Unexpected Assistance

Sanji didn't know why, of all places, he had decided to go sulk in the crow's nest, especially knowing Zoro was up there training. Somehow his feet had moved of their own accord and that was where he found himself. When he had burst through the trap door, he was sure that the swordsman would demand to know why he was there, but something in his face must have changed Zoro's mind. Maybe he had noticed the angry red handprint burning on his cheek.

"Whoa," the swordsman said as he carefully placed the large weight he had been holding onto the ground. "The hell happened to you?"

He wanted to tell the green-haired moron to piss off, but the words fell from his mouth before he could stop them. "I upset Nami-swan."

Much to his surprise, rather than scoff or insult him, the other man merely shrugged, used the towel around his neck to wipe some sweat off his face, and said, "She gets upset with everyone. Don't take it so personally, Stupid Cook."

Deciding to cast his already wounded pride aside, Sanji sighed, dropped down to sit cross-legged on the floor, prompting Zoro to do the same, and hung his head. "It was my fault."

He didn't need to look up to know Zoro's unscarred eye was on him. He could feel it. "So apologize," the swordsman replied simply.

"I did."

"Do it again."

"I did about a hundred times."

"Try one hundred and one."

Sanji huffed and crossed his arms. "Marimo, this might be hard for you to understand but there are times when persistence isn't the right course of action."

A disbelieving scoff accompanied Zoro's sarcastic reply. "Right."

"I'm serious," the blond insisted. Maybe teaching the muscled-brained idiot an important life lesson would get his mind off his own misery. "Especially when it comes to other people's feelings. You can't just keep imposing your will on them until they give in." His heart ached. Definitely not escaping his misery. "Even if you are trying to apologize…"

"Well…" Zoro replied in an almost unsettlingly gentle tone, "Maybe she didn't want an apology."

Sanji brought a hand up to rub at his forehead. He was had been frowning for such an extended amount of time that his brows were beginning to hurt. "What else could I have done?"

The swordsman shrugged. "Depends. What did you do?"

"I already told you, I apologized-"

"No," Zoro broke in with a slight shake of his head. "I mean, what did you do to make her so mad?"

"I bought something."

For once, Zoro actually looked at him with slight concern. "With permission…?" The green haired man ventured.

"Of course," Sanji snapped. He wasn't stupid nor did he harbor a death wish. "But she didn't know I was buying something for her."

"And when you gave it to her…"

"She got angry," Sanji finished with a groan. "But I don't know why. I bought her this beautiful necklace with a ruby pendant since she loves precious gems and I told her it was a symbol of my everlasting love for her."

The cook scowled as Zoro rolled his eyes. "Maybe she's just getting tired of all your flowery compliments and flattery. The rest of us sure are."

He should have known better than to expect Zoro to be of any help. "You," he stated haughtily, "Are an idiot, Marimo. Ladies love compliments and gifts."

Zoro gave him a hard stare that would have made him uncomfortable if he didn't know for a fact that there was nothing going on in the swordsman's brain. Finally, when Sanji was about to ask if the other man had fallen asleep with his eyes open, Zoro said, "Sometimes."

"What do you mean by that?" He was beginning to feel more and more irritated, regretting that he had allowed his feet to bring him all the way to the crow's nest.

"Women love compliments and gifts sometimes."

"All ladies should be treated like queens," he explained, trying to find more patience for the idiot sitting across from him. "And as such should be showered with praise and presents."

Zoro raised a brow at him. Somewhere in the back of his mind Sanji knew he should have been slightly thankful that the green-haired man wasn't insulting him or belittling his hurt feelings. But deep down he knew the swordsman wouldn't have done that to being with. Although they fought frequently, when matters got serious they were able to rely on one another. More or less, anyway. Besides, Sanji felt like he couldn't be that angry with Zoro. It wasn't like the muscle head was any good at romance anyway.

"Cook," Zoro replied with an almost exasperated sigh, "If you do that all the time then it loses meaning."

Sanji sent the swordsman a glare. Did he just say his heartfelt gestures were meaningless? "What?" So much for Zoro not belittling him. "What are trying to say, Marimo?"

"I'm saying," the green-haired man explained slowly, the beginnings of annoyance pushing his brows together, "That all your flattery and gift-giving isn't something new to Nami anymore. You do it all the time so it's nothing she's not used to. It's lost meaning."

