Category: Friendship Fluff, Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Portgas D. Ace, Sanji, and Nami

Requested By: Scarlett (Ao3)

"Stop playing with your food, dammit! I worked hard to make that!"

Ace jumped slightly as Sanji abruptly stormed out of the kitchen to whack Usopp and Luffy savagely over their heads as punishment for foolishly playing in the wet rice that he had prepared. He blinked in mild confusion as the blonde-haired cook continued to berate them angrily, while the sniper was splayed out on the deck apparently unconscious and Luffy was just rubbing the back of his head with a defiant pout, cheeks puffed out like a child. Man. Pops doesn't allow that kind of talk… But Luffy just lets his crew knock him around and all that? He thought, then smiled slightly. He really hasn't changed at all… he thought in amusement as Luffy and Sanji continued to squabble for a few minutes. When Usopp came to, he yelped pathetically as Sanji abruptly grabbed both of them by the backs of their shirts and dragged them to their feet. "Make yourselves useful and wash the dishes, will you? I have to pack lunches for the desert!" he huffed before whirling about to stomp back into the kitchen.

"I can help you," Ace called to the young cook, beginning to rise from his position on the deck. He was quite bored, to be honest; he never did well with just sitting around, and he wanted to be useful. He frowned when Sanji turned around and brusquely refused.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're a guest," he sniffed at him as he rolled up his sleeves with a small smirk before he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the thin white smoke, before exhaling the foggy substance and smiling at him. "I'm not opposed to people watching me work, though. Besides, you can keep an eye on those loons." As he shot an irritated glare at his little brother, Ace was once again shocked at how disrespectfully he spoke of his captain. He really doesn't keep a tight ship, does he? He thought with a slightly raised eyebrow as he followed Sanji into the kitchen. Luffy and Usopp were in the corner, mumbling in irritation as they prepared to start the chore assigned to them, and Sanji ignored them as he strolled over to a table that already had various ingredients piled neatly about it. As Ace pulled up a chair, flipped it backwards, and sat down with his chin propped up on the back and his arms hanging down, he watched with interest as Sanji began to expertly arrange the little lunch boxes.

"Wow. You certainly know what you're doing," Ace whistled, impressed. He jerked back a little when Sanji snatched up a fork, stabbed a sausage, and abruptly thrust it in his face with a big grin, obviously wanting Ace to sample his handiwork. He shrugged, not having any reason not to, and took the fork from him to chomp down on the meat product. His eyebrows shot up his forehead as soon as the spicy sausage landed on his tongue. "Whoa! This is great!" he cried with his mouth full, almost wishing he had refused because he definitely wanted more. Sanji smirked at the praise and resumed what he was doing.

"I just take pride in my work, that's all," he shrugged nonchalantly, but from the way that he was smirking, Ace could tell that he was pleased. Sanji glanced over in the corner to see what the other boys were doing, then his pleased expression immediately morphed into onto of intense annoyance. "You idiots! That's the bucket of mop water! Why the hell are you washing the dishes with that?" he snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose as he struggled to remain calm. Of course, Luffy and Usopp just snapped back, with Luffy going so far as to stick his tongue out at the bereaved cook. Before Ace could comment, the door to the kitchen was suddenly thrown open with almost enough force to take it off its hinges, making them all fall silent and look in shock at the entrance.

"All of you! There's a storm coming!" Nami cried, striding across the kitchen to grab Usopp and Luffy hy their collars to forcibly drag them back across the room and out the door, barking orders the entire time. Luffy was crowing excitedly, happy that something interesting was finally happening, while Usopp was shaking in his boots and going on about how they were all going to die. When Nami stuck her head back in, tangerine hair swinging wildly, and snapped at Sanji to assist, the cook happily darted out of the room to do her bidding.

"Ace, I need your help with the sails," she ordered him before vanishing back out the door. How can be so sure that there's going to be a storm? He wondered as he walked out of the kitchen, holding his hat to his head. There wasn't even a breeze, but sure enough, the crew was scrambling about at Nami's beck and call, tying this down and securing this sail and whatnot. He stood there for a moment, staring out at the calm blue sky mirroring the calm blue sea, until Nami screeched at him to get his butt moving. Disgruntled, he obediently went to changing the sails as she asked, climbing easily up the mast to prop himself on the main sail and let it down. By the time the cloth billowed out, catching the light wind produced by the sea, a stain of gray clouds was spreading across the horizon. Ace cried out as a sudden gale ripped across the ship, and if he hadn't grabbed onto the mast, it would have knocked him right down to the deck below. The roiling gray clouds were rapidly eclipsing the natural blue of the sky, and he could see sheets of rain pouring into the writhing waves even at this distance. Occasionally, flashes of white illuminated the dark mass. It was rapidly approaching them.

"Uh, Nami? Those clouds are really close!" he heard Usopp squeal in fright, but Nami was at the wheel, spinning it around to catch the wind. Ace jerked forward, thankfully still holding tightly onto the mast, as the sail caught the fierce wind and sent the ship streaming through the water. The boat rocked violently in the large waves, and a cold rain began to spill down on them as the edge of the storm brushed over them, but then they were surging forward, leaving the maelstrom behind. The crew below erupted into cheers, praising Nami's weather-predicting skills, while Ace just sat up in the sails, staring down at the girl curiously. How did she know?

