Straight Forward

Chapter 9: Nighttime, Daytime

Sanji awoke to the soft sound of the door of the men's quarters opening. Instantly alert, he slowed his breathing and tensed up the muscles in his leg, ready to strike. Franky was on watch that night, so the absence of soft snoring from the bunk next to his told him that Zoro was in bed and aware of the intruder as well.

When he didn't hear the sound of footsteps walking in, he frowned and wondered if he should chance a look. His blood ran cold. If the stranger was an expert at sneaking, had they already gotten to the girls? Sanji couldn't take that chance. He sat up and moved fluidly out of bed, crouching down in an attack stance. Behind him Zoro had done the same, his hand hovering readily above one of his swords.

A small figure stood by the door, silhouetted by the moonlight. He couldn't make out a face, and the irrational part of his brain wondered if they were being haunted by a ghost.

"Hey…"

He instantly relaxed as he heard Shiloh's voice. Zoro however, had tensed up considerably, standing very upright though he was no longer reaching for his sword.

"Shy," The cook whispered, trying to avoid waking the others. "What are you doing here?" When the redhead didn't answer, he walked a little closer and asked, "Is everything alright?" It was then that he noticed that her eyes were closed. "Oh."

"What?" Zoro asked, confusion and a miniscule amount of concern in his low voice.

"She's asleep."

Despite the dark, Sanji knew Zoro frowning. He could sense it. "Shy," the swordsman called quietly, "Go back to bed."

Shiloh rubbed at her eyes but didn't open them. "I brought… your medicine," she said slowly, the words a bit slurred. "Want me to help you…?" A thick pause filled the air before she asked softly, almost sadly, "Do you know who I am…?" The cook and swordsman exchanged confused looks.

Before the blond could say a word, Zoro walked up to Shiloh, gently took her by the shoulder and began leading her out. "Yeah, I do," Zoro answered. Sanji turned questioning eyes on him but Zoro only returned with a careless shrug. The swordsman was merely humoring the girl's unconscious babbling. Zoro turned back to the redhead. "I'm taking you back to bed, Shy." Sanji momentarily wondered how the other man knew how to deal with sleepwalkers. It was always a bit strange to Sanji when "sensible" Zoro came out. It was the part of him that always knew what to do in battle, the part that kept Luffy in check, the part the entire crew depended on at the first sign of danger. The door shut with a soft click, leaving Sanji alone in his confusion.

Five minutes later, Zoro returned and climbed back into his bunk when he spotted Sanji watching him. The cook raised a brow and asked quietly, "What was that all about?"

Zoro shrugged. "No idea."

The cook fell back on his pillow feeling uneasy. Shiloh's sleepy words were replaying in his head.

I brought your medicine.

Want me to help you?

Do you know who I am?

He lay there, eyes staring blankly up at the bunk above his. The sound of Luffy and Usopp snores echoed in his ears, adding to the swarm of noise buzzing around in his head. Curiosity was beginning to take hold of his brain. What had Shiloh been dreaming about that had brought forth those questions? She had mentioned medicine. Suddenly he remembered the time he had heard her asking Chopper about some disease. Could those things be related somehow?

A sudden groan from Zoro interrupted his thoughts. "I can't sleep," the swordsman grumbled as he sat up. "I'm going to go switch with Franky."

"Yeah," Sanji said slowly, knowing sleep was no longer a possibility. "I'm getting up too. I guess I'll go clean the galley." Suddenly, a rumbling from the swordsman's stomach met his ears. "Fine," he said with a roll of his eyes as he jumped out of bed. "I'll make you something."

Expecting an insult in reply, Sanji was completely shocked when Zoro quietly grumbled, "Thanks."

He spun on his heel, eyes wide. "What?"

Zoro began pulling on his boots and without looking up gave a flat, "Huh?"

"Just now," Sanji replied, a familiar annoyance at the swordsman beginning to creep up on him. "Did you just thank me?"

Zoro stood up and walked right past the weirded-out cook with a simple, "Nope."

