Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sanji peeked out over the edge of the boat’s deck. The Baratie was a new boat that his...mentor had bought...? Could he call Zeff his mentor? He was taking care of him. Sanji wished it was like he was a son.

Son...the word twisted in his chest. He hadn’t been a good enough son to have anyone but his mom love him. Why would Zeff want him?

Sanji shook himself from his melancholy. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in those kinds of thoughts. Zeff would’ve kicked his ass if he heard any of it. No, now was the time…

...To make port.

He swallowed dramatically. He’d managed to go for a long time without getting on land. The last time he’d done so, even before the horror of being trapped with no food…

Tears dripped down his face as Judge ripped into him, his heart thudding as he thought it was the end, that Judge would finally end his miserable existence.

Land was a bad omen. If he had his choice, he would never set foot on land for the rest of his life. It wasn’t his choice, though.

He was swiftly reminded of that fact at the angry cry of, “SANJI! ”

Sanji looked over to the gangplank where Zeff was waiting with several empty burlap sacks for gathering their supplies. He was holding several out, a frown letting Sanji know that he’d yelled his name several times before he actually heard it.

“Get back to reality! We have work to do!” Zeff barked, shifting his weight onto his wooden leg. His fresh peg leg was still smooth, the end clean against the plank. Sanji was certain he’d end up roughing it up with how often Zeff kicked him.

“R-right!” Sanji didn’t want to argue. He wasn’t up for it, not with how upset his stomach was. One rough knock and he’d throw up everywhere. That would be humiliating.

He rushed down the plank, Zeff already having walked to land. Sanji tried not to panic at the feel of unmoving sand and dirt under his feet. Instead, he pulled close to Zeff, looking around like he was expecting Judge to pop out from behind a bush or, once they got to town, a house to kill him and Zeff.

“You go ask about farms to get fresh produce from. I’m going to the store to get rope and other supplies. We’ll meet back up to get ingredients and I can show you what to look for when you’re doing so.”

Sanji stood stock-straight. “W-what? Split up?”

“You heard me!” Zeff shook his head. “I thought you’d leap at the opportunity to get some of that bratty energy out.”

“I…” Sanji couldn’t admit to being scared. It wasn’t manly, and wasn’t that what he was aspiring to be? A man that could hold his own in the big, vicious world? So, instead, he forced his fear down into his gut and nodded. “Yeah. I can go...do that.”

“Right.” Zeff nodded his head as he headed for what looked like a small series of shops farther into town.

The terror in Sanji’s gut grew as he was now alone. Alone in a place he didn’t know, left to his own devices. He tried to remind himself that this was not enemy territory, that this was only a small town with small town folk.

“Pssssst.” The noise drew his attention. Sanji turned to the noise. Behind a barrel was someone.

He could see their...nose? Damn, that was a long nose!

Guard down at the silliness, Sanji walked a few steps closer. “What?”

The nose angled forward as the head of its owner peeked out from behind the barrel. Large, shining eyes peeked back at him. The boy was wearing a bandana with a skull and crossbones on it.

“Hey. Did you come on that big boat?” the boy asked.

How did this kid know that? Was he spying on them? Was he working for Judge? Sanji was wary, yet still answered, “Yes.”

The boy’s eyes somehow managed to widen even more. “Wow! Are you a pirate?”

A growl was followed by, “Fuck no!”

“Then, I don’t get it.” The boy looked in the direction where the Baratie was anchored and wondered out loud, “Who has a giant white boat with fancy designs on it?”

“I don’t know.” Sanji was a little put off by the boy’s obsessive gaze.

“WAIT! I know!” The boy jumped up on the barrel and exclaimed, “You’re a prince!”

Sanji balked and swiftly began to deny it especially because it was true. “What?! Me!? Nope! You have the wrong kid!”

The boy looked at him slyly. “Right, right. My lips are sealed.”

Sanji turned red but couldn’t bring himself to deny it more fully. Instead, he asked, “Do you know where I could find some fresh fruit or vegetables around here?”

“You know, princes normally have knights.” The boy looked around theatrically, completely ignoring Sanji’s question. “Was that yellow-haired guy your knight?”

“No.” Sanji huffed, “Where can I find fruit and veggies?”

“Do you want a knight? I wanna be a pirate, but I could also be a knight! A pirate-knight! Twice the amazing awesomeness!” the boy babbled.

Sanji sighed. This kid wasn’t about to tell him soon, and Sanji was nervous that any of these people could be spies for Judge. Deciding that simply agreeing would help, he sighed exasperatedly, “Yes, you can be my knight.”

“YES!” The boy waved both hands in the air. It was then that Sanji noticed a little wooden toy knife in the boy’s hand. “You won’t regret it!”

Now it was time to leverage. “Since you’re my knight, you’ll do what I say, right?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”

“Okay.” Sanji tried to draw on the pompous air of his brothers. “Then take me to where I can find fruits and stuff.”

The boy blinked, then scratched his ear. “We don’t have much of that. Most of it comes in on a boat. Our island is really small and sucks for growing stuff.” He straightened up as he exclaimed, “Oh! We have a turnip and potato farm! There are even some animals! Will that work?”

Sanji considered it for a moment. Finally, he decided, “It’s better than nothing.”

The boy continued his unending stream of words. “I eat all sorts of good stuff. Turnip pies, potato soup, jerky, turnip and potato stew…”

He couldn’t resist asking. “Is that all you eat? Turnips, potatoes, and jerky in all those shitty simple recipes?”

“Yeah!” The boy looked confused as he asked, “What else is there to really eat?”

A strange feeling went though Sanji. It was like a mix of a challenge and pride. Sanji thought…

“I can show you something better.”

“What?” The boy frowned and said, “I dunno. My mom might not like that. She’s been sick lately. I’m not sure she’d like someone to come over.”

“Trust me.” Sanji wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders. “I know how to cook. I can show you a better way to do it.”

“...Okay. As long as you’re okay getting tossed out if she doesn’t like you. My dad’s a pirate, so that means my mom is tough!”

Sanji was pretty sure that wasn’t how it worked. Still, he didn’t argue. “Let’s go.”

“Alrighty-oh!” The boy stuck out his chest as he cried out, marching, “Look out! A pirate-knight and his prince, coming through!”

Sanji sighed.

“Yosh!” The boy flourished, presenting a small, run-down shack. “This is where I live!”

Sanji felt a sweatdrop drip down his head. “No wonder why you can’t afford anything else. This looks like shit.”

“Hey now! That’s my mom’s house you’re talking about! Besides, you’re missing the majesty!” The boy started running around, pointing out various things. “Look! There are shutters! Even wooden beams! A roof!”

“Right…” How could Sanji explain that those were basic things for a house?

He was saved by the door opening. A thin, frail woman with a dark braid and long nose looked out. “What are you doing, U-” She cut herself off as she took notice of Sanji. “Oh! Hello.”

“Mom! This is my new friend!” He ducked in close to her and stage-whispered, “He’s a prince.”

“Oh?” She asked Sanji, “Is that so?”

He hastily said, “No.”

“He’s undercover from villains,” the boy insisted.

“My dearest, you shouldn’t lie so much. It will only lead to trouble,” the boy’s mother chastised.

“I’m not lying! ...This time.” The boy suddenly grabbed Sanji’s sleeve. Sanji was taken by so much surprise that he let himself be dragged into the house.

Sanji was even more surprised when they got into the house, the boy’s mother making room for them to slip in. The inside was...clean. Cozy. It was a one-room house. There was a bed on one side, simple and spartan, while there was a decent-sized kitchen with a little stewpot, a dwindling, contained fire, and a small table.

“I’m sorry for the mess. I didn’t expect him to bring anyone home!”

“This is messy?!” Sanji exclaimed.

“My mom has a weird cleanliness streak,” the boy explained. He puffed out his chest and said, “I’ve taken over some of it!”

“Only until I’m better.” The words were stern. Something under them...it made Sanji uneasy.

It was the same way his mom spoke about her own health. The reassurances even though they all knew better. He looked at the boy and wondered...did he realize it? That she was…?

The grin and chatter about everything he’d learned how to do told him no. This boy had no idea.

Sanji frowned. Should he say something? He looked between the boy and his mom. His mom was doing her best to be chipper.

...No. He shouldn’t say anything. It wasn’t his place. The boy would learn eventually.

Hopefully not on her deathbed. Sanji hoped that she’d have more sense than that.

“Mom!” The boy suddenly stopped his mindless one-sided discussion and said, “He’s gonna teach us how to cook!”

“Is that so?” The amusement in her voice set Sanji off a little. It sounded like she was dismissing him because of his age!

“I’m a professional chef!” Sanji proclaimed. “I know how to make stuff other than pies and stews and that junk.”

“Oh?” The woman’s voice was less amused. Sanji wasn’t sure why.