The color began to drain from Sanji's already fairly pale face. As much as he didn't want to believe Zoro, the practically brainless fool's logic made sense. His stomach dropped. Was that true? Had all his affectionate actions and gestures become lackluster due to repetition?

Was Nami… Was Nami tired of his love?

"Cook. Hey, Cook." Zoro's voice sounded so distant to his troubled mind. He blinked a few times and looked at the swordsman in hazy acknowledgement. "You all right?" Had he been less troubled Sanji would have been flabbergasted at the actual concern in Zoro's voice. "You look like you're going to puke."

The blond shook his head and stood, not sure if his heart or his head felt heavier. "I'm fine, Marimo. I just… I need to go think for a bit." And without another word to the green-haired man, Sanji dropped down the hatch of the crows nest and walked slowly back to the galley.

There had to be something he could do to apologize to his beloved Nami-swan, especially now that he knew why she had been so angry. Or at least, he thought he knew. A frustrated sigh escaped him as he opened the galley door and slipped inside, turning on the lights as he did so. But what could he do? If she were tired of him…

His heart ached. If she were tired of him then all the beautiful words, all the precious gestures, all the tastiest snacks and foods in the world would do absolutely no good.

Sanji ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. If that were the case, then he would give her some space. In the mean time, he needed to keep his mind and hands busy so as not to be tempted to go find the lovely navigator and anger her further with his presence. So he did the only thing he could.

He began to cook.

"Shit."

Zoro groaned and smacked his hand to his forehead. He and the cook weren't best friends or anything, but it wasn't like he wanted the other man to suffer. Well, sometimes he did, but not emotionally. That was just cruel. The only suffering he wanted to see was physical, and only from one of their spars or arguments.

If only the stupid Love Cook hadn't moped off before he could say another word, they probably could have worked out his problem together.

Zoro rolled his unscarred eye at himself at the previous thought. No, he changed his mind. They were both men, after all. It wasn't his issue to meddle with any further than he already had and Sanji was strong enough to sort out his issues on his own.

With a determined nod, the swordsman crossed his legs and began to quietly meditate. Or he tried. The stupid cook's dumb sad puppy-dog face from before kept entering his mind and interrupting his calm mindset. Nami was stupid for assuming he would change, and he was stupid for thinking he was such a pro at romancing such a cruel and complicated woman.

"Shit!" He uncrossed his legs, stood up, and stalked towards the hatch. He needed to talk to Nami. A chill went up his spine. No, that would never work. She would never listen to him, and honestly, he didn't have the patience to deal with her.

Okay, so he couldn't talk to Nami. Luckily, he knew someone who could.

…

"Psst. Shy." It probably wasn't necessary for him to be hiding behind the mast as the redhead walked by, but he wasn't taking any chances. If the stupid cook or the sea witch saw him he'd never hear the end of it. "Shiloh!" He raised his voice just the tiniest bit as the girl swung her head around in confusion, trying to find the source of the voice calling her name. Zoro leaned out a bit and waved his arm. "Over here!"

Finally she spotted him, a mixture of confusion and amusement shining in her eyes. "Zoro?" She asked as she came closer. "What are you doing back there?"

At that point Zoro knew he was being stupid, but he grabbed the girl by the arm anyway and yanked her around the mast to join him behind it. She let out a small 'oof,' as he pulled her closer to him so he gently rubbed her arm in silent apology before letting go and whispering, "Shh. I need your help with something."

Shiloh blinked before replying with a soft, "Okay…? Do we really need to hide back here?"

"Yes," he replied firmly.

"Why?"

"Because if Nami or the Stupid Cook see us they're going to get suspicious."

"Zoro," the redhead began with a sigh, a slightly amused smile fighting to make its way to her face, "You are acting suspicious. What's going on?"

The swordsman got right to the point. "Nami and the Cook are fighting."

He watched as Shiloh's face went from surprised to somber in two seconds flat. "Oh," she uttered softly. "So that's why Nami looked so upset."

"Did she tell you what happened?"

Shiloh shook her head, her frown deepening. "No. Not even when I asked."

Well that wasn't good. If Nami didn't even want to complain about the Cook that meant she was actually angry and an enraged Nami was a danger to the whole crew. Zoro sighed. What a pain. "Can you go talk to her? If I try she won't listen to a damn thing I say."

The redhead nodded. "Okay. I'll do my best."

