Pudding wasn't a crybaby, she swore that she wasn't. She hadn't cried even once after she turned eight years old; not until she met the damned Straw Hats. They seemed to have the uncanny ability to kick her right in the tear ducts, along with the sadistic inclinations to use that ability at every opportunity.
She would never ever ever admit it, but there were probably more people on this ship who cared about her than she ever had back home at Totto Land.
What about all of her siblings? Chiffon and Lola cared, but Pudding never showed her true face to them. Those two had always been the black sheep of the family, too, not the typical example of her siblings.
Oh, her siblings would have gone to war for her, that was true. However, that was not love. That was loyalty. That was business. So long as Pudding was a Charlotte, any attack on her was an attack on the Big Mom Pirates, and that made retaliation a guarantee. It wouldn't have mattered if they all hated her guts, they would have still sought revenge on her behalf. That's just how it was, being a member of an Emperor's crew.
This Emperor's crew, though? It was different. It was a family. She had always thought Whitebeard was full of shit, but maybe that old man really did think of his crew as his children, and not as convenient pawns like her own mother.
She had been a part of the Straw Hats for barely a month and they were so kind to her. She just couldn't fathom why.
"You've been at it for ten minutes, Pudding. Aren't you all cried out by now?" Reiju called out to her from outside the ladies' bunkroom.
"I'm not crying," Pudding grumbled back, lying through her gritted teeth. The teasing tone of the older woman's voice angered her, and also inexplicably made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
The door opened and Reiju took a single step inside. With one hand on her hip, she looked Pudding in the eye and said, "Of course not. I suppose you're just trying something new with your makeup. I'm sure Sanji will love the runny look."
"Shut up," Pudding buried her face in her knees to hide a smile.
Reiju sighed and marched across the room. Pudding thought for a moment that she was going to try some physical consolement, like an awkward pat on the back. Instead, she threw herself onto the bed and Pudding let out a yelp as she was nearly bounced off of it.
"Are you going to come eat something? I'm starving, but all those softies in there are refusing to start until you come back," Reiju said, looking up at her from where she laid on her back. "Where's Luffy when you need him, eh? He'd already be chowing down with or without you, and the rest would have to dig in before he ate everything."
Pudding couldn't help but giggle. Luffy was the furthest thing from a proper pirate captain in her mind, aside from how selfish he could be about food. Even then, he was worlds better than Big Mom was.
Pudding excused herself and cleaned her face up. She paused to consider whether to reapply her makeup, but decided against it. Sanji hadn't seen her without it, which made her nervous, but then… he actually liked her third eye. He probably wouldn't care, right?
…
"Pudding-chaaaan~!" Sanji spun over to her as she entered the dining room. "I made your favorite~!"
Pudding blinked in surprise. Had she ever told Sanji about her favorite food, outside of desserts? She was pretty sure she hadn't, because it was a bit embarrassing.
Sure enough, she found that everyone had a burger of some sort on their plates. All different kinds with different toppings and condiments. There were two open seats, but she knew which was hers on sight. It was the one with a towering monstrosity of a sandwich and a glass of orange juice on the side.
"Double Triple Bossy Deluxe on a raft, four by four animal style, extra shingles with a shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease; make it cry, burn it, and let it swim," Sanji recited. "By chance, I found that burger restaurant that you frequent at Totto Land. They had your picture up on the wall and everything! I have strong opinions about the hygiene of the dining area, but the kitchen was clean and their cook was a genius, I must admit."
Pudding was gawping at her guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Her face must have turned a shade of red so bright that a new word would be needed to describe it.
"Are you really going to eat that?" Cherry asked her from across the table.
It was only then that Pudding noticed that Cherry also had the very same sandwich in front of her. "Are you?!"
"Absolutely! When I saw Sanji whipping that bad boy up, there was no way I didn't take it as a challenge. Personally, I think that fry cook was messing with him, because there's no way you can finish that crime against the culinary arts," Cherry taunted.
Pudding felt her back straighten as she squared up. "I can eat three in one sitting!"
Then she realized what she just said and glanced at Sanji, terrified of his judgment.
"Oh no! I'll make two more!" Sanji instead looked mortified that he had failed to properly make her favorite meal and whisked himself back into the kitchen.
"Make three more for me!" Cherry shouted.
"Oh, you're fucking on!" Pudding was immensely relieved and also incensed!
"Stop staring everyone!" Usopp cried out. "Hurry up and eat, or watching those two will make you lose your appetites!"
That set off a race to cram food down their throats, with Cherry and Pudding hot on their heels already devouring their own precariously balanced towers. Cherry was superior in the actual chewing and swallowing, but Pudding had far more experience actually tackling the unwieldy burger.
Pudding was the winner by a full second on the first, smirking at her opponent with the light of victory burning in her eyes. Cherry used a napkin to wipe some sauce from her lips and fingers and asked, "How in the world did you do that and stay completely clean?"
"Years of training!" Pudding laughed.
Right about then, Sanji twirled out of the kitchen and placed two more towers before each of them. He said a simple "Enjoy!" then he was back in the kitchen.
The reactions of the crew were varied as the two of them continued their contest. There was some horror, some delight, and more than a healthy dose of morbid fascination.
"Where do they put it all?" Brook leaned over and asked Chopper.
"I'm not sure," Chopper muttered. "I'm pretty sure stomachs don't stretch that much. Not unless you're Luffy."
"You can't compare them to Luffy. He cheats at eating contests just by existing," Zoro said, poking at a side salad that he didn't ask for, but Sanji gave to him anyway.
"How far do you think they'll get?" Franky wondered.
"Too far," Nami answered.