“Yeah!” Sanji still steamed ahead. “Here! He said you have turnips and potatoes?”

“And some jerky!” the boy added.

“Right.” Sanji took charge, bustling over to the kitchen and getting the fire going again. “I’ll show you how to make turnip and potato gratin!”

“Okay.” She sighed before going over to her bed. A sheen of sweat had started appearing on her face. “I’m sorry, I need to sit down.”

“It’s okay, Mama! You rest!” The boy pretended to roll up sleeves as he marched over to where Sanji was stoking the fire. “We’ve got this!”

“Where are the turnips and potatoes?” Sanji asked.

“Here!” The boy dug around in a cabinet and pulled out two large burlap sacks. “How much did you need?”

“I need a pound of each,” Sanji said. He dug around in the cabinets before he found a poor-quality skillet and a smaller pot. “I need some spices now.”

“Spices…?” The boy looked confused.

“Mama’s special topper, dear,” the woman said from the bed.

“Oh! That stuff.” The boy set the sacks on the floor and jumped up and down several times, reaching his arm up as far as he could. One particularly large jump was followed by, “Ah-HAH!” He spun around and presented the little bottle to Sanji. “Here you go, my prince!”

Sanji tried not to cringe or look around for spies as he took the spice container from the boy. “Thanks.” Sheepishly, he remembered a little too late, “Do you happen to have anything green?”

“We have dandelions. Will that work?” the boy asked as he went back to digging in the cabinet.

“It’s better than nothing.” Sanji took the small bag from the boy and pulled out a few of the flowers. He tossed them into the pan and put some of the seasoning in with it. After a few minutes, once the dandelions had wilted, he set the skillet aside and set up the small stewpot.

Sanji took a couple of minutes to chop up the vegetables with a dull knife he had found. He put half of them in the small stewpot along with some water from the bucket of water they had on the counter. It was a shame that there wasn’t any milk or cream - it wouldn’t quite work as a gratin without that and flour - but anything was better than nothing. He was sure they would appreciate the food as much as he or Zeff would’ve.

After it had gotten to bubbling and boiled for ten minutes, during which Sanji lined the larger stewpot with the rest of the turnips and potatoes, that’s when the real challenge started.

“Is it ready yet? It smells really good!” The boy was practically reaching around him to touch the burning hot pot. Sanji kicked him away in the same manner that he’d seen Zeff do to the other apprentice chefs.

“It’s not ready, dumbass! Are you TRYING to burn your fingerprints off!?”

“Step away from the stewpot, dear,” the boy’s mother said.

The boy’s cheeks puffed out in protest. Still, he moved away and let Sanji get back to work. “It’d better be worth the wait!”

“Trust me, you haven’t tasted anything this good,” Sanji preened. Again, the woman frowned but didn’t say anything.

Shaking his head to get back to business, he poured out the contents of the pot into a heaping mess in the skillet and did his best to mash it with the knife. Once he was satisfied, he poured the mashed mixture over the stewpot and set it over the fire. Then he worked the fire until it was practically coating the pot.

As the big stewpot cooked, Sanji stepped back and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Phew.” He turned around to find the boy was staring at him in awe. Blinking, Sanji asked, “What’s wrong?”

Stars appeared in the boy’s eyes as he said, “WOW! That’s so cool!” His forehead crinkled as he amended, “It’s hard, too. Why would you do something that hard when you can just boil it all in a pot?”

“Sacrilege,” Sanji couldn’t help but hiss. “Ingredients should be treated better than that.”

He instantly felt bad as he looked at the boy’s sick mother. She was looking away, a trace of shame in her eyes.

“I, I mean, if it’s all you can do that’s fine. Food is meant to be eaten,” Sanji rushed to add.

“I plan on eating ALL of that food!” the boy declared. Almost begrudgingly, he added, “And my mom, too.”

“That’s what a cook does,” Sanji said brightly. A cheeky grin - because his cheeks were grinning so wide - practically split his head in two. “They keep the hungry fed!”

“So you’re a prince-cook? Like I’m a knight-pirate?”

Sanji sighed again and mumbled, “Yeah, sure. I’m a prince-cook.”

“Yosh!” The boy pumped his fist. Then he went and hovered over the pot. Sniffing, he drooled as he said, “So good~” He looked over to his mom and said, “It makes me think of the food that you cooked before you got sick, Mama!”

Sanji cringed as he looked over at the woman. Her face was red from embarrassment as she murmured, “Yes, it does, doesn’t it?”

“I-I’m sorry!” Sanji bowed and sputtered, “I didn’t realize - I mean, I didn’t know…!”

“Why are you sorry?” The woman tittered, clearly to put Sanji at ease. “It’s wonderful, you cooking my son a good meal. With our meager offerings to boot!”

Sanji relaxed minutely. “Okay. Yeah. A good chef knows how to work with what he has.” He caught the fact that she was only considering the food for her son. It was best he didn’t say anything. Instead, he said, “I think it’s almost ready.”

“Good!” The boy looked concerned as Sanji struggled to get the large, full pot off of the now burned down fire. “Uh, do you need some help?”

“N-no. I’m a chef! I can-” He cut himself off as the full weight of the pot hit him. He nearly did drop the pot if it hadn’t been for the boy grabbing the other side of it. Together, they guided the pot over to the table and carefully set the heavy hot stewpot on the table. Sanji nearly snatched it back up when the table creaked ominously. Somehow, it held.

“Time to eat!” The boy rummaged in the cabinet for simple wooden plates and crudely carved spoons and forks. He set the table for three and said, “C’mon, Mom! Let’s dig in!”

“...Maybe later.” She looked away, not meeting her son’s gaze. Sanji felt bad for her. It was clear she was weak. With no appetite, it was hopeless that she would get better. A tight smile was followed by her urging, “You’d better eat it before it gets cold!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” The boy quickly shoveled the dandelion, turnip, and potato gratin onto his plate. Sanji did the same, taking a sampling from the pot to try.

He ate a bite and winced. It was obvious that it was missing the balance that the milk or cream with some cheese would’ve added. It was barely better than a stew like this.

Yet the boy ate like an animal, shoveling it all into his mouth. He managed to grunt through a full mouth, “So good~”

That both put Sanji at ease and made him pity them. Too poor to afford even a decent meal. He wondered if there was something he could do for them?

...An idea popped into his head.

“I could give you guys some basic recipes? Something that he can cook himself.” Sanji gauged their reactions.

The boy was too busy eating to answer him. Sanji wasn’t even sure he’d heard him. The woman, however, perked up. A sense of relief exuded from her.

“Yes! That is a marvelous idea,” the woman said with more life than she’d had before. She got up and dug under the bed until she stopped and pulled out a small chest.

“Mama! What are you doing with Dad’s stuff?” the boy exclaimed through a mouthful of the paste.

“I’m taking a small thing out. Something your father won’t miss.” She dug through it for a short while. Then, like it was a massive achievement, she pulled out a pad of paper and a rough pencil. She held it out to Sanji and said, “Write them down here. I’m sure my boy will be grateful for it.”

Sanji felt the heavy duty he’d been assigned. He was almost hesitant to take the pad until he looked back in her eyes. The touch of desperation was followed by a minute nod. Swallowing, he took it and got to work.

It took a good half-hour or so of Sanji scrounging in his brain for recipes and showing the boy basic cooking techniques he could easily do and remember. The boy was following along, strangely fascinated by the different stuff he could do himself.

“Here,” Sanji finally said as he wrote the last of the simple recipes. He couldn’t resist signing it, his name smearing slightly with the nub of the end. “This should give you a good, healthy, cheap variety of food so you won’t die from your shitty, vitaminless diet.” Guilt instantly filled him as his gaze flitted to the woman. This time she didn’t look embarrassed. More resigned, which made Sanji feel even guiltier.

“Thank you. I’m sure this will come in handy,” the woman said as her son took the pad almost reverently.

“I’ll prize this for forever…” he breathed. “A genuine gift of epic princely food from an actual prince!”

Again, Sanji cringed. He woodenly laughed, “Haha. Right.”

“What do we say?” the woman said to the boy.

“Oh! Right! Thanks!” The boy pulled the pad to his chest and started dancing around. The unhinged giggling worried Sanji, but before he could comment he heard someone faintly calling his name from outside.

Then he remembered about Zeff. “Oh shit.”

“What’s wrong?” The boy instantly picked up on how seriously Sanji had fucked up.

Sanji looked around, panicked. “I gotta go! My da-men-guy is looking for me!”

“Damenguy?” The boy scratched his head. “That’s a weird name. Or is that what you call a servant for a prince?”

Ignoring that comment, Sanji ran for the door. Before he could open it, it was busted down by a savage kick. Literally, as the weak hinges couldn’t handle the vicious kick. It flew in a couple of meters, almost hitting the table and barely missing Sanji.

