Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Waves caressed soft pink sand. The steady ebb and flow, played like a soothing song. For a brief moment, everything was peaceful. Then Sanji woke up.

What happed to the rest of the crew? Did they escape that shitty bear? Was Zoro OK? That damn moss bastard was still injured from their previous run in with the warlord, he couldn't handle being injured like that again. He was stubborn, but that wasn't always going to be enough. They were all stubborn, one day it wouldn't be enough.

Sanji felt something in his stomach churn. It felt weird. The cook was no stranger to stress and anxiety. His stomach was often not cooperative with him. Choosing the most inconvenient time to be an arsehole to him. It had been playing up a lot particularly these last couple of month. Not all that surprising, considering everything his crew had gotten up to. Sanji's stomach twisted in a way that he recognised, when he thought of his crew. It just cemented that what his stomach did earlier, was different.

Different, but not important. What was important, was his crew. He needed to find his crew, or at least find a way to contact them. To do that, he needed to get up and figure out where he was. Groaning, Sanji got to his feet with a great amount of effort. Fuck, he ached everywhere and his head was pounding.

It didn't take long for Sanji to find someone. It took an even shorter amount of time, for him to start running as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. He doesn't even know how long he was running for, when his body started to give up on him. He was just so tired. He didn't know if his nakama was alive. He was alone, surrounded by people chasing him. He didn't feel right. He was scared. As his consciousness slipped through his fingers, Sanji couldn't stop the distressed whines, calling out for his crewmates.

XXX

Tibany felt her heart drop the exact same time the other blonde collapsed. That whine, the call for help, it was an omega's cry for help. How? The other blonde didn't quiet smell like an omega. Not at first at least. Now that she was concentrating, she could smell a faint underlining sweetness. It was an incredibly pleasant scent, one that was obscured by another she couldn't quite place. She could smell cologne, cooking spices and cigarettes. Easy scents to identify, they were not the ones she couldn't place. She hoped the unidentifiable scent were not the reason for the omegas collapse, that would indicate a sickness of some kind.

Tibany asked for someone to get a doctor for the poor omega. With the help of Samantha, Tibany carried the omega to the one of the quaint cottage ready for new arrivals. She sat outside the bedroom door, guarding the omega whilst she waited for the doctor. Even though Tibany was a beta, she couldn't help the need to protect the omega. They were so rare. Ones born male, even rarer. There were very unsavoury people they tried to hunt down omegas out there. None of those people lived on this island, but she still wanted to stand guard.

When Florence arrived at the cottage, Tibany sighed in relief. She eagerly let the doctor into the omega's bedroom and waited in the corner of the room. Florence was thorough in her work, tutting and sighing as she made notes. When a syringe was placed into the omega's arm for a blood test, they woke up with a start, kicking the surprised Florence across the room. They screamed when they noticed where they were and who they were with and immediately tried to escape. They wobbled on their feet, then bent over and was sick.

"Please wait sweet omega, you collapsed and we were just making sure you are alright. Florence is a doctor, she was taking a blood test to make sure all your levels were normal." Tibany rushed out, trying to soothe the scared omega. The scent might not have been strong earlier, but she could definitely tell that the pleasant scent had turned sour.

The omega startled at her words, they looked lost and confused. "You can tell I'm omega?" Now that was an unusual thing for someone to say. "Yes Darling, I might not have spotted it a first, but your scent is definitely there. It was hard to separate from the other scent I am unable to identify, are you on suppressants Darling?"

Florence stood up and brushed the dust off of her skirt and straighten her glasses. She looked at her notes, before her eyes fell onto Tibany. "Hello, my name is Florence. I just conducted a quick examination and have determined that you have several injuries that need to be attended to. You are also quite dehydrated. We have a clinic on the island where you can be treated, or you can stay here of that is more comfortable for you. I must inform you, that examinations and treatment are much quicker and safer at the clinic. It is up to you to decide...sorry I don't know your name. Can you share it with me, or provide an alternative I can refer to you, until you feel comfortable to share you real name." The doctor was also a beta, but she spoke in a reassuring way that people stereotypically thought as omega.

A multitude of emotions flicked in the single visable eye. It was clear that the other blonde was assessing the situation and calculating the best course of action. "Sanji. My name is Sanji. I'm not on suppressants. I'm-I, my scent is fucked up. I'd rather not talk about it." Sanji spoke through gritted teeth. It was as if it caused them pain to talk to them.

"Thank you Sanji-chan. Would you like to stay here, or would you prefer the clinic?" The doctor asked, apparently choosing to not comment on on Sanji's scent at the moment. The omega looked as if they were going to try kicking someone again, before they slumped in defeat.

"Lead the way."

XXX

Now bandaged and a drip in his arm pumping him with fluids, Sanji stared off into the distance. He accepted the medical help, as he knew that he would have better chance finding his nakama if he was feeling less shit. The fact that he was sick earlier, was alarming. Sanji was hardly ever sick. Oh he often felt close, but was normally able to curb the feeling with some home remedies.

With the fluids and bandages, he should be able to leave with a couple of days. Whilst he was here, he would try and get more information. Try and see if he could get hold of a den den mushi, maybe he could contact the Sunny. Or at least get a hold of a newspaper, it might have clues on his crew's whereabouts.

The door to his room clicked open and in walked the doctor from before. Sanji chose to not look at the doctor, and instead stare at the wall. A wall he previously thought was white, but is actually very, very pale pink. Why was everything pink here?

"Good evening Sanji-chan. I have the results back from your blood test. Your hormone levels are pretty high, estrogen and progesterone in particular. You are also producing hCG. This is a hormone that is only produced during pregnancy. Sanji-chan, you are pregnant. 13-16 weeks into your pregnancy judging by your hCG levels. I was not sure if you were aware of your condition, as you previously stated that your scent was unusual. I agree that your scent is not as strong an an omega's normally would be during pregnancy."

No. That can't be right. No. "You better stop  fucking with me right now. I'll gut you and serve it as chitlins to all your buddies. You bastard!" He had enough. He wasn't going to sit here and have some bastard mock him like this. It was too cruel. Sanji ripped the IV drip from his arm and made his way to the window. Who cares if he was several stories up? He could make that jump, even with a fucked up leg. He just needed to get out of here, he would find somewhere else to heal up enough to find his nakama.

The doctor dashed towards him in alarm. "Sanji-chan please, lay back down. You are in need of rest. I believe there is some miscommunication here, please explain how I have upset you." They sounded genuinely worried for Sanji. That couldn't be right. If they were worried about him, then they might not be lying. No, that had to be lying.

Sanji could hear hurried footsteps and yelling. People were coming. They sounded scared. Why? Why would they be scared, Sanji was the one having his heart ripped apart.

"Miscommunication my ass! You can't be serious. I can't get pregnant! Stop fucking lying to me!" Sanji didn't see startled look on the doctor's face, he was too busy looking at the ground, calculating his jump.  The door slammed open, Sanji wobbled perched on the window still. Multiple arms wrapped around him, pulling him back into the room. Kicking and screaming, whines of distress left Sanji's throat without his permission. The arms around him that belonged to alphas, backed away immediately. The betas' hold lessened.

"Melody, you need to sing now! This is not good for both of them!" Sanji felt his canines sharpen, his nails thicken into claws. He was on the verge of going feral. An omega's last line of defence should they find their pack in danger. Pack? No. He can't. Why was he going feral if he is not with his pack?

A sweet voice floated around the room and Sanji found himself unwillingly relaxing. Must be a shitty Devil Fruit. Limbs limp, Sanji could only continue to whine as he was placed back on the bed. He felt so pathetic whining like this. He hardly ever did, but he just felt so vulnerable right now. His biggest insecurity was being mocked.

A device was brought into the room, his whines grew louder. It was never good when equipment was brought in around doctors. Sanji only trusted Chopper. He wanted Chopper right now. Without his consent, Sanji's shirt was rolled up to expose his belly. A horrible cold gel was applied to it. The machine was switched on and some stick thing was pressed against his stomach. Even if Sanji couldn't quite move his arms and legs at the moment, he could still cuss up a storm. He had been ready to unleash enough curses that would make a warlord blush, when he heard a whooshing noise.

Snapping his head to the screen of the device, Sanji realised that he was having an ultrascan. The weird bean shape on the screen, was not a bean at all. It moved and Sanji felt his stomach swoop. The whooshing noise, was a heartbeat. His baby's heartbeat. Tears fell.

"I-I can't. They told me. No. It went wrong. They told me I couldn't have a baby. They broke me. I can't." Sanji sobbed. His hand automatically fell onto his stomach. His fucking pants had been getting tight. He had been snacking more. He had been experimenting with wierd flavours.

He was pregnant.

How? Judge hadn't been happy he was an omega. He wanted alphas for children, they made the best soldiers. They tried to make him an alpha. Even with their advanced technology, they couldn't make Sanji an alpha. Judge had even tried to settle with making Sanji a beta. All they had succeeded in doing was messing up Sanji's scent and made his future heats irregular. They had also told him that he would never be able to have kids.

Sanji was a shit omega. Hardly anyone could tell that he was one from his scent. It meant that he couldn't soothe people with it, like most omegas could. He wasn't sweet and gentle, like his mother was. He wasn't allowed to have a nest when he was small, he doesn't know what it would be like to have one. His heats were all over the place, it wasn't usual for him to go months without having one. His heats were the only time he ever sort of smelt like a normal omega, but his scent would be no where as strong as a normal omega in heat.

Ace only found out he was an omega, as the alpha offered to help with the dishes when he was about to go into heat. Incredibly embarrassed that he hadn't noticed, Sanji had explained that he was going into heat and didn't know what to do. He hadn't experienced one with the crew yet. The alpha had been so caring. Offered to take Sanji to the nearest heat hotel and cover for him. Sanji didn't want to be left alone.

His heat had been short. It didn't stand out to Sanji as odd, his previous heats had either lasted a lot shorter than most other omegas, or a lot longer. He didn't realise that his heat stopped early, as he got pregnant.

Shit, he was pregnant with Ace's baby. His captain's brother. The kind and polite brother, that thought the world of Luffy. Their actual time together, hadn't been that long. Ace had stayed with them longer than he should have, but he had to part eventually. Sanji fell in love with his captain's brother in under 2 weeks.

Honestly, it wasn't like Sanji stood any chance not to. Those golden eyes held so much sorrow, but only looked at Sanji with warmth. His freckles were adorable, which only played into his cheeky charm. He was also hot as fuck. The real hook for Sanji though, was just how good a big brother he was. There was so much love between Ace and Luffy, something he had never felt an ounce of with his own brothers. Sanji had wanted to know how it felt like to be loved like that, instead, he found a different kind of love.

He would need to let Ace know. They had been writing letters to each other as they sailed. There was a pile of letters in a box in Sanji's locker on the Sunny. The last letter from Ace had been over 2 weeks ago, telling Sanji he was close to finding the person he was hunting down. Ace had asked to meet up with him again in the New World, for a proper date, once he was done. Looks like Sanji would have postpone the date in the New World now. He had no idea how he would get there and he still didn't know where his crew was. Maybe if he sent a letter to Ace, he could find the others. As second division commander of the White Beard's fleet, Ace had to have some ties that could help him. Maybe Ace would even come and find him.

Would Ace want to find him? In his letters, Ace heavily hinted that he didn't like his father. He didn't seem to have a good opinion on fathers in general, especially when Sanji hinted towards his upbringing. The alpha did have a high opinion on found fathers. People that have a child through choice, not soley blood, like White Beard and Zeff. Sure, it wasn't like Ace chose to have a baby with Sanji, especially as he had told the alpha he wasn't able to get pregnant (and why that is). Maybe he would still want to be a father. The omega felt like Ace would be a brilliant father, he had so much love.

Sanji felt his stomach twist, his baby was moving. More tears stramed down his face, his heart stuttered. "Are they OK? Have I hurt my baby?" It had been just over 3 months and Sanji had been smoking this whole time. He drank with the rest of the crew when they had a party. Fuck, he had been in so many fights. He had been injured so much. Had he hurt his baby?

How could he tell Ace that he had hurt their baby? He really was a shit omega. He'd have to tell Ace. He had the right to know, Sanji was just scared. This was something he never thought could have been a possibility. Not that he thought he ever would be a pregnant cook of a pirate crew; that just declared war against the World Government; separated from his crew and not sure where the sire of his baby was.

Sanji's luck was shit. How was he going to raise a baby on a crew? He would need to tell Luffy of course. His captain should still welcome him on the crew, hopefully. He was an alpha though. The majority of their crew were apart from Usopp, Chopper and Brook. How would they feel having a child on the ship, sired from an alpha outside their pack?

He was fucked.

"They appear to be healthy, their heartbeat is strong. It's going to be right Sanji-chan, we all want to help you, if you are willing to accept it." Florence spoke with a smile. They looked tired. Everyone here looked stressed and tired. It was his fault. It always was.

"I, er. I apologise for my behaviour earlier. It, I-" Not knowing what to say, Sanji trailed off. Only to start crying again when he was quickly offered forgiveness he didn't deserve. Eventually, the tears and the panic from earlier caught up with him and Sanji lost consciousness again.

XXX

Never had a new arrival caused quite a stir. They had never had an omega on the island before, let alone a pregnant one. An omega that had clearly gone through a lot.  He was still a brat. A rude little omega that could not blame mood swings on his poor attitude, it was clear to Caroline that was just how he was.

Still, he had grown on her. Once the omega had accepted that yes, he was pregnant, he became enamoured with his unborn child. Constantly rubbing his stomach with an absolutely charming smile on his face. The baby was already love so much.

He would later work himself into a state about his child's future. Terrified that he wouldn't be able to carry his child to term. Whether he would be able to join his crew again, or if the sire of the baby would reject him. He would cry, not thinking he was good enough for the baby. Then he would be back to talking about how excited he was to meet the child. That he hoped the baby's father would want to have a family together.

It was sweet. It warmed Caroline's heart to witness the love this man held. He worried out of love and hoped for more love. It was beautiful.

She even had the pleasure of Little Candy asking her for advice in writing a letter to the babies father. Fire Fist Ace! What a catch! Such a surprise too. That wasn't even taking into account that Fire Fist Ace was apparently the older brother of Little Candy's captain. What gossip!

Oh, Little Candy was adorable. He really wanted a family. Sanji-chan knew that it was very unlikely that Fire Fist would leave his crew to be with the omega, but he wanted Fire Fist to be a part of the child's life. He wanted a chance to possibly settle down in the future with his child and the child's father. Hopefully, his child and mate. His own little pack. He also wanted his crew to be a part of it, the pack he was already a part of. It had take Little Candy several drafts, to make this clear in his letter.

Caroline was currently sitting next to the omega, as they waited for the News Coo. She had been teasing the boy for the last 30 minutes, about the collection her and the rest of the Candies had started for his future wedding. The poor boy got so easily flustered, his face would turn a lovely shade of red.  He refused to make eye contact and rotated the envelope in his hands, over and over.

Maybe she should back off a bit, he was cranky after all having given up smoking. The lollies that Florence had given him instead, were almost gone. He still had a large supply of the lollies, as the Candies kept making him some. Elysia gave the omega a handful this morning, which Caroline saw put away in one of the pockets of his dress. It was a rather flattering summer dress, that was pale blue, decorated in seashell patterns. His bump was hardly showing as of yet, but dresses were a lot more easier for him to move than in his tight suits.

The gull that frequent their island, became visable over the horizon, Caroline felt Little Candy stiffen beside her. The poor omega was so nervous, but she was certain he would follow through and send the letter. Evangeline; which the Candies named the gull, was a pretty patient creature. She would wait until Sanji-chan was ready to hand over the letter, if needed.

Evangeline had a very complementary shade of lipstick today, as well as the latest newspaper. Caroline took the newspaper and pulled out her coin purse to find the right change, when an acidic smell polluted the air. Whipping her head to the side, Caroline saw Little Candy gasping for breath, hands shaking as he held the newspaper. He dropped to his knews, struggling to breathe. Streams of tears flowed from his eyes. Caroline peaked over the omega's shoulder, and saw the news story he was looking at.

Caroline's stomach dropped. There was a picture of Fire Fist Ace, laying on the floor with a hole in his back. He had died. His brother Straw Hat Luffy, had fought to free his brother, only for him to die.

The newspaper fell to the ground. Sanji-chan curled up into a protective ball and screamed. It was chilling. Caroline felt her own knees tremble under the raw grief the omega was feeling. She tried to soothe him, but knew there would be no reaching him at this point. She needed Melody to use her Devil Fruit, the Komoriuta Komoriuta no mi. Little Candy needed a sweet lullaby to calm him down. Maybe even knock him out if he was at risk of hurting himself.

The normally faint scent of the omega, was overwhelming. So full of hurt and loneliness. It was suffocating. Caroline felt as if she was being crushed under the sheer force of it. Her alpha cried out, wanting to help the omega in need. It willing tried to submit in attempts to soothe.

Even though she had not called out for help, thunderous footsteps rushed towards them. Reacting to the omega in distress, the alphas and betas ran. Even their sweet gull was trying to help the agonised boy. She rubbed her head against the Little Candy's side, completely unnoticed. Sanji-chan couldn't see, hear, or feel anyone. He was lost.

A gentle song drifted down to the beach. Melody was here. Caroline felt herself relax against her will. Her muscles became lax. To her subdued horror, Sanji-chan remained unaffected. He couldn't hear the lullaby. Tears welled up in Caroline's eyes, as the world became dark. She mourned for the poor boy. He had lost his family, before it even had the chance to form.

Poor Florence, she would feel guilty for months after needing to tranqulise their Sanji-chan.

XXX

They had just gotten off the boat, to find some blonde boy yelling at them. They were an odd one for sure. One second they were flattering them, the next, demanding to know more about Straw Hat Boy. As if Ivankov was going to give any information  on Dragon's boy to some newbie.

The Candy Boy claimed that he was part of Straw Hat Boy's crew, his cook. The boy looks nothing like the wanted poster, except maybe the eyebrow and that they were both blonde. It wasn't enough proof. The World Government could easily hire someone that looks similar and work as a spy. Ivankov did not trust this boy. Not fully at least. They must admit that the kid coughing up blood as he stated the poster was him, showed some form of commitment.  It was a very unflattering drawing, if it truly was meant to be this blonde boy.

So Iva would not let their guard down around this boy. Iva had been able to defeat the kid in a duel, but that could have just been the Candy Boy acting, so Ivankov would relax around the blonde. Easy target. They wasn't going to fall for it.

Then Ivankov noticed how the Candies reacted around the rude boy. They doted on him. Many had objected to Candy Boy requesting a duel and were fast to run to his side after the battle. Yara even picked him up and carried the boy to the clinic.

He had already manipulated the Candies to his side! Unacceptable. Enraged on their Candies' behalf, Ivankov went to find Candy Boy. It didn't take too long, he was sitting under a tree with a newspaper. It was the most relaxed that Iva had seen him. Iva had to see what in the news would have caused such a reaction.

Candy Boy would not tell him the meaning behind Straw Hat Boy's message. The Cad!  Not knowing was killing them. Iva could feel the world dimming. They felt faint. They were fine! HeeHaw!!

Seriously though, how rude could that little punk be? He had been welcomed to their island and this was how he repaid them? He was even being sassy with Ivankov. The audacity! Then he asked for them to train him and learn the Newkama Kenpo 99 Vital Recipes! The kid had no respect.

Ivankov accepted anyway. Meh, could be fun. They called for Caroline, so they could arrange for Candy Boy to fight for all the recipes.

"Fight Little Candy? I don't think many of us would want to fight him seriously in his condition." Caroline adjusted her glasses and looked over her shoulder. Candy Boy was yelling at some Candies to leave him alone, running from them. He seemed fine.

"Vhat condition?" Candy Boy appeared fine. He was doing a pretty good job at out running the Candies. Ivankov was not sure why he was running, but the blonde was not listening to the Candies asking him to relax. Why would Candy Boy need to relax?

"Little Candy is pregnant." That was not what he was expecting at all. Iva staggered back in shock, how did they not notice before? Iva fought a pregnant person!!!

"Vhat?! No vay! I couldn't tell!"

"He is an omega, but it is difficult to detect his scent, unless he is very upset. He was under the impression that he couldn't get pregnant. You will need to talk to Little Candy and Florence, if you want to know why he thought that was the case." An omega? Iva had not picked up on that at all. For them to not pick up on an omega's scent, would indicate that the omega's hormone might have been tempered with. That's what suppressants and scent blockers did, they altered an omega's scent via hormones. Ivankov would need have a serious talk with Candy Boy, to see what was going on. Make sure that he was safe.

"Do you know vhy he is running?" Most pregnant omega's that Ivankov had met, tried to take it easy. They did not challenge Iva to a fight and started laps around the island.

"Little Candy does not know how to be pampered. He runs whenever the Candies try to spoil him. So far, he only accepts food. He also said that he wouldn't let pregnancy cause him to fall behind the 'shitty swordsman'. I assume he means Roronoa Zoro, it sounds like they have a rivalry." Caroline did air quotes as she said shitty swordsman. She watched the Candies continue to chase Candy Boy, then laughed when the boy suddenly came to a stop and stomped over to Syrah. She cooed as she handed over some pastries, then cheered when a couple of Candies scooped up the omega and ran towards the spa.

"So you believe him Vhen he says that he is part of Straw Hat Boy's crew?" Iva was still skeptical. Being suspicious came with being part of the Revolutionaries. There was always people trying to get information about their organisation. Ivankov had just escaped Impel Down as well, no doubt the World Government will start sniffing around sooner or later.

Caroline removed her glasses and wiped a tear from her eye. What had happened? Why was Caroline upset? "Definitely. No one would have been so frantic to get back to their crew after seeing the news, if they were faking it. We had to keep sedating him, or get Melody to use her fruit. Only your arrival calmed him down a bit. That recent news story, has done wonders for him." She pulled a handkerchief from her breast pocket and dabbed at her eyes again. Once her eyes were dry, she turned to Iva, expression serious.

"The sire of his child is Fire Fist Ace. They were unmated, but were keeping in touch. Little Candy wanted them to be mated and form a pack. We were waiting for Evangeline together to send a love letter, when the newspaper arrived announcing Fire Fist's death. The reaction to the news was haunting. I believe Sanji-chan is telling the truth."

This time, Ivankov really did fall over in shock. Fire Fist had a child. The mother was a member of Straw Hat Boy's crew, the  omega cook, that didn't smell like an omega. Fire Fist was Straw Hat Boy's brother, the very same brother they met in Alabasta. Straw Hat Boy told them some stories on the way to Marineford about his brother. He was excited to tell Ivankov how exactly he knew Croco-boy and how his crewmate had outsmarted the ex-warlord. Croco-boy was not happy to find out that been outplayed by a cook. Ivankov found it hilarious. Iva had also enjoyed hearing that Straw Hat Boy's brother had gotten on well with his cook. At the time, they had thought it as scandalous gossip.

Now it solidified that Candy Boy was a Straw Hat. Ivankov doubted many knew of the times Fire First spent a couple of nights with a member of the Straw Hat's crew. Their involvement in bringing down Croco-boy had been covered up. Of course Ivankov knew, the Revolutionaries found out who truly aided the kingdom. Yet, even the Revolutionaries hadn't known that Fire First Ace had been there for a while and that he had met up with another crew. It was information only a Straw Hat; and those that escaped Impel Down, would know.

Fire Fist had a child. One that he never had a chance to see. The world truly was cruel. The poor boy had been up for execution, just because of who his father was. It was not fair. Even if Fire Fist had not been a pirate, Ivankov bet the outcome would have been similar. If he was part of the marines, they would have sent him on a suicide mission to cover it up. Disgraceful. As if people weren't more than what runs through their blood. As if it was a crime to simply exist!

Ivankov had to calm themselves down, they were getting too heated. Oh how they wished that war had a better outcome. What a ridiculous reason for a war to start. Gol D. Roger had a child? So? Actual devils had children too, yet they are not on the World Government hit list. Nope, some of them worked for the World Government.

Wait. Gol D. Roger's child? Candy Boy was carrying the baby of Gol D. Roger's son. Gol D. Roger's grandchild! Should anyone find this out, Candy Boy and his baby will be killed. Ivankov needed to get in touch with Dragon. This omega and his baby would stay safe under Ivankov care, but they would need help to keep the baby's lineage a secret.

"I assume that the Candies are avare that no one should ever find out this information." Ivankov's voice lowered, things were suddenly very serious. Damn Candy Boy has been nothing but trouble since Iva returned home.

"Yes. They want to protect him too. Once you get past the prickly exterior, Sanji-chan is surprisingly nice company."  Nodding, Ivankov asked that Caroline work with Florence to come up with a training regime for the omega whilst he was pregnant. Something told Iva that Candy Boy would  want to continue training. He seemed stupidly stubborn like that.

Now to fill in Inazuma and find a den den mushi. Iva could do with visiting the spa after this.

XXX

It was over a month early. It was too early. Sanji laid on the bed, completely exhausted and in pain. It had been too early. His baby hadn't cried when he finally managed to push them out. It was too early.

He had failed his baby. He had failed Ace. He failed everyone. Sanji should have known that he could do something as amazing as bringing life into the world. He was a fuck up.

Sanji was so scared. He was trembling on the bed, feeling incredibly alone. He was surrounded by people that were there for him. The Candies, they were so loving and welcoming of him, he didn't deserve their affection. No matter how persistent they were and trying to force Sanji to accept it. They cared, but they weren't the people he wanted. He wanted Ace. It was fucking stupid. Ace couldn't be there, ever. It made his omega weep in sorrow.

He wanted his Dad. Sanji had debated contacting Zeff for so long about his pregnancy, but he had been scared. He didn't want to get Zeff's hopes up in having a grandkid, if he wasn't able to keep them. It would kill the old fart. Sanji couldn't do that, not mater how much his presence would have reassured him.

He wanted his crew. Again, Sanji had debated giving Evangeline letters so that she could try and find his crew and deliver them. In the end, Sanji decided against it, as he didn't want to distract them from his training. He also wasn't sure if any of them knew he was omega. Chopper did as he was their doctor, but the little reindeer was under the impression that Sanji couldn't get pregnant. Sanji had been under the impression that he couldn't. He had never told Chopper why, but doctor theorised that  Sanji's time on the rock could have been the cause. Sanji let Chopper have that one, as starvation did mess with the body. His time on the rock, was likely the reason he wasn't taller. Judge was incredibly tall afterall and Sanji was nowhere near his height. Good, he didn't want to inherit anything from that bastard.

Luffy knew, or Sanji thinks that his captain knew. The rubberman did sometimes hand Sanji soft things, possibly for him to build a nest with. Not that Sanji ever did, he never built one before. Or well he tried when he was younger, but, well- Robin-chan might know, she tends to know a lot of details regarding the crew.

Maybe Zoro. The mosshead had tried to discreetly scent him once, on the train ride to Enies Lobby. The cook had been too shocked at the time to do anything and just  let Zoro do his thing. The alpha had grumbled to himself after Sanji's run in with Kalifa. Her soap fruit and washed the brute's scent away. Sanji was still confused about all of that.

He wouldn't mind Zoro being here right now. He wanted his whole crew, but the thought of Luffy and Zoro made him feel safer. Sanji was incredibly vulnerable right now.

A beautiful sound pierced the room and Sanji burst into tears. That was his baby! He had just heard his precious baby for the first time. They were so loud, it was amazing.

Someone; Sanji was too out of it to tell who it was, placed his baby on his chest. The world came to a halt. His heart froze, his breathing stopped. Then everything exploded. His heart pounded furiously against his chest, as if trying to reach for his baby. His nerves were set alight. His skin burned with the need to feel his baby more. His baby was here. They were alive!

"Congratulations Sanji-chan, she is precious." She? Sanji had a daughter? He looked down at the tiny being on his chest. Their skin was red, covered in some white greasy substance. Vernix, a voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like a certain reindeer, supplied. Thick black hair was plastered to their head, which explained Sanji's heartburn. Their face was scrunched up like a prune, as they cried. She was the most beautiful thing that Sanji had ever seen.

She was so small. Too small. Sanji knew that she was underweight immediately. He had read a lot of baby books whilst pregnant, he knew how much a newborn should weigh roughly. Guessing the weight of things, was a skill that Sanji had picked up from cooking. She was too small. His beautiful baby girl would need help getting to a healthy weight. He would be there for her.

Her tiny feet and fists wiggled about, as she continued to cry. Would her hand even be able to wrap around his thumb? Digging deep into his energy reserves, Sanji brought an arm under her and moved her to his breast. She latched onto his nipple immediately and greedily started suckling. Her cries came to an abrupt stop, her scrunched up face smoothed out. She opened her eyes, they were blue.

Apart from her eyes, his baby looked nothing like him. There was so much of Ace present in his little girl, it made his heart ache. It was a huge relief that she looked like her father. No stupid eyebrows, that could link her to those assholes. The shitty World Government thought they could rid the world of Ace. Well fuck them, Sanji still had a part of him right here.

Tears steadily flowed, as the omega placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. He loved her so much already. "Candy Boy, do you have a name picked out yet?" Ivankov's huge head peered down at him, they had tears in their eyes. Actually, most of the Candies were crying. Big softies.

Whilst pregnant, Sanji had thought about possible names. In his letter that he meant to send to Ace before- Sanji proposed the name Sora, in honour of his late mother. After finding out about- He thought of ways to possibly honour Ace. At first, he thought about Ace's mother. The alpha had mentioned her in a letter once, Rouge was pretty name. Their baby was going to inherit Ace's surname anyway, so Sanji decided against naming their child Portgas D. Rouge. So Sanji had looked into name meanings. For a boy, Sanji had settled on Aaron, meaning shinning light or miraculous. For a girl, Grace meant blessing. When Sanji looked into what kind of love was grace, it was unconditional love.

Smiling through his tears, Sanji looked up at Iva. "May I introduce Portgas D. Grace."  There was cheering and sobbing all around him. The loud HeeHaw caused him to wince, but he welcomed the reaction. There were all a bunch of weirdos, but he cared deeply for them all. If they were to just stop fussing over him, he wouldn't have to keep running away from them. They were a very overprotective bunch.

The best people to help him with Grace as he recovered and trained. Kissing her forehead again, Sanji laughed when he noticed that she had fallen asleep, still suckling. Her father would fall asleep whilst eating too. Well, Grace did sound pretty similar to Ace afterall.

XXX

Covering his daughter's ears, Sanji turned to face the hoard of Candies that chose to follow him to Sabaody. If the boat had been big enough, Sanji suspected the whole island of Okamas would have tagged along. "Fuck off you bastards, you're not wanted."

"Bye Sanji-chan. Good luck."

"Remember to relax every now and then. Get your crewmates to help you."

"I packed you and Grace-chan a lunch."

"Write to us if you need a repeat of your hormone supplements, incase your ship's doctor can't get a hold of a replacement."

"Are you sure that Grace-chan doesn't need more teddies? Look, these are all adorable."

"Yeah, if you are worried about carrying them all, we can take them to your ship for you."

"Oooh, let's do that anyway."

Sighing in defeat, Sanji removed his hands from his daughter's ears. He squatted down in front of her, taking the rock she just picked up, out of her hands. "OK Grace, time to find our crew. Can you say bye to all your aunties please? Remember that we will see them again soon."

Sanji had already told Grace that they were going to find his crew and that they would be leaving Momorio Island. Repeatedly. Unfortunately, it was wasn't something that a 20 month old toddler could fully comprehend. She did understand 'say bye'. The toddler turned around and waved her hand. "Bye bye. Soon." That got them all blubbering, saying their goodbyes to the toddler. Picking up a new rock on the floor was much more intresting than their heartfelt goodbyes.

"Thanks and see you around." The omega said, not liking how some of the Candies started sniggering. That wasn't a good sign. Taking the new rock and placing it in the front pocket of Grace's orange dungarees, Sanji stood and took hold of his daughter's hand. She was incredibly stubborn and did not like being in a pushchair. Nope, she either had to walk herself, or Sanji carried her. She enjoyed being able to see.

Walking at a slow pace, Sanji wondered who out his crew he would bump into first. Luffy would be best, as he was the captain. The omega needed to talk about his daughter with his captain, see if he was still welcomed on the ship. The rubberman wasn't really the kind to turn Sanji away, but he couldn't get rid of that doubt.

Watching his daughter happily walk by his side, Sanji couldn't help but really see Ace in her. Babies tended to lose their hair when little, often having a bald patch on the back of their head. Grace's hair grew back with a vengeance. It was thick and wavy, she had enough that Sanji could tie her hair up on the top her head. The hair tie had 2 red beads, that made a quiet tapping noise with each step. Her facial features were so smiliar to Ace, freckles had even started to appear across the bridge of her nose. Still the only part that looked like Sanji was her eyes. He had never thought much of his eyes, on her, they were gorgeous.

"Up please." Feeling Sanji watching her, Grace looked up to him and held up her arms. Placing her on his hip was second nature by now. With her on his hip, Sanji was able to pick up the pace. Shakky-san would know if anyone else was here already and point him into the right direction.

XXX

Just his luck that Luffy wasn't here yet. Guess that meant Sanji should find a certain Marimo first then.

Chapter Text

Having noticed that the amount of pirates had definitely increased since last time he was here, Sanji decided it would be best to find a safe place for Grace. Looking around for his nakama and stocking up on food supplies, he was bound to run into some sort trouble. There was a chance that he wouldn't, normally Sanji was pretty good at blending into the background. If anyone was going to cause a rucus in their crew, it would be dumb and dumber. Still, he didn't want to risk Grace.

Before him was a truly wonderful site. "Hello beautiful lady, sorry to keep you waiting." The smile of the Sunny's face, was welcoming. Seeing her safe and sound, filled Sanji with warmth. Something clicked into place and Sanji finally felt like he was home again. Burying his face into the back of his daughter's hair, Sanji smiled.

Not liking how little they were moving, Grace started to wiggle in his hold. When Sanji refused to let the toddler down near a steep drop into water, she began to fuss. Her annoyed cries was enough to cause movement on the Sunny. He hadn't planned on this being how seeing the first member of his crew again after 2 years, would go.

He also hadn't expected Franky to change so much. Damn, the guy had always been big compared to Sanji, but this was ridiculous. Seriously, Sanji felt tiny around him.

"That you Sanji? Good to see you brother!" The cyborg lifted his glasses from his eyes. Those eyes widened when they landed on the girl. Said girl had stop trying to get out of Sanji's hold, when she noticed Franky. The blonde held his breath. He wanted to explain who Grace was to Luffy first. Franky was pretty easy going, he might not push Sanji to explain things.

"Looks like you picked up a little something there bro. This little cutie got a name?" The alpha remained where he was on the ship, not making a move to get closer to Sanji and his daughter. Franky was good with kids, he understood that he could be imposing. Not to Grace apparently, as she smacked Sanji in the face to get his attention, pointing at the cyborg. She had not quite learnt the difference between tapping and slapping.

"Hi. Hi. Please. Hi." Taking a deep breath and stealing his nerves, Sanji walked onto the Sunny. How could he refuse his daughter's request to say hi to their nakama? Once on the the deck, Sanji placed the toddler down. She belined to they cyborg, tripping a few times on the way due to the ship's coating.

Ecstatic that the little girl was not put off by Franky's large size, the alpha knelt down with open arms. Sanji felt his eyes burn at the image. Too focused on his daughter, he missed the curious look the shipwright threw his way.

"This is Grace. Grace? Grace? Come on Grace, look at me for a second." The little girl was completely in awe of the cyborg. It took a couple of attempts to get her attention, before she  finally turned her blue eyes to Sanji. She looked pissed that he would dare interfer with her time with Franky. Too bad for her, that little frown was adorable.

"His name is Franky. Grace, Franky. Grace, Franky." As he said their names, he pointed to them so that the little girl understood what he was trying to teach her. "Key?"
"Franky."
"Key?"
"Franky."
"Ffffffffffff."
"Franky."
"Ffffkey?"
"Wow, you're doing super lil sis. Ow!" Sanji could tell that Franky was resisting the urge to jump into his super pose. He was at risk of throwing the little girl sitting between his legs, up in the air if he did. The giant softie grew concered when she became alarmed. "Ow? Kiss?"

The shipwright looked up to the cook, asking for some clarification. Squatting down next to his nakama and child, Sanji fluffed up the hair ontop of Grace's head. "Are you hurt Franky? You said ow, do you need someone to kiss it better?" Franky's eyes lit up in understanding and became teary.

"What a sweetheart, caring about little ol' me! I'm doing super." He gave her a thumbs up, but with the tears in his eyes, the toddler took that to mean he hurt his thumb.  Both hands took hold of his thumb, she kissed it with a 'mwah' then smiled proudly to herself. Franky sucked in his tears to avoid the little girl thinking he was still hurt. The toddler started slapping the cyborg's knee, which Sanji knew was meant to be encouraging pats.

"Do you know if the kitchen is stocked?" The cook asked, after watching his daughter plop herself into Franky's giant hand and clap in glee. The cook snorted at the look of concentration on the shipwright's face, trying to keep his hand still. "Nah. Nobody wanted to step on your turf."

Good, Sanji liked knowing exactly what was in their stores. He also planned meals as he was shopping, often finding inspiration at the stalls.

Watching his little girl be so at ease with Franky, was a relief. It was also nerve-wracking, as it meant he could leave Grace with him and go shopping. A part of him had wanted to take her with him, even if it meant Sanji had to work his Observation Haki hard to make sure they were safe. He knew she would be safe with Franky, he just didn't want to leave her.

"Can you watch Grace while I'm getting supplies? Most of the things you will need are in this bag. Her lunch is in the main section, snacks in the side pockets." Sanji handed his shoulder bag filled with Grace's every day supplies, to Franky. The alpha studied it for a moment, Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, we can have some fun together. Hey take baby den den mushi with you, there are a couple in my workshop." Thank fuck for Franky. He was so good at acting as a big brother/uncle for everyone. Sanji's shoulders slumped in relief.

"Thanks. Er, call me if she starts fussing, or if she needs a change. I'll come back as soon as possible. Seriously though, thanks Franky. I know you got some question you wanna ask, I'll answer them all later. I need to talk to Luffy first."

Franky smiled brightly, Sanji almost saw stars appear from behind him. "Hey, I got you bro. A lot of stuff have happened  to all of us these last 2 years, we got time to learn about it all. I'll keep everyone off ya back until you speak to Luffy." Sanji didn't deserve nakama like this. They were so supportive. Always ready to jump in and help. Franky must have seen his smile wobble, as the alpha smiled. The shipwright's scent felt like a hug.

Sanji quickly went to Franky's workshop and picked up a den den mushi. When he got back, he gave Grace a quick hug telling her to behave for Franky and that he would be back soon. He even showed her that Franky could call him. He stood at the other end of the Sunny and called her on the den den mushi.

She didn't seem to care at all, content in spending time with her new friend. He tried not to let it get to him. Last week, her best friend was a sock. She always came back to him eventually and Sanji was her best friend again.

Now that Grace was not around him, Sanji lit a cigarette. He only smoked when she couldn't breathe in the fumes. He also tried to curb his swearing around her, he didn't see him being able to keep that up when he was fully back with the crew.

Sanji breathed in a deep breath, reveling in the burning sensation that travelled down his throat. The cook surveyed the stalls, spotting some very pretty ladies. A warm sensation built in his sinuses, it stung. Ever since Ivankov had given him hormones to counteract whatever Germa had done to him, Sanji had felt more horny than usual. He kept getting fucking nosebleed just looking at attractive people. He managed to hold it in when he was with Grace, he didn't want to scare her, but it was giving him a migraine. Apparently his hormones will settle down eventually, but seeing as they had been messed with before he even hit puberty, it was going to take a while. Chopper might be able to speed things along.

There didn't seem to be what he needed at the market, Sanji would have to ask around. Maybe see if there is a fishing dock nearby.

XXX

Franky was stressed. He had been pretty relaxed making sure that the Sunny was ready to go, when everyone turned up. He had been ready to do some major repairs to the girl when he returned to Sabaody. What a surprise it was to find her without a scratch and why she was in such a good condition.

Knowing that Kuma had protected their ship and the reasoning behind it, had itched something at the back of Franky's mind. He knew that he needed to tell his crew. The longer he had to wait to tell them, the more itchy he felt. That wasn't why Franky was stressed. That was just him being eager to tell his crew something.

Franky was stressed, as the was in charge of looking after a tiny kid. A right cutie pie, that could fit in his hand easily. Watching the little girl was fine, Franky loved kids. That wasn't the problem. Not really. The problem was that Franky had a child to look after in the first place.

Why did Sanji have a little kid with him? Why was Cook-bro so nervous? Normally Franky couldn't tell what Sanji was feeling. Not the obvious feelings, bro was super emotional and not afraid to let the world know. No, it was when Cook-bro was feeling nervous, worried or scared, then Franky had some trouble. By the time the shipwright did notice, Luffy or Zoro would be with him.

This time, Franky picked up Sanji-bro's unease straight away. Franky found himself feeling protective for his nakama. He wanted to help soothe the blonde, which Franky cottoned on pretty quickly, meant looking after this little girl and not push the blonde for an answer. Confronting Sanji-bro about anything, would just cause him to retreat into himself. So Franky reassured Cook-bro that Lil Grace would be safe with him and that he would cover for the blonde.

This tiny ball of joy was gonna shake thing up for their crew in a major way. The shipwright just knew this little sweetheart was gonna rock their world, but Franky couldn't bring himself to care about that.
Grace was a super kid. Showed no fear at all at Franky's size, even wanted to help him when she thought he was hurt. His big heart stood no chance. She already made a home there. Whatever reason Sanji had for bringing this little girl to the Sunny, he hoped she got to stay. Franky really didn't want to say goodbye to her.

When a couple of people turned up near the Sunny with a giant bag of stuff, Franky almost open fired at them. He needed to make sure Grace was safe. It was only thanks to Lil Grace waving at the strangers with some form of familiarity, that Franky stopped himself. The people seemed friendly enough, they greeted Grace enthusiastically by name and stated they were dropping some things off for Cook-bro. They didn't say what it was, but Franky noticed a stuffed toy poking out.

It was only once the amazing Robin arrived at the Sunny, did Franky investigate the massive bag left behind. The shipwright could take a couple of explosions to the face, he didn't mind seeing if the bag was safe. It was. The bag had some toddler supplies, but was mainly filled with toys. Franky brought the bag onboard and left it in the docking area for now.

Back on the deck of the Sunny, Robin was offering the toddler a small sippy cup. The little girl took the cup, saying "ta". Finishing her drink, Grace tried to put the cup in front pocket of her dungaree dress. She flopped onto her back in a sulk, when the cup didn't fit. The tike babbled to herself, then sat up, pulled out a large stone from the pocket and handed it to Robin. The other alpha gave her thanks, which went ignored, as Grace placed the small cup in the pocket and clapped. She then tried to lay on her stomach, cried when the cup got in the way and threw it away. The toddler the  passed out in the floor. Franky blinked.

"She is quite humorous. Franky, do you now who this little stowaway is?" Nico Robin asked with guarded curiosity. Gently, she moved the toddler, so that Grace's head was resting on her lap, instead of the ground.

"Cook-bro arrived with her. Said that he would answer all questions after he spoke to Luffy. Bro seemed nervous, so I left him to it. He has a baby den den mushi with him, if we need to call him." Robin nodded at his answer. A sweet look took over her face as she brushed a stray strand out of Grace's face. For a brief moment, Franky was debating stealing a child from somewhere for her. Robin was a dynamite lady, she would be a super mom.

"She smells of an omega. I wonder how our dear cook came upon her. Maybe she is a demon in disguise, taking on the form of innocent children. Once her target has fully let their guard down, she shrikes and devours their soul. Poor Sanji's days are numbered." A shiver ran down Franky's spine. Damn, he missed her dark humour.

"You know, I think Sanji-bro would be down for someone eating his soul, if that meant they wouldn't go hungry. Especially for this little cutie." The amused smile that stretched across Robin's face, was stunning. Major win for Franky there, for being the cause if it. Yep, he still had it.

"Joke's aside, I do wonder who she is exactly."

"Oh I hear ya. I'm itching to know, but I can wait. Can't help thinking it is something super important, if Sanji wants to tell Luffy first."

"Or maybe it is something very embarrassing and Sanji doesn't want us all to tease him, as soon as we are reunited." Franky knew that Robin didn't belive this for a second. It was true what Franky said. Something that required Luffy knowing, was going to be big.

"What is her name?"

"My bad. Her name is Grace." Humming to herself, Robin looked towards the green hills their nakama would come from, to get to the Sunny. She crossed her arms and another Robin bloomed into existence. Franky had gone to heaven. The new Robin knelt down, carefully picked up Grace and the bag Sanji-bro left for her.

"I'll keep her out of sight then for now, don't want the crew possibly reacting badly at the sight of a baby on the ship and causing Sanji unnecessary stress. I'll let you know if we need to contact our cook."  The Robin carrying Grace, made her to the library. Perfect place to take a napping child and to keep the archeologist entertained, as she kept watch. No one would go in there either when they got to the Sunny. Not straight away, at least.

There was something about the way Robin held the toddler, that made Franky think she had claimed the child. Should Sanji-bro tell them that Grace was not meant to be staying with them and he was just looking after her until they left Sabaody, Robin would steal the child. Not that Robin would be alone in that endeavour, Franky would forge some adoption papers.

It was alarming really. The little girl had only been around Franky for a couple of hours, but she already felt like family. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. She smelt like home. Or part of their home at least. She reminded Franky of their meals together in the galley. It made no sense. She smelt of an omega, heavily. Meaning that she spent a lot of time around one. Why would Franky be this comfortable around a child of an omega he didn't know?

If he thought about this any longer, he was going to get a headache. To keep himself occupied, Franky went back to his workshop and started building a high chair for Grace, ready for her to have lunch later. Maybe make a kickass play pen too, that's like a bouncy castle. They have already experienced the toddler falling asleep without a bed avaliable for her, he should make sure that doesn't happen again.

Franky might have gotten carried away.

XXX

Getting to Sabaody first, was great. He couldn't wait to lord it over the cook. The idiot would get all pissy about it and Zoro would be able to spar with him. Finally!

Two whole years of not being able to see the cook, it had terrible. Zoro thought pining for the stupid love cook in close quarters was bad, it had nothing on pining from afar. Zoro was trying to concentrate on whatever Mihawk was trying to tell him, when he ended up wondering about what the blonde was up to. He needed to concentrate, Mihawk talked as if he was reciting some poetry bullshit. Why couldn't the guy speak plainly, he was confusing to listen to? Worrying about whether Crap Cook was doing OK, was not what Zoro should be thinking about. He should be focusing on swordsmanship. Stupid Cook, interfering with Zoro's shit, as always.

When Zoro wasn't distracted thinking about the cook, he was thinking about his crew. Were they safe? Were they training too? Did they find the days dragging as well?

They would be reunited soon and Zoro could finally relax. Not fully, he was always going to worry about their safety. When they were all together again, he would be able to protect them. Good thing about being first, was that he was around if one of his crewmates needed him. Should be easy to find them, just follow the explosions.

Bad thing about being first, was that Zoro was bored waiting for everyone. He had tried helping out in Shakky's bar out of boredom. Apparently he was not meant to help himself to the stock and was thrown out. Shakky had a good throwing arm, he should ask for her training regime.

In the end, Zoro decided to go fishing. He told himself it was to kill his boredom. It was not because Zoro had already scouted the stalls and knew the cook would find it lacking. It really wasn't because he wanted to catch a big fish for the cook. Nope, not at all.  Zoro didn't even know why he felt the need to catch something for the cook, only that he made his alpha happy to do so.

Some old guy told Zoro to get onto the wrong boat. He couldn't face his crew scolding him for travelling to Fishman Island without them, so of course he had to get off the thing. Maybe he shouldn't have sliced the boat in half, but they should have been more aware that there was someone asleep on their ship, before they submerged.

The cook started bitching at him anyway. Then the attractive bastard showed concern for Zoro's missing eye. Although the attention was more that welcomed, Zoro had to brush it off in fear of making an idiot of himself.

It wasn't fair, the Prince of Dumbasses got prettier. That, or Zoro's memory of his nakama hadn't done him justice. Despite the cook filling out more and his features becoming sharper, there was this gentleness about him. Zoro didn't doubt that Dartbrow could still break necks with his kicks. Never. The blonde will always be a dangerous bastard. Still, there was something that made Sanji's hard lines, feel soft. Regrettably, Zoro liked this new development.

Asshole, was making this harder on the alpha. The swordsman had liked the cook since their run in with Arlong. It was something about kicking the shit out of a fishman barefoot, which did it for Zoro. Of course he didn't do anything about it, as the hopeless moron was a skirt chaser. It was fine, Zoro made his peace with the knowledge there could never be something between them.

Then along came Ace. Luffy's older brother, that Zoro had to admit was attractive. When the older alpha had flirted with the blonde, Zoro had scoffed, looking forward to see him kick someone else in the face for a change. The cook hadn't noticed. Which Zoro was still not sure if it was funny, or pitiful for the cook. It was possible that Zoro still wasn't over the shock of seeing Curlybrow responding well to the flirting, when Ace was more direct with it. Shit Cook was bisexual and Zoro had wasted all this time not going after the blonde.

It hurt watching the cook grow close to Ace, especially as he was a good guy. Zoro had no excuse to try and interfer. Instead, Zoro was a bit of a masochist. If he saw that Twirlybrow got letter, Zoro would try and run interference for him. That involved having to peak through the galley door, to know when the cook was done. Zoro got to see how the blonde would wiggle with joy, and a blush on his face. Zoro would catch glimpses of genuine affection, as Curly wrote a response. The swordsman had longed to be the one to be the cause of such reactions. Whenever he wanted to be nice to Shit Cook, he'd ended up insulting the guy.

Zoro had just tried to complement the blonde on getting stronger, instead he had accused the man's cooking giving him a stomach ache. Well done Zoro, insult Curly's cooking. Wasn't as if that was the guy's whole thing. At least the sparring was fun. He did purposely wind the cook up a lot, just to have a fight.

Their fight came to a stop, due to the cook getting a call. The flicker of panic in the blonde's eyes, caused Zoro to back down immediately. While Twirly talked to Franky, Zoro wondered if there was still time to catch some fish. He had been right after all, Cook didn't find what he wanted at the stalls and was looking to get some fish at the docks. They didn't get any in the end.

"Grace is alright?" The worry in the Cook's voice, grabbed hold of Zoro's attention, violently. How quickly he locked onto the snail, the swordsman should have pulled something. Who was Grace?

"She's cool bro. She's in the library with Robin. Doubt anyone else will see her, until you get back with Zoro and Luffy. Then you can have your talk with the Cap. We got you brother." Zoro could practically hear the thumb up from Franky. Not important right now. Why did Cook need to talk to Luffy?

