Okay!! Now for the long awaited update!! Hehe! I'm excited! xD Anyway, thank you to all my loyal readers and whatnot. You guys are more awesome than you'd ever believe. Before I start the chapter, just wanna say that there is only ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! Yeah. Scary. xD But anyhoo, enjoy my loves! :D

Nami and Luffy sat out in the garden together chatting idly and criticizing the porcelain statues.

"… and that one's nose is way too big for its face." Nami said with an affirmative nod.

"Yeah, like he'd fall over if he was real." Luffy agreed. They sat in a peaceful silence. Blossoms were falling from the trees, the birds were chirping, everything was quiet and tranquil. "I don't really want to leave Sanji," he said at long last. It was a topic that was on both of their minds, but neither was sure if they should bring it up.

Nami sighed out in relief. "I know exactly how you feel, Luffy. But it's your dream, right? And besides, Sanji has Zoro now, just like you have me. There isn't much to think about." She scooted closer and nuzzled her face against his shoulder. "Don't worry about things so much."

"Gee Nami-chan, that doesn't sound like you at all. Did someone steal your brain?" He gave her a goofy grin.

Nami stuck her nose in the air. "I was only trying to make you feel better. If you want to be that way then forget the whole thing. I mean really Luffy."

Luffy looked flabbergasted for a few seconds before throwing his arms around Nami in a desperate attempt to figure out what was going on. "I didn't mean it like that! I uhhhh… I love you?" He gave a hopeful smile.

"I love you too." She gave him a light knock on the head. "You have to tell Sanji tonight, don't forget."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good. Now let's get back inside, it's going to get chilly really soon." She stood from the lawn, dusted off the seat of her skirt and waited for Luffy. "I can tell because of the wind and those clouds over there," she said quickly and pointed off just as Luffy started to open his mouth. "Let's go."

Luffy gave a nod and followed Nami back inside, it was nearly dinner and he was famished. "So… Hungry…" He rubbed his belly to emphasize his point.

"Honestly, how many times do you have to eat daily?" Nami said in exasperation. Luffy looked towards the ceiling, a finger on his chin. "You can't seriously be considering that!"

He gave the devious redhead a crooked smile. "Nah, but, uh, why don't you catch up with Robin for a bit? I have some stuff I gotta do before dinner… I'm so hungry."

Nami gave a pause before nodding. "Sure thing, I'll see you at dinner."

Luffy watched her until she rounded the corner. He pulled his hat off his head and studied it closely. Can I really do this?

--------- .o.o. ---------

Sanji watched the stir fry mix closely as it sautéed. Luffy had said that he needed to tell him something tonight. And Zoro's been hiding behind a secret promise… bull shit. He knew Luffy well enough to know that he was the worst person possible when it came to keeping secrets. Which meant that it wasn't a secret, but rather it was something else…

"What could it possibly be?!" he yelled at the pan. A few of the kitchen maids – including Uri, Kana, and Tiana – all gave him strange looks, although they kept to themselves.

He's going somewhere. Mika had said something about a parting gift before… He sighed. Mika… How he missed her and her ungainly ways. He gave the pan one final flip before turning the heat off and letting a lesser chef take over in favor of helping Rinn set the table.

It was too complicated a puzzle for him to figure out. He'd just have to wait until after dinner for Luffy to tell him whatever it was, even though it was pretty much driving him insane.

"Sanji sir, are you alright?" Rinn asked quietly as she began placing silverware as he set the plates.

The blond was surprised for a moment, before setting his face in a smooth smile. "Yeah, just anxious. Is it that obvious, even to a pretty lady such as yourself?"

Rinn gave no notion of being flattered, but nodded. "Since breakfast." She glanced up at him with huge blue eyes through brown fringed bangs. "You've been talking to yourself often."

"So I have been." Sanji sighed and grabbed the glasses, as Rinn grabbed napkins. "It's just one of those days." Rinn nodded and they finished their work in silence.

