Her jaw plummeted, "A YEAR?! It...it takes a year for the log to set here?!"

"Sure does," Red Ogre Brogy bellowed, ripping off a charred dinosaur head with his teeth and spitting it into a nearby thicket.

"Ya don't need to worry though," Blue Ogre Dorry slapped her on the back, completely oblivious to the loud coughing fit she descended into, "We'll take care of ya. If you're friends with those Straw Hat kids like you say you are, then it's the least we can do! We're not letting ya die!"

"That's...very encouraging. Thanks." Strauss sighed, rubbing her aching head. At least she knew that they'd been this way. That was something... But a year?! She didn't have that sort of time. She needed to catch up with them as soon as possible. "Remind me how they got off this island again?"

Brogy hummed, stroking his bearded chin, "If I remember correctly, the blond dude-"

Strauss' ears perked up.

"-found an Eternal Pose...to somewhere beginning with A. Alabama maybe?"

"Gegyagyagyagya! It was Alabasta, you idiot!"

"Oh! Yeah! My bad! Gababababababa!"

So Sanji had found an Eternal Pose huh? She smiled. That sounded like him. He was always too perceptive for his own good (when he wanted to be at least).

And now, thanks to him, the distance she needed to catch up on was growing larger by the second.

Gah! Aggressively, she bit off a chunk of the cooked dinosaur the giants had prepared for her. She needed to get off this island already! There was no time to waste! And this meat was disgusting! Far too tough and bland.

Was she seriously turning her nose up at food? She almost laughed despite herself. Boy how the Baratie had changed her.

Ka-boom!

"Ah!" Dorry chucked his discarded bone away and rumbled to his feet, smirking at the pillar of lava spouting from the distant volcano, "It's time again."

She cocked her head, "For your duel? But wasn't the last fight only a few hours ago?"

"Doesn't matter." Brogy grinned toothily, "When the volcano erupts, we fight." He crouched down in front of her, "You gonna be okay by yourself?"

Strauss snorted, "I'll be just fine."

"Good! Just stick around this cave, okay?" He gestured to the holey white rock face, "For some reason the dinos don't like hanging around here, so you should be alright. But keep an eye out."

"Will do." She waved as they stomped off. There was no need to warn her. Those dinosaurs were no joke, and she wasn't stupid enought to put herself in needless danger.

As if sensing her discomfort, the bushes behind her rustled.

Strauss tensed, eyes staring towards the noise.

"UN!"

Rustle rustle.

"DEUX!"

A swan ornament peaked out of the foliage.

"TROIS!"

A figure burst out into the clearing.

"Ah!" The flamboyant man grinned, raising his ballet slipper clad foot into the air, "I forgot what four was!"

In the distance, the sound of punches echoed through the air.

...Huh?

"BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Strauss' face flushed a pale pink, "It's… It's not that funny."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Zeff guffawed, wiping a tear from his eye, "But I can't believe you came in here expecting to be fired!"

He hated teasing the girl like this, but she had just looked so miserable when she'd knocked on his door. Patty had told him everything beforehand, kindly offering to beat Sanji's face in, so Zeff had expected her to show up at some point. He knew full well that she was a stickler for rules in a way that he wished the rest of the Baratie staff were. So when she had very tentatively and almost begrudgingly asked if she would be fired, he had almost felt sorry for her.

But he still laughed nonetheless.

Finally calming down, Zeff let out a long sigh, "Look, there's no need to worry about it. That damn eggplant has sent us all to the point of violence at least once. It's almost an initiation of sorts. And honestly-" he smirked- "I'm surprised you hadn't done that sooner."

Honestly. That girl had the patience of a saint. Especially considering the obnoxious way the damn eggplant had been treating her all week. He had actually been thinking about stepping in when the time was right, but that apparently had been just a bit too long for Strauss. Even though she questioned why she wasn't fired already, he could see that she had absolutely no regrets about doing what she did.

Not that there was anything bad about that. The damn eggplant had been asking for it for a while.

