Thanks to Devlinn Reiko, Crazy Marimo, EeeveeTofu, La Lolita and Sei Hishida for the R&R's, all are muchly appreciated! Not to forget those who have added this to their story alerts - thanks to you :3 And finally to those who are lurker-readers (I know you're out there!) Thanks for reading too. :)

Here's the next bit. Enjoy :P

P.s - sorry about the odd line, the divider doesn't seem to be working :S

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I can't believe he just said that.

"God marimo, are you going to at least attempt to do this differently or am I going to have to do this for you?" It rings in my ears over and over again.

That sentence alone made my trousers another size too small, and when he said "I'll help you out, but only if you're inclined. I can't give you any more than that Zoro." I damn near black out.

Did he have any idea of what he was offering?

Seriously, the concept of Sanji's hands on me...or god forbid that mouth. I choke in a really unmanly way, but to my relief Sanji chooses to ignore it in favour of watching me with...was that concern? Couldn't be, after all Sanji's brand of concern for me is signed with a sharp kick to my ribs. I then slide ungracefully off of the side of the tub and onto my arse. Great, as if my testicles hadn't suffered enough over the past few days.

All I can do is stare at the idiot who's staring at me expectantly. It takes a few moments to register through the haze of pleasure and pain that he's waiting for an answer to The Offer.

In any other place, at any other time I may have taken him up on that offer or maybe even refused it.

However, I know my judgement is clouded, and I suspect he knows it too, because he shakes his head and mumbles something, but I can't hear it, the heady rush of blood pulsing in my ears drowns out any words he may or may not have said. Even so I feel relief as he fumbles with a cigarette, tucks it behind his ear and makes his way out of the bathroom with a brief wave. I can't help but lean back and wonder just what would he have done had he stayed.

The click of the door closing behind him on his way out relaxes me somewhat and I use the opportunity to loosen my trousers and pull out my dick. It comes as no surprise that I'm half wet already. It smears against my hands as I wrap a cautious hand around myself and start again, but this time I take it slower than usual. The bastard did say it worked for him afterall. A gentle touch, instead of my usual firm grip and a slow caress and suddenly I wonder what his hands would look like wrapped around my cock.

I tip my head back against the rim of the tub and bite back all the sounds I want to make, in case he's still outside. Not that he would be, but still, it'd be awkward if Luffy or anyone else were in earshot. I strangle another moan, slaying it before it has the chance to sound and realise that perhaps he was right...or maybe he wasn't, but whatever evaded me for the past few days, or maybe even weeks, that grasped me again was not by my own hands, but by the thought of his...long and slender...cool and steady.

"Fuck." I mutter, the moment I get my breath back.

As I sit there in the bathroom it occurs to me that the shit cook never actually mentioned women at all in reference to his 'exploits'. He'd probably launch into a lecture about his ridiculous kishido and how he was a gentleman and as such would never kiss and tell. My muscles protest as I shift myself into a more comfortable position. Though I feel more relaxed than I have felt in a while I turn my thoughts to the the cook.

Sanji had offered to help me out, sexually. And for someone as girl-crazy as he was to offer such a thing was unprecedented, therefore leaving me with one of several conclusions.

The first was that Sanji, whilst declaring to the world his overbearing and rather obsessive preference for women, was actually inclined to bed either men or women. It was just that he prefered women, obviously. So door number one leaned towards Sanji being bisexual, or incredibly indecisive, of which the latter was much more probable than the former. I chuckle softly and stretch my legs out, working out the kinks in the muscles carefully.

The second equally intriguing thought that crossed my mind was the maybe Sanji was gay. The smile that suddenly crosses my face is usually the one that is the last thing that my opponents see as I cut them down. It actually makes sense because his freakish flirtations with the opposite sex may just be merely a guise to cover for his less conventional tastes, or maybe even to simply keep women away. That certainly sounded like a sound conclusion, because there was certainly enough evidence of Sanji repelling and pissing off more women than he attracted.

Whilst amusing I doubt this one, considering that I'd never actually seen the cook shy away from the prospect of a leer and I'd been present for the times, however few and far between they were, of him managing to cop a feel - or at least I'd heard the resulting slap.

So that left a third suspicion that tickles the edge of my thoughts like a sinful whisper in a bar just before closing time.

What if it was just me?

