Archive of Our Own

Vegapunk sipped his coffee as he read the morning paper, the faint sounds of chatter and arguing washing over him. Morgan was truly milking whatever passes as news these days in his opinion. He stretched, finishing his cup before standing up and walking toward the bulletin board. Among the pinned items were a growing list of groceries, a few wanted posters, and drawings of robots that Bonney insisted they needed. He added a new piece to the board—the front page of the morning paper where the headline Admiral Kizaru Declared Dead was emblazoned.

A tall figure joined him. “Guess I finally made it to the board…”

Vegapunk looked up at Borsalino then back to the bulletin board where Kuma, Bonney, Sentomaru, and Vegapunk’s own faces were pinned.

“You look good here. Ten berry says the fleet admiral was the one who chose the picture,” Vegapunk teased though he wasn’t fully joking. Borsalino struck a striking figure on the newspaper, living up to the image of an invincible force of justice. Vegapunk wondered if his friend manipulated the light around him to make the shadows highlight his best features.

“You give him too much credit.” Borsalino chuckled, “Who’s to say I didn’t have this photo taken in the event my death needed to be announced in the paper?”

“Why do I believe that’s actually something you’d do? Anyway, I thought you were going to retire. How’d you end up dead?” Vegapunk folded the newspaper page so it only included the headline and the image before pinning it to the board. He stood back, admiring his handy work.

The former admiral shrugged, “I don’t know. It was all hectic, you know? No one’s louder than Sakazuki when he gets into a tantrum so I could barely even hear what I was saying. The important part is I’m out of the marines.” Borsalino blinked,“I do recall saying I would rather die than return, so…”

Vegapunk chuckled, “That would do it.”

Borsalino pulled Vegapunk by the shoulders. “Come on, Bonney’s just about done finishing her drawings.”

They retreated to the inner part of their for-now hideout. It was nothing more than a shack but Vegapunk has been having his robots build additions to the place to accommodate them all and their new venture.

Inside what they consider their kitchen/dining room, Bonney was sitting on her father’s knee, finishing her drawing. Sentomaru was sitting next to them, eating a bowl of cereal while reading the daily newspaper as well.

Kuma noticed them come in and smiled, “Shall I give my condolences to Vegapunk and Sentomaru?

Borsalino and Vegapunk took a seat, Borsalino swiping a sticky bun from a plate in front of Sentomaru.

“Hey! I was saving those for later!”

“Be kind to your deceased ojiki, Sentomaru-kun.” Borsalino smiled, “You wouldn’t want me haunting you all your life now, would you? Besides, I’m the one who made these.”

“Yeah, and you gave them to me. So make your own.” Sentomaru retorted though he did push the plate closer to the middle of the table, a silent offering in case anyone wanted a piece. Almost automatically, Bonney, Kuma, and Vegapunk grabbed one.

“I’m done with my drawings now!” Bonney grinned, holding up a bunch of paper and waving them around. “I made some for daddy too!”

“Thank you, Bonney.” Kuma said, ruffling her hair.

“Entrepreneurs usually start with what they’re offering and not their logos, don’t they?” Borsalino asked while trying to take a peak and Sentomaru’s own drawings.

“Get away!” Sentomaru shoved him aside, “We already know what we’re going to sell. What’s the point of waiting until the last moment for this?”

Vegapunk cleared the table, unrolling a massive piece of parchment. “Alright, alright, settle down now. We’ll take a look at all our ideas. Once we agree, we can make a design here!”

It was a little much for a pizza place in the middle of nowhere in Borsalino’s opinion. He suggested a tiny restaurant but they wouldn’t want to step on any toes, especially one belonging to a certain retired red-legged pirate. They were already pushing things since Vegapunk was designing something that can actually travel land, sea, and air. He had to hand it to the scientist, he doesn’t do things halfway.

“I think this one’s the best!” Bonney held up one of her drawings depicting a bright pink restaurant with lots of sparkles. “Customers can see us a mile away!”

“It’s beautiful, but our goal is to be able to live peacefully without drawing too much attention.” Kuma said placatingly. “How about this one?” He pushed forward one of Bonney’s other designs. It was a little house covered in bananas, peaches, and apples. There was a bear standing guard at the entrance and standing on its shoulders was a girl with a red cape.

“Isn’t that supposed to be a wolf?” Sentomaru asked with a frown, “And what’s with all the fruit?”

Borsalino chuckled, “This design is better for a cafe or a cake shop. Perhaps we can open one up if we succeed with our little pizza place.”

“I think we should go with my design.” Sentomaru said, slamming down his drawing with a flourish. It was a simple circle with the word Pizza with an ax used for the P.

“It’s boring!” Bonney yelled, giving Sentomaru a thumbs down. She snatched his drawing and began coloring on it, “Add a little bit of blood on the ax at least!”

“Oi!” Sentomaru snatched it back and looked at it. “Actually, I think you have a point. I’ll add some more.”

