Authors Notes:
This is a quick story for the Yaoi Super Nova group. The deadline is actually today! Yikes! I hopefully will get all of it written and up by midnight. Anywho…since I procrastinated and rushed this may seem a little choppy and well, rushed. My apologies. Enjoy!
-Chp 1 Invisible-
The Fishman Island Gift Shop and Historical Center was doing an excellent job distracting the crew while Jinbei took Luffy to get the proper permits and permissions for the Sunny to be able to go to the more secure, proper part of the island usually open only to locals. Locals with gills.
Zoro and Franky were looking over a section with salves to prevent metal corrosion. Usopp and Brook had found a section of gadgets made of a certain specialty shell. Robin and Chopper were looking over the books. Nami was pulling out interesting clothing and accessories meant for merfolk and holding it up to her refection.
Sanji would have normally enjoyed doing all those things, each held a certain interest for the cook (especially watching Nami enjoy the last one) but he had found something better.
All throughout the store there were pedestal columns with large clear boxes presenting some historical artifact or item inside. They had a bunch of interesting things, a famous knife of a great fishman chef, a sword of a famous revolutionary, the gi and belt of the founder of fishman karate.
The box in front of Sanji was by far the best. The most interesting, the most lovely, the most captivating and he couldn't help but stare. Stare and drool a little.
Empress Kasile Dadazzle's Lost Mystical Panties.
It was the most beautiful pair of panties in existence, ever, period. A vision. An inspiration. High cut bikini brief style, silky, milky white panties with delicate blue lace swirls reminiscent of waves and seafoam, scallop embroidery, and opulent mother of pearl buttons down the sides.
Gorgeous. He could not imagine better. The thought of any mellorine in them made his breath catch and pulse quicken. Especially after two years without any genuine mellorine with or without panties!
To make the discovery even better was the small informative plaque below the display.
The most noble and beautiful ruler of the underwater territories was intelligent as she was brave. A skilled warrior that led the meager forces of her war-torn time to repeated victory. She was truly beloved and her death still remains a mystery.
Of all her artifacts. Her most iconic were the legendary cursed panties. Said to boost her already stunning beauty and multiply her physical prowess, these panties were dubbed cursed for their origin as spun silk from the roots of the legendary devils fruit tree itself and presented as a gift from her lover as proof of the fifth lost blue.
Upon her mysterious death, a statue of her likeness was erected in the center square and panties banished in her honor, ever onward.
Sanji was practically pawing at the case.
Proof of the fifth lost blue? Made of devil fruit tree silk?
All Blue.
To have the fish from every ocean there needed to be access to every ocean. Devil Fruit was rare but decidedly less rare on the Grandline. It could be very possible that the devil fruit tree resided in All Blue within the Grandline and scattered fruit throughout the other blues with out going currents.
Yes, if they were real, these panties were the most tangible proof of All Blue yet!
And how easily he could easily picture himself as the lover! A pirate adventurer, much like himself, brave and bold and in love! Finding the legendary sea and taking care to bring back the most lovely of treasure for his lover.
Of course in his head his lover was Nami-san. A beautiful gem of a woman who's rough life entitled her to the princess treatment whenever possible. A woman who would never love him back and therefore never break his heart. Someone safe. Someone who made a better, more acceptable, and decidedly more romantic picture than a seaweed-haired swordsman.
He pulled his gaze away from the panties to look at Zoro a moment. He was currently laughing about some inaccurate sword related art on the product boxes.
Idiot, don't look, he chided himself.
They were together in private. That was almost too much as it was.
Sanji had told him straight out not to expect love. Don't expect anything tangible or lasting. He was merely a good looking bastard, he figured could handle a few secret rendezvous with him.
Nakama with benefits, if you like.
Not that sometimes when he was warm and wrapped in a certain shitty swordsman's surprisingly tender, post after-glow embrace he didn't have…doubts. Anyone would have doubts after such activities. Luckily for Sanji, there were enough adventures on the Thousand Sunny and enough duties for a chef on such adventures that those particularly pesky doubts never lingered.
The fact that two years apart made those doubts feel more present now that they had reunited was something that the cook was sure would fade after they had more adventures under their belt and more sex that didn't have tinges of welcome back/missed you relief..
Sanji looked again to the mystical panties on display. He could look into the origin of these legendary under things while on fishman island and get an actual clue about All Blue. The panties themselves were a clue to it's existence, but the empresses lover had supposedly BEEN there. If there were some documentation on him there was potential to find a clue to All Blues actual location or if he was absurdly lucky, a map! He should probably talk with…
"You've been enjoying this display for sometime, cook-san. May I take a look?"
Speak of the devil. Or devil fruit user as it were.
"Of course Robin-chwan! I was just going to ask you about this."
Finished reading the plaque, Robin smiled at Sanji for a moment before looking toward the gorgeous panties behind glass.
"I see why they would be of interest to you cook-san. I've never heard of displaying a lost item though. What would be the purpose?" Upon seeing Sanji's confusion she elaborates. "If the panties are lost, why have glass to protect nothing? Perhaps they're out for repair? A shame."
Sanji's confusion only grew. Was Robin joking?
"Panties?" Brook and Franky seemed to pop out of nowhere. "Where Curly?"
Brook too glanced at the glass far too quickly if he had seen the glorious panties.
"Yohohoho! Perhaps there's a panty thief about!"
"If there is, you'd three be the ones I'd suspect the most." Nami commented as she joined the growing circle around the display.
"No, the panties aren't lost or stolen, they are a vision of sweet strength and femininity and they're right there in the case." Sanji emphatically gestured to the case and felt the need to sneak a peak to make sure he was correct. Indeed the panties were still visible in their perfect opulence.
"Pervert. Figures you'd be going on about panties, ero cook."
"Shut up Marimo! I'm not going on about them just saying…'
"…That the panties are in the case?" Robin finished for him with a frown.
"Yes!" What was wrong with everyone? His nakama were all exchanging rather strange looks with each other.
"Oi, oi! Sanji, you're doing it wrong. If you want to tell a proper lie you can't have the evidence to the contrary visable."
"What the hell makes you think I'm lying!" Sanji growled dangerously, making Usopp stagger back a few feet. A tiny hoof tugged at the corner of his suit jacket and Sanji looked down at a concerned reindeer. Chopper held the material tightly as if he was afraid the cook might bolt at any second or perhaps passout.
"Because Sanji, that case is empty."
Around him he could hear snickers from other customers overhearing the exchange.
The panties were still there pretty as a picture.
A picture only Sanji could apparently see.