estoria | I'm a whole lot better [CLOSED]

Entry tags:

sanji,
zoro roronoa

I'm a whole lot better [CLOSED]

Who: Zoro

serving_love
When: IC 7/19 during the event
Where: Straw Hat Apartments, Occupancy 2
What: Neither Zoro nor Sanji have ever told anyone else in the crew where they spent their two years training. Spirit fox shenanigans are going to force them to find out each other's secret.
Rating/Warning: nothing I can think of, maybe some sensitive topics discussed?

[Zoro has been on the slightest of edges since the day the world glitched around him, and though he still chalks it up to a technology problem inside ViViD, since it happened while he was in the gravity room, Weiss's information makes him wonder. Was he supposed to be in that train tunnel? Was he supposed to die?

And then this place just gets worse on him today, he wasn't sure for a good number of hours but now he's certain there's a weird white fox trailing him around. Only not a real one, no, it's all wispy and shit, and whenever he turns to look at the flitter of white, gauzy movement in his peripheral sight, it darts away, avoiding his eye. He only saw it once for the fox-shape it is, on his way back from the dojo, and though he hurried his pace to get indoors without it and hopefully trap it outside, he's pretty sure he just saw it drift through the kitchen. Dammit.

He is not drunk enough for this.

He hasn't even hardly settled into the couch cushions and he's up again, pacing, trying to see where the ghostly fox went. Maybe he can chase it out? Maybe he can find a fresh bottle of sake in the kitchen while he's at it. Cook's around, though...]

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[snort!] Try all of 'em. At least the mermaids didn't mind it.

[not that he's jealous, but he is testing. Knowing what kind of reaction that's going to get, gauging it for himself. Why? He doesn't know. Zoro's just rolling on some vague instinct now]

Where's that bastard gone? I want to go in the kitchen and get that sake but I don't wanna run into it on the way.

[Uwaaaah, that's right, the mermaids~~ Sanji tips his head back to rest against the couch, letting out a loud, happy sigh.]

Ahh, the All Blue of my heart~! Shit, I wasn't convinced I didn't actually fuckin' die and go to heaven then.

[He sits up at Zoro's question, glancing over his shoulder and then around the room.]

Dunno. Don't see him. You're probably safe.

[Hopefully, geez. Sanji doesn't need Zoro seeing anything else right now. There's a lot he's not ready to share with any of the others just yet.]

[Yep, called it. Zoro keeps his exasperation to himself and pushes up off the couch]

All right, but if he's lurking in the kitchen to pounce on me, don't say I didn't warn you. [huff] I ain't gonna be forced to just stay in bed for however long they're around to avoid running into one.

[As annoying as it will be to constantly warn each other when a wispy white figure appears around a corner for the next few days, it's preferable to hiding like cowards. Life has to go on, and so Zoro goes to fetch the sake and bring the bottle back with him, opening it and getting ready for a swig as he comes. No glasses, though. As he returns to the couch, he offers the bottle to Sanji. Sharing nasty memories goes down better with booze.]

[Makes a face.]

This kinda shit only ever seems to last for a few days, at least.

[He takes the bottle when it's handed to him, downing a gulp or two without hesitation. It's one of those days when even he isn't going to make a fuss about glasses.]

All that stuff with the ol' man is about as far back as I'm willing to share. Heh, maybe otherwise I'd spill all my shit to you now just to get it out of the way.

[He's kidding, but honestly it would probably be better than Zoro accidentally seeing it all and Sanji having to explain after the fact Ugh.]

[eases back onto the couch, ready for his turn with the sake]

Up to you, but when it comes down to it, I don't need to know. I don't think there's anything you could say that would change anything.

[so he says, not knowing what else is buried in Sanji's past. Then again, he doesn't talk about life before Isshin Dojo either.]

At least, I ain't gonna ask. Personal stuff...it's fine if you wanna keep it private. There's a lot about me you don't know either.

[Sanji waves a hand, dismissing the idea that he's going to share more.]

Joking, marimo. Think if we gab anymore, we're gonna have to start braiding each other's shitty hair.

