"UN! DEUX! TROIS! Uh…"

Strauss hid her face in her hands, "It's 'quatre'."

"Aaaaaaaaah! Thank you Straussy-chaaaan!" The strange man pirouetted around her, cackling to himself, "It's so nice to have someone to keep reminding me!"

How...how had she ended up here again? This...freak (and no, that wasn't because he was an Okama, he was just annoying) had appeared out of the bushes out of nowhere, stared at her for a solid minute, before prancing in circles begging for her to come with him. She wasn't even sure what his name was!

How did she get from there...to here!?

"How is the needle looking boys?"

"We're on target, Mr 2 Bon Kurei-sama!"

Oh. Right… He had an Eternal Pose to Alabasta, which meant that he was the only way off that island. That was why.

Either way, she didn't like it.

"Hey Straussy!" 'Mr 2' clasped her face eagerly with both hands, "Can you dance with me?! I would loooove to see you dance!"

Huh? She stared blankly at him. But...she hadn't told him a thing about herself. "How did you…"

"How did I know that you are a fellow dancer?! Straussy! Stop joking around!" He giggled, pulling her to her feet, "I know a fellow dancer when I see one. The poise! The elegance! The love!"

She blinked. The what now?

"Oh don't look at me like that," Mr 2 crooned, spinning Strauss under his arm, "I know the eyes of a maiden in love! Ah!" He clasped a hand to his chest- "Though you may be far, I shall always remember, The taste of your love!"

His crewmates applauded.

What sort of madness had she gotten herself into?

"So release your anguish with me, dear Straussy!" He flung out his hand, "Come, dance your troubles away! Since for us dancers, there is no better way of expressing ourselves than by using our bodies!"

Strauss seriously considered jumping off the ship.

"To deprive yourself of something you crave is to deprive yourself of your humanity! That is a basic fact of being human! You can repress it all you want! You can try to bury it deep down in the depths of your heart! But the fact that you are out here chasing someone means that you have finally accepted it as a part of your very being." Mr 2 grinned, "Isn't that right, Straussy?"

Strauss raised an eyebrow. Damn. For someone so flamboyant, this guy was quite empathetic wasn't he?

"Well then," she muttered, hopping to her feet. "I guess you're not going to accept no as an answer, so I have no choice." Arching her back however, she couldn't hide the smile that pulled at her lips, "I might be a little rusty. Please forgive me."

Mr 2 snickered triumphantly, "My dear Straussy… for some reason, I find that very hard to believe."

Perhaps this leg of her journey wouldn't be as bad as she had initially thought.

Thwak!

Sanji grimaced as the kick connected with his raised shin. He didn't need to brace himself. The hit was barely enough to force him backwards. "No no no... " He sighed, lowering the leg, "Let's go through this one more time."

"Damn." Strauss cursed, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "I really thought I had it that time."

He didn't like this. Not in the slightest. If he had his way Strauss would never have to fight, let alone train. But...compromises had to be made. For both sides (even if he personally felt like he was being penalised the most).

At least he wasn't being forced to actually attack her. That much he was grateful for. And even though it was obvious that Strauss really didn't enjoy using him as a human punching bag, she had to admit that there were some benefits. It meant that he was more focused on teaching her. If she had to fight, which she shouldn't, then she'd at least be able to do it well. He didn't know what he'd do if she hurt herself again.

"You're not leaning into it enough," Sanji explained, moving slowly through the motions to emphasise, "It's important to make sure you shift your entire bodyweight into your heel. That's where you get the most force from. You, on the other hand, do this," Leg still suspended, he pointed his toes.

She winced.

He lowered his leg, meeting her gaze, "It might look elegant, but it definitely won't feel it once you land a hit. It'll shatter all your toes in an instant. Never, and I mean never, do this."

"I'll try…"

"I'm going to need something a lot better than try."

"Yeah, but…" She scratched her head, "It's an old habit of mine. It's not going to be easy to get rid of it."

His ears pricked up. Was this...backstory?! Information about Strauss' past? He suppressed the beaming smile that threatened to spread across his face. This was perfect! Strauss was tight lipped at the best of times, especially about her past, which meant that getting any information out of her was next to impossible.

It frustrated him to no end. Sure, he might know her personality, but other than that she was pretty much a mystery. Not if Sanji had anything to do about it through! Strauss was his special friend! He wanted to get to know her better! Find out her favourite foods, her favourite colours and so on. Hell, he didn't even know her birthday. The basic stuff, rather than any bad memories she might have.