She watched Sanji leave with an impassionate stare before grabbing the rope in the corner of the room that rang the mean bell. It was seldom used, but now there were more people in the house than usual. It was faster. She went to the table and grabbed the platter from the center, moving to the corner and clutching to her dress as people began to fill the dining area.

"Dinner will be out shortly," she said with a curtsy and hurried into the kitchen.

Zoro watched her scuttle out of the room as he plopped down in his chair next to Sanji. "You ready?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Sanji mumbled in response. They were served and a quiet chatter filled the room. Sanji pushed his food around on his plate, taking a bite every once and a while in attempt to force himself to eat.

There was an uncomfortable silence over the table. Everyone had their eyes on their own plate. Sanji was nervous. What could Luffy possibly have to say? And the fact that everyone knew but him… that meant it had to be bad news for him. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to find out anymore.

Nami elbowed Luffy in the ribs after a while. She was impatient, he could tell, by the way her legs were crossed and how she fiddled with her fork, scraping it against her plate. Luffy twiddled his thumbs before speaking up. "Well, uhm, Sanji…" he began hesitantly, "I decided…" Nami looked at him intensely. He knew it. It wasn't really a secret, just a decision that Luffy had to make and he didn't know the details. Worse than a secret. "Well, I'm leaving." Before Sanji could protest or yell or even speak Luffy cut him off with a shake of his head. "I got a new boat, Sanji. Zoro helped a bit, Nami too! But now I can sail again! It's my dream! And I'm not giving up on it so easy."

Sanji was speechless. Luffy was actually going back out into the ocean after it almost took his life? Yeah, he'd probably do the same if he loved something as much as Luffy did the ocean.

"And I'm going with him." Nami said, starting hard ahead. "As much as I'd love to stay here and play maid, I have a promise to keep – and I don't intend to ever break it."

Sanji sighed and stood, back to the table. "So," he said in a nonchalant voice, "you're going to chase your dream?"

"You bet!"

"Did you think I would try and stop you?" He looked back at Luffy's conflicted face. "Did you?"

Luffy put a finger to his chin. "Well no," he said honestly, "I just didn't want you to be upset. Besides! You make the best food ever! Not eating your food is the worst thing ever!"

"I can cook too you know," Nami said, slightly annoyed, "Not as well as Sanji, but it's better than starving."

"So!" Zoro stood suddenly, tired of where the conversation was going. "It's settled. Luffy departs next week, will write often, yadda yadda yadda, end of conversation."

Sanji resisted the urge to kick the green haired man in the face. "So it looks like we still have a week. That's plenty of time to get ready for your dream voyage." He smiled, thinking back on all the stories Luffy had told him about the ocean. "It sounds like you'll have fun. Are you going to get a new crew?"

Luffy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But you'll always be a member of my crew Sanji, even if you're not on the ship." He gave the blond a thumb up. "And Zoro too! Thanks again!"

"Che, whatever." Zoro said with a smile that he just couldn't hide.

----- Later that night ------

Sanji rolled in bed, trying to get closer to Zoro's warmth. He was having troubles sleeping. He may not have acted like it, but Luffy leaving him so permanently… it was kind of scary. "Oi, moss head."

"Hm?" Zoro grumbled.

"This means its just gunna be you and me now." He watched as Zoro's grimace slowly curled up into a smirk.

"Yes it does… and you know what that means, right?" A green eye opened slowly to look at Sanji.

"I sure do. As much as I'll miss Luffy and Nami-swan, I sure can't wait."

"Neither can I, neither can I." Sanji sighed and snuggled close to his love. "I love you Sanji."

"Love you too." And with those words he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Okay, it ends here. Remember only one chapter left! If you feel that there is something left unsaid as of this point in the fic, let me know! I might already have it in mind, but if not… haha.

Thank you! Review, review, review, hope you enjoyed! :)