15 Reasons to Fall in Love

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

12. Zoro was hardly a romantic.
Zoro was hardly the type of guy that could sweep someone off their feet. Unless you considered a grueling workout followed by a nap in the grass to be a romantic date.

The island was very...unique, even for an island in the Grand Line. Actually, it was just plain bizarre, even by the Straw Hat's standards. When Zoro had spotted the island in the distance Sanji had been quite relieved. He could use a heavy resupply trip; the food he'd scavenged from the cricket island was beginning to run low, and Sanji was itching to get his hands on some of the more basic ingredients that he'd long ago run out of. Things like flour and rice had limitless potential as ingredients, and Sanji had been dying to get his hands on some more.

As they drew closer to the island though, Sanji's jaw dropped. His wasn't the only one; the entire crew had identical looks of shock and disbelief. It was the pink glow that caught their attention first. The island wasn't actually glowing, but the color was so vibrant that it almost appeared to be. As they drew closer, it was the overwhelming scent of fresh flowers that appalled them next. The fragrance was so strong that Chopper fainted, his sensitive nose getting the best of him. Franky did him a favor by shoving wads of tissues into his nose and carrying him below deck where the air was still a little clearer to recover.

Even Sanji, who usually enjoyed the smell of flowers (it reminded him of the perfume women wore and usually set his heart beating with desire) was slightly sickened by the overly sweet scent. They all took to covering their noses and trying to breathe through their mouths, although by doing that they seemed to be able to taste the fragrance instead and it left bad taste in their mouths.

"This is worse than the time Luffy dumped a bottle of Nami's perfume!" Usopp coughed out in a nasally voice.

"Luffy did what?" Nami hissed out, rounding on Usopp.

"This is terrible," Robin replied, following her comment with a delicate sneeze. Her eyes were slightly watery and despite the terrible smell she sniffed a few times. "I believe we've come across a romance island."

"Romance island?" Luffy frowned. "Sounds boring."

"What the hell's a romance island?" Zoro asked, a heavy scowl on his face as if whatever a romance island was it was personally offensive to him.

Robin accepted a tissue from Franky before she explained. "I've only read about it in books, but supposedly a romance island like this is supposed to be a destination for young lovers looking to solidify their love," This explanation was met with a collective blank stare from the younger men of the crew and Robin couldn't help but laugh as she simplified it for them. "It's a wonderful destination for a date."

Luffy scrunched up his nose in distaste and turned to their navigator, who was still preoccupied with punishing Usopp. "Nami!" Luffy cried. "This place is boring and it smells bad, do we really have to stop here?"

Nami let Usopp go and consulted the log pose on her wrist. The needle pointed steadfastly at the island before them and she sighed. "There's no going around it," She said regretfully. "This is where the log pose points. We'll just have to stick it out here for a while."

Luffy whined pitifully, but no one paid him any attention as they prepared to drop anchor and make for land.

Nami made ready to draw straws to decide who would stay behind to guard the ship, but was saved the hassle when Robin volunteered to stay behind. Apparently the lovely Robin-chwan was allergic to flowers and wanted to avoid leaving the confines of the ship. At least on the Sunny, anchored a little ways from the island, there was a delicate sea breeze to help dissipate the fragrance and the pollen. Franky volunteered to stay behind as well, to watch over Robin and Chopper. According to him, this island was "very not super".

The rest made ready to disembark. Despite all his whining, Luffy would never miss the opportunity to explore new territory. He and Usopp began chattering excitedly about what sort of oddities they might find on such a stupid island. Nami quickly broke up their little meeting with a tug on ear of their ears. Luffy's, being made of rubber, simply stretched, while poor Usopp let out a shriek of pain.

"You two idiots aren't going anywhere until you've replaced the bottle of perfume you spilled," She ground out dangerously.

"It was Luffy's fault!" Ussop cried, holding his swelling ear. "Why am I the one being punished!"

"Because you witnessed it," Nami frowned, her hands on her hips. "Meaning you were both in the girls' bunkroom. I charge for that kind of thing you know!"

Sanji spared Usopp a brief sympathetic glance as he, Zoro, and Brook passed. Usopp pleaded to him with his eyes but Sanji knew better than to cross Nami-swan. Instead he left the poor sharpshooter on his own and left with the other two.

Zoro sneered at their surroundings when they reached land and made for the town. The pink appearance that the islands had was caused by a combination of white and red roses. Thousands of them covered every square inch of land. In the town they covered everything, the tops of buildings poking out bravely from between the brambles.

