It turned out that Neuro was not the only person highly upset about the news. When word trickled down through the compound before the event, Zoro was less than pleased. This time, however, he didn't get drunk and languish in his room but actively sought out the cause of his upheaval.
That evening the door to the security offices banged open with such force the wood splintered around the edges.
Aizawa sighed. This was not going to be easy and in fact, he would much rather face the demon again. Nonetheless, he sat up straighter in his chair and peered across his desk at the fuming swordsman. "Yes?"
"Spill it. Why's she going out with you?"
"Because she wanted to." He reached into his scarves and brought out his eye drops.
"No way," Zoro grated through clenched teeth. "She only went with the perverted cook for a reason. And she never goes on dates. So what gives?"
Aizawa carefully squeezed the drops in his eyes and blinked through the soothing liquid to stare dolefully at the larger man. "We decided we wanted a relationship. This will be an informal announcement of our status."
"Damn it!" Zoro slammed his fist on the desk, causing coffee to slop out of a half full mug on the end.
"I am in no way forced to tell you anything," the other reminded him. "I'm doing so out of courtesy as well as respect for your years of excellent service."
"It's only one date, then," he said firmly.
"Our first in public," he said quietly. "Please don't make this any harder than it has to be. I'm not like the cook; Ches wasn't pressured into doing this. She chose me."
"The hell she did."
"Whatever you like." He shrugged. "Just don't upset her, or we'll have to come to more serious terms than talking." His phone rang, and he glanced at it before picking it up. The volume was loud enough so that both of them heard Elly on the other end.
"You're late for dinner, Sho. What's going on? Everything okay?"
"Fine," he replied calmly. "I'm sorry, my queen. I'll be right over. Remember, I had a lot of paperwork to clear."
"Mmphf. All right. You can apologize to me ... later." There was a subtle undercurrent in her voice that caused Zoro's heart to sink.
"As you wish," he replied with an odd smile on his lips.
"Shota!"
"I will be there in approximately a quarter of an hour."
"Okay. It's gonna be outside, dress warm."
Zoro stared hopelessly at the dark haired man as he tugged on his capture weapon, loosening it from about his neck. "So, if you'll excuse me, I need to change before dinner." He walked past him without another word, waving to the guards seated outside.
"Eh? Why's the big guy not with you?" Knuckles craned his neck around from where he was sitting at the social desk set up for staff. Most were on patrol but there was always a contingency in the main offices.
"He's having a moment. Make sure he leaves and doesn't touch anything in my office... though I doubt he would. You never know, though." He nodded to the rest of the stunned faces and left to head back to his room so he could change before dinner.
"I ain't going in there," the bright red echidna muttered. "He just acted like nothing happened, but we all heard that shit."
"Boss says we're supposed to check." Chris Redfield looked up from his laptop with mild disapproval. "We check."
"Pfft! Easy for you to say. You're about as big as he is!"
"You're covered in poky crap," Gan Ning pointed out in the corner, quite literally shoving his cutlass at the bristling red spires poking out of Knuckles' back.
"Look, I'm not chicken shit, but that guy can get mean where Els' is concerned."
"True, but he's got honor. He wouldn't attack a fellow mate."
Shaking his head, Chris got up. "Yeah. Won't matter if he's pissed enough, I think." He was wary, but he had mediated a few scraps like this during the recent Sanji fiasco, so he poked his head in. Zoro was standing there, slumped over in an awkward position.
"I know," he said gruffly before Chris could even speak. "I'm going."
"Sorry."
"Yeah." He left looking so strange that the others all frowned at each other for a long time when he was gone.
Aizawa decided not to mention the altercation to Elly at all. He thought about it as he quickly showered and changed, tossing his gear aside for more comfortable garments. He chose a soft gray shirt and darker slacks. Scuffing his way to the door in his favorite worn sandals while tying his black hair back in a long, flowing ponytail, he paused. A large grin slowly spread across his face. He went back to the bathroom and pulled it up, tying it securely in the back.
Sanji had indeed set one of the tables outside so they could eat on the deck. It was dark enough so the soft glow of the pool lights and the little ones underneath the big umbrella by the table were lit.
Aizawa slid the glass doors opened and walked out, glad he had chosen a long-sleeved shirt. Elly was seated in her favorite spot watching the ocean in the distance as her tail twitched happily behind her. She had a thin sweater on to ward off the cool weather and it had slipped over one shoulder as she bent over to stretch. He walked quietly over and gently pulled it back up.
"Hi."
"Hi, Sho."
"Outside, huh?"
"Yeah. He plans a lot of neat stuff." Her ears pricked forward attentively as she noticed his slightly altered appearance.
"Would it be more acceptable to tie my hair like this for the dinner?" He pointed at the bun. "It is for events back home, but here it may be different."
"No, it's fine," she murmured, her hand reaching out, then freezing halfway. "I usually dress traditionally, too. People expect it, I think. Besides, I like your hair like that. A lot."
"Oh?" He leveled the full weight of a rare, soft smile at her and took her hand in his.
"Yes." Elly miaowed lowly, still surprised he could flip from the laconic, scruffy man during the day to one so warm and inviting when he chose. She was surprised even more by his reaction, not understanding why he suddenly gasped, his cheeks burning.
"You have no idea what you do to me," he sighed shakily.
"I may have a little idea." She squeezed his hand.
He sat down in the chair next to her. "Did he say when -"
"Dinner's ready," Sanji cleared his throat softly, noticing how close the two were. He placed a tray with an amazing array of fresh seafood dishes on the table as they turned back to it.
"Hooray!"
"Hope you don't mind a lot of fish dishes," he said to Aizawa. "Since we're so close and she loves them so much, I tend to make a lot of them."
"It's fine. I really have no preference in food, as long as it's nourishing."
"Great."
"But you don't like sweet things. Right?" Elly handed him a bucket of clams so he could pick first.
He raised one eyebrow and used the tongs on the table to scoop a portion onto his dish. "Sweet foods, not sweet things."
"Aw."
He grinned at her.
There were clams, crab and a small serving of fish, all local. The vegetable was corn on the cob, and she was ecstatic for some odd reason that he found absolutely enthralling. In fact, he forgot himself as he watched her, not paying attention to where the messy food was ending up.
"Hey, you've got some of the - on your -- " She giggled, pointing at his upper lip. "Here, stay still. I'll get it."
He leaned over while she wiped his stubbled mustache off. "Thank you."
"You're scruffier this evening."
He touched his face as if to confirm this. "Yes, well... I thought it would be best if I shaved as close to the dinner as possible. I'll do it tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan."
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