my love,
you are worth it all

Finn took much longer than she intended in the bathroom. She didn't mind nor did she care, and was grateful nobody bothered to come try and find her. She wouldn't have a lie to tell as to why, and the puffy redness on her cheeks would be a dead giveaway that she'd been crying.

For the first time in what felt like forever, she allowed herself to cry. She cried for everything. For her sad excuse of a life, for the way her parents treated her on multiple occasions. For the way she always found herself jealous of the bond Kaya and Usopp had, and how she desperately wished for something like that to happen to her. For the fact that despite the fact she'd had both Kaya and Usopp, she pushed them away and never told them what her home life was like. She cried for the pirates stealing her away, and for the way Buggy treated her, and for the way she had somehow finally managed to find a few people who genuinely cared for her. How she pushes herself away from anyone who tries to love her - people like Zoro who never open up and care for someone.

She cried for being so sad all the time, and she cried because even though she was finally getting more love than she'd ever received in her life - it still didn't feel enough.

Finn felt selfish. She was selfish. Despite the bumpy road she'd had with Nami so far, the entire Straw Hat Crew had treated her like family despite the mystery behind Finley Fallon. Despite her lying to them and hiding the fact that she knew Usopp, and despite the fact that her parents had tried to kidnap her. They saved her. They protected her from the people who were supposed to love her the most and although she was eternally grateful - it didn't feel like it was enough.

At this point, Finn felt as if nothing would ever be enough. She'd never find someone to love her enough to get rid of these sick and twisted thoughts. She'd never find someone to look at her the way Kaya and Usopp look at each other - the way they do and always have loved each other.

She felt pathetic. People were dealing with much more serious matters than her. They had way worse lives than she did and here she was crying because she was so sad for herself and saw herself as nothing but a victim. It was pathetic, and she couldn't help but insult herself at how horrible she was for this.

Finally, she heard another woman enter the restroom. Any cries she'd previously cried came to a halt, too afraid to embarrass herself in front of anyone.

Her lip quivered as she waited until the woman was finished doing her business and washing her hands. Once she was alone again she let out a deep breath, slouching. This only depressed her more.

Deciding she didn't want to eat dinner and might as well find her way back to the ship, she finally left the stall. She used a paper towel to wipe her cheeks dry, pressing some warm water to them to try and get rid of some of the puffiness.

She always got big puffy cheeks when she cried. Her face grew super red, eyes as well. It was yet another thing she hated about herself, because then if she ever accidentally cried around someone - it was so obvious.

Taking a few deep breaths, she finally decided to leave the bathroom. However, her luck grew worse as just as she pulled herself out from behind the door she collided with something. The sound of glass breaking was heard, and Finn's eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment.

She didn't get a good look at first due to whatever she hit being on the other side of the bathroom door, but it wasn't long before she heard an accented voice curse under his breath.

"Do you just not watch where you're going or something?" He rudely asked.

Finn shyly stepped out from behind the bathroom door, keeping her back against the wall. "I-I'm so sorry," She breathed out. Her eyes then darted to the floor where some cups had broken, her body moving to pick up the mess she created. "I should've been watching where I was going. It was my fault. I'm so sorry."

At the sound of the familiar voice, the blond stopped fixing his coat jacket to look at who he'd run into. He was taken aback as he saw the girl from the table he'd been waiting on.

Sanji's brows pulled together as he realized her frantic expression. She had rosy puffy cheeks as she began to pick up the giant pieces of glass, uttering apologies left and right as if she were going to get in huge trouble.

"Hey," He softly spoke, bending down to her level. "You should be careful before you-"

A wince quickly left Finn's mouth as a piece of glass somehow managed to get wedged in her hand. Blood immediately began to pool in the palm of her hand, all of the other broken pieces falling to the floor immediately.

Sanji was quick to think, completely forgetting about the broken drinks on the floor. He grabbed Finn's hands and pulled her up, almost dragging her back into the bathroom where the closest sink would be.

Finn watched in confusion and shock as Sanji turned the water on, washing her hand of the blood. It stung and Finn winced, earning a soft look from Sanji.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled. "I'm going to have to pull this out, okay?"

