Friday, December 15, 2017

Moy Mell, 11: Escalated Threats

"Moy Mell, 11: Escalated Threats"
orig. 12/15/2017
Zoro, Elly, Sanji, - PG-13
Original Concept, mixed fandoms

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"Do you know how fucking early it is?" Sanji snarled, rubbing a hand at his eyes. His usually perfect hair was sticking up on the top in a single wisp and his clothing appeared to have been thrown on. He hated appearing slovenly, but a rumpled t-shirt and sweatpants was all he could manage when the security screen had awoken him.

"Yes."

"Dammit, moss head." It didn't help his fury that Zoro was, in all aspects, completely put together. He was not only awake, he was fully dressed and ready for the day - at 4 am! Sanji grumbled and dropped tiredly into a chair at the security office. No one else was there yet so they had complete privacy.

"Wake up, asshole." He shoved a cup of coffee at the other man. Sanji drank, grimaced at the taste and thought about complaining. Zoro's serious expression stopped him from whatever he might have been about to say, however. "She's had a death threat."

"What?!"

"Calm down, asshole," the big man hissed urgently. "The person won't know how to actually do it. But just in case, she's gonna have to bite it - I'm coming back to be with her all day."

"But - but she'll be upset, oh, fuck, yeah, either way." He paused, almost fully awake now. "Crap."
   
"Yeah. Too bad." Zoro huffed. "You'd better let her know I'll be around again. But don't say anything about the threat. She doesn't need more stress."

"Tell me about it." He moved the chair back as if to get up but Zoro stopped him quickly, catching the back of the seat in one hand.

"I will. Stay."

Sanji bristled. "I'm not a dog, you idiot!"

"No, but you're going to listen or I'll beat the crap out of you." He bent down to glare ominously at the smaller man. "This time the mail directly involved you."

"Wh - what?"

"The person said that your relationship's fake. Either they know this shit was contrived -"

"We really are dating," Sanji spoke through clenched teeth. "I love her."

Zoro grunted. "Or," he went on, ignoring him, "they're pissed because it's you. The drugging happened in your restaurant, now this. Somebody's jealous."

"Ah, something you know about."

"I'll cut you." The comeback came out automatically. "Any bitch act interested in you there? You flirted with them all, didn't you?"

"Bitch?"

"Well?"

"You're a fucking neanderthal," Sanji snarled. "'Bitch'. How dare you call the beautiful ladies that work for me such a name."

"See," Zoro sighed, "That's what I'm fucking talking about. You act like this, maybe one thought you were interested and now she wants to hurt my cat."

The blond man was shocked at first by what he had said, then slowly realized Zoro had only slipped up because he was deep in thought. He didn't know what he had said. It confirmed Sanji's suspicions but he wisely chose to say nothing. He swallowed back a few choice retorts as well. "Um. I may have acted that way with them all."
 
"Of course."

He bit his lip. "I always say that I'm only appreciating their beauty, because..." His eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, no."

"Eh?"

"This is my fault."

Zoro blinked. The usually suave man was trembling in his chair, tears slipping down his cheeks. "The fuck -"

"I tell them I'm committed to her if they push. Some do, you know, I - I don't really want to catch anybody, I just like to fool around, and..." He gulped. "Holy shit, this is all my fault, isn't it?"

"You're jumping to conclusions, idiot!" He shook him a little. "Even if that's true you didn't want it to happen."

"Still, you'd better ask the waitresses some questions."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "No girls in the back?"

"No, actually, we've never had any apply for cooking. Is that weird?"

"I don't know. Just... don't let her see you like this. You're supposed to make her feel better. Distract her today, remember?"

"Yeah." He grabbed a paper towel from a roll sitting on Zoro's desk and cleaned himself up. "Crap. If anything happens to her because of something I did, though ... you know?"

"I get it."

"Uh huh."

"All right." He took a deep breath. "I'll fix a big breakfast. If she asks what's up, I'll act like it's because you're coming back for her safety and I wanted to distract her from that. She can't really argue, you know."

- -

Sanji was definitely wrong about that.

Several hours later there was a commotion in the kitchen like none other. Elly was standing in one corner, the chef in another, trying to desperately defuse the situation before it got any more out of control. A guard was already in place, but he was in hiding, a silent companion that shadowed her every move. Zoro knew his team member was there, however much the nekomata acted like he wasn't. Her tail frizzed out and shaking angrily behind her, she shook her head and pointed at the door leading to the main entrance.

"Oh, no! I'm not ready to be around him all day again!" Zoro winced from behind that very door. He should have known she'd smell him.

"Angel, honestly, all he wants to do is make sure you're safe. You know he does a good job."

"Ugh!" She slammed her palms down on the counter in frustration and called out in a voice obviously intended for the waiting man to hear. "All right, get in here so I can talk to you."

He strode in confidently, his face expressionless. "Good morning."

"Bullshit. Come here."

The big man squinted at her standing in the morning sunlight shining through the patio doors. "If you want to talk, can't we do it in private?" He glanced pointedly at Sanji, who was trying to figure out when and if he needed to interrupt.

"No."

Zoro sighed a long-suffering sigh. "Every single thing I do is to protect you. Everything." He made eye contact with her as he walked forward. When he got close she looked uneasy but didn't move from where she had sat down in her usual spot by the counter. "Got it?"

"I do. Okay? But I'm still really pissed at you."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I know."

"I'm not even sure why," she admitted with a little frown on her face. "I'm just... I don't know."

"Good enough for now."

"Is it?" She blinked up at him.

"Yeah." He looked away quickly before she could see his expression.

"Angel," Sanji called out in a singsong voice, "Bacon's ready!" Thankfully that concluded the discussion since she stopped everything to race over at the mention of crispy pork fat. Zoro thought for a moment, then slowly backed into a darker corner of the room and stood still, watching silently. This would be his place for at least a few days, until she forgave him.

He hoped it wouldn't be too long.

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