I never resist a bit of drama! I just loved to write this chapter, hope you guys can enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichiro, who broke my heart killing my beloved favourite One Piece character. Don't like him all that much anymore.

The Way To Love

Chapter IV – Misery

Robin wasn't one to meddle on the affairs of her nakama, in despite of how good an observer she was. In fact, she was the biggest defender of privacy of the entire crew. Even so, as three weeks went by since they set sail again after stopping at the resort island, she started to worry a lot about Sanji and Nami.

She knew they were just in the beginning of a possible future relationship, however, those last weeks hadn't been like before. Nami never set foot in the kitchen again, and always asked someone to grab a plate for her. Sanji was also always asking for someone to deliver her afternoon tea, activity that Robin knew for a fact was something he was always looking forward to do. He also rarely left the kitchen these days.

Being the only one who knew they probably had a fight or something of the sorts, Robin, uncharacteristically, decided she needed to intervene. It was quite obvious they needed some help, even if it was just to move on and live life as if they had never been together, or the whole crew might be affected by their lack of interaction. She didn't really feel comfortable about it, but what could she do? Ask Luffy to do it? He wasn't really versed (or had any interest whatsoever) on the matters of the heart, so it was best to keep him out of it. Usopp was kind of the same, even though he was a little bit less dense than Luffy. Chopper could yet be considered a child, and didn't have much interaction with other people beside his parents, so he also wouldn't be of much help.

The task was at her hands, and she would be putting Zoro in the middle of it too – just for the fun of it. That afternoon was a very quiet one. Luffy and Usopp were soundly asleep on deck and Chopper was very occupied making his rumble balls. Zoro was training and Nami was locked on the girls' room. Robin took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. Sanji seemed very absorbed on thinking while he stirred a huge pot of what smelled like curry.

"I think that might be burning, Sanji-san."

Her words made him jump and haste to lower the stove's fire.

"Thank you, Robin-chan."

She sat at the table and watched as he tried to save their meal. When he finally felt satisfied, he sat in front of her and lit a cigarette.

"I am a good listener." she said, smiling to him.

It was very clear he wasn't himself. Robin had never seen him do something wrong in the kitchen before. Sanji despised anyone who put food to waste and he certainly would feel like crap if he had to throw away an entire pot of curry because he burned it.

"Thank you, Robin-chan… I think I might need a good listener."

He took a long drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke out.

"As you noticed from the very first day, Nami and I were… having a thing. It was just a couple of nightstands, since I didn't want to push her, but little by little everything I felt for her began to take over me." he paused for a minute, inhaling more of his cigarette, trying to tame all the stress inside of him. "I wanted us to be a real couple. I wanted to be able to do for her small things couples usually do, I didn't want to fear she wouldn't want me anymore the next day. However, the conditions that brought us together were… peculiar."

Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Robin said:

"You don't need to tell me, if you think you shouldn't."

Sanji sighed.

"It's just… It's an extremely delicate and personal issue, I don't want to betray her trust."

"Then, don't."

Sanji gave her a small smile and nodded.

"So, she asked me if I would have done to anyone what I did for her, if it was someone else, if I would have had sex with this person instead. I know it sounded confusing."

"I think I understand."

"I didn't know what to answer then, and I don't know what to answer now. I know I flirt around a lot, but I'm not a womanizer. I adore Nami ever since we met and she knows that. I would have done anything she asked of me, things I certainly wouldn't do for anyone else, however, she never showed any romantic interest on me. She always refused me quite loudly, and I always respected that – or, at least, I tried very hard to. I feel like she is being so unfair to me, but yet… I want to respect her wishes. If she doesn't want me, that's fine. It will certainly be much harder for me now that we've been together for a while, but I can handle it, I'll learn how to handle it. I just don't want her to be so distant… I know she is suffering, and that kills me and I can't do anything about it, because mainly I'm the reason why she is suffering, and I can't answer her damn question!"

When he was over he was out of breath. He couldn't remember ever talking that much, especially of such intimate affairs. Yet, he felt relieved he had someone to whom he could pour his heart out.

"It's much more delicate than I previously thought it would be." Robin said. "However, I think you just need to talk a bit. If you told her everything you are telling me now…"

"I don't want to trouble her even further. If she doesn't want to talk, I won't force her. Not again, not after everything."

"I understand. Would you mind if I talked to her as well?"

"No, of course not. You must be really worried. It's not really like you to interfere like this."

She giggled.

"Indeed, I am worried. Nami is not fine, and neither are you. She's been eating and talking less. She barely leaves our room as you barely leaves this kitchen. One day, one of you might want to leave us, and that we can't have, don't you agree? Luffy and the others would be devastated."

Sanji was glad to have someone thinking the big picture for him, because he just couldn't. He was far too drowned in his own misery to consider every possible detail.