Sanji remained frozen on the spot for about a minute before shaking his head and leaving the men's quarter's in favor of the galley. He had said he was going to clean, but the room was nearly spotless already due to his obsessive need to have his workspace tidy. He went into one of the top cabinets and pulled out a medium sized plate then opened another to grab a tray. Moving to sink, he filled a kettle with water before setting it on the stove. His hands moved on their own accord as he put cherries on one side of the plate and pretzels on the other. That would tide the idiot swordsman over until breakfast. He placed the snacks on the tray before taking the kettle off the stove and pouring the water into a mug that held a teabag inside.

The cook couldn't help but smile. Even when he was simply setting out the most basic of snacks, it relaxed his mind to do something so familiar with his hands. Whenever he was troubled or anxious, he could always count on cooking or setting out food to calm him and bring him back to himself.

Carefully lifting the tray in one hand, he walked out of the galley, promising to kick Zoro's ass at the slightest sight of ungratefulness. Sanji almost never prepared snacks for one single person unless it was Nami, but since no one else was awake and he needed something to do anyway, he figured that just this once, it was fine to do if for Zoro. He couldn't let the dumb brute starve, anyway. He hated the sound of grumbling stomachs.

The light of a lamp near the helm told him that Zoro was there, indeed keeping watch. He made his way carefully down the stairs, eyes straining slightly in the dark. It wasn't until he was at the bottom of the stairs and could make out the form of the swordsman sitting cross-legged and leaning against the railing of the higher deck did he realize that Zoro wasn't alone.

Shiloh was sitting across from the green haired man, clad in a simple long-sleeved shirt and blue pajama bottoms that had small white anchors scattered about the legs. A lantern glowed dimly between the pair. For a moment, Sanji wondered if the girl was still asleep like last time, until he heard her speak.

"So you walked me back, huh?" Her voice was rough with sleep but lacked the slurred, dazed quality it contained when she was unconscious. However, there was still something about her speech that worried Sanji. Somehow, the redhead sounded…upset?

Zoro must have sensed it too because when he replied, his tone was gentle. "Yeah."

"I didn't," Shiloh paused, nervously fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. "I didn't give you any trouble, did I?"

The swordsman snorted. "What trouble could a tiny thing like you possible give me?"

In the dim light, Sanji saw Shiloh shift uncomfortably before bringing her gaze to the man across from her. Sanji noticed the frown on Zoro's face and wondered what he was seeing in Shiloh's eyes. "Zoro," she breathed. There was a tense seriousness in her tone, a strange urgency that made Sanji feel uneasy. "Do you know who I am?"

Zoro gave her a confused look. "Huh?"

The redhead took a deep breath. "Do you know who I am," Shiloh repeated, the words sounding more like a demand than a question. She leaned forward, eyes boring into his. "What's my name?"

Zoro opened his mouth to respond but shut it before any words came out. Sanji could see his dark eyes searching the amber pair across from him, seeking an answer to the strange behavior. After a stretched, painful silence, Zoro blinked slowly and reached out to put a hand on Shiloh's head. "What's with you?" The question lacked any real bite. "You're Shiloh, idiot."

Sanji watched Shiloh's gaze direct downward as she brought her hands up to grasp at Zoro's, keeping it in place on her head. "Thank goodness." Her voice was quiet but had lost the hard, almost desperate edge it had previously possessed. "I was afraid you forgot me."

"Stupid," Zoro admonished, taking his hand back from between her palms. "Don't worry about crap like that." Sanji figured Zoro must have seen some sort of sadness or apprehension in the girl's face because he very gently asked, "Bad dream?"

"You could say that…"

Zoro looked away. Before tentatively asking, "Wanna talk about it…?"

