His finger traced the silhouetted window, small droplets of rain highlighting the outside of the glass. The sweet reverberating moisture glistened on the window pane, reflecting in the boy's blue eyes. The echoes of the rain seemed to block out the noise of the other grade school students, its soft pattering on the roof delighted the child. Sanji loved the rain.
Ever since his stepfather had taken him out to sea for a vacation, Sanji immediately felt a connection with the ocean. Something about how the sun would reflect in the aqua water, how the waves would rock the boat, how the vast ocean never seemed to end, it all fascinated the boy. Now that he was back on land, Sanji found joy in the rain. It was like the ocean had found its way into the sky, sharing its beauty with those who had never experienced the sea.
Sanji spent endless hours out in the rain, running around in his yellow raincoat. He'd collect the falling droplets in his hand, seeing how much he could hold before it over flowed from his small palms. He'd jump in puddles, never caring if the water would seep into his boots.
Very often the child would come home with a cold, spending far too much time drenched from head to toe. Zeff eventually bought Sanji a clear, light blue umbrella, gruffly telling his eggplant that if he was going to waste time in the rain that he should at least try to keep dry.
Even though it wasn't nearly as fun as getting wet, Sanji grew to love his umbrella. The light blue reminded him of both the sky and the ocean. It gave him another reason to wait for a rainy day.
Now whenever there was a rainy day, Sanji would be found glued to his umbrella. Sometimes he'd even try to make excuses to bring it with him on sunny days. He'd walk around with umbrella, admiring the perfect shade of blue that glistened beside him. Anywhere he went, Sanji wanted to have a little blue with him to remind him of the beautiful ocean and his umbrella was the perfect item to have.
"Sanji, why don't you join the others?" The blonde child reluctantly tore his gaze away from the window as his teacher gently tugged him towards the arts and crafts table. Sanji's teachers never understood his love for the rain, all of them assuming that he was upset, and was merely pouting next to the window while waiting for the first ray of sunshine to peek over the bleak, gray clouds, when in actuality, he couldn't wait to go home with his blue umbrella hovering over his shoulder. He could have easily explained his fascination, but loving the rain was something that Sanji didn't want to share in the presence of his green haired classmate. Probably would have been made fun of being like a girl or something.
So he grudgingly arrived at the station and if things couldn't have been worse, the only seat open was the one next to the moss headed freak. It's not that Sanji didn't like Zoro, it's just that Zoro got on his every nerve. The boy was always plastered with a frown, disrespected his female classmates, and he was also a centimeter taller than Sanji. They would always break out into small fights whenever the opportunity would arise, which could range from arguments over who reached the finish line first in a race to just simply breathing the same air.
"Stupid moss head!"
"Eyebrow freak!"
Zoro glanced at the blonde, immediately frowning at the new arrival. With a soft grunt, he returned to his coloring, determined not to acknowledge his classmate any further.
Purposely nudging his green haired seat mate, which received him a growl in response, Sanji reached out for a piece of paper. He picked up his blue crayon and began drawing the ocean, careful to color around the wonderful fish that swam in the aqua waters. He added little rain drops that fell against the water, smiling at his creation. With some crooked letters, Sanji slowly wrote out the name of the ocean of his dreams, the All Blue.
Hearing a grunt next to him, Sanji glared at his classmate. "What's your problem, moss head?"
"That's all you ever draw. And it doesn't even look good," Zoro mumbled, while scribbling random colors on his construction paper.
"At least mine is a drawing. Your's isn't even a picture. Does your green hair make you even dumber than you already are?" Sanji sneered.
"At least I don't have a curly eyebrow!"
"Marimo!"
"Mayuge!"
Since the fights were like a routine between the two, their classmates barely spared a glance at them. A few bites and hair tugs later, the teacher separated the two, forcing them to stand in their own respective corner to reflect on their behavior. Of course, the two wouldn't be repenting for their actions, just trying to burn holes into the wall while imagining that the plaster was the back of the other's head.
The day eventually dragged along. Hearing their dismissal, Sanji eagerly pulled on his yellow raincoat, taking care in buttoning each individual button. Most of the children filed out with their parents, leaving Sanji alone to slowly snap his buttons into the right corresponding hole. Even though the teachers had continually requested a parent or guardian to pick up Sanji from school, Zeff would merely grunt, stating that his little eggplant could take care of himself.
"The eggplant can walk a couple blocks home without getting lost. If he can't, then he'll wander around until he gets home. No skin off my back," he would say.
I trust that he's capable enough of at least getting home by himself.
Tugging on his boots, Sanji turned to the umbrella rack. His small eye slowly widened as he realized that the rack was already completely empty.
"It's gone," he whispered. He turned back to where he had retrieved has raincoat. Maybe he had left it there when he had changed. With his heart thumping against his chest, Sanji found no trace of his favorite umbrella. Staring at the rack one more time as if that would make the umbrella magically appear, Sanji bit the bottom of his lip, infuriated that his prized possession had been taken.
He quietly walked out into the rain, letting the cool water slide off his raincoat. How could someone take his umbrella? Didn't they know how much he loved the umbrella? Didn't they understand that he loved watching the water slip off of its light blue veil? How could they take something so precious away from him?
Sanji stepped into a puddle and stared at his reflection. The ripples disturbed the surface of the water, wavering the image before him. The little rain drops that fell failed to soothe him. Even though he loved playing in the rain, Sanji also loved having that little blue umbrella to hide behind. It was the perfect blue asset to complete his rainy day.
