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

[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 . . . ]

I Wasnt Done

[makeine]

He has to become king so he can unify a lot of different people and make the world better. I dunno if you've noticed, but he's not exactly... a stand out guy? Like, he's quiet and soft spoken. Even though once you talk to him, [ she can't help the fondness that seeps in, ] he's sweet and determined, and he always does what he can for others. He's super sincere too. I really love the way I feel when I with him.

[ ... or when she was with him, but. she doesn't want to say that. ]

So part of our deal was, um. That I could help him with screentime -- you know, make sure he gets plenty of air -- and give him some pointers as someone who's a bombastic babe with a total Masters in social dynamics. And he has learned a lot! So... just on the line of that, is all. What he means.

[ ... ]

There are some unexplainable things that've got nothin' to do with being a king, though.

👏

[hgeegh]

Yanami-san . . .

[He has noticed. Will doesn't demand much of a presence, but he's got the heart to touch many more around him. That's why this clueless declaration is so strange, and Sanji frowns less in anger and more in deliberation.]

Are you sure that's what he meant? It sounds to me like . . .

[He trails off. How to put this . . . ]

[makeine]

[ well.

she'll wait patiently, looking up at him in his jacket pulled around her shoulders, eyes wet and full of cautious hope. ]

[hgeegh]

[Is this really okay? When she looks at him like that, he's afraid of misleading her.]

Don't take my word for it . . . but are you sure that he wasn't asking you to be his . . . queen?

[makeine]

[ his queen..........................

yes, her cheeks warm. yes, her heart aches. yes, her stomach flips. but-- ]

No, definitely not. I don't think Will-kun would ever consider that. And even if he was, I'd turn him down 'cause that's not how you ask a lady.

[hgeegh]

[He nods—slow to dip his head, but quick to snap upright.]

Ah, that's right. If you're going to be proposed to, it should be romantic in every way possible!

[makeine]

Exactly! I would've--

[ ... said yes, but she shakes her head. ]

Thanks for trying to cheer me up, though. Pretty nice fantasy. I probably would've gotten swept up in the moment if that was how it was, but Will-kun isn't a romantic like that anyway.

[ lol ]

[hgeegh]

[This still doesn't sit right with him. He has the feeling that there's more to it from Will's end, but baseless conjecture will only harm Anna in the long run, so he refrains from saying more.]

. . . So what now? Are the two of you still on speaking terms?

[makeine]

... We say hello when we see each other.

[ ...

so, um. technically. she isn't ignoring him. he can't ignore her. cordial at best, avoidant at worst. ]

But we haven't, like... talked-talked since then. I don't really know how to. Since he was a lot of firsts for me and all.