Zoro felt a swell of affection warm his heart despite the annoying situation he had gotten himself in the middle of. Shiloh was so dependable and agreeable, never asking unnecessary questions or complaining about the craziness that always spread like wildfire on The Thousand Sunny. He reached out and pulled her into a hug without even thinking about it. Not usually one to show much affection, he surprised himself when he instinctively planted a soft kiss on the top of Shiloh's head. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," came the just as soft, if not slightly muffled response. Zoro huffed in slight disappointment as she pulled away. "Well," she began unsurely, "I better get on that then."

He nodded, knowing that it wouldn't be an easy venture. Talking sense into Nami, particularly when she was upset was near impossible. But, if anyone could do it, he was sure Shiloh could. "Good luck."

"Um… Nami? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

It was just their luck that the navigator happened to walk onto the deck from her study a few minutes later. Zoro had intended to make himself scarce but since she had appeared much sooner than he had anticipated, he simply sat against the mast and pretended to be asleep.

"Depends," Nami replied in a suspicious voice. "About what?"

"Well…" Shiloh began with caution, "I heard that you and Sanji were fighting."

Zoro nearly cringed at Nami's harsh tone as she replied, "That idiot! He just had to go whining to someone and couldn't keep our business between us!"

"No, no!" He heard Shiloh insist quickly, "He didn't say a word to me. He doesn't even know that I know about it."

"So then how do you know about it?" The coldness in her demanding voice sent a chill down Zoro's spine. He had been on the wrong end of that voice too many times. He silently prayed to any and every deity that he didn't even believe in that Nami wouldn't be to hard on the shorter woman.

"Um… intuition?" The swordsman sent a silent thank you towards the redhead for not revealing his part in the situation. Nami was sure to be harsher with him than with Shiloh if she found out.

"I can tell you're lying," the navigator replied flatly.

"I know," Shiloh sighed. "But seriously, Nami. What happened?" When no response came, Zoro was almost certain the bustier woman was going to walk away without another word. But then he heard Shiloh ask gently, "Don't you want to talk about it?" and instantly knew the redhead was giving Nami a doe-eyed and very sincerely caring look that was difficult to not succumb to. He had fallen to her honest, caring demeanor many times. It was hard not to resist someone who genuinely seemed to care.

As he predicted, Nami gave in with a sigh and answered, "I just don't understand him sometimes, Shy." Zoro cracked his unscarred eye open to find the two women sitting on the grassy deck, Nami thankfully with her back towards him. Shiloh caught his eye for the briefest moment before returning her attention to the navigator before her. "He says all these things but I don't know if he really means them most of the time."

"Of course he does," Shiloh reassured her with earnest. "Sanji would give you the world if he could, you know that."

"I do know that," Nami replied so softly Zoro barely heard. "I do…"

"So then, what's the real problem?"

Zoro almost felt bad about how lost the navigator suddenly looked. Seeing the usually strong and commanding woman so down made him feel uncomfortable and irritated all at the same time. Sure, he and Nami weren't the best of friends, but she was still his crewmate, which meant she was family and he wouldn't ever truly wish anything bad upon her. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he'd rather be on the rough end of her temper than see her looking so upset.

"I don't know, Shy," Nami admitted as she brought her head into her hands. "He bought this beautiful necklace for me today and said it was a symbol of his everlasting love and it made me so angry."

"But you love jewelry."

"Yeah, but I didn't want him to spend his money on me. He's been saving for some new things for the galley and instead he goes and blows it on something stupid."

Zoro sighed internally. He didn't know the Cook had been saving money for anything specific. The swordsman could understand the blond wanting to do something nice for Nami, but he could also understand the navigator's anger. He would be upset too if Shiloh gave up something she wanted just to please him.

The shorter redhead seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she took a long breath and said, "I get where you're coming from, Nami. It made you feel bad that he spent his savings on you rather than something he actually needed." Nami nodded and opened her mouth to speak but Shiloh continued before she could begin, "But doesn't that just mean he loves you more than he needs whatever it was he was saving for?"

Nami seemed to consider Shiloh's words before letting out another sigh. "I mean, yeah, I guess." She paused to anxiously twirl a lock of long orange hair around her finger. "But it wasn't just the necklace. It's what he said."

"The thing about everlasting love?"

"Yeah. Jewelry doesn't last forever. It gets lost or sold or stolen or darkens with age. That's a horrible representation of love."

Zoro thought it was incredibly brave of Shiloh to begin laughing at Nami's comment. When the navigator's shoulder tensed up, he knew she was preparing for a blow and hoped Shiloh braced herself.