"You're right. I just, as I said, don't want to deepen her misery even more. I'll get better. I'll try to act normally."

Robin smiled to him.

"That certainly would help. You should take the afternoon tea for her as you always do. It's a step. Little by little we will sort everything out."

Sanji nodded.

"Thank you, Robin. Thank you very much."

Zoro was pushing his weights and internally cursing Robin for persuading him into meddling on business he had nothing to do with. Sometimes he plainly hated her. She was definitely the source of all his problems. He was thinking that over and over when Nami appeared and sat on the deck's floor, staring at the ocean as if it had the answers to every life problem.

Letting go of his impossibly huge workout tools, Zoro sat near her.

"You know, eventually you'll have to tell someone why you've been so gloomy."

Nami almost jumped, taken by surprise by his voice.

"Go on, spill it."

"Really? You want to talk to me about my problems?"

Zoro grimaced.

"Robin is forcing me, I admit. But if you don't talk to me, you'll talk to her, so we might as well solve everything now."

Nami raised an eyebrow.

"And why are you obeying her?"

Zoro sighed.

"We've been together for a while, okay? That woman can be more demoniac than you sometimes and I certainly don't want to wake that side of her."

Nami's eyes widened in shock. Robin and Zoro were together? Since when? How was it possible that she never noticed?

"Yeah, yeah, don't give me this look. What has that idiotic cook done to you? I can finish him off for you if you want."

Nami felt her heart falter with Zoro's words.

"He hasn't done anything, not really… I was unfair to him, but that is the way I feel and I can't overcome it and it saddens and scares me. I don't know what to do, and I don't have enough courage to face him and apparently he also doesn't want to see me, so…"

"Explain things more directly, please."

Nami sighed. That was precisely what she didn't really wanted to do. If she explained everything to Zoro it would just be more clear how stupid she was.

"I… I'm jealous and insecure, and that made me ask something of him that was plainly unfair."

"I'm sure he deserved it."

"No, he didn't! I know he is a flirter, but I also knows he has a deep respect for every and any women. He is not a womanizer, I know that… But that is the reason why I never let myself fall for him before. I knew I would be jealous and that would hurt me, and I also knew he wouldn't change because it was a part of who he was."

Zoro sighed. Why were women so complicated?

"He stopped flirting around the day you got together."

"What?"

"I don't understand that idiot at all, but as soon as you two started things he stopped flirting around. Usopp was telling us the other day how he found strange when Sanji ignored a saleswoman who was flirting with him. Usopp thought Sanji was sick."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. I have no reason to defend that stupid cook."

Nami was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to think or feel. Sanji had a thing for female beauty, saying he was a pervert was going a little too far, but he certainly was useless around a pretty girl. For him to stop flirting… Did he do it on purpose or he simply didn't want to flirt anymore because he, theoretically, had her? Damn, now she was even more confused.

"Why do you think he did it, Zoro? Not flirt with the girl, I mean."

"If that idiot is anything, Nami, that is devoted to you. He flirts with virtually every breathing female, but he basically does anything you ask of him. And he wouldn't do it to just anyone. That's how I see it, at least."

Nami felt like crying.

"Don't you think you should just talk to him?"

Zoro was right, but she was so afraid, so insecure! Basically, insecurity defined all of her relationship with Sanji. She had been insecure since the very beginning – actually, since she met him. What if he was mad at her? What if he didn't want to talk to her?

"I don't know if he wants to talk to me."

Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Just go talk to him. That idiot is so stupid he probably is keeping his distance from you because he thinks he is respecting your wishes or something. Really, you two are really troublesome. Set this straight now. I won't help again. Ever again. Robin can threaten me as much as she wants."

"Oh, can I really?"

Robin's voice sent a chill over Zoro's entire body. Sometimes he questioned his sanity: why had he wanted a relationship with her in the first place?

Robin just smiled and sat on the other side of Nami.

"He is alone in the kitchen now, if you want to see him."

Nami got up and walked away from her two nakama. Tears were burning her eyes and throat, but she didn't want to give in to them. Yes, she wanted to go see Sanji – quite desperately, actually. But she was afraid. Afraid he wouldn't forgive her, afraid he didn't want her anymore, afraid that jealous side of her would appear again.

Sanji was still as Robin has left him, sat at the table, smoking a cigarette, trying to sort out all the turmoils inside of him. It was no easy task. Robin was right, he should talk to Nami, ask what was troubling her, make everything okay. Maybe they would never be lovers again, but they should be the good friends they always had been.

He was putting one more cigarette down when Nami entered the kitchen. Their eyes met and she started to cry, glued to the door as if she was afraid to enter it further. Gods, he hated when she cried. Sanji got up and stood in front of her, it was visible how hurt she was, and it tortured him not to understand what he had done to cause her so much pain.

He opened his arms.

She threw herself at him, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

Sanji held her tight and let her cry.