"Thanks Franky. We'll try and get back to you as soon as possible. Hopefully with only a few explosions." Tension eased from the cook's shoulders. He had been really worried about this Grace. Who the fuck was she? Was that why the cook faintly smelt like an omega?

Zoro didn't hear Franky's reply, he was too busy trying to figure things out. When they were fighting earlier, the alpha had smelt omega on the cook. He had been confused as hell, as he always thought the idiot was a beta. Thought being the key word there, as Curly never actually confirmed his sub-gender. It was something he had realised, one of the many times he was distracted thinking about the cook, as Mihawk smacked him around. For a brief moment, Zoro had entertained the thought of Twirls being an omega that had just been on suppressants. Zoro had gotten very attached to that omega scent, stupidly quick. The thought of that enticing scent belonging to Shit Cook's possible new mate, squeezed Zoro's heart.

Shit. Zoro hadn't dared to hope that he had a chance with the blonde after Ace died. He couldn't bring himself to ever make a move, out of respect for Luffy and for Ace. It would be disrespectful to his Captain to go after his brother's boyfriend (were they dating?). It would be taking advantage of Sanji's grief and Zoro couldn't do that. Just because Zoro had given up on a relationship, didn't mean that the cook shouldn't move on.

Ah fuck, the cook was treating him like an idiot, he hadn't been listening. Number 7 had some balls to talk to Number 1 like that. Ah, he'll slash the bastard later. First, they should head towards the booms in the distance.

There he was! His captain! He recognised that straw hat anywhere. Finally, after 2 long years, he was by Luffy's side again. He could work to help Luffy realise he dream once more! No doubt helping Luffy become King of the Pirates, would only lead to Zoro achieving his dream. For all of them achieving their dreams. Zoro was always going to become the greatest swordsman, he didn't doubt himself at all. Being with Luffy, made it easier to visualise his end goal. He could even picture what life would possibly be like for him after. Admittedly, Zoro hadn't really gave it much though before Luffy.

"Why is he wearing that back pack sidewards?" The cook laughed, expression fond. Squinting, Zoro realised that the cook was right. He followed a dumbass. There was no better captain.

"Oi Luffy!" They both called out to their captain and was greeted with a very familiar smile. They took down one of those bear robots easily, which was extremely cathartic. Then they were running from marines, back to the Sunny. Just like old times. Zoro felt settled.

Until Curls saw the girls tits and smacked a hand over his nose. The idiot's face went bright red, before he passed out. With Chopper hanging on his shoulder, Zoro hadn't been able to move fast enough to grab hold of the cook, before he fell off the giant bird and into the water. What just happened? Usopp fished the cook out and was trying to get the blonde to wake up, by the time they landed on the deck. What the hell had happened, he was even more a stupid love cook than before? He had an omega partner right? Why was he like this?

Chopper fussed over the cook, actually bringing out a blood bag for him! The brain dead asshole, had a nosebleed that he needed a transfusion for. Why was he so stupid? Why did this not stop Zoro from liking him? It had to brain trauma, for both of them. One too many bamboo swords hit Zoro round the head as a kid, and one too many kicks to the head from a peg leg, for the cook.

It didn't take long for the cook to come back round. He helped with the rest of them to defend the Sunny, as they sailed away far enough to submerge. Zoro had been debating how best to catch the fish without popping the bubble. The multiple bumps on his head, deterred him enough to avoid just slashing at them. He had been about to ask Usopp if he had a fishing rod, or net that could be used, when Zoro noticed the cook approach Luffy. His heart felt heavy, watching the pair of them walk away.

Oh yeah, Grace.

XXX

Sanji was scared. When he came up to Luffy to ask to talk, Luffy could tell that his nakama was nervous. Sanji should never be nervous when talking to Luffy. Never! So when Sanji asked to talk, of course Luffy followed him. The rubberman could tell that at least Robin and Franky had an idea what was going on. They both tried to encourage Sanji without anyone noticing. Zoro noticed and he looked sad. Luffy had a feeling that Zoro was thinking the wrong thing. After all, he didn't even know Sanji was omega.

Luffy was so happy that he could smell Sanji easier now. Something must have helped Sanji during their time apart, Luffy hoped that it would get better for his cook. Now though, Luffy could smell Sanji's scent turning sour. It wasn't very strong, as Sanji was doing pretty well keeping it under control. Maybe Luffy should scent him. They were going to have a cuddle pile later, even if his crew didn't know it yet, but maybe Sanji would like to be scented now.

They hesitated outside the library door, Luffy sensed Robin disappearing. Funny, there was still someone behind the door, they felt familiar. Cocking his head to the side, Luffy looked to his nakama curiously. Sanji sighed shakily.

His cook stepped in first and quickly made his way over to the couch, where a funny looking lump was. Sanji picked up the lump and started purring. That was the first time Luffy had heard Sanji purr, he wanted to hear it again. Like forever. Could Sanji purr forever?

"You know that I'm an omega right?" As if he hadn't just been purring earlier. Walking into the room, Luffy tried to peak at the lumpy thing Sanji was holding. The purring stomped and the captain pouted. A raised eyebrow was directed at him and Luffy realised he hadn't answered.

"Yeah. The old cook guy told me. I can also smell it. I mostly smell it when you get me out the sea. You always hold me near your gland. I like it, makes me feel safe." Pink Sanji was one of Luffy's favourites. The captain complimented his cook all the time, but only sometimes Sanji believed him. His cook always got embarrassed, it was funny. Pink Sanji also made Zoro fidget.

"Alright. Not sure why the old geezer told you. I sort of guessed that you always knew. Chopper knows, does Mosshead?"

"Nah, everyone thinks your beta. They might realise now though, your scent is getting stronger. Is that why you wanted to talk? Don't worry Sanji, no one will mind you're omega. Anyway, I like your smell." Proudly, Luffy smiled at his nakama. His crew were they best, they loved each other no matter what. Sometimes they all needed reminding of from time to time.

Sanji sat down on the couch and patted the space next to him. Following Sanji's wordless request, Luffy sat down and crossed his legs. It was quiet for a while, it made Luffy itchy to move. He stayed, as Sanji needed him too. The rubberman wondered why the cook hadn't started smoking yet.

"Due to something that happened when I was little, my scent got wierd. I hadn't started my heats yet, but when I did, they were off. I was told I wouldn't be able to have a baby. I already told Chopper, but he thought it was because of the time I starved on that shitty rock. I'm not meant to tell anyone what happened before that. Maybe some day." Sanji trailed off and Luffy remained quiet. His nakama would tell him what he needs to know when they were ready, he wouldn't rush them.

"Found out on some shitty island, what the main cause of it was. It's slowly getting better. It er, the treatment is behind the nosebleeds. Ivankov says hi by the way."

"You met Iva-chan? Awesome. They're funny." Such a strong person to look after and help train his nakama, Luffy was glad. He really needed to see them again, to say thank you for everything.

"Pain in my ass more like it. But a good person. They- It was on that island that I found out I was pregnant. I- I- I had a baby when we were apart."

A baby! Like, a whole person was made in Sanji's tummy? Ignoring the annoyed 'oi', the captain placed a hand on his cook's stomach, looking up at him imploringly.  Luffy missed it? Luffy missed their pack omega having a baby! The old cook, Sanji's dad, told Luffy about him being an omega, so Luffy could protect him. Zeff said that Sanji was bad at looking after himself and would need help sometimes. Luffy hadn't been there to help. His alpha felt like crying.

"When did you find out?" Did Sanji get pregnant with them, or was it when he was separated? A hand took hold of the rubber one, still resting on the omega's stomach. It squeezed Luffy's. Ah.

"The day after we separated. I was 13-16 weeks pregnant." He must have let out a sad whine, as a comforting scent suddenly filled Luffy's nose. Sanji was trying to soothe him. It was all wrong. Luffy was pack alpha. He should have protected their omega. Sanji got hurt lots of time when he was pregnant. Luffy growled at himself, only to get flicked on the forehead. Sanji's had returned to holding Luffy's hand, the captain turned his palm over, so he could hold on too.

"I can guess where your mind went Captain and it wasn't you fault. I didn't know. Chopper didn't. I didn't even smell like a pregnant omega. Don't get me wrong, I had many sleepless nights scared that I had hurt my baby. She's healthy Luffy. We're both healthy. Or well, I'm getting there."

Trying to get the image of Sanji being held in the robot bear's hand, a laser fired through his shoulder put of his head, the alpha tried to listen. He was still angry at himself. A part of him regretted choosing to be apart for 2 years. Luffy knew that they needed that time apart to train, but he still mourned that he missed such a big moment of Sanji's life.

"She? You had a little girl?" He tried to peak again at the lumpy thing Sanji was holding, now realising that it was the omega's daughter. The sweet soothing scent that had calmed Luffy earlier, started to turn sour again. Not hesitating this time, Luffy scented Sanji's wrist. Whatever was getting his crewmate upset, he was ready to face it. Never again,  would he not be there when his nakama needed him.

"Luffy, having a child on a pirate ship, it's not feasible. I don't want to put the crew at risk because of me. I don't want to put my baby at risk, just because I selfishly want to be with you all. I meant to tell you all of this before we submerged, as it would have been easier for me to leave and find you a new cook. The Candies said they were going to stay for a few days, incase I needed to go back with them. I'm sorry, I can find a way back once we get to Fishman Island."

"SHUT UP! You really are stupid Sanji. You just told me you want to stay and you think I am going to ask you to leave? I don't care how hard it will be now with a baby on the ship, I am going to keep you and her safe. You are both Nakama, my family. Family protect each other, no matter what!"

Seeing Sanji cry, caused something in Luffy's heart to twist. The urge to calm the cook, was so strong, it almost caused Luffy to vibrate. The souring scent was lifting, but it still lingered. The wet smile that greeted him, caused the young alpha to frown.

"Even if the sire is an alpha outside of the pack?"

"Why would that matter?" Sanji laughed, but it didn't sound to happy. The sour scent was still there. It irritated Luffy's nose. "Some alphas get territorial and don't want anything outside their pack, interfering."

"I don't care. She is yours and that is all that matters. No one else will care. What happened to this alpha anyway, want me to kick their ass for you?" He laughed again, it left Luffy feeling confused and frustrated. Some part of Sanji was cheering up. What Luffy was saying, it helped a bit. Yet the sour scent got stronger and Sanji was crying more. What was causing his sadness?

"Da, ow? Kiss?" A tiny hand reached out from the blanket and smacked Sanji in the face. The laugh that bubbled out of the blonde, was a lot more genuine. The captain watched his cook nuzzle his baby, then hopefully smile at Luffy. There was a fluttering in the rubberman's chest.

"No baby, I'm not hurt. I want you to meet someone important OK. This is Luffy. Grace, can you say Luffy? LUFFY." The blanket fell away from the baby and Sanji moved her, so that she was sitting on the Cook's knee. Sleepily, she blinked up at Luffy. It took a couple of seconds before the fogginess in her bright blue eyes, cleared and Sanji's words sank in. "Lu lu."

"Close. Grace, can you say Luffy?"
"Lu Lu."
"You got the fff and ey sounds earlier with Franky. You can do it clever girl. Luffy."
"Lu Lu!"
"You're doing this on purpose aren't you? You stubborn little monkey."
"Lu Lu ow? Kiss?" Small hands stretched towards Luffy. Having let go of his daughter, Grace crawled into Luffy's lap. Like with Sanji earlier, soft hands smacked Luffy's face, but he didn't laugh. Luffy could bearly breathe.

A face so similar to the one that he sees in both his dreams and nightmares, peered up to him. She had a similar shaped nose of when Luffy first met Ace, it changed a bit as he got older. The face shape was similar, so were her lips and skin tone. The shade of her hair was exactly the same, it felt the same. So much of this little girl reminded Luffy of his brother, except for her eyes.

Eyes that were the same shade of blue as his cook. The same cook that Ace had helped Sanji with something, back in Alabasta. The same cook that wrote letters to Ace. The same cook that loved his brother.

Oh.

Why had he not realised earlier? Sanji saved people. He had saved a part of Ace. Luffy thought that he had lost his brother. Apart from the memories, Luffy had nothing to remember him by. This little girl, meant Luffy wouldn't forget Ace's face. Tracing a thumb over her faint freckles, Luffy looked back up to Sanji. His face was blurry through Luffy's tears.

"They actually started to showing on the boat ride to Sabaody. They'll probably grow darker and more  will appear, the older she gets." The voice was so gentle. As an alpha, one would think Luffy would be offended to be spoken in such a manner. The truth was that he needed it right now. He felt oh so fragile.

"Sanji?" Not quite able to verbalise what exactly he was asking his cook, Luffy instead tried to will his body to breath properly. He needed Sanji to confirm who exactly this  little girl was.

"Portgas D. Grace, can you give your Uncle Luffy a hug and a kiss please? His heart is hurting." The tiny girl in his lap, gasped and removed her hands from his face. They then settled just above the scar on his chest and kissed where his heart would be.  Arms not quiet long enough to wrap around him, Grace faceplanted his chest, her fingertips brushing his sides. With trembling arms, Luffy brought his new nakama into a careful hug. She was too precious, a treasure he was scared to break.

Not sure what he was feeling, Luffy seeked out his crewmate. It was reassuring to find something he recognised in Sanji's eyes. There too was pain, grief, sadness, but there was also so much love. It hurt too much, knowing that Ace was gone. Knowing that Ace never saw his daughter and that she will never have the chance to meet him. Luffy was also overjoyed that there was someone else here that he could love. Not quite the same way as he loved Ace. But Luffy would love this little girl for Ace, give her all the love he knew Ace would have given her. Damn, his brother would loved his daughter so much.

Larger arms wrapped around Luffy and his niece. They were so warm. Against his back, Luffy could feel a steady rumbling. Sanji was purring for him, trying to make Luffy happy. Sanji really was stupid, he had no idea just how happy Luffy was. Grace blew raspberries against his chest.

"She's trying to mimic purring. Sorry captain, you're going to have drool all over your chest."

"I don't care. My little sister can do whatever she wants." Sanji was right, Luffy could feel something warm and sticky against his chest. It didn't bother him at all.

"No, you're her uncle. She's your niece."

"Yeah, but sister sounds better and I want to be a big brother."

"Well I didn't give birth to you shi- captain. You're Grace's uncle!" Laughing loudly, Luffy loved this feeling. He wanted to put it in a box and keep forever. "Shishishi, Sanji is trying not to swear, it's funny." The threat of being served nothing but vegetables, did nothing to ruin the mood.

"Din din? Please. Dada, please. Din din." Bored of blowing raspberries on Luffy's chest, Grace started smacking Sanji's hand. At the mention of food, Luffy felt his own stomach grumble. Yes! Sanji's cooking, he had missed it so much.

"Meat Sanji! You start cooking and I'll show everyone my little sister." Jumping to his feet, with his arms coiled around the toddler, Luffy ran out the door.

"Luffy, be careful with her and she's your niece!" The captain could only laugh, too excited to introduce Grace to everyone.

XXX

It took a while to notice, but the peacefulness and Zoro's glaring, stood out. Scanning the deck, Nami noticed that Luffy and Sanji were missing. That explained both the peacefulness and the glaring Zoro. She guessed that they were together, but she had no idea why, except maybe Luffy asking Sanji to cook. That wouldn't cause Zoro to frown though. She must have missed something.

Taking note of everyone else, they all appeared to be relaxed. Usopp and Chopper were pointing out all the fish they thought were cool. Brook watched the pair of them, commenting on all the whales. It wasn't surprising to find Franky and Robin together. She wished they figured it out between them already. They were almost as painful to watch as Zoro's pining. That was a lie. Getting teeth pulled was a breeze, compared to watching Zoro.

What Nami did notice, was that Franky and Robin were looking in the same direction as Zoro. Not towards the galley. OK, she had definitely missed something, which pissed her off. Fustrated at being left in the dark, Nami made her way towards the library, only for an arm to stop her. She had not expected for Robin to stop her, nor for the the other woman to look at her disapprovingly. What was going on?

Opening her mouth to get some answers, Nami was cut off by the the scent of an upset alpha. What the fuck? The only missing alpha was Luffy. What had Sanji done to upset Luffy?

She heard Zoro growl beside her, clearly protective of their captain. Both Franky and Robin were not growling, but looked worried. It was different from Zoro. The musclehead was clearly worried about Luffy, his posture defensive more than anything. Franky and Robin were protective. It was a subtle difference, but it spoke volumes to Nami. What to do with this information, she had no clue. She would have to wait and see.

The waiting was painful. Luffy's emotions in his scent changed, more than the weather on the Grand Line did. It made it almost impossible to figure out what was going on. Nami grew tense.

Finally Luffy's scent turned happy, if not a bit bittersweet. It made Nami relax. They all did, until they were able to make out the extremely faint purring. Really, they shouldn't be able to hear anything coming from the library, but purring! Only omegas purr and omegas were so rare. Any signs of one being happy or sad, was pretty much a scream to an alpha. Why was there an omega on board? Why was Zoro growling at the sound of an omega?

SLAM!

Luffy kicked the door open and ran over to them. Distantly, Nami recognised that Sanji had walked out after their captain, but she was too preoccupied at staring at the toddler in Luffy's arms.

"Check out my little sister, her name is Grace!" He looked so proud of himself. Not bothered at all by the saliva on his chest. The little girl in his arms was frowning, it did nothing to distract from how cute she was.

"Dammit Luffy, she's your niece!"

It took a few seconds for the information  to process. When it finally did, they all screamed in unison.

"WHAT!!"

The little girl started crying. Sanji wordlessly took the toddler from Luffy's arms and headed to the galley. "You guys are mean." Luffy scolded them and followed after the cook and child, leaving the rest of them dumbfounded on the deck.

"What?"

Chapter Text

With the cries of the toddler muffled behind the closed door of the galley, Robin digested the information that had been presented to them. Their captain claimed that Grace was his little sister, but their cook corrected him. Grace was Luffy's niece. This did not clarify things as much as one would think.

Their crew had a family dynamic of sorts. Herself and Franky were often dubbed the mother and father of the crew and Brook was the Grampa. It was a title she never felt was quite correct with how their crew worked. There were other members that suited the titles. Sometimes Robin felt as if her and Franky were better suited as the Aunt and Uncle of their family, or the eldest sister and brother. The role older brother of their little family, went to their resident swordsman. The rest of their crew were deemed as siblings.

From how Luffy introduced Grace to everyone, it insuated that they were keeping the little girl. This was the outcome she had wanted. She had scented the toddler, it was an action that told their pack alpha that she was not opposed to the idea of welcoming the girl into their pack. It was unlikely that this action played  any role in his decision, but at least Luffy knew where she stood.

Now back to trying to determine just how much weight Luffy's and Sanji's words held. If Luffy claimed Grace as his little sister and Sanji hadn't corrected him, that would lead Robin to believe that the toddler was a child Sanji had found, and Luffy had agreed to welcome to the crew. The fact that Sanji had corrected Luffy, saying niece, indicated that the girl was their cook's. After all, if one of your siblings had a child, you gained a niece/nephew. That had to be it then, Sanji had somehow obtained a child during their time apart. Just how their cook had managed to do that, was the main mystery Robin wished to solve.

Had someone fallen for their cook's charms? Was little Grace a product of night of passion with an omega, on an island they visited? Was her mother still alive, or had she abandoned her daughter on Sanji's doorstep? It was possible there was no blood ties between Sanji and Grace, that their cook had found the toddler and taken her in.

"That was a baby right? Luffy said that she was his sister." Usopp scratched at his cheek, wincing at the sudden shriek from the galley. "Luffy you just ate your pack lunch, stop trying to eat Grace's. She'll bite you."

"Yeah, but it wasn't a Sanji pack lunch. I missed your cooking."

"You can see me cooking right in front of you. Wait, like 2 minutes and you'll have a snack. Sing Bink Sake to her, it should calm her down." Luffy's less than perfect singing could be heard through the door. The crying got louder. Eagerly, Brook ran up the stairs and leaned against the wall next to the door. Swinging the guitar round to his front, the musician started to play a familiar tune. It didn't take long after Brook started singing, for the cries to die down.

"Sanji-kun said that the baby was Luffy's niece. He seems to know her, at least a bit."  Nami moved to stand beside Usopp, Chopper had climbed into his shoulders. Zoro looked lost, not physically this time.

Their captain suddenly burst out of the galley with several meat skewers in his hands and some in his mouth. Not far behind him, was Sanji holding a platter of skewers. On his hip, was Grace. She was happily eating an apple slice. On top of Sanji's head, was a small bento box. Grace's lunch, Robin presumed.

The cook handed the platter to Franky, the cyborg happily took hold. Robin admired how willing Franky was to help, even though he must have questions he wanted answering. Taking one for himself, Franky then passed the platter to everyone else, whilst Sanji placed the toddler on the grass. With the bento in front of her, she ignored everyone else around her.

"Now that she is eating, Grace isn't going to pay much attention to you all. So, ask your questions." In one of his hands, was a lighter. He flicked the the lid off and on, but he didn't pull out a cigarette. Sanji was on edge from what Robin could tell, but was choosing not to smoke. Despite wanting to know more, Robin couldn't quite bring herself to ask anything. Oddly enough, the thought of causing Sanji more stress, upset her. By the looks of it, she wasn't the only one.

Putting away his guitar, Brook walked down to meet them. If he still had them, Robin knows that Brook would have raised an eyebrow at them all. So he had noticed too, all the alpha had tensed. Luffy was the exception. It was quite puzzling. Robin hasn't quite experienced something like this before, it made her feel uneasy.

"Bink Sake calms her down?" A light question, that shouldn't cause too much stress for their crewmate. Sanji's eyes flickered to the little girl, that was squeezing pasta in her hand. Once it was a  clump, she shoved it into her mouth. He sighed.

"It was the only thing I could think of when I was sleep deprived and she refused to go to sleep. It worked. If she's not tired, she'll dance to it. She won't do it now, as she's eating. Meal time is very important to her." Luffy nodded, looking incredibly proud. The sight made Robin smile, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"You appear to know Luffy's niece pretty well Sanji-san, how did you come to meet her?" A wild like smile grew on Sanji's face. The next sentence out of their cook's mouth, would be important. Something undoubtedly shocking.

"Officially, when I pushed her out. Unofficially, when she was growing inside me." Robin was never quite as vocal as the rest of their crew, but she shared their shock. Having the foresight to, Sanji had placed his hands over Grace's ears, just before most of them yelled in shock. Grace started to eat a carrot stick.

"Oi oi oi. Don't you know better to lie in front of the Great Captain Usopp? For her to grow inside you, would mean you would have a womb." The sniper was correct. There were only a couple reasons why Sanji would have a womb. The answer would be surprising, no matter which one turned out to be the truth.

"Not lying Long-nose, that's your department. Ugh, you know what? I'm just going to tell you the facts, save you time. I'm a male omega. No, I wasn't on suppressants, or used scent blockers. My hormones were fu-messed up. Didn't know that hormones were the main cause, until we separated. Grace is mine. I gave birth to her. Yes, I was pregnant when I was with you. Didn't notice the signs, as I didn't think I could get pregnant. I was 13-16 weeks pregnant when we separated. Yes, I did get injured a lot whilst pregnant. Yes that did scare the sh- scared me a lot. Grace is healthy. Ace is the sire."

Sanji kept his hands over Grace's ears, ready for their reaction. A reaction that was delayed, due to the sheer amount of information that their cook had thrust upon them. Luffy's distress from earlier, made terrible sense. All of the alphas grew distraught. Not that Brook, Chopper and Usopp were not unhappy with this revelation, but their scent didn't drastically change. They didn't wimper, as their inner alpha cowered at the idea of not protecting  their omega crewmate. Their pregnant omega crewmate, that took blows on their behalf.

Her mind was spiralling. Sanji had given birth with none of them around him. He had grieved the sire of his child, without them.

"You said you couldn't get pregnant. I never thought to check that you were. I'm so sorry Sanji. I failed you as your doctor, I should have kept a better eye on you and spotted the signs." Eyes watering, Chopper had slid off of Usopp and ran to grab hold of their cook's leg. With comforting eyes, Sanji placed a hand on top of Chopper's head.

"Not your fault. You already know why some of the side effects of pregnancy, wouldn't have stood out as questionable to me. I hardly smelt different. If it wasn't for a blood test the doctor did to find out what was causing my wierd scent, probably wouldn't have noticed I was pregnant, until at started growing a bump." The explanation helped calm Chopper down slightly. It did nothing for the rest of them. Grace had finished her lunch and had crawled into Luffy's lap. Her uncle's lap!

"You can't be an omega." Zoro muttered in disbelief under his breath, his eye wide. An offended look crossed Sanji's face and the swordsman almost recoiled. "I'm afraid that I agree with Zoro. I can't believe that we had been travelling with an omega that whole time and not known." Nami was pale. Robin understood. To survive for as long as she had, Robin had to be good at reading people, observant. How could an alpha miss that they lived in close quarters with an omega?

Sanji looked to Nami, his face turned red and he held his nose. Looking away from their navigator, his face soon turned back to the right shade. "Yeah, not to sound rude bro, but the boys have seen you naked." Sanji's face turned crimson so fast, Robin had been worried that his head was going to explode. She summoned a hand to pull at the cyborg's ear, scolding him for embarrassing the omega. She believed him. Although she was ashamed for not noticing earlier, she could not dispute his claims of being omega. Hadn't she not commented earlier that Grace smelt of Omgea? That had to be Sanji's scent. Had they subtly been smelling that earlier and that was why seeing Sanji, an omega, caused the alphas to grow tense.

"Damn pervert. Not like I'm going to show you, but male omega's have both...parts."

"Similar to a female alpha, male omegas have both penis and a vagina. Female alpha have a knot, an omega doesn't. A male omega penis tends to bigger than a female alpha when flaccid,  but is smaller when both are aroused. Female alphas are growers, for lack of a better term. A male Alpha's penis is larger in both states. Should a male omega..." Chopper started to rattle of the anatomical difference between female alphas and male omegas, oblivious to the chocking noise coming from Sanji. Robin found it fascinating, she knew little about male omegas, due to them being so rare. Her fascination could wait for now, for she feared that Sanji may die from embarrassment. Surely it would be a first for the records. Still, it appeared that her fellow alphas were skeptical of Sanji's sub-gender. Or the more likely option, was that they were trying to convince themselves it was a, lie as a defense mechanism.

"Not saying that I don't believe you, or anything. I do. Just, er. Don't take this the wrong way. Erm. You don't nest." Usopp held his arms up, as if expecting a blow. This was very true. There were no places on the ship that could be a soft little den for their cook to rest in. There wasn't even extra cushion on the couch in the galley.

Sanji tugged at his hair, a clear sign that he was stressed. Yet Robin couldn't smell it. Was Sanji trying to stop them from smelling it? It was possible, but she hadn't  really expected it. Luffy tilted his head to the side. He reached up and grabbed hold of Sanji's wrist, gently pulling him down to sit next to their captain.

"Sanji keeps the soft things I give him, in his bunk." That confirmed that Luffy was aware of Sanji's sub-gender prior to today. It was reassuring to know that at least the pack alpha knew there was an omega in their crew. A surprised look painted Sanji's face. It appears that their dear cook was unaware that he had a small nest built in his bunk. A horrified expression bled into Sanji's features, a sour scent permeated the air. Robin's mouth went dry. A distressed omega. Sanji was quick to school his face, but the scent still lingered. What would have caused such a reaction?

"Grace. I have an ow again. Can you help me?" Was their pack alpha ignoring the clearly distressed omega? Robin could see the rest of them were on edge. Wanting to aid Sanji, but didn't want to interfer with whatever their pack alpha was doing. Zoro had moved closer, the archeologist wasn't sure if the action was a conscious one.

The toddler looked at Luffy with a gasp. "Lu Lu ow? Kiss?" A tiny hand smacked at Luffy's chest. He looked so proud of her. Unwillingly, Robin relaxed. Sanji was still distressed, the scent had not lessened. In fact, the sour scent had turned to a burning smell. Hurt. Luffy wouldn't leave his nakama hurt like this. She had faith that he had a plan.

"Nah I don't think a kiss is strong enough. Can you purr for me?" Chopper's head shot up, about to object. The doctor was stopped by their captain's hand resting on his head. "Oi Luffy, kids shouldn't be able to purr at that age. You shouldn't - Ah!" Nami stomped on Usopp's foot, effectively cutting him off. Like the rest of the alphas, Nami stood, as if ready to act. Usopp studied them, realising that something was happening that he didn't quite have a grasp of, due to being a beta. Brook's fingers twitched on his guitar, he longed to play in such a tense atmosphere. Robin felt as taut one of those guitar strings. Her instincts threatening to snap.

The little girl spread her body against Luffy's front, her head resting on his sternum. Collectively, they held their breath. The wet sound of a raspberry was startling. Usopp had to throw a hand over his mouth to stop himself laughing in surprise. Luffy grinned. Grace stopped, with a frown on her face. She turned to Sanji, adorably furious at him. Whatever may be going through the cook's mind to cause him panic and hurt, his daughter still held all of his attention.

"Lu Lu ow. Da bad. Da pbbbbt, please." A glare was thrown Luffy's way. Their captain's smile had an air of smugness to it. "Manipulating me through my daughter, is a low blow Captian." The sneer, only caused Luffy to laugh, completely unbothered by the growing patch of saliva. Looking away from all of them, Sanji's face turned pink. Robin had a couple of seconds to feel confused, before a rumbling sound blanketed the crew.

A fuzzy warmth embraced Robin. It was as if she had plunged into the sea, she was surrounded and found herself, unable to move. Instead of feeling helpless and scared, she felt cared for. Safe.

"WHAT!?" The sudden yells of the crew, caused Sanji to instantly halt his purring. The abrupt halt was jarring, leaving Robin feeling untethered. She hated it. It appeared that their crew had managed to work past their denial stage, to fully accepted that Sanji was an omega. Their reaction shook their crewmate. He tried to start up the purring again, only for it stutter out. The sour scent grew stronger, it battled with the smell of something burning. Robin almost stumbled forward to help Sanji.

It was amazing how a glare from a toddler actually felt threatening. Furious blue eyes stared at the majority of the crew that had earlier yelled. "Bad. Bad. Loud, ow. Da 'urt. Da no pbbt. Bad. No like." The little girl crawled out of Luffy's lap, smacking their captain on the knee in what Robin recognised as a 'there, there'. Grace then grabbed hold one of Sanji's hand with both of her own and pulled. "Da go. No like. Go, please."

Snorting, Sanji looked to his little girl with unfiltered adoration. It was a wonderful expression on their cook's face. Such a shame that it was present, as the child sensed that their parent was upset and was trying to protect him from them. An act that was incredibly grown up for her age and shouldn't fall to her. His nakama, should be the ones that make him feel safe. Something extremely unpleasant, bubbled under Robin's skin. Luffy's heavy disapproval weighing on their shoulders, didn't feel strict enough punishment.

Taking in the rest of the crew, she could tell that none of them were happy with how things had turned out. Usopp was looking around at each of them, weighing up their state of mind before acting. As a beta surrounded by alphas with an upset omega, it was smart to act cautiously. Brook wanted to scent Sanji, but no longer had the ability to do so. Chopper was ignoring the rest of the crew, instead he was praising Sanji for how good his purring  had gotten during their time apart. The curiosity in Luffy's eyes, eluded that he was unaware that Sanji and purred in front of the doctor before. It made sense that Chopper would have heard it at some point treating him. However, from what Chopper was insinuating, Sanji had tried to purr for them a few times when they were heavily injured. It had always been rumoured that purring helps promote healing.

Zoro was incredibly tense. His expression was hard to read, but Robin could tell that he was upset. His singular sliver eye, flickered to Brook, then back to Sanji. Predominantly focused on the blonde's side. When relaxed, Zoro used his swords as an armrest. Now, he was gripping white one tightly.

Nami looked devastated. Robin saw her flinch when Grace said she didn't like them. Their navigator always had a soft spot for children and for one to view her as a bad person, would hurt.

Franky looked grief-stricken. Having witnessed how much he had already bonded to the little girl, Robin could understand what he was feeling. It was such a shame, none of them had intentionally meant to hurt Sanji. The crew was honestly just shocked to find out a that something they originally thought as a fact, about someone they cared for, was wrong. They may have felt betrayed in some way, or angry at themselves for not noticing. Reactions perfectly natural giving the monumental news they received.

Their reactions were selfish. Too focused on their reactions to the news, that they did not think of how they would affect their crewmate. They should have internalised their initial thoughts, assessed the situation, then reacted.

The purring picked up again. At some point, Sanji and scooped his daughter into his arms. She sat cradled against their cook's chest, playing with his tie. She wiggled the piece of clothing, hissed at it, then put the tie in her mouth. The blonde sighed, pulled the tie out of Grace's mouth with practiced fluidity. He then pulled a hard looking toy from his pocket, shaped like a turtle and handed it to the toddler. She placed it into her mouth, a frown still on her face.

It was fascinating how effective purring was at calming alphas. They were lucky that Sanji was purring for his daughter, as an omega's purr was strongest when for their child. With the alphas no longer on edge, Usopp took a leap of faith and reached out to Sanji. The beta squatted down in front of the cook.

"You know, you being omega makes a lot of sense actually." A curly eyebrow raised at Usopp's comment. Robin too wondered where exactly he was going with this. With fake gusto, Usopp puffed up his chest. "Yeah you know, with how motherly you are."

"What!" Sanji knocked his foot against the sniper's, causing him to lose balance and fall onto his backside. Behind him, Luffy perked up, a smile lighting up his face. A sigh of relief left Robin. "Yeah! Sanji is like the Mom. That's why Grace is my little sister."

"For the love of- Luffy, you are her uncle. I'm not motherly. Only for my daughter." The sniper made a show of looking overly thoughtful. Robin smiled to herself. "You remind me of moms we see in towns. You know the ones, they have a bunch of rambunctious kids. The kids misbehave and their mom appears to scold them with an apron on and pulls the children away by the ear." The fact that Robin had seen Sanji scold the younger members of the crew wearing an apron, made her quietly laugh.

Luffy dived forward, latching onto Usopp's back, causing him to almost fall onto his back. "Yeah. Sanji also feeds everyone. He washes our clothes and makes sure we're all clean. Sanji is like a mom. So you should adopt me and and I'll be Grace's sister."

"Wha-NO!" Luffy's bubbly laugh rung out. The mood of the ship brightened significantly. It felt like their crew again. The joy flowing from their captain caused Grace to giggle. It was such a sweet sound. Sanji's purr gradually stopped and he placed the girl onto the deck. The cook kicked Luffy's shin, when the little girl finally took in Chopper. She asked for the reindeer to play and with Sanji's permission, started playing hide and seek on the deck. They were both terrible. It was precious.

"She really does look like Ace." Nami thought aloud. The rest of the crew came to gather around Luffy, Usopp and Sanji, watching Chopper and Grace play. Robin had only seen photos of Ace in newspapers and bounty posters, but she could see the likeness. Those that had actually met Ace,  would undoubtedly be able to see the resemblance with more ease.

"You should see her when she first wakes up in the morning. She's the spitting image." His voice was so fond, yet terribly melancholic. From the little information Sanji had provided them, he had found out that he was pregnant, only to find out that the father had died shortly after. How tragic!

Sanji started to play with his lighter again. "She's the granddaughter of Gol D. Roger. If  anyone finds out, they'll hunt her down." The silent 'and kill her' was heard by all of them, as if it was roared. Even if Sanji wasn't a pirate with a bounty, the World Government would also hunt him down and execute him, should they find out about him being the mother of Gol D. Roger's granddaughter. A shiver ran down her spine.

"I know that we have already pisssd some powerful people off, that we are already wanted. This is different. This isn't what any of your sighed up for when you joined the crew. If this is the straw that breaks the camel's back for you all, Ivankov said I would be safe to stay with them." Robin felt  something icy plunge into her chest. She saw the stunned expression on the rest crew's faces. Panic in their eyes at the thought of their nakama walking away.

Luffy jumped onto Sanji's back, booing. The blonde staggered backwards, his arms windmilled at the unexpected weight. The golden lighter flew out of his hand, which Brook caught. The old musician gently handed the lighter back, his boney fingers lingered holding the cook's hand.

"Boo Sanji. I already told you, you're staying on the crew. I'm keeping you and Grace safe." Luffy's rubber limbs wrapped around Sanji's, leaning backwards. Their musician grabbed hold of both of Sanji's arms, to avoid their cook falling over.

"Sorry to say brother, but you're stuck with us. I gotta to admit, if you were going to say that the lil cutie wasn't staying with us, I was gonna steal her. I almost opened fired on your friends that dropped some stuff round, to protect her." The usual cheer in Franky's voice, sounded strained. The cyborg almost jumped when Sanji suddenly turned to him.

"Wha? Oh for the- where did you leave the stuff?"

"Below deck bro. I checked it over, it all looked safe." Looking slightly wrong-footed, Franky blinked when Sanji groaned in annoyance. "I told them not to bother. Ugh. Luffy, can you watch Grace while I check what the Candies brought? I'm going to need to sort through it. Wait. Er. Brook, if you play Bink Sake again, Grace will probably dance now. Should keep her entertained for a bit. If any of you join in with her, just be careful. Joints and shi- kids can dislocate and break things easily at that age." Quickly, Sanji headed for below deck. Robin wondered what his friends could have possibly brought, that would need to be checked over by their cook first.

"Oof" Chopper was winded by the toddler sitting on his stomach. The pair of them appeared to have stopped their game of hide and seek. Brook started to play Bink Sake. The little girl squealed and tumbled off Chopper, accidently kicking him in the nose in the process. She got to her feet, stood in sort of squat and bounced up and down, happily clapping. When Brook started to sing the words, she wiggled side to side, trying to sing along.

As if they could ever not want this little girl on their crew.

Chopper joined in with her. Small hands took hold of his hooves, making the pair of the bounce up and down, stomp their feet, as they sang. Their previously youngest member, looked overjoyed. It was heartwarming to watch.

"I told Sanji that you wouldn't care that he was omega." Immediately, the alphas of the Straw Hats stood to attention, as the pack alpha spoke. He was disappointed in them. They hung their heads.

"We don't Luffy, it was just a shock finding out Sanji-kun was one. I don't understand why he didn't say anything, why did he hide it?" Brook played a little louder, but it was clear the musician was listening. It had definitely been a shock, but Robin felt that it didn't justify how they acted.

"So, none of you said anything about being alpha or beta, why should Sanji? He didn't hide it."

"He never smelt like an omega." Zoro spoke carefully. It almost sounded like a question. It made Robin reflect. Did she remember Sanji ever smelling like an omega? Luffy shook his head and Zoro frowned.

"If you got real close, then you could smell it. I figured out Sanji was omega when he first got me out the water. When Sanji saves anyone from the sea, he holds your head near his neck gland. He does it if he picks anyone up that can't move much, too. Even though his omega was sick, he tried to help with his scent. I like it, it smells like safety."

What a terrible time to realise that Luffy was right. She had been saved by Sanji, she had rested her head very close to his neck. He had always made her feel safe. It was different compared to someone else carrying her after a difficult battle, or out of the sea.  How had she not noticed that her alpha had never felt threatened around the blonde, despite how strong he was? There were so many strong willed alphas on this crew, that sometimes her alpha did feel the need to prove itself. It was never a strong urge, but something she felt regardless.

"The omega scent that is on Grace, is his. That would explain why I got attached so quickly, she is part of our pack." Looking to Franky, she witnessed the moment something clicked for him.

"That's why she reminded me of home. She reminded me of when we eat as a crew in the galley, now I know why. That cosy feeling in the galley, even when Cook-bro isn't in their making something, it's his lingering omega scent. Man, it's super faint, but it would make sense for it to smell like him, he's in there so much. Agh, couldn't figure out what was wrong with the galley when I arrived. The scent had faded!"

Bink Sake ended, Brook moved onto another song, only for tears to spring into the little girl's eyes. Worried that Grace would start crying, Brook started Bink Sake again. "We should ask our dear cook if there other songs she likes."

The skeleton smiled. Robin felt it, more than she saw it. Not to say that she hadn't learnt the subtleties of Brook's face, to be able to tell when he was smiling. "I agree that it would be preferable to have a catalogue of songs I could play for our newest nakama. That being said, I am honoured to be able to play her current favourite."

Grace screamed in excitement when she recognised that the song had started playing again. Somehow, she started dancing even more enthusiastically than before.

"You know, I always found the boys room more cosy, after it was cleaned. Always thought it was because Luffy's underwear was no longer on the floor. Now I'm thinking that it could be something else."

"Ugh, no the lack of underwear on the floor would make anything feel better. Clean environments are just less stressful to be in. If you are less stressed, the better you feel. You boys are so dumb sometimes. The girl's room is always clean, Grace should stay with us." Now, that was a surprise.  Robin could see why Nami would think it would be better for the toddler to stay with them. She understood, but didn't see this coming into fruition.

"She would stay with the cook. You suddenly gonna let him stay in your room with you?"  The swordsman rolled his eyes, writing off Nami's suggestion immediately. He did a double take when Nami didn't back down. "So what if I do?"

"You going to start being nice to the cook, just because you know his an omega!? Twirlybrow is going to hate being treated differently!"

"Don't act like you know him, you didn't even know he was omega!"

"Neither did you!"

"You should have been able to smell him, seeing how often you are in each other's faces!"

"You should have been able to smell him, from how often he saved you!" Alpha pheromones oozed out of Nami and Zoro. It made the air feel heavy and sticky, as if breathing tar. This was getting out of hand.  Grace had stopped dancing, even though Brook had been trying to play loud enough to drown out the noise. Her lower lip wobbled and she hid behind Chopper.

"Stop this. Grace will stay wherever Sanji says is best for her. We should not dicuss this without him." Nami twirled round to face Robin, a betrayed look on her face. Zoro glared at her, still effective even with the loss of a eye.

"Robin, they have axes and other weapons in their room. It's not safe in there for a baby." Zoro opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Franky. "Hey Nami-sis, I'll work on baby proofing the Sunny. When we get to Fishman Island, I can build a new room for just Sanji-bro and his baby. Save you all trying to fight over the poor guy."

So absorbed by the two alphas fighting, they hadn't noticed that the toddler had started to silently cry. Usopp was crouched by Chopper, the pair of them trying to cheer up the little girl. Brook was nowhere to be seen, Robin guessed he had gone to get Sanji. All the alphas of the crew had let their anger get the best of them and now their omega's baby was upset.

"All of you, leave the deck and find somewhere to cool off. Sanji came to talk to me, as he was worried about how he and Grace would affect the crew. You are making me a liar, when I told Sanji everything would be OK. Any decision about Sanji and Grace, will be made by Sanji. You only get to say something about it, if Sanji asks you. You are not helping Sanji's omega get better." It was daunting to be at the receiving end of Luffy's furiously protective expression. They had all seen him wear it on their behalf, not so much the target of it.

"Sorry Captain, what do you mean by Sanji's omega getting better? Are you referring to what he said about his hormones?" Robin had to ask. If there was something she may be doing that was harming her crewmate, she wanted to know. The pack alpha ignored them for a moment. Instead, he walked over to his niece and picked her up when she raised her arms to him. The toddler buried her head into his chest, her tiny body shaking. He placed his chin on her head and wrapped his arms around her. The little girls cries slowly stopped. Robin understood why Sanji asked Luffy specifically to watch Grace. The toddler trusted her uncle completely.

"I don't really know what hormones are. Something about Sanji's omega, always felt sick. That part feels better now. There is a new part that feels sick now. Ace and Sanji might not have been able to properly become mates, but they wanted to. I think they did. Sanji's been hurt. He needs a family to get better. We need to be his family. Sanji is still strong. He does not need you to be overprotective in battle, or on his ship. He needs support. I'm going to show Grace the fishies we have in the tank." Without further word, Luffy walked away. Sanji burst onto the deck, searching around with worried eyes. When he noticed Luffy waiting by a door, he ran to them and followed his captain.

A somber mood was left behind on the deck. All of them rejoining should have been the time to celebrate, instead, they felt defeated. "I was not aware that Sanji had a relationship with Fire Fist Ace." She would have thought this would have been a something gossip worthy amongst the crew.

Usopp ran a hand down his face. "We met Ace in Alabasta, they had a fling there." She had heard rumours of Ace being spotted in Alabasta, but was unaware of his ties to Luffy until it was too late. "Wasn't a fling. They stayed in touch, wrote letters to each other." Zoro's cut off tone, startled the sniper. His singular eye was trained on the door their captain and cook disappeared behind. It was the third time that day, they had witnessed the pair leave the rest of them behind. Each time, worse than the other.

"What? How did you know that, when I didn't?" The navigator had her hands on her hips, obviously getting increasingly frustrated with each reveal. "Saw Ace say he would write to Curlybrow. Saw him get a letter later. Easy to notice a pattern of the cook taking something from a News Coo and give an envelope to another bird, a couple days later."

The swordsman's adam's apple bobbed as he spoke, as if he needed to swallow after each word. As if the act of forcing each word out, cut this throat raw. Zoro was not coping well with this information.

"He writes letters to his old man right? Y'sure they weren't letters for him?" Franky asked carefully. His hands twitching in the need to build. Chopper kicked at the ground, not looking up at them. "No, if Sanji gets a letter from Zeff, I hear him pace in the galley saying 'shitty geezer' a lot."

Brook sighed, picking up the turtle toy that Grace had dropped. He rubbed his thumb over the painted smile. "Our nakama are grieving. Luffy-san, over the death of his brother. Sanji-san, over the death over his intended mate. Both grieving the same person, for different reasons. It makes sense that they would find comfort in each other's company. I do not fault Luffy at all for his reaction earlier, the protectiveness. It is not a reaction from finding out that Sanji is omega, as our captain knew that from the beginning.

"I believe that Luffy-san recognises a similar pain in Sanji-san. An open wound, that can only be left behind from loosing a loved one. I worry for Sanji-san. Carrying the child, sired by a man that tragically died far away from him. Then raising that child, whilst training at the same time! I don't believe that Sanji-san had the time to grieve. His wound feels fresh."  Brook placed a hand on where his heart would be.

They were all familiar with grief. Some of them were also familiar, with not being able to grieve at the time they first lost their loved ones. How exhausting and mentally straining it was, to keep pushing that grief back, until it was finally safe to do so. Some of them, had too much time to grieve.

"I noticed that you said that 'his wounds feel fresh', your tone indicates that you know this for certain." Placing the child's toy in his pocket, the skeleton turned to her and winked. "You know, people say that lonely souls recognise each other."

Robin suspected that Brook's Devil Fruit played a part in this. She chose to not comment further on the subject. If this was a new development of Brook's Fruit, he would reveal it if necessary. "I suppose you are correct. In that case, to be a good pack, we must support those that need it." She knew her words had bite to them. She should have spoken up earlier, to try and avoid the fall out. She hadn't, so to make amends, she will make sure it doesn't happen again.

"Alright. I'm going to carry on making things for lil Grace. Wanna help Usopp-bro, come up with ideas how to baby proof the Sunny?" Usopp's eyes were sad until Franky talked to him. He almost glowed at the idea of being able to help. "Sure, we can make some locks for Sanji to place on the cabinets in the kitchen, stop the baby trying to get into them. Maybe some guards for corners." The sniper pulled out a note pad from his satchel and started to make notes.

Zoro headed towards the crows nest, to train most likely. Nami walked away, Robin knew that she would keep her mind busy by going over her maps. "Do you think Sanji will let me examine Grace now? I will need to do one eventually, but I want to know that she is OK. I need to have check-ups with all of you actually."

"I think that depends on if she would be willing to have one. She was quiet upset earlier." The reindeer head dropped and he tapped the tips of his hooves together. "Yeah, it's doesn't feel nice when  you all get angry like that. I think I should go over the books I have on babies first. I've not had much need to refresh my memory on children physiology, since joining the crew."

"An excellent idea. I may join you as well, I would like to see if I can find any children literature in our collection." Their doctor brightened, knowing that he wouldn't be on his own. The musician followed, wanting to see if they had any lullabies that he could learn to play.

They had some time until dinner would be ready and they would all gather in the galley. Hopefully by then, they would have all calmed down. Ready to truly be the Straw Hat pirates once again.

XXX

Feeling angry when training, was never a good thing. It made him lose focus, which meant he wasn't working at his full potential. It wasn't the disciplined mind he needed to have to be the World's Greatest Swordsman. Right now he was a dumb angry alpha, that wasn't able to tell that his crewmate was an omega. A fucking pregnant omega!

The witch was right earlier, he should have noticed sooner, with how often he just up in the cook's face. He definitely noticed when they sparred earlier today. He wanted to smell it again and get the putrid scent of the cook's hurt and distress, out of his nostrils.

Ugh! Zoro dropped the weights, and fetched a towel to wipe his face. Moving to the bench, he sat down and stared out of the window. There were a lot of fish out there, ones that the cook would love to get his hands on. Or just watch. The blonde always did like watching the fish in the aquarium, if stressed out. S'why Luffy and Zoro would drag him down there sometimes. Zoro would have a couple of drinks, Luffy would quizz him on his knowledge of fish species. Made sense Luffy went there, when they had a stupid pissing contest.

The day had been a confusing one. He met the cook again for the first time and they sparred. Normal. He smelt an omega on the cook and briefly entertained that the cook was one. He then found out that there was someone important to Curls, that he needed to talk to Luffy about, called Grace. Zoro was jealous of Shit Cook having a new partner. The idiot passed out when he saw the girls again, for some stupid reason. Luffy and Twirls went off to have a chat, his captain got upset and Zoro was ready to rip the cook a new one. Turns out that Zoro was jealous of a baby. Ace and Sanji's baby. The one they had, because Curly was omega.

Normally Zoro was able to think through things rationally. This time he hadn't and it upset the damn cook. Asshole, he always got reactions out of Zoro.

The alpha sighed. He stomped over to the mini fridge, greatful to find it already stocked with bottles of water. Downing the bottle, Zoro reflected. Had his alpha partly known the cook was omega? Was that why he went to hunt for something on Little Garden, accidently starting a competition? Was that why he wanted to catch fish for the cook earlier today? Was that why he tried to protect the idiot during the Davey Back Fight, which just annoyed the cook and both of them got the shit kicked out of them? Was that why Zoro tried to scent him on the train to Enies Lobby? Not that it helped much, the moron got a bath dropped on his head.

Fuck, the cook had been pregnant then. All those times Zoro sparred with him, the other man had been pregnant. Sanji stood in front of Kuma, telling Zoro to find another cook, whilst pregnant. Zoro had slammed the hilt of his sword, hard, into a pregnant person's side. If his stupid fucking alpha knew that the cook was an omega, why couldn't it figure out he was a pregnant one?

The swordsman let out a shaky breath. His hands trembled and his stomach rolled. He could have killed Grace in the womb. Fuck. He may have been known as the Demon of the East Blue, didn't mean he went around killing children. He almost killed a baby! Why didn't he knock the bastard on the back of the head?