But she simply shook her head and gently put a hand on Nami's knee. "Nami, I think you're taking what Sanji said too literally. You know he's overly poetic and sappy. There's no point in taking those words seriously."

"That's part of the problem," Nami grumped. Thankfully, it didn't look like she was going to hit the giggling redhead anymore. Zoro wasn't really sure how he was supposed to react if she had. "How can I trust he's being genuine if I can't take what he says at face value?"

Shiloh gave the busty woman a curiously searching look; one that made Zoro blush and look away from the two. He had been on the opposite end of that look before and something about her deep gaze had made him feel incredibly naked before the young woman. It was as if she had been looking right into his very soul.

Nami must have felt it too, because he saw her shift uncomfortably as she asked roughly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I think I get what's going on."

"What do you mean?"

Shiloh smiled gently. "Well, you and Sanji have been together for a while now, so you're starting to show more affection. The thing is," she continued softly, "You don't do it the same way so you're misunderstanding each other."

"Shy," the orange-haired woman groused, "You're not making any sense."

"Think of it this way," the redhead explained. "Everyone has some form of communication with others, right?" Nami nodded. "Well, affection is a form of communication too, like a language. Sometimes yours is the same as someone else's and sometimes it's not. In terms of affection, you and Sanji just don't speak the same language."

From his hiding spot, Zoro scratched his head, confused. However, he could tell it had somehow struck a cord with Nami because understanding lit up her eyes. Yet she still seemed troubled.

"But if that's true, then that means we're just not meant to work out."

Shiloh let out a small laugh and nudged the navigator's knee with her knuckles. "That's a little pessimistic, don't you think? You just have to learn to speak his language a little. Then he'll be able to understand yours a bit better."

"So… I should flatter him all the time and proclaim our love to the heavens once in a while?" It would have been funny if Nami hadn't been wearing such a serious expression. Zoro had a horrible momentary flashback to when Sanji had been stuck in the navigator's body and shuddered. He really hoped that wasn't the advice Shiloh was going to give.

The redhead snorted. "No." After a short, thoughtful pause she corrected, "Well, not exactly. You probably should compliment him and profess your love but in your own way. Like, since it's not your style to scream it for everyone to hear, maybe you can write him a note or whisper it to him when he least expects it."

Nami's face relaxed into a half-surprised, half impressed smile. "You know, Shy, that might actually be a good idea." More to herself than to Shiloh, she continued, "Speak to Sanji the same way he speaks to me but in my own way."

The busty woman's grin widened as Shiloh nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly."

Zoro let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He mentally gave himself a pat of the back for asking Shiloh to speak with Nami. Deep down he had known she would have been the perfect person to do it; she seemed to have a natural talent for solving people's pointless emotional problems.

The navigator leaned back on her hands and looked thoughtfully up at the sky. "Everyone has their own way of showing affection, huh?" She said softly. With an almost teasing glance at the shorter redhead, she asked, "So what about Zoro?"

Shiloh looked almost as taken aback by the question as the hidden swordsman felt. Despite the redhead not having said a word in response yet, his ears were burning. "Huh?"

Nami giggled, a welcome sound despite his embarrassment at her question. "How does Zoro show affection? Or does he at all? I've always kind of thought he was an emotional mute."

Honestly, he felt a little insulted. If he weren't so relieved that the sadness had finally left the navigator's eyes he would have mentally and silently thrown an insult her way at the jab. Instead he looked to Shiloh who had once again caught his eye for the briefest moment before she looked away with a blush.

"Well…"

Zoro's stomach flipped. She wasn't really going to answer, was she?

Shiloh offered the navigator a shy smile, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she said so quietly Zoro almost missed it: "Zoro's very affectionate."

I am?

"He just doesn't know it," The redhead gave a little laugh and shrugged. "And I don't really know how to explain it."

Nami joined in on the quiet giggling. "Figures."

Zoro scowled as the two exchanged knowing glances. But what was it that they knew? All of a sudden it seemed like a silent understanding had passed between the two women, but he had no idea how or what had happened to cause it. Sanji had said something once about women being able to communicate without ever saying a word and he had thought at the time that the cook was just spouting his usual nonsense. But in that moment, watching Shiloh and Nami laugh and trade pointed looks, he actually believed the damned curly-browed blond. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. Why were women so complicated anyway and when the hell had he even started to notice that they were?