"What the hell is with all the roses?" Zoro scoffed.

Sanji stepped on his toe as one of the passing townspeople turned to inspect their group. Sanji had his doubts about taking Brook along for the trip, people rarely took the sight of a walking skeleton well, but it was hardly fair to force him to stay behind. The man who had stopped didn't seem to care about Brook's appearance though as he flashed them a warm smile.

"Are you folks new to town?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah," Sanji nodded. "We're travelers, stopping to resupply."

The man's smile never faded as he nodded in understanding. He turned to Zoro before speaking again. "The roses are a symbol of love eternal," The man explained. "The red ones symbolize true love and the white ones symbolize purity and innocence. Our island has the ideal conditions for them to grow and they bloom all year long. Most young couples come here to celebrate their love for one another," Here he paused and eyed Zoro closely. "Are you in love young man?"

Zoro sputtered and a blushed furiously. Sanji couldn't help but laugh at the marimo's reaction. Zoro shot him a glare and stuck his chin out defiantly before answering.

"I am."

Sanji's laughter abruptly stopped and it was his turn to blush. Zoro sent him a sarcastic smirk that Sanji was sorely tempted to kick off his face, but the man was speaking again.

"Ah then you came to the right place! Our island blesses new love you know! How are you planning to celebrate your love? Perhaps a romantic meal? Or a starlit stroll? Maybe even..." The man trailed off, leaning closer to Zoro and lowering his voice. "A proposal?" He winked suggestively.

Zoro scowled. "Why would I do any of that crap?"

The man looked shocked. "Because it's important my boy!" He gestured wildly around him. "It's why our island exists! Two people can't possibly be happy together without romance!"

Zoro looked down at the shorter man with something akin to disgust written on his face. "That's bullshit. This romantic stuff is just stupid," He huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know, Marimo," Sanji said. "Some people might like being treated to a romantic evening out."

Zoro shot him a look. "Well that's too bad for them, because I don't do things like that."

The two glared at each other for a long time before the man cleared his throat and they were forced to turn their attention to him. "Well I hope you'll reconsider, my boy. Romance is very important. How else would you show your love?" And with that he turned and left, leaving the three pirates standing in the street.

"Well that was certainly enlightening," Brook said. "I suppose it's not such a bad town. Perhaps I could lend them my talents, I happen to know a few romance pieces."

"We're not here to serenade lovers, Brook," Sanji grumbled, moving past the musician. "We're here to buy food." He brushed past the marimo as well without so much as a passing glance and moved up the street to find a market place.

Once he'd adjusted to the overwhelming smell of the roses, Sanji actually found the town to be quite charming. It wasn't much different from any other town they'd visited, except that everything seemed to the geared towards romance. The produce shop Sanji had stopped in insisted Sanji needed specially grown heart shaped fruits ("Grown only on this island, with love!") and for whatever reason the rice he'd bought had red seeds mixed in with the usual white ("Dyed rice is the specialty of this island! With love!"), but beside the eccentric oddities the place passed off as romantic, it was a charming little town. He'd love to take Nami and Robin out for a pleasant evening here, if sweet Robin-chan could do so without suffering from allergies.

The island was, as advertised, the perfect destination for lovers looking for a romantic getaway. The flowers, once you got used to them, gave the island a warm and inviting atmosphere. The shops were lavishly decorated and the people were friendly and engaging. It was the ideal place for love the likes of which he'd only heard about in fairy tales. And Sanji was beginning to find it massively amusing.

Sanji did not know much about love, having hardly the time for it as a wanted pirate. Even before, when he was the sous-chef on the Baratie, his job was round the clock and love held no interest for him. But he was absolutely certain this kind of romance this island prided itself on was cheesy and far too over-embellished. That didn't stop him from pretending to love every bit of it though. He'd noticed the marimo's disgusted sneer since they'd entered the first shop. The swordsman's face had been growing more and more comically outraged at they made their rounds, each shop seeming to offend him more than the last.

Sanji could never miss the opportunity to further annoy Zoro. He swooned over the ridiculous decorations in each shop, and treated each "romantic" suggestion from the shopkeepers as if it were golden advice, and engaged Brook in conversations about what sort of music would be appropriate for a date in this town. Brook seemed to be getting into the joke as well, humming out bars of music for Sanji to hear while explaining what kind of music made for the best atmosphere. Of course, Sanji supposed Brook could have been serious; it was hard to tell since he didn't have a face to make expressions with or eyes that Sanji could read his thoughts in, but either way Sanji continued along that way, slowly driving the swordsman crazy.

