.:Chapter 18 - Proposal:.

It was 2 o'clock that same afternoon, and Sanji was seated in Pudding's room.

"You lead my friends to this island?"

Pudding bowed her head, caramel bangs falling to her frown. "I'm sorry." Her voice was softspoken and sweet. "I gave Luffy my word that I would bring you to the southwest coast so you would be able to get away from Mama safely."

Luffy, Nami, Brook, and Chopper glowered at the screen. They couldn't believe they had fallen for that.

"But I couldn't make it happen, and now they're all in grave danger."

"Hold up. She was trying to help you guys?" Franky questioned.

Four insulted pouts formed across the cells. "No. She. Was. Not."

Then Chopper straightened, tilting his head. "Well, actually at the end she kinda did—"

"She's a no-good liar," Luffy fumed, simply remembering her confession to him and Nami in the library that had angered him.

"She set us up," Nami explained.

"And you fell for it. Tsk." Usopp shook his head in shame. One day Nami was going to manifest Luffy's stretching abilities merely out of spite so she could smack her idiot crewmates upside their idiot heads no matter how far they were from her.

"I see now," Sanji said. "I wondered how they managed to pass through all that security to get here. It was thanks to you…" He sighed. "I know you meant well. That said, I still wouldn't have gone to the coast."

Pudding gasped dramatically. "If you're worried about the invitation, you can let me take the blame. She's my mom — I'll be fine. Just don't show up at the ceremony. She's used to arranged marriages so she puts special bracelets on people who seem like they might run away. If you try to leave the island with one…"

"I know — it explodes." Sanji showed Pudding that he already had some on him. She gasped again covering her mouth with her hands.

"Interesting that she would bring up something that was quite obviously on his person already," Robin commented.

"She couldn't have missed them," Zoro agreed.

Chopper gasped. "She's feeding him information he already knows in an attempt to be seen as trying to help!"

"A classic manipulation tactic," Usopp nodded, rubbing his chin wisely.

"So, she's already gotten to you," Pudding said through her fingers, eyes watering.

"Hmm. She is good," Robin noted offhandedly. The archeologist had been through quite a few infiltration missions in her time, and she had to admit that Big Mom's daughter had her act down perfectly. There were hardly any micro-expressions that slipped past her façade, and the sincerity in her tone was calm and steady. Even Robin would have found it hard to spot had she not known ahead of time to look for it.

Sanji's eyes went to the floor as he sighed. "Sadly, yeah. She's thinking ahead. And even if that weren't the case…no one here has my back."

"He's resolved to the fact that he can't handle it alone," Brook said. "And yet…"

"He won't ask for help," frowned Chopper.

"More like, he doesn't think he's worth helping," Usopp said, making Chopper's eyes squiggle in distress. The little reindeer had to keep reminding himself that Sanji did let them help him. Eventually.

Admitting it out loud made it real to Sanji somehow. The wayward chef suddenly felt more alone than he had before.

But after hearing it was Pudding who had helped his crew try to get to him, and seeing how understanding she'd been through this whole process with him… It was making him wonder.

Yeah, Sanji was alone. Not a single person he could trust. Not a single person who cared about him. Except maybe…well, maybe this sweet, beautiful girl before him if he could give her the chance. There was no question to whether or not she could protect Zeff or defend Sanji from his family; however, that didn't mean she'd never care about him. A sliver of light in the darkness, perhaps. After all, she was helping him and his friends this much already, even going against her own mother.

Sanji could try to trust her, couldn't he?

"Oh no, he's falling right into that devil-woman's trap," Chopper squeaked.

"Can't really blame him," Franky said, still unable to see the 'devil' part in this woman they keep talking about. "Bro thinks he has nothing."

"What about Reiju?" Chopper idly wondered.

Robin shook her head. "Reiju cares about him, but she is in no position to help. Plus, he hasn't seen her in years. For all he knows, she's less likely to help now than she was back then."

"She more or less already told him it was his fault for coming back," Nami said. Which…was fair on her part.

