All One Piece Characters Belong to Oda

Thanks goes to Braindeadmaggot for betaing XD

Risa: Age 2

Risa watches from her high chair as her papa runs back and forth in the kitchen, taking out pots and pans and tries to cook and do more than one thing at once. Clearly he would be more productive if he did one thing at a time, but that is not the case.

"Papa! Gwanpa bwing-" She doesn't get to finish as Sanji cuts her off.

"Risa, baby, not now. Papa is busy." He rounds the counter and takes her out her high chair. He knows she likes being with him when he cooks, but right now he needs to concentrate. "Go watch TV."

She nods her head obediently, giggling and shuffles out of Sanji's hold once her feet touch the floor. Waving at her father, she exits the kitchen and enters the living room.

He is about to continue his cooking, when the loud TV makes him cringe and look at his daughter. He sees her jump off the couch and presses the volume button, her green eyes going to Sanji with a sheepish smile. Sanji places a finger over his lips, with a stern face. He knows it's not her fault, but Zoro is sleeping and he doesn't want to wake him. The man worked night-shift. Sighing, Sanji returns to cooking.

It's not long, actually too short for Sanji, when there is a knock by his door. Wiping his hands on the dish towel, Sanji goes to the door and opens it. The person who meets him on the other side is shorter than Sanji, and has blonde hair. He is broad, and has a long mustache braided.

"Gwampa!"

Sanji once again cringes at the volume of her voice, as he looks at Risa, who seems to have missed his reaction, while she runs into Zeff's open arms.

"Little Cabbage!" Zeff calls his granddaughter - a name he dubbed on her when he first saw her green hair - and squeezes her in a bear hug. The little girl squeezes back, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, old geezer. Welcome, please do come in." Sanji greets dryly, opening the door wider and stepping aside so his father can enter. Zeff lifts Sanji's daughter easily as he enters.

"I brought you some food for lunch." The older man says, talking to the green haired child. Moving his arm, Sanji sees a messenger bag over Zeff's shoulder, which he guesses is where the food must be.

Sanji frowns, closing the door behind them. "How many times do I have to tell you not to bring food, I will cook." Sanji is tired of telling his father not to prepare food, because he cooks every time. But no matter how many times he tells him, it seems to go through one ear and out the next. He just doesn't understand.

"How can I not bring food? Look at her. So thin. Do you even feed her?"

Sanji grinds his teeth. "Of course I do!" Sanji moves his hand over his mouth, remembering to keep it down. His attention goes to the two when he hears Zeff speak again, but to Risa.

"Don't worry, Grandpa will feed you." Sanji smiles warmly at them, because Zeff really cares about Risa, and won't allow her to call him anything that isn't grandpa. Leaving the two, Sanji returns to the kitchen.

"So, where is your lazy husband?"

"Slee-" Sanji bites his bottom lip. He almost fell for Zeff's trap. Though Zeff likes Zoro, he still thinks Zoro is lazy, which to a certain extent he's right. But Zeff believes Zoro is lazy because he sleeps in the morning. He doesn't believe in night shift, and sleeping in broad daylight is being lazy. He sighs before he answers. "He's in the bedroom." He leaves it at that.

Zeff hums at the back of his throat, as he looks at Risa. "So how are you? Doing good in school?"

Risa really isn't in school, but she does have daily learning lessons and even has her own desk in the corner of the dining room where she studies the alphabet, draws, scribbles with crayons, practices math, and writes her name.

"I gotta A! Well, Papa gave me an A!" Risa starts to say as she runs towards her desk, looking over her shoulder as she tries to talk to her grandfather as she moves. "Papa! Hewp me spell. She takes a few seconds before she emerges again, paper in hand and runs towards Zeff.

Once by Zeff again, she hands over the paper. The old man takes it, and looks at it; a smile forming on his lips when he sees the big red 'A' she was talking about, that laid across a giant swirly mess of pinks greens and yellows.

"She's as smart as you, eh, Eggplant?" Zeff cluckles.

"She had to get her smarts from somewhere." Sanji gloats, feeling proud of himself.

"Is that supposed to be an insult." A voice is heard by the entrance of the dining room.

Sanji jolts and turns to face the kitchen door, and sees Zoro entering, while pulling a white t-shirt over his head with one hand, and with the other stifling a yawn, still wearing his work pants, clearly having heard Sanji's answer.

"Did we wake you?" Sanji instantly asks.