Had it not been for Zoro's attitude toward the town and his comments to the man they'd met when they'd arrived, Sanji wouldn't have bothered with the torture he was bestowing on the marimo. But Zoro's grumpy attitude was simply begging for Sanji to try the other man's patience. When Zoro had called this romantic stuff stupid, Sanji partially agreed. But when Sanji had tried to at least behave politely (a concept far lost on the moss-brain, Sanji didn't even know why he bothered trying) and made a comment about some people enjoying romance, Zoro's attitude had flat out pissed the cook off.

There had been flat out defiance in his tone and a clearly written message in his eyes that read, "You'd better not even think of expecting that from me".

It wasn't that Sanji ever expected Zoro to bring him flowers, take him out to some overpriced dinner of mediocre food (that Sanji could have cooked on the Sunny with twice the flavor), or dance the night away with him under a full moon, surrounded by rose petals. Sanji wasn't a woman, though he suspected even Nami and Robin would laugh at such a ridiculous idea, and he certainly didn't see the appeal in any of that. What had the cook especially pissed off this time was Zoro's bad attitude about it, without even taking Sanji's feelings into consideration.

And what did Zoro take him for, thinking Sanji wanted things like that at all. Sanji had always imagined that out of everyone on the crew, Zoro probably knew him best. Despite the fact that they fought more often than they spoke, he always got the feeling Zoro understood him in ways most didn't. Clearly the marimo didn't know him that well, thinking Sanji wanted to be wined and dined on some cheesy date. That was why Sanji was taking especial joy in his current mission to annoy Zoro. He wasn't going to let the marimo get off easy now.

With most of their shopping done, Brook suggested they stopped for tea at a cozy looking tea shop down the street. Sanji readily agreed and followed Brook's lead. Zoro scoffed from behind but followed, dragging his feet reluctantly behind them.

The tea shop, like the rest of the town, was excessively decorated in reds, pinks, and whites. The tables and chairs were made of beautifully crafted iron, painted white, and the chairs were padded with thick red cushions. Cut out hearts in reds and pinks, trimmed with white lacy hung in intervals from the ceiling. The walls were white, but hidden almost entirely under a massive collection of framed paintings featuring romantic scenes like couples exchanging sweet kisses or couples sitting together under a sea of stars. There were also banners with quotes written on them. The one nearest them read, "Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead." Sanji had to resist the urge to snort as he followed Brook further inside.

"What a charming little tea shop," Brook commented after they'd taken their seats. "Look they even have heart shaped tea cups!"

Sanji couldn't help but chuckle at that, but quickly paid a compliment to the shop when he noticed the marimo's glare. "I can just imagine what a lovely place this would be for a nice afternoon date. Look at the pictures, suggestive aren't they?" Sanji winked at Zoro who's scowl deepened.

"Yohohoho, indeed!" Brook laughed. "They certainly make one feel the love," He sighed dreamily.

"That's it," Zoro snapped, slamming his hands down onto the table and standing up. The sudden noise startled the poor waitress who jumped and stared wide eyed at the group.

"What the hell's the matter with you, Marimo?" Sanji asked, glaring at him. Of course Sanji knew what was wrong, he'd been steadily working Zoro to this point all day, but that was no reason to frighten the poor waitress.

"I've had it with this town," Zoro growled. "I'm out of here," He said, making for the door before Sanji could even call out to him.

"Hmm," Brook mused, sipping at his tea. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before we got him to his breaking point," He laughed softly. "Now Sanji-san," Brook said, his skeletal face turning to the cook and regarding him intently. "Perhaps you'd like to explain to me the relationship between you and Zoro-san?"

Zoro couldn't wait to make it back to the Sunny. He'd rather be cramped up in the confines of the ship with eight other people than spend another moment in this pink and red, smelly, romance island. This was, in Zoro's opinion, the most embarassing place a band of pirates could ever land, and he couldn't believe the love-cook was enjoying himself as much as he was.

Zoro stopped, turning around and surveying the surrounding area. What was Sanji playing at? He had to know Zoro wasn't into things like this. Zoro couldn't believe Sanji was; though he was the love-cook, perhaps Zoro shouldn't have been surprised. Zoro was not going to humiliate himself for the cook's sake though. There was no chance of that, and if Sanji hated him for it that was too bad.

