Fourth fic in a week of daily drabbles I'm doing with Ivy (cuethe_pulse on LJ). Today, our prompt was "love letters."
From Kuraigana With Love
The handwriting on the front of the envelope was unfamiliar, and yet there was something in the sharp, hurried way the characters were written that instantly reminded Sanji of Zoro.
He was sat on his usual chair on the deck of the All Blue Baratie, smoking his usual cigarette, and consulting his usual list of tasks for the morning. Or at least he had been, before the mail coo had perched itself on the railing and offered out the envelope.
He stared at it for a moment more, then slit it open with his pocket knife and pulled out the piece of paper from inside. Hesitation halted his fingers from unfolding it just yet, and he took one last drag on his cigarette before doing it all at once.
Sanji, it began.
Tomorrow I will become the greatest swordsman in the world. This is a promise. I'll contact you again after.
Zoro
There it ended. It was short, but then Zoro had never been a man of many words. Sanji leaned back in his chair, putting his cigarette between his lips again. He wondered if the rest of the crew had received letters like this one, and more than that, wondered why Zoro had sent one to him at all, considering that their last contact had been far from pleasant.
What an idiot Sanji had been, to tell Zoro that he loved him out of nowhere, and Zoro hadn't even had the decency to say anything, had just walked off. They'd parted ways then, and hadn't spoken since. As far as Sanji was concerned, they were strangers once more.
It was probably a mistake, he told himself (nevermind the fact that the letter had clearly been addressed to him) and so he didn't hold out much hope to receive a second letter.
Yet the next day, late in the morning when he was in the middle of stirring a large pot of stock, there was a tap on one of the kitchen windows. He laid his spoon down and went over to open it, accepting the envelope that the mail coo held out.
Sanji waited to open it until he had finished his own morning preparations and given instructions to his staff. Then he retired to his office and slit the envelope open, removing the page from inside.
Sanji, it started, yet again.
I have accomplished my dream, and am starting on another journey.
Zoro
Sanji folded it up and placed it back in the envelope, then sat it on top of the letter from yesterday, which he hadn't been able to bring himself to dispose of.
Logically, he supposed that would be the end of it. He still had no idea why Zoro was even writing these letters in the first place, and he was all the more conflicted for it.
On the third and fourth days, he didn't receive a letter. And then, on the fifth night as he was laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, there came a sound he was becoming quite familiar with, a sharp tak, tak on the window.
He sighed and sat up in bed so he could unlatch it. The mail coo held out the letter and he took it, placed it on the nightstand, and laid back down, refusing to open it until morning.
An hour later, still sleepless, he sat up and irritably ripped the envelope open, unfolding the letter so quickly that it tore in one of the corners. The words were only just discernible in the dimness.
Sanji,
Now I understand why All Blue is so elusive.
Zoro
Heart skipping a beat for only a second, Sanji placed the letter back on the nightstand, pulled the covers up to his chin, and closed his eyes. He refused to think about what it could possibly mean, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Zoro was not going to come to him, that his journey was not going to end up here. That was foolish to think, and Sanji was done with being a fool for Zoro's sake.
The next morning, he got up early as always. He dressed, grabbed his cigarettes and lighter, and went out on deck to sit in his chair and smoke and wait for the sun to rise. At this point, he was learning not to be surprised when he heard the ruffle of wings as the mail coo landed and dropped a letter in his lap.
He did not open his eyes. He did not pick the letter up, let alone read it. And he certainly did not jump when a voice, all too familiar, asked, "Are you going to open that?"
His eyes opened wide then to take in the sight of Zoro standing in front of him on the deck. He looked much the same as he had when they had parted; perhaps a little older, but none the worse for wear, at least not that Sanji could see.
"Is there a point to opening it? I think I've gotten the message already," Sanji said.
"It might help clear some things up."
Sanji sighed and pulled his pocket knife out, repeating the same motions that he had gotten so accustomed to in the past week.
Sanji, it began, as always.
I couldn't say it then. It only would have made it harder for us to go our own ways. But I loved you then, and I still do now. I'll be there tomorrow. If you can't forgive me, that's fine.
Zoro
Sanji squinted down at the letter, unsure of what to say now that he had finished it. He thought it might have been better if he'd not read it after all.
"Well?" said Zoro.
"What do I say?"
Zoro chuckled. "Say what you like."
"I love you."
"Yeah," Zoro said. "I love you too."