"No," Finn shook her head with a whine. Finn had never been good when it came to something such as splinters or anything of the sort. She was a huge baby and cried like one when it was pulled out and every single time - someone else had to do it for her.

"I have to," Sanji softly explained, "It can't stay in there forever."

"Yes it can," Finn quickly told him. "I'll live."

"Come on, love, you can't just leave a big piece of glass in your hand. You might get an infection." Sanji explained, "I'm going to pull it out."

"No you're not," Finn denied. She began to squirm, attempting to pull away from Sanji, but his grip on her tightened.

It wasn't meant to hurt her - and normally, it wouldn't. But due to the bruising on her wrist from where her parents bound her to her room, it did. And Sanji noticed the way she flinched back, his eyes taking in the bruises immediately.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

Finn didn't respond. She didn't want to - she didn't know him. She didn't even understand why he was attempting to take the glass out of her hand to prevent her from getting an infection. He shouldn't care, nobody did. She did nothing but cause this, so she shouldn't be getting this kindness from him.

Sanji noticed her silence and didn't push. He sighed lightly, his brows pushing together. "I'm going to pull the glass out, okay?"

Just as he put his hand over the piece, Finn could feel the pressure. He didn't have to put much at all for her to notice and that's when the tears came, streaming down her cheeks as she softly begged him to not bother.

"Hey," Sanji softly said, looking up at her. "What's your name?"

"W-what?" Finn asked, looking at him in confusion. Tears continued to fall, but her breathing had calmed slightly.

"Your name, love. What is it?" He asked softly.

"I-it's Finn," She muttered.

"That's such a beautiful name, Finn," Sanji told her. "You're here with your friends?"

She nodded, unsure of what to say. To be honest, she was confused. She didn't know what to think of what was happening, and her head hurt from attempting to.

"And your boyfriend as well?" Sanji then asked, catching Finn off guard. "He won't be too mad if he finds out we're in here alone, will he?"

If she wasn't confused before, she definitely was now.

"What?" She asked, "I don't have a boyf-" Her sentence was cut off by a loud cry leaving her lips as Sanji quickly pulled the piece from her hand.

Blood immediately dripped from her hand to the sink, and Sanji held it under the running water. It hurt, but the relief from the glass being gone already made it feel much better.

"Sorry about that, love." The boy apologized. Once it was done bleeding heavily he pulled her hand out from under the water, making sure there were no other pieces of glass stuck in the cut. "I just needed to distract you if I was going to be able to pull that glass out."

"You didn't have to," Finn mumbled. "It was my fault. I'm just really dumb and I should've watched where I was going."

"You're not dumb," Sanji looked at her with a worried expression. "It was a mistake, and mistakes happen."

"Not all the time," Finn muttered. "You were even angry yourself."

"Until I realized it was you," He sent her a cheeky smile, standing up straight. He pulled what looked to be a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, shaking it out to straighten it. "Who could be mad at a face like that?"

Finn should've felt flattered, but she couldn't. She knew he was saying these things just to be nice, and she knew he didn't mean them. He was head over heels for Nami not even an hour ago - and they looked nothing alike.

Before either of them could say anything else, the door suddenly opened. Sanji didn't bother to look back, seeming to not care if someone saw him tending to Finn's hand.

Finn, on the other hand, looked at the door with wide eyes. She watched as Nami marched into the bathroom, a look of concern and anger on her features.

Her eyes then landed on Finn's hand, noticing the giant cut from the glass. "What did you do to her?!" She exclaimed, eyes wide as she looked at Sanji. She then looked at Finn, "What did he do to you?"

Finn's mouth opened as she struggled to find something to say. Sanji wrapped the cloth around the palm of her hand, glancing up at her every so often. "We just had a run-in is all," He spoke, answering Nami's question. "A cup cut her hand. I fixed her all up."

Nami narrowed her eyes, staring at Sanji. She wasn't sure what to think, but it did seem as if Finn had somehow cut herself.

"Thanks," Finn mumbled, pulling her hand from Sanji's.

Sanji winked at her before turning and washing his hands in the sink, completely ignoring the presence of the red-haired girl behind him.

"Sorry I took so long," Finn mumbled, catching Nami's attention.

