#sanji angst

He was walking right behind you. You couldn’t hear his footsteps but instead listened to the whispers and rustles of large shrubbery as he made his way through the foliage. At first, his offer sounded chivalrous – he wanted to be able to keep an eye on you, in case one of the hungrier islanders decided to make their move. Now, as your thoughts circle around dextrous hands firmly holding a large knife, Sanji’s “good manners” were nothing but a farce. His sweet gestures and even sweeter words had only one goal: gain your trust. Once your guard was down, Sanji could choose the most convenient moment to finally strike. You never would have seen it coming. You would have neither the time nor the sense to defend yourself. The fight would have been over before your heart could ever suffer the reality of such devious betrayal.

You realised he had the perfect opportunity. It’s just you and him, all alone, far away from any of your other crewmates. On an island with dinosaurs and assassins, another regrettable death wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. It was all too convenient for a man with Sanji’s resolve.

The question slipped past your lips: “Why did you bring me here?”

“The views are rather nice, don’t you think?” he answers, voice filled with amusement. “Although the hospitality could be a bit better.”

It struck you how normal he sounded. Nothing about his words or tone hinted at anything malicious. Sanji was relaxed, in full control of himself. You didn’t dare glance over your shoulder to see his expression. As it was with an abyss, when you stared into a murderer’s eyes, he stared right into yours. If he had realised that you were wise to his farce, you would have met your end right then and there. He couldn’t risk anyone else finding out.

He reminded you of strange flowers, bladderworts, that Nami had once told you about: inconspicuous white petals growing on lakes, waiting for anything small to get close. Once it does, the bladderwort momentarily swallows it whole. There is no escape, no warning, no second chance. Just a second of curious eyes enchanted by the pristine flowers. You could only wonder whether that was what the unfortunate fruit fly must feel.

Only then did you understand just how stupid it was to ask Sanji about his intentions. Truly, if he were cruel and smart enough to await the right moment, he’d never let in on the truth – even if you had seen right through him. Any and all denials would only work in his favour. He had everyone fooled. No one would ever believe you that Sanji was like a bladderwort. It was hardly their fault, really. You were the only one to get close enough to him. All the shared intimacy, secrets and beds… They had led you straight into his honeyed trap. And the fool that you were, you just revelled in how sickly sweet and slow the world became in Sanji’s embrace. 

There was no chance for you to fight him or outrun him. That only left you with one option: hide. Still, that included a fateful chase, where you’d have to get far enough to lose him. Even that sounded ridiculous at best but the terror gnawing at your mind only grew, pushing out all reason.

You stopped suddenly. Sanji, not expecting that, bumped his chest into your back. The heat coming from his body engulfed you. Once upon a time, it was a welcome sensation. Now, it was starting to choke you. He stood over you like a twisted guardian angel: there was nowhere you could go where he couldn’t get his hands on you.

“What is it?” he asked softly, hot breath brushing against the side of your face.

“I think something moved over there.” You pointed at a dense bush a few meters ahead. That distance and element of surprise should be enough to give you a head start. “I don’t know, maybe it’s nothing.”

Sanji laid his hand on your shoulder, giving you a slight squeeze. Maybe it was faux comfort, or maybe a warning that he’s still in control. “Alright,” he said with a heavy sigh. “You stay back, I’ll check it out.”

His steps are slow, yet sure. Seeing his cautious prowl only proves what you already knew: Sanji is smart enough to be patient. The good opportunity will find him. His bloodthirst will be satiated, just you wait…

It was now or never.

You broke for escape. Sanji yelled something after you but you couldn’t hear him clearly. No matter, you weren’t going to give in to his sweet words again. Not when you’ve seen right through him.

Twigs smacked your face as you ran through the jungle. Thorny bushes cut your skin. There was a continuous rustling somewhere behind you. You couldn’t be sure whether it was Sanji chasing you or some local animal making its way through. You weren’t going to check. There was only the forest ahead of you.

There was a distinct burn in your thighs and calves. A searing pain in your chest forbade you from taking deep breaths. You had no way of knowing how long or how far you’ve run. The jungle looked exactly the same wherever you looked: thick shrubbery, sprawling foliage, robust trees almost covering the sky with their leaves. It felt like running in place. Still, you pushed on.

You just have to find cover, somewhere to hide for a while.

The protest of your body became unbearable. Your knees buckled underneath your weight, sending you crashing to the ground. Cut, bruised and beaten down, you’ve wondered if you have ever felt anything different than this ache. The pain delved deep inside you, wrapping around your muscles and bones until it found your soul; the pain of ultimate defeat.

Crawling, you made your way to the closest tree. The trunk was wide enough to hide your body when you rested your back against it. Your eyes travelled upwards, for a moment taking in the lucious crowns. The large leaves swayed in the wind, rustling far above your head. They remained indifferent to your plight. Many have lived and died in their shade, why should they care?

Sanji called out your name. The echo of the forest kept repeating it, as though the genius loci of the jungle was wondering where you had gone. Sanji called out again, asking where you were and pleading for your return. Some forgotten part inside you wanted to give in. Perhaps there still was a piece of your soul naive enough to believe that man’s farce. 

