Sorry it took so long. I had to study for my finales but they're finally over and it's summer vacation. I'll have more time to write. Thank you all who reviewed.

Chapter 3

Sanji finished his lunch wondering if there was a place he could train here. Obviously there was because there was a muscle headed idiot here. There was no way he was going to ask Zoro though.

"Marco," he called.

"What?" the younger man jumped as the older appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Is there somewhere I can stretch my legs?" Sanji lit a cigarette.

"Your father doesn't want you to continue with your exercises," Marco stated.

"I'm not exactly doing what my father wants at the moment, am I?" he smiled slyly.

Without another word Marco turned and led Sanji to a nice dojo. There was no grass growing around the building and there were wooden poles sticking out of the ground. They were used for punching and would be perfect for him to kick.

"Thanks, you can go enjoy yourself now." When the only response he got was a glare he tried again, "I don't like you always watching me."

"It's the only way to make sure you don't get into trouble," Marco leaned against a pole.

"I'm not a child and I don't get into trouble," Sanji dropped his cigarette and smothered it with his shoe.

"You were going to fight Prince Zoro and if that isn't enough you were going to use your legs against his swords," the older man said with deadly calm.

"I could have beaten him," he lit another cancer stick.

"You didn't see him fight," Marco left the pole to stand over Sanji. "He's good and I'm not excited to see what he does to you after your battle."

"What if I promise not to fight him," Sanji stated suddenly.

"What do you mean?" he backed up.

"If you give me time to myself every day I won't fight with Zoro."

"You won't fight with anyone. Not even if it's just sparring," Marco demanded.

"Fine!" He hated when he was watched. Especially if it was Marco.

Said man turned and walked away. He didn't think that was going to work. Maybe he hated watching the prince and had something better to do. Or someone. Marco liking someone enough to let them that close to him was funny. It would also never happen.

Not wanting to waste any more time Sanji began kicking one of the poles. Thankfully they were sturdy. He started off with small moves and did more complicated ones as time passed.

"Fancy footwork," Ace sat on the pole next to Sanji. "Need a sparring buddy?"

Without stopping the blonde answered. "I'm not allowed," annoyance dripped from his voice.

"I thought Marco was your servant," the freckled boy laughed.

"A very protective and scary servant," Sanji shuddered and noticed Ace do the same. "Did he do something to you?"

"He didn't tell you?" the shirtless man asked.

Sanji stopped and looked at the teen, "No."

Ace explained what happened during their encounters but left off why he provoked the terrifying blonde. Halfway through the tale Sanji's mouth was open so wide that his cigarette fell to the floor. Marco did all those things to this young man? Why? He had never heard about the man acting like this. Did he like him? That would make him gay. That would actually explain a lot.

"Thanks for the blackmail material," Sanji smirked. "I'm going to have some fun tonight."

"Be careful," Ace warned.

"He would never hurt me," the blonde started confidently. He began hitting the pole again. "Though if I were you I would be cautious around him."

"Cautious around whom?" Zoro walked up with his arms folded.

"None of your business, marimo," Sanji stopped to face him. "And my guardians back."

Marco stood extremely close to his charge, "We have important matters to discuss. Let's go," he grabbed the blonde prince's hand and dragged him to their room. There he locked the door and began passing. Sanji opened a window to sit on the ledge and smoke a cigarette.

"What's wrong now?" the prince was tired of Marco. He felt a little guilt with this thought.

"'What's wrong now?'" Marco was more annoyed than usual. "'What's wrong now?' I don't know. Maybe the runaway prince who never listens to me might get caught. Maybe peace will never happen between these two kingdoms. Worse yet there might be war if he's discovered. I've been trying to keep calm about this situation and thinking about loopholes for the future while you play. These are your problems too. The only reason we are still here is because I know you will cause a scene if I try to make you leave."

"We won't get caught," Sanji tried to reassure the captain.

