"Oi! Captain!"
The drunken pirate blinked open an eye, "What? It'd better be good."
"Well…" His subordinate leant closer, glancing furtively from side to side. "Isn't the waitress here a total hottie? Totally my type! Way better than the rumours!"
"Her? Bah!" The captain slugged down the rest of his alcohol. "Too stern for my liking. She'd be prettier if she cracked a smile or two."
"She's not s'pposed to be pretty! It's the cool, ice queen type act she has which really turns me on!
"Here are your drinks, sirs."
The conversation hushed as the person in question placed three bottles of beer down onto the table and walked off again, tray tucked neatly under her arm and ponytail swishing as she went.
"I get ya now…" His gaze lingered on her retreating form, eyes shifting slightly too low for anyone to be comfortable with. "There's definitely an appeal to her. Would be fun to play around with her for a bit."
His subordinates faces lit up. "Really boss?"
"Course! There ain't no way she'd turn us down when she finds out the bounty on our heads…"
"Go on then."
The pirates recoiled as a shadow fell over the table. Valentino Strauss tapped her foot against the floorboards, hands crossed across her chest as she scowled down at the rowdy bunch of pirates.
"What?" She cocked her head. "You were saying I wouldn't be able to resist you if I heard your bounty. So tell me." Her eyes flashed. "What. Is it?"
A hush fell upon the bar. The other customers glanced among themselves. Waiting with hungry smiles on their faces.
"Ha…" The captain laughed nervously, looking everywhere but at the person in front of him. "Well, uh, it ain't nothing to sneeze at… We crossed the first half of the Grand Line after all…"
"Yeah… on second thought, I don't care." She jerked a thumb behind her. "I came over to tell you that people're complaining. The entire damn bar can hear your nattering. I want you paid and packing in five."
"...HUH?!" He shot to his feet. "Y-you can't do that! We're paying customers, you have to serve us!"
"First off, you haven't actually given us a beli yet so you haven't paid, and second… you're not the only customers in here. If you bother the rest of the people in here, you're out. No questions asked."
His hand closed around his cutlass. "You… bitch!"
A long slender leg slammed him onto the floor. "Another quick thing," a quiet voice hissed into his ear, "Don't think that just because you've got a bounty you can use it to throw your weight around. Some of us have got them too. And you never know… you might mess with someone you shouldn't."
Paling, the pirates all but tumbled their way out of the bar, yelping insults and cusses over their shoulder until they'd left the grove. Sighing, Strauss shook her head. Those assholes still hadn't paid for their drinks. But hey. There wasn't much she could do about that now.
"There." She walked over towards the bar counter, nodding towards the customer sitting opposite her. "You happy now?"
"Perfectly." Trafalgar Law twirled his whiskey, watching the icecubes spiral round and round in the glass with an enigmatic smile on his face. "You really are talented at getting rid of pests, Strauss-ya. It's quite impressive."
"Well if you work in the service sector for long enough it's a skill you pick up fast," she grumbled under her breath as she snatched up a cloth to clean away the mess. "Now, if you're satisfied, I need to do my job."
"And here I thought you enjoyed my company."
"Eh, you're not all that bad compared to the rest of the idiots."
"I'll take it."
She sniffed, rolling her eyes with no small amount of sarcasm. In all honesty she quite liked this mysterious pirate. He wasn't needlessly boisterous like all the others were. Sure, he could be a complete asshole at times, but that was only to those who deserved it. As pirates went, he wasn't all that bad.
He was no Sanji (who could be), but yeah. She appreciated him.
"Any thoughts of joining my crew yet?"
But here was the one point they differed.
"Look." She straightened, salvaging the few untouched bottles from those pirates' table. "I've already told you, I'm waiting for-"
"For Black Leg-ya, I know." Law hummed and nodded towards the bounty poster behind her. God she'd been in stitches when she'd first seen the picture… that drawing was… something. "You've told me time and time again."
"Because you keep asking me about it," she muttered under her breath.
"But seriously, is he really worth it?" Slender tattooed fingers drummed against the counter. "That crew of his took the World Government head on. Pretty reckless, if you ask me. And from what I've seen of you, you're not the reckless sort. Not willingly at least-" he added after she sent a glare his way. "All I'm saying is that I don't think you'd fit in well with a crew like that one. You're here for Black Leg-ya, but what are you willing to put up with just to see him again?"
