Straight Forward

Chapter 2: Morning and Night

Sanji had expected breakfast the next day to be incredibly awkward so he had been pleasantly surprised when Zoro had walked in acting completely normal. Well, normal for Zoro anyway. Shiloh, as was her custom, had already been in the kitchen for at least half an hour, helping Sanji with cutting and mixing and other menial things he didn't really feel like doing.

The small redhead had given Zoro a smile and a nod in greeting, to which the swordsman raised a lazy hand in what Sanji assumed to be a half-assed wave. He himself had said, "Finally up, lazy marimo?" Everyone else had already been seated for about ten minutes prior to his arrival.

"No," Zoro had replied, and brought his forehead to the table.

Sanji couldn't resist the urge to tease. "Such bad manners." He turned to Shiloh, who was beside him, putting scrambled eggs on separate plates. "What could you possibly see in such a brute, Shy?"

Zoro sprang up immediately, face comically red. It wasn't like him to get embarrassed and Sanji felt immense gratification that he had caused it. Opening his mouth, it looked like Zoro was about to yell but he was interrupted by a smaller, lighter voice.

"My mom knew someone who was narcoleptic." They all turned to look at Shiloh, who was balancing their plates on her arms. "He fell asleep during sex and his partner was so mad that she stole all his money and hung all his clothes on the tree outside."

A moment of silence passed through the room before Luffy burst out laughing. Franky began ranting about men who failed at being men while Chopper tried to explain to them both that it wasn't fair to laugh because he couldn't help having a condition. Brook began laughing as well before Nami's voice joined the ruckus, telling them all to settle down and shut up.

Sanji turned to Shiloh. "Was that really necessary?"

The red haired girl held both her hands up, a sheepish smile on her lips. "I never said I was classy." Zoro snorted from his spot at the table.

The cook sighed; none of them had even started on the food Shiloh had put in front of them. "OI," he yelled. "Eat your food before it gets cold, you idiots!" His tone immediately changed. "Of course I'll gladly re-heat or cook something else for Nami-swan and Robin-chwan. All you ladies need to do is command me and I am at your beck and call!"

Shiloh sat down besides Robin, across from Zoro. He rolled his eyes as Sanji blew a kiss at Nami who had finally gotten the others quiet with a couple hard hits to their heads. "Creep." The cook was so engrossed with his beloved Nami that he either didn't hear or chose to ignore the swordsman.

Zoro rested his chin in his hand and watched lazily as Shiloh poured herself some juice. "Is that really what women go for?"

If Shiloh had been surprised by the question, it didn't show on her face. "Some women." She put her juice down and leaned in a little closer to whisper, "Easy women."

The swordsman couldn't help but smirk and shake his head as she pulled away and resumed her breakfast.

A few hours later found the entire Straw Hat crew stranded in some doldrums. The air was hot and sticky, causing most of the crew to stay inside where the atmosphere was more tolerable. Sanji stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, staring at their supplies. He had decided it would be a good time to take inventory. Standing besides him, Shiloh was counting bottles.

"…Five, six."

"There should be seven."

"Sanji," the girl said slowly, "I've counted them ten times already. You can see for yourself. There are only six bottles in there."

The cook knew. He knew there was one missing and he knew who had taken it. In fact, he had been standing on deck when she had appeared with it in her hands the day before. But what he wanted was for her to tell him herself. He couldn't understand why she wasn't admitting it. Sanji considered that lying and even worse, theft. No one stole from him and got away with it. He narrowed his eyes at the redhead. Could it be that Shiloh was more deceptive than they had believed?

Slowly, he replied, "There are supposed to be seven bottles, Shiloh." The use of her whole name made Shiloh look up at Sanji with a frown. Her large amber eyes bore into his, and he stared right back, trying to look for a hint of guilt or remorse. He found none.

"Okay," Shiloh said slowly, "but there are only six in there."

"Then," Sanji said as he began to walk towards the door, "we have a thief onboard."

A sudden laugh from the redhead behind him made Sanji stop in his tracks. Was this it? Was she going to tell him that she had intended to use them all along? He would never physically harm a woman, but he knew if Shiloh tried anything against them, Luffy would not take kindly to it and she would be kicked off The Sunny for taking advantage of his kindness and left stranded at sea, alone in the vast expanse of inky blue.