Trusting Pudding was worth the risk, wasn't it? What else did Sanji have to lose?

Resolved, Sanji reached up and carefully peeled the healing mask from his face. Pudding's eyes widened as, suddenly, the man's face grew plump and swollen. So swollen, that he couldn't speak without slurring his words.

"Even though we're brothers," Sanji told her, "they still did this."

The concern and shock were evident on Pudding's face. "Your own family beat you that badly?"

"Honestly, the shock probably wasn't an act," Usopp mumbled.

"That's right."

"But why?"

Sanji stood. Pink lightning flashed behind them, silhouetting the window and casting them in a purple glow.

"Because to them," Sanji said. "I'm just a failure who shouldn't be allowed to live."

Zoro fidgeted, agitated. The cook shouldn't be telling her this. These were personal to him, and if what the others were saying was true then… Zoro's fists clenched.

"I've never once been happy about being born as royalty." Sanji glanced out the window, out at the dark, glittering ocean with longing. "That's the reason I went out to sea. Searching for a place I wasn't even sure was real. And now, if I try to prevent this arranged marriage…" His fist came up and slammed lightly onto the glass of his new prison. "They'll slaughter all my friends and me. On top of that, they're going to kill the man in the East Blue who saved my life. The man who I respect as my real father!"

Images of the memories of Zeff ran through the Straw Hats' minds. Sanji's fears were deeply rooted. There was no easy way to tug them loose. Zeff meant everything to Sanji, for good reason. And being able to cook was correlated, not only to his passion, but regarding his mother, and then later to his adopted father figure.

Every one of Sanji's fears were locked onto, being poked and prodded until he snapped.

On top of that, his fears weren't the only things being manipulated; his kindness was, too.

Zoro cursed every single person on this godforsaken world who had turned the cook's best qualities against him.

Sanji lowered his arm and turned slowly toward the quiet girl intently watching him. "No matter what I do at this point, there's no way out. Which is why…I've decided that I won't fight this anymore. I'm willing to accept this marriage on one condition – I want Big Mom to let my friends go unharmed."

Nami frowned. "Even if they agreed to that, how could Sanji believe them?"

"By having no other option," Brook assumed.

"Your soldiers are out there attacking as we speak."

Pudding gasped, covering her face with her hands again. "I'm so sorry. You're in such pain, and it's all because of what I did."

"How does she figure that?" Franky questioned, confused.

"She doesn't," Zoro stated quietly. Deadly. "I don't know what intel they had on the cook prior to his arrival there, but that woman's observed him enough by this point to know what buttons to push."

Nami glowered, annoyed now. "Zoro's right. She knows exactly how Sanji would react to that." Besides, Nami'd played with the emotions of plenty of men during their travels, whether it was to buy her drinks, lower their prices, or to pickpocket them. She knew the signs. And men like Sanji? Almost too easy.

It just pissed her off that it was happening to her crewmate. Her crewmate who had been through hell, and was risking more than berries!

Just as Pudding had intended, her sudden crying stunned Sanji. Suddenly, he wasn't thinking about himself anymore. He was thinking about how she could possibly blame herself.

"She turned herself into the martyr to deflect from the actual martyr," Robin said.

"Sanji would never forgive himself if he made a girl cry," Chopper grumbled with a small whine.

"Pudding!" Sanji ran over to her, palms raised to placate her. Someone so beautiful shouldn't be crying, especially because of him. "It's not your fault, I promise."

"But…" she sniffled.

Sanji shook his head adamantly, feeling the urge to explain, so she understood it wasn't her at all. "Thirteen years ago, I managed to escape Hell, only to walk right back in again. And I should try to be happy. Afterall, I was free for all of these years, right?"

"You deserve to be free, always," Luffy commented.

"The friends who helped me improve as a chef, and the companions who joined me in my travels – I'm grateful to all the people I met out there. And I can't bear to hurt them. That's why…my adventure ends here."

Sorrow surrounded the Straw Hats. What a terrible thought to have.

