𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑔

a soft 'hmmm' rumbles up from the swordsman's chest, sitting heavy in the back of their throat. they let quiet sit between the two of them, sanji's preparations the only indication of time passing.

zoro had only heard bits and pieces of what had happened at whole cake island, not caring for any particulars that haven't been divulged by sanji personally. on zou, nami had regaled that sanji had repeatedly reassured them that he never tried to hide anything from them; and the swordsman didn't care about sanji's past. or, rather, hadn't cared until they'd pulled out a transponder snail from their haramaki & promised sanji death. careful, intentional ignorance of sanji's deflections erroding away instantly like yubashiri had.

whatever is going on with brows, zoro hasn't been able to just let it go. not since the insistence, not since the dejected look of reassurance that he was fine, not since the first mate had stumbled their way into the realization that whatever was going on would complete the whole picture of a man that zoro never could quite get an accurate read on.

The question was expected and yet still it managed to catch him off guard, causing the chef's movements to slow momentarily as he struggled to think of what to say in response to it. No, even now he was lying to himself. He hadn't been expecting Zoro to really say anything or to even inquire about the promise they'd been made to take during the heat of battle.

How does he explain it all, where does he even begin? Taking a deep breath, he'd busy his hands with his cooking as he slowly turned his head to look at the other from the corner of his eye. How do you tell someone you've sailed with for over two years that you didn't trust yourself to see the signs of that which made you human slipping away?

Returning his gaze to the food, he chewed on the unlit cigarette between his lips before finally opening his mouth to speak. " I was wondering when you'd ask me. " He'd say, exhaustion running deep between every word that fell from his lips. While he wasn't physically drained (in fact, he felt energized), he could feel the mental and emotional toll he'd put upon himself.

sanji's face fell after reassuring zoro that there's nothing to worry about and it only serves to prove that there is, in fact, something to worry about. zoro's quiet observance of the crew around them is almost like breathing now. small indications of something else that sticks in the back of their mind, rattling around until they do something about it. they do, but not immediately. despite the fact that the shit cook is harder to read than most people, always putting on a mask of cheerfulness that never quite makes it back to the confines of the galley, zoro pays attention. notices.

Though it had come in handy quite a few times during their stay in Wano, he realized now that he should not have worn the raid suit even once. Everything about him since he'd worn the suit for the third and final time had felt off, wrong even. Normally after such an intensive fight the muscles and joints in his legs would have been aching significantly, instead he felt as if he'd been doing a light bout of training - achey but not unpleasantly so.

Of course it would be him that notices something is off, damned eagle-eye of theirs. But perhaps it was because of that eagle eye that he'd made Zoro promise to take care of things should he become like them, like the demons that hung from his back and tormented him saying it was only a matter of time now before he became one of them.

Act as he normally would, pretend to be sore, pretend to be happy - but it wasn't good enough, he'd already been seen through and he was none-the-wiser. The best course of action was to distract them all with food, no one could question him while their mouth's were full.

everyone can reblog this, but i figure this is especially good for those of us who use the (soft) blocking feature if we decide to unfollow someone instead of just unfollowing. this way, we can be alerted if tumblr has unfollowed a friend of ours without us noticing, as well as the other mutual not having to have anxiety about you suddenly hating them or worrying that you'll get upset for them asking if it was a mistake or not.

❛ There's nothing wrong with wanting that, what i'd consider wrong is not allowing yourself to seek out that which you desire. ❜ He'd reply with a smooth tone to his voice, the hand wrapped around his own drink rising to bring the glass to his lips. Everyone dreamt of it at some point in their life; True love, a pure love. So rarely did people ever find this elusive type of love, for romance was fickle and even more so to those inexperienced. But there was nothing truly wrong with finding oneself wanting such things, it was in human nature to desire companionship and it was most evident to Sanji that this person was no different in that regard.

　 　REQUESTED ONE LINER　… 　@marchebleu

" sanji-kun ! " nami leans her head over, holding a tangerine up in the palm of her head, " can you peel this for me ? "

" ...I guess they aren't, " Sanji breathes out, " Good thing I'm not a Vinsmoke anymore, " he finally decides to say. Best not to change TOO MUCH in him... lest he prepare him to be fed to WOLVES.

He sure wish he grabbed his box of smokes and a lighter for this. He knows there's something in the kitchen he's stashed for the slow starting days.

The walk was short under the sky of millions of stars ( a gorgeous night to stargaze if one was ever interested ) , but with how fast his thoughts raced by, it felt as if he'd taken more than just the minute or two to walk over. His hand takes hold of the knob && turns, leading them into a more lit room. "Wait here." He instructs. During the night, he could really only think of one sneaky captain being awake for a potential midnight snack to steal before the next morning, likely to bankrupt their food supply had he not set TRAPS to deter that. The last thing he needed was to scare the daylights out of him.

Opening the door once more ( all traps seemed intact... their food supply would be safe for now ) , he invites the child inside and to take a seat at one of the seats nearby the walk in kitchen. In the meantime, Sanji opens up the cabinet to grab a small glass for him, filling it up halfway with some apple juice squeezed yesterday and placing it before him. A gentle smile ( somewhat forced, as he plays this mysterious relative in small child's eyes ) rests on his face, moving to walk behind the kitchen counter && pull out a number of ingredients for the morning rush in a few hours.

Claiming to be a Vinsmoke no longer was a claim most unheard of, most who bore the name wore it with pride in all they did and yet he claimed he was one no longer? ❛ You're... not a Vinsmoke anymore? ❜ the question was quiet, he couldn't help but wonder why that was as tiny fingers wrapped around the chilled glass, tiny finger's drumming a familiar melody as he began thinking of so many things at once.  

What were those strange noises he'd heard in this kitchen moments prior to being allowed to enter? While this room looked like a regular kitchen, he'd heard a series of clinking, banging, and what sounded like something being pushed along the floor. But as he thought of that, another question would begin to make rounds in his head; Was he hungry?

Looking pensively into the glass of apple juice, he would once again begin to drum that melody against the filled glass. In his hurry to get to the infirmary to see his mother before anyone noticed he was gone, he'd completely neglected to eat something. Slowly he'd look at the no-longer-Vinsmoke relative and chew on his lower lip in thought, looking quite hesitant to ask that which was on his mind.

Finally he'd see the banana's resting among the fruit placed upon the counter and he'd smile, only able to think of one thing as he looked at the assortment that sat before him. Would the other know how to make it? he certainly hoped so!