(2 Moths later ...)
Zoro stood just outside of Sanji's cell, trying to collect his breath and thoughts. It was the end of the six month evaluation period, and while he hadn't had anymore negative run-ins with Zeff (which was probably Shank's doing, now that he thought about it), he wasn't so certain he'd be able to prove Sanji was ready to be released ...
Deciding that dithering wasn't going to do him any good, Zoro sighed and entered Sanji's cell.
Sanji was laying on the floor of his cell, staring blandly at the ceiling above him when the door opened and Zoro walked in with two nurses.
"You're late", he mumbled lightly, Zoro laughed, leave it to an insane man to worry about the time at which his doctor arrived.
Zoro laughed at that, closing the door behind him and the nurses as he pulled Sanji's pills out of his pocket. "There was a bad accident on my way in here, sorry." He stated, bending down at the waist to grin down into Sanji's face. "It won't happen again, I promise. Come on and take your meds."
Sanji didn't move but instead just opened his mouth and waited for the intern to drop the medication in for him to swallow. The nurses-despite the patient's lately docile behavior-took a step back from the man, obviously deciding that if he got maimed they wouldn't want to get in the way.
Zoro ignored the nurses, knowing by this point that Sanji would only come after him in fun, not to hurt. Kneeling, he pulled the pills out and held a hand over Sanji's mouth, the pills ready to drop. "Don't choke on me, you hear?" He commented, dropping the pills into the blonde's mouth.
The blonde mumbled something about not making any promises before dry swallowing the pills and moving to get up. As he moved and Zoro stepped so he could move, the nurses stepped back yet again and Sanji had the nagging desire to lunge at them just to see them flinch.
"So, do you think that you're ready for this, Sanji?" Zoro asked after a moment, trying to hide his nervousness. If this went wrong ... then they would really, really be in some deep shit. All he could do was pray that nothing happened ...
He hoped Karma would be nice for once.
Sanji glanced at the green haired man but said nothing before standing and following after the other, letting the intern put the handcuffs on and take him by the arm as the nurses opened the door. The world was strangely silent as patient 109 was led from his cell, patients and staff members alike watched as he was led, the only sound being that of their footsteps and some of the tantrums of one or two of the more insane patients.
"They're not going to let you out, you're crazy…" the mouth whispered tauntingly, he tried to ignore it.
So far, so good. Zoro reached over and squeezed Sanji's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, we can do this." He stated, black eyes locked onto his patient's face.
"I'm not worried" Sanji said softly as he was lead down the hall and out of the ward. It was a lie, he knew it was a lie; he was more worried now than he could really remember. If things didn't go well, if he let Zoro down, he would be here forever and he would lose Zoro.
The intern didn't know that he knew about the deal, he'd heard him telling Nami at one point over the last few weeks, it had been when Luffy had come to visit and they'd been left alone. They were supposed to have been talking but they instead elected to eavesdrop on the intern. Since he'd heard about the deal he'd not brought it up, he'd been as good as he could possibly be when he wasn't psychotic in hopes of keeping the young man he'd grown so fond of.
The hospital seemed strangely silent despite the occasional sound coming from one of the cells. Nurses and doctors alike stopped what they were doing to watch him go by; they all knew him, whether they'd treated him or not. They knew his violent nature, his love of hurting others and he was sure that they'd heard of his liking of a new intern.
"Don't mind them" he heard Zoro say and he gave the barest of smiles, he would do his best. He had to.
The room was silent, warm and stuffy with five people sitting on the other side of a long table with one chair for Sanji to be seated in. Shanks was in the middle, as the curator of the hospital and lead board member it was to be expected, to his left was Chopper, the medical director and to his right was Smoker [whether or not this was his real name was debatable]. On Chopper's other side was Vivi, a young heiress who's father had funded the hospital for years which had led to her pursuit of a spot on the board; and on Smoker's other side was Nojiko, another board member and incidentally Nami's elder sister.
As they entered the room, the mouth grinned in an almost evil way and spoke to Sanji who was trying desperately to ignore it.
"You're kidding yourself, you're not sane, you're never going to convince all these people…"
Zoro drew a deep breath as Sanji sat down, praying to all high heaven that everything worked out as he hoped. If Sanji could prove that he could handle himself as long as he took his medication regularly, he could get out of this place. He wouldn't be living on his own, that was NOT what Zoro wanted, but he would get out of this nuthouse. And that was, at the very least, a good start.
Taking a deep breath, Sanji's gaze circled around the room until he found the chair that he was to sit in. It was set up directly across from Shanks; a plain wooden chair, no cushion-not that he expected one-it wasn't meant to be comfortable.
The entire room was silent as the lunatic paced through the room, his bare footsteps making a soft smacking noise as he walked. As they all watched him closely, the blonde sat down, crossing his legs and then his hands in his lap; a cool grin overtook his face.