“That’s a little too violent for a logo.” Borsalino tutted, taking Sentomaru’s drawing and putting it aside. “You’ll have people thinking the place is just a front.”

“It is a front.” Sentomaru said but didn’t fight him on it. “And why can’t it double as a fight club too? If they beat me, they can get their food for free. If they lose, they pay double!”

“No, Sentomaru. We don’t beat up customers if we want them to come back!” Vegapunk sighed, “Besides, that’s another crime that would attract unwanted attention.”

“That’s stupid. What about you Ojiki?”

Borsalino hummed, pulling out a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket. “I’m no artist but…”

They all looked closer. And closer. They squinted but—

“What is it?” Vegapunk asked, tilting his head in an attempt to understand what he was looking at.

“Is it abstract?” Kuma chimed in.

“I don’t think color can fix that.” Bonney added.

Borsalino clutched at his chest dramatically. “How dare you say that to a dead person’s work?”

Sentomaru rolled his eyes and placed it at the pile he deemed as ‘rejected.’ “What about you Punk, where’s yours?”

“Oh me? I was gonna be the one to make the logo. As such, I reserved the right to decide the company name too. You’ll see it when I’m done so—” He began to walk away, already excited to design, but was grabbed by Sentomaru.

“What do you mean you reserve the right to decide the name? We’re gonna have a meeting about that too!”

“But—”

“If we leave you to your own devices, you’ll just name it something stupid like Vegapizza…” Sentomaru saw Vegapunk pale at his words. “You were, weren’t you? You goddamn narcissist! We’re supposed to be hiding, what do you think you’re doing?”

Sentomaru continued scolding Vegapunk while the rest of them watched on.

“Should we do something?” Kuma asked.

Borsalino shrugged, “We can always alter the logo if you aren’t happy. Oh? You mean with this now?” He chuckled, “Nonsense, let Sentomaru have his fun. He knows how fragile Vegapunk is.”

Borsalino pointedly ignored Vegapunk’s cries for help.

All things considered, they had a successful launch. They settled on a medium-sized island and began handing out flyers for their pizza place. After a month or so, the establishment opened its doors to excited customers. Three months in and they still get raving reviews!

Borsalino thought that it was going well. A little bit too well. So when he exited the kitchen one night after closing hours, he wasn’t too surprised when he saw the entire place filled with people.

“Oh.” He said, freezing in place before he could remove his apron.

He looked at Vegapunk, then at the pack of revolutionaries occupying their pizza place, back to Vegapunk.

“Borsalino, I can explain!”

In a flash of light, he was eye-to-eye with Dragon. The revolutionary was standing up, Borsalino’s finger pressing against his chest. “You have a lot of nerve showing your face here,” He drawled.

“Kizaru.” The revolutionary said without a hint of surprise.

A blink, then the revolutionaries were standing up, pointing their weapons at him. “Borsalino—”

He cut off Vegapunk with a look, “This isn’t about you right now.” He pointedly looked at Kuma, still sitting opposite Dragon.

“It’s alright, Kizaru-san.” Kuma assured. Borsalino took a few seconds to assess the situation.

“It looks like Kuma has forgiven you for your failure to rescue him multiple times.” He said, lowering his finger.

Dragon glared, “Kuma is a kind man. After all, he was able to forgive you for your own choices and inactions.”

Borsalino met the steely gaze of the revolutionary leader’s eyes. His eyes drifted to Kuma’s pleading ones and sighed. He turned to Vegapunk with a huff, “I expect triple pay for this. This is going to be charged on you.”

He headed back to the kitchen and whipped up a meal for the revolutionaries. It took a bit longer since he was the only one, but it let him clear his head at least. He hopes Dragon won’t bring more trouble for Kuma.

He got out, handing off trays to every table. When he reached the table where a young man was, he smiled. “You must be Straw Hat’s other brother.” He said.

“I am.” The blond man nodded, though he was a bit tense. “Funny seeing the deceased Admiral Kizaru serving us pizza this fine night, isn’t it?”

“Admiral Kizaru is dead. But I have heard great things about you from Admiral Fujitora, so you can have the house special.” He said, setting down the pizza with a flourish.

“Woah!” Sabo exclaimed, the smell making him drool a little.

“It’s the second-best pizza here.” Borsalino smiled.

“If this is the second-best then your best pizza must be the best in the world!”

The former admiral chuckled, “Those are reserved for a select number of people.”

The young revolutionary smiled, “They must be special people then.” Borsalino returned his smile and nodded.

He served the people surrounding Dragon first. Vegapunk, who was sitting next to Dragon, pulled at his arm and whispered, “Don’t be upset, I’ll explain everything later.”

Borsalino straightened up, smiling, “I’m not upset.” He said while setting down Dragon’s pizza. It was made with less cheese and a bunch of pineapples. The ache in his soul was a small price to pay.

