"Take me back."

"No."

"I said take me back!"

"And I said no!" Ace scowled, snarling back at the absolutely insufferable women he'd had thrust on his hands. If he had known how much of a pain in the arse she'd be he would've just left her then and there, bawling companion and all.

Especially since now he was stuck in the middle of a literal ocean with the chick and there was barely two square meters of space to sit on.

"Look," he eventually sighed, "Even if I wanted to take you back, which I don't-" he hastily added- "I can't." He tapped a fingernail against his eternal pose, "I traded my Alabata pose for this one, and from what you've told me your log is still set to an island you've already been to. Now we can go there if you want-"

"-bad idea." The steel haired woman (he couldn't be bothered to ask for her name) grimaced, "I was told that the Log would take a year to set there."

"Well there you have it!" Ace tossed his arms into the air, "You're stuck with me then."

Hissing, she skulked to the furthest corner she could. Which only ended up being three feet away from him. Strider wasn't exactly the biggest of boats. "I just can't believe that they were in Alabasta. I was so damn close. Just what the hell was that Okama thinking, sending me off with a random stranger. Ridiculous."

Yeah, it was ridiculous. He'd only accepted because the guy was prostrating himself on the ground and he didn't want to make too much of a scene. Ace sighed, pushing back his hat to massage his forehead. Well, he didn't have much of a choice now. He wasn't heartless enough to leave her alone in the middle of the ocean.

Which meant that they had to cooperate. Something she too had realised, judging by the scowl on her face.

"So…" Ace scratched his head, an action he had been told was 'seductive', "Why're you after Luffy? You have a grudge or something?" It was unlikely (unless she was planning to nag his brother to death) but he had to ask.

Maybe he'd get to kick her off after all.

But to his astonishment, her face began to soften. The hard lines of wrinkled brows and tight skin, loosened. She almost looked… pretty. It had been hard to tell with that permanent frown on her face. He'd thought she was in her twenties before, but now… she almost looked the same age as Luffy.

Hang on. Looking for the Straw Hats… A reaction when he said Luffy's name… And she was a similar age to him...

Alarm bells began ringing. Had Luffy gotten a girlfriend before him? Luffy?! And one with brain cells to boot?! He wasn't sure what he was more annoyed about, that Luffy didn't deserve her or that she didn't deserve him…

"Well I'm not looking for Straw Hat himself." A glimmer of a smile threatened to spread over her face. "One of his crewmates. We're… old friends."

Ah. Ace felt a little foolish at the relief flooding into him. Luffy was still single. All was well in the world. But he couldn't help but feel a little curious. "Who exactly?"

"Sanji."

"Ah. The cook?"

"That's the one."

Thinking back Ace couldn't remember much about the guy, other than that he'd had a cigarette and had been fawning over the one female on Luffy's crew. Huh… He paused for a moment. No. No matter how many scenarios he thought of, he just couldn't see that flirt and this stick in the mud getting along with each other. Never mind being friends.

But hey, who was he to judge. Perhaps she was actually nice now that they were actually talking instead of arguing.

"Soo-" He leant back against the mast, sending just a few flames through his feet to get Strider moving- "Why're you following him then?"

"Because I need to find him."

"Well yeah, but why?"

Her mouth opened… then closed. Ace didn't say anything, aware that she might need to think about this for a little moment to decide whether to tell an absolute stranger. Or something. He couldn't get a read on this chick. Eventually she glanced up at him, the most conflicted expression on her face.

"I don't know."

They were bored. Very, very, bored.

As it turned out, exploring the small coastal town only took two days at best. So now Strauss and Sanji were just lounging on a bench being blankly hypnotised by the rows of bobbing masts in the harbour.

And they had four more days of this to go...

"What now?" Strauss muttered under her breath. "We could people watch?"

"Nah," Sanji replied instantly.

She raised an eyebrow, "Funny. I thought you would've wanted to check out the ladies."

Hissing, he glared at her, "Thanks."

Well… she wasn't wrong. The ladies around here were simply lovely, and he enjoyed watching each and every one of them. However… he didn't really want to do it around Strauss. She would probably be fine with it (hell, she seemed like she was more enthusiastic than he was) but it was still… It was just…

His brow twitched.

He couldn't talk about it with a girl alright! There! He admitted it! It just felt weird to gush over a ladies, ahem, assets in front of another lady herself. It didn't matter that Strauss was by far the closest friend he'd ever had, the fact was she was still female.