"There's no thief, Sanji. I took a bottle yesterday."

He already knew that, so he raised a brow at her and crossed his arms again. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Shiloh shrugged, her expression half amused and half exasperated. "You didn't ask. You told me to count them and I did. There are six in the cupboard. Whether there are supposed to be seven or eight or one million doesn't matter in regards to the task you gave me."

"You took one and didn't tell me."

"Nami goes in there and takes things all the time."

"That's different. I know what she takes."

Shiloh gave an exaggerated sigh and threw her hands up, a smile across her face. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was such a big deal to you. I'll tell Zoro 'no' next time."

Sanji's visible eye widened, suspicion dropping from his face. "Zoro asked you for the bottle?"

"Yeah."

Oops. He had thought she had brought it to him to get on his good side, considering she had feelings for him and all. Sanji didn't like people who just did as they pleased to achieve their own means. Annoyance dripping in his voice, he said, "You didn't have to do it just because he asked."

Shiloh laughed again. "If I had known it was going to be such a big deal I wouldn't have!" She walked over to him and gently nudged his shoulder. "Sanji, if you want to know something, just ask me. I'm not good with hints."

The cook stood rooted to the spot, understanding dawning on him. "You took the bottle of sake."

"Yes."

"Because Zoro asked you to."

"Uh-huh."

Despite himself, Sanji found a crooked smile on his face. He sighed deeply and put a hand on Shiloh's head. "Next time, you'll tell me." It wasn't a question.

"Oh definitely. I wouldn't want you to get that scary look on your face again. I thought you were going to throw me overboard."

They shared a laugh, before Sanji rolled his shoulders back and said, "You've done enough here. Go see if anyone else needs help with anything." The girl nodded and began walking towards the door. Sanji watched her, remembering her words. "If you want to know something, just ask me."

"Shiloh." He just couldn't help himself. "Why Zoro? What could you possibly see in that muscle head?"

When Shiloh turned to face him, he swore he saw a different person. The person standing before him with the serene smile on her face was a woman, a woman with blushing cheeks and warmth in her eyes. She wore a look of knowing, the kind of look that Sanji knew only a woman could give.

"I see everything in Zoro."

That night, when everyone had finished dinner and the dishes were all washed, Sanji found himself once again standing on the upper deck looking down. Zoro was sitting against the mast, probably napping. Sanji hadn't wanted to help or hinder Shiloh's progress or lack thereof, but his curious nature, and the fact that he knew so much more about romance than the swordsman made him want to school him. He had to admit, he had been impressed with Shiloh's resolve. A small part of him truly wanted her to succeed, to see her happy. The thought of Zoro making anyone happy made him want to gag, but if that's what her heart wanted, so be it. Sanji would never leave a woman's heart wanting if he could help it.

He walked down to the lower deck until he was level with the napping swordsman. First he lit a cigarette, then he nudged Zoro in the side with his shoe. "Hey, idiot."

Zoro grumbled but didn't open his eye. "You wanna die, crappy cook?"

When a snappy comeback didn't meet his ears, Zoro opened his good eye and looked up at Sanji. The blond wore a sincerely concerned look on his face that made Zoro feel uneasy. "What?"

"What are you going to do about Shy?"

Zoro sat up a little as Sanji moved to sit next to him. "I'm not going to do anything."

Sanji shook his head and sighed dramatically. "You're not even the least bit interested? I mean really, Marimo, how likely is it that you'll ever get a confession again?"

Zoro growled and crossed his arms. "If you've got something to say, then just say it, stupid cook."

His words rang in Sanji's ears, loud and obnoxious and oh so obviously Zoro. But somehow the words began to melt together, change and echo until he heard another voice, gentle and sweet saying, "If you want to know something, just ask."

"Oh God," Sanji groaned, a hand coming up to his forehead. "You two deserve each other."

Zoro looked stumped. "Huh?"

Sanji glared from under the hand. "Fine, you want to hear it plain and simple, idiot? I think you should give Shiloh a chance. Who knows, a little love may do you good. Maybe you wouldn't be such an insufferable ass all the time."