After all, he knew full well why someone would want to obscure their past.

"An old habit?" He probed, rolling out his shoulders, "From what?"

She rolled her eyes, "Oh come on. You don't want to know that boring stuff."

OH YES HE DID! HE WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING!

"Look," he gestured to the golden orange light sinking below the horizon, "It's already getting pretty late. We were going to stop anyways, so let's just-"

A loud gurgle echoed through the air.

Sanji raised a lazy eyebrow, "Really?"

"...sorry."

"I swear you have a bottomless pit for a stomach or something, Strauss-san." Sighing, he slung his towel over his shoulder and walked towards the door. "But as I was saying, let's just chat for a bit. I'll get some food sorted."

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. Typical Twinkle Toes. "Fine…" She followed him out, "I'll go take a shower and freshen up a bit, 'kay?"

S-shower?!

His nose began to tingle.

No! Control yourself Sanji! Don't get a nosebleed, you pathetic excuse of a human! Strauss-san is pure and innocent! She shouldn't be… be thought of like this! Look, just calm down a moment. She doesn't know that you're thinking like this… If you're calm… she won't notice a thing.

"Yeah that sounds fine!" His voice wasn't really that high pitched, was it? Surely it was just his imagination! "Y-y-you go take a sho… a shoooow… a sh-sh-shower a-and I'll… make food. Yeah… food…"

YOU FUCKING IDIOT!

Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. "Sounds good to me! See you at the usual spot."

"See you there…" he muttered as she sauntered off, before crumpling against the wall. Oh god...he was a mess. Now that he'd started thinking...those thoughts, he just couldn't stop! They were everywhere, even going as far as to infiltrate into his dreams. Which made waking up in the middle of the night to see Strauss half dangling out of her hammock with appallingly mussed up hair pure torture. Especially since he had cut that silky soft hair himself…

Noooooooope! Stop right there brain!

He marched off to the kitchen. If he didn't get a move on, Strauss would be waiting on the roof for ages. With wet hair to boot, since he knew that she wouldn't bother to dry it properly. He sighed. What an idiot. Maybe she should just catch a cold, that would serve her right. And then he could nurse her back to health aga…

On second thought, he should hurry up and make their food.

It would be easy enough to just make her a special meal, but Strauss made that much impossible. If he made something just for her, she'd just steal his bowl of leftovers. He didn't know why, but she did. Even if he tried to stop her, she'd still manage it. Which left him only one choice. He'd have to make them both special. That way it didn't matter which one she stole; they'd both be equally delicious.

Sanji couldn't help but snicker to himself. Take that Strauss! She wouldn't outsmart him this time! She would eat his food, and enjoy it! Even if she enjoyed his food anyways… But no matter! He would make her feel special, if it was the last thing he'd do!

It was fairly easy (for Sanji at least) to whip something up. Taking the precooked rice noodles, the day's vegetable peelings, and some salmon fillets that were in dire need of being used up, two bowls of delicious noodle salad came together in mere minutes. At least he hoped it was delicious.

After all, he hadn't really tasted his own cooking before.

Strauss' eyes sparkled as soon as she saw the two laden bowls in his hands, "Oh that smells heavenly!"

"It must, for it to be worthy of an angel like you," he grinned, sitting down next to her.

"Shut up," she lightly punched his shoulder, "Try that sort of line with someone who cares."

Well...he did care. It wasn't just a line to him. He believed it wholeheartedly.

As he had expected, she reached for the furthest dish first. "Too bad," He grinned at the blatant shock on her face, "I guess you just have to eat it."

"B-b-but this isn't on the menu is it?," she spluttered.

"Nope. Made it just now."

Eyes narrowing, she growled at him, "I thought I told you to stop making me special meals…"

"Well I made one for myself too, so you can stop complaining." Sanji leant forwards, holding out the cutlery, "So, are you going to accept this nice meal I made for us both and eat up, or let perfectly good food go to waste?"

It wasn't even an choice, and he knew it. No one who'd experienced starvation of some sort would sit still when there was the possibility of food being wasted.

"You," grumbled Strauss, snatching the cutlery out of his hands, "Are evil."

"There's nothing evil about wanting to give you special treatment, Strauss-san."

"Just… wipe that damn smile off your face."

He would do no such thing! This felt amazing! He'd finally won an argument against Strauss! Not that it was much of an argument, but it still felt good! Especially when he watched her try to hide her delighted grin as she put a forkful into her mouth.

He'd make sure to win more often.

"Oh, and here." He tossed a towel onto her head, "I knew you wouldn't dry it."

