kicked them out already, but they played the hungry card,” he explained, stroking his hair, “They're out back waiting for food. If you want, I’ll go tell them to get lost and make them leave right now.”

“It's fine,” Sanji sighed heavily, leaning further into him, “No one leaves hungry, even the two worst people I have the misfortune of knowing.”

Sanji wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight, “But I really don't want to see them.”

“You won't have to,” Zoro assured him, running his hand up and down his back, “If they set one foot back inside the restaurant, I’ll chop it off myself.”

“Not in the kitchen,” Sanji laughed as he nuzzled the crook of his neck, “The health and safety violations would ruin me.”

“Then I'll drag them back outside, chop their feet off, then have Tashigi arrested,” Zoro reiterated, “You won't have to see them, I promise.”

Sanji pulled away, to cradle his face in his hand, “Damn Marimo, how did I get so lucky to land you as a husband?”

“Good clean living,” Zoro chuckled, turning his head so he could kiss his palm.

Sanji laughed again, then leaned forward to press their lips together.

Zoro kissed him slowly, savoring it as if he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life doing exactly this.

Sanji hummed as he pulled away, and Zoro touched his forehead against his.

“So, Mr. Black-Roronoa,” Zoro said with a grin, “What do you say we get back to our guests?”

Sanji chuckled, giving him one last kiss before pulling away completely, his hand falling to his and grasping it tight, “Let’s go, Mr. Roronoa-Black. We’ve got a lot of celebrating ahead.”

By the time they found their way back to the head table, the co*cktail hour was pretty much done.

They took their seats right in the middle, Sanji next to Usopp, with Kaya on his other side, and Zoro next to Nami, with Vivi on hers. The rest of their friends, Zeff, Sora, Perona, and Mihawk glanced at them as they settled in. Once they were ready, Usopp flashed them a thumbs up, then stood and tapped his fork against the glass.

“Okay everyone,” he grinned out over the crowd as he brought the microphone to his lips, “It’s toast time.”

The room went quiet, only a few stray whispers left. Usopp pulled out his notecards, cleared his throat, and began.

“Good evening folks, most of you know who I am, and if you don’t you’re probably at the wrong wedding.”

That earned him a couple of laughs, and he puffed out his chest as he continued, “I’ve gone by many titles throughout my life, Captain Usopp, God Usopp, King of All Snipers, Master of Pranks, Bravest Warrior the Sea has Ever Known,” he chuckled, flashing the crowd a winning smile, “Of course, most of those I made up, but one real title I’ve been always proud to have is Sanj’s best friend.

“But I wasn’t always his best friend,” he gestured to Zoro, “I stole that title from Zoro here back in high school when we unanimously agreed that dating someone meant they officially couldn’t be your best friend.” Usopp very theatrically wiped sweat from his brow, “And thank god for that rule, because otherwise I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“Sanji was a late addition to our friend group, having moved here during high school. We all liked him instantly — no it’s true,” he turned to a scowling Sanji and playfully mussed his hair, “We were all taken with him and adopted him easily into our friend group, but when I say that the chemistry between Sanji and Zoro was instant, I mean, the sparks that flew the second those two laid eyes on each other could’ve burned down the building. And if the sparks didn’t do it, the collateral damage from the ensuing fight would have.”

The room burst into laughter, Zoro joining in too as he fondly recalled that first fight. It had been a good one, and as frustrated as he was at Sanji by the end of it, he’d known then and there that he’d found a lifelong partner.

“And they’ve been inseparable ever since,” Usopp continued, “They were the best of friends, even with — or maybe even because of — all the fighting. It got to a point where you literally couldn’t have one without the other. Whatever strange and intricate rituals you guys concocted over the years, it was clear that something about you two clicked in a way the rest of us mere mortals could not possibly comprehend.”

Sanji reached across the gap between their chairs, his hand finding Zoro’s and stroking the back of it. Zoro turned his hand so they could slide together and hold each other tight.

“Which made earning the title of Sanji’s best friend difficult, since it was always undoubtedly, unquestionably, irrevocably Zoro,” Usopp sighed, “That is, until the day they accidentally kissed in gym class, then were caught making out behind the bleachers two hours later. Later that day, we all decided that officially being someone’s best friend means you couldn’t be dating them. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”

“But,” Usopp turned towards them, his smile wide and his eyes a little watery, “There’s no rules against being married to your best friend.”

He heaved a sigh and turned back towards the guests, “And so, it is with a heavy heart that I relinquish my title of Sanji’s Best Friend back to its rightful owner, Roronoa-Black Zoro. Your friendship is the stuff of legends, and may we all be lucky enough someday to end up married to our best friends.”

His eyes slid to Kaya, who giggled a little into her hand, blush high on her cheeks, and Zoro grinned at the sight.

Maybe someday soon, Usopp would marry his best friend.

Usopp turned back to the crowd and lifted his glass, “To Sanji and his best friend — and husband — Zoro.”

Everyone lifted their drinks, echoing, “To Sanji and Zoro,” before applauding wildly for him.

Usopp took his bows, and when he righted himself Sanji stood up and gave him a tight hug. He whispered something in Usopp’s ear that made his eyes well up with tears, then Usopp buried his face against his chest and hugged him back just as hard.

Zoro watched them for a moment, a warm feeling humming in him.

When they parted, he stood up and held his hand out to Usopp, “I’ll take good care of him, Sanji’s former best friend.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Usopp laughed, taking his hand and pulling him into a hug as well, “I’m so happy for you guys.”

“Thanks, man,” Zoro hugged him back, “Great speech. You’re a tough best friend to follow, but I’ll live up to the title.”

He pat Usopp on the back, and they both pulled away.

Zoro relaxed in his seat, still feeling the warmth and friendship from Usopp’s speech, when movement next to him reminded him that it was Nami’s turn next.

Nami stood, a wicked grin on her face as Usopp passed her the microphone, and a sense of dread suddenly filled Zoro.

“Hey guys,” Nami grinned as she studied the crowd, “I’m Zoro’s best man, Nami, because as everyone knows, the best man for any job is a woman.”

That earned her a series of laughs, and even Zoro found himself grinning.

“I met Zoro on the playground in kindergarten one fateful day,” she continued, “He and Luffy defended me from bullies, and in a fit of gratitude I asked Zoro to marry me. This was obviously well before I realized the only things I truly love in this world are money, tangerines, and women, but compulsory heterosexuality won the day back then, and I felt obligated to offer my savior my hand in marriage.”

Zoro scowled, his face going red as he looked away, knowing damn well where she was going with this and hating every second of it.

Nami turned briefly to grin and him, then back to her audience, “Zoro took one look at me, scoffed, and said,” she dropped her voice a few octaves, “‘I prefer blonds.’”

The crowd roared with laughter, and Zoro crossed his arms as he sunk further into his seat.

Sanji was laughing too, but he reached out and rested his hand on his arm, and Zoro felt some of the embarrassment slip away at his touch.

