Chapter Text
Sanji started shucking off his clothes as soon as he got back to his hotel room, carefully avoiding his nose in the process. He'd already gotten blood on his jersey from the initial bleed; he didn't want to risk catching it and getting more. He really hoped the blood would come out; he'd just bought this jersey at the start of the season.
Stupid muscle-headed idiot. With his stupid big muscles and his stupid shirt that was definitely 2 sizes too small.
He threw his clothes on the floor as he made his way to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
He couldn't help but remember the way the muscles in Zoro's arm had flexed as he'd moved to block Sanji's kick and how solid his arm had felt when they connected. He hadn't even flinched.
Sanji had never wanted someone to throw him around so badly in his entire life. And he knew Zoro could do it too. He'd seen enough to know his muscles definitely weren't all just for show.
He stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run down his face and his body.
He ran his hands over his own chest; he wondered what Zoro's chest would feel like. Would it be tight and firm like his arms had been? Or would it be softer and more malleable beneath his grasping hands? He licked his lips as he pictured Zoro's bronze skin spilling between his fingers.
He let one of his hands trail lower, picturing Zoro in front of him, warm, thick hands running over his body.
He gasped as he finally wrapped his hand around his hard, aching dick.
Zoro was on his knees now, looking up at Sanji with that smug little smirk of his. Still a little shit, even when he's on his knees.
“That all you got, Curly?”
“Do you ever shut your fucking mouth?”
Even in his imagination the man was a brat.
“If you want me to shut up, why don't you make me?”
Sanji threaded his fingers through Zoro's hair, gripping it and tugging, causing a gasp to fall from his lips.
His hand working furiously over his own length as his fantasy continued.
“On second thought, maybe you should keep it open.”
His hand trailed from Zoro's hair to his jaw, and he pressed his thumb between Zoro's lips and past his teeth. Zoro bit down gently on the pad of his thumb, his eyes still locked on Sanji's, a hint of fire dancing in his steel gray iris.
“Tch. Watch the teeth, Mossy.”
Zoro smiled around his thumb, flashing his teeth at Sanji before opening his mouth a little more, allowing Sanji to push his thumb in further, pressing down on his tongue. He pulled down on Zoro's jaw, encouraging him to open it further, and Zoro obliged, his tongue following Sanj's thumb out of his mouth to rest on his lower lip. Mouth open and waiting, eyes still boring into Sanji.
Sanji groaned as he imagined finally feeding his length into Zoro's mouth. He closed his eyes tighter, trying to imagine the hot water flowing over him was the other man's mouth. Hot and wet as Zoro's lips stretched around him.
“Fuck. This is definitely a much better use of your mouth.”
Sanji tightened his fist as he imagined Zoro growling at that comment, the sound travelling up his throat and causing a zing of pleasure in Sanji's gut.
Fuck, he really wasn't going to last long.
He moved his hand back to Zoro's head, gripping his hair and pulling him off.
“Keep your mouth open.”
He worked his hand over himself a couple more times as Zoro stayed where he'd left him, eyes closed and mouth opened. It only took a couple more strokes before he was cumming, white threads of cum covering Zoro's face and dripping into his open mouth. Zoro's tongue poked out, trying to lick up any bit that he could.
Then there was water running over Zoro's face and washing away every trace of the man as Sanji’s eyes blinked open and he was alone in his shower again. He watched as the water ran over the tiles, washing away the last of his spend.
He let out a frustrated groan as he shut off the water and climbed out of the shower.
He slipped on his pajamas and climbed into bed. Sleep was already tugging at him once his head hit the pillow.
He couldn't believe he'd just done that. But damn, did it feel good. Hopefully that got it all out of his system. He couldn't afford to be hung up on some moronic asshole 49ers fan.
— — —
What a waste of a question. Zoro hadn't even been sure if HE was going to come out next Saturday. The last week of the year was usually full of throwaway games and bad teams just wanting to play spoiler. But now he didn't really have a choice, did he?
Granted, if the Niners win Monday, the Rams/Seahawks game could determine the winner of their division. So that could at least be a good game.