"It'll be fine. It's just hair."

"Zeff's not gonna let you work if you catch a cold."

She growled, muttering curses as she (very aggressively) rubbed the towel over her head. "There-" She tossed it back to him- "Better?"

He couldn't help but laugh. How could he not when that usually straight hair now looked like an albino hedgehog? Strauss sat confused for a moment, before reaching up and touching one of her new spikes. Then she joined in on the laughter.

Yeah. Winning felt good.

It felt weird to be the one eating his own cooking for once, instead of the other chefs' leftovers. Normally, he only made things for other people. He enjoyed watching them savour his food, and felt honoured that because of him people were nourished and filled with energy. Which was why that, in a way, he felt surprised that it tasted just so good. It almost felt surreal that he'd made something this good.

He'd really improved huh… Sanji took another bite, pride practically radiating off him.

Hang on a moment. Wasn't there another purpose to this?

"So-" He cocked his head- "What did you mean earlier about an 'old habit'."

Strauss choked on her mouthful, "You… you seriously want to talk about that?"

"Obviously. Why do you think I wanted to chat for a bit?"

Hissing, she set her bowl down next to her. "I'd hoped that you would forget about that…"

Sanji eyed it curiously. She wasn't finished, Strauss never considered herself full until the dish had been licked clean, so why was she leaving it?

A revelation shot through him.

Did… Did she hate it?! Was the dish not to her tastes?! He couldn't believe it! Wh..where had he gone wrong? Was it the sauce?! He knew he'd been a little risky with the cayenne, but he didn't think it tasted that awful!

"Okay…" She sighed, slowly nodding her head, "Now my thoughts are in order. I can answer that question no…" She scrutinised Sanji's face, "Why're you looking like that?"

His face flushed. "What, uh, do you…" Stop stammering dammit! "W… WhatSortOfFoodDoYouLike, Strauss-san?!"

"Whatever you make me, obviously."

… huh?

Cocking her head, she lifted her bowl up, "Well to be honest I'd pretty much eat anything you put in front of me, even if it tastes disgusting, but your food is…" Grimacing, she snapped her fingers, "Ah… how do I put it? It's...it's…"

Sanji leant forwards eagerly.

"It's just really good, alright! Really really reeeally good." Strauss stuffed a heavily laden fork into her mouth, her frustration completely undermined by the slight wiggle of her toes as the food seeped into her tongue. "Sorry I can't explain it better. I'm don't really know much when it comes to individual tastes and stuff."

"But you can't like everything!" Sanji protested, "There...there must be things you do like, and things you don't."

She shrugged, already twirling more noodles round her fork, "Nope. I never really had that luxury even before I was scavenging, so it never really came to mind."

Odd. He knew that any preferences Strauss might have have would be warped by those 4 years of starvation, but he hadn't considered that she wouldn't have any in general.

"When you say before…" He hesitated. Should he press it or not? It felt like it might be a tender issue, and he didn't want the rift between them to grow even wider because of his damn curiosity. But he really wanted to get to know her better...

"Ah," she sighed, "Well, I guess I couldn't put this off forever."

He blinked. She… she was actually going to talk about her past?! Like… for real?

"Oh don't look at me like that. This is all stuff that I think you've figured out already."

Okay wait what? He'd figured out!? Since when? He hadn't even bought up anything with her, just in case he scared her off.

Wait...

Wasn't there that night when they'd had that first argument about training, and then chatted in the dark afterwards. A chat which was the entirety of ten minutes before Strauss very conspicuously changed the subject before Sanji had been about to ask...

"Were you a dancer?"

"Yup." She slurped down her last mouthful and set the bowl down, "I've been told it's pretty obvious."

"It is." Especially when he knew what to look for. Since what else could have made her so elegant and balanced apart from fighting or dancing. And Strauss wasn't built to be a fighter. She was right, he'd figured out that much right from their first fight together.

It suited her. Now that he knew, he couldn't imagine her being anything else.

"Which dance?"

At that she snorted, "The only one society seems to care about. Ballet."

Yeah that was probably true. Dance was so uncommon that ballet was the only one that people paid to go and see, especially outside of the Grand Line. There were other dance forms, but they didn't get the same sort of publicity.

"You started young."

She shrugged, "My parents were both ballet dancers. It would be pretty hard not to dance when a kid's exposed to all of that."

"True…" He didn't quite know what to say next. How… How had she moved from dancing with her parents to scavenging on the streets. It was clear there had been a split of some sort. She wasn't communicating with anyone outside of the Baratie. No letters, no calls, not even any money being sent back.

