This Is Your Life: Chapter Twenty-One
Sanji swore and skidded to the door, hand reaching for the handle before his eye was caught by a piece of paper. “Note: Today’s class will be in room C-425.”
Swearing again, and then apologizing as it scared a girl walking by the room, he took off down the hallway. Stupid Zoro and his stupid morning make-out session that stupidly pushed Sanji to be late and he still cooked the stupid idiot breakfast and…
“This the place?” he huffed out, asking nobody in particular, before setting his hand on the door handle and pushing it open. He was met by an extremely old kitchen and he glanced in suspiciously. It was dark; no class in sight, and by the look of the equipment, only still existed because the school didn’t have the money to re-furnish it yet. Because heck, if that stove was under fifteen years old, he was a straight man. The only thing that caught his eye was the knife rack on the counter. They looked like decent knives…old, certainly, but if they weren’t in use it was possible they were still sharp.
He had a feeling that he should take a couple. Because the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Something was up.
That note wasn’t from his teacher.
That note…
His foot came up instinctively, shooting straight in the air in a move that would make normal men cringe as he did what could almost be termed a vertical split, the satisfying ‘crack’ alerting him that he had successfully connected with somebody’s face. The copper tang of blood immediately filled the air, and he turned, eyes narrowed as he took in the men in the deserted hallway.
Great. The rest of Idiot’s bunch.
“Oi, you’re stinkin’ up the kitchen. Mind leaving?” Sanji lit a cigarette, regardless of the fact he was in a school, and tapped the toe of his shoe on the ground.
“Lookit the pretty boy trying to make threats,” one of the men laughed, and Sanji toed the gargling, bleeding man on the ground in the side and blew out a stream of smoke. “You’re…”
“Yeah, I know, generic villain talk. ‘You’re the reason our perverted boss is dead; just because he was trying to rape you was no reason for him to be killed!’” Sanji raised the pitch of his voice and fluttered his eyelashes as the men growled at him.
“Well, at least he took down one of you with him,” one of the men near the back finally called.
“Heh,” Sanji reached behind him, fingers closing around the handle of one of the larger knives while he spoke. It was generally against his policy to do anything that could endanger his hands in a fight, but he was in a kitchen…and after all, these men were nothing more than spoiled hunks of meat anyway. “You’re all idiots if you think that. It’ll take more than a pervert to kill a member of CP9.”
“Hear that, boys? Maybe one of us can’t kill an elite government dog, but I bet the lot of us can kill one skinny blonde,” another man (again near the back) raised his voice, and Sanji pulled two knives out and had them in his hands in an instant, testing their weight and finding them more than satisfactory for what he had in mind. One against thirty wasn’t great odds, but he was going to give it his best. He felt no fear, surprisingly, only a grim sort of determination and the knowledge that Zoro would never let him live it down if he lost to these creeps.
“Bring it.”
A loud ‘clang’ interrupted whatever response there was, and Sanji blinked as he saw a man go down. Wondering what was going on, he hung back and blinked as a blast of fire shot through the doorway, sending men scrambling past him (several with burning clothes) and out the windows at the other end of the classroom. “What the…”
“Sanji-kun!”
Sanji realized that all of the enemies were now behind him, but he barely spared a glance over his shoulder before looking at the people silhouetted in the doorway. Nami had a large metal pole in her hand…most likely what had felled the first gang member…and she twirled it like a baton before setting the butt on the ground.
“W-w-well, that went w-w-well,” Usopp’s knees were shaking, and he was hiding partially behind Nami, a rather intimidating looking slingshot in his hand as he gave Sanji a shaky smile.
“Stop being a baby, long-nose,” Zoro muttered around Wadou’s hilt. He locked eyes with Sanji and the cook felt a tiny stab of fear go through him. Zoro looked…demonic, all three swords out and a black bandana tied over his green hair, shadowing his eyes.
“Yeah, c’mon, Usopp. You’re not in any danger…you’ve got a long-range weapon there,” Ace was grinning, ridiculous hat set on his head as he chuckled. He had a barbecue lighter in one hand and a can of…something in the other.
“You guys…” Sanji was a little awed. He had no idea that his friends had this much fighting potential. And even Nami looked completely confident. “How did you…”
“Ace was walking by the room to make sure you got to class okay when he saw the sign and thought something was up, so he called a few of us,” Nami answered him. “But now’s not the time to chat. We’ve got some men to take down.”