Acidic bile built up in the back of this throat, as his mind strayed to the subject 'what if he hadn't stopped the cook?' Would Curly have survived? Would Zoro have found the man dead? He had thought about this before, in the early days of his recovery. It made the pain he was in, worth it. He knew his nakama was safe and he was the only one suffering in such a way. Now, he couldn't get the image of the cook's corpse out of his head. Chopper having to do an autopsy, to find out that they had lost 2 crewmates in a single blow.

He felt sick.

"Come and get your dinner. Be quick, Luffy's already in here!" The cook's voice cut through Zoro's thoughts, like one of his blades. A part of the alpha wanted to avoid the blonde at all costs. The guilt eating him from the inside, making him feel ashamed. The other part wanted to stay nearby, to remind himself that Dartbrow was alive.

Zoro would need to talk to his nakama about this. Too bad that he and the cook, had already agreed to not talk about Thriller Bark. This might just have to be the exception. Or he could talk to Brook...

Dinner. Not wanting to have to dodge a kick to the face, Zoro decided to at least dry off the sweat, before joining everyone for dinner. He had been in the water today, so didn't need a wash, but the cook would get pissy if he had sweat dripping off him. Patting himself down with a towel, only took about a minute or so, but it was enough time for everyone else to get to the table before him.

"About time. Thought you got lost on our own ship. Alright Grace, this is Moss."

"Moss." Bright blue eyes stared up at Zoro from a highchair, some sort of source on her cheeks. The rest of the crew were watching him, slack-jawed. The cook burst out laughing. This caused the toddler to happily clap, repeatingly saying Moss.

"It has taken multiple attempts  to get her to say something close to everyone else's name. She has only just started saying Lucy instead of Lu Lu. It took her one attempt to say Moss. Who's a clever girl? My beautiful little baby, that's who." Huh, the fawning was a lot less irritating when it was for his daughter. It was actually nice to see.

Ugh. Ignoring being called Moss for now, Zoro sat down at the table. Of course the cook made all their favourites. Obviously the food was good, it was even better than before. He couldn't name exactly what had improved, other than Zoro felt better after eating.

The meal had been nice. The atmosphere from before, had been replaced by the usual cheerful one of the crew. They swapped stories of what happend during their time apart. Robin didn't really share anything, she was more focused on encouraging the baby to say their names. The older woman even tried to encourage the little girl to call him Zoro. It was no use.

According to Chopper, their names had too many difficult mouth and tounge moments, for a 20 month year old to able to make correctly. The girl had a good go anyway, but struggled in particular with R's. Nami's was the easiest for her to say. The witch was proud of this for some reason.

Soon, the cook was stacking dishes and carrying them to the sink. Everyone started to file out the room, thanking the cook for the meal. Once it was just them in galley, the cook looked towards the tower of dishes, then to his daughter covered in sauce and had rice in her hair.

"I can do the dishes, so you can wash your kid." Curly eyebrows rose in surprise, then narrowed suspiciously. He picked the little girl up and placed her on his hip. The cook grimaced when a sticky hand started to play with his hair.

"Someone has gotten soft these past 2 years. You feeling good Mossy, need to lay down?"

"Screw you, I help you the most with the dishes."  The cook squints and gently untangles sticky fingers from his hair. The toddler points at Zoro, calling him Moss again. "You aren't just helping out, as you know I'm an omega?"

"Fuck no! As I already said, I'm the one that helps you the most with dishes. Just thought I'd be helpful, so you can wash your dirty kid." The cook's hands covered the girl's ears, to stop her hearing Zoro swear. Which was bizarre. Shit Cook swore the most out of all of them. The blonde stared at him hard, for a long moment.

"You better not treat me differently seaweed brain, or I'll kick your ass." He then removed his hands from Grace's ears. She grabbed hold of one of Cook's hands and placed it over her eyes. She raised the hand from her eyes and kept lowering it, laughing at Zoro each time she was able to see him again. The hostility in the cook's eyes, melted away.

"She's playing with you Marimo, no need to look so confused. Alright, if you genuinely mean it, I'll get this little bumblebee clean." At the word bumblebee, the baby started blowing raspberries. Instead of giving a verbal answer, Zoro made his way to the sink and picked up a plate. The sound of a door closing was heard shortly after.

Washing the dishes, wasn't that bad of a chore. It was a boring one, but the monotony of it allowed him to fall into a meditative like state. He had almost finished the tower, when he heard the door opening again. The cook walked in, wearing a plain pale yellow t-shirt and baggy black pants. Twirly wiped his nose with a napkin, making Zoro question if the idiot had gotten sick, or if he was just congested after getting out a warm bath. It didn't seem that important when the cook gave him a grateful smile.

To avoid making a fool of himself and blushing, the swordsman turned his attention to the sleeping baby in the blonde's arms. Zoro snorted at the brightly coloured onesie the girl was wearing. "Is she a duck?" The cook smiled and pulled the hood Zoro didn't notice before, on top of the sleeping toddler's head. Along the brim of the hood, was a plush duck bill and fluff on the top mimicking hair.

"She is the cutest little duckling you will ever see. There were so many onesies like this in that bag I was checking earlier. There are some that are a bit too big for Grace right now, they might fit Chopper. Think I saw a raccoon onesie." The cook wasn't looking at the swordsman, but Zoro heard him sniggering. Dumbass.

"I think Chopper might actually kill you. I'll be rooting for him." The light kick to the shin was expected. In retaliation, Zoro flicked water at the blonde, careful not to get any on the baby. "Shitty Swordsman, watch it. Ugh, if I die, you better not feed my child on soley rice balls. Don't let Luffy cook for her."

Zoro snorted, the carnage Luffy would unleash if left alone in a kitchen, would be a thing of legends. "Nice to actually hear you swear Shit Cook. Thought we picked up one of those imposters. Can't wait to see how long you're going to keep this up Cook, you can't protect her from curses forever." The cook moved his daughter, so her head was resting just under his head. He removed the hood from her head, her dark curls were wild.

"As long as I'm not the one she learns it from, it's fine. I'll give in once she says her first swear." It was strange how normal it felt, seeing the cook so domestic. Suppose when the blonde was calm, he always was a bit like this. Seeing the cook calm, didn't happen very often on a crew like theirs. Didn't help that Zoro enjoyed winding the cook up.

"She won't learn it from me either then. Who on the crew do you think it will be?" Him and Zoro were the ones that swore the most on the crew. After them, Zoro wasn't sure who cursed the most.

"Usopp. Luffy will bump into him and he'll smack his thumb with a hammer." That did happen a lot. So much so, Zoro was surprised Usopp hadn't made something to protect his thumbs by now. "Nami. The witch can curse up a storm when she thinks we're being stupid."

"Our goddess of a navigator would never sully herself with such language. Stop calling her a witch, you green gorilla." Finishing the last plate, Zoro ducked under the sink and pulled out a cloth and spray he had seen the cook use to wipe the sides down.

"What the hell do you hear when Nami talks. Bet you see flowers and hearts whenever she talks, and hear her confess her undying love for you." The kick to the back of his knees, caused the swordsman to stagger a bit. "You're only kicking me as I'm right."

"Fucker." Zoro laughed as Curls sat on the couch, the little girl nuzzled the man. The wiggle she did to get more comfortable, caused the tail of the onesie to waggle like a duck. It was cute.

"You sleeping in here tonight?" The Cook's eyes were starting to droop. It was pretty early for him, it made the swordsman feel uncomfortable. Today must have really stressed the cook out.

"I was going to sleep in my bunk. Grace doesn't take up much space, there will be enough room. She normally sleeps in her own bed. Seeing as we are in a new place, she's less likely to wake up in the night if she stays with me. I'll figure something out more permanent tomorrow. You all alright sharing a room with an omega and toddler for the night?"

Scoffing, Zoro moved from wiping the sides down, to cleaning the table. "Cook, we've slept in the same room for months, you were always an omega. Makes no difference now that I actually know you're an omega. I don't care about you daughter staying in the same room all the time. You might want to remove the axe we have mounted on the wall."

The omega absently ran his fingers through dark locks. Everything about the cook suddenly relaxed by a fraction. "That's good to know. When she is older, would be better if she had her own room. She'll want privacy then." The cook's eyes continued to droop as he spoke. He even started to yawn. "Luffy would be King of the Pirate by then. You would be King of pointy sticks. Should be in a good enough position by then, to get a pre-teen a bedroom." Zoro chose to be the bigger man and ignore the pointy sticks comment. The cook had no idea that Franky was already drawing plans to add another room to the Sunny for him and Grace. By the sound of it, Sanji had no interest of moving out of the boys room. He wanted his daughter to grow up with the crew. Good.

The blonde fell asleep, Zoro tried to finish cleaning the kitchen as quietly as possible. He would have a proper talk with the cook some other time. For now, Zoro should move the idiot, so that he doesn't hurt his neck. Opening the door of the galley, the swordsman didn't even  need to call his captain's name, before Luffy skipped over. Aware of his surroundings for once, Luffy was quiet when he picked up Grace. Zoro picked up Shit Cook and carried him to the boys room. Once the omega and his daughter were safely in their bunk, Zoro faced his captain.

"Where should we move the axe?"

Chapter Text

Rustling in one of the bunks, caused Brook to wake up. Normally, subtle noises such as this, did not rouse the musician from his slumber. Normally, they didn't have a baby on board. He may not know much about babies, but he knew they had the tenancy to wake up in the night. After not being there for his nakama when he needed it, Brook wanted to be able to help Sanji-san.

The skeleton shivered. To think that the musician had previously admired how much Sanji-san and Zoro-san were willing to put the line for their captain. Now, the memory caused his stomach to drop, if he had one. Judging by Zoro-san's actions, he felt similarly. Brook would need to keep an eye on their swordsman.

As quietly as he could, Brook rose from his bunk. On tip toes, he made his way to Sanji-san's bunk and peaked at his nakama.  The cook was frowning, with a little foot squashing his cheek. The man opened his eyes slowly, then looked around confused. 

"Wha?"

"We brought you into the men's room, so you and Grace could get a proper sleep."  The blonde nodded tiredly and carefully moved his daughter so she was to his side.  With Grace-san no longer on him, Sanji-san  sat up and took in the boy's dorm.

"Mossy is in bed, so it's at least past 4am. Right, time to start breakfast." Long legs swung ove the edge of the bunk, uncomfortably close to Brook's face. The man looked back at his bunk, watching his daughter sleep. She was now laying with her face pressed again the mattress, her bottom sticking up in the air. The cook snorted, and gently rolled her to the side, then kissed her on the forehead.

"She should stay asleep for a while yet. You mind staying here for a bit, so I can get   my clothes. I didn't bring them in here. I also need a quick smoke." The musician bowed with an extravagant twirl of his wrist. It earned him a fond eye roll.

"It would be an honour to watch over our littlest crewmate. In fact, why don't you treat yourself to some alone time? Have a pleasant bath? I imagine you haven't much chance to just be by yourself, since Grace came into your life." It pained the old musician that he spotted something vulnerable flicker on his nakama's face. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how young his crewmates were. The blonde's shoulders slumped and Brook was able to see just how tired Sanji-san was. Something told Brook that their cook would oppose the suggestion of someone else on the crew, making an occasional meal, so Sanji-san could rest. He was too proud and found so much joy in his role as cook.

"I might have to take you up on that. Don't let me stay too long in there, I will need to start breakfast. Also don't want the little duckling waking everyone up, when she does. I know you all said you didn't mind a baby on the crew, but I don't think you all quite know what that means yet." They didn't. Brook had an idea of what it was like to raise a baby, but had never actually experienced it. He knew it was going to be an incredibly step learning curve, but there was still some life left in these old bones. He wanted to learn, even the hard parts.

"I don't believe anyone in crew would mind too much waking up due to little Grace-san. After all, we have all had our sleep interrupted by our captain." Luffy-san tended to dream that he was eating. Not surprising, that was just how the rubberman is. Slightly surprising when first joining the crew, is that he tries to eat things in his sleep. It was not abnormal to find ones pillow, in their captain's mouth. Those that had been on the crew the longest, reported occasions of Luffy-san nawing on a limb in his sleep. Brook had not experienced that one yet.

"That shithead has crawled into my bunk so many times. His shitty rubber face an inch from mine, asking for food. Gives me a fucking heart attack everytime." Brook had to smother a laugh, or risk waking the rest of his crew up. The musician had definitely experienced Sanji-san shrieking in the early hours of the morning, trying to get an obliviously happy Luffy-san, far away from him. A kick was usually sufficient, but sometimes their cook was too tangled up in his blanket or rubber limbs, to get a good kick in. Being a cook for a captain like Luffy-san, truly was a demanding occupation.

"All the more reason to take advantage of the chance to have some alone time Sanji-san. I can wait an hour or so, and bring your little duckling back to you in the galley, if you wish." The omega's eyes fell onto his child. He rubbed one of the blankets and the pillow she was laying on, with his wrist. He scented them, allowing Brook to properly smell it for the first time. It made Brook think of the quiet hours of the morning. Calm waves lapping against the Sunny and vibrate colours bleeding into the sky, like a watercolour painting.

"Thanks Brook. If you wrap her up in the blanket she's on, she shouldn't wake up when you move her. She can sleep like the dead." The look threw his way was expecting, how could Brook disappoint him? "We have something in common then. Yohohoho." Keeping his laugh at a low volume was difficult, but his nakama's reaction was worth the effort.

The blonde left the boy's dorm, leaving Brook to stare at the baby. Coming to the realisation that he probably shouldn't loom over Grace-san, he scanned the room for something to occupy his time with. A quiet squeak of surprise escaped him, when he noticed a lone silver eye watching him.

"Zoro-san, go back to sleep. Should I need any assistance, I shall wake you." The swordsman grunted and rolled over in his bunk. Ever the guardian, trying to protect his crew. Even guardian's needed their rest, so Brook was hesitant to wake the man should Grace-san wake up. Besides, Brook knew her favourite song.

Now he had the chance to compose her future favourites. With that thought in mind, he perched himself on the edge of the bunk and thought up some songs suitable for babies.

X

The need to go to the toilet, alerted Brook that it was around 5 o'clock in the morning.  There was a small porthole window in the bathroom, it gave Brook a splendid view of the sunrise to enjoy his morning poop. It was something he had greatly missed during their time apart and was pleasantly surprised to find out that this body clock had adjusted to life again on the Sunny, so quickly. An amazing feat, considering he had no body. Yohohoho.

Just as Sanji-san said, Grace-san did not stir when he picked her up with the blanket. She made a small noise of displeasure, but was quick to settle. As he quietly as he could, Brook left the boy's dorm and headed to the galley. He knew that a few of his crewmates' eyes followed his back, as he left.

Finding Sanji-san standing in the center of the galley with tears in his eyes, almost caused Brook to go into a state of panic. It took a couple of seconds for the musician to recognise that Sanji-san was staring at the the items that Franky-san had built for Grace-san. The Shipwright left them in the galley, so that their cook could decide where he wanted them to go in the ship. There was: a changing table; a play pen and a play table. The play pen was filled with several soft toys and blankets, perfect for Brook to lay a sleeping toddler in. He does this without saying a word, allowing Sanji-san the time he needed.

After appreciating the sunrise, Brook returned to the galley. Sanji-san had moved most to the things made for Grace-san, against the wall and out of the way. The play pen was in the same place, with Sanji-san leaning over it, camera in hand. Standing beside the omega, Brook peered into the play pen and he swore he grew a new heart, for it felt so full. The little girl was hugging a toy that looked like how he remembered Laboon. Brook may need a copy of that photo. The camera makes a whirring sound and a photo rolls out of the top. Sanji-san hands the photo to Brook and takes another for himself.

The cook then walked over the cabinets and pulled out a couple of cups and tea. He fills the kettle up, then places the developing photo on the table. Once the water boiled and the tea is seeping, the cook sits at the table and Brook takes a seat opposite him. There is a pen and paper in front of the blonde, with the words 'Shitty Geezer' on top of the page.

"Forgive my curiosity Sanji-san, are you writing to your father?" The omega groans and leans back to stare at the ceiling. He twirled the pen in his hand, thoughtful and agitated. "Yeah. I haven't told the shitty old man that he is a grampa yet. At first, I didn't want to tell him, in case I wasn't able to carry Grace to term..."

The silence that followed, was uncomfortable. Brook understood that Sanji-san needed time before he carried on. Good thing that Brook was patient. "Understandable Sanji-san. Is the photo to be sent with your letter?"

"Uh huh. There is just something about how she looked curled up safely in her duck onesie, that made it feel like the right time to contact him." Brook suspected that Sanji-san had not contacted his father previously, as he wouldn't be able to confidently answer any questions the old cook may ask. Now that Sanji-san was assured of his position on the crew, he may feel more comfortable responding to any letters his father sends back. Of course that was just a theory, only Sanji-san would know the true reason.

Being the gentleman that he was, Brook tried to avoid reading Sanji-san's letter. Tried being the key word, as curiosity did get the better of him. Unfortunately for Brook, but fortunately for Sanji-san, the cook used a code of sorts. It appeared to be a collection of nicknames, cooking terms and a deep knowing of the recipients  history, was needed to be able to full discern the letter's contents. Brook had no idea what 'table 26, March 5th, Yes. Crêpes Suzette. Raw. 86. Butterkaka. Off the line.' meant, which Brook guessed was the point. Sanji-san was being careful about who knew about Grace-san. He would make it difficult to understand his letters in case anyone intercepted them.

On the back of the photo, Sanji-san wrote  'Grace, 20 months'. He then placed the letter in an envelope and placed it on top of a book. The blonde head of hair disappeared behind a counter, only to reappear holding a large bowl. Soon the counter was lined with several ingredients. Sanji-san rolled up his sleeves and placed his tie in the front pocket of his suit jacket, then started cooking.

It was always a treat to watch Sanji-san work, especially during the early hours of the morning. This was when their cook was most at ease. No doubt he was planning the days meals, drink and snacks, as he continued to whisk the batter in the bowl. Just as Brook remembered, once the food prep was done, the cook wrote on the chalk board near the fridge, the menu for today. The skeleton couldn't help but notice that they were all things that Franky-san and Usopp-san were particularly fond of.

Normally the next crewmate to wake up, would be Robin-san. It was a surprise to see Luffy-san merrily wonder into the galley. Their captain pouted once he realised that his niece was still asleep. With one leg hanging over the edge of the play pen, Luffy-san was thwarted in climbing in and joining the toddler, by a shoe to the face.

"Don't you dare try and climb in there, you rubber moron!" The harsh whisper caused a shiver to run down Brook's spine. Unaffected by their cook's ire, Luffy-san bounced back to his feet grinning. "Aw Sanji, but she looks so cosy. I want to join my little sister in the teddy bed."

For a moment, it looked like Sanji-san was contemplating trying to knock himself out, by hitting his head on the fridge. Brook really missed his crew. "First, she's your niece. Second, she's sleeping, don't wake her. She's grumpier than Marimo when her sleep is interrupted. Third, it's a play pen Luffy, not a bed made put of teddies. Franky  put a fuck load in there. I just said to stay out of there Luffy! Don't try and climb back in when I'm talking to you."

Silently laughing to himself, Brook watch the humorous interaction between the cook and captain. It truly was as if Sanji-san was a mother scolding a child. The door of the galley opened to reveal a smiling Robin.  The cook held a hand to his nose, face going red for a few seconds. He then twirled around, somehow spawing hearts into existence. Ever the opportunist, Luffy-san hopped into the play pen, sniggering. He placed the toddler on his chest and beamed. The flash of the camera, alerted Sanji-san that Brook had just taken a photo and that their captain ignored his warning.

Robin-san giggled as she made herself comfortable beside Brook, careful to avoid the blazing omega. "My, how energetic they are this morning." Her playful tone, told Brook that she was enjoying this, just as much as he was. Taking a sip of his tea, the skeleton nodded in agreement.

"I believe that Grace-san's presence, is the only reason Luffy-san is still alive." The fact  that she was sleeping, was also why Sanji-san wasn't screaming. The flames soon died out, the cook glared at their happy captain, then sneered. "Sweet Robin-chan, you enjoyed that pie from Jaya  right? How would you feel about having that for dessert this evening, rather than the ice cream sundaes I had originally planned?"

"No Sanji, they are gross. You're so mean."

"Sounds wonderful." The whines from their captain, caused the rest of them to smile. One of them a tad vindictive. A more genuine smile spread across Sanji-san's face we he gave Robin-san her coffee. To silence the whining captain, the blonde shoved a banana into Luffy-san's mouth. The rubberman ate it, largely unimpressed but didn't protest any further. Sanji-san proceeded to chop up some fruit and put it in a bowl, so that they could nibble at it until breakfast.

Hearing movement on the deck, Sanji-san came to life in the kitchen yet again. As everyone woke up at different times, breakfast was one of the meals of the day, where all of the crew wouldn't necessarily eat at the same time. The majority of them were usually up around 7, so Sanji-san would aim to have breakfast mostly served just after.

Shortly after a delicious fragrance filled the room, Chopper-san entered the galley, explaining something enthusiastically to Zoro-san behind him. The swordsman was nodding along, but Brook could tell that none of the information was sinking in. Zoro-san sat at the table, the same time that Nami-san entered the galley and Chopper-san to investigate the play pen. Distracted by praising Nami-san, their cook did not witness Chopper-san climb into the play pen to join Luffy-san.

"Lucy? Chop? Play?" The death glare aimed at the the play pen, caused Brook to worry that he could die again. The omega stomped over to the play pen, took a deep breath and a switch was flipped. Smiling sweetly, he crouched down so that his arms were resting on the walls of the play pen. "Good morning little duck, did you sleep well?"

Chopper-san hid behind one of the stuff toys, whereas Luffy-san grinned. Content to use his niece as a shield. How evil! The toddler looked down at her pajamas, she shrieked with joy and flapped her arms.

"Fuck." Brook spat out his tea, while Zoro-san almost chocked on his. Luffy-san started howling with laughter and Sanji-san balked.

"Duck. You are a cute little duck, aren't you Grace?"

"Fuck. Quack."

"Duck."

"Fuck."

"Duck's go quack, don't they?"

"Quack, fuck."

"Duck. This is punishment for trying to get you to pronounce your F's so much yesterday, isn't it? Duck. D. Like Da Da. D, D, D, duck."

"D, D, D, fuck."

"Oooo, you evil little duckling, you're doing this on purpose again, aren't you?...Fuck?"

"Duck?"

"That's it, clever girl. Quack, quack."

"Duck. Quack quack." The little girl started flapping her arms again. She the rolled off Luffy-san's stomach, and frowned.  Grace-san looked at the 2 people sharing her play pen, her frown deepened.Her lip wobbled and her eyes turned glossy. Looking as angry as a toddler could be, she raised her arms to Sanji-san, he hands making a grabbing action. "Up. Up please. Up."

Sighing, the blonde lift up the little girl and placed her on the floor. Keeping hands on her shoulders, he made sure he had her attention, before speaking. "Didn't like people in your space huh? OK treasure, you can walk around, but you have to stay in here. I'm doing breakfast. You want some food?"

The frown was wiped off the toddler's face at the mention of food. She patted her stomach and said please. "Your wish is my command." He pecked her on the forehead, then returned behind the counter to finish breakfast. Not before pausing next to Zoro-san to whisper something. Whatever it was, it caused the swordsman to snort.

The little girl toddled around the galley, weighing up what she wanted to do first. She did a lap around the table, before she came to a halt in front of Zoro-san. "Moss!" Grace-san placed both hands over her eyes. She then threw her arms wide, flapping them up and down. "Ere is!" She then placed her hands over her eyes again. "Moss?" Removed them again, flapping her arms with the same amount of enthusiasm. "Ere is!"

The swordsman raised an eyebrow and looked to then cook for clarification. "Cook, what is she playing?"

"Peak-a-boo. Grace?" The baby looked to the cook, wiggling on the spot. He covered his eyes with one hand. "Where's Grace?" The little girl copied his actions. Sanji-san removed his hands and happily yelled. "There she is!"

"Is!" Grace-san flapped her arms again, giggling. Still in the play pen, Luffy-san and Chopper-san started to play peak-a-boo with each other. Grace-san ran over to them, shouting "is" the same time they did. She then darted to each of them at the table, inviting them to play with her.

A plate of cut up food was placed on the small table Franky built the day before. Sanji-san called the little girl over and she hurried over to eat her food. With the toddler occupied with her food, their cook placed everyone else's breakfast on the table. When Usopp walked in later, the toddler called for him to join her at the table. It made their sniper look like the giants he admired so much.

"What's that smell?" Luffy-san asked with his face scrunched up, Chopper-san was pulling a similar expression. They were both now at the main table, Sanji-san banned them from eating in the play pen.  At the small table, Usopp aggressively 'pssst' Sanji-san over. The cook walked over and crouched by his daughter, opening his arms for her to walk into. "Come on stinky duck, you need a new diaper. Let's see what cute outfit the Candies left you. Then we are going to start working on potty training you again. I think I remembered to pack your stickers."

"Bye bye." The toddler waved over the cook's shoulder as he left the galley. From the doorway, they saw the omega look around for a moment, then head to the direction of the bathroom. "Why did he not use the changing table?" Usopp-san asked, once their crewmate disappeared from view.

"It would be quite unhygienic to change a diaper the same place we eat. I also imagine the smell would be put some people off their food." Robin-san pointed out. The sniper conceded and got up from the small table, cracking his back on the way.

A gust of wind blew in from the deck, causing the letter that Sanji-san placed on the side to fall to the ground. Standing up, Brook went to pick up the wayward envelope. "So Curls needs to move that thing somewhere?"

"The bathroom might be best for Sanji-kun." Not really paying attention to his crew discussing what was involved in changing a baby and how they could possibly help their crewmate, Brook stared at the book on the counter. It was a baby book. Being nosey, Brook opened the it to first page. There wasn't much on the page, except Grace-san's full name and her date of birth. His curiosity not satisfied, Brook turned to the next page. He was met with a picture of Ace and the picture from an ultrasound. A sonogram? The date under the sonogram, was days before Ace's death. Oh.

"Hey Brook, what you got there?" This captain called out to him, Brook's food in his mouth. The musician hesitated, before he brushed his finger tip over the date. Would this hurt their captain? Of course it would, it hurt Brook. It reminded the musician of what he missed. It reminded him of how much Sanji-san did on his own.

"Grace-san's baby book." He brought the book to the table, as he knew the crew would want to see. They were all a curious bunch. It was a requirement to sail the seas.

Nami-san smacked the the rubberman round the back of the head, when he tried to touch the book with greasy hands. She then opened to the first page, to Grace-san's full name and date of birth.

"20 months, 2 weeks and a day old." It always took Brook by surprise when Zoro-san did some quick maths. It was always such a long time between each instance of the swordsman demonstrating his mental maths, that Brook forgot each time.

Nami-san moved to the next page and Brook held his breath. "Ace! I wonder how Sanji got that picture, I like that one." The smile on their captain's face was bittersweet. They all leaned closer to the rubberman, offering support. "What's that, looks like a bean?"

"It's a sonogram. It's a picture of Sanji's womb. That shape there, is Grace, when she was about this big." Chopper-san move his hooves apart, demonstrating just how small their newest crewmate was. Seeing little Grace-san run around earlier, it was hard to imagine her ever being so small.

"Wow, she was so small! I bet all of Sanji's yummy food helped her grow big and strong. I bet she could kick other babies assess."

"Please don't fight the baby Luffy." Usopp-san said as he offered Luffy-san a napkin to wipe the grease from his hands. "Why would I fight my little sister? You're so weird Usopp."

"You're one to talk! Didn't Sanji say your Grace's uncle? Why do you keep calling her your sister?" Often overlooked by Zoro-san and Sanji-san, Luffy-san and Usopp-san also squabbled a lot. It was a lot less dramatic than their older crewmates, but no less entertaining.

"Big brother sounds more fun. Sanji is already a mom. I don't know mine, so I'm claiming Sanji as my mom and that will make Grace my sister." The proud smile on Luffy-san's face, was enough to get Chopper-san excited. The young doctor's eyes sparkled. "That's how it works? Sanji can be my mom too, so I can also be Grace's big brother? So cool!!"

"Sure!" Luffy-san was unaffected by Usopp-san's karate chop, as he continued to give thier doctor a thumbs up. "That's not how it works!" The rest of the crew watched the younger ones, with various levels of amusement. Rather ironic that Luffy-san and Chopper-san usually believed Usopp-san's lies, but when the sniper was truthly explaining just how adoption works, they didn't believe him.

Nami-san turned the next page, to find several pictures. One was Sanji-san forlornly looking at the zip of his pants, that refused to do up past his small bump. The rest was a firey shoe, alarmingly close to the camera. Brook suspected this one closely followed the previous photo. Another one showed Sanji-san in a sky blue dress, hand resting on his swollen stomach. And another sonogram.

"You know, I still found it hard to swallow that Sanji-kun had a baby. Seeing him interact with Grace-kun, feels surreal. These pictures, they confirm everything." The navigator voice broke on the last word. They were all still coming to terms with everything. They were adapting pretty quickly, but it would sting for a while.

"Do you think Sanji-san wore panties, or boxers in that dress?" It was good to know that their navigator was still able to pack a punch. She was truly a terrifyingly powerful woman. Her quick temper was a good distraction.

"Do you think that our dear cook still has some dresses? I wonder if he and Grace have matching outfits?" Robin-san's cheeks turned pink, as they always did when she thought of things she deemed cute. Zoro-san was also blushing, undoubtedly for different reasons. At times like these, Brook missed having eyebrows. He needed to wiggle them at the swordsman.

"I want matching outfits with Grace. Usopp make me a duck onesie."

"No! You just want another excuse to claim that Grace is your sister."

"I want one too Usopp. Make me one too."

"No! Sanji is not going to want a trail of ducklings following him. When he finds out that I am the one that made them, he'll kick me so hard, I'll be able to say hi to his old man for him. Nuh uh, I am rather attached to my bottom. I want to keep it how it is." The younger 3 started to squabble again. Robin-san turned to the next page.

Sanji-san was even bigger. It looked as if he was running away from people trying to feed him cakes. Another picture showed Sanji-san equally round struggling to put a pair of shoes on. Funny that he was able to run at that size, but couldn't put shoes on. The last picture had Sanji-san sitting in a bed. He was holding someone's; with a rather large head, hand. The large head person was screaming as well as their cook, their fingers a deep red and slightly crooked.

"Why'd you think Sanji was hurting Iva-chan's hand." Their captain asked, whilst holding the sniper in a headlock. "It looks like Sanji is about to give birth. He must have been experiencing contractions and was squeezing the person's hand who was offering support, really hard." Chopper-san said, hanging of Usopp-san.

The next page had a picture of Grace-san just born, screaming her lungs out. Another picture and a tired Sanji-san, with Grace-san on his chest, feeding her. On the side of the page, listed the babies, height, weight and noted that she was early.

"He looks so proud." Robin-san whispered, tears gathered in her eyes. Their cook was so in love with his little girl in that photo. It still ached to know that none of them were there, but the love in Sanji-san's eyes, was healing to see. Despite being in such a difficult situation, their cook was still full of love. Something that was so easy to see as they carried on looking at the pages. Notes  and photos of Grace-san's milestones,  this time in Sanji-san's handwriting. The previous pages were written by someone else. Brook's favourite note was, 'learnt to run before walking'. The second half of the book, the pages were blank. Except for the names of the Straw Hats at the top of each page, and a small doodle to represent them. For the milestones that Grace-san would achieve with them.

Brook could truly feel his soul healing.

XXX

They were lucky that Sanji had his daughter with him, when he noticed what they were looking at. His face went a dark shade of pink, Usopp could practically feel the heat radiating from the cook. He was embarrassed.

"Baa! Baa!" Grace jumped forward, running up to Luffy. The rubberman joined in with the little girl, Chopper soon following. There were 3 people bleating in the galley. Usopp waited in the wings, nervous about Sanji's reaction. The blonde was a very reactive person. Sometimes those reactions resulted in Usopp nursing a bump.

Instead, Sanji looked away from them, face still pink. "Grace, show Usopp your dress." The little girl spung round, looking at all of them, then back to Sanji. She made a disgruntled noise, causing the blonde to immediately lock onto her. His blush was dying down now. Honestly, Usopp was surprised that none of the others were teasing Sanji, but he guessed it was an alpha thing.

All the alphas on the crew had been treating Sanji a bit differently since finding out about his sub-gender. The beta didn't think that the alphas were aware that they were doing it. It was funny actually. If Sanji was upset in anyway, they backed down. Not completely. Oh no, no, no. Should Usopp ever hint that Zoro backed down from anything, Usopp would be cut up into itty bitty pieces. It was more like, letting out a bit of air from a balloon? Maybe?

It was going to drive Sanji mad if they all kept this up. The omega was probably choosing to ignore it for now, giving them time to adjust to the bombshell he dropped on them. Luffy was being protective, but Usopp knew it wasn't going to be something that would annoy Sanji. Their captain may be an idiot, but he was practically a genius when it came to understanding what they need from him. Most of the time. If Luffy ever did miss, someone else in the crew would step in. Usopp wanted to be that person.

So he would carrying on as normal with his friend and help with Grace however he can. Which meant kneeling down as she dashed over to him, after Sanji went over everyone's names again. "Sop! Sop! Look, please! Baa." She stopped just in front of the sniper, put a hand on her hip and the other in the air. Quite a striking pose, something she definitely did not pick up from Sanji.

She wore a light brown pinafore with a white long sleeve top underneath. The bottom of the skirt had white pompoms. He didn't have much time to take in the front of the dress, before she turned round and showed a big pompom on the back. It was not as round as the small ones, looked long more than anything. It looked like lamb tail. Oh, it was a Lamb tail! The little girl twirled back round to face him and Usopp gently took hold of her tiny hands. Taking a closer look at the hair ties of her bunches, they were not made to look like round sea shells, but little horns. Above the pompoms at the bottom of the dress, were small embroidered ships. On her front pocket, the Merry Go's head was embroidered. Oh.

"Wow Grace, you are best looking sheep I have ever seen. The perfect person to take the mantle of the Merry Go!" She started babbling something Usopp couldn't make out. It was only after Sanji started the first few lines of a nursery rhyme, did the sniper realise Grace was singing. Still holding the little hands, Usopp bounced their arms up and down, singing along with her.

It was amazing how well Sanji knew his daughter. Even though she wasn't able speak well yet, he understood what she meant. Usopp looked forward to be able to know Grace just as well. Both he and Franky had told Sanji that they would decorate the highchair they made Grace, once they got to know her more. The pair of them would decorate everything they made. They wanted to be able to personalise it for her.

Franky walked in and Grace ran over to him to show her outfit. She even had pompoms on her white sock and shiny black shoes. Franky was ecstatic to have Grace come and show him something. The big guy was sucking in the tears.

Sanji started on Franky's breakfast, Usopp leant against the counter. The blonde didn't mind people talking to him, as long as they didn't get in the way of him cooking.

"How did you get a hold of a dress like that?" The cook effortlessly flipped a pancake. Sanji made eye contact with Usopp and continued cooking without looking. "There was a seamstress called Briar, that asked for stories of our crew the first few days after Grace was born. She made loads of outfits themed around you lot and our adventures. Her sister Rose made the baby book, she gave me it the day after Grace popped out. They had me on bed rest for a few days after as a precaution. Rose showed me how to do scrapbooking then. Looks like she left me a camera with some extra film and some of her materials."

Those that were not playing with Grace, picked at some of the food remaining on the table. They were not very good at pretending they were not listening in. Sanji was not very good at pretending to nonchalant, talking about the people he spent the last 2 years with. Now being the exceptional liar that he is, Usopp was able to tell that Sanji wasn't telling the whole truth. The seamstress made outfits for him, but the sniper bet the cook asked for them to be personalised. Maybe something small at first, like a tiny straw hat on a babygrow. Then everything evolved from there. Yeah, that made sense. Might not be the truth, but was realistic enough to be a possibility. If that was the truth, that meant Sanji wanted his daughter to wear clothes that reminded him of his crew. Usopp wasn't sure what to make of that. He'd wing it for now.

"Seeing as talented as I am, I can easily spot fellow masters in their craft. I look forward to seeing all the outfits. Maybe Grace can do a fashion show for us." The cook laughed, loud and bright. It was nice sight to see after what happened on the deck yesterday.

"If you can change her into all those outfits, be my guest. She hates wearing clothes. She normally hates changing into anything.  Saying that, she has been very well behaved so far. Grace might kick up a stick more, once she settles in." Usopp looked to the little girl, that had passed Nami a cinnamon swirl to talk into. Franky was the one that figured out that Grace was pretending to talk into a receiver of a snail. Luffy and Chopper thought for a second, that they actually could talk into the pastry.  Then Brook started to tell them that he used cans and twine to talk to people. Keeping Grace's baby book safe, Robin was holding it on her lap. Surprisingly, Zoro was stacking up empty plates.

"What's the Zoro themed outfit, a bottle of sake? Some swords, perhaps?" Both sounded terrible. Definitely not suited for a toddler.

"No. It's marimo." With the omega sniggering to himself, Usopp realised that Sanji was being serious. Oh Usopp had to see Zoro's reaction to that. "There is also a haramaki, which is not gross and smelly."

"Man, I want to see her in that. You think we could make her own version of our wanted posters? I would need to borrow your camera. Actually Sanji, can I send a picture of Grace in that dress to Kaya? She would love it."

Sanji placed a huge stack of pancakes onto a plate. He also had a plate of eggs and another of bacon, balanced on his arms. The cook stepped out from behind the counter and served Franky his hot breakfast. The cyborg thanked him with a thumbs up.

"Take a picture of her in the dress, but don't send it yet. I need to send the sh-Old Geezer a letter when we reach fishman Island. Once I can get a gauge on how safe it to send out letters without them being intercepted, then I can figure out how to send out more. So keep the photo for now, hopefully I being cautious for no reason."

Robin perked up at their conversation. She passed Usopp the camera with her powers, which he nearly dropped. Why did she always throw things on him out of nowhere? The sniper took a picture of Grace in her cute dress and another of Luffy with his 'little sister'. This time Sanji ignored his captain and focused on Robin when she spoke.

"I have some contacts that I can use to send letters securely. We can test it when we reach Fishman Island." Right on cue, hearts formed in Sanji's eyes. Usopp rolled his eyes.

"I am not worthy of your heavily presence, sweet angel. I would be most grateful for your help. There are a few people that Ace mentioned before, that I feel would appreciate to hear of his daughter. He spoke of a Dadan as a sort of mother figure, that I think would like to know."

"Dadan!" Luffy jumped onto Sanji's back, excitedly asking how much Sanji knew of the woman. It was very little apparently, but Luffy confirmed that Sanji was correct in saying that she would like to know about Grace. "They both acted all tough, but I know that they cared for each other." Luffy's smile was small.

While Franky finished eating, they came up with a list of people that they, maybe, should tell about Grace. It was mainly people that Ace had mentioned in his letters and the people Luffy said knew his brother, when they were children. Nami suggested Vivi and Robin suggested Rayleigh. Anyone linked to the marines was out of the question. It killed enough time for Franky to finish eating.

Zoro stayed behind to help clean up with Sanji. Franky kept himself busy, moving the things he built to wherever Sanji suggested. The rest of them stayed on the deck. Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were playing Simon Says with Grace. Sort of. Really they just copied whatever action she did, which was actually a bit of a work out.

As soon as Sanji was back on the deck, Chopper snagged the man and bullied him and Grace into the infirmary. Luffy and Usopp tried fishing, whilst underwater in a giant bubble. For a moment, the sniper thought that Zoro was going to join, as he squinted at the fish. In the end, he headed to the crows nest to train. They had caught a couple fish, by the time Chopper came back out with Grace. The little guy told them that Sanji was preparing lunch, which was the perfect time to teach the rest of the crew how to look after babies.

Nami had to drag Zoro down from the crows nest. The fact that the swordsman was grumbling about a witch, Nami blackmailed him again to join in. Brook went to get Franky, whilst Usopp helped Chopper set up a projector. He didn't even know they had a projector! Luffy was in charge of getting stuffed toys with Grace, so they all had a fake baby. Even Grace had one, it was a panther.

It was a bit embarrassing at first for some of them, but they eventually all got into playing along. All the stuffed toys ended up with diapers on the correct way. Even though he had been very reluctant to join in, Zoro was very good at most of the things Chopper taught them. Usopp had always been pretty good with kids, playing with them at least. He never really had to chance help with little kids. Like little, little kids. Grace size, kids. Chopper's lesson was intresting, although Usopp suspected looking after a real baby was a lot more difficult than a stuffed toy. Anyway, the lesson made the time go quickly until Sanji exited the galley with platters of burgers.

"Grace honey, where did you put your clothes?" They all whipped their heads round to the mostly naked baby. She was standing proudly in just her diaper and one sock on. With one hand she was patting her stomach, the other held onto her toy still. When did she do that? Usopp saw her with her clothes on a minute ago.

Usopp covered his ears, expecting Sanji to blow a fuse. They were meant to be watching his daughter, yet none of them noticed her taking her clothes off. This was terrible! A critical blue eye studied them all, then looked the projector Chopper was still pointing at, frozen in place. All the alphas relaxed and Usopp was actually able to smell something sweet. Not necessarily sweet, as in food. It was sweet, like when someone does something sweet for you. Weird. Was that coming from Sanji?

"Here's a warning for you. When they are doing something they are not supposed to, toddlers are quick and stealthy. Even with an island of people watching her, Grace still managed to get up to mischief. Didn't you, my beautiful wild child?" Placing their lunch on the ground, Sanji looked projector again. He then gave Zoro a very pointed look and the swordsman got up and headed over to Grace.

"You have done such a thorough job Chopper. Appreciate the effort you took to teach these bozos something and the lovely ladies. Thanks." Zoro placed his hands over the toddler's ears, just before Chopper started calling everyone a bastard and doing his wiggle dance. Ah, so they were trying to avoid Grace learning swear words. He should bring this up with Nami and start a betting pool on who will slip up first.

Robin found Grace discarded clothes thrown around the deck and handed them back to Sanji. The man went red in the face and he wiped away his nose with handkerchief. "Oi Cook, I think she needs changing." Usopp couldn't smell anything, he didn't think she had pooed again. Her diaper did look a bit heavy.

"Awh, my little treasure. Is that why you took your clothes off, trying to tell me you needed changing? You must be uncomfortable. Come here then Sweet Pea." Sanji started to make his way over to his daughter, only for most of the crew to volunteer to change her, Usopp included. Sanji had just finished cooking for them, they could help him with this. The blonde blinked, looking confused.

Grace went to pull at the tabs keeping her diaper on. Zoro picked her up and walked away from them. Franky hurried after him and lead Zoro to the room he just but the changing table in. Sanji looked utterly dumbfounded. It was only Luffy's call for more meat, that snapped Sanji out it. Stiffly, the cook headed back to the kitchen to get the rest of their lunch and drinks.

Not much time had passed at all before Zoro returned with Grace in a fresh diaper. She was still mostly naked due to Zoro forgetting to bring her clothes. The toddler ate her lunch sitting on the ground next to Zoro and fell asleep against his side, once she was full. It shouldn't be surprising, Zoro was always so good with Chopper. He should be used to the juxtaposition of seeing angry looking swordsman, sleeping next to cute small thing. One day he would, but that wasn't today.

Luffy offered to help carry the plates to the galley, Brook went instead as he was less likely to break every single plate. Instead, Luffy joined Zoro in having a nap. Grace was now sleeping on Zoro's stomach, mostly hidden by his robe. Nami helped Chopper pack away his projector and Franky went to his workshop. Nami mentioned the cyborg not seeing the baby book. Unable to disobey Nami, Sanji made Franky look at it where the cook couldn't see him, far too embarrassed to see the shipwright's reaction. Usopp wasn't sure what Robin was doing. He did see a few arms sprout up on the deck, carry the camera over, take a picture of Luffy Zoro and Grace, then dissappear again. What she did after that, was a mystery. Usopp decided to keep watch. There were a lot of scary looking fish down here that they might need to run away from. So Usopp would make sure he was in the position of being able to tell his crew, to get the hell out of there if needed.

Wait, was that a strange fish cow?

Chapter Text

By the time that Chopper had made it to the deck, Zoro and Luffy were awake and Sanji was passing a sleeping Grace to Usopp. The little girl whined in her sleep and curled toward Usopp's chest when he took hold of her. She was cold. The deeper they went, the colder it got and Grace was only wearing her diaper.

"If she didn't need some clothes, I would say take her to the crows nest. You would have a the vantage point, able to easily defend yourselves. Can you take her to the boy's dorm and put something on her. I haven't had time to put any of her stuff away yet, just rummage in the chest by my bunk. You should find something warm for her." Sanji ran his fingers through his daughter's hair, his expression was tight.

Usopp was holding the girl similarly to how Chopper instructed them to earlier, but more protective. The doctor could tell that the sniper was nervous, but he was determined to do exactly as he was told, for Grace.  He nodded and gave Sanji a confident grin, the cook relaxed a fraction.

"You got it Sanji. I'll keep her safe, you can count on me." He gave an awkward thumbs up; as he kept both arms wrapped around the toddler, then jogged towards the boy's dorm. Sanji sighed in relief as soon as Usopp was gone with his baby and lit a cigarette.

"If your serious about keeping the pair of us on this ship Captain, even during fights, we're gonna need to come up with some plans to keep Grace safe." Chopper trotted over to take hold of Sanji's leg, trying to reassure the cook that he wanted the blonde to stay. Zoro grunted, the doctor couldn't see the swordsman' face from where he was standing, but imagined it was similar to Luffy's. The rubberman was furious.

"No one will be hurting Grace. She will stay safe with us. I will keep her safe."

"I'll slice anyone that even attempts to hurt her. No need to worry your stupid curly head, Cook." It was hardly noticeable, Chopper only noticed as he was holding onto Sanji's leg, but the man was trembling. Worried that the blonde was upset, Chopper tried to reassure him. "Of course we want you both here Sanji. I'll keep Grace safe too. If it makes you feel better, we'll talk about how we should keep Grace out of harms way in a fight, after we see what this cow thing is."

A hand rested on Chopper's hat, Sanji appreciated him. The doctor restrained himself from dancing for joy. He loved it when he was able to help his family. It made him feel so full.

The cook scoffed, a warm smile on his face. Both Luffy and Zoro relaxed. It was amazing how much Sanji's scent was affecting the alphas on the crew, especially as it was still very week for an omega. A beta smelt stronger than Sanji. Chopper doubted anyone outside their crew would be able to pick up Sanji's sub-gender, with how his scent was currently. The crew knew that Sanji was an omega and were very aware of the fact. It was just that omegas were so rare, that most alphas were not used to being around one. Once they had fully familiarised themselves with Sanji's scent, they should be less reactive. Probably. "Bunch of softies."

The rest of the crew made it to the deck, by the time a ship pulled up by the side of them. It was being pulled by the weird seacow that Usopp had called to warn them about earlier. They were a pirate crew  by the looks of it and not the friendly kind. They had their weapons raised and they threatened to board the Sunny. One of them jumped ahead, yelling a lot of things, that Chopper had already heard before from rival pirate crews. Why did none of them not want to just board, so that they could become friends?

He didn't think any of them were expecting Robin to sprout arms on all the opposing crew members still on the ship and take them all out. Chopper doesn't think he had ever seen Robin take the offensive straight away. That was Luffy's and Zoro's job. They didn't seem to mind her taking the initiative, they looked impressed more than anything. She actually growled, Chopper doesn't think he ever heard Robin growl. It must be an alpha thing, they all looked to her approvingly. Sanji's nose started bleeding again. Shifting to Heavy Point, Chopper allowed the cook to have someone to lean on, should he feel faint.

The strange shouty guy on the Sunny, didn't realise that Robin had taken out his crew. He didn't notice when the seacow noticed Luffy, Nami and Sanji and swam away. The seacow did not want to deal with them again, Chopper assumed that Luffy and Sanji had hit it before. When the strange man finally noticed that he was on his own on the Sunny, he started snivelling. It was pretty sad to watch.

Zoro took a slice at the man, surprising Chopper. The man started laughing as Zoro's sword harmlessly passed through him. Oh, so he was a Logia. Luffy's arm turned black and he punched the man in the face. He landed on the floor passed out and Franky shoved him into a barrel, sealing him inside. Nami studied the Log-Pose and went to the helm to adjust their position. Sanji stood on the deck, stunned.

Brook came to stand beside the cook, laughing. "That may be the fasted I have ever seen our crew handle a potential threat. Must be reassuring to know that we all take potential threats to our youngest crew member, deathly serious." Brook laughed again. Sanji's cosy scent grew a bit stronger. Chopper liked Sanji's scent. It made him think of a warm blanket wrapped around him after a bath, with a yummy hot chocolate. The alphas on the deck, puffed their chests in pride. Chopper giggled. He had read about this dynamic in so many books, it was different witnessing it. The reindeer would make some notes later and maybe share with Doctorine in the future.

"One could say that. Now if you don't mind, I need to tell a certain longnose that he no longer needs to hold the fort. Actually, one  cigarette first, then I'll go down. I know damn well, I'm going to crave one of these shitty sticks later." Sanji did just that, Chopper refrained from commenting. Chopper had been over the moon to find out that he had giving up smoking whilst pregnant. Finding out shortly after that he still smoked, was crushing. At least Sanji had cut the amount he smoked, way down. There was hope that one day, he would give up for good. Chopper doubted it  wouldn't be until after Luffy was crowned King of the Pirates. At least it gave Sanji something to work on after achieving his dream.

Once Sanji dissappeared into the men's dorm, the other crewmates relaxed. They all look very pleased with themselves. If they were all puppies, they would be wagging their tails. Chopper had to cover his mouth to stop himself from giggling at the image. This was something he definitely need to study and inform Doctorine. She would love to read it.

It didn't take long for Grace to come running onto the upper deck. She screeched, as Sanji's called out for her to 'get back here'. Holding some clothes in his hands as he came through the same door Grace ran out, it became clear why the toddler was running away. The little girl was only in her diaper and a nice pair of yellow wellies. Creeping towards her in an over the top way, Sanji struggled to keep the stern look on his face.

"I have you now, you little criminal. You have no where to go." The toddler mad a babbling noise, which was clearly her mocking her dad, as she wiggled her bottom at him. If that was one of them, they would be dead. Grace was a brave baby. Sanji took a slow step forward and the little girl squealed with her arms in the air. She quickly ran away from the blonde, alarmingly close to the stairs. Zoro dove forward, practically sliding on his belly up the steps. The toddler was oddly agile. She managed to dodge Zoro and instead ran to the slide. Zoro successfully knocked over Sanji, Grace successfully went down the slide.

"What the Fu-! Dam- Marimo!! You almost belly flopped my kid."

"Why were you playing with her at the top of the stairs? Stairs are fu- dangerous for kids!"