"No worries," Nami said, studying the other girl for a moment. "Zoro just kept asking if we should check on you, so I came."

"You didn't have to," Finn told her, holding her injured hand with the other. "No need to wait on me."

"Luffy and Usopp have eaten almost all of the food. You haven't eaten," Nami stated.

"Not hungry," Finn mumbled. "We can go, though. I don't want people worrying about me."

Nami nodded, not wanting to be in the bathroom with the odd waiter anymore. She walked out, leaving Finn to gather her thoughts and say one last thank you to the blond.

"Thanks," She told him softly.

For the first time since Nami had walked in, Sanji turned back to Finn. She avoided eye contact, her eyes focused on her injured hand. "I do apologize for breaking all that glass." She added, "I just need to be more careful."

"If you being a little careless causes more run-ins like this, I definitely wouldn't mind." Sanji flirted, a small smile growing on his face. "Although take away the injuring yourself part. I just meant that I wouldn't mind running into you more."

Finn blushed. She didn't know how to respond to him, as nobody had ever told her anything like that before. This made her feel pathetic all over again, letting a boy she didn't know fluster her this easily.

"I need to go," She mumbled, beginning to walk past him.

"Wait!" Sanji quickly exclaimed, grabbing her uninjured hand softly.

Finn looked at their hands before up at him, her cheeks growing redder as she noticed he was already looking at her.

"You said you didn't have a boyfriend, right?" He asked.

Finn's brows pushed together. "No," She said. "Why would I?"

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't flirting with a man's woman. They're off-limits, you know." He smiled a cheeky smile. "I most certainly wouldn't want a charming man such as myself impressing my girlfriend."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to say what her mind thought without seeming as if she wanted attention. She cleared her throat and pulled her hand from his, backing away.

"I'd like to see you again," Sanji then said. "Please tell me you're not leaving right away."

"I don't know," Finn truthfully admitted. It grew silent, and Finn hated it. She couldn't tell whether Sanji was genuine or just being nice, but she knew that it was always the latter when it came to stuff like this.

She finally found herself out of the bathroom, rushing to get back to the table where her friends sat. Her face felt hot and she felt awkward, as if they'd all already know what happened in the bathroom.

Thankfully, nobody said anything. Whether it was because they didn't care to ask or Nami told them not to - she didn't know, but she didn't care. She grew thankful and just ignored the look from Zoro as he noticed the wrapped cloth around her hand, hoping that the day would end sooner rather than later.

It wasn't long before Sanji managed to come around again. Compared to the last time he'd been around, he completely ignored Nami's presence. His eyes stayed on Finn unless he was actively speaking to one of the others, to which he'd respectfully respond.

"Your bill, sir." He told Luffy as he sat it on the table.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, his eyes found Finn. He watched as she refused to look up, her eyes on the hand his handkerchief was wrapped around. She gently touched it, her fingers tracing the fabric as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Sanji being Sanji, he wanted her to look at him. He wanted her to look up and smile at him, and say something so he could hear her voice again. But she didn't, and he grew disappointed.

It was likely they'd leave after this. He'd be stuck here at the Baratie for the rest of his life making food he didn't enjoy making - nothing compared to what his full potential in cooking was. He'd be stuck here, thinking about the shy girl at the table who somehow had an effect on him that no woman had managed to put before. This said a lot, considering Sanji could find himself to be a little girl crazy at times. But this? This was different. He couldn't explain it nor did he care to explain it to anyone. He wanted to see her again - outside of waiting at the table she sat at - but it was highly unlikely she'd be here for more than the night.

Luffy scribbled something on the bill, and Sanji patiently waited. He debated saying something to Finn but could tell by the way she avoided looking at him that that'd be the last thing she'd want.

Not wanting to embarrass her, he frowned in disappointment. He needed to find a way to see her again, but it appeared the odds weren't on his side.

"Thank you, my good man," Luffy spoke up, holding the tray out to him.

Sanji stole one last glance at Finn before picking the tray up, getting a good look at what the curly-headed boy wrote. A smirk took over his features as he read what Luffy wrote, realizing that the odds might just be in his favor this one time.

"No, sir. Thank you." He responded.

It looked like Finn was going to be around for a little while longer after all.

++

I already love them hehe