“SANJI!” Zeff stood in the doorway, a terrible aura encompassing him. Strangely concerned, he rushed to Sanji and picked him up by the back of his shirt. He flipped Sanji around, checking him out. “Did you get your ass kicked? Or kidnapped? Or-”

“I’m fine,” Sanji protested, crossing his arms and trying to be defiant through the fact that he’d screwed up hard.

“Oh? Then…” Zeff let go of him at the same time as he slammed his wooden leg into the top of Sanji’s head. He barked as Sanji flopped to the floor, holding his head, “WHY THE HELL DID YOU RUN OFF!?”

“Hey! You don’t treat a prince-cook like that,” the boy loudly complained. He flourished his toy knife like it would somehow fend Zeff off.

Zeff eyed the boy. His gaze twitched to Sanji. Sanji shook his head a fraction of a centimeter; the boy didn’t know, not like Zeff.

“This shrimp isn’t a prince. He’s about as noble as a basket of potatoes,” Zeff replied.

“Considering he just slaughtered a bag of potatoes, that must mean that he’s more noble than potatoes!”

The woman giggled even through obvious fear. Then it clicked for Sanji as he hopped to his feet. Of course she was afraid. A crazy chef just busted down her door!

“I can fix that,” Sanji said, pointing at the door and ill-advisedly ignoring Zeff.

“What?” Zeff seemed to realize it too as he looked between the door, the woman, and the empty doorway. Uncharacteristically he turned red as he said, “Oh. Yes. We can fix that.”

“I’ll do it,” the boy grumbled. “If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s handyman work.” His chest puffed out as he said, “You know, I’m famous for my inventiveness! No pirate has never not heard of me. I make the most amazing inventions on the seas!”

Zeff snorted as he held in a laugh. “Right.” As the boy turned to reset the door, Zeff turned his attention back to Sanji. “What the hell were you thinking, vanishing like that?!”

“That was my fault,” the woman said, shakily standing up. “I asked him to give us some recipes.”

“Yeah! He cooked us a tasty meal!” Sanji swallowed as the boy waved at the cooled gratin. As he’d worried, Zeff went over to the pot and, pulling a tasting spoon from his jacket, tasted the dish. His eyebrow twitch told Sanji that he’d really messed it up. The boy, not catching the subtle motion, said, “Now I’ll be able to cook me and Mama tasty food!”

Zeff was still for a moment. Then he nodded. “Good. Eating good food is important for growing up healthy.” He grabbed Sanji’s arm roughly and started dragging Sanji to the exit, where the boy had somehow already fixed the door. “We need to get going. This port is shit for finding ingredients. We need to go to a different island before we run out of stock.”

“I get it.” The boy nodded. “You can’t be a prince-cook without being able to cook stuff!”

“Let’s go.” Zeff said it like Sanji had a choice, like he wasn’t being dragged out by his arm. Sanji did his best to keep up as they made their way for the port.

It wasn’t until they were almost back to the ship when a shout caught both of their attentions. They stopped, looking behind them as the boy rushed to catch up. The boy stopped, breath slightly heavy as he said, “You forgot to take my tithe!”

“Tithe?” Sanji was more confused by that than he was at how light the boy’s breath was after running a good kilometer or so.

“Yeah! I’m your knight-pirate! So I owe you my loyalty and a tithe!” The boy dug around in his pocket until he pulled out and cheerily said, “This is for you!”

Sanji held his hand out and let the boy put the trinket into his hand. He turned it around, his own breath gone as he examined the little thing.

It was a beautifully blown dragonfly, the glass pearls that made up the body, tail, head, and wings held together with a golden wire. Sanji could tell from his years at that horrible place that it was at least partially real gold. The detailing was amazing, up there with some of the little bit of decoration at the spartan Vinsmoke compound.

“Wow…” Sanji looked up at the boy, who was glowing with excitement and happiness. “Where…?”

“It was a gift from my dad to Mama!” the boy explained. “That’s how I have something so pretty! She gave it to me, and now I’m giving it to you!” A toothy grin was followed by, “A prince-cook deserves nothing less!”

Sanji felt his eyes water against his will. This boy thought so highly of Sanji that he was giving him something so precious? His voice cracked as he managed to say, “Th-thanks. It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it!” The boy closed his hand over Sanji’s and the trinket. “Keep it safe, okay?”

“I will!” Sanji was fervent about his response. He would keep it safe. He’d rather take a beating from Judge and his brothers than let it come to harm.

“Sanji! Hurry up!” Zeff had already made his way onto the ship.

“Right!” Sanji nodded and, impulsively, hugged the other boy before running up the plank. He cried out, “Bye! It was nice meeting you! I’m sure we’ll meet again!”

“Goodbye Sanji!” The boy waved as Zeff pulled up the plank and the other apprentice chefs got to work getting the boat out to water, Zeff grumbling about how terrible the island was for stock.

Something stuck strange with Sanji at the goodbye. He shook it off, instead waving back as long as he could until they were almost out of sight.

It wasn’t until he was again looking at the trinket that he realized he’d never caught the boy’s name.

Chapter Text

Sanji couldn’t believe these idiots. Shooting a hole in the roof, fucking around with a cannon...seriously, who the hell does that at a port they aren’t raiding?! Shit, it was just a good thing that it wasn’t the main section of the restaurant.

Still, he was pissed it was the quarters. He would’ve murdered the shooter if they broke any of his stuff. Some of it was really delicate, like his dragonfly trinket. Little pirate shits…

He was getting ready to rip into them when he caught sight of a wonderful beauty.

Gorgeous sweet redhead…!

Sanji was immediately enamored. His heart was beating hard at how amazingly beautiful she was!

“Sanji…?”

He tore his gaze from the gorgeous sight to see a man staring at him strangely. His brows had come together, clearly deep in thought. His hair was unruly, barely kept in check by a bandana, his cruddy overalls covering his lean body.

Basically, a nobody.

Sanji snorted as he growled, “What, shithead? Can’t you see I’m tending to a wonderful woman?”

THAT seemed to snap him out of it. “Who the hell are you calling a shithead, shithead!?”

“Fuck you!”

“No, fuck YOU!” The man snapped his attention to a dumbass with a head that looked like it was a ball of algae and barked, “KICK HIS ASS, ZORO!”

“Do it yourself.”

As the two of them began bickering, he turned his attention back to the woman.

It wasn’t until he was away from her intoxicating beauty that he wondered...how did that guy know his name?

Sanji quietly packed up his belongings. It didn’t take very long; he’d always kept his belongings skimp. The only things he had were his clothes, his toiletries, his knives, his smokes, and his trinket.

He took a moment to examine the little thing. The glass was just as beautiful as it had been the day he got it, the wire well-polished. He’d kept good care of it ever since he got it from his first friend.

Sanji closed his eyes, trying to remember...the features of the boy had blurred with age. All he could remember was his dark skin, his skull bandana, and his toy sword. There was an important detail that he had lost to the sands of his mind, one that he simply couldn’t grasp anymore.

It was okay. All that mattered is that the boy had existed. The dragonfly was proof of it. Sanji had had a friend that had started him on the path of finding worth in himself.

Sanji couldn’t remember which island it was, or where he was from. The Baratie moved a lot in the early days. They’d never gone to the island again, Sanji was certain. He was sure he’d recognize the boy if he ever saw him again in those first few years, which is how he knew they’d never met after that first time.

If they’d ever met again...Sanji would tell him the truth. It felt like a promise he’d made when he took this so-called tithe. He wanted to tell the boy that he’d grown into a decent prince-cook. More cook than prince. He doubted that would matter much to the boy.

The urge to smoke was almost too much. It would take the edge off of leaving behind the only home he’s ever known. Germa didn’t count; the only thing homey about it was Mom, and that was limited to her room.

Sanji shook his head. Musing on the past should be reserved for quiet times. Now wasn’t it.

Still, he took out a cigarette and puffed a few breaths as he finished packing the rest of his things.

Sanji had taken a few days to get used to the ship once they got it back and after they rescued the beautiful Nami before he unpacked his things. That shitty first mate was an asshole. It was a good thing that he was always either sleeping or training. Sanji might strangle him if they were around each other for too long.

Nami~ was a perfect lady. Rescuing her from that horrible Arlong was an easy choice as far as his heart was concerned. He would do anything for her.

Their captain was a weird guy. Carefree and obsessed with food. Sanji thought he was already his favorite crewmate because of his ability to cook amazing dishes. It wasn’t boasting; it was a simple, honest fact.

Usopp...Sanji wasn’t sure what he thought of him. He came up with crazy plans and was kind of a fool. Really, he reminded Sanji of the boy in ways.

But then he would tell some kind of lie, or he would cowardly hide behind the others so he wouldn’t get hurt. Nothing of the bravery that Sanji had known from the boy. If it weren’t for that, Sanji would’ve thought that, maybe…

He shook his head. Aloud, he said, “No.”