"You think I don't know that? I would have caught her if she was in any danger of falling Mosshead."

"You shouldn't gamble that!"

"You telling me how to play with my daughter?"

"I keeping the crew safe!"

"Alright Moss, I'm gonna kick your head in."

"As if you could."

The 2 started fighting at the top of the stairs, they both just agreed was unsafe. Fustrated that she was no longer being chased, Grace stomped her foot and looked for Sanji. Ready to run over and distract the girl, Chopper watched to see how she would react to the fighting. If Sanji  and Zoro couldn't fight anymore, things might be a bit wierd on the crew. 

The toddler made an 'oh, oh'  noise and went to climb the stairs. She was intercepted by Luffy's arm wrapping around her. "Sanji and Zoro are playing, but it's a game you're not big enough to join in yet." She made a grabby motion towards Sanji, the crossed her arms in a strop. "Wink! Wink!" Luffy titled his head to the side and blinked, confused. Chopper tilted his head and blinked, confused. What did she mean by wink?

Usopp sneaked out onto the upper deck, slide across the wall until he was opposite the slide. He then roly-polyed across the deck and slid down the slide on his stomach. Chopper watched Usopp army crawl on the grass over to them, then sprung to his feet.

"Why is Grace-san in only wellies and her diaper Usopp-san?" Both Usopp and Chopper jumped, not realising that skeleton was so close. Usopp waved his hands around erratically, then started shushing Brook. "She woke up as soon as we got to the boy's dorm and wouldn't let me dress her. She kept running away and hid under the bunks. She's so fast. She actually put her wellies on. They're on the wrong feet. Chopper, your lesson made it seem easier than it actually is." He sighed dramatically, whole body slumping forward.

Didn't Chopper tell them that his lesson was theoretical and that in practice, it would be a lot harder? Oh, maybe he forgot to tell them. Oh no! Should he do another lesson on babies, but give them realistic expectations?

"Lucy, Wink." Grace wiggled in Luffy's hold, annoyed that no one was paying attention to her. Sanji stopped his kick mid-strike, causing Zoro to scramble to halt his swing.  "That's right Honeybun, we were sparring, like with Iva. Moss doesn't fight with winks, he uses swords."

"No wink?" The toddler looks disappointed. Chopper was disappointed for her, even if he didn't know what the wink was. He wanted to know. The cook did a quick spin to locate the clothes he dropped earlier. He made a happy "oh" noise, when Zoro handed them over. The swordsman huffed and walked down the stairs and headed back to his napping spot. Chopper noticed Franky and Robin look at each other, back to Zoro, then smiled at each other. He couldn't figure out why.

"Sorry Grace, no winks that explode things. Mossy's swords are sharp sticks, that cut things. I know, very disappointing." The insulted look on Zoro's face, even Chopper found funny. Zoro was always so cool and collected. Able to shrug off anything bad said about him, unless it was Sanji that said it. It was Usopp, who explained that they both actually enjoyed communicating through petty squabbles. They found it fun and was not to be taken seriously the majority of the time.

The stark difference on how people interacted with each other, really was intresting.

"Swords are cool. Better than stupid kicks." Chopper heard Zoro mutter under of his breath. The doctor did giggle at this. Squinting at the swordsman, it looked like Sanji was trying to decide if he should ignore the comment, or not. Grace made a noise in Luffy's hold, capturing her father's attention. He held out his hands and Luffy happily handed her over. With an arm hooked under her bottom, Sanji removed Grace's wellies with one hand, whilst she pressed her face against his cheek yelling 'wink', blinking a lot.

With her feet free, he lowered her on to the deck and squatted down in front of her. He placed the some fluffy white bottoms on the floor, then looked up to Grace with a smile. "Come on little bunny, hop into your hole. Hop, hop, hop." Luffy, and Usopp tilted their heads again, confused. Chopper joined in, confused. Clapping, the toddler stomped her feet, then jumped towards Sanji. She jumped on top of the clothes on the ground, the omega's hands quickly moved her feet into the holes, the pulled them up. Once the fluffy white bottoms reached her waist, Sanji grabbed hold and tossed her into the air. Screaming in delight, Grace asked for Sanji to throw her again. He did so, 3 more times before placing her back on the ground, entering a squat again.

Chopper never would have guessed Sanji would play with his daughter in such a way. Not that Chopper had really ever given it much thought before. It was only that Chopper found himself feeling surprised now, that he decided to think about it. With how protective Sanji is, the doctor apparently assumed that he would be overprotective with Grace. Too scared for her to do anything, incase she got hurt. Chopper wondered were he learnt to parent Grace in such a way.

"Now little bunny, you need to dig a hole. Quick. Dig, dig, dig." Sanji held what was a very fluffy white hoodie, with rabbit ears on the hood, upside down. Giggling, the toddler hopped over to Sanji and dove head first into the hoodie. Like before, Sanji was quick to make sure her limbs were in the holes correctly, before picking her up. This time, she was upside down. Laughing hysterically, the toddler kicked her legs and waved her arms.

"Oh dear. Luffy, it looks like my sweet little bunny, has turned into a bottom. What should we do to lift the spell?" A beaming smile stretched across Luffy's face at having the chance to join in. No fair, Chopper wanted to play too. He wanted to help lift the spell.

"The tail is like a big button, you should press it. You always push a button." The fluffy bottoms, did have a big cotton ball tail on them. It made sense to push it like a button. "Please do not teach my child to press whatever button she sees. Luffy, please do not press whatever button you see. You need to ask an adult for permission, before you go around pressing any buttons."

"I am an adult and pressing buttons is fun."

"Nope, you are mentally 12. Ask one of us before you press a button."

"Shishishi~ Sanji is such a mom. Alright, I will ask mom Sanji, before I press a button. You too Chopper."

"OK." Chopper easily agreed. He was a bit better and not needing to press every button he saw, but would try and remember to ask Sanji first. Sanji was good at thinking ahead.

"Wha- No! Would you stop that? I'm not your mom. Squeeze the tail already, before all the blood runs to her head." Luffy did so,   laughing loudly. He shared a look with Chopper. The reindeer understood. One day, they would succeed in getting Sanji to adopt them.

Sanji didn't turn Grace the right way round and sighed dramatically. "Ah shoot, that didn't work. Usopp, maybe the magic wellies you found earlier will help. Think you can put them on this bunny's feet?"

Usopp eyes widened at the sound of his name. He then confidently stood with his hands on his hips. "I'll do you one better. I,  the Great Wizard Usopp, will bestow Grace with blessed socks, to ensure she is never cursed again!" Rummaging in his front pocket, the sniper pulled out a pair of socks with an enthusiastic 'ah ha'. He quickly placed the socks on the kicking feet, Grace was merrily laughing.

"Now, the magic wellies need power to work. We need to transfer some of our energy into them by dancing. The magic will not be strong enough, unless we dance. Chopper, Luffy, I need you to do this dance, while I chant." Eager to help, Chopper watched Usopp hop around and doing weird movements with his arms. Both Chopper and Luffy copied the sniper, big smiles on their faces. Usopp started making strange noises. If Chopper didn't know that they were playing, he would have assumed Usopp was dying in pain. The sniper slipped on the wellies and Sanji flipped Grace right side up and placed her on the ground. She fell over. It took a couple attempts before she was able to stand up.

Standing, Grace was quick to run to Zoro and show him her new outfit. He had been watching them all with a funny smile. It was a nice smile, just not one Chopper had seen Zoro make often. The smile was replaced with surprise, as the toddler ran up to him. She jumped up and down, then tried to pull the hood up. After struggling to do so, her lip wobbled and Zoro was quick to act. Her pulled the hood on top of her head, and a pair of rabbit ears stuck up. The hood also had a rabbit's face on with red eyes. It looked familiar.

"If you make it fun for her, she is less likely to kick up a fuss when getting ready. Some days, she is in a mood and you will just have to wrestle with her."

"Thought you didn't fight girls, Cook." Zoro asked, paying little attention to the toddler poking his back, looking for a hood for him. When she didn't find one, she ran up to Robin and Franky, to show them her outfit.

"Dumb Moss. I'm not actually fighting my daughter. Although sometimes it feels like it. Oh she knows how to break a man's heart." Sanji clutched at his shirt above his heart. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Worried that his crewmate was sick, Chopper looked at the others to gauge their reactions. He had been told before that he mistook phrases or sarcasm, as symptoms of illness. The crew looked amused for the most part. Zoro's expression was curious and Usopp was shocked.

"How she do that, she is so sweet?" Chopper agreed. No way a little girl that tried to purring for Luffy, could be so cruel to break Sanji's heart. "I wouldn't let her wear the babygrow that she was too big for. She said 'No Da' walked up to Caroline and said 'Yes, Da'. I have never been dealt deadlier blow."

Franky started crying. Grace reached up to the cyborg, asking him to pick her up. Robin picked her up and held the toddler near Franky's chest. She asked what was causing the ow and hugged his chest. "Wow, Sanji-bro. How were you ever able to get over such heartbreak? You're a true trooper." Robin patted Franky's arm as he continued to cry. Not sure how he was meant to take this, Chopper looked to everyone else again. He thought he was getting better at understanding social cues, but sometimes his crew threw him through the loop. They all looked sad on Sanji's behalf, Brook had even started playing a sad song. Luffy was rubbing his cheek against Sanji's, as the cook tried to push him away.

"I was her dad again, not 10 minutes later, when she wanted a bedtime story." Grace got bedtime stories? Chopper wanted them too. Maybe Sanji wouldn't mind if Chopper hung around when it was time for Grace to go to bed.

Apparently Chopper had imagined being read a bedtime story for too long, as Franky had brought Grace over and the rest of the crew had formed a circle. The toddler happily sat in Luffy's lap, trying to eat his sash, as Franky told them about the bear guy. Chopper didn't really know how to feel, knowing that Kuma had helped them. Helped them and suffered for it. He hoped they could return the favour one day.

Grace started playing with Luffy's hand, getting excited when she found out his fingers stretched. She tried to do the same with Usopp and bit him when they didn't stretch. Chopper screamed right alongside Usopp, not expecting the girl to do that. Instantly, Sanji scooped the toddler up and placed her on a step. He sternly told her off and she started screaming.

They all reeled back in shock. Was this one of the tantrums Sanji had mentioned earlier? It was one thing reading about them and another to witness one. How was Grace able to scream so high and loud at the same time? Chopper winced and he wasn't the only one. They all watched stunned, as Sanji turned his back on the screaming child, ignoring her. It was only when she tried to get off the step, would he look at her. He didn't say a thing and just placed her back on the step.

What felt like an eternity later, Grace finally calmed down and was pouting at her boots. Sanji knelt down so that he was at eye level with his daughter and spoke to her calmly. Taking her hand, he walked the sulking toddler over to a baffled Usopp. They all watched, eyes wide. "Grace, you hurt Usopp. You need to say sorry."

"Grace, wink?" Stubbornly, she continued to look at her shoes. Sanji sighed. "No Grace, you were not sparring. You got angry at Usopp and hurt him. You do not hurt people because you are angry." Chopper just about heard Zoro mutter the word hypocrite, and so did Sanji. A death glare was thrown at the swordsman, who simply raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah well, she's better than me." There was a pause, until Sanji prompted Grace again. "Grace, you gave Usopp an ow." Tearful blue eyes looked up to Sanji and Chopper could not understand how the omega didn't immediately back down. She was adorable.

"Sop hand, no Lucy. Bad." A curly eyebrow twitched. He was stressed. The alphas looked uneasy. Funny, Chopper couldn't smell a change in Sanji's scent, yet the alphas still reacted. Might not just be Sanji's scent that is affecting them then.

"Only Luffy's hand can do that Grace. Look, your fingers can't stretch either. Even if they did, you don't hurt family and friends." Sanji gently pulled at Grace fingers and allowed her to do the same to him. The little girl looked up to Luffy, lip wobbling. "Bad, ow? Hurt bad?"

"Yes. If there is a bad guy, then you can hurt the bad guy. Usopp is a good guy, you don't hurt him. Usopp is family." Luffy dropped to the floor and sat crossed legged. The toddler stumbled forward reaching out to him. Luffy raised his arms, extended his pointer fingers and crossed them, making a cross. "Hurting nakama. Boo. We don't hurt family. Boo. Grace is good. She doesn't hurt people." She sniffled, silent tears rolling down her face.

"Grace good. No more ow. Sorry Sop. Grace good." Luffy dropped his arms and picked up the toddler, letting her sit in his lap. She cried silently, as Luffy looked up to Sanji. Chopper noticed that the cook looked tired. Really tired. Also relieved. Usopp sat down opposite Luffy and the little girl crawled over to him. She kissed his hand with a loud 'mwah' and said sorry again. Then everything went back to normal. Sanji went to the galley, Zoro followed after him. Chopper, as well as Luffy and Usopp, played with Grace. The rest of the crew relaxed in the deck, as Brook played some calming music. Nami told them how deep they were, which was both amazing a terrifying.

Oh, the sea cow was back. Luffy immediately jumped to his feet, handing Grace to Usopp. His arm turned black as he stood in a fighting stance, waiting for the approaching ship's move. Chopper stood next to Luffy, ready for his captain's orders. They would handle this quickly.

Or well, the huge tentacle handled it quickly. A tentacle that was way bigger that the Sunny, slammed into the enemy ship. It destroyed the ship! Chopper screeched, running around in circles with Usopp. Robin took Grace out of Usopp's arms, allowing Chopper and Usopp to run around more freely. More room for them to panic.

"Huh, look like jellyfish." Zoro's appearance on the deck was reassuring. If he was remaining calm, that meant there was no need to worry right? Luffy and Zoro both went to attack the Kraken, only to be stopped by Nami. Zoro being calm on deck, did not mean Chopper had no need to worry.

Nami was trying to apologise to the angry toddler. Grace was booing the navigator, her fingers making a cross. Luffy and especially Zoro, found it really funny that Namin was getting told off, for telling them off. Franky was at the side, showing Sanji something. The omega nodded along, then looked back over to them. He looked worried. Chopper wanted to help. Sanji had been really stressed recently and his hormone inbalance really wouldn't help with that. Before Chopper could do something, Sanji jogged into the galley.

He returned quickly, just as Robin was using her powers to stop Zoro and Luffy trying to attack the Kraken again. The doctor was surprised to find Sanji running over to him with a large shoulder bag. "Hey Chopper. Franky just told me about doing something called barefoot coating, so Dumb and Dumber can play with the giant octopus. Gotta go with the idiots, so that they don't do something stupid. Can you watch Grace? You actually have the most knowledge on babies and she enjoys playing with you and Usopp."

Pride flooded Choppers body. He was worried that he might start glowing. He felt amazing right now. Of course he would look after Grace. Chopper was her big brother, she would always be safe with him. Also, he had watch Sanji deal with a tantrum and how to get her dressed. He knew what to do now if it came up again.

With stars in his eyes, Chopper eagerly accepted responsibility in looking after Grace. It took a while for Sanji to convince the toddler to not get in the bubble with him. Even more so, when she saw that Luffy and Zoro was going. Chopper shifted to walking point and the girl instantly forgot about the Monster Trio. It made the reindeer feel incredibly smug.

A tentacle attempts to slam the Sunny. Franky fires a rocket and Chopper changed into his fluffier Guard Point, to defend their ship. It's thanks to Robin, that they don't crash into some rocks. With the ship safe for now, Chopper was going to change back into Brain Point, but Grace's squeal of excitement and jumping onto him, made him reconsider. Still wanting to see what the others were up to, Chopper rolled to the railings to see Luffy's arm inflate outside the bubble. Amazing that both Luffy and Robin were able to use their powers in sea. Incredible that Sanji was able to run underwater and light up his leg. So cool that Zoro could cut something into 6 pieces with one swing.

Horrifying, that they were pulled into a current and their crewmates were nowhere to be seen. Darkness surrounded them and they might have lost their nakama. Chopper was terrified, he shifted back to Brain Point. He wouldn't let it show. No matter how much he wanted to scream and cry right now, Chopper would focus on being there for his little sister. Sanji asked Chopper to look after his daughter and dammit, Chopper was not going to let his nakama down.

With that thought in mind, he brought the scared toddler close and spoke to her cheerfully. It didn't help. Brook's attempts at playing a joyful tune, did not help calm her, or Franky's cool but strange nipple lights. Usopp tried to talk to her, but it didn't help. Grace was scared and wanted her dad.

"Chopper, what did Sanji-kun leave in the bag, maybe something will help." It was a good idea. Chopper really admired how level headed Nami could be. She was trying to navigate them in the dark and figure out how to calm Grace. She was so cool.

Doing as suggested, Chopper rummaged through the bag, finding it full with so much stuff. Wow, Sanji was prepared. Something caught his eye and Chopper pulled out a baby den den mushi. He called immediately.

"Hello?" It was Sanji! He was alive. Oh what a relief. Grace reached for the snail, but Chopper made sure she didn't get it. "Da! Dark! Da gone. No, Da gone." The eyes of the snail turned sorrowful. Sanji could clearly hear the fear in his daughter's voice.

"Hiya Honeybun. Da is in a bubble with Luffy and Moss. You are right. It is very dark here isn't it? Makes it a bit hard to find you, like hide and seek. We'll find you Sweetie. I'll be back soon alright?" Chopper didn't think Grace took that much notice of what Sanji was saying, she just seemed focused on his voice. The rest of them were listening. From what Sanji had said, they at least knew that the 3 of them were all together, apparently in the same bubble.

"Hi Grace. We made friends with an octopus. It spat out a shark earlier, which was weird. I didn't get the chance to try and make friends with the shark. Anyway, the octopus is called Surume, it's going to help us find you guys."

"Lucy gone. Boo." Grace held her fingers in a cross again. Amazing how quick she was able to pick up on that. Maybe that was why there weren't meant to swear in front of Grace, she would pick it up too quickly.

"Hey! You can't boo me. I'm not being naughty."

"Boo."

"Boo."

"Da boo. Lucy boo. Moss boo. Gone. No soon. Grace scared." Huge tears rolled down the toddler's pudgy face. It made Chopper ache. Those innocent blue eyes, should never show fear.

"We're gonna get there Cook. It's alright. Bet you can calm her from here anyway." Zoro's voice was quiet, distant. He probably wasn't meant to be heard over the snail. Out the corner of his eye, Chopper saw Franky and Robin look at each other. He wasn't sure what he was missing. Maybe they thought it was strange to hear Zoro talking nicely to Sanji. Chopper didn't think it was. He had heard the pair talk to each other nicely in the galley all the time, from the infirmary.

"Yeah. Yeah. Hey Chopper. There should be a hard star in that bag I gave you. If you squeeze the middle, it should light up." With Grace in his lap and the baby den den mushi in his hand, it was hard to look in the bag as well. Luckily for him, Robin helped out. She was quick to find the star and handed it over to the toddler. She apparently knew what it was. Grace squeezed the star and a warm yellow light, illuminated a small area. It was nice. Chopper wanted one.

"That's a very cute light Sanji. Is there anything else in the bag, Grace may like?" Robin leaned in to ask. The eyes of the snail turned into little hearts and Chopper heard a scoff at the other end. "Robin-chan my sweet. You're dazzling beauty is like a beacon, guiding me back to you."

"Thank you Sanji. Now about the bag?" She smiled pleasantly at the snail, patient for Sanji answer. "Oh right. I apologise Robin-chan. There are books in there. Get Grace to pick one out to read." Robin pulled out the children books and spread them out in front of the toddler. Still crying, Grace pointed to a book and reached toward the snail again.

"Da, eed. Please." Usopp went to reach out for the book, but it was pulled away by the toddler. She had a very effective glare for a baby. Chopper wondered who exactly she inherented it from. Sanji had a very mean glare, but what if Ace's was meaner. Usopp shivered beside Chopper and surrendered the book. "Grace, Sanji can't read you the book to you right now."

"What colour book did you pick out sweetheart?"

"Blue." Slapping the cover of the book, Grace pulled it into her lap and opened it to the first page. "Open, Da. Blue."

"OK, OK. Chopper can you turn the page for Grace, when I reach the end. She likes to follow on, looking at the pictures."

"OK Sanji." The omega started to recite the story, word for word. Chopper finally handed over the snail to the toddler. She hugged it, as her father told her a story he knew by heart. It was a nice story. One about a little boy who finds a mermaid trapped in a pool with high wall, after getting swept in a giant during a storm. The boy visits her every day, giving her food and trying to make a contraption to pull her out the pool. The little boy then pulled her to beach on a raft, once she was  out the pool. The little boy is injured badly by his horrible family, when they find him with a mermaid. She pulls the boy away on the raft to sea. Together they find a place they can grow up together, happy.

It was calming listening to Sanji tell a story. They should have more story times on the ship. Sure Usopp told stories, but he wanted the other to tell stories too. Maybe it was too calming, as they were suddenly super hot. A ghost ship arrived. A big fish tried to eat them, which is punched by a giant. The giant tries to punch them and is punched by the Kraken. They are reunited with Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. Sanji barely has enough time to pick up Grace, before their ship is being picked up by Surume and they are running away from an active underwater volcano.

It's all really scary. Nami tells Surume to jump into a ditch, saving them from the lava. Chopper doesn't get much time to enjoy that, before his life is threatened by massive boulders falling on top of them. Luckily Usopp was able to think quick enough to save them, with a really cool seaweed bullet. That moment of safety is also short lived, as Surume if knocked out by a loose boulder and drops them.

Of course, that's not the end of it. They all wake up surrounded by seabeasts. There is a strange fishman saying that he knows of Luffy and wants them to join their crew. If the new guy really knew Luffy, he would know that was a stupid thing to suggest.

Nami gets them to all prepare to make a break for it. They run around her deck, following her instructions. Chopper braces himself to be thrown back, like he normally is from a Coup de Burst. He didn't expect to be crushed against the ground. The sound of weezing and groaning, can be heard among the rest of the crew, as they struggle against the pressure. Scared cries forces Chopper to search for Grace. He said he was going to look after her. He needed to make sure she was safe.

Chopper could see that Sanji was struggling to stay kneeling over Grace. Trying to stop her from being crushed under the coating. Zoro was trying to move towards the pair of them, but was too far. Luffy's hand was crawling along the deck, reaching out for Sanji and Grace. A terrified scream shook Chopper to his core. One of Sanji's knees had buckled under him. Sweat poured from his face as he fought against the coating. Desperately, Chopper tried to shift into Heavy Point, to see if that would get him any closer to his nakama.

They passed through the bubble of Fishman Island, only to be met with air. This was something Chopper was a bit more used to. They normally flew through air when they did a Coup de Burst. Only,  they didn't usually have a giant bubble full of water ahead of them.

"Yo Cook-bro. There isn't enough juice in it for someone your size." The shipwright raised his sunglasses, as he threw something at Sanji and winked at the cook. The blonde walked over to Chopper, adjusted the bag that the doctor was still looking after and handed him Grace. Confused, Chopper held the girl close and blinked up at Sanji. Panic gripped Chopper's heart as a bubble surrounded him and Grace.

"Luffy, can you try and grab everyone and stay close to me. Chopper this is just a precaution." Luffy's head snapped round to Sanji, his arm immediately looping round the omega's waist. Their captain then threw his other arm out to grab hold of the rest of the crew, that were already running towards him. Closest was Usopp. A rubbery arm wrapped around the beta's waist and stretched out to reach for the rest of them. Luffy just managed to grab a hold of Zoro's hand, as the Sunny broke through the next bubble. The bubble around Chopper and Grace wobbled, but did not pop. The sunny was flooded.

Sanji's arms loosely grabbed hold of the bubble. Grace was confused about what was happening. She clung onto Chopper, staring, as she tried to process everything. It was too much for someone so young. They shot forward. Sanji was trying to use his new water running technique, to get them to the surface. Chopper pressed his face to the bubble, helplessly looking at his nakama struggle to hold their breaths. Nami had managed to hook one arm around Zoro's, the other was linked with Robin's. In the same arm that Nami was holding, was Brook. Chopper couldn't see Franky.

They moved forward, but nowhere near quick enough. The crew wouldn't be able to hold their breath long enough. Luffy wouldn't be able to hold on to everyone long enough under water. Sanji was struggling against the strong currents. There was too much drag working against Sanji. With the crew lined up how they were, they were being pulled in different directions by the currents. Chopper started sobbing, when he saw determined looks pass between Zoro and Nami. The swordsman let go of Luffy's hand and withdrew a sword. The current swept them away too quickly, for Chopper to be able to determine if Zoro figured out a way to get to the surface. They had to be alright. So did Luffy, Sanji and Usopp. They were moving a lot quicker now, but still not quick enough. These currents were so damn strong.

Bubbles escaped Sanji's mouth. They were so close, but it had been too far. His nakama began to drift away, as Sanji passed out. Just about on the verge of going into a full blown panic, mermaids came to save them. One in particular, Chopper recognised. Everything was going to work out. They were saved.

XXX

"OK. Right. So, just to confirm, you and Luffy have Grace right now, as Sanji-kun passed out from a nose bleed?" Much to her disappointment, Usopp nodded. Really? Sanji was left incapacitated from a nosebleed? Even having a little girl, he was still a pervert.

Nami watched Luffy happily run after his niece, as she hid in the clothes racks. "Yeah, Chopper said something about Sanji's medication probably making things worse for him. The little guy is trying to make an alternative for him." Scratching at his cheek, Usopp was no longer looking at Nami. Instead, he was watching Luffy join Grace in hiding amongst the clothes, giggling when a store clerk walked pass.

"Wait, Sanji-kun is on medication?" Was he sick? Luffy mentioned something about Sanji's omega being sick right? Was it serious?

"Yeah. You know Chopper though, he let's slip a nugget of information, then goes into a full panic about it. He shut down and didn't add anything else. I guess it has something to do with why none of us knew that Sanji was omega before. Shame about the side effects, Sanji and Grace were really enjoying swimming with mermaids."

"Yeah, I bet he did?" Nami rolled her eyes. Sanji always got excited around girls, especially mermaids. Usopp was now looking at her, his eyes narrowed. She found herself automatically feeling defensive.

"Look, he used some of his usual flowery language that he uses around you and Robin, also said something about find his All Blue, but he was tame. For Sanji at least. I bet if Grace wasn't there, he would be much more pathetic, but he wasn't. He was teaching her how to swim. The mermaids were all over them, completely smitten with Grace. She was so excited to see mermaids, like in her storybooks. He was telling the mermaids about the stories he knew from reading children books and growing up in the Baratie. Turns out both pirates and marines, enjoyed telling some kid on a floating restaurant, stories about the sea. The mermaids were telling him some of the stories they grew up with. I bet we would've had no trouble, if the princes didn't show up and if one of the mermaids didn't try and hide Sanji in her tits. Probably didn't help that she looked like a female Ace."

Fine, Nami had to admit that Sanji had been pretty tame since joining the crew again. It had only been a couple of days, but she had noticed that she had been doted on less. Honestly, she missed the treats. She had wondered if Sanji was acting differently for the time being, until they were all settled again. Now that she could actually smell Sanji's scent, she could pick up his anxiety. It felt wrong. Sanji-kun should feel safe with them, yet they seem to be the ones making him anxious. It put her on edge.

"Yeah, all the mermaids were distraught, but couldn't do anything to help. Apparently there is some rule, where fishmen can't give blood to humans. Luckily we found some people at the port with Sanji's blood type, or he might have died. Did you know that he has a rare blood type? I didn't. You know, you think you know someone. Don't friends share their blood type anymore?" The sniper laughed to himself. Nami raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Turns out people who know Sanji, were at the port and they have the same blood type as him. They were called Splash and Splatter. They're from the island he trained on. We're not supposed to tell him that the island inhabitants are sort of travelling ahead, so they can be there to help if he needs it. He somehow got a whole island, being crazy protective over him."

The last few sentences were said in a mock whisper. Usopp was joking around, but what he said, left her reeling. Due to him lying all the time, it was easy to see when he was actually telling the truth. She hated it. There were people outside of their crew, trying to look after their omega. As if they were not capable of doing so? It felt like an insult.

But Luffy didn't care. He was their pack alpha, she was meant to follow his lead. She didn't want to. Not out of insubordination, no. Luffy didn't even see them as subordinates anyway. She didn't want to follow Luffy's lead, as it meant admitting she was wrong. She knew she had to, it was the mature thing to do. It just stung. It was probably due to that sting, that she was judging Sanji harshly.

Sanji's love-cook routine could be annoying at times when it dragged on for way longer than necessary, when he done it at inconvenient moments. Otherwise it was good to be doted on. Knowing that she had someone standing in her corner, was also reassuring.  Sometimes, it was even a bit of levity when in dire situation. Nami had to admit, the noodle dance was funny on occasion.

It was just easier to blame everything on him. Her frustrations at not knowing his sub-gender. The feeling of betrayal, that he didn't trust them enough to tell them. The grief of knowing he suffered alone. It took Nami a good chunk of their time training,  for her to accept that they had failed Luffy. To process the grief of not being able to support Luffy. The news of Sanji, just made it all feel raw again.

It was her problem though. It wasn't Sanji-kun's, so she needed to suck it up. Besides, she thinks that Grace was helping  Luffy. She had spoken briefly to Rayleigh when she arrived at Sabaody. Asked how Luffy was fairing when he saw her captain last. The old pirate didn't say it as such, but Nami left the discussion feeling that she needed to keep an eye on Luffy. She did, she noticed how her captain smiled easier when his eyes landed on the toddler.

Sanji-kun's toddler. His daughter. A little girl that he adored. For some reason, Nami found it incredibly jarring to see Sanji be a good parent. The others didn't appear to have this issue. They all were completely taken, when they watched Sanji-kun care for his daughter. Fucking Zoro! The idiot was falling even harder, watching their cook and his daughter.

"Don't you find it weird, just how good Sanji-kun is with her?" Usopp looked at Nami as of she had grown a second head. She'll take that as a no then. Fine. She just wanted to know why this came as a surprise to no one else.

"You're not kidding? Geez Nami. Sanji has always been the mom of the crew. Why do you think Robin used to scrunch up her face, when we joked that she was the mom? Come on Nami, just think about how he was with Milia, Tajio and Chimney." He had a point, Sanji had been good with them. Patient. Gentle in a way that she didn't often see him with the rest of the crew. Maybe she was just too focused on his known temper and skirt chasing ways. They were qualities she never thought would make a good parent. She tells Usopp as such.

"Well turns out the skirt chasing wasn't really even a thing really, as Sanji and Ace were in a long distance relationship. I think.  I don't know how serious they actually were. Enough for Zoro to back down at least." They had both wondered why Zoro never did anything with his obvious crish on their cook? The pair if them used to enjoy having a couple of drinks, making up possible reasons. Being the lightweight he was, Usopp always got tipsy and suggested outlandish things. Like Zoro being cursed by a bridge troll, to never confess his feelings. The green hair was a mark of the curse. The reality was much less fun.

"Temper is still there. If Grace isn't there and you piss him off, he still explodes. Cusses up a storm and smokes like there's no tomorrow. He's still Sanji, he's not a stranger we picked up."

That was it. That was what was bothering Nami. She hadn't really had much chance to see the Sanji-kun she knew. She had only really seen the sad, or doting parent version of her crewmate, since they reunited. She needed to see more of the Sanji-kun she remembered  and she knew that she would be able to relax. It was so obvious that Sanji was an omega with how he treated Grace, that it got Nami's back up. Like, how had she not noticed before, if this was how her crewmate acted? Once she saw more of the the Sanji-kun she knew, it would make more sense why she didn't realise sooner. Ugh, that just sounded bad on her part, for needing an omega to act a certain way, for it to make sense for her.  She wasn't having trouble reconciling with the idea that one of the strongest fighters on the crew was an omega. Or that she, one of the weakest fighters, was an alpha.

You know what, she was just going to put it down to not being able to handle the thought of being betrayed (which she hadn't been, not really). She just needed to spend some more time with the pair of them, for her to adjust. Nami loved children  and Grace was adorable. Now if only the little girl would stop booing her when she smacked the boys for being idiots.

Luffy deserved a punch right now, the moron was still hiding in the clothes. Now he was hiding from his niece. Not sister, niece. At least he was keeping her entertained. Nami felt her expression soften, as the little girl squealed when Luffy jumped out some of the clothes and scooped her up in his arms, spinning around in circles.

"You would think he had known her for more than 2 days." She sighed, Usopp laughing beside her. "She has the whole crew wrapped around her finger. I reckon she has more sway over everyone, than even you do." Ooo, that comment deserved a punch in the arm, but she didn't want to get booed again...Yeah, Usopp had a point.

"How hard do you think Franky will cry when he sees her?"

"Do you think you can cry yourself into a coma?" The both of them laughed, leaning against each other. According to Usopp, Sanji-kun's baby bag included a change of clothes and swimwear. The swimwear, was mostly red, with light green palm trees printed on. There were bright blue ruffles and the shoulders and hips. The waterwings were cuboid shaped. They were mostly clear with a big dark blue star in the middle. It was an outfit heavily inspired by their shipwright. From what Usopp had told her, Grace had outfits designed around all other them. Nami couldn't wait to see them all.

It would have to wait until after the banquet with the King of Fishman Island. He wanted to thank them for rescuing his daughter's, pet shark. Something they did, completely on accident. Not that Nami would own up to that, especially if she could try and get some treasure out of the royal.

Zoro was already there. Nami had wondered where he had ended up. After he used some sword move to propell them a bit closer to the surface, they had washed up on some beach together. She had dragged the lughead to go shopping with her, but made a mistake of not tying a rope around the idiot. How could someone get lost so quickly? Nami had literally picked up a cute top, held it to her face to take in the design, lowered the top and Zoro was gone. If he was a magician, it would be impressive.

So they chatted as they waited for the rest of the crew to be rounded up. Luffy had wondered off at some point, bored of waiting around. Grace was dragging Usopp by the hand to try and talk to the palace guards. She had even ran up to the king and asked him to pick her up, much to the horror Camie and Pappug. Nami hadn't understood why they were so worried, the King seemed like a nice guy. He had even had the hall removed of water,  after Grace had run out the bubble they were in and Brook collapsed trying to chase after her.

That was until they were suddenly being accused of kidnapping mermaids and blaming them for something that hadn't even happened yet. The palace guards already had Zoro locked. It was absurd. The idiots couldn't even see the flaws of their reasonings. The crew were surrounded by guards pointing weapons at them, all while King Neptune held their helpless crewmate. Nami charged at the guards, surprising Usopp and Brook. How dare they stand there and judge her crew, when they held Grace!

The King placed their precious crew member behind him and raised his trident. From the sheer size of the King, Nami didn't like her odds going up against him. "Da? No like. Boo. No like. Lucy!" Nami snarled. Grace was scared and this idiot of a King was in her way. He lunged, only for his trident to be blocked by a sword.

"Shucks, looks like the party got started without me." Zoro's words were playful, but he was downright furious. His single eye was wild, red creeping into the ring of his iris. It wouldn't take much to push him into going feral. Honestly, Nami wasn't far behind. She could feel that her canines were a bit sharper than usual.

"See Sire? They're blood thirsty pirates that need to be stopped. Just think about what could happen if we let them leave the palace." Nashing her teeth at the fucking idiot of an advisor, Nami restrained herself from knocking him out.

"Bold words for someone using a baby as a hostage." That actually caused the King to pause. He looked back at the sobbing baby, then back to them, conflicted.

"It's obviously a ploy Sire. They are pirates, they must have kidnapped the child too. How could people sink so low?" Lightening should really do some decent damage to Fishmen, especially as the majority of them were still wet. Nami snarled, she couldn't do it, she might hit Grace by mistake.

"What? She's our crewmate's daughter. You better give her back before he finds out, or you'll all be seafood." Usopp screeched  trying to be the mediator. "Now they're making threats!"

"I'm trying to warn you!!" Usopp screamed  losing his patience, fast. "I don't think it's Sanji-san they need to worry about. Zoro-san and Nami-san are getting very angry." The skeleton turned to the nearest guard to him, pretending to whisper behind his hand. "They're really scary when angry. Like pee your pants, scary."

"Grace! Wait just a moment. I'm going to get you. You'll be safe." Zoro withdrew all his swords, staring at the little girl that tried to peer round the giant merman. "No like, Moss. Sacred. Up, please. Moss, up please." Her scared call for help, caused something to snap. In no time at all, everyone in the palace hall were defeated and bound. Zoro was holding the little girl against his chest, bouncing her up and down, shushing her.

"Was tying them up really necessary? This looks so bad on us." Usopp fretted, as he continued to tighten the ropes on the guards.

"If they didn't attack first, we wouldn't have retaliated." She rationalised, calming down now that Grace was safe with them. "They had our baby. It couldn't be helped." Zoro added sternly. It was amazing how threatening he still looked with a baby asleep against his chest. Poor Grace, the stress of everything had knocked her out.

Our baby? That's what Zoro had said. Even though the toddler was actually Sanji's baby, Nami couldn't deny that she was the crew's baby. It just sounded strange coming from Zoro's mouth. He was a walking contradiction. Answering the snail to bargin with the Princes, whilst stopping himself from swearing, even though Grace was asleep. Calling Sanji-kun a dirty water imp, whilst adjusting his robe to make sure Sanji-kun's daughter was warm enough. He did look proud of himself though, for making Brook laugh. Idiot.

Then some bloodied pirates arrived at the palace. Thrown at the palace by a crazy Fishman, apparently. Zoro wordlessly handed the sleeping toddler to Camie and prepared for another fight. A part of Nami felt bad for how desperate the King was to try and find his daughter. A very small part. Another part of her felt vindicated, after they put Grace in danger. Especially after they started blaming the crew again. Everything that was going wrong, was the Straw Hats fault. Even if it made absolutely no sense, it was their fault. Including the Fishman pirates arriving at the palace. One that had a tattoo resembling Arlong.

Terror gripped Nami's heart. If there were people here that idolised Arlong, then they weren't safe. They would not hesitate to attack the weak. Kill the weak. They would go after Grace.

Approaching Camie, Nami asked for the mermaid to get them out of there. Sure,  she felt bad for leaving the boys behind, but they could handle themselves. Judging by the quick glance sent their way, Zoro approved of Nami's decision to escape with Camie and Grace. She hoped the boys wouldn't get too badly hurt.

When Nami found Luffy and the others, she almost cried in relief. They were safe. Oh, wow, the mermaid princess was big. Big and incredibly pretty. How was Sanj- oh, he was doing his noodle dance and smoking a cigarette. Puffing out little smoke hearts. It felt right to see.

"Hey gu-" Remembering that she was holding a sleeping toddler, Nami stopped herself from calling out. Luffy and Sanji-kun were quick to notice her. A Fishman looked up as they got closer as well, she assumed that this must be Jinbei.  Good, she needed to talk to him.

First she needed to tell the others just what was going on. Sanji-kun twirled over to her, hearts in his eyes and spouting poetry. As soon as he noticed Grace in Nami's arms, he stopped, put out his cigarette on the bottom of his shoe, the started spinning again. When he was close enough to see that his little girl was unharmed, he wiggled on the spot, singing both Camie's and Nami's praises. Moron.

He took his daughter from her arms, giving her such genuine thanks, that Nami felt flustered. He gave Grace a quick sniff, raised and eyebrow and proceeded to scent her. Once Sanji walked back to stand by the others, Luffy pointed at the baby, whilst looking at the mermaid Princess.

"See, I told you there was a baby on my crew that cried less than you."

"Stop being mean to the beautiful Princess, you shitty captain." Unbothered by the kick to the head, Luffy laughed and introduced everyone to 'Cry Baby', she correctly introduced herself as Shirahoshi, whilst crying. Looked like Luffy had a point. Franky started crying when he caught a glimpse of what Grace was wearing. The shipwright carefully took hold of her when Sanji-kun offered, placed his sunglasses on her face and cried harder. The crying woke up Grace and she started crying. Jinbei looked completely dumbfounded. Poor guy.

Luffy jumped up from under Franky, grabbed hold of the crying baby and landed on the cyborg's shoulders. He almost gave Nami a heart attack. Almost gave all of them a heart attack, by the looks of it. It appeared to calm Grace down somewhat, as her crying wasn't as loud as before. She was mostly sniffing, as she looked around.

"Hey Grace, you are making me a liar. I told Cry Baby that you don't cry. What's wrong?"  Hoping off Franky's shoulder, Luffy went to stand next to Sanji-kun. The little girl reached out for her dad and Luffy gave her over easily. "Moss gone?"

"Marimo? Was Mossy with you when you fell asleep. Don't worry Sweetheart, he'll be alright. The stinky plant will wonder back soon."

"Stinky Moss?" The blonde snorted, struggling to not laugh at the confused baby. "Yes, Stinky Moss will be back soon. The others will be back soon." Now that she was calm, Sanji placed the toddler on the ground and she immediately went up to the Princess, asking to be picked up. Whilst Grace tried to play with a huge mermaid and shark with Sanji hovering nearby, Nami got her answers from Jinbei.

She found out exactly how he knew Arlong.  How he was part of a crew that helped free slaves and look after a traumatised girl. How their captain died. How the Queen died. How he did nothing to stop Arlong from heading to the East Blue.

Nami could tell that the knowledge of what Arlong had done, weighed heavily on Jinbei's shoulders. Although not actively involved with the torment Nami was subjected to from a young age, he was partly responsible. He knew what Arlong was like, knew that he would terrorise innocents, yet let him go. Guilty through inactivity. Nami had forgiven Hachi. Someone that had actively caused her pain.  It hadn't been immediate, but she saw how much Hachi had tried to do better. He had tried to protect them and got hurt because of it.

If Jinbei had not helped her captain when they were unable to, it may have taken her more time to make up her mind. If she was not able to see just how much his past mistakes pained him, she would have brushed him off. So Nami forgave him, even if this confused some people present. She wanted to move past that point in her life. She would not let someone else's grief over their own past mistakes, get in the way of that.

They had more important things to focus on right now anyway. Time for them to get ready for another fight against a maniac trying to take over a country. How did this keep happening to them?

At least they were strong enough to take on these fights. Normally, Nami tried to avoid fights as much as she could. Jumping off the Sunny to join the fight, had been cool. She can admit it, just this once. It gave her the opportunity to see everyone fight and witness just how far they had all come. They all had new tricks. Like Robin being able to clone himself and Sanji-kun able to sky walk! Both things that would be very handy, both in and out of battle. Usopp and Chopper were so confident in themselves now, especially compared to before. It was almost heart warming to see. The rest of them were just ridiculously strong. They had no business being as strong as they were.

They were so strong now, yet Luffy had lost too much blood. Chopper had to run back onto the Sunny to get his equipment for a blood transfusion. Camie had followed him back from the Sunny, carrying Grace. She had looked after the toddler during the fight on the ship. It tugged at Nami's heart to watch the little girl try and blow raspberries on Luffy's chest and for Sanji-kun to remove her, explaining why it wouldn't work.

Jinbei had saved their captain again. In doing so, he had helped loosen the bricks of the wall that separated Fishman and humans. The navigator understood why her captain would like such a man to join their crew. It was probably for the best that Jinbei needed to sort out things, before he could join. For Sanji-kun's sanity at least.

"No Grace, you couldn't kiss Luffy better. He needed a blood transfusion. The kiss or a pur, was not strong enough for Luffy's ow." The toddler pointed to a very confused Jinbei, stomping her feet. "Lucy ow. No kiss?"

Robin was standing next to Nami, watching the whole thing with an amused smile. "Jinbei gave Luffy his blood to make him better. Blood is ow red. Luffy lost too much ow red. Jinbei gave him some."

"Bei? Babe? Baby! Lucy ow red. Baby ow red? Grace ow red?" The poor ex-warlord blinked. He didn't know where to even start with this whole thing. Usopp came to stand  on Nami's other side, Brook on his. "Baby? Please don't tell me you are calling Jinbei,  Baby." Sanji-kun ran a hand down his face. Maybe they shouldn't all get a kick out of his suffering, but where was the fun in that?

"Blue Baby. Blue Baby ow red. Grace ow red." Was Jinbei blushing? Oh, this was amazing. Franky came to stand by Robin. "Bubba, you can't give Luffy blood. You're too little and you don't have the same blood type."

"Grace ow, Baby ow red?" Sanji-kun frowned, trying to figure out what exactly he daughter was asking him. Luffy was watching from where he was sitting on the floor, smiling to himself. Not paying any attention to Chopper removing the IV from him. "Treasure, are you asking if you get hurt, can Jinbei give you blood?"

"Grace ow. Baby ow red, please?" Nami did not envy Sanji-kun struggle to explain what a blood transfusion was, to a baby. There was no way she was going to even attempt to help with this one. How could she? Chopper tried to, bless him. All that came from it, was Grace realising that she couldn't also have a blood transfusion from Jinbei and for her to throw a tantrum.

Oh, if Nami had thought what happened on the Sunny with Usopp was a tantrum, she was sorely mistaken. Grace collapsed the the ground, screaming. She kicked her feet and slammed her hands to the ground, face bright red. How was something so small, so loud? Jinbei looked mortified and asked what he could do to help. Sanj-kun just told him to ignore her. The Fishman walked over to Nami, face as if he had witnessed a great horror.

Zoro came running over, sword drawn. Only to stop when he noticed Sanji-kun just staring at the screaming child. "What happened?" The cook looked to the swordsman and rubbed his temples. "I wouldn't let her have a blood transfusion."  A completely baffled look took over Zoro's face, as his gaze flickered between the omega and his child. Before he folded his arms and gave an antagonising smile. "Wow Cook? How could you do such a mean thing?" Sanji-kun's eyebrow twitched. "I hate you." Zoro just laughed.

"Apologies, I did not mean to cause such a stir." Nami jumped at Jinbei's voice, forgetting he was standing with her. The rest of the crew had retreated not long after the screaming started and Sanji-kun told them thst they didn't need to do anything to help. Nami stayed mostly out of curiosity. "Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure that children have breakdowns like this, pretty often. Judging by Sanji-kun's reaction, this has happend a few times."

The Fishman was quite for a few seconds, before he spoke again. "The baby, Grace? She is Sanji's daughter?"

"Yeah. She's not some random kid we picked up and decided to keep, if that's what you mean?" Harsher than she needed to be, Nami felt a bit guilty when Jinbei recoiled. It wasn't Jinbei's fault that they had already been accused of such things already today. "Sorry for insinuating such a thing. I was merely curious on the reasoning for a child of such a young age, being on a pirate ship."

Ah. That was understandable. Jinbei appeared to be taking Grace's wellbeing into consideration, worried that they weren't aware of the risks. Nami tried to not feel offending at the implication. She knew it came from a place of care.

"Sanji-kun's partner died 2 years ago. He was ready to leave the crew when we reunited. You can see how that turned out." Even though Nami had forgiven Jinbei and he had saved her captain, she didn't want to tell Jinbei much more about how Grace came to be on their ship. Sanji-kun's scent could still pass as a beta, to those not aware of his sub-gender. Now that the crew knew, it was obvious. To outsiders, not as much. The truth of Grace's sire, was top secret. Maybe one day, they would tell Jinbei, but not today. Nami wouldn't say anything, at least.

Sanji-kun was busy in the kitchen working with the palace chefs, preparing for the banquet they were having later today. Ot had been a day since the fight with Hody and Vander Decken. This was an actual banquet this time. The blonde had offered to help, after describing just how much their crew could eat and seeing the horrified faces of the chefs. Surprising, considering how big their royal family was.

As he was busy cooking, Sanji wasn't able to look after Grace. The little girl was playing with Luffy and Chopper. Jinbei was reluctantly being included in their games. The toddler was fascinated with him, asking the ex-warlord to kiss her ow's better. Toddlers bumped into things a lot, she asked for kisses a lot. None of them decided to step in, as it was hilarious watching the ex-warlord be referred to as Baby. The navigator bet that he secretly enjoyed it.

With the toddler occupied, Nami was tasked with sorting out a cute outfit to put Grace in for the banquet. This meant going back to the Sunny, which Franky was working on to make more kid friendly. She found Grace's clothes pretty quickly, they were in a big chest. Inside the chest were boxes stacked on top of each other, all of them labelled. Of course she picked up the box with her name on first. Under her box, was one labelled Marimo. Nami grinned.

Chapter Text

Staring at the various blueprint designs in front of him, Franky tapped his chin in thought. Normally he was confident on anything to do with the Sunny. She was a thing a beauty. A sturdy girl, that could kick ass and sails the skies if needed. Truly, she was a masterpiece. Yet, she wasn't complete. She needed to be adapted, to help out their family.

Thinking up ways he could modify the Sunny, had been a blast. Drawing the designs, filled him with contentment. He always did feel settled when he was able to make something for the crew. Help them, make their every day lives just a bit more enjoyable. Some would say it was a  alpha thing, wanting to provide for his crew, his pack. Franky thought that was bullshit. No matter your sub-gender, people liked being able to help out their pack. He had seen it when part of the Franky Family, and now part of the Straw Hat crew.

Saying that, designing a space for Sanji and his super kid, it hit different. He was still filled with a sense of pride and contentment. Now he actually felt his alpha preen. Weird. He never really paid much attention to his sub-gender before, he just knew it came in handy when in a fight. The instincts to protect, sure did give a guy a boost when he was reaching his limits.

Franky didn't think it was so much that Cook-bro was an omega, that caused these alpha instincts to kick in outside battle. Sure, Franky wanted to help his crewmate when the blonde was stressed or sad. Totally normal. The thing that threw him through the loop, was that Franky was able to tell easier that Sanji-bro might not be doing that well. The guy hardly had a scent before, Usopp-bro had smelt stronger than their cook. Being part of the Straw Hats before they all separated, you understood, that you weren't going to get much on Sanji's or Brook's wellbeing, through scent. Doc-bro didn't have a sub-gender, but there was subtle changes. Even though the cook was a pretty emotional guy, loud at expressing happiness or anger, he was silent when  it came to certain emotions. Before they separated, there were only 2 people on the crew who could tell when Sanji-bro was having a rough time.

Even though it was very faint most of the time, Franky now understood what Sanji-bro was feeling. Sort of. Only if the cook was feeling something strongly. Unfortunately for the alphas of the crew, Cook-bro was feeling a lot of things strongly as of late. Stress mostly. The scent was still subtle, hardly detectable to anyone outside their pack. To the pack, it was a change in the pack's scent, so it stood out. Wasn't that different to adding a new person to a pack really, new scents took a couple of days for instincts to adjust. Being with the Franky Family, the cyborg was used to this, so wouldn't let this change things. Even if it was a bit strange that the change in the pack's scent, was due to an existing pack member. It was fine, Franky knew how to roll with the punches.