A tear slipped down Pudding's cheek, and Sanji was taken aback. "H-Hey, don't cry! It'll make me feel worse!"

"Ugh, now she's just going to cry more because he said that," Nami groused.

Pudding started sobbing.

The Straw Hats scowled.

"Look," Sanji soothed. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. But listen, Sanji, I promise…" Pudding rubbed her eyes and moved closer, staring up at him with doe-like eyes, long lashes, and rosy cheeks. "If you decide to marry me, I won't let it be hell."

"Using his own words against him," Brook muttered.

Zoro burned inside. Seething. Not only was she stringing the cook along, but the bait on the line was hope. The thing that idiot was clinging to most. A light in the darkness she only planned to snuff out when his back was turned.

Once again, Sanji was taken aback. He didn't think anybody would be on his side. Didn't think anybody would care. He took a chance telling Pudding his plan since she'd been so understanding since the beginning, but now… Maybe she was a blessing in this nightmare.

Zoro closed his eye. Time for those breathing tactics again.

Even if he'd have to have time to adapt, to accept, to mourn, and to adjust. Wouldn't that be best? Giving this girl a chance?

The Straw Hats – frustrated as they were – couldn't blame Sanji for his thinking. If they hadn't had faith that their captain would bring him back, knowing that Sanji was completely worth the trouble, then — yeah — they'd want Sanji to give even the slightest chance at happiness a try. He deserved to be happy.

But that wasn't what was in store for him here. And it hurt a little that he had been through so much in his life only to be continuously taken for granted.

Seeming taken aback herself, Pudding blushed, stepping back. "Oh dear, what am I saying? You're suffering so much and I'm making everything about me."

"No, you're exploiting his kindness on purpose," Chopper objected.

"You don't want to marry me," Pudding cried. "So of course this would be hell for you. Why am I being so insensitive at a time like this? It's awful – I'm so embarrassed!"

Usopp grumbled. "Asks why she's making it about herself and then continues to make it about herself."

"Afterall, you and I have only just met. So how could I possibly hope to fill the hole in your heart? Besides all that, you still might change your mind. So I was being presumptuous, too. Ugh."

"She's a natural at playing the victim," Brook applauded. "Not good for us, of course."

"Sanji had no chance," Usopp agreed, and Zoro grimaced harder than ever before.

The edges in Sanji's eyes softened, and his resolve fortified further. Listening to Pudding hope to care for him, and then blaming herself for his own struggles, was hard to hear. And it was in that moment that his decision solidified. Luffy and the crew would go on without him, and they'd be alright. Sanji – right now – had to make do with what he had in front of him.

Sanji walked over to Pudding and pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms. She didn't resist. Looked up at him with an innocent twinkle in her gaze. Sanji wanted her to know that if she so desperately and kindly wanted to be there for him, then he would be there for her. One hundred percent.

"Pudding… You're my…salvation."

"What are you saying?"

"If you'll have me, I want us to get married tomorrow."

"He did propose to her," Nami whispered. And in such a heartfelt, vulnerable way...

Usopp had his head down, swinging it from side to side. "It hurts. It hurts to watch."

"He truly is a romantic," Brook said. He tilted his bony head, sockets eyeing a very silent swordsman. Robin followed his line of sight, then frowned.

"You've been awfully quiet…Zoro."

Several, sympathetic eyes moved to the green-haired Straw Hat, and the man in question refused to look at anybody. Whatever they saw on his face, he didn't care. Didn't need pity, even knowing there was no hiding the fact he didn't want to see this. Didn't want to watch the cook – his cook – propose marriage to someone else. And having Sanji believing it was the only way for him somehow made it even worse. Basically coerced into a broken heart.

