Focus on dinner first. Sanji sighed. That didn't mean he had to completely ignore her though, right? He turned around to face Nami, but was surprised to see that she was already facing him. The vase full of daffodils was in her left hand. Taking hold of his arm, she leaned up and gently kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?" His voice was quiet.

Nami smiled at him. "For getting the groceries," she replied and then went to put the full vase of flowers on the table. Sanji touched his cheek where she kissed him. He had almost forgotten their deal at the grocery store earlier. "Can I help you put them away?" She walked back into the kitchen.

"I would appreciate that." He gave her a wide, happy grin.

…

After putting away the groceries and sharing an artichoke spread sandwich for lunch, Sanji and Nami began to plan for dinner while drinking tea. Sanji had a pen and note pad out as he wrote down what food would be prepared and when. Nami could tell that he was a professional. This wasn't his first time preparing a dinner, even if it was just for two people.

"We should probably start the tart first, that way it will have enough time to chill before dessert. When we finish that, then we can start the chicken. The endives will be cooked last." He sighed as he started getting the dry ingredients for the tart out of the closet pantry. "It's times like this I wish I had a double wall oven. Then we could bake the tart and chicken simultaneously without having to worry about different temperatures, cooking times, or flavors mixing."

Nami wrinkled her nose at the thought of a chicken flavored chocolate orange tart. "They actually make ovens like that for homes?" She helped by taking the ingredients from him and placing them on the counter. "I thought they only had them in restaurants."

"Yeah," Sanji confirmed as he went to the fridge next. He passed her a carton of eggs. "If I ever own my own place, that's the first thing I'm going to make sure it has… Well, that and a decent walk-in pantry."

"You don't want to stay here?" Nami was curious as to why he wouldn't want to stay in such a nice apartment. Her apartment wasn't anywhere near the size of his, but she hadn't considered moving or trying to buy a home. What was the point for one person to own a home? She hated cleaning and couldn't see herself having to clean a whole house by herself, not to mention the maintenance that would come with it.

Sanji was grateful that his face was hidden behind the refrigerator door. He could feel it burn with embarrassment. "This place is nice if you're single, but it's hardly ideal for a family. I don't even know if it would be enough room for a couple."

"Now that you mention it, you didn't show me the rest of the apartment yet." Nami leaned over the island counter as she tried to peek down the hallway to the left. Sanji happened to glance at her while she was bent over the island and quickly hid back behind the refrigerator door. That was close! He nearly had a nosebleed. "How many bedrooms do you have?"

Don't ask that right now! Sanji pinched his nose. Her question was innocent enough, but the bedroom was the last thing he wanted to think of after seeing her in that position. Calm down, calm down, calm down… He took a deep, unsteady breath. "Well, technically two, but I use one of them as an office."

"That's much more space than I have." Nami looked amused when he finally closed the refrigerator door. He couldn't have been in there that long to just look for the butter and an orange. She could still sense when someone was checking her out. Putting her hands behind her back, she feigned innocence. "Do you want to show them to me?"

The split-second look of shock on Sanji's face almost made her start laughing. He was going to be fun to tease, which she decided wasn't cruel because she could already tell that she liked him… immensely. Flustered and blushing, he finally stumbled out a response. "Um… Maybe later."

…

The tart was finally in the oven. Nami didn't think it would ever get in the oven after the amount of chilling and baking the crust took alone. Now she could understand why Sanji wanted to start preparing dinner 4 hours ahead of when they would actually be eating. Still, she enjoyed watching him cook, especially when he made the marbled effect between the chocolate and orange fillings.

While the tart was baking in the oven, Sanji began to get the ingredients out for the chicken. "Is there anything you want me to do?" Nami had helped with the tart, but now she felt like she wasn't much use where the chicken was concerned.

"If you wouldn't mind taking the tart out when it's ready, that would be a huge help." Sanji smiled as he began to season the chicken. "I don't want to be near our dessert if I've just been handling raw chicken."

Just then the timer dinged and Nami looked to the oven. Putting on oven mitts, she pulled out the dessert. Sanji couldn't help checking her out as she did so. Nami wearing his slippers, too big for her feet, and oven mitts while holding a dessert was an image that he would enjoy dreaming about. The only thing missing was an apron… and maybe if she were naked under said apron. He shook his head, stopping there. They didn't need blood all over the chicken.

"If you wouldn't mind putting the tart on the cooling rack, we'll wait for it to cool before putting it in the fridge to chill." Sanji explained. Nami did as she was told. "You can also keep the oven on," he added. "The chicken is ready to go in next."

…

Now came the wait. The chicken had to be cooked in intervals and at varying temperatures. The first round required the bird to be turned twice while cooking for 30 minutes. Currently they were in the second round, in which it had to cook for 20 minutes at a lower temperature. Sanji asked Nami to get a bottle of red wine out as he chopped onions and shallots for the next step.

"So, do you usually cook at home?" Nami put the bottle of red wine on the counter as Sanji washed his hands. Leaning with her back against the island, she briefly wondered how his hands weren't dried out from the amount of washing he had to do while cooking.

"Hmm…" He seemed to be thinking it over before giving his answer. "I guess it depends on what day it is and if I'm working or not."

"How so?" If Nami could cook then she would always eat at home. It would definitely save money.

"Well, I often have breakfast at home." He nodded as he thought about it. "But as far as lunch and dinner are concerned, I'll usually eat at work if I'm there."

"What if it's your day off?" Nami blurted out the question without thinking. She was curious if she would get to see him at the café again on Tuesday.

Drying his hands with a towel, Sanji considered her question. "Well… Today is one of my days off. We've already had lunch here and we'll be eating dinner here."

Nami unconsciously began to pout a little. She really wanted to see him again. "Then again," he interrupted her thoughts, "I've also gone out to grab something for lunch before." A sly smile pulled at the corner of his lips, "but you already knew that." She let out a small laugh as she blushed. Sanji watched her reaction with a deep fondness. Taking a step towards her, he decided to ask, "So, what was that neck move you did in the café?" His tone was playful.

"Oh God, that was embarrassing!" She covered her face, but Sanji could see the bright red in her cheeks. His smile grew.

"No, please. I was wondering if I could see it again." He watched her intently.

"Ugh, it's really silly, but my friend Robin taught it to me," she explained. She took a deep breath and turned her side towards him, resting her right hand on the counter for balance. "You're supposed to reach behind your head and pull your hair to the other side, exposing your neck and…"

Her words trailed off when she felt the warmth of Sanji's body pressed behind her. His right hand rested on top of hers while his left caressed her hip. He grazed his lips from the base of her neck to her earlobe. "And?" he whispered in her ear.

Nami could barely think through the arousal currently overwhelming her body. "It's…" Her breath was coming so fast that she could barely get out the words. "It's supposed to attract attention."

"It's very effective." Sanji breathed the words against her ear. The soft moan he received in response thrilled him. His lips ran along her neck again and he thought of when he first saw her in the café. At the time he had pondered what her skin would taste like under his tongue. Just as the tip of his tongue met the softness of her neck, the timer on the oven dinged.

"It's the chicken." Nami let out a deep breath. It was crazy how fast he could get a reaction out of her, but where she was uncomfortable with that thought in the coffee shop, she now decided that it wasn't a bad thing. It definitely was not bad at all.

Sanji closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the scent of citrus pleasantly filling his senses. A soft, frustrated groan came from his throat. He wanted to say, "Fuck the chicken!" He wanted her. The oven dinged again and he let out a defeated sigh. Kissing her hair, he then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Until later."