The captain knew from the very beginning. After all he wouldn't have asked the cook to be a part of his crew if he knew he wouldn't have gotten along. It did no good for a crew striving to find the one piece to start falling apart because two members couldn't handle each other. Especially when they were both so vital to the survival of the backwards crew they were a part of.
That's why he said nothing when they fought and merely laughed instead, even when the swordsman drew his swords and the cook raised his leg. There was no danger. He trusted them. They would stop before they seriously damaged anything.
Even after they had reunited, he saw no danger in the fights, even though the air now shook with their wrath and the fire which had previously been locked within, rolled out of their bodies like from a dragon's maw.
Because he could clearly see that they were not aiming to kill. Because their anger was merely bred from annoyance and frustration rather than hate. Because even though you could feel the air vibrate when even a foot connected with a sword, neither strike was ever aimed to kill. Because they never used any of their more powerful attacks on each other.
Because they were nakama. The captain knew that. They knew that.
The captain saw their need to fight each other, so he didn't interfere. Because he recognized the harmless stress reliever for what it was. And it really was harmless. Both sides knew what they were doing, both sides knew how to prevent the fight from going too far. There was no danger.
At the very least, they would never hurt each other because then the captain would be upset.
And that was a big no in both of their books. One of the few things that they both agreed on.
The navigator was second to understand. She had essentially been the second person to join the crew, even though it wasn't entirely official. So she had a head start when it came to understanding the mentality of the crew's swordsman, a task that took her forever to complete. Even now, she had a hard time imagining just exactly what went on in that head of his. It didn't help that the stoic swordsman was quieter than most. A stark contrast in comparison to their captain.
She had been there to experience the first fight, but had been more concerned with convincing the crew to leave her to her own fate than thinking about the brief, and rather mild compared to the years to come, quarrel.
Over time, the fights only seemed to grow more intense and for a long time she was worried. Worried that one day the fights were going to go too far and cause a rift that would never heal. But it never came. Even when the cook began calling the swordsman all sorts of creative names and the swordsman returned the favor. Even when the previous quarrels turned into all out wars that shook the ship.
Perhaps the only thing that settled her nerves over the subject was the nonchalant way her captain observed the fights. He didn't seem to be at all worried about the way they treated each other. So she found herself slowly relaxing about the subject.
And then after a particularly stressful day, it hit her. She had been feeling the urge to hit something for several hours now and had stalked to her room in a blatant refusal to try and keep her anger from hurting somebody else. It was during her moment of fury that she realized, perhaps that was the entire swordsman and cook had been doing from the very beginning. Sure she supposed that there was some genuine disagreements, but none that would warrant a life time of quarrels.
The two crew members were simply relieving stress. It was no easy task watching over a captain such as theirs. And maybe the two members had it the worst. They had their moments of stupidity, but for the most part, they were significantly more mature than their own captain. And a difference in maturity often made it difficult to handle other people.
The cook had to deal with their captain's near constant demands for food. Not to mention the consistent midnight food raids that their captain always attempted to pull off.
As the crew's first mate, the swordsman had to deal with constantly watching over the rest of the crew, casting aside his swords to leap into the water whenever a hammer fell in.
And as two of the strongest members of the crew they had responsibilities to the crew's welfare. They had to make sure that the weaker members of the crew didn't get themselves killed. Which, on this ship, was a task that had to be completed every day.
So perhaps, the two crew members did more good for each other than was originally seen. And after listening to the fights for months, it almost began to feel empty without them.
As a liar himself, the sniper knew when somebody wasn't being entirely truthful. However, his initial fear of the swordsman kept him from fully realizing what was going on. It didn't take long, however, for the sniper to realize that the swordsman wasn't that much of a threat. At least, not entirely to the sniper himself.
The swordsman always showed up whenever and wherever he was needed, even if his sense of direction was incredibly impaired. The sniper could count on him to be there to protect the crew when they themselves or their captain couldn't.
The fights initially scared him, because he fully believed that the swordsman he saw to be part demon would actually kill the cook that had only just recently joined the crew. Several times, he caught himself sending a concerned glance towards his captain, who seemed to be not at all concerned about the fighting and in fact, only laughed about it. This served to settle the sniper's nerves, but they didn't disappear completely until later.
So when his fear of the swordsman died away and his skills of observation kicked in, he realized that the two crew members weren't really fighting.
It was only subtle hints that gave it away. The twitch of a sword to move it away from someplace life threatening to slashing the air nearby. The slightly less damaging kicks when the cook knew his opponent couldn't dodge. The pure bliss in their eyes.
And then the fights that initially scared him became an annoyance and an everyday spectacle. He grew to expect them rather than fear them.
The swordsman and the cook weren't really fighting to kill each other. They were merely trying to take out some of their frustration on something that wouldn't mind it.
Even still, not even the navigator could convince him to try and separate the two when they were brawling. That was just asking for a death wish.
In fact, the sniper was entirely certain he had the I-can't-separate-Zoro's-and-Sanji's-fight disease.
Much like the sniper, the doctor was initially very terrified of the swordsman. He didn't have much experience with the elder crew member before joining the admittingly chaotic crew, so the swordsman, for him, was entirely new territory.
He understood, though, that they were both incredibly strong people. Not to mention slightly insane, because who went swimming in a freezing river and then got lost?
And as their doctor, it was his responsibility to keep them healthy, so every time they brawled, he had to swallow his fear and ask, then beg them to stop. Because he couldn't allow them to get hurt. And every time, if he managed to get close enough to inspect either member of the daily, sometimes hourly brawl, he was surprised to find that neither one of them had any serious wounds. A couple of bruises every once in a while, sure, but no open cuts, no broken bones.