"No shackles? I have to say I am disappointed..."
Shanks cracked a grin at the joke.
"Yes, well, we decided to put a little faith in you" Sanji grinned wider, noting the unspoken 'don't prove us wrong' that followed the sentence.
Zoro felt a small grin come across his face, and sat down next to Sanji, quietly watching the other doctors as they watched the blond. So far, so good ... now just to hope that the hallucinations didn't come back and drive the poor man into hiding. It would be hard to convince Smoker in particular, who even now regarded Sanji with a wary eye.
Clearing his throat, Chopper looked over at Sanji. "Let's not waste any time here, shall we?" He said, voice strangely polite.
Sanji listened silently as Chopper rattled off his report, stating that there was a dramatic decrease of admission of patient 109 in the hospital wing as well as an equally dramatic decrease of others being admitted at the fault of 109. He also stated that mild injury reports dealing with patient 109 had gone down as well. He ended his report with a smile.
"I have to say I am honestly impressed with the increase that I personally have seen in patient 109's behavior towards others." The board clapped at the report and then came the questions; interrogative demands of answers, even if they didn't seem like it. They asked questions like what would he do if someone stole his seat on a bus, and if he was seeing anything strange lately.
"What would you do if someone attacked you for your money on the street?" asked Smoker, giving him a coldly scrutinizing look. Sanji watched him for a long moment, his eyes turning slightly cold though his voice stayed cool and calm.
"If you are expecting me to say that I would comply, I wouldn't; I can't say that I would honestly try to kill the person, but I would defend myself as needed." He closed his eyes and finished lightly, "If you are going to condemn me for that, then so be it…"
The mouth grinned widely and opened it's mouth to speak and Sanji kept his eyes closed, bracing himself for the comment. He couldn't listen to it, he just couldn't, if he let it get to him then he would let Zoro down. All eyes watched his exchange with Smoker when he opened his eyes, the stares were long and silent until finally Smoker raised his hand and relented, allowing someone else to speak, evidently satisfied with the answer.
Zoro felt the knots in his chest relax one by one as the doctors continued with their discussion with Sanji. There hadn't been any negative reactions yet, no signs of his hallucinations coming back to drive the poor young man into hysterics. Hopefully they would wait until Sanji had been cleared and they were back in his cell ...
When Vivi's turn came, the young heiress looked at Sanji, her eyes soft. "Sanji, can you tell us where you're planning on living when you leave here?"
Zoro paused. Sanji had never said where he wanted to live once he got out of here. He didn't even have a clue as to where the blond would want to live, and that made him nervous.
Sanji stopped at the question, a slightly surprised look coming over his face as he looked at the woman before him. He honestly hadn't thought of it as something that he would actually have to decide at some point and had only brought up day fantasies on the subject when he was alone either waiting for Zoro or waiting to sleep.
For a long few moments he looked as a small child who had been asked a particularly advanced question in math, he frowned slightly, staring at his hands as though a cheat sheet were concealed there. There wasn't of course, but still he looked.
If he were honest, he wanted to live with Zoro.
"They wont let you do that~" the mouth purred in triumph over the strong willed blonde's mind. Of course he already knew that, that's why he hadn't said it, he thought in retort to the mouth; his head was starting to hurt and knowing that he didn't have long if the stress continued, he blurted out.
"With Zoro..."
Zoro blinked, shocked and a bit embarrassed. "With ... with me?" He asked the blond, who nodded. Not knowing how to respond, he turned to watch the board as they began discussing it themselves. it seemed like Sanji's statement had taken them all by surprise as well, but it seemed like they were seriously discussing how to handle that announcement.
Vivi seemed to recover first, because she gave Sanji a curious look. "Why do you want to stay with Zoro, Sanji?"
Sanji watched the intern silently the entire time that the board wasn't talking to him, he was scanning through the green haired man's face to see if he could spot disgust, mistrust, anything that might have told him that Zoro disliked the idea. He found none.
"Because…" Vivi's question mulled over in his head after she finally spoke to him, "because I don't feel so crazy around him…" he said lightly, "I can see myself being a decent human being when he's around…" It was true, he was lonely when Zoro was away, "besides, I figure it would kill two birds with one stone, as he is my doctor, treatment would be much more immediate if he had to spend a significant amount of time with me and view my behavior on a day to day basis." He said it logically and it seemed to stick with the five across that varnished table from him.
After he answered, he peeked up at Zoro through the curtain of his hair.
Zoro wondered if he resembled a Christmas display at this point, his face felt so red. His mouth was opening and closing without saying anything, but he attempted to give Sanji a shaky smile, nodding. He did have to admit, the blond brought up some very logical points as to why they should live together, but would they buy it?
