The Grand Line was everything he expected and more. The sea, like the ancient goddesses of old, was powerful and beautiful, letting its will be felt to all who tried to tame her. The skies were wider, allowing any sailor to wonder of what might be found over the horizon. Anything that a foolish romantic could dream of was possible.

And best of all, the fish was delicious.

Sanji sat out on the deck of the Going Merry as he attempted to plan his menu for the next couple of days (or however long it took for his idiot of a captain to do something really, really dumb). As the cook flicked some ash off of the end of his cigarette he pondered how the new sea king recipe he was marinating would go over tonight. Luffy, being the ultimate carnivore that he was, would probably love it, as would the shit head of a swordsman. Usopp, Sanji had discovered, had a surprisingly good palate considering the little backwater village he had grown up in. However, it was Nami's opinion he was truly worried about. They hadn't been traveling together for very long, and Sanji had done his best to impress her, with no apparent success.

The cook got up with a small sigh. So far being responsible for the nutritional needs of the crew had been surprisingly difficult. On the Baratie he was used to cooking for dozens upon dozens of people on a daily basis. Sanji had thought he was completely ready for the next step in his culinary development. It had only taken a week or two for his respect to the shitty geezer to go up. Budgeting was part of the problem, they had severely limited funds and Nami (rightfully) was very frugal with what they had. And Luffy was a complete pig with no self control when it came to food.

This, along with the fact that he was forced to split his time between cooking and helping sail their little boat, meant the Sanji was putting a whole lot of hours into a job that the rest of the crew didn't really understand enough to appreciate. Especially that lazy ass swordsman Zoro, who when he wasn't leaving his ridiculously oversized weights in everyone else's way, was napping. At least Luffy was grateful enough to complement what Sanji made.

Sanji made his way back to his small, but well stocked, kitchen. There he saw the ultimate of blasphemies. Zoro, the uncultured piece of shit with the manners and sophistication of a barbarian, was examining his knives.

Zoro was touching his knives.

Sanji almost exploded with rage.

"What. The. Hell." He hissed.

Zoro looked up, apparently surprised at the hostility, "Oh, sorry. I just saw you working with these yesterday and I thought that they looked like North Blue steel, and I wanted to make sure."

"Oh, so does that mean that I can take a look at your swords any time I want?" Sanji snarled.

Zoro quickly, but gently, put the knives down. The two men stood, clearly at some sort of impasse. It was Zoro that broke it as he backed away from Sanji's cooking station.

"Sorry. I didn't know they were that important."

The apology seemed genuine, and the shithead didn't break eye contact. Sanji grunted in reply as he brushed by him, examining his precious knives.

"Of course they are. These are important tools for the job that I do. You have your swords, Usopp his slingshot, Nami her maps, and Luffy has his…uh…hat. You've gotta treat them a certain way, respect them, care for them. That's the only way I can make quality food too keep the rest of you guys from starving to death."

Sanji put his knives away, ready for Zoro to laugh at him. It never came. In fact, the swordsmen looked at him with something that was dangerously close to approval.

"That why you never fight with your hands? 'Cause they're tools?" He asked.

"Yeah," Sanji said as he lit up a new cigarette.

Zoro nodded and left the kitchen, probably to take a nap or something. Sanji sat at the table, mildly perplexed at the exchange he just had. For some reason he felt like he had just passed a test or something. The shitty moss head was an annoying creature that followed no logic. But somehow Sanji knew that Zoro would never, ever get near his things without permission ever again.

Sanji finished his cigarette and left the kitchen. He really should be starting dinner right now, but wasn't in the right mindset. Right now if he tried to make anything it would turn out terrible.

So he stepped out, and leaned against the rail, watching the crew. It was a quiet day, something Sanji realized was a blessed rarity. Luffy was on the ram head, gazing into the water thinking whatever idiot captains thought. Usopp was tinkering, always a potentionally dangerous activity, and telling the wonderful Nami some shitty lie. She was sunbathing, gorgeous as always. Zoro was doing sword drills. He only had one sword out (Sanji still thought having three was rather dumb) and was doing his procession slowly, meticulously making every move precise and perfect.

It was amazing to think that the five of them were on the Grand Line. He had heard of plenty of pirate crews coming to this deadly sea, only never to return. Hell, Don Krieg and his whole armada hadn't been able to survive seven days on these infamous waters. The place was called a graveyard for a reason.

And there was no place Sanji would rather be.

Even though the crew was new to the whole pirate gig, they had one thing that the other pieces of shit that traveled this ocean didn't: Respect. Respect for the ocean, respect for their captain, and (as much as he hated to admit it in Zoro's case) respect for each other.

In that way, the Straw Hat Pirates reminded him of all the cooks on the Baratie. Through all the fights, both physical and verbal, that had taken place over the years Sanji and the others had forged and maintained a bond. They had been more than coworkers, they had been family.

Sanji recognized that while the Straw Hats had started making such a bond, it was still a work in progress. As they traveled the hardships and struggles that were a large part of the Grand Line would help build that respect that would drive them together.

After all, they each had a part to play. Sanji couldn't snipe, navigate, stretch, or cut people with a sword. He couldn't keep people in line like Nami, bring people together like Luffy, or have Usopp's genius with chemicals. And thank God he didn't have Zoro's stoic blandness.

Sanji was learning that the Grand Line is a beautiful and terrible place. One had to respect it or be torn apart. This crew, with their bonds of respect that they were building toward one another, were becoming something greater than they could ever be individually, something that made it possible for them to all achieve their dreams. Crazy dreams that only a foolish romantic could dream.

They were becoming a family.