[Though suddenly, and maybe for the first time, he's insanely curious just what he doesn't know about Zoro's past. It could be damn near anything, after all. He knows that all too well.

He takes another swig, then hands the bottle over.]

You ain't secretly a prince or something, though, right?

[...I mean, it doesn't hurt to check.]

[he takes the bottle and has a good gulp, lowering it just in time to laugh under his breath.]

No. You?

[thinking, of course not, that's just a shitty nickname he gave himself because women]

[Heh. Probably should've figured that would be turned around on him. But Sanji just grins and gives a one-shouldered shrug.]

Sure. Mr. Prince, remember?

[As he slides his hand under his fringe and flicks the hair out of his face.]

What, you think I just came up with that shit on the fly?

Of course I remember.

[he stops short with the bottle raised to his lips, halfway toward taking another drink, and then just stares]

You're just fucking around with me. Right? You're not really.

[Now he rolls his eyes, but it's mostly an excuse to let his gaze slide away from Zoro.]

Please. What kinda prince would be scraping plates on a shitty cruise ship at age nine?

[Said as casually as you please, and hopefully not at all suspiciously. Those are things he hasn't thought about in a long, long time... Eh, but it's not like there's ever gonna be a reason for it to come up!

...Ha.

He motions toward the sake bottle, gesturing for Zoro to take his drink.]

Come on, hurry up. You're hogging it.

[Point taken. Zoro shrugs as if to concede that he was right and it was just a joke, and finally takes his drink]

Geez, don't be so damn impatient. Here. [hand-off!] Huh. So you were hired help on a cruise ship and I was getting my ass handed to me by the dojo-master's daughter. Hell of a way for a couple of pirates to get started.

[He lets out a breath, hiding it behind the guise of tipping his head back to take another drink.

It's not like he's lying, just...avoiding giving an actual answer. Right?]

Seriously. Life's crazy like that, though. Never know where you're gonna end up.

[Oh sure, cook. It might not come up again and Zoro will be none the wiser.]

Mm.

Anybody else in the crew know your story? Either of 'em. [just checking, not that any of them are around to blab to anyway]

Luffy knows about Zeff and all that.

[Takes another swig and then hands the bottle back.]

The other one, hell no. I was pretty much content taking that shitty tale to the grave. You?

[shakes his head, taking the bottle and resting it on his knee for a moment]

Never told anybody anything. I don't really want 'em knowing about Hawk-eyes, either. It's...kinda personal.

[hence, the very deep gulp of sake he takes to follow]

Well, too late, cook, this damn place made it so now I know your secret.

Kinda personal?

[Jesus, you think? Sanji shakes his head a bit.]

Well, not like I'm gonna tell anyone, at least. You ain't even told Luffy about... [He pauses, thinking back to the memory he saw. Her name was in there somewhere...] Kuina-chan?

[That surprises him a little. Sanji just kinda figured that if anyone would know any of their stories, it'd be Luffy.

He snorts at Zoro's next comment, and whether it's because the alcohol has him feeling pleasantly warm and relaxed or because the sudden casualness of this conversation has him off his guard, either way he's in a place where it seems totally natural to reach out and bump his fist against Zoro's shoulder, giving him a light shove.]

You know part of it.

[And say shit like that, apparently. His nose scrunches up immediately as he clearly WTFs at himself for letting that slip out, but whatever. If Zoro didn't see the part with the goddamn dress, then it's not like Sanji has to explain himself.]

[the name jolts him briefly, Zoro bristles for a moment and then relaxes.]

...you even got that part. Shit. No, I haven't said anything, not even to Luffy.

[that's all he's inclined to say about it, though, nothing about it being personal or anything. His gaze follows the fist to his shoulder, and then drops shyly, missing the look that crosses Sanji's face.]

Yeah, well, I'm guessing you don't know everything about where I was, either. [or else there would have been some kind of comment about his eye, because really, how do you gloss that over unless you don't know?]

Nah... Guess I don't.

[Eyes him speculatively for a moment, wondering what all there is to know. But after a beat his gaze drops to his hand, the back of which is still brushing Zoro's shoulder as he's now got his arm propped on the back of the couch and hasn't bothered to pull back at all.

