37 → Action/Voice
[This isn't the first time in a week Sanji's slipped out of slumber, indicated by the immediate clarity of his surroundings when his eye opens. No blank moments, no gaps in understanding. No sudden shutdowns where he goes right back under.
He's completely awake, and that's noted with paramount relief.
... And under house arrest, if Nami's last ( Read more... )
He's completely awake, and that's noted with paramount relief.
... And under house arrest, if Nami's last ( Read more... )
She knows -- she hears it -- and she doesn't even stop to think. Whatever she was doing is suddenly completely unimportant, because she drops her journal, drops everything, and starts running.
Sorry, Straw Hats. Xion will be bursting into the house without warning. Having been there every day since the fight, she knows exactly where Sanji's room is.
She doesn't care that her arm is in a sling because he shattered it. She doesn't care he helped kill her and that the memory of his kick has been haunting her in her sleep.
The moment she sees him, Xion's eyes well up with tears, and sling be damned, she tackles him with a hug. ]
SANJI!
Reply
O-oi! What the--
Reply
Sanji can't help it; he freezes a little]
Reply
Reply
He's hugging her back before she gets a chance to say anything else, mindful of her arm because he remembers, and that knowledge hurts as much as his relief does.]
I'm sorry. [And at first he's not sure which part he's apologizing for, until the next words slip out of his mouth with a watery chuckle]
I never got a chance to welcome you back.
Reply
[ she pulls back so she can look at him -- and so her arm isn't between them.
"...something's wrong with him." ]
Nami ... explained a lot of things to me. I ... I understood.
[ Her smile is so sad even though her eyes are still wet with grateful tears. she will never, ever tell him she's had nightmares -- just a handful, but nonetheless -- since her return, and since the fight. it wasn't his fault. it wasn't him.
...
there are things she wants to say -- about the AI, about her death, about everything -- but somehow her sad smile only stretches into a watery grin and all she can manage is: ]
I missed you.
Reply
His eye darts down to her arm before returning to her face. The wince he holds back, that's bitter over this entire shitty mess, but not the flood of concern.
But he can spare her an honest smile]
I missed you, too. [There's no point in trying to convey how much it hurt keeping his silence during her return - he'll pass over it instead]
How are you feeling?
Reply
and Sanji is back. as is everyone else from the draft.
for what is probably the first time in a long while, she grins in earnest. and, instead of saying she's "okay" or "fine"... ]
Good.
[ but now she's curious about something. she leans a little to the side, so she can glance at the sea shells on his pillow, then up at him. ... then at the shells, then back at him. and then she bites her lip. be more obvious about this, Xion. she wants to know what he thinks, but isn't sure how to ask. ]
Reply
And yes, Xion, be a little more obvious, since Sanji didn't catch the path of your gaze the first two times. His eyebrow arches in surprise.]
They're from you?
Reply
I think I mentioned once before... a while ago... that sea shells have a lot of meaning for me.
[ she tugs at the string around her neck and pulls out the necklace she made from Riku's gift, fingering it gently, still looking away. ]
There was a time, back home ... when Roxas fell asleep. He was asleep for a long time... so every day, I brought him a sea shell and left it on his pillow, and I would stay there for a few minutes and tell him how my day had gone. [ hm. a little pink in the face, now. ]
He ... did the same thing for me, when I fell asleep for a while. I wanted... I thought, maybe... I could do the same thing for you. I -- I asked everyone, and they said it would be okay...
[ red. yes. she is shy as hell and embarrassed right now. ] P-Plus, I thought maybe... they'd remind you of the ocean, and home...
Reply
He kicked you. Twice. Broke your arm into pieces. Nearly killed you.
And you bring him seashells every day, waiting for him to wake up.]
Reply
That's all he can do for the moment, and try not to cry.
How are you even forgiving him? It wasn't him, no, but it was still his body, and he wouldn't have blamed you had you just left him behind for good.]
Reply
I love them, Xion-chan.
Thank you.
Reply
he's laughing, and he's ... crying?
Sanji?
The person who has been so strong, and always protected her, even from herself?
Because of her gift, he's... ]
Reply
then, slowly, she reaches behind her neck and pulls up the sling, so it comes over and off. she removes her arm from it and gently twists it, curling and uncurling her fingers. not that she can tell if it's healed or not... she feels no pain. but it seems solid enough. there's no cast on it now -- it's just tightly wrapped up in gauze.
she starts speaking aloud what she had intended to be silent thoughts. but once she starts, she doesn't bother to stop. ]
Brook... he put up a filter letting your crew know what had happened. Saying that there was some sort of parasite in you. I hacked it and begged him to tell me where you were... and even though he hesitated for a while, he agreed, but he insisted I not go by myself.
... I went alone. There wasn't any time. And when I found you there in the woods... I was the first one. No one else had time to reach you yet.
[ she has no idea if he remembers this or not. but she needs to say it. ]That ( ... )
Reply
How could he then see her gift and have to fight off tears? How could he hug her, and smile, and seem just as happy to see her as she is to see him?
No. She knows that the thing that attacked her before her death was not her friend.
Abruptly she smiles, in a way that is almost pained, but not because she's scared, or worried, or unhappy... but because she is so, so relieved that wetness returns to her eyes all over again. ]
I will always, always believe in you, Sanji. I trusted you with my life, with my friends lives, and I know in my heart it was the right decision.
[ does she have one of those? she's still not sure. but it feels like the right thing to say. with both arms free, she hugs him again, fighting off tears of happiness and failing a little bit as she buries her face in his chest. ]
I'm so glad you're back.
Reply
Leave a comment