[ After a second of silence, he leans over and flips a couple of pages ahead in the sketchbook, past a couple of doodles of Akira and Elliot doing things around the house.
There's a picture of Sanji asleep on his sofa, with a very content kitten curled up on his chest.
[And so he resumes his sketchbook flipping, smiling still, though watching page after page of drawings with him as the subject is... mm.
It's not that he's upset, far from it. He's the one barging in on Yusuke's hobbies. This just inadvertently reminds him of ... something. Something they haven't discussed, and Sanji had been more than happy to shove into the back corner of his thoughts, but now he feels like he's staring it in the eye without warning.
Eventually he hands the sketchbook back, eyes focused at the sky.]
[ To be fair there are other drawings in there as well. Akira, Elliot, sketches of just Chou, of Yusuke's mother. Even the odd few people he sketched while he was out and about, going about their daily lives without realising they'd become the subject of artwork.
But his biases are clear. There is a strong focus on around three or four people, all people who are important to him. So that answers the question fairly neatly. ]
How do you pick the things you like to cook?
[ It's rhetorical, because he keeps talking. ]
People who are important to me are the most interesting for me to sketch. Usually because I get to see more of you, or Elliot or Akira on a daily basis, and see more things I would like to draw in the process.
But it's nice to draw someone you know, and focus on capturing what makes them them.
...
Chou is a special case because she's adorable and a perfect model.
[The crack about Chou earns a grin, though it tapers off quickly as Sanji returns to a thoughtful expression -- a bit pinched with some slight anxiety around the edges.]
She's gettin' big... [A filler comment while he gathers his thoughts, eyes still scanning the sky for nothing] Not really a kitten anymore.
[She'll be through her adolescence and then a full fledged cat, growing old like the rest of them. It's not really anything he ever considered before, but suddenly ... Sanji feels old at 22, with the rest of his life ahead of him. As if irritated by it, he flips on his stomach, head cushioned by his arms.]
And I'm not nearly as poetic. I just cook whatever shit comes to mind. Recipes I don't even know. [Closing his eyes for a tick, only to open them again.]
[ The change of attitude is rather stark. From teasing and happy, to something like ... apprehension. Definitely grumpy.
He shifts a little, to lean his elbows on his knees, and then, after a moment, he lifts one of his hands reach out and brush through Sanji's hair. ]
Are you looking for complements?
[ He curls a strand of the hair around his fingers, and thinks it over. ]
There are a lot of things that I could try and portray when drawing you, but I'm not sure you realise you possess these traits. Your kindness, your sense of humour and the look you get when you're indulging your tendency towards teasing, that spark of drive and passion I see when you cooking "whatever shit comes to mind" and how it's growing.
And that's just if we're talking about things that aren't physically apparent.
[Spend those kinds of things on someone more suited, is what he means, but to his credit, Sanji doesn't immediately launch into a retort after Yusuke finishes talking, laying out all the ways in which Sanji is neither kind nor humorous--
Doesn't mean he's not thinking it, but hey, it's progress, that he can keep it to himself instead of allowing his bad opinions to spill over.
The fingers threading through his hair probably helps, too. Mumbling into his arm:]
[ It's almost like he see the physical strain Sanji is going through to not try and smack down those compliments and observations. It'd almost be funny if it wasn't so heartbreaking at the same time. He can't even really ask what caused this attitude, because he knows he'd just get a flat lot of nothing in response.
So he keeps running his fingers through Sanji's hair instead. That seems to be going down well. ]
Yes. I'm the expert on your good traits, so you can't argue with me.
[That, too, earns another snort, but this one carries with it an edge of divisiveness -- not even aimed at Yusuke, just turned inward from an irony he can't explain]
You're in luck, never knew what being spoiled felt like.
[ He is not letting you stroll down Dark and Grumpy Lane, Sanji. This is a good day, he's going to make sure of it. ]
Not that I can do anything like cook you a fancy dinner, that feels like a dangerous thing to attempt. [ Just like. Sure, Yusuke. Cook the chef a meal. ]
Edited (i'll fight this html) 2018-11-28 22:19 (UTC)
[Ah, survival skills. That's what it sounds like to Sanji. His expression tempers a bit as he considers Yusuke's offer, but honestly at this point, this is something he wants now, and we all know how he is when he openly wants something.]
Oi, do I look like the kind of guy whose gonna complain about your food? [PERISH THE THOUGHT. Just make him shit, Yusuke. Do it.]
[it is absolutely body pillow 2.0 except Sanji actually stands a chance of getting what he wants.]
I mean... if you put in two gallons of salt, might have to pull you aside for a talk, but cooking's a good medium for creativity. Besides a person's specific tastes, judging a dish is more trouble than its worth, unless you're in a cooking competition.
[Mmm, he's not even sure if he's explaining this well? But this is just an area they differ in: Sanji has no interest in judging the skills of another chef, only his own, so much that he has to wonder if this is another "gift" from his past self]
I told you, I didn't get gifts growing up, so you making me anything is enough to wow me.
[Sanji? Love himself? Yusuke, you know better than to expect that.
Though he does visibly grin when Yusuke offers to make him something. See? It's the small things in life that calm him, and given the turn this convo had taken, Sanji can feel himself relax back into place.]
Alright, looking forward to it. [NO WORD ABOUT YUSUKE MESSING UP, listen, Sanji really is that easy to please]
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