Sanji and Avisa Confess to the Crew

The rest of the morning, Avisa felt like she was floating and often found herself smiling to herself or humming a happy tune. Even though she still had a lot of anxiety, her heart was filled with warmth whenever she saw Sanji or thought of him. They had agreed that they would try and keep the public displays of affection to a minimum on the ship for everyone else's sake, but Sanji was not very enthused about this. She was not surprised, and she had a feeling it was pointless to try and stop Sanji from showing his affection, even if it did eventually become deeply uncomfortable for some people.

They hadn't told anyone yet that they were together but chose to wait until an opportunity came up to tell them. Avisa had a feeling though that they'd figure things out pretty fast, or at least question things, since they both couldn't help but act different.

Just as Avisa was thinking on this and helping Sanji prepare lunch, she felt him close behind her as he began to kiss her neck and place his hands on her waist. "Sanji, aren't you supposed to be working on that soup?"

"Mmm...yes, but you are more delectable," he said between kisses.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the crew won't share that enthusiasm, so you should probably continue-"

She paused as she saw Zoro come through the doorway. He stared for a second as Sanji stopped kissing her but then he just continued down the hall without saying anything.

"Well, that was awkward," she said.

They saw him come back and he looked at them in surprise before he said, "Which way is the main deck?"

Sanji let out an exasperated sigh as he pointed and said, "It's that way you idiot."

"Whatever, love-cook."

They watched as he took Sanji's directions though and walked through the same door he entered through.

Avisa chuckled a bit before she said, "You should probably get back to that soup now."

Sanji had a disappointed expression but nodded and went back to stirring the soup and adding other ingredients.

Then she asked, "Now that we're together like this, how do you plan on treating other women?" She had been scared to ask this question ever since this morning. She knew he was a compulsive flirt, which she didn't mind so much, as long as it was clear he was loyal to her. But she actually wasn't sure how far his womanizing went.

He looked back over his shoulder and his eyebrows furrowed as he said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you plan on flirting with other women? Do you plan to give more attention to me and not others? I'm just concerned that you might not be satisfied if..."

She paused as he leaned against the counter. "I don't know that you'll want just me," she finished.

He looked at her with surprise. "I will always be loyal to you, my love. There's no question about that." He moved so that he cupped her face with his hands before adding, "I may care about other women, but I do not love them as I love you."

Her heartbeat quickened a bit as she nodded and said, "I don't mind you being flirtatious really...or finding other people attractive. I just want it to be clear that you are mine."

He smiled as she said this and kissed her before he responded, "I am all yours. I would do anything for you Avisa-chan. And if I ever do anything to make you doubt that, you can hit me over the head with your pistol all you want."

She laughed and replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

As she turned to finish cutting the loaf of bread behind her and Sanji went back to his task, they started to hear the sound of various crew members starting to come for lunch.

The dining room was soon filled with the sound of raucous chatter as they waited for the food to be served. Finally, Avisa and Sanji brought the food over and sat down themselves to eat. Avisa sighed as she realized that she didn't bring herself any utensils. Sanji noticed her start to get up and he gently grabbed her wrist before he said, "No, don't get up my love. I'll get it for you."

She noticed some of the chatter died down a bit as Sanji got up, but thought it was strange since he usually treated woman that way. Then she saw Nami staring at her confused as she said, "That's a new nickname. I've never heard Sanji use that one before."

Sanji heard this and gave Nami a smile as he sat back down and said, "It's because Avisa-chan is now my lover."

Avisa choked a bit on her drink as he said this.

Nami's eyes went wide as she said, "Really?"

Avisa nodded a little as she coughed and then she said, "I wouldn't have phrased it quite that, but yes, Sanji and I are in a romantic relationship." The table went quiet at that confession and most of the table stared at them waiting for an explanation.

Sanji grinned proudly as he said, "That's why we were late to start on breakfast this morning."

What the fuck?