For the longest of times, he was confused. The two crew members fought like they hated each other, and yet, they never hurt each other.
It was the sniper that finally pointed it out to him, showing him how the two members didn't hurt each other because they never tried. The fights were simply a way to relieve stress and to stretch their muscles.
And then the doctor realized that maybe there was a less harmful reason behind the constant brawls.
That didn't mean he liked them though. And that sure as hell didn't mean he wasn't going to try and stop them. There were other ways for relieving stress and stretching muscles. They didn't have to risk each other's safety.
The archeologist was confused immediately by the fights. They were fellow members of a crew that seemed to be one of the most enduring crews out there. And yet they fought like they were mortal enemies.
It didn't take much for her to realize it though. The only clue she needed was to simply watch the distrustful swordsman train and then she understood.
They weren't fighting each other like they were enemies at all. If they were enemies, they would be fighting harder not holding back, the insane amount of weights that the swordsman lifted compared to the average strength he used against the cook was proof of that. The fights would also be more common, rather than only every so often when either crew member did something that irritated the other, if they truly hated each other.
She wasn't entirely sure why they resorted to fighting just yet as she hadn't been with the crew for long. However, she was completely convinced that they didn't hate each other. Irritated the crap out of each other, sure, but it wasn't hate.
The shipwright had experienced the fights a few times before officially joining the crew. But he knew immediately that they weren't real. It was after all, a very similar relationship to the one he had with Iceburg.
He knew deep down that the two rivals cared for each other, even if they did try to tear each other apart every day. He saw it in the way they seemed to discreetly look out for each other. Like how the cook gave the swordsman more food than average because he knew he needed it. And how the swordsman always got up from his nap every once in a while to check up on each member of the crew, subtly checking up on the cook by going through the kitchen under the guise of looking for beer, an action that usually resulted in another fight.
In all reality it was a beautiful relationship and one that the shipwright looked up to. The two members depended on each other more than either one cared to admit.
The shipwright sometimes wondered if their fighting would ever stop, but ultimately determined that it didn't really matter.
The musician, as the most recent member of the crew, was the last to realize it. And even though his social skills had decreased over the many years he had spent alone, he still realized it far sooner than many of the other members had. This was mostly a result of the events of Thriller Bark.
He'd seen the way the cook discreetly worried over the swordsman's health. He'd heard the desperation in the cook's voice when he'd found the swordsman, bloodied and beaten, and then called desperately for the doctor.
So he was completely unconcerned when the swordsman woke up and he fights between the two members broke out again. Because he could see the way the cook avoided the still heavily bandaged parts of the swordsman's body, how his kicks were far gentler than the once he'd used against the zombies on the island.
Because in the end, it was simple. They were friends.
The cook refused to admit it ,but he did not hate the swordsman. In fact, he considered the marimo to be a close friend. Perhaps even closer than several of the other members of the crew because they understood each other. They understood the need to test their strengths against somebody else.
Sure, the lazy marimo really did irritate the crap out of him. How could it not? The man did nothing but sleep and train and then had the gall to complain whenever one of the daily tasks on the ship wasn't carried out perfectly. But at this point, his anger was more from tradition and the need to take all of his irritation and annoyance out on something that could take the hit. Fighting the swordsman gave the cook a unique sort of thrill that he wasn't able to get on a normal day with the crew. He was sure that the idiot swordsman felt the same way.
Their fighting, their constant rivalry, was just what made up their friendship.
The swordsman found the cook to be incredibly annoying. He couldn't stand to listen to him when his was in one of "love modes" or when the cook decided to rudely awaken him from one of his many naps. Any other time, the cook was perfectly reasonable, if not, incredibly useful. He refused to admit it, but the cook, no matter how many times he called the food shitty, was actually a really damn good cook.
Their rivalry was a part of their friendship. They had disagreements and both sides seemed to agree that taking it out on each other was far better than complaining about it to others. Not that the swordsman would ever stoop so low. He could handle his own problems.
Even still, the cook fit in well with the crew and even though he had his irritating moments, other than the swordsman himself, nobody else seemed to mind too much. They just accepted it as a part of the cook. And honestly, so did the swordsman, but most of the time he couldn't help himself. The cook just left too much bait for the swordsman to snatch up and fight over. He provided an opportunity for the swordsman to get stronger beyond just lifting weights. In a battle, extreme strength only got you so far; skill was what allowed you to win. Fighting a live enemy, even if it wasn't with the intent to kill, still allowed him to hone his skills. They encouraged him to dodge more, to look for any openings, to plan rather than to pour all of his power into one single attack.
He was sure that the cook used the fights the same way.
The crew sighed as the ever so common spat between their swordsman and cook escalated into a full on battle. The clash of a shoe against a sword soon filled the air on the deck. But even still, as the navigator glanced over the newspaper she was reading to watch the fight as it drew on, she wasn't concerned.
The world thought that they hated each other, but the Straw hat crew knew better. They didn't hate each other. That was all just a misunderstanding of what was really going on.
Author's Note: Decided to take a break from my other stories and wrote a one piece one shot. I didn't pour my heart and soul into it, so it's not incredible, but it's not all that bad either.
If you see any errors, just let me know. I'll fix them.
Also, I am rather new with Franky and Brook, but I don't think I did too bad. I started watching one piece from the very beginning and have not yet made it to the time skip even though I know it exists. Hence the very vague mention of it.