Tonight is not the night for fights

[baratiesbest]

Who: Sanji baratiesbest and Zoro threesword
Where: Northern Lights
When: Nov 19, late night.
Rating: PG13-ish for ust pirates
Summary: Two pirates meet in a bar. Awkwardness ensues.

the log:
Say what you will about Sanji but if there was one thing he was an expert at it was to keep himself occupied. Whenever life got too stressful and he needed to clear his head he

Comments

[baratiesbest]

Avoiding the swordsman had been at the very top of his priority list the last two weeks and it had been surprisingly easy to do so - the Straw Hats didn't see all that much of each other as it was and for once Sanji was grateful for that little inconvenience. If something like this had happened back on the Merry... no, he'd rather just not think about it. He was aware of the frequent visits though but since Zoro hadn't confronted him he thought nothing more of it. It wasn't that strange after all, he was a regular customer and as long as the cook stayed in the kitchen it wasn't be a problem

[baratiesbest]

"...yeah. I know. Shit.The fact that he didn't snap at that insult was more worrying than he'd ever imagined and he frowned at his own lack of reaction. Since when was he such a coward? Say what you will about the blond but he was in general a very brave man - a little too brave for his own good at times - and yet something simple as this left him petrified, insides squirming with restrained anxiety. Some of it could possibly be blamed on this not-so-new set of emotions but most of all he was just plain scared.They were so far in over their heads and the fact that Zoro was the one taking charge came as a blessing for once because the cook couldn't make sense of this no matter how he tried

[threesword]

Even Zoro had been surprised at the lack of reaction from Sanji. He'd hoped interjecting a little bit of normalcy into the conversation would begin to steer things in the right direction. But the swordsman was no conversationalist and he was definitely the last person who could successfully steer a conversation. But admittedly, he felt a bit deflated from the lack of reaction

[baratiesbest]

It felt like they were about to make a huge mistake but at this point their options were limited. Staying here didn't work even if they would retreat to the back - too much people, too suspicious not to mention all the usually pleasant associations the cook had with the back rooms of the Lights would make the conversation even more awkward. Gohl wasn't a possibility either with the lack of privacy and staying outside at this hour was like begging to be interrupted by a monster or two.

No. This really was their only option. He repeated his conviction - just talk, come up with a solution, get the fuck out of there. No problem.

He gave the other a short nod, pushed himself off the counter. It was a relatively slow night, no one would blame him if he ducked out at this hour - hell, he'd be surprised if anyone even noticed. So with that he went to get his jacket, said goodnight to what remained of the staff and headed back out to the bar.

"Let's go."

Cool, casual... and freaked out of his mind. No, there was no way this could end

[threesword]

He'd waited quietly, stuffing the ship plans in his pocket as he waited. He tried to remain collected - only mildly successful. Someone who didn't know him may not have noticed his demeanor being any different, but those who did would have immediately noticed. He couldn't push the thoughts out of his head, the tense whisper of "Your place?" playing back in his mind in an unstoppable loop that would completely drive him to insanity if it kept up

[baratiesbest]

It was impossible to not notice how tense the swordsman was and that in itself was a bad sign - he had an almost inhuman ability to stay calm even in stressful situations despite his short temper and to see him worked up like this... not good. Not good at all.

The cook remained silent, tried to keep his mind as clear as possible. Focused on keeping his breathing calm, tried to slow down his racing heart, counted the footsteps as they made their way over to Marshall. Anything to keep his head from spinning.

One thing you learned as a pirate on the Grand Line was that the impossible happened every day. Sailing up mountains, hunting dinosaurs, watching cherry blossoms cover the night sky of a harsh winter island, sail your ship right up into the sky where Gods and angels resided... all impossible things that still happened. He had been there, seen it all with his own eyes and that alone made it possible for him to believe in other impossibilies. All Blue. One Piece. Things that might not even exist but most certainly did because that

[threesword]

On the surface, that was all Zoro wanted. Logically, they would go to the apartment, pour some sake, and figure it out. Decide on a plan, however shitty it may be. Sanji would leave, and that would be it. They'd go in with their lives and put whatever this was behind them. They'd go back to their shitty Discedo lives. Working the bar, hunting, planning to get the hell out of there, sparring... and then spending their time with Umi

[baratiesbest]

The blond followed in Zoro's steps, quiet, eyes on the floor. It felt like an execution, each step bringing them a little closer to their doom, heart sinking a little further with each passing second. Melodramatic thinking maybe but it didn't make it any less true. None of them knew what would happen as soon as they entered that apartment but one thing was certain - something would die tonight. A possibility, a friendship, a fragile brotherly bond; whatever it was something was going to change and where there was change there was also a symbolic death. One door closes and another opens

[threesword]

The silence was completely deafening, but he couldn't find any words - especially not when they still weren't somewhere more secluded. Words... they weren't going to happen, so instead to trying to search for them he remained silent. So much felt lost on him right then anyway

[baratiesbest]

He tensed up as soon as they entered the apartment, closed the door behind him with a surprisingly loud click before following Zoro to the kitchen. His eyes were still on the ground and he made sure to keep some distance between them - don't make a move, keep this clean. Detached. Being back here once more made his thoughts spin back to the last time he had spent the night, those few seconds when the whole world was frozen. Something that now, in retrospect, seemed so much bigger than it had been back then

[threesword]

His eyes had opened just enough to catch when the bottle was being handed back to him, and he didn't hesitate in grabbing it. There was not enough liquor in the world - this world, their world, any world - to deal with a situation like this one.

