He had never been able to understand why people poked fun at those few who looked at the world through 'rose-colored glasses'. True, it usually led to them being disappointed, but then, it was their own damn business if they wanted to reach for the stars and inevitably fall short, now wasn't it?
The problem with modern people, Sanji thought, was that they were too keen on butting in on other people's business than they had ever been in the past, and seemed to think not only that their intrusions were welcome, but that their thoughts and opinions were somehow important. He was sick to death of the arrogance of people and their assumptions. As if mediocre minds such as theirs could ever grasp what it was to hope and dream for something with all their heart, all their being. It was laughable to even think about.
He'd grown used to the skeptics scoffing and telling him, in no uncertain terms, that ALL BLUE was a myth designed to send gullible sailors off to waste their lives away. He tolerated it when they laughed at him for his dreams. In fact, anymore, he didn't even bother telling people that he someday wished to reach that faraway ocean where every fish in the world dwelled. It seemed pointless, when he knew they were just going to dismiss him and his dream. But for some reason...
For some reason, he'd wanted to tell that pirate. Luffy. Sanji had known instinctively that he'd understand. There was a brightness and an openness about him that few people truly had these days. Not to mention his ambition--Luffy had such ambition. Really, someone his age becoming the King of Pirates? It was completely ridiculous. Unfeasible. Utterly impossible.
He'd absolutely loved it.
Finally, he'd found another person exactly the same as he was. Luffy never listened to anyone who told him that he would never become what he strived to be. Instead, he just shot them one of his cocky, irresistible smiles and reminded them of who he was, and warned them never to forget his name. He'd be famous someday, he was convinced, and there wasn't a single person in the world that could dissuade him from that. What was more, he made people believe him.
Sanji believed that someday, Luffy would be the Pirate King. It seemed inevitable to him, as if the title was merely waiting patiently for the day to arrive when Luffy would triumphantly seize it and proclaim to the world that he'd done it. There was something about the younger boy that made a person forget himself and his limitations, forget that there were such things as logic and reason. Forget that there were goals that could never be reached, dreams that could never be realized.
In all his time traveling with Luffy, he had come to respect him, care for him, and perhaps even love him. There was something about the grinning idiot that made Sanji want to protect him, even when he knew that when it came down to it, Luffy would most likely be the one ending up saving his ass. Sanji didn't ever want to see disappointment cloud his face, but should it happen, he wanted to be there to lift his spirits again. He'd never known another person who was so simple, and yet so gloriously complex all at the same time. It fascinated him, and frustrated him.
He never knew exactly where he stood with Luffy. Had it been anyone else, he would've found his feet in nothing flat and formulated a fail-safe plan to sweep them off theirs. That was just his style. With Luffy it was different, though. One moment he seemed so innocent that Sanji thought he should throw himself into a confessional for even entertaining thoughts of anything as chaste as a kiss with him. And then, just when Sanji made up his mind that Luffy was merely a boy, he would do something, or say something so startlingly mature that Sanji would chide himself for ever thinking anything of the sort.
Yes, Luffy tied him in knots, and he had no idea what he could do about it, except what he always did.
And so he grinned, pushing away from the railing as he dropped his cigarette, watching as the gently smoldering end spiraled down into the ocean. He would just go back to bed, and in the morning, he would wake up and cook breakfast for them all and pretend that he'd never stood against the side of the Going Merry with the wind in his face and thought about Luffy.
Yes, he would just pretend.