puppycrush2 | week two

[Josuke is allowed his secrets, especially when they're being filmed.]

Well, that's fine, then.

[It's not as if Sanji minds, but the people behind the cameras may be less forgiving. He has to remind himself that he and Josuke lead different lives, and the publicity he brings isn't always good.

Incidentally, he wonders if those tight situations are related to the aforementioned mysteries.]

Come on. Let's look for a place to sit down.

[ Peering around, there are a couple of high chairs with a small table that are all situated near one of these fake pools that divers (????) are going in, and more helpfully, it'll keep them out of the main throng of the crowd. Josuke nudges Sanji in the shoulder to point them both in that direction. ]

So, if you've been smoking since you were a kid, have you been drinking since then, too? You've gotta have lungs and a liver of steel...

[Why are there divers here?

Sanji clocks the seats as soon as he's pointed toward them. Good eye, Josuke. They go on the move.]

I haven't been drinking as long. I do that to have a good time. Well . . .

[He trails off as he pulls a chair out to claim it, stopping himself before going into unnecessary detail.]

I suppose we can do those tasks while we're waiting.

Oh, those to-do lists?

[ Josuke digs around in his breast pocket for the list to reference it, settling into his own seat lazily. ]

You wanna knock out one of the easy ones?

[ Sanji is probably too no homo to kiss him or hug him.... but maybe they could tell each other secrets or give each other compliments. ]

I'll never get it done at that rate.

[He slouches against his seat. No, he should aim for three points, which he's mostly been avoiding for reasons. Besides . . . it's Josuke, so a personal detail here or there wouldn't be too bad.]

I'll tell you something. Good?

Sure, I'm all ears.

[ He's a little surprised, not gonna lie... but also happy that Sanji is going trust him with telling him something. Hopefully their margaritas don't arrive at an inopportune moment.... ]

[Hopefully the margaritas arrive just when he needs them.]

When we were shipwrecked, I complained to the damn geezer about his taking a larger portion of the food for himself. 70 days later, I tried to kill him for what was left, only to realize that it was all treasure. All that weight in gold . . . and not a single loaf of bread between us.

[With an arm slung over the back of his chair, he drums his fingertips against it to work off the building agitation.]

The geezer refused contact the whole time. I finally understood in that moment why.

You already know that he'd given me all the food. That was only possible, because he'd eaten his leg. [He stops tapping.] Unable to walk on his own two feet ever again . . . he'd devoured his dreams for a mere brat.

[And Sanji will never stop grieving. How callously he'd treated Zeff. How selfish he'd been, ignorant to the true weight of the old man's sacrifice. How much Sanji had taken, without knowing, from a man who'd had everything.

He tears his gaze from the waterfall to meet Josuke's.]

That's my regret.

[ He had always known that Sanji's relationship with food was deeply tangled with those torturous seventy days he spent starving and withering away. But this takes it to a new level. By the shock on his face, he wasn't expecting Sanji to reveal something of such magnitude to him - he almost stands up in the rush of emotion he feels, but refrains, barely, leaning over the table closer to him instead. ]

His own leg....!?

[ That kind of selflessness.... is insane. The weight of that man's kindness must have hit Sanji like a sledgehammer when he'd realized. Josuke meets his eyes unwaveringly, his eyes wide with awe, horror, confusion. ]

You couldn't have known... [ God. He can't imagine the guilt he'd feel, coming to that realization after trying to kill him. ] Did he...? Survive, in the end?

[It's funny, seeing his own emotions from nine years ago reflected in those eyes. That's the sort of person Josuke is, he supposes—deeply empathetic and open-hearted. It would make anyone want to talk.

Despite everything, Sanji scoffs. The motion jerks his head, but their eyes meet again.]

Of course he did. He told me he's going to live another hundred years before I left the restaurant.

[ The relief is palpable and visible in Josuke's body language. His shoulders relax near instantly, and his expression softens too, slowly sitting back a bit more in his seat. With a disbelieving, cut-off exhale: ]

Damn, he sounds like a total badass...