It was melancholy at starting a new life. He needed to leave behind the sentimentality and toughen up. He was a man. Men didn’t get lost in wistful nostalgia.

Contrary to his thoughts, he carefully took out the glass dragonfly and set it near the bunk he’d claimed as his. Little sticky bits he’d added to the bottoms of the legs years ago kept it from falling to the floor and possibly breaking.

“What are you doing?” Sanji sighed as Usopp wandered in as he unpacked. He resisted crying. Why couldn’t it have been Nami?

“I’m unpacking,” Sanji said, struggling not to swear at him. Damn. He was so used to the rough and tumble kitchen that being polite to non-customers was a struggle of sorts.

“Oh! You took that bunk.” Usopp made a face, which made Sanji double-take at the bed.

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“Nothing, nothing!” Then Usopp whispered, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Snorting, Sanji said, “Whatever the hell it is, it’d better not fuck up my back.”

“Noooooo.” Usopp looked like he was about to say something else when he caught sight of the few things Sanji had set up. For some reason, his eyes went wide.

He stumbled over to the little spot that Sanji had cleared out and reached for the dragonfly. Sanji bristled at the audacity. Who the fuck did this guy think he was?!

Sanji kicked him away and growled, “Don’t touch my things.”

Usopp stumbled backwards, regaining his balance after a few seconds of flailing his arms. The dumbass settled back on his feet. He was quiet for a good minute, just looking at the dragonfly.

Finally, he said, “That’s...really pretty.”

“...Yes. It is.” Sanji stood back on both feet. It was a few moments later that he realized he was petting the glass trinket carefully.

“Where did you get it?”

“Why the fuck do you care?” Sanji sniped.

“Well excuse me for wanting to get to knowing my crewmate better!” Usopp countered.

Sanji frowned. It...made sense. And, maybe, if he told Usopp about it, it would keep him from touching it. His friend deserved to have it treated with utmost care.

“It’s a gift from my first friend,” Sanji said. He looked down at it, trying to hide his smile. “A real crazy kid. I met him once, and only once. He gave it to me as a gift.” Sanji didn’t want to tell him about the ‘why’. Because then that’d invite prying questions on why the boy thought he was a prince.

“I see.” Usopp was staring hard at the dragonfly. “And you’ve taken care of it all these years?”

“It deserves nothing less.” Sanji tried to cut off the conversation by digging around in his sack for the rest of his clothes. “Now, if you’re done with your nosy shit, could you let me get my stuff put away?”

Usopp shook as if something huge had just struck him. “Yeah. Right. I’ll just...go on deck.”

“You do that.” Sanji paused, waiting for Usopp to finally leave before he pulled out his next suit.

At least now if someone fucked with his dragonfly, he’d know who it was.

Sanji hadn’t planned on being in the kitchen again that day, not until supper. But when the lovely Nami asked for a nice, cool treat and Robin requested it as well, he couldn’t help it. He needed to go in to fix them a dessert as sweet as them.

He walked into the kitchen, thinking nothing of it, when he realized there was someone in his realm. Someone was cooking something in his kitchen. It must be that asshole Zoro. Everyone else would think twice before invading like that.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, DICKWAD!” Sanji yelled as he turned the corner. He stopped, mid-angry protest, as he took in who it was.

Usopp was standing there next to the stove. Or, at least, he had. He was cringing away now, like he was afraid that Sanji was going to beat his ass.

Which he might just do.

When Sanji didn’t immediately beat the shit out of him, Usopp calmed down, standing back up. He exclaimed, “I didn’t expect you in here yet!”

“The beautiful Nami and Robin were hoping for some treats.” Sanji eyed what Usopp had been in the middle of cooking. It was hard to tell what it was. It looked like a really shitty gratin of some kind. “What kind of shit are you cooking in here?”

“...It’s a comfort dish.” Usopp pretended like he was stirring as he said, “I cook this whenever I feel down. It reminds me of better times.”

“Better times, huh?” Sanji couldn’t really argue that. Comfort food didn’t need to be technically good. That’s where the ‘comfort’ part came in. Even then, he couldn’t resist pulling out a tasting spoon. “Mind if I try it?”

Usopp’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he self-consciously scratched the back of his head and mumbled, “Yeah, I guess you can.” He then laughed too loudly and said, “Prepare to be amazed! Everything the Great Usopp cooks is great!”

Sanji quirked one eyebrow. He kept the gaze focused on Usopp, his peripheral vision allowing him to dip the spoon in and take a taste.

He balked. Not at the flavor, not quite. It was a gratin with no cheese, flour, or milk. He was pretty sure that wasn’t even a gratin. ...Yet there was something familiar about it. Something…

Sanji ignored the feeling. It was probably one of Usopp’s early dishes, when he was first learning to cook. A comfort from early in his childhood. Sanji might’ve done the same thing when he was first learning to cook. They were easy mistakes to make.

“It’s kinda shitty,” Sanji bluntly said.

“ What!? ” Usopp looked shocked. “I learned that recipe from the greatest cook to ever live!”

Sanji rolled his eyes. “Right. I’m sure you did.” He sighed, knocking his knuckles against the countertop. “I think we can both work without getting in each other’s way. You stay in your spot, I’ll stay in mine. I’ll forgive you for getting into my space. Deal?”

“The kitchen isn’t off-limits!” Usopp complained.

“To me, Nami, and Robin. The rest of you fuckers can fend for yourselves.”

Usopp fake-cried. “I see how it is...you don’t care about the rest of us!”

“The ‘rest of you’ can take care of yourselves. I’m the cook and the ladies don’t need to dirty their hands like that,” Sanji defended roughly.

“Hmph!” Usopp puffed his cheeks out like he was about to complain but thought better of it. Instead, he went back to tending to his dish.

It was quiet while the two of them worked. It didn’t take long for Sanji to finish the two parfaits for the women. He looked over his shoulder, watching for a minute at what Usopp was doing.

He was mostly standing there, not doing too much. For some reason, he kept grabbing at a pocket in his overalls. It was a weird pocket, one that was outfitted with some kind of water resistant material. Sanji considered asking about it. Thankfully, he talked himself out of it.

“Make sure to clean that shit up when you’re done,” Sanji said as he made his way back to the deck.

Usopp said nothing. It was with some surprise that Sanji went in for supper and realized that Usopp actually did clean up after himself.

It stirred the question in Sanji. Was Usopp cooking like that behind his back a lot? He must be using the bulk stock. Otherwise Sanji would’ve noticed the missing ingredients. A lot of cheap vegetables and spices.

A nice, simple meal for a strange, crazy man. Sanji would’ve never guessed.

He shook the thoughts from his head. It wasn’t time to think of that junk. It was time to cook.

Sanji took a deep breath of smoke as he collected his things from the Going Merry.

They didn’t have a new ship yet. That was fine. They would find another one eventually. He’d loved the Going Merry for its hard work. It’d reached the end of its rope. The poor thing was broken beyond repair. It deserved a good rest.

Usopp couldn’t, wouldn’t accept it. He was stubbornly at the helm right now, pretending like the Going Merry wasn’t dying.

Ignoring reality like that didn’t work. Reality would be there all the same.

Sanji finished with his clothes. He let out the air, the smoke hanging around him like a bad omen. He could taste it even with the fresh dose of nicotine hitting his tongue.

The scene was a somber one, to be sure. All the others save for Usopp had cleared out already. Sanji had tarried, mostly because he was worried about running into Usopp again.

Because Usopp reminded him of himself. When his mom was sick, when she was dying, and Sanji kept cooking for her. A little more, it reminded him of his first friend, the boy. His mother likely died too, with him being none the wiser until it happened. 

It was strange, comparing a ship to their mothers. Almost insulting if he thought too hard about it. At the same time, he wasn’t sure what Usopp had been through in his life. Maybe...maybe the Going Merry was the biggest, best gift he’d ever gotten. Something that precious…

Sanji found himself holding his dragonfly trinket. He wasn’t sure when he’d picked it up. He felt the cool glass, the delicate blown beads sparkling in the scant light in the room. Truly, it was his most beloved item.

What would he do if it was lost? If it was broken, and nothing could fix it? Sanji knew the answer: he would keep every last broken piece and keep it close with the far-fetched hope that someone could fix it. He was attached to it, like it was a part of himself.

That must be how Usopp feels. Wanting to do anything to save the Going Merry, even with the evidence of its obvious demise.

Sanji would never admit it to anyone, but that was why he was afraid of seeing Usopp.

Because he would see the same desperation that he’d felt so long ago. The same desperation that he was sure his friend felt. He didn’t want that reminder.

So he delicately placed his dragonfly into his sack and left without talking to Usopp.

