So, this time, by pure chance, several of the moods herein are rather thoughtful and not particularly happy, which coincides well with…recent events in the manga. That being said, spoilers abound, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get these out. Hope everyone enjoys regardless!

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

100 Moods

Set Seven: Love to Optimisic

Mood: Love

Rating: PG

Pairing: Sanji/Usopp friendship, implied ZoSan

Word Count: 500

"Okay, time for a game!"

"A game! A game!"

"Mah, I'm boored!"

"That's why we're playing a game, you idiot!"

"Ow! Usopp, Nami hit me!"

"Quiet, quiet!" Usopp threw his hands up. "Now. We're a crew, so we deserve to find out all we can about each other. So here's the question, and you have to answer truthfully: what do you love the most?"

And he thought, after the fact, that the answers really didn't surprise him, because it went something like this.

"Food!!!"

"Money!"

"The Sunny!"

"Yo-ho?"

"Being smarter than that Marimo over there."

"Oi! At least I don't look like a girl!"

"At least I have a brain!"

"Eyebrow-cook!"

"Moss-head!"

"Shut it, you two! Chopper, what about you?"

"Candy floss!"

"Any sort of rare artefact."

"And that's that. And we all know Usopp's going to say Kaya, so I guess we're done. Alright, I'm checking the Log Pose," Nami stood up and left, leaving Usopp wondering, as he often did in these situations, why he tried to come up with bonding exercises in the first place.

Everybody went off to do their own thing while Usopp sulked by the railing, jumping when Sanji slid in next to him – how the other man could be completely silent with those heavy-soled shoes he'd never know.

"Look, I appreciate what you've been trying to do, but you've gotta understand that most of their version of 'team bonding' is beating each other up," Sanji jabbed his cigarette toward Zoro and Luffy, who were arguing over the last pastry on a plate Sanji had put out. "You and me? We're sensitive guys, Usopp. We can't expect anybody who thinks with their muscles and not their brain to understand us."

"But the least you could do is tell me the truth," Usopp protested.

"I did. In a roundabout way," Sanji was looked at Zoro again, and Usopp figured it out rather quickly.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I trust you can keep a secret?"

"Of course! The great Captain Usopp…"

"Save it," Sanji chuckled, leaning casually on the railing. He flicked a few ashes into the sea before slinging an arm around Usopp's shoulders. "Love's a fickle thing, Usopp. If you have it, you can't let go of it. I profess to love almost every woman I meet, but it's entirely superficial. Real love is much messier and not close to perfect, at least with me. But keep hold of it, alright?" he pulled Usopp in, resting his chin on the teen's curly hair.

"Yeah. Okay," Usopp agreed, somewhat touched at this rare show of friendship and affection from the normally aloof cook.

"Saaaanjiiii! Foooooddd!"

"Shut up! I just gave you some!" Sanji barked, refusing to acknowledge Luffy any farther. "Well, I guess duty calls. But look, you ever need something, you come talk to me. Don't address it to the group, because you won't get the answers you're looking for. That a deal?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Sanji."

"Anytime," Sanji gave him a quick smile before walking away.

Mood: Melancholy

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Law/Kidd

Word Count: 496

Warnings: Spoilers for recent chapters.

"You don't have to go."

"That's where you're wrong."

Kidd sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe and glaring daggers at his obstinate lover. "You don't, Trafalgar."

"Mr. Kidd," Law returned, picking up his yellow shirt and shaking it out. "I may not be able to explain it to you, but believe me when I say I do have to go. I feel it."

"Leave the psychic drivel to Hawkins, alright?" Kidd moved into the room, shutting the door behind him. "We don't owe Straw-Hat anything, so why?"

"I told you, something's drawing me to him. He needs my help, I think."

"You'll probably be killed."

"I'm aware. It's not stopping me."

"Law," Kidd uses the other man's given name to get his attention, and Law turns to him in surprise, looking rather adorable with his messy, really-needing-a-new-dye-job hair and smudged kohl eyeliner. "Do you want me to come?"

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah."

"No," Law shook his head and went back to contemplating his shirt. "No, I'd never ask that of you, Mr. Kidd. Bad enough I'm putting Bepo and my crew in danger. You do what you have to and I'll catch you up."

"Do you have to go now?" Kidd changed tactics, and Law gave him a searching glance before shaking his head.

"No. Not immediately."

"Come back to bed?"

"Why, Mr. Kidd, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're going to miss me."

