The Great Captain Usopp only realized that he'd surrendered to temptation and let his eyes fall closed on watch when Chopper woke him up by poking a rather sharp hoof in his shoulder. Thankfully, his reindeer friend was too tired from their hellish afternoon and not enough sleep afterwards to notice -or comment on- the moderate amount of flailing that ensued, and he only nodded, staring fixedly at the ocean, when Usopp assured him that he was merely honing his sixth sense and not sleeping on watch, of course not.

It was with great relief that Usopp climbed down the mast, opened the hatch and climbed further down, until he was in the safe, warm (and smelling mildly of dirty laundry) haven of the boys' quarters. Out of a week-long habit, he threw a glance towards the couch to check on the well-being of the kids before heading towards his hammock.

It took him three steps to register that while Luffy had been rather largely spread over the surface of the couch, he had definitely been the only one there. Considering that every single muscle in his body was protesting that he should have been comfortably asleep in his hammock for long hours and that his brain was fully dedicated to letting them have their way, it was really a rather quick reaction. The thought of checking where the hell Zoro was at this hour crossed Usopp's mind but quickly fled the area. It wasn't his business, after all. Zoro could take care of himse--

No, no he couldn't, interfered his conscience. While Zoro could get to from any place on the ship to the galley in record time, it had taken him five days to learn his way around the rest of Merry well enough not to end up in the anchor deck every single time he needed to go to the bathroom. Plus, he hadn't landed himself any heavy injury lately, therefore he had no need to sleep the blood back into his body; as he'd obviously decided that naps were for kids (which, as Usopp understood it, Zoro most definitely wasn't), he never slept during the day anymore, and compensated by having longer nights than the rest of the crew combined. Him not being in his bed so late after his Nami-set bedtime was mildly disturbing. Maybe the Great Captain Usopp should look into it.

Then again, his active imagination and fatigued body provided, if Zoro had wandered off and, for some reason, didn't want to be found, for once Usopp wouldn't be the best-suited man for the job. His gaze wandered to what had been Sanji's hammock for the past weeks as he considered whether the situation was worth waking an irate cook up or not.

There seemed to be more Sanji there than Usopp had come to think of as the normal amount thereof. He stepped closer and was peering at the cook suspiciously when the dim light coming from the hatchway changed slightly (probably, Usopp thought, the great big dragon he'd imagined had been hiding the moon for the past few hours had finally woken up and gone hunting) and for a moment reflected a shade of green that Usopp definitely did not associate with Sanji, except in the "subject B will make fun of subject A at any given occasion" way.

He frowned in almost disbelief, but the fact was here. Zoro and Sanji were sharing a hammock. Zoro. And Sanji. Sharing. A hammock. If 'sharing' could even be considered the word, considering the way Zoro seemed to be sprawled over the cook.

The main question now was this : if by chance a picture of this lovely domestic scene was to be taken, what were the odds of Sanji, or Zoro, or both, savagely murdering the one who'd taken it once they found out?

Failing all previous predictions, amusement was the last thing on Sanji's mind when he woke up and it appeared that Zoro's sleeping self had no qualms sprawling himself all over someone like a big fluffy blanket. Where Zoro had definitely started the night looking resolutely away from Sanji, he'd turned around at some point and made himself comfortable, pillowing his head on Sanji's shoulder and wrapping an arm as far around him as he could reach.

"What am I, your teddy bear?" Sanji muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. This was not the kind of behaviour he would have associated with Zoro, younger or older. But he was the one who'd proposed the arrangement, and could hardly protest the consequence of his thoughtless offer. Plus it wasn't really uncomfortable, except for the temperature that was just a bit higher than Sanji liked. It made him drowsy, and drowsiness was the last thing he needed at the moment, when dawn was breaking and he was supposed to be in the galley preparing breakfast, no matter that he was still bordering exhaustion and would have happily spent the next four or five hours there, with or without the added warmth.

He tried to slide stealthily out of his hammock, but as soon as he moved, Zoro's hand clenched in his shirt.

And he won't let go of his plushie either, Sanji thought with a mental sigh. In truth he didn't mind Little Zoro quite as much as his older self, but up until now every time he'd been on the verge of thinking of him as cute, he'd managed to remind himself that this was still Zoro and artfully treaded around the danger zone. Now with the boy trustingly spread over him and fuzzy green fur tickling his nose, Sanji was starting to wonder how long that last anchor to reality was going to hold.

Once he'd decided that sending Zoro flying when he got up would bring him more satisfaction than the kind of lingering guilt that was born from kicking puppies, getting off the hammock was easy enough. That Zoro sported a huge bump on his head and didn't seem that intent on getting close to Sanji for the rest of the day was only a side benefit.

Yet two hours after he'd gone to bed, Zoro was back in the galley, as silent as usual, and Sanji wondered if anything could possibly make this whatever-it-was that Zoro had for him waver. And it wasn't like Sanji had done anything to deserve that. Well, maybe he'd been a little rude to Nami-san that day when she'd threatened to use food as a lever on the kids, but really, was even that horrible deed enough bad karma to land him with his own personal fanboy?