The rest of the morning went by uneventfully, and by the time the sun was at its highest point, they had landed in the desert and were trekking through the dunes with Vivi at the lead. The little reindeer, Chopper, was plodding along ahead of Ace, his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted heavily in exhaustion.

"It's so hot," he moped miserably.

"Oh, yes. It can get up to fifty degrees Celsius in the desert. That's why you have to wear plenty of clothing, because sunburn is a very real problem," Vivi smiled at him over her shoulder. Ace still didn't really understand what was going on in Alabasta, and what Crocodile was up to; not that it was really his concern. He had to find Blackbeard, and so he couldn't concern himself with the goings-on of island countries. Still, he felt bad for the princess, and was glad that his brother was willing to help her. Bratty as he is, he has a good heart, he thought with a smile with a sidelong glance at his brother. He raised his eyebrows as Nami suddenly hit the boy in question over his head.

"Luffy! Stop drinking all your water!" she scolded him angrily as Luffy spit the straw to his water canister out of his mouth and did his signature pout. "The desert is dangerous. Even you could die," she tutted before continuing onward. Ace trotted across the sand to fall in pace with her, admittedly staring at her with curiosity. He had never met a woman who was so no-nonsense and could easily take charge, especially over a bunch of rowdy men like the Straw Hats- and then there was the business with that storm. He just walked alongside her for a moment, trying to think of something to say, but before he could she suddenly looked up at him with a small smile and friendly eyes.

"So, what's it like seeing Luffy after all this time?"

"Heh. He hasn't changed at all," he laughed, glancing back at his brother, who was still sulking. "Still, in some ways, he's come a long way. He's certainly a lot stronger than when I last saw him," he mused before turning back to him. "So how did you fall in with all these clowns?" She looked at him quizzically, and he smiled sheepishly at him. "Oh, come on. I've been watching these guys all day. They would definitely fall apart without you!" Truthfully, he was beginning to wonder if Luffy was merely the captain for show, and Nami was actually the mastermind of the pirate crew. The girl blushed pink under his praise.

"Their heads are full of air most of the time, but they get down to business when they need to," she shrugged with a small smile. He could tell by the look on her face, the way she was gazing off at the desert with her face relaxed in happiness, that she really thought highly of them. I'm glad Luffy has capable friends like her. It makes me worry less.

"So, how did you know that storm was coming?" he asked her. "I've never seen anything like that. It came up out of nowhere, but you knew it was coming well in enough time to get away!" Once more, she blushed, looking a mixture of satisfied and embarrassed.

"I've been studying weather patterns and navigation since I was very small. It's just a matter of reading the barometric pressure and wind patterns," she answered. She made it sound so simple, but it was still like magic to him. He continued to gaze at her in pure reverence, while she just flushed and tried to make light of her talents. As they trekked onward through the desert, they talked animatedly about a lot of things, and by the end of it all Ace was truly impressed by the remarkable girl. She was tough, smart, and resourceful, and he wasn't going to make light of that just because she was a woman; if anything, it was more impressive, because she had a lot to compete with, considering the kind of men that made up the pirate crew.

By the time the sun was setting, they had reached a complex of cliffs and canyons, which would provide them some shelter from the harshness of the desert night. The temperature had already dropped significantly, so much so that Chopper was shivering violently with chattering teeth and attempting to curl himself up into a ball. The managed to scrounge up some dead limbs, and Ace used his powers to get them a nice fire going, which certainly improved matters. Which the raucous pirate crew sat around the roaring flame, snickering and cutting up while Sanji distributed food, Ace stood several yards away, gazing out at the rolling dunes that glowed white under the moonlight with his arms crossed. I came here looking for Blackbeard… But I haven't heard anything about him. Could it be possible that it's a dead lead? He wondered. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the soft crunch of feet on sandy crystals, and he turned to see Sanji standing behind him, holding out a bowl of stew with an oddly unreadable expression on his face.

"Thanks," Ace said, taking the stew and intending to go back to his quiet contemplation, but to his shock the crew stomped around and planted himself in front of him with his hands on his hips and his cigarette clenched in his teeth. His face was uncomfortably close, and Ace was beginning to get the idea that Sanji was irritated with him for some reason. "Can I help you?" he frowned at him, not one to be intimidated.

"What the hell is your game with Nami?" he demanded hotly. Ace blinked in confusion, not having expected a question about the navigator whom he had befriended.

"I don't follow."

"Don't play dumb! You've been staring at her all day, and getting awful close, yeah?" he hissed angrily, keeping his voice low and glancing up at the girl who was sitting by the fire, oblivious to the confrontation. Ace glanced over his shoulder at her, then back at Sanji, who's face was beginning to turn pink. What the…? Oh. Oh. Once he pieced it together in his head, he began to laugh, because frankly, it was a ridiculous accusation. Sanji didn't think it was very funny, though. "Why the hell are you laughing?" he snapped quietly, looking in a panic at the rest of the crew around the fire. They didn't seem very interested in the side confrontation.