Shiloh sighed. "I do," she paused, a hand going up to brush a lock of hair behind her ears. It wasn't lost on the cook that Zoro had brought his eyes back to the redhead the exact moment she had done it. "But… I don't think I can. Not right now." Sanji felt relieved when the smallest of smiles touched the redhead's lips. "Thanks for offering, though. It makes me feel better. Maybe one day I'll tell you all about my many physiological issues." Zoro rolled his eyes and brought his hand towards the girl's head again, this time flicking her right between the eyes. She winced and rubbed at the spot, but the small laugh she gave made Sanji decide that he would lecture Zoro about being too rough with women some other time.

Realizing that the tea on the tray he was holding would get cold if he kept standing there, Sanji made his way up to the helm and raised a hand in greeting as the pair turned to look at him. "Yo." He handed the tea to the redhead then turned to Zoro. "That was suppose to be yours but since she's here she gets priority. Go get some yourself if you want." Setting the tray between the two, he plunked himself down, the three of them sitting in a triangle.

"Who invited you?" Zoro asked as he shoved a pretzel in his mouth.

Sanji glared. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, stupid moss. I could spit in your food and you'd never even know."

Shiloh immediately lowered the mug she had brought to her lips and gave Sanji a wide-eyed look. "You didn't, did you?"

He chuckled. "Not in that."

"He's bluffing," Zoro said around a mouthful of cherries. "He has too much pride to do something so classless."

"You're not as stupid as you look, Marimo." He smirked. "But then that would be impossible."

"You wanna go, shitty cook?!"

Sanji was about to accept the offer but Shiloh's quiet laugh stopped him. So instead he smirked and said, "I wouldn't want to kick your ass in front of Shy. She likes you, you know." His words had the desired effect. The green haired man coughed and began pounding on his chest in an effort to dislodge the cherry pit he had swallowed.

"Here," Shiloh said, offering him the tea. Zoro took it without a second thought and emptied the contents of the mug, a tiny bit leaking from the corners of his lips in his haste.

"Such bad manners," Sanji said with a sigh. "Here I was trying so hard not to embarrass you and you do it on your own anyway."

Zoro came up sputtering, an angry tick pulsing from his head. "Who's embarrassed? I'd rather be done in by a cherry pit than a skinny noodle like you!"

Sanji grabbed a handful of cherries and began advancing towards the swordsman, fully intending to jam every single one down his throat. "Let me make that happen for you then, you uncultured patch of grass!"

Suddenly, Shiloh was between them, her arms out to keep them apart, and a gentle smile on her face. She brought one finger up to her mouth. "Shh." With a quick jerk of her head towards the other end of the ship she added, "You'll wake everyone up."

With a growl, Zoro plopped back down and crossed his arms. Sanji thought he looked like a petulant child. Rolling his eyes, he too got into a sitting position and lit a cigarette. After putting the lighter back in his pocket, he noticed Shiloh fidgeting with the lantern.

"What are you doing?"

Her hands stilled as she looked up at the night sky before meeting both their eyes. "Have you guys ever sailed in the stars?"

"We've flown in the sky."

"And been to Skypiea."

Shiloh sighed dramatically. "Alright, so I guess compared to that, this isn't going to be very impressive but it's still pretty."

Sanji raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

Abruptly, the redhead turned off the lantern. Sanji's eyes widened instinctively, knowing it would help in adjusting to the darkness. However, he could see his surroundings better than he thought he would. In fact, everything seemed bathed in muted moonlight. But how was that possible? Nami had told them at dinner that it was the night of the new moon, meaning that there would be little to no light coming from the lunar sphere.

"Whoa."

He was so lost in thought that he hadn't realized that Zoro and Shiloh had gotten up to lean over the railing. They seemed to be looking at something in the water. He followed suit and began to ask, "What?" when his eye caught the water below and the word died in his throat.

Reflected in the smooth surface of the water was the night sky above them. It was as if they were indeed sailing in the stars. Tiny pinpricks of light danced in the inky sea, blinking in and out of existence as the Sunny's gentle wake washed over them. Sanji titled his head back and looked upwards towards space, marveling at how small he suddenly felt. "It's beautiful," he breathed. Every direction he looked, the vast brightness of the galaxy winked back at him.