"It's nice that you think that, but do you honestly think that you should be encouraging this sort of thing?" She grimaced, twiddling her fingers, "I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of using another innocent human being-" Her face darkened- "no matter how annoying and utterly frustrating that damn human might be, as stress relief."

"Well normally he fights back, and hard." Zeff sighed and pinched his nose. Oh why had it come to this? "But...considering that it's you of all people...I don't think he'd ever do that."

"Why?" She hissed, slamming a hand on his desk, "Is it because I'm a girl?"

That girl… Who knew that she could be absolutely terrifying if she wanted to. "That's...that's a part of it, but-"

"Of course it is!" Strauss threw her arms into the air. "Why is everything in this damn restaurant about gender?! You almost didn't hire me because I was female, and now Sanji seems to think I'm a completely different person just because he found out that I'm not actually a guy! What makes me being a girl such a big deal?!"

"Oi" He rose to his feet, "Now don't you cut me off! I wasn't finished."

She flinched, somehow managing to ball up her shoulders and flop into the stool opposite him, "Sorry Manager Zeff. I got...I just got carried away."

It was a whole lot more than that judging by that aggressive knee bouncing. But she probably needed an outlet of some sort for all that pent up rage.

"Now, if you would let me finish," Zeff pointedly glared at her, "I was only gonna say that sure, your gender is a part of it. It's why I never bothered to correct him when he thought that you were male. But it's also more than that. Think about the way he treats you compared to all the other ladies."

Her lips tightened, "I know. I know that it's because he cares about me and now doesn't know how to act. But..." she sagged, all her energy just draining out of her, "he's just so...intense. I can't even wash dishes anymore because he-" She emphasised with her fingers- "'doesn't want my hands to become wrinkled from the water'."

Zeff gaped at her, "He...he actually said that?"

"Yeah…"

Oh dear god...it was worse than he thought.

"This is my fault," he groaned, head in his hands, "I was the one who told him to respect women. I've been teaching him that sort of stuff ever since he was such a tiny brat, and I know it's gone too far recently. I should've stopped him. I should've at least tried to...tone it down a little."

"But teaching him that sort of thing isn't exactly bad, is it?" Strauss shrugged, "I mean sure, his definition of respect is waaay out of control, and it would be better if he could respect everyone and not just women, but it's not like he's harassing girls with any bad intentions. He's doing it out of kindness. A very warped idea of kindness, but it's still kindness."

Zeff blinked. Was he...was he really getting lectured to by a pipsqueak? But then again, these days it often seemed like the world was turned on its head. Although...it was nice to know that there was a girl out there who actually understood where the eggplant was coming from. It was good to know that he had found such a mature friend to rely on.

"But yeah. It's still your fault."

A vein popped in his forehead. Perhaps he'd thought too highly of her.

"So," he growled at her, "what exactly do you want to do about it?"

Strauss blinked at him, "Do about what?"

Okay. He'd definitely thought far too highly of her. "About the damn eggplant you idiot!"

"Well I wasn't planning on doing anything," she shrugged, "It's not like I can tell him what his feelings are. Besides, the popcorn business is really taking off because of this."

Thump...thump...thump…

"Manager Zeff? Are you alright?"

Did the Baratie exclusively attract idiots or something? Perhaps everyone in the East Blue was this clueless. OR WAS IT JUST THESE TWO!?

"You…" Zeff finally stopped thumping his head against the desk, "Don't you want to sort this out!?"

She glanced away, staring out the porthole, "...No. Even if I did, it isn't exactly my decision to make."

Right. He'd forgotten about her warped self esteem. Great… "Of course it's your decision," he grumbled, mind racing to think of an argument that she would support, "Just think about it. What about if you get pushed to the brink like this again, do you want to lash out at people out of nowhere?"

Her lips tightened into a fine line, "No..."

"Then we're going to need to think of a plan."

We're. WE'RE?! Why was he making himself a part of this?! He wasn't their babysitter. It wasn't his responsibility to take care of their little squabbles!

But neither of them were going to do anything about it if Zeff let them be.