“Right,” Sanji turned just as one of those men…obviously not a very smart one…charged, and he saw a glint of metal in the man’s hand before he parried it with the knives, flipping them from hand to hand and dislodging the pocket knife to send it sailing across the room. A kick to the head brought the man down, and he spun the knives again, waiting.
“Oi, cook,” Zoro was suddenly pressed back-to-back with him; he could feel the man’s muscles rippling under his clothing as he shifted. “Didn’t know you could handle a blade.”
“Or two,” Sanji grinned, eyes widening as about five men stumbled past, clawing at their eyes and rushing headlong to a sink. “What the…”
“Usopp. He’s got some sort of mini water balloons filled with Tabasco sauce. He’s a good shot,” Zoro grunted. “Anyway, on three?”
Predictably, neither of them waited until ‘three’ to move, blades and feet flying for a few seconds until they jumped back together. It only took a few more rounds of this to find all of the men laying on the ground, passed out or barely conscious, and Sanji gave the knives one final twirl before putting them back into the knife block. “And done. That was a pain.”
“Idiot cook,” Zoro had sheathed his swords and spun him around, bandana still in place. “What were you thinking? Didn’t you consider that it could be a trap? Didn’t you check the other room first?”
“It was your fault I was late in the first place, Marimo!” Sanji snarled back, one foot against Zoro’s chest. “Because you were horny.”
“No reason for you not to be careful!”
“Boys!” Nami said sharply.
“What?”
“What’s the matter, Nami-swan?”
“Can you stop arguing for a second? Anybody got any idea what we can do with these guys?” she pointed to the men, thwacking one with her staff when he started to get back up.
“There’s got to be…Zoro?” Sanji glanced at the man, noticing his face was pale. “You…you’re bleeding?”
“Lucky shot,” Zoro shifted, and Sanji could see blood staining his shirt. “Some idiot knifed my shoulder, but it’s not too bad.”
“We still have to get you to Chopper,” Sanji scolded him.
“Can’t we leave them? The…the gangsters,” Usopp still had his slingshot gripped tightly in his hand.
“And then what? When they wake up, they’ll go on a rampage. We can’t let that happen,” Ace crossed his arms.
“I’ll call Lucci,” Zoro sighed. “He’ll…”
“No need to call me.”
They all looked to the door, where none other than Rob Lucci was standing with Kalifa. He was unarmed, although she was carrying a rather wicked-looking spiked whip. “We’ll take care of these fools,” Kalifa assured them. “You did good for students. I’m impressed.”
“Heh,” Zoro removed Wadou and slung an arm around Sanji’s shoulders. “We do okay.”
“What now?” Nami asked. “Are you taking Zoro to Chopper’s?”
“I…” he shook his head. “I have a class, remember?”
“I think, Sanji, that if you were to miss it today, nobody would blame you,” Lucci said calmly. “In fact, I’m quite certain that nobody will blame you.”
The feral smile on his face led Sanji to believe that this obviously meant ‘or they’ll deal with me,’ but he just nodded and plastered a smile onto his own face.
“Thanks,” he finally muttered. “Come on, moss-head.”
“Oi, you losers tagging along?” Zoro called over his shoulder.
“May as well,” Ace grinned. “See if you’re as tough as you claim when you’re getting all stitched up.”
“Ace, stop it,” Nami shoved the older man’s arm as he snickered. “You’re such a child.”
“Nami, dear, you do realize who my brother is, right?”
“I’m dating him,” Nami sighed. “Let’s go, Usopp.”
“R-r-right! The great Usopp never backs down from a…ow, ow, ow, Nami, that’s my ear…”
“Shut up,” she gave his ear a last tug as they left the room, before growling, “and next time it’s your nose that gets it.”
Usopp was strangely silent for the whole ride.
000
“Usopp, a word.”
“Yes, Sanji?”
Chopper, much to Ace’s acute disappointment, had shooed them all out of the room, and they were waiting in his foyer. Sanji pulled Usopp over to the stairs and went up a few before sitting, glancing up at the younger man.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“What you did today. You were incredibly brave, and you need to stop doubting yourself. I knew I could count on you, and you proved it,” Sanji gave him a warm smile, causing Usopp to blush and hurriedly deny any assumptions of bravery. “Kaya’s gonna be proud too.”
Usopp blushed far deeper at that and Sanji shook his head before standing and clapping him firmly on the back, heading back down the stairs as Chopper finally emerged. “How is it, Chopper?”
“Well, for once, he wasn’t downplaying it. It was a fairly minor scratch…gave him some stitches and some painkillers, but it won’t slow him down any,” Chopper shrugged. “He should be out for a good while, but knowing Zoro…I give it an hour,” the short teen nodded.
