a/n: small (very very small) jump in time, just to move the plot along. if there are any mistakes, they are my own. i had my screen reader read this, but after hearing it so many times, i'm not sure if everything's correct. also this is just more self indulgence. but also sorta has a bit of plot in it! i bet you all were just wondering if i had forgotten about it, but no, there is an actual plot to this story. honestly this is just one of the cutest stories i've ever written i love it so much.
Sanju felt bored with nothing to do, she wasn't meant for the life of a wife, sitting at home while her husband ignored her. And given the last time Katakuri had interacted with her was nearly two days ago - just to watch her cook, not even eat with her! - she had a lot of time on her hands.
Even with all the cooking she had done, she only managed to cut her days in half, leaving her to stand in her bedroom, overlooking the island. She had tried to cut that out of her day but staring at the denizens was far more interesting than staring at herself in a mirror.
Small trips to the library that Katakuri kept were nice, but Sanju was not Robin; she couldn't spend all her time reading books. Especially not ones that were about subjects she didn't care about. Cookbooks and oceanography books were far and few in between, with books about military history and military strategy - things her father had shoved at her and forced her to memorize until she had bloodshot eyes - being the most kept items.
Leaving her window behind, she left her room again. The only good thing about being left alone was that she couldn't embarrass herself in front of Katakuri when it came to walking. She had gotten better at walking in low shoes but still she stumbled.
It was ridiculous, she thought, that she was unable to walk properly in shoes, but years of wearing and walking exclusively in her brogues had obviously had some effect on how she moved so gracefully. Either that or the shoes she were given had a mind of their own.
Out in the hallway, Sanju passed by a servant who bowed to her before speaking to her in a deep voice.
"Your highness," he said as she stopped by him. She quite hated being referred as that title, yet no one would stop. "Your sister, Princess Reiju, and your father have sent word that they will be coming to visit."
She screwed up her face, "When?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. It wasn't this man's fault that she hated her family.
"For afternoon tea," he replied, bowing as he left her to her thoughts.
She called a thank you before she stalked towards the kitchen, grumbling. While she was lonely, she wasn't so desperate that she wanted to see any of them .
Besides her sister and Yonji's visit while she was in Big Mom's infirmary, she hadn't seen any of the Vinsmokes about. She was thankful for it for the most part, but a part of her questioned why they kept their distance, especially when she figured that since they ruined her life, they might want to see how she was doing with it: laugh at her misery, mock her emotions, things like that.
Yet at the same time, they were, in a way, familiar and she craved that. Surrounded by enemies and those loyal to them, Sanju wished that she had people who were on her side and while she knew that wasn't her biological family, she also knew that they had hinged much on her marriage and would - possibly - protect her should she need it.
Though she truly wished her crew were the ones backing her.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked down at the prep work she had done. Without thinking, she had started to make the soup that Zeff had made her when she was sad. Home cooking, the old geezer had called it, a recipe from his mother who had learned it from her mother who had continue the tradition of passing down the recipe.
"Older than the world government, I'd bet," he'd tell her when he made it. "Wars was fought for it,"
She used to mock him, but slurp up the soup as if she hadn't eaten in years. Smiling lightly, she continued. She would offer some to Katakuri for dinner. Maybe then he would feel like he wanted to spend time with her.
A few hours later, after she had set the cooks in the kitchen onto certain jobs so that dinner would be complete properly, she was sent back to her room to get ready. Of course the servant, BB Bat, had been perfectly respectable when offering to take over her duties so she could get ready, but Sanju had heard that tone before and knew that he wasn't truly offering.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the type of girl who could pick out outfits. Nami could, her beautiful friend was always immaculately dressed, or Robin who always looked perfect, but not her. Not even when confronted with A wardrobe that would have Nami squealing in joy.
Running a finger over the silk and frilly outfits, she grimaced at them. What was an appropriate outfit for spending time with your estranged and psychopathic family?
A suit of armor.
"I heard your family is coming,"
Sanju resisted the urge to jump. "How is it you make as little sound as I do when you walk?" she asked lightly, eyes on the fabric in front of her.
In the two days of silence, she had come to realize that she didn't blame Katakuri - or even Pudding - for her captivity. He probably wanted as little to do with her as she did with him. Granted, she wished he acted more like a gentleman; Zeff had taught her how to be the perfect gentleman and he had been a violent pirate, why couldn't this man? And yet, she still didn't blame him fully. What child could come out sane with a parent like Big Mom?
Absolutely no one. She was sure of that.
Turning to face him, she grinned a little, "Are you planning on showing up for afternoon tea?
"Do you want me to?" he questioned, arms crossing over his chest as he moved to sit in an oversized chair.
She had often found herself sitting in it at night, reading a cookbook that came from an older period of time, making little notes in the borders. Frowning slightly as she left the giant closet, she moved to stand in front of him. Uncertainty, pretty well hidden, but it was there, she was sure of it.
"I'm sure my father would love to see you with me," she answered, watching his face. He was as stoic as ever, but still she added, "And personally I hate being alone, so company would be nice."
Was he ignoring her out of some chivalrous need to protect her boundaries? If that was it, she was going to kick him. Unless the lady asked it, one shouldn't leave her to her own, it was common sense! Crossing her own arms, she moved to jump up on the arm rest, just so she could stop feeling so short next to him.
"It's boring alone," she continued, ignoring his face. She wished she had a cigarette - or something to do with her hands - to calm her nerves, but her sister had taken them from her before she had woken up. She had a lot of feelings towards being alone, all of them negative.
Perhaps growing up in a booming restaurant, surrounded by unruly chefs of the sea, had done something, but she hated it. Sounded had to exist for her to continue doing so. Perhaps, she thought, being left to rot in a dungeon, mask over her face and told she was a failure had also contributed, but she hardly liked to think on it.
He stared at her, dark eyes watching her. She wondered what he was thinking; he was basically a giant mystery to her. Something she wasn't particularly sure she liked. She was used to being able to figure things out quicker than most, but Katakuri wasn't cracking.
Before their wedding, he was cold. The one time she had interacted with him - also the first time she had ever met him - he had stared at her as if he was going to squish her like a bug. Pudding had said that he was like that with everyone outside of the family, and though Sanju didn't really like thinking about Pudding, the girl who tricked her, she wondered if that was it.
If he saw her as family now.
"Will you come with me to have tea?" she asked, just as gently as before.
"You should get ready," he replied, instead of answering her. He stood swiftly, yet cautiously, making sure to not unbalance her. "Afternoon tea is in an hour. I'll send BB Bat to help."
a/n: Aren't they so cute? I love this fic, it's so cute. Anyway, tell me what you liked, reviews are the bread in which I need to survive.