week three | dates

[showhost]

You worked up your courage and asked someone out on a date! Good job!





Now you have to hope the producers are kind re: where they send you.

Comments

[hgeegh]

One is. The other's a love song.

[The only two things Sanji knows.]

[makeine]

[ is he expecting anything else-- ]

Sing it for me.

[hgeegh]

[Sanji springs out of his seat with full eagerness to do what she asks.]

Aye aye!

[Without wasting a precious second, he goes up to the front and shoos away the underperforming comedian.]

Out of my way!

[Because he was doing so poorly, nobody seems to object when the comedian is given the aggressive boot. Sanji settles in front of the mic and delivers a corny song teeming with culinary terms. I hate this.]

[makeine]

[ oh

my god it's real? this is real? jae what the fuck. i didn't know they got character songs. i think i'm in love with him. this is an actual bop.

anna listens with rapt attention, laughing softly at the characteristic culinary terms dropped in, and... honestly, it lightens her heart. she rests her hand in her cheek as she watches him sing, cheeks pink with delight, and the rest of the club seems just as enraptured as she does by his serenade actually.

something about a sweetly sung love song really captures the people. couples cuddling. singles casting yearning glances to others they'd like to speak to. the world turns, continues on, marches forward, and love carries in every step. ]

[hgeegh]

[There's more . . . however, Sanji's performance ends with the one bop, and then he all but skips back to his table with Anna, cheeks rosy from the high of immersing himself in a romantic fantasy.]

Yanami-san! What did you think?

[makeine]

That it was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard?!

[ until wednesday i guess but she needs to deconstruct a fucking poem so is it romantic in the end,

anna's meeting him halfway down though, grasping onto his hands with a wide, rosy grin as they sit again. ]

You're such a good singer! And your song was so beautiful! It was so... you! I loved it! Any woman would fall head over heels for you if you dedicated it to her!

[ this she is so positive about. it's good to be a little in love with your friends after all. ]

[hgeegh]

[It is. Don't do Will dirty.

Sanji's heart thumps wildly while his hands sit rigidly in Anna's. His flush deepens from a dusty pink to something slightly redder, tingling his face. She loved it—this song that's so him.]

You think so? Then maybe I should dedicate it to Asa . . .

[makeine]

Why not? She'll be totally mean, but I know she'll love it... she hasn't got any better about saying how she feels.

[ heheh. she squeezes his hands comfortingly and then lets go, popping another fry into her mouth. it noticable has not decreased any. ]

How're things with her, anyway? Sorry she didn't get to stay long with you at the ceremony, [ forbidden topic, ] but she's like, real sisters before misters.

[ this next fry... how long will she swirl it in ketchup. we will see. ]

[hgeegh]

She had more important places to be. I don't mind.

[For him, just being there had been enough. He wouldn't dream of asking for more.

Sanji draws his arms in, bringing his numbed hands toward the edge of the table. The ketchup's in his periphery, curious and concerning at once. Anna hasn't been the same since the aformentioned ceremony.]

Things are better than before. I'm planning on taking her out on that date soon.

[makeine]

[ oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! look at her excitement. it's genuine, because there is nothing anna loves more than... well, love!!!!! romance!!!! besides food. ]

Really?! That's great!!! Got an idea where? Leaving it in the hands of fate? You're getting her flowers, right? Like a gentleman?

[hgeegh]

Of course! There are some beautiful flowers in bloom at the garden right now. I'm planning to pick them and make a bouquet. As for the venue . . . I'm hoping it's someplace she'll enjoy.

[He wants her to have a good time, even if she's not interested in him.]

[makeine]

Oh, I'm sure you've nailed that. You really pay attention to the people around you, Sanji-kun -- it's a good trait to have.

[ until it's used on her than she considers it bad mean and rude ]

[hgeegh]

[Oh! Oh. She's complimenting him. His cheeks are on fire.

Time to be rude.]

So do you, Yanami-san! You're always so thoughtful and generous.

[makeine]

[ oh, now he's complimenting her!!! he's always such a sweet guy. ]

Well, I am known for my giving heart. I'm not surprised you noticed.

[ she sure as fuck is not. but it's there, buried under half a foot of fat. ]

[hgeegh]

[He loves that fat and what lies beneath it.]

It would be hard not to. Even if I hadn't noticed earlier, I would've been able to tell by the egg on rice you made.

[makeine]

[ ...

he's so sincere and earnest when he says stuff like that... the mention of it reminds her of why they'd ended up in the kitchen together in the first place, sanji's teary eyes as he ate her breakfast as if it was the only thing he'd ever wanted, and

tears drip onto the table between them, anna sniffling in some surprise. ]

Oh. There I go. Yeah. Okay, yeah.

[ she knows. how it goes, now, ducking her head. ]

Sorry-- give me a second, I'll be... okay.

[hgeegh]

[She's crying?!]

Yanami-san?!

[Eyes widening, Sanji jumps out of his seat to hunch over the table. His hands hover in the space around her shoulders, eager to comfort yet reluctant to touch unprompted, while his brow creases in guilt.]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of you or anything!

[makeine]

No-- No, Sanji-kun, it's not you, promise.

[ ...

she'll reach up and take his arm. ]

Can we go outside?

[hgeegh]

[It's not him. Thank goodne—as if! Anna is crying. This is a terrible moment in time.

Nodding frantically, he steps around the table and, bolstered by the touch, lays his hand over one of hers on his arm.]

O-of course. [His voice softens:] Come on. This way . . .

[makeine]

[ she lets herself be led, food and drink forgotten, outside into the slightly chilly air. just enough she shivers, but will probably get used to it soon enough. ]

Sorry. I remembered why we were in the kitchen together and it kinda hit me I won't seeing the way Will-kun lights up anymore. He really, really liked the lunch I made him.

[ enough to go along with her joke the next day, about living together on a farm... god, she's so stupid. ]

[hgeegh]

[He'll go back and finish or otherwise take them to-go later. Right now, Anna takes precedence, though the fact that she's abandoned food is deeply concerning.]

That's great to hear, but what do you mean, you won't see him anymore? [That's the sentiment he's getting from what she's said. He strips his suit jacket to wrap around her shoulders.] Did something happen after the ceremony?

[makeine]

[ warm... she buries herself into it, oddly comforted by the smell of. presumably, cologne, cigarettes, and sweets. you tell me. ]

Mmhmm. We talked, and... I broke it off with him. We came here for two different things anyway, sorta.

[ and unlike a lot of times, she specifies that she broke off with him. cannot have sanji killing will. he doesnt deserve it. ]

[hgeegh]

[Exactly those. You're a genius.]

Huh?!

[On this fine night, Will survives to see the rest of the week without getting stuffed into a get-along shirt with Sanji.]

But why?! Wait, did you tell him how you feel?

[makeine]

[ not to brag. but i am. ]

Ugh, it was the last thing on my mind, Sanji-kun. But I asked him where he wanted me to be in his future and he said right beside him.

[ ... ]

To help him become a better king. I really had myself fooled.

[hgeegh]

[Sanji wants to kill Will.

However:] What does that mean?

[Is it as impersonal as it sounds on the surface, or something deeper in light of Will's character? Judging by Anna's reaction, though . . . ]