She winced and turned away.
That… was a good question. Which she really didn't want to think about.
"On your right!"
"Mhm!"
Strauss ducked backwards, clearing the way for Sanji to soar through and slam the offending pirate out of the door. In turn she flicked her hand out to twist the cutlass from the man behind her, flipping the handle to smack him unconscious.
She straightened, "Is that the last of them?"
"Seems so." Sanji hauled the final few bodies off the ground and tossed them outside into that obnoxiously shaped boat. "At least they weren't that much of a hassle this time."
Strauss couldn't help but agree while the rousing applause started up behind them. One of the main problems of being advertised as a fighting restaurant was that the customers had absolutely no indication of how much danger they were in at any given point. Most of the time it was fine, she and Sanji could handle pretty much any situation, but if it turned nasty…
Well. The less said about that, the better.
She felt a tap on her back. "You alright?"
"Yeah," nodding, she turned around to face him. "You?"
Sanji gave a lazy shrug, "Who'd you think you're talking to here? Course I'm fine. Not a scratch on me."
Good. She hadn't expected otherwise, but actually listening to him confirm it made her feel better. Although… Her eyes trailed after him as he went. The Sanji doth protest too much. And he wasn't normally one to say unnecessary stuff like that. So was he…? Maybe…?
Crunch crunch crunch…
But she couldn't go up and ask him now. Not with so many eyes (and mouths) still on them. It'd be madness, and if anything that'd just hurt Sanji's pride even more. She'd keep an eye on him for now. Just to make sure that he wasn't bleeding out or anything. Yeah. Just an eye out.
"That boy ain't gonna go anywhere with you staring at him like that."
Uuuurk!
"Oh…" Strauss put on her best game face and turned towards the elderly couple. They were regulars, a Mr and Mrs Poivre from the Yotsuba Island region. A delightful pair who had decided to live out the rest of their retirement by eating good food and meeting good people. A resolution that Strauss couldn't help but admire. "My apologies, sir, ma'am. Can I help you with anything?"
"No need to be so formal with us now dear," Mrs Poive smiled, accentuating those laugh lines from many years gone past. "We know each other well enough by now. Why, you're almost our granddaughter already!"
No. She wasn't. And she hated that sort of familiarity.
"Of course, ma'am-" Strauss continued her smile- "However think of the other customers. We can't have them wanting your special treatment, now can we?"
"Let it slide, Alice." Her husband chuckled merrily. "You can't argue against our Strauss here. It's a loosing battle and you know it."
"That doesn't mean I can't try, Jaques!"
Strauss had never been one for relationships, but the connection these two people had was truly something special. It wasn't perfect. In fact, it often seemed like they argued more times than they talked. However it was never done with malice. Any dispute was handled with such care and sincerity that Strauss often thought they started them for fun. No one would bicker with their significant other like that otherwise.
If she ever got into a relationship one day, and that was a very big IF, she would consider herself lucky to have one like that.
"So Strauss dear, does Sanji know that you like him yet?"
Never mind. She wanted to scream.
"Oh you really must tell him!" Mrs Poivre leant forwards over the table. "It must be painful seeing him flirt with all those other girls like that. Really, it's quite rude."
"Alice…"
"What! You know I'm right! Just think of our dear Strauss here, pining her heart out while she watches the love of her life drool at other women! It's honestly disgraceful!"
She had tried time and time again to explain that A: she had no romantic feelings in the slightest for Sanji they were friends and nothing more, and B: even if she did she'd still be fine with how he behaved around women. He wasn't flirting. That was just his way of being polite.
Across the room she watched Sanji drop to one knee in front of what was very obviously a newly married couple. The poor bride had no idea what to do, while the groom struggled to keep down his water.
Even if his way of being polite was rather...
SLAP!
...incriminating.
Eventually she'd just sounded like a broken record, and thought it'd be better to save her breath. It was their own faults for not bothering to get to know him better. Still, she couldn't just sit there and let her coworker get badmouthed.
"It wouldn't do to tell off my senior like that." Strauss nodded her head back towards Sanji. "As much as we may be similar ages and temperments, he has been working at this restaurant far longer than I have. He is used to his pattern and I am used to mine. It is as simple as that."