"Why're you trying so hard to help us?" Strauss asked, "I get that you and Sanji are close, but I'm just your employee. It would be better, for him and for the restaurant, if you just fired me. So why don't you?"

No. He didn't want that at all. Strauss was one of the best wait staff he'd ever found. If he let such a hard worker like her go, he knew that he was never going to find another one.

But it was more than that. Those two kids needed each other, in a way that Zeff was honestly surprised at. And if they wouldn't make the step themselves then he was do his damndest to push them towards each other. The chance of this happening was one in a million, but by god he was going to take it.

He could picture them both vividly in his mind. That little kid dripping with blood and rainwater who wouldn't die until he achieved his impossible dream. That thin girl with the gunshot wound who thought that she wasn't worthy of kindness.

Didn't they deserve a chance to grow?

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Sanji flopped face first onto his bed, ignoring the mild throbbing on the top of his head.

He couldn't believe it. He'd shown her the most possible care and the most possible politeness, and what had she done? Kicked him in the head!

"Damn twinkle toes…"

No! He couldn't think like that! She was a lady after all. A lady who didn't really fit his idea of being a woman and was the most frustrating person he'd ever met, but a lady all the same. It was his responsibility as a gentleman to take care of her.

But she'd still hit him.

So what had he done wrong? Had he prepared food she didn't like? Sanji shook his head just thinking about it. No, it couldn't be food related. Strauss was a human garbage can in the way that she consumed anything and everything that was before her. She wouldn't be angry just because he made her something she didn't like.

But she had been turning her nose up at what he'd presented to her recently. He'd put so much effort into them, making each dish a masterpiece of their own right. Since she couldn't eat leftovers now. He forbade it. Only the most delectable morsels would make their way past those flawless pale lips under his watch.

Perhaps it was because she was unused to such fine food? She had only moved onto richer food a few weeks ago after all. There was a high chance that she was simply stunned into silence by the dishes he put before her. And then...ate his own bowl of leftovers because she couldn't handle it?

Naaah. That couldn't be it.

Was it the customers? Were they harassing her? They had been getting on his nerves recently, what with the popcorn nonsense and everything. That chomping noise was enough to drive absolutely anyone insane. However Strauss seemed to enjoy serving customers, perhaps even more than before. She had expressed her dislike of having popcorn on the menu once, but after that she just seemed to ignore it.

And the customers seemed to like her too. If anything, she was the preferred waiter for most of their regular customers now. The ladies he could understand, even if it immensely disappointed him. They enjoyed having someone they could relate to, and Strauss was absolutely amazing in each and every way so why wouldn't they like her? But the men on the other hand…

He sat bolt upright, trying to resist the urge to rip his pillow into shreds.

Strauss didn't stand for that sort of nonsense though. He'd seen men try to flirt with her (restrain yourself Sanji…), but she'd shut them down almost instantly. But maybe that had less to do with Strauss and more to do with how Sanji glared silent death threats at said men from the opposite side of the room.

So that wasn't right. But then...what was it?

He swung his legs off the bed. He wasn't going to get anywhere by himself. He would ask her. It was best to be direct in these sorts of scenarios. And the sooner he found out the answer, the sooner he could try to figure out a solution. He'd made enough mistakes already. Strauss deserved to be treated exactly how she should be.

But shouldn't she be back already? That meeting with the shitty geezer couldn't go on that long, now could it. She was supposed to be back 21 minutes ago. So where was she?

Stepping out of their room, Sanji could faintly pick up the sound of light conversation coming from down below. He raised an eyebrow. Strange. The restaurant should be closed by now, and it was too early for dinner. What on earth could be going on?

"Are you sure you don't want it shorter?"

That...came from the bathroom.

"I think it looks good. But what about you, Strauss?"

His eyes widened into saucers.

"I don't particularly mind. Do what you think looks right."

Strauss...was in the bathroom. With...with… He gagged. WITH A GUY?! His eyes narrowed. Those damn cooks! He couldn't trust them for a moment. He started running for the stairs. Don't worry Strauss! He would be there soon.

BANG!