[ Cutting off his own leg to save Sanji's life, then proudly saying he's gonna live for another 100 years? What a cool freaking dude. He wishes he could meet him. That kind of selflessness is so inspiring... his eyes twinkle with something like admiration. Josuke hasn't done something quite like that, but he thinks he could be pushed to do it. He'd nearly blown himself up to save the life of his best friend, and would do it again in a heartbeat. ]

I wish I knew my savior like that. [ But unfortunately, there was no way to contact or find him, after the fifty days he spent on the brink of death in the hospital. It warms his heart to know that even after going through something so horrible, Sanji and his savior were able to stay close — and even work together...? ] That's amazing...

[ Josuke leans an elbow on the table, propping his chin up. What he says next, he hesitates on a bit, but when the words do come out, they do so freely, naturally. ]

I get why you would feel regret, Sanji... but, you know, I don't think he'd ever hold anything against you. He must really care about you.

[Zeff is a man among men. Sanji would rather swallow a pack of cigarettes than admit that aloud, but he knows. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop him from feeling a spark of pride at the twinkle in Josuke's eyes. Yeah, Zeff isn't so bad.

It's a damn shame that Josuke doesn't know his savior beyond the basics when Sanji knows his. All of them.

He stares at the surface of the table between them. Despite he and Zeff's reluctance to show affection, Sanji has known warmth over the years regardless. He's never been sick a day in his life, yet Zeff wished him good health before his departure anyway. Nine years, then finally some candor after slinging creative insults . . . That was how they cared. That's what makes it awkward sometimes, and what makes Josuke so different from most guys he's known all throughout his life.

He smiles wryly.]

Yeah. He does.

[And here comes the server with their drinks.]

[ Josuke smiles back lopsidedly, feeling happy that Sanji confided this in him. He doesn't take him for the type to do it just because the paper said so... as anyone would, he feels good to be trusted and opened up to, and it shows.

Before he can ask more about Sanji's savior, their drinks are sat down on the table, brightly colored and way bigger than Josuke expected them to be. ]

Woah, it looks good...

[ Not that he's really seen any other drinks at an establishment before, and his mom only drinks beers from time to time.... still. It's got a little strawberry on it!! ]

I guess I should tell you one of my regrets in return, right? Let me think about it...

[ He trails off to take a sip of his drink, but then immediately, there's a slight falter in his expression when it doesn't taste like pure delicious strawberry juice. Sure, he's stolen sips of beer here and there, but this is new to him. Who would have thought the taste would come through so strongly... surely it'll be fine. ]

[Sanji's eyes widen eagerly at the sheer size and display of their drinks. The smell of this place is questionable, but maybe the drinks will be better. He raises the glass, samples a sip, and finds the flavor to be unexpectedly balanced with the slight kick of citrus. Not bad. Of course, it's strong, too.

He looks up at Josuke and smirks past the rim of his glass at the shift in the latter's expression. Surprised? They're not even snacking on the side.]

It doesn't have to be a direct exchange. Tell me whatever you want.

[ 30 minutes from now when Josuke finds out what happens when you drink on an empty tummy, that's when he'll realize. ]

Hmm, okay... if you say so.

[ Looking back down at his list that he abandoned on the table, he tries to pick something out that won't require too much thought. To be honest, it's not that he doesn't trust Sanji with one of his regrets, but more that they are all quite sad, and he doesn't want to bring the mood down. It's also... not a very serious place to be telling him about how he regrets letting a little kid get killed. There'll be another time for it, he's sure. Even as gross and gruesome as Sanji's story could be, it still had an uplifting quality to it.

After taking another big sip of his drink: ]

I... can let you in on a secret about me. [ A lot of the contestants already know... and he's sure the SWF will make sure no footage of him talking about Stands gets out. You know, probably? Or he can always say it was a scripted thing... ] Other pirates in your crew, do they have powers and things like that?

[ That's what he starts with, wondering what Sanji's familiarity with the concept of the supernatural might be. ]

[It's pretty gross, so it's a good thing the drinks came after Sanji's part.]

Yeah, a fair number of us do. [For the sake of privacy, he opts for the most obvious examples:] Our captain's made of rubber, and our latest addition is a living skeleton.

[He hasn't delved too deeply into the subject of powers here, but he does know that some of them do have peculiar abilities. Kat just happened to give the earliest and most obvious demonstration. In the case of Josuke . . . what could it be?]