“Well,” Nami continued, “As it turns out, there were a few other things Zoro was looking for in a partner that I didn't meet.” She counted off on her fingers, “One, not blonde, two, not a man, three, cannot kick his ass — although believe me, I tried.”

More laughter rang out, and Sanji began rubbing his arm. Zoro reached out to hold his hand properly, and gave it a squeeze.

“He was so picky about it, I was worried he'd end up alone forever. Not worried enough to offer to marry him again — because, again, lesbian — but enough to wonder if my friend would ever find someone good enough for him.”

She looked at him and smiled, a kind soft thing that had Zoro smiling back.

“But lucky for him, Sanji moved to our neighborhood,” she grinned and turned back to the crowd, “Sanji, a boy with impossibly blond hair who could match Zoro blow for blow. It was like he was ripped straight out of Zoro’s deepest fantasies and gifted to him as a reward. What that reward was for, I couldn't tell you, but regardless, he has Sanji now.”

She turned to both of them and gave them a smile, “He has Sanji forever, because that's the only way Zoro knows how to love someone. Wholly, completely, and forever.”

Sanji grabbed his hand, bringing it to his lips to place a soft kiss on the ring on his finger. Zoro smiled as he gazed adoringly at him.

She was right. He had Sanji forever.

“Roronoa-Black Zoro,” Nami said, bringing his attention back to her, “You were the first and only boy to ever break my heart. But since you found your soulmate, I think I can forgive you for that.”

“Sanji Black-Roronoa,” she turned to him next, and placed a hand on Zoro’s head, “You have married the man who could have been my husband. He's the best you'll ever find, so make sure you take care of him, that you take care of each other. As your current husband’s ex fiancée, that's all I ask of you. For two of the greatest people I know to be happy.”

Sanji sniffled, wiping the tears out of his eyes, and Zoro could feel his own tears coming on.

Zoro stood up as the whole place burst into applause and tugged Nami into a tight hug, “Thanks, Witch,” he whispered in her ear, “For everything.”

“Yeah yeah, don't go getting soft on me now, you big lug,” she sniffled as she hugged him back.

When they pulled away, Sanji stepped forward to give her a hug. They murmured a few words between them, and when they pulled apart, Nami leaned in and kissed cheek.

“Take care of him,” she said with a smile, glancing at Zoro over his shoulders, “Both of you.”

“We always do,” Sanji assured her, glancing back over his shoulder and giving Zoro a wide smile.

He took Sanji’s hand as they sat back down and the appetizer course was served.

Sanji made to pull his hand away, but Zoro squeezed it tighter, reluctant to give up the contact with his husband for something as simple as eating soup.

Sanji laughed, “You’re hopeless,” but squeezed his hand back as he grabbed his spoon with his free hand.

Zoro watched him for a bit as he tasted the soup he had picked out just for this moment, had spent weeks stressing about what would taste exactly right for this. He hummed as the soup hit his tongue, a pleased smile on his face, and Zoro sat back, taking in that he was his husband now, that they were married.

Overwhelmed with joy, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Sanji blinked as he swallowed his soup and turned to him, “What was that for?”

Zoro shrugged as he picked up his own spoon, “Felt like it.”

Sanji’s cheeks went pink as he turned back to his soup.

Zoro smiled as he picked up his own spoon, the first bite of soup tasting like heaven.

Or maybe that was because of the company.

He ran his thumb gently over Sanji’s knuckles as they ate, glad to be in this moment with the love of his life.

The food — as expected from an event Sanji had a hand in planning — was outstanding.

The company, Tashigi was thrilled to find, even more so.

She and Reiju ended up talking through all five courses, right up through dessert.

She felt a little bad for barely engaging Uncle Koshiro, especially since she was pretty sure that, aside from Mihawk and Zoro himself, she was the only person he really knew here. Still, even if Reiju’s brothers seemed a little awkward and had a bit of an attitude that made them pretty obnoxious in Tashigi’s opinion, her uncle was more than equipped to handle them, and he seemed to be enjoying whatever they were talking about all the same.

“You’re an only child?” Reiju said as the dessert plates were taken away, “Really?”

“Yes,” Tashigi crossed her arms, and pouted slightly, “Is that so hard to believe? It’s more common than quadruplet brothers.”

She laughed, a light, joyous sound that made Tashigi flush, “I suppose so. Still-”

“Excuse me, uh,” one of the waiters approached their table, his eyes darting between Reiju and her brothers, “You wouldn’t happen to be the, uh, Vinsmokes?”

Reiju froze, the smile slipping from her face. Her brothers eyed the waiter warily, before the red one, Ichiji, she thought his name was, said, “Who wants to know?”

“I, uh,” he gulped, tugging at his collar, “There’s, uh, a gentleman outside who would like to speak to one of you…”

The green one, Yonji, laughed, “Seriously? That old man is still here?”

“Can’t believe it,” the blue one, Niji, shook his head, “How lame is he?”

“Indeed,” Ichiji shook his head and turned to the waiter, “Please tell our father that it’s his own damn fault he wasn’t invited, and to stop pestering us while we’re having a good time without him.”

The waiter swallowed, his eyes darting away as he began sweating, “Uh…”

“I’ll talk to him,” Reiju said, slamming her napkin on the table as she stood up, “Excuse me.”

She walked stiffly as she left, like a woman on her way to her own funeral.

Tashigi sighed as she watched her go, wondering what all that was about.

“So,” Uncle Koshiro said, “Your father isn’t Zeff?”

That got the three of them looking almost contrite for the first time all evening.

“Zeff is…” Ichiji scowled as he looked away, “He’s our mother’s husband.”

“He’s Sanji’s dad,” Yonji pouted as he picked at the edge of the tablecloth, “He tried to be our dad, we just…we didn’t want him at the time.”

“After our parents divorced, we chose to stay with Father, and Sanji went with our mom,” Niji huffed as he crossed his arms, “Father had the money and the big house, after all, and all Zeff had was his crummy restaurant.”

“I see,” Uncle Koshiro nodded in understanding, “And, do you have any regrets now?”

“No,” all three of them said, but there was a noticeable waver in their expressions.

Something Reiju said when they met clicked in Tashigi’s mind, so she asked, “When was the last time you saw Sanji before this?”

They all turned to stare at her in unison, startling her a bit, but after a long pause Ichiji finally answered, “When we were thirteen.”

“And he still invited you to his wedding,” Uncle Koshiro noted with a smile, “That was very magnanimous of him.”

Niji scoffed as he looked away, “More like sentimental. He's an idiot.”

“Yeah,” Yonji frowned and looked away, “We made his life hell, there's no reason he'd want us here.”

“He's just lording over us,” Ichiji insisted, his eyes downcast, “Showing off what he has and rubbing our faces in it.”

Tashigi bit her lip and glanced towards the head table where Zoro sat with the wedding party, the Dracules, and the Blacks.

He looked happy, laughing and smiling together with them. They looked like one big happy family.

“It sounds to me,” Uncle Koshiro was saying to the boys, “That he invited you because he wants a connection with you, however small. Despite the distance that’s grown between you, he still wants you in his family. And I think it was very noble of him to take this first step.”