"Good thing you know better, then," Kidd shucked his pants and crawled under the covers, pulling Law close when the smaller man joined him. "The world is changing."

"The world's always changing." Law cleared his throat. "But things are going to be…interesting from now on, to put it mildly."

"Understatement of the age," Kidd agreed. "You'll come back?"

"What? Think I'll just abandon you?" Law smiled.

"We're enemies. We both want the same thing, and both of us can't have it. Therefore it only stands to reason…"

"Can we not talk about that?" Law turned so his back was to Kidd, staring at the wall of the ship.

"Sore spot?"

"Everything's gone to Hell. With Whitebeard dead, everything he protected that was unequivocally his is up for grabs. Other crews will move in to territories he kept safe. Pillaging, murder…rape…that's just the tip of it. Straw-Hat has something…that makes him unique. Maybe he's the only one who can save us all," Law mused.

"Never took you as the philosophical type."

"We have to look at the world first, and our own needs second. We both know none of those nobodies are going to find It, so we have time."

"And you want to stay in this illusion."

"Is that so wrong?" Law turned back and let Kidd pull him close. "An hour. That's all I can spare."

"Then we'd better make the most of it," Kidd returned with a smile that, for once, didn't look menacing.

And somehow, Law found it in himself to smile back.

Mood: Mischievous

Rating: R

Pairing: ZoSan

Word Count: 481

Zoro was a pretty conventional guy.

Sure, he was known to take absurd risks in battle, and most of what he did on a regular basis would get a normal man killed, but when it came to taverns he was a pretty conventional guy.

That is: he believed that when he went to a tavern, the reason he was going there was to get a drink.

Sanji, however, seemed not to be a conventional guy when it came to taverns, and when he had given Zoro a rather arousing smirk and gestured to the far corner of the room, Zoro supposed he should have known better than to go with him.

But he went, which was why he now found himself slammed up against the wall with Sanji's hand down his pants, thanking his training over and over because yes, he could manage to keep a straight face throughout almost any situation, and the way they were positioned they could have just as easily been having a private conversation.

But they weren't, obviously, and Sanji was too good with his hands…good enough that Zoro honestly had to work on keeping his expression impassive, especially when Sanji was doing that and…

"Oi, love-cook. Stop it."

"Hmm…" Sanji sounded like he was considering it. "No," he firmly fisted Zoro's now prevalent arousal and flicked his thumb over the head as Zoro let out a rather sub-vocal groan in his throat. "Nobody's watching," Sanji replied in a low voice, his hand barely moving, and Zoro's legs began to shake with the overwhelming need for release coursing through him. No man…no human but Sanji could ever make him want to lose control like this, and in the middle of a crowded bar this wasn't a good thing.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it," Zoro finally hissed into his ear.

"Why, Zoro, I thought you'd be happy that I'm paying this attention to you," Sanji sounded altogether too enthusiastic. "Seeing as how we barely get time to ourselves on the ship…but apparently you think I'm just a nuisance."

"Now, hold on, I never said…"

"It was implied," Sanji withdrew his hand and gave Zoro a rather sultry smirk before wiping it on Zoro's trousers. "Oh, and you might want to do something about that before you come back to the table. Not even your little towel is covering it," he tugged at Zoro's haramaki experimentally before winking and striding off, jamming his hands in his pockets and immediately floating to Nami's side and gushing about something-or-other as she sighed good-naturedly and patted him on the arm.

Zoro honestly wished he could hit his head against the wall, but instead tried to right his clothing, realized that Sanji was correct in saying that it couldn't be covered, and stalked despondently to the washroom to finish up himself.

Sanji was so going to pay for this later.

Mood: Moody

Rating: PG

Pairing: None, just Nakama-ship

Word Count: 500

"It's that time of the month."

"Which time? Ooh, do I get something special? Is that what you mean, Usopp?"

"No, Luffy. It's that time of the month."

"So I get a present."

"No, Luffy," Usopp and Chopper said together, both wondering how the other man could have gotten this far in life and not known about a little something called PMS. But then, this was Luffy, so it wasn't entirely surprising.

"Mah, I'm confused!"

"Luffy, let me put it this way: once a month, girls go through a period where they're generally short-tempered and moody, and it's best for us to stay out their way when they get there, alright?" Usopp said. "Or else Nami's liable to hit you."

"Mah, Nami's so mean! I don't want her to hit me!"