And if he was being honest with himself… he probably wouldn't have talked about this with a guy either. It felt too sappy. This was a personal thing, as he liked to word it.

"What about you?" He chimed in, trying to dissuade some of the awkward boredom, "Any guys out there you like?"

Actually come to think of it, there were a few relatively good looking men around. Men with big torsos and building muscles from working on the docks and fishing boats. Sanji instantly felt more aware about how skinny he was in comparison. But still… He grinned. This could be an excellent time to find out what exactly Strauss' type was.

To make sure they were worthy of her of course. That was it. There was no other reason whatsoever. None in the slightest.

She groaned, "I'm not exactly into all that stuff, Sanji."

"Oh no you don't." He grinned eagerly, nudging her in the elbows, "You got me to fess up about what I think of relationships. Now it's your turn."

"But-!"

"No buts! Go on!"

"Come oooon…"

"We have the rest of the day with absolutely nothing to do; I'm very willing to keep pushing until you fess up. Unless you can think of a better idea that is…"

A seagull screeched from the rooftop behind them.

"Fine…"

"Great!" Sanji beamed toothily, spreading his arms out to gesture at the wide range of people going about their business. "Well then, any guy out there that you like?"

So I can beat their face in, he thought to himself. He needed them to know what would happen if they disrespected his friend.

Strauss snorted derisively, "Bold of you to assume I only like guys."

He blinked. And cocked his head. "Eh?"

"What?" She asked limply, "You wanted to know. I answered."

What was she… She wasn't… Nah there was no way… No way in… But actually… Yeah maybe… That could be kinda hot...

"I'm not a lesbian if that's what you're thinking."

Sanji gaped at her. "Huh?" How the hell had she known?!

In response, she tapped the side of her mouth.

Oh. Sanji flushed, scrubbing away the line of drool before the public noticed, "So you do like guys then?"

"Yeah."

Sanji let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"And I like girls too."

And promptly choked.

"I just like people for being people." She shrugged absentmindedly, "Gender isn't really a big thing for me. I mean…" Smirking, she gestured towards him, "I think you of all people should realise that by now."

There was so much Sanji found confusing about that sentence. So damn much. But he stayed silent. People had their preferences after all. There had been many a time in the Baratie when Sanji was met with a pair of lovely ladies, only to be shooed of after being told they were on a date. He respected that. It took a lot of bravery, especially for some North Blue cultures especially, to be open about relationships like that.

So why did he feel so icky about it? Honestly he felt appalled at himself for being like that. But he just couldn't get his head around the idea of Strauss flirting with a girl… Actually that might be because she didn't flirt full stop. He didn't know! He was just confused!

A sudden movement in front of his face sent him recoiling back.

"Ah," Strauss moved her hand back, "So you are awake in there. I thought I'd shocked you into silence or something."

"Me?! Shocked! N-now why would I be shocked?! It's… it's perfectly fine for you to like b-both genders. Perfectly fine!"

Gah! Him and his dumb mouth. Could the ground do him a favour for once and swallow him up? Since that would be much appreciated right now.

"Honestly it's no big deal. You don't have to agree with me if you want. And it's not like I've ever been in a relationship." Strauss sighed, staring up at a cawing seagull on the sign opposite them. "For all I know, I could be completely wrong. I might have misinterpreted myself completely."

"That doesn't matter though," Sanji found himself muttering, "I've been in a relationship either, but I'm pretty certain that I know what I like."

She snorted, "Now there's a funny idea…"

Oh god. Sanji glared at her, "Don't even think about it. My heart is for the ladies-"

"-and the ladies alone." Strauss rolled her eyes mockingly, "I think I've heard that one far too many times. But think about it; couldn't you be wrong? What makes you so sure that you'll never date guys?"

He opened his mouth to say that 'he just was', before pursing his lips. No. This wasn't an innocent question not expecting a serious answer. She was asking out of genuine curiosity. He'd better give a good answer.

Sanji tried to imagine himself dating another guy. And baulked. It just felt… wrong. It wasn't that the relationship itself was wrong, he'd served a few same sex couples at the Baratie (very discretely, he wouldn't even have known unless he hadn't seen them holding hands under the table) and found them cute more than anything else. it was just that… it didn't work for him. He couldn't define what or why, but that's just the way it was.

"Well…" Sanji eventually said, making sure he chose each word individually. "I've… never actually thought about it before..."

