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— SALTBURNT INBOX.
WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
LOVECOOK
text ❖ audio ❖ video
WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
LOVECOOK
text ❖ audio ❖ video
( adjusting to life at the mansion is — really hit or miss, depending on the day. the regularity of everything is fucking weird: breakfast, fucking around, lunch, fucking around, dinner, fucking around, then a seemingly agreed upon bedtime. zoro's used to staying up at odd hours when it's his turn to keep watch from the crow's nest, or waking up at the ass crack of dawn to hunt prey to bring back to the cabin so they don't starve. some days, he doesn't want to eat breakfast at 9 am on the dot. some days he doesn't want to see some shithead cook in the dining room trying to charm a maid or edge his way into the kitchen to prepare something special for someone special.
it's part why he spends a lot of nights in nami's room, honestly — and occasionally koby's, too, when zoro's feeling particularly pathetic and isn't in the mood to talk about his feelings because at least koby will listen when zoro tells him to shut the fuck up about it. it pisses him off to lay in his own offensively large bed at night thinking about the fact that there are only two walls and a bathroom separating him from some asshole that loves him but pretends that he doesn't. even though he's finally figured out a way to remember where his room is, it's better off this way — even if it means sometimes accidentally falling asleep on a pile of mats in the manor's huge gym at 3 am.
zoro leaves dinner early tonight, angrily tugging at the bow tie around his neck that feels like it's strangling him. it's one thing to stare at a certain blonde across the room for a little too long because the fancy, expensive clothes this place has suit him and he looks stupidly good — and it's another to get caught. he shucks off his clothes in a heap on the bathroom floor, stepping into the hot water he's drawn into the large claw-foot tub in the center of the bathroom and sinking into its pleasantly scented depths. nami says she likes bubble baths because they're relaxing. zoro needs to fucking relax.
— and he maybe does, for a little while, arms draped lazily over the lip of the tub, head tipping back, eyes closed. when the door opens, zoro tenses, brow furrowing even if he remains determined to keep his eyes closed and look serene and unfuckingbothered. )
If you have to piss, go piss and then fuck off.
it's part why he spends a lot of nights in nami's room, honestly — and occasionally koby's, too, when zoro's feeling particularly pathetic and isn't in the mood to talk about his feelings because at least koby will listen when zoro tells him to shut the fuck up about it. it pisses him off to lay in his own offensively large bed at night thinking about the fact that there are only two walls and a bathroom separating him from some asshole that loves him but pretends that he doesn't. even though he's finally figured out a way to remember where his room is, it's better off this way — even if it means sometimes accidentally falling asleep on a pile of mats in the manor's huge gym at 3 am.
zoro leaves dinner early tonight, angrily tugging at the bow tie around his neck that feels like it's strangling him. it's one thing to stare at a certain blonde across the room for a little too long because the fancy, expensive clothes this place has suit him and he looks stupidly good — and it's another to get caught. he shucks off his clothes in a heap on the bathroom floor, stepping into the hot water he's drawn into the large claw-foot tub in the center of the bathroom and sinking into its pleasantly scented depths. nami says she likes bubble baths because they're relaxing. zoro needs to fucking relax.
— and he maybe does, for a little while, arms draped lazily over the lip of the tub, head tipping back, eyes closed. when the door opens, zoro tenses, brow furrowing even if he remains determined to keep his eyes closed and look serene and unfuckingbothered. )
If you have to piss, go piss and then fuck off.
[ !!! ]
i’ve charmed my way into the kitchen several times now. they have tangerines here, perfect for tarts.
not today. we should be celebrating you! don’t worry, the best chef in the east blue still has time to whip up a feast for your special day, nami-swan. ♥
i’ve charmed my way into the kitchen several times now. they have tangerines here, perfect for tarts.
not today. we should be celebrating you! don’t worry, the best chef in the east blue still has time to whip up a feast for your special day, nami-swan. ♥
Edited 2024-07-05 11:55 (UTC)
a date? with you?
of course i have time for both!
i’ll bring your feast so i can feed you and massage your feet at once during our spa time! anything for you. i wish you’d told me earlier so i could have planned a day for you, but i promise to make this the best date ever.
of course i have time for both!
i’ll bring your feast so i can feed you and massage your feet at once during our spa time! anything for you. i wish you’d told me earlier so i could have planned a day for you, but i promise to make this the best date ever.
i didn't want a big fuss made over it. your birthday is much more important.
besides, i did celebrate. bee made me a crooked cake. i gave you and zoro both some. you just didn't know it was a birthday cake.
a dinner for just the two of us. i'll make all your favorites.
adventuring with nami! ♥ you know, with the way the rooms are always changing, we need to figure out a way for zoro to find his way around. i'm not looking for him every time he gets lost. something like breadcrumbs. but not actual breadcrumbs because that's a waste of food.
besides, i did celebrate. bee made me a crooked cake. i gave you and zoro both some. you just didn't know it was a birthday cake.
a dinner for just the two of us. i'll make all your favorites.
adventuring with nami! ♥ you know, with the way the rooms are always changing, we need to figure out a way for zoro to find his way around. i'm not looking for him every time he gets lost. something like breadcrumbs. but not actual breadcrumbs because that's a waste of food.