"Then stay out of her way," Usopp and Chopper said in unison, and Luffy shrugged and rocketed himself to the opposite end of the ship, causing the two to breathe a unison sigh of relief.

000

"How are you today, Nami-swan?"

"I'm okay," Nami smiled up at Sanji, amazed as always that he seemed to know when she was feeling off and toned down his theatrics accordingly. There was just genuine care in his tone at the moment. "Cramping up a little, but I can make do."

"I've brought you some painkillers if you want," he dropped a couple of white tablets on the table beside her papers and set a glass of water carefully down. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Just keep Luffy away from me for the next few hours and I'll be fine," she told him, reaching to pat his arm. "Oh, by the way: you grew up on a ship full of men, didn't you? How do you know about…you know," she shrugged.

"Because, unlike Luffy, I have instincts. And I asked Robin-chan," he added at her disbelieving glare.

"Fair enough. Well, I appreciate it, Sanji-kun. Thank you."

"I'll go make Luffy something special to keep him out of your way," he nodded to her and headed back to the galley.

000

Unfortunately, not even the promise of food and hitting could keep Luffy away, and soon Nami had to deal with their hyperactive Captain hopping around and generally making a nuisance of himself.

Eventually, of course, he got unceremoniously punched in the head and flew across the ship, and a seething Nami shrieked at him until Sanji came running from the kitchen.

"Nami-swan! I made you tea!" he called loudly, and she immediately turned with a tired smile. "It's peppermint. It's supposed to be soothing," he explained, and she graciously took the cup.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," she replied, apparently in a good mood once more.

000

Usopp and Chopper, who had been watching the whole ordeal, shook their heads, and Usopp wisely proclaimed, "Chopper, take it from an old pro: we're never going to understand women."

Chopper nodded and they watched with horror as Luffy made his way toward Nami again.

Mood: Morose

Rating: PG

Pairing: Shanks/Mihawk

Word Count: 500

Warning: Spoilers for recent chapters

"I thought I'd find you here."

"Couldn't go far. Not that anybody down there would remember my…comments. I think they're all far too distracted," Mihawk crossed his arms and looked down on the figures of the World Government running like ants across the ruins of the battle.

"Thank you."

"For what, pray-tell?"

"What you said. If you hadn't…we could still be fighting."

"There are more important things than war. Especially a war I had no interest in partaking in in the first place. But you…"

"I have my work cut out for me if I don't want total anarchy, is that it?"

"The government is disgraced, no matter how hard they try to pretend they've won this war. You're the one every pirate is going to be looking to now. Well…those that aren't completely rogue yet," the swordsman looked darkly amused by this.

"Stop it. I don't…I don't know if I can fix this," Shanks admitted. "Whitebeard controlled so much, did so much. He deserved to be the most powerful pirate in the world, and I…I'm young. I'm rather inexperienced, all things considered. I like to have too much fun."

"Stop bringing yourself down," Mihawk admonished him. "I'm the pessimist, remember?"

"Well, if you start spouting drivel about how the world is wonderful, I'll think you're being controlled, that's for sure," Shanks replied dryly, but he was almost smiling.

"We'll make it," Mihawk said instead.

"And you'll help me?"

"I don't see how I can without my position being in danger, but if you need a Shichibukai around to make a point, I'll see what I can do," Mihawk shrugged. "I'm more loyal to you than them regardless, you know that."

"Amazing what sleeping with a man can do for loyalty."

"It goes both ways."

"And don't I know it," Shanks hooked his good arm around Mihawk's neck and hauled him in for a slow kiss. "I'm glad you're alright."

"It's me. It's not like I'd let anything happen."

"Still," Shanks didn't let go and Mihawk made no move to extract himself. "So much death and destruction. And Ace…"

"It's a shame," Mihawk agreed. "That young man had so much passion, and he was ill-fated merely because of his who his father was. And Straw-Hat…"

"Luffy's strong," Shanks said immediately. "And as resilient as that rubber he's made from. But this…I'm worried it may break him. I just hope that Law fellow knows what he's about."

"I've heard stories of Trafalgar Law. He's an enigma, but I think he can be trusted."

"He'll hear it straight form me if he can't be," Shanks growled, and Mihawk chuckled to himself.

"You're a menace, you know that? And they all think I'm the dangerous one."

"You are," Shanks assured him. "But I'm going to have to be more dangerous than ever to get through this unscathed."

"Nothing ever stays the same," Mihawk said cryptically.

"Except us?"

"Except us."

