#kouhai

Sanji found you from one of the islands they passed on their travels.

He met you in a market place. You were holding a basket of bread. You were considerably younger than Sanji. Sanji offered to help when you had difficulty choosing what tomatoes to buy, he was older and more experienced than you after all.

Sanji told you that he was a chef and you closed your eyes for a moment like you had to suddenly act differently around him.

Your hasty and confused expression settled into a calm and unenthusiastic one. You avoided Sanji's gaze when he looked at you. When you told him that you were a kitchen assistant, it clicked for Sanji. You knew that you were below him in the kitchen hierarchy. You were being careful not to anger or disrespect him. You knew your place. You didn't bother hiding your pessimistic expression though.

Sanji had fallen into thoughtful silence. You turned around, still stone-faced. Sanji didn't say anything, just watched you fiddle with the tomatoes as you tried to pick a few from the stall.

You were so young. Almost a teenager. Devoted to help with kitchen chores. Useful, very useful. And your unenthusiastic behaviour, the way you acted like an uncomfortable cat, was familiar to Sanji. It had been a long time since Sanji had been at Baratie, where there were other young assistants like you, but he had always known that they were a nervous bunch of youngsters. He knew that you were nervous too.

And who could resist such a respectful, yet socially clumsy little helper like you?

"What if you joined our crew?" Sanji asked, like he was talking about the weather.

You turned to look at him. Careful not to react, you stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

Sanji broke into a grin. Your expression was too funny to him. He had never seen anyone raise their eyebrow with so much suspicion.

When Sanji brought you on the ship, the other crewmembers gathered around you curiously. They were surprised to hear that you were there to attend to kitchen chores.

Weeks passed and you didn't do much anything else than help Sanji in the kitchen and rest on your free time.

It was so mundane, the other crewmembers thought. How could you be that devoted to serve someone else and stay in the sidelines?

You were careful around the crew. You stayed out of the way. You were quiet. Sometimes you could feel yourself sweating nervously, unsure how to react all of the nice and excited and unique people around you.

Before joining the Straw Hat crew, you had lived alone. Everyday you had gone to work. Your life had been quiet and peaceful. Eat dinner alone. Go to sleep alone. Read and go on walks. Sometimes you would feel lonely. That's when you would stare at the ceiling. Stretch your limbs and make your bones crack. Listen to the silence. Talk to into it and not hear an answer back.

After joining the Straw Hat crew you spent to first two weeks pretty much doing to same thing as before. Go to work (which had changed to helping Sanji) and spend the rest of the time alone. The other crewmates would greet you with a bright smile when they passed you in the hallway. You appreciated it.

After two weeks you started making an effort to join in when the Straw Hats would play games on the deck. You were nervous, but you made an effort.

Socializing was not effortless to you. But you continued on and days went by, slowly and awkwardly. Feeling weird and peaceful at the same time, you tried to enjoy your life at sea.

One day you arrived at an island that was filled with jungle. The crew entered the forest and started following a path. Within fifteen minutes a giant crocodile attacked the crew, but somebody quickly punched the monster and it was tamed.

You and Sanji climbed on the back of the giant crocodile, treating it like it was a horse. You felt comfortable sitting with Sanji. You shared space with this chef in the kitchen all the time and he was very nice to you. You liked being around him.

Sanji was an experienced chef and you were his young assistant. During these few weeks you had earned his trust.

His instructions were easy to understand and his voice was nice to listen to. You liked getting praise from him when you completed tasks. Sometimes he complimented you out of the blue, like when he said that your devotion made him delighted while you were cutting vegetables. You enjoyed working for him, even though you looked and acted a lot younger than him. Luckily he seemed to embrace his role as your older crewmate easily.

The massive crocodile whined while it followed the Straw Hats through the jungle.

You kept an eye on the surroundings. Your shoulders were a bit stiff. Maybe you should have put on a t-shirt instead of a top. Your exposed shoulders compared with the unfamiliar territory you were traveling through were making you nervous.

Your arms were a bit tired. You started stretching them like you did when you were at home. When you were staring at the wall. When you were listening to silence. When you were feeling alone.

You stretched your arm in front of you and cracked your bones.

Suddenly you heard Sanji talk behind you.

"Woah! That was a loud crack! Are you okay?"

You glanced at Sanji. He had sounded surprised but over all calm, with a slight amount of worry. His hands were hovering in the air, reaching for you in slight worry but not touching you.

You felt slightly shocked. He cared about you.

You felt small warmth blossom in your chest.

"Yeah, it's okay. I do this all the time", you said.

"I guess it is normal if you crack your bones... But I got spooked when you did it. Let me see", Sanji insisted gently.

You leaned back, letting him inspect your arm.

You felt his fingers touch your arm.

You were feeling more shocked than before. Somebody was actually touching you. Being worried about you. Caring about you.

You hadn't felt this good in a long time.

The feeling of fingers against your skin, the duration of them being connected to your arm lasted for a long few seconds.

You enjoyed every bit of it.

Finally Sanji looked up from your arm and noticed your blissful expression.

A moment passed. Sanji was controlling his reaction so well that he looked almost calm. You smiled at him, still in the blissful haze as you tried to appear grateful. Sanji's expression stayed soft. You removed your arm from his hold gracefully. Then you turned to look forward, not saying anything else.

A few seconds passed.

"Normally it is hugs that make people have a powerful reaction. I guess that I should have noticed that you might react to a simple touch strongly", Sanji said, his voice deep and calming.

You made a nonchalant affirmative sound.

"A few seconds. I touched your arm for just a few seconds. Your reaction..." Sanji trailed off, sounding shocked.

"I'm fine", you said, as calmly as you could.

"Just how touch-starved are you, (Y/n)?" Sanji asked.

A moment passed.

"I don't know. How should I answer that?" you asked, but your tone of voice told Sanji that you admitted the problem.

"Can I touch you?" Sanji asked.

"Yes", you answered. It sounded like a soft sigh.

"I just realized that I asked you a sensitive question, (Y/n). I'm sorry, I hope I'm not crossing a line here. Are you okay?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, just a little surprised", you answered.

"You are my assistant. You are also my younger crewmate and friend. I'm trying to help you as a friend, since you need help from another person when you are feeling touchstarved", Sanji clarified the facts.

"Yeah", you said.

Sanji leaned forward and placed his hand on your shoulder. It was a firm and comforting grip. The power that radiated from his hand soothed you.

"Does that feel good?" Sanji asked.

"Yes", you admitted, feeling embarrassed and wonderful at the same time.

"Can I hug you from behind?" Sanji asked.

"Really?" you asked, you voice rising high.

"Really", Sanji confirmed.

"Yes", you said, sounding like you were nervous and preparing yourself.

Sanji shifted forward until his chest was against your back. He hugged you from behind. Enveloping you in his warmth.

You breathed deep. You felt warm. The feeling of Sanji's presence so close made your brain buzz. You soaked in the closeness, shutting your eyes as you felt blissful once again.

You sighed out loud.

This was crazy. Your older crewmate was hugging in such a deep and meaningful manner. You felt slightly overwhelmed.

"Are you feeling good?" Sanji asked.

"So good", you said happily. "A small part of me is a little bit overwhelmed, but it's okay!"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to creep out my favorite helper", Sanji said and pulled back slightly, removing his hands.

"I'm sure!" you insisted.

"Great", Sanji said, sounding delighted.

You giggled and sighed happily again when you felt Sanji's arms around you.

"I should have done this earlier", Sanji said. "I didn't even think that you could be touch-starved. You help me every day, I should have noticed."

"Thank you for doing it now", you said.