After a few minutes of appreciative silence, Shiloh took a breath and told them softly, "My mom and I used to do this every month when I was a kid." A small, gentle laugh met Sanji's ears, bringing a slight smile to his face. "She called it 'star sailing.' We would borrow this old fisherman's rowboat and take it to the middle of the bay and just stare at the sky and sea for hours. One time, we stayed out so long we caught the sunrise." She let out a happy sigh and propped her elbow against the top of the rail, cheek in her hand. "It's a nice memory to hold onto."

Sanji opened his mouth to agree, but Zoro suddenly pointed downward and asked, "Did you see that?"

The blond and the redhead immediately leaned over the rail. Sanji frowned. "See wh-"

A gasp from Shiloh interrupted him the exact moment he spotted what seemed to be a light flashing across the water. "Shooting stars!" Shiloh exclaimed.

Sanji's visible eye widened in surprise as Zoro put both his hands on either side of Shiloh's head as if covering her ears, and gently tilted it upwards, her surprised face pointed towards the night sky. "Idiot," the green haired man whispered. "For something like this, you should look at the real thing." Even in the dark, Sanji saw Shiloh's face turn as red as her hair. Slowly, just as she had before, she put her hands on top of Zoro's as he quietly told her, "Make a wish."

It should have been a private moment, but perhaps the pair had gotten so mesmerized by the beauty of the night that they had forgotten Sanji was still there. However, the cook was thankful. He knew something good was about to happen; he could tell by the tingling of his skin and the pounding of his heart. "I don't need to," Shiloh replied, voice quiet and almost timid. She tilted her head nearly all the way back so her eyes were on Zoro face instead of the sky. His hands remained by her ears as he stared down at her. She sent him a warm smile, so full of fondness that Sanji knew even Zoro's heart would skip a beat. "This is enough."

Sanji smiled and took a drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke escape from his lips. One look at Zoro's face and he knew. He just knew. Trying not to chuckle, he raised his eyes to the stars and once again felt incredibly small, but also incredibly lucky. It was an incredible thing to see a man, even more so a friend (though he'd never say the word out loud), realize his true feelings.

Sanji was thoroughly enjoying himself. Granted, he would have been enjoying himself even more if he were in the company of a certain scantily clad, orange-haired, tangerine loving navigator but since she was busy going over her maps, watching Zoro pace back and forth was entertaining enough. He sat at the foot of the stairs, smoking leisurely.

The green-haired man looked incredibly ticked off when he spotted Sanji observing him. The blond raised his hand in a lazy wave and asked, "Are you lost even on our own ship, stupid swordsman?" Not surprisingly, Zoro began to stomp over to him. Sanji rolled his eyes as the cigarette fell from his mouth when Zoro grabbed him by the collar.

"What do I do?"

It was said in such a low growl that Sanji had at first thought Zoro was threatening him. "What?" He asked a little too innocently.

"What the hell do I do?"

"About wh-"

"ABOUT SHY!"

Sanji bit his lower lip, losing the battle against laughing outright. "Ooohhhhh," he sang. "What do you do about that situation?" Zoro glared. A weaker man would have probably been reduced to ashes from its intensity. "Are you actually asking me for advice, hopeless Marimo?"

He was suddenly shaken so hard he could have sworn his eyeballs had swiveled in different directions. "Damn it, crappy cook! Fucking help me or I'll kill you!"

Sanji broke free from Zoro's grasp and straightened his shirt as he willed his eyes to go back to normal behind closed lids. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" He let the sentence hang just to irritate the swordsman. The idiot deserved to sweat it out a little anyway after how rough he just was. "What happened last night after I left?"

Zoro immediately looked away with a blush and a deep scowl. "Nothing," he grumbled.

"Nothing? What do you mean, 'nothing'?"

"I mean nothing! I got embarrassed then I think she got embarrassed so I just said good night and went back to bed!"

Sanji stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "No good night kiss?"

