004↠ Action

[concasse]

[Sanji's at the bar probably with the rest of the village, holed up in a corner for a decidedly good portion of the evening/night, well after this mess. Catch him when he's depressingly sober, moderately drunk and pissed, or in the middle of destroying what's left of his kidneys.

He'll get home eventually. Somehow.]

Comments

[concasse]

[Oh, no worries. Sanji just laughs... then groans... then facepalms]

Katara-chan, I apologize on behalf of my captain. [Not because he suspects Luffy was forward, no; but because Luffy is Luffy.]

[markofthebrave]

[Not FORWARD per se, but definitely... they had been dating for three months, after all.

Katara shakes her head, looking a little pained.]

You don't need to apologize for him. We're okay.

[concasse]

... I'm glad. [He wouldn't want their friendship in jeopardy]

[markofthebrave]

[So, yes, enough about her.]

What about you?

[concasse]

I've had better weeks.

[markofthebrave]

I'm not surprised.

[Are you going to be all right?]

[concasse]

[With time, perhaps - no, for certain. It's not in him to mope forever.

But it will take time.]

Maah, nothing to do but move forward, eh? [He doesn't really feel any motivation behind the words, however. It's more an offer of optimism; an insistence of normalcy.]

[markofthebrave]

Well, maybe. [She puts her hand on his arm.] But there's time for grieving too.

[It's not like there's any pressing need to distract them or force them to bottle it up, however fortunate or unfortunate that may be.]

And you don't have to do that alone.

[concasse]

Katara-chan... [For a brief second, Sanji's eye clouds from weariness and pain, from hurt and the understanding of how much effort it takes for him to lean on someone else.

Then he grins, and the pain disappears, and his expression levels into sheepishness] Y'know... I realize I never apologized.

[markofthebrave]

[Blink.]

For what?

[concasse]

For nearly asking you out on a date. [/SOB]

[markofthebrave]

[She blinks, then smiles and shrugs.]

Oh, that's all right. I'm sure you - [he?] - didn't mean anything by it.

[concasse]

... You thought I was dishonest? [Don't get him wrong; he's glad she's shrugging it off like it's nothing, but at the same time...]

1/2

[markofthebrave]

[Blink.]

What? No. That's not what I said at all. I'm sure that if I'd said yes we would have gone out on a date.

[Just like any other girl you'd have asked out.]

[markofthebrave]

I just didn't think you meant it - specifically in reference to me. How could you? [Why would you?] You'd just met me.

[concasse]

That's true, but... [Sanji still senses a disconnect, and scratches the side of his face]

Why wouldn't I mean it? Katara-chan's very beautiful, and was the first person to make me feel better about my experience. You're smart and kind... I could see and feel that from meeting you once.

1/?

[markofthebrave]

[...what.]

[markofthebrave]

[No, really - what?

Her brain shorts on 'beautiful' and skitters over to 'smart and kind' although she can accept that she made him feel better...]

[markofthebrave]

[...but beautiful she's going to have to just pass over entirely. She knows who he hangs out with, she knows the caliber of women in Luceti, and she knows she's not in their league.

So she can just discard that. Sweet of him, but ultimately meaningless.]

done!

[markofthebrave]

I'm glad that I was able to make you feel better.

[Have a sincere dodge from a pro, that always works so well because it's sincere.

You'll totally let the question go now, right?]

[concasse]

[No. No he can't.

Because this bothers him for some reason, and that Katara makes no effort to address the rest of those compliments - those truths - stubbornly keeps him tied to the topic at hand.]

Do you believe me when I call you beautiful? [A pause, and then] Do you... consider yourself that?

[markofthebrave]

[Unfortunately, the close nature of their friendship won't allow her to simply freeze him out. As much as she'd like to. Because these questions are uncomfortable and intimate and inappropriate.

But her face does shadow.]

I don't believe that you'd say what you don't mean. I think you just see things differently than most other people do. Not every girl can be beautiful, Sanji.

[concasse]

[It's odd for him to press, and he knows Katara doesn't appreciate it - but it doesn't stop him, still. His own face shadows out of befuddlement, head slightly inclined, like he's still grasping to understand]

And you're saying you're not one of them.

[markofthebrave]

What I'm saying, [her voice is low and controlled] is that how I look isn't important. Why are you pressing this.

[The day after the Valentine's experiment lifts, no less.]

[concasse]

Because you avoided everything I said, except the part about making me feel better.

I wondered why.

[Not to mention she just now twisted the argument to avoid the physical attractive angle all-together. Fancy that.]