Note: Set right after the Sanji Retrieval Team escapes from Whole Cake Island.
When the waves had settled and they had all escaped Big Mom's clutches and proper apologies had made the rounds (again), Nami found herself in Sanji's kitchen, craving for something sweet but unsure how to make her request. After all, Sanji hadn't looked at her, really looked at her in the eye, ever since the Whole Cake Island ordeal.
And while he did shower her with the usual compliments and love confessions, Nami was quite certain that they were all for show.
And truth be told, she was getting mighty sick of it.
So she barged into Sunny's kitchen, intent on giving Sanji a piece of her mind, except that she found him by the sink, hands gripping the ledge, lost in thought. All indignation left her chest, replaced with uncertainty and a weird sense of empathy for their cook.
After all, she, too, had tried to send Luffy away, a lifetime ago.
"Sanji-kun?"
The cook snapped in attention and turned her way. For a split second Nami saw the surprise and guilt in his visible eye, before it was quickly replaced with his usual lovestruck expression.
"Oh the heavens have smiled on me today! What can I do for you, Nami-san?"
Nami smiled wryly, seeing quite easily through Sanji's facade.
"Do you have anything sweet for dessert?"
"Anything for you, Nami-san!" Sanji grinned, hips already bouncing left and right. "I'll whip up a parfait and bring it to your room in a bit," he told her, hands already reaching for available ingredients on the counter.
Nami pulled a chair, its legs scraping against the wooden floor as she dragged it away from the table. "I can wait for it here."
There was a sudden awkward pause in the air. Sanji froze midway from reaching out what appeared to be chocolate syrup in one of the cupboards.
"Nami-san is most pretty when she's impatient!" he cooed.
It annoyed Nami somehow, how Sanji was trying his best to act normally around her.
"I don't hate you, Sanji-kun," she said, watching as the cook gripped the syrup bottle tightly. "I know I told you I'll never forgive you for what you did back there," she continued, resting her cheek in her palm as she made herself comfortable. "But it doesn't mean I hate you."
Sanji shook his head and kept his head down, hands still around the bottle. "I disrespected you," he whispered. "Back in the island I hurt Luffy and you saw everything. And then I pretended to be angry at you, too. I went against everything I believed my whole life."
Nami sighed. "I really wish you'd stop being chivalrous all the damn time."
"It's something I learned from my real father," Sanji murmured, and Nami instinctively knew he was not talking about Vinsmoke Judge.
And while she didn't know what it meant to have a dad, she understood that some beliefs, some principles are what define a person. And she accepted that Sanji's chivalry, no matter how misplaced, is part of what made him their beloved crewmate. Their family.
"Just pay me two million beli and we'll call it even, huh?"
Sanji chuckled, so softly Nami almost didn't hear it. They spent the next few minutes in silence, minus Sanji's gentle work on her food. Nami was relieved it wasn't the suffocating kind anymore. And when Sanji walked toward her, his hand holding a parfait that looked impossibly appetizing, Nami felt a heavy load lift from her shoulders.
"Here you go, Nami-san. I hope you like it!"
Nami picked up her spoon, dug in, and took a generous bite. An explosion of fruit and sweetness filled her mouth, making her sigh happily. Sanji may be a lot of things, but Nami really did love his cooking (among other things).
"This is delicious!" she beamed, her smile conveying all the things she wouldn't be caught dead saying out loud. "Thank you, Sanji-kun!"
Sanji smiled back, his visible eye filled not with his usual lovesickness, but with relief and thankfulness.
"Thank you, Nami-san."