[ all the comforts of the mansion can't make him relax — not the soft beds, not the fine food (not as good as his), not the plush carpets beneath his feet or the priceless artwork adorning the walls. he feels like an impostor even as he fits in with criminal ease, flitting about with a flirtatious smile on his face when he's in the dining room, trying to weasel his way into the kitchen so he can secure a spot where he feels most comfortable.
because he is decidedly not comfortable in his suite, alone as he is, knowing zoro is one bathroom away. the bed feels too large, too cold, too empty after months of warm limbs crowding together. the sleek walls look unnatural after gazing at rough hewn wood that zoro had fitted with shelves and knobs so that sanji could hang his pots and store utensils. nothing feels right, not even his own body that he spends each night tracing with shaking fingertips, wondering how something that should be familiar could feel like such a betrayal. it's a return to normalcy, and yet it couldn't be more unwelcome.
long stretches of time pass where he doesn't hear zoro at all, usually because zoro gets lost wandering around the manor's shifting halls. good. sanji would rather have the entire suite to himself. he's not in a sociable mood unless the person who wants to socialize is nami (or some other pretty girl, because it's not like he can just ignore a lady when they bat eyes at him), so all the better when he can pretend that zoro doesn't exist entirely. the only other good thing about having zoro as a suitemate is that he never, ever has to wonder if the bathroom is occupied. it never is, because zoro doesn't believe in bathing.
he goes from pissy to downright vengeful when he walks in to see zoro lounging in the tub. ]
What the hell are you doing here?
[ sanji is already stripped bare, his towel wrapped around his waist, a plush, bunny-eared headband holding his bangs back, a pair of pink slippers on his feet. he immediately wishes he were clothed, which is a ludicrous thought considering the things he's done in bed with zoro, his nipples pebbling suddenly from the memory of a rough kitten tongue laving over his skin, milky droplets running down — shit. ]
Get out of the tub, you shithead. You don't even know what you're doing. Did you lose your way to the lake?
[ he stomps over, his eyes falling on the pearly drops of water slipping down the muscled planes of zoro's chest. slipping his towel from his waist, he seats himself on the edge of the tub, drawing one leg up in what might be considered comely for anyone else, but in this case holds a very specific threat for zoro's personhood. ]
because he is decidedly not comfortable in his suite, alone as he is, knowing zoro is one bathroom away. the bed feels too large, too cold, too empty after months of warm limbs crowding together. the sleek walls look unnatural after gazing at rough hewn wood that zoro had fitted with shelves and knobs so that sanji could hang his pots and store utensils. nothing feels right, not even his own body that he spends each night tracing with shaking fingertips, wondering how something that should be familiar could feel like such a betrayal. it's a return to normalcy, and yet it couldn't be more unwelcome.
long stretches of time pass where he doesn't hear zoro at all, usually because zoro gets lost wandering around the manor's shifting halls. good. sanji would rather have the entire suite to himself. he's not in a sociable mood unless the person who wants to socialize is nami (or some other pretty girl, because it's not like he can just ignore a lady when they bat eyes at him), so all the better when he can pretend that zoro doesn't exist entirely. the only other good thing about having zoro as a suitemate is that he never, ever has to wonder if the bathroom is occupied. it never is, because zoro doesn't believe in bathing.
he goes from pissy to downright vengeful when he walks in to see zoro lounging in the tub. ]
What the hell are you doing here?
[ sanji is already stripped bare, his towel wrapped around his waist, a plush, bunny-eared headband holding his bangs back, a pair of pink slippers on his feet. he immediately wishes he were clothed, which is a ludicrous thought considering the things he's done in bed with zoro, his nipples pebbling suddenly from the memory of a rough kitten tongue laving over his skin, milky droplets running down — shit. ]
Get out of the tub, you shithead. You don't even know what you're doing. Did you lose your way to the lake?
[ he stomps over, his eyes falling on the pearly drops of water slipping down the muscled planes of zoro's chest. slipping his towel from his waist, he seats himself on the edge of the tub, drawing one leg up in what might be considered comely for anyone else, but in this case holds a very specific threat for zoro's personhood. ]
sometimes
( extended, minutes long wait. nami's cuticles are all bitten and torn by the time she actually messages back, which makes it fortunate they're going to a spa today, and no one can clock the anxiety making her fingertips bleed. )
sometimes it's not easy to say it, for some people. it doesn't mean they don't feel it, just because they can't say it. you know?
sometimes they show it instead. even if they suck at it.
