[ Bad weather isn't uncommon on the open sea, he's no naive fool to think all their days would be bright skies and fair winds. Even housed at Baratie they were susceptible to the same storms, but the restaurant was more well-equipped for a tempest than their caravel. The wind rocks the ship to and fro, but not enough to cause alarm. Heavy rain beats against the cracked open porthole of the galley so the bitter smoke from his cigarette can escape.
A futile endeavor, really. The ashtray sitting in the middle of the counter is running out of space. A glass of red wine sits relatively untouched by his elbow as he hunches over his notebook. The galley's been clean for hours, but storms always make him restless, anxious energy needing an outlet even though everything is fine. He pours over notes of the crew's dietary preferences, cross-referencing the inventory he'd taken earlier so he can start a grocery list for their next shore trip.
For now, he avoids unearthing their emergency supply, though it nags at the back of his head like an itch.
It's fine. They're fine. It's not that serious.
Sanji runs a hand through his hair, heaving out a puff of smoke as he goes through the numbers again. He's not avoiding going to bed, but it's raining and he'd rather not. The solitude is nice. The galley door slams open, causing him to jerk his head up toward the intrusion, brow furrowing in annoyance. ]
Oi! You're tracking water everywhere, mossy. Close the damn door!
[ Watch felt damned near pointless. Even from the nest, the rain was coming down heavy enough that it shrouded the sea beyond in a thick curtain of misty grey, swallowing everything beyond the rounded nose of the ship’s figurehead. The way it stood, they’d be just as like to hit an obstacle as they would be to see it – And even then, it would have been too late to even think about altering course. (Nami had long since forbade him touching the wheel anyway, after the Cloud Incident.)
Shifting in his seat, Zoro grimaced as the movement was met with the uncomfortable squelch of wet leather – Just like the rest of him, his boots were soaked through, due in no small part to the few inches of water that had collected on the floor from the downpour. Between that, the late-night chill, and the very empty bottle next to him, he had about reached his limit when the first roll of thunder rumbled in the distance.
After their foray on the Sky Island, he couldn’t say he was keen on the idea of staying up top, three very metal, very conductive swords strapped his hip. Not like the height was offering him much advantage at this point anyway.
As he slid down the rigging with a practiced grace, the rain doing little to slow his progress, he caught the dull glow of the galley window, barely piercing the gloom. Huh. Not many who would have been up this late – Too quiet to have been Luffy if they were in the kitchen. Usopp maybe, or the cook.
He felt something twinge in his chest at the thought of Sanji, which he chose to interpret as annoyance – Because of course it would be him. Probably sitting there, ready to bitch at him about how he was drinking too much liquor, like it wasn’t kept for that purpose. (It hadn’t escaped his notice that despite that fact, the cabinet always remained stocked, nor how they always seemed to have a ready supply of his preferred drink on hand. He never acknowledged it, because neither did the cook, like so many other things left unsaid.)
Before he knew it, his feet had already led him to the door of the galley - Only to see who was up at this hour, of course, not because he already knew who it would be. ]
Have you even looked outside, shit cook?
[ He shot the cook a sour look, lip curled in that scowl reserved only for him. Was he actually being serious? Zoro looked as though he’d just crawled out of a swimming pool, clothes clinging and heavy with the water, haramaki slipping under its weight, and he was going to berate him for tracking it inside? What the hell was he not supposed to?
Snapping the door closed behind him, he paused for only a moment before he shook himself off like a dog fresh from a bath, sending a fresh spray across the floor and kitchen. It didn’t help much so far as his clothing went, but it did give him a certain smug satisfaction regardless.
Grabbing one of the hand towels from the rack, he wiped down his face – likely another transgression, but whatever. ]
Didn’t figure you’d still be up.
[ A comment, not a question.
He could put together a few of the pieces; a full glass, which meant that he didn’t intend to leave any time in the near future, and a fuller ashtray, which meant he’d been here a while already. There were plenty of reasons for both, but if Sanji had wanted him to know the why behind it, then he’d tell him – Zoro had never been one to press. What business was it of his? It wasn’t endangering the crew, or himself. That ball was in his court, so far as he was concerned. ]
[ Really, he should kick Zoro's ass for the puddles he's tracking into the galley. He shouts in annoyance, covering his journal with his arms as the idiot swordsman shakes like a dog, and he's positive it's being done to piss him off. Really, the joke is on Zoro- he was irritated before the door even opened. ]
I have ears, moss-for-brains! Kind of easy to notice all the rain.