"Sanji, I don't like Nami or anything," he mused once he had finished laughing. Sanji blinked at him in shock, apparently finding that hard to believe. "I just think she's a remarkable woman. I like talking to her. She's pretty sure, but I'm not the type to fall in love in one day," he smirked before putting a spoonful of the stew in his mouth. "Mm, this is good. You really are a good cook."

"Thank y- no, wait, wait, wait, so you don't like Nami?" he sputtered, and when Ace shook his head in affirmation, he sighed heavily in relief, his shoulders sagging as he sat down in a sitting position in front of Ace. "Thank goodness." It was Ace's turn to play interrogator.

"So, you do?" he smirked coyly as he settled down in front of him, looking at him levelly. He had expected Sanji to adamantly deny it, but instead his face lit up with happiness, not unlike a little boy.

"Oh, yes! I love Nami! She's so beautiful and smart and amazing~" he sighed happily. Ace could swear that hearts were dancing in the dashing cook's eyes as he clasped his hands together and held them next to his face, gushing over the pretty navigator.

"You say that a lot, but to me you just look like a hopeless flirt," he pointed out. Sanji really did flirt a lot, with every woman he saw, so he found it pretty hard to believe that the feelings were exclusively. Sanji glared at him angrily, jaw set in defiance.

"No! I do feel very strongly about Nami!" he insisted. He did look believable. He was staring right into Ace's eyes, and the man could see a blazing fire in those dark depths. His posture was rigid, too, and his jaw was clenched defiantly. All right, so you like her.

"So, why don't you tell her?" he asked. Sanji's attitude immediately did a one-eighty. He slumped down sadly, avoiding Ace's gaze and shifting around uncomfortably. "What? Scared she might refuse you?" he chuckled. He didn't pin Sanji as one to be so easily deterred, but hey, everybody had things that shook them.

"No, not necessarily…" he mumbled. The cook's gaze slid back to the campfire, and he was shocked to find that the man was staring at Luffy now, not Nami.

Ace started laughing again.

"Luffy? Please! That moron has two things on his mind- food, and becoming Pirate King. I don't think he even has enough brains to know what it means to love a woman," he hooted with laughter. Sanji didn't appreciate being made fun of, and just pouted childishly at him; when he regained himself, Ace sighed slightly and clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "Whatever your reasons are, I don't think you have anything to worry about. There's no need to be jealous. But you know, if you keep quiet about it and she never knows, there's nothing to stop her from falling for somebody else," he pointed out. Sanji's shoulders hunched miserably and he looked down at his lap, drawing patterns in the sand.

"I know… I just don't want to get her involved in… something bad," he muttered evasively. Ace didn't push it. Some people had a past that they were afraid of, and he wasn't one to judge about that. If anything, it just showed how deeply the cook actually cared about the woman. "I would never want to put Nami in danger… So I try to seem like I'm just some hopeless flirt. Nami is the one I really care about, though… But every time I think about telling her how I really feel, I think about what could happen," he groaned. Whoa. He's really conflicted.

"I'm not one to tell you what to do," he shrugged, finishing off the stew and setting the bowl aside, glancing up to look at the starry black sky above. "Tell her, don't tell her- that's your choice. But at the end of the days, you're the one who has to live with regrets and wonder what would've happened if you did this or didn't do that," he explained before looking down at him with a small smile. "Between you and me, though, she's quite fond of you," he winked, and Sanji went pink. It wasn't a lie, either. The cook had often come up in conversation with the navigator, and she got this certain sparkle in her eyes whenever she talked about him. Even when she seemed to be berating him for his flirtatious nature, she had this hidden smile in her mouth. It was obvious to Ace the she definitely felt more for the cook that she liked to let on.

"Really?" he whispered, leaning forward.

"Really!" Sanji leaned back again, wiggling the cigarette in his teeth as he looked over at Nami again. Ace was amused by the positively giddy expression on his face. They're all good guys… I'm glad Luffy found people like them, he thought once more. He raised an eyebrow when Sanji suddenly jumped up, grinning widely.

"That's it! Once we save Vivi's country, I'm gonna tell Nami how I really feel! For real, no holding back!" he swore, pulling his cigarette out of his mouth the beam gratefully down at him. "You know, you really aren't that bad, Ace!"

"What? You're just figuring that out?" he sputtered, but was smiling widely. Luffy, having finally taken notice of the conversation, began whining at him to come join them by the fire. "All right, all right, I'm coming," he called and pulled himself to his feet, throwing an arm around Sanji's shoulders before guiding him over to the fire. As he fell in to the raucous conversation, he noticed Sanji sticking closer to Nami more than usual. She didn't seem to mind too much, either.

I didn't mean to be a matchmaker, but… I'm glad for them. I hope it works out, he smiled as he lounged against a rock. He was almost sorry he wouldn't be able to stick around and see what happened.

I'm on a different path than Luffy. I wonder who will be Pirate King? Him or Pops? He thought as he looked at his little brother, who was stomping around the fire doing some rowdy impression or another. With friends like this, he's got a chance for sure.