Steel Heart

Ch 114 - How to Accept Failure

Please be there. Nana! Luffy! Please be there!

Sanji raced out of the city with a basket of food in hand. As soon as he and Carrot Pudding went to the library, they discovered that Nami and Luffy had escaped with the help of Jimbei. Fortunately enough, the guard, Charlotte Opera, was so distraught over his blunder that he made them promise to keep it a secret from Big Mom and the rest of the family, which was the easiest promise Sanji had ever made.

He could've dashed out and gone to find Luffy and Nana right then but he knew that he could not show up empty handed. Luffy, that stubborn idiot, most likely had not eaten like he said he would and at this rate, would be starving.

As Sanji approached the meeting spot, his feet grew heavy and so did his heart. The aftermath of a great battle stretched across the grass and it was all caused by and directed at one man. As Sanji considered the amount of energy Luffy needed to even take on half this crowd, the hand on the basket handle tightened.

No...Luffy wouldn't be starving. By now, he must be ravenous.

"LUFFY! NANA!" Sanji cried as inspected any fallen person that could potentially be them, "LUFFY! NA-"

He stopped short when he saw his angel, standing with her legs braced apart and her arms across her chest in front of a big tree. She was caked in so much blood, mud, and grass that not even the heavy rain could wash all of it off.

"NANA! What happened? Are you okay?!" Sanji ran up to her and was about to embrace her but she stuck a palm out and kept him at arm's length.

"First things first, my love," she said softly and then moved aside for him to see the captain asleep against the tree.

"L-Luffy..." Sanji whispered.

Despite looking completely battered...Despite looking shrivelled and small against the tree...Despite the rumbling of a stomach beneath a limp hand...It was a sight for Sanji's sore eyes.

They filled up with tears of relief for the man who kept his promise and waited for him. The man who didn't give up on him even when he was at his lowest. The man who befriended him and saw him for who he really was.

Not a prince...Not a failure...But a cook.

"Remember when I said that I'm the only person who can put up with your shit?" Nana whispered as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"...Yes," Sanji said with his eyes fixated on the captain.

"I was wrong...Because there's also him," Nana said and the tears in Sanji's eyes swelled until his vision became a blur, "But...he's been through hell and back already for you so cut the crap now and tell him what's in your heart."

Sanji gulped and Nana gave his shoulder a pat before walking down the hill. "I'll leave you two alone to talk things out."

Sanji wiped his eyes with his soggy sleeve and approached Luffy. The cook barely took two steps towards the rubber man when Luffy's nostrils flared and he sniffed the air. His eyes slowly opened and his mouth parted.

"S-Sanji!" he rasped and then he grinned, showing a chipped tooth and a split lip, "I've been...waiting for you. You're late."

I didn't ask you to wait! You made that decision all by yourself, was at the tip of Sanji's tongue but he held it back. There was no use redirecting the anger he had for himself to Luffy. Nana was right...Luffy deserved better. He deserved the truth.

"Luffy, I-," Sanji started to say but then the words caught in his throat. His apologies. His explanations. It all needed to come out but he had no idea where to begin.