Thinking about that made Zoro very glad that Zeff was not at the board meeting; ever since the incident not too long ago, the old doctor had nothing but glares for Zoro, while the rest of the staff seemed at least mildly impressed with his progress in regards to Sanji.
Now, watching them, all he could do was hope and pray that this didn't screw things up.
After a moment of awkward discussion, Shanks turned to the two under speculation and smiled warmly.
"Thank you the both of you, if you would like you may wait in the hall while we discuss our decision." For some reason that sentence made Sanji nervous and looked up to watch Zoro nod before he stood and let himself be led from the room.
For the first ten minutes that they were in the hall, Sanji was silent; not a sound echoed through the room from him that could even challenge the buzzing of the florescent lights that flickered as they threatened to die. It was as though they were signaling that his freedom was fluttering out the window.
"Sorry…" he said finally, his voice soft, but still somehow sounding jarringly loud against the silence of the hall.
Zoro jumped a bit, startled by the noise; he'd been lost in his own thoughts, and hadn't really noticed the dead silence until Sanji had spoken up. "I ... it's alright. you don't have anything to apologize for, Sanji." He nodded, resisting the urge to light up a cigarette and smoke it then and there. "You just answered the questions they asked you, they can't fault you for doing that."
Dark eyes watched Zoro for a moment, then the loon leaned back against the cool brick wall that was cheaply painted white. What he wouldn't have given for a smoke, if only to calm himself so that he didn't stress himself out to the point of breaking down. Bringing his legs up, Sanji rested his heels on the edge of the seat he was sitting in, spreading his knees wide and resting an arm on each one. He looked reminiscent of some street punk that was waiting on their little sister at a school, as though he really didn't want to be there but had to be.
The arms of the seat limited how far his legs stuck out and he had to shift a little so that his head was comfortable against the brick instead of craning backwards. In the end he was sitting there, eyes closed and leaning, he would be staring straight at Zoro if he opened his eyes and looked down ever so slightly.
"You'd be surprised…" he said lightly, then the hall fell silent for another moment or two. Right when Zoro was leaning back, thinking that the conversation had ended, Saji spoke again, not opening his eyes. "What ran through your mind when I said it…?" He wanted to know, needed to know what Zoro was thinking, it was driving him nuts; almost as much as waiting for this damn verdict. It made him want a smoke even more.
God fucking damn, hurry up in there! He was close to scratching and shaking just for the want of the information.
Zoro reached over and gripped Sanji's hand, wanting to comfort the blond in any way he could. "I ... Had a lot going through my mind, honestly. Surprise, mainly." He didn't know how to explain it all, really. "Honestly, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was." Blushing a bit, he added. "And ... honestly?" He looked away, chewing on his tongue for a moment. "I ... was happy."
His face was red again. he knew it, but he had to say it. He had been ... well, happy wasn't a strong enough word. Past the surprise and embarrassment, he'd been happy enough to break out into a shit-eating grin if it hadn't been so completely unprofessional (and he hadn't been so completely poleaxed.)
Sanji smiled and squeezed the other man's hand gently, he couldn't have told him just how relieved that he was to hear that, if he hadn't been so scared about the verdict he could have cried. Instead he half stood and leaned over the other male, dipping his head down enough to just barely touch his lips with his.
"Good…" he purred, grinning before he stood fully, hearing the door on the other side of the hall open. Nojiko peeked out, she was the only one who hadn't asked any questions through out the entire interview. She smiled at them lightly, almost looking like Nami did when she smiled.
"You two can come back in now…" Her eyes latched on them for a brief moment and her smile vanished only for a second then she grinned again and disappeared back into the room, not saying another word. At first Sanji wondered what the hell was with her reaction, but he knew what it was the moment it changed.
Zoro let go of his hand to stand and lead him back into the room. Not once since Zoro had taken it, had Sanji released his hand, not even when Nojiko had been there.
"Now you've done it" the mouth laughed almost evilly, "they definitely know something is wrong with you, you're not getting out of here~ Not ever!"
Sanji's entire world went silent, the mouth was right, he'd done something careless and now it was going to cost him. Zoro was going to be gone and he was going to be here, left in the care of the good doctor. Miserable and mental.
No, no no no, that couldn't happen, not when he'd tried so hard! His hand flew to his head as the pain ached there, the buzzing of the lights filling his ears. He was going to break, if Zoro wasn't there, then he didn't want to be either. If Zoro could never come back, then Sanji didn't want to linger. He could take too many pills, hoard them until he had enough to convulse and seize; there would be nothing that they could do about it.
The mouth cackled and Sanji bent, wanting desperately to smash his head into something until all of a sudden something grabbed onto his shoulders and his head snapped up to see Zoro. The buzzing stopped the instant he touched him.