He could only imagine the worst.

"Having parents like that meant that I had a strict training regime, the one they were used to in fact." She tilted her head towards him, "Guess it rubbed off on me."

Sanji rolled his eyes, "You can say that again. I take it that you had a strict diet too?" The Baratie recently become famous enough to bring in famous customers from all over. There was many a time he'd have to restrain himself because of ballerinas demanding how many calories were in each dish. Their diets were no joke.

"Yeah." Strauss hummed softly, propping herself back on her hands. "It's pretty hard to have a favourite food when you eat the exact same thing each day."

Their hands were almost touching! Their hands were almost touching!

"Still," Sanji managed to say clearly, "Everyone has a favourite food. Even you."

She chuckled, her head lolling back, "Then I guess you're just going to have to help me find mine."

Ba-dump!

Was this girl trying to give him nosebleeds? Since it really felt like that sometimes. She was just so… so… There were no words to describe her.

No. He sat bolt upright. He couldn't think like this. Strauss might be a lady, but she didn't deserve to be thought of like this. She was his friend. F. R. I. E. N. D. Nothing more. He shouldn't get excited because she's a lady.

She deserved better than him anyway.

"Right!" He scrambled to his feet, snatching up their bowls, "Guess I should go and get these cleaned up."

Strauss blinked, those lovely green eyes of hers filled with confusion, "But didn't you do the dishes yesterday?"

"N-no I didn't." He had to go. Escape. And fast. "It's my turn, so I'll go clean them up."

"Sanji?"

"It's okay! I'll go!"

As soon as the door shut behind him, he couldn't help but hiss. Why was it always like this? Why was his gut instinct to run away like a coward? Pathetic… He was absolutely pathetic…

And he just couldn't figure out why.

Strauss watched him go. What the hell was that all about? She hadn't thought that being a dancer would be that weird… Chuckling, she collapsed backwards to watch the dark clouds flow gently over the moon. She hadn't even planned on telling him. He was… so puppylike. His emotions could be read so easily; so much so that any disappointment felt like a physical punch in the gut.

She just hoped that he wouldn't dig for more details. He shouldn't, at least she thought he wouldn't. People with damaging pasts tended not to pry into other people's. She wasn't fully convinced though. She knew full well that there was a massive hole in her story. But… She sighed. That sort of stuff didn't need to be said really. He could fill in the gaps on his own. It didn't matter if it was correct or not.

If he actually asked her directly though… Strauss groaned, pinching her nose. If he did that, would she really be able to say no?

God… She was terrible at this friend stuff. Trusting people wasn't something that came easily to her. Which really stang when Sanji kept being so damn nice to her. Now don't get her wrong he could still be very annoying, but even after all that he was still trying to make her happy. She didn't understand why he was trying so hard, she didn't really deserve anything like that, but the fact that he was.

And what was she doing? Nothing! That's what! Hell, he was starting to actively run away from her now. Why?! Was he scared of her or something? Either way, she was obviously doing something wrong.

That just meant that she ought to be doing something in return, right? Reciprocating his kindness or something. She'd given up information for that very reason. After all...what else did she have to offer. What could she do… to be nice to him in return.

NOT cooking. That much she was certain of. Considering how she'd never cooked in her entire life, she wasn't mentally prepared for whatever disaster she'd make. Not to mention that she would not waste food. Never. She refused.

Besides, Sanji would probably laugh at her appalling skill. He would always be far better than her in the kitchen, and that was the way they both liked it.

So… what could she do?

A gift perhaps? She didn't really have the wages to pay for anything good though. Most of their pay went into their food and board, which left a couple of pennies left over for personal spending. She could buy something cheap, but that would leave a bad taste in her mouth. If she was going to get him something, it had to be something he'd actually use.

But wasn't she quite good at scraping money together at this point?

She chuckled, swinging to her feet. Yeah. She'd do that. And get a gift for Zeff while she was at it. He deserved it at this point for putting up with their antics for so long.

"Uh… Strauss-san? Are you still up here?"

Blinking, she turned at the sudden light. Had she been that lost in thought? She hadn't even heard the door open.

"Oh!" A blond head poked around the door, "Thought you might still be here."

Strauss frowned at the tiny dessert glass in his hands, "And I thought that you were doing the dishes. What're you doing?"

"Well I was doing some thinking," Sanji muttered, hopping up next to her, "About what you said about your diet and everything? And I realised that you probably never had much chance to eat sweets or anything with sugar in, right?"