After the revolutionaries left, Vegapunk, Borsalino, Sentomaru, and Kuma had a long talk and all of them came to an understanding.

Their little pizza place expanded. They added more to the menu, eventually having a small bakery where Kuma can bake and bring life to Bonney’s endless ideas for sweets. Sentomaru demanded they sell onigiri, and they added that to the menu along with sushi and sashimi.

Somewhere along their travels, they came across Bonney’s old crew and they hired them as helpers. With most of the work out of the way, Borsalino was free to think up new recipes and even make deliveries should he feel like it. He still spent most of his time in the kitchen even if Sentomaru drags him out of there whenever he could.

About a year into their business, Vegapunk sat him down. It was an hour after they closed and Borsalino just finished preparing for tomorrow.

“Are you going to fire me?” He asked, eating some leftover soup.

The scientist, also eating leftovers, threw some peas at him, “I’m being serious here.”

“So am I.”

Vegapunk sighed. “We were thinking…” He began, glaring at Borsalino so he wouldn't interrupt. “You haven’t really asked for anything.”

“What’s there to ask?” He shrugged. He didn’t like the way Vegapunk was looking at him all weepy so he focused on finishing his soup. It was still missing a few ingredients.

“You must want something!” Vegapunk exclaimed. “Am I really supposed to believe you just enjoy making pizzas all day?”

“Hey!” Borsalino wagged his finger, “I cook other stuff too. And I do deliveries sometimes. By the way, Sentomaru mentioned wanting to do longer distance deliveries as well. You better make him some transportation vehicle or something.”

“You’re impossible, Borsalino. We’re talking about you and you keep changing the subject!”

Borsalino looked away, “I don’t need anything.”

“But you want something?”

“Everyone wants something.” Borsalino rolled his eyes, “But that doesn’t mean people get what they want.

“Yes, but we can try. There are steps to getting what one wants. We can focus on those first. At least give me something.”

Vegapunk wasn’t going to give it up anytime soon. They’ll be there all night if Borsalino keeps being stubborn. But what right does he have to want for something? Everything he did, everything he didn’t do, almost led to a future where the people he cared about could have been hurt or worse.

“You still feel guilty?” Vegapunk asked, lowering his voice.

“Do you think I’m a psychopath?” Borsalino scoffed. “Of course I do. How can you ask me that.”

Borsalino wasn’t an idiot. Despite getting on well enough, he knows that the memories of that day were fresh in their minds as well. It was a miracle they accepted him, much less welcomed him like they did after he found them to beg for forgiveness.

“Words aren’t enough.” Borsalino said after some silence. “What I did…there’s nothing I can do to make up for that. The least I can do is to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.” Borsalino would do everything in his power to keep everyone under this roof safe.

“If this is some sense of obligation, then—”

“Don’t twist my words.” He shook his head. “I’m grateful to be here.”

“But?” Vegapunk prodded. God, Borsalino wished he’d stop with the questions.

“But nothing.” He got up from his seat. “It’s late, I’m going to bed.”

Borsalino was making deliveries when he saw them. It was just after the lunch rush and he was feeling restless so he volunteered to finish the deliveries for Sentomaru. He saw the warships at the port and his heart sank.

They’re little pizza place wasn’t so little anymore and it had an emergency transport mode for cases such as these. Borsalino glanced at his left where the sea and the marines were and to the right where his new family was located. He turned into light and headed toward the port.

Turns out he was right to do so.

The marines were locked in combat with a few pirates. Borsalino’s seen them around town, gathering supplies and crowding the bars. Some of the crew even ate at their place. He really shouldn’t interfere, but—

He saw the pirate captain. He was some wannabe bigshot who’s making a name for himself raiding and pillaging small islands in the Grand Line. He observed the fight, noting how the marines could improve in their positions. Maybe he could leave an anonymous tip before they sailed off? Momonga was leading the charge. It seemed like the vice admiral was taking point on this mission. A sense of nostalgia overcame Borsalino and a small smile crept along his face. Momonga was under his command once upon a time.

He allowed himself a moment of indulgence. He perched upon a tree branch and watched the battle as he often did on the deck of a warship. His eyes would often drift to the direction of Vegapunk and the others. He was about to leave when a devil fruit user broke through the lines and began emitting some type of gas. He couldn’t hear what was being said but the sight of marine and pirates dropping to the ground like flies was more than enough to paint him a picture of what was happening.

Borsalino was moving before he knew what he was doing.

Damn it.

He started with the pirates at the edges, taking them out one by one without using his powers.

He really shouldn’t interfere. He should have gone back home the moment he saw the marines and high-tailed it out of that island.

Borsalino covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve as he approached the area covered in the gray-blue gas. It stung the back of his throat.

He knocked out the devil fruit user and began carrying the collapsed marines to a safer area. He took some rope from their gear and tied up the pesky criminals. He just finished gagging the last of the bunch when he felt a presence behind him. He put his hands in the air as he often did and turned around, expecting the end of a sword or a rifle to be trained between his eyes.