"Do you realize the repercussions this will have?" he shouted. Before continuing he had to visibly relax so he wouldn't yell again. "When you go back to become king you will never be able to visit Mihawk or anyone else here in person without blowing your cover. It will look like we were spying and war will follow." Marco was beginning to get a headache. "I received news from one of the stable boys that there's a rumor that one of Zeff's children are missing. If he gives a description we are toast."

Sanji smashed the butt of his cigarette into the windowsill. "Ok I didn't think of those things," he stated slowly, "Do you want us to go back?" War was not part of his master plan when he would become king. It might even ruin things.

"Not yet," Marco scratched his head. "Just be careful when you're around Zoro and Ace. Or anyone for that matter. We'll leave when I know they won't follow." With that he was gone.

How long did Sanji have left here? He hoped it would be awhile but at the same time he wanted to return. He missed his dear sisters and it was almost physically painful to be away from them. Did they miss him? Were they crying? Or did they know he left on his own and are mad at his selfishness?

Back to the dojo right after the blondes disappeared

"Let's eavesdrop on them to see what's up," Ace suggested.

"Can you be quiet enough for that?" Zoro lead the other man to the cook's room.

"At least I don't get lost," Ace lead the swordsman in the right direction to their destination. They got there in time to hear yelling. Something about repercussions. They listened intently but only caught bits of the conversation. They heard spying, a missing person, their plans for leaving, and being careful around Zoro and Ace. They barely had time to hide when Marco walked out. When they were sure the servant wasn't coming back they peaked inside the room to see Sanji sitting on the windowsill staring at the mountains morosely.

Ace walked in and sat on the bed then cleared his throat for the blonde's attention. When Sanji turned to him Ace opened his mouth to speak but he fell backwards onto the bed. Confused and a bit concerned he walked over to the bed. The black haired man was snoring. He fell asleep? Ace sat up and began speaking as if nothing happened, "What did the old man want?"

"Did you just fall asleep?" Sanji demanded.

"Narcolepsy," he replied. "Want to have some fun?"

"What do you mean?" he was having trouble keeping up with Ace.

"Let's mess with Marco," he smiled evilly.

Sanji reciprocated the smile, "What do you have in mind?"

"Oi," Zoro complained. "Don't forget about me."

The three men devised a devious plan. Though most of it was just Sanji and Zoro arguing over who did what. Ace had to keep them from fighting.

At dinner

Somehow Sanji convinced Marco it was a good idea to eat with everyone else in the dining hall. They sat across from each other and Ace sat next to Marco. In the end it was deemed Zoro not be involved in the action. Mainly because he didn't want to be but he was staring. If he kept it up Marco was going to get suspicious. The king was conveniently absent.

Sanji removed one of his shoes and seductively rubbed his foot up and down the older man's leg. Marco tensed and looked at Sanji who ate like nothing was wrong. He then looked at everyone else. When his eyes landed on Ace he jerked. The teen had one hand under the table and stared right back at Marco.

Having had enough Marco stood thanked Sanji for the meal and left. Without missing a beat Ace followed. The blonde prince couldn't help snickering as he pictured the older man's face before he left. He was going to get an earful tonight. The chef looked at Zoro who was also laughing and they smiled at each other before realizing where they were and looked away.

Sanji's eyes landed on Robin who seemed to be sneaking glances at a blue haired man. He looked back and whenever their eyes met they looked away blushing. Nobody else seemed to notice the obvious display. He shrugged, they probably already knew.

Though he didn't know names he had heard why the people at this table were important. Zoro and Robin were the king's children. The reindeer was a doctor, the blue haired man fixed anything and made new things, the skeleton was a musician, the long nosed man invented interesting things, and Ace and his little brother Luffy were guards. Apparently they were the strongest fighters in this kingdom.

Zoro and Sanji were the last to leave the room for the same reason. They wanted to speak to each other.

"Was it part of the plan for Ace to chase after Marco?" Sanji asked lighting a cigarette.