"Are you sure dear?" Her face crinkled. "It doesn't seem right to let him treat you like that just because he's your senior…"
Her husband reached over and placed a withered hand on hers. "Alice, I'm sure she has her reasons. She is no fool after all. You just saw her with those pirates." Eyes twinkling, he gave Strauss a wink. "If the lad does anything, I'm certain that she'll whoop him a good one like the last time. Right, miss Strauss?"
Strauss's lips curled upwards. As much as she hated to be reminded of that time she lost her temper… she couldn't deny that slamming Sanji's head into the ground had been immensely satisfying. "Yes. You can be confident about that, sir."
"You see? Nothing to worry about! Now, how about we order some dessert."
"Oh yes. Right. I'll have…" Her eyes flitted towards the blackboard with the daily specials scribbled on it. "Ooh the tiramisu sounds lovely! I'd like to give that a try."
"Two tiramisus then, Miss Strauss." Mr Poive held out the menus for Strauss to take. "I must say, the food here is wonderful! How do you keep coming up with such delicious meals is simply beyond me."
Strauss dipped her head, a small bubble of pride filling up inside her. "Glad to hear it, sir. I'll be sure to pass your compliments onto the chefs." Patty would be pleased. He had been worrying that his desserts weren't selling as well as they used to.
Although… why tiramisu? It was a little odd, even for the Baratie. After all, this was peak fish season, all their dishes were seafood based. Coffee and fish don't go well together, even if left until after the main meal. Considering that the Baratie prided itself on its efficient and economical food pairings… it made no sense.
She had nothing against the dessert itself. How could she, when it was the first real sweet she'd ever tasted. Weird. Another table raised their hand behind her. But she had other things to do now. This could wait. She'd make sure to ask Patty once they were prepared.
When the time came however, she was left speechless.
Two glasses swept out of the kitchen. Two very familiar glasses… with layers of coffee laced sponge and thick mascarpone cream, topped with a spiral of whipped cream and a light sprinkle of grated chocolate.
It was the exact same. The exact same dessert that Sanji had made her.
"Took you long enough."
She whipped around in an instant, gaping up at him. "What…"
"It's been a year y'know? Since you came here." Sanji averted her gaze and moved to scratch his neck. "I thought… well… it'd be nice… as a surprise. You seemed to like it after all. Didn't exactly think it'd take you this long to notice though," he muttered under his breath.
Well why would she? No one one in the restaurant had ordered it yet! If it wasn't for the Poivres…
She was getting soft. Far too soft, if she was getting this emotional over a damn dessert. But… it was nice. To know that she was appreciated. Since this couldn't have been a one man job. To get something onto the menu required the chefs approval to make it in the first place, then Manager Zeff giving the final say. The fact something like this was accepted was…
… she was home. The Baratie was her home.
"You always go above and beyond, don't you," she smiled, positioning the two glasses on her tray.
Sanji smirked, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Ha! Damn pretty boy!" With a single fluid movement the tray was perfectly balanced on the pads of her fingers. "But seriously though-" face softening, she gave him a light pat on the back as she moved past him- "thank you."
"No need to thank me just yet, Strauss." That gleam in his eye was somewhat… alarming… "There is still far, far more to come!"
Strauss froze halfway down the stairs, debating whether to turn around and confront him about what the hell he was talking about, before continuing on. She had a job to do. Focus on the job. Only the job.
There was nothing ominous about what he'd said in the slightest.
She should have been worried. Very, very, worried.
"Where the hell did you get that?!" She hissed as Sanji hopped onto the roof next to her.
He waved the bottle triumphantly, settling down and offering her an elegant wine glass. The only ones the Baratie had. "The wine stores. Duh."
"Oh you know what I mean!"
"It's been open for too long without getting used. The geezer was going to drink it anyways, so I figured…" He shrugged innocently. "We might as well."
All she wanted to do was pound her face into the roof tiles. "But we're not old enough to drink yet. At least I'm not. We're underage."
"I know but…" His face fell a moment. "Having you here with us has been so great, Strauss. You've been such a great friend to me and an amazing person to work with. I… I guess I just wanted to properly celebrate the day you joined. Just the two of us, I mean. We're the closest out of the whole staff anyways."
