"Ace. What the hell is this?"

He yawned from where he lounged against Strider's bow, "What the hell is what?"

"This."

He blinked, startled by the sudden sheet of paper that had been shoved in his face, but once he recollected himself and actually began to read he couldn't help but give a low whistle. "Daaaamn… You managed to get yourself a bounty. And they managed to get a decent pic of you too. Huh, wonder when they managed to take that one."

Slam!

"That's right." Strauss hissed, face suddenly inches from his, "A bounty. I managed to get a bounty." She leant in closer and narrowed her eyes. "I wonder how that happened."

"I'm sorry alright!" Ace gulped as he tried his best to shove her away. "But it's not all my fault, right! I didn't exactly plan to do all that stuff."

"We stormed. A marine base."

"Well we didn't exactly storm it… more like infiltrated."

"You get what I mean!"

"Now look," he reasoned, "I had to go in there to deliver that girl's letter since I owed her a favour. You didn't have to follow me."

"Oh!" She rolled her eyes. "So I shouldn't have followed you then? Now that sounds great, I wonder how that would've turned out."

"I would've been fine! I can handle myself y'know."

"Uh huh. What about when you punched that guy in the Marine cafeteria?"

"He told me I couldn't eat that much!"

"Or when you almost blew our cover just because you didn't like the coffee?"

"That coffee was shit and you know it!""

"And when your narcolepsy kicked in and you almost fell into the sea and drowned?"

"Now…" Oi that wasn't fair! It wasn't as if he could control his narcolepsy thing (or whatever Strauss called it). Although he had been in a sticky situation... He hastily changed tactics, "I just don't know why you're so beat up about it. It's not that much!"

It wasn't, for Grand Line standards at least. Only 25 million, and most of that was probably because she had been seen working with Whitebeard's second division commander. And that they had infiltrated, yes he was going to stick with infiltrated, a Marine base.

Strauss merely rolled her eyes, "I know it's not that much you dumbass, I just think it's a pain that I got one." Groaning, she slumped back against the mast. "It was hard enough hitchhiking my way across the Grand Line already. A bounty just makes things ten times worse."

Ace's lips curled into a smirk. "As if! You have no idea how many bounties are floating around these waters. One as low as yours will fly right under the radar, trust me. Oh!" His eyes widened as he remembered. "How about you join me in Pop's crew? I'm sure they'd love to have you."

She grimaced, sickened.

Guess that answered that question… He sighed. Pity. She'd be fun to have around. For some strange reason she reminded him of a kid sister. Not like Luffy. Nooo it would be a mistake to say that. But there was something about her determination and naivety that really endeared her to him.

Ah well. It was her choice after all.

"Catch."

Raising her hand, Strauss deftly caught the delicate item that was tossed towards her. "An eternal pose," she queried, raising an eyebrow as she read the scuffed text, "To… Water 7? How did you get this?"

"Nicked it," he said simply. "Marine bases usually have a few of these lying around. They want the best of the best to work on their ships after all."

Her eyes narrowed. "A dockyard huh…"

"You'll be able to find people going to each corner of the seas from there. Pretty sure none of them would say no to an extra helping hand."

She wasn't saying a word, choosing instead to focus on the distant horizon with blank and vacant eyes.

He shouldn't push it any further. Ace slumped, going back to inspect the newly printed bounty poster. He had some idea what was running through her head. After all, if two people are forced to spend barely three meters of space they end up knowing each other pretty damn well.

"You could go anywhere from there," he eventually said. "Doesn't have to be back to Alabasta."

"I know." She hugged her knees, pulling them closer and closer to her chest.

A sudden breeze tugged the paper out of his hand, sending 'Silver foot' Strauss' poster soaring over the ocean.

"I just don't know if I should."

Something was up with Strauss. Well, Sanji sighed as he began clearing a recently abandoned table, that wasn't exactly anything new. There always seemed to be something or other on that girl's mind. It wouldn't be Strauss otherwise. But for some strange reason it felt different this time, ever since they came back from that festival where Alvida attacked. He'd wanted to bring it up but...