Sighing, she slumped back, "Fair enough. Sorry for asking. I guess… I was just curious-"

"But!" He chimed in before she could bash herself even more, "You don't need reasons. Love is…" Sanji hesitated. This was going above and beyond the limit of what he was willing to tell people, including Zeff. This was different to what he thought of relationships. This was… more mushy.

It didn't matter how much he trusted her. He didn't want to open up that much.

And so they drifted back to silence. So… they didn't, and fell back into comfortable silence. And stifling boredom. Sanji glanced up, watching the twisting smoke from his cigarette blend into the grey skies above. They really should've bought coats.

"We could always help out you know."

He blinked, "Hm?"

"Well we're bored aren't we," Strauss gestured to the people scurrying around the harbour, "Might as well do odd jobs for people while we're here."

"Of course you want to do work…"

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing…" he groaned, massaging his forehead. Ridiculous... Zeff gave them this time to take a break, not work harder. Although it wasn't as if he could blame her. What else did they have to do?

And if Sanji was being honest with himself, a rarity these days, the idleness was driving him out of his damn mind.

"Fine." He stood first, turning towards her with a sigh, "But you're not doing any heavy lifting, alright?"

She ignored his proffered hand and got up by herself, "Okay."

"I know you don't want to, but listen to me for once…" Hang on had she just agreed with him? Sanji paused for a moment to let that fully sink in. She had… She'd actually agreed with him, hadn't she. Without arguing for once.

"I wouldn't have done any even if you hadn't asked me." She stretched above her head, rolling the cricks out her shoulders, "Lifting isn't really my thing."

Sanji held a hand in front of her mouth. "Shh!"

"...Hu-?"

"Shhh!"

"Sanji what are you-?"

"Just be quiet for a moment."

She raised an eyebrow but did as he'd asked. For about ten seconds, "The hell're you doing?"

"Letting this sink in," he replied, eyes shut, "Little longer please." He needed to relish this. To savour every moment. This was a rare occurrence. He couldn't pass this up.

Besides, it was fun to rile her up.

"I'm leaving."

"Oi! Wait up! You need to be careful, Strauss-san; who knows what sort of danger you could run into."

"I think there's only one thing I'm in danger from."

"And that is?"

"You giving me an aneurysm if you don't shut up."

Yeah. Riling her up was always fun.

"Where do you want me to tie this?"

"Just on that weathervane over there. Ye sure you're alright up there, missy?"

"I'm fine." Strauss called down, weaving her way across the rooftops to tie the bunting in place. "All done."

The workmen below chuckled, "Just as well we had you around. This is always a pain to get done in time."

"These muscles aren't exactly going anywhere," another grinned, flexing to raucous laughter.

Strauss rolled her eyes as she dropped back down to the ground. For all the mockery they were doing, she couldn't deny that they had a point. Working on the docks was great for strength and endurance, but wasn't exactly the best for flexibility. Not to mention that the way the rows of flags twisted under and over and around each other… Well she was fine with that, obviously, but an ordinary person would've had a problem.

"Why do you even need to make it this complicated?" she asked as she dropped down between the lines of rippling orange and red triangles. "Just string them up in lines. Wouldn't that be enough?"

To her surprise the dockworkers burst into raucous laughter, some having to support themselves on their peer's shoulders. One of the more bolder ones even had the gall to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye. Strauss blinked, torn between wanting to ask what the hell was so funny and an urge to take the money and go.

Fortunately her mind was made up for her. "String 'em up in lines?" A haggard man chortled, "Are ye daft?!"

A vein tensed in her forehead. Why you...

"Oi oi…" The boss of the crew waved a hand, dissuading the tension in an instant, "Cut it out. The kid's a foreigner. She doesn't know about the Leaf Dance Festival."

She couldn't help but tense at the taboo word, and hated herself for it. Yet curiosity won out in the end, "There is a festival?"

The man grinned toothily at her, "What? You thought we were putting up all these decorations for nothing?"

Her face flushed. Best not to answer that…

"Look-" he slapped her back so hard she gagged, "Yeah it's hella complicated, but you'll understand tomorrow when the festival's in full swing."

Stretching out the newly formed kinks in her back, she shrugged, "Well I'm not going to the festival am I? So how would I understand?"

The workers blinked at each other, "You're not?"

"Why would I be?"

Festivals were never really her thing. Even if she had the opportunity to go to one, she never did. They were just… ah what's the word… awkward. Chances were she'd just end up glowering in a corner. Since she just couldn't understand what they were for? What was the point in wasting a good day of work, a good day of pay, all to get drunk and ramble on about a strange divine intervention that probably never happened. Sure there might be free food, which made a change from scraps, but she'd take cash over that anyday.