Zoro buried both hands in his hair in frustration, "NO, damn it!" Suddenly he bowed his head, eyes staring intently at the ground. "…Should I have done that…?"

Sanji's eyes widened. Zoro never asked things like that. Hell, Zoro never asked anything, he demanded. For him to suddenly seem so unsure... "All right, okay, Marimo," he said resolutely. "Don't get so worked up. Let's think through things logically. Or well, do your best anyway." Zoro sent him another glare. "First of all, you have to decide how you really feel about Shy."

A groan fell from the swordsman's lips as he threw himself down besides the cook. "I don't want to talk about feelings."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "No one ever does. It's just something you have to do." When no response came he asked, "So? How do you feel about her?"

"Right now? Kinda pissed."

He sent a sharp kick into Zoro's shin. "I meant in general, dumbass moss."

Sighing, the green haired man crossed his arms and slouched against the stairs, letting his head fall back. "I don't know. She's alright."

"Really? That's all you've got? That's pathetic, Marimo." Fine. If Zoro still insisted on being a clueless idiot, even about his own feelings, then Sanji would just enrage him until it came spilling out of his mouth impulsively. "Do you like her or don't you?"

Zoro let out a loud sound of exasperation. "What the hell does that even mean?"

Sanji nearly swallowed his cigarette. "What do you mean, 'what does that mean'? What else could that possibly mean?!"

"What does it even mean to like someone? I like Chopper. I like all our nakama. Hell, sometimes I even like you when you're not being a lovesick fool. So sure, I like Shiloh. But what difference does that make?"

Sanji could have strangled him. How was it possible that Zoro made it to the age of twenty-one being so utterly stupid? "It's not the same. It's a different kind of like."

"I get the implication, asshole," Zoro replied. "I just don't understand it."

The cook groaned. "Talking to you is like talking to a rock." Zoro's only response was to huff and look away. Sanji took a breath, trying to regain some patience but feeling it slipping even further away from him. "What do you want from her?"

The swordsman's eyes met his, a confused flatness in his expression. "Huh?"

"What do you want from Shiloh?" When Zoro merely stared, Sanji growled and practically yelled, "What do you want? Friendship? Sex? Love!?" This time, it was him grabbing the other by the collar. "Spit it out, stupid! There's a woman who's willing to take a chance on your dumbass self and you don't even know what to do about it?! You either take the chance or you leave it! You don't sit around picking your nose waiting for fate to do it for you! Do you just sit around hoping the title "Greatest Swordsman in the World" falls into your lap?! NO, YOU FUCKING DON'T! You get off your ass and make it happen! So don't tell me you don't know what you fucking want! Man up, you damned marimo bastard and tell me, what do you want?!"

"I just want to be there!"

Sanji stopped shaking him, eyes wide. "What?" He choked.

Zoro pulled away from his grasp but looked directly into his eyes. "I just want to be there… with her. I want to be there when she meets Shanks. I want to be there when she does stupid reckless things to help other people. I want to be with her when we explore new islands. I want to be by her side if there's danger. I want to be there when she needs someone to walk her to bed. I want to be there when she's being weird and wants someone to say her name. I want to be there when she's looking up at the stars." His voice had gotten soft, but the intensity remained. "I just want to be there."

Despite his previous outburst, Sanji felt a small smile tug at his lips. "Was that really so hard?"

Zoro looked away, but Sanji thought he caught a small flicker of sadness in the swordsman's eyes. "It is, Cook. Because I just can't be."

The smile immediately dropped from his face. Letting out an exasperated sound, he asked, "Why the hell not?!"

"I've said it before," Zoro began slowly, "And I'll say it again: When I decided to become the greatest swordsman in the world, I already discarded my life."

Ah, Sanji thought. So that was it. It wasn't that Zoro didn't like Shiloh; it was that he believed he shouldn't.

