Chapter 1

Sanji was coming home from Baratie, the restaurant where he worked, after a busy night. He lived with two brothers, Luffy and Ace. He knew Luffy since forever, and he eventually met Ace one day.

Ace had been working as fireman even when he was still in high school as a part time job, and he had even been called a hero more than once. When he finished school, since his career as a fireman was going pretty well, he decided to make it his full time job.

As for Luffy, who had finished high school around a year and a half ago, he started looking for a job right away, since studying was definitely not his thing. After both of them got a job, Garp, their grandfather, basically kick them out of their house saying they could now have their own house with their own money.

Sanji was pretty successful at high school, but decided not to keep studying, since what he really loved was cooking. Zeff, the man who had taught him how to cook and who had practically raised him, was the owner of the restaurant where he now worked full time. He thought he already owed that man too much and it was time to have his own house and take care of himself. Since neither of the brothers earned that much money, he too wasn't rich, he decided to share a house with them.

The blond man stepped inside his house and found both boys in the kitchen. The younger was sitting at the table while the other was cooking something. He raised his eyebrow.

"It's pretty late. Haven't you had dinner yet?"

"We have. But Luffy was hungry again" the older brother clarified.

Sanji looked at said person, who was giving him an enormous grin. He just smiled softly. He wasn't even surprised, that boy was always hungry!

"Let me, I'll finished that" he said and Ace didn't argue stepping aside and letting the cook do his job.

"Ace was telling me that he thinks you have a girlfriend…" Luffy suddenly said.

"Luffy!" Ace called at the same time he burst out laughing.

"What? Was that not what you told me?"

"Why would you think that?" Sanji asked not taking his eyes of the food he was preparing.

"He says you have been in a better mood for some time now, and I agree with him!"

"Yeah… and you haven't been at home as much as usual" the older brother completed.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a girlfriend…"

"Come on Sanji… Why are you hiding it from us, we know each other for years. Just tell us who is she… is she cute?"

"I can't tell you anything, because I don't have a girlfriend…"

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!"

"You are" Luffy confirmed it grinning.

"Shut up Luffy!"

"Come on Sanji… Where have you been then? Why have you been so happy?" Ace insisted.

"I'm a busy person, okay? And does a person need a reason to be happy?"

"If you're not Luffy… yep…"

"The job has been going pretty well…"

"What has been happening to make it go better than usual? And what do you do that makes you so busy?"

"Geez Ace… Are you my father or something?"

"No… I'm your best friend and it annoys me that you won't tell me whatever it's going so well in your life…"

"I am Sanji's best friend!" Luffy claimed with his mouth full, since Sanji had already put a plate full of food in front of him.

"Look… the restaurant just has been having more clients and better critiques. It's really nice to hear so many people saying they like your food. And I have been going to that dojo I told you about, it takes some of my time. And I like to take a drink sometimes… And Luffy, don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Sorry!"

"Well what about you Ace? No girl in sight?" Sanji asked, trying to move the subject away from his personal life.

"No… Girls are so troublesome" the fireman sighed.

"No, girls are lovely!" Sanji corrected.

"I've met a girl!" the younger boy exclaimed.

The other two froze for a second and slowly turned their heads until they were facing him. "What?" they said at the same time.

"I've met a girl at my job some weeks ago. She's a client. We're going to the cinema Monday evening" he informed grinning.

The older men were just shocked. Luffy has never really been interested in romantic affairs and things like that.

"Oh god! I have to meet her!" Ace said, sitting in front of his brother, so interested he forgot his previous conversation with Sanji. "How is she? How did meet her? Do you really like her?"

"She's very nice and pretty, though she sometimes is a little violent. She came to the store because her microwave was broken. Apparently she knows Robin and she told her that Franky could fix almost anything!"

When Luffy first started to work, he worked at several kinds of stores and other places, but never managed to keep his job for long because of his clumsiness. Then this man called Franky offered him a job at his store. He makes all kinds of repairs for electronic devices, cars and many other things. He doesn't let Luffy repair anything, but since he's always at the back of the store doing that job, he needed someone at the counter to serve clients, so he didn't have to be interrupted. It has been the longer Luffy has kept a job, and Franky seemed to want to keep him. Actually he and his beautiful wife, Robin, have become good friends with the three.

"What does she do? How did you see her again?"

"She studies meteorology at university, she's in third year. Apparently she had other things she needed to be fixed, but since they weren't that urgent, she had let them be. After she saw Franky's talent, she started going there to fix the rest."

"Hmmm… I don't think she's interested in Franky's talent!" Ace said grinning, earning a confused look from his brother. "I so want to meet her!"

"You're going to the cinema before or after dinner?" Sanji asked.

"Before dinner, after her last class."

"Ask her to dinner and come to my restaurant! That way we can meet her."

"Yes! But we'll have a discount, right?" Luffy and Ace said at the same time.

"Sure… sure… but Ace, you come early and help at the kitchen!"