There was a knock at the door as he finished talking, and he blinked before going to open it. “Oh, it’s you! You were there last night, right? What are you…”
“Sorry, little buddy, but we have to barge in,” Jyabura patted the boy on the head as he darted inside. “Wouldn’t be good for anyone t’ see us on the street now, would it?”
Blueno, following him, looked quietly resigned. “Hello, Sanji.”
“Hey,” Sanji waved. “What’s up?”
“Ah, Robbie just sent us t’ tell you brats that he and that she-devil took care of those punks at the University, so y’ don’t hafta worry about anything,” Jyabura shrugged.
“It’s worrisome,” Blueno intoned in his deep voice. “We were having enough trouble dealing with Krieg’s men as a whole, but now that there’s evidence they’re breaking up into smaller groups…who knows how many sub-gangs we may have to deal with as time goes on?”
“If it helps, these were the only ones who seemed to be opposed to Krieg’s ideas,” Sanji spoke up. “That night…I mean, everyone else seemed devotedly loyal to Gin, and while I don’t understand it, I know he’s Krieg’s man through and through.”
“Your man first though, I hear,” Jyabura chuckled.
Sanji sighed. “I…I don’t honestly know. If it came down to choosing me or choosing Krieg…I’d never ask him to put his life in danger like that.”
“It may put him in more danger to go against Krieg if it comes to it,” Blueno said simply. “However, be assured that we will do him no harm; not if he is in fact helping you.”
“Thank you,” Sanji sighed. “Chopper, do you mind if I use your kitchen? I was supposed to be getting food at school, but since I missed the class, I’m a little hungry.”
“Oh! Go ahead!” Chopper immediately latched onto his arm and led him into the modest kitchen.
000
Exactly an hour later, Sanji knocked on the door of the spare bedroom and, without waiting for an answer, pushed his way in, balancing a tray with a bowl of hearty soup and a cup of herbal tea on it. Zoro, as Chopper predicted, was awake, but he barely glanced at Sanji when he came in.
“Oi. Food,” Sanji held out the tray and Zoro wordlessly took it as the blonde sat down beside him on the bed, unlit cigarette dangling precariously from his mouth as he sighed. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I told you it was just a scratch,” Zoro assured him, but Sanji wasn’t fooled.
“Something else is bothering you,” he said quietly, and Zoro gave him an unreadable look before beginning to eat his soup. “Spill. And if it’s some drivel about me not thinking before I acted today, then shut your trap,” Sanji lowered his voice. “I can take care of myself, alright?”
Zoro, unsurprisingly, was quiet, and Sanji nodded knowingly.
“Look, Zoro,” Sanji ran a hand through his golden hair before reaching to pet Zoro’s. “I know I should have suspected something; I was hasty, but it worked out alright. I can take care of myself,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to let what happened last time happen again. It was too close, and next time…next time somebody might actually die because of it.”
“Cook, you’ve got to stop this whole selfless thing you’ve got going on,” Zoro growled, setting the soup spoon down. “Frankly I’m sick of hearing it. Yes, we know you’d feel bad if anything happened, but what you’ve got to realize is that it’s their life or yours…”
“So why can’t it be mine?” Sanji countered. “They want me, right? Why does anyone else have to be in danger just because they’re trying to protect me?”
“Because they want to protect you; don’t you get it?” Zoro looked pained. “Kaku told me what he said to Usopp that night at Vivi’s.”
Sanji glanced at him, raising his curled brow as Zoro took a deep breath and pushed on.
“I’ve known him for years, Sanji, and he’s not one to make a confession like that easily. He wasn’t just saying it to make Usopp feel pressured, you know.”
“But he’s…”
“Yeah, his job and that drivel, I know. But what you’ve got to realize is that CP9 runs by their own rules, and Iceburg accepts that. How do you think they’ve stayed alive and uninjured so long? If the risks get too big, they won’t throw their lives away. Martyrs are just dead men in the end, after all,” Zoro said in a low voice. “Not that they won’t fight as hard as they can, but the organization has to remain secret above everything else, and if it looks like anything’s gonna compromise it, they find an alternative solution. The fact that he risked himself for you…it’s beyond a job for him; for all of them at this point. So stop thinking that you’re some kind of burden. They’re doing it because they care; the same reason we all are. You have no reason to feel guilty, and if I hear another word out of you…” he grabbed Sanji’s collar and stared at him with dark eyes as Sanji swallowed almost convulsively, not afraid of Zoro and yet cowed by the overwhelming presence of the younger man.