Sanji was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when Usopp suddenly appeared in the doorway. He looked surprised to see Sanji, which wasn’t a surprise itself; Sanji was prepping for a rather extravagant feast for their first day on the Thousand Sunny. He was going to be in the kitchen all day.

“Sanji! Hi! Uhm…” Usopp was obviously nervous. Again, no surprise. They’d never been alone together since Usopp came back.

Sanji decided to get down to it. A little more delicately than normal, he asked, “What are you doing in here?”

“I, uhm…” Usopp turned a strange shade. It took a second for Sanji to realize he was blushing. “I was, uh, going to...cook…and, well, think, because I got that cool Seastone handcuff. But...mostly to have something...comforting.”

Sanji had an idea of what he was aiming to cook. “You’re gonna make that shitty excuse of a gratin?”

“I keep telling you, the best chef in the world gave me that recipe!” Usopp complained.

Sanji knew Usopp was baiting him into asking who, exactly, that was. He knew better than to fall for it. Instead, he said, “That’s bullshit. Anyway…” Sanji thumbed behind him at the stove. “Have at it. I’m prepping the raw ingredients right now.”

“Sure, sure…” Usopp busied himself with pulling out the dishware and vegetables for his not-gratin. Sanji watched him out of the corner of his eye, not worrying about cutting himself. He was beyond those sorts of worries.

Usopp had gotten to the step of mushing the vegetables when Sanji realized… His eyes widened as he asked, the words catching on his lips, “Where the hell did you get those?”

“Hm?” Usopp looked at him, confused. “Where did I get what?”

Sanji’s heart was stuck in his throat as he murmured, “Dande...lions…?”

“What?” Usopp blinked and obviously faked surprise. “Oh! These! They were, uh, weeds in the garden so I plucked them and decided not to waste them so I’m cooking them instead.”

Sanji’s world was tilted. It was so familiar, on the tip of his mind…!

It was like being hit by a concrete beam.

He was afraid to ask. Because that would mean that Usopp didn’t remember him. If Usopp was his first friend…

It shook his worldview. His first friend was on a pedestal, one that had gone unshaken through everything in his life. He’d always imagined they’d meet and it’d be just like they had been back then. A joyful reunion, with the same silliness that the boy had exuded.

The very likely reality that his first friend had been by his side this entire time and he hadn’t even noticed…

Sanji swallowed as Usopp looked at him funny. “Uh, Sanji? Are you okay?”

The feeling was shoveled deep into his gut, like all of his other fears. He managed to cough and say, “Yeah. I’m fine. I…” He bit his lip before deciding, “Did you want me to show you how to do an actual gratin?”

Usopp was shocked. “You would...spare time for me?”

That, those words, made Sanji feel like shit. It was true that they spent almost no time together. They were crewmates, to be sure. But...friends?

...If he was right, they were already friends. Sanji had simply done a shitty job in making him happy, showing that they had a common connection. And, even if he was wrong, it wouldn’t hurt to not be an asshole to his...friends .

“Yes.” Sanji set his knife down and turned to the stove. “You have the start of it. Let’s grab some cream and cheese to do it properly.”

The stars in Usopp’s eyes were more than they should be considering what they were doing.

As Sanji showed Usopp how to make a real gratin, he wondered...was Usopp thinking the same things?

Sanji laid on the ground, struggling to sit up. His vision was hazy as he tried to get his senses back. He could hear the panic in Usopp’s voice, crying out for Zoro.

More importantly, Sanji could see Kuma was standing too close to Usopp. Whatever he did to Zoro, he was going to do to Usopp.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Sanji fought with his tired legs, his worn body, to try to get to Usopp. He couldn’t let him-!

And then suddenly, Usopp was there. He’d ran straight from Kuma to him. Sanji wanted to tell him to run, to save himself and that he would be fine.

His mouth refused to cooperate, the breath in his lungs barely being enough to keep him conscious.

Usopp picked him up and began dragging him away. Kuma was bearing down, yet Usopp was thinking only of him.

Their friends vanished, one by one. It wasn’t long before Kuma was closing in on them.

Sanji tried to defend Usopp with the little strength he had left. It was a split-second that saw him through a nearby wall. He struggled through the debris, trying to get back to-

He was in time to cry out Usopp’s name as he watched the panicked, scared sniper vanish just as their other crewmates had.

Sanji felt a piece of him tear at the sight of his friend…!

Beyond the feeling that they knew each other, Usopp had become close to him. If they were the same person, it would tie everything up in a bow, that they were best friends. If...

He’d been too scared to ask. To see if Usopp was his first friend, his most precious person. He’d been too scared and now…!

As they hugged, Sanji said, “Bye! It was nice meeting you! I’m sure we’ll meet again!”

Sanji mindlessly went for Kuma. He would beat this shitty Warlord into paste and get his friend-

“Goodbye Sanji! The boy waved and waved until-

Pop

Chapter Text

The first thing, the very first thing Sanji did when they’d escaped from the Marines at Sabaody Archipelago was go to the quarters. He was trying not to rush, yet found his legs moving quicker than he’d meant to. It was part of his promise. It was a core part of his future. He had to make sure…

Sanji turned the corner of the bunks, making sure to sigh at the bunk bed that wasn’t slanted like his old one, and stopped.

There it was. The dragonfly. It was covered in layers of dust, the glass and wire dull in the light. Sanji was beyond grateful that it wasn’t destroyed like he’d imagined. On bad days, he’d imagined it shattering over and over as the Thousand Sunny was raided by scavengers and general all-around bastards.

Reverently, he picked the trinket up and blew on it. The dust was so thick that it didn’t even move. He set it back down and rummaged around in the little drawer next to the bed until he found his polish.

He got to work restoring the sparkle to it. Carefully, he got into all the nooks and crannies in the dragonfly. The golden wire shined even more brilliantly than he remembered. Rainbows filtered out of the trinket as the dust was finally removed.

Sanji couldn’t help but to admire it once he was finished. It was beautiful. His friend was right; it was a gift worthy of a prince.

And he treasured it like it was.

Sanji had let himself obsess over women once they’d come back together. It was a good distraction - partly involuntary - from the real worries he had. The thoughts he’d had over and over. The thoughts that scared him.

He didn’t like fear. It wasn’t the kind of thing someone like Zeff, the man that Sanji aspired to be like, would even care about. It didn’t touch him, not like Sanji.

Sanji had stewed on the worries and fears long enough. It was time to bite the bullet and actually get down to the core question.

That was what brought Sanji to Usopp’s workshop. They had just left Fishman Island, following a voice on the Den-Den Mushi. It wouldn’t be long before they were shoved neck-deep in the next adventure that their captain was leading them to. Sanji didn’t know when the next opportunity would be to talk with Usopp alone and without things exploding around them.

He stood a few centimeters away from the doorway. Usopp always left it open, even when he was dealing with some of his stinkier inventions.

Sanji closed his eyes and superimposed the image of his first friend on Usopp. The overlap was enough to make him more sure of them being the same person. He wouldn’t know for certain until he asked.

He swallowed down his fears as he always did and strolled into the room like he hadn’t been standing there for almost fifteen minutes.

Usopp had his back to the door. He was entirely focused on a little teal shard and one of his seeds in his hands. Sanji felt a prickle of an idea of leaving. Usopp hadn’t noticed him.

He frowned at his thoughts. Instead of giving in, he stubbornly marched over to Usopp and gripped his shoulder.

Usopp didn’t flinch in surprise like he’d expected. Instead, he simply said, “What’s up, Sanji?”

Sanji blinked. Had Usopp...developed Observation Haki?

He shook his head. It didn’t matter if he had or not. What mattered was that he now had Usopp alone for this.

“What are you doing?” Sanji needed a minute to figure out his words.

A bright smile came to Usopp’s face as he said, “I finally managed to break down the Seastone cuffs with the help of my handy-dandy too-deadly-to-use acid-spitting plants! It looked so cool, and I can think of a whole bunch of things for it that I couldn’t help myself!” He rolled the shard in his fingers. “I mean, if I didn’t know any better, I would think my plants are compatible with Seastone!” Laughing, he finished with, “But that would be silly.”

Usopp turned away from Sanji. Now he was blathering on his work (‘Even if it’s impossible, wouldn’t it be cool to combine this with my plants?’) and was clearly lost in his project.

Sanji couldn’t take it anymore. His will was fighting with his feelings.

He mumbled, “I need to…” To what? Up and ask ‘Hey, do you happen to be my childhood friend?’.

...Was it really that easy?

He decided to see if it was.

His throat was dry as he managed, “Did you...know me?”

“Hm?” Usopp was now actually paying attention, setting down his work and turning around to face Sanji. “What was that?”

Sanji was feeling unexpected emotions. It felt like a dream was right at the tip of his fingers…

Yet even then, the fear was again rearing its head. Because this could backfire. He’d built it up in his head so much that he would be crushed if Usopp wasn’t him.

He said, “When you were a kid, did...we ever meet?”