Shanks sighed. "Well, work to do," he nodded before heading back into the chaos.

Mood: Naughty

Rating: PG-ish

Pairing: ZoSan

Word Count: 476

"And you'll listen to me?"

"Yeah. Promise," Zoro nodded, his fingers almost convulsively carding through Sanji's hair.

"And you won't…"

"Sanji, get on with it!"

"I thought I was in control," the blonde smirked at him in a rather infuriating way.

"You…you are. You are, okay? Now just…"

"Right, then," Sanji stood up and clapped his hands, spinning gracefully on his heel. "I'm teaching you to bake a cake for Nami-swan's birthday."

"You're what?"

"You said you wanted to help out, and I don't have time to cook dinner and dessert!" Sanji protested. "So you're baking a cake. And I'm not putting out until you get it right."

"Tosser," Zoro swiped at him but Sanji nimbly hopped out of the way. "I'm useless in the kitchen."

"You'll learn. Now here, you can read, right? Follow the recipe."

Zoro grumbled at his back but ultimately did as he was told.

000

"Hmm," Sanji was inspecting the finished product, noting that it looked edible but not really trusting it. And there was no way he was going to let Zoro ice the thing. No way.

"Well?"

"Well, I guess we'll have to see until tonight," Sanji said slowly, glancing up to gauge Zoro's reaction.

"I have to wait until tonight?"

"Of course! We can't cut into the cake, Nami-san will notice! But…I am making you try it first, just in case you keel over."

"Die," Zoro said emphatically.

"Oh, yes. Or in case you die. Lucky we have a doctor on board, yes?" he smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing to Zoro. "Now shoo. I'll finish up."

Zoro tried to sneak a kiss but Sanji stopped him with a knee to the chest, and he wandered out, muttering death-threats in the cook's general direction.

000

"So now can we have sex?"

"No," Sanji was drying dishes. The cake had, to his great surprise, been quite tasty (although he suspected that had more to do with his impeccable icing job than Zoro's baking abilities), but now he was finishing up the dishes and planning to make cinnamon buns for breakfast – which had to be made the night before, naturally.

"But you're almost done…"

"I told you, I have to get breakfast ready. Give me a couple hours."

"A couple hours?!"

"Yes. Now leave, you're distracting me," Sanji glared at him, causing Zoro to throw his hands up and mutter his way from the kitchen once more. Sanji had a feeling most of what he was saying was somewhat less than complimentary, but at the moment he couldn't care.

Teasing Zoro was, after all, far too much fun.

And yes, he knew the other man would get back at him, but that was the point of the game.

And then Sanji would just have to come up with something even better for next time.

Mood: Nervous

Rating: Haha, it's pretty tame.

Pairing: None. Hence why the rating is tame.

Word Count: 500

Notes: 'Starving artist' AU. A plot has emerged. Kind of.

SLAM!

Sanji jumped out of bed, his heart beating wildly as he ran for the window and stared through the grime at the street below.

The cause of the noise soon revealed itself to be a rather high-model Mercedes, which was driving away from the curb leaving behind a person and quite a few suitcases.

New neighbor?

Maybe, he supposed. The suite below had been for rent for quite a while, but why would anybody moving into this neighbourhood be dropped off in a Mercedes, of all things?

Well, anyway, the guy obviously needed help: he couldn't move all of the bags himself, and if he went inside with only some of them he would only come out to find the rest had been carried off by people looking for a handout.

Sanji sighed and pulled on a ratty old pullover before rushing down the stairs and out the door. "Hey."

The other man turned quickly, accidentally knocking a suitcase over in the process and chuckling at his own clumsiness. "Sorry. You startled me."

"Look, I don't know what your story is, but this isn't exactly the best neighbourhood," Sanji shrugged.

"Oh, believe me, I know. But I can afford the rent," the other shrugged, glancing rather anxiously from side-to-side.

"Hey, I'm not gonna mug you," Sanji sighed and held out a hand. "The name's Sanji. I live on the top floor."

"Charmed, I'm sure," the other man took his hand in a firm grip. "I'm Kaku."

"Welcome to the neighbourhood, then, Kaku," Sanji stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You want a hand with those?"

"Oh! If you don't terribly mind…"

Sanji did, but he figured he'd be charitable anyway as he led the way up the stairs and shoved the door of the second floor suite open. "Here you go."

"How do you…"

"Hey, suites don't stay empty long here, despite the appearance," Sanji glanced inside, noticing a cockroach scuttling for a hole in the wall. "Sorry about the bugs."