They're gonna have to spar tomorrow or something. Just really try to beat the shit out of each other. Anything to balance out all this opening up they're doing right now.]

How old were you when you left the dojo?

[...Actually, how old were you when you GOT to the dojo? How did you even end up there to begin with? What the hell happened to your parents??

SO MANY SHITTY QUESTIONS.

Sanji will try to refrain from asking the super nosy ones, don't worry.]

[SO MANY GODDAMN QUESTIONS someday, maybe.

Zoro glances at that hand and makes absolutely zero moves to dislodge it. He feels like he's on the edge of something but he's not experienced enough to know where to go from here. He'll have to think about it, while they're doing all this opening up.]

Seventeen. I'd already been on my own for two years when I met Luffy.

[it's like...it's the simplest thing, but he's never told anyone. Zoro's learning to share, though.]

Edited 2016-06-26 00:13 (UTC)

Doing your shitty pirate hunter thing?

[Sometimes it's weird to think that he'd heard of Zoro before he met him. And that such an infamous name in the East Blue would eventually become one of his nakama.]

Made a pretty good name for yourself doing that.

[snorts! And takes another sip of sake before resting the bottle on Sanji's nearby knee. Without taking his hand off it]

It's not like I gave myself the name or anything. I was doing what I had to in order to survive, bounties were just the fastest way to get money. [Zoro smirks a bit, almost to himself] Maybe it wasn't as respectable as being a classy chef but it got me by.

[His eyes drop to take in the bottle briefly, but then he's back to looking at Zoro without making any move to dislodge it. And while he does absently note that they're sitting awfully close together, the thought doesn't feel like anything to be concerned about and again, he makes no move to slide farther down the couch. He's comfortable where he is, for whatever reason, the body heat Zoro's exuding seeping into his skin and making his face flush lightly just because he's warm.

Maybe also because of the sake.

And possibly—

...No, just those two things.]

Classy? [Barks out a laugh.] You saw the assholes I was working with. You could stick a shitty monkey in my suit and it'd still look classy next to those morons.

[Said fondly, of course.]

[You can blame the sake all you want, cook, Zoro is quite sober by comparison, even though the hand too close to his shoulder is making him flush very slightly over the bridge of his nose whenever he glances at it, like he's calculating the exact distance, which movement would require the least effort and still manage to look totally accidental, and whether he has it in him to make that move.

Shit, they've been in each other's laps before, why is this so hard? Extenuating circumstances be damned.]

I dunno, I don't think Luffy would look good in your suit at all.

[geddit, geddit? shitty monkey indeed]

[Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Sanji might not be able to walk away from drinking a fuckton of booze like Zoro can, but even he's not gonna get drunk off of what they've had so far tonight. He's maybe starting to get a little light-headed (and warm, there's still that), but that's it.

It just happens to be enough to be a convenient excuse.

Or he'll pretend it's enough, anyway.

It's apparently enough to find that funny, at least, though there's a somewhat delayed reaction on Sanji's part as he takes a second to make the connection, snorts, and then busts out into sniggers that he has to duck his head in an attempt to smother.

Because actually that was really dumb and probably doesn't warrant full blown laughter, dammit!]

Shit, tryin' to be clever all of a sudden, marimo? Look, not everyone can pull off a suit like me, okay?

[He lifts his head again and reaches out to snag the sake at the same time -- though not with the hand near Zoro's shoulder. And if his fingers brush against Zoro's on the bottle, it's his own fault because they're totally in the way.]

Luffy'd probably try to wear his shitty sandals and throw off the whole ensemble anyway.

[Muttered in a dry tone as he goes to take a drink.]

Of course he would, he's Luffy.

[Zoro won't say it but that's exactly why his fingers are still on the bottle. He lets go of it, and then lets his hand fall onto that knee in place of the bottle. It rests lightly, casually even, but it's there, in a place it's never voluntarily been before. Mr. Suave he's not, that's the best he can do on short notice. In fact, he's so bumbling that he can't think of something else to say to that, and drops his gaze to stare at his hand where it is. It wasn't his intention to call attention to it, but he is. Completely.]

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