"I was going to ask the same thing," Zoro groaned. "Now what?"

"I have a bad feeling about going after them," the blonde shivered.

"Ace can take care of himself," the swordsman agreed. "What should we do now?"

"I don't know," the cook puffed out smoke. "Argue. Don't we still hate each other or something?"

"I don't remember why," the marimo grunted.

Sanji thought for a moment. "It was umm, it was a reason."

Zoro snorted, "I didn't know there was reason."

"Shut up idiot," Sanji turned in another direction. "I'm going to sleep."

He opened the door to an empty room. He thanked whatever god there was and got ready for bed. Just as he was about to lay down Marco walked in. His mind seemed to be on other things because he said nothing to the prince. He went straight to his bed and fell asleep. Sanji followed suit before the older man woke and noticed him.

Zoro's room

Zoro paced the room as he sorted through his thoughts. He and Ace talked while Sanji was making dinner. He could be a spy but what was with the missing child? Were they looking for someone? Did they find them and now wanted to leave? If they have to be careful around him and Ace does that mean they kidnapped someone? Too many scenarios to guess. He will have to get closer to either the cook or Marco….. He would have to get closer to the cook. Make him trust the swordsman then find out who he really is and get rid of him if need be. Tomorrow he would start his new plan.

Early in the Morning the next day in Sanji's room

"Fooooooooooooood!" yelled a stretchy ball of energy. Luffy jumped on Sanji with each word, "Sanji, I want food! Make me meat!"

"Get off of me," said cook kicked him across the room. "It's too early to eat." The sun had barely risen. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I got hungry," he shrugged and ran back to the bed.

Sanji sighed, got up, and dressed. He looked to see Luffy had woken Marco but the man was nowhere to be seen. What time does he get up? They made their way to the kitchen. When they got there everyone greeted Luffy but grew quiet when they saw Sanji walk in behind him. Sanji rubbed the sleep from his eyes and began gathering pans and heating them. The entire dinner gang was there except for the king and Ace. The blonde cook normally didn't make breakfast so they were unused to him being there.

"So you went to wake up the cook, Luffy," Zoro said. "Next time you should warn him the night before that you're going to wake him up."

Strange that seemed like a nice thing to say. Sanji quickly made and served eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and orange juice for the hungry people. The entire time Luffy tried to eat everything while he made it. With Zoro's help he was able to fend off the hungry boy and make sure everyone ate. Another nice thing from Zoro? Maybe he's just protecting his food.

"Yohohoho," sang the skeleton. "I'm Brook. I've been meaning to compliment you on your cooking but I haven't been able to talk to you."

"Super!" exclaimed the blue haired man. "I'm Franky, nice to meet you bro."

"I'm the great warrior, Usopp," stated the long nose crossing his arms.

"I'm Chopper," the little reindeer smiled shyly.

The cook smiled and replied, "I'm Sanji and it's nice to finally meet you." He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and took out his last one. This was the last box he had brought. Later he would tell Marco he needed more.

"I'm going to the market soon bro," Franky pointed at his empty box, "You can come with me to buy more. In fact we're all going."

Sanji blinked in surprise. He was used to being left alone or waited on hand and foot. It felt nice to be invited to do something. He lit his last stick before saying, "Thanks I would love to. I haven't been out in town without Marco in a while."

"Who says I'm not going?" Marco walked in with Ace at his heels.

"Because you're staying with me," Ace grabbed his hand. "It'll be fun just you and me."

"No," was all the guard said to him. "I'll get you some more why don't you stay here with Ace."

"I'm going," Sanji stated, "Without you."

"How are you going to do that?" genuine curiosity was on his face.

The young prince thought a moment before grating, "It's a command and don't bother fighting me on it. You know how much I hate ordering people." Not even Marco could forgo a command from a prince. As much as he wanted to.

Teeth clenched he replied, "Fine but don't expect me to get you out of trouble." It was a bluff and a very bad one at that.