He glanced across the room, watching her take an elderly couple's order. She looked normal. Acted normal too. But… Something just felt… off. Somehow.

Was he overthinking this? Probably. He thought he knew Strauss better than that though. Or at least he hoped he did. They were friends… weren't they?

"Oi!"

Speak of the devil. Straightening himself, Sanji gave her his most comforting and friendly smile, "Hey. You need something?"

"Just checking up on you," Strauss replied bluntly, "You were spacing out for a moment there. Can't have you collapsing on us."

Ironic coming from someone who'd been shot on the job… But he said nothing, "I'm fine. I was just… thinking."

She sighed just like he'd expected, turning on her heel, "Then quit thinking and get your head back in the game. There's enough backlog as it is from Patty working the floor. I'll be counting on you to help us get back to normal."

Oh yeah. He winced. Patty had been Zeff's first pick for customer service. Patty, who used shit-head as a term of affection. What had the geezer been thinking?!

Probably that he needed someone to work the floor since both he and Strauss were out. Yeah… Sanji felt a little bad about that. But that was the geezer's fault wasn't it? What else had he expected to happen by sending off his best and, quite frankly, only wait staff on paid leave?!

Still. It did mean there was more than enough work to throw himself into. And enough work to distract him from thinking about Strauss.

Was she alright? She hadn't exactly seen fine at the end of the Alvida fight… Was it because he helped her? He didn't think she was that petty though.

"Pretty boy! Get back to work already!"

"Y-yes!"

But his thoughts couldn't stay at bay for long. He didn't exactly know Strauss that well now did he, Sanji found himself musing while mopping the floors after closing. She didn't know that much about him either, but still. How was he supposed to help if he didn't know what was causing the problem in the first place? He knew she wasn't asking for help… but he wanted to! Isn't that what friends did?

Aaaah! He scratched his neck aggressively. How in the hell was he supposed to find out about her though? He didn't exactly want to press her for answers… Well he did. He really wanted to get answers out of her. But he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

What else could he do though?! Go digging for information on his own?! That would be even worse! He couldn't do something like that behind her back. It wasn't right. No. He clasped the mop firmly in his hands. He would face this head on. All he had to do was go up to her and ask.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Noooooooooooope! Collapsing onto his knees, Sanji started to violently shake his head. He couldn't do that! What if she said no, or just looked at him funny? It could damage their precious friendship! He didn't want that!

"Are you okay down there?"

Ah… Why was it that she always managed to catch him in the most embarrassing positions possible? "I'm alright," Sanji forced a smile onto his face, shuffling back to his feet, "Just… uh… checking the floor's clean! Yup! You really get a good angle down there after all!"

Stop talking already!

"Well as long as you're happy…"

Great! He resisted the urge to scream. Good job, Sanji. Now she thought he was an idiot! FANTASTIC!

"Out with it already. What's up?"

Huh? Blinking, Sanji turned towards his coworker, "Nothing? Everything's fine." Wasn't it?

"Oh come on now." Strauss groaned, crossing her arms, "Don't pull that one on me. You've been in a daze all day. Something must be on your mind."

Had he seriously been that easy to read? Oh who was he kidding, of course he was! He'd been serving customers on autopilot, barely aware of anything around him. Of course she noticed something was wrong.

Well... He gulped down the lump in his throat. What was he going to do now? This was about the best possible opportunity he could have hoped for… but for some reason the words just wouldn't come out. It was almost like he didn't want to hear the answer. That couldn't be right, could it? He wanted to know about Strauss, that much was obvious after all the painful agonising he'd been going through all day.

So why was he so scared?

"I was wondering…"

Strauss cocked her head at him. Waiting… waiting…

"I was wondering…" he repeated slowly. "If, uh…"

His mind raced. His pulse quickened. Sweat threatened to drip down his brow. He gulped once more.

Come on Sanji. Make up your mind already. You shouldn't keep a lady in suspense.

"If you… would like to try a new trifle recipe of mine." The smile hurt, almost as much as his aching heart. But he kept going. "I know you don't like me treating you like this… but I think you'll really like it."

Yes, this was for the best. He didn't need to know. It wasn't his business. But even so… He clenched his fists.