Three heads turned towards him as the bathroom door got sent soaring across the room, a large foot shaped dent in its centre.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO STRAUSS?!" Sanji screached, veins popping on his forehead.

Zeff groaned, head in his hand, "Oh it's only the eggplant… I thought something dangerous was happening."

"Do ya want me deal with him, boss man?" Patty punched his fists together.

"Nah. He'll calm down soon enough."

Carne rolled his eyes, "I don't care what you do, as long as he doesn't interrupt me. I don't want to mess this up."

They were talking as if he wasn't there! Sanji growled, scanning the room for her familiar figure. Where was she? Was she alright? She wasn't in danger was she? Had he come too late? He wasn't sure what he'd do if he had… He didn't want to see her bleeding in his arms again.

"Is that Sanji?"

His heart leapt. She was alright! Oh thank goodness.

"Keep still!" Carne growled, head whipping away from Sanji, "I'm hardly an expert here, so don't blame me if I don't cut it right."

C-cut?

He had to see what was going on, despite the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to like what was going on. Ducking under Patty's pathetic attempt at a swipe, he almost slipped on something lying on the floor. Something that was almost silky. And grey…

The same grey that he normally associated with Strauss.

Oh no.

"All done!" Carne clapped his hands, setting down the...the scissors on the counter and whipping the tarpaulin off the figure's shoulders, "What do you think?"

His mind went blank. That...that wasn't her was it?

"It's a big change," Strauss shrugged, standing up to look in the mirror, "I realise I had that many spit ends."

She had nice long hair...in a ponytail…

"That's what you get when you don't take care of your hair," Carne huffed, "You didn't ever think of washing it? Or at least getting a trim?"

"You know what, no. I never did. I was too busy trying to feed myself."

Not...not...not this…

"What did you do?!" Sanji cried, picking the long piece of Strauss' discarded hair off the floor.

She turned towards him impassively, the uneven ends of her freshly cut bob swaying against her chin, "Isn't it obvious? Manager Zeff suggested that I get a haircut, so I did."

"B-b-b-but YOUR HAIR!?"

"Oh come on you little eggplant," Zeff smirked, looking surprisingly proud despite this utter atrocity he'd done, "Aren't you going to compliment the girl?"

Sanji gulped. It looked nice on her. Better than nice even. But then again, it was Strauss. She looked lovely no matter what her hair was like. Even though he loved watching her long hair swish from side to side as she walked… And he found it fascinating how even though she barely brushed it, it still managed to end up immaculately charismatic.

But in the end, if Strauss liked it he would be happy with that. It was her hair after all. He didn't have the right to be judgmental about it. Even if it was significantly longer on one side than the other, and the choppiness just looked messy instead of purposeful.

"It's...it's really..." He clenched his fists, forcing himself to smile. "It's really nice. But why didn't you tell me about this?!"

Zeff, Patty, and Carne groaned in unison.

He blinked, turning towards Strauss, "Why're they…?"

"Don't ask me," she muttered, equally confused.

"So," he stepped closer, circling round her to try and get his head around this 'new Strauss', "How did this-" He gestured lamely- "happen?"

She shrugged, twiddling a strand of hair in curiosity, "Well… I dunno how cutting my hair fits into all of this, but…" Trailing off, she inspected his face.

Why? Had he driven her to this? Was it all his fault?!

"Oi!" She flicked him squarely in the forehead, "Quit blaming yourself."

His hand gently raised to the throbbing pain, "How…?"

"Because you looked pathetic." Sighing, she crossed her arms, "Now, as I was saying, this was all Manager Zeff's idea. Part of his 'plan'."

His...plan?! One angry eye snapped towards the chuckling old man.

Zeff shrugged, "I just thought a change in look might snap you out of it."

"Snap me out of it?"

"Look." Zeff planted his hands on Strauss' shoulders, "Sure I bought up the idea myself, but in the end she decided to make this change herself. You don't control her, Sanji."

Huh? What was he talking about? Sanji grimaced, "But...But I don't control-"

"Yeah, ya do." Patty crossed his arms, "Ya don't let her do anything for herself; ya don't even let her carry plates!"