Zoro enjoyed the cool night air as they walked back to Wyper’s place. It was only about a five-minute walk from the bar.
It had been a long night, and exhaustion was starting to set in, but there was an undercurrent of something else that had been simmering under the surface since his and Sanji's fight.
He may not necessarily like the other man, but you'd have to be blind to not see that he was attractive. And he could fight; they hadn't really gotten a chance to exchange real blows, but he knew he'd make a good sparring partner; those kicks could be deadly. Just the kinda thing Zoro liked. His blood raced a little at the memory of the flexibility and ease of Sanji's kicks, causing him to heat up even more.
He knew exactly what he'd do about it if he were at his own place, but since he was staying at Wyper's, he definitely wouldn't be doing that.
If he was being honest with himself, he'd almost been tempted to ask if Sanji would take him home, but he'd been able to push back that desire. The guy was an asshole… and a Rams fan. He had to keep reminding himself of that fact; otherwise he might do something stupid, like actually start liking the guy.
He'd hoped the cool air would make quick work of the heat in his veins, but it was still there when he walked through Wyper's front door.
“Hey, you cool if I take a quick shower?”
“Go right ahead; there's towels in the closet by the bathroom. I'm gonna call it a night.”
“Thanks. I'll probably turn in after my shower. Good night.”
“Night.”
Wyper made his way into his room, and Zoro made his way to the spare bedroom to grab a change of clothes before grabbing a towel and heading into the bathroom.
There was blood all over the collar of his shirt. He'd probably just toss the thing. He pulled it off and threw it on the floor. He was about to turn to the shower when his gaze caught on the mirror, and he stared at his reflection and the jagged scar across his chest.
He shook his head against the memories threatening to break to the surface and tore his gaze away.
He turned the shower on to the coldest setting as he removed the rest of his clothes. Hopefully the cold shower would chase away not just the lingering arousal but also the hints of his past.
— — —
Sanji's alarm blared to life the next morning, and he groggily grabbed his phone off the nightstand to shut it off.
He flipped on the TV for background noise as he started getting ready for checkout. He hadn't decided if he'd go to the bar again for today’s games, but based on Zoro's question last night, he wouldn't be there anyway, so he may as well head home.
As the TV announcers went over the games from the previous day and their playoff implications, his mind was brought back to yesterday, when Zoro had stormed out of the bar.
He's not sure what prompted him to try it, but he found himself reaching for his phone and pulling up the search app.
He took a seat on the bed and typed in ‘Zoro football California’. It was a pretty unique name, so he'd probably get some results, maybe some high school stats or even a year or two of college, but that wasn't what he found.
He clicked the first link.
“Career Over Before It's Begun? Top Football Prospect, Zoro Roronoa, Injured in Accident.”
He read over the article’s detailing of Zoro's high school career. He'd apparently played tight end, just like the man whose jersey he'd been wearing the first day they met. He'd been one of the biggest players in Southern California, if not the whole state.
Scouts from every college worth playing football for attended every one of his games that year. He'd had offers from all of the biggest schools; the article said his most likely destination would have been USC.
There’d even been rumors of NFL scouts showing up as well to decide how much attention they wanted to give to the boy’s college career.
Based on the year this came out, Sanji would have been in his first year of college already, making Zoro a year or so younger than him. If Sanji had paid attention to college football, he probably would have heard about him. Sanji had been across the country that year as well. Knee deep in his first year of culinary school, he definitely hadn't had time to look up football players going into college.
It was a car accident. Zoro had been on his way home from a meeting with one of the scouts when a car crossed the centerline, forcing his car off the road. His vehicle had rolled, causing a severe injury to his chest, and the front of the car had been smashed in, crushing his legs and apparently almost severing both feet at the ankle.
He'd had to be cut out of the wreckage and life-flighted to the nearest hospital. With the damage to his legs alone, he'd probably need years of physical therapy to get back to where he'd been, and there was no telling what lasting damage would be caused by the injury to his chest.
It didn't go into much detail on the damage done to his chest, but it must have been pretty bad.