"Trifle? Are you planning on adding it to the menu or something?" Strauss hummed, thankfully none the wiser. Or at least pretending to be. Either way, he was just grateful she didn't push it further.

"It's just an experiment," he shrugged. Trying to act as normal as possible. "Might make it onto the menu. Might not. It, uh, it depends on what you think about it really. Uh… yeah…"

There was no need to go into that much detail on this. Knowing Strauss, she was probably going to say no anyways.

"Alright then."

His eyes grew wide.

Snorting, she turned away, "What's that look for? If you're using me as a taste tester, then go ahead. Although I'm warning you- I won't describe it well."

She was… letting him cook for her? Really? Really really?! Sanji couldn't stop the wide smile from spreading across his face, despite the coiling feeling that still lingered in his gut. "Sure! That would be…great! Better than great! It'd be amazing Strauss-san!"

He was going to make something special for Strauss! Something special for his special friend! He… he wasn't dreaming was he? He pinched his wrist. Nope. Not dreaming. This was real. OH SHIT THIS WAS REAL!

"Glad to hear it." The mop got yanked out of his hands, "You want to head off and start preparing stuff then? I'll finish up down here."

"Thank you!" He grinned back at her, one foot already on the lowest step. "I won't be long."

If this was any other day he would have protested. But he knew by now that not letting her do what she wanted was generally not the best idea. Strauss wasn't exactly known for being complacent, and she'd managed to concede for once. It might be something small, but Sanji knew it was bigger to her. If he pushed too hard now, she might go back on her word. This was a step forwards, and he'd be damned if she took it back.

And he needed as much time to improvise a new trifle recipe as he possibly could.

Something was up with Sanji. Strauss wasn't blind, she could see full well that he was agitated. And that pitiful excuse about a new trifle? That wasn't fooling anyone, let alone her. She only went along with it because…

She sighed.

Fine. She may not actually know why she had just accepted the excuse, but at least it seemed to make Sanji happy. She liked it when he was happy. Those smiles (the genuinely happy ones, rather than the lovestruck face he wore in front of the ladies) were the brightest things she'd ever seen. It reminded her of her time with the company, sitting in the wings just out of sight from the audience. Watching the girls in muslin, silk, tulle, and gauze spin around the stage as if they were lighter than air. Watching their beaming smiles. Wishing that could be her.

In the end she was glad she hadn't had a choice.

Sanji clearly hadn't been thinking too hard about the cleaning. It took her quite some time to finish up, and even more to fix some of his sloppy mistakes. Or at least it seemed like a while to her. She still had to wait on the rooftop alone for a bit. Not that she really minded. It gave her some space. Space she'd been lacking in the Baratie's day to day routine.

Her hand stretched up towards the stars above her, the silhouette fading as a cloud drifted over the moon.

She was still too weak. For all her efforts, all her training and sparring sessions with Sanji, she still wasn't strong enough. She hadn't even been able to beat that stupidly large woman the other day. Sanji had been forced to step in and help.

Sighing, she flopped back onto the tiles. Sanji... He was so strong despite putting in only a fraction of the effort she did. She hated herself for being jealous of her best friend like this, but how else was she supposed to react. He was leagues above her. And there was nothing she could do about it.

All she was was weak, weak, weak.

"Strauss-san?"

She forced a smile onto her face. This wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve to see her looking so upset, "Up here."

"I figured." The lithe figure clambered up beside her in an instant, barely breaking a sweat. "Apologies for taking too long. I struggled to find the right glasses to present the trifle in."

Typical. She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to dress things up for me you know. It'll taste just the same."

"But the aesthetics are important!" Sanji retorted with a slap of the arm, "All five senses are important when it comes to food, not one should be overlooked!"

It would taste good no matter what though… Ah, no matter. She wasn't exactly in the mood to argue with him over something so trivial. Too much energy. "Fine then." A quick glance around, however, had her frowning, "Where are they then?"

The smile froze on his face, barely even twitching as he turned towards her. "Where are the what?"

Dear lord, give her patience.

"The trifles, you dumbass."