"That's because she could...she could pull a muscle! And a lady shouldn't have to carry anything."

Carne grimaced, "Pull a muscle my ass! This lady of yours has beaten up pirate crews without even breaking a sweat. I think she could handle a couple of plates."

"But her injury-"

"Isn't serious enough to stop me from working." Strauss raised the corner of her shirt, and even though Sanji instantly held a hand over his eyes he could tell that all that remained was an angry red blotch on her skin. It wasn't even bleeding anymore. She could properly fight and it wouldn't be a problem.

"But…" his voice wavered, "But…"

"I know that you're confused, and don't know what to do." Zeff muttered calmly, "But you're suffocating her. And the worst thing is that you don't even know you're doing it."

S-suffocating her? He wasn't… He'd never… All he wanted to do was make up for the mistakes he'd made. He...he had no idea.

Liar.

He'd known alright. How could he not. There were times when parts of him wondered if he was just going a little too far. And perhaps he was. But then… how was he supposed to know how to act. It was always easier to reach for one extreme than grasping for something in the middle. How could he determine what was enough and what wasn't? It was stupid for her to say that he shouldn't blame himself for this, since that much was certain. It was his fault. He was the one who didn't know how to act. Strauss was the same as always, he knew that, but at the same time she was so very different.

He didn't need anything as drastic as cutting her hair to make him realise that.

Sanji trailed the jagged edge of her bob with his finger, trying his hardest to ignore the guilt raging inside of him, "Oi Carne...you did a shit job. I'll tidy this up."

They didn't call him out for not responding to the accusation, even if they looked disappointed. Patty and Carne at least. Zeff and Strauss appeared to have a glimmer of recognition in their eyes. Hardly surprising really. It was annoying how they could be so observant.

"Are you sure?" Strauss asked, cocking her head, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Zeff grimaced, "No...I think it's a good idea. He's right. It looks shit."

"I did try and tell you that I haven't done this before," Carne grumbled, "But you still made me do it."

"I'll do it!" Patty offered.

"NO!"

At least for that, they were in agreement.

"Right," Zeff all but shoved Patty and Carne out of the room, "Take your time. We'll fix food for you both."

Sanji opened his mouth to reel of a list of qualifications for Strauss' meal, before gently closing it. That wouldn't help right now. Instead he just watched as the door swang shut.

They were alone.

It was the first time they'd been alone since that time on the rooftop. Not that Sanji was avoiding her or anything, no why would he do such an idiotic thing, he just felt that it wasn't appropriate to be left alone in a room with a lady. Even though that was all he desperately craved…

NO! He slapped his crimson cheeks. GO AWAY THOUGHTS! DON'T BE DIRTY! NOT FOR STRAUSS! SHE'S SPECIAL! AND WAY OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE!

"You're thinking something weird again, aren't you?"

"I-I'm not!" He squeaked.

"Mhm?" Strauss smirked, raising an eyebrow, "Okay then."

He picked up the scissors, investigating the blades in a pitiful effort to distract himself, "How...how do you want it?"

Oh come on, that was pathetic. At least try to sound calm!

Groaning, Strauss hopped back up onto the stool she had just been sitting on, "Don't really mind. It's just hair, isn't it?"

"But it's your hair," he frowned, "You should at least have some opinions on how you want it."

"Well I don't. Funnily enough, sorting my hair wasn't really a priority when I was trying to find food."

Since she had no opinions on the matter, he'd just try and tidy this up for now. He really didn't want to make it any shorter than it already was. Tentatively, his fingers reached out to grasp the jagged ends of hair. "Then why keep it so long?" Not that he was complaining about it or anything, he was just confused. "If you were working so much, wouldn't it just get in the way if it was that long?"

Her shoulders hunched, and he wished that he could see her expression, "Well...let's just say that someone wanted me to keep it that way. He...he thought it was elegant."

He? HE?! Sanji's blood boiled. Just who was this 'he'?! Her boyfriend!? A past flame!? WHO?!