After glaring at each other for some time Ace said, "Wow, tense moment. Let's go plan what we're going to do when they leave." He tried to pull Marco with him but the blonde refused.

"Leave me alone!" he snapped before storming out.

Guilt swam through Sanji at the thought of what he just did. He would have to apologize for his stupidity. He was going to chase after the older man but a strong hand stopped him.

"Come on you deserve some freedom," Zoro smiled at him.

Why was Zoro being so kind to him? It didn't make any sense. Sanji would be an idiot for picking a stranger over his protector though. He pulled away giving Zoro a confused look before leaving.

"That was weird," Ace sounded disappointed. "Do you think they're sleeping together?"

The very thought made Zoro want to separate them. It pissed him off that the cook would choose someone else over him. But, why? Why did he feel so possessive? Perhaps Sanji would still join them when they went to town.

Everyone stared at the distracted swordsman. They couldn't believe the look on his face. It was the look of longing. Robin and Franky often exchanged the same look when no one was watching. That's when she decided to help her younger brother win over the other man. Despite the trouble after.

Later In Town

Sanji had managed to calm Marco down by agreeing to let him come along. Had he known Marco would walk on his heels the entire time he would have left the older man at the castle. He was just looking at the different kinds of fish but Marco had to breathe down his neck. Not to mention Ace glaring at him or the other's staring.

"Hey Marco," Sanji called, "Can you grab me a bag of cigarettes? I was going to get them earlier but there were some tough looking guys out front."

"Of course," the guard smiled and rubbed his head like he was a child, "Thanks for letting me know." Then he was off.

Sanji sighed in relief. He shook Marco off for at least a few minutes.

Zoro approached him, "Finally, don't you get tired of him always being around."

"Of course I do but he's…" Sanji trailed off. Marco's always been there, he finished in his head. Marco was the one to find him and take him to Zeff. The king then told Sanji that he would work in the kitchen when they got to the palace. They boarded the ship but there was a horrible storm. Zeff lost his foot to save Sanji and then after a month on some rock Marco found them. Now that Sanji thought about it Marco was always watching and making sure that he didn't get in to or to get him out of trouble.

"But he's what?" Zoro asked drawing Sanji from his thoughts.

He shook his head, "Nothing, it doesn't matter."

The swordsman rolled his eyes, "Let's see if we can lose him."

Sanji laughed so loudly everyone in the area turned to look at them. "He's a top notch guard. What makes you think we can lose him? Probably no one better."

"I thought he was your servant?" Luffy asked innocently

The blonde froze at his obvious mistake. Shit, why did he say that? Marco was going to kill him. "He's both," Sanji tried to explain, "I needed a servant who could protect me." Even to him it sounded like a lie. He could such an idiot sometimes.

"Why do you need to be protected?" Chopper struggled to hold all his stuff.

The cook was not a good liar but if he didn't answer it might be worse, "When you're the best you have to be careful."

"That's true," Usopp conceded. "It's why we go out as a group instead of alone."

Zoro didn't look convinced, "What exactly is Marco to you? Sometimes you treat him as a hired hand others it seems like it's a lot more."

"Maybe it is," Sanji snapped. "Either way it's none of your business." He stormed off.

"I'm not done with you yet, cook," Zoro chased him. Robin stopped the others from following. She knew that this moment will be big for them. Making sure no one was looking she glanced at Franky who was engaged in argument with Usopp.

Zoro was lucky. When he became king he could have Sanji but she would have to ask someone for her love and that was something she would never do. As much as she wanted him she had duties that she could not ignore and the problems with other people would have with Franky would distract her. Sanji is a gentleman and no one would object to him. Even if he's not royalty.

"Where's Sanji?" Marco sighed in exhaustion. That boy was hard to keep up with.

Ace saw his chance to mess with the older blonde, "They went off to do naughty things."

Ha was completely ignored as Marco turned in the direction the two princes had gone. No one was sure as to how he knew they went that way. Ace followed him at his own expanse.

