yourotherleft | IC Inbox: Cerealia

its not destroyed don't get your pants in a knot.

[it's just very very messy]

if you remember then get your damn ass over here already, don't go wiggling around after girls or whatever the hell youre doing.

that ain't what I'm doing, I WISH that's what I was doing. think I got dragged back in with all the other new people, you know how that shit goes. they're all fighting over who the fuck knows what. think I'm in ViViD.

[Which, uggghh. How do you get out of the thing.]

why so eager anyway? miss me, marimo~~?

[He's just assuming Zoro's hungry, really. But why pass up an opportunity to tease?]

SHUT UP I DID NOT MISS YOU ONE SECOND STUPID CURLY BROW

[that...might not have needed to be capslocked oops. Blame the weird sensations still curled in his gut, the desperate yearning for something familiar that isn't Luffy, a mix of things he might have been thinking about over the past month without admitting to himself...and yes hunger, actually.]

fine play whatever stupid game they got you in this time. have fun.

[...He's actually not sure how to respond to that. Part of him instantly wants to punch some shitty capslock back at him in an imitation of their usual brawling, but not having Zoro's dumb face right in front of him makes it slightly easier to hold back that knee-jerk reaction.

Another part of him is just plain curious. Zoro doesn't always want to see him sooner rather than later. And by "doesn't always" he means "pretty much never".

And yet another part just harrumphs in annoyance while Sanji grumbles under his breath. Yeah, because it's just so fucking easy to leave these shitty forced game things? Idiot.

It's a combination of the latter two reactions that have him replying with nothing more than:]

...

what

[those three dots tell him nothing, cook. Granted, he doesn't know shit about how the game works, he's just glad it didn't grab him up this time, apparently. So it's a new-arrival month, is it?]

don't tell me youre actually having a good time in there

you know I'm not, don't be fucking stupid. did you know that screaming shit with nothing but capital letters makes you sound like you're spouting bullshit?

[Kind of amused over here.

Also yeah, time to get out of this fucking game. Let him just...figure out how to do that real quick.]

I know what it does and thats WHY I DID IT

because your dumb face isn't here for me to yell at

[huff huff. Why did he miss this asshole, anyway? Well. Shh. No.]

by the way I'm hungry

uh-huh.

there any food there? hell, is ANY of my shit there or did you chuck it all?

[Because if he needs to go shopping before he gets home, tell him now. He already might do so just because this outfit is sort of ridiculous. It's not like he's attending a shitty ball or something, geez.]

we didn't touch your shit, its right where you left it.

[although the kitchen counters are covered in a fine layer of pizza boxes. At least his room is somewhat untouched, except where Zoro attempted to straighten things up in the outside chance he needed to move in there.]

no food tho

so thoughtful.

[Well...it is, but it also makes him wonder if they've just...not been using his room at all? He knows Luffy prefers to bunk with someone else, but still. Over a month and his bedroom is just sitting there empty?]

fine, I'll stop and get something. what do you guys want?

[oh just you wait, cook]

Luffy's still here so what do you think?

[nothing says "welcome back" like a demand to be fed, right?]

vegetarian buffet, got it.

[And then whatever other shit happens that's supposed to in the intro log WHO KNOWS, but eventually Sanji's out and making his way home!]

anything exciting happen while I was gone?

asshole

[nothing really changes. Oh look, a little while later there's a new message!]

uh let me think. another field trip, shorter, less fun. found out some nasty bullshit about this place.

you gonna elaborate on that?

[It's almost a relief to be back out on the city streets. He'd much prefer having the deck of Sunny under his feet, but at least this is familiar.]

don't think anything changed for me. like I don't got any new memories from home or anything.

not over text, I dont wanna type that much

[it takes too long, okay? Besides, it really is nasty, he'd rather share it in person]

nothing? did you even go home?

[Oh? Well now he's really curious. Not that it gets him back to the apartment any faster because he really does need to go shopping. New shirt and pants is a must.

...Also food. Right.]

don't think I did. feels like I just woke up from a shitty accidental nap or something.

yeah nobody naps for a month, not even me, so.

weird. but you're back.

[thanks Captain Obvious.]

nah, you only nap through hurricanes and shit.

[But yep. He's back. Even though he doesn't remember being gone. Weird, indeed.

There's another break in replies while he wanders through a few stores, but eventually he winds up standing outside the apartment door, arms laden with bags and wondering if he should knock or not.

That'd be dumb, though.

So instead he gets the door unlocked and shoulders his way in, calling out as he does.]

Oi, marimo! Luffy! I'm home!

[he doesn't feel like justifying himself at that point so there's no reply. The long pause afterword, no more questions, gives Zoro time to slowly come to realize that maybe this place is a bit of a mess and he should really do something about that. Luffy's out and about (for now...) so he's alone in this quest, argh.

So when he hears the door and the familiar voice, Zoro is in the kitchen, hastily scrambling to cram as much fast-food refuse into a trash bag as he can. It's already over-full but dammit if he can just fit one more pizza box...