"Looks like death got a hold of you." Zeff comments, watching Zoro's appearance, messy green locks, sleepy face, and dragging his body to the nearest chair.

"Tell me about it." Zoro says, sitting down and pushing his messy hair back, in a vain attempt to comb it even though he knows it will still look messy. "Cook, can I get a coffee?"

Sanji nods as he makes his way towards the kitchen sink to wash his hands to start on the Marimo's request.

"Daddy~" Risa greets, moving from Zeff towards her father, making space as she pushes his hands aside and sits on his lap. Zoro moves his hand, leaning his body as he props himself on his hand, elbow on table. His other hand going through his daughters green silky stands. He kisses Risa's cheek as he tells her good morning, though it's afternoon. When he looks up, he can't help but smell something delicious. "What smells so good?" Zoro asks, only to instantly regret it when the two chefs in the room look at him, and both answer in unison.

"My cooking, of course."

Sanji looks at Zeff as Zeff likes at Sanji, glares exchanged. The atmosphere instantly feels tense. "You're clearly not feeding him right either." Zeff huffs, already taking out his food from his bag.

"That's because he has night shift and doesn't eat properly." Sanji answers back, placing the food he cooked in plates, rather roughly and quickly. "He always loses a few pounds!" Sanji reasons.

Risa is singing to herself, playing with her father's fingers oblivious of the tense atmosphere in the room.

Zoro watch as father and son serve their respective food, eyes locked on the other, each wanting to feed them. She leans back onto her father's chest, raising her eyes slightly as she whispers that she is not sure if she can eat all the food.

"Um, cook." Zoro tries to get the blondes attention, but Sanji isn't listening as he serves them food, trying to push Zeff's dishes out the way. Zeff, trying to do the same. "Cook, that's too much food!" He repeats, a little louder and sterner.

That seems to catch Sanji's attention as he looks at Zoro and Risa, both with stacks of food in front of them. Sanji sighs. When he looks at his father, there is something that tugs at his heart. Zoro seems to notice it too, because he excuses Risa and himself.

"Risa and I are gonna go wash up." Zoro says, taking her in hand and leaving with her. Risa hugs her father, a smile on her face - she loves to be carried- still oblivious of what is going on.

Zeff instantly starts to talk once the two leave.

"...I'm sorry little Eggplant… Sanji."

Sanji's jaw tenses, because Zeff for the first since he can remember, has called him by his name.

"I think a part of me… didn't want to let you go."

"But weren't you the one always insisting for me to settle down, and have a family." Sanji says teasingly, sitting next to his father starting to understand what was happening, and him being too blind to see it. The moment he hooked up with Zoro, Zeff must have been feeling left out. He didn't visit every Christmas, and he doesn't call the old man like he used to. Then when Risa was born, his time felt like it was cut in half. He just didn't have the time, and that's around the time Zeff started bringing food whenever he came to visit.

"I think I should be apologizing." Without him, and now Risa and Zoro, Zeff will feel alone. His mother left them when he was only 2. She just took her stuff and left, not caring what would happen to him or Zeff. Zeff never blamed her, he did what he could to raise him. Zeff's way of showing love is through his food - and kicks. However, he knows he can always go to his father for help.

Yet, he's been trying to show his father that he can be independent, while Zeff was trying to feel needed. "I just... I didn't want to disappoint you."

Zeff's blue eyes widen. "Eggplant, no. I'm proud of you. All this. This beautiful family… How can I be disappointed?"

Sanji can't say anything as he looks away from his father.

"I think a part of me still sees you as my little Eggplant. When I think about you leaving one day, far away... I can't... I was the one in the wrong. You're taking care of your family. I love Risa and I want to protect her, but I know she has two capable parents who will do that. I just…" Zeff pauses for a second. "Wanted to be a part of this."

Sanji smiles. "No matter what old geezer, Risa will be your grandchild. Maybe you can cook for her time to time. But if I cook-" Sanji doesn't need to finish, because he knows Zeff understands. The older man has his eyes closed and nods his head in agreement.

Sighing, Sanji stands up and picks up his plates. "We'll eat this tomorrow, as left overs. Don't want to throw away food, now do we?"

Zeff nods, the expression on his face of gratitude. Calling his family back, the blonde feels the tension in the room lower, and he is happy he was able to come to term with his father.

A/N: I wanted to write Zeff a little differently. I hope he didn't come out too OOC. Hehe