( they're talking about zoro, obviously. Anyway, )
zoro is an idiot but he's not a liar.
can you guys please behave for my birthday? pleeeeease please please.
( extended, minutes long wait. nami's cuticles are all bitten and torn by the time she actually messages back, which makes it fortunate they're going to a spa today, and no one can clock the anxiety making her fingertips bleed. )
sometimes it's not easy to say it, for some people. it doesn't mean they don't feel it, just because they can't say it. you know?
sometimes they show it instead. even if they suck at it.
( they're talking about zoro, obviously. Anyway, )
zoro is an idiot but he's not a liar.
can you guys please behave for my birthday? pleeeeease please please.
[ they're talking about zoro. right. ]
i think you're perfect the way you are, nami.
i want you to know that. you've always been perfect to me.
[ cringe is not in his vocabulary.
zoro is an idiot (true) but he's not a liar (also true). which means that the thing zoro said right before he stormed out... he probably meant it. which is pretty much the worst thing sanji has ever thought about. ]
he said he was going to tell me he loved me, but then i told him it was over and that he was useless. so then he got pissy and stormed out, and everything's been shitty since. that's it. i don't know what he's been telling you, but that's all that happened.
i'll do anything you want. if zoro's going to be at the spa too, then i'll make sure he regrets it if he misbehaves.
your birthday can't be anything less than perfect.
i think you're perfect the way you are, nami.
i want you to know that. you've always been perfect to me.
[ cringe is not in his vocabulary.
zoro is an idiot (true) but he's not a liar (also true). which means that the thing zoro said right before he stormed out... he probably meant it. which is pretty much the worst thing sanji has ever thought about. ]
he said he was going to tell me he loved me, but then i told him it was over and that he was useless. so then he got pissy and stormed out, and everything's been shitty since. that's it. i don't know what he's been telling you, but that's all that happened.
i'll do anything you want. if zoro's going to be at the spa too, then i'll make sure he regrets it if he misbehaves.
your birthday can't be anything less than perfect.
ok sappy!! ( off screen: secretly extremely pleased he thinks she's so perfect. she isn't, obviously, but sanji's always had rose-tinted, or maybe tangerine-tinted goggles on. ) you look good when you're flattering me.
he hasn't told me anything. other than complaints he has about you, which isn't new.
but i mean
why it is over again? you're missing that part.
yay 🧡 it'll be perfect with you three there.
he hasn't told me anything. other than complaints he has about you, which isn't new.
but i mean
why it is over again? you're missing that part.
yay 🧡 it'll be perfect with you three there.
[ he's missing that part. but how can he explain that everything about this place sets him on edge, that he doesn't feel at home in his own body, that he thinks something terrible is lurking behind the pristine halls and ever-changing rooms? nami is clearly more comfortable here than the less than stellar place they'd come from — and for good reason. his heart aches every time he sees the scars still littering her skin.
he can't explain that this place is just like the vinsmoke mansion, that he swore reiju he'd never go back there, and now he feels like he's walked right through the very same doors. every day the knowledge that there isn't an exit to be found winds a little tighter inside of him. they're trapped. and nami and zoro and even koby don't seem nearly as close to losing it as they should be. ]
it's your birthday. let's only talk about happy things!
like the secret menu for your spa day. you can put in one request, but everything else is going to be a surprise, and i promise you'll love it.
he can't explain that this place is just like the vinsmoke mansion, that he swore reiju he'd never go back there, and now he feels like he's walked right through the very same doors. every day the knowledge that there isn't an exit to be found winds a little tighter inside of him. they're trapped. and nami and zoro and even koby don't seem nearly as close to losing it as they should be. ]
it's your birthday. let's only talk about happy things!
like the secret menu for your spa day. you can put in one request, but everything else is going to be a surprise, and i promise you'll love it.
we don't talk about you, for starters.
we don't talk about anything right now, because i don't have anything to say to him.
assuming that zoro even knew those were nami's clothes is a stretch. he's the sort of person that doesn't recognize the obvious differences between us and the fairer sex. i think he sees everyone as anthropomorphic blobs.
or you can have the conversation. enjoy beating your head against a green brick wall.
we don't talk about anything right now, because i don't have anything to say to him.
assuming that zoro even knew those were nami's clothes is a stretch. he's the sort of person that doesn't recognize the obvious differences between us and the fairer sex. i think he sees everyone as anthropomorphic blobs.
or you can have the conversation. enjoy beating your head against a green brick wall.
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