(Untitled)

[threesword]

Who: Roronoa Zoro (threesword), Sanji (baratiesbest), Umi Ryuuzaki (embracethewaves)
Where: Outside the Northern Lights
When: August 11th, During the party at the lights
Rating: PG-13 at least :|
Summary: Things finally reach their breaking point between the two Straw Hats.
the log:

Comments

[baratiesbest]

Holy fucking hell.

That had not gone according to plan. Technically Sanji hadn't planned any of this at all, had even done his best to avoid getting into situations like these but of course his shitty luck had to rear its ugly head once more. Months had gone by without so much as a chaste kiss and then that stupid fucking moss head had to walk in on them on the one night they slipped. It was fucking ridiculous.

Ridiculous and more than a little worrying. The look on Zoro's face promised bloodshed and the swordsman was definitely a man true to his word - there was no way they could avoid this conflict. He wasn't entirely sure why the damn marimo was making such a big deal out of it though, it wasn't the first time the cook had ended up with some gorgeous lady. And it wasn't as if this had anything to do with Umi-

Shit. Umi. If she found out

[threesword]

Okay, this was new. He'd seen moves from the cook that were almost similar, but this was new. He'd forgotten how fast Sanji could be at times, and this was one of those times - and it paid for it dearly

[embracethewaves]

It was with a broad smile and a deep breath that Umi stepped out of the Northern Lights, into the frigid snowy weather of Discedo. Snow in August... She shook her head, buttoning her coat.

Weird. Just weird.The party had been an incredible success -- Hikaru looked really happy at the surprise, and everyone had a good time. The food, the people...everything was perfect. Except that she had left Hikaru's present back at the Gohl house, of course...which was what she was fixing now. The small girl had offered to come with her, but that would have ruined the surprise, wouldn't it? Besides, it might give her a chance to make some friends

[baratiesbest]

It took Sanji a moment or two to really understand what had just happened, so wrapped up in the fight that he barely noticed his surroundings. And then that water barrier came crashing in between them and everything came to a grinding halt. Breath quick and shallow he turned towards the source, only to freeze up completely once he saw who it was.

Shit.

Shit.

This night couldn't get much worse. Of all the people to pass this way it had to be her - the object of their rivalry. He remained silent, wide-eyed, staring at her in disbelief until the initial shock subsided and he had to look away. Ashamed he took a couple of steps back to increase the distance between himself and the idiot marimo, shoulders slumped in defeat.

Now would be a good time for the scientists to swoop in and send any of them home. The cook had a feeling that the conversation that was to follow would hurt a lot more than the mass of cuts on his chest.

[threesword]

The timing... well, it probably couldn't have been much better. Had that barrier not been there, things would have been far... well, worse in some sense of the word. Zoro hadn't heard Umi's attack call, but there was only one person he knew that would make a barrier like that.

Well. This sucked.

Standing in position to fight was no longer an option. In a couple of pained motions, all three swords had made their way back to their scabbards. He didn't look up at all. This was not something Umi was going to take to well at all.

Really, he wanted nothing more but to just collapse right then. Everything hurt. His shoulder throbbed, he could feel the cracks in his ribs, and he was covered in blood from head to do.

Sleep would do well right that. But that wasn't an option. So instead, he turned away from both the magic knight and and the cook with eyes closed.

[embracethewaves]

"Why--" Umi finally began, but the word caught in her throat. It was...an unbelievably big question, she realized, once she began. But

[baratiesbest]

"..."

What the hell could he say to that? She deserved a response but as much as he wanted to give it to her the words just weren't there. Sanji sighed, a shuddering breath shaky with pain and adrenalin followed by a slight cough. Still nothing and in an attempt to buy some time he went for the pack of cigarettes - maybe the soothing effects of nicotine would hold an answer.

Nakama. Friendship. Trust. Family. Closest thing to a brother he could ever get, and then this...

He didn't understand it any better than she did. Not how it had gone this far at least, even though he knew the reasons behind most of their fights the past nine months. But he couldn't very well say it was all because of her, could he? Better to lie, throw out some flat cliché and hope that she'd still be talking to him after all this.

Inhale. Exhale. Eyes still firmly fixed on the ground, hands shaking. And then the only thing he could think of that wasn't utter bullshit.

"...things change."

[threesword]

All of this sucked. Every last bit of it. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. For a while, they'd been okay. Getting along, even. Sure, Sanji and Zoro had their banter, but that was what they did.

Just as Umi had becoming someone very important to Zoro, somewhere deep under the surface, Sanji had too. He'd joined the Straw Hats after seeing what it really meant to never give up on dreams. And sure, Zoro would roll his eyes when you could practically see his eyes turning into hearts when Nami walked by. And he'd be the first to challenge the cook to see who could get the most meat. Any petty competition to keep their rivalry going.