Or was it the bonds of Nakama perhaps? I ask myself as the previous thought made me frown in confusion. There was no reason to say that I was the only one who'd asked for the cooks help, and he certainly knew what he was talking about, even if it did annoy me somewhat to admit. He wasn't around though, so it wasn't as if he could rub it in my face. However, for as much as Sanji may have known it wasn't as if the guy was dropping his trousers for a demonstration, but why did that bother me? Doubt nags at me. It wasn't a feeling I was comfortable with, nor familiar.

But what if it was just me? I snort in irritation. Damn question.

"Heh" I chuckle softly, remembering the old jibe. I shift back to my other trail of thought.

Usopp has a sweetheart, and from what I know of him he's far too shy to ask advice on anything of that sort from Sanji of all people. Besides, he has his lady-love, Miss Kaya back home waiting for him. So he was a definate no.

And Luffy? No way. I'm not going to, nor will I ever wonder about my captains sex life, existent or not. There are somethings a first mate knows to leave well enough alone. That was two out.

Franky? Robin has his balls covered apparently. And Chopper was just a kid in my eyes. True he had probably hit puberty, but without actually outright asking I doubt any light would be shed on that subject. Anyways, the doctor blushes and flusters over something as small as a kiss.

Brooke? If he did have any inclinations or desires then those were no longer an option for the poor bastard. Though he was all bones there was no chance of a boner there. I shouldn't grin, but I'm just as bad as the rest of them when it concerns bad jokes.

So it comes back to me.

What does Sanji want, if, in fact, he actually sees me as a potential bed-partner? It's making my head spin just thinking about it.

A shower might clear my head. The taps are easily used - 'thanks Franky' - because I think if they were more complex than switch on/off I'd be incapable of operating it, that's how drained I feel right now. But in a good way. The hot water eases some of the slight cramping in my calves from the position I'd been sat in. A few minutes of standing in that hot stream of water clears my head enough not to reach for the cooks fancy weird smelling shit that he uses to the good old fashioned soap.

I clean up quickly, more out of habit than out of necessity, scrubbing off the sweat, come and the rest of the dirt I had picked up today. The water is still running hot, where the shower in the Merry would have either gone completely, ball shatteringly cold, or dried up completely, so I decide to indulge myself and let the heat seep into my muscles. As the warmth loosens my muscles and I get accustomed to it I turn up the heat more, and find myself thinking of the damn cook again, albeit in a different context.

The rise in temperature brings sharply to my mind Sanji's Diable Jambe. A heat that appeared to go past skin, into the very depths of Sanji's mucles, probably even to the bone, boiling his very blood. Calves alight with flame and muscles tight and tense, how does he stand it? I haven't seen the cook sporting any burns though, and it wasn't as if the cooks trousers were burnt or frayed were they? I frown. It was brought about by extreme friction, but even then that would have left some mark on the cooks flesh. Could I use a 36 pound cannon blast to quench it? Or does it have to be drawn out and into something less forceful and more elemental perhaps. What if my swordsmanship alone can't counter it? I'd need to experiment with my surroundings, to see if i could find a way to beat it. I smirk widely. Kuina had set me on this path, Luffy had given me the best possible route to achieve it, maybe Sanji was one I could strengthen my blade with, so that when the time came for me to face Mihawk, I would finally be worthy of the title of greatest.

The sound of the soap dropping interrupts me from my thoughts and I snatch it mid-fall, mindful to put it back in the soap holder. I return to the cook again. I'll have to see if I can push him hard enough to use it with me when we spar tomorrow. It's a simple case of winding him up enough to get him to use that technique, even if it's just once.

It's something that I'd like to know how to counter without damaging my blades and again I contemplate how to fight the Diable Jambe. The heat would play hell with the metal if I were to block a shot like that. So it was a case of finding a technique...or maybe even a simple solution to the problem. Tipping my neck back I realize that I'm standing in the solution to my problem. It's running down me and pooling at my feet - 'what the fuck!?' - I cringe as I realize that yet again hair is blocking the plughole, on closer inspection it's long, black and curly hair, mixed with what looks suspiciously like brown fur.

Sniffing in disgust I grab the nearest toothbrush and notice with a huge smirk that I've just found one way to start getting the cook sufficiently pissed off tomorrow.

As I dig out the crap with the bastard's toothbrush I smile.

Tomorrow will be one hell of a bust up.