Instead he saw Momonga, pale and a little shaky, standing in front of him in shock.

“Admiral.”

He shook his head, “Admiral Kizaru is dead, vice admiral.” he chided in a playful tone.

Momonga frowned. “I tried to contact you, sir. After the Egghead incident. I was on another mission and I wasn’t able to get there…”

Borsalino knows. He doesn’t have favorites, but he does have a handful among those under him that he almost always have in missions. A lot of them were not present during the Egghead incident.

He didn't know what Momonga wanted to say so he stayed silent.

“When I got back there were rumors. Nobody knows what happened and we couldn’t find you. And then you were declared dead.” Momonga met his eyes and still Borsalino remained silent. “You weren’t even declared missing yet. There were no investigations, no search parties. You were just declared dead, and we had to find out about it on the papers!”

“Momonga...”

“Please, sir. Come back with us to Marineford!”

Borsalino sighed, looking away from the vice admiral and toward the sea. “It would be better for both of us if you forget ever seeing me here.”

“Sir?”

“I won’t be returning to Marineford anytime soon.” Maybe ever. He never thought he’d miss the imposing walls and stifling bureaucracy of that place, but here he was, the mere mention of that place has him feeling home sick.

“But sir—”

“The world is changing, vice admiral. It doesn’t need someone like Kizaru to be there.” Borsalino said, chuckling to himself. It didn’t really need a Borsalino either, but…

“Sir, are you…?” Momonga frowned before his eyes widened in realization. “Have you spoken to any marines yet?”

“What?” Borsalino was confused, “No…why would I…?”

The vice admiral pulled out a den-den-mushi and held it out. “Please take this! It’s too dangerous to stay without contact for too long. Even if you always can’t use it, it would be much better that there will be someone who knows if you’re in trouble.”

Borsalino glanced at the den-den, “I can’t use that.”

“You’re in that deep?” He heard Momonga whisper. What was he even on about?

“Anyway,” Borsalino pulled out a notepad and began scrawling on it. “It’s not much, but here’s some of the pirates on this island. The mayor’s been adding some crazy taxes on the businesses here too, so you might want to look into it.” He handed the note to Momong with a smile. “I gotta get going. They seem to be waking up now.”

“Oi, you! You’re the one who served us pizza! What are you doing working with the Marines, are you some sort of spy!?” The captain of the pirate crew yelled out. Borsalino kicked him in the face to knock him out again.

He disappeared before Momonga could say another word. Damn it. He really should have left sooner.

The moment he returned, he forced Vegapunk to head to another island as fast as possible. When they finally put enough distance between them and the island, he came clean. After the incident with the revolutionaries, they agreed to stop having secrets especially when it endangered their family.

The pizza place was a neutral spot. They’ll serve anyone and everyone. That doesn’t mean they’ll tolerate bullshit. Anyone with malicious intent gets what’s coming for them. Some criminals were calling him a vigilante. Borsalino doesn’t like the term.

“Do you want to be a Marine again?” Sentomaru asked him once everyone was caught up on what happened.

It made Borsalino pause. “No.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t quite the truth either. He missed a lot of things but he knows he could never ever stomach being a marine again.

Two months passed and they were on a spring island. They got a call asking if they delivered. Upon checking the map, Kuma noticed that the island was just a few miles north of the one they were staying at. It could even be seen on the shores.

With nothing better to do, Borsalino agreed to deliver the pizzas. Twenty boxes were placed into a specialized carrier made by Vegapunk. Strapping it on his back, Borsalino found himself looking a little bit silly but he shrugged it off. Maybe he’ll get a nice tip if the customer thought him amusing.

With a short wave goodbye, he headed to the island at light speed. He landed on the opposite shore and looked around for the address. As much as he wanted to look for it while on air, he couldn’t afford getting seen using the powers of his devil fruit. He walked and walked, but the only things he saw were trees. There was no town or at least some cabins.

When he felt a presence a few feet to his right, he sighed. “All this trouble just to trap me?”

“It’s not a trap, admiral.”

It was Momonga and he was alone. The vice admiral walked closer. “And what is it, exactly?”

“I ordered pizza.” The vice admiral answered. “We’ll have a meeting in a few minutes and we want some food.”

Borsalino frowned. Would Momonga reveal his secret? He didn’t want to kill the Vice Admiral but if he would reveal Borsalino’s status and become a danger to his family, then Borsalino wouldn’t have any other choice.

“I’m not telling anyone I know you’re alive, sir.” Momonga said, clearing his throat. “I give you my word.”

“How did you know I’ll be near?” Borsalino asked.

“The last time we met, I asked around the island about the pizza parlor you’re working at. I tried going but you were long gone by then so I asked for the number for deliveries. You use a short-wave den-den-mushi, so the signal doesn’t come through if we’re too far away from each other. I’ve been trying to call while sailing and my call went through yesterday. I hung up after confirming I got the correct number.” Momonga replied steadily.

