#meetik

It wasn’t as if you didn’t know the oceanographic museum of your city. You had visited it before, as every pupil of the nearby schools. And yet it was what attracted you the most in the list of the proposed events on Meetik website. You told yourself that at least you would be able to wander around it you found nobody interesting.

According to the organiser everybody was present at the said time and you could all gather inside. You were a dozens of adults between 20 and 30 from what you could guess of people’s faces.

Everyone had already started chatting with someone else while waiting in the hall but you. You felt strange to be in this situation...

You had just passed the sharks tunnel when you entered the room about them. All you group was stopped and looking at something being you. At the precise moment you turned around, a shark came crashing against the glass, cracking it under the strength of the shock.

You didn’t shout but naturally, didn’t expecting it coming, you jumped to the side and almost collided with a new comer in the room. You stepped another step back from the man.

“I-I’m sorry ! I was... surprised by this.”

The black haired man followed with his grey eyes what you were showing him and that turned out to be a TV screen put there to scare people. Turned out it worked with you.

You noticed how he smirked before looking back at you.

“Yeah. I saw children freaking out almost everytime.”

Children? Was he mocking you?

He passed by you and walked further into the room to look closely at a shark skeleton. But you hadn’t finished with him and so followed his steps and planted yourself like a tree by his side, looking straight up at his face, pouted. He was planning on ignoring you but your intense gaze on him was annoying, and he looked down at you.

“What?” “I am not a child.” “I never said that.” “But you said you only saw children getting scared by the shark.” “Because that’s the thuth.” He said as an evidence, chuckling.

You blushed a bit. But not only because he was again mocking you. The way his tongue passed his teeth was the said truth was sexy. Well, all of him was. Because now that you payed attention to it he was one hell of a kind. Tall, quite skinny but you could work out he was well built under his clothes, tattoed on his hands on more likely elsewhere as well as pierced twice at each ears. He even was stylish with the false fur on the hood of his jacket.

You were so focused on him you haven’t realised that your group had already left the room for the next one.

The stranger’s words have let you speechless.

You got away from him and left the shark room for the following one, unaware of amused steely eyes following your figure.

In the end, you never caught up with the group and you felt like it was better that way. You didn’t link anyone anyway...

You hadn’t finished the whole visit yet but were now sitting in a bench in from of the biggest window of the grand aquarium. The room was plunged into the darkness, the only light coming from the aquarium. The blue atmosphere was soothing. Your eyes were fixed on two rays passing by when a male voice got you out of your fascination.

“There is a stingray touch tank.”

You didn’t have to turn yourself that the man with black hair from earlier came before the bench, not before you through so you could keep watching the swimming creatures. You eyed him a second before going back to your contemplation.

“Isn’t that for children ?” You answered with a tint of grudge which got a chuckle out of your lips. “Ok. I’m sorry for that. It was not subtle from me but it wasn’t my intention to offend you. Let’s start again on a sound basis.” He took his right hand out of his pocket and held it to you. “My name is Trafalgar Law.” “I’m (Y/N) (F/N).” You took his hand and shook it.

After you let go of each other hand you watched the aquarium a bit longer. But here again he was the one to speak first.

“If you want we could go to the touch tank.” He had frowned his eyebrows and you could hear he wasn’t as confident as he was when he mocked you. “Or I can get you a drink. There is a café in from of the museum.”

He was definitely not used to doing this ; however you found it cute coming from a such self-confident person.

“Let’s do both.”

You stood up from the bench and walked first to the folllowing room of the aquarium. He quickly made it to you and you started talking about each other.

You hadn’t even entered the said bar that your whole body was screaming you to go back home/ It was really tempting but you knew that somehow your friends would know about you not going and take you back to it another time, on their own. And you didn’t want to be under their radar.

The little bell above the door clung as you opened. Who you guessed to be the bartender came your way, a bright smile on his lips.

“Hello. Are you here for the Meetik event ?”

“Mh, yes.” You answered shyly.

He asked for you to follow him upstairs and quickly welcomed you on the rooftop of the building. It was beautifully decorated. Many green plants, comfy couches and chairs to sit, small lights and candles in numbers everywhere. A bar and a table covered in food were settled in a corner.

According to the number of people, everyone - or almost everyone - was there. And it stressed you again.

Everyone was talking to someone else, in small groups or face-to-face ; some were really impatient to find “Love” it seemed.

You went around the crowd to the bar and asked for a (soft drink) ; surrounding by strangers, you felt it wouldn’t be a good idea to alcoholise.

“I don’t think soft will help you ease.”

“I beg your pardon ?”

You watched next to you to the man who talked. He held his empty beer to the barman and asked for the same thing. When he had it in hand, he leaned on the counter in a way to face you.

“I said that you look nervous.” He took a swallow of his beer. “An alcoholic drink would hep you calm down. What’s that think women drink ? With white wine.”

“Kir ?” His tongue clicked to say you found it. “Not every women drink that.”

“Never saw a man sipping one through.”

He had a point.

