Roronoa "do you even own a shirt" Zoro (
yourotherleft) wrote in
estoria2016-06-06 12:38 am
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Entry tags:
I'm a whole lot better [CLOSED]
Who: Zoro
yourotherleft & Sanji
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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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...]
no subject
[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.
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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.
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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.]
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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]
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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.]
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[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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He manfully tries anyway, finally getting the bottle to his lips so he can take one very long, deep gulp of sake.
His stomach is doing all sorts of weird squirming things, though, and he forgets to add anything to the conversation. He's focusing on trying not to think about why Zoro would want to touch him. Never mind what his own hand has been doing for the last...ten? twenty? minutes.]
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Zoro notices that blush (how could he not?) but he really can't tell if it's a good blush or a bad blush. Is he doing the right thing or pissing him off? Argh, how does the cook manage this with girls?
The sudden movement of bottle to lips snaps him out of it, and he looks up, trying to muster his resolve. It's easier to lean toward the hand nudging his shoulder, and as he does, Zoro goes with it, pressing further forward like he's going to do something unmistakable with his lips...
...only to chicken out at the last second and lean sharply away, letting out a gust of a breath in frustration. He jerks his hand back into his own lap.]
...sorry.
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Sanji's eyes grow wide as Zoro leans in, and he lowers the bottle in surprise -- almost like he's giving him an opening, which is not his intent. (He thinks. Probably.) His hand shifts mid-lean, turning so that he's palming Zoro's shoulder, fingers curling into the material of his shirt. It's a shocked, automatic reaction more than anything, done without a follow-up plan, but he's painfully aware that what he's not doing is shoving the other man back. Quite the opposite, actually, as it turns out that he tightens his grip when Zoro abruptly leans away again. Whether to stop him from going too far or...hnn.
He doesn't know.
Sanji really has no idea what his own goal was, but it certainly seemed like Zoro was going to... Like he was—
What the fuck?!
He blinks a few times, trying to clear his head and work out what exactly is going on here, but he comes up blank. He just barely manages to notice when Zoro stops touching him, and it's only then that Sanji finally yanks his own hand back in a startled sort of way.]
S'fine.
[Is his too-prompt response, uttered almost before Zoro even finishes getting his apology out. He feels like he should say something more, but he's not sure what.
Half a moment later, however, he's desperate for anything to break the sudden awkwardness in the air. When his eyes land on the nearly empty bottle, he decides to just go with that.]
...Don't tell me you let one shitty bottle of sake actually get to you. Hell, half a bottle. And you call me a lightweight.
[Ugh, that's...dammit, he's not sure if brushing it off is the best thing to do or not! What the hell is happening right now???]
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Just...forget about it. I got ahead of myself.
[at least he isn't jumping off the couch and trying to escape, and as he sits there trying not to meet Sanji's eyes, he realizes the cook isn't leaving either. Didn't shove him off or yell or anything. Zoro keeps scuffing his hand through his hair and down his neck, the very vision of embarrassment, but he stays on the couch. It's still safer than wandering through the apartment with those little fuckers lurking.]
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...Which would've seemed unlikely, but Sanji probably could've taken the excuse and run with it.
But this? This is Zoro looking incredibly embarrassed, which is something that rarely happens. But he's embarrassed and saying he got ahead of himself after he made a move like that, and Sanji's stomach quite abruptly does another flip, his chest tightening as his heart thumps loudly against his rib cage.
There's no way...
He remembers the conversation they had just last week, though. About how what catches Zoro's eye is people who can fight, and if they happen to be guys then so be it. Sanji hadn't thought to apply those qualifiers to himself, had never imagined he would need to, but now?
Now he wonders.
He also wonders how he feels about that, but he doesn't want to examine it too closely while they're both sitting here like this. There's mostly just nervous disbelief tingling under his skin, which annoys him and has his brow furrowing as he frowns at himself because he refuses to be nervous about anything. That makes it seem like he's anticipating something similar might happen again and he's not quite sure what he would do if it does. He can't help questioning where the urge to bolt out of the room is, or why he isn't slamming up instant walls of denial that such an idea would ever even remotely interest him. Not that he's interested, he's just...mildly curious, maybe. Because he never thought Zoro would...]