“You’ll what, Zoro?” Sanji couldn’t resist the jab. “You’ll what?”
Zoro growled at him before moving to smash their lips together, harsh and without any pretence of it being anything other than an attack. Sanji returned the animalistic noise and gripped Zoro’s arms, fingers digging into the exposed skin as he nipped at the younger man’s lips and thrust his tongue inside Zoro’s mouth.
Zoro was having none of it, however, as he bodily threw Sanji onto the bed and climbed over him, holding him firmly in place, pinning him with his weight even as the smaller man thrashed and bucked beneath him in every effort to get him off.
“I’ll leave. I swear I will, cook. I’ll walk out of this whole mess,” Zoro threatened in a low voice. “You said you won’t let me compromise my dream, right? Well, I don’t intend to let you compromise your own. I’ve already lost the one person I loved most in the entire world. I’m not going through that again no matter how stubborn you’re going to be about it. Got it?”
Sanji stopped struggling and blinked up at Zoro, hair messed so that the younger man could actually see both of his eyes for once. “Y-you mean that?” his voice was a whisper, and Zoro bent down to give him a gentle kiss.
“Yeah, stupid cook, I mean it,” Zoro growled. “I already told you that I loved you, didn’t I? Don’t make me say something so stupidly romantic ever again,” he finished with a pointed grunt as Sanji closed his eyes and sighed, jerking his head in a tiny nod. “Good.” He let go of Sanji’s wrists and moved back as the blonde pushed himself onto his knees.
“And here I thought you were going soft on me, Marimo,” Sanji said, although his voice was gentle and hardly mocking. “But then you had to ruin it all by being an unromantic brute again.”
“I’m not romantic,” Zoro glared at him. “Leave that mushy stuff for the women.”
Sanji chuckled and stood up. “Eat the rest of your soup before it gets cold, okay?”
“You’re leaving?”
“Unless you want me to stay,” Sanji shrugged and was about to say more when there was a light rapping on the door. “Come in,” he turned to call and it opened, Lucci and Kalifa pushing their way into the room. “Everything’s taken care of?”
“Indeed,” Lucci nodded. “I daresay you won’t be troubled by those particular men anymore.”
“Good,” Sanji was relieved. “Is that all you came to talk to me about?”
“Almost.”
“Almost?” Sanji raised his curled eyebrow. “So what else is there?”
“We think we have to end this, and soon,” Kalifa interjected. “It’s getting more dangerous than we would have originally anticipated, and while CP9 will never back down from a challenge, this is starting to encompass more than a simple take-down. This at least has proven that we’re not dealing with just Krieg and his men…apparently there is plenty of dissention between his underlings, and we’re not equipped to deal with more than one gang at a time. Admittedly, none of these sub-gangs have much power or initiative, so we hope that by taking Krieg in the rest will just fall apart on their own. But we have to get him to make his move.”
“What do you suggest?” Zoro perched on the edge of the bed, continuing to eat his soup as he glanced at the two agents.
“We need to set a trap for him,” Lucci said simply. “Sanji, we need to get you to a place where he has no choice but to confront you, and we need to make it all look completely unplanned. That’s going to be the hard part, because if Krieg suspects an ambush on our parts, it’ll all be over.”
“So you need me to get in touch with Bon about it?” Sanji cocked his head to the side.
“That would be preferable,” Kalifa nodded. “It will need to wait a while simply because we’ll have to call another mass meeting and decide what all of our positions will be, but our biggest hope is that even if Krieg does suspect something, and he most likely will in some way or another, that the leader of his secondary group will be Gin, and if that’s the case…”
“We can get him to disobey Krieg’s orders in order to save us, is that it?” Sanji let a tiny smile creep onto his face. “It just might work. Gin’s devoted to Krieg, but I think he’s more devoted to me.”
“That’s creepy, cook,” Zoro grunted.
“Not in a romantic way,” Sanji lightly smacked the other man’s calf.
“Good, because you’re mine.”
“You’re too possessive, that’s what you are,” Sanji rolled his eyes. “So, another meeting, huh? Time and place?”
“I’d…hesitate to say mine, but I think it’s the safest place for now,” Lucci finally ground out. “The idiot boy will want to be there, and the less we have to move him, the better. Plus I’m sure that us continually going over to Miss Nefertari’s will no doubt grow suspicious rather quickly. If you wouldn’t mind telling your mildly unnerving cross-dressing insider to come as well, that would probably be best.”