"Oh?!" His voice cracked. "The… uh… Oh yeah the trifles… Well they… um… are in the fridge! Yes yes! In the fridge! I wanted to make a fresh batch for you Strauss-san!"

Strauss could have sworn he was a better liar than this. He couldn't be more obvious if he tried. That or he was too flustered to think straight. Which, knowing Sanji, was more than likely.

She really wanted to know what was bothering him… or would that be too much. Strauss had never had a friend before, she didn't want to lose her first one thanks to her nosiness. From what she'd heard, friends were usually 'on the same wavelength' with each other. Whatever that meant. But she could honestly say she had no idea what Sanji was thinking. His face, at least the little she could see in the moonlight, was impassive. A mess of tensed nerves and muscles. Something had got him agitated, but she had no idea what.

So should she ask again? No. Strauss shook her head. That wasn't a good idea. She'd already asked once and he'd brushed it off instantly. Chances were that asking one more time would be prodding too deep into something that wasn't her business. But she wanted to know! If it was something bad she wanted to help! He could trust her right? At least she hoped he did.

Fine. She'd do it. Bite the bullet and say her piece. There was no point in skirting around the issue after all. What would be the worst that could happen? He say that it was private and she wouldn't ask again! At least she'd know it was something out of her control.

"Hey, Sanji."

"Mm?" He raised his head, cheeks already stuffed with noodles. "You...don't like the food?"

"Oh, uh…" To be honest she hadn't even realised that he'd put the bowl down in front of her. It just went to show how beat up she was about this. She could almost laugh at herself. And Manager Zeff said she had a level head. If only he could see this now. "No, the food's delicious like usual."

"Oh good." Sanji clasped his chest, letting out a sigh of what seemed like relief. "I'm so glad you like it…"

Didn't he realise that she would eat whatever he gave her? The memory of that bowl of rice he made her that very first day still lingered in her mind as one of the best meals she'd ever eaten. And it was just rice. Sanji had somehow made plain rice delicious. Any other flavours were an added bonus in her eyes. Part of her was convinced he could chuck any old ingredients into a pot and it would still be delicious. Or maybe that was her stomach talking.

Dammit. She was getting distracted again. And had completely demolished her bowl of linguine salad without savouring the taste enough. Double damn. Today just wasn't going her way was it?

She tried again, "That's not what I wanted to ask."

"Oh?" Was it just her or did Sanji's ears prick up a little bit. "What's wrong Strauss-san?"

"It's not that there's anything wrong really…" she replied after a while, "But… I do have something I want to ask you."

"To ask me?" And now he looked flustered. "I… uh… I didn't think you'd do that."

Wait what? What exactly was so unexpected about her asking a question?

He seemed to notice her confusion. "Well…" A shaky hand scratched the back of his neck, "It's just that you've been acting odd all day. I thought you were finally going to tell me why."

"Me?!" Strauss couldn't believe her ears. She had been acting odd?! Really?! But…it didn't make sense. She didn't think she'd been behaving weirdly. Had she? Maybe she'd been thinking about the Alvida stuff a little too much, but that shouldn't be enough to change her behaviour. Right?!

"What about you?" She retorted stiffly. "You haven't exactly been acting normal either."

"So you didn't believe me earlier?"

"No chance."

"I guess that excuse was a little far fetched," he sighed, chuckling to himself before abruptly snapping to attention. "But it wasn't my fault! I was worried about you!"

The breath caught in her throat. Worried. He was actually… worried. When was the last time people had been worried about her. Genuinely worried. About her, not the money she bought back with her. It felt… nice? Comforting? She couldn't tell. Whatever this was felt warm and fuzzy. Like she'd swallowed a piping hot chestnut in the thick of winter.

Really she should tell him off. There was no point in getting attached to her. There was no knowing how long she would stay before being sent off to her next job. The bonds he treasured would only get severed. But…

She couldn't speak. For some strange reason she just couldn't bring herself to say a word. This was what a friend was like? Someone to be worried about you? To speak up if they're concerned?

Either way, she liked it.