Borsalino scratched his forehead. Troublesome. This spells trouble, especially if it was so easy to track him down but…

Momonga was one of the honorable ones in the Marines. Borsalino really wanted to trust him, but he didn’t dare let down his guard. Perhaps he’ll check just how Momonga’s loyalty to him was.

He took off the carrier and began taking out the pizza boxes, glad that they don’t bear a logo. Bonney was upset that they were so boring-looking so they let her color the boxes whenever she felt like it. It added charm to them in Borsalino’s opinion. Besides, logos were for advertising, and they don’t want to advertise anything. They added a small menu on the side of the box, just so it doesn’t look too suspicious.

Momonga opened one box and took a slice. “This is delicious!”

“Good. I’d have to kick your ass if you insult the cook to his face.”

“You made this, sir?” Momonga sounded so surprised it was almost insulting. The vice admiral handed him the payment and Borsalino turned to leave.

“Sir?” Momonga called out.

“What is it?”

“If the men like the pizza, will you deliver to us in Marineford?” Momonga said carefully, looking at Borsalino with such focus it almost unnerved him.

“If they do, and I’m close, then perhaps.” He replied, trying to match Momonga’s tone.

“I know just the right people to ask.” Momonga said, looking relieved. “Shall I give a box to the fleet admiral? Does he have a preference?”

At the mention of the fleet admiral, Borsalino had to take a few seconds to steady himself. He’s been trying so hard not to think about that guy. “Sakazuki might enjoy a few, though you might want to give him some extra hot sauce if you’re planning to give him a box. It’ll be stale by then though.” Was Momonga trying to curry favor? He doubted it would work, but he couldn’t fault the vice admiral for trying. “If you really want him to be interested, you might get more luck with some smoked meat with lots of pepper.”

Momonga looked confused but nodded at him. “...I see. Take care, admiral!”

Borsalino told Kuma, Vegapunk, and Sentomaru what happened and they decided to wait and see if Momonga would launch an ambush for them. It was a relief when nothing happened and they saw the warships leaving a week later.

Borsalino couldn’t help but feel like he’s entered a conspiracy of some sort.

“Is this really necessary?” Borsalino asked, fidgeting with the blindfold placed on him by Sentomaru.

“Of course it is, Ojiki!”

Sentomaru led him this way and that. Borsalino tried to peek but Sentomaru always swatted his hand away. They stopped and, despite wanting to be calm about it, Borsalino felt his heart racing in excitement.

“Here. Take off your blindfold!”

He took it off, flinching back with a smile as party poppers went off. “Surprise!”

They were in the back where Vegapunk made a small nook for relaxation. It was one of Borslaino’s favorite spots. There was an enormous cake on the table, streamers were hanging everywhere, and there were a few gifts on the chairs.

“What’s all this? I thought we were just gonna eat?” He asked, leaning down to let Bonney place a party hat on his head.

“We are! But we can’t just not make it special. We weren’t able to properly celebrate last year, so we’ll make it twice as fun now!” Vegapunk said.

And so they did. They ate cake, played some games, and sang horrible karaoke. At one point, they played tag and Bonney decided they’d all be chasing Borsalino. It was terribly unfair especially when Vegapunk kept whipping out all his gadgets and Sentomaru and Kuma worked together to match his speed. He allowed Bonney to tag him and she turned him briefly into a child.

Another round of games were played afterward. He was grateful for it since he never realized how much aches and pains he was experiencing until they were just gone. He conspired with Bonney to turn Vegapunk and Sentomaru into children too. Kuma got to stay an adult because, as Kuma said, “Someone needs to supervise.” He wanted to push, but Bonney would never go against her father. Borsalino tried and she kicked him. When he turned back into an adult, he was aching all over and he knew it would only get worse after he rested. It was worth it though, especially seeing Bonney play with baby Sentomaru and Vegapunk.

“Here, Ojiki.” Sentomaru handed him a small box. It held a handsome watch with a leather strap. He has been feeling like his wrist was a little empty. He used to wear a tiny den-den there for eavesdropping. He didn’t use it much unless he had people around him who would remind him of its purpose. Borsalino turned the watch over and saw an engravement. He looked at Sentomaru in surprise before placing the watch on his wrist. Every second it ticked marked another second of his new life with his family. He would make it count. Every single one. “Thank you.” He said with a smile.

Kuma stepped forward and gave him a small paper bag. Borsalino pulled out a long knitted red scarf, he furrowed his brow at the choice of color but Kuma seemed to have seen his confusion.

“I noticed you weren’t wearing a lot of yellow, Borsalino-san. Perhaps you’re trying to distance yourself from it to avoid being recognized. I asked Vegapunk, and he said that red is your favorite color.” Kuma explained.