The brothers scoffed and fell silent, but it was more of a pensive, considering silence than before.

“Yohoho!” Brook’s distinctive laughter burst through the speakers, “I hope everyone enjoyed their meal! Zoro and Sanji would like to give a special thanks to the All Blue and Baratie staff members who agreed to work the wedding instead of attending it, and yes, they're getting overtime pay for this.”

Cheers burst through the room, and Brook let them go for a bit before quieting everyone down again.

“Now we move on to the dance portion of the evening,” he extended his arm in a sweeping gesture towards the back deck, “If the happy couple would like to start us off?”

Zoro stood and offered Sanji his hand. Sanji took it with a grin, and the two walked out to the back deck.

With the doors open and the lights on, the dance floor was visible to everyone in the dining room. The sun was just starting to set, painting a beautiful background for the happy couple as they took their places for the first dance.

Brook began playing a soft, sweet melody, and the two began dancing.

“I don't want to set the world on fire,” Brook sang just as softly as the couple twirled around the dance floor, “I just want to start, a flame in your heart.”

Zoro and Sanji were smiling at each other as they circled the dance floor, eyes for no one but each other, looking completely and utterly smitten.

“In my heart I have but one desire, and that one is you.” Brook continued, “No other will do.”

And Tashigi must have grown a bit since high school, because the sight didn't make her want to puke. It was cute, she was happy for them.

“I’ve lost all ambition, for worldly acclaim, I just want to be the one you love.” Brook crooned sweetly, “And with your admission, that you feel the same, I’ll have reached the goal I’m dreaming of.”

It did make her wonder if Reiju was coming back soon.

“I don’t want to set the world on fire. I just want to start, a flame in your heart.”

The brothers were watching the dance along with everyone else, faces impassive and emotionless, but they remained silent as they put all their focus and attention on the couple, no derisive quips or mean barbs, which — considering how they'd been all night — was the most surprising part.

“You see, way down inside of me, Darlin' I have only one desire,” Brook spoke more than sang as Zoro and Sanji drifted even closer together, “And that one desire, is you. And I know, nobody else ain't gonna do.”

Tashigi glanced around for Reiju again, but still, nothing, and she tried to ignore her disappointment. When she glanced back, she noticed Yonji’s clenched fist and leg bouncing.

“I've lost all ambition, for worldly acclaim. I just want to be the one you love,” Brook sang again with the back up band this time, building up for the end, “And with your admission, that you feel the same, I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of. Believe me.”

Zoro whispered something to Sanji, which had him grinning like an idiot and pressing their foreheads together.

Movement caught the corner of her eye, Yonji standing quite suddenly and rushing away from the table, his face looking almost pained.

His brothers watched him for a moment, but made no move to follow.

Tashigi considered going to check on him, but before she could make a firm decision about it, she saw one of Luffy’s brothers — the blond one with the face scar, Sabo, she thought was his name — stand as well and follow after him.

She frowned as she wondered what that was all about, but turned back to the couple as the song came to its end.

“I don't want to set the world on fire,” Brook sang, holding the note out to give Zoro and Sanji a chance to finish up, “I just want to start…” A big crescendo as Zoro actually dipped Sanji, “A flame in your heart!”

Sanji laughed as Zoro righted him, the room bursting into applause and more than a few friendly catcalls.

The kitchen door opened, and Tashigi was delighted to see Reiju had come back. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she seemed to be trembling, but she took a few deep, steady breaths to calm herself before glancing around.

When her eyes found Tashigi’s, Tashigi gave her a little wave. Reiju smiled and waved back.

Zoro and Sanji kissed while Reiju made her way back to her seat, sliding into it with a tired sigh and a, “What did I miss?”

“The first dance,” she nodded to the dance floor, where Zoro was pulling away and Sora was making her way out next, “Yonji went somewhere, but I'm not sure why.”

Reiju hummed, tracing the rim of her wine glass, “Yes, I imagine this might be quite hard for him.”

“Hard?” Her brow furrowed, “Hard how?”

Reiju frowned, swirling her wine a bit as she considered her words carefully, “Our father has certain expectations of how men should be.” She dropped her voice so whatever words she said were between the two of them, “He expected my brothers to be perfectly logical and emotionless, in both life and love.”

“Oh,” Tashigi’s eyes darted between the remaining brother’s stony faces and Sanji so openly loving towards his husband, “I see.”

“Sanji obviously could never meet those expectations,” she sighed, sipping her wine, “I think Yonji struggled with them too. He and Sanji were quite close when they were younger, but after our mom left and my father made his opinion of Sanji very clear, that didn't last.”

“So he's…” Tashigi glanced to where Yonji had disappeared. She could see him in the vestibule sitting on one of the benches, his hands clenching his hair. Sabo was sitting next to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder as he talked to him, “Upset that Sanji’s so happy?”

Reiju followed her gaze, “I think…he's been realizing for a while now that our father is not the role model he should have been emulating. I think seeing Sanji so happy, getting everything he's ever wanted because he cut ties to our father so young, has made him realize just what he's missed out on.”

Sabo squeezed Yonji’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear that made him nod, and Tashigi looked away, giving them privacy.

“How, uh,” Tashigi tapped the table, “What did your father want?”

Reiju finished her wine before answering, “To be a miserable old man.”

Tashigi wanted to ask, but the look on her face made her decide otherwise.

“And now,” Brook said over the loudspeaker as Sora approached the couple, “for the mother and son dance.”

Zoro took Sora’s hand, bowing slightly as he kissed the back of it before he walked off, leaving her to her son as he returned to his seat. When he did, she turned to Sanji and took his hands.

Brook started up the new melody, an upbeat, sweeping tune this time, as Sanji and Sora began their dance.

“Come stop your crying, it’ll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight,” Brook sang as they swayed around the dance floor, “I will protect you, from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry.”

Despite the lyrics, Sora’s eyes began welling with tears. Sanji whispered something to her, and she nodded as they continued dancing.

“For one so small, you seem so strong. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm,” Brook continued, “This bond between us, can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry.”

Reiju stiffened a little, her fist tight against the tablecloth. Tashigi hesitated, but swallowed her doubts, blustering up enough nerve to lay her hand on top of hers.

Reiju startled, and looked down at their hands. She smiled as Tashigi caressed her knuckles, relaxing her hand enough for Tashigi to slip their fingers together.

“Cause you’ll be in my heart. Yes you’ll be in my heart,” Brook crooned as Sanji and Sora twirled around the dance floor, matching giddy smiles on their faces, even as the tears finally escaped her eyes, “From this day on, now and forever more.”

Reiju leaned back a little, her bare shoulder brushing up against Tashigi’s. Tashigi held her breath, trying her best not to move lest she ruin the moment.

Reiju was warm against her. It felt nice.

“You’ll be in my heart, no matter what they say,” Brook continued, “You’ll be in my heart, always.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the two remaining brothers shift, Niji to cross his arms, Ichiji to tap the table in front of him, as they watched their mother dance with their brother.

