Looking for balance

25. Blues

Thanks to KumaZura for proof reading this chapter.

Enjoy your reading.

***

Sanji was always cooking with passion. Ingredients were like music notes he was setting down on the score of his plates to make the tastiest symphonies without even needing to think about it. This expertise was particularly useful today while he was moving as usual, although a little more mechanically, lost in thought. His subconscious was therefore attentive to the cooking of the meat and the right dosage of spices on the crunchy vegetables while his mind was drifting out of his galley.

He had reviewed all the elements in his possession and he always came back to the same incongruous conclusion: he had become sensitive to certain behaviors of the swordsman. Whether addressed to him or not, these distinctive characteristics inherent to Zoro were causing him disarming chills and inner turmoil when he shouldn't even have noticed it. Like when the swordsman was taking care of his swords excessively. Or when he was grumbling when woken up too early from sleep. Or when his smirk was making his opponents back down even before he made a single move in their direction.

Even worse, when Zoro's moves were directly addressed to him, Sanji was feeling his heart beating a little faster and his mind becoming confused. Like when the swordsman had taken the time to undress him. Or when he had left his hand lying around on his hip when he had woken up.

It was ridiculous and stupid given the fact that this was about that idiot fencer and Sanji was well aware of this but it didn't change reality. His sad reality.

Why did he have to perceive the marimo attitude differently? He wondered, grabbing his salt mill furiously. And above all, why did Zoro give him the impression of acting differently too sometimes?

Sanji sighed and added some broth for cooking. Was he getting the wrong idea about the swordsman's attention toward him? Zoro had seemed less expeditious in recent days, but at the same time, he didn't seem to be giving it any special meaning either. Knowing the man, if he had wanted to be intentionally considerate, he would have betrayed himself in some way as this attitude wasn't like him. But so far, nothing. He was settling for being perfectly normal, as if his moves weren't meant to communicate more than the blond seemed to see.

The cook bit his lower lip. Was it possible that Zoro didn't realize the impact of his actions? It was hard to believe but once again, if the swordsman was acting knowingly, how did he keep this natural attitude in front of him? For his part, since he had realized what was going on inside him, he was feeling nervous and terribly uncomfortable.

Sanji cut the fire under his cooker when noticing the meat had reached ideal temperature and then put a lid on his pot. He sighed then as he stared half-heartedly at what he believed was the greatest passion of his life. He knew he needed an answer but the subject was way too tricky to rush into things without thinking and ask Zoro abruptly.

Seriously, developing feelings for the marimo when so many pretty girls were waiting to be worshiped by him? No doubt he was cursed...

***

In the middle of the afternoon, the Sunny was moored away from the main island of a small archipelago in a pretty flowery port literally swarming with Marines. Nami tried to prevent Luffy from disembarking but it was a lost cause and she eventually gave up. Immediately ashore, the captain threw his hands towards a bird he wanted to see on the menu of his dinner and was spotted by conscientious soldiers who suspected that the presence of an elastic man was rare enough to mean the straw hat crew had disembarked.

While the captain was opening hostilities without even noticing it a few seconds later, the navigator put all of her hopes on the rest of the crew she drew aside. "Luffy is gonna draw everyone's attention so let's try to take advantage of it," She sighed. "We're gonna part ways to go unnoticed and do our shopping as quickly as possible. Brook with Franky, you're the most recognizable so you go back to the Sunny. Get it ready and keep in touch with Robin who will be watching Luffy so he doesn't get too far from the port. Sanji-kun and Usopp, try to buy some food. Zoro and Chopper, take care of the cola stock."