Usopp got a weird look on his face. Strangely guarded, he asked, “Why do you ask that?”

“I…” How could he articulate it? “Something you did made me think of someone. Someone I need to talk to.”

“Someone you need to talk with, huh?” Usopp’s lips twisted as he said, “I’m not sure I can help you.”

“So you don’t remember me ever hitting your port?”

“Do you think it was something a kid would remember?” Usopp asked with the same defensiveness in his words.

Sanji’s heart dropped straight into his gut, drowning in the fear. “I’m not sure. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Hm.” Usopp shrugged. “I don’t know that I would remember a cook hitting up Syrup Village. Someone important like a king, maybe.”

Sanji snorted at the flip-flopping and angrily said, “Give me a straight answer!”

Usopp was quiet for a good minute. Finally, he said, “Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you.”

Sanji let himself get angry. “Fine. Think about it. Get back to me.”

He turned and stomped his way out of the room. His aura of anger was almost visible. Even that bastard Zoro knew not to bother him as he passed through. Once he was in the dorms, he tossed Franky out and slammed the door in his face.

He needed to be alone. Alone with…

Sanji sat heavily on his bunk. He looked over to the little nightstand, to where his trinket was standing. Shaking against his will, he reached over and traced a finger along the dragonfly’s wings. The cool glass helped to, in turn, cool his mind.

Right. So it didn’t seem Usopp was his friend. He was a friend, but he wasn’t him.

He was suddenly overcome with emotions. The fear, the anticipation, the worry, all mixed together to make him feel a strange, twisted type of despair. Sanji couldn’t stop himself from picking up the trinket and holding it close.

If he cried, he wasn’t about to admit it, even to himself. He couldn’t deny the lump in his throat, or the sadness tearing him up inside. But tears, over this? Sanji would take it to his grave.

Sanji’s fist was clenched. He was doing his best not to let his brothers jostle his jacket. It had been hard enough to leave his friends. He’d pretended like he was leaving, packing his personal items and leaving with Bege. Like he was leaving the crew.

He knew that he would be trapped. He knew they wouldn’t treat him well. In fact, Sanji was expecting them to destroy all of his belongings.

It practically broke a record as it wasn’t even five minutes after seeing them again they destroyed everything in his sack. Even back when he was trying to cook they at least let him think he’d gotten away before they broke all of his things.

There was one thing, though, that he’d managed to save. He’d tucked it in an inner pocket, in a spot that he remembered being less bruised than all the others. Maybe, hopefully, he could hide it until he was trapped in the Charlotte family. And, maybe, they would let him keep it.

A lot of ‘maybe’s. It didn’t give him high hopes. Still, it was better than nothing.

At that moment, he was arguing with Yonji. Green-headed bastard, thinking he was better than him. Sanji knew, thanks to his friends, all of them, that he was worth something. That he was worth being friends with. That he was worth being loved.

It didn’t help that Yonji’s stupid face and hair made him think of Zoro. He felt himself going the well-worn path of bickering that he’d always had with Zoro.

Except, well, Yonji was hellbent on making Sanji miserable. At least with Zoro it was a mutual rivalry.

Sanji dodged the punch that Yonji shot out. He was surprised to find that Yonji was about to hit that pocket. Twisting, he managed to catch the punch on the other side of his chest.

Sliding backwards, Sanji coughed at the solid hit. Yonji’s face twisted in a mockery of concern.

“Oh, did that hurt? Too bad.” He looked interested as he said, “You’re a little soft on that part of you.” He pointed to Sanji’s upper chest, where he was keeping it. “You bruised up? Afraid of the pain?”

“Fuck you.” Sanji turned to leave but found that now Ichiji and Niji were behind him, watching.

“I think he’s on to something.” Niji took a few steps until he and Sanji were face-to-face. “Why are you afraid of being hit there?”

“What the fuck does it matter to you?” Sanji snapped.

“It’s bulging a little. Are you hiding something from us?” Ichiji asked.

Sanji felt his heart rate spike. “Fuck no and fuck you. All of you.” He shoved Niji aside and tried to leave.

He suddenly found himself surrounded. Sanji was sure he could take on one of them. All three? It would really risk it. It’d accidentally get broken.

But they would break it anyway, to hurt him. So he fought.

Sanji managed to cave in part of Yonji’s face and he thought he’d popped a socket out in Ichiji’s shoulder. Their genetically enhanced toughness and their numbers advantage, though, beat him out. He found himself pinned with his arms behind him as Ichiji dug around in Sanji’s pocket with his uninjured arm.

“Hm?” Ichiji pulled it out. “What’s this?”

The dragonfly. It was as beautiful as ever, the glass glistening in the light.

“It looks like some kind of decorative toy.” Yonji laughed. “What in the hell is that from?”

Sanji bit his lip and said nothing.

“Tell us where it’s from. Did you steal it from the storage for Sora’s junk? If you don’t tell us…” Ichiji pressed against a wing. Sanji could see the glass starting to spiderweb crack.

“It’s a gift, from a friend.” Sanji was hoping they wouldn’t make him elaborate.

“Which of your stupid friends would give you something this expensive? You’re all filthy pirates. I would expect this thing to get hocked on the corner instead of given to a loser like you,” Niji sneered.

“I think you aren’t being honest.” This time, the sound of the glass straining was intense in Sanji’s ear.

“My first friend! It’s…” He looked away as he finished, “It’s a gift from him. He pretended it was a tithe.”

“A tithe?” All three of them laughed. Sanji grit his teeth, hoping for the best but knowing it would be the worst. Yonji was the first to recover as he sputtered, “You mean you told him you were royalty?! ”

“No. He picked it out.”

“Hmph.” Ichiji tossed the dragonfly up and down a few times. He said, “It’s shameful that you would still cling to being a prince. Even after we tossed you out.”

“I think he needs to be taught a lesson,” Yonji said too eagerly.

“I agree.” Ichiji stopped tossing the dragonfly.

Then he crushed it in his hands like it was putty.

Sanji gaped as the glass shattered and fell to the ground in slivers. To pour salt on the wound, Ichiji rolled the wire around until it was a misshapen bundle. He tossed it to the ground. “There.”

Sanji tried to keep his composure as he was released from the arm hold. He simply couldn’t. His knees gave way, dropping him to the ground. It felt unreal, all of it. Trapped again with his miserable family, forced to marry someone he didn’t even know, and now…

“Are you crying?!” Yonji laughed. “You’re so weak.”

“Pathetic.”

“Worthless.”

Their words echoed around him even after they left him to his misery. He was unmoving, his gaze registering every little shard from his precious trinket. Sanji pulled out his handkerchief, a gift from Nami, and began gathering every little piece.

More than a few times, the glass cut his fingers. Sanji had prided himself on never drawing blood on his fingers. It was a testament to his skill as a cook and a fighter. That mattered about as much as rat shit now.

Once he’d picked up even the smallest shard and put them in the center of the handkerchief, he picked up the wire. The gold wire, with scraps of glass sticking on to it. It was so twisted that only he was able to pick out the shape of the dragonfly.

The simple lump in his throat had burst like his will, enveloping him in grief. He pulled the wire close, letting the jagged pieces cut his hands as much as they wanted as he cradled it. The tears went on, even past Reiju finding him and helping him gather up the handkerchief. She tucked it in his pocket, the same one it had been in before.

She looked like she wanted to say something. Her lips were puckered in thought. Reiju seemed to think better, though, and left him standing vaguely in the hallway, crying.

It wasn’t until they’d made port at Whole Cake Island that Sanji moved. The tears stuck against his cheeks, drying and leaving him a mess. The servants hastily got him ready to be presented like a lamb for slaughter, cleaning him up and sealing the cuts with the liquid bandages they had created in the lab.

Sanji didn’t pay attention to anything beyond the tinkling of the glass in his pocket. Nothing else mattered.

Pudding was starting to lift her veil when a sudden cry stopped them all.

“I OBJECT!”

The voice could only belong to one person. Sanji looked around, trying to find-

Well, that didn’t take very long.

Usopp was standing on a table, arms crossed and brow furrowed. Everyone was staring. The absolute audacity was crazy. Sanji was barely able to register the enormity of it. The emotion behind it was amazement.

Finally, someone did something.

It was Big Mom. And she had started laughing.

“What a foolish man!” she said through developing tears from laughing so hard. “Objecting to this, at this stage?! You clearly want to die, don’t you?”

Sanji’s eyes widened as he realized who was making their way to Usopp. Sanji forgot everything, accidentally shoving everyone around him as he rushed, kicking against the ground, to make it to-

A gunshot behind him barely registered. He didn’t know who it was, nor did he care, as long as it wasn’t…!

He had just gotten to Usopp, tackling him out of the way of Katakuri’s jelly bean bullet. He’d lost his first friend’s gift. He wasn’t about to lose Usopp!