“Why can't they understand the way we feel?” Brook continued as Sanji swept his mother around the dance floor, holding her gently in his arms, ”They just don't trust, what they can't explain. I know we’re different but deep inside us, we're not that different at all.”

Ichiji’s tapping increased, his face pulling into a deep frown, the greatest emotion Tashigi had seen from him all night.

She considered asking if he was alright, but Reiju leaned even more against her, and she'd be damned if she did anything that would result in her pulling away.

“Don't listen to them, ‘cause what do they know?” Sora and Sanji continued their turn around the dance floor as Brook sang, “We need each other, to have, to hold. They’ll see in time, I know.”

Ichiji turned his head sharply towards the head table, where the rest of Zoro’s friends, the Dracules, and Zeff were still sitting.

He clenched his fist in his lap, and Tashigi wondered if she should be worried.

“When destiny calls you, you must be strong,” Brook sang as the music swelled.

Something resolved in Ichiji’s face, and he suddenly stood up.

“I may not be with you, but you’ve got to hold on.”

Ichiji made his way across the room to the head table, and stopped in front of Zeff.

“They’ll see in time, I know.”

If Ichiji was going to punch his step-father in the middle of his brother’s wedding, Tashigi had to stop him, no matter how good Reiju felt against her.

“We’ll show them together ‘cause-”

She shifted, preparing to stand to follow after him, but a light touch on her arm stopped her.

“It's fine,” Reiju whispered in her ear.

Tashigi kept watching warily. Ichiji’s fists were still clenched at his sides, but he began speaking with Zeff, the rest of the table too distracted by the dance to pay him much mind.

“You’ll be in my heart,” Brook sang as the music reached its crescendo, “Believe me, you'll be in my heart.”

Zeff smiled at Ichiji, gesturing to the empty chair next to him. Ichiji nodded as he sat down, still a little stiff, but Zeff hooked his good leg around the leg of the chair to drag him closer, startling him enough to make him blush.

“I'll be there from this day on, now and forever more!”

As they got to talking, Tashigi turned her attention back to the dance, where Sanji was leading Sora around the dance floor as if they were walking on air.

“You’ll be in, my heart, no matter what they say,” Brook sang, the music swelling to its conclusion as Sanji literally swept Sora off her feet, “You’ll be in my heart, always.”

Sora laughed as Sanji set her back down, giggling himself as Brook finished, “Just look over your shoulder, I’ll be there, always.”

Applause broke out when the song was over. Sanji leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheeks, whispering something in her ear that made her burst into tears and hold him tight.

Tashigi smiled at the display, touched by how much Sora cared for her son.

Her eyes darted over to Ichiji, who was deep in a conversation with Zeff. Zeff grinned wide at him, laughing at something he said, and a small but genuine smile crossed Ichiji’s face.

“He’s been having regrets too,” Reiju whispered in her ear.

“Huh?” Tashigi blinked and looked back to her.

“About leaving Zeff,” she clarified, gaze on her oldest brother, “With this whole,” she waved her hand in the air, “Wedding thing, I think he's starting to realize how little fathering our father actually did. I think he regrets never letting Zeff be that father, the way Sanji did.”

“Oh,” she frowned, feeling just a little sorry for the brothers, “It seems there are no hard feelings from Zeff.”

Reiju sighed and glanced away, “He always was the better man.”

By now, Sora and Sanji had pulled apart. As Sora wiped away the last of her eyes, she noticed Zoro and Mihawk making their way onto the dance floor. Sora grabbed Zoro into a tight hug as he passed her by, causing him to freeze awkwardly for a moment before he returned the hug.

Mihawk stared long and hard at Sanji before extending his hand. Sanji flashed him a nervous smile as he took it and gave it a firm shake.

With that settled, Sora returned to her seat, delighted to see Ichiji at their table now. She threw her arms around him, tears spilling over once more as Zeff grabbed an extra chair for her to sit in.

Back on the dance floor, Zoro and Mihawk were in position, standing on almost opposite sides, and it was then Tashigi noticed that Zoro had Kuina’s old sword, Wado Ichimonji, strapped to his waist, and Mihawk was sporting his own blackblade, Yoru.

“What are they up to?” Reiju voiced what she was thinking.

Brook started up with a triumphant trumpet to a Spanish beat. Mihawk stomped his foot, his hands flowing above his head and clapping sharply as Zoro turned his body towards him, his sword side facing away.

As Brook continued the lively tune, they stepped towards each other, slowly circling around the other. When the backing band kicked in, Zoro placed his hand on Mihawk’s shoulder, his one other falling into Mihawk’s open hand as he placed his other hand on Zoro’s upper back.

As the music picked up, they began moving around the dancefloor in tandem, Zoro flowing seamlessly around Mihawk’s lead.

Reiju leaned back into Tashigi’s space, “This is not your typical Father-Son dance, I think.”

“Yes,” Tashigi watched, transfixed as Mihawk spun Zoro,“But they’re not your typical Father-Son pair, I suspect.”

Their upper bodies remained completely parallel as they circled each other, never quite looking away, their swords never once touching, and she wasn’t sure if she was watching a dance or a spar.

“Damn,” Niji whistled low as they came back together, Mihawk dipping Zoro low enough so that he almost bent him in half. When he righted him, Zoro flowed under his arm and around his back with a twirl, “They’re just showing off now.”

“Oh?” Reiju raised a brow, “Didn’t know you appreciated a dance.”

“This ain’t a dance,” he insisted, his eyes glued to Mihawk and Zoro as they circled each other, the music softening into the chorus, “This is a fight.”

“Makes sense,” Luffy chimed in from his other side, “They’re trained fighters after all.”

Tashigi nodded, agreeing with his assessment, then did a double take, “When did you get here?”

“Just now,” Luffy said, munching on what looked like the remainder of Ichiji’s dessert, “Sanji told me to make sure there’s no leftovers. I’m just doing my part.”

The tempo picked up, the backing band increasing in ferocity as Mihawk and Zoro parted again. The band stopped suddenly, the whole room seemingly frozen in time, until Brook’s trumpet picked up again. When it did, Zoro stomped his foot, his hands flowing above his head until he clapped sharply.

The rest of the band came back in as Mihawk and Zoro moved towards each other once more, Brook’s trumpet solo shining above them. When they came together again, Mihawk placed his hand on Zoro’s shoulder this time, Zoro let his fall to Mihawk’s back, and Zoro took the lead.

With that their roles reversed, Mihawk flowing around Zoro now as Zoro spun him and guided him across the dance floor. Tashigi couldn’t look away, completely mesmerized by the spectacle.

The music reached its peak, Brook letting out one final lingering note, as Zoro brought Mihawk into a dip with a flourish, the song ending as the two caught their breath.

The room burst into applause, some people giving them standing ovations.

Tashigi was quite impressed. She knew Zoro was one hell of a fighter — the number of times he'd beaten her were proof enough — but she never considered he could take those skills and use them for something softer like a dance.

She was a terrible dancer after all, too clumsy with two left feet, and for whatever reason she figured Zoro would be the same.

