But Do You Love Me? (Sanji Learns Avisa's True Feelings)

Avisa thought about her conversation with Nami and Robin. She realized that the Straw Hats were wiser than half the people she had met in her lifetime. Sure, they were silly and made mistakes too. But their loyalty to each other and their ideals demonstrated to Avisa that these people knew what kind of life was worth living. She smiled slightly as she did more practicing with her devil fruit powers. They were all growing on her fast and though she didn't know what would happen after the island, she knew that she would be the better for having met them all.

Robin especially surprised her sometimes. She had a kind of motherly care for the crew—and especially Chopper—that warmed Avisa's heart. But she also said the most disturbing stuff sometimes. Avisa had learned to love her dark humour though. She would laugh heartily now whenever she said dark stuff. And although Robin was quiet mostly, when she did say things, they were often very worth listening to.

And Nami and her were also becoming better friends overtime now that she was spending more time with her. Nami seemed to be happy about Sanji and Avisa's relationship. She wasn't sure how Nami would react, but she seemed to be happy that Sanji had finally found love. Avisa had a feeling though that Nami and Robin were concerned Avisa might break his heart, but after their conversation, it seemed as if that anxiety was eased.

As she was thinking on these things, she saw Zoro out of the corner of her eye walking towards her.

"Hey, Zoro. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just going to use that weight if you're finished with it. How is your practicing going?" He looked up at the very heavy weight that she held effortlessly now in the air.

She lowered it slowly and replied, "I'm doing much better, I think. I'm working now a bit more on precision and accuracy though because that part is something I'm still fuzzy on."

He nodded silently as he moved towards the weight. He was sometimes such a quiet guy and she often wondered what he thought about most of the time.

"Zoro..." she began.

"Yes?"

She paused for a second before she continued, "You will still be friends with me even if I'm dating Sanji, right?"

He looked at her confused for a second and replied, "Yeah, I don't really care what you two are up to. I'm happy if you guys are happy but that doesn't change anything for me."

She smiled mischievously and teased, "So you're saying you're happy if Sanji's happy? Does that mean you care about him?"

Avisa caught a slight blush on Zoro's cheeks as he said, "I care about him. I still find the bastard irritating though."

Avisa chuckled a little. She figured that was the closest she'd ever come to hearing Zoro admit he liked Sanji. "Fair enough. I'll leave you to your workout then," she said as she walked back towards the kitchen. It was almost time to start preparing the food for supper.

She saw Sanji starting to tenderize some meat as she walked in. He looked up and smiled brightly before walking over to her and embracing her. "I've missed you, my love," he said as he kissed her.

Avisa rolled her eyes. "We've only been apart for a few hours."

He pouted as he said, "But it feels like years."

Avisa laughed and gave him a kiss before she moved towards the kitchen and started laying out vegetables for the meal.

...

As Avisa helped clean the kitchen after supper, she felt Sanji turn her around before he pressed her against the counter and kissed her deeply. They held each other for a while as they explored each other's mouths with their tongues and moaned regularly in pleasure. Then they heard an insinuating whistle and a cough behind them and looked over to see that some of the crew were still there. Brook had evidently whistled, and it was Nami that coughed to get their attention. "We're still here," she said.

"Sorry, Nami-san," Sanji said with a smile before he kissed Avisa on the forehead and continued with his cleaning.

Avisa blushed. "Yeah, sorry. I guess we got carried away."

Nami sighed. "It's fine. Just keep the kissing and groping to a minimum please."

Avisa blushed even deeper but nodded.

"I don't mind," Brook said with a smile.

Zoro scowled a bit as he said, "I agree with Nami. Keep it to a minimum love-cook."

Sanji turned around and scowled back. "Mind your own business, moss-head," he growled.

Okay, guess they're going at it again.

The swordsman got up and walked over to grab Sanji's collar before he replied, "I'm telling you to take your own business elsewhere."

Avisa smirked and before she thought better of it, she said, "Oh, we can take it to another room if you wish."

"Yohohoho..."

She heard Brook's laugh behind her and smiled a bit as she saw both Sanji and Zoro freeze before looking at her in shock. Their faces blushed a little before Sanji smirked and nodded his head in agreement while Zoro pushed him away and grumbled, "That's not what I meant."

He stomped out of the room and muttered some choice words under his breath. She winked at Sanji before she turned around and began cleaning again. He blushed a little more as she did so.

...

That evening Sanji took Avisa out onto the deck and made a little picnic of desserts for them. He had candles and even found some flowers somewhere to give to her. She smiled and kissed him before she sat down to enjoy the delicious cake and baked goods he had made. It was a little over the top, but she enjoyed it. The last guy she had considered dating had never been very romantic, and though at the time she had convinced herself that she would be fine with that, she knew deep down that she was a romantic herself and wanted someone who appreciated that. So it was nice to finally have someone that matched her expectations—and even exceeded them.

"This is delicious," she said as she gobbled down a second helping of the chocolate cake he made.

Sanji smiled and blushed. "I'm glad you like it. It's a new recipe I made for you."

"Really? That's really sweet of you Sanji."

"Anything for you, my love." He leaned over and wiped some chocolate off her face and licked it off his thumb before he kissed her.

When he broke away, Avisa looked at him seriously for a second before she asked, "You asked me before if I had been in a relationship and I explained my past a bit but..."

Sanji's eyebrows furrowed in concern as he waited for her to continue.

"Well, you never really said anything about your past relationships. You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to but you're such a great guy that I have trouble believing you haven't been in a committed relationship before."

Sanji's face twisted a bit in discomfort. It seemed she had struck a nerve.

I hope I haven't said something stupid.

"I've had romantic flings before and plenty of my own infatuations with women but..."

He sighed before he continued, "They usually got tired of me eventually or didn't really want me as I wanted them. Some have even pretended to share my feelings and then..."

He sighed heavily and lit a cigarette. He took a drag of it before he looked at Avisa with cold eyes. She shivered a bit. It was so unlike his usual expression that she felt her heart twist a bit in pain.

"So, no. I haven't had a committed relationship—at least not one that went both ways."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "They should have treated you better."

He smiled sadly as he asked, "Are you really sure you care for me? I know I'm not an easy person to love."

"How can you ask that Sanji? Of course I care for you."

"But do you love me?"

Avisa placed her hand on his cheek and looked in his eyes as she replied, "Somehow, I love you more than I love anything in the world, I think. I would follow you to hell and back if that's what it took to be next to you." She kissed him softly—avoiding his cigarette—before she added, "And I have never found it easier to love someone. You are a treasure that I wouldn't give up for anything."

Sanji smiled and looked at her in awe before he took out his cigarette and kissed her. He wrapped his hand around her head and pulled her closer before she started to lean over him, and he laid down on the picnic blanket. They kissed deeply as his hands wandered over her waist and then her breasts. Finally, she pulled back a little from their kiss to suggest, "Should we take this inside?"