Before he could dwell on it any longer, Nami had stood up with a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. "All right, Shy," she proclaimed confidently. "I'm going to give it a shot. But if it doesn't work I'm charging you for this little chat."

Shiloh gave her a slightly nervous grin. "Come on, don't shoot the messenger."

Nami tapped the top of the shorter woman's head with her knuckles. "Well then who sent you, huh?"

"Uh…"

"That's what I thought. Pray that this goes well." And with that she began to walk towards the galley.

"Don't worry," Shiloh called softly after her. "I will."

"What was that all about?" Zoro demanded as he emerged from his hiding place.

Shiloh looked away with an incredibly telling blush on her cheeks. "What was what all about?" She asked none too innocently.

The swordsman crossed his arms and looked pointedly away but couldn't hide the slight embarrassment he was feeling at what he was about to say. "I'm not affectionate…"

He was caught entirely off guard when Shiloh let out a laugh and sent him a teasing grin. "You are too, you big dummy."

It had to be the first time she had actually aimed an insult towards him and somehow it made him snort. "I'm the dummy? You're the one who's seeing things."

"I'm not seeing things," she countered as she moved to walk past him. "You're just blind."

He held out his arm so she couldn't pass. "Humor me then," the swordsman said with a grin. The arm he had thrown out moved so he could put his hand on top of Shiloh's head. "In what way am I affectionate?"

Shiloh looked up, as if trying to look at his hand, giving the impression that she was cross-eyed. Zoro couldn't help but chuckle at how silly she looked. However, she pointed right at his arm and replied, "Like that. You touch me a lot." He blushed at her words and removed his hand as if her red hair had burned him. "Not like that," Shiloh corrected hurriedly with a poorly hidden blush of her own. "But like, you always give me these little touches like patting my head or rubbing my arm. Like earlier when you pulled me behind the mast when you wanted to talk to me about Nami. You grabbed me by the arm and then right after you rubbed it. And whenever you thank me for something you kiss my forehead."

Zoro was sure his head was about to explode with how hot his face felt. Turning around and crossing his arms, he began to walk away and grumbled, "I do not."

He started walking faster when he heard Shiloh's footsteps approaching him. She giggled and replied, "Yes, you do!"

"Do not!" The swordsman knew it was immature, but he took off at a run towards the men's quarters. But, despite his embarrassment, he couldn't help but smile when he heard laughing behind him and the sound of the redhead on his heels. Turning abruptly, he nearly tripped over the small woman but managed to practically jump over her just in time.

"No fair!" Shiloh barely managed to say through fits of laughter. "Get back here so I can disagree with you more!"

He snorted and looked back, sending her a teasing smirk. "You'll have to catch me first, you pint-sized punk."

Nami's eyes widened at the impressive array of desserts practically filling the entire galley. Pastries were piled high on plates, multiple layered cakes towering high on the countertops. There were little cups of parfait on the table, along with glasses full of mousse and cream. Sanji had definitely kept himself busy.

Said chef was behind the counter, his golden hair barely visible as he swiftly mixed something pink in a bowl. Nami took a deep breath, her heart skipping a beat, suddenly nervous about the conversation she was about to have with her prince. She told herself to keep her temper in check and try to remember Shiloh's advice. "Talk to him in a way he can understand. Speak his language."

"Sanji."

The poor blond startled so badly he nearly dropped the bowl right to the floor. "N-Nami-swan!" He exclaimed, hurriedly walking around the counter. "I, um, I just wanted to say… uh, I wanted to tell you…"

The navigator couldn't help but give a soft smile. Bless his heart; he really did try to please her in everything he did. Taking a step forward that caused Sanji to immediately stop talking, Nami slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "What is it?" She whispered gently.

She could feel him swallow hard before he breathed, "I'm sorry about the necklace. I thought you'd like it but I guess I was wrong."

"Sanji," she said, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I loved the necklace." As she expected, the cook looked absolutely flummoxed. Of course he did, she had made such a big deal about it. With a deep breath, Nami leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. "But I love you more. That's why I got upset. I love you so much that it hurt that you bought something for me instead of saving for the things you needed. I want you to get the things you want too. Because," she felt heat rise up to her cheeks at the words she was about to say, "My prince deserves the best too."

She didn't have time to feel too embarrassed because as soon as the words had left her mouth, Sanji placed his over hers.

That was it. In that moment, she knew that neither of them needed any more words. Everything she had planned to say disappeared in the heat of their kiss. Sanji knew he was forgiven and now understood her feelings. She was no longer upset, the fire of anger cooling and giving way to the warmth of affection.