"Yeah?"

Apart from the stale scraps that she'd rummaged through trash cans to find. But they probably tasted very different.

"So… And don't get me wrong!" He glared at her, "You know this is on the menu too! I...I was practicing. So, you'd better not waste it!"

Her eyes were narrowing more and more by the minute. Practicing? He'd been...practicing? With only one end result?! This was what she was talking about! He'd… He'd made this specifically for her, hadn't he! Just because she'd never had sweets! What a terrible reason! She'd done absolutely nothing to deserve this!

But, she didn't exactly want to waste food. That was the only reason she took it. The only reason. Nothing else behind it.

Even if that tiramisu looked far too cute to be eaten. Especially with that flawless spiral of cream resting on the top. And the grated chocolate in broken spirals.

She wiped a sliver of drool from her lips.

"Just give it a try." He leant forwards as if to nudge her, before seemingly thinking better of it, "Go on. It doesn't matter if you don't like it."

Well… If he was insisting. And why did he look so excited? She was the one eating it, not him.

Hesitantly, she put a spoonful into her mouth.

So… cold! She'd never had anything this cold before. It wasn't the same cold as drinking freezing water, this was more of a refreshing sort of cold. A relaxing type, rather than bracingly freezing. She loved the way it seemed to melt on her tongue. She'd never thought that a food could feel this way! Not at all! And it was creamy! So creamy and yummy that just tasting it sent shivers down her toes.

As she'd expected. Those old stale biscuits and cakes had nothing on freshly prepared desserts.

She tried so hard to make it last. She really did. But it still felt too soon when she looked down and realised that the glass had been scraped down.

Oh… There was no more…

"So… I take that you liked it?"

She flinched. Had… HAD SANJI BEEN THERE THE ENTIRE TIME!? H-HE'D WATCHED THAT ENTIRE EMBARRASSING DISPLAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

"Pffft!" Sanji chuckled, doing his best to hide his snickers behind a hand.

"O-OI!" She snarled, "What's so funny!?"

"Nothing, it's nothing!" Cocking his head Sanji grinned at her, his hair bleached by the pale moonlight, "It's just that your really cute when you're enjoying food."

She flinched.

C-cute? Was he joking? S-she wasn't cute. She never had been. Ever since she was a child she'd had a face that always seemed stern, and grey hair that never suited her age. People were more likely to be scared of her than call her beautiful. But… CUTE?! His teasing had gone too far!

"Ah…" He faltered at her vibrant red face, "I...I didn't… I mean… uh… I didn't say that… out loud… did I?"

H-huuuh?! What did he mean he didn't mean to say that out loud?! If he didn't want to say it… then… that meant that… HE GENUINELY THOUGHT THAT?!

"Please don't be mad at me!"

Strauss recoiled as Sanji abruptly bowed towards her. "Why...would I be mad?" She was just flustered, not angry or anything! Why would she be mad because of a compliment?! E-even if that compliment was… completely misplaced… Since she wasn't cute in the slightest…

"Well…" He sat up, fringe flopping slightly to the side, "I-It's… uh… I don't want you to misunderstand me! You're my friend…" Biting his lip, he gulped, "I don't want to ruin that."

"So you didn't mean it?"

Why did saying that make her feel so sad?

"NO!"

Her eyes widened.

"You're gorgeous Strauss-san! And really cute too!" He clenched his fists, "I wouldn't lie about something like that."

Ah. She finally felt her heart rate slow to a more natural speed. She should've know. This was just regular old Sanji, viewing the world through his rose-tinted lenses. Everything was far more romantic to him.

She shouldn't have expected anything different.

"You know," she smiled, "If you were like that to the ladies, they'd probably like you more."

He gaped, "Strauss-san! I'm being serious here!"

"And so am I! You're really nice when you're being genuine."

"D-do you really think so?"

She nudged him with her shoulder, "Of course! We wouldn't be friends otherwise!"

Pausing for a moment, he eventually smirked at her, "Well, you're more popular with the ladies anyway. I should be asking you for tips!"

"You don't deserve them."

"H-hey!"

Yeah. She really shouldn't have got so worked up over nothing.

A/N

Can I just say how awesome you all are? Honestly, the number of reviews that have been coming in is amazing considering I haven't published anything much on this site. Thank you all. You're all amazing. (Especially you, Guest Reviewer M.C. Those long reviews are always fun to read).

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all stay safe and happy if you're going back to work/school. Or just generally. Everyone needs to be happy and safe.