He glanced at the picture in the article showing a young boy with sandy brown hair; it was almost hard to tell that it was the same person, except the cocky smirk was the exact same.
Sanji sat there quietly as he took in the information. Sure, he hadn't known, but Zoro had told him to back off multiple times. And instead, he'd doubled down each time.
God, he felt like such an asshole now.
— — —
Zoro had the nightmare again that night. The sound of breaking glass and crunching metal. The flashing and screaming of sirens. It had been a few years since he'd last had it, but it was still just as vivid. He knew he'd tossed and turned all night, waking up in a cold sweat more than once. The gash in his lip had reopened at some point during the night.
He stood in front of the mirror the next morning. A wet rag in hand, trying to wash away the blood from his lip. He felt more exhausted than he had when he went to bed.
He hadn't realized how hard he'd been pressing on his lip until he felt the warmth of fresh blood flowing over his chin. It wasn't even that bad of a split, but lip wounds seemed to bleed way more than they should.
He tossed the rag into the hamper with a huff and walked out of the bathroom, following the smell of coffee into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup. He grabbed a cube of ice out of the fridge, dropping it in the cup to cool it a little before chugging the whole cup and pouring himself another.
“You look like shit.”
He shot a glare over the counter to where Wyper was sitting in the living room, but the other man wasn't facing him anymore; he'd turned back to the TV to scroll through channels, trying to decide what to watch since there was still an hour or so before the games started.
Zoro didn't respond as he made his way into the living room as well, taking a seat in one of the chairs.
“You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you looked familiar. I couldn't figure out why, though. That is, until last night.”
Zoro sighed but didn't respond.
“You were still a sophomore the year we faced each other in the state championship game. But you were already a starter for your varsity team. It was my senior year, and the last time I played.”
That got Zoro's attention, and he turned to Wyper. He tried to remember anything he could about that year; it felt like another life at this point.
“I don't expect you to remember anything about me. What was it that Sanji said? ‘A generic lineman that was only good for hitting people’?” Wyper laughed. “That's what I was. It's funny, 'cause people usually tell you things like, ‘you're the reason I started playing,’ but you're the reason I stopped playing. I saw the passion you played with; hell, you laid me on my ass more often than I laid anyone else on their ass that game. Sure, I'd gotten a couple offers to play for some community colleges, but I realized I'd never have even a sliver of the passion that you did on the field. When I heard about the accident, I remembered feeling like it was a loss to football in general if you weren't able to make a comeback. Then, the world moved on, and no one talked about it again.”
Zoro was quiet as he thought about everything. It had taken him a few years after the accident to get back into a healthy place, first physically and then mentally, though even now he still hadn't fully managed that second part, and he wasn't sure he was ready to open up to anybody about it. He'd started dyeing his hair green to hide, to make himself less recognizable to people on the street.
“You don't have to say anything. I just, I don't know, wanted you to know?”
They fell into silence, and Wyper started scrolling through the games that were finally starting.
After a few minutes, Wyper broke the silence again.
“You wanna watch the Eagles kick the Cowboys ass?”
Zoro appreciated the out, and he relaxed a little into his seat, his mind still reeling a little, but he was able to muster up a response this time.
“Fuck Dallas?”
Wyper smiled.
“George Kittle himself couldn't have said it better.”
— — —
Sanji listened to the Eagles/Cowboys game on his drive home. He didn't really care about any of the games that were going that day, so it was mostly just background noise to his thoughts.
A lot had happened in the last 24 hours, and he still wasn't quite sure how to feel about all of it. Maybe he should do something to apologize to Zoro? He hadn't meant to offend or hurt him, but his inability to back down or read the atmosphere had done just that.
The only thing he could really think to do would be to cook him something. But there were a couple problems with that. One, he had no idea what Zoro even liked, and two, it would probably be a little weird to bring food into a bar that served its own. So maybe that wasn't the best option.
Zoro did seem to like his alcohol, so maybe he could get him a nice bottle of whiskey or rum. Though, that would probably be strange too. Not to mention, he didn't really want to bring up what actually happened again, and he was sure Zoro didn't want attention brought to it again.