Zoro got on his feet, hands clenched at his sides. "I don't know why you feel like it's any of your business, curly-brow, but I'm telling you right now, I will not be guilted into feeling something I don't."

Jumping up and leaning forward so he was practically nose-to-nose with the other man, Sanji asked, "How do you even know you don't like her? How would a dumbass like you even know the difference?"

The swords came out and the pair became a flurry of clashing metal and kicks. However, their voices could still clearly be heard.

"I don't even know her! None of us do!" Zoro yelled.

"Then get to know her, you moss-for-brains!"

"It's not my responsibility!"

"Who cares?!" The cook got knocked back by one of the swords, but managed to stay upright. From across the deck, Zoro stood his expression unreadable. "Who cares about who is or isn't responsible?! She confessed to you. The least you could do is be nice enough to get to know her, even just a little bit."

Zoro sheathed his swords and seemed to glare, before his eyes softened in confusion. Sanji knew the swordsman was clueless, and he also knew Zoro's feelings were entirely his own. However, Sanji also knew that Zoro was a good man way deep down, and a good man would never simply dismiss a woman's feelings. Zoro surely had no clue of this himself, so of course, Sanji needed to take it upon himself to spell it out for him.

"Even you must know it takes courage to confess your feelings to someone, and even more so to continue pursuit after being rejected." Sanji had to admit to himself, he knew all the right words to say. "At least honor her fighting spirit by getting to know her, even if you have no intent of returning her feelings."

He began to walk away, but he still heard Zoro growl and yell, "You're a pain in the ass, stupid cook!"

It was the middle of the night when Sanji awoke with the intent of getting some water from the kitchen. As he sleepily climbed out of his bed and towards the door, he had just enough presence of mind to notice the absence of Zoro from the men's quarters. Vaguely, he remembered that he had been assigned the night watch. He was thankful, for that meant the swordsman would probably be observing from the crow's nest meaning that Sanji wouldn't run into him.

He was surprised when he heard quite voices coming from the upper deck by Nami's tangerine grove. Curiously, he silently made his way up the stairs, stopping just short of the top. Glimpsing a head of deep red hair, he crouched down as to not be seen.

Shiloh and Zoro were sitting across from one another, heads bowed over something. "Check," the redhead whispered.

"Damn." Zoro crossed his arms, apparently thinking incredibly hard. "There are way too many rules in this game. How do you even remember them all?" Sanji lifted himself up a little higher as Zoro made a move.

Shiloh shrugged and gave a quiet laugh. "My teacher taught me. Check."

"Damn!" He scratched at his head in frustration. "You went to school?"

"Not exactly. I had a private tutor. Other kids didn't like me very much."

Zoro snorted. "Why? You beat 'em up or something?"

The redhead stilled in her movements before answering slowly, "Because of my mom. I think it had something to do with her profession." Sanji hoped Zoro wouldn't pry, because the tone in Shiloh's voice suggested that this wasn't something she particularly wanted to talk about. "Check."

"Damn it!" Zoro took a breath and began chewing on his bottom lip. Sanji would have found the whole thing hilarious is he hadn't been so shocked at the scene before him to begin with. "Was your mom okay with you leaving to look for Shanks?"

"It was her idea. I promised her I'd find him." Sanji wondered if Zoro felt a strange pang in his heart just like he did. It only intensified when Shiloh added, "That's why I'm really thankful I found you guys. I can finally make her happy."

At that exact moment, a cloud that had been covering the moon shifted, and the entire Thousand Sunny was bathed in moonlight. Sanji could clearly see Shiloh's face, which bore the same knowing and softness that it held in the kitchen that morning, only this time, it was directed at the blushing swordsman before her. Sanji had to do a double take.

Blushing? Zoro?! It was faint, but it was there, tinting the top of his ears.

Shiloh smiled and placed down her white queen with a soft clack. "Checkmate."

A/N

Thanks for reading! I'm going to be honest, this is being written on a whim so there could possibly be many things that need to be fixed. But again, thank you for reading, I really appreciate it! :)