The rustling of the shrubbery grew louder as Sanji unknowingly made his way towards you. Tears streamed down your face. All of that, for nothing. A grand escape just to end up where you were always going to end up: at the mercy of a man revelling in building trust just to end it with a swift flick of the knife. Although after your little “escapade”, perhaps Sanji’s hand wasn’t going to be swift at all. Maybe your getaway changed his mind and as his final triumph over you, Sanji was going to take his sweet time. He could make you beg. Your pleading for your life will be the music to his ears. He will listen closely, taste the delicious despair, only to grant none of your pleas. Yes, a man of his resolve was more than capable of turning death into mercy.

Sanji stopped. He called out for you once again. There was a sound of worry in his tone. You could only assume that he was concerned about losing track of you. That would only make his goal harder to achieve. As much as he doubted anyone believing your story, he couldn’t put it past his crewmates that they have been wise to his plan. He had to find you quickly and end this useless, theatrical chase. Sanji always got what he wanted. That wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

The rustling resumed but instead of louder, it became quieter. The man was retreating.

Seeing this chance, you leaned against the trunk to help you get up. Your legs were still shaking. You won’t be doing much running in that state. On the other hand, if you stay too long in one place, finding you will become easier. It didn’t matter whether you walked or crawled. Anything, just to add distance between you and him.

Snap.

The dried twig under your foot broke in half. The echo carried that little sound as far as it could, announcing to every pair of listening ears, “She’s right here!”.

Sanji called out your name for the third time. You could hear him marching towards you. With your desperation outgrowing the searing pain in your legs, you attempted to continue your escape. There was no strength left in your body. You fell to the ground again. The final time, perhaps.

Sanji didn’t know what to think. Everything was happening so quickly, he didn’t have time to make sense of your strange behaviour. All he knew was that you were running away from him, never even checking if he was following. The only thing that made sense to him, at the time, was to chase you.

As you lay on the ground, he stood high above you, ready to scold you for pulling such a sad excuse of a prank and making him worry. Then, he noticed something truly out of  place: paint on your arm. He recalled how Zoro couldn’t stop laughing and Nami became completely apathetic. For a short second, Sanji wished you did pull a bad joke on him. It would be much better than the pair of terrified eyes watching his every move like a deer staring down a hunting rifle. Tears pooled in your eyes, flowing down your cheeks as though you were mourning a tragedy that hasn’t yet happened. There were cuts all over your skin. Some already scabbed, others still bleeding. Even your face… It was the first thing Sanji saw in the morning and the last thing he saw before falling asleep. He knew it better than anyone, even yourself. But now, standing above you like an executioner over the block, he couldn’t recognize it. That face he’s grown to know so well had never stared at him with such horror. You never trembled in fear under his gaze.

Sanji took a small step forward, only for you to crawl away from him.

“Stay away from me!” you yelled through sobs.

He felt his throat tighten. It was almost impossible to hold back his own tears. “I’m sorry but I can’t do that,” he managed to answer in a slow, serious voice. 

In some way, it was all absolutely hilarious. Picture, if you will, a man about to die, awaiting his turn at the gallows. When asked about his final words, he tells a joke. The crowd is silent. When the noose tightens around his neck, the man doesn’t lose his humor. He simply says “Hey, now! Don’t leave me hanging!”. Sanji loved to play the distinguished role of your knight in shining armour. Every wish he granted, every question he answered, every threat he defeated. It brought him immense satisfaction to always be the one you turn to, no matter the situation. Whether it was cooking something for you or standing up to someone, the sweet peck he’d get afterwards was always worth the trouble. Although to Sanji, nothing to do with you was “trouble”. Despite all of his efforts to be the only person you will ever need, he is the cause of your fear. He had become the bad guy he’s sworn to protect you from. Sanji knew that your change is the effect of the paint. Still, as irrational as it was, he couldn’t help but feel intimate disgust towards himself. The only way to make things right was to wipe the paint off your arm. To do that, he had to get closer to you, intensifying your fear to a degree you shouldn’t ever feel. In some way, it was all absolutely hilarious.

Pushing through his own feelings, Sanji made his way towards you. As before, you kept crawling away. Tears streaming down your face, breath catching in your throat, glistening eyes begging for mercy – some part of Sanji wanted to let you go. Turn around and go the other way, just so he will never have to suffer your fear of him. His chest tightened, making it harder to breathe. 

“No, no! Please, don’t!” you yelled out. “Please!”

Sanji was crying. It was wrong, everything was wrong! He was meant to be that one person you could trust with everything, someone to lean on when you had nothing left. The one constant in your life. The man you deserved.

You couldn’t crawl away fast enough. Sanji’s strides were too long. As he got closer and loomed over you, you tried to kick him. He was faster and grabbed your ankle before your boot could make contact with his thigh. You tried to wrestle your leg out of his hold but his grip was too strong. He had you imprisoned. Using little to no strength, Sanji pulled you towards him and kneeled on the ground, right next to your hip. One of his hands pinned you down.

Your screams pierced the silence of the otherwise serene jungle. They were animalistic, in no way resembling a sound befitting a human. The shriek rang in Sanji’s head, clawing at his mind, heart and spirit. Although it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t help the dull ache of guilt and regret gnