➺ REIJI ( @plauga ) says ...
[ sleepy ] maybe against his shoulder or on him while he’s training? HEH.
words prompts compilation : closed. [ sleepy ] for my muse to slowly fall asleep on your muse
it’s always scenic in the crow’s nest. a room built for sightseeing, catching the furthest romances of their journey with provided binoculars and even glimpses, dots that becomes prevalent amidst the widespread view of the sea --- the passage of time makes its claims with the once overhead of blue shifting into dusk, basking the room in hues of warmth through the surrounding windows. a burst of laughter stems from far underneath, followed by boisterous shouts, exclaims and accusations he’d be able to predict the subject of ( most likely something minuscule or an abrupt childish game ) without needing to listen in properly. there’s further thumps, aggression detected through its hastiness and playful in knowing who they belonged to and soon , a low note, melodic, strings a hum before it grows in volumes, placing the symphony right next to one’s ear, the distance no longer a factor.
those are instinctive, unconsciously keeping track of the moving world as the hands on the clock ticks --- ‘ 4044 ... 4045 ... ’ low mutters, spoken between breaths, focused to not lose momentum and the numbers are carefully tracked ( even if they’re a mouth full ) , aid to keep distractions far from the mind; moments of contemplation doesn’t bear much of a use to the swordsman after all.
instead, attention shifts to the encased room : nose once capturing whiffs of iron no longer after their extended stay ; his vision is set on the blurred, distorted reflection of himself, hazy over the metallic surface, though more often than not , he isn’t seeing much of anything ; his palms connected with metal, a sweaty sensation, albeit capable of holding properly and planted firmly, only releasing when the repositioning of his hands becomes a necessity --- and a warming contact on his back, heavy, the primary aid to his training.
reiji’s appearance was a fortunate one, swayed ( possibly unwillingly ) by the straw hats automatic hold onto the passing friend and there was no original purpose to their hold of the individual --- just a chat mainly to catch up on their constant dispatched adventures and to pass time with other activities of interest. since both sides had time to spare and dinner had yet to be served, the swordsman was quick to tap the shoulders of the doctor and with his index finger, pointed to the crow’s nest, not letting the opportunity slip by.
the spirit ingested upon request became the weight necessary to uphold the scale of his training ( if it was just reiji himself, it’d hardly be a challenge ) and here, it’s quiet. the help provided doesn’t persist conversation, though occasional inklings trailing to mundane verses does make its way to the air, but after about 10 minutes into finishing his warm-ups, the talking ceased. they’re not incompatible nor awkward --- his companion seemed to grasp the difficulties that comes from doing both strenuous physical actions and keeping an even conversation going ... and for that, zoro is appreciative.
just a bit over an hour, he catches onto a scent mid push up, not taking long to identify the savory aroma. ‘ hey , ’ breaking the silence, ‘ dinner’s about to be ready if you want to start heading down. ’ still. quiet. drawn out ... ??? ‘ oi, are you listening ? ’ again with a perplexed tone, head tilted slightly to get a glimpse of the orange-head before slowly picking up a quiet, soft snore sounding from his back and the well paced, steady breaths ... he’s asleep. zoro drops to the floor ( carefully so to not bring a startle wake to the apparent unconscious man on his back ) , baffled from the realization, but not surprised. being a human weight isn’t the most exhilarating task ( he felt a little bad for assigning the job to a guest --- however, to his defense , there was also no sound protests to his offer ... )
the swordsman simply lied there, cheek pressed against the floor and huffing, his own breath still yet to have settled. he’s at a loss of what action to take next because while, yeah, it wasn’t a serious issue and surely, reiji could just take a nap at a later time but due to a conscious small guilt, he also wondered if it was more proper to leave the individual ( someone who’s only treated him with fair levels of respect ) to catch a moment of rest for now. the only issue with the latter act of kindness is that there’d be a sacrifice of his own ability to move ( there’s no way of moving someone off his back in this position without definitely waking them. ) he breathes out a sigh and opt for something fitting in the middle of the two previous solutions : giving the other five more minutes and then eventually probe him awake. and so, he starts a mental timer, shutting his own eye to relax during the waiting time he established.
zoro wakes later to the sound of pots banging and reiji, fully awake, leaning over him with a hand on his back from his attempts to shake him awake in time for dinner.