I ain't drunk enough to forget about it.
[Is what he hears himself say, as he leans over to carefully place the sake bottle on the coffee table. Hell, even his slight buzz has vanished as though a bucket of ice water was dumped on his head. What's more important is that he doesn't want to forget it, though. He wants to poke and prod at this thing until he figures it out.
Sanji chances a look at Zoro, trying to puzzle out what he's thinking. He kind of wants to push him a bit, as well, but towards what end?]
Not like you to back down from something.
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Given that he bristles right back at Sanji, he doesn't like realizing that about himself]
You want me to keep going, then? Because I will.
[big talk for a fumbling idiot. He backed down because he doesn't know what he really wants out of this, other than his old curious desires are welling right up to the surface now and compelling him to act on them for once. Whether or not the cook is even receptive to him is sort of further back in his mind. Zoro's problem is that he wants something, but isn't sure what that something is. Is it physical or emotional? If he tries anything, will the cook laugh him right off the couch for being stupid and inexperienced?
He stretches forward to grab the sake bottle and drain the rest of it, first. It won't give him any more courage or even get him buzzed, but it's a good way to cover that moment of awkward. As well as loosen his tongue, so that even if he doesn't have a better answer, he'll still ramble in search of one.]
Maybe this damn place is making me soft, too. I start thinking about things I haven't thought about in a long time, and maybe I don't wanna watch you disappear again and miss out on a chance to actually do something about it...
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So he snorts lightly, sitting back again and letting pure skepticism seep into his tone.]
Uh-huh.
[Sure you will.
Of course then the rest of what Zoro says sort of blindsides him and makes him reel a bit, because what? Things he hasn't thought about in a long time, missing out on a chance to do something, what the hell is he talking about? Is this— This isn't something new? How fucking long has Zoro been keeping this under wraps?!
He starts rambling right back, blurting out words as they enter his head without think about what they might mean.]
Well, what the fuck...if you think you're gonna miss out, then -- people fucking disappear all the goddamn time from this place! No point living with shitty regrets if you can avoid 'em, that's the whole reason we live the way we do!
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I know!
[he'd like to say he doesn't need the reminder, but sometimes he does. No regrets, huh? Goading him into making good on his threat, huh? He can do it, now, the proverbial floor is open. The way Zoro figures, he can treat this like he does everything else, like training and fighting. No backing down, no stopping to question, just plow forward until something stands in the way and then face it.
For a moment, he sits with his hand still on the neck of the bottle, the energy seeming to build in the tension of his shoulders. Then he pushes off it, turning swiftly and lunging at Sanji, grabbing him by the shirt collar and pulling him in. There's no time for even a word of warning before he mashes his lips awkwardly to the corner of Sanji's mouth. Yes, he missed, but only by a hair.]
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He knew.
And he pushed Zoro right into it.
Sanji spends a beat or two cursing himself, and then another trying to figure out what to do next. The traitorous thought that drifts through his mind is that this barely even counts as an actual kiss, and if it's going to happen -- it has happened, there's no rewinding time or pretending it didn't -- then he might as well make it count. Now, before his self-ideals start growing voices of their own and try to shout some sense into him.
His hands find the front of Zoro's shirt, firmly pushing him back but not letting him go in case he gets the wrong idea. Then he mutters under his breath:]
Fuck's sake, you idiot, you're directionally challenged even in this...
[Before he lines them up properly and pulls Zoro back in to kiss him for real.]
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Zoro isn't about to let it get away from him, though, and even if this is a good outcome, he's on edge. His free hand comes up and curls around Sanji's neck to fist in his hair, and he drags his eye up to fix on the cook's face, only the slightest bit worried that he's going to see fear or revulsion there. His face, in turn, is earnest, brow furrowed, determined to see this through until they can agree what to do about this. Even if it comes to nothing, if this is his first and last chance to explore a different facet of his bond with the cook, he wants it to be something he'll never regret.
That leaves him sitting there, searching Sanji's face for a while. There are simply no words, yet, for where they go from here. But Zoro has spent the last seven months, give or take a couple of weeks, in this man's space, living alongside him as friends more than mere crewmates, much it just the two of them alone trying to hang on to memories and routines and strength and dreams. Even if Luffy had never mentioned his weird otherworldly experiences, this is something Zoro has wondered about for a long time, and now it's right here, literally in his hands. WHAT DO?]