But that dance was beautiful. And rather than be discouraged by Zoro’s hidden talents, she felt a fire being lit in her.

Why couldn't she dance too? Why couldn't she do anything Zoro could?

Maybe she could beat him like Kuina did, maybe she could find someone to love who loved her too.

She glanced at Reiju, who was clapping along with the rest of the crowd, and blushed.

“Damn,” Niji said again as he leaned back in his seat, “That was impressive. Wish I could do that.”

“Why can't you?” Luffy asked, as blunt as ever.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Niji scoffed, “Men don't dance.”

Reiju sighed and rubbed her temple, and for her sake Tashigi held back a scathing comment about gender stereotypes.

Luffy simply tilted his head, “Zoro and Mihawk are both men, and they did it. So that's not really a reason.”

Niji growled, “Vinsmoke men don't dance.”

“Well that's dumb,” Luffy sad as he finished Ichiji’s cake in one bite, “Says who.”

“Says everybody.”

“Well, I'm not saying it, and I'm somebody,” Luffy stared at him hard, “So who really says?”

Niji ground his teeth so hard Tashigi could practically hear it, “My father says.”

“Oh,” Luffy frowned, “Do you always do everything your father tells you to?”

Niji looked taken aback for a moment, then snarled as he opened his mouth to answer.

But he froze, his mouth slowly closing, and instead huffed as he leaned back in his chair.

“So what if I do?” He snapped, defensive, “Is it the worst thing in the world to listen to your father?”

“While deference to your parents is a noble quality,” Uncle Koshiro chimed in, “Any parent’s goal should be to prepare their children for standing on their own two feet, and being their own person.”

“I don't know about any of that,” Luffy said with a frown, “But if your dad is Sanji’s old dad, then I know he's a sh*thead. He sounds like a sh*thead even if he isn’t, so you shouldn't listen to him anyway.”

Niji could only stare at him, completely flummoxed. Reiju hid her tittering laugh behind a sip of wine, but Tashigi was close enough to catch the gorgeous smile out of the corner of her eye.

“You should do things because you want to,” Luffy continued, “Not because your father tells you to. If you want to dance, you should dance!”

“And now,” Brook’s voice sounded over the speakers again, “Zoro and Sanji would like to invite everyone to join them on the dance floor.”

“See? Perfect timing,” Luffy laughed as he stood up, grabbing Niji’s hand to pull him up too, “Let's dance.”

“But – what – wait –” but any and all of Niji’s protests were cut off in the face of Luffy's enthusiasm as he dragged him out to the dance floor.

Reiju burst into a full bodied laugh that had her bending over the table.

“Well,” she said she calmed down, wiping a steady tear from her eye as she turned back to Tashigi, “That was unexpected, but it should be good for him. He needs to learn to break away from our father's shadow and expectations.”

“I’m glad,” she said as she watched Niji get dragged away, “I’m glad they’re healing.”

She turned back to Reiju, wondering after what her brothers were apparently going through how she was taking, well, everything, “How are you holding up?”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. How presumptuous they were! Reiju was an adult, and could clearly take care of herself, and who the hell was Tashigi to her anyway, and-

Reiju smiled, a true smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes, “You know, I don’t think anyone’s asked me that in a long time.”

“Oh, uh,” she winced, “Sorry?”

“Don't be,” she shook her head, “It's nice, I guess, to have someone worry about me for once.”

She placed her hand on Tashigi’s and gave it a squeeze, sending a jolt of heat through her.

“Hey,” Reiju said as she leaned in closer, her lips only inches away from Tashigi’s, “Do you want to dance?”

Tashigi swallowed thickly, sure her face was as red as her dress as she quickly glanced over at her Uncle.

Uncle Koshiro made shooing motions with his hand, insisting she go dance, as if the answer was that obvious.

“I’ll understand if you don’t,” Reiju continued before she could respond, pulling away with a shrug, “I mean, you’ve just gotten a taste of what my family is like, and it’s a mess.” She gripped her own arm, “I’m a mess, so if you don’t want-”

Tashigi cut her off with a sharp kiss to her lips.

She pulled away quickly and stood up, holding out her hand to Reiju with more confidence than she felt, “Y-yeah. Yes. I want to. Let's dance.”

Reiju smiled as she took her hand.

As they made their way to the dance floor, she caught sight of Zoro off to the side, catching his breath after his dance with Mihawk. Sanji was talking with his mother, Zeff, and Ichiji, leaving Zoro by himself, if only for a moment.

If the Vinsmokes could realize what was missing from their lives and take steps to fix, maybe she could too.

“I’ll be right back,” she gave Reiju’s hand a squeeze before she pulled away, “I just need to talk to someone really quick.”

Reiju followed her gaze and, after spotting Zoro, nodded, “Okay, I'll be waiting.”

Tashigi gave her a smile before making her way over to Zoro.

“Hey,” she said, startling him a little, but he smiled wide when he saw it was her.

“Hey,” he gave her a nod, “Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said, picking at her fingernails, “Uh, and I just wanted to apologize.”

That earned her a frown, “For what?”

“For cutting you off after Kuina died,” she said in a rush, surprising him, “For not reaching out ever. For pushing you away in high school. I know we're not really family, but I know I'm all you really have of your birth family, and I'm sorry I kinda…” she grimaced, clutching her arm as she looked away, “abandoned you too.”

“I never thought you abandoned me,” he said softly, rubbing the back of his head as he looked away, “Was I upset you never reached out to me in high school? Yeah, but I can acknowledge now that's mostly my fault for being so,” he waved his hand, “Fighty and aggressive about it.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, recalling how he'd try and fight her every other day about one thing or another, “That's one word for it.”

He chuckled, “In my defense, it did land me a husband. But I can see why you wouldn't bother,” he shrugged, frowning as he ran a hand through his hair, “We were never that close, we only really knew each other because of Kuina, and with her gone…”

He heaved a sigh and looked up at her, “I am really glad you came today.”

“I'm glad I came too,” she reached out, her fingers brushing the hilt of the sword still strapped to his waist, “And I'm glad you let her be a part of today. She would have liked that.”

Zoro smiled then, a wide beaming thing that made her smile in response, “Thanks.”

She nodded, her hand falling away.

“And sorry we had to stick you with the Vinsmokes,” Zoro said, “It probably wasn't fun, but no one here could handle them better than you and Uncle Koshiro.”

“Oh I don't know,” she laughed, glancing towards the edge of the dance floor where Reiju was waiting, “They weren't all that bad.”

Zoro laughed when he saw where she was looking, “You know, if you meet someone at a wedding, odds are good you’ll marry them.”

“What?” She blushed, turning back to him with a scowl, “Stop making things up!”

“I'm just saying,” he laughed louder, “If you do marry her, we’ll be in-laws again.”

She huffed as she crossed her arms, but a smile slowly crept on her face, “I guess being siblings-in-law and cousins-in-law would make us officially family.”

“Must be,” he smiled back, “Twice in-lawed must mean something.”