Red was not his favorite color…but it was close. He shot Vegapunk a look before smiling at Kuma. “Thank you, Kuma. Did you make it yourself?”

The buccaneer beamed, “I did! I felt bad that you can’t wear a lot of yellow anymore, so I added a little something at the end.”

Borsalino looked and saw a few four-pointed stars knitted by the ends of the scarf. They were barely visible in the distance, and they were practically not there if he folded it correctly. “Thank you.”

“Here, here!” Bonney cut in, giving Borsalino what looks to be like a scrapbook. “A lot of the kids helped me with this and daddy taught me how to bind it!”

Borsalino opened it and saw it filled with drawings. I wasn’t just Bonney’s drawings though. There were names of children and the islands they came from. “Are these…?”

“Some of the kids I hung out with made drawings for you when you gave them food. I was gonna give them but I forgot.” Bonney laughed sheepishly. “Then I got thinking. Since you’re always giving away free food, a lot of kids wanted to thank you so I asked them to make a drawing. It got a lot thicker than I expected so it was really hard to bind it all!”

“I don’t give free food.” Borsalino countered. At Bonney’s raised eyebrow, he corrected himself, “I give them scraps and leftovers.” They cook a lot, and when Borsalino gets into the flow, he sometimes gets carried away and they get tons of leftovers. They can’t sell day-old food so he chose to give them away instead of trashing perfectly fine meals. Some of them weren’t even touched by customers yet.

Borsalino felt heat rise to his cheeks and he redirected the attention to his favorite target for teasing—Sentomaru. “I think Sentomaru deserves this much more.” He purred, putting a hand on the younger man’s shoulder so he couldn’t get away. “Sentomaru-kun was the one who began asking the merchants for produce they were about to throw out.” It was a simple idea really. They landed on a small island with citizens barely making enough to eat for the day.

Sentomaru saw that the farmers were going to throw out the vegetables that were a little bruised and ‘didn’t look appetizing’ and there were merchants who were lamenting about other produce that were about to go bad. He gathered them and made a few hot meals using them. The following week, Sentomaru dragged Borsalino for the cooking and they made a lot more now that they somehow gained the villagers’ trust. “Just because things are a little bruised and don’t look good doesn’t mean they should be thrown away.” Sentomaru’s words made Borsalino smile, reminding him of a scratched up young boy who was abandoned by his community.

Bonney crossed her arms over her chest. “Sentomaru will get his when it’s his birthday, it’s definitely bigger than this because he’s so much nicer than you so I think I’ll make it like a streamer instead and—” Bonney covered her own mouth with a gasp, horrified at ruining the surprise. “You didn't hear anything!”

Sentomaru, glad that there was someone else who was the center of attention, began teasing Bonney.

“Actually,” Vegapunk cut in, “I have another present for you. Consider this from all of us.”

“What is it?”

Vegapunk’s robots rolled in a large object covered in a blanket. With a flourish, Vegapunk revealed a beautiful outdoor cooker. “This is a one-of-a-kind, smoker and grill. This part is the smoker, you can push this knob and—”

Borsalino rushed to see it, tinkering with everything and letting out oohs and ahhhs.

“If only Ojiki’s this enthusiastic when I try to teach him about den-den-mushis.” Sentomaru shook his head.

When Borsalino was finally done, he walked back to them beaming. He hasn’t felt that excited for so long.

“Thank you.” He said, trying to hold back tears. “I mean it. Thank you for all of this.”

“Don’t be a sap, Ojiki.” Sentomaru said, looking away, his cheeks flushed red. “You better cook up some delicious meat there, ya hear?”

Borsalino chuckled, “We’ll be adding more to the menu then?”

“What?” Kuma asked.

“That’s what this is for, right?” Borsalino asked, suddenly confused.

Kuma tilted his head to the side, “Yes, in a sense, but you don’t have to add stuff in the menu if you don’t want to.”

“What?” What was the point of getting him this beautiful smoker if he wasn’t going to use it for their business? Wasn’t that the point of all this?”

Kuma frowned, “This is for you. Vegapunk mentioned that you enjoyed smoking and grilling meat.”

Both of them were just confusing each other. Vegapunk stepped in, “This is more for you to relax and enjoy yourself, Borsalino. You don’t have to use it everyday, but it’s there if you want to.”

“So I will use it every day?” He was still not sure what they were saying. He wants to help out and continue making their business succeed. If he could do it by adding more to their ever-growing menu, then why wouldn’t he?

“If you want to.” Vegapunk said.

“So I will?” He asked again.

Vegapunk was about to reply when Kuma finally seemed to understand, “I see what’s going on. Borsalino-san, take my and Bonney’s bakery. We don’t really have a set menu. We make cakes and pastries we like and we sell them to those who want to buy them. Sometimes we take requests, but we don’t always accept them if we don’t want to. It’s the same with Sentomaru-kun, right?”

“That’s right. I make what I can catch. If someone wants time to make something specific, then they have to get me the ingredients.” Sentomaru declared.