Sanji sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly depressed. They were making such progress. Although Zoro's utter resolve, his self-sacrifice in regards to achieving his goal was greatly respected by all the crew, Sanji couldn't help but be saddened by all the things the swordsman had preemptively given up on. It was tragic and a little crazy too. Sanji himself would never be able to choose between his All Blue and women (specifically a beautiful, smart, and cunning orange-haired woman). He'd rather die first. A small part of him felt a bit angry at the injustice of the situation. Even though Zoro was a brainless brute, he deserved happiness too, right? It was impossible that achieving his goal was the only thing that would bring him true joy.

The cook would have to choose carefully in order to convince the stubborn swordsman. Sanji raised a brow. "The girl," he began carefully, "The one who gave you Wado Ichimonji." Zoro sent him a slightly suspicious look. "Do you think she'd want you to live the rest of your life alone? Would she be happy, knowing all the things you've given up before even trying?" Zoro turned away, eyes downcast. "Marimo," he called as gently as he could, "You of all people know how short life can be. Isn't that all the more reason to live it to its fullest?"

Zoro took a long breath before looking up at the sky, as if looking for guidance. "What do I do?" He asked quietly.

Sanji allowed himself a smirk and took a deep drag of his cigarette. "You do what you always do, stupid swordsman." He let the smoke drift away from him as he gave Zoro a knowing look. "You go for it."

A minute of silence passed before the green-haired man jumped up. "Damn it, crappy cook!" And then he was gone, sprinting across the lawn deck and up the mast to the crow's nest. Sanji hoped the idiot would think about what he said, knowing that his words had left at least a small bit of impact. As he sat there smoking, he noticed Nami walking towards him, her eyes turned up towards where the swordsman had just disappeared.

"What's with Zoro?"

He smiled as she took a seat next to him. "Eh, you know. Marimo problems."

"Shy?"

"Yeah."

"I almost strangled her last night."

Sanji snorted. "Why?"

Nami let out an exaggerated groan and replied, "She woke me up in the middle of the night talking about sleepwalking and stars and Zoro and how much she wanted to kiss him."

She paused while Sanji laughed. "And then?" He prompted.

The navigator let out a small giggle as well, sending warmth into the cook's heart. "Then I told her that's gross and to never mention kissing Zoro in front of me ever again or I'd throw her overboard."

He knew it was a bold thing to say, but somehow his mouth had moved quicker that his brain. "Marimo isn't your type, huh, Nami-swan?"

Sanji had expected some sort of whack to the head or face for his rude presumptuousness, but instead Nami simply smiled and kept her eyes forward, staring out onto the deck. "Eh. I kind of prefer blonds."

The words echoed in his ears without registering for a good couple minutes before he managed to squeak out a very tiny, "What?" Was his beautiful Nami-swan…flirting with him? "Uh…" was all he managed to say. He had always dreamed of her doing something like this, but he never expected her to actually do it. A chill ran down his spine as his palms began to sweat, so he inhaled a good lungful of smoke to calm his nerves. Didn't he just tell that stupid marimo to go for it? What kind of man was he if he couldn't follow his own advice? Pulling the cigarette from his mouth, he tried to look as casual as possible when he turned to face the beautiful navigator beside him. "Nami-swan," he called sweetly.

"Hmm?"

"You know I love you, right?"

A short silence filled the air before Nami stood up, keeping her back to him. Sanji was sure he had spotted a blush on her smooth cheeks. She turned her head ever so slightly, cheeks pink and a coy smile on her lips. "Yes, Sanji-kun. I know."

And with that she walked away, leaving the stunned cook with a pounding heart and a wide idiotic grin on his face that he was glad no one saw.

Sanji hummed loudly as he wiped the countertops, feeling light as a feather. Dinner had just finished, and although Nami had acted normally towards him, he hadn't failed to notice the subtle brush of her hand against his when he had placed her plate in front of her. Little hearts formed in his eyes as he moved towards the sink to re-wet the cloth in his hands.

"Oof." Shiloh, who he had unconsciously just bumped out of the way, looked up at him with a half smile and a soapy plate in her hands. "You look happy. Did something good happen?"