"It's gone," he bitterly whispered again. The ripples in the water increased as a few frustrated tears fell from the blonde's exposed eye.
Maybe his umbrella wasn't gone forever. Maybe someone was borrowing it, not stealing it. But right now Sanji's hand was empty and that's all the blonde could think about. Sanji rubbed his eye, willing his tears to stop. It was just a stupid umbrella, right? He loved the rain anyways so there was no point in having an umbrella, right?
Staring into the puddle once more, Sanji frowned at his tear stained, red eyes. He never imagined that he would be crying on a beloved rainy day.
"What are you doing out here, mayuge?"
Hearing that familiar, annoying voice, Sanji hesitantly peered through his hood. The patch of green hair confirmed his suspicions. There stood Zoro in his own little raincoat, untouched by the rain thanks to his green umbrella. Of course it would be green.
"Hey, are you crying?" he asked in confusion.
"No I'm not!" Sanji fiercely whispered, turning his head away from his classmate. He pulled his hood further over his eyes as he began walking away.
"Yeah you are!" Zoro stubbornly shouted, grabbing the blonde's raincoat. The two struggled against one another, Zoro trying to pull off the yellow hood, while Sanji attempted to keep it on. Sanji frantically tried to hide his face, not caring that he couldn't see what was in front of him. He'd shove at the figure in front of him, desperate to conceal his tear stricken face. He didn't need the stupid moss head to make his rainy day even worse by making fun of him crying.
His foot slipped on the wet pavement, a gasp escaping his lips as his hands shot out to grab the nearest thing for support. Unfortunately that was Zoro. The sudden force pulling his coat forward caught him by surprise, causing the two to tumble together into a puddle, Sanji's hood slipping off of his head.
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of falling rain as the two silently stared at one another. Sanji found Zoro inspecting him, face completely unreadable. As the seconds turned into minutes, Sanji felt fresh tears welling up in his eyes. Unable to bare Zoro's gaze any longer, he dropped his head, hoping his bangs would cover his embarrassing red eye.
"It's gone..." Sanji sniffed, not caring if Zoro didn't understand. That was all the explanation he was willing to give.
He lost his umbrella and now he's crying in front of the last person he wanted to be with. Zoro would probably laugh at him for being such a baby. He'd probably regard him with disgust for crying over something so trivial.
Zoro probably thought that he was weak.
"Stupid." Sanji flinched as he prepared himself for whatever Zoro was going to say. But to his surprise, that was all he heard. The rain suddenly stopped pelting his yellow rain coat. He felt a sturdy hand ruffle his blonde locks.
Sanji cautiously peeked through his bangs, blinking. Zoro had extended his green umbrella over to Sanji, covering them both from the unrelenting rain. He didn't look angry, upset, or disgusted with him. Even his usual frown was gone. Instead, he found soft, brown eyes gazing at his face. His mouth was in a thin line, as if contemplating on what to say next, afraid that he might accidentally hurt the blonde.
"Stupid," Zoro repeated, as he dropped his gaze. He pulled himself up, offering his hand to his classmate.
Sanji stared at the hand, wondering if it was some kind of trick. Maybe Zoro was going to push him back down. But when he saw no malice in his brown eyes, Sanji quietly raised his arm.
"Marimo," Sanji muttered as he grasped the extended hand.
As Zoro pulled his classmate up right, he gently took the blonde's other free hand. Carefully, he pressed the handle of his green umbrella into Sanji's palm, slowly wrapping the blonde's fingers around it. Sanji blinked, surprised by the gesture. His glossy eye stared at the umbrella in his hand, eventually finding its way to Zoro's face, looking for an explanation.
He found Zoro frowning. But something about his frown was different. It wasn't one of hate or annoyance. Was he... embarrassed?
Zoro fidgeted under Sanji's gaze, choosing to look anywhere but at the blonde.
"I know it's not blue, but..." he trailed off. When he didn't receive a response, Zoro grunted and faced Sanji. No, he wasn't embarrassed about what he was doing. He just felt a little weird, that's all. Frowning even deeper, Zoro suddenly grabbed Sanji's hood and pulled it back over his head. Startled, Sanji nearly dropped the green umbrella from the sudden action.
"Crying doesn't suit you," Zoro mumbled, deepening his frown even more, if that was even possible.
Sanji blinked, feeling his throat tighten, unable to speak. Since when did Zoro care how he looked? When did he notice that he liked blue? How did he know that Sanji treasured his little umbrella?
"But it's your's." Sanji fidgeted. Zoro was still holding his hand.
"And now it's your's."
Sanji felt his face heat up. He suddenly wanted to run away into the rain, needing to wash away the sudden blush on his cheeks.
"Marimo."
"Mayuge."
Shaking off the hand that was holding his own, Sanji mustered up all the courage he had left and used his free hand to properly grasp Zoro's, secretly pleased with Zoro's confused expression.
"Since there's only one umbrella, I guess you're stuck with me. Come dry off at my place. I can make us hot chocolate."
After a few seconds of contemplation, Zoro eventually nodded, earning himself a bright smile from Sanji.
The two huddled under the umbrella, its green color completely mismatched with the wet rain and gray skies.
It wasn't blue, but Sanji figured green wasn't such a bad color either.