"B-bugs?" the other man stuttered, and Sanji rolled his eyes.

Great. Kid probably just rolled out of his parent's mansion and had no idea what life was like in the real city. He'd seen it often enough; most times they went home after a week or so. "Yeah. Cockroaches. They generally don't stick around once they realize people have moved in, but they'll be active for a couple of weeks."

"Oh. Wonderful," Kaku was looking decidedly green.

"You can…" Sanji sighed, feeling a little sorry for the kid (and never mind the fact that Kaku was obviously older) despite himself. "You can come up to the loft. If you want."

"I…are you sure? You live…"

"I've got four roommates, but none of them are around. They won't care," he shrugged.

"Oh, I…thank you," Kaku glanced shyly down at the floor.

"Come on, then," Sanji motioned as he strode out, somehow not able to shake the feeling that there was more to this newcomer than first met the eye.

Mood: Nostalgic

Rating: PG-15

Pairing: Lucci/Kaku

Word Count: 500

It had been nearly two years.

Two years since the government had decided they were liabilities rather than assets, and seven years since they had had a quick get-in-get-the-job-done-get-out mission. Granted, this one was self-decided, but the fact remained that the pirate crew terrorizing that trading town had to be disposed of.

Lucci, true to his nature, took this very seriously, which was why Kaku pushed open the door of the captain's cabin to find walls and floor liberally coated with blood and a very satisfied cat in the middle of it.

"Lock the door," Lucci growled, and Kaku complied, knowing where this was going and looking forward to it in a perverse way.

Lucci was a sadist; there was no getting around the fact, but Kaku was consistently amazed at what a little violence could do to his sex drive.

Not that the sex was bad without it, per say, but Lucci was rather stoic for the most part and his libido was rather carefully controlled, so to see him lose control was something to be treasured.

And yes, Kaku did manage a split second to look around and realize that the body of the dead captain was thankfully no longer in sight before the leopard was on him, and from then on in it was literally a fight for survival.

Not that Lucci would ever kill him…at least, he didn't think so, but after so long…

Well, Lucci just wasn't going to get the better of him, that was all, he decided before tightly gripping Lucci's shoulders and using his rather considerable leg strength to flip them, determined to enjoy this as much as humanly possible.

000

"We're lying in a dead man's bed."

"The dead man isn't in it," Lucci sounded completely deadpan as he muttered this into the pillow. "Therefore I hardly care."

"It's a tad disconcerting."

"Then move," the man growled.

"You're touchy," Kaku realized, mentally adding up dates in his head and coming to a conclusion he should have seen before this whole incident. "And it's your birthday."

"I'm thirty," Lucci opened an eye. "I'm old."

"Rob…"

"Keep whatever you're going to say in," Lucci ordered. "My fighting skills may not suffer for a few years, but…"

"Believe me, my dear, your skills in bed have not suffered either," Kaku patted his shoulder.

"And even if they had?" Lucci closed his eyes again.

"I wouldn't tell you," Kaku shrugged, running a hand through his reddish-gold hair. "Besides, I wouldn't know. You're the only lover I've ever had."

"Lover?" Lucci scoffed. "I thought that there actually had to be a measure of love involved before one could use that word."

"Isn't there?" Kaku asked softly.

"I…" Lucci paused uncharacteristically before slinging an arm around Kaku and pulling him close. "I'm getting soft in my old age."

"I'm not complaining," Kaku slid a hand down Lucci's side. "So, old man, too tired to go again?"

Lucci thankfully spent the rest of the afternoon proving him wrong.

Mood: Numb

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ace/Sanji

Word Count: 499

Warnings: SPOILERS! SPOILERS AHOY!

It's been a while since the news arrived, although he couldn't give you an exact time if you asked. He's standing on a tall cliff, looking over the waves, his hands clenched into fists so tight his nails are digging into his palms.

It can't be true.

It can't.

He couldn't…he wouldn't just go and die like that.

It's…

He sighs before lighting a cigarette, the wind whipping his long fringe across his eyes. He takes a shaky drag, exhaling a winding, disjointed column of smoke before the white stick falls from his nervous fingers to land on the dew-covered grass.

Why is he shaking? It's not like…it was a fling, that's all. Just a fling, because they were together and they had a connexion and yeah, Ace is…was?...pretty hot.

And no, no past tense. Not yet. Not until he hears it from Luffy's mouth.