Zoro scratched his head in irritation and let out an aggravated sigh, turning back the way he came. It was going to take a while for him to get back to the Sunny, and he wished for a moment that he'd stayed with the cook and the skeleton. Perhaps then he could have avoided this situation.

Sanji managed to avoid the musician's question by quickly pointing to the waitress and making the comment "I wonder what kind of panties she wears." This seemed to wipe the topic of the cook and the swordsman from Brook's mind as he approached the young lady to pose his usual question.

They'd been thrown from the shop after that, but Sanji had had just about enough of this island anyway. Without Zoro around to tease, there was no point in pretending to enjoy the shitty decorations and the shitty "romance" theme. Together he and Brook decided it was time to head back to the Sunny, now both heavily laden with supplies since their swordsman had up and left them behind. Sanji wondered how Zoro thought he was even going to find the Sunny. Though there was only one path leading back to their ship, Zoro's sense of direction had surely already led him astray several times.

Sanji shrugged mentally, adjusting his hold on their bags. It was the swordsman's own problem if he ended up lost in the middle of a rosebush. It was not Sanji's problem. Let this serve as a lesson to the shitty bastard, Sanji thought, for treating me like I'm the idiot in this relationship.

The thought crossed Sanji's mind and called his body to a complete halt. Even though he had been aware of the marimo's feeling for a while now, and even though he felt much the same, he'd never really considered them to be in a relationship. Or perhaps he did, deep down…but he'd never been in a relationship like this before, and the idea seemed so strange. After all, if this island was an example of how normal relationships went, there was no way possible he and the marimo would ever have a normal relationship.

"Is something wrong, Sanji-san?" Brook asked, noticing that the cook was no longer with him.

Sanji shook his head, effectively clearing away his thoughts and answering Brook at the same time. "Nothing at all," He said, catching up to the musician. "We should hurry back to the Sunny, before Luffy starts trying to eat Chopper again."

Brook laughed and followed Sanji's lead.

Night fells and the marimo still hadn't returned. Dinner had come and gone, the crew more than happy with the abundance of food. They ate themselves full to bursting for the first time in quite a while, and Sanji received many compliments on the meal. After dinner they'd lingered at the table, spending time together with each other in a way they had not in quite some time.

You'd think being on a relatively small ship in the middle of the ocean would force them together, and it did, but just because you were forced to share a small space with someone doesn't mean that you're going to enjoy the other's company. Mostly they spent very little time enjoying each other's company as a crew and instead seemed to break off into smaller, more manageable groups.

That was probably for the best, Sanji decided, wiping sweat away from his brow. He'd been cleaning the mess made from their little union up for what felt like hours. Gathering eight rambunctious and mostly eccentric pirates into one small area for a feast and story swapping was always bound to end messily. Sanji was partially glad they didn't do this more often, or he'd never have the free time between meals. Of course the time spent with his nakama was always worth a little extra effort.

The cleaning probably could have gone much faster with his usual helper, but Zoro missed dinner entirely, and unless he'd snuck up to the crow's nest while everyone was eating, Sanji was fairly sure the swordsman was still running around the town, lost. Sanji had the policy not to worry about Zoro; he was all muscle and no brains for a reason. But Sanji also hated not knowing where any one of his crew mates were, even muscle-brained moss-heads like Zoro.

Kitchen cleaned, Sanji threw his cleaning rag into the sink and stood back to admire his work and enjoy a cigarette. It was a job well done after all, Sanji felt he deserved it. Once he'd finished his celebratory cigarette, he left the galley, flicking the light off behind him.

With the galley light out, the deck should have been nearly pitch black. The crew had long since gone to bed; he knew because the bastards had the nerve to wish him a good night while he cleaned up their mess. So when the sight of the deck being, well, not dark, registered into his brain Sanji instantly went on high alert.

The light was dim, barely lighting the surroundings and casting long, flickering shadows. Not ship lights, so it was unlikely to be a marine attack. The marines didn't exactly understand the concept of subtlety, that was for sure. What else then? The way the shadows flickered and moved, jumping and dancing to an unheard rhythm, suggested firelight. It wasn't very bright, so Sanji happily ruled out a fire on their ship. Perhaps a lantern? A sneak thief thinking he'd get away with a pirate's gold while they slept? If so, Sanji felt very bad for the man, Nami-san would never allow anyone to take their money without her permission.