“I know that.” He said, brow furrowing. “But it’s different.”

“How is it different?” Vegapunk asked.

They don’t have to spend the rest of their lives atoning for endless mistakes. Borsalino was fine making pizzas every day and serving as a guard for his family. He wanted them to continue doing what they wanted without worrying about the costs of maintaining their pizza place. He enjoyed what he was doing. And he was useful. He didn’t say any of this to them. He wasn’t an idiot. He knows how he sounded.

“It just is.” He said, not elaborating.

Vegapunk frowned at him before sighing, “Fine. You can add smoked meats on the menu, but you offer that like how Kuma and Sentomaru offer their products, alright? Only make them when you really really feel like it. And spend less time in the kitchen, you’re looking a little ragged.”

“That’s because we’ve been running around all day.” Borsalino waved the concern away.

“Borsalino.” Vegapunk warned. “Don’t make me make you have weekly check ups. Again.”

“”Fine, fine. I’ll prepare them in the morning and won’t make more when we’re out for the day or something.” He said half-heartedly.

“Good, I’ll add them to the menu.” Vegapunk nodded, “We’re not done with this though. You and I will talk about this long and hard some other time.”

“Ugh, feelings.” Borsalino shuddered.

That night, Vegapunk checked in on him. “Are you alright?”

Borsalino was sitting outside, indulging in a rare cigarette. “I am. But I am going up to sleep if you’re here for that little talk you threatened me with earlier.”

“Fine, be like that.” Vegapunk chuckled. “Will you at least tell me if you enjoyed yourself earlier?”

Borsalino breathed out, “Of course I did. It was perfect.”

“Still not enough to convince you though?”

“Convince me of what?” He asked.

“That we want you here.” Vegapunk said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Borsalino didn’t know what to say so he stayed silent. Vegapunk didn’t rush him for an answer nor asked any more questions. They just stayed there with their thoughts.

All in all, it was one of the best birthdays Borsalino has had for years. There was something missing though. He didn’t dwell on it too hard. There was no sense wishing for something that will never come true.

Two weeks pass and word of their new menu item has spread. When Kuma got an order for two pepperoni pizzas and a smoked meat with extra, extra, extra peppers, Borsalino had to stop the man from saying they were out. He made Kuma ask if the customer was willing to wait the next day after closing. The answer was a surprising yes.

“I take it these are marines calling?” Kuma asked.

“They won’t wait that long if they weren’t.” Borsalino replied. There was something different though. His heart was beating fast and he was barely able to get some sleep that night.

They were staying in an archipelago. The call came from an island west of them. Borsalino scouted the area above the clouds and saw just one warship in the area.

“I’m heading out now.” He called out. Vegapunk and Sentomaru were reluctant to let him go.

“Are you sure you don’t want any of us to come with you?”

“There’s no need.” Borsalino waved their worries away. “Besides, I’ve met with Momonga plenty of times already. Not to mention we just served some revolutionaries earlier. If something were to happen, they’ll come check on you~”

“That’s not what we meant!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.” Borsalino waved at them and headed out.

He reached the address no problem. He was greeted by a servant, not some chore boy he expected, and was led to the back of a small mansion, outside on the engawa.

It wasn’t Momonga who greeted him, but Borsalino couldn’t even bring himself to be surprised. He knew what was going to happen.

“You’re late.” A gust of cigar smoke accompanied the words. The man sitting on the engawa turned to look at him and he met the eyes of the fleet admiral.

“It’s free if that’ll make you feel better.” He shrugged.

He handed over the box and they both sat down. Sakazuki poured them both a cup of tea.

“Pizza Punk, really?” Sakazuki asked, opening the two boxes of pizza and positioning them between them.

“I was never the most creative person.” Borsalino replied, taking a slice. Sakazuki also got one and took a bite. He spent a few seconds chewing before humming in contentment. He was always so easy to read when it came to food, Borsalino thought with a small smile.

Sakazuki hummed, “And I suppose all the logo and drawings were your work too?”

Borsalino didn’t let anything show, though his heart rate sped up. Sakazuki sighed, “Stop acting like a criminal. The marines have no resources to arrest some washed up scientist and former slaves.”

“Who else knows?” Borsalino asked.

“No one knows for certain aside from me. The marines figured that Vegapunk, Kuma, Bonney, and Sentomaru would stick together. But you’re dead to the world. A lot are saying that it’s a marketing stunt to drive customers, but there are a lot of skeptics.” Sakazuki grumbled, pulling a piece of paper from his jacket. It was their logo. “It’s like you’re not even trying to hide.”

Borsalino looked at the logo with a faint smile. The P for Pizza had a huge apple on top despite his insistence that apples have no place in pizzas. He tried to convince Vegapunk many times to replace it with a hat.

“I’m the one who’s gonna be making most of the pizza anyway, it should be my hat there!”