He… He had a point. And who could possibly say no to that face. Not her, that was for sure.
"Fine," she conceded, holding out her glass. "BUT… Only one drink, right?"
"Whatever you're comfortable with." Sanji moved to fill both glasses with a soft garnet liquid. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to."
Really now? Strauss gave the wine in her glass an experimental swirl. He'd pretty much talked her into this stupid idea. Although she had been pretty fast to agree. It felt pretty strange to recommend wines in the restaurant when she'd never actually drank any. At least now she could have some idea what she was talking about.
"Can I see the bottle?"
Sanji handed it over without a word. A Pinot Noir which claimed to be flavoured with blackcurrant, raspberry, and… She did a double take. Tobacco?
"You can see why not many customers chose this," Sanji chuckled at the look on her face. "I thought it sounded fun and interesting, so don't think too hard about whether you like it or not."
"Uh huh. And not because you're trying to talk me into smoking?"
"No way! Smoking's bad for you! I…" He faltered at Strauss's arched eyebrow. "I'm an exception."
Yeah. Sure. That was de~finitely it.
"It's true!" He scowled. "Look, I know it sounds weird, but my body… and my lungs included… are…" Pausing a moment, he swung back the entire contents of his glass. And retched. "Oh… EW! That- egh- was disgusting!"
"Well what do you expect? You don't 'chug' wine like that." Strauss, as if demonstrating, took a small sip from her own glass… before pulling a face. "But that really is vile. Urgh!" She clapped a hand in front of her mouth.
"Who the hell would drink this stuff?!"
"I dunno! Whose idea was it to drink this stuff in the first place!"
"Well how was I supposed to know?!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Another glass?"
"Please."
Five minutes later the bottle was empty, and Strauss was sitting stirring her finger around the empty rim of her glass. Thinking. What had he been about to say? And why had he suddenly decided to down his drink like that halfway through? Was it really that bad?
Yes. She curled her legs closer to herself. It probably was that bad.
It was strange, but she had a hunch that she knew what he was getting at. There was that strange muscle memory he possessed, which had at first infuriated her to no end. He could perform any move possible with only a week or two of practice. And even if his body hadn't been properly prepared beforehand. That… wasn't normal. Not even for the Grand Line, according to Manager Zeff.
Plus there was the smoking. She had joked about it before but… come to think of it, she'd never heard a single cough. With as many cigarettes as Sanji smoked per day, by all means he should have the heaviest smoker's cough possible. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing! It was like he got all the positives associated with smoking with absolutely none of the health risks. His teeth were fine, there were no cataracts to be seen, nor was his skin anything BUT silky smooth.
Not that she'd actually checked that of course. She was assuming. Yeah. Assuming..
But she just couldn't shake the feeling that whatever Sanji was hiding, it had something to do with that ridiculously healthy body of his. There was no way otherwise.
It was like he was… inhuman.
"What's wrong Strauss?" Sanji's head lolled backwards, fringe swaying aside to reveal that ever so secretive left eye. "You feeling alright?"
She started to open her mouth to wave it away, before closing it in a fine line. Might as well tell him. This was just a theory after all. If she was wrong, he'd have a good laugh at her and that would be that. And if she wasn't…
Well. She'd just have to find out.
"Sanji…" The alcohol inside of her burned, her skin feeling scorched against the cool night air. "Why don't cigarettes affect you?"
The reaction was instantaneous. "Ah." Groaning, he leant in a little closer. So close their shoulders were brushing. "It was about time I told you anyways. After all I said in Zhelesk and all that."
Right. She hadn't forgotten about that. But she hadn't exactly wanted to go up and ask him about it. That would just be rude. She knew from her own experiences that opening up about that sort of thing took time. She hadn't wanted to push that.
"I'm afraid to say, though… I've got about as much of an idea as you have."
Okay she hadn't expected that. Her brow furrowed. "How…"
"Well, maybe a little more of an idea. But yeah. It's just something I figured rather than something I know." A tentative hand reached up to scratch the nape of his neck, a tendency he had when he was nervous. "It's just… uh… It's gonna sound a little crazy…"
Strauss settled back and waited, wishing she had something to sip on.
"I… may have had some of my DNA altered when I was a kid."
Oh.
Her eyes widened.
Oooh.
