[To his credit, he only freezes for a few seconds.]
[Granted, it's enough. Enough to hear the pattering of feet and creaking hinges as the door opens. Chopper's own eyes betray him, flicking over briefly to catch the dark figure outlined against the imaginary wall.]
[Then the familiarity of the scene strikes him. It's enough to put him back into motion, searching for a place to deposit Sanji...]
[...and finding none. Because everything around them isn't really there.]
[Chopper holds the adult Sanji against his chest, eyes screwing shut. Maybe if he'd been faster, he could have gotten his nakama to the couch before the memory started. The only thing that provides any sort of relief is the fact that the memory is filled with silence, which means if he closes his eyes, he doesn't have to experience it.]
[...but the scene plays out again, this time exclusively in his head. Only this time it's Chopper's memory. Of a young Sanji coming into his room for comfort, and finding it only because he accidentally woke the doctor up. Would this - the quiet boy slouched against the wall alone - have been the reality of that night if Sanji had never stumbled into his room?]
[...]
[He opens his eyes and, maneuvering the Sanji in his arms, sits. Just sits against the floor, facing the space between the young boy and the figure snoring against the bed. Head bowed in the smallest amount of privacy he hasn't already violated. It isn't real, but at least in gesture, he can sit with the younger Sanji until the memory ends.]
[Action]
[Granted, it's enough. Enough to hear the pattering of feet and creaking hinges as the door opens. Chopper's own eyes betray him, flicking over briefly to catch the dark figure outlined against the imaginary wall.]
[Then the familiarity of the scene strikes him. It's enough to put him back into motion, searching for a place to deposit Sanji...]
[...and finding none. Because everything around them isn't really there.]
[Chopper holds the adult Sanji against his chest, eyes screwing shut. Maybe if he'd been faster, he could have gotten his nakama to the couch before the memory started. The only thing that provides any sort of relief is the fact that the memory is filled with silence, which means if he closes his eyes, he doesn't have to experience it.]
[...but the scene plays out again, this time exclusively in his head. Only this time it's Chopper's memory. Of a young Sanji coming into his room for comfort, and finding it only because he accidentally woke the doctor up. Would this - the quiet boy slouched against the wall alone - have been the reality of that night if Sanji had never stumbled into his room?]
[...]
[He opens his eyes and, maneuvering the Sanji in his arms, sits. Just sits against the floor, facing the space between the young boy and the figure snoring against the bed. Head bowed in the smallest amount of privacy he hasn't already violated. It isn't real, but at least in gesture, he can sit with the younger Sanji until the memory ends.]
Sorry, Sanji. I didn't think it through.