By the time he made it home, he was no further in his thought process than he was when he'd started his drive.
He was passing by one of the bars, watching some people file out when he got an idea. Not just for an apology, but as a way to tease the other man as well.
As soon as he got home, he pulled out his phone and placed an order to put his plan in motion. He almost wished he was going to see him tomorrow so he could also give him shit when the Niners lose to the Lions tomorrow, but he could always tease him extra next Sunday. He could hardly wait.
— — —
The rest of the day was a lot lighter than the beginning. Zoro and Wyper had turned off the Eagles/Cowboys game at half time when the Eagles were up 24-7 at the end of the first half. Instead, they turned on the Red Zone channel, deciding since none of the games really mattered, it would be more entertaining to watch that. It would show any scoring play as well as any amazing plays that were worth watching. No commercials either, so that was always a plus.
Their conversation was light too, talking mostly about moves that the Niners needed to make in the offseason as well as contracts that were expiring and what they needed to do and who they needed to pay.
The day continued on, and before Zoro knew it, the Sunday night game was starting. He should be on the road already.
“Why don't you stay another night? We can hang out and watch the Niners game tomorrow. You look like you could use another day off.”
Zoro chuckled. Wyper wasn't wrong; he still felt exhausted, and he'd seen himself in the mirror a couple of times today as well. His lip had thankfully stopped bleeding, and he'd been able to get his face cleaned up without it opening again.
“Don't wanna impose.”
“Honestly? I've enjoyed having your company. There's not really many interesting people out here, and at the very least, you and Sanji have livened up the place a little.”
“Ugh. I don't wanna talk about that asshole.”
Wyper chuckled.
“Whatever you say. But my point, and the offer, still stand.”
“Alright, but we need to make a run to the store for some more booze.”
“Sounds good to me.”
***
Zoro woke again in the middle of the night gasping for air as he struggled to remember where he was. Fuck, he was exhausted. He picked up his phone and glanced at the time; it was only 2 AM. He stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, trying his best not to make too much noise.
He turned the shower on to cold and pulled off his boxers and stepped under the stream. The cold water always helped him clear his head. He rinsed the sweat off his body and let the cool water wash over him.
Once he felt a little more present, he shut off the water and made his way back to the spare room; flopping down and staring up at the ceiling, every time he tried to close his eyes again he was met with red flashing lights, jolting him awake immediately.
Fuck, he thought he was over this shit. He'd been told that even though he was doing well, it didn't mean he wouldn't have rough times again, but he hadn't really expected something so simple to send him back.
He hadn't really gotten any more sleep before he heard Wyper get up and start his day. He'd let Zoro know that he had to work today and would be back in time for the game.
He waited until he heard Wyper leave before finally getting up and dressed. He decided to take a jog around town; maybe find a place that looked good for some coffee and some breakfast.
He'd found a little diner that looked fairly new and had gotten a basic all-meat breakfast and a cup of coffee. It wasn't too bad, but now that he was thinking about it, he should have just gone to Moby Dick's. That omurice the other day had been to die for. He'd have to remember next time.
Food consumed and coffee downed, he felt a little more human as he made his way back to Wyper's house. There was a grocery store across the street that he could stop in for alcohol and maybe some food for when Wyper got back.
After that stop he settled himself onto the couch, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels before settling on some repeat of a TV show he'd already watched.
As he relaxed on the couch, he felt his eyes start to droop, the lack of sleep the last two nights catching up to him, and he couldn't fight against the pull.
— — —
Sanji was running errands most of the day on Monday. The order he'd placed yesterday had been for pickup since he wanted to make sure the items made their way to him on time, which meant braving the mall. Fortunately, it was the middle of the day on a Monday, so there weren't too many people there.
Now that he was settled at home, he decided he'd stay there for the night. He needed a Lions win tonight. A Lions win would clinch them their division due to strength of wins. Which basically meant, win or lose next Sunday, the Rams would be going to the playoffs. Which meant they could rest their starters in preparation for the Wild Card round.