Then the milk was drunk (there was not a lot of milk left, Sanji noticed with a frown, they'd have to restock as soon as possible), the last of the dishes were done, and it was time to go to sleep.

Zoro passed the couch were Luffy was snoring happily and followed the cook all the way to his hammock.

Sanji sighed and resigned himself to his fate.

She was looking down at him, a million feet above him at last, smirking smugly. You're weak as usual, Zoro, she said airily, like it couldn't matter less to her. He looked up, glared, raised at least one of the wooden sticks in his hands, then there was a flash of blood - and she was gone.

Zoro's eyes shot open as the strangled cry died in his throat, and for a moment he lay there in the dark, staring at nothing as his heartbeat tried to get to grips with reality and he attempted to stop his slight shaking and block the tears of frustration that had been threatening to spill ever since the first time he'd had a similar dream. That girl seemed to be so important to him, and he couldn't remember but he kept dreaming of her and what kind of weakling did that make him, that it woke him up in a panic almost every night? He should be strong. He was strong. Maybe not as much as Sanji (but he was going to be someday), but at least enough not to let himself be bothered by some stupid dream. He would remember soon, and if they'd lied to him about actually being nineteen then he'd kick all their asses and see what happened. Although he didn't think they'd lied to him. The only one on the crew who was a liar was Usopp, and Zoro had found out that his tales were more or less believable as long as they didn't include the words 'once upon a time' or 'the Great Captain Usopp'.

The more he had those dreams, the less he was sure if he really wanted to remember, but he had to. Real men faced their fears. Even if he wasn't really afraid. Just... disturbed. But disturbed and warm and comfortable and safe, as an arm was wrapped around him and long fingers caressed his hair gently.

The first time this had happened, Zoro had thought that this was how you comforted kids, and he'd almost pushed the hand away, but apart from the whole cooking thing (then again, after watching the man use his knives on a fish, Zoro had decided that sometimes cooking could be a kick-ass thing and was better left to men after all) Sanji was cool, and if he did it it was probably okay. So he'd let himself relax that time, and now found it quite enjoyable and soothing.

"B'd dream again?" Sanji slurred sleepily. Zoro shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it. He really didn't. He wanted to fall asleep and not dream, or maybe to never fall asleep again. So he didn't say anything, and instead burrowed his face further in Sanji's shirt.

The hand patting his hair didn't stop until his breathing had evened out, then he was poked on the shoulder. "Oi, brat. You still awake?" Sanji whispered gruffly. Zoro gave out a groaning noise and nodded. "Alright, get up," Sanji ordered, still poking. Zoro did so disgruntledly, wondering if the cook had decided that he should sleep on the couch after all, but Sanji got up as well, nodded towards the hatch and wordlessly headed to the mast and started climbing. Zoro followed after a few seconds.

While no-one else on the crew seemed to appreciate it too much, Robin enjoyed being on watch at night. Cook-san usually prepared her a thermos bottle of excellent coffee, and while the crow's nest was not excessively comfortable, it gave her some time to let her thoughts wander. Granted, they weren't always happy thoughts, as memories of her past sometimes surfaced for little to no reason; but when the horizon brightened with the promise of dawn and the dark shapes beneath her became the Going Merry again, she remembered her latest adventures, and how lucky she felt to have met this young captain and his crew.

Robin had learned early in her life that facing or running away from a danger only meant having to deal with the next danger sooner, and was content in letting things happen in their due time. Still, a large proportion of her new crew had a surprising amount of belief that having someone yell excitedly whenever an island was in sight was a major part of a pirate's life. So, while she avoided yelling whenever possible, she did make the effort to focus more of her attention on the horizon than would have been strictly necessary. Therefore it was only when the wind brought her the echo of a voice that she noticed the presence of swordsman-kun and cook-san on deck, their heads at the same level as cook-san was sitting on the stairs, and apparently engaged in a solemn conversation.

One of the things that Robin had not learned until meeting with the Straw Hat crew was gratuitous mischief, but she was a quick learner. The current situation had provided quite a lot of amusement for the past weeks, and she had to admit to a certain amount of morbid curiosity regarding the strange status quo the two men - or man and boy, as it were- had built between them. Eavesdropping was her speciality, before even assassination, and blooming an eye and an ear in the shadows next to them was just as easy as bringing the cup of coffee to her lips.

Cook-san had the two darker swords on his knees, and was carefully watching swordsman-kun. The child was holding the white scabbard in his hands with some difficulty and looking at it with something like confused recognition.

"It's mine," he whispered, his brow creasing in concentration, "but I can't remember!" Robin felt a small amount of pity for him. Knowing bits and pieces of something you knew was immensely important without being able to connect them in any way that made sense was just as immensely frustrating, and even she had not yet learned to fully dismiss that frustration. She couldn't even begin to imagine how bad it must be for a child his age. Nevertheless, putting his hand on the white handle seemed to soothe the boy somehow.

"Can I keep it?" he asked, raising hopeful eyes up at cook-san, who shook his head.