His next thought was how the hell would they get out of there alive?

And suddenly everything exploded. The cake literally exploded...with Luffys?

What the hell?!

In the resulting mess, when the Vinsmokes had been trapped, Sanji and Usopp dodged their way through the crowd towards them. Usopp had his Black Kabuto out, shooting his seeds every which way he could.

Tentacles grew around them in huge bunches, as did some punji sticks. There was something weird about them. It was like...crystals were growing with them? Plant and gem combined into glittering tentacles, grappling several of the Charlottes.

One of them gasped, the man that had the genie in his belt. He stuttered, “Seastone…?!”

Sanji did a double-take at Usopp. “Seastone?! How the hell-”

“So, apparently, the Seastone melded perfectly with my seeds with some elbow grease and a drop of acid to liquefy the Seastone.” Usopp laughed, launching a few more seeds. “Crazy, right?!”

“That shit isn’t supposed to be easy to work, you crazy fucker!” Sanji couldn’t help but laugh. “And you managed to not only break it down but also combine them with fucking plants?!”

“Yeah! Apparently, my plants can absorb anything if I shove them together hard enough!”

“That’s some kind of bullshit you managed!” Sanji replied.

Laughing, Usopp burst out, “Look out, Big Mom! This knight-pirate is gonna kick your ass!”

Sanji’s heart stopped. He couldn’t help it; he found himself staring at Usopp.

Usopp looked back at him. In his imagination, the cheeky grin Usopp was giving him fit perfectly with that very same grin of his first friend.

“Usopp…” Sanji had no idea what to say.

“What, I can’t swoop in and save my prince-cook from eternal servitude to a family of savage cannibals?” he said cheekily.

Sanji wished he could refute the ‘cannibal’ part because it made the situation worse than he’d thought it was, but it wouldn’t be in earnest. He was pretty sure Big Mom had eaten at least a few people.

Instead of getting stuck on it, Sanji began, “Why didn’t you-”

A split-second of realization was followed by Sanji dodging to the side as a Luffy clone went by, chased by one of Big Mom’s generals. Thankfully, they were all so focused on the Luffy clones and the other Vinsmokes that they weren’t paying attention to the two yet.

“Talk later, fight now!” Usopp squeaked as he again brandished Black Kabuto and sent out a flurry of seeds.

“Right.” Sanji kicked his way through the air, making his way to his trapped blood family.

Not his real family. His grip tightened momentarily as he thought of his friends. Zeff. His mom. Everyone that shaped who he was with love.

“Get that-” Katakuri began yelling, pointing at Usopp who was aiming in a seemingly random direction, before he was tackled by Luffy on a warpath.

As all the Charlottes in the area began turning their attention to them, Sanji grit his teeth and shook himself from his thoughts. He felt none of the usual fear that had stuck with him all these years as he prepared to face them. After all, he was with his best friend. Nothing could stop the prince-cook and his knight-pirate.

“Holy shit.” Usopp was staring behind them, watching as the remains of Whole Cake Island shrank in the distance. He sputtered, “Did we really just survive that?!”

“Yeah.” Sanji was having trouble believing it himself. With how fucking nuts it had been, it had been a miracle that they all got out of that alive and together. If it hadn’t been for the freak nature of Usopp’s plants, he was certain they would’ve faltered. The only thing that might’ve saved them at that point would’ve been that random explosion.

It wasn’t until they were safe, away in the ocean that Nami called the all-clear. She still glared at him, which tore him up inside. He would need to grovel to get back into her good graces. That and waiting hand-and-foot on her for days on end.

That would come later. There was something he needed to do now.

Sanji went to where Usopp was hanging on the railing, resting his arms against it. Usopp’s anxious breathing somehow put him at ease as he thought of all the questions in his head.

Finally, Sanji decided on what to say first. “That shit you pulled with Big Mom was top-notch.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Usopp preened as he said, “Nothing like a mouthful of expanding Seastone-enhanced tentacles to really catch your attention!”

“Kinda wish you’d managed to kill her with that,” Sanji admitted.

“It looked like she’d swallowed it.” Usopp scratched his head as he pondered, “Does that mean that she can’t use her Devil Fruit powers until she...you know.”

“Shits it out?” Sanji had no compunctions against saying it. “Probably. I’m sure even Big Mom can’t digest something like Seastone.”

“Ahhhhh~” Usopp flopped his head against the rail. “If only it were that easy…!”

“Yeah.” Sanji pulled out a cigarette, bent from the rough treatment, and lit it. He tried not to think about his - Usopp’s - trinket as it made a small tinkling noise in his pocket.

The two of them stood there, doing nothing but watching the waves hit the ship.

Sanji was...content. He was fine with this silence. It was a natural silence. He was certain Usopp was using it the same way he was: coming to terms with the fact that his best friend was right next to him.

It was Usopp that broke the silence. “So...yeah.” He looked up from the rail at Sanji. “I...you’re...we’re…”

“I’m a prince-cook. You’re a knight-pirate. We’re best friends,” Sanji supplied.

“Right.” Usopp uncharacteristically didn’t try to laugh it off. Instead, he smiled. “You know, I knew who you were the second I saw you.”

“Really?” Sanji was more than a little surprised. His memory of Usopp had faded enough that he hadn’t recognized him.

“Well, I wasn’t sure.” He scratched his head. “It was the eyebrow that stuck with me. It also helped that you signed your name to the notepad.” Now he shook his head as he said, “I really realized it was you when you were unpacking after you first joined the crew.”

“How?” Sanji blinked, then he remembered with a rip of pain in his heart. He muttered, “The dragonfly.”

“Yup. The dragonfly.” Usopp laughed, clearly trying to cut some of the tension. “When I saw it, I was so surprised!”

“What, you thought I sold it off the second I could?” Sanji asked.

“I didn’t think that for a while. I genuinely thought you were a prince, one who would come back to pick me up so we could go adventuring together.” His eyes crinkled. “After Mom died, I sank into my little imaginary world. You and Dad were going to come and I would be an epic pirate with my dad and the best knight with you.”

“Well, you were half-right.” Sanji nudged him with an elbow. “You’re a pretty great knight-pirate.”

“You think?” Usopp laughed self-consciously, none of his usual bluster boosting it up.

Sanji nodded.

It was quiet a few more seconds.

“You know, thinking about it now I’m surprised my mom let me give that dragonfly to you.”

“I’m surprised too,” Sanji said with a grin.

“I think she was hoping you’d come by again or something.” Usopp suddenly perked up. “Oh! You know, I gave you that dragonfly and I know you still have it! So! I want to show that I did the same thing!”

Sanji was confused. “What do you mean?”

Usopp scrounged in his pocket, the one that had his weird waterproof whatever in, before pulling out-

He stared. Then, shocked, he muttered, “The recipe notepad?”

“Yup!” Usopp nodded enthusiastically. “It came in really handy! When I was by myself, when I was struggling, this helped me through all of it. And, you know, I just...kept it.” He flipped a few pages of it and sighed. “It was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“Even more than the Going Merry?” Sanji instantly regretted asking the question.

Usopp didn’t react much to it beyond nodding. “If I had to pick, I would prefer to drown in the ocean than lose this notepad.” Rushing the next few words, he said, “Well, if I was drowning with a reasonable chance of being saved.”

Sanji rolled his eyes. He paused, lips puckered, before he dared to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Hm?” Usopp stood back up straight. “What do you mean?”

“About...us. Who you were, who I was to you. All of it.”

Usopp frowned, turning back to look in another direction. Apparently anything other than Sanji. “You didn’t know who I was. You didn’t recognize me at all. Listen.” Usopp said somberly, “Would you have listened to me, if I’d told you when we first met up? Or would you have been disappointed? I didn’t…” he sighed “...I didn’t want to see the disappointment on your face. That I was your friend from way back then.”

“And then when I confronted you last month? When you were playing goddamned cat-and-mouse with me?” Sanji couldn’t help the anger in those words.

Usopp said, flustered, “I know that was awful of me! I was feeling a little bitter.” He also admitted, “I thought you’d tricked me about being a prince to get stuff from me. And I didn’t really want to face that. I’m still kinda mad that you didn’t recognize me until...what? Some random reminder?”

“...It was the dandelions.”

“Dandelions…? Dandelions?!” He was clearly combing his brain, trying to figure it out.

“Back before we were split up. Back when you still cooked that shitty gratin recipe.”

A spark went through Usopp’s eyes. Then he barked, “You prick! You knew all this time and didn’t...fuck!”

Sanji took a deep breath. He was so goddamned glad that Zoro wasn’t there. “I was...scared.”

Usopp immediately calmed down and balked, “You were scared? ”

“Yeah.” Now it was Sanji that couldn’t look at him. They both were looking to the horizon as he said, “I’ve had this fear in my gut, even before I met you. It was always there, eating at me.” He couldn’t keep his gaze from flitting to Usopp’s direction. “You helped give me some bravery. Enough to stop being scared, to start being the man I wanted to be.”