He was feeling pretty optimistic about it overall, though. With the way the Niners have been playing and the way the Lions have been playing, it would probably be an easy win for the Lions. Especially because they were still neck and neck with the Vikings for their own division. One loss on their part could be the difference between the first seed with a first-round BYE and a fifth seed with no time to rest.
He got all showered and changed into his pajamas. He knew it was a little early, but he didn't have anything else to do, so he may as well get comfy.
He'd made a fairly simple dinner and paired it with a nice wine. It would be nicer if he had someone to share it with, though. Someone nice and warm, tanned skin and green hair.
Fuck. Why was he thinking about him again? He would be the absolute worst person to watch this game with. Why couldn't his mind picture him snuggling up with someone like Pedro? He would probably run warm too, be nice and cozy to snuggle up to. Did Pedro have a favorite team? He wasn't sure if he'd ever asked the other man. Maybe he should go back to his normal bar soon and ask him. See if he could get the man to take him home and get his mind off of Zoro. But he knew that he wouldn't. If he'd had any actual interest in Pedro, he'd have been with him already.
He sighed as he took a big sip of his wine. Why did he keep doing this shit to himself? Maybe he should just not show up Sunday and just never show up there again. It wouldn't really be that hard; it was almost the end of the season anyway; what was he really expecting?
Who was he kidding? He knew exactly what he was expecting, or hoping for, at this point. A hate fuck in some random hotel room with a guy who could probably lift him with one arm. Someone he would never see again after they did it. And he was too far into it now to give up.
For now he'd just focus on the game and getting through to next week. Just one day at a time, starting with the Lions kicking the Niners ass.
— — —
Zoro was startled awake again, but this time it was by someone shaking him as opposed to sirens, and he finally felt like he'd at least gotten some sleep.
“What time is it?”
“Almost 5.”
Zoro let out a yawn as he stretched.
“I ran to the store and grabbed some stuff for tonight.”
“Sweet.”
He rolled off the couch and padded into the kitchen to throw what he bought into the oven. Then they settled in to watch the game.
The game has basically been all offense. It was crazy. Neither team’s defense could seem to stop the other. They were long drives both times, but the first quarter ended with a touchdown each, with the Lions missing the extra point, leaving the Niners up by one.
The second quarter started much the same, with the teams trading touchdowns: Niners, Lions, Niners. It wasn't until near the end of the second when the Niners finally got a defensive stop, hyping up Zoro and Wyper. The game had no bearing on their season, but they could still try to play spoilers to the Lions. Put them in the fifth seed.
By the end of the first half, the Niners were up 21-13. They would have been 24 if Jake Moody hadn't missed another field goal. He'd been horrible this season. Zoro told himself it was just one field goal; they were still up.
The third started with another touchdown for both teams, then a field goal for the Lions. The next Niners drive ended in a disaster, an interception thrown by Purdy.
Sanji would have had something snarky to say after that; he just knew it. He'd also try to turn it into a bet of some kind. ‘Wanna bet that's not the last pick Purdy throws?’ something like that to piss Zoro off or get a reaction from him. And Zoro would bite; he knew he would. The curly-browed idiot always got under his skin every time he opened his mouth, and Zoro had no idea why he let him.
He tried to focus back on the game as Moody missed another field goal to start the fourth. He could hear Sanji laughing in his head. ‘Wanna bet he misses a third before the game's over?’
Zoro groaned as he laid his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Even in his head the guy never shut up. He was probably loud in bed too.
Shit, where did that thought come from? He couldn't go down that path here.
He hurriedly sat back up and focused on the game where the Lions were kicking a field goal; he watched as it sailed through the uprights, putting them up by 6. Just one touchdown, they could still pull it off. He'd try to not think about the fact that they'd be tied if Moody could make his field goals.
The next Niners drive ended with another interception. Imaginary Sanji cheered over winning the bet about Purdy throwing another pick. Would he have made Zoro take another shot of Fireball with him, or would he have thought of something more fun? Maybe another round of questions? Or would he make him do something stupid like dye his hair royal blue?