Not to mention that there was always dancing. Which made her always want to jo…

"Oh I shouldn't." She repeated, not sure who exactly she was talking to. "I'm an outsider after all. This should just be a local thing."

"Psh! We've never cared about that sorta thing." Strauss had to cough once more as a very beefy arm got thrown over her shoulder, "Everyone's welcome. So come on." Boss punched her arm, "You'll love it."

"Uh…"

"There's good drink too!" A man in the back piped up.

"I'm underaged-"

"No worries. There's mulled cider and apple juice."

"Well…"

"Plus the music's great!"

"I don't…"

"You'll have a blast! Just give in already!"

"Huh?"

And then the onslaught began. Seriously. She was lucky to not be deafened by the amount of screaming. As it was, the number of playful back slaps she got was enough to make her eyes spin so much that she actually passed out on the floor.

A dozen fully grown ship workers dogpiling a girl just to make her come to their party? Yeah, that was fair. Thank god she hadn't got a concussion.

"So," Sanji asked her at the Baratie that night, "Are you going?"

Strauss scowled at him, still massaging her temple, "I'd rather not..."

"Well I am." He leant towards the mirror once more, checking for the twentieth time that both his eyebrows were identical. "I think it'll be fun."

"Traitor…" she hissed out the corner of her lips.

"I heard that."

She rolled her eyes, "You were meant to."

"Look-" Sanji put his tweezers back in his grooming kit and released his fringe from the hair slide- "I have to go. I promised Mrs Ling that I'd help with the food stalls. I can't go back on my word, now can I?"

Ah, so that's why he was so up for going. Understandable really. Aside from the meals they shared together Sanji didn't really have the opportunity to make food for people anymore. Of course he would jump at the chance to cook for others.

"Bit of a surprise you're so against it though."

"Mm?"

"Well…" He gestured pathetically at her, "Festivals have free food…"

"So I must automatically love them?" She scowled, slumping onto the floor. "I get where you're coming from, but they just aren't my thing."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Swaying a little, she stared at the worn floorboards above her. She could say this couldn't she? This was Sanji after all. But she didn't want him to find out how selfish and inconsiderate she was. What if he judged her for it? Even worse, he could hate her.

"Are you alright, Strauss-san?"

Her teeth dug into her cheek. No. She didn't have the right to worry about that at this point. Not after everything she'd done. And he'd asked her. It would be rude not to talk about it.

"Everything closes during a festival." A pause, hoping he'd be able to figure it out on his own. He didn't. "There's no work."

She felt terrible as soon as she'd said it. It was just so rude. But she couldn't forget the heart wrenching feeling that had shot through whenever she'd seen the 'Closed' sign on the shops. The thought that she was going to be useless that day.

"The food was good though," she admitted, in a pitiful effort to try and lighten the mood, "Warm too. It's just… I had priorities. You know?"

Was it just her or did Sanji look a little funny. For some reason, she couldn't quite read his expression. Odd. Normally he was an open book.

"Priorities?" She could barely hear him, his mutter only slightly louder than the rain beginning to patter on their porthole, "What priorities?"

Ah. Well, it was a reasonable question. She grimaced nonetheless though. It was just… how to explain it without revealing too much. While she was close to Sanji (she really was. Definitely the best friend she'd ever had), she hadn't actually known him for that long. It wasn't right to dump all her emotional baggage on him. Especially since it was clear he had some of his own.

She didn't want to tell him though. Not when it was a time she would rather forget.

"What priorities?" He repeated when she didn't answer, tapping his chin pensively, "What would possibly be so important that you would rather turn down food when you're on the brink of starvation to… to work? I just can't figure it out."

"Can we stop here-"

"Were the people in your hometown rude to you? Since I can go beat them up if that's what you're worried about"

Her heart sank. "Sanji…"

"Did the kids bully you or something? I remember you saying that they called you 'Granny'; did they send you away from festivals?"

"That's not it…"

"Were you being forced to starve yourself?! Since if so

"I NEEDED THE CASH, OKAY?!"

Silence. Save for the steadily rising rain outside.

"You needed-"

"The cash." Her face turned crimson. "Yeah."

More silence.

"Why?"

Strauss turned away. She couldn't look him in the eyes, she just couldn't. Not when she couldn't answer that question. Shuddering, she crossed her arms over her chest.