But Zoro reveled in that. That sort of rivalry was like no other. Sanji was different. They could fight all day, but at the end of it, there was a mutual understanding that made it gratifying. It didn't take long to accept him as a part of the crew. Underneath it all, they were friends. Brothers. If one of them was in a bind, the other would always be right there to bail them out (though

[embracethewaves]

"Things change," she repeated, softly, voice flat. Was that really it...was that all? Was it right?

Umi stared in disbelief for a moment. Friendship had always seemed so solid and unquestionable to her -- rock-steady. Hikaru and Fuu had taught her that. Even them...she hadn't known them long, in Cephiro, and at first, sure, they had bickered. She had snapped. But people that you would give your life to save...could "things changing" really ruin a thing like that? Could this place do something like that

[baratiesbest]

It didn't look like Zoro was going to contribute all that much to the conversation. Useless fucking moron, was he actually going to leave all the talking to Sanji? Fuck that, they were both in this mess together. He wasn't going to take all the blame when this shit went even more sour on them

[threesword]

And there is was. It was confirmation that Zoro had been asking for just a little while earlier. Really, he wasn't sure how to react. A part of him was relieved it was... all out there. But the other part of him was completely horrified. Partially, because Sanji had just said it outright. Mostly because... how was Umi going to react to it.

Zoro quietly sputtered. His back was still to them, which made it a bit easier to hide the terrified expression that had taken over his face. He couldn't believe any of this was happening.

Eventually, he found himself able to turn around, though he still couldn't bring his eyes to meet with either of the people there. It was hard enough to hear the quiver in Umi's voice - he knew that seeing her cry would be one of the most painful things right now - more so than any physical injury he had. He knew he had to say something, but nothing came out at first. This really was unlike anything else he'd ever experienced in his 20 years

[embracethewaves]

The chill that ran through her...definitely wasn't because of the cold. It was a sort of numbness, almost, something that caused her to shiver a bit.

You. That one little word was enough to render her speechless, to twist her stomach into knots. The static and animosity between them had been there -- that much she knew. But...because of her? She had never noticed. Or maybe she had never looked, never wanted to think about the possibility of something like this happening... It made her feel sick

[baratiesbest]

The slap caused the blonde's head to jerk to the side but apart from that he didn't move, just kept his eyes on anything but the other two - the white snake of smoke from the cigarette, the blood stained snow, the crumbling buildings. Anything. He couldn't look Umi in the eyes right now, if ever again.

They were idiots. Stubborn fucking morons. Cowards. And she got hurt by it.

Unforgivable.

The problem wasn't new, it had started the very day he arrived in Discedo and reached the first climax not even two months after that. The first day of the year, it had been cold just like today with the streets covered in snow. The damn marimo had almost killed him that day but they had worked through it somehow. Settled their differences. So much had happened since then, they were supposed to be different.

Yet here they were. Snow on the street and blood on his shirt and it was all so fucking familiar. Had they really gotten nowhere..? Or were they just too stupid to even attempt to really fix the problem? Quick solutions, temporary

[threesword]

Sting didn't begin to describe it. His face had hurt enough as it was - the slap was just an extra fiery sting that he could have done without. Face of the matter was though, he deserved it. Zoro knew that for all the trouble that had been caused from this situation, he'd probably deserved more than that. Umi could have kicked him square in the groin and pulled her sword against him and he wouldn't have been able to argue it. Nor was he going to try

[embracethewaves]

For a little while, Umi didn't know what else to say. She had said it all already -- or everything she could put into words, at least. The rest...was just an anxious feeling in her chest, that same knot in her stomach that wouldn't go away. She didn't know how to fix this. Hikaru's optimism had become something she cherished and held to, but she was beginning to wonder if things could ever be normal.

She was still a little angry. Angry at them for never saying anything, and at herself for casting a blind eye over the whole thing. For never noticing, for never changing... She hadn't forgotten what Zoro said, like he told her to. But she had let herself become preoccupied, and maybe now it was too late.

...She still didn't even know how to respond, though. Not really.

They were idiots, that was for sure -- but how much better was she, in that case? Not knowing her own feelings. Maybe not wanting to know. It was always something that had seemed so...foreign, and something she hadn't worried about. She hated that...they had determined

[baratiesbest]

"...you have nothing to apologize for, Miss."

He seemed to say that a lot lately. Sanji took one last shaky inhale on that burnt down cigarette before letting it fall in an attempt to seek some courage. Guidance. The silence was just as bad as it had been the past couple of months - always silent about what was important, bottling it up until they ended up where they were now.

Enough. They couldn't hide behind the bond of nakama or male pride or honor anymore. Umi had been hurt by it all and that was more than enough to call for retreat. He didn't deserve her after all, not after tonight. As much as it pained him to think it Zoro was by far the better choice - if she still wanted to be near either of them.

How difficult can it be to throw away your pride?!Not difficult at all when you've been doing it for all your life. Sanji swallowed, took a deep breath. Prepared. And when he finally spoke again his voice came out restrained, polite, almost cold