"I'm fine Sanji." Her head lolled back, letting her stare blankly at the dark and murky sky above. "I've just been thinking about what happened at that festival a bit too much, that's all."

"Care to talk about it over trifle?"

Trifle? Her lips curled, "I thought that was an excuse. So you made it after all?"

"Of course I did," he grinned back. "I am a man of my word after all. I promised a fine lady a unique trifle so a unique trifle she will get!"

"I'm not a lady."

"Yes you are so shut up and accept the trifle already. You already said you'd eat it remember?" Hastily snatching up their bowls, Sanji slipped off the roof- "I'll go get them now-" and sped inside before she could change her mind.

Not that she really could right then. Strauss groaned. Hopefully he made one for himself too. She'd feel uncomfortable if she had a dessert all to herself. Although that tiramisu last time was delicious…

NO! She furiously slapped her cheeks. Do not give in to the temptation of icey sweet treats! It was wasteful! This was a one off… for the second time. The tiramisu didn't count.

Mmm tiramisu…

SHUT UP!

"Are you… Are you alright?"

And great. Sanji was back. Just in time to see her try and bash her head in against the roof tiles. Metaphorically of course. Just metaphorically… Ignore how her head was only a few inches away from the roof. Pay it no mind!

"You were fast," muttered Strauss, hoping against all hope that he had somehow misunderstood.

"Well yeah-" he grunted as he hopped back up next to her- "I was… in a hurry."

"But why?"

"Because I wanted you to eat it obviously! Now here!"

Strauss recoiled as an elegant dessert glass got thrust under her nose. Well… in this case it wasn't so much as a dessert glass as a wine glass. The Baratie didn't exactly have the space for multiple types of serving dishes. Many things were often repurposed into things customers wouldn't expect.

Although she had to say, the wine glass was a good call for this one. It showed off crisp, clean layers of cream, cake, fruit, and… and... She squinted.

"Jelly." Sanji supplied for her. "Grape jelly to be precise. Or jello, if you're from the southern two blues. I, uh, I thought you'd like it's tartness against some of the ice cream. Also the mixture of textures makes it an interesting tasting experience and…"

Strauss cocked her head curiously, letting Sanji's fervoured rant fade into the background. She hadn't had jelly in ages. The last time had been at a fancy party somewhere… She could remember giggling as she watched the stuff wobble back and forth on an elderly waiter's tray.

Gosh that was years ago now. So many years ago. Before… Ah. She didn't want to think about that.

The trifle was excellent, just like she'd expected. As Sanji had said, the grape jelly tasted really nice against the cake and ice cream around it. Sharp? Was that the right word for it. Either way she made sure to scrape away every last inch of the sinful dessert she could. And even then she still felt a pit of sadness once she finally had to put the glass down. Sadness, but with a twinge of resolution. Of moving forward into the future. Probably not from the dessert itself, but instead unearthed from deep within her own heart.

Could she really be able to live for herself for once?

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Sanji blinked at her. "For what?"

A smile, easily the brightest one she'd ever had, stretched over her face, "For being worried about someone like me."

A sudden gust of wind sent seagulls soaring for cover.

"Idiot."

She turned to him, "Hm?"

"You don't need to thank me for something like that. I'm doing it for myself, so don't you dare think that I'm doing you a favour." Pausing, he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're someone worth worrying about, alright?"

Someone worth worrying about? Strauss smiled. She was going to have to get used to that.

She returned the squeeze. "You too."

His hand stiffened a moment, before gently entwining their fingers together. Normally she would have pulled away, but it seemed like her better judgment had abandoned her today.

"Yeah. You too."

A/N

Ahahaha... this isn't me posting a chapter THREE ENTIRE MONTHS LATER! Nope! Not at all! I'm honestly so sorry for leaving this for so long, but I don't think I really could've done much about it. Lockdown and uni have been getting to me big time, so much that I haven't been as motivated to write so much. I'm getting better for now... but I have a bunch of assessments that are gonna take up most of my time soon so... I don't know when the next chapter will be.

Either way, I hope you like the chapter! I honestly have no idea what I've written but all I know is it's readable. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through all of this. You guys are the best!

See you next time!