“Alright, sounds fine. When?”
“What night is best for you?”
“Well, today’s Monday, so…Wednesday or Thursday works, I guess…”
“Wednesday, then. The sooner we can get this whole thing sorted out, the better,” Kalifa nodded firmly. “You’ll inform all of your friends?”
Sanji nodded and she raised her hand in a wave before striding out.
“How is he?” Sanji glanced up at Lucci, not needing to clarify his statement.
“It’s impossible to tell. He’s learned well from me, and even if he’s in incredible pain, it’s unlikely that he’d reveal it to me. He’s been…withdrawn,” Lucci finally settled on that description, a hint of pain and hurt making its way into his dark eyes before they were unreadable again.
“You love him, don’t you?” Sanji asked quietly, meeting the older man’s eyes.
“I would be lying if I said that I didn’t,” Lucci replied blandly. “But some things in this world are bigger than love,” he added firmly before turning and striding out, leaving Sanji sighing rather dejectedly behind him.
“Just when I thought he was becoming human,” he shook his head. “He proves me wrong yet again.”
“Ah, don’t worry about him, love-cook,” Zoro shrugged. “If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen,” he yawned.
“Get some rest, Zoro,” Sanji ruffled the other man’s hair.
“Stay with me?” Zoro asked quietly. “Unless…”
“Nah, I just made those bottomless pits out there dinner. I’m sure they can hold out for a few hours,” Sanji slid himself under the covers as Zoro climbed in beside him and tugged him close, kissing his lips softly. “And I don’t want to hear any more drivel about you not being romantic. Because that was romantic,” the blonde added as Zoro visibly blushed.
“Shut up, cook,” he finally muttered, still noticeably red, and Sanji chuckled before curling up close to him. “I’m not romantic.”
“No, you’re as tough and masculine as they come,” Sanji was still laughing quietly.
“Sanji?”
“Yeah?” Sanji blinked.
“I want you to promise me something.”
“Tell me first. Then I’ll tell you if I can,” Sanji said after a moment’s pause.
“When the final confrontation with Krieg comes…promise me that you won’t sacrifice yourself for somebody else,” he gripped Sanji’s hand and stared hard into his eyes, but after a moment he sighed and let the contact slip. He’d seen what he feared. Sanji would never let somebody be hurt for him, and he was a fool for thinking he could make the blonde hold to a promise like that.
Sanji knew that Zoro knew what his answer was, and he pulled away from the other man and crawled out of the bed. “I’ve…gotta go to the washroom.”
He didn’t, and once again he knew that Zoro knew that, but he gave the swordsman a wan smile and left, closing the door gently behind him.
000
He was outside on Chopper’s upstairs balcony; smoking; when Ace and Nami found him.
“Sanji-kun?” Nami came up behind him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Sanji-kun, why did you storm up here all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing, my dear,” he smiled at her, falsely reassuring, and she rolled her eyes. “Truly, Nami-san, it’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to us, babe,” Ace came up on his other side and nudged him gently, giving him a concerned look when Sanji didn’t respond. “Hey, man, what’s up with you and Zoro? You left pretty quickly.”
“I told you, it’s nothing,” Sanji tried to keep his voice neutral, but the continual questions were annoying him. “Stuff between me and Zoro. Don’t worry about it.”
“We’re your friends, Sanji-kun. Of course we’re worried,” Nami scoffed before latching herself onto his arm. “Now, tell us.”
“Just…leave me alone,” Sanji hated brushing off his goddess like that, but really, there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. Because a part of him felt like he was letting Zoro down by not being able to promise something so simple as to keep himself safe, and yet another knew that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he simply stepped back and let others fight for him.
And so, in the end, he had to be true to himself.
He wasn’t going to make promises he couldn’t keep.
“Don’t be sullen, love. It doesn’t suit you,” Ace came up behind him and circled his arms around Sanji’s waist, and Sanji instinctively leant back, blowing some smoke out as he did so. Ace had never minded the smell of his cigarettes.
“Zoro…it’s complicated, Ace,” Sanji muttered, shaking his head.
“So enlighten me.”
“He wants me to make promises that I can’t make,” Sanji said shortly, although he knew that, with Ace and Nami around, more explanations would be demanded.
He wasn’t disappointed.
“What type of promise, Sanji-kun?”
“I told you, I don’t…”
“Please? For me?” she pressed up against him, and he found himself with nowhere to run to.