Uh.

[Yo, cook. You see nothing, certainly not a twitch of deeply-suppressed emotion to hear that call. There sure wasn't a weird feeling deep in the pit of his stomach at I'm home, no sir, not here.]

[Yeah, Sanji had more or less...well, not forgotten about some of the shit that had happened between them, his brain just hadn't decided to remember it yet.

It certainly remembers it now, repressed images leaping to the forefront of his mind as soon as he turns to look toward his kitchen where that grunt of a non-greeting came from and his eyes land on that stupid green hair. In fact, memories of that whole shitty book episode in particular wash over him in a terrible, mortifying cascade, leaving him frozen to the spot for only a beat or two though it feels like SO much longer.

Wow, he really skipped on out at a really fucking convenient time, didn't he? And Zoro said he's been gone for over a month, right...? So maybe the idiot won't remember any of...that.

Please god say he's forgotten it. Fucking hell.

In any case, that handful of seconds ticks by and Sanji finally actually sees what's happening in front of him. He takes in the scene, the trash bag, the dishes out of place, the—the everything out of place really, even though a lot of it is small and shouldn't matter but that's HIS kitchen, dammit, and what the fuck have those two done to—

Sanji turns slowly to take in the rest, eyes sliding over to living room and the messy sofa and yet more take-out boxes.

...Done to his entire apartment?!

He whips back around to glare at Zoro.]

The hell have you two done to this place??!

[Oh no, he hasn't forgotten at all, and things Luffy has told him since have only made it worse, but fortunately for both of them, right now Zoro's one-track mind is focused solely on not getting kicked in the face for messing up the apartment. He cringes at the yell, fist tightening on the trash bag.]

Nothing! It's fine, we didn't damage anything. Look, it's just...

[well, no, he can't justify any of this. He and Luffy just sort of existed without their third monster around to kick their asses, he didn't mean to just leave their trash everywhere but it just sort of happened. Zoro decides to just let it be. If he gets kicked, he gets kicked.]

I'll pick it up.

[The shared living space, anyway. His room? Not so much.]

[Sanji would kick him, but that would mean getting all up in his business and the sudden rush of memories that just hit him have left him feeling slightly off-kilter. Also he's got bags of food in his arms.

That's his excuse and he's sticking to it. 8|

So instead he settles for scowling around at everything, before leveling a look on Zoro.]

You're damn right you're gonna pick it up! For fuck's sake, marimo -- I hope you didn't have people over while I was gone!

[Because this is just embarrassing. Sanji keeps making a face at everything as he moves toward the kitchen to deposit his grocery bags on the breakfast bar, and then he frowns at the pizza box still in Zoro's hand.]

How did you idiots even survive before I came along?

[makes a face right back at him, because he's not that ashamed] Just Vietnam. But that was a few weeks ago. [before it got this bad. The last peek she had was thankfully from out in the hallway, and she was smart enough not to enter.

He follows Sanji's gaze to the pizza box and then crams it into the trash bag.]

We had more than just you, you know.

[wow that came out really nasty. But it's true, thanks to Nami and Usopp they didn't have it that bad - Luffy and Zoro never really did survive as a lone pair for more than a couple days. This is probably proof why they never should be allowed to, ever again.]

Usopp's gone too, both of you disappeared. What did you expect? It's just me and Luffy right now and I thought no one was coming back.

[Vietnam-chan was here? And Sanji missed her visit? Dammit.

The rest of what Zoro says seems like the more important thing to focus on right now, though. Sanji knows that they're not helpless, and that before he joined up it wasn't like they just didn't eat or some shit. But he still doesn't like the idea of Luffy and Zoro being left on their own, especially in a place like this. It's different than being separated back home.

And the way Zoro says they thought no one was coming back hurts somehow, makes his chest pang in a weird way. He can't bear the thought himself of nakama disappearing and not returning. He already misses the others in their crew fiercely. So it's almost like he's feels guilty for leaving those two dumbasses here on their own.

Sanji huffs, letting the tension drain out of his shoulders as he starts rooting around in his grocery bags instead.]

I expect you morons to act your damn age, but I guess so long as nothing is permanently damaged... [He tips his head back toward the living room.] You can pick all that shit up while I cook.

Nothing's broken! We hardly touched your kitchen, even your fish are fine. [points toward the living room wall-aquarium] Don't get your pants in a knot, all right? I'll take care of it.

[ugh, stupid cook making him clean like some kind of child doing chores. But it does need to be done, and even Zoro can't really hide that he's actually glad to see that curly brow again - and not just because he prefers a home-cooked meal to more pizza. Maybe if he blusters and grumbles a bit he can cover it.

That bag's full, so he ties it off and snatches another one before shouldering past Sanji and heading into the living room to start scooping empty take-out boxes into it. Okay, now that he's in the middle of this he can smell it, it's pretty gross. Oops. Sorry, cook.]

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