All that was left to do was to keep making up.

He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming right? Somehow he had fallen asleep in the middle of making strawberry mousse and was now dreaming of Nami's sweet lips on his. There was no way she had come in and told him such beautiful words. There was no way she wasn't still angry with him for using money on something she didn't want. There was no way she had forgiven him for repeatedly fawning over her like some doting weirdo.

But there was absolutely no way he had fallen asleep while cooking.

It was real. She was real, her soft lips against his own, her warm body pressed up against him. Somehow he had been forgiven. Somehow she was no longer angry. Somehow, she still loved him despite her tiredness of his antics.

He couldn't believe it, and yet he did.

Wrapping his arms more securely around the navigator, Sanji hoped she could feel how much he loved her through his tight embrace. She was everything he ever wanted and more. He could tone down the romantic gestures for her, especially if it meant she would sometimes treat him to such lovely words.

She was worth it. More than worth it.

Nami was his lovely lady, his beautiful goddess, his queen. And he would treat her like one.

On her terms, of course.

After an impromptu dessert party, Sanji found Zoro lying on the grass like the lazy plant he was. Taking a long drag from the cigarette between his teeth, he walked over to the swordsman and sat down next to him. "Marimo," he called.

"Shit Cook," Zoro acknowledge in an almost polite tone.

Sanji wasn't sure how to say what he wanted, or that he even wanted to really, so, after letting a large cloud of smoke puff from his lips, he shrugged and said simply, "Thanks."

Surprised, Zoro sat up, quirked a brow and grunted, "Huh? What the hell for?"

"For helping me with Nami."

The swordsman glared at the cook, suspicion all too evident in his unscarred eye. Sanji could have sworn he saw the man reaching for his swords. "Is this a trick? I could care less about you and Nami."

"Yeah, sure," Sanji replied sarcastically. "Because you definitely didn't enlist Shiloh's help in talking to her." The blond knew he got him there; Zoro might have been an arrogant prick, but he wasn't a liar. As he expected, the swordsman stayed silent.

"Whatever…" he finally grunted.

Smirking, Sanji stood back up, dusting off the front of his pants as he did so and said, "Let me know if you ever need help with Shy."

Zoro sent him a glare. "As if I'd need your shitty help."

The chef scoffed. Did the idiot forget who even encouraged him to give Shiloh a chance? Zoro seemed to remember that exact thing because his eye widened momentarily before he fixated it on the grass with a mumbled, "Fuck." As Sanji chuckled, the swordsman let out a dramatic sigh before sending the cook a smirk of his own. "You got me there, Curly-Brow."

"Don't be nice," Sanji replied. "It's weird."

"Like your eyebrows."

Sanji rolled his eyes and began to walk away to find his lovely Nami-swan, but he made sure to call back to the swordsman, "I made sake infused dark chocolate for you to show my gratitude. It's in the fridge. Share some with Shy."

Before he rounded the corner. Sanji couldn't help but smile as he heard Zoro repeat his words: "Don't be nice! It's weird!"

Zoro had decided to go see the dessert Sanji was talking about since he had nothing better to do anyway. But when he opened the galley, he was met with the sight of Shiloh sitting at the table with her head down as she clutched her stomach. He raised a brow at her pained moan.

"What the hell happened to you?"

The girl raised her head with what looked like much effort and replied, "Too many sweets…"

The swordsman snorted and took a seat beside her, deciding to save the chocolate for later. He wasn't really in the mood for sweets anyway. "You shouldn't have stuffed yourself full of them then."

Shiloh gave a small giggle that gave way to a groan. "It was so worth it. One day when I get married, I'm going to make sure Sanji caters my wedding or die trying."

Zoro rolled his eye but sent the girl a small smile. "Don't let him hear you say that. His head is big enough already."

"He deserves it though." She pushed herself up so she could turn to look at the swordsman, cheek in her hand. "So I'm guessing everything worked out between him and Nami?"

Zoro snorted. He decided not to tell the redhead that he had seen them making out around the corner just outside the galley. Instead, he scooted a little closer to her, wrapped an arm around her back, and laid his head on her small shoulder.

"Trust me," he said, "They're going to be just fine."

a/n

So, I forgot I was even working on this until I spotted the document on my desktop. Whoops! Just a little fluff to make it through the day. Thanks for reading!