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The hand in his hair feels foreign to him, exciting and dangerous and weird all at the same time, almost more so than the kiss itself. Maybe because they're just watching each other at this point, and it's like Zoro's trying to hold him in place in case he tries to escape. He doesn't think he was going to, but if he wasn't being anchored to the spot then who knows? There's something extremely personal about it, too, in a way that's different from the inexperienced mashing of their mouths. Personal or intimate or...something.
Sanji adjusts his grip on Zoro's shirt, loosening his hold briefly only to curl his fingers into the material again. He's not sure if shoving him away and getting some space is the better option, or if he wants to pull him back in and...
His tongue darts out, quickly wetting his bottom lip before he draws it back. If he did free up one of his hands, it would probably be so he could press the pads of his fingers against his mouth and question everything in his life that has led to the tingling sensation that now lingers there.]
...I, uh.
[What? What the fuck is he supposed to say? Does he have to say anything?? Should he get up and walk away or do they have to talk about this like actual functioning adults???]
Shit.
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His eye drops to the hands on his shirt and he dares to let out a soft gust of a laugh. It's ridiculous, now that he's on the other side of it and berating himself for ever backing down in the first place. Really, though, he had every reason to expect that Sanji would never want him like this, who can blame him for trying to keep it cool? But the longer they sit there, clinging to each other, not saying much, the more confident Zoro grows. The breathy chuckle is only the start, it morphs into a bashful sort of grin.]
I ain't apologizing this time.
[basically, YOU ASKED FOR IT. It's weird, though, this stupid giddy sense of relief mingled with the vague wish to do it again, warring against his usual stoic need to keep people from getting too close. Maybe it was the memories that did it - the proof that he doesn't need to keep things to himself, that letting other people really see what he's like inside isn't going to kill him.
Zoro relaxes his grip, letting his hand slide away from Sanji's neck. There's so much he could do, but he doesn't feel like testing his boundaries until he's sure he's not about to be shoved off the couch.]
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Wasn't expecting you to.
[For some reason he's caught by that grin and finds himself staring at it. It's kind of infectious, too, and Sanji feels a similar expression tugging at the corners of his mouth for a second before he jerks his gaze away. He's relieved when Zoro lets go of him, though, and releases him in turn before finally sliding back a few inches on the couch and then just pushing himself up altogether.
He has to step away for a minute, that's all. From Zoro, from his stupid grin. He doesn't go far, at least, because the last thing he wants to do is make Zoro shut down in any way. ...Even though that grin does odd swooping things to his insides. The important thing is it's there. So he just angles himself toward the opposite side of the room and crosses his arms, the fingers on one hand tapping in an agitated way against his bicep.
Seriously, how could he kick the idiot or shove him off the couch when he's the one who all but invited his advances? Sanji's face goes warm again just thinking about it, and he rakes a hand back through his hair. He's really gonna have to think about this, examine his own motivations and actions and figure out just what's going on in his own head. Because he's been sailing along on a fuckton of excuses today -- and for awhile, if he's being honest -- and yet he's gonna call Zoro out for backing down? He feels like a giant shitty hypocrite, which makes him both irritated at and sort of ashamed of himself.
The more glaring problem, however, is that he's pretty sure he wants to sit back down, grab Zoro's shirt again, and haul him back in for more.
He does sit down again, at least, dropping onto the cushion like his legs have suddenly given out, and he curls a hand over his mouth before finally glancing back at Zoro.]
You've...been thinking about doing that? [He pauses, trying to remember what exactly Zoro said though it feels like it happened a lifetime ago.] Or you have before, at least.
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Something in his chest aches for the briefest moment when Sanji comes back, though he keeps his hands to himself, slumped back against the back of the couch. Somehow, just getting that out of the way has really relaxed him.]
Before. A while ago. [he sniffs a half-hearted chuckle and looks across the room. That's right, spirit-fox, you stay over there] But then you made your interests pretty well known, so I kinda dropped it. No reason wasting energy when you were pretty clear about the girls.
