My first story uploaded here. Reveiws and constructive criticism will be greatly welcomed.

Chapter One: A Sleepless Night

Sanji shifted, slowly turning until he was comfortable. He closed his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that night and tried once again to sleep. It had to be well into the small hours of the morning by now and yet his mind still insisted on buzzing around, throwing irrelevant and unthinkable thoughts alike his way. And he had to be up early, damn it! At this rate, he wasn't going to get more than an hour or two of sleep.

He rolled again, opening his eyes to glare a dagger or two into the back of the idiot in the hammock next to his. As if in answer to the unseen action, said idiot growled and mumbled a half-dead "Go sleep already, asshole." before pulling his pillow over his face.

The blonde's glare intensified in an attempt to disappear the moron from existence altogether. Eventually he gave up, a sigh breaking his lips as his eyes closed again.

Zoro really had no right to complain. It was his fault that Sanji couldn't sleep anyway!

Not that he knew that but still …

The next time Sanji allowed his eyes to open, he opted for the calmer option of watching the sleepy rise and fall of the swordsman's chest. This really wasn't right. After month upon month of vying for the attention and affection of his lovely ladies, to no avail, he was getting bored. It was obvious they had no interest. Of course, he would keep up pretences and give them the appreciation they deserved. But emotionally he needed something to attach to. And unfortunately the stupid marimo kept worming his way into Sanji's thought trail every time he pondered the subject.

After another good half an hour of arguing with himself and struggling to sleep, the cook rolled again and carefully fought his way out of his precariously swinging net. He spared a look to Zoro before padding barefoot to the door and heading up to the deck.

Dull silver light bathed the ship as best it could with the moon trying to fight through layers of dark clouds. Sanji reached for his pocket and cursed, realising too late that he had failed to pick up his cigarettes on the way out. There was a spare pack in the galley but he didn't feel like going in there earlier than he had to today. He would be stuck in there for most of the day already.

Instead the blonde made his way to the ladder of the crow's nest and began an unenthusiastic ascent. When he reached the top he was greeted with the lovely sight of Luffy's rear as the boy hung haphazardly over the boards opposite him. With a sigh, Sanji pulled himself into the nest and sat down beside his Captain's feet.

"Hey Luffy." He tugged on the teen's trouser leg gently. "Come on. Wake up."

Luffy began to stir and moved back to stare groggily at the cook. He then took a moment to rub his sleeve across his eyes.

"Sanji? Whatayou doin' here?" He turned fully and slid down to the floor as he spoke.

"Couldn't sleep. Just as well really since you probably would have fallen over the edge soon. Or slept through us getting boarded if anyone was stupid enough to try." The blonde laughed softly when Luffy 'hmphed' at him.

There were a few minutes of silence before the dark haired teen decided to speak again. When he did, he seemed more awake.

"So what's up?"

Sanji let his head fall back and watched as the clouds tried to drown out more of the moonlight while he contemplated his answer. He couldn't quite bring himself to explain his predicament but he knew he wouldn't get away with lying to his Captain either.

"Just thinking about the future I guess." There. That was the truth. And it gave nothing away.

Luffy looked thoughtful for a short while. Sanji couldn't help but wonder what the boy must be thinking about. Breakfast, most likely.

"Ya know, I know we all have our own dreams and goals and stuff and I have faith that one day we'll all achieve them. But those things don't define all of who we are. If there's something else you think you need to do right now then just do it. I'm sure everyone here will support you so don't worry about it." The teen turned a reassuring smile Sanji's way and, once the shock had faded, the cook returned a warm smile of his own.

"Thanks Luffy."

"No problem." He replied through a grin then yawned. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

Sanji had to laugh at that. He could see pale blue starting to lighten the small breaks in the cloud and figured it wouldn't be long before he would normally be getting up anyway. No harm in it he supposed.

"Sure."