Her arms fell away, and she had the sudden urge to reach out and hug him, but held herself back.

He had no such reservations, pulling her into a tight full bodied hug.

“I am really happy you could make it,” he said in her ear.

“I'm happy I could be here,” she said as she returned the hug.

He pat her back as they separated, “Now go on. Your girlfriend is waiting.”

“Not my girlfriend,” she said, then gave him a wry smirk, “At least not yet.”

He laughed, and she gave him one last wave as she went back to Reiju, intending to spend the rest of the night right beside her.

Sanji looked good dancing with Zoro. He looked happy, which was the most important part.

He'd been happy all day, which, in Zeff’s opinion, made the last few months of fretting over this damn thing worth it.

Ichiji coming to him, to apologize for things Zeff never blamed him for, touched him very deeply. And after ten long years, he finally got to talk with his son.

Overall, it had been a very good day.

And just one thing had the power to bring it down.

“Father is here,” Ichiji admitted softly after the dancing was well underway, “Caesar too. Apparently Sanji’s friends are making them wait out back…” He clenched his fist and looked away, “Still, what a pathetic display.”

Zeff frowned at the word choice, a bit too like Judge for his tastes, no matter how accurate they were, “He here to cause trouble?”

“Undoubtedly,” Ichiji shook his head, “He can't take no for an answer, and he just doesn't know when to give up.”

“Those traits you admire about him?”

Ichiji glanced at him, looking more than a little lost, “I…I used to. I thought that's what it took to be a man,” he looked down and clenched his fists, “To be someone worthy. But I've realized lately that he's nothing but a cold shell of a man. All the money and power in the world, and still he has nothing.”

He sighed and shook his head, “And I realized that emulating him has done nothing but make me an empty shell of a person.”

He glanced up again, “I look at you and Sanji…you have your spouses, you have your restaurants. You have love and you have your dreams. You have more than Father as ever had. You have everything.”

“You can have it all too,” Zeff assured him, giving him a firm pat on his shoulder, “It's not too late, Chili Pepper.”

Ichiji’s lips twitched at the old childhood nickname, and Zeff relished the small smile that formed on his face.

“I…thanks,” he glanced up at Zeff, “I’m just…I wasted so much time already.”

“You're doing good, kid,” Zeff squeezed his shoulder to assure him, “You're starting down a good path. You’ll get to where you need to be eventually.” He shrugged and leaned back in his seat, “And if you want to start making it up, how about dinner Sunday night?”

Ichiji’s brow furrowed, and Zeff almost snorted from how perplexed he looked, “Sunday night?”

“That's when Sanji and his lettuce-head always come over for dinner,” he explains with a grunt, “Of course they’ll be on their honeymoon this Sunday, and I'm sure your mother will get mighty lonely without them. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you stopped by. And if you wanted to make it a weekly thing, well,” he shrugged, “We sure wouldn't complain.”

“Yeah…” the corner of his mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile, “Yeah, I'd like that.”

Sora returned then with three glasses of wine, placing two in front of them before sitting next to Ichiji, sipping from the last one.

“So, what have you boys been talking about?” She said, her smile wide and sunny.

Zeff clapped Ichiji on the shoulder, “The Chili Pepper agreed to come to dinner this Sunday.”

“Really?” Sora’s smile grew as she turned her delighted eyes to her son, “That's wonderful! Oh we’ll be so happy to have you!”

“Yeah,” Ichiji smiled at his mother, a gentle smile that Zeff didn't think he'd ever seen from him before, “I’m happy to come.”

Zeff knew his presence wasn't needed here. If there was one thing Ichiji needed, it was alone time with his mom.

Zeff stood up, gave Ichiji one last pat on the back, kissed his wife’s cheek, and left them alone to talk for a bit.

His gaze caught the entrance to the back deck, where he could see Niji struggling to keep up with whatever Luffy was doing, Reiju dancing much closer to Zoro’s cousin than the song called for, and Yonji and Sabo off to the side, in the middle of an animated conversation.

His eyes eventually landed on Sanji, who was dancing happily with his husband, his arms draped over his shoulders as he laughed loudly at something Zoro said.

Happiness was a good look on him.

Zeff’s mood darkened when he remembered that Judge tried to take that look from him, was still hanging around waiting for the chance to.

Not if he could help it.

He took one last look at Sora and Ichiji, too caught in their own conversation to notice what he was up to, and made his way to the kitchen.

The cooks looked up when he entered, but quickly went back to their own tasks, which, now that dinner was over, was mostly cleaning the kitchen. They saw the dark, determined look on his face and immediately put their heads down and got back to work, not wanting to get involved in whatever had him so worked up.

Zeff made his way towards the backdoor, and spotted two takeout containers in a bag on the counter.

He pointed at it and asked the nearest chef, “Is this for the intruders?”

“Yes,” she groaned, scrubbing extra hard at her station, “I've been trying to give it to them for f*cking hours but they refuse to budge until they speak with Sanji.”

“They've tried to come back into the kitchen like three times,” the kid stuck in the dish pit griped, “Jinbei managed to scare them back out. I think Chopper has eyes on the front door so they don't sneak in that way, and you know Robin is always watching.”

“Good,” Zeff grunted, grabbing bag as he headed for the door, “Let's get these bastards out of here.”

He nudged the door open with his prosthetic and stomped his way onto the back dock.

It didn't take long to find them. Judge was standing right outside the door, looking like quite the sight fuming in his fine suit next to the dumpsters housing the rest of All Blue’s trash. Caesar was leaning against the restaurant wall, clearly bored out of his mind.

They both turned when he stepped outside.

“You,” Judge spat out, as if his mere existence was a curse, “What do you want?”

Zeff held out the bag, “Your food is ready. You can f*ck off now.”

Judge crossed his arms and snarled, “I'm not leaving until I see my son.”

Zeff glared at him, giving him his meanest look, “The three sons you do still have are too busy enjoying their brother’s wedding, one which, need I remind you, you were not invited to.”

Judge growled low, “You think you're so high and mighty, don't you? You are nothing compared to me, Zeff Black. I have money, I have power, I have authority. If I want something I can get it like that.” He snapped his fingers in Zeff’s face, and laughed, “And what are you? Just some useless cook with a rundown restaurant, content with my bitch of an ex wife and my useless failure of a son.”

Zeff’s kicks weren't as strong as they were in his youth, between his old age making him unstable and the missing leg, but he still packed more than enough power to send Judge Vinsmoke to his knees after one jab to his stomach.

Judge let out a very satisfying gasp as he clutched his stomach, keeling over enough to fall to one knee.

“If you ever,” Zeff growled as he stepped towards him, “Speak about my wife and my son that way a second time, I will personally make it so you can't say anything ever again. Okay?”

He held out the bag again, “Take your food and get lost.”

Judge snarled as he stood back up, but thankfully held his rancid tongue as he clenched his fists at his sides. Caesar stepped forward and grabbed the bag from him, immediately darting behind the larger man.

“C’mon,” Caesar whined as he tugged on the back of his jacket, “I'm cold, bored, and hungry. Let's just get out of here.”

