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Rating: G Characters: Luffy & Sanji Word Count: 1,994 Summary: Luffy tries once more to convince Sanji to join his crew. (Baratie Arc)

One of the waiters comes out, breathless, and stops in front of Luffy. "I've got some cake or we can do a pie, but that'll have to bake first."

Luffy leans back in the chair and frowns down at his stomach.

"Two slices of cake," Sanji says, sparing the waiter a glance.

"Yes, sir," he says, spinning and jogging back to the kitchen.

Luffy's mouth twists to the side and then he nods to himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I can fit that still."

Sanji lets out a snort. "You've got some appetite. Is that also from the devil fruit?"

"Not sure," he shrugs. "Always been hungry. Always ate everything I could. You never know when your next meal is gonna be, right?"

Sanji's mouth quirks up. "Right."

Luffy's leg shifts a bit beneath the table. Then it bounces. Then he looks around the Baratie. And then he looks down at his hands.

"What's wrong?" Sanji finally asks, eyes still trailing every one of his movements.

Luffy shakes his head, but then shrugs. "Worried."

"About?"

"Zoro."

Sanji eyes him for a moment. "That's your swordsman, right?" He waits for Luffy to nod before he leans forward to ask the question that's still bugging him. "Why'd you let him do it?"

Rating: E Pairing: Sanji/Luffy Word Count: 5,827 Summary: After Luffy defeats Don Krieg, Sanji sits with him up in the Baratie bunk room as he heals. Luffy teaches him to start going after the things he wants.

Luffy eyes him for another moment before he speaks again. "I'd really like to clean the blood off of you, if you don't mind."

Sanji lets out a small laugh through his nose. "Sure." He scoots forward up the bed and then jolts a bit when Luffy reaches forward and tugs him closer by his collar. He shoots his arms out quickly to catch himself on the bed before he falls directly onto him. "Shit, be careful, yeah?"

Luffy just lets out a cheerful laugh and then presses the towel gently to Sanji's cheek bone. There's a slight thrum of pain - likely a bruise forming there - that Sanji winces at, but otherwise he stays still, watching Luffy's concentration.

"So?" Luffy asks, still determinedly wiping away dried blood. "Are you going to come with me or what?"

Sanji frowns at him. "What?"

Luffy's eyes find his. "I still need a chef for my crew."

Sanji laughs, dropping his head forward a bit. "You know you can't get everything you want, right?"

"Why not?"

"Because that's just not how the world works. If everyone got everything they wanted, it would just be chaos."

Luffy tilts his head at him, almost like he's confused. "I don't think so. What is it you want that would cause chaos?"

"Me?" Sanji thinks for a moment.

Rating: E Pairing: Sanji/Gin Word Count: 6,981 Summary:

When Krieg releases MH5 poisonous gas around the Baratie, Luffy is able to grab onto Sanji and Gin and get them all inside the restaurant before the gas hits them. With an hour to pass until the gas is gone, Sanji leads Gin upstairs to wash up and sort the differences between loyalty and just plain blind submission.

"You had a gun to his head, it's a bit different. No one had Krieg inches from death. In fact, you had me inches from death." Sanji works his jaw back and forth. "And let me just remind you that it's only because I wasn't fighting back with Pearl, that you even got me that far. Any other time I could have taken you on without issue. So don't let that fight go to your head."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Gin laughs. "You were strong."

"Were? I am strong."

"No one is invincible."

"I could still kick your ass."

"I think we just proved otherwise."

Sanji stares back at him, something lighting up inside of him. "Are you challenging me?"

"No. I told you, I will not kill a man who fed me."

"Kill? Gee, you really do think highly of yourself. And let me get this straight, I kept you alive. Are you gonna owe me a debt of gratitude now? If I order you around are you gonna listen to me?"

Rating: M Characters: Gin/OMC Summary: There were only ever two people in Gin's life who made him feel loved. Neither of them were his parents.

Gin was on his own again when he turned seventeen. He rustled through garbage bins, waited outside of bars for anyone who dropped their wallets or were drunk enough to not feel him slipping them from their pockets and purses. On better nights, he'd hold open a door for a woman with a smile and accept the few hundred berri she dropped in his hands.

He stood outside the Goose Corn Pub lighting a cigarette when he was asked for a lighter. He spared his to the man and they smoked in silence together. The man asked his name, and he told him, and when he asked his, the man smiled and went back into the bar.

The next evening, Gin stood outside the bar again, got lucky enough to score one man's wallet, and then watched a line of men walk into the bar - loud, raucous, and sweating. In the mix, was the same man from the night before, and across the line of others, his eyes met Gin's just before he ducked inside.

Rating: M Pairings: Sanji/original characters Summary: At nine years old, Sanji joins Zeff as he decides to open a floating restaurant on the sea. The ten years that follow are long nights and longer days in which Sanji learns what it means to be a good person.

Sanji is ten years old when paperwork is signed, hands are shaken, and he stares up at a large rundown ship while standing next to Zeff. He is eleven years old when he stands in the same spot and watches the construction crew lower a large sign over the skeleton of a restaurant that reads THE BARATIE.

"What do you think?" Zeff asks.

"I think it looks crooked." It earns him a smack to the back of his head, but he barely blinks at it. Zeff hobbles past him to head back inside, calling for him to follow. He spares another glance up at the sign and then takes in the rest of the floating restaurant on the sea. They accomplished a lot in the last year putting this together. Not that Sanji really helped much. He'd given an opinion here and there, but mostly it was Zeff working alongside architects and men in hard hats designing the layout. Still, he walks through the large wooden doors like it's his.

Rating: T Pairing: Zoro/Usopp Summary: After the crushing defeat from Mihawk, Zoro is pulled onto Johnny and Yosaku's boat. Usopp brings him into the cabin to help dress his injuries, and the two of them share a soft moment.

"Oh wow," Zoro says, inhaling at the touch. Whatever it is sends a wave of something cool blossoming across his side.

"Good?"

"Yeah. What is that?"

"It says it's for burns and inflammation. Your skin is really red and hot to the touch, so I figured this would give you a bit of relief."

Zoro nods. "Yeah, that feels way better. Can you do that over here?" He points to his chest on the left side where Mihawk's blade sliced into him.

"Yeah, I'll hit that next." Usopp finishes adding it to his side and then places a bandage over it, setting it with tape. He scoots a bit closer on the bed, hip bumping into Zoro's and then leans across him to get a better look at the other cut. His fingers brush gently at the skin around it.

Zoro clenches his jaw so he doesn't flinch at the touch, but Usopp's eyes snap up to his mouth and then up to his eyes.

"That hurts?"

Zoro shakes his head.

The concern in Usopp's gaze switches to something a bit more pitying. "You should know better than to lie to a liar." He turns back to the cut, brushing his fingers against his skin again. He's incredibly close when he's leaning over him like this, and Zoro realizes quite quickly he's never actually taken in Usopp's more subtle features. Like the way his eyelashes curl naturally, or the way his nose narrows in before it curves out. There's a small mark on the side of his jaw that might be a scar, or might be a birth mark. He can't tell.

"Okay, ow, fuck," Zoro says.

Usopp laughs quietly to himself.