The kiss had made his brain shut down. All it focused on was his mouth, Sanji's mouth, the fact that they were touching ... the fact that they were kissing ... His brain only kicked into gear when he saw Sanji buckle. Worried, half knowing what was going on, he reached out and grabbed the blond's shoulders.
When he looked up, Zoro offered him a small smile. "Hey, we've still got a chance. Don't give in yet, got it?" He hoped it was reassuring, in some small, helpful way. They were nearly at the end, nearly there, he wasn't going to quit just yet. "Just hold out a bit longer; you can do this."
He put as much confidence into his words as he could. He didn't want Sanji breaking down.
The words struck something inside Sanji, no one but Zoro ever said things like that when he was breaking down, maybe that was why Zoro had gotten to him. He was different, he wasn't like the others that tried to lock him up and drug him into a coma, Zoro wanted to understand him. He could reach into Sanji's madness even though he knew that he might have gotten hurt and drag him back out, telling him that it was a poor man's escape and that he could do better.
And that…that was why Sanji loved him….
The revelation brought a grin to the loon's face and maybe it was his meds kicking in but he stood up tall, enjoying the silence that the meds brought to him.
"Let's get this over with…" he said callously before stepping past the intern and heading into the room.
The blonde man stood patiently at the bus stop, the cold winter air chilling his breath that escaped where the thick wool scarf didn't cover. The breath that hit the scarf turned into a warm wetness that almost suffocated him, yet he stood there patiently, not removing it. Today was a special day, even the cold wouldn't ruin it. His long black coat stood out starkly against the dim white and grey surroundings that winter brought with it and it made sure that the bus would stop. They didn't like to when it was cold, they liked to skip stops if there was no one there; sure they would slow, but if no one came they would keep driving.
When the bus finally did come, he stepped onto it and smiled at the driver before taking a seat by the window. As the bus started moving again, he thought about that day six months ago; the day that had changed his life. The words were still ringing in his head.
"We have looked over your progress, Sanji, we've decided you're sane enough to live outside of the institution", he'd nearly leapt for joy when Vivi had said that, Shanks had butted in quick enough to stop him though.
"You'll have to live in a home for the mentally unstable, but you'll be free to come and go as you please so long as the staff know where you're going and have a way of contacting you…" He could handle that.
Glancing down at the cellphone that had been allotted him, he flicked it open and found the text with the directions to where he was going. Third stop on fifty third street.
Sitting at his kitchen table, Zoro looked out the window, impatiently watching the buses. Even though he had poured himself a mug of coffee a few hours ago, it was only partially drunk and cold now. He still held it in his hand out of habit, too preoccupied to pay much attention to it. Six month had passed by in a hazy blur, and now he could never remember being more anxious and excited than he was at that moment.
Looking out the window, he blinked as a bus pulled to a stop nearby. He didn't even wait to see who was getting off before hurrying down to the ground floor, grinning. He was wearing an old white shirt and black pants with fuzzy slippers, but today was a day where he didn't have to get dressed up.
To his relief, a familiar head of blond hair walked inside, making him smile. "About time you got here. I was worried you got on the wrong bus."
"I did" Sanji said with a smile, unwrapping his scarf as he entered the building, "I had to backtrack three stops before I managed to get on the correct one…" Folding the scarf in his hands, he pulled off his gloves and wrapped them up inside it, "Sorry to keep you waiting…"
Zoro chuckled, shaking his head. "It's no problem." He smiled again, reaching out and taking a chilled hand in his. "C'mon, we can head upstairs now if you want. I can make a fresh pot of coffee to boot."
He ... liked this ... this closeness, this open friendliness that they couldn't get at the institute ...
Zoro liked this a lot.
Sanji nodded and followed the young man up the stairs, it was something of a wonder, to think that they'd gotten so far in only a year. It was one year ago today that he'd seen those beautiful eyes peer in on him and bring introduce this wonderful ray of sunshine into his dark, silent world. Over the course of the last six months since the evaluation, Zoro had lit every dark corner up, showed him that there was nothing to be afraid of. All in just one year.
The blonde was sure that the green haired male didn't know what it truly meant to the loon that he'd been so determined. After some of the horror stories that the man had told him, he was amazed that he hadn't gone running for the hills.
Smiling to himself, Sanji stopped just outside of Zoro's door; that was Zoro for you, always pressing forward in life. He pushed so hard that the loon couldn't help but follow, he wouldn't let him stop. And who knew, maybe in six months they could live together…
"What're you grinning about?" Zoro asked with a suspicious look; Sanji only grinned wider and stepped into the house.
"Oh nothing…" he said lightly, putting his gloves on the table beside the door, it was just below the hook that the green haired male hung his keys on.
Who knows… He thought to himself lightly, it could happen…