"Not until you remember how to use it. I wasn't even supposed to show it to you, but..." he shrugged in something like embarrassment, which made Robin smile indulgently. "You can have these, if you want," he offered, extending a hand from which dangled three identical ear pendants. Automatically, swordsman-kun's hand reached for his left lobe, which was not surprising considering how much he'd played with the new game and stared at his own card in the last few days. He seemed to contemplate for a moment, then nodded gravely.

Cook-san made him step closer, and with a few hissed curses but a gentleness Robin had rarely seen him display put the pendants back were they belonged. They tingled when he pulled his hands away, and Robin, feeling slightly guilty for intruding on what had visibly been an important bonding moment, let her extra organs fade back in nothingness.

Two weeks later, Sanji was getting more or less used to waking up with a kid at his side. What he wasn't used to was waking up to two kids on either side of him, one hugging him like a giant teddy bear and the other impossibly stretched to hug both of them like... well, like two more or less giant teddy bears.

The sight of Nami-san and Robin-chan's smiling faces above him was also a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. What was less pleasant was that Usopp and Chopper were here too, and not hiding their extreme amusement quite as well as the girls did.

"This is so-" Chopper cooed, and luckily for him Usopp had noticed that Sanji was awake and put his hand on the reindeer's mouth in time to stifle the half-squealed "-cute". Sanji pretended not to notice. He wasn't in a good position to kick at the moment.

Then the fact that all the adult crew was up before him kicked in, and suddenly he was fully awake. "Breakfast!" he said, almost panicking. Could it be that he'd failed everyone, failed the ladies by not waking up?

"Has been taken care of," Robin-chan provided. "And your most enthusiastic mouth to feed is still asleep, so you have nothing to worry about."

That brought him back to the question of why Luffy had decided to join his hammock, which wasn't meant for two and even less for three. And even if in the current situation it was more two and a half than three really, it was a wonder that none of them had fallen off. And another wonder that the brat had managed to pull that off without waking Sanji, considering the mess he'd made of trying to climb in the hammock the very first day. Maybe he was learning to use his power faster than they thought.

He did his best to ignore the looks as he tried to disentangle himself from the kids' hold without waking either of them, but given the limited space he had to do that in, it soon proved to be impossible, and soon he had a noisy, hungry Luffy and a sullen but just as hungry Zoro to deal with.

"Ace always lets me sleep with him," Luffy explained when asked, between enthusiastic mouthfuls. Nami-san nodded knowingly. "It makes sense," she said. "I used to sneak in Nojiko's bed all the time."

It was probably a sibling thing, Sanji decided. He had no memory of being separated from his parents, but definitely knew he hadn't been invited to share anyone's bed since then. At least not until he was fourteen, and then it hadn't been in the 'comfort' way, and there had been very little sleep involved.

"But why me?" he asked Luffy, and mentally smacked himself at the hint of a whine he heard in his own voice. What did it matter, really, when he already had one brat climbing in his hammock almost every night?

"Zoro was already sleeping with you, so I thought you wouldn't mind," Luffy said like it was obvious. From the amused smile on Nami-san's lush lips and the snort that escaped Usopp despite his best efforts to look cool and unfazed, Sanji knew he hadn't been the only one to hear how wrong that had sounded. He passed on the implication that he was some sort of manslut. A six-year-old Luffy couldn't possibly have meant it like that.

Though he shouldn't put it past him. Luffy had a tendency to be extremely sly at the worst of times.

But of course, his saving grace would be that he had never, in fact, slept with Zoro in that way, and if asked the swordsman would deny it a lot more heatedly than Sanji himself would.

"I'm afraid it's not really comfortable, or safe, with three people in the same hammock," Robin-chan contemplated. Sanji would have mentally blessed her to high heavens for taking his comfort in consideration if he hadn't suspected that she, as well, was a bit too amused by Luffy's phrasing. What was it with the perverted mentality around there anyway? If asked he would be quite willing to say that yes, he had entertained adult thoughts about some of his male crewmates, but this was sick. Zoro and Luffy were kids. The thought should never have crossed his mind. Or anyone else's, at that.

"But why does Sanji take Zoro and not me?" Luffy protested, pouting. "It's not fair!"

Usopp snorted louder than before. Nami-san chuckled. Robin-chan hid something that looked suspiciously like a smirk behind her graceful hand. Chopper looked at each of them in turn, obviously wanting to get the joke. Sanji felt the promise of a headache hiding just behind the next sexually slanted sentence.

"If..." Chopper started, slightly hesitant. "If you want to sleep with me, I don't mind."

This time there was no hint of amusement from anyone. Sanji rather felt there was some preferential treatment going on, but was distracted from his thoughts about the unfairness of it all as Luffy squealed.

"Yay!" he said with a huge grin. "Chopper is fluffy!"

"Don't think you're pleasing me, brat! I don't care about your opinion!" Chopper predictably protested, blushing and squirming. Sanji felt somewhat happy for him. From what he knew of Chopper's history, the little reindeer had probably never got to go to sleep with someone cuddling him.

Not that falling asleep next to someone meant there was cuddling going on. But Luffy was definitely the cuddling type. As opposed to... other people.

"And thus Zoro gets Sanji all to himself," Usopp concluded, smirking widely.

Sanji kicked him.