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Sanji had spent those first days acclimating himself to the entire crew. He'd promptly fallen for Nami-san, of course, but even more important than that had been learning the ins and outs of his new nakama. Figuring out their tastes, discovering what each one of them did or did not like to eat... Making sure he was going to be the best cook he could possibly be for them.
It had also been an adjustment period, because it had been a long, long while since Sanji had last regularly been around people his own age. On the Baratie, most of the cooks were older. Customers came and went, but the people he lived his daily life with weren't always the easiest for him to relate to. He had never been unhappy there, obviously. Quite the fucking opposite. But suddenly having Luffy and Usopp to dork around with had made life fun in a different way.
Zoro was always more of a mystery, though. A little older than the other two, more serious... Sanji had spent a good chunk of time just watching him curiously, either from across the ship or through the galley window. He could relate to him as a fighter easily enough, maybe even admire his strength and dedication to his art, but beyond that? Their personalities hadn't quite seemed to click.
He would learn, of course, over months of sailing together, how best to deal with Zoro. And he grew to understand him more. And while, objectively, he knew the guy was pretty easy on the eyes, Sanji hadn't ever...
That wasn't something he often indulged in. Thoughts like that about men.
It still isn't, which he suddenly feels he needs to clarify.]
So what the hell changed? Because for the record? [He points a finger at himself.] Still really fucking interested in girls.
[He knows you can be interested in both, he's more just abruptly curious what kind of signals he's giving off if Zoro decided it was a good time to go ahead and waste that energy. ...He also realizes it's potentially a dumb question, because all he has to do is stop being an intentionally stubborn asshole and then he could probably piece it together himself.]
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What changed? As he sits there, thinking about it, Zoro can only really chalk it up to this new world of theirs.]
No shit. Just...I dunno, this place, maybe. [and one really awkward thing but hey, the question's been asked, he might as well answer] Then there was that day you brought the books home from the library. I know it wasn't real but. [a small, stiff shrug] Things don't stay buried after a thing like that.
[it sounds so dumb, especially with his complete lack of eloquence, but it's all true]
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Oh yeah. That.
[Oh yeah, like it's something that was so easy to forget. Nope, the memory is burned into Sanji's brain, thanks very much. As is how Zoro feels beneath his hands, and what it's like to straddle the man's lap…
Geez, and here he's worried about a little kissing when they've been through that and are still managing just fine.
He hums a little, pushing a hand through his hair again and making a show of being a smug bastard because that's easier than facing the way that memory makes him feel. Dammit, what happened to not backing down?]
Guess once you've had shitty taste, you can't help wanting more.
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That's one way to put it, yeah.
[That said...now what? He sits with his hands in his lap, idly rubbing his knuckles. Should he try to talk about it, or just let it go? The silences between their comments weighs too much, Zoro has to shorten them.
Look, it's not like I'm trying to get mushy or anything. And even if it's this place, affecting us...I don't care. It's something I want, now, and there's nothing that says I can't try to grab it and hang onto it.
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If he could stop feeling flustered and awkward anytime now, that'd be pretty great.
Though that proves to be difficult when Zoro just plows onward like that. Sanji groans a little, dragging his hands over his face before he shoots a faintly annoyed look at the other man.]
Shit, you're so fucking forward.
[Says the guy who regularly throws himself at any woman who crosses his path.
Not that he's actually annoyed, he just feels like he's still scrambling to catch up. He's trying to wrap his head around Zoro being interested in him at all, meanwhile there he is just straight up talking about wanting things and grabbing them while he can and it's making Sanji feel a little crazy. There's one part of that he can definitely get behind, though -- the not getting mushy part. Because if he can't even work out his own feelings yet, then he's certainly not going to sit here and try to explain them to Zoro. No, that's something for later, when he's alone in his room and replaying this entire afternoon in his mind so he can really dissect it.
He shakes his head a little, continuing from where he just left off.]
But okay, I— Fine. Good. I can't fucking handle you being mushy anyway, it's weird. In fact, we don't even gotta talk anymore today! Think I'm all talked out. We can just...
[...Uh.
Not sure where he was going with that.
Sanji swallows, glancing at the space between them on the couch. Then he shifts, turning toward Zoro again, his hands gripping the cushion beneath him like he needs something to hold onto.]
You sound like a shitty caveman, you know.
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