That being said, Franky was utterly helpless against Grace. The little girl had waddled in and latched onto his soft heart, like a vice. He loved the kid and would do anything to protect her. The cyborg didn't really have to worry about Cook-bro, the guy could protect himself pretty well. Also, the blonde had a few people that would help him when distressed, better than Franky anyway. Of course the cyborg would always help his bro, Franky was just well aware he wouldn't be first in line on the crew to do so. Same could be said about Grace really, but she didn't have a queue of people waiting to help her. Nah, the toddler had a group of people, tripping over themselves trying to be the first to help. Franky was one of those suckers that had fell for the little cutie's charms.

That was what lead Franky to drawing up blueprints to adjust the Sunny. Den was opposite him, his fellow shipwright watching him with an amused smile. Working with Old Tom's brother, it truly meant something to Franky. It was thrilling and healing. Was a shame that Iceberg couldn't be here too. The guy would love to work with Den. A letter and a photo would have to suffice. Franky would be a smug bastard in his letter to Ol' Ice for brians. It was his duty as the younger brother, to be a dick. He smiled to himself, imagining Iceberg's reaction, then looked back at the blueprints.

"What are these blueprints for?" Ah, Franky wasn't sure if he believed in higher beings, but he couldn't deny that angels existed, when one came to stand next to him. Robin was a mighty fine lady. Damn, when she took out that crew the day before with a growl, Franky briefly considered the benefits of pants over a speedo. Nico Robin greeted Den, then sat down next to Franky.

"They are ways the Sunny can be upgraded to accommodate our newest crewmate."

"Oh, a room for a Grace, how lovely. Have you spoken to our dear cook regarding this?" Her tone was sweet, but Franky heard the underlining threat weaved into her words. Nico Robin was a dangerous lady. Dangerously sexy. Damn, seeing her be so protective over those she cared about, really got Franky's blood pumping. It was amazing to see her being able to openly show that she cared for someone. She had come so far.

"I know that Cap said that anything about lil Grace and Sanji-bro should be cleared by Sanji. It's just- y'know what he is like. If anyone offers to do something for him, he rejects it. I'm gonna build a nursery for the Cutiepie and heat room for Cook-bro. Up to him of he actually wants to use them, but at least they are there for him."

"You didn't have a heat room before?" Den asked, surprised. Which was fair. Why wouldn't a ship with an omega on it, have a heat room? "We didn't know when the Sunny was built, that Sanji-bro is an omega. Admit it, if you didn't see bro pur for his kid when he was on the ship earlier, would you know he was an omega?"

Den looked to the side, obviously thinking back on things. When the merman eyebrows suddenly rose, Franky knew that Den realised the cyborg was right. "Huh, guess not. Guessing there is a reason for that then."

"Indeed. Reasons that are private and should not be discussed. We are not aware if Sanji is comfortable of people knowing of his sub-gender. Male omegas are considered rare after all, we would appreciate if you refrain from sharing this information with anyone else." The threat wasn't even subtle that time. Den raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Alright, I hear ya. So would you be looking a making separate sleeping quarters for him as well?" An elegant hand landed on top of Franky's. He looked to the side to find Robin looking at him with an easy smile. "I don't think that would be necessary. I overheard Sanji tell our swordsman that he had no intrest in moving out the boy's dorm, unless he wasn't wanted." Man, her Devil Fruit powers sure were handy, if not a bit of an invision of privacy. It was a relief to know that Cook-bro didn't plan on moving out the dorm. It was nice just having all the guys together. When one of them was sleeping in the infirmary, it felt wierd.

"I could add extra rooms to the Sunny in case we need one in the future anyway. I've come up with multiple designs for a new nursery, while not messing too much with the Sunny's existing design. Now I'm thinking of just doing all of them. Build the extra rooms and just let the crew decide what they are used for. Would need more wood though."

The merman leaned forward and surveyed the designs. His hands glided over the sketches, pausing over specific details, then moving again. A bright hum vibrated from Den's chest, as he smiled at Franky. "Intresting designs you have there. Looks like a fun build. I'm in and I happen to have some wood that came from the Eve tree."

Partner of the Adam Tree?! Right on! What an honour to be able to work with such wood. It's said to have similar properties to Adam Wood, but was even harder to get a hold of. This build had gotten even more exciting.

"What exactly are you adding to our beautiful Sunny?" Robin slid the closest blueprint towards her, for a closer look. Peering at the paper, Franky grinned.

"Those are designs for secret tunnels around the Sunny. They are wide pipes that lead to different places on the ship. Here, you can see 3 hidden covers on the deck that lead to the docking stations, the boys dorm and the library. Some will lead to other rooms, like the boy's dorm to Lil Grace's nursery. So if the Sunny is ever boarded, we can try and get the cutiepie to safety. Just need to make figure out which room should be the nursery."

Moving the tunnel blueprints to the side, Franky brought forward the other designs. He pointed to each of them as he spoke. "So after double checking the bathhouse, I can raise the walls enough to make another floor. This time the roof would be a full on dome, and not have a balcony. I'll need to add some reinforcements for the extra weight, no biggie.

"Above the galley is the Garden. Not thinking to adding a whole new floor there, I'd have to move the chimney and I'm not touching Nami-sis' trees. Want to make a room that takes up, maybe a quarter of the space. Have the roof slope, so I can cover it with Grass, have a garden on the roof. A pergola might be good to have, grow grapes or something on it.

"This last one might be a bit impractical, but it's honestly my favourite. Learnt a load of cool tricks during our time apart. I didn't have the time to at Sabaody, but as want to upgrade all the tech in the figurehead. Make it all compact. Once that is done, the figurehead is gonna be pretty empty, super space for a room. Imagine it! I can sound proof it and add some suspension, so even if I fire a Gaon Cannon, you would hardly feel a thing. Have the Sunny's eyes be windows. Man, I'm getting pumped just thinking about it. A perfect playroom/bedroom for a kid. Not sure if Cook-bro would want Lil Grace sleep in a separate room yet, but can you imagine having a bedroom like that?"

Excitement bubbled under his skin. He wanted to jump into the projects immediately. He wanted Grace to have a safe and quiet place that she could call her own. It didn't matter it if the little cutie wouldn't use the room as a bedroom for a while, just as long she had one ready. For now, it could just be a safe place to hide the baby should they be attacked. Of course that would mean Franky would need to make the door to the room, hidden. Maybe have a button on the deck, that opens it. Yeah, that could work. The room would also have the bonus of having Luffy-bro sitting on top of it a lot. Lil Grace's room would be guarded the majority of the time.

Looking up, he tried to gauge everyone's reactions. Nico Robin was doing that small smile, that always go Franky's heart pumping. Den was looking excited. Super! This really was going to be a fun building project.

"Where are you planning on building the heat room?" Sharp blue eyes scanned the designs, trying to find the missing blueprints. Pulling a pencil from behind his ear, Franky pulled out a copy of the Sunny's blue prints.

"Ah, that's the last thing I need to draw up. Now I'm thinking of the possible places I can add one. The rut room is pretty big. I can easily split it into two rooms, that would be nice a cosy. Not sure if we should have those rooms next to each other though." He quickly sketched up what that would look like, then moved to galley on the blueprints.

"Might be a bit of a squeeze, but I can move some things around here. Maybe make the sitting area a bit smaller, as well as the storage. That would be enough space to make a heat room here." He drew up another quick sketch. This one he didn't feel too pumped about. Frowning, he tapped the possible room with his pencil.

"I don't think our dear chef would want a cut down space for storage." Also frowning, Robin rested her chin on her palm. Her clever eyes sparkled, as she tried to think up a solution.

"I was going to upgrade the dorms regardless. Add an extra bed for your room and a baby bed in the boy's dorm. One that will be easy to move, so Cook-bro can decide where Lil Grace can sleep. We have a sitting space in the boy's dorm, that we don't really use. I can use some of that space an have the boy's dorm lead to a heat room. I could even make it in yours, if you don't mind giving up some space. Just don't know if Cook-bro would want to stay close with everyone during his heat, or if being near alphas would put him on edge." Sketching out the possible rooms in both of the dorms, Franky squinted at them.

The small room connected to the boy's dorm felt right. Or was that just the alpha in him wanting to keep a vulnerable omega surrounded by the majority to the crew when they slept? He might add the extra rooms in the dorms and make the rut room smaller, and just say they are storage. They always need storage, especially as Soilder Dock 4 is now occupied and they lost that space. Cook-bro might be more accepting of a heat room if Franky just builds a load of extra rooms. Make it less obvious that the rooms were built with the cook in mind. They would also come in handy if they ever pick anyone up. The crew have picked up extra guests before.

A webbed hand traced the sketches. "I know you said that your crewmate would reject anything offered to him, but I feel you should ask his opinion on this. Or at least another omega. Your friend Camie will be able to help you find someone to talk to."

He wanted to push back. Tell Den that he knew his crew, that he didn't need someone outside of their pack giving their opinion. The thing is though, that was super childish. He was better than that. He wasn't some pubescent teen, thinking the world was out to get him. That he needed to constantly prove himself. Well, teen Franky was partly correct, the world was out to get him, he had the bounty to prove it. It just wasn't the way that little angry Franky thought. Now adult Franky was a grown ass man. Grown ass men, knew when and when not to fight something. They knew when exactly they were being challenged.  Den wasn't challenging him, the man was helping them.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll start prepping the other rooms and ask Sanji-bro about a possible heat room at the banquet tonight. Hey beautiful lady, mind helping a guy out and tagging along when I ask out bro? He's more likely to cooperate of you're there."

Franky's heart started racing, as a smile was sent his way. "It would be my pleasure."

XXX

Not entirely sure why this kept happening, Zoro tucked a sleeping Grace in his robe. His haramaki did a pretty good job of securing her against his hip. It covered her butt and lower back. His haramaki couldn't be why his crew kept handing the small child to him, whenever the cook was busy and the girl was tired. Could it? Nah, it made no sense for that to be the case. Maybe he was just the least busy.

Not to say that Zoro wasn't doing things, it was just his things weren't really necessary. He was mostly exploring the island, finding good eats and drinks. Finally did some fishing. Was on his way to bring this big catch to the cook, to see if the idiot could find any use for it, when Luffy gave him a baby and took the fish. The swordsman had no idea where his captain had ran off to, only that the rubber idiot promised to deliver the fish to the cook on the way.

So Zoro was walking around to find a quiet area to sit down with the toddler.  It didn't take too long. He found a place that had a small pool of water, surrounded by trees. It was peaceful. More towns should have a woodland area in the centre, give people the chance to get some quiet away from the noise that came with a active town. Sitting down with his legs crossed, Zoro moved Grace from his hip to his belly. Her tiny puffs of air against his chest, were soothing. She wasn't even drooling this time. Those quiet breaths acted as background noise, allowing the swordsman to filter through his thoughts.

A per the norm for their crew, a lot happened in a very short amount of time. Now that things had settled, Zoro now had time to process everything. When the cook had asked if they were prepared to keep his daughter safe, Zoro had felt insulted. He didn't act on it, the swordsman knew that the question came from a place of fear. He didn't want Curls to be scared to travel with them. Even if Zoro had felt the fears was unfounded, he tried to reassure his crewmate. He would keep reassuring his crewmate.

Like when Grace got upset after, Sanji told the little girl off for biting Usopp. The cook had been so stressed after and had retreated to the galley. The moron had been worried that a little crying was enough for the crew to want him and the girl off the ship. The blonde was so fucking stupid sometimes. Zoro made damn well sure, to set that asshole straight right there and then. "Quit being a coward and stand up for yourself. Stop telling us why you should leave. Instead, tell us why we would be idiots to let you go."

The cook's lip had wobbled and Zoro almost went into a state of panic. It was obvious that Twirls had spent too much time in his own head. His mind getting a kick out of telling him all the things that could possibly go wrong. Zoro had just wanted Sanji to focus on what was going right. He hadn't meant to upset the man. It had been a relief to hear the blonde snort, tension bleeding from his shoulders. "I happen to be really good at boiling water. Grace can keep 90% of her food, off her face."

Zoro had felt so proud of himself. He had reassured the omega that everything was alright. The cook didn't need to be so scared.

Then he shared a bubble with a distressed Sanji, trying to calmly tell his scared daughter a story. Both Zoro and Luffy had tried to subtly release calming pheromones for the Cook. They weren't too sure how he would react to them. Zoro had never tried before. With the amount of alphas on the crew, they would immediately be alerted if any of them released calming pheromones on the ship. They would come and investigate, which would just stress the person they were trying to soothe, even more. The cook seemed to appreciate their attempts. Both Luffy and Zoro had felt proud of themselves.

Then they had to break into Fishman Island. Seeing the cook struggle to stay in a kneeling position, trying to stop his baby from getting crushed under the coating, it hurt. Witnessing Curlycue try and get them all to the surface, Zoro had to step in. Letting go had been easy. It was rewarding to see the blonde able to move quicker in the water, without the extra weight holding him back. The gamble had paid off in the end. He had been able to get himself and the girls closer enough to the surface. The witch didn't even complain at Zoro's risky move, she had understood.

Then Zoro had seen tearful blue eyes, reaching out to him in fear. Zoro understood. The cook had been scared of this. Of his little girl being in danger. She was so small, she couldn't defend herself. Completely dependant on them. Vulnerable. Zoro understood the cook's fears right then and there.

It had not just been whether the crew where willing to put up with changing diapers and the odd tantrum. It had not been about whether they could deal with threats quickly. It was whether they were ready to be responsible for the life of someone so vulnerable.

Zoro was already on constant alert in battle. He already looked for his crew, making sure that they were handling themselves in a fight. Looking to see if he needed to step in. Grace couldn't handle herself in a fight. She couldn't fight! If they got into any sort of conflict, they needed to get Grace out of there.

The swordsman sighed, running his had through wild dark hair. He could see lesser crewmates feeling this responsibility being too much to handle. Other crews would not be up to the challenge of keeping a little girl safe on a pirate crew. Other crews would have dumped the baby and the parent off at the nearest island. Other crews weren't the crew of the future King of the Pirates, were they?. If they weren't willing to tackle this challenge, they weren't worthy of the title.

Maybe the alpha should be worried how quickly he got attached to this toddler. She wasn't his. She was the daughter of the man he was pinning for, like a love sick fool. She was the daughter of his captain's deceased brother. The man his nakama still grieved. He should distance himself from the little girl, to protect his heart. But his dream was to become the world's Greatest Swordsman, he wasn't scared of getting hurt along the way. It was inevitable. Zoro knew how to handle pain.

So, he fell. He fell even harder for the stupid cook. That soft side of the blonde that used to be so rare to see, had stepped into the limelight. The love that the cook held in his heart, real love, not dopey Love-cook routine, had been let free. He finally had a place he deemed safe to pour it into, without fear of it being rejected. Well not truly, Grace obviously loved her dad with her entire being, despite the times she temporarily traded him for another.

Twirly did love them all. He found joy in handing people little pieces if his love, like how he doted on the girls. Zoro watched the crew. It was his job to, so he could protect them. That was how he noticed that the cook wanted to show his love for the male members of the crew too. Sure, not in the same over the top declarations of love like he did for the girls. The cook wanted to care for the boys too. For some reason, he just couldn't do it openly. If Curls did something nice for them, he had to give an excuse for his action. It rubbed Zoro the wrong way sometimes. Sometimes, it felt as if Sanji was expecting to be punished if he didn't give an excuse for doing something nice for the boys. Almost as if it wasn't safe to show kindness towards men.

The girls were safe.

Did Ace make Twirls feel safe?

...

Watching Curly try an keep his temper in check, was very entertaining. Especially when he stops himself from swearing. Zoro was also having some difficulty in that department, but his resolve to not lose to the cook will see him through it. Chopper, Luffy and Usopp had started to really use Grace to their advantage. It was funny when they used the little girl to avoid Nami from hitting them. When they used Grace to purposely wind Twirlybrow up, so much so, that smoke would start coming off him. It was a riot. Especially when Grace was put down for a nap and the trio had to run for their lives from a pissed off cook. They always forgot that the blonde would have the opportunity for payback later.

Like the rest of the crew, Zoro had fallen for Grace. She found joy in the simplest things. She was a happy child, a kind one. They all wanted to protect that. Make sure that light she brought to them all, never dimmed.

Zoro had almost lost control of himself when Grace was in danger. Almost consumed by rage. He had craved blood. The urge to rip the people standing in the way of him and his terrified nakama, limb from limb, had been overwhelming. His protectiveness had won out in the end. To protect someone, was to make sure they felt safe. He needed to be someone Grace would feel safe around. Killing someone in front of her and being covered in blood, wouldn't achieve that. Those dumbasses at the palace were so damn lucky, that his protectiveness won over his bloodlust.

Grace wiggled in her sleep, her chubby cheek was squashed against his chest. She started drooling again. He didn't mind, he had been covered in much worse stuff before.

The swordsman sighed. He really should try an avoid spending time with Grace. He had never really thought much about what his life might be after achieving his dream. The tiny being drooling on him, made it too easy get some ideas. He liked this feeling of holding a small innocent life against him. The protectiveness that flooded his veins, felt empowering. It was also fucking terrifying. But the warm feeling that came with it, was so worth it.

Zoro was a dumbass. He could practically hear Mihawk's pretentious voice, telling him that  this would get in the way of his goal. The inevitable heartbreak he would face, would weaken him. The longing for something more, was a distraction. Zoro didn't see it that way. It meant that he would push himself to be strong enough to win the title of Greatest Swordsman, and be strong enough to live his life after. Not just win, then kick the bucket almost immediately after.

"ZORO!! You stupid lost rock, where are you?" Groaning at the sound of the witch's voice, Zoro carefully stood up and walked towards the yelling. He tried to cover Grace's ears, so that the noise didn't wake the toddler, but it was already too late. Large blue eyes locked onto Zoro's face, there was a split second of silence, before she started crying. Cursing the evil sea witch, Zoro tried shushing the baby, whilst looking for his crewmate.

Nami was quick to run towards him, once she heard Grace's cries. Her face was red in fury, as she gave Zoro the stink-eye. Like it was his fault Grace was crying! Fat chance. "What do you want, your yelling woke up Squirt?" The little girl started wiggling, still crying. Placing the toddler on the ground, Zoro watched her spread out, face down, like a starfish. A fairly convincing starfish, as she was wearing a onsie shaped like one. She kept crying.

Nami had the balls to look at Zoro as if this was still his fault. Who woke up the kid? Not Zoro. "You wondered off with the baby, no one knew where you were. You're lucky that Sanji-kun is distracted with cooking."

"Luffy gave me the kid. You act as if I just picked her up and walked off without anyone noticing. You all keep giving me her when she is sleepy. If you don't want me walking around to get her to fall asleep, then sitting down somewhere with her, stop giving her to me." He didn't want the crew to stop handing her over to him, to get Grace to sleep. He didn't understand why it kept happening, but he enjoyed it. The feeling it brought him, he couldn't quite put a name to, but it was one that he liked.

"Luffy gave you Grace near the Mermaid Cafe. Of course you're too stupid to just settle down by the pools with the mermaids. You know, the place she likes and would be easy to find you. No, you decided to wonder off into the Sea Forest. Thank goodness Megalo, saw you as they swam over and went the Sunny and told Den where you were."

Only half paying attention to what Nami was saying, Zoro watched Grace crawl along the floor, towards a long bit of coral that had broken off a bigger piece. The toddler was still crying, but it was clear she was faking it. Out of all the things to take after the cook in, she had to be a sneaky toddler. Small pudgy fingers grabbed hold of the coral, giggling as she hid it under her belly. She then laid still, imitating a starfish, doing a much better job than before.

"What's the problem? You all knew that I was with her, I was going to keep the little gremlin safe."

"The problem is, that the banquet will be starting soon and I need to get Grace ready. Usopp's probably already picked something for you to wear. We need to hurry back to avoid being late." Ugh. He didn't get what was wrong with what he was wearing. Big deal, they were rubbing shoulders with royalty, not like they haven't done that before. They travelled with a princess before, Vivi didn't care about what they were wearing at their celebration banquet. He would go along with it, save the witch trying to put him in even further debt with her. At least with Usopp, it was likely to be casual. He would just have to throw a shirt on or something.

"Well, you found me. There's the kid. Why are you still bit-, let's just go. We're wasting time here." Kneeling down, he poked Grace's side. She whined no, then shimmed across the ground away from him. It was more caterpillar like, than starfish. She tried to keep her arms underneath her, holding the coral from earlier.

"Hey, want to show Luffy your stick?" Blue eyes suddenly bore into him. She turned her head so quickly to look at him, Zoro was concerned she might have hurt herself. Frantically, Grace got to her feet and showed Zoro her prize. Maybe he should have told her it was actually coral. Would a toddler understand the different between them? She bounced up and down, excited with the thing in her hands.

"Grace tick. Moss tick. Lucy no tick. Grace ow bad. Bad boo. Grace tick. Bad ow, tick." Waving the coral around, the toddler didn't seem to care all that much that Zoro didn't really follow what she was saying. A quick glance to Nami, told Zoro she was in the same boat. He wanted to understand the little girl. She was looking up at him, with large blue eyes, waiting for his reaction. Curly made it look so easy.

"I have a stick and Luffy doesn't?" Grace smacked the ground a few times with the stick, then poked his hip with it. "Moss tick." She poked his hip again. What did she mean by-oh. "Do you mean my swords? Is that your sword?" She waved the coral round, lowered her voice and babbled. Was she-? Was she pretending to be him? He withdrew Wado, blinking in surprise when the toddler started excitingly bouncing. Taking a couple steps back, he slowly moved through a kata he remembered from childhood. She copied him. Badly, but she still copied him.

Oh, that was doing things to his chest. Fuck, Curls was going to kill him. The idiot cook was going to find out, judging by the way the sea witch mouth curled into smile. It was a smile that spelled trouble for Zoro. "Moss tick. Grace tick." She then went to run off and Zoro had to jog after her. He took hold of one of her tiny hands and placed Wado back in her sheath. The witch grinned at him like a cat. Sometimes, he really despised Nami.

Even though the witch could be evil, she was good at finding places. She led them to the Sunny quick enough, where they hitched a ride on a giant shark. Leaning against the shark's fin, Zoro had a quick nap as Robin watched the baby.  The girls were talking about clothes. Nami in particular was excited about the sheer amount that Grace had, cooing at whatever was in the box she was holding. Made sense that the kid had a load of clothes, she was the cook's after all.

When they got to the palace, the girls quickly whisked Grace away. The toddler was more interested showing everyone her coral, than doing whatever the girls had planned. She only complied when Robin bribed her with another coral branch. Franky had dragged Zoro away to put more 'suitable' clothes on. Usopp had only managed to get Franky to put on a bowtie. Zoro had changed into a clean pair of his pants and a dark blue shirt. It was fine. Made him feel stiff, but not as bad as it could have been.

Standing to the side with a tankard, Zoro had the perfect view of the barrels of booze he would steal later in the evening. It was good booze. Depending on how the night went, he might hunt down more of the booze than the ones in the main hall. Take it for their own stores, so the cook couldn't bullshit him and say they didn't have enough.

Speak of the devil, there was the cook. The  man had been kicked out of the kitchen once everything had been prepared. The palace staff didn't want him to also try an wait on them all. Gave the idiot a chance to change into a new suit. I looked to just be another black one, but it shimmered blue when he stood directly under a light. So a really dark blue suit, with an olive colour shirt. Wasn't really much else to it, the cook always looked good into what he wore. Except from maybe a couple of really experimental outfits.

"What's with the lollipop?" The blonde sighed, but walked over to Zoro. The girls hadn't shown up yet, it was mostly just the men of the crew. Look who was late now, Witch?

"Ugh. Quit smoking with Grace, had these as a substitute. Only succeed in getting addicted to these shitty things and still being addicted to smoking. Forgot to pack some when I left. Splash noticed and gave me a load when I saw her at the docks."

There had been a picture of the cook with a lollipop in his mouth in the baby book, Zoro hadn't realised they were to replace cigarettes. It did explain why the cook was doing so well smoking way less than he used to. The craving must have lessened. Maybe. Zoro wasn't the doctor on the crew,  he didn't know for certain.

"So everytime you are stressed out, you're gonna have one of these things, instead of smoking if Grace is around?" A weighted look was sent Zoro's way, as the blonde shoved another lolly into his mouth. He looked like an idiot with 2 sticks hanging out of his mouth.

"They gave me a lot of lollipops. I developed such a sweet tooth. Tried having sugar free ones, just gave me the shits. I'll work out how to make decent sugar free ones, that won't declare war on my fucking digestive system." Did that actually answer his question? Sort of. It was alright, Zoro would find out for himself soon enough.

"Sent your letter to your old man?" That had been the original reason for the cook to go to the dock. Robin had gone with him, she apparently knew some secret way to send mail. Why she hasn't felt the need to let the rest of them know how to do so? The swordsman suspected that she got a kick out of being mysterious.

"Yeah. Fingers crossed the shit geezer doesn't have a fucking heart attack when he reads it.  Ugh fuck. He's going to find a way to kick my ass for not telling him sooner. I don't know, someone will visit the Baratie that can curse me or something. If my hair turns green, just throw me overboard." The teasing smile on the cook's face, caused something to twinge in his chest. He needed to squash that down and fast. He nudged the cook with his shoulder, it quickly escalated into a spar.

"Sanji-kun!" Zoro rolled his eyes, knowing that the idiot was immediately going to swoon over Nami. Swooning just meant that the cook left himself vulnerable for an attack. Taking advantage of Twirlybrow's distracted state, Zoro aimed for the man's side, only to halt at the sound of another voice.

"Da! Look Da!" The sound of tiny feet and a quiet jingle, steadily grew louder, as Grace ran towards them. Sanji's visible eye widen in glee, as he kneeled down and opened his arms wide. "My treasure!" The blonde giggled when the toddler jumped into his arms, squeezing her tight. Fucking giggled. Stupid curly bastard.

"Oh look at you. Little Princess Moss has turned up to the banquet. Why do you have 2 pieces of coral?" The blonde set the girl back down, revealing that she was still holding the coral. From how Nami slumped over at Sanji's question, the little girl must have put up a fight to keep them. 

"Grace tick. Moss tick. Boo, ow. Bad tick. Grace, ow bad." Now that Sanji was with them, Zoro could find out what the little girl meant. Maybe it would help Zoro figure out what she meant in the future.

"Stick? You and Marimo have a stick. Oh, do you mean swords Honey? You have have swords for bad people, that hurt others?" The little girl bounced up and down, wiggling the coral. She babbled to herself, completely unaware of her father's frown. At first, Zoro expects the cook to try and kick his ass, for getting Grace into swords. Zoro had nothing to do with it, but he doubted Twirls would see it that way.

Then Zoro looks at the omega's eyes and sees hurt. There was a mixture of sadness and guilt, that looked like it hurt the cook. Why was that there? Why would the kid pretending to have a sword, cause that reaction? Finding himself frowning, Zoro tried to figure it out. He thought the toddler was just mimicking him, but maybe it was something else. Why did people carry weapons? Some used them to strike other. Some used them to protect and some used them as a means of defence, or to feel safe. Why would Grace want- was it to feel safe?

The implication turned Zoro's throat dry. No amount of booze would be able to help. Had he already failed at making sure this sweet little girl, felt safe with him? He had hoped that she was too young to fully comprehend exactly what had happened. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she carried her coral, so that she could protect herself. Maybe she lost some of her innocence. Zoro choked down the whine that built at the back of his throat.

He was going to fucking ensure that this bright little girl, stayed safe.

"My sweet little cupcake, you need to do some training before you beat up any bad guys. We'll beat up all the bad guys until you have trained enough. Isn't that right Marimo?"

"Yes!" He replied way too quickly. The witch was watching him with a cat-like grin. Well she could fuck off. He didn't care how if he looked like an idiot. The cook looked at him in pride. It did stupid things to his heart.

"Grace wink?" Wink, that meant sparring to the toddler, right? He was getting there. Soon Zoro would be able to speak mini cook. "You need to find someone your height to spar with, to start off with." He crossed his arms, a small smile on his face. Having to spar with people her size meant that she could only fight with other babies. Zoro was a genius. How many other babies were they going to come across?

Big blue eyes scanned the main hall. There was a brief moment of silence from the toddler, before she dashed towards Pappag. Zoro heard a crunch from the cook, before he jogged after his daughter. Lollipop sticks were flicked into one of Luffy's dozen empty plates. The rubber menace had already devoured most of the snacks. Good thing the real food was to be brought out later.

The cook walked back to them with a child on his hip. Ducking to avoid a waving coral, Sanji was telling his daughter that the starfish was actually smaller than her, so she couldn't spar with him. The swordsman snorted when he noticed the girl eye up Chopper. The kid was feral.

"Grace, you can't spar at a party. Now is the time to eat and dance. Oh Grace, why don't you show Zoro your cute outfit." Nami swooped in, speaking in a gentle voice. The little girl looked around, seeing that people were eating and dancing. She then stared at Zoro and fidgeted in the cook's hold. The blonde placed her on the floor and she dropped the coral. Throwing her hands up in the air, Grace yelled 'look' at the swordsman.

Not sure why Nami wanted Grace to show him the outfit; she knew he didn't particularly care about clothes, he obeyed the request from the toddler anyway. She was wearing a dark green headband, keeping most of her wild hair out of her face. It was the same green as the thick ribbon tied around her waist, there was a big bow on the back of her dress. The dress was a lighter green. The top half was a different material as the bottom. Softer? She didn't really have sleeves, there was just some thrills. The bottom half was multiple layers of some green fabric. Looked a bit like a tutu, or like those fluffy things Nami uses to put on some sort of powder make up. The top layer of the tutu-thing, was a turquoise mesh. The mesh had fuzzy green balls embroidered onto it, with eyes. She wore simple white socks and shiny back shoes. There was a little black bow on the shoes, that sat on top of 3 golden pieces of metal, shaped like teardrops. That must be the space of the jingling Zoro heard earlier.

He could admit it looked cute on her, he still didn't know why the witch would- wait! Green headband, same shade as his bandana. The ribbon was a different shade to his haramaki, but he knew that was what the ribbon was meant to represent. The embroidered fuzzy green balls, was meant to be moss balls. The shoes had his fucking earrings. Fuck. It was a dress representing him.

Zoro knew that the cook had outfits made to represent all of them for Grace. He had seen a couple of them already. The merry dress for Usopp, the Franky swimming costume and the shorts with waves and whale patterns. He suspected that there might be one themed around him, but nothing extravagant like this. Zoro thought it would just be a t-shirt with a sword on it, not a pretty dress. Why was he being represented in such a way?

The little girl did a spin, making sure that Zoro saw all of her outfit. The shoes jingled  as she did so. It did things to Zoro's heart. None of the others had specialised shoes, so far at least. Why did Zoro? What did this mean? He was looking too far into this, he knew he was. It didn't help that the witch was watching him closely. Well done Witch, you managed to shove Zoro's feelings into a ficking blender.

Grace looked so happy in her dress. A dress that represented Zoro. He wanted to share her joy. He wanted to be proud to see her in something that shouted 'Zoro'. The feelings bubbled beneath his skin, but he did not know if he was allowed to indulge in it. Grace wasn't his. Even if he was growing to love the little girl, he didn't think he had any right to. He wasn't Sanji's alpha, he didn't sire this child. Sanji hadn't chosen him.

Zoro loved Grace in her dress. He loved her so much. Fuck! Why was Nami doing this to him? She used to try and get Zoro to do something for his feeling for the cook before they separated. Especially after they all thought Curls had a fling with Ace. She must be trying to nudge Zoro into confessing again. He couldn't.  The swordsman knew that he was a bit of an asshole. Not a 'hey, found out your partner died, how about you get with me' type of asshole. She was trying to help, Zoro knew she was. He just wished she asked if that shit was wanted.

"You look good Squirt." He mumbled. The cook sighed dramatically, muttering about Zoro's lackluster complimenting skills. The blonde didn't seem too put off by it. Not when the baby giggled, turning to Sanji, asking him to dance. He did so with a blinding smile. She reached up into the air and stood on tip-toes. The cook took hold of her hand and spun her round like a ballerina. The toddler shrieked in joy, yelling 'pin' repeatedly. Seeing Sanji and Grace dance, Luffy and Chopper ran over to  join in. Both of them demanding the cook spin them as well.

"You should shoot your shot, you know." Sighing, Zoro looked for some more booze.   "Drop it." The navigator huffed. She called for one of the servants over that was serving alcohol. Grabbing 2 tankards, the witch passed one to him. Hesitantly, he took hold of the drink, fully expecting some sort of strings attached to the offer. The redhead surprised him.

"Come on. You're pretty good with Grace and you understand Sanji-kun better than most of us. You would be good with each other." The she-demon watched the father and daughter dance together, with a fond look Zoro doesn't remember seeing on her face before.

Choosing to ignore that, he turns his attention to the crew as well. Grace had one leg on floor, another in the air. Her head and hands were on the ground, what she was doing was unclear, until Shit Cook did a handstand. He cheered for her when she stood back up, which encouraged her to do it again. This time Luffy joined in. Usopp bragged about being the best at handstands, only to squeak when blooming arms held him in one. Robin giggled as Franky enthusiastically whooped for them all and helped Chopper into his own headstand. Cackling, Brook stood at a 45 degree angle, only to catch the toddler when she tried to copy him. The other occupants of the palace hall watched them in befuddlement. Zoro almost felt sorry for them, this was tame.

"Ace died Nami. It would be a dick move to do anything so soon after meeting up again. Be like I was waiting for him to fucking kick the bucket. No, I won't do anything. I don't think he is ready for anything anyway." As much as it pained him to admit. The cook still flirts in an completely over the top manner. As soon as there is a hint of it being reciprocated, he gets flustered, shuts down and flees. It used to happen before they separated, when Ace was alive. Only difference is, the idiot didn't shut down then. Yeah, the cook's not ready for anything.

"Fine. I would argue that I think you would help Sanji-kun heal if you were together, but I can see that you aren't going to budge on his. Shoot, I was going to charge you for getting Grace in the cute outfit, it had not been easy. I'll find something else to charge you on by the end of the night." She winked at him, unaffected by the galley she sent him. "Witch."

Servants started to filter in, holding trays of food, the cook immediately rushed over to help keep Luffy from eating it all. Their giant softie of a shipwright, took over dancing with Grace. The little girl was standing on top of his feet, his small robot hands, holding onto hers. He shuffled around massive grin on his face, eyes watering and she laughed. Robin was blushing as she watched the pair. Weird.

The royal family turned up as well as Jinbei and the toddler eagerly dragged Franky over to the mermaid princess. The toddler was still weary of the King and his advisors, but loved the princess and her brothers. There was regret in the King's eyes, but Zoro couldn't bring himself to care.

Other than the Princes and the Princess, the toddler liked spending time Jinbei as well. The ex-warlord being referred to as Baby, was still hilarious. The big guy got embarrassed every time, but didn't appear to mind it. If anything, they guy just seemed shocked that this tiny human enjoyed his company so much and showed no fear. Why would she? The little gremlin didn't even bat an eye at Brook, who Zoro had even found spooky at first.

Zoro respected Jinbei. He had helped Luffy when their captain needed it most. They owed that man a lot. Still didn't mean that Zoro wouldn't notice the weird looks the guy gave the cook. The fishman would watched the cook sometimes, confused or curious. It looked like he watched to ask Curls something, but didn't know how to approach the subject. It rubbed Zoro the wrong was and he wasn't completely sure why.

"100 berry each time you scowl at Jinbei."

"S'not scowling." A dainty finger poked the wrinkle between his eyes. Wrinkles caused by scowling. "Yeah right. We have all noticed that he has been looking at Sanji-kun, but none of us are picking up anything bad from him. To me, it looks like he's perplexed that Sanji-kun is happy for Grace to play with him. I imagine not many parents have allowed their child to get close to Jinbei before." That was very likely true, unfortunately. That being said, Zoro didn't think that was the sole reason behind those looks.

He should let it go. The ex-warlord would leave tomorrow anyway. The cook could handle himself. They would all be very aware if Jinbei said something to the idiot he didn't like. There would be screeching and fire. Simillar to the scolding Luffy was currently getting from Twirls for trying to eat all the food. Both Nami and Zoro laughed as Grace came running over, booing at her dad for kicking Luffy. Their captain cackled, as the cook failed to explain why he had kicked the rubberboy in the face.

...

How the fuck did he owe the witch 1700 berry?

XXX

The last few days had been great! They had a party and Luffy got to eat lots of meat. Jinbei had to leave, but he promised to come back. Grace gave him a cool rock, which Jinbei really liked. It was funny, Luffy didn't know he could go red. Not that Luffy blamed him. It was a really cool rock. Seeing that Grace had a secret power of finding cool rocks, Luffy had to spend a day with her, hunting for some. The captain got to punch that weird mud guy again, got some treasure. Sure he gave it over to Big Mom after picking a fight with her, but Luffy got to keep his new cool rock Grace found.

Some mermaids wanted to help Grace learn how to swim. They tried with the Devil Fruit users of the crew, but the water zapped too much of their strength, even with the bubble coral helping them float. Instead they showed the crew something called a lazy river, were they could just float around in a big circle. Robin and Franky didn't join, but the rest of them had fun floating. Zoro fell asleep at some point and somehow floated away. Even Luffy was confused by that one. He didn't see any stream that branched off to where Zoro ended up. How the big dummy kept getting lost, was a mystery.

Like the new mystery rooms Franky was building. It was exciting that their home was getting bigger. His nakama assured that there wasn't going to be a captain's cabin, which was good. Luffy didn't want one. It took a while at Water 7 for Franky to realise that Luffy wasn't joking about wanting to stay with his crew. Franky said that he was making extra rooms that Sanji and Grace can use if the want. His shipwright said that Sanji was aware of the extra rooms and agreed after Robin helped explain things.

They were getting new rooms, which might be for Sanji and Grace, might not. Which room might be for them, was up to Sanji to decide. It was a mystery. Also, the secret tunnels sounded really cool.

While the Sunny was being worked on, the rest of the crew were staying as guests in the palace. It was fun, but Luffy preferred the Sunny. The Sunny always felt warm to him, in a way that nowhere else ever had. Even though Luffy had all of his stuff in a chest at the palace, it wasn't the same. Luffy never kept much in his locker anyway. A few of them had to help Nami and Robin bring all their stuff. Luffy had thought all of them had moved their stuff. They needed to, as Franky was meant to be working on their rooms today.

"SANJI, FOOD!!" He ran into the dinning room, that his crew had been huddling in the last few days. It was the closest thing to the galley. As easy as breathing, he caught Grace as she ran up to him. Laughing, he swung her around, in a way Sanji told him was safe, then placed her on his shoulders.

"Oh hey bro. He's getting stuff from his locker today, so I can start working on on the rooms. You're gonna need to ask the kitchen staff for food." Franky told him, the other muttered to themselves. Most of them hadn't noticed that Sanji hadn't brought all his stuff with them either.

"Stupid Love Cook will have so much shi-things." Zoro grumbled, then walked out the room. Nami watched him leave with a knowing smile, Usopp playfully elbowed her side, giggling. It wasn't a secret to the crew that Zoro liked Sanji. Luffy thought that it was probably on Chopper and Sanji that didn't know. They all thought that Zoro was going to help Sanji with his things.

Luffy heard Zoro voice pitch slightly higher than usual. No one else had, but that's because Luffy knew his crew. He knew that Zoro was worried, which caused Luffy to worry. Something about Sanji going to his locker alone, was a bad thing. Luffy needed to be there for his nakama.

"I'm going too. The sooner Sanji is back, the sooner Sanji can make me meat." He removed Grace from his shoulders, spinning her around as he did so. Try and make it fun for her, as Robin stepped forward to take her from him. Robin was smart, she probably picked something was up too. Brook started playing Bink Sake, the little girl clapped her hands as Robin swayed side to side. Brook was smart too. They would both distract Grace for him, she shouldn't be there to see the bad thing.

He ran after Zoro, laughing. As soon as he found Zoro, all humour left him. The swordsman didn't protest at all, when Luffy grabbed hold of his wrist. The Sunny was a fair distance away from the palace, it would take too long to run to. They would have to rocket there.

As soon as they got close to the Sunny, both alpha's felt an immense pressure. It was crushing. It was painfully familiar. Luffy knew this feeling, this hurt. Luffy knew it  too well. It was grief. Sanji was grieving, alone. He needed help. Luffy had to share his pain.

Zoro was quicker to act. He ran ahead, climbing onto the deck faster than Luffy had seen the swordsman do before. Only a few steps behind, Luffy felt the utter despair pour out of the door of the boys dorm when Zoro openedthe door. Both Zoro and Luffy stumbled. Sanji was distressed. More so than Luffy had ever witnessed before. Sure, Zoro and Luffy had helped Sanji calm down we he got overwhelmed. The omega was pretty good at hiding his anxiety from everyone else. Zoro was pretty good at hiding his fear of not being strong enough.

This was different. The omega was screaming for help. The alpha in Luffy was panicked at finding someone he care about so much, in such a state. Keening, Luffy skidded on his knees to his nakama's side.

His friend didn't react. Sanji was on his knees, head touching the floor, sobbing. His arms wrapped around his body, as if trying to give himself a hug. Fat tears stained the dark wood. Sanji struggled to breath around his tears. Desperate to try and soothe his nakama, Luffy wrapped his arms around the blonde and tried scenting him. Zoro kneeled the opposite side of their cook and joined in the hug. He didn't try to scent Sanji, but released soothing pheromones. Rubbing his cheek against Sanji's, Luffy tried to ignore the visceral crushing pain in his heart.

Luffy knew what caused this reaction from Sanji. Now he realised why Sanji had been taking clothes out of the trunk at end of his bunk, rather than his locker. Since reuniting, Sanji hadn't looked at his locker. Within arms reach of their cook, was a simple wooden box. It's lid was a bit further away, it's letters littered the floor.

'It's such a relief knowing that my kid brother is surrounded by a crew that clearly care about him. You all care for each other man. You should tell them what you told me,   they'll understand.'

'Oh, no. I tried to teach Luffy manners. It was a lost cause. I learnt manners so I could apologise on his behalf.'

'Yeah, Spade pirates. I know, super original name for a pirate crew. You know what though, all pirate crews have on the nose names. If you ever find one that's original, let me know.'

'Nah, we don't actually have the same folks, were brothers by choice. Best decision I ever made. We spent years with each other, living with a bunch of mountain bandits. They were alright. You mentioned Zeff being your parental figure. I suppose Dadan was mine, before I met Pops. Hard ass woman, but I could tell she cared.

'If you want to visit Dadan and spoil her, I'll be more than happy to introduce you to her, once I deal with Teach. I haven't seen her in a long time. I'll introduce you to Makino too, you'll like her. In return, you can introduce me to Zeff. I want to thank the guy that saved your life. Never would had the chance to meet you, if not for that old cook.'

'Nah, I took on my birth mom's name. Can't remember her, but I know she was kickass.'

'I got offered the chance to be a warlord once. Of course I turned it down. The World Government are absolute scum. Ugh, most  of the warlords are so stuck up as well. I don't want to hang out with any of them.'

'Luffy's appetite has always been like that. I don't envy you.'

'Sanji. My match, my sun. I swear, if I ever come across your family, they're dead. I know you said you can't say their names, but of you give me enough hints, I'll hunt them down. I swear.'

'OK, followed that recipe you sent me. How did you come up with something that tastes so good, from such simple ingredients? This is a game changer. No more shitty meals when I'm on the move. I'm gonna steal you, I swear. Luffy be damned. I need you with me.'

'Your letters make the quiet nights travelling alone, not lonely. Thanks.'

'I think I have found him. About time! When this is all over my sun, I'm going to find you. I'll find you in the New World and we can go on a date.'

Luffy wasn't able to read the letters in full, only snippets of them. The tears that were flooding his eyes, made it hard to read them. That was Ace's handwriting. It was his older brother's words. He should have sent letters to Ace, then maybe he would still have something of his brother. Luffy's heart ached.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Luffy tightened his hold around Sanji. He needed Sanji to know that this was OK. "No need to apologise Curly, take your time." It took a while for Sanji to calm down. The whole time, Luffy struggled to not join in crying. A few stray tears escaped, but he stopped himself from breaking down. Luffy maneuvered Sanji, so that his nakama's head was resting again his chest.

"I'm a terrible parent."

"Fucking bullshit!"

"I am. I'm horrible." Sanji's lip wobbled, it hurt Luffy to see. How could his cook, his kind cook, ever think he was a bad parent? "I don't get it Sanji, Grace loves you." A sour scent burned Luffy's nose. It was fine, he could put up with it. He needed to work on getting the cause of that scent, to dissappear.

"Sometimes I look at Grace and only see Ace. Sometimes, I can hardly stand to look at my beautiful daughter's face. I don't deserve her!" The cries came back with a vengeance, tears and snot covering his chest. His hurting nakama trembled in his arms, or was that Luffy? Zoro moved in closer, wrapping his arms around the both of them. This time he older alpha scented both of them, it helped.

Luffy understood. Sometimes Luffy saw a younger version of Ace when he looked at his niece. She walked around for a while with a bit of coral and Luffy saw a pipe. Yet, he didn't feel like he was a bad uncle, or older brother. Luffy could see how much that little girl loved him. He could see his own love reflected in those bright blue eyes. Sanji always had trouble recognising love directed at him.

"That makes you all the better parent, Twirls. You're hurting, but all that girl knows is love. A shit parent would use that hurt, as an excuse to take it out on their kid." Sanji turned his head so that his head was resting on Zoro's chest. Zoro looked up to Luffy, his expression was strained. Zoro loved Sanji in a different way that Luffy did. The love probably weighed the same, if they were measure it. Maybe. Luffy wasn't sure, but ne knew this was hard for Zoro.

It took a while for Sanji to calm down completely. The terrible smell of his sadness was starting to fade, Zoro's soothing pheromones were smothering the terrible smell. Embarrassed, Sanji didn't look at them when he started purring. Something to soothe himself, and the two alphas. Again, Zoro looked to Luffy and the captain knew what his crewmate was trying to convey. Zoro understood what Luffy meant when he said that Sanji's omega was sick, that Sanji was sick. His heart was sad and needed help to heal.

They would be there for Sanji. They would always be there for him.

...

Luffy whistled happily kicking his legs back and forth, sitting on the kitchen counter. His cook was content, now that he was cooking. Luffy was content that his nakama was content. The captain felt incredibly smug that he got to eat Sanji's food, while everyone else had to eat the palace staff's cooking. They were missing out.

XXX

In the middle of the morning prep, he hadn't expected such a loud rucus at this time. What the hell was going on out there? He didn't have to wait long, before Patty came running into the kitchen, letter in hand.

"Guess who finally decided to write to us?" Chopping coming to a halt, Zeff looked at the letter as if it was gold dust. It had been so long since they had heard from the brat.  Long enough for Zeff to start worrying. "Give it here then. Let's see what Eggplant has to say." Patty handed over the envelope and showed no instrest in leaving. Nosey bastard. He would let it pass. If the brat was his kid, then Patty and Carne were his uncles.

There was a piece of paper and a couple of photos inside. The photos grabbed his attention immediately, but he would focus on the letter first. It was in code. The kid was worried about the contents of this letter. It was something that his boy wanted to protect.

It was something that Zeff needed to sit down for. Patty's panicked words, were lost  on Zeff. The old cook was too overwhelmed by what he just learnt. His poor, poor boy. He must be struggling so badly and it pained Zeff that he couldn't do anything to fix it. The retired pirate knew that that rubberboy would look after Sanji. That boy had so much faith in Sanji's dream, did so much to give that damn brat of his, the will to go after the All Blue. Zeff hadn't seen much of the other crew members interacting with the brat, but it was clear from the letters that the old cook did get, the crew was a family. They were going to look after his boy.

His boy that had a baby. A baby with the son of Gol D. Roger. A baby with a someone who died in such a bloody way. Yeah, his poor boy needed all the help he could get.

Zeff passed the letter to Patty, so the loud bastard would stop bothering him. Whilst the other cook wrapped his head around exactly what Sanji had written, Zeff placed the 2 photos on the counter between them. One was of a little girl sleeping in a duck onsie. Tears gathered in the corner of the old cook's eyes. That dumbass knew what Zeff's old jolly roger looked like. The stupid sentimental brat. The second, was the same little girl. This time she was awake, sitting in a highchair sauce on her face and spaghetti in her hair. She had a heartwarming smile, big and joyful. Her bright blue eyes, were big and round. She was definitely Eggaplant's.

The brat's eyes used to shine like that all the time. He had big innocent eyes, that became slightly lidded over time. Once Zeff found out who ever made Eggplant self conscious about his big eyes, the ex-pirate captain would kick the shit out of them. At least he still got to see them, when Eggplant was truly happy.

Shit, he was going soft. He loved this little girl already. Flipping the picture over, Zeff sniffed. Grace. He couldn't wait to meet her.

Chapter Text

Finally, they were sailing again. Franky had finished upgrading the Thousand Sunny a few days before Log Pose set, but they had stayed at the palace until they set off again. They got free booze and food out of it, so it was a no-brainer to stay there.

Still, it was nice to be home again. The crew had been excited to see all the changes. Even though Zoro already knew that Luffy had seen the new additions, he was one of the loudest running around the ship. Luffy and Twirly had visited their home a day or so before they left, so they could sort things out. Zoro didn't know how the rubber idiot did it, but he managed to get the cook to cave and pick a heat room. Scent blockers had been built into the rooms, so no one should be able to smell any pheromones outside of them. Which meant they would have no trouble with the cook taking the new room in the men's dorm. 

Curly had said that he wanted to be able to stay close to his daughter when in heat, while she was still small enough to sleep in her own bed in the boy's dorm. It made sense. Once Grace moves out, the cook might want to move his heat room if he still wanted to stay close to her. Zoro wasn't quiet sure why Shit Cook felt the need to stay close to Grace. Was it an omega thing, or was it just a cook thing? Maybe both.

The swordsman scratched at his chest in thought. Probably a cook thing. Zoro knew that he was protective over the little girl and it wasn't due to him being an alpha. He was also feeling particularly protective over Twirlybrow. That wasn't an alpha thing either. Shit Cook being an omega played into it partly, but not for reasons others would think.

After convincing Sanji to accept a fucking heat room, Luffy had gone with the idiot to buy things for it. Why did Luffy need to go with the cook, instead of just going on his own? At the suggestion of building a nest which wasn't just a couple of blankets on his bunk, Curls panicked. Zoro hadn't been there for that one, but Luffy had told him about it after. This captain asked him to look after the kid, whilst they went shopping.

Normally, Luffy wouldn't offer any explanation why and Zoro wouldn't ask. He trusted his captain's judgement. This time had been a bit different. Sanji's reaction had irked Luffy. The rubberman was already aware of the cook's discomfort regarding nests. It was more than a simple discomfort. Curls hadn't been able to have a nest at some point. Before the old cook by the sound of things.  Probably from that family Ace mentioned in one of his letters. Zoro didn't see much of what Ace had written in them, too busy trying to help the cook at the time. Zoro fucking hoped that wasn't his family's fault. What sort of shithead denied an omega a nest, especially a kid omega? What sort of parent did that?