Judge huffed, and turned around in a flourish, “Let’s go. We have better things to do than talk with peasants.”

Zeff shook his head as he walked away, “I’ll never understand you.”

“What?” Judge huffed as he cast a derisive look over his shoulder, “You can’t understand success? You can’t understand wealth or power?” He smirked, “You can’t understand what it takes to be anything other than a miserable failure?”

“You had the greatest wife and the greatest kid on the whole damn planet, and you tossed them aside like they were nothing,” Zeff crossed his arms, “You still have four great kids that — from what I’ve come to understand — you’ve proceeded to push away the second they started thinking for themselves. You could have had a happy, beautiful family, if you just treated them like they deserved. You could have had everything.” He shook his head, “I just don’t get it. What does being miserable get you? What can all your money and power buy you when you’re nothing but a sad, pitiful, and lonely man?”

A vein in Judge’s forehead twitched, and Zeff half wondered if his head would explode. He snatched the bag of food from Caesar and marched over to the dumpster, tossing the entire thing inside.

“Noooo,” Caesar cried out as he stared forlornly at the dumpster, “My shrimp puffs…”

“It seems we still don’t have our food,” Judge growled as he turned back to him, “I am not leaving until I get it or I see Sanji.”

Zeff’s eye twitched, but he kept the rest of his face perfectly calm, “You’re not getting any more food out of All Blue after that stunt, and you’re not going to see Sanji. He’s too busy living a life without you in it.”

With his piece said, he turned around and stomped back towards the door.

“Wait just a second.”

Zeff tilted his head to show he was listening, not giving him the satisfaction of his full attention, “Huh?”

“What do you gain from this?” Judge said, an icy edge to his voice, “From taking in my castoffs, from having my leftovers. What could possibly be it for you?”

“What a stupid question,” Zeff scoffed as he continued his march to the door, “I gain a family.”

Judge snarled as Zeff went back inside and slammed the door shut behind him.

Zeff immediately flipped the lock on the door as he turned a stern eye to the gathered chefs, who were doing their best to pretend like they hadn't listened in on every word.

“They don't get any more food,” he told them, his eyes roaming over each of them to make sure they understood, “If they try to come back in, kill ‘em and grill ‘em.”

“Yes, Chef!” They all shouted in unison as they got back to work.

The mood of the kitchen relaxed with his statement, and, job done here, Zeff made his way back to the party.

He glanced around as he went back over to the table. Yonji was seated at Sabo’s table now, talking with him and Ace, but Sabo’s hand was resting comfortably on his arm. Reiju was still dancing with Zoro’s cousin, to a slower song this time, and they were even closer for it. Niji had finally escaped Luffy and was taking a break from dancing, but now found himself in a conversation with Robin and Franky instead.

Sanji was sitting with Zoro, sipping champagne as he grinned at something he said, looking the happiest he'd ever looked.

Ichiji was still talking to his mom, tears in his eyes as he whispered something to her. Sora said something back, her thumb wiping away his tears as she kissed his forehead.

Zeff cleared his throat as he approached the table, “Everything good?”

Sora leaned up to plant a soft kiss on his cheek as Ichiji turned to wipe away his eyes.

“Yeah,” Ichiji said as he sat down, “Everything’s good.”

Sora beamed at him as he sat down, her smile putting every star in the sky to shame, and he fell that much more in love with her. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, rubbing a rough thumb over the soft skin there and marveled at how lucky he was to have such a wonderful woman in his life.

Sora gave his hand a squeeze as she reached out to grab Ichiji’s too, “Everything is great.”

That was all Zeff needed to hear.

The door slammed behind Zeff, leaving Caesar and Judge shivering out in the cold.

“Fantastic,” Caesar groaned as Judge tried the doorknob.

Locked, of course. Zeff was many things, but contrary to what Judge said he wasn't a complete idiot. Unlike some other men who were previously married to Sora.

Judge growled at the door — which did nothing to resolve their situation of being cold and hungry — and turned in a huff.

“Let's go,” Caesar insisted again as he rubbed his arms, “We've wasted the whole day on this stupidity. Let's just go home, get some wine, and pretend this whole thing never happened.”

Judge turned his hateful glare towards him, then stormed over and shoved him hard in the chest, “This stupidity was your idea!”

Caesar scowled as he rubbed his chest. It had seemed like a fun time back when he'd first proposed the idea — he’d get to see Sanji’s face go from pure joy to abject misery at their mere presence on his 'special day,’ get to rub it in Sora’s face how totally fine he was with her married to a chef, even get some delicious All Blue food out of it — but the reality of it all was just plain boring.

Thanks to Judge’s incompetence, Sanji hadn't even seen them. The only food they had been offered, his beloved husband had turned away, and when they did finally get their hands on some, the f*cker tossed it right in the dumpster.

Caesar had half a mind to toss him in the dumpster too, and at least get some enjoyment out of today.

But Judge’s stubbornness would always be his undoing. The day had been a complete loss, but instead of admitting it and cutting their losses when they were manageable, they were here.

In the cold.

Outside one of the most high end restaurants on the coast, with a reputation for never letting people go hungry.

Hungry.

“Why don't you do something useful for once,” Judge growled as he gestured towards the door, “And get us inside?”

“Excuse me?” Caesar narrowed his eyes as he took a dangerous step towards him, “Who was it that found a way into the wedding, even though one of us was too stupid to figure it out? Who got them to let us stick around instead of being arrested for trespassing?”

Caesar shoved at Judge’s shoulder, but the large bastard was too stubborn to even move, “Why don't you do something useful for once and go drown in the ocean!”

Judge snarled, his fists clenching at his sides, but he knew better than to hit someone who hit back and fought dirty.

“Useless,” Judge scoffed, bumping his shoulder hard as he walked past him, “You’re no better than the others.”

Caesar rubbed his shoulder as he glared after his husband, then turned around with a huff as he marched over to the far side of the dock.

He glared out over the ocean, wondering where in his life he’d gone wrong to end up in this situation.

He heard a light musical laugh, and his eyes were drawn to the brightly lit deck.

As if answering his unasked question, he saw Sora smiling and laughing with her brute of a husband, the moonlight making her shine. Their dancing was subpar at best — no doubt due to that chef’s missing leg — but even so, even as they were shuffling around with no poise or grace to speak of, Sora looked happy. She looked beautiful, like there was nowhere else in the world she’d rather be than there in that moment.

Nearby, little Sanji was dancing with his green husband, smiling and laughing as well, looking so much like his mother it wasn’t really fair.

He wondered, for a moment, what it would be like to belong with them. If he had managed to win Sora’s heart, if this was his son’s wedding. If that was his family.

Would he be happier, with a spouse who actually loved him and wasn’t just using him? Would he be more than a cold, miserable man? Would he be a different person if he fell asleep next to someone he loved instead of someone he fantasized about stabbing every night?

Would he like himself better?

What an asinine thought, he scoffed.

He wouldn't be better, he decided, if his life had gone that way. He'd be some crummy two-bit science teacher in a rundown shack instead of where he was now.