"Yeah that makes sense."
"H...HUH?!" Sanji would have toppled backwards off the roof if it weren't for Strauss's well timed hand. "Wha… whaddaya mean it makes sense?! It's… It's…"
"Crazy? That's one word for it." Strauss cocked her head to the side. "But it explains a lot of stuff I've been wondering about far too well for it to be false. Besides-" she gave him a gentle nudge with her shoulder- "I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't lie to me, Sanji. Not ever."
It felt sappy, and probably was… but it was the truth. Whether she liked it or not, both she and Sanji were friends. Best of friends even. And she knew by now that Sanji was too kind for his own good. Intelligent, sure, but kind enough to be verging on naive. He wouldn't lie, not to her or to anyone.
Especially not about something like this.
"I… I see…" Sanji fumbled with his glass, twisting away so she couldn't see his face. "Well… thanks. For believing in me… and… yeah."
"Any time."
Why oh why had she drank so much of that wine? It hadn't even been all that good! There hadn't even been a trace of blackcurrant, and what was marketed as tobacco had really tasted far fouler-
"I was originally bred to be a weapon of mass destruction."
…
Her stomach plummeted.
"My father wanted to create the ultimate supersoldiers out of me and my siblings and I… was a failure…"
No. Don't talk like that. Please don't talk like that.
"Apparently what my father had given to M-mom…" She hated how he started to curl in on himself. She despised it. "It didn't work on me. Or not completely at least… seems like I'm still some sort of freakish superhuman in some aspects. I thought it wasn't noticeable but… I guess you were bound to find out at some point. You've always been… smart."
She wasn't smart. Far from it. If she hadn't figured out that her closest friend had been carrying all that on his shoulders for so long. There was so, so much to unpack there. And so much to read in between the lines. The way he had despondently said father, and stammered on 'Mom'. The way he was so resigned. As if she would hate him just for telling her this.
The terrible terrible way he lingered on failure… as if… it was a given.
Sanji pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket, lit it, and took in a long deep inhale. "Just so you know, I haven't told anyone this. Not even the gee… Not even Zeff."
Yeah. That made sense. She wouldn't tell anyone either, if it were her at least. But then...
"Why me?"
"Hm?" Sanji blinked and puffed out a silvery line of smoke.
"Why did you tell me?"
Her heart both leapt and froze as his lips gently crinkled into a smile. "Isn't it obvious?" One cold trembling hand entwined itself with the other's. "Because you're you."
"B-be serious!"
"I am! I meant what I said the other day, Strauss! You're my friend too! You're…" His grip tightened around her hand. "You're closer than a friend."
This was dangerous. Very very dangerous. But the alcohol inside her was a vice on her mind. Twisting her feelings and emotions and reactions. She couldn't even think straight.
But damn she was so happy.
"Thank you." It was the alcohol flushing her cheeks. Just the alcohol. "I… feel the same."
His smile was there, but brief. "You… Don't say that if you don't mean it. I don't want to get my hopes up… for nothing."
"You idiot." Body moving by itself, she flopped sideways to let her head rest on Sanji's shoulder. It was warm, if not a little bony, but she wouldn't change it for the world. This was Sanji. And no one could replace that. She just wished he himself could realise how special he was. "I've liked you for a while now."
She barely noticed the way he flinched before melting into her touch, laying his own head on top of hers.
How long did they sit like that? Leaning into one another's warmth. Hands entwined together. Watching the cool midnight ocean flicker in the little golden light that streamed out of their window. Listening to their hearts pound and not knowing necessarily why.
"Thanks. For being there."
"Any time."
It didn't matter. Today was one problem, and something that both of them would probably feel embarrassed about the following day. But they'd face it when it came. Just like they'd face the next time, and the next, and the next.
Together.
And nothing could ever change that. At least… it wouldn't then.
A/N
Thanks for reading! The love this fic has been getting is so... I... I can't deal T_T You guys are awesome. Just awesome. Each and every single one of you are amazing and I love you all. Including you! Yes you! The person who actually bothered to read the A/N (well done btw). You're breath taking! And no I'm not just saying that for the [dead] meme, I mean it! Each and every word!
Once again, thank you so much for your support. This journey is not near close to over yet, and I'm going to enjoy travelling that path with you.
Stay safe and happy!