[ Huffing, he takes the tea towel off his shoulder and flings it at Zoro's face before surveying the water damage to the paper. Thankfully nothing more than a few stray drops, so he takes a large drink of wine to swallow down the worst of his comments. Using a clean dish towel to wipe up layers of grime and rainwater? Oh, he'll be forcing him to hand wash those during laundry for that. ]
I hadn't planned on it, yet here we are. [ He gestures grandly around the primarily empty galley while he distractedly flips through the pages again to try and remember where he was at with planning. With a sharp inhale, he finishes his latest cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray. ]
Why spend hours tossing and turning when I can get something done while it's quiet? Or at least it was quiet.
[ He casts an accusatory scowl toward Zoro, though the heat fizzles. ] Aren't you supposed to be on watch?
[ Of course he is. Relief isn't supposed to come for Zoro for hours, so what the hell does he think he's doing here instead of up in the crow's nest? What if they crash? ]
[ ‘Easy to notice’? Clearly, he hadn’t been paying that close attention, if he was still griping – But perhaps he’d have a better idea of just how bad it was, now that the swordsman had sprayed that rainwater halfway across his kitchen.
Zoro caught the towel inches from the tip of his nose, moving on reflex. As he glanced it over, he crudely balled up the one he’d been using previously, then tossed it on the counter – Not hung to dry and certainly not sanitary. One hundred percent intended to be another light dig at the blond’s patience.
Even then, every tea towel in the Grand Line wouldn’t have saved him at this point. His clothes were too waterlogged, his boots sloshing with every heavy step – Outside of stripping down entirely, maybe wringing them out properly, there wasn’t much he could do about it from the kitchen. Instead, he shrugged it off for the moment, continuing his path towards the cabinet where Sanji had been keeping their liquor stores. ]
I don't plan on staying. I was only here for a refill.
[ That annoying, strange tightness in his chest persisted, pulled tighter still when the cook explained himself. Obviously, he couldn’t sleep if he was still out here at this time of night, and Zoro hadn’t missed the way he’d carefully sidestepped addressing why that was. Overthinking, maybe, going to burn out that stupid love-addled brain of his. Not like they had any shortage of worries out here, and the idiot had a way of putting his own needs last.
Like Zoro had any room to talk about that.
The tuft of his green hair vanished behind the door of the cabinet, followed by the clink of glass as he pawed through his options. Selection was looking slimmer than usual, but he continued digging through, turning the various labels. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the memory hurts, but it does me no harm
A futile endeavor, really. The ashtray sitting in the middle of the counter is running out of space. A glass of red wine sits relatively untouched by his elbow as he hunches over his notebook. The galley's been clean for hours, but storms always make him restless, anxious energy needing an outlet even though everything is fine. He pours over notes of the crew's dietary preferences, cross-referencing the inventory he'd taken earlier so he can start a grocery list for their next shore trip.
For now, he avoids unearthing their emergency supply, though it nags at the back of his head like an itch.
It's fine. They're fine. It's not that serious.
Sanji runs a hand through his hair, heaving out a puff of smoke as he goes through the numbers again. He's not avoiding going to bed, but it's raining and he'd rather not. The solitude is nice. The galley door slams open, causing him to jerk his head up toward the intrusion, brow furrowing in annoyance. ]
Oi! You're tracking water everywhere, mossy. Close the damn door!
no subject
[ Watch felt damned near pointless. Even from the nest, the rain was coming down heavy enough that it shrouded the sea beyond in a thick curtain of misty grey, swallowing everything beyond the rounded nose of the ship’s figurehead. The way it stood, they’d be just as like to hit an obstacle as they would be to see it – And even then, it would have been too late to even think about altering course. (Nami had long since forbade him touching the wheel anyway, after the Cloud Incident.)
Shifting in his seat, Zoro grimaced as the movement was met with the uncomfortable squelch of wet leather – Just like the rest of him, his boots were soaked through, due in no small part to the few inches of water that had collected on the floor from the downpour. Between that, the late-night chill, and the very empty bottle next to him, he had about reached his limit when the first roll of thunder rumbled in the distance.
After their foray on the Sky Island, he couldn’t say he was keen on the idea of staying up top, three very metal, very conductive swords strapped his hip. Not like the height was offering him much advantage at this point anyway.