Either way, Sanji's assessment had been right. Zoro had fully understood what his question meant. Hell, it was the same questions he'd been asking himself for days now. In between his bouts of denial, he'd come to realize that he didn't quite know the answer himself.

With a shrug, he'd brought the bottle to his lips again, taking another swig of the strong liquor and shrugging his shoulders. When he pulled the bottle away, his eyes opened. For an extremely brief moment, they studied Sanji's face; it was poorly illuminated in the dark room... but somehow still captivating all the same.

As he caught his own thoughts, he averted his eyes, looking down at his own scuffed boots. His shoulders shrugged again half-heartedly.

"Tch... don't know. A couple of weeks at least."

[baratiesbest]

"Hn."

Short nod of acknowledgment. A few weeks... yeah, that sounded about right. The actual starting point was probably a lot earlier than that but if he had to make a guess as to when they actually started to get in trouble that would be it. Probably sometime after his second revival.

Shifting his weight again Sanji leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest. Okay. They were talking. That was as good a start as any, now they just had to... figure this shit out.

"We can't--"

He stopped himself - who was he trying to convince here? Himself or the swordsman? This wasn't anything they needed to say, it had already been clearly established. Agreed on. So why was he hesitating? All they needed to do was figure out the how, not the why. He sighed, brought up a hand to rub at his forehead.

"So how are we supposed to solve this shit?"

[threesword]

There was the loaded question. The one he sure as hell didn't have any kind of viable answer to. A thoughtful silence came of Zoro, contemplating his words. He placed the bottle of sake on the counter before jumping up to sit on the worn linoleum counter top. One leg casually stretched out, the bottom of his boot barely making contact with the equally worn stove. The other was pulled up - not quite to his chest, but enough so the bottom of his foot rested flush with the counter.

His arm had draped over his leg, letting his hand rest between his thighs whilst the other ran through his short, green hair. What the fuck was he supposed to say?

Forget it? Last time he'd said that, he ended up making Umi upset. But... that was what Sanji wanted to hear, wasn't it? Based on his body language and his words alone, it was obviously what he wanted. Or at least, it was the impression he was trying to give off. And Zoro saw through it... which was only making this more difficult for him

[baratiesbest]

The cook let that hand drop back to its original position, gaze slowly turning towards the other as he hopped up on the counter. For a moment he got caught tracing those limbs, watched how his muscles relaxed and tensed up with the way he moved, the angle of his arm... and then he quickly averted his eyes back down, let his hair fall like a curtain infront of his face. Shit. What the hell was he doing, getting caught up like this? It wasn't like him and it was fucking creepy to boot. Lucky for him the room was dark and the chance of Zoro spotting the faint flush that currently adorned the cooks cheeks was slim at best

[threesword]

He hadn't caught the gaze, at least not directly. But he had been able to feel the pair of eyes on him. But not looking himself... not trying to catch the act as it happened made it easier to ignore. To pretend it wasn't happening.

Even if it was. Even if his body had relaxed ever so slightly, it was still above it's norm. Hypersensitive to everything. The hand that had been in his hair found its way to the bottle once more. So much for making this sake last. The liquor may be the only way to relax.

He felt pale and sick. Nervous. Terrified. Frustrated.

Zoro didn't know what the fuck to do and it was eating up his insides.

"Tch. And how the fuck am I supposed to know?" He managed to grumble the words out. Zoro had never been good at affairs of the heart. Hell, he'd been completely inept until a few months before. But the feelings, the capability had been unearthed and now it was completely consuming him. But he didn't know how to actually cope with them. Still, he muttered.
"You're the damn 'expert,' aren't you?"

[baratiesbest]

He scoffed, brought a hand up to ruffle his hair. The expert? On this? Hell, there was a huge difference between spending every waking moment chasing women and... this. Did the swordsman really not differentiate between the two?

"Oi, I'm just as fucking lost as you are. It's not like I've done this shit before."

'This shit' encompassed a lot of things. Feeling this way towards a man was one of them, elaborated in 'feeling this way towards the shitty marimo'. Not following his emotions and instincts was another first for the cook, usually he just threw caution to the wind and went with whatever he wanted. So to actually sit down and discuss this, try and find a way out of it... no, he couldn't say that he had done this before. No expertize to draw from there, no experience he could apply