Ugh! There wasn't much Zoro could really do about that. The cook never spoke of a family, besides the cooks at the Baratie. Ace apparently wanted to kill his blood family, so that would indicate that they were alive. Zoro had assumed that his family had died on that cruise ship that sunk, before the cook ended up on that rock. A cruise ship would explain how a kid from the North Blue ended up in the East, right?

No point thinking too much on it now. Zoro didn't know all the facts, acting on assumptions would just bite him in the ass later. If something was truly too much for the cook, he'd tell them about it eventually. It was just infuriating that the fool would be at the edge of tipping point, before he said anything. Dumbass.

At least they knew now, that Luffy's status as the pack alpha could be used to their advantage. Luffy picking out things for a nest, seemed to bypass whatever weird mental block the cook had around building one. The mini nest he already had in his bunk, was made of things their captain had given him. Actually, thinking about it, Luffy asking Sanji to pick a heat room, was probably why the omega caved. The head of their pack, told Sanji he was safe to have the basic necessities for an omega. It was only then, that the moron allowed himself to have them...Shit.

So that was part of the reason why Zoro felt protective over Twirlybrow. An omega reason, sort of. More like Curls got shafted at some point for being an omega and Zoro was pissed about it. Another reason; apart from him being part of the crew and the alpha needing to protect them all, was Twirly's reaction to the letters. A part of Zoro wanted the witch to see, so she could show her that he was right and Sanji wasn't ready for a new relationship. Get her to truly understand, why he asked her to back off. She had, but he could tell that she didn't fully agree with him. For the most part, he was so fucking thankful no one else saw the cook breakdown like that. It had been hard to see. Brook had been right on the money, when he said that Sanji probably hadn't the chance to grieve.

Zoro would try and allow him that time. If that meant watching Grace, to allow Curly some time to alone, he would do it. If that meant distracting other crew members, so Shit Cook could spend time with Luffy, he would do it. If that meant annoying Sanji into a spar to release tension, he would. If that meant sitting quietly together at night, to allow the omega time to process his thoughts, knowing he had someone at his back, Zoro would.

The swordsman think it helped. The cook always appeared greatful. The kicks to his side to wake him up, were more taps, than actual kicks. Zoro didn't really care that Shit Cook kept calling him soft. The blonde only ever said it when no one else, but Luffy, was around. Their captain would laugh and pet Zoro's head as if he was a particularly fluffy dog. The whole crew knew he had a soft spot, it was hard to hide after Chopper joined. As long as everyone else knew that he wouldn't hesitate to slice them up if they were a threat, then he could put up with the crew's teasing. If he secretly liked it, well, no one had to know.

Panicked footfalls were quickly approaching him. Focusing, Zoro was able to tell that the crew weren't in any danger. The swordsman sighed, knowing he was about to get dragged into something stupid. He was a dumbass for missing this shit, during their time apart. Then again, living with Mihawk and Rona had been stupid. No matter how many times Perona tried to convince him otherwise, that crazy old bastard only had that one weird ass toilet in that castle. Zoro never thought he would be thankful to see a normal toilet, when he returned to the Sunny.

The door of the boys dorm slammed open, as Usopp ran in. The snipper looked around  maniacally, before dashing over to Zoro and trying to take the blankets out of his arms. "Do these need a wash? No problem, I'll wash them for you, like the good crewmate I am."

Pushing Usopp away, Zoro was successful in stopping the sniper from stealing the blankets. "I'm swapping the blankets round for the rut rooms." They did this regularly. Going through a rut was always easier if the were surrounded by the scent of their pack. Once the blankets in the rut rooms lost their scents, they swapped the ones in the dorms over. The cook insisted the ones that was in the rut room, were washed before they moved back to the dorms.

"Damn. I need to find something to do, like right now!" The beta's voice was shrill, clearly he was stressed out about something. This wasn't a new thing, Usopp stressed about many things, sometimes for a good reason. Sometimes, he was just being dramatic. Zoro would find out soon enough, as he started to make his way to the rut rooms. Yeah rooms, the big rut room had been split into 2 rut rooms. There were a lot of alphas on the crew, it was best to have extra rooms just incase they overlapped. They were much more cosy now anyway.

"What's the problem?" He muttered, as Usopp squeaked when Zoro walked past. The sniper spun round, then fell to the ground, pretending to faint. Sighing, Zoro stopped and stared at his floored crewmate. It was obvious who the storyteller of the crew was.

"Sanji is cleaning." Yeah, the cook did that. The idiot couldn't stay still for long. If he had down time between cooking, he would often keep himself busy by doing odd chores. The blonde even got Grace to join in with him. If Sanji was sweeping, the toddler would stand on top of the broom's head and hold onto the pole. The little girl would giggle as the cook glided her around the deck. Luffy was only able to join in once, as Grace asked. Their captain would have been punted into the sea otherwise.

"Yeah, he does that." Removing the arm that was draped over his eyes, Usopp peered at Zoro. Why was he looking at Zoro, as if the swordsman was stupid? Usopp bounced to his feet, then peaked around the door of the dorm room. He then stared Zoro dead in the eye, expression sombre. "He's talking to himself, as he cleans."

Oh.

Well shit. The cook tended to enjoy doing chores around the ship. Mostly as he liked it being clean. Said something once about chefs priding themselves on working in a spotless environment. Zoro was very quickly informed that this did not mean just the galley. As the crew ate all over the ship, to truly enjoy his food, Twirlybrow needed to make sure the Sunny was clean. Zoro thought it was overkill. They had eaten in jungles and battlefields, afterall. Wasn't like Curls brought out a mop and bucket, before he cooked in those places. Voicing that, had ended up in a fight. The alpha didn't get it, but he dropped it. Eventually. He might forget and bring it up again in a couple of weeks, for the fun of it.

So Curls liked a clean ship. The prissy cook  took pride in keeping the Sunny clean. Franky took care of keeping below deck clean, as he was the one that knew how to safely do so. They all did their part too, they couldn't leave just the 2 of them to look after their home. Zoro would often ask Curly what needed to be done and get to it. The blonde flittered around so much, it was hard to keep up with what he had already done that day.

Sometimes the cook would suddenly have a need for everything to be clean, instantly. Because the whole ship cannot be cleaned in 2 seconds, the idiot would go into a sort of frenzy. He would angrily talk to himself about having to do everything to keep the Sunny clean. If you tried to help him, you faced his wrath. If you looked busy before his frenzied cleaning got to wherever you were, you were spared.

Zoro would be fine, he was already doing a chore. He could understand Usopp's panic. The death glare the cook threw when like this, could cause marines to cry and start cleaning a pirate ship. Really, Zoro had seen it happen once, it was hilarious.

Wouldn't be a surprise to Zoro if the real reason the cook has a shitty wanted poster, was because he kept embarrassing the marines and they were being petty about it. Like 'Mr Prince' had to rescue Smoker from drowning at the Rainbase. Then the cook infiltrated a train filled with special agents trained as infiltrators. Zoro wished he could take credit for this observation, but it had been Perona. She didn't understand why the wanted poster was so fucking stupid. At the time, Zoro had shrugged and laughed about it. Only after he had shared more stories about his crew, Pernona loudly declared her hypothesis. Mihawk had smiled at it, which neither confirmed or denied it. Probably wasn't the actual reason, but it was funny.

"Just sweep and dust things in here." Usopp fell to his knees and started praising Zoro as if he was some messiah, weeping. The swordsman rolled his eye and left the dorm, carrying the blankets.

He spotted Curls whizzing around the deck, steam coming off the top of his head. Such a drama queen. Zoro could see that Luffy was being kept busy, dancing with Grace as Brook played. They were safe from the cook's ire. Chopper would probably be hiding in the infirmary. That was his domain to keep clean. The girls were safe for facing the full force of Twirl's anger, he wouldn't go all goo goo eyes for them though.

Zoro was never sure what exactly caused the cook to go in a sudden cleaning rampage. The cook didn't know either when the swordsman confronted him about it. The idiot actually got embarrassed after. Would get all sheepish for a couple of hours, then spoil everyone to apologise. They were definitely going to eat well tonight.

Scratching his cheek, Zoro decided he would wait until later in the evening about asking the cook about snacks for his up coming rut. He had a couple of days, but Blondie liked to have some notice to prepare food for anyone going into a rut. They would have tones of snacks, as well as the meals the cook delivered them. Although, knowing that Sanji was an omega, would it be better for someone else to deliver it?

...Nah, the cook would kick him in the head for even suggesting such a thing. Maybe a little delivery window would be good. He'd ask Franky.

If Zoro was being honest with himself, he was a bit nervous about this rut. He liked to think that knowing that Curly was an omega, wouldn't affect him. But he was more instinct driven during his rut. He felt the need to scent everyone. He was more territorial, more aggressive. Paranoid. His need for everyone to be safe, magnified. This often led to him trying to spar with everyone to test their skills. Make sure they could protect themselves. It also gave him the opportunity to spot the weaknesses in his crew fighting styles, he would train himself to cover for them. If he wasn't kept busy, he was also hornier. It was fine. The rut rooms were well equipped, should Zoro feel the need to deal with that particular side effect of a rut.

Above all, Zoro always felt the need to follow the cook around like a lost pup. Locking himself in the rut room fixed that problem. Didn't mean he didn't feel miserable not being able to constantly have the cook in his line of sight, safe. At least with his observation haki, he could now sense that everyone was safe. It had been a nightmare before. When Shit Cook dropped off meals, Zoro had to fight all his instincts not to drag the oblivious fool into the room and keep him there.

It didn't help that the cook was always patient with him during a rut. Dartbrow would easily allow Zoro to scent him, check him over for any injuries. Sanji would speak softly to him and offer sweet smiles. It made the alpha feel more like a puppy, than a wolf. It was nice to be cared for like that. It drove Zoro insane. So much so, that he would demand a fight and Curls would comply.  How did that twirly idiot, not notice that the others hardly reacted the same during a their rut? Asshole.

Well actually, Luffy made sure to stay close to Sanji in a rut, but they always thought that their captain was just guarding the food more than anything. The rubber menace would keep leaving the rut room, scent everyone, then pace outside the galley. Zoro would fight with Luffy to keep him distracted, then throw him into the rut room. When the cook gave him food, the blonde tended to return much later, looking both amused and fustrated. Luffy likely did not bother to resist the urge to take Sanji hostage in the rut room.

Poor Chopper, he was stolen during everyone's ruts. He was the youngest of the crew, so needed to be protected. The small teen had accepted his fate long ago.

Would this rut be different, now that Zoro knew there was an omega on board? An omega with their child?

The swordsman swapped out the blankets and went to wash the used ones. It should keep him busy until dinner. It was a bit of a boring job. Even when Grace stumbled over  and trying to throw the clothes she was wearing, not just 3 seconds ago, into the soapy water.  She was so quick at getting up to mischief. How did she get away from Brook, he was one of the quickest on the crew? Regardless, he redressed the little girl and carried her under his arm to the galley.

Zoro was right, the cook felt bad about the manic cleaning spree. He made so much food. All their favourites. He had even made his own favourite food, which was rare. The dumbass hardly ever treated himself to his favourite food. He even sat at the small table with Grace and ate with her. Today the witch had been chosen to sit at the table with the toddler too.

Nami was not very good at stopping the little girl from getting food all over her clothes. Shame really, they were bright clothes, it would be a pain in the ass to get the stains out. She was wearing a white top with a lemon on it and yellow shorts. It was just begging to get dirtied really.

After dinner, the witch offered to wash Grace and get her ready for bed. The little girl got excited at the idea of someone else doing the bedtime routine. The cook caved at the giant watery eyes that begged for approval. As soon as Sanji agreed, Grace ran out of the galley and Nami had to jog to catch up. This wasn't going to be a calm bedtime routine. Zoro almost pitied the witch.

Standing next to the cook, Zoro helped the man do the dishes. Sanji washed, Zoro dried. It was something that they had done for a while now. Zoro couldn't even remember how it started. It was a calm chore they did together. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just remained silent.

It was calming, usually. Right now, it felt off. Zoro felt on edge and he was struggling to figure out why. Was it- was that the cook's scent? Yeah it was, Zoro had come to recognise the cook's scent. It was a confusing one to Zoro. It filled him with excitement. It made him yearn for adventure. It filled him with the need to explore and push himself to be the best he could be. Yet, it also grounded him. The scent made him want to run towards the sunrise, and also run back home. Zoro could dive forward and achieve his dream. Zoro could find peace and contentment in the lulls between adventures. There was always a home for him, found in that scent. 

It was a scent that was precious to him. Never before did he think a scent could be precious. It was so fucking stupid. Zoro felt stupid. Didn't help that the scent was stronger today for some reason...

Hang on.

Oh shit.

XXX

Sanji was embarrassed how long it took him to realise that he was in pre-heat. He had one not that long ago, when he was sailing to Sabaody. His next heat should be later. At this point, Sanji preferred it when his hormones were more unstable and he hardly experienced heats. Now that Chopper had figured out a better supplement for him to take, Sanji's hormone levels were starting to even out. This, undoubtedly caused his heat to start.

Groaning, Sanji bumped his head against the freezer door. He just made ice cream. For himself. He selfishly wanted to hoard it away for himself. Curl around a bowl of it and hiss at anyone that threatened to come near his treat.

He was so pathetic during his heat, this was going to be embarrassing. Reaching into his pants pocket, the cook swore when he realised he left his cigarettes in his jacket, which was in the boy's dorm. A lollipop would just have to do for now.

He would go find Chopper and tell him that he was going into heat, then find Luffy. The Candies always assured him that he was no bother during his heats, but they all enjoyed have the opportunity to fuss over people. He wasn't sure if he crew would feel comfortable with how needy Sanji felt during his heats.

He should make ice cream for the rest of the crew. He'll do that, then he'll find Chopper. Walking back to to the fridge, Sanji pulled out some ingredients and let himself go through the motions of making desserts for everyone. It was soothing.

The beautiful Nami-san came in just as Sanji was putting the last tub of ice cream in the freezer to set. He just needed to wash up again. Feeling slightly guilty that he had made the kitchen messy after the mosshead helped him clean earlier. Before that, he should cater the angel that somehow deemed Sanji worthy of her valuable time.

"Mellorine! How may I serve you, this wonderful evening?" She rolled her eyes, but had a small smile on her face. Truly, Nami-san was a sight to behold. "Grace is sleeping now. It took her a while to settle, as she was excited. Brook playing her a lullaby and being read a story, did the trick. She's in her bed, Chopper is currently asleep in the dorm. He's a bit of a heavy sleeper, so might not hear her if she wakes up. Robin said that she would keep an ear out until a light sleeper goes to bed."

Sanji sniffed, his lip wobbled and Nami dazzling eyes, widened in surprise. Fucking hormones. "Sanji-kun, are you alright? Did we do something wrong? Should I have brought Grace to her playpen?"

Much to his embarrassment, a tear rolled down his cheek. He knows that Nami-san spotted it, her citrus scent turned smokey. Shit. Wanting to fix things, Sanji wiped at his eyes and smiled. He crunched his lollipop, when he noticed that Luffy was heading their way. Great. This was all going  side ways.

"Sanji-kun?"

"Apologies dear Nami-san, I was overwhelmed by the care you all give Grace. I did not meant to be a cause of concern. Allow me to brew you a soothing drink in a show of appreciation." Quickly moving to the cupboard, he pulled out a few mugs. Their lovely navigator blinked in surprise, before her brow furrowed. She didn't believe him. He tried not to squirm under her gaze, not knowing how to convince her that he was telling the truth.

He was constantly fighting the urge to spin with hearts in his eyes, witnessing just how much his crew cared for his little girl. The love he felt for his crew, was overflowing. He didn't know what to do with it. He could loudly declare how overjoyed he was and wiggle in glee, but it was embarrassing.

He could make a fool of himself in front to the wonderful ladies of the crew, they were never spiteful or hurtful towards him. They would only ever be exasperated, or he was waved off. Robin-chan was ever so patient with him. Nami-san sometimes bonked him on the head, but it was never truly intended to harm him. He thinks, that's how siblings/friends scold each other. From what he had seen over the years, siblings sometimes wrestled and hurt each other, but never maliciously. Not like-

Sanji was not sure how to show appreciation towards men. Everyone at the Baratie were rough with each other. They were all extremely masculine. Men amongst men. They liked to insult each other and do rough housing. Some thought Sanji was weird for trying show affection towards them, when he was younger. Not understanding why Sanji would sometimes ask them to play with them. Ask to hold their hand during a storm. Ask to be scented.

Zeff tried with Sanji, he really did. Unfortunately the ex-pirate captain didn't have much experience in dealing children, let alone damaged omega ones. Zeff tried to give Sanji his time to play when asked, but getting a restaurant up and running, was time consuming. The old cook would always hold Sanji's hand, when the kid reached out. The old geezer even bought books on omegas to try and help Sanji. Took the brat to the doctors when it was obvious there was something wrong with his omega side. Zeff had tried to be gentle and understanding, he was just shit at it. Didn't mean that Sanji didn't adore the fucker for trying. Sanji could tell the difference between someone genuinely trying to be gentle and not at all.

It took a while for Sanji to figure it out, but he eventually realised that the other cooks and wait staff, were uncomfortable around a child. A large chunk of them were ex-pirates/convicts after all, so didn't know how to interact with a child. Wanting to make it easier for the others working for Zeff's dream, Sanji tried to grow up faster. If he acted like an adult, maybe they would feel more comfortable.

He wasn't sure how successful he was. The change seemed to just confuse everyone. So he tried to copy the adults to see if that would be any better. They called him a dick, when he tried to mimic their attitude. He was a brat when he tried to mimic some of the gentleman that visited the restaurant. The only thing that seemed to work when Sanji tried to show someone he cared for them, was when he made them food. It was always eaten at least, but that may have been down to the Baratie's no food waste policy.

He never quite figured out why Zeff had been so angry at the other staff members, when Sanji decided to become a man. The old beta would sometimes look at him and sigh, then offer to play a game of cards. Being the attention starved fool he was, Sanji always jumped at the chance to play a game of cards with the old man. Cards was fine to play, he had seen a lot of the cooks play it before. Of course we would throw an insult at the geezer, but he always ended up smiling after the first round.

Inazuma had tried to tell him that Zeff may have been angry, that Sanji had felt the need to grow up fast. Inazuma had tried to tell Sanji a lot of things over the past 2 years, they had become a therapist of sorts for him. Poor bastard had tried to help Sanji tackle his admittedly strange, relationship with men and women. They managed to get him to recognise that his way of going about things was, off. But they didn't really have enough time to fully delve into everything. They had already given Sanji an existential crisis, when they told him he was kind person. That when Sanji truly allowed his true self to come forward, he was well liked, loved even. That the masks of other people's faces, were no longer needed to protect himself.

Asshole, Sanji had been heavily pregnant at the time and was not in the right frame of mind at all to process that. He never was in the right frame of mind after that. Too busy. Mostly. They had a couple of sessions, which did help. One day he might see if Robin could try and get a way to contact Inazuma, so he could talk to them again. Finally be ready put together the messed up puzzle of his mind.

Ugh, he was over thinking this again. He was getting better at giving affection to men. Maybe. Possibly. He'd get there eventually. He should just tell everyone, but the thought of doing so, made him nervous. Saying 'hey guys, love you all. Thanks for all your help, appreciate it' felt as if it was a monumental task he needed to over come. One day he would, but not today.

His crew seemed to know anyway. Sort of. Luffy knew at least. Their captain had the tendancy to loudly declare a crew mate's true intention behind things. If Luffy knew Sanji was thankful, the rest would soon enough.

Said captain bulldozed into the galley, making Nami-san jump. The rubberman examined their navigator first, as she was the one that smelt of distress, then turned to Sanji. Lacking subtlety, Luffy sniffed his crewmate then smiled. "Sanji has happy tears, like when Robin sees something cute." Nami-san looked at their captain in disbelief, before hesitantly sniffing the omega. Sanji's nose itched.

"Really? You were crying, because you were happy that we are looking after Grace?" Not be able to understand his feeling enough to put them into words, the blonde nodded. The navigator's eyes softened. They were filled with a kindness that was not often aimed towards someone like Sanji. They made him look away, feeling bashful. These hormones were going to kill him.

"Oh Sanji-kun, you're such a sap. I should be charging you a fortune to babysit, but Grace is just so damn cute." Poking her tounge out at him, Nami-san also gave him a cheeky wink. Oh be still his beating heart, for it was causing blood to rush to his nose. Sucking in a breath and thinking of Patty's underwear, Sanji managed to avoid another nosebleed.

"So will you be able to cook when your heat starts?" Of course Luffy was able to tell that Sanji's heat was starting. "What! Sanji-kun, you're in pre-heat? I didn't notice."

"Yeah, shitty hormones." The navigator sniffed him again, this time the cook was unable to stop the trickle from his nose. Dammit. "Oh, your scent is a bit stronger. So this is what your heat smells like?" The cook's mouth fell open, having difficulty trying to find something to say.

"Sanjiiiiiiiii. Will you be able to cook?" Luffy jumped onto the cook's back, whining. Waving his arms around, Sanji struggled to try and remove the stretchy bastard from his person. It was a useless endeavour, as Luffy was a stretchy bastard. You pull his hand away from you, but his arm is still wrapped around you.

"Yeah, I can still cook. It would be simple things though. Brain's foggy. I'll prep some meals tonight."

"Shut it Luffy! Sanji-kun, how do we help you during your heat, what do you need?" Nami-san sighed, and hopped onto one of the stools by the counter, not before giving Luffy a punch. The rubber idiot laughed, rubbing his cheek against Sanji's. 

The blonde felt his ears burn. He wanted to discuss this with Chopper. He didn't mind telling this stuff to their doctor. Well, he did, but Sanji had gotten used to having difficult  conversations with Chopper. Then he would let the doctor decide what was important for the crew to know and give him permission to tell everyone.

"Err. The Candies packed me some heat packs and I was going to ask Chopper for pain killers. I'm fine without them, but it's easier to carry on with daily activities with them." Somehow Luffy had managed to flip  Sanji over and now had the omega on his back. The cook blinked, completely dumbfounded at how Luffy managed to do that.

"No Sanji-kun, you shouldn't have to do things when in heat. Omegas that don't rest during their heats, can overexert themselves and get sick." Sanji scratched his cheek with his finger, thinking back. The Candies had tried to get Sanji to take it easy during his heats, but he found it difficult. Back on the Baratie, Sanji had worked through his heats. Zeff had always tried to get him to take time off, but he didn't want to stand out compared to the rest of the staff. They would think he was getting special treatment, as he didn't smell like an omega. He didn't want to be singled out.

"Thank you for your concern Nami-san, but I wouldn't be able to relax if I didn't cook." Finding himself placed on another stool by Luffy, Sanji watch his captain with suspicion. He was probably up to something.  "We should let Sanji cook."

"You're just saying that, as you want his food." The stunning Nami-san yelled, Luffy grinned. He placed his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands. He tilted his head to the side, smile growing even bigger. "Yes." Sanji snorted and almost choked. Luffy was such an idiot. He was the best idiot around.

"Luffy!"

"I like Sanji's food and Sanji likes cooking. If Sanji says that cooking would be less stressful for him, then Sanji should cook. You won't push yourself though. You will only cook easy food. Then when you finished cooking, you can go into your nest and give Grace lots of hugs." Luffy jumped onto the counter and squatted in front to the cook's face.

"That's unsanitary, get the fuck off." He tried to kick the heathen off the counter, only for Luffy to grab onto his leg. Sanji gave up, resisting Luffy would just wear him out. "I would love nothing but to hold onto my baby, but Grace won't stay in the heat room. Not for long at least, she has too much energy."

"No problem, I'll look after my little sister when she is not with you. We'll swap her with Chopper and you can hug him. You'll want that right?" Bored of holding onto his cook's leg, Luffy sat at the table. Now that the kitchen was clear of rubbermen, Sanji moved to continue making drinks.

"Ugh, this is so awkward. Damn. Right. Sanji-kun, do you have any toys, did you get any at Fishman Island to put in the heat room? Do you need one of us to help you?" Why was he having this talk with their wonderful navigator? Talking to Brook would have been less embarrassing.

"I er, I don't. Um. I get clingy, more than anything."

"Sanji-kun, there is a reason you have Grace. You went to a heat hotel with Ace and ended up pregnant. I heard that a lot of omegas get particularly horny during their heats and don't remember what happened." There were things said about omegas, which painted them in a bad light. As their were so few omegas, it was difficult to challenge all the false information. He didn't like what Nami was implying, but he couldn't fault her for worrying.

"No, that's only drugged omegas. I imagine it's similar to a rut. I know that being in a rut can increase your libido, but that can be overturn by the need to protect. You all hold Chopper during your ruts, to protect him, right? Omegas tend to hold someone for a need to provide comfort and to receive it." Sanji only knew this, as during one of Robin-chan's ruts, he needed to ask Chopper about some new leaf he found, but was unable to find the doctor. When Chopper was later freed from  Robin-chan and Sanji gave him a leaf that could potentially have medicinal purposes, he asked why the alphas stole him during ruts. The cook had not been prepared the the projector and slides.

He was actually nervous about having a heat without any of the Candies nearby. They knew that Sanji was an asshole. Despite that, they had all welcomed him into their arms; sometimes kicking and screaming, and gave him a safe space. Caroline described him as a kitten taken from the streets, welcomed into a new home. A hissy defensive little shit, until he knew he was safe to show and be loved. The Candies were good at knowing when he actually meant the insults he threw around. They were good at holding him and petting his hair for the duration of his heat. He never asked for it, yet they always gave him their affection. Sanji still didn't know what it was about him that made alarm bells go off the the ladies' minds, that told them to adopt him as their  love-starved nephew. He asked once and got an 'oh sweetie' and was dragged to a spontaneous sleepover.

"Oh, then how did... with Ace?" Face turning a deep red, Sanji tried to sink into the floor. If he focused hard enough, maybe he could turn his body into a liquid and escape through the cracks of the floorboards.

"N-Nami-san, I can't discuss that in front Ace's brother." The blonde peaked through his fingers to find Luffy picking his nose, looking the opposite direction. The beautiful redhead appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable about the whole thing. At first. Then she noticed Luffy's unbothered air and her eyes sharpened. Just like how they did when she thought she was about to hear some gossip. Fuck his life, Usopp was going to hear all about this.

"My heats were always weird. I worked through them at the Baratie. No one else apart from the old geezer knew and I just didn't listen to him. What would an old fart know about heats, right? Ace, I- He, um. He noticed. He told me there was a male omega on his crew and helped with their heat before. I didn't- I never met an alpha that had looked after an omega before. Sure, I heard some horror stories and was a bit scared about following Ace. But, he was Luffy's brother and he genuinely cared about the rubber idiot, so I took the risk."

Letting out an unsteady breath, Sanji pushed past the pain the memories brought. He could do this. He could share stories about Ace, that was how people dealt with grief, right? He didn't notice that both alpha's in the room were watching him, feeling for their crewmate.

"We got to the heat hotel and we got a room. Ace asked me to sit on the bed and he squatted down next to it. He asked what I normally did during heats and quickly realised that I didn't know much about being an omega. He told me what was the norm and what his crewmate normally did. I was asked what I wanted to do, told him I had no fucking clue. Sitting on the bed next to me was the first step.  Ace let me decide when and if, I wanted to lean against him. We just talked for a few hours.

"When the stomach cramps kicked in, he offered to get some painkiller or give a belly rub. Never had a belly rub before, I was curious. He was so gentle, I started crying. He panicked. I panicked. The little old omega lady that ran the hotel, smelled my panicked scent, kicked the door down. She did a running jump and kicked Ace in the face. That just made things worse for me, as Ace bowed and repeatedly apologised. I was confused and overwhelmed. Something clicked for sweet Lady Impa and she ordered Ace to hug me, until I said otherwise. Impa left the room and Ace did as instructed."

Even when Sanji started trembling, Ace held on to him. The alpha oozed pheromones, flooding his senses with the feeling of safety. With the feeling of patience and understanding. Sanji fell apart. Ace stayed, tenderly brushing his fingers against Sanji's cheek, occasionally rubbing the omega's back. The older man quietly spoke to Sanji, he told stories of growing up with Luffy and adventures of pirating. Slowly, the blonde started to talk as well.

"We didn't really do much the first fews days, except hug and talk. Lady Impa stopped by a couple times to give us food, always comfort food. We grew pretty close...I think at one point, I asked what the difference was between having sex and making love...Ace explained one and showed me the other." It had been so long since Sanji felt precious to someone. Ace treated him as if he was a treasure, Sanji only hoped he was able to do the same for the alpha.

"Oh Sanji-kun." A soft hand rested against his cheek, a thumb brushed away tears. When did he start crying? "Would you like one of us to stay with you during your heat?" Without thinking, he nodded, then vigorously shook his head.

"Oh no, my dear sweet Nami-san. I couldn't possibly ask that of anyone. It would be terribly boring." With an incredible amount of willpower, Sanji pulled away from Nami-san's touch and went to finish making drinks.

"Sanji-kun, everyone would love to-"

"I changed my mind. Everyone else can look after Grace and I get to hug Sanji." Luffy jumped to his feet, then ran out of the  galley. The door swung shut, but that didn't block out the the morons yells of 'I called dibs hugging Sanji through his heat.'

Groaning, the cook rested his head on the counter. The endearing sound of Nami-san laughter, did not make Sanji feel better. Her  playfully patting his head, did improve his mood. A sweet smile was sent his way, making him swoon. He finished their drinks and gave Nami-san hers with a twirl. The cook quickly had his own drink, then worked on making everyone else one. Seeing as he had to hunt down their monkey of a captain, to hand over Luffy's drink, he might as well hand out everyone else a drink.

After that, Sanji would clean up, prep meals  for about a week, to make cooking a bit easier during his heat. Then wash up again. The cook should make extra meals for Mosshead, he was showing signs of going into a rut soon. Maybe Sanji should scent something for the green gorilla, now that his scent was more prominent. Would Zoro want that? He'd ask later, first he should clean.

X

Having been able to serve lunch the next day without any issue, Sanji thought that maybe he was just having a pre-heat. It happened before to him. He went into pre-heat and just skipped his heat. It was normal for him, to have abnormal heats.

Then it felt like his womb tried to escape through his ass and Sanji knew that his heat would start in an hour or so. He went to the galley to find Franky already in there to stock up on some more cola. Completely normal, the shipwright was the only ones out of the boys, he trusted to go through their stock. He came in, got his cola and left. Actually, Brook could be trusted as well, but Sanji had a sneaking suspicion that the skeleton kept trying to steal milk. The blonde didn't mind if the musician wanted milk, he would just prefer to be told as such, so he could just get Brook extra milk. Sanji told Franky that he was going into the heat room. He ignored the shipwright's tears, but acknowledged Franky's thumbs up, by responding in kind.

Sanji was reading a romantic novel crying to himself, with a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, when Luffy opened the door. He went to step into the room, when a growl was heard and Zoro spawned into existence. Mossy bonked the captain on the head and pulled Luffy back by the scruff of his vest, round the corner. A couple seconds passed before Luffy bounced back into view.

"Sanji, can I come in? Zoro said I shouldn't just barge in and should ask first."

"Look at you, being a good pack alpha." Luffy preened from the praise, Sanji swore his saw flowers bloom into existence around his captain's head. "And you Marimo. Being a good alpha, by making sure an omega's space is respected." He teased. Sanji didn't much care about his nakama entering the heat room. It was technically his room, but it didn't feel like it. Even when the Candies made him have a heat room, it never really felt like his. When Sanji was in the heat room, someone else usually joined him fairly quickly. Still, he appreciated that the crew wanted him to feel respected, in a way that was normal for omegas.

There was a sound of a crash and barely covered of swear. Luffy sniggered, as the sound of tiny footfalls ran over to the site of the crash. "Moss ow? Grace kiss? Opper?" His baby was so sweet, he loved her to pieces. He heard Zoro mumble that he was fine, followed quickly by a 'mwah' sound. The little steps then dashed to the other end of the room, then back over to Sanji. Grace's adorable little face came into view, as she jumped at Sanji. The 21 month year old opened her mouth to say something, but got distracted by Sanji's tub of ice cream.

"Please. Grace, ceam please." Tiny hands made grabbing motions to his treat, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. He loved her so much. "This one is mine munchkin. You have some in the freezer. Moss, have you started your rut?"

"Yeah." He thought so, Sanji could smell it. The lughead had already scented his baby. It didn't bother him, he knew that the big softie was just feeling extra protective. "Has Grace taken over Chopper, in terms of needing to be protected?" There was a pause, before Zoro replied with a defeated yes.

Sanji smiled, rubbing his cheek on her hair. Reaching to one of the shelves above him, he pulled down one of the many blankets and scented it. He tied it around his daughter, like a cape and playfully ruffled her hair. "You'll need to ask Nami-san and Robin-chan to get in the freezer for Grace's ice cream. It's labelled. Give her only one scoop using a table spoon, not the scooper. Give her a tea spoon to eat it with. She won't want to stay in the rut room, will that be a problem?"

There was a reason she wasn't staying with him in the heat room. Not that Sanji was going to stay in here the whole time as well. He wouldn't be able to stay away from his little girl for long. He also would want to cook.

"No Cook. Chasing her around will give me something to focus on. If I need to go into the rut room for a while, someone else can take over looking after her." It would have to be Usopp, Chopper or Brook. Having another alpha look after her when he was in rut, could make Zoro very territorial.

"Alright Marimo. Grace honey, you be a good girl for Moss, yeah? Da is feeling hot, you remember what that means?"

"Da sleepy?"

"Yeah, Da sleepy."

"Ah. Da night night. Grace play, Moss? Lucy, night night, Da?"

"Yeah, I'm going to look after Sanji so you can play. You got to look after Zoro, OK?" Luffy squatted and Grace ran up to him. She was always so excited when Luffy paid attention to her. It did funny things to Sanji's heart, especially when he saw the easy adoration in Luffy's eyes.

"Grace Da Mossy?" He heard both Zoro and Luffy make a huh noise and Sanji laughed. "Sweetpea, you're too little to be Mossy's parent. Just make sure he remembers to eat and drink water." The little girl nodded and ran out the room, presumably to Zoro. He heard the toddler grunt, no doubt trying to push the fatass out of the boy's dorm.

"Cook, can I?" It was rare for Zoro to sound embarrassed around Sanji. When he was, the cook had a pretty good idea why. It was nearly always the same thing. "Yeah, just make it quick you stinky plant."

The mosshead appeared from behind the door, Grace pulling at his robe. His ears were slightly pink. Stiffly, Zoro made his way into the room. Zoro never scented by rubbing the scent glands located in the neck, always the wrist. It still made Sanji feel floaty. The blonde knew he was giving Zoro a dopey smile, but he didn't care.

Marimo left with Grace and Luffy quickly settled into the nest with Sanji. His brain too fuzzy to notice Luffy place the rest of Sanji's ice cream in the mini freezer. Too fuzzy to notice that Luffy moved the book he was reading earlier, onto a shelf. Too fuzzy to notice Luffy guide Sanji onto his back and that rubber arms wrapped around him. He did notice when Luffy nuzzled Sanji's neck, as he became even more floaty. The alpha chuffed and the omega responded with a pur. It didn't take long for the pair of them to fall asleep.

XXX

The last few days had been intresting to say the least. Being a beta, Usopp didn't go through a rut or heat, yet he somehow always got roped into it. Sanji stayed away from everyone for the most part. If you saw him, it was when he made meals. They were simple ones; for Sanji standards, but still a hundred times better than anything they would have on an island. If you didn't see him in the kitchen, then you saw him on the way to toilet, bathroom, or to find Grace.

A couple times, Usopp saw Sanji walk over to Grace playing on the deck, lay behind her, wrap his arms around her middle and nuzzle her back. He would pur for her, then get up and ask if she wanted to go with him. If she said no, that she wanted to play more, Sanji would leave, but Usopp notice the utter heartbreak on the blonde's face. Luffy would be quick to run over and offer to go back to the nest. Luffy extended the invitation to other members of the crew,  but the other alphas were always funny about it. It had been Brook, Chopper and himself that accepted.

Being in the heat room with Sanji, was nice. Pleasant even. It was really comfortable, with the blankets and cushions. Usopp may not have as strong as a sense of smell as the others, but he could pick up the crew's scents. The fact that he could see personal items from all of them, also helped. The sound of Sanji purring, was soothing. It healed something deep inside Usopp. Reminding him of a time his mother was healthy, happily listening to him make up stories. Even though it was all different, being there in that heat room, made Usopp feel at home.

He almost felt like crying alongside Sanji, when Brook played a lullaby for them. It was strange to see Sanji so weepy. He was hardly angry, but that might be due to there hardly being anything for the blonde to get angry at, when in a cuddle pile. Except when a drink got spilled on one of Franky's shirts, the cook almost spontaneously combusted. When Sanji was out of he scented daze, they all chatted or played cards. Sanji even read to them at one point. Luffy had ran off to get Grace, as soon as Sanji started to read some fairytale. Zoro stood guard outside the room.

Zoro. He became Grace's body guard. The little girl didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary. She seemed a bit confused why the other alphas on the crew, except Luffy, didn't want to spend time with the both of them. It passed quickly, as she would pull at Zoro's hand and lead them to the galley, the pair later returning with cups of water. The toddler didn't notice Zoro snarl at everyone. Her nose wasn't developed enough, to pick up Zoro's scent on her.

When Grace got tired, she would tell Zoro if she wanted to nap on the deck with Zoro, or with Sanji. Most of the time, she napped with Sanji, saying that her dad was sleepy too. Once Grace was with her dad, Zoro would ask one of them to spar with him. This was something that the crew was used to, they all had a round with the swordsman and he gave them pointers. Except this time, Luffy and Sanji were hardly around for him to spar with. This fustrated Zoro, he resorted to going back into the rut room. The alpha only left once Sanji dropped off a meal, where he would  collect Grace again.

Wierd, but nothing too bad. Until Nami started her rut early. Chopper theorised that being in close proximity to an omega in heat, triggered the early rut. Usopp thinks that most of the alphas on the ship hadn't any experience with that before, except the brief period Sanji was in heat on the ship, before Ace took him to a heat hotel. They hadn't built a tolerance to heats, maybe.

Nami and Zoro almost had a stand off over Grace. Usopp got the tyke out of there, whilst Chopper went into Monster Point to keep the 2 separate. Usopp was not sure what the outcome of that was, as he had taken the anxious girl to her father. He missed whatever Luffy did to get the 2 alphas to back down. After that, Chopper gave Robin and Franky suppressant, to avoid all of them rutting and potentially clashing with each other. The poor little guy was then nabbed by Nami and Zoro retained his role as Grace's bodyguard. It had been weird, like he said earlier. It was likely something they would all get used to eventually and figure out a better routine.

Usopp could admit, it was a damn relief when Sanji returned to cooking normally. With his heat over, that meant Luffy and Sanji were avaliable to spar with Zoro. It also meant that Sanji was able to care for the alphas more. The cook wasn't aware of it, but he did pamper the alphas when they were rutting. It was funny how oblivious he was to how much his care meant to them.

The next day Zoro's rut ended and the day after that, so did Nami's. With Nami back, Chopper was also free again. The burden of being cute and cuddly.

Their rise to the surface had to be slow, or they risked getting some diver disease, like that cricket guy. It took so much longer to get to the surface, than it did to dive. A couple days after the heats and ruts ended, they reached the surface and was met with a hellscape. How could and island both be on fire and frozen. Oh Usopp  felt faint just looking at it, especially when Luffy got whiff of an adventure. They were doomed.

Chapter Text

Waking up to the sound of banging and swearing, was not out of the norm when travelling with her crew. The headache was not that unusual either. Sure Nami could out drink most people, but sometimes she indulged a little. Hangovers for her were rare, but not unheard of. Waking up in a cold metal room, was alarming. Especially when she remembered the Sunny being flooded with some sort of gas.

Concerned about their unfamiliar surroundings, Nami paid attention to the shouting. It was mostly between Franky and Sanji-kun. "Where is she?! Where is my little girl? Grace!? GRACE!"

"Bro, you gotta stop! You're just going to wear yourself out."

"Not until I get my baby! GRACE!"

"You're going to hurt yourself Sanji. Cut it out!"

"Fuck off! Nothing is getting in the way of me and my daughter. Try and stop me, see what happens!"

"Woah woah woah. I'm not going to get in your way to get Lil' Star. Just asking you to wait a sec. I might be able to blast the door down, let me check something." Nami watched as Sanji-kun stopped furiously attacking the giant metal door. There were scortch marks and some dents, but it was hardly enough to get there out of here. The blonde stood to the side of the door, breathing rapidly, both hands tugging at his hair.

Chopper ran over to the distressed omega, shifting to 'heavy point'. Carefully, Chopper moved Sanji-kun's hands from his hair. "It will be OK Sanji. Brook isn't here, I bet he is with Grace." Big round eyes, found Nami's. They were pleading her for help with their nakama. Poor Chopper, he was trying so hard not to panic. She could tell that their doctor was incredibly stressed, but was trying to stay calm for Sanji-kun.

Walking over to the pair, Nami placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "We are all very protective over Grace and will make sure that she is safe and sound. Brook isn't here, and he loves Grace. I bet they are both happily singing together, trying to find us."

Sanji-kun didn't look very convinced, but offered her a frazzled smile. He patted his blazer down, then pulled out a packet of cigarettes and his lighter. Lighting the cigarette, Sanji-kun inhaled deeply, then started pacing. She felt a bit guilty that she wasn't able to reassure her crewmate. Then again, she wasn't able to do the same for herself. Nami was stressed. Being knocked out by gas and locked in a room, didn't paint a good picture. Oh god, what if it was human trafficking? Nami saw how people were treated at Sabaody, she didn't want to go through that. She couldn't handle being chained again.

Nami exhaled slowly, seeing that there was nothing around her ankle. Trying to regain control of the situation, she rationalised to herself. Even if they were trapped by human traffickers, half of their crew were not with them. That meant there was a chance that they could be rescued. If Luffy, Robin, Usopp and Zoro were captured, Brook was probably free. Brook was sneaky, he could find away to free them. His new phantom thing, meant that the old musician could look around easy. Surely he would find something to help.

If the people that took them came back, they would be better prepared. She might be able to use her gust sword to clear the gas if they use it again. They could possibly burn the gas with Franky and Sanji-kun here, providing it wasn't explosive. They could all fight, now that they expected a possible ambush.

"You there." A voice that Nami didn't recognise, caused her to immediately go on the defensive. Scanning the room, Nami  was unable to determine where the sound was coming from. She looked to the rest of the nakama, they couldn't see who did spoke either.

"Did...someone just say something?" Franky looked around the room again, clearly on edge. "No, it wasn't any of us."

"You there, do you enjoy a challenge?" Chopper moved to investigate the source of the noise. When Luffy wasn't present, Usopp and Chopper were quick to poke at anything new and potentially dangerous. Seeing as both of them considered themselves cowardly at times, they were both subconsciously brave. Brave, or stupid.

Chopper screeched and they all quickly rushed over. Franky took point. If the thing was an insect, then both Sanji-kun and herself would be useless.

It was something far more creepy than bugs. It was a head, which was creepy enough on its own. This was a head split into 8 pieces. There was no blood. The eyes mouth and nose could still move. It was freaky as hell.

They tried putting the head back together anyway. First time was an complete failure,  as was the second. The third, Franky and Sanji-kun messed it up on purpose. Fourth time, was close enough. Then the little asshole found out that they were pirates and started insulting them. The jackass even felt as if he was entitled to comment on Nami's attire. The way he spoke about how a woman should act, was so outdated and narrow minded. It was gross.

Nami dressed for herself. Now that she didn't need to save to free her village, Nami was finally able to treat herself. She spent money on the clothes she knew she looked good in. Clothes she felt good in. No pig of a samurai's head, had the right to dictate what she should wear. The only time she would actually take on criticism of her state of dress, was if it was a safety reason, or if they needed to blend in with locals. Now was not one of those times.

She punched the little shit in the face.

Apparently bored with the talking head, Franky went back to the metal door. He knocked it with his knuckle, hummed, then fired a freaking laser! He melted a hole in the door!

H-how? Nope, now wasn't the time.

She wasn't going to question it. Time to get the hell out of this place. Screw the creepy head asking them to take him with them. He was a jerk, why should they help someone who was so rude? Who would want to save such an asshole?

Sanji-kun, that's who. Nami didn't understand him sometimes. Why did he feel the need to help out people? Most of the time, it was people that could cause serious harm, if it all went to shit. For them, things nearly always did. Nami had heard about Don Krieg trying to take over the Baratie after Zeff fed him. Granted, that was the old cook that helped someone that time, but Sanji-kun had tried first.

So much of Sanji-kun was such a mystery. First, they only just found out he was an omega. Second, he was in a long distance relationship with Ace. He also, just knows things which wasn't common knowledge. Things Nami highly doubted he picked up at a restaurant. How did he know that a topknot is a traditional hairstyle of Wano? Then again, many different people go to restaurants. There had been pirates and marines eating at the Baratie. Maybe some customers wanted to tell little Sanji-kun stories from their travels.

Nami tried to not picture a little Sanji-kun in a chef's outfit, talking to customers. Walking around with a notebook and pencil, taking orders. She definitely didn't imagine calling into the Baratie to make a reservation, only to have child Sanji-kun answer the phone. His voice was so deep and gravelly from smoking, it was funny to imagine him with a high pitch baby voice. She bet he would have been adorable. Grace certainly was the cutest child Nami had seen.

They could hear people approaching. They were coming to investigate the noise Franky's laser made. There wasn't time for this, they had to go!

"Sanji, Chopper, hurry! They're coming!!" Sanji-kun wasn't moving. Nami felt her pulse spike. They really didn't have time for this. She was going to be grey by the time she was 30. If she even got to reach 30.

"The only reason we are in this mess in the first place...is because we got a distress call from the guys you were dicing up! Samurai!!"

"Let's go Sanji! Leave the scary samurai  behind!" Poor Chopper was getting distressed. Nami was distressed. Still, Sanji-kun stood with his arm outstretched, holding the head in one hand, staring it down.

"I do not commit cold blooded murder. I do nothing to disgrace myself. I came to this island to save my son's life! And I would cut  down thousands... If they dared stand between me and my goal!!"

That was how they ended up with a samurai head in their party. They may have initially investigated the island because of the samurai, didn't mean that Nami wanted the cockroach to tag along with them. Sanji-kun stating that he would take responsibility over the head, did little to put her at ease.

She had little time to worry about the head, as Sanji-kun kicked the door open to the next room. It was filled with children. Giant children. The children were scared for a couple of seconds, before they noticed Franky. Or the boys did at least. All of them were so excited to see a robot, it would be sweet if Nami didn't need to try and figure out what was going on. What did the girl mean by frozen ones? Nami wasn't about to get answers any time soon, as the children started to take intrest in Chopper and Sanji-kun's eyebrows. If only Zoro was here, he would have gotten a kick out of that.

Then the kids started running away, as that stupid fucking head started talking and scared them all. He had the nerve to feel disgraced when she slapped him to shut up. He was such a chauvinist pig! Sanji-kun  kept trying to ask the children what this place was, whilst Nami dealt with the pig. The blonde might need to ask easier questions. The children looked too young to fully understand what facility might mean. Even the children that were giant, appeared very young. It had become clear pretty quickly that not all the children were big, it was just were their eyes went first.

The sound of the guards caught their attention again. They needed to move! Figuring out why these children were here, would just have to wait. They would have to come back for them once they lost the guards. Nami wouldn't be able to leave in good conscious, without knowing exactly why there were so many children here.

That had been the original plan. As soon as one of the children asked to be saved, a new plan formed. There was no way in hell, that Nami could ignore a child's call for help. So many times in her childhood, did Nami wish she had someone to help her.  Even though she had decided to take on the task to free her village on her own, there were times she wished she had been selfish enough to ask for help sooner. Desperate enough.

It was only at her lowest point that Nami reached out for help. Seeing no other way out, did she decide that she would have to risk others getting hurt. Only then, did Nami allow herself to truly be selfish. It was only after being free, did she learn that asking for help wasn't a selfish act. There were people that wanted to help.

Nami wanted to help.

These children knew that they were sick, yet they still wanted to leave this place. It didn't make sense. Some children act out when getting treatment, having not yet learnt how to properly process negative feelings. Children felt bad, and wanted to do nice things to feel better. They were too young sometimes, to fully grasp that they needed to put up with something unpleasant, for something good later. This didn't seem to be the case. These children looked scared.

She understood Franky's point. They didn't know where they were going. Escaping with a large gang of children would be difficult. She understood Sanji-kun's point. He sounded incredibly harsh, cold even, yet  he was right. This could be a hospital for the sick children.

"I know! You're right Sanji-kun, but...These are children crying to us for help!! How can we possibly turn our backs on them?!"

A difficult expression washed over Sanji-kun's face. It was one that she couldn't make out. Nor did she have the time too, as the guards quickly turned their attention to the children. Sanji-kun acted quickly. Chopper and Franky were quick to follow. Nami felt a huge weight lift for her shoulders, these children would get help.

So, it was crushing when the weight violently crashed on top of her again. A few of the guards pointed their guns at a couple of children running towards Nami. One of the giants was holding a basket with a baby inside. Another child, not quite a giant, but the same height as Nami, was holding a sleeping toddler.

"Oh god! Grace?!" She breathed. Nami heard a snarl. Like a whip, she snapped to attention, head swivelling to the cause of the sound. It was Sanji-kun. His gaze was locked onto the unconscious image of his little girl being carried by a child.

The scent of smoke filled the air. Fury devoured the space around them, as Sanji-kun growled. Omega's don't growl like alpha's, they hardly growled at all. When an alpha growled, it was a warning, or demanding someone to submit. When an omega growled, you had fucked up. You had very few seconds to de-escalate the situation, before you were attacked.

Looking at Sanji-kun, she could see that he was on the verge of turning feral. He had slouched forward, arms hanging by his sides. Normally well maintained fingernails, were growing into claws. His caines were sharpening.

Nami always felt safe with her crew. She felt safe with Sanji-kun. Right now, he was very close to scaring her. A quick glance to Chopper and Franky, confirmed that they were in a similar position to her. Both unsure of their next move. Getting in the way of a feral omega, could be fatal. Not that Sanji-kun would hurt them, he is still him. He just wouldn't have his usual restraint when fighting an enemy. It wasn't something children should see.

Oh! The children! Nami whirled round, ready to calm the children. Assure them that they were safe with them and would not be harmed. To her surprise, they were looking at Sanji-kun in relief. They were immune the heavy scent of his fury, clogging Nami's lungs. Why? What was it they were getting from the omega that was caused them to stop running, hug each other and sit down with smiles?