Sure, there were times in the past Zoro had pictured Sanji with someone else – Sanji looking at them in a way Zoro wanted to be looked at; touching them in a way Zoro wanted to be touched; or being touched by them in a way only Zoro wanted to do the touching. It made him ridiculously sick on multiple occasions, though he'd never admit it. For years he was haunted by images of pretty women hoarding the pretty chef, and when Zoro realized the cook could be just as attracted to handsome men…it had been a game changer to the same degree that it hadn't. Now, there were twice as many threats to the cook's heart that Zoro had to accept might win. Might steal that curly-browed idiot away.

Had it happened, this was what it would've been like.

It was easier for Zoro to watch the love-sick dumbass twirling around beautiful people when he was never serious about any of it. When the swordsman knew, logically, it was all surface-level and lighthearted.

This situation was too real. This Sanji was somber. Serious. Openly allowing the depths of his passionate heart out for this woman. Giving himself up to her. All of him, because the cook wasn't the type to do anything half-ass.

And that would have been hard enough for Zoro to witness without the knowledge that she was deceiving him!

He was pouring himself out to her for what?!

"Zoro?" Chopper prodded when he took too long to respond.

"M'fine."

Nobody believed him.

A love-struck pink glow electrified the air as Sanji and Pudding embraced tighter, before the memory shifted back to Sanji pacing back in his guest room.

His thoughts were still avidly unfocused even after his resolve with Pudding. It was like the closer the wedding came, the more and more anxious he got.

It's fine, dammit. Luffy and the others won't be hurt. Big Mom promised me that.

"Hmm, he must have brought up his condition to Big Mom personally at some point," Robin observed.

If I get married, The Baratie will be fine, too.

His smoking increased in speed, stress overtaking him. Puff after puff, for once, none of it seemed to help.

Of course, I don't want to leave my friends, but at least no one will die — that's all that matters!

Why can't I be grateful?

"Because you might be admitting what you don't want, but you're not admitting what you do," Chopper said. Luffy nodded.

"He can't mourn something he won't acknowledge exists," Robin agreed sadly. Subconsciously, he might not be as ready to give us up.

Frustrated with himself, Sanji glanced at his reflection in the window. The man he saw wasn't a prince nor a pirate. He was someone stuck in between, faltering. If he couldn't shroud his grief for his own sake, he knew someone he could do it for.

"Pudding is all that I've got," he told himself. He'd never be able to have his friends again, or anyone on his side. He'd never be able…to love… A quick flash of green hair and steel blades shot through his thoughts that he quickly extinguished.

Zoro had been thought of...and, yet, he didn't know if that made it better or worse.

"No, I can't make her sad," Sanji said, determined to convince himself he'd be okay. His glass reflection mimicked him with the same masked uncertainty. "I'll put on a smile, for her! Who could hurt a sweet girl like that, after all? I'd have to be some kind of monster."

Sanji clenched his fists, picturing himself a Vinsmoke, the ultimate monster. He'd tried to be that to Luffy, and it had backfired spectacularly. He wasn't about to try it again, especially not with his fiancée.

After a moment more of contemplation, Sanji's held breath ignited.

"I'LL MAKE YOU HAPPY, PUDDING!" He trilled, shooting his arms up into the air and shouting toward the ceiling with hearts in his eyes. "Don't you worry! Just regular Sanji – you know me! The romantic chef, right?"

The Straw Hats furrowed their brows, as it was painful to watch Sanji force himself so much.

"Puddinnnng, I won't let you down!" He twirled around the room. "I'll shower you with love, my sweet bride, just you wait!"

Sanji spun to the door and then out of it with a newfound purpose.

"So, he still doesn't know Pudding's tricking him," Luffy said. "Wonder when he figures it out."

"Does he?" Usopp asked. "I mean, without you guys to tell him…or something."

"Pudding met with us while we were held captive," Nami explained. "She told us he proposed to her, but she also said they still weren't getting married because…" Her brown irises ignited like dark flames. "She was going to betray him. But Luffy said Sanji knew by the time he got close enough to warn him."

"So between now and the next few hours of Sanji's memories, something changes," Nami finished.

"Wonder what's gonna tip him off…" Franky said. He knew it couldn't be good.

They all knew it couldn't be good...