Sanji decided his best course of action would probably be to rid the ship of the nuisance before something happened that woke the others up. Lighting another cigarette, he followed the trail of the shadows to the light's source.

Rounding the corner, he was met so shocking his jaw actually dropped, sending his cigarette tumbling from his mouth. It caught in a fold in his shirt where it singed a hole before he batted it away. The hole in his shirt bothered him, but not enough to wipe the disbelief from his mind at the moment.

"Marimo, what the hell are you doing?"

Zoro's discontent scowl didn't match the scene around him. Hell, it didn't even match what he was wearing! Sanji had never seen Zoro dressed in anything nicer than a clean white t-shirt and his black pants. That was probably the reason the freshly pressed black slacks and dark green button up shirt, neatly tucked in looked so foreign. Not to mention the tie. Sanji had never even tried to picture the marimo wearing a tie before. He wore one now though, tied in an unbelievably perfect knot around the swordsman's collar.

The fancy clothes were offset by the marimo green hair and the three earrings, but Sanji had never seen Zoro look quite so sexy in all of his life. That was hardly the beginning of this bizarre dream though. And a dream it had to be, because there was no way the marimo was standing beside a candle lit table set for two, holding a rose, and looking hilariously unsure of himself.

Zoro's frown deepened when Sanji spoke, but this biting insults that Sanji was used to hearing from the swordsman's mouth never came. Instead Zoro held the rose in his hand out toward Sanji. "For you," He said gruffly.

Sanji frowned in complete confusion, but accepted the rose anyway.

"I asked around town," Zoro spoke, filling in for Sanji's stunned silence. His voice sounded stain, as if keeping up polite conversation with the cook was physically painful. "Red roses are a symbol of love," He said, pointing at the rose in Sanji's hand. "But they are also a symbol of respect, so that's why I picked it," He didn't meet Sanji's eyes when he spoke, keeping his gaze on the rose or off to the side. "Anyway, I know you probably just ate dinner, but I brought some food, so..." He trailed off, gesturing a little helplessly to the table.

Sanji's voice seemed to have fled his body, and he was uncertain of when it would be returning. His body seemed to move on autopilot towards the small table (where had Zoro even gotten such a thing?) and sat him in the chair. The table was neatly arranged. It was clearly set by the marimo because it lacked the set up proper dining etiquette called for, but it was at least neat and presentable, covered in a white tablecloth with two tall candles set in between. There was a small covered dish in front of each chair, and a flute of wine set before each dish. The candles on the table provided little light; that was mostly provided by the shorter, thicker candles the marimo had lined along the railing beside them and on the tops of any available surface.

Sanji stared at the table set before him in awe.

"Here," Zoro sighed. "Let me take that," He said, reaching for the rose in Sanji's hand. Sanji almost yanked it away, keeping the rose to himself, but had just enough presence of mind to bypass that urge. Zoro slipped it gently from Sanji's hand and slid it into a thin vase that Sanji had only just noticed on the table. With the rose placed as a centerpiece, Zoro set about uncovering their dishes.

Two thin slices of an elegant looking cake were placed on each plate. Finally Zoro took the seat across from him and picked up his fork, waiting expectantly for Sanji to do the same. "I figured no one's food could compare to yours, so I brought dessert instead. It looked good enough," Zoro shrugged taking a bite. His nose wrinkled and he swallowed quickly, chasing the bite with an inelegant gulp of wine. "It's too sweet."

The image of Zoro complaining about dessert while chugging down an alcoholic beverage was so familiar to Sanji that he found his voice returning to him. "Of course it's sweet, shitty-marimo, it's a cake. And," He took an experimental sip of wine. "You didn't even choose the right kind of wine for it."

Zoro scowled and Sanji felt that put him into much more familiar territory, so he continued on. "And so I'll ask again: What the hell are you doing, Marimo?"

"It's a date," Zoro said plainly, which a look that suggested Sanji was truly an idiot. "You said some people liked being treated to a romantic evening, and you were excited about this stupid stuff all day, so I thought I-"

The end of Zoro's sentence was cut off by Sanji's sudden outburst of laughter. The cook was nearly doubled over as peals laughter fell from his lips. The laughter continued until he was gasping for breath and wiping tears from his eyes. Zoro folded his arms across his chest and glared down the blonde.

Once Sanji had caught his breath he spoke. "Zoro I hate this stuff," He said, laughing again. "I was just making a big deal out of it because it seemed to annoy you."

Zoro's glare left him and settled on an invisible spot out at sea while his cheeks grew a little redder. "Shit-cook," He muttered.