The Lions offense capitalized on the pick with another touchdown but missed the extra point, so they were up by 12 now. They needed two touchdowns in 3 minutes. Not impossible, though slightly improbable due to the new kickoff rule making onsides kicks basically impossible to recover.
— — —
Sanji was laughing. Not only did Moody miss two field goals and an extra point, he completely botched the onside kick. An onside kick was hard to recover anyway, but when Moody kicked it OUT OF BOUNDS, that was the end of the game.
This was just too good. Zoro was probably pissed. If Moody had made his field goals and extra point, they'd be up. Even if he'd just made the two field goals, they'd at least be tied and go into overtime. But no, 3 misses and a botched onside kick. The Niners fans were going to riot. He wished he was with Zoro so he could rub it in his face.
Also, with the Niners loss, the Rams were officially in the playoffs, whether they win or lose next Sunday. Which means they can sit all their starters and give them a week of rest before the playoffs start. So many things he could rub in the Mosshead's face next week. He'd been excited before; now he was ecstatic.
He flipped off the TV and made his way to bed. Maybe next week he should make a bet with Zoro about how many kicks Moody would miss. Would be a pretty safe bet on his end considering Moody’s field goal percentage this year.
His mind conjured up all the fun things he could make Zoro do when he won, though he knew he'd never actually include things like that in a bet. It was a fun little fantasy, though.
Sunday couldn't come soon enough.
***
Sanji stood in front of the mirror of his hotel room, taking in his own appearance. He really shouldn't be caring THIS much about what he looked like. It's not like it was a date or anything. And he was definitely going to wear his Kupp jersey, and he'd only brought two pairs of pants, so he had to settle on one of them.
The black ones were nice and sleek, and he felt like they made his legs look even longer than they were, but the blue jeans hugged his ass and thighs perfectly. He'd changed between the two at least 3 or 4 times. Finally deciding the jeans worked better, he hurried out of the door before he could change his mind again.
He climbed into his car and drove to the bar. He would have walked, but he had the items he'd bought on the passenger seat and didn't really want to carry them around. Plus, he was kinda hoping to catch Zoro before he went into the bar to give him what he'd bought as an apology; it would probably be less awkward than giving it to him in front of everyone there.
He'd been hoping to get to the bar before it opened so he could for sure catch the other man, but due to his clothing dilemma, he ended up there around 9:30. He chose to sit in his car for at least a little bit; Zoro didn't strike him as the extremely punctual type.
He sat in his car til just after 10, watching as a few people filtered into the bar, keeping his eyes peeled for green hair. Maybe he should just go in and check? But it would probably look weird if he walked in and left because he didn't see him, right? He chose to keep waiting for just a little bit longer; the Rams didn't play until 1 anyway.
It was almost 11 by the time he decided that maybe Zoro was already inside. He grabbed one of the items from his passenger seat and climbed out of the car to make his way inside.
When he walked in, he stood by the doorway and looked around; there was only one or two people at the bar itself, and none of them had mossy hair. He glanced around the rest of the room, not seeing the other man at any of the tables either.
He was about to turn around and leave to go wait in his car again, but his eyes connected with Ace’s on his last glance around the room, and he knew he'd look stupid if he turned and walked out now.
He stuffed the item in his hand into his pocket as best he could and made his way to the bar. He smiled at Ace but could already feel his mood plummeting as he took a seat. Maybe he was just late, or maybe he realized Sanji was an asshole and didn't want to see him again.
The longer that Sanji sat alone, the more he thought about how bad he'd messed up. Zoro definitely hated him. He'd been stood up on his not date because he didn't know when to shut his mouth.
He hadn't even fully been able to appreciate how gorgeous Jimmy G was in a Rams uniform.
By the time that game was over, Zoro hadn't shown up, and Sanji had had too much to drink. It was a good thing his hotel was still within walking distance. He would just walk back and grab his car tomorrow.
By the time he made it back to his room, he was exhausted. Despite the early hour, he kicked off his pants and climbed into bed disappointed with the day and frustrated with himself.
He fell into a fitful sleep.