Nightcap

Sacred to Venus, said to arouse the affections of loved ones.

There had always been something peaceful about the night watch.

Maybe it was just the absence of Luffy's jeering or cheering or general ruckus-making. It was the absence of fighting and laughter, of feet running across the deck or Sanji puttering in the kitchen. Maybe it was just the lack of Franky's distinct 'Ow!' puncturing the air every five minutes.

Or maybe it was just the way that the waves themselves seemed to lull to sleep, lapping quietly against the side of the Thousand Sunny. The silence left her alone with the stars and the moon and her thoughts, resting alone in the Crow's Nest with a blanket across her lap.

While originally intended to be a comfortable place to rest and watch the seas, it had not taken long for her to take over the room with an ever-growing collection of potted plants. Flowers bloomed in every corner, and vibrant green ivy curled along the windows. Even Usopp had contributed to the impromptu greenhouse, leaving a particularly aggressive Venus Flytrap with a penchant for human flesh among the collection.

There were rarely arguments when she volunteered to take the night shift, and that night had been no exception— so it was a surprise when just after midnight, she heard the unmistakable sound of someone climbing the ladder to join her. A moment later, a blond head of hair popped into view, followed by two mugs held in one hand by their handles.

"Sanji?" she called as the rest of his body came into view, the cook managing to climb off the ladder one-handed with his usual effortless grace. "What are you doing here?"

"It's officially Valentine's Day," Sanji happily replied. He approached with a mug held out to her, and she eagerly took it to discover it was a cup of hot chocolate. "I couldn't let you stay up here alone, knowing that."

She smiled up at him, and gestured for him to join her in sitting by the window. "We both know that I've made my feelings on that particular dumb holiday pretty clear. You're lucky I'm thirsty, otherwise I'd throw this delicious hot beverage right in your face."

"I don't doubt it for a moment," Sanji replied, although they both knew it wasn't true. He took a seat beside her with a smooth smile. "Consider it your gift to me, then. Do me the favour of letting me sit with you tonight."

"You're a goof," she fondly responded with a shake of her head. "You can sit anywhere you'd like. Who am I to stop a pirate?"

"A pirate," said Sanji, smiling knowingly.

She hummed. "Touché. Since I'm a pirate, maybe I should throw something in your face, after all."

Sanji wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Make it your own, and you've got a deal," he suggested with a wink.

"You're an idiot," she replied. Rolling her eyes, she reached out to palm Sanji's face and gave him a shove backwards. He moved easily with a laugh, not spilling a drop of his hot chocolate. "Keep it up, and I'll send you to bed."

"Not alone, I hope?"

"Sanji."

"Because I assure you, I can definitely keep it up—"

The peace of the night air was broken by a shout, followed by a loud crash as a body smashed through one of the Crow's Nest windows. Zoro snapped awake from where he slept on the deck below, standing with a startled grunt and a sword in hand. Usopp yelped from somewhere below deck, followed by echo of Nami's hollered 'shut up!'.

Sanji was laughing when he hit the water.