Back to the two stupid princes

"Sanji what the hell are you going?" Zoro yelled.

"Where ever the fuck I want," he replied defiantly. "Why are you following me?"

The marimo finally caught up and pulled the cook into a secluded alley. After making sure no one could hear them he said, "Who are you and why are you here?"

Sanji looked at him as if he was an idiot, "I'm Sanji and you dragged me to this alley."

"You know what I mean," Zoro growled and shoved him into a wall. "Why did you come to the castle?"

"Because the king asked me to," Sanji kicked him but with the limited space he knew it didn't hurt. "If he didn't I would be working in some other restaurant."

Zoro pinned the blonde's shoulders against the wall. He was too close for the others kicks to work. When they both calmed down he spoke, "You said before that you had to return to your father and sisters. Why did you leave them?" Curiosity lit up the swordsman's face.

Why did he leave? "Because I'm a selfish bastard. I wanted a taste of freedom again before being caged the rest of my life."

"Again?"

"I was adopted but that doesn't matter," Sanji felt uncomfortable with the sudden closeness. "Get off of me," he shoved the stronger man.

Zoro didn't budge, "Does it bother you?" he whispered into the cook's ear.

Before Sanji could reply the swordsman nipped his neck. Zoro pushed the collar of his shirt away to suck on his shoulder. The chef was trying not to react to the other's ministrations. The marimo moved his hand between them to stroke Sanji's cock through his clothes. From the hardness he found he knew the cook was enjoying it. He felt himself react as well.

Sanji began panting but held back his moans. His fingers dug into the stronger man's shoulders.

"Sanji!" they heard in the distance.

Zoro decided that he liked his face so he pulled away. The blonde glared at him before fixing his collar. The swordsman smirked when he saw the red mark on his pale skin.

Sanji raised his leg to kick Zoro but Marco appeared and he stopped himself so he wouldn't have to deal with his guard later. No way was he telling the older man or anyone for that matter what happened.

Both were ready to see the wraith of Marco but he looked scared. He was pale and sweat rolled down his skin. His face was a mixture of confusion and caution. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"It doesn't concern you," Marco said briskly. "We must return to the castle."

Ace came from the same area as Marco, "Aw, you found them. Guess my fun is over."

Sanji wanted to laugh at the look the two exchanged. One with a broad grin and the other with a weary stare. It was interesting to watch the usually calm man nervous. He had never seen him give off any negative emotion.

Ace thought he could have a little more fun and wrapped his arms around Marco's waist. "Let go!" he demanded.

"I don't want to," Ace pouted like a child. "I like you too much."

Sanji burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself. It was too hilarious.

Marco glared at him. "I'm glad you're enjoying this," he said sarcastically.

When he was able to speak Sanji asked, "Could you leave my servant alone, Ace? He's getting cranky."

"Fine," he released the older man. "Sanji won't always be around to save you."

"I regret encouraging you," he replied flatly. "I still have to talk to you," he informed his charge. "It's about our trip home. An urgent matter has arisen and we need to leave sooner than I thought."

"What happened?" he asked worried. What if something bad happened to his sisters? He would never forgive himself.

"Your father's looking for you," Marco looked at Ace and Zoro. That meant he wasn't telling Sanji the whole truth. "If he finds you before we return the hell we have to pay as it is will triply."

What lengths will Zeff go to find him? Posters? Wanted signs? Rewards? That stupid old geezer would look himself just so he could be the first to kick the shit out of his son. At least he knew what it was like to be free again. He had known he would return and not for the crown either. But for his lovely sisters. Who deserved happiness. That's what he planned anyway.

This chapter was hard to write. I had writers block every time I tried. I went off track in the beginning but I enjoyed writing it until I thought up something good for the plot. The next chapter will hopefully not take this long. Again sorry for the delay. If you find plot holes let me know I went through this kind of fast because of how long it's been sense the last chapter.