He's been trying to cry for a while, now, but it's like the world has stopped. Everything's muted: colors, sounds, and when he moves it's like trudging through the thick, heavy syrup Nami and Robin love on their ice-cream sundaes.

The sun is setting now, turning the sky bright orange and red; the color of fire (andnocan'tthinkaboutfirecan'tthinkaboutfirenotwhen…).

But he doesn't feel anything. There's no anger. No despair. No…there's just nothing.

He knows how grief can take control of a body, but is this normal? Is this…

Unbidden, a memory springs to mind of the last conversation they had, right before the other man disappeared without a trace.

"Thought you were gone."

"Couldn't leave without saying goodbye," Ace had replied, indomitable grin on his freckled face as he held his floppy hat in place with one hand.

"Well, make it quick. They're going to wonder."

"You worry too much," Ace was rolling a tiny ball of fire between his fingers the way most people would attempt to roll a coin. "And besides, I worded that wrong."

"Which part?"

"Stop sulking," Ace chided him gently. "The part where I said 'goodbye.' This isn't goodbye, Sanji. We'll meet again."

"Yeah," Sanji agreed, because at that point he had no reason not to. "Do I at least get a kiss?"

"As if I could deny you that," Ace glanced around before drawing him into a tight embrace, lips and tongues meeting as…

Dead. He's dead. There won't be a next time, because he's dead.

And now the anger comes, but it's not anger at his killer: no, it's anger at him for making such a false promise. Because they aren't going to see each other again, and…

And suddenly the anger's gone again and he's numb, taking his lighter out and flicking it to just to see the fire, the life inside.

It's only a matter of time, he decides, until this brain-fog passes and the reality hits him full force. And it's going to be ugly, he's sure of that.

"You promised," he whispers to the wind; words carried away like slowly dying embers on the evening breeze.

Mood: Optimistic

Rating: PG at most

Pairing: None.

Word Count: 500

"I'm going to do it, you know."

"What, Bakanky?"

"I'm going to build a ship that's greater than the Oro Jackson. It's going to sail around the entire world!" Franky threw his skinny arms up and promptly overbalanced, landing on his rear on the stony ground.

Iceburg rolled his eyes and set his large mallet down, placing one hand casually on his hip and staring down at his companion. "And how do you plan to accomplish this?"

"Adam wood!"

"Right. Good luck with that," Iceburg removed his white bandana and used it to wipe his brow, letting his hair blow free in the wind.

"Tom's gonna help me!"

"Sure, kid," Iceburg looked up at the ship they were currently working on and went to pick up his tools.

"Hey, listen to me!"

"Look, Bakanky, we all have dreams, right? Just…get a realistic one," Iceburg told him firmly.

"It is realistic. It can be done! I'm gonna do it!"

"Knock yourself out," Iceburg stared disdainfully at his now not-so-white bandana. "Hey, whadd'ya say we get some lunch?"

"I'm starving!" Franky agreed, hopping up from where he'd fallen and running madly across the rocks.

"Put some pants on!" Iceburg called after him, shaking his head and arranging his tools so that they'd be ready when he came back from lunch. He could hear Franky pestering Kokoro for some food all the way across the yard as he headed back to the small house. "And be nice to Kokoro," he added as he walked in the door, frowning as Franky was seated at the table and demanding food. Loudly.

"You boys eat up, now. I need to run to town," Kokoro set the sandwiches she had made on the table and headed out as Iceburg went to freshen up before seating himself.

Luckily, Franky had actually left him a couple of sandwiches, and he quickly snatched them before the younger boy could get any ideas. "So you really don't believe me?"

"It's not that," Iceburg heard the rather pensive tone in Franky's voice and decided to be upfront with him. "I've just…learned not to put much stock in dreams."

"You can be part of my dream," Franky said softly. "You can help me build it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're an idiot, Bakaburg, but you build good ships," Franky proclaimed with his mouth full, causing Iceburg to roll his eyes.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered before digging into his own sandwich.

"I mean it! I mean, I could do it all by myself, but with us together, it'll be the best ship ever!" he crowed, pounding his fist enthusiastically on the table and nearly upending his glass of water.

"Oi, careful!" Iceburg chuckled, finding the other boy's enthusiasm infectious.

"So is that a deal?" Franky stuck his hand across the table, and Iceburg reached to shake it firmly.

"It's a deal," he nodded, and somehow a part of him knew that Franky's dream was, one way or another, going to come true.