Plans And Dreams

"Sanji," Luffy said suddenly.

"Hm?" Sanji paused for a moment, knife hovering in mid-air, before looking over his shoulder and tilting his head to the side.

Luffy looked at him in the eye, smiling at him and eyes glistering; his cheek was on his fist and the elbow supported by their diner table, legs swinging back and forth in a way that reminded Sanji of a little, excited child. The thought nearly made him smile.

Luffy's smile turned into a full-blown grin, eyes sparkling in a way that they usually only would for adventure. "Tell me about the All Blue."

Sanji smiled, turning back to the cutting board. "The All Blue, eh?" he started chopping again, nostalgia of days spent with a shitty old man so long ago. "The All Blue is a legendary ocean and every chef's dream, for in that ocean, there swims every single type of fish in the world; and that is because all four Blues of the world come together in that one spot: South Blue, North Blue, West Blue, East Blue. The first person to ever talk about the All Blue was..."

Sanji remembered talking about his dream, once, two long years ago when their crew was nothing more than a handful of people with impossible dreams. He remembered a boy, now a man, listening to him in the same way, believing every word he said simply because it was his dream. He remembered years in a restaurant, learning how to cook from a man that could very nearly be his father (although he'd never say that).

"And what are you going to do first, after you found it?" Luffy asked after a while, when he said all he knew about All Blue.

Sanji laughed softly, grinning to himself. "I'm going to do the biggest fish buffet in the whole world, so good that everybody withing a hundred—no, a thousand miles will come and want some of it. I'm going to send the shitty geezer a letter, saying that I found the All Blue and rub it in his face, and then—"

And then? What would he do then? He hadn't really thought that far yet. To be honest, it scared him a bit, because he couldn't go back to the Baretie after that—too much had happened and he doubted that he could sit still after living the life of a pirate. He wondered where he wanted to be, what he wanted to do, how—

"And then?" Luffy prompted eagerly, nearly bouncing in his seat and eyes shining in excitement.

And just like that, Sanji knew his answer.

"And then," he turned around and grinned at his captain, drying his hands on a tea towel. "I'm going to go to the end of the world and beyond with the Pirate King."

Luffy grinned widely—eyes closed, full of teeth and gums and sunshine and love. "Shishishishi!"

Sanji smirked to himself, pleased. He took out a cigarette and lit it on, smoke trailing down his throat and pleasantly into his lungs. He remembered glorious battles and eight fellow crew mates and love.

Yes, staying with them was a very good plan for the future.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

I'll admit, it was a bit hard to get an idea. BUT! I got an idea for another Sanji & Luffy (III) chapter for Mourning and Acceptance. I just have to find a way how to write it, is all.

I just read '100 Days of Ace Being a Buttwipe'. Read it; I'm serious. It's damn funny and really good, although a bit much of swearing in there and a lot of science too, but it's well explained and it really shows the love of WBP and Ace. Another thing, listen to The High Kings (my personal favorite? Star of the County Down)—awesome songs to listen to while you're writing or reading. Both of them together = awesomeness.

I thank everyone for their reviews on the last chapter. Everyone seemed quite excited about this, so I hope it came out alright. This chapter revolves a bit more around Sanji's loyalty and dreams and how they link to his captain (I think). I dunno, criticism and opinions are all yours.

Thank you for reading and please review!