“I’m the one who built this entire place!” Vegapunk countered. “And no, I will not be taking off the Punk in the name! You might as well kill me now if you want to change it so badly!”

Borsalino relented, settling for a small hat perched on top of the damned apple hat. The other P was a single-bladed ax, instead of a double-bladed ax, to the dismay of Sentomaru. The bottom was lined with gemstones of different colors. Kuma said he was more than happy with the gemstones, but Borsalino thought he wanted nothing to do with the travesty that was their logo. To make up for it, Vegapunk made a claw machine filled with stuffed bears that roughly resembled Kuma. Sentomaru was throwing the idea of making it their official mascot and was half-way through with convincing Kuma. Bonney’s even encouraged Vegapunk to make one for the other war lords and make them a collectible.

“Maybe we weren’t.” Borsalino said in a daze. They all kept saying they wanted to live a peaceful life together but what have they been doing? Kuma and Vegapunk were conspiring with the revolutionaries, Borsalino was handing off names of pirates and other criminals to Momonga. Sentomaru even let out the fact that he’s been secretly helping out local enforcers with curbing out the crime in the islands they visit. Even Bonney was being busy, beating up bullies and causing mischief with the local children.

“Do you know how much danger you’ll be in if anyone else finds out?” Sakazuki asked.

“I do.”

Sakauzki sighed, “I suppose this is a lot better than you becoming a pirate.”

“Perhaps.” Borsalino chuckled. That was a line he could never cross. The fact that he would directly be the enemy of Sakazuki was too sickening.

“And you don’t want to become a marine again?” Sakazuki asked.

“No.”

Sakazuki looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. Borsalino was suddenly on edge. Sakazuki only looks like that when he knows he has the upper hand. “Really? Word in the grapevine is Admiral Kizaru is not dead, but in deep undercover.”

“What?” Momonga’s voice suddenly rang in his mind, “You’re in that deep?”

“Some are even saying that you’re planning a coup.” Sakazuki said with a satisfied smirk.

“What!?” Was that why Momonga’s been acting so cryptic and saying weird things around him? Oh no. “I have to talk to Momonga.”

“Why bother?” Sakazuki asked.

Borsalino frowned, looking at Sakazuki clearly for the first time, “Momonga is a loyal follower of justice. He’s gathering men who want the same things as us. He spent a long time trying to see where my loyalties lie until he allowed me to talk to you.”

Momonga did all that? Borsalino was taken aback. Something else grabbed his attention, “The same thing as us?”

Sakazuki nodded, “Proper justice. Not the corrupted one we’ve been serving for decades.”

Borsalino remembered Dragon all of a sudden and his mind jumped to the revolutionaries staying in the same archipelago as they spoke. Oh dear. He hopes Sakazuki doesn't know about them and vice versa. The two forces with roughly the same goal on the same island with Pizza Punk smack dab in the middle. He wanted to slap himself to wake up from this nightmare.

“I see.” He said lamely, trying to pull himself together.

“Momonga throwing the idea that we should get you as the official caterer for the marines. At least in meetings.” Sakazuki said. “To give you an excuse to go to Marineford regularly according to him.”

“And what do you think about that?”

Sakazuki snorted, “It’s a fool’s idea. It’ll just endanger you more and add more risk to your current status.

A pity. Borsalino was already imagining a world where he would just pop in and out of Marineford without any disguises to deliver their conspiracy snacks and no one would bat an eye at his appearance. He was even thinking about ways to gaslight those not in their faction into thinking he was just a regular delivery guy.

Borsalino sighed, “You could have relayed that message to Momonga. Why show up here and endanger both our lives?”

Sakazuki huffed, offended. “It’s a little late, but here. Happy birthday.”

Sakazuki handed him a small box, pretending to eat his pizza while stealing glances. Borsalino opened it and saw a tiny den-den. “You know I can’t use this.” He frowned.

The fleet admiral took it from his hands and began showing him how it worked, “Stop messing with me, Borsalino. You push here when you hear it ringing. This is a direct line to my personal den-den. If you want to call me, press the same button. It is just one button, you cannot mess this up. Have that boy of yours teach you if you somehow forget!”

“You don’t mind that they know I’m speaking with you?”

“Don’t be an idiot.” It was the closest thing he could get to an affirmative and it made him smile. Sakazuki asked for his hand and Borsalino offered his right hand for Sakazuki to attach it. “Aren’t you endaging your position with this? I might be declared dead but I’m a wanted man once news gets out that I'm alive and well. How would that make the fleet admiral look?”

Sakazuki shook his head, “I’ll handle it. Just keep yourself safe.”

Borsalino could never follow Sakazuki’s way and justice anymore. He might even work against his old friend’s orders if pushed far enough. He hopes the day where he has to choose between his old friend and family will never come.

“Aren’t you going to offer me some of that smoked meat?” Borsalino teased.

“I’ve waited over a year for this. You cooked this for me, I’m going to eat it all."