Which was performing off the book experiments in one of the most prestigious labs in the world.

It wasn't his dream, it wasn't where he thought his ambitions would land him, but surely it was better.

Wasn't it?

The sound of heavy footsteps indicated his husband’s arrival, and Caesar rolled his eyes before he even said anything.

“I can reach them from here,” he said as he crossed his arms, “Just one shout to get their attention, they'll see me and know I'm still here, and-”

Caesar growled and shoved him hard in the small of his back, causing him to lose balance and topple into the ocean below.

“What a useless sack of sh*t you are, Sweetums,” Caesar growled as he bubbled back up to the surface, “can't even keep me entertained for a day.”

“You f*cking imbecilic wretch!” Judge spat back up at him.

Caesar rolled his eyes, “Like I haven't heard that one before.”

He watched Judge flail around for a bit before that too got dull, “This is pathetic. You're pathetic.”

“You put me in here you little-”

“I'm taking the car and I'm going home.” He stated as he checked his pockets to make sure he did in fact have the keys, “Actually I’m getting myself dinner first, since you've failed step one of your goddamn job by not even providing me that, then I’m going home.”

“And what am I supposed to do?” Judge growled as he swam around, trying to find some way back onto the dock.

“Freeze to death I suppose, leaving me full control of your labs and all your billions,” he shrugged as he turned around, “It’ll be the most useful thing you've done for me.”

“Get back here you rabid sh*tstain!” Judge barked, but Caesar was already ignoring him.

Actually, that inheritance scheme was sounding better and better. He idly wondered if he upped the potassium chloride he was injecting him with every night just to see if he'd notice how long it would take to induce a heart attack.

Would it kill Judge faster than whatever Judge was doing to him?

He smirked as he unlocked the car and settled into the driver’s seat.

That was the perk of being a scientist with no scruples married to a scientist with no scruples, he supposed. Free lab rats whenever you wanted them.

He chuckled to himself as he started the car.

He couldn't wait to see the results of this experiment.

As much as Zoro wanted the night to last forever, all things must come to an end, including their wedding.

They'd said goodbye to the last of their guests, finally seeing off a tipsy Vivi and a sober Nami who assured them they would get home just fine. Brook and the rest of his band had finished packing up all their things, and the vast majority of the staff had left too, leaving just a couple of closers to finish off the night.

Sanji had gone to the kitchen to see if the remaining staff needed anything, leaving Zoro alone in the restaurant.

He sighed as he loosened his tie, placed Wado on an empty seat, and sat down. It had been a fun day, but an exhausting one. He might need to sleep a week before heading on their honeymoon.

Sanji came out of the kitchen holding a plate, Luffy’s hat having migrated to his head, with the staff trailing behind him. They began their cleaning of the dining room and putting everything back in order for the morning shift.

Zoro was always impressed by how quickly they worked whenever he stayed late waiting for Sanji. They were no different tonight, despite the party being bigger than a normal late night crowd at All Blue, and talked easily amongst themselves as they got to work.

Sanji scooped up Wado as he collapsed into the chair next to him, looking absolutely exhausted but incredibly content as he ate a bite of cake.

“There was still cake left?” He asked, his head listing a little from his own exhaustion, his fingers playing with the buttons on Luffy’s borrowed vest, “Surprised Luffy didn't finish it.”

“He tried. I had the staff tuck a bit away beforehand just for us.” Sanji grinned at him, one of his best smiles that made him look ten years younger, “We can't not have cake at our own wedding.”

He put Wado in his lap as he rested his feet in Zoro’s, and without even thinking about it, Zoro removed his shoes and began massaging them, like he did whenever Sanji came home after a long shift.

Sanji moaned, either at the taste of the cake or his ministrations or both, and began to practically melt in his seat, still making sure to keep a tight grip on Wado so she didn’t slip.

“So good,” he said as he took another bite, “Everyone was raving about it, you know.”

“Not surprised,” Zoro said as he gave him a soft smile, “Everything you make is delicious.”

Sanji’s cheek turned pink, his whole demeanor softening for it, and Zoro knew there was nowhere else in the world he’d rather be than right here, married to Sanji.

“Here,” Sanji got a small piece on the fork and held it out for him, “Try some.”

Zoro leaned forward, wrapping his lips around the fork and snagging the bite right off it. As he pulled away and turned it over his tongue, he was hit by a delicious mixture of coconut and cinnamon that made him moan in surprise, “You went with coconut?”

“Yep,” Sanji grinned as he took another bite, “I know you don't like sweet things, but I wanted you to be able to enjoy your own wedding cake.”

Zoro leaned over and kissed his cheek, “How did I end up so lucky to get you as a husband?”

“Good clean living,” Sanji chuckled as he set the plate aside to put his hand on top of Zoro's where it still lay on his calf, “Honestly though, I still think I’ve got the better end of the deal here.”

Zoro chuckled, his thumb stroking the back of his leg, “Maybe we’re both lucky to have found each other.”

Sanji hummed as he leaned his head against his hand, “I like that thought.”

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a moment, Zoro continuing his massage, until Sanji spoke up again, “Hey, Zoro?”

Zoro hummed to let him know he was listening, and looked up to see him hiding his face behind his hand.

Sanji pulled his hand down to peer at him through his fingers, his smile big and bright, “I'm really happy right now. I think this is the happiest I've ever been in my life.”

And what was Zoro supposed to do with that but lean in and kiss him.

“I'll make sure to top it,” he said as he pulled away, “Every day, every second, every moment we're married will be happier than the last.”

Sanji chuckled, his thumb coming up to brush some stray cake crumbs from the corner of his lips.

“I'll just have to make you even happier,” Sanji said with a grin, thumb shifting to stroke Zoro’s cheek, “I’ll make you the happiest man who ever lived.”

“You already do,” Zoro said as he leaned into his touch.

Sanji sighed as he leaned in, pressing their foreheads together, “I love you so much.”

“Not as much as I love you,” Zoro answered, placing Wado carefully on the table as he pulled Sanji fully into his lap.

Sanji went easily, melting fully against him as he relaxed completely.

The staff was finishing up their cleaning, circling their table as they dealt with what was left of the mess. Zoro stroked Sanji’s back as he watched him, feeling his breath even out a little, and said, “Hey.”

Sanji hummed to let him know he was still awake, so Zoro continued, “Today was a good day.”

“Today was the best day,” Sanji murmured against the side of his neck, then leaned up and kissed his cheek, “Thanks for marrying me.”

“Anytime,” Zoro chuckled as he scooped up his husband and grabbed his sword, letting the staff clean the last table as he made his way to their room upstairs, “I think it's time we began the wedding night.”

Sanji hummed again, nuzzling the crook of his neck, “The fun part.”

Sanji shifted his head, his bangs falling away and giving Zoro a rare look at both his eyes as he smiled softly, “And then the rest of our lives.”

Zoro kissed then, tasting that smile for himself, the truth of those words giving him a thrill.

“And then the rest of our lives.”