He spun in dramatic circles, tiny hearts scattering all over the place as if he were some strange whirlpool of love. "Life is good, little Shiloh! We must all make the most of it!" He was answered by a laugh and the sound of a plate being rinsed. As he spun, one of his hands thumped against the girl's back, causing her to flail about as she nearly dropped the dish in her hand.

"Sanji, I'm going to drop things if you keep bumping into me."

"Break anything and you'll have to replace iiiitttt!" He sang, not desisting in his noodly dancing.

Without warning, the galley door suddenly burst open, making a loud cracking sound, followed by a surprised shout. There had been a flurry of movement around him, but due to his spinning he hadn't realized what happened. The sight before him was odd: Zoro stood by the door leaning slightly to the left, his eyes wide with surprise. Then Sanji noticed what seemed to be a small, soapy hilt of a knife sticking out of the doorframe, exactly where the swordsman was leaning away from. Confused, he turned around and met eyes with Shiloh, who was slightly crouched, arm extended as if she had just-

"The hell?!" Zoro pulled the knife out of the wood and walked over to the redhead who slowly lowered her arm, a sheepish look on her face. "Did you throw that?!"

Sanji resisted the urge to roll his eyes despite his surprise. Obviously she had. The image of similar knives sticking out of Shiloh's boots flashed in his mind. Curiously, he asked, "Where are you keeping those?"

The redhead blushed and looked away, "Nowhere…"

Zoro bent over to be eye level. "You almost took my eye out."

"Not your good one," Shiloh pointed out, the words sounding a bit like a timid whine. Sanji couldn't help but let out a chuckle, earning him a glare from the green haired man. Shiloh cleared her throat, face glowing with embarrassment, and said, "Sorry. You scared me."

Zoro held out the knife, the irritation falling away from his face. "You know how to throw these?" The interest in his voice wasn't lost on Sanji.

"Not exactly," Shiloh replied. "I had a… client who was into knife throwing. An entertainer does what they must to please the audience and all that."

Before either man could say another word, Luffy appeared at the doorway and wrapped his long rubber arms around the redhead. "Shy! Come play tag with us!"

Usopp and Chopper also popped their heads in chanting, "Tag! Tag! Tag!"

Shiloh barely managed a glance at the cook and the swordsman before being forcibly pulled from the room by the captain.

Sanji turned to look at Zoro who was staring at the small knife in his hands. The green-haired man looked up, holding the knife by the tip of the blade so the cook could see. "If it hadn't been wet she could have hit me."

The blond raised a skeptical brow. "You really think so?"

"No," Zoro answered immediately. "But even the slight possibility is impressive." He held the object in his palms, staring at it so intensely Sanji wondered if the fool expected the blade to talk to him. "I've got to tell her."

Sanji let out an extremely baffled, "What?!"

Still staring at the knife, Zoro replied, "I've got to tell her, Cook. I'm going to tell her. I'll do it tomorrow. For sure I'll do it tomorrow."

The blond shook his head, both in shock and in mirth. Zoro had been impressed by that half-assed throw. "Seriously, Marimo," he chuckled, "If I had known throwing a knife at your head was all it took to win you over I would have told her to do it a long time ago."

He could have imagined it since it had happened in the blink of an eye, but Sanji could have sworn he saw Zoro smile as he walked past him and out of the galley.

"Tomorrow, huh?" He took a deep breath, the scent of tangerines suddenly filling his nostrils. His heart skipped a beat as the back of his hand instantly warmed where a certain navigator had touched it earlier. He smiled. "Let's just see what tomorrow brings for us then, stupid marimo."

Unbeknownst to the love-struck cook, the next day would bring the entire crew bad news in the form of a white ship with deep maroon sails.

A/N

Okay, so this chapter got kind of cheesy. But hey, who doesn't like a little cheese now and then? Unless you're lactose intolerant, in which case, sorry for the heavy cheese in this chapter. Again, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! They really make my day!