She… she really didn't want to remember that humiliation.

"Why did you need the money, Strauss-san."

Just breathe Strauss. In and out… In and out…

"Or… should I ask who needed the money."

Her heart caught in her throat, choking the life out of her. H-how did… How the hell did he…

"I see." Behind her, Sanji sucked in a breath, "I figured that was it. You're not that sort of person. I take it you won't tell me anything else?"

A shake of the head. That was all she needed to do. Just a little shake. But it felt more like trying to move a stone. She managed it though.

"You're an idiot you know."

...huh?

She could barely react as a hand grabbed her shoulder and forced her to spin around.

Sanji glared down at her, somehow managing to tower over her with those two extra inches of height he had. "Was money honestly more important to you than food?"

Oh god. She'd made him angry. The angriest she'd ever seen him. Normally when they were yelling at each other he was just frustrated, not this. This was far more raw of an emotion than mere frustration.

His freezing cold eye glared at her, "Were you seriously willing to starve yourself just so you could get a few coins?"

In a way, it… it was more terrifying than when he was screaming at her. Since she knew where he was coming from. It wasn't right for someone who had experienced malnutrition, for someone who had experienced that hell so badly that they couldn't eat proper food for months afterwards, to reveal that they would rather go hungry if they got some money. It was so selfish. So hypocritical, and disrespectful to those who were starving out there.

He was right to be angry at her. She was angry at herself.

"I'm sorry."

The grip on her shoulder weakened, letting her thump gracelessly onto the floor. She didn't bother picking herself up. Why would she. She was in the wrong her. She just hoped, she really hoped, that Sanji would forgive her for being so selfish.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, bowing her head. "P-please forgive me."

"Stop that."

"I'm really sorry-"

"I said stop that!"

Was this the end then? Was she going to loose her best friend; her only friend?

A pair of slender arms wrapped around her, "You don't need to apologize, you idiot."

H...huh? Just… what was going on? Wh… why was Sanji… But she was wrong wasn't she? Wasn't she going to be yelled at?

"I'm not angry that you needed the money," he mumbled over her shoulder, "I'm sorry I made it seem that way, but that's not the case." A snort, "It's not like buying food is a think, you know?"

Strauss let out a weak chuckle despite herself.

"No." He squeezed her tighter. "You're not wrong for wanting money."

She wasn't? That was… that was confusing to think about. "Why then?" She had to ask, "Why were you angry."

"It's just… you don't have to kill yourself for anyone."

What?

"You don't have to put your life and happiness on the line to help people." Sanji sighed, the feeling sending goosebumps down her neck, "I don't know who you were getting money for, or why you needed it-"

Strauss flinched.

"-but it's not your responsibility to help everyone. You're important too. I..." His hands dug into her shirt. "I… I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for something you don't have to. You're my friend, i… it hurts to see you put yourself down like this. And I guess that's why I… overreacted. I'm sorry."

The room started to swirl before her eyes. Strauss bit her lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. And failed. But Sanji didn't mind. If anything he seemed relieved, gently patting her back as she cried the remnants of her self criticism and doubt into his shirt. Both of them knew that this wouldn't solve anything instantly. One small conversation couldn't undo years upon years of low self-esteem.

"You're allowed to live for yourself, Strauss."

But at least it was a step in the right direction.

A/N

...Hi

Yeah I know. It's been a while. And I'm sorry about that. Genuinely, I didn't mean to not post for this long. But stuff's happened. Not anything major mind, but a lot has come together and I couldn't handle it for a while. Uni is taking more out of me than I realised; online uni is draining my soul, I now have two assessments due in within a week of each other, and to top it all off I have three fic's I am supposed to keep on top of (there's only one on this site but trust me, there's three of them). My usual write time was about 1,000 words a day during the summer, and now I'm lucky if I get 200. My productivity's done down a lot.

So... yeah. I'm stressed. If there's any reason why this particular chapter feels disjointed, that's the main one. Thank you all so, SO much for being patient with me for the time being. While updates are going to be a hell of a lot slower than they used to, I want to make it very clear that I'M NOT GIVING UP MY FICS! I love them all, and I'm never going to abandon one without warning. Never. Writing these and seeing your reactions and comments honestly makes my day ten times better, no matter how I'm feeling.

Once again, thank you all so much for continuing to stick with me. I hope that this chapter isn't too much of a disappointment (like seriously. I don't even know what I wrote)

I'll see you all... next time. Whenever that is.