Sanji became a blur. She could hardly keep her eyes on him. It was easier to keep track of the bodies failing to the floor, one by one. Breathing, but bearly. Desperately, one of the guards tried to use some sort of gas on them, that's when Franky joined in again. He started to take their masks off, to reveal weird goat men. Not like Merry, he was oddly sweet looking with his goat like features. These guys looked wrong.

In hardly any time at all, all the guards were down for the count and Franky started piling them up in front of the now closed door, of the room. A good way to stop any more guards from getting in. Looking at the state of the strange goatmen, they would be out for a while. They were safe, for now.

The overwhelming scent of the omega's fury, died down. It was only then, that Nami was able to pick out the underlining scent that Sanji-kun had been emitting. Protection. It must have been what the children sensed when Sanji-kun growled. Why did she not sense it before? Was it an omega or alpha thing? Maybe Chopper would know. Once this was all over, she would ask his opinion on it.

Now, she patted the hand of the large girl beside her, offering a gentle smile. "We're going to get you all out of here and back to your parents."

The girl hardly gave Nami any attention, instead she watched Sanji-kun. Much calmer, he walked over to the young boy protectively holding a sleeping Grace. She couldn't hear what their cook said to the boy, but he gave Sanji-kun a wobbly smile with tears in his eyes.

"I was so scared! She needed help, she is so tiny. I was so scared they would get both of us!" Gently, Sanji-kun took Grace out of the boy's arms and sat her on his hip. He rubbed his cheek against her head, bouncing up and down slightly. Surprising Nami, he opened his other arm and the boy buried his head into Sanji-kun's shoulder. Purrs blanketed the room, softening the terrifying atmosphere that lingered from a few moments before. Gasping, the children were quick to crowd around Sanji-kun, some of them crying.

Why did the children flock to him like that? They were so emotional, was that normal? Sanji-kun was being so accommodating to them now. Earlier he had be ready to leave them behind. What caused such a change?

"Ah shoot. The tykes must really miss their folks." Franky almost made Nami, not realising he was standing next to her. For someone so big, he could be so quiet sometimes. One of his hands were being used to wipe tears from his eyes. In his other hand, was the samurai head, grunting and saying something about a torso. They all ignored the samurai.

"What do you mean?" Nami loved children, but she didn't have a lot of experience with them. Not the same way that some other members of her crew did. Usopp had looked after the children in his village, telling them stories and playing games. Chopper helped treat children back on Drum Island. She wasn't all that sure about Zoro, but he once mentioned that he helped the younger kids at his dojo. Franky, well, he pretty much adopted any lost person on the streets. Most of the people that the crew had met of the Franky family were adults, but some had been with their big-hearted cyborg for years. Nami had found out from a tipsy Iceburg, that Franky would find lost, or run away kids and drop them off to Iceburg. The mayor of Water 7 would either find the children's families for them, or rehome them.

She thinks Tom would be proud of both of them.

Anyway, Nami needed to learn a lot more about children and Franky was a good person to learn from. He may be super loud and run around in just a pair of speedos, but he was a very patient guy.

"The little guys ran to Sanji-bro as soon as he started purring. Kiddos like hearing omega's purr, it feels nice for them y'know. They don't usually run and try and get as close to the omega as possible though, if its not their folks. Purrs aren't all the same. The tykes can tell it's not their parents, so know to be at least a bit weary of a stranger. They didn't hesitate. They all wanted the comfort of a parent. Poor little guys, they really miss their folks."

Franky started crying in earnest and Nami couldn't blame the big guy. The scene really tugged on her heart strings. Her heart then froze, when she saw Sanji-kun call Chopper. Fearing that something was wrong with Grace, both her and Franky quickly made their way over.

There little doctor swiftly pulled out his equipment from his bag and started to examine Grace. All the while the children asked questions.

"Is she sick too?"

"Why did her daddy get to come after her?"

"Curly-man must not have told the the people to take the new girl. Our parents told them to pick us up, 'cause we're sick, right?"

"Nuh huh, my ma and pa said nothing, but I'm here."

"That's 'cos you stinky. You so stinky, you're parents wanted doctor to make you not stinky."

"Well, yall too ugly. Yall ma an' pa wanted that doc to fix ya ugly."

"'Scuse me Mr Curly-man, can you do the drummy noise again please. It was nice. It made my ears feel like mushrooms."

"Gross, mushrooms are bad. Curly-man noise was good. Why you saying it bad?"

"I did not say it was bad. I said it was nice. You no listen. You bad listener. Mushrooms feel nice, so drummy noise felt like mushroom."

"It's not a drummy noise, it's a jumping on snow noise. It's a snowy noise."

"Ooo ooo. I know. I know. It's called purring.  My mama did it for me when I had nightmares."

"Mr Curly-man, is new girl having scary dreams?"

"Do you know my mommys? Can you ask them to come get me? I don't want to be here anymore."

"Curly-man, is she your baby? Why she not curly-girl? Does she like to play catch?"

Chopper closed his bag, then faced Sanji-kun with a happy smile. Nami felt herself breathe easier. Due to Grace being so young, it took her body a lot longer to break down the gas they all breathed in. She should wake up soon. A happy chirp escaped Sanji-kun, without him noticing apparently. Nami hadn't heard that before. She hated that the boys were cute sometimes, it made it easier to get away with things.

It would be a cold say in hell before she admitted to Sanji-kun that he was adorable on occasion. Very rare occasions. There was a chance that he might explode. Nami could also see him, just freezing. Not able to fully process a compliment coming from Nami, that his brain would shut down.  Maybe when they were finally in a place that was safe, she'd tell him, as she was curious of his reaction. Depends, would the pay off of Sanji-kun turning into a happy goo puddle, be worth the embarrassment of admitting the boys were sometimes cute. Nami still wasn't over her rut being triggered by Sanji-kun's heat, she had never been early before! Ugh!

"That man is an omega, why is he not marked as such? This is not proper, but what should I expect from some lowly pirates?" Completely forgetting about the talking head in Franky's grasp, Nami startled at his voice. Her eyebrow twitched once the words sunk in. Unconsciously, her fist raised in a threatening manner, the urge to cause serious harm was brewing. Before she could strike, Franky raised the head to eye level.

"Hey brother, that's some outdated thinking  right there. Not sure what it's like were you're from, but most places, people don't really advertise their sub-gender. It's safer for omegas that way anyway. They're pretty rare now a days, makes them a target for certain people, it you catch my meaning." The shipwright's voice was harsh and oddly quiet. One of his eyes glowed red. With the loveable big brother vibe Franky often gave off, it was easy to forget how imposing he could be.

"You filth! Vile and dishonourable fiends. You forced yourself on a omega and forced them to carry your spawn!! You disgust me!  Leave me be! My son is not amongst these children. I wish not to associate with you any further!!

The fucking nerve! Fury rolled off Nami in waves, Franky wasn't doing much better. Scared whimpers stole Nami's attention for a second. The children were responding to their anger. She tried wrangle control of her pheromones, it wasn't easy. The target of her rage, was quickly plucked from Franky's hold by Sanji-kun. He was pissed.

"Listen here you shitty head! You know nothing about us. Nothing! You are making some ignorant accusation. You sound like a fucking dumbass. You're the disgrace! You are letting whatever history you have with pirates, cloud your judgement. You are not how I learnt a samurai to be, you're a disappointment. What have you observed from how I interact with my nakama, that gave you that brain dead theory?"

Both men stared each other down, both refusing to look away. Nami noticed something flicker on the samurai's eyes, asshole knew he was in the wrong, but wasn't going to admit it. Sanji-kun might be right, the samurai could be a dumbass. The idiot couldn't see that his pride was actually arrogance. Sighing, Nami tried not to think of all the detestable scumbags they had met, that thought they were acting out of pride.

"Leave me here. I would save my son without your aid. I would rather die than recieve help from pirates."

"And how will you get there!? I drop your head...and I'm leaving you to die! I don't want that hanging over my conscious, even if I hate your guts!"

"But I'm only here to save my son!"

"Your son will be a damn orphan, if you don't ask for help from pirates to either find your son, or find your body!"

"I will never ask for help from pirates!" Sanji-kun looked close to crushing the head under his heel. Nami couldn't blame him. He really should have just left the guy in that cell. It was clear from how he spoke to them in the cell, that he wasn't worth the effort.

"Da?" Grace was looking over Chopper's shoulder, towards them. Her eyes became teary when they landed on the head. The children were crowded around Chopper, all of them weary of the samurai arguing with Sanji-kun. The samurai glanced at Grace, his expression wavered.

"H-however...if you wanted to look for my body, I would not persuade you against it." A switched was flicked. "THAT DOES IT! I've taken enough lip from a severed head for a life time!"

Just before Sanji-kun could smash the head onto the ground, (deservedly so) Franky took it from Sanji-kun, holding it as if it was a dirty diaper. At least with a diaper, they was a reward of knowing that Grace was clean and comfortable. This guy had no upside, not that Nami could tell. Sure he was trying to find his son, but there was no need to be an asshole.

Sanji-kun slumped to his knees, as the shipwright calmed the cook down. Squashing the head would not make Sanji-kun feel better, they all knew that, including the blonde. Didn't stop the cook having a small tantrum, regretting his earlier choices. It was strangely reassuring to see Sanji-kun acting so bratty. Since they reunited, he had been a lot more mature. Nami actually missed some of his silly boyish antics. Now if only they could get Zoro to lighten up a bit. Maybe getting Grace to invite him to more tea parties would help.

The samurai had the audacity to taunt her nakama. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. How did he not realise that Sanji-kun was the one that was on his side, even if the blonde hated the fact. A polished shoe was about collide with a nose, when a small sandaled foot got their first. Grace was standing with her little hands in the pockets of her blue dress, decorated with fish. The little girl resembled her late father so much, usually. With the way her vibrant blue eyes narrowed, she looked exactly like a very ticked off Sanji-kun.

"No like. Da sad. You boo. You da sad. No like." They were stunned. The samurai looked as if he was about to say something, Nami quickly slapped her hand over his mouth. No way in hell would he say anything that even hinted at being negative, towards Grace. Next to Nami, Sanji-kun sat up and opened his arms for an angry toddler to walk into. He cradled her in his lap and tried to tame her wild curls with his fingers. Lifting the sleeves of his jacket, the blonde huffed when he found them bare. Franky's small robot hand dangled a hair tie in front of Sanji-kun's face.

"Thanks Franky."

"Happy to help! Let me know is you want some bows, I got some super ones for our Lil' Star." That got some of the kids to look at Franky in excitement. Some of them were a bit shy, their eyes flicking from Grace to Franky.

"Can you do my hair Mr Robot?"

"Sure thing! I'm super at doing hair, just you wait and see." A gang of children quickly rushed to Franky, all of them eager to have their hair done. From what Nami knew about kids, was that they tended to not like having their hair touched. These children, were so excited at the idea of getting their hair done, it broke her heart when she came up with a theory as to why. No one had looked after their hair for a while. She could see that some of their hair looked so matted, they would need haircuts.

They really didn't have the time to do all of these children's hair. Reinforcements would come at some point. The blockade wouldn't last long, especially once the knocked out guards, wake up. Nami handed the annoying head to Chopper, and told some of the children to come to her. She may not have bows or hair ties, but she could at least detangle some knots.

"Sweetpea, you don't have to look after me. I'm a big person, I can handle a stinky talking head."

"No like. Tinky made Da sad. Grace ow Tinky. Da 'appy. Grace made Da 'appy?"

"Oh Honey, you always make me happy. You're so caring. I truly don't deserve to have a daughter like you. No more hitting people, OK? Only hit someone if they are trying to hurt you."

"I wink."

"Someone has been spending too much time with Uncle Longnose. Don't you lie to me Cupcake, you were not sparring. You just told me you did 'ow' as you didn't like Stinky."

"Grace big girl. No like Tinky. Ow Tinky."

"Nope, you're still a little girl. My cute, adorable, feral baby. You need to wait until you a bigger before you start sparring with people, let alone pick fights."

"Coppie small. Coppie ow?"

"Coppie, that a new name for Chopper? Chopper can get big remember, so he can fight." Not having a response to this, Grace sulked as Sanji-kun finished her hair. Occasionally, she would glare at the head, Chopper was now arguing with. Nami couldn't help but smile at the violence in the toddler's eyes. She really wanted to kick that samurai again. Grace also did not want to share her dad with the other kids. He tried to help with some of the children's hair, only for Grace to refuse to be put down. In the end, she had to sit on his shoulders, so he could help out.

It was reassuring that Sanji-kun joined in. If he sensed danger, he would get them moving. They had some time and they would take advantage of it to, care for these children. Some of which were now arguing with the samurai head. It was more  them telling the head that they didn't like him, than arguing. Getting chastised by children helped the moron swollow his pride a bit by the looks of things. For now at least. Ugh, her head was starting to hurt again. 

So many children were still left, when Sanji-kun urged them all to start moving again. Hopefully they'll get the time to help the children with their hair later. After they escaped this creepy place. These poor children, they were likely going to have nightmares for a long time. Nami knew she was going to have some after seeing those frozen people. She now understood what the children meant by 'frozen ones' and she wished she hadn't.

After they escaped the marines, because of course they were here. After they reversed whatever the fuck that stupid Trafalgar Law did, they would have time for the children. After Sanji-kun woke up. She only hit him as hard as she normally would for being a perv, but she was in Franky's body and Sanji-kun in hers. Her poor beautiful fragile body, it crumpled in the snow.

Franky's body was so big and hard. She was worried about moving too fast, for fear of her hurting someone else. What if she accidentally activated one of his weapons? Her balance was off, completely. The parts where skin touched metal, burned. Stung? They hurt, yet it was something Franky never commented on. Probably something he had grown used to, he mentioned being somewhere cold their 2 years apart.

She wondered how everyone else was handling the change. Sanji-kun was excited  over her bod-no his body? Oh god this was confusing. Sanji-kun enjoyed tits. Being in a body that now had tits, excited him. Seeing that him and Nami were similar when it came to down below, she concluded it was mostly the breasts that were the cause for the nosebleeds. Seeing her body get a nosebleed like that, felt wrong. This was all wrong.

She hated this. She wondered how Sanji-kun knowing just how much weaker her usual body was to his, would affect him. Did he hate how weak he was now? Was he going to hover around Nami going forward, treat her like glass? She hoped not, she'd kick his ass. Of course when he was back in his own body.

This was so strange. Poor Chopper, he was only treating Sanji-kun in her body, but it just looked wrong. It was all wrong. Chopper was now in a humans body. An omega human body. It must feel so different for him. The children were weirded out by the change in behaviour. They all were actually. Seeing their fiesty cook, act like their gentle doctor was jarring. Zoro hated it, he kept getting flustered when Chopper spoke to him. Well Zoro's level of flustered, which just looked like he was constipated or uncomfortable.  It was funny to see and possibly the only positive of this.

Franky's expression and mannerisms on Chopper, was haunting. Nami completely agreed with Robin. Franky deserved to be threatened like that. Never again should they see that cursed image.

Why was this happening to them? They were trying to be nice. They were answering a distressed call and were trying to help children that had been kidnapped. They had ruled out this place as a hospital, or daycare, after they found a perfectly healthy Grace with the 'sick' children. Still, they were trying to do the right thing and were being punished for it.

She might kill Luffy and Usopp if they kept laughing. That, or charge them to high-heaven. They are going to be in so much debt, that their great great grandkids are going to still paying her family back. Now that Luffy had gotten over the loss of his 'back legs',he was finding the whole situation hilarious.

Until Grace asked Chopper something and their doctor was unable to understand what she wanted. The betrayed look on her face, when she thought her dad didn't understand her, was painful. Not as much as Sanji-kun trying to calm her down in Nami's body. He tried to purr, but was only able to do a wierd chuff/growl that Nami had never done before. Both Chopper and Sanji-kun grew stressed, as they tried to soothe a confused and distressed toddler.

"Chopper, you're gonna need to purr!"

"How do I do that?"

Sanji-kun fidgeted, eyes flicking to everyone on the crew. Why would he be embarrassed? "Isn't it in yours books, you tried to help me with it before?"

"Not really, it's all just theory." If it wasn't for the fact that Grace was getting more and more upset, Sanji-kun likely would have stayed quite. Or picked a fight with Zoro, successfully distracting everyone. He was a pretty private person, which he hid well behind loud proclamations of love for women and kicking men. They were all vulnerable with Luffy, but Sanji-kun was more so. Possibly a pack alpha and omega thing. Nami could speak to anyone on the crew, if she wanted to. Sanji-kun wasn't the same. At least there was Zoro who always seemed to know when Sanji-kun needed breathing space.

"It's hard to explain. I don't know if it's the same for all omegas, but I rely on love."

"I'm not sure I understand Sanji." Nami wasn't the only one straining to listen, whilst pretending to do the complete opposite. Not much was actually documented about omegas. This was likely information that a lot of people would never get to learn. If only they could kick the pig of a samurai outside, he shouldn't get to listen in on this. Even with Sanji-kun whispering, they could all hear him.

"You're Grace's big brother, right? That feeling fills you with love. Makes you feel warm, light, full. You need to hold on to that feeling. Pull it in from all over your body and condense it into a ball in your heart. Once you hold all that love, you focus on your want to give it to who you're purring for and sort of, force it out. Knowing that you are loved is a beautiful feeling, it heals a person. That's purring for me, making sure someone knows they are loved."

...

"Purring to self soothe works differently." He didn't go into any more details and none was needed. She didn't know that purring was such a personal thing. As an alpha, Nami could release pheromones that carried emotions and intent. She could demand people to submit, through her scent. She could soothe others, let them know they were under her protection. It was mostly instinctual. She didn't need to put much thought in it. It was only when she wanted to mask her emotions or intent, did she have to focus. For Sanji-kun, it sounded like he had to willingly decide to soothe people. Intresting.

"No fair! Why does Chopper get to be a big brother, but you call me uncle? I want to be a big brother too. Come on Grace, tell Sanji I'm your big brother." Luffy hopped over Usopp's head, causing the sniper to fall over and landed in a squat in front of Grace. The little girl had started to cry, causing Chopper to panic. Their doctor tried to purr, only for it to sputter out over and over. The sour scent of a distressed omega poisoned the air, it was overwhelming. So much stronger than it had been before. Sanji-kun kept his scent reeled in?

Was it possible that he always did that subconsciously and that was why they didn't know he was an omega?

Luffy's scent fell heavily upon them. It proudly told them that their pack alpha was here. He was here to protect them. He was here for them. Their captain scooped up Grace in his arms and scented her. The little girl's cries became sniffles, as she buried her head into Luffy's neck. With Grace calmed down, he then held his wrist under Chopper's nose and their doctor soon followed the toddler's lead.

Once everything had calmed down, Brownbeard chained up and everyone caught up to speed, they planned their next moves. Or, well they tried to. Franky got stuck in guard point with Luffy balancing on top, as the children pushed him. Sanji-kun went after the stupid samurai, accompanied by Brook.

No way in hell she was letting those two go on their own to help another perv. Zoro would fix that problem. The two knuckleheads would argue and Brook would fangirl over them. For a guy that had a load of fans from becoming a rock star, Brook was the one that acted like a groupie when it came to Sanji-kun and Zoro. Nami had seen his little green and yellow heart badge he had, she knew what that was. He did pretty well at hiding it from the two morons at least, to the rest of the crew, it was obvious.

Zoro went with very little arm twisting from Nami. The softie was probably worried how Sanji-kun was handling not being able to soothe his daughter. Nami was worried, it's why she gave him permission to smoke.  He must be stressed. Maybe Zoro could cheer him up by letting Sanji-kun touch his pecs. Yes, yes, Zoro got tits from the muscle mass he gained from training. But what if Zoro knew about their cook's love of tits and took advantageof that? Nami found herself snorting at the thought.

All that mirth burnt to ashes, as they learnt exactly what was happening to this kids. They were being drugged. Forced into forming addictions. Experimented on! None of this children were born giants, yet some towered over her, even in Franky's body. She was distraught and furious. She needed to get her hands on this so called 'Master' and rip his eyes out. Oh she couldn't wait for Luffy to kick the guys ass.

Not being familiar with the body she was in, Nami was unsure about accompanying the others, so chose to stay with Chopper and the children. Hopefully she'll get her chance to go after the Master later. For now, she would look after the children and help Chopper and Grace. They both needed as much support as they could.

Nami was kidnapped by yetis. She hated this island. Fed up with everything that was going on, Nami wasn't surprised when Luffy formed an alliance with a Warlord to take down a Yonko. Why not, right? Let's add another crazy thing to the mix. Sure, stick Nami into Sanji-kun's body.

This body was different. She didn't know if this was an omega thing, or just a Sanji-kun thing. She was tired,  she was having hot flushes, her mood fluctuated more, she felt bloated and she was itchy. Maybe she should ask Chopper, make sure Sanji-kun wasn't sick. After he and Traffy returned and Sanji-kun wasn't back by then. For now, she would stay with the children with Usopp.

It was a task she thought would be easy enough, they were asleep after all. Until they wasn't. One of the children had been  able to smack Luffy across the room, Nami  wasn't made of rubber. If she was hit, it was going to hurt. Even in Sanji-kun's body, it was going to hurt. Like Nami's feelings, when Usopp got disappointed that she wasn't actually Sanji-kun. She was both helpful and dependable, thank you very much.

Until 'The Master' turned up to take the children. Nami tried to fight for them, she really did. She took the blows from the children, as she tried to hold them back. She tried to shield a terrified Grace and fight off that gas bastard, only to have her breath stolen. To have Grace's breath stolen. They were saved by Brownbeard, but it only lasted for a moment. She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder, instinctively she curled around the precious little girl in her arms. Desperate, Nami hoped her body was enough to shield Grace from the explosion.

XXX

Traffy's powers were quite spectacular. The ability to switch people's bodies and teleport, were intresting to experience. Well Robin didn't get to experience her body being swapped with another, but she had enjoyed observing the others, mostly. Once it affected Chopper and Grace, Robin saw little amusement in it.

Alliances in Robin's experience, tended to end in betrayal. A fact that she had made Luffy aware of.  He stood firm in his belief that Traffy would not betray them and Robin trusted her captain. It was rather pleasant to have her tust rewarded so quickly, as the surgeon tended to their youngest nakama.

Little Grace was hurt. Like with Chopper earlier, Nami was unable to reel in the scent of an distressed omega. It put everyone on edge. The smile Luffy had earlier, slipped from his face as he watched. Zoro stood guard with Brook and a complete samurai, ensuring the marines did not get any closer. Usopp hurriedly summarised what happened to him and Nami to Traffy.

Hindsight was a terrible thing. There really should have been a haki user left to protect the children in case Ceaser reached them. They knew he was a logia user.

She saw the moment Traffy realised the problem with switching an alpha with an omega. His eyebrow twitched at Nami's failed attempts to purr. He switched the pair of them back and the sour smell of fear and distress, was pulled back. There was a second, before a thunderous purr rocked the room. Robin could feel the apology woven into the sound. She felt the gentle kiss of a parent, wishing away pain. She could feel Sanji's love for his child, for now she knew what it was and it was beautiful.

Traffy looked over the unconscious toddler. Growls from the alphas of the crew, including herself, caused the Warlord to bow his head. Not complete submission, but an acknowledgement of his actions. He activated his powers and they all held their breaths. Once the man's jaw loosened, Robin knew things were going to be alright.

"She's bruised, but alright. Your body took most of the damage. The shock of everything was too much for her. She just needs rest and to be kept warm." Sanji's response was too quiet for Robin to hear and so was Traffy's response. With the examination over, the omega tucked his daughter under his chin and hugged her tightly. Nodding to himself, Usopp shrugged off his coat and wrapped around the little girl and immediately started shivering. Conveniently, the samurai had a Devil Fruit that provided their sniper with some new warm clothing.

Knowing that his niece was safe, Luffy loudly declared that he was going to defeat Ceaser,  which Robin was looking forward to. All of them were looking forward to Ceaser's downfall. His painful downfall.

She was quick to catch up with the majority of her crew perched on Brownbeard's back. How pleasant to not have to run for a while, though their ride could be faster. With a small smile on her face, Robin was pleased that she did get to  sit on someone's back for a while, as they did all the work. Shame it wasn't Usopp's back across icy waters. The sniper screeched. At first she wondered if her nakama had mutated to have telepathic powers, cursed to hear all thoughts around him, driving him insane. In actuality, he removed his coat as they entered a warm area the lab and it turned to smoke, surprising him.

Seeing the effects of the gas in person, was so much more horrific than through video snail. Those poor men. Even if they were marines, no one deserved that end. It was admirable that they gave their lives for their captain, with a smile. She wondered if Luffy would oppose giving Ceaser a Franky welcome, when he was on the Sunny, but a more violent version. Sure he may be their hostage, but they did not mean he had to have all his limbs in place.

Robin gasped as Grace was placed in her arms and Sanji Sky Walked away. "Why did Sanji fly off in a rage like that?" Usopp asked, peaking at Grace. His expression shattered at the bruises marking her skin.

"I felt an unfamiliar presence coming up behind us. Let him do his thing." Zoro watched stared where their crewmate disappeared to, arms crossed. Robin did not miss that he moved slightly closer to her. No doubt to protect Grace, more than Robin. Not that their swordsman wouldn't protect anyone on the crew, but they all knew it was everyone's priority to keep Grace safe.

That included keeping her safe from an irate dragon. The samurai and Brook both wanted to fight, apparently having grudges against the creature. Their argument was humorous, though not well timed. Nami and Usopp struck the dragon, much to the annoyance of the bickering pair. Wishing to channel the anger she was still feeling, Robin decided to also lend a hand. The dragon was much less of a threat afterall, if unable to fly. Once the dragon was in closer fighting range, both Brook and the samurai faced it. Cutting fire was pretty impressive, especially of it caught the attention of Zoro. Their respite was brief, as Nami soon spotted Chopper fighting children?

He was in his monster point, struggling to keep the children back. They all rushed to his aid. How long had he been facing this issue on his own. Robin's heart ached, thinking of their dear sweet Chopper, desperately trying to not hurt crazed children. She knew the world was a cruel place. That it could be cruel to children. Her own past was a testament to that. The knowledge did not balm the ache caused whenever she witnessed the world's harsh realities. She wished one day, that all children would know no cruelty.

Chopper's time ran out. Reverting back to his smallest state, he was crushed under a giant child's foot. Nami dove at their doctor, risking being stepped on herself to keep him safe. Stepping in to halt the children from advancing, Robin summoned large hands to form a block. The children were abnormally strong. Robin truly sympathised with Chopper and would ensure he received treatment once this was all over. Their doctor had a nasty habit of neglecting himself, if he had other patients to treat.

They had to split up again. Usopp and Brook, along with the samurai went to ensure they located all the children in the building. Robin also requested that Usopp keep an eye out for seastone cuffs. The rest of them, would help sweet Mocha stop the rest of the children from obtaining the candy.

Robin was used to the cold, she had fought in it many times before. Fighting in the snow wasn't a new experience either, she was used to it too. She wasn't used to maintaining another pair of arms to hold her precious crewmate close, whilst summoning more limbs to restrain giant children. Nor was she used to facing a logia type that could dissappear in the snow. Robin barely had any time to react.

It was instinctual to turn into the harpy's dagger. It was the correct thing to do and something she would happily do over and over, if it kept Grace safe. She gasped as the dagger pierced her shoulder. Internally swore as her blood marred the toddler's face. Stubbornly, Robin kept her powers active. She would not drop her nakama. She will help these children.

Zoro struck with a roar. Cainines sharpened, his grey eye darkened. Bloodlust filled the air. Robin's shiver was not due to the cold.

Taking advantage of Zoro facing the logia wielder, the rest of them chased after the children. It wasn't easy, as the snow woman was determined to stop them. She created walls of snow and trapped Nami. Anger bubbling to the surface, Robin smacked the harpy, hard. She was ready to summon limb after limb until she could no longer breathe, just so she could strike the harpy over and over. Fortunately, Zoro cut them a new path to follow the children.

They failed to protect Mocha. The brave girl ate all the candies to protect her friends. Blood stained the innocent girls lips and Robin felt her heart break. Mocha's whimpers felt like slashes. Sanji's sudden arrival and subduing the children with the aid of marines, did little to ease the pain.

They failed to protect that poor, poor girl. Petals dispersed, as Robin brought Grace closer to her. The toddler's wonderfully pure scent of lilacs and milk, was grounding. Robin wouldn't fail to protect a child again. Ever.

She was thankful that Sanji was content for Robin to hold his daughter. He ran close to her, but did not take her away. Being the observant man that he was, there was no doubt that Sanji was aware of her injured shoulder. He knew she needed Grace more than his fussing. He turned his attention to the children.

He spoke to them in a similar way as he did  their nakama. Harsh words accompanied with kind actions. The children didn't appear to much care of his words, more concerned of the killer gas, seeping though cracks. Zoro's appearance with the the captain of marines, boosted morale. Mostly for the marines, but it was reassuring to have another protector with them. The children needed as much protection as they could get.

Even in their dire circumstances, it was intresting seeing Zoro's dynamics with the other swordsman. She unnerved him somewhat, though Robin did not know why. For the most part, he found her to be an annoyance. The feeling appeared mutual, but for different reasons.

Reuniting with Luffy had been a relief. Pride bloomed in her chest, see him stand victorious. She finally gave Grace back to her father. Peace instantly settled over the cook, as he held his daughter. He readjusted the coat she was still swaddled in and lovingly kissed the tip of her nose. Sanji sat down with a sigh, cradling her. A knowing smile teased Robin's lips, as she observed Zoro move closer. They both watched the samurai with his son.

As custom with their crew, they had a party. Whilst their cook worked on their feast, Brook held Grace. When Brook was called to play, Zoro returned to hold her. Luffy took the girl and danced, when she woke up whimpering. Fun, acting as balm to her pain. Her peels of laughter, lifted all their spirits. That included Nami, whom of which had been rather subdued. Their navigator had her fun talking to Tashigi, but she wasn't as lively as she normally was, neither was Usopp. Robin had a fairly good theory as to why.

Seeing the children off, had been a strange affair. Frankly, Robin found it rather cute that the marines were so worried to display  love for their crew. However, she did not approve of their actions. Those children did not need to be put under any more stress. Still, she had faith that Tashigi  would do the right thing, concerning the children. Her and Smoker appeared to be good people and Luffy trusted them. It would be nice if Robin was able to see the children in the future. After they had a chance to have a childhood.

For now, Robin would be content enough to watch over Grace. The toddler was sitting on Sanji's hip and as the omega swayed side to side. She had a lollipop in her mouth, a reward for behaving as Chopper applied a cream to her bruises. The stickers she had been provided helped keep her occupied, as their doctor treated her. Cute little animals were all over her arms and face. Sanji and Chopper also stickers on them. Their captain laughed merrily and the toddler reached over to place her remaining stickers on his face.

Chopper was finishing treating Ceaser, as they all discussed there next course of action. They were to head to Dressrosa and deal with Doflamingo. This would lead to them taking down Kiado. Quite the intriguing turn of events.

Whilst things were calm, Robin offered to wash Momonosuke. The child was filthy. She would have offered to wash Grace too, but knew that the toddler needed to leave the cream on for a while. The little girl was enjoying being fussed over by Luffy when Robin headed to the bathroom. Their pack alpha had been scenting his niece as Franky, Traffy and Zoro discussed where to put Ceaser.

When Robin exited the bathroom with a clean little boy, she realised that some of the crew would not appreciate the action. At some point, Nami and Robin should really sit Sanji down and explain that his actions were not appropriate. He had toned down since the arrival of Grace, but he could improve. Robin never thought much about. Sanji was a kind man. One of the first people in a long time to show her gentleness. Or to praise her and genuinely mean it. Robin still had the flower he gave her on Skypiea, pressed between pages of a book. Yet, she knew others would not see that quality of him. They would see the perversion and judge him on that soley. Which wasn't fair.

If taught that his actions could seriously upset women. Could impact his daughter, Robin had no doubt that he learn to do better. From what Robin had gleamed from others, Sanji went through puberty surrounded by sea cooks. He read fairytales, were the good guy treated women like princess. How he acted around women, made sense after giving his upbringing some thought.

It was too late for Brook. Robin also did not quite care enough for Kinemon yet, to have a discussion like that. That being said, she may need to intervine with Momo. It was clear that the boy was following in his father's footsteps, after witnessing him with Nami. A trait that they should nip in the bud.

Or maybe she did not need to, as Grace ran over and headbutt the boy. Much to the surprise of everyone. Oh, it seems that the toddler did not like Momo, or his father. The fact that he boy could turn into a dragon did not intimidate her in the slightest. In fact, she tried to attack the boy again, only to be intercepted by Sanji. The cook tuck the toddler under his arm  and headed to the galley, announcing that he was making pizza.

Robin supposed it was understandable that Momo was unimpressed at Grace's behaviour, to say the least. He spoke as it she had committed a serious faux pas by attacking him. He spoke as if he had a title. Intresting.

If that was indeed the case, judging by poorly the hidden sniggers, it meant very little to the crew. They were on Grace's side. That little girl had them all wrapped around her finger. It would not take long for their guests to share the crew's fate.

Robin wondered if Nami would be interested in starting a betting pool on how long it would take Traffy to crack. He acted disinterested, but that would last for long. Robin had an inkling that he had a soft spot for cute things.

Chapter Text

Resisting scratching at his bandages, Smoker contemplated taking some leave. He was tired. Running around on that gods forsaken island, was only partly the cause. So was dealing with that damn Staw Hat again. Healing was tiring as well, but that wasn't quite it. Smoker had dealt with all that before, this time was different. He was so much more drained.

Mentally. He was drained mentally. Vergo's betrayal hurt. Smoker had looked up to the man, only to find out it was all a lie. He felt so stupid that he fell for it. It was of little comfort that the bastard had managed to trick countless overs and not just Smoker. But that was a problem. How deep did it go? How many other people in the marines, were double agents? Were there people that knew about Vergo, but didn't care? How many atrocities had that man committed with the words 'Justice' on his back? Whose justice was he inacting?

Then there was Ceaser. How many people knew what that sicko was up to? Those poor children. They had been taken from their homes and experimented on. Families of those children had asked for help. Granted, the marines they had turned to, had been acting under Vergo. Vergo had run interference when Tashigi tried to look into it. If Tashigi wasn't there, what other marines would have cared about those children?

Smoker wasn't blind. He knew that the navy system was broken. Too many people in uniform acting out their own justice, rather than justice of the common people. Too many used the uniform as an excuse. Misused the powers granted. There was red tape, stopping the marines that wanted to preform justice for the common person. It was easier to misuse the power the uniform provided, than to use it correctly. Smoker hated it.

He had tried to do what was right. He tried to do his damn job. It was exhausting. He would stick it out, as he wanted to help people. That was why he went into the damn profession to begin with. It was just difficult. At some point he thought that he could try and fix the system from within. There were some higher ups that were trying to do the same thing, Smoker knew. Was their hard work getting them anywhere? Fuck knows!

The door creaked open, announcing Tashigi's arrival. She was bright kid and full of potential. Optimistic. What happened on that cursed island, tore her apart. So much so, he couldn't help but humour her when she scolded him for smoking, again.

"I have news Smoker-san." She stumbled when she got up from her chair and headed to the side to pick up a paper. She handed it to him, as he carefully eased himself up into a sitting position. He blinked when he read the headline, before reading the whole story in full.

Doflamingo was stepping down as a Warlord? That made no sense. It had to do with Trafalgar and Straw Hat somehow. Their alliance had to be for something. Straw Hat had a reputation of going after Warlord's, but it made no sense for Doflamingo to step down without a fight. Don't get him wrong, it's a good thing. Smoker wanted the whole Warlod thing, gone. They were people with too much power, with very little restrictions. So why would someone like Doflamingo give that up?

Kuzan said to keep an eye on the pink bastard.  Smoker had almost died at the hands of the maniac. This move made no sense. Smoker didn't trust it. Against his better judgement, he hoped that the Straw Hats would not let their guard down on this.

"I don't like this." He growled, scowling at the picture of that sunglasses wearing prick. Next to him, Tashigi straightened in her chair. She leaned forward with a frown. "I thought it would be a good thing that he was stepping down?"

"Guys like him, don't just give up their power. I don't trust it." Tashigi fell silent as she thought his words over. She jumped when she heard the children asking some of the men outside, if they knew how to make muffins. She sighed, knowing that she would have to do some baking soon.

"Do you think, that if this is a trap of some kind, the children will be safe?" Would Doflamingo come after them and try and take the children, is what Smoker heard. A very reasonable fear. Doflamingo, or Joker, had to know the existence of the children and would not be happy that something considered 'his', was taken. But would he come after them?"

"I think they would be safe, he only asked about the Straw Hats and Law afterall. Black Leg's girl, is another story." He saw the colour drain from his friend's face. No doubt picturing what exactly a psycho like Doflamingo might do if he got his hands on that little girl. He had seen how protective that crew was of the child, he just hoped that they hid her existence from the 'ex-warlord'.

"None of our reports will mention anything about Black Leg being an omega or having a child. Got that Captain?"

"Aye, Vice Admiral Smoker. It's the least we can do, after he helped our men. I will inform them to not say anything either. They do appear rather taken with him, so it may be difficult for them to not talk about Black Leg completely." Smoker sank back in his pillows with a groan. His men were idiots, but dammit he cared for them. They might be rough around the edges, but they were loyal. They had grown an attachment to the Straw Hats, especially their cook. If Smoker and Tashigi asked them to not say anything to protect the crew, they would follow the order. Still wouldn't stop them complaining about their quality of food. Black Leg's cooking had spoiled them.

"It will have to do. Unfortunately the Straw Hats helped us out again, so we do owe them. This, and our run in with Doflamingo, will make us even. Let the men know and try and keep the kids out of the kitchen." Tashigi stood with a determined look on her face. Before she left the room, she told him she would be back with some refreshments. Smoker bet that she would spill some on her way back.

Closing his eyes, Smoker absently scratched at his chest. He probably would have informed his crew to not mention Black Leg's second-gender or child, regardless of the Straw Hats help. He had seen what people did to omegas, it was one reason he stayed in the system. He saw when cases concerning omegas came up and he tried to get involved when he could. Either he'd take it on, or assign it to someone he trusts. People definitely took advantage of their uniform for those cases. It sickened him.

Eyes falling onto the newspaper again, Smoker hoped that the Straw Hats and Trafalgar knew what they were doing. He also hoped that whoever they sent to investigate the matter, had their head screwed on tight. Cause HQ would definitely send someone to see why exactly the string fucker stepped down. Whether anyone would actually be informed of the truth, would remain to be seen.

Yeah, Smoker needed a holiday.

XXX

Reviewing his reports, was usually a quick and easy task. His crew was healthy for the most part and none of them sustained serious injuries on the island. It should just be a simple check. He does this every night, just to make sure he is familiar with everyone's status on the crew.

Tonight, it wasn't so easy. His mind kept replaying the events of the last island. He kept seeing poor Mocha curled in on herself, blood on her lips. He kept seeing the children in full rage, from withdrawals. It was horrifying. Doctors are meant to help people. Not whatever that nightmare was.

Chopper was so angry.

He had treated Ceaser's wounds, as it was the right thing to do. Yet he was angry at himself for doing so. He wanted that monster to suffer. Chopper wanted that clown to feel every ounce of pain those poor children had to endure. Tenfold!

He treated Ceaser as it was the right thing to do.

Chopper had to avoid interacting with that clown, to avoid getting angry. He didn't like feeling angry. It got in the way of his work. Chopper started rereading Sanji's file again. He had been able to update it a fair amount after Punk Hazard. Being inside Sanji's body, had been enlightening. At first, Chopper had thought that the difference he was experiencing was normal for humans. It was only when Nami quietly spoke to him, did he realise it wasn't. It was a shame really that Chopper did not get to experience a fully healthy humans body, so that he would have a better base line to work from. It would have made things easier for Chopper,  but he could make do.

The information he had already, was enough for Chopper to figure out what hormones were unbalanced for their resident omega. He now had a much better understanding in what Sanji was low in, or too high in. A blood test would have shown this too, but Chopper now knew how it felt exactly. He could adjust Sanji's supplements, to target the side effects the cook was suffering from. Sanji had not been impressed, but accepted the new medication anyway.

Good, Chopper did not like how tired Sanji's body felt. Out of the crew, Sanji was one of the members kept constantly busy. He needed energy. One good thing about Nami switching bodies with him, was that she understood how Sanji was really feeling, physically. She was making sure that he sat down with her and Robin to have breaks. Although no one had mentioned anything to Zoro, he had started to help clean more in the kitchen. It allowed Sanji time to rest with Nami.

Sanji resting also meant he had more time with Grace. Both appeared to benefit greatly from this. Both had been anxious after what happened on Punk Hazard. It was a miracle really that it didn't have serious negative effect with Grace. She was so young. She had been knocked out by gas and fainted. She had been shaken around quiet a bit, that Chopper was sacred she may develop abusive head trauma, commonly known as shaken baby syndrome.

Of course Chopper told Sanji of his concerns, he was her parent afterall. Traffy had been present when the reindeer told the cook, hoping that having two doctors present would be reassuring. The older doctor fidgeted when Sanji's distress leaked into the air. It was pretty mild, but still there. Sanji thanked them both and took went to find Grace.

Chopper later found the toddler asleep in Sanji's lap. The blonde was also asleep, purring very quietly. He was resting against Zoro's side, his legs laid over Luffy's lap. Chopper sat in Zoro's lap and explained the possible symptoms to the swordsman. Both Luffy and Zoro listened carefully. The captain gently traced the toddler's cheek as he listened. Chopper assured them that he didn't think Grace would developed it, as she would have likely shown signs by now. He was just being cautious. Babies were fragile after all.

Protective pheromones stung Chopper's nose, as both alpha's fully took in just how fragile Grace was. Franky ran onto the deck, having smelt Luffy and Zoro, his arm ready to fire bullets at the unknown threat. His loud footsteps jolted Sanji awake and the blonde tried to scramble to he feet, ready to protect his baby. Chopper calmed everyone down quickly. He did find himself having to explain to everyone what symptoms to look out for with Grace. The crew was very vigilant.

Luckily, it appeared that Grace was OK for the most part. She  had bruises and was a lot more clingy with Sanji. She cried whenever he had to leave her, even when  going to the bathroom. She had been through a lot, it made complete sense that she would want to be with Sanji. He was her safe place. He had snapped at her at one point, raising his voice. It scared both of them, for different reasons. Grace, as Sanji barely ever raised his voice with her. Sanji, for reasons Chopper was not too sure about.

He had missed what happened. He only found Robin watching over Grace as she slept that night and Zoro sitting guard outside of the galley. Luffy and Sanji left the room much later, when Sanji handed out out drinks to everyone.

The crew learnt to put up with Grace cries when Sanji had to leave her for a moment, until she got used to it and settled down again. Until she remembered that there were other people she felt safe with. Chopper almost cried when she went into his arms quietly, when Sanji passed her to him for the first time since that island. A few tears did escape when Sanji smiled, saying that she knew her big brother was safe.

He had been dubbed her big brother back on that horrible island. For a while after, Chopper thought that he had been made big brother, just to give him a boost when having a hard time. Chopper thought he lost that title, as it wasn't mentioned again. No, he was Grace's big brother. As her big brother, he was responsible to keep her safe and happy. Her happily going into his arms, when she had been anxious leaving Sanji's side, filled him with warmth.

She was getting better. She was feeling safe again. She was happy. With Grace happy, so was Sanji and the rest of the crew. It was amazing how uplifting it made everyone feel.

Almost everyone.

Momonosuke and Kinemon were two people Grace did not feel safe with. There was also Ceaser, but they did not let her interact with him at all. Only Kinemon appeared bothered by this. The samurai tried to play with her, but she wouldn't have it. The toddler kept kicking his shin and booing him. Zoro found it funny. Said it was pay back trying to fight him for his sword.

Chopper wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was funny that the toddler kept trying to beat up a really tall samurai. Sanji kept trying to stop her, but she had chosen him to be an enemy. He also felt sad for Kinemon, as it would break Chopper's heart to have Grace not like him.

Momonosuke didn't know how to handle Grace, which Chopper would admit was funny. It was clear that Momo never had someone treat him like that before and got super offended. He had tried changing into a dragon to scare Grace a few times, it didn't work. She did wrestling moves on him. That was something she learnt from them. Sometimes the boys would hang out in their dorm room instead of going asleep. A few times, they turned the dorm into a wrestling ring. Luffy had even let her try moves on him. The same moves she kept trying to do on Momo.

Luffy was now offering to teach Momo to wrestle, so that he could defend himself from Grace. Chopper thinks it might just be an excuse for him to fight Momo too. He was finding it really funny that the toddler was picking fights. Momonosuke was insulted that Luffy thought he needed help against someone that wasn't even two years yet. Luffy just laughed and told him to stop getting beaten up then.

It wasn't like Grace managed to do much to Momo. As soon as it looked like she was about to charge at the boy, Sanji normally picked her up and put her in a time out. Seeing Sanji try not to smile as her told her off, was funny. Mostly because Grace usually tried to attack the other child, when he said something rude. Sanji was proud how protective Grace was, but didn't want to encourage fighting.

He did try and fix the relationship between  the two children, wanting Grace to learn how to make friends. It wasn't going very well. Chopper might need to help. He was Grace's big brother after all, he would help her make friends. He'd play with them both and act as a buffer. If Grace was able to get along with Momo, then it would be easier for all of them. Especially as Chopper and Sanji were working together to get both Kinemon and Momonosuke to a healthier state. The pair of them had both been very malnourished when they joined, and were on a strick diet. Actually, both Kinemon and Momonosuke were due a check up. Chopper needed to see if there and been an improvement and their diet could be changed. He'd call them in soon, then talk to Sanji.

First, he would finish helping Usopp put glow in the dark stars up in the nursery. They were going to have a sleep over in there with Grace tonight, to allow Sanji the opportunity to have a good night sleep. He needed a break. Sanji also wanted Grace to learn to be away from him. He said it was just a precaution, in case he got sick or something like that. Sanji didn't really get sick, but he could get injured. So Chopper thinks he was just making sure Grace would be able to sleep with someone, if Sanji ever got injured and she needed to stay away. Chopper hoped it never happened, but it was good to plan ahead.

Zoro was going to stay with them, Grace demanded he stay. She liked sleeping with Zoro. Chopper understood, Zoro was a great napping partner. Luffy would stay with Sanji, even though he really wanted to join in the sleepover. He was having one with Sanji instead. Chopper thinks it's because Luffy is the pack alpha and his scent would calm Sanji. It would sort of be like when Sanji had his heat, except he wouldn't be staying in his heat room.

Hopefully tonight would go well. Robin said that she would keep an ear out during her watch that night and let Sanji know if he was needed. They already asked Brook if he could play a lullaby, if it got too late and Grace was still awake. Nami had offered to make breakfast for them for a fee. Luckily, Sanji said that he was fine getting up and cooking. Chopper was saving up for something cool. He didn't know what it was yet, but he wanted to make sure he had enough money when he saw the cool thing. He couldn't do that if he paid Nami for breakfast.

Traffy was confused. Chopper was trying to help him feel comfortable, but Traffy was weird around him. Traffy was wierd. He didn't like bread. Grace seemed to like him though, she kept trying to ask Traffy to play with her. It was sad, Traffy didn't seem to know how to play. They would teach him at some point.

Oh, Zoro was walking over with Grace sitting on his shoulder. She was in her pajamas. They were pink with cherry blossoms, the outline of the flowers were made from white thread. On her feet, were bright blue fuzzy socks. She had slippers, but tended to take them off. Robin stopped her trying throw them through the railings and into the sea. According to Sanji, Grace said they looked like shoes. People don't wear shoes when they are being comfy.

She was holding a soft toy that was almost as big as her, this one was a green floppy dog. It was called Zoro. Zoro was still called Moss. He didn't even try to get her to call him something else. He only laughed when she named the dog. Apart from being green, Chopper didn't see the resemblance. Zoro was more like a tiger. Nami said that Zoro had only ever been a softie around Grace, so the toddler saw him like a puppy. The doctor still didn't see it, Zoro was always nice to Chopper, but he knew the swordsman could be deadly.

That didn't matter, what mattered was that he and Usopp had not finished putting up the glow in the dark stars. They both yelled in a panic and started frantically slapping stars onto every surface. Zoro placed Grace onto the floor and the little girl excitedly started running around the room, slapping the walls. Snorting, Zoro carefully tried to avoid bumping into any of them, as he placed a bundle of cushions and blankets onto the floor. Oh they smelt like Sanji.

The toddler beelined for the pile of cushions and blankets. She dived into the pile and buried herself underneath them. Her giggles could be heard, but she could not be seen. At first. Chopper tip-toed around the pile, before he found a pair of bright eyes peaking at him through a gap. "Coppie, hide! Quick hide! Monster want din din."

"AGGHH! MONSTER!" For a split second, Chopper was genuinely worried that there was a monster. Then he looked to Zoro, only to find him calm. Oh, Grace was playing. He should have known. Well, as her big brother, it was his duty to protect his little sister. Standing firmly in front of the pile of blankets, his shifted to Heavy Point.

"Stay back monster! I, Sir Coppie will will defeat you!" Zoro raised an eyebrow, he opened his mouth to say something, only to shut it. Chopper saw when his eye landed on the two wide blue eyes staring back at him. Grace was so happy to be playing with him. The swordsman sighed, then got to his feet. Hunching over slightly, Zoro growled. He was playing along.

"Ah, how terrifying! I have grown weak from fear." Usopp pretended to faint. He laid on the floor with a hand over his eyes, tounge hanging out. Grace gasped and her head popped out of the top of the pile of soft things. She crawled out and over the pillows to grab hold of one of Usopp's hands and tugged at it.

"Quick, quick. 'Retty Lady Sop! Lady Sop no monster din din. Grace help!" She tugged more at the sniggering Usopp. He pretended to wake up, surprised that Grace was there. He coughed, then spoke in a much higher voice than before. "My my Grace, you saved me!"

Zoro growled again, stepping closer to Grace and Usopp. They both  squealed. Usopp pretended to faint again, which lead to the toddler tapping his face to wake him up. It was more like slapping, but she meant to tap. Chopper tackled a very surprised swordsman into the stack of soft toys at the side of the room. Grace's excited cheer was well worth the pinch from Zoro to his side.

"Tone it down a bit Sir Coppie." Zoro whispered through gritted teeth. The doctor stuck his nose up and crossed his arms. "No, I am getting cool big brother points." The swordsman huffed and tried to free himself from the mountain of soft toys. It was easier said than done. Both he and Chopper kept falling back into the bundle of plush.

"You don't need to try so hard, she already thinks you're cool." That caused Chopper to blush and wiggle in the spot. Grace thought he was cool. A happy feeling bubbled in his chest. Free from the toys, the doctor placed his arms on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Yeah, well, I want her to think I'm the coolest. Cooler than even you."