But he wouldn't ask. It wasn't right. Besides, whoever that damn bastard was, he was right. She looked so lovely with long hair, so serene as it cascaded down her back like tainted moonlight.

No. Noooooo! Stop right there! You're entering dangerous territory, Sanji! Keep your wits about you!

In his haste to actually start cutting, and stop thinking such distracting things, Sanji's hand brushed against the warm skin of Strauss' neck.

Oh. He...he hadn't realised how close he was. He gulped, somehow unable to tear his eyes away.

Something trickled from his nose. Something...far too thick to be water.

Shitshitshitshitshit!

"Ah!" He clapped his hands over the nosebleed, shuffling back as fast as he could. How could he. No. Damn reflexes. It wasn't fair. He'd been afraid of this. This was why he'd been avoiding being alone together. AAAAAH!

Startled by the sudden noise, Strauss turned to glance over her shoulder, "Is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah DON'T LOOK!" He waved a hand to stop her, the slight action unbalancing him enough to make him trip over the bucket Zeff normally kept in the bathroom, "Yaaaaaaagh!"

Ow...his head stang… But he had to get out of there. He had to escape before she noticed.

"Here." A roll of toilet paper got handed to him, "For your nose."

Awwwwwww fu-

"You must have hit it on the way down or something. That was quite a fall after all."

Sanji blinked. Oh. So she...hadn't realised. Great! He could get behind that. "Thanks…" He mumbled, shuffling upright while trying to ignore the comforting hand burning into his shoulder.

"I...I'm sorry about hitting you by the way."

He stared at her while ripping off a piece of toilet paper to pinch on his nose, "Why? I'm sure you had a good reason to."

"Doesn't matter if I had a good reason to, the fact is that I actually did and I shouldn't've." She sighed, tearing off her own piece to dab at the slowly drying stains on Sanji's cheek. "You...were trying your best. You didn't deserve that."

"But obviously my best isn't good enough." Ah look at that. It was stopping already. How conspicuously convenient.

"Good…" She sighed, "Good is a subjective thing. And we've just got two different opinions on what that is."

Yeah. He knew that much at least. "All I want," he mumbled under his breath, "Is to make you happy."

Snorting derisively, she rolled her eyes, "I know..."

"Am I really suffocating to you?"

He regretted asking. Especially when he already knew the answer she would give. But he had to know. He had to hear her actually say it.

"A little bit."

A little bit. That was as good as a yes. He drooped. He'd messed up. Badly. It was a genuine miracle that she was still speaking to him at this point. Anyone else would've packed their bags and left.

Although he didn't know how he'd react if she ever decided to go.

"But I know you mean well." Strauss smiled at him, holding out a hand, "Just...try and tone it down, okay?"

"Yeah…" He blankly took her hand and let her pull him up.

"The same goes for me," she grimaced, "I...I know that I can be quite...tightly wound sometimes. Especially when it comes to people I'm close to."

Close to? His eyes widened.

"And yeah. That list does include you, you damn pretty boy." Chuckling, she stretched up to ruffle his hair, "But I'll try and tone my...stubbornness back a bit. Is that okay?"

Sanji nodded so frantically he felt light headed. It was more than okay. Fantastic even! He didn't deserve to be forgiven.

"We...we good then?" Strauss pressed her lips together, looking almost apprehensive.

Sanji took her hand and shook it firmly, "Yeah. We're still friends!"

Ah! So good! Everything was going to work out okay in the end! As long as they could get over this bumpy part. And then maybe, just maybe, they might end up being close. And then closer than close. Maybe even (he gulped) more than friends…

"Sanji… Your nose is bleeding again."

"FUCK!"

A/N

Slightly later than I would've liked, but at the same time it's slightly longer than normal. So...yay? I feel really bad for Sanji though...this guy doesn't deserve such torment. Even if he's now become so tempermental I have no idea what's going to happen when I start writing his 'bit'.

Thanks so much for all the comments, Strauss is getting so much love I genuinely can't believe it. Hopefully I continue to not disappoint!