WNTL CH. 15
Once the door closed, Zoro cursed. Again.
Zoro walked towards the bed and laid on his stomach. He hugged his pillow and opted for staring at the wall. So the conversation with Sanji was not only unexpected but it didn't go as he planned. It actually went better than he had thought.
Zoro frowned at the realization. Putting his face to the pillow, he let out a yell. Picking his head up, Zoro looked towards the crib and was happy to see that the twins were still asleep. Still staring at them, Zoro began to think about how this arrangement was going to affect them. Banging his head on the pillow, Zoro sighed.
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head. It's been a while since he's been so emotional and it was really getting to him. He loved Sanji and he really wanted to get back with him, but staying with him could be more painful than he's prepared for. Add in the fact that they have kids and that Sanji now wants to win him back makes the choice even harder.
"I bet you wouldn't be caught dead in this situation." Zoro whispered into the air. He meant for the statement to be in his mind to his deceased friend but he was too lost in thought to notice that he was even speaking out into the open.
Sanji walked up towards the deck whistling. He was trying to think of how he could get on Zoro's good side again. As he was walking, though, his concentration was broken. All he could hear was arguing. And the worse part was that it was coming from the Gallery. His quiet, beautiful workplace.
Stepping into the gallery, Sanji was stunned. It was a full out yelling war.
"I cannot believe you would do something like that Franky. Were you not thinking?" That was Robin.
"Oh he was thinking alright. But only about himself. Is fixing things that important that you bud into people's lives." Nami sounded as furious as ever.
"I think we all just need to calm down and figure this out without the violence." Ah, the peace maker Chopper, though he was being ignored.
"I wasn't thinking about myself. You guys even agreed with me a little while ago. He asked for help and I helped. And budding in is what you two do. I don't like being involved like this." Not the right thing to say Franky.
"Didn't I tell ya that women change their minds all the time." Usopp interjected.
"I think that we should let them solve it their selves." Such a helpful one that Brook.
"Where the hell is Sanji? Im hungryyyyy." Of course Luffy doesn't even know what's going on.
Sanji stood listening to the group for a few more minutes and he was still invisible to them. It was both funny and infuriating to say the least. Taking a deep breath, Sanji prepared to get his place of peace back.
"SHUT UP!"
The crew members all stopped and turned towards Sanji. When did he get there?
Sanji sighed and took a deep breath before fixing his suit. Continuing to whistle, he walked into the kitchen calmly. The cook of the ship began to prepare the things he needed for- taking a quick look out the window Sanji raised his eyebrows- dinner he realized. Stopping in his preparation's, Sanji turned to Luffy.
"Anything special Luffy?"
Luffy smiled and screamed "Meat!"
Rolling his eyes, Sanji turned to the freezer to get a lot of meat out. As he was doing so, Luffy spoke again.
"And Sanji."
Sanji turned towards his captain waiting for the response.
"Make Zoro something he likes."
Smiling wide, Sanji said "You read my mind captain."
Sanji continued his preparation's with the same smile on his face.
At this point, the crew was confused. Well, everyone but Luffy was. Walking to the counter that Sanji was working on, Nami stood in front of him and waited. He continued to work, however, as if she wasn't there, which surprised everyone. Nami opted to glare at him before she began tapping her foot furiously.
Still Sanji said nothing and continued his work. The other crew members watched on at the edge of their seats as Nami continuously waited, while tuning a furious shade of red. Grinding her teeth together, Nami hissed as Sanji.
"Sanji…"
The fast working hands stopped immediately and Sanji looked up with surprise. "Ah Nami. "
Upon seeing her face, the cook got nervous but tried to continue calmly. "Do you, uh, need something?
"What are you doing?" Nami asked through gritted teeth, ignoring Sanji's question.
Growing confused, Sanji answered very slowly. "Cooking?"
Nami rolled her eyes before crossing her arms and speaking again. "I can see that. But why?"
"Um.." Sanji looked unsure but answered honestly. "...because it's my job."
Throwing her hands up in the air, Nami let out a sound of annoyance. She felt like she was talking to Luffy. Robin decided at this point to enter the conversation.
"What she means is what about Zoro?"
Sanji glanced at Robin and finally understood the problem. Everyone was curious about what happened with him and Zoro's talk. Sighing, Sanji looked down and continued is preparations at a much slower rate. He stayed silent for a few moments before speaking.
"The conversation was…okay."
"Did you guys make up yet?" Luffy asked, finally deciding to involve himself in his crew's problem.
"I mean I apologized." Sanji answered. He finished cutting up his ingredients and put it into an awaiting pot before moving on to the next part of the meal.
"And?" Nami asked, awaiting the answered everyone was searching for.
Sanji stopped again and leaned back against the counter. Finishing this meal to perfection needed his entire focus and he wasn't gonna get that until they left, so he decided to just answer them properly. Taking a breath, Sanji said "And I told him the truth. I told him how I felt. I told him about my past. I told him…. Everything."
Sanji looked up and was met with expected gazes. Sighing once more, Sanji continued. "I told him how my….father... Is on one of the islands we're set to visit. So, I plan to win him back before we get there." Thinking for a moment, Sanji looked at Nami and asked "How long until we reach there?"
"Well," Nami said as she thought about it. "We had two Islands before that, and three days on each, it'll take about two days to get to each…So" Nami faced Sanji and smiled. "12 days."
After speaking, Nami's smile fell and so did the faces of the other members of the crew. They had just watched Sanji's face change in the most painful ways from happy, to sad, to disappointed, to doubtful and lastly to anguish.
"Sanji-bro, you alright?" Franky asked.
Sanji looked at the crew and spoke in a sad voice. "I thought that I had enough time to get Zoro back before and I thought it would be easy but now it seems like a dream.
The crew members looked at their cook, not knowing what to say. Luffy stared at Sanji some more before speaking. "But dreams can come true so you still have a chance."
The other members nodded their heads at Luffy's surprisingly encouraging words.
"You guys think so?" Sanji asked, and was delighted to be met with a chorus of yes.
"We'll even help you bro." Franky said. Chopper eagerly agreed with the cyborg.
"We probably shouldn't help much. You need to do most of the things on your own but we'll give our full support." Brook added in.
"Right." Nami said. "If you need anything, just ask us." Robin silently agreed.
"We can even help with gadgets, seeing as I've invented some more." Usopp said with his nose held high.
Upon hearing that, Chopper and Luffy lost interest in the topic and opted for seeing the new gadget. The trio ran out the Gallery, leaving the rest of the crew behind.
"Thank you." Sanji said, feeling somewhat better about the situation.
"No problem." They chorused together.
After that, Nami and Robin decided to take their leave. Apparently, they wanted to try on their clothes and show Zoro the things they got for the babies. Franky left not long after to start on his new inventions, leaving Brook and Sanji behind. Sanji had begun his preparations again.
Still seeing a look of dissatisfaction on Sanji's face, Brook decided to play some music. Bringing out his violin, he played a relaxing melody for the cook.
"Thank you, Brook." Sanji said lightly to keep the calm atmosphere.
"Anything for a friend in Distress." Brook answered, hoping that Sanji would fix things soon.