Chapter Nine
The morning sun peeks into the windows of the crow's nest, waking up a sore blond and only one swordsman. Law looks like he never went to bed as he stares out the window to glare out at the direction of the upcoming island. The countdown is ticking, with only two days left until they reach Dressrosa, and as the day nears, the swordsman besides him becomes more tense and closed off.
"It's going to be ok, Law. We'll succeed on this plan of yours," Sanji whispers reassuringly.
"I hope you're right, Blackleg-Ya," Law says with a sigh, putting an arm around the blond next to him.
The duo stands there in a comfortable silence until the obnoxious whining of the other captain ruins the peace.
"Oi, Sanji! I'm hungry~! Meeeeaaaaattttt~~!"
Sanji releases a soft sigh before heading down to the galley to make a start on breakfast.
Zoro wakes up shortly afterwards, putting on his pants but staying shirtless, as he joins the other swordsman in looking out of the window, prompting Law to speak.
"Roronoa-Ya," the dark swordsman says nonchalantly, "Blackleg-Ya will be mine."
"Tch, no he won't. And it's too early for your bullshit," Zoro says with a yawn then proceeds to climb out of the crow's nest.
Chopper and Usopp are already running around the deck, playing one of their games with Luffy, in order to distract their captain from the kitchen while Sanji makes breakfast.
The swordsman makes his way into the kitchen, and he nods in greeting to Robin who's sipping on her first morning cup of coffee, then he walks up behind Sanji and wraps his arms around the blonde's waist.
"I'm guessing the three of you had fun last night."
The swordsman and the cook both still at Robin's words.
"Y-Yeah, we did Robin-Chwan. Would you like some fruit with your pancakes?" Sanji asks, even though he knows her answer, he's just trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"Just blueberries please cook-san. I hope you both know what you're getting yourself into."
"We know, and we don't need you meddling."
"Oi don't talk to Robin-Chwan like that," Sanji scolds, as he elbows Zoro's chest roughly.
The green-haired man tuts in annoyance, rolling his remaining eye, then takes a seat at the kitchen table with their archaeologist. The cook sighs softly to himself as he resumes making breakfast for his nakama and their guests. Law eventually joins them silently and barely eats anything which boils Sanji's blood with rage since the dark swordsman barely eats to begin with. After breakfast and the usual cleanup process, the cook decides to take a shower in the hope to get his thoughts clear. He couldn't stop thinking about the two swordsmen and about their fun in the crow's nest last night. Sanji knows in his heart who he wants to be with, but his mind contradicts him because of his feelings for the other man.
Sanji locks himself in the bathroom before removing his suit, neatly folding his clothes and placing them aside. Once he steps into the shower and turns it on, he releases a blissful sigh of relief. The first drop hits his creamy pale skin once the faucet is turned on. He starts to remember what had happened just now, it all seemed clear. The warm droplets form steam as he stands there without any movement; the thoughts of Zoro and Law are swirling in his head the entire time. The good and bad times he's had with the two swordsman reminding him how much harder it will be to choose. Steam shortly clouds the shower while the water washes the dirt away, and he grabs the soap to finish the job himself. Once he finds himself completely clean, Sanji shuts off the shower before getting out and drying himself off with a towel, then wraps it around his waist. Sneaking into the boys' room, he sighs to himself as he puts on another suit. I love both of them, but I think I love Zoro more…I have to know for sure before choosing...
As the cook pats down his suit and straightens his tie, Law walks in through the door.
"Blackleg-Ya, if it's okay with you, I would like to spend some time alone with you before we reach our next destination."
"Hm? Sure. But that'll be pretty difficult, especially on a ship with a crew like this."
"I understand that, but I would at least like to try."
"Ok…. Well, it's my turn to feed the fish in aquarium today, after lunch. You can join me if you like. Can you wait until then?"
"Of course I can. I'll be there."
Law closes the gap between them and kisses Sanji softly. The blond reciprocates before slowly pulling away and going back to the galley. The display in front of Sanji seems pretty similar except Yume's in the kitchen reading a book while drinking coffee. The assassin seems bothered by something as she reads in peace, but for once the cook doesn't swoon over her and goes straight to the kitchen area to start planning what to make the crew for lunch.
"How can you act so calm and unaffected by what you're doing?"
"Huh, Yume-Chwan?" Sanji turns around to face the assassin who is still seated at the table and has now placed her book aside. Her eyes seem cold as she looks at up him, and the blond is unsure of what to think of this sudden change of demeanour directed towards him.
"One minute you're with Zoro, and then the next you're with Law as if what just happened between you and Zoro never happened. I know this is kind of my fault as I told you to get closer to them, but the more that I think about it, the more it just seems like you're using them. They don't deserve this."
"I-I know that Yume-chwan I-"
"Do you? Because to me it already seems like you've made up your mind and that you've known for a while, and yet you still go from one to the other, giving one of them hope even though they know that if you choose them, it won't last. I've been watching for a while now, and their feelings for you have only grown stronger, even though I can tell that he didn't really want them too. And HE doesn't deserve to be messed around. So why don't you do us all a favour and put him out of his misery. He'd be better off with someone else. Someone who isn't weighing up their options."
Sanji stands there in shock as Yume picks up her book and leaves the kitchen without saying another word. He becomes racked with guilt when he realizes that the assassin is right. All he has done is mess with Zoro and Law, even if he'd never intentionally planned to, and made it harder for the both of them.
He has no right to be feeling sorry for himself or act as if he's still trying to decide, because it's been obvious from the start. A part of him has always known and he has a vague idea as to why Yume seems to be so invested in it all, but that is the least of his worries right now. He resolves that he has to do the right thing, and he's going to do that today.