You watched him as he took another sip of his beer and out it back on the counter. But your eyes suddenly drifted to behind ; you swore you saw him in good company when you arrived. The man was easy to notice in the crowd with triple pierced ear, a soft scar crossing his brow and eye on the left side of his face and short green hair. And now that you were closer, you noticed a beginning of roots, which colour was between a dark blond and light brown.

“Weren’t you... talking with that woman ? Shouldn’t you go back to her ?” He followed your eyes and fell on the said woman.

“I was. Or more like she was talking. About her make-up tuto account on Instragram. Or was it her friend’s one ? I stopped listening half-way.”

You chuckled at his disinterested behaviour.

“It’s true that talking about alcohol is much more interesting.” You said in a sarcastic tone.

But to your surprise, his answer was sincere, as well as the small smile on his lips.

“I am willing to talk about anything, even a make-up Instagram account, as long as my interlocutor is interesting.” Your lack of answer made him continued. “Long and awkward silences are good too.”

“S-sorry. I didn’t know what to answer.”

That’s how you met Zoro, Roronoa Zoro.

The conversation was going on naturally between the two of you, from a topic to another. And you were so engulfed in your talking, and at ease with him, you forgot about whatever was happening around. You even got for a (alcoholic drink) ; you somehow felt like you could trust him, and not only because he was a rookie policeman.

Time passed quicker than you thought and around 1AM, the bartender came to tell you the event was finishing and everyone going back home. Zoro and you had just left the bar, you were now on the pavement about to pull apart.

“Mh, (Y/N); do you have any project for tomorrow ?” 

Tomorrow was Sunday. If lie-in was considered a project then you had one.

“I don’t.”

“I know a bar that closed at 5.”

First, you were speechless. But then you burst out laughing. 

You expected him to invite you to get out, but no. He was thinking about extending the night a bit longer. He didn’t seem to understand your fit of laughter, yet waited patiently for you to calm down. When you were done giggling, you looked back at him and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, why not.”

“Cool.”

Your friends thought it would be a good idea since you were not a really good cook - that was their ways to say your cooking tasted shit. You would learn find a man for the best, or get a few tips at worst.

You were getting out of work and felt like getting home on falling on your couch but you had to go. In a good way, you wouldn’t have to order chinese food for the fourth time in two weeks.

You were the last one to arrive a few minutes later. It was a man who welcomed you, a blond one, that you learnt to be the cook for the lesson. He seemed young, about your age.

“Hi, I’m Sanji. You must be (Y/N).”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“You must know how it works. You enlisted on the website for the cooking lesson and the organiser choiced your partner with their algorithm but... well your partner called fifteen minutes ago and he can't come tonight. But I propose you work with me if you agree with that, of course."

The young man seemed to be a bit bothered but for you. You shook your head as it didn't bother you.

"At least I know I'll get to eat something good if I team up with the cook." You joked.

"You'll cook too ! Don't try to pit all the work on me, (Y/N)." He said on the same joking tone you used.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"It's ok, I'll help you."

And he did. Even if he was supposed to go through the different groups to check their cooking he almost didn't leave your side for the whole hour of cooking. He had insisted on you doing most of the work, yet he was always ready to take over whenever you had difficulties.

At the end of the cooking part, every team was invited to prepare their plates beautifully to have an intimate diner. For drink, and as many other tables, you and Sanji had opted for a red wine feated perfectly the red meat you had prepared together.

“It feels weird saying that but it was delicious.”

“Why is that weird ?”

“Because it’s the first time I am doing some eatbale. But it is thanks to you.”

“Please, (Y/N), you’ve done most of it.”

“Yes, but I am pretty sure you put some magic powder stuff whenever I had my back turned so that it could taste that good.” Sanji chuckled at your words before taking a swallow of his wine and putting it back on the table.

You took a moment to appreciate Sanji’sface as he looked around at the other tables - it was his job after all. You had noticed it before but he was attractive, in your taste at least. Not only physically, he was what you looked for in a man : gentle, respectful, encouraging, clever and terribly good at cooking. You found it pretty how his face seemed calm, his eyes smooth and his smile tender as he watched a laughing twosome at another table. He looked away from them and back to you and the look in his eyes changed, apologetic.

“I’m sorry your partner didn’t show up tonight.”

“I’m not. I couldn’t have a better partner than a cook.” His brow raised. “I, I mean that I had a really good time with you and you were really good to me and-”

“Tomorrow is my day off, I could come and pick you after your work.”

The blonde cook said that in what seemed to be a momentum of courage as his visible cheek was rose-coloured and his eye shifty. You were as shy as he was and drunk all was left of your wine in one gulp. You put back your glass in the middle of the table stronger than what you intented, almost breaking its foot on your plate. At least it made Sanji relaxed and laughed.

“I finish at 17:30 tomorrow.” You murmured loud enough for him to hear.

“We could go eat then watch a movie at the theatre."

“Eat at a restaurant ?” Sanji noticed you seemed a bit disappointed when he nodded for answer.

“You want me to cook ?” You blushed a bit yet nodded at your turn which made him smile brightly. “Then I will."