She slapped Sanji's arm a little as the table erupted in various reactions. Some were congratulating Sanji—mainly Brook. And some were sitting with their mouths wide open in shock at this confession. Zoro looked a little surprised but went back to eating his food in silence. And some, like Luffy, laughed heartily.

Sanji looked down at her a little apologetically and said, "I might have gone a bit too far with the honesty."

"You think?"

When the table finally calmed down a little and people began to eat again, she still found that many of the crew were still watching them curiously at times. She felt Sanji's hand find hers and he held it as he ate. He looked happy.

He seemed to notice her gaze and looked at her confused with his cheeks full of food. She smiled at him and reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek. He blushed a little as she kissed him and she went back to eating her own food.

She saw a few of the crew smile at this in the corner of her eye but they pretended not to notice as they ate their food and continued chatting amongst themselves.

...

After the meal was finished, Avisa decided to go and do some practicing of her devil fruit powers. Most of the crew was on the deck at this point doing various tasks. Sanji was inside the kitchen creating a list of supplies they would need when they finally got to land again.

Avisa was getting better with her powers and she now moved Zoro's heaviest weight for the first time from one end of the ship to the other.

Nami and Robin were behind her lounging with drinks and clapped behind her enthusiastically as they saw this.

She turned around and grinned. "Thank you," she said as she bowed dramatically.

She came over and grabbed her own drink and took a sip as she looked at the ocean and thought about her home island and how fast it was approaching. She hoped that she would be strong enough to face Lord Dinero and his men by the time they got there. She knew the Straw Hats would be able to help her, but she also knew that it was a bad idea to underestimate Lord Dinero. He was not just strong and ruthless—he was cunning as well. He had no doubt concocted a plan to get to her for revenge and her family was likely a part of that plan. Whether they were dead or alive, she knew they would be bait. It also bothered her that he had figured out her disguise. She still didn't know how he figured it out—or when—and she feared there was a lot more to him than she thought.

"Hey, what are you thinking so seriously about? Are you thinking of how you will murder the man that wants to kill your family? I have some ideas if you want suggestions."

Avisa laughed a little as she turned to Robin. "That's not quite what I was thinking about, but I may take some of your suggestions just in case," she replied.

Nami smirked mischievously as she asked, "Are you thinking up new ways to seduce Sanji?"

Avisa blushed a little as she said, "No, that wasn't it either. And I'm pretty sure I don't have to do much to seduce him."

Nami giggled and said, "That's probably true."

Avisa sighed as she said, "I was just worried about my family and what lies ahead for me at home."

There was a pause, and then Avisa asked, "Sanji falls hard for women, doesn't he?"

They both seemed surprised by the question a bit, but Nami replied, "Yes, I think so. Why do you ask?"

"Do you think he could ever really commit to one?"

Nami smiled a little as she said, "I think Sanji is the kind of guy who would follow a woman anywhere and do anything for her if he knew she loved him back. I think the woman who truly loves him would have his heart forever." She paused for a second looking at Avisa thoughtfully and finally asked, "Do you love him?"

Avisa's eyes widened in surprise a bit at Nami's question, but she sat down and stirred her drink a little before she looked back up at the both of them and said, "I've only known him for a few weeks, but I couldn't imagine my life without him now. It scares me a bit." She paused for a moment and continued, "I think I do love him. That's what makes me scared at how fast he's falling too. All the people who have loved me end up getting hurt and I don't want that to happen to him."

Robin looked at her with empathy and said, "Life is always going to be dangerous. That's why it's best to cling to those we love while we still can. If we don't, we'd be wasting the time we could have had with them worrying about the time we might not get."

Avisa nodded as she said quietly, "I know, but I have gotten so used to being alone and relying on myself that I think it's going to take some time before I start letting people in again."

Nami chuckled a little as she pointed out, "You already are, Avisa."

Avisa bit her lip and nodded a little. "I know."

Nami continued, "But I understand your fear. A lot of us Straw Hats used to feel that way too. You have a big heart though, so I think you'll be just fine. Plus, how will you write stories about people if you can never let them in?"