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It happens all at once. There's a lot of scuffling and banging that leads up to it but then there's a single, large slam that echoes out from the top of Arlong Park.
Sanji feels his mouth drop open as he stares up at it, watching the debris and dust burst out from the tower. The tower shakes with the impact of whatever's going on inside, and it reverberates through the ground enough that Nojiko gasps next to him and Genzo steadies his palms to the concrete, staring wildly around them.
Sanji, however, continues to stare up. He knows that sound, the feeling that's coming with it, and then the silence that falls directly after. Something plummets in his gut.
"What was that?" Usopp calls out in horror.
"I'm not sure!" Nojiko calls back, voice slightly shaky. "Something big!"
Genzo finally looks up at the ground stops shaking. "They stopped?"
"Yes," Sanji finally says. "It's over."
"Over?" Nojiko asks.
"What do you mean over?" Usopp asks. "Did we win?! Did--?!" His question cuts itself off with a sharp slice, like he's just realized the question he's about to ask is going to come with an implication.
Did Arlong win? he would ask.
Did Luffy lose? it would imply.
Is Luffy...? would go unspoken.
Sanji unfolds himself from the ground and stands. His hip is blazing and there's a knot in the space between his neck and his left shoulder that burns when he stretches his head to the side. Still, he keeps his gaze on the top floor as the dust settles. His heart pounds inside of his chest, hollow with shallow breaths. He only left the Baratie about four hours ago, and yet the fear of the unknown sea ahead felt nothing like this; it felt nothing like staring up at this tower with no clue who was about to walk out. He can't stand it. He can't stand the unknown - he's never been able to. He spent his life seeking answers. Why don't oil and water mix? Why does the sharpness of a knife effect the way an onion's juice stings your eyes? Why do some chef's hats have more pleats than others? And now this: why the hell is he staring up at a tower on the verge of collapsing back down to the concrete?
He moves his legs before his body has the chance to even consider dropping. Distantly he hears someone call out for him, but he hurdles one of the broken stones and skids through the doorway of Arlong Tower. He doesn't take his time looking around - couldn't really care less what the interior of this godforsaken place looks like - and instead takes the stairs two or three at a time.
By the time he's reached the top floor and doesn't see any more stairs, he slams into the door with his shoulder to find it locked. He slams his body into it once more, then twice, then finally it slams open with his weight and he stumbles sideways into the room. His gaze zips past scattered pages and debris and broken desks until finally - finally - he finds him standing there: Luffy, upright, staring directly back at Sanji.
"It's done," Luffy says simply.
Sanji stares at him for one breath, then another, and then he's storming across the room as relief bursts through his veins. He steps carelessly over Arlong's body and then reaches forward to tangle a hand in Luffy's shirt and yanks him forward against his chest, wrapping his other arm tightly around him to hold him there. "Are you a goddamn moron?!"
"Huh?" Luffy asks, muffled against his shoulder.
Sanji sighs out, eyes closing as the tension and panic leaves his body. "Why the hell would you take him all the way up here alone where we can't help you?"
"It just happened," Luffy says. His arms tentatively wrap around Sanji to return the hug. "You already did what you needed to. It was my turn."
Sanji breathes him in and then pulls back just enough to look at him. "We had no idea what was happening up here. We thought-- I thought-- We didn't know if--"
Luffy tilts his head to the side, watching Sanji stutter through his words.
"Fuck," Sanji exhales and shakes his head, trying to clear his train of thought. "I didn't know if it was you or him."
"It was me," Luffy says, and then adds, easily: "it'll always be me. As long as I have you all with me, it'll never be him. Or anyone else."
Sanji closes his eyes and drops his head forward, enough that his forehead rests just at the top of Luffy's. "It's only been four hours. How am I supposed to survive months on the sea with you?" He opens his eyes again in time to see Luffy's eyes crinkle, smile spreading wide across his face. "Don't laugh, I'm serious," Sanji says, though the lightness of his voice gives him away. It's easier to breathe now that he can see Luffy in front of him again, feel him beneath his hands.
He lifts his head again, enough to look directly at Luffy, and then snakes one of his hands up to the back of Luffy's head. He tangles his fingers in the damp hair there and then pulls, angling Luffy's head enough that Luffy's looking directly up at him. "No more getting yourself locked in concrete, you hear me?"
"Even if you're around to save me?" Luffy asks, unperturbed by the stretch of his neck.
"I'll always be around to save you. But make better choices."
Luffy smiles up at him. "I chose you from the Baratie, didn't I?"
"Mm," he hums, "the only good choice you've made since I've known you.
"I make good choices all the time!"
"I really doubt that."
Luffy blinks slowly up at him, eyes comically round. Quietly, almost like a whisper, he suddenly asks, "do you want to leave?"
Sanji stares at him, stunned at the idea of this thought even crossing Luffy's mind. "Are you bent? I'm in this 'til the end, idiot. If you can make dumb choices, so can I."
Luffy's grin stretches wide again and his arms tighten just a bit around Sanji's waist. "Good. And you're gonna love Merry."
"I look forward to meeting her. I shall treat her like any lady deserves."
"I know you will."
Sanji stares down at him, eyes flicking between Luffy's. Quietly, suddenly, like it's beyond his control, he says: "thank you."
Luffy's brows pop just a touch. "For what?"
"For choosing me. Taking me along."
Luffy laughs. "There was no other way."
Sanji feels his mouth curve up, and then he leans down and presses a small kiss to Luffy's cheek.
"Oh!"
Sanji stands up again, looking down at him in question. "Was that okay?"
Luffy blinks up at him owlishly. "Yeah. That was nice."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm," Luffy nods. "Yeah. I like that. You can do that again. Like, whenever."
Sanji's body shakes in Luffy's arms with the soft laugh that escapes him. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Like now. Like you could do it again now, I mean."
"Oh, can I?"
Luffy nods up at him enough that Sanji releases the hold he's had on Luffy's hair this whole time. Instead, Sanji snakes his hand around to Luffy's cheek and angles his head up just a bit more toward himself. He leans down, pauses momentarily in question, and when Luffy gives him another nod, he closes the gap and kisses him properly.
"Yeah," Luffy agrees, when they finally pull apart, "I made the right choice."
Sanji smiles down at him. "Yeah. Pretty sure I did too."