"Okay!" It was usual for the two brothers go to Baratie sometimes and get a discount. But Zeff have only allowed it if at least one of them would help at shores like cleaning the kitchen or working as a waiter in case the restaurant was too full. It was usually Ace, once again because of Luffy's clumsiness.

"Luffy, ask her if she doesn't mind to come a bit later, when the restaurant starts to get emptier. That way I might be able to eat with you. But only if she doesn't mind!"

"Sure, I'll ask her!"

X x X x X

Zoro was heading to the fast-food restaurant where he was meeting his friends. He knew Nami, Usopp and Chopper since childhood and they have been friends since then. They lived near each other at a little village and they used to play together.

When he completed his high school, he got a job to teach kendo at a very popular dojo in the city and he bought a little apartment over there. One year after, it was Nami's turn to finish high school and she rented a little apartment not far from Zoro's, since the university she was going to attend was around that area.

Usopp and Chopper came to the city in the next year. Chopper was younger, but since he was so smart, he had skipped a year and both of them were going to university at that same city, Chopper to medical school and Usopp to mechanical engineering. They knew this man called Brook, who owned a store that sells all kind of musical instrumental and also teaches how to play them, from their previous visits to the city. Chopper and Usopp were looking for a place to stay and Brook said they could rent a room at his house, since his house was too big for him alone.

Brook became good friends with them and though he was a lot older, he was in his forties, he was very easy-going and he used to hang around with them many times.

When Zoro got there, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook were already sitting at a table.

"Damn it Zoro! You're late!" the girl yelled.

"I bet he got lost!" the long-nosed boy stated.

"We always come here, how can he not have memorized how to get here yet?" Chopper asked.

"I didn't get lost. I was doing something else."

"Meeting your lover, Zoro-kun?" Nami said, earning giggles from the rest of the group.

The green-haired man rolled his eyes, annoyed. "What lover?"

"I'm messing with you, Zoro… You're no fun!"

"Well I didn't get lost, and Chopper is right, we always come here. Aren't you guys growing tired of this food?"

"It's Nami's fault… She always says she doesn't want to spend too much money when we go have dinner" Usopp said.

"Don't complain… the food is pretty food" she defended.

"I have to agree with Nami-san" Brook spoke.

"It's true, but there are many other restaurant with good food that aren't that expensive" Zoro insisted.

"You seem to know a lot about it. Have you been taking girls to dinner? You know, if you pay me dinner I won't mind to go to one of those restaurants" Nami said.

"Shut up!"

"Oh my god! Zoro's blushing! I was right? Have you been taking girls or just one girl?"

"I'm not blushing and I have not been taking anyone to dinner!"

"Has someone been taking you to dinner then?"

Zoro covered his face with his hand while rolling his eyes "No Nami… if you want to talk about dates and that kind of stuff, I'm not the right person. Just ask Usopp about him and Kaya."

Nami turned her head to said person "Oh yeah! How has it been going with you two?"

"Well… things have been pretty well…" Usopp answered a bit embarrassed.

"Good! You two are finally dating… It was so obvious for years that you two liked each other, but at the rate you were going, I thought you would never become girlfriend and boyfriend."

"Kaya-san is a very nice girl" the tall man commented.

"You've met her, Brook?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"Yes, Chopper brings her home from time to time."

"Chopper?" Zoro asked confused.

"Yes Chopper. Don't you pay attention to anything? Kaya is in the same class as Chopper, they're both second year students at medical school" Nami informed him annoyed.

"Yes, I bring her to our house to study, when we have a test coming."

"Oi Chopper! You better not steal my girlfriend!"

"I would never do that, you stupid! I bring her home, so you can be with her! Otherwise we could study at the university!"

"I know, I know. I'm messing with you."

"What about you, Nami-san? No dates?" Brook asked.

"Well… I'm going to the cinema with this boy on Monday."

Usopp choked on his drink. "What? You actually accepted to go out with someone? You always dump them!"

"Well, they're usually assholes drooling all over me. All they care is my appearance. This boy, I think he actually likes me for who I am."

"That's hard to believe, you're a pain in the ass" Zoro said, earning a punch from Nami right away.

"Shut up!"

"Where did you meet this boy?" Chopper asked interested.

"I've told you about my teacher, Robin-sensei, right?" the rest of them nodded.

Robin was a history teacher at Nami's university, and though Nami didn't have any history class, this year she had an optional class, where she could pick a class from other courses, and she picked history, meeting Robin as her teacher and somehow they ended up becoming somewhat friends.

"I don't even remember why, but I told her my microwave was broken and she told me her husband can fix almost anything and told me where his store was. Well that boy works there. He's a bit childish, but he's a very nice person. He talks to me like the person I am, and not like some chick he wants to bang, like most boys do. I thought I should give it a try."

"Wow Nami! You rarely accept to go on a date, and when you do, most of the times you come back saying the guy was a jerk. I wonder if that will happen again." Usopp said.

"I'm not sure if this is a date. He just asked me to go to the cinema. It was so casual."

"Well, we'll see after Monday. You'll tell us about it, right?"