Sanji didn’t stop himself as he wrapped Usopp into a hug. “You’re the second most important person in my life.”

“Who’s the first?” Sanji was about to yell at him before Usopp suddenly burst out, flustered, “Nevermind! Nevermind, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Damn right you shouldn’t’ve.” Sanji couldn’t get himself to let go even through his frustration. He nearly jumped as Usopp began hugging him in kind.

Sanji didn’t know how long they were like that. Reluctantly, he let go, remembering about the dragonfly. He had to tell Usopp…

“Sanji? What’s wrong?” Usopp was probably not ready to hear it, but it had to be done.

“I...the dragonfly…” Sanji took a breath and shamefully pulled out the glass fragments and the bent ball of wires. “My brothers…”

Usopp was flabbergasted. “How…?”

“I didn’t want to lose it.” Sanji looked down at the shimmering shards. “I thought I was losing everything. I was desperate to have something. I’d hoped that I could at least have it.”

“Your brothers are assholes.” Usopp examined the wire and glass. “You must’ve really been beaten up for it to be this broken.”

“I got my ass kicked pretty hard,” Sanji admitted.

Then, Usopp said something that Sanji had trouble processing.

He asked, “What did you say?”

“I said I can fix it!” Usopp picked up a particularly small fragment. “I think I can even make it better so it can’t get broken again!” A sweatdrop was followed by, “Well, unless they’re really going at it.” He looked over and asked, “Did you still want it?”

“Of course,” Sanji said, strangely breathless as he took in Usopp against the sun. Why it took his breath away he wasn’t sure.

“Okay.” Usopp gave a thumbs-up. “I can get it done before we get to Wano!”

“I’ll make your, our shitty gratin as a reward,” Sanji said with a smile.

Usopp made a face. “I mean, I’m not turning it down...could you maybe make the better one? Still with dandelions! Just, with the cream and flour and stuff.”

Sanji’s smile grew wider. “Sure.” Again, Sanji wasn’t really controlling his body as he lightly punched Usopp’s shoulder. “You little shit, saying you got it from the best cook in the world…!”

“Am I wrong?” Usopp laughed, which made Sanji laugh.

“Maybe once I find the All Blue.” Sanji locked arms with Usopp and leaned back against the railing. “This will sound weird, but do you mind watching the waves with me for a bit longer?”

“With you?” That grin that made him flashback to when they were kids gave the answer. Still, he said, “I’ll always be up for it!”

“Good.”

It wasn’t until the sun was setting and Luffy was complaining about food that they split up. And, a couple of days later when Usopp presented the fixed dragonfly with bits of Seastone speckled in it, Sanji smothered it and Usopp in a huge, all-encompassing hug.

Things were right now. Things were right, and there was nothing that could stop them now.

Chapter Text

“Tell me about how you met again!” The blonde girl, her hair in cute pigtails, jumped into Sanji’s lap. He was currently on break from his work at the pass. The Baratie wouldn’t run itself, after all; his achy knees simply needed a rest.

“Is that how you ask your Grandpops about one of their stories?” his daughter chastised.

“Don’t worry about it!” Usopp called from the room over. “Grandpops are meant to tell stories! It’s their only function in life!”

“Bullshit,” Sanji couldn’t help but mutter. He began rummaging around in his jacket.

“Dad, what have I told you about language?! And are you seriously going to smoke now?”

“Let me have some shi-er, bad habits.” Sanji sighed. She took way too much after Zeff.

“I want to hear the story.” His granddaughter was very insistent. Sanji was pretty sure it was just an excuse to get at the dragonfly.

Still, he obliged, getting up and keeping her against a hip as he reached up to the high shelf where the kids couldn’t get to it. As reverently as always, he carefully held it in his free hand as he took it and his granddaughter back to the chair. It easily took their weight; anything Usopp made was quality.

“So, where did you want to start?” he asked her, letting her hold the glittering glass-and-Seastone trinket.

“When the ground was eating you!”

“Ah, you mean when I had first set foot in Syrup Village?” Sanji smiled as he remembered the day with a twist of Usopp’s drama. “I had just set foot there when the ground gave out under me. I, a prince-cook, had never experienced it before. I was almost lost in the quagmire when-”

“The Great Usopp saved him!” Usopp burst out, stepping into the room. His greyed-out hair was bundled up as always. Even past the wrinkles and grey hair, he still had the same grin that Sanji had fallen in love with.

He was dressed haphazardly, proof that the bastard had fallen asleep with their grandson and had rushed to get dressed. Before Sanji could chastise him on how sleeping with a baby was a bad idea, he plowed on, “I saved him from drowning in the quicksand. I had caught sight of him on his amazing white ship that was carved with such intricate designs that it practically screamed princely power!” Boasting now, he said, “It was love at first sight!” At the foottap of their daughter, he amended, “Almost. It was at least best friends at first sight!

“I was so impressed that I introduced him to my mom! She knew we were meant to be together too! She sneakily arranged for us to give each other gifts that showed our promise to meet again! I gave him-” Usopp made a big deal of waving at the dragonfly “-this spectacular dragonfly, meant to symbolize how important we were! It was the only expensive thing I had!”

“And I gave him some of my prized recipes that people are still begging for,” Sanji started. “A recipe book that even the ocean tried to take! Your Grandpa Usopp had to make a special holder to keep it safe.”

Their granddaughter’s eyes were wide, showing she was taking in every detail. “And then the bad men broke it!”

Sanji recognized when she was trying to avoid something she thought was boring and started up from that point. “The bad men captured me and tried to make me marry someone else. They broke the dragonfly to try and sever me and Usopp’s connection.”

“Joke’s on them! It just made us stronger! I put it back together with the power of love and Seastone!” Usopp laughed loudly, arms crossed. A cry from the next room let all of them know it was too loud.

“I’ll get him,” their daughter said. “You two had better tone down the wild tales.”

Usopp gave Sanji a sneaky grin as he continued, “Of course, your Grandpa Sanji had a memory problem! A curse that kept him from recognizing me. The same curse hit me, making me incapable of telling him!”

“We managed to break the curse when Usopp rescued me from that evil family and felt our bond restored,” Sanji said with a smirk.

“Will I have someone like that?”

“We don’t know what the future holds,” Usopp said quickly.

“If you follow your heart, you’ll find them eventually,” Sanji supplied, giving Usopp a chastising frown.

“Well, yeah, I guess if you do that.” Usopp was clearly pouting now, his cheeks puffed out in frustration.

“I’m gonna be a prince-knight!” she suddenly declared.

“What?” The two of them looked at her, confused.

“Grandpop San-San is a prince. So I’m a prince too! And I’ll be a brave knight like Grandpop ‘sopp!” She jumped out of Sanji’s lap, dragonfly forgotten, as she snatched up Usopp’s old toy knife. Sanji had to scramble to catch the trinket, letting out a breath of relief as it settled in his hand.

Their daughter walked in as their granddaughter waved the wooden knife in the air. “Dad, did you-” She paused, staring at her daughter. “Honey, what are you doing?”

“I’m training to be a prince-knight! Then I’ll find my pirate-cook and we’ll take over the seas!”

The fierce, unending frown and glare at the two of them let them know that they were going to get their asses kicked as soon as the kids were asleep. She threw on a fake smile and said, “Yes, you can do that. But first, it’s nap time!”

“I don’t wanna nap,” she grumbled. “I wanna be a prince-knight.”

“You can be a prince-knight after a nap.” Their daughter picked her up even as she squirmed to get away. She hoisted the girl over her shoulder and, grimacing at the two old men, walked into the other room.

“We’re dead,” Usopp said.

“Yup. She’s going to beat us to death,” Sanji agreed. He faked a look at the clock and, standing up, proclaimed, “My break’s over. You deal with it.”

“ME?! You want me to deal with it!?” Usopp verbally bumbled, “But, I mean, I can’t…!”

“You’re my knight. You’re supposed to protect me.” Before Usopp could refute it, Sanji kissed his cheek. He rested his forehead against his and sighed. “I’m sure she’ll only break a few bones.”

“...You know, I never thought it’d get to this point.”

“What?”

“I mean…” Usopp said quietly, “We both had our dreams come true. And then some!”

Sanji pulled back, letting his partner see his grin. “I think the ‘and then some’ is the most important part.”

“Agreed! I mean…” Usopp laughed nervously. “Being an epic pirate is nice and all - save for the bounty hunters - but there’s nothing like having family.”

“Nothing like it,” Sanji agreed. He heard the footstomps of their daughter returning and ran for the door like his ass was on fire. “Good luck!”

Sanji couldn’t help but laugh as Usopp shrieked, “Sanji!” before meeting his doom.