"I'm sorry! If I'd known you were actually going to do something like this I would've warned you," Sanji sighed.

Zoro eyed him before looking back out at the water. "So you didn't like any of this?"

Sanji felt a wave of guilt wash over him like a sudden rainstorm. Zoro had obviously put a lot of effort into this for Sanji, to make him happy, even if the marimo's instincts had been a little off. It was a sweet gesture.

"I wouldn't say that," Sanji smiled, picking up his fork and taking another bite of the cake. It was too sweet, and it was clear its appeal laid solely in its appearance. "You brought me the cake because you knew I wouldn't be impressed with someone else's food," Sanji smiled. The marimo was eyeing him sideways again, but Sanji knew he was paying attention. "And you served wine, even though I know you prefer to drink sake," Sanji said, taking another sip of the wine. "This rose," He said fingering the petals. Zoro turned to face him again, but still didn't meet his eyes. "You said it was a symbol of respect? And you gave it to me..." Sanji trailed off with a smile.

Zoro frowned at the rose as if it had said something offensive.

Sanji chuckled. "But I really thought you hated this stuff, Marimo," He said. "You called it bullshit."

"I do," Zoro grumbled. "And it is."

"Hmm," Sanji hummed thoughtfully. "But you still did it for me, because you thought I'd like it."

Zoro finally met his eyes. He looked embarrassed but defiant; he was daring Sanji to make fun of him.

Of course Sanji had no such intentions. Instead he smiled warmly at the man across from him. "You're surprisingly sweet, Zoro," He said.

Zoro blushed and looked away again, only this time he looked slightly less ashamed and a little bit proud of himself.

"Now," Sanji continued. "Since it's here, we might as well enjoy this date of ours, right? But you can drop the polite act. I prefer my marimo to be a little rough around the edges," He winked playfully.

Zoro rolled his eyes but a smile lit up his face. "Thank god, it was getting a little hard to keep acting like I liked you."

Sanji kicked him under the table, hard enough to make the moss-brain flinch. Sanji finished his slice of cake and forced Zoro to eat his, laughing at his face as he swallowed each bite. When they'd finished eating, Sanji sat in silence with the marimo, sipping at his wine (Zoro has long since downed his). It was a comfortable silence, the kind Sanji found himself only capable of truly enjoying when he was around Zoro.

He looked across to the man in question. Zoro was staring across the deck, seemingly lost in thought. This was good for Sanji, it gave him the opportunity to really look at Zoro without being caught. The Zoro who'd gone around this cheesy little town, gathering up supplies and ideas for a "romantic" date that Sanji would enjoy. Just for Sanji...the idea made the cook blush. Or perhaps that was the wine. Yes, he'd blame the wine.

"See something you like?" Zoro asked teasingly, having caught Sanji staring.

Sanji smirked, not missing a beat. "I do," He replied. "You should dress like that more often, Marimo, it's fucking sexy."

The blunt reply left Zoro gaping, just as Sanji had intended. With one last playful smirk, Sanji blatantly trailed his eyes up Zoro's body before standing.

"Now," Sanji smiled, down to Zoro. "Clean this up, Marimo. You don't want to make a mess for the others," He said before turning and making his way towards the boys' bunkroom, leaving a very flustered swordsman behind him.

A/N:

Who even decided pink and red should go together? Yuck.

At first I was really sure I hated this chapter, that my characters were changing into something awful, and that the whole thing was just a big repeat of previous chapters. But I guess it didn't turn out as bad as I thought. And it was pretty fun to write. So hopefully you enjoy.

Thank you again for your wonderful reviews! You guys were so sweet about my wrist, telling me to take it easy and all, that I just had to work on the next chapter as soon as possible. You are all the most wonderful readers. Thank you very much!

On the topic of my wrist, I'm giving up on the weekly updates I think. I'm sorry, I wanted to keep that going but it's too hard on me I think. We're getting pretty close to the end, and I swear I'll pump out chapters as fast as possible and I will definitely see this through to the end, but I have other ideas for fics I'd like to write and I'd hate to make this the last one I ever do or something. So bear with me and thank you for your patience!

Pardon my mistakes, particularly if you see "Franky" typed as "Frank". Either Word or myself made that mistake several times, and I'm pretty sure I got them all but in case I missed one, I'm sorry. Also there were a lot of mistakes I edited out but surely many I missed, I'm sorry!

I hope you enjoyed!