[ Okay, damn, he was not expecting that. Because Sanji can't see his Stand, he wrongly assumed he must come from a world where no goofy powers exist. Turns out, he's just the equivalent of a non-Stand user.... ]

I see... well, this should be easier, then.

[ Josuke starts tearing up the list he brought from the house into little pieces while he talks. ]

In my world, there are people who have supernatural powers — "Stands." Normal people can't see them... but they have all kinds of abilities.

[ He starts there, continuing to rip and shred the paper. This footage will probably get deleted... it's fine. He can also erase it from the cameras right after this, if he really wanted. ]

I told you about how I got really sick when I was four... I was on the brink of death for fifty days. But when I came out of it, I had this power.

[ Holding only a single piece of the scraps of paper, the rest of the pile seem to magically float up reassemble back into the original sheet, all evidence of it ever being torn completely erased. He offers it to Sanji so he can inspect it, just like the ID card from before. With laid-back assurance: ]

My Crazy Diamond can heal anything.

[ They say Stands are the true manifestation of the soul; Crazy Diamond, then, is Josuke's kindness and selflessness given form. What that strange man had done for him, saving his life while he was in the haze of fever, had such a deep impact on him that it shaped his soul to reflect him. ]

[Sanji blinks in a mixture of alarm and confusion at the torn up list. Then he starts in his seat, eyes bulging at the next detail that comes and nearly spilling his drink.]

Fifty days?!

[He blurts the words while Josuke holds up a single piece of paper. For someone who's never been sick and was beside himself with worry when Nami fell ill, Sanji can't imagine feeling so poorly for that long. Josuke's mother must have been scared out of her mind!

His thoughts are summarily taken out from this spiral by Crazy Diamond's powers in action. His eyes dart here and there to no avail, seeing only Josuke. Sanji accepts the paper, mouth slightly agape, and holds it up between both hands for inspection. He runs his fingers along the pristine surface. It's completely restored—there isn't even the slightest rift in the texture.

The power to heal extends even to objects? That's unreal.]

Whoa . . . If only Chopper were here to see this!

[ He merely nods at Sanji's outburst, sitting back in his chair while Sanji inspects the paper. Yup, fifty days in a blisteringly hot fever, completely bed ridden in the hospital. Had that man not helped his mom's car get out of the snow, he would have certainly died. Idly, he keeps taking sips from his glass — it's starting to just taste like juice, as the alcohol burns its way down — feeling a bit strange to be sharing this with someone who can only see the results of his powers. ]

Only thing I can't use it on is myself. Or, anything attached to me. Like my clothes...

[ Many Moschino socks have been ruined... that is the important point here, not the fact that he cannot heal any of his own wounds. He'll continue on about just how secret this all is, so the scavenger hunt will get the point: ]

To be honest, I thought I was the only one in the world with powers until this year... since I had it when I was a kid and no one else could see it.

[ That, he feels a little more lonely about. It used to make him really anxious — no one knowing this deep, intrinsic part of him. It's not like he wanted people to know he was fixing their stuff and healing their wounds so he could be praised or get something in return for it, but it did make him feel separate from everyone else. In the current moment, though, he just shrugs, casting his eyes down at the water like this part of him is the most natural thing in the world. To him, it is. ]

[The body can heal whereas clothes are difficult to mend. Sanji has wrecked many a suit in his time, so he understands.

One more visual pass, then Sanji sets the sheet down on the table. Chopper's not going to believe this, he thinks as he takes another sip of his drink while Josuke elaborates. The novelty soon fades away, though, and is replaced by a crease in his brow.]

But you've met others by now. Does that have anything to do with the rate of missing people?

[At the same time, he wonders how lonely that must've been for Josuke. Growing up without anyone to share what's intrinsically you or yours . . . it gives one the feeling of isolation, no matter how many people are around, kind or not. The knowledge of one's heart going unseen or otherwise unaccepted comes with its own unique pain.]

[ putting a note here for myself to bring up chopper again later ]

Yeah, actually.