"Can't wait to see it lil' man!" A grin took over Zoro's face, before he hunched over again and growled. Taking his cue, Chopper readied himself. The pair playfully wrestled with each other, all while Grace pushed Usopp into her pile of blankets. After a few minutes of pretending to fight a monster with Grace and Usopp cheering him on, their fight came to an end due to a green dog in Zoro's face. The toddler clapped for herself, proud that she managed to throw her toy into Zoro's face. It caught Chopper off guard, not expecting it. Not as much as Zoro pretending to struggle to get the dog off his face, then laying on the floor, 'dead.'

The little girl burst out of the blankets and cushions, jumping on top of Zoro. Her knees landed on Zoro's crotch, the swordsman grunted, then pretended to be dead again. Grace roared in victory, her toy Zoro raised above her head. Luffy's laughter could be heard, causing Chopper to turn to the noise.

Ah, they had left the door open. The rest of the crew could bee seen watching them in the nursery. They all looked happy at what they saw. Momo could be seen behind the tree swing, looking curious. Sanji's face looked a bit red, Chopper should check up on him later. Just to make sure the stress of everything wouldn't trigger him to have an other heat. Glacing back to Zoro, Chopper found that his face as a bit red too. It was too early for him to have a rut, even with an omega potentially going into heat. Chopper would definitely need to look into this.

"Da! Coopie ow monster. Zoro ow monster." The toddler was sitting on Zoro's chest, as she waved to Sanji. The blonde smiled and walked over, poking his head round the door. "Ah Grace, the monster looks a bit like Moss."

Tiny hands flew to chubby cheeks, as Grace gasped. Her toy dog hanging by one foot in one of her hands. Chopper heard the beads in it's foot, hit her chest, as the rest of the floppy limbs swung.

"Moss spell? Mwah?" Not really sure what Grace meant, he looked to Sanji. Zoro was peaking up at him too, from the floor. The blonde had a playful smile. Chopper liked that smile.

"Hmm, you think that Prince Moss has been cursed? If that's the case, he needs a kiss from a princess, or a beautiful lady to break the spell." The little girl's eyes lit up and she scrambled off Zoro. The cook leaned further into the room, his head hovering over Zoro's. The swordsman was looking up, Chopper hadn't seen that expression on his face before, the reindeer wasn't sure what it meant.

"Thanks for playing along Mossy. She's herself again." Zoro hummed and Sanji patted his cheek. The blonde turned to Grace as she ran back over, tugging Usopp along. Did Zoro just chuff? Not a proper one, Choppee was only able to catch it with his advanced hearing. Huh, Zoro must enjoy playing.

"Lady Sop! Mwah Moss. Quick! Mwah!" The   sniper blinked, then blinked again. Shocked. He crumbled when watery blue eyes gazed up at him. Chopper would too, Grace was too powerful.

Usopp pretended to fan his face. "My darling Moss, what has happened to you? Was it that wicked wizard Traffy that was jealous of our love that cursed you? How dreadful!" A sound of protest could be heard somewhere on the deck. Chopper bearly heard it over the sound of Grace jumping up and down, saying "mwah" over and over and Sanji's sniggering.

"I shall free you my love, with a kiss." The snipper fluttered his eye lashes, then picked up one of Zoro's hands and kissed it. He did a very loud 'mwah' noise. Loud enough to be heard over Luffy's laughter. Zoro didn't move. His cheeks were a bit red, so he might be a bit too embarrassed to move. That, or Chopper really needed to give him a check up.

"No! My love, it's not strong enough! Huh, Grace! Maybe you are the long lost princess of Sunnydonia and your kiss will break the spell!" Chopper watched the toddler bounce up and down, excited at being a princess. She handed her toy to Usopp and jumped onto Zoro's chest. "Yes! I do mwah. Grace love Moss." She sort of headbutted the swordsman, whilst saying mwah. She didn't seem to mind as Zoro sat up, catching her when she fell backwards. She laughed loudly and Chopper had not choice but to join in. He was so happy.

"Princess Grace, you saved me. Thank you."

"Moss! Hamsum Moss." The girl clapped, excited that Zoro was 'cured.' He placed her down, only for her to take his hand and tug him to the pile of blankets and cushions. She then let go and pulled Chopper over, followed by Usopp.

"Da, song? Drink please?" Sanji merely nodded and left, he was soon replaced by Brook. "Pardon me. I was advised by Sanji-san that you are in need of my services. Why don't you arrange those blankets and cushions into a bed of sorts, whilst Sanji-san makes you some soothing hot drinks. Grace-san had her story, so it is time to get ready for bed."

Their musician laughed before he started playing a slow version of Bink Sake. They all looked at each other for a moment,  not too sure what they should be doing with the blankets. Usopp was first to move, as he started to arrange things. It didn't take long for something comfortable looking to be made. They sat down, just as Sanji arrived with some drinks. He stepped in for a moment, kissing his daughter's forehead and giving her a hug.

Once Sanji left, they eventually settled down. Grace was laying bewteen Zoro and Chopper. Usopp was on Chopper's other side. Eyes growing heavy, Chopper found himself feeling at peace. He was surrounded by his loved ones. They were all safe and happy. Chopper was still furious about what happened on Punk Hazard, but he found himself letting go. He did all that he could and the children were going to get further help. They would be OK.

Grace turned her face into Choppers side, her soft breaths ruffled her fur. It created a nice background noise, lulling him to sleep.

XXX

Law was confused. He had been left to watch over the baby on the crew. Why there was a baby on a pirate ship? Very good question. One that he asked Nico Robin, only for her to smile and say that the baby was a crewmate. Of course. Made perfect sense.

Watching the Straw Hats, it actually did become obvious what Nico Robin meant. They all took care of the baby. They were happy to, in fact. There was a period where the baby rarely left Black Leg's side, having grown anxious after the events of Punk Hazard. Law didn't understand why the Straw Hat's all appeared so subdued shortly after boarding. It took him a while to notice the guilty looks of the crew whenever they noticed the fading bruises. When the baby was able to stay with one of the Straw Hats without Black Leg nearby, they were elated.

Really, he should have known how important the baby was when examined her on Punk Hazard. The way the crew surrounded the baby, protecting her from the marines. How desperate Nami was to pur for her. He felt Black Leg's pur and the emotions it carried. The baby was important. She was loved.

She was sitting opposite him on a child table, drawing something with crayons. He had been made to join her at the table, his long legs making it an uncomfortable feat. Every now and they she would look up at him, babble something, then carry on drawing.

Sitting in the galley without Black Leg, felt like he was committing a huge crime. This was coming from someone that have sent a hundred hearts to the World Government.  Somehow being in the galley without the cook, felt worse. He was only in the next room, working with Tony. They were both discussing updates of the dietary plan for the samurai and his son. They would be a while, Law had seen some of the notes the other doctor and cook had come up with. They were very thorough.

He was left with the baby, as he did a quick scan on her to make sure she was healthy. A check up Tony was going to do after seeing to the samurai and his son, but he offered to do so instead. It was just something to do, whilst avoiding most of the other Straw Hats. The galley of this ship was highly respected. Very little of the tomfoolery that happened all over the damn ship, hardly happened here.

The galley was Black Leg's space on the ship. What confused Law at first, was that it wasn't respected due to his omega status. Normally omega's on a ship were highly protected by alphas. Their soothing pheromones could be vital at preventing aggressive alpha's from clashing. Or Omega's were kept on ships to be used as sex slave.

Neither were applicable for the Straw Hats. The alpha's of the crew were not territorial in a ways that would lead them to clashing. Not in the way where instincts took over leading to fatalities. It was actually Zoro and Black Leg that clashed the most, but the weirdos seemed to enjoy it. They definitely weren't the type of crew that would use an omega to preform sexual acts. Law would have smelt it, if that was the case.

The Straw Hat's might be similar to his crew, in that sub-genders didn't mean anything. Not really. Black Leg was just a member of their crew that sometimes experienced heats and had a child. The galley was respected, as Black Leg demanded it be to be, as the crew's cook.

The doctor sighed to himself. Black Leg was fucking with his mind. Law had a thing with omegas. That sounded wrong. He had a weakness for them. That also sounded wrong. A soft spot? Due to traumatic events, Law felt the need to look out for omegas. It was more than the alpha's need protect omegas.

He lost his mother, who was an omega. A smart an patient woman. His sister Lami presented as an omega, a week before she fell ill. It hurt to think of her. She was full of joy and cute. He loved her. It hurt to look at cute things sometimes, as they reminded him of her. It messed with him. Law hated to admit it, but he did like cute things, even if it hurt sometimes. The Straw Hat's baby was cute, especially as she was wearing a teddy bear onsie. A white bear onsie.

Grace. Corazon would prefer it he actually used the babies name. Then again, he probably did not want Law to do what he was planning on Dressrosa. He might as well do one thing that would have made Cora happy, with the shitshow Law was about to face. Referring to a baby by her name, was easy enough. The caring part, came unexpectedly to him.

...

Cora was an omega. A blonde, male omega that smoked. Why did Black Leg have to be so similar to him? It had been like a punch to the gut once Law realised Black Leg was an omega. The stench of distress still haunted him. Even the faintest whiff of it from Black Leg, made Law uncomfortable. Luckily the blonde tended to be in a good mood in the kitchen, so he didn't often smell distress when hiding from the rest of the crew.

He did however, find the other alphas of the crew eyeing him. Nico's eyes were often on his back. He caught a pair winking at him once on the wall of the galley, before they dispersed into petals. Straw Hat didn't seem affected by Law's presence around the cook. By how Black Leg reacted, it was normal for Staw Hat to burst into the kitchen and climb all over the blonde. He wasn't marking the blonde, just because Law was there. Straw Hat was just clingy.

The shipwright, Franky, but Law is going to refer to him as Robo. He didn't come into the galley often. If he did, it was to get cola. For the most part, he was pleasant with Law. What the doctor did notice, was the confused looks Black Leg gave the cyborg, when he asked if everything was working correctly. So maybe he was trying to find something an excuse to stay longer to watch Law. Still, a pretty friendly man.

Nami didn't even hide that she was keeping an eye on him. She had cornered him, in fact. Ripped him a new, one for switching their bodies. Told him what it was like being in body that wasn't her own. She demanded to know why he did something like that to people he wanted form an alliance with. She wanted to know what he was going to do, once they were no longer allies, if he was willing to do that when he had a need for them. Then she threatened to electrocute his knot off, he dared mess with their cook and his daughter again.

Being stuck in Black Leg's body, failing to pur for the child, had really messed with the navigator's head.

Law did not really see Zoro, more felt his presence. He watched the crew, like a guard dog. The Straw Hats did not appear to feel this. They were unaware of the protective aura that blanketed the ship, warning outsiders 'step out of line, your head leaves your shoulders'. Apart from that, Law could tell there was something between the cook and swordsman of the crew. It took two days for the surgeon to come to the realisation that Zoro pined for Black Leg, something the blonde was oblivious to. Something the alpha was not acting on.

So, Law didn't need to worry about the omega of this crew being used. The omega was also not being protected, just to act as a peacemaker between alpha's. They kept an eye on Law, as he was an outsider alpha hanging around the crew's omega. It made sense to be weary. It wasn't necessary. Sure Law stayed in the galley a lot, but it was to escape the chaos.

At least there were other new alphas on the ship that the crew could focus on more than Law. The samurai had been working hard to regain trust to the Straw Hats,  after he pissed them off on Punk Hazard. Ceaser? He wasn't allowed to go anywhere unattended. The stupid clown was not allowed to be anywhere near the children, especially Grace.

Law didn't need to worry about the omega of the Straw Hats. The man was safe here. Not that Black Leg couldn't protect himself.  Still, it gave Law some form of peace to know that he didn't need to try and save this omega.

Not like the ones on his crew. Apart from Bepo as he was a mink, his crew were omegas. They wore suppressants when not on the Polar Tang, so no one outside his crew knew. He could picture the news reels if anyone found out. They would say he had a harem. Which he didn't, thanks. They were mostly people Law came across when trying escape the North Blue. The sea that was probably the most fucked up and happened to be where the majority of omegas were born. They were people in very...dire situations. His parents treated sick people, Corazon helped him. He owed it to he people that showed him kindness when he was young, to offer it to others. He wouldn't be here otherwise.

"Law-ya, Law-ya. Look, 'orse. Like 'orse?" The toddler opposite him, pushed a piece of paper towards them. It was a yellow blob. A horse, going by what Grace said, not that he could see the resemblance. Even if he couldn't see the horse, he couldn't disappoint the little girl. She was the only one on the ship that actually called him by his name. He didn't care if she mimicked his accent when she said it.

"S'nice Grace-ya." The little girl smiled so big, it caused her eyes to close. She was cute. Too cute, it hurt. She clapped, then reached for her beaker. He saw her bob up and down slightly in chair, making it clear she was kicking her legs as she sipped her drink. She was cute, like Bepo.

"Law-ya, ceam? Please ceam." Placing her beaker down, the toddler looked up to him hopefully. Fortunately for him, she had grown used to his freezing when faced with something cute. This was very unfortunate for him. She started to chew on her sleeve as she waited.

"Ceam?" Not entirely sure what she wanted, he asked her to clarify. She spent a moment picking some fluff off her tounge from her sleeve, before answering. Not verbally, instead she acted out licking an ice cream cone. Why did she have to remind Law so much of Lami? His little sister used to always ask him for ice cream. It ached. He really wanted to give Grace the treat she was asking for, to make up for the missed opportunities with his sister. There was only one problem.

"I will need to ask your dad if you are allowed. We need to wait for him to finish helping Tony-ya, before asking."  The toddler crossed her arms and huffed.

"No like 'Tinky. No like 'Melly. No want Da. Make Da sad. Grace Da. My Da." Intresting for a person so small, to be protective over their parent. What was going on in that little brain, that made her feel so protective?

Checking the door to the infirmary was still closed. He knew that Black Leg had already spoken to Grace about the Samurai and his son. Had anyone else? Sometimes things meant more to children if it was someone other than the parent saying it. Even an oddly protective toddler.

"Kinemon-ya and Momo-ya were hungry for a long time. Made them sick. They need help to feel better. They need a doctor and a cook. Your dad is the only cook on the ship."

The little girl was quiet for a while. She slumped on the table and grabbed a blue crayon and started drawing something, looking at Law intermittently. She huffed loudly, a pout on her face. "Tinky, 'melly ow? Grace ow, d'tor." She rubbed a hand over where there was a recently bruise. Context told him what she meant, he would have no idea otherwise.

"Tummy ow." That seemed to make sense for the little girl. She whispered 'tummy ow' to herself a few times, before looking to Law, eyes huge. "Grace cook? For tummy ow."

"No. Your dad is the cook. I'm not going into that kitchen."

"Grace cook!" The toddler threw her crayon, looking ready to fight Law. How could a child that looked so cute, also be so feral? Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and Law panicked. Shit, if she cried, the crew would crash into the galley. Frantically, he thought a way to stop her crying. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin, kids liked shiny things right?

This one did. She immediately grabbed the coin, her eyes practically stars. Sighing in relief, he leaned back in his chair. Disaster avoided. Spotting the discarded crayon, he got up with a grunt and went to retrieve it. His blood froze when he heard a cough, followed by silence. Whipping his head round, his limited edition 'Sora Warrior of the Sea' coin was missing and Grace was silent.

"Shit!" He was quick to activate his powers and remove the coin from the back of the toddler's throat. That had been so quick. Too quick. He turned his back on the baby for a second and she started to choke. She looked to him, scared. He was devastated.

A quick scan told him that she was alright, a bit shaken, but alright. Her throat might be a bit sore. Shit.

"Shit." That was the cherry on top. The toddler looked up to Law and repeated the new word she learnt, several more times. Dammit.

"No, you shouldn't say that word."

"Shit?"

"Yeah, that word Grace-ya. Don't say that word."

"Shit." The girl smiled at him, as if she hadn't almost just choked on his coin. He'd clean that later. How was he going to get her to stop swearing?

"How about I give you some ice cream if you stop saying shit?"

"Shit?"

"No shit. Ice cream."

"Ceam?"

Law swapped the crayon with a tub of ice cream and gave the toddler some. The frozen treat should soothe some of the irritation of her throat. After a few peaceful minutes passed with the toddler eating ice cream, there was a ruckus outside. Not wanting to risk taking his eyes off the toddler again, Law refused to find out the cause of the noise.

Zoro stepped into the room, smiling to himself. Whatever was the cause for the noise, was not a danger. He looked at the toddler, an eyebrow raised when he saw what she was eating. "News Coo dropped off a paper. People speculating why the flamingo guy stepped down. Also talks about what the new alliances could mean. Cause for the noise, was a picture of the Baratie's expansion."

"Guessing most of it is way off." The swordsman of the crew nodded, walking over to the toddler and squatted down by the table. He tapped a piece of paper and she started to collect all her scribbled creations into a pile to show him. "What's the Baratie?"

"S'a floating restaurant in the East Blue. Run by an ex-pirate that happens to be the Cook's old man. Red Leg Zeff, if that means anything to you."

Black Leg came from the East Blue? Law swore he had a North Blue accent. Very mild one, that Law only picked up on certain words. Maybe one of the cooks he worked with was from there and he picked up the accent subconsciously.

"Heard of his name, but that's it. How would the restaurant expanding cause that sort of commotion." The other man smirked. His singular eye was lit up, ecstatic. What the hell? Law had never seen the man so happy.

"The old cook is Curly's old man. Some parents find great, pleasure in messing with their kids. The extention is another boat made to look like Curly's wanted poster. The idiot exploded. Came in hear to make sure Grace couldn't hear all his swearing."

There was a restaurant floating around in the East Blue, looking like Black Leg's wanted poster? Law never had that sort of relationship with his parents and had not really seen it anywhere else. Zoro spoke as if this was normal however, so maybe it was an East Blue thing. He might try and look at the picture in the newspaper, if there was anything left of it. The surgeon was curious about the old cook.

"Coppie. Moss like?" The toddler pointed at a piece of paper with pink scribbles, waiting for Zoro's review. The other alpha instantly turned his attention to the child , smiling gently. Not a smile many would ever be able to witness. No, most would only see his blood thirsty one.

"Yeah, you should show Chopper. He'll love it."

"Shit." The world froze. Playing it off cool would work on some of this crew, but not the one currently staring at him. Unaware of the tension she had caused in Law, Grace pulled another scribble out of her pile. She pointed at it, calling it 'Blue Baby'. He couldn't escape this. It was best to just face this head on.

"Suppose she is too young to fully grasp what a deal is?" Zoro hummed, ruffling the girls hair. Not making eye contact with Law, he replied.

"Twirlybrow is going to be more upset that you let her have ice cream before dinner, than the swearing. He didn't want her to learn from him, didn't care if she actually swore. You might have pissed off the witch though, she had a betting pool."

"Fuck."

"Fuck." The toddler merrily repeated. Zoro laughed and Law contemplated switching himself with a rock at the bottom of the ocean.

XXX

None of their Candies knew where Straw Hat-boy's crew was. They had left Fishman Island, but hadn't been spotted at any of the next islands. The Candies were growing anxious, which was causing Iva to grow anxious.

They paced. Dragon just had to put up with it. It was his fault for calling Iva to his office, whilst Iva was waiting for the next up date from Melinda. She was the last of the Candies to report back. Look, Iva was well aware that the work they did was important, but so was this. They wanted an update on their family's wellbeing.

How did Dragon handle it, not knowing what Straw Hat-boy was up to? Iva supposed it was part of the burden of being a leader of a revolution. The weight of the responsibilities were crushing.

As was the weight of not knowing! It was crushing Iva. Made them feel weaker. The world was dimming. Growing darker and darker. They were fine! Hee Haw!!

"Iva, I called you here for a reason. Can you stand still for a moment? You can continue with what you were doing before, once we have finished." Appalled that their good friend Dragon did not recognise the utter catastrophe that was taking place right now, Iva gasped.

"Dragon! I don't know vhere my Candy-boy is, how can I concentrate on anything thing else?" The diva collapsed on Dragon's desk,  the leader raised his cup of water to avoid it being knocked off. It was instinctual to do so at this point.

"It appears that you have missed the two most recent news reels. Here's the most recent one. It ties into the up on coming mission that I need to brief you on."

"Vhat?! Let me see." Iva rolled on to their front and snatched the newspaper. Reading it frantically, Iva started to pace again. Dragon sighed. They twirled when they saw the page with Straw Hat-boy. With Trafalga Law!! What were they up to?

"Doflamingo has stepped down from being a Warlord. Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat Luffy have formed an alliance. I believe these are connected and if that is the case,  both Law and Luffy should be heading to Dressrosa. Somewhere we have heard words of weapons being distributed and plan to investigate." Dragon was looking over some documents on his desk, as Iva continued to flick through the paper. Eager to find any more scraps of information on their new little family.

It looks like no news, may be good news. If any of the Straw Hats were captured or killed, it would definitely be in the news. Iva  found themselves comforted at the thought.

"Oh, vill you finally let our dear top hat vearing gentleman see his brother? Let him know that he has a niece?" Dragon sighed, as expected. This had been something they had talked about many times. They understood Dragon's reasoning. Yes, yes, Sabo had been overwhelmed upon unlocking his memories and needed time to readjust. Understandable, very understandable. But Iva was a person that lived by their heart. They knew that seeing his brother, learning of the existence of his niece, would heal Sabo's heart.

"Koala and Hack have been assigned the mission."

"Dragon! Let the boy go! I know that having a family in our position is dangerous. But they can also empower you. Inspire you to fight for a better vorld! Sabo is grieving. Rather than letting him fight for the injustice his late brother vas dealt, let him fight for his brother's and niece's future. Fight not for vengeance, but for hope. Hee Haw!" Standing with their hands on their hips, Iva posed dramatically. They were only slightly disappointed that the weather was not moved by their words and blow an equally dramatic breeze. No, there was no wind that caused their hair and cape to flutter. Very disappointing.

"You do have a way with words my friend...Fine, let Sabo go. Koala is particularly skilled at keeping him under some form of control." Iva laughed gleefully, ready to charge off and tell Sabo the good news. The boy deserved some good news. That was until a certain picture  caught his eyes.

"Vhat? Candy-boy did not tell me that his father vas a looker. So handsome in such a rugged vay. Oh, Dragon, ve need to send some people to keep an eye on the Baratie." Jolting in surprise, Dragon looked to Iva, trying to make sense of what was just said. In an aim to help one of their dearest friends, Iva handed the newspaper back. The leader of the Revolutionary Army, looked completely befuddled.

"The Baratie is vhere my sweet Candy-boy is from. Red Leg Zeff, is his adoptive father. Look, they have recently expanded their restaurant to look like Candy-boy's vanted poster. I von't be the only person to recognise that the extension looks like that poster, he might me targeted. He might need protection."

Dragon sighed. Hard eyes studied the photo, then his notes again. When his eyes fell back on Iva, they already knew what was going to be said. "We don't have the resources to do so. We can ensure that any news concerning the East Blue is looked into immediately. I'll inform Belo Betty and Ahiru to pay particular attention to the Baratie, but we can't have an officer permanently stationed there."

Yes, this was what they expected. Dragon was careful to avoid alerting World Government of their movement prematurely. Sometimes too careful for Iva's liking.

"Fine, I vill send some Candies to look after the Grampa of Portgas D. Grace. It vould be good to avoid someone trying to use Zeff as leverage over my Candy-boy. Vouldn't vant someone potentially finding out that Gol D. Roger has a granddaughter." Iva covered their eyes, and laid out on the chaise lounge that they had dragged into Dragon's office a long time ago, just for times like these.

"I get your point Iva. We can send an agent to talk to Zeff to try and arrange something, but I can't see the man cooperating much. I've heard of Zeff before, he's an incredibly stubborn man." Opening his draw, Dragon started to look through his folders, possibly for information on Zeff. It wouldn't surprise Iva if he had a file in Zeff.

"I vill go. I need to see if he has pictures of Candy-boy vhen he vas little. I vill bribe him vith pictures of Grace. One of my Candies already knows that my Candy-boy sent a letter to Zeff. I vill offer to bring him to our museum of our darling princess. You really must visit it Dragon, Grace is a very cute baby."

The groan caused Iva to smile, this had to be the third time this month they had asked Dragon. They couldn't help it, Grace was so cute. It was a shame that her existence was such a secret.

At least Sabo would be let in on the secret too.

Chapter Text

"Da! Da! Catch!" It was instinctual to turn around and catch his little girl. His little treasure giggled as he spung her around, then squealed as he blew raspberries on her cheek. He didn't deserve such a wonderful daughter. She held his entire heart and soul in her tiny hands. Her tiny wet hands, she was rubbing all over his face.

"You washed your hands?" His baby gave him a beautiful smile and Sanji felt his heart explode. He loved her so much. Her freckles were really starting to come in. She really looked like her dad, it hurt sometime. She was also feral like him. Sanji remembers the stories Ace told in his letters. Both he and Luffy were wild children. Sanji was somewhat surprised that Luffy didn't walk around on all fours.

Franky waltzed over to Sanji and Grace, looking particularly happy. The big guy had been in an extremely good mood since Grace started to call him Star. The softie started bawling at the new nickname. The fact that Grace was currently obsessed with stars at the moment, didn't help keeping Franky hydrated. He got weepy everytime the toddler ran up to him to proudly show off a star.

Poor Usopp, he had been making stars out of spare fabric to sow onto Grace's clothes. Their sniper was talented. He was able to sow them in a way, that they could be removed should Grace decide she doesn't like stars anymore. Today, his cute little bean was wearing a light pink skirt made to look like petals. The top was mostly white, with short sleeves also made to look like petals. She was wearing sandals, that Usopp added stars to. That had not been enough for Grace. He also had to add pink stars to her top. She had her hair in bunches, with her red bead hair ties.

She was cute and Sanji would kick anyone's ass that said otherwise. There might be a line behind Sanji waiting for their turn. Smiling to himself, Sanji put his money on Robin-chan being first in line to avenge Grace. The things that woman would do for something she deemed cute. It sent a shiver down Sanji's spine.

Outside of their crew, the majority of the residents of Momoiro Island would join that line to defend his baby's cuteness. Zeff, Sanji is pretty confident his father figure found Grace cute. He hadn't heard back the old fart yet, but Zeff had a soft spot for kids. Surprisingly, when taking into account how they first met. Zeff wouldn't bother waiting in line, he'd kick whoever dishonoured Grace.

"Hands. Ticker, good?"

"Yes, I can see that you washed your hands. Good girl, nice and clean."

"Clean! Ticker?"

"Franky, does this little menace deserve a sticker?" Hands under her armpits, he held Grace out for the cyborg to see. She started to sway her legs side to side, like a pendulum. A chuckle came from his crewmate, accompanied by a thumbs up. "Lil Star did super Bro. She used paper and washed her hands, without me even needing to prompt her. They grow up so fast."

Franky wiped a tear away from his eye. To think the shipwright was getting emotional over helping a toddler go to the toilet without a diaper. Sanji completely understood, he almost cried at her first poo in the potty. It surprised him how willing all of his crew were to help potty train Grace. They all asked her regularly if she needed to go. They would stop what they were doing and take the little girl to the toilet then praise her. They even helped clean her if she had an accident.

They really were going above and beyond for her. They were helping him too. He had clocked on a while ago that Nami-san and Robin-chan were using his difficultly at saying no to them, against him. That they were trying to make him rest more. He had also noticed the crew helping him more. At first he had been worried that he wasn't doing enough and were making up for his mistakes. He was quickly set straight by multiple people.

He was blown away by his crew. He had been so worried that bringing a child on board would be too much. That he would be a burden to them. They didn't care that he had a baby. If anything, they were thrilled to have a her on board. They really were a crew full of weirdos. He adored them.

"OK Sweetheart, let's add a sticker to your chart." Placing the little girl on the wooden floor, Grace ran over to the draw he kept the stickers. Pulling out a couple of sheets, he passed them to the baby for her to pick one. She picked out a blue shark wearing sunglasses. A very Franky looking shark. He added it to her chart and made a show of cheering for her. Bouncing up and down, Grace called Franky over to look at her sticker and Sanji backed up, making room for the big guy.

"How come I don't get a sticker whenever I take a shit?" Damn mold infestation was leaning against the kitchen counter, eyeing up the lunches Sanji was in the middle of packing. "Dang Marimo, I thought you were potty trained already."

The swordsman pursed his lips. Sanji grinned, biting down on the lollipop stick in the corner of his mouth. Idiot walked into that one. "Shut it Curls. Everyone likes getting a sticker, it's the rules." Zoro leaned back in the stool slightly and crossed his arms, nodding sagely to himself. Screw it, Sanji was in a good mood.

"Grace, Mossy has been good hasn't he? Why don't you give him a sticker, Franky too?" His baby gasped excitedly and bulldozed over to him. He handed her a sheet of stickers again and ran she over to Zoro. The musclehead hopped off the stool and crouched next to Grace. Patiently, he waited for the toddler to bestow him a sticker. She did, right on his cheek. A heart. The Demon of the East Blue had a heart on his face. Sanji bit back a giggle.

Zoro looked proud of himself, so did Franky with a star on his nose. His crew was full of softies. If only the World Government knew.

"Sanji-kun, we'll be hitting the island soon. It's an autumn one, so I brought Grace some tights, boots and a cute coat. As I am a kind, talented and generous woman, I made a bag for Grace to carry her things on the island." Nami-san showed Sanji a backpack shaped like a star and he felt his heart melt. Nami-san truly was a thoughtful woman that deserved the world. Sanji wiggled on the spot, unable to contain how much he admired their navigator.

"Nami-san, your kindness knows no bounds. Your talent and beauty is wasted on me. I truly am blessed to be on the same crew as you." He did a twirl, only to stop confused, when Nami-san started laughing. He followed her line of sight and froze, unable to fully process his feeling witnessing Grace spinning next to him.

"Oh no! His stupid is hereditary!" Zoro was sniggering and Sanji had to call on all the patience within his body, to not kick the smug bastard in the face. His darling daughter was present, he needed to set a good example. Soon, soon he'll be able to sneak in a cheeky fight with the swordsman when his daughter was with someone else.

Whilst Sanji was trying to not kick the green gorilla, Nami-san was showing Grace's new bag. The toddler hugged it to her chest, then picked two stickers to give their navigator. Two cats, one orange and one blue. Nami-san beamed, she was stunning. Bribing the little girl with her new bag, Nami-san managed to get Grace to put on her thick white tights and red boots. The coat was beautiful. It was made up of multicoloured triangles, in pastel tones. On the back, was a white and black butterfly which hid the the drawstrings of the coat. She was adorable.

"Come on Munchkin, onto the deck. We are going to an island today. You will need to hold my hand, it might be busy. I don't want you to get lost."

"Da hand? No lost." She took hold of his hand, he loved how it felt. She waved her other hand in the air in front of him, opening and closing it. "You want someone to hold your other hand?"

"Melly Mo? No lost." He doesn't know what Law told Grace; apart from teaching her to swear, but his daughter wasn't trying to pick fights anymore... As much. He couldn't get her to stop mimicking the wrestling moves the boys kept doing in the dorm.

Some times when cooking, Sanji let Grace join him. This usually was letting her play with dough, baking whatever she made and he would eat it later. It kept her occupied. She started trying to feed Momo the overworked cookies she made. When that didn't work, the toddler sulked. This lasted about a day, before she tried to drag the boy into the kitchen. When Sanji eventually figured out what she was trying to do, he offered the kid to make his own cookies whilst the blonde worked on dinner. Kid was a bit of a snob about it at first; which made Sanji feel uncomfortable, until Kinemon encouraged Momo to try.

Momo didn't really think much of baking, but he joined often with little resistance. Sanji guessed the boy was bored. There was only so much an eight year old could get up to on a pirate ship. Imaginative play didn't seem to come naturally to him, which was fine. Just meant that playing tea party with Grace and Lady Usopp wasn't his thing.

He was good at playing a game called Shogi, which Franky had to make for him. The kid and Kinemon taught the incredibly intelligent Robin-chan how to play. Mosshead already knew how, but was rusty at it. He played a few games with the kid, but spent most of his time trying to stop Grace from eating the pieces. Luffy did eat a piece, curious as to why Grace wanted to eat them. There was no mystery flavour. Grace is a toddler, they like to explore things by shoving it in their mouth. Luffy was not a toddler, but seemed to have not moved past that stage yet. At least the dummy was made of rubber, meant he was less likely to choke.

Momo was starting to get used to seeing Luffy get scolded for being a dumbass. The kid was warming up to them, despite witnessing them all squabble constantly. Slowly. He was getting there. He was still a little shit that got Sanji's back up from time to time, but the cook recognised when a child was trying to act older than they actually were. There was something big weighing the boy down, so Sanji would refrain from punting him into the sea.

"No, Momo is staying on the ship today. He might go tomorrow. You can see if he wants to hold your hand tomorrow."

"Stay 'Tinky?" Sanji snorted. Even though Grace no longer hated Kinemon with every fibre of her tiny being, she still called him Tinky. This was not something the cook was even going to bother to try and correct the girl on. The asshole deserved it for the shit he pulled on Punk Hazard. Just the stupid nickname. Not the promise to commit seppuku once the samurai had completed his quest, like Kinemon had offered Sanji to 'atone for his misdeeds'. When Sanji said no, the moron had offered to cut off a limb instead. The omega told the stupid old fashioned alpha to get over himself and fuck off.

As if Sanji wanted someone to do that, just because they were trying to find their kid. The idea of it insulted him. Firstly, Sanji already had one person get rid of their limb for him, he did not want that to happen again. Ever. Second, to leave a child willingly without their parent, made Sanji's blood boil.

After bursting into flames and yelling at the  samurai, Sanji offered alternative punishments when the bastard refused to go unpunished. A kick to the nuts, or helping with chores. All the chores, which included seeing to Caesar. The cook made food for the sick fuck, but wasn't allowed to actually deliver the meal to the hostage anymore. The blonde had temper, the gas bag was a scumbag, the sea was right there. Sanji was slightly disappointed that everyone on the crew except Marimo, advised Kinemon to take on the chores. Kinemon's manhood would have been fine, Sanji can control the force of his kicks.

They had a surgeon on board, Kinemon's nuts would have survived. Caesar's balls were still intact.

The samurai took the chores seriously. He tackled all of them with full determination. It was clear that he was serious about wanting to earn the crew's forgiveness, which had already been given. It won them over anyway. It didn't take long for them all to grow endearment towards the guy. He was polite for the most part. Funny in ways that was not on purpose. The samurai did join in a tea party, he even made the three of them outfits with his devil fruit when Usopp showed him proper tea party attire in a book.

"That is correct Miss Grace. I shall keeping Momonosuke company upon your vessel. It is best to ensure that there is not anything on the island that may trigger Momonosuke to turn into a dragon." The samurai crouched down by the child, still towering over her as he spoke. A thoughtful expression grew on the toddler's face. Sanji smiled, looking forward to whatever she was going to say next. He loved talking to his little girl. Seeing how she approached things and how she saw the world, was a delight.

"Zoro stay. 'tect Melly Momo." A surprised look took over Kinemon's features and Sanji couldn't help but laugh. "Sir Zoro shall be visiting the island with you. I overheard that Miss Nami has requested his assistance in shopping. His presence may aid Miss Nami in achieving better prices for her purchases."

The little girl blinked, then looked to Sanji for clarification. Kinemon tried, but he wasn't the best at speaking in a way that was easier for Grace to understand. "Grace, do you want to get your puppy Zoro for Momo? I'm sure that he would feel happy and safe with Zoro protecting him. Mossy is helping Nami-san today. He won't be able to hold your other hand."

The heartbreak in his little girl's eyes, almost made him demand that Zoro come with them today instead of helping Nami-san. She had grown so attached to the Mosshead. She loved everyone on the crew, but Sanji could see that she favoured some.

Big blue eyes looked around the deck for the next person to ask. They landed on the swordsman that walking over with a confused look on his face, holding a green toy. "Law-ya hand?"

The surgeon looked to Sanji, obviously confused by the question. He awkwardly held out the plushie for the child to take. When Grace didn't move to take the toy, he continued to stand there. "Traffy's going to see if there are shops where he can get medicine with Chopper. They want to be able to help people when they get sick."

"Law-ya, no hand? Who hand? Why no hand? Grace bad?" Someone should just stab him in the heart, it would hurt less than seeing Grace's beautiful eyes growing wet, as tears began to pool. They were hurting his little girl. How dare they not drop everything to hold her hand and go to town! How dare they not take that into consideration, even though Sanji himself had no idea that was what Grace would want.

Sanji was fully aware he was being irrational in his fury, but it was internal. It was fine. He would refrain from giving Law bread and putting sugar in Planthead's dinner.

"Er, Nico-ya told me that you would want to take this with you to the island Grace-ya. What's happening?" Finally reaching out to take hold of her toy, Law relaxed a fraction. That was before he saw the tears leak from the babies eyes, onto the fake fur of her plushie. Law was horrified.

Traffy being weak to the toddler was something Sanji had not expected. He was the Surgeon of Death. The psycho had delivered 100 hearts to the marines for crying out loud. Yet he froze whenever he saw something cute. Grace just so happened to be adorable. Traffy stood no chance in hell against his baby.

Once Sanji found out that Law had a weakness to cute things; Grace in particular, he kept putting her cute clothes. The first couple of times, Chopper thought Traffy was sick. It was hilarious. Both Zoro and Sanji had been sniggering outside the infirmary door when Chopper dragged the man away. Traffy had been so embarrassed. It was almost a fitting punishment for teaching his girl to swear.

Really, Sanji didn't give much of a shit on that. He already told the mossball that he knew Grace was going to pick up swearing from a young age, she was on a pirate ship.  As long as she didn't originally learn them from Sanji, it was alright. He would teach her the good curses when she was a bit older. If the crew thought Sanji had a potty mouth now, they didn't know the half of it. Chefs in a kitchen swear like there is now tomorrow. Pirate cooks, would make the devil blush.

Didn't mean that Sanji didn't make Traffy sweat a bit. He had an image to uphold afterall. It wasn't bad. He just kicked Law behind the knees, which caused the alpha to buckle and fall into the sea. Sanji counted to three before getting the surgeon, as punishment for stealing food. If it wasn't for his daughter, he may have counted to ten.

Traffy was alright though. He yelled a bit after being dragged out the sea, but that was a boat it. Luffy found it funny at least. After that, Traffy still hung around in the galley to get some quiet when it wasn't meal time. That meant he unintentionally spent a fair amount of time around Grace. She wasn't that clingy anymore, but would always come and find Sanji throughout the day. Sometimes it was to show him something. Often it was to tell him something extremely important in the eyes of the toddler. She even just came in to play with the toys in the play pen.

Traffy tended to sit there as Grace played opposite him. She would babble at him and the guy actually made an effort to follow. Softies! Sanji was surrounded by softies! Went completely against what some people believe an alpha must be.

This particular softie looked like he was going to have a heart attack. He was saved  by Luffy falling down from above, landing next to them. Why the rubber monkey had been hanging around on the mast, Sanji had no idea. He scooped the little girl and did a forward roll, careful to protect Grace. Luffy then bounced to his feet and hugged the baby to his chest, happily nuzzling her cheek.

"Hi Sanji. I'm going with you today on the island. Everyone else is going to do boring stuff, but Robin said that you and Grace are exploring. That sounds more fun, I'm coming with you."

"Shit. Lucy hand?" A tiny hand took hold of one of Luffy's, she looked excited. Sanji found himself relaxing, chosing to ignore his baby swearing. Luffy never let's Grace down. No one is getting in the way of Grace's happiness with Luffy around.

Well, unless she was doing typical toddler things and Sanji had to tell her no. She was not allowed to drink Zoro's booze, no matter how many tantrums she threw. Apart from the normal baby tantrums Luffy was always ready to cheer Grace up. It made Sanji feel so proud to be a part of this crew.

"We're holding hands? Yes!! Shanks and Ben used to swing me when I was a kid. We're gonna have so much fun. Yahoo!" With a toddler placed on his shoulders, Luffy merrily went to tell everyone he was going to hold Grace's hand on the island. Whilst their captain was busy, Sanji went to check the lunches, before deciding he should just hand them all out. When he came back to Traffy, the man looked perplexed. Sanji thought it was best to just leave him to it.

Soon they were on the island, saying goodbye to Brook, Kinemon and Momo who stayed on the Sunny. The skeleton had his foot propped up on the railing, playing some sort of rock song. He was having fun.

It didn't take long, before Grace was being swung by Sanji and Luffy. His precious little girl laughed freely, as they swung her through another pile of leaves. At one point, Luffy let go of Grace's hand, to jump into the large pile. His captain cackled to himself, jumping from pile to pile, Grace toddling after him. The rubberboy helped pick out leaves with the little girl and put them in her bag. Leaning against a tree, Sanji watched the pair, a warm feeling growing in his chest. He took a picture with the camera he packed.

He wished his mom was able to meet Grace. That she had been well enough to play with Sanji like this. Having a baby of his own, he knew his mother must have been hurting. He knew she would have wanted to do more with them all, fustrated at her bedridden state. She was such a beautiful woman inside and out, that deserved the so much more than she was dealt.

He put a lollipop in his mouth and called the two over. Two wild looking people rushed over to him with leaves in their hair. The cook huffed fondly and crouched down, and picked leaves out of Grace's hair. Snickering, Luffy squatted down next to the toddler for his turn. Rolling his eyes, Sanji removed all the foliage from Luffy's hair. Until he saw some sort of bug in those dark locks. Some sort of noise left the cook. A squeek possibly. Then he was up, tredding air, telling Luffy to get rid of the bugs.

Already used to Sanji's hatred of bugs, the rubber boy laughed. He hobbled round in a squat so that he was behind Grace, then started pulling bugs out of her hair. They looked like a pair of monkeys grooming each other.

Once the captain declared that him and his nakama was free of bugs, the three of them made there way to town. On the way, Luffy happily regaled the bugs he expected to find in those woods. He asked if he could bring Grace bug hunting tomorrow, which Sanji agreed to, as long as the bugs stayed far away from the cook. Someone would need to go with Luffy to make sure the rubber idiot and the toddler were free of bugs by the time they got back to the Sunny. Robin-chan didn't seem to mind insects, maybe she wouldn't mind giving Grace a bath when they came back. Of course, Sanji would do it if he had to. He would just struggle to not scream the whole time, or cry, or break something.

"Sanji! Sanji! Sanji! They have that melon and ham thing I never got to try at Nami's island." The rubberman man ran to the stall selling the food. His stretched arm was lax as he continued to hold Grace's hand. Luffy wouldn't let his limb snap back, as there was a chance he could hurt his niece. Sanji closed the gap any way. It must take concentration for Luffy to do that and Sanji didn't want him overworking his few braincells.

The cook mentally laughed to himself. Luffy was actually smart to a certain degree. Take Gear 2 for example, it took a decent amount of knowledge about the body to figure that out. It was just most of the time, Luffy was an idiot. Case in point, the shitty rubber was trying to shove food bigger than his head into his shorts pockets. Standing next to his captain, Sanji pulled out some of the berri Nami-san gave him to hold for Luffy. The shopkeeper took the money, almost dropping it as they were not able to turn away from Luffy. Sanji supposed that the way his captain ate was a bit uncanny looking.

"Da, please. Din din please." Grace tugged on Sanji's hand, apparently hungry as well.  Playing in the piles of leaves had caused the pair of them to grow hungry, despite having breakfast two hours ago. Their appetites were monstrous. They kept Sanji busy. He bought some melon for his little girl to eat and talked to the stall owner about their produce.

Energised now that he had been fed, Luffy picked up Grace and put her on his shoulders. Skipping ahead, his captain was excited to see more of the town. Honestly, Sanji was impressed that the ball of energy conveniently shaped like his captain, remembered to come back to him. It was for Grace's benefit and it made the omega cherish his pack alpha even more.

A couple of people had asked if Luffy was his mate and Grace their child. His captain's alpha scent was pretty obvious. Sanji assumed that as he was walking around with a child and a very obvious alpha, people decided he was an omega wearing a patch. He wasn't wearing one, but did smell like an omega that was diluting their scent, when he wasn't reeling it in. He was so used to not used to people knowing his was an omega and subconsciously smothered his scent, unless he was comfortable.

Sanji understood why people came to the the conclusion that they were a family visiting an island. Well, except from Grace not looking like Luffy apart from the dark hair. First time he was asked, Sanji spluttered and scrambled to form an answer. Luffy laughed and declared that he was Grace's brother. That led to people staring at Sanji, trying to figure out how old he was. Which was incredibly rude, even if it was mostly kind old ladies asking. He let it go, but would find a reason to spar with Mosshead later. His fustation had to be worked out somehow. Until he was able to kick a certain swordsman, Sanji had to calmly explain that Luffy was like a brother to her, but Grace's father had sadly past away.

This lead to two things. The first being a lot of freebies and fussing from the old ladies. Grace was given a lot of treats, far too many for a little toddler. He knew that Chopper would be more than willing to share the treats with Grace and maybe Momo. The second, was an ecstatic Luffy. He was demanding that Sanji later make them a feast to celebrate that he had finally been dubbed Grace's brother. The rubberman refused to accept that Sanji said like a brother, not brother. The cook gave up and let Luffy have this one. Luffy acted more like a good older brother, than uncle anyway.

The overjoyed captain picked up both Sanji and Grace, then ran to find cool things for the feast. Accepting his fate, the cook laughed. He was enjoying himself. He was happy.

The rubberman found a shop that was selling a wild array of clothing. He enthusiastically brought the toddler in with him to try a lot of different outfits. Sanji was powerless to their ways and had to indudge them. His baby had been particularly found of a cowboy hat. She painfully looked like the spitting image of Ace in it. He knew that Luffy felt the similar ache in his heart, seeing her wear it. Luffy hugged her tightly and Sanji took a picture.

This one picture was special. After speaking to Luffy, there was a very special lady in the East Blue he would like to send the picture to, with an accompanying letter. Successfully sending a letter to Zeff, meant that they knew the channels Robin-chan used were safe. They couldn't do it on this island, but Robin-chan should be able to find some contacts in Dressrosa to send a letter.

On the way back to the Sunny, Sanji stopped by a stall that sold jewellery. The stall owner was very happy to make alterations to them, so that a red bead bracelet, could fit on a toddler's wrist. The kind jeweller, put the bracelet in a pretty bag, ready for Sanji to give it to Grace as a present for her birthday that was quickly approaching.

Luffy had kept Grace distracted at another stall. A stall where he bought a large fluffy green ball with a grumpy face. Sanji almost choked laughing at it. Oh it was perfect.

"Moss! Fuck Moss! Look." As soon as they set foot back on the grassy deck of the Sunny, his baby yelled for Zoro. Luckily, the shitty swordsman had managed to make it back to the ship. Hearing his name called, Zoro was quick to climb down from the crow's nest and strode over. He scoffed and gave Sanji a a judgmental scowl. The blonde shrugged and pointed to Luffy, whilst doing a very bad job of hiding his smirk.

"Got a new friend, what's it's name?" Zoro sat cross legged on the floor, allowing the toddler to climb into his lap. Deadly hands, gently helped the baby get comfortable, his full attention on what she was saying. "Look Moss. New fend. Good fend. S'Dog." A silver eye lit up, Zoro's whole face smoothed out. All except the little creases caused by his growing smile. He actually looked his age for a change.

"Your new friend is called Dog?" The little girl nodded seriously. She then proceeded to pat the fluffy ball, whispering 'good Dog' to herself. Sanji could only shrug when an amused eye turned to him. The inner workings of a toddler's brain, will forever be a mystery.

"Grace, do you need to go potty?" The swordsman asked after a minute of watching the girl pet her new marimo plushie. The girl shook her head, with an expression that looked eerily similar to when Luffy lies. The shitty swordsman sighed and slowly moved the girl out of his lap and stood up.

"You think Dog needs to go, you can show them how to do it? Then you can tell me what you did today with Luffy and Curly." The little girl gasped, then puffed out her chest in pride. She snatched Zoro's hand and dragged him to the nearest bathroom. He was such a softie.

With Grace occupied, Sanji took the chance to have a quick smoke. Luffy's calls for a feast, lead Sanji to the galley, where he put out his cigarette on an ashtray and started cooking. Not too long, Zoro came into the galley, telling Sanji that Grace needed to add a new sticker. This time she chose a leaf. She then asked if Dog could have a chart, which led to asking Usopp if he could make charts for everyone else. If Grace deemed they had done something good, they earned a sticker. Their snipper was very proud to be the first to place a good boy sticker on the charts. Cactus-head placed the sticker he had been given earlier that day on the chart with a smug grin.

Sanji had a foreboding feeling that they had started something terrible.

The 'like a brother' feast had been fun. Even Momo seemed to enjoy himself, as he got dragged into dancing. Traffy didn't get too involved, but started to smile after a few mugs of booze was in his system. After Kinemon fed Caesar, he tried to teach them all a traditional dance from Wano. Franky was the quickest to learn it. With how goofy he was, it was easy to forget that he man was intelligent as hell and a quick learner. A smart guy with nipple lights. He tried to use them to imitate a disco. Only to get smacked by the magnificent Nami-san, who was quickly booed by Grace.

His baby tried to stay up for as long as she could, but eventually fell asleep on her favourite portable bed. Zoro was holding her against his chest, one arm hooked under her bottom. Dog was held under the armpit of the arm cradling her. His other hand, was patting her head. He looked so natural with her.

"Keep dancing with the girls Twirlybrow, I'll put her to bed." The swordsman spoke softly. There was affection in his tone. Doing these little things with Grace was no burden to him at all. Mossy actually seemed to enjoy doing it.

"You really love her, don't you?" Looking away from the top of his babies head, Zoro looked to Sanji. His face completely honest. "Well yeah. She's yours."

"Hah?" What did that mean? Was it because they were nakama? They all loved each other, even if some of them would never admit it. Is that what Zoro meant? Why did he hear Brook squeal somewhere close by?

A huff. "Don't think to hard about it Cook, you'll give yourself a nosebleed." Zoro looked away. Did booze normally make the tips of his ears go pink? How much did Zoro drink? He had the highest tolerance of the crew after Nami-san.

Too confused, Sanji had been unable to come up with a good response before Zoro started to head for the boy's dorms. "You better not hide in there Marimo. You come back out so I can kick your ass."

"You're lucky I'm holding a baby right now, or I'd slice you.

"Sounds like excuses to me. What, scared?"

"I'LL SHOW YOU-" Zoro came to an immediate halt when the sleeping baby stirred against him. He waited to few seconds, before glaring at Sanji and hurrying to the boy's dorm. The cook watched him go, with a confusing flutter in his chest. It wasn't the rush he normally got when he and Zoro had their silly spats. No it was something else. Something warm. Something Sanji wasn't sure he recognised. Something he wasn't sure was welcomed.