As he slid down the rigging with a practiced grace, the rain doing little to slow his progress, he caught the dull glow of the galley window, barely piercing the gloom. Huh. Not many who would have been up this late – Too quiet to have been Luffy if they were in the kitchen. Usopp maybe, or the cook.
He felt something twinge in his chest at the thought of Sanji, which he chose to interpret as annoyance – Because of course it would be him. Probably sitting there, ready to bitch at him about how he was drinking too much liquor, like it wasn’t kept for that purpose. (It hadn’t escaped his notice that despite that fact, the cabinet always remained stocked, nor how they always seemed to have a ready supply of his preferred drink on hand. He never acknowledged it, because neither did the cook, like so many other things left unsaid.)
Before he knew it, his feet had already led him to the door of the galley - Only to see who was up at this hour, of course, not because he already knew who it would be. ]
Have you even looked outside, shit cook?
[ He shot the cook a sour look, lip curled in that scowl reserved only for him. Was he actually being serious? Zoro looked as though he’d just crawled out of a swimming pool, clothes clinging and heavy with the water, haramaki slipping under its weight, and he was going to berate him for tracking it inside? What the hell was he not supposed to?
Snapping the door closed behind him, he paused for only a moment before he shook himself off like a dog fresh from a bath, sending a fresh spray across the floor and kitchen. It didn’t help much so far as his clothing went, but it did give him a certain smug satisfaction regardless.
Grabbing one of the hand towels from the rack, he wiped down his face – likely another transgression, but whatever. ]
Didn’t figure you’d still be up.
[ A comment, not a question.
He could put together a few of the pieces; a full glass, which meant that he didn’t intend to leave any time in the near future, and a fuller ashtray, which meant he’d been here a while already. There were plenty of reasons for both, but if Sanji had wanted him to know the why behind it, then he’d tell him – Zoro had never been one to press. What business was it of his? It wasn’t endangering the crew, or himself. That ball was in his court, so far as he was concerned. ]
no subject
I have ears, moss-for-brains! Kind of easy to notice all the rain.
[ Huffing, he takes the tea towel off his shoulder and flings it at Zoro's face before surveying the water damage to the paper. Thankfully nothing more than a few stray drops, so he takes a large drink of wine to swallow down the worst of his comments. Using a clean dish towel to wipe up layers of grime and rainwater? Oh, he'll be forcing him to hand wash those during laundry for that. ]
I hadn't planned on it, yet here we are. [ He gestures grandly around the primarily empty galley while he distractedly flips through the pages again to try and remember where he was at with planning. With a sharp inhale, he finishes his latest cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray. ]
Why spend hours tossing and turning when I can get something done while it's quiet? Or at least it was quiet.
[ He casts an accusatory scowl toward Zoro, though the heat fizzles. ] Aren't you supposed to be on watch?
[ Of course he is. Relief isn't supposed to come for Zoro for hours, so what the hell does he think he's doing here instead of up in the crow's nest? What if they crash? ]
no subject
Zoro caught the towel inches from the tip of his nose, moving on reflex. As he glanced it over, he crudely balled up the one he’d been using previously, then tossed it on the counter – Not hung to dry and certainly not sanitary. One hundred percent intended to be another light dig at the blond’s patience.
Even then, every tea towel in the Grand Line wouldn’t have saved him at this point. His clothes were too waterlogged, his boots sloshing with every heavy step – Outside of stripping down entirely, maybe wringing them out properly, there wasn’t much he could do about it from the kitchen. Instead, he shrugged it off for the moment, continuing his path towards the cabinet where Sanji had been keeping their liquor stores. ]
I don't plan on staying. I was only here for a refill.
[ That annoying, strange tightness in his chest persisted, pulled tighter still when the cook explained himself. Obviously, he couldn’t sleep if he was still out here at this time of night, and Zoro hadn’t missed the way he’d carefully sidestepped addressing why that was. Overthinking, maybe, going to burn out that stupid love-addled brain of his. Not like they had any shortage of worries out here, and the idiot had a way of putting his own needs last.
Like Zoro had any room to talk about that.
The tuft of his green hair vanished behind the door of the cabinet, followed by the clink of glass as he pawed through his options. Selection was looking slimmer than usual, but he continued digging through, turning the various labels. ]
Rain’s too heavy to see from the nest right now.