[ Josuke answers breezily, but his brow tenses, eyes still elsewhere. It's kind of a bummer to talk about, even if it's all blown over now. Morioh is going to be in healing for a long time... ]

There was this serial killer... using the same power. He said he killed forty eight women with it over the last fifteen years, but I know there were others, too. Kids, anyone who got in his way.

[ He honestly doesn't even mention the specifics to make Sanji upset about women being killed — he just thinks it's important to address it. It's not like Kira was slaughtering random people. It was all pre-meditated, all drawing from his sick fixations. It's an important distinction, at least for Josuke. ]

Other disappearances were Stand related, too. [ im not explaining the bow and arrow so help me god ] But a lot of it stemmed from him.

[His lil buddy.

Sanji's vein pops along his brow as he grinds his teeth. Not just women, but also children and those who happened to be "in his way"? For 15 years, some sicko tormented Josuke's home for his own pleasure. That's almost as long as Josuke's been alive.]

Bastard, taking lives like they're nothing . . . [He takes a generous sip out of his drink. It pisses him off that there are so many people like this, but that guy most of all.] Did you get him?

[ Well, Josuke agrees with the sentiment. Even talking about Kira makes him angry, but picturing his head all exploded against the pavement makes him feel marginally better. ]

Yeah. Two weeks before this competition... it's why I came here for a damn break.

[ It was certifiably a lot to deal with as a high schooler. Josuke's powers, though, are perhaps the best defense against a serial killer. Only he would've ever been able to stop him, and to play support for the rest of the investigation. He loses his sense of lightheartedness now that they've treaded this far into it, picking at the grain in the wood of the table with his nail. Unbeknownst to most of the contestants, Josuke has a pretty hot, violent temper when made to think about that which upsets him, and he restrains himself to a simmer by fiddling with the table — but the aura that comes off of him feels far more dangerous than his usual somewhat silly and perpetually laid-back attitude, more fitting of his image as a delinquent. ]

We got him, but I couldn't save everybody. [ And he's never going to get over it. ] Hah, that's my greatest regret. Other than the fact I didn't get to kill him myself.

[ josuke is truly sweetie pie until he's not.... ]

[Sanji doesn't blame Josuke for harboring such a white hot rage. It's not like he hasn't tried to kill his share of people who've threatened those dear to him. And, in the case of Josuke, people were lost. A regret like that doesn't just go away, no matter how many breaks are taken.

Perhaps it's this sobering thought that washes over Sanji's own anger, allowing him to really look at Josuke, the table, and try to understand. He'll never know the depths of the loss Josuke feels, but he knows it must be painful.]

. . . You can't save everyone. The lives that were lost can't be brought back. But we can mourn them while celebrating those who've been saved down the road.

[As for Josuke . . . ]

You did good.

[ It's not anything he hasn't heard before. Mr. Jotaro has told him so many times that no matter how much he doesn't like it, no matter how hard it is for someone blessed with a power like his to accept, there's no force in the world that can bring someone back from the dead. It's why he's so skeptical about this wish, and has no intents on touching it. Still, Sanji's words deflate him a little, because he has no desire to let out his anger at him. He leans more into his hand, letting out a tight exhale from his nose. He forces himself to be quiet until he can cool down enough to say something normal; when he lifts his thumb from the wood, there's a sizeable indented groove from the force with which he was digging his own nail in. Slowly, he fixes that, too, with his power. ]

I know. Sorry. I just get worked up thinking about it.

[ Is he saying that to the table? To Sanji? Probably both. It's not like he wants to ruin the vibes at this date that Sanji (weirdly) asked him out on, where he also seemed interested in the waitress. Talk about mixed signals. He'll just force them to take a hard left. ]

Let's talk about something else. Like what your official opinion on the bartending here is.

[ That goes hand in hand with being in the restaurant business, right? ]

[He waves a hand, dismissing the topic as requested and the apology at once]

Don't apologize.

[It's how Josuke feels. He can mend what's broken, but that doesn't erase the emotions behind the bend in the wood. Just because his home appears safer now, doesn't mean there aren't scars borne by the people in it. And as Sanji has no intention of torturing Josuke on the latter's break, he opts to pick up his glass again.]

It's not bad—better than the food, judging from the smell.

week two | dates

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