“Alright; alright,” he finally conceded, telling them in clipped sentences about what Zoro had attempted to get him to promise.
“He’s worried about you, babe. We all are,” Ace amended. “You…things could have gone badly today.”
“I handled myself fine,” Sanji retorted.
“What if there had been more? Or if any of them had been stupid enough to bring guns into the University? Sanji-kun, you’re a brilliant fighter, but you can’t block a bullet,” Nami reminded him.
“Neither can anyone else,” Sanji sounded worn out and he slumped in Ace’s arms, flicking some ash off of his cigarette. “But I’m not going to ask for any promises or make any promises. We just have to take whatever they throw at us and get through it. As long as everyone comes out alive…that’s all I could ask for,” he spoke quietly, almost introspectively, his smooth voice lacking the both the apparent scorn he used when speaking to men and the flowery pitch-changes he employed with women, and his eyes were thoughtful, which only happened in rare moments when he let his ever present tough-guy guard down and the person normally buried behind the façade came out. “I won’t ask you to do anything for me and I won’t tell you not to. Maybe that’s a promise, but…” he took a slow drag of his cigarette. “Zoro just…doesn’t get it yet. He doesn’t get that I will always put others ahead of myself, because it’s who I am. If he loves me…if he loves me, how can he ask me to change something that’s so much a part of me? Something that, by all accounts, is so…fundamental to why I am the way I am? I don’t…” he cut off, blinking rapidly as he stared at the already darkening sky.
“Give him time, love,” Ace murmured into his hair. “He never took the time to get to know you back in high school, you know? You spent all your time sniping at each other.”
“And think about it from his point of view,” Nami said quietly, her cheek pressed against his chest, “He’s never told me, but I know that he lost somebody. Somebody important to him. How do you think he’d feel, somebody as strong and as confident in their strength as he is, if he couldn’t save the one he loves the most?”
Sanji paused, thinking about that for a moment before he let his almost-spent cigarette drift to the balcony and ground his shoe over it nearly unconsciously. “You’re right, Nami-san. Both of you are right. It’s just frustrating, because I feel like there’s still this wall between us that we have to break down before we can communicate. I mean, I’m stuck talking to my ex and his brother’s girlfriend about it!”
“Oi, that a problem?” Ace sounded offended.
“No, baby,” Sanji let a small laugh slip by his lips. “It’s not.”
“Sanji?”
“Yeah?”
“You just realize what you called me?”
“Yeah,” Sanji smiled.
“You’ve never…”
“I know,” Sanji assured him. “Look, Ace…I know I’ve been going on and on about promises and things, but promise me something?”
“What?” Ace blinked.
“Find somebody that deserves you. Find somebody that makes you happy. Find somebody that’s going to give you what I never could,” he said softly, although there was a somewhat wistful smile on his face.
“Yeah,” Ace didn’t protest, but he didn’t sound particularly convinced either. “If there’s a person out there, I’ll find them, Sanji. You know I will.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Sanji turned his head so that Ace could kiss him gently, and Nami sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Boys,” she groaned, before turning serious again. “This is going to end soon, isn’t it?”
“Within the week, if all goes as planned,” Sanji replied.
“Good. I’d like my life to go back to normal,” Ace yawned.
“Normal? All you do is sleep,” Sanji nudged him with his elbow.
“Well, it’s cutting into my sleeping time,” Ace protested, and they all laughed a little after that one.
“We’ll be alright,” Nami finally said. “We will. And next week we’ll all go to Shanks’ bar and forget it ever happened.”
“I can only hope so, Nami-san,” Sanji held her close as Ace loosened his grip around Sanji’s waist to draw her into the embrace. “I can only hope so.”
Notes:
1. I phail at writing action scenes. I have proven that again x(
2. Ack, can you tell I just saw RENT when I wrote this? Sanji is totally pulling a Roger on the balcony (if you don’t know what this is, don’t worry. There’s a character in RENT who goes up to his rooftop. He sings, but basically he’s brooding). I apologize for this, although I still think it works…
3. I saw Harry Potter tonight!!! My family and I all agree that it was one of the better movies (but still not as good as the third one. We’re all biased toward it for some reason. No, scratch that, I know perfectly well why I’m biased: Lupin’s my favorite character. And at least he did something in this movie!!!). And Snape’s hair looked far more respectable; it wasn’t greasy and it was styled, wonder of wonders!!
4. I think that’s it. Hope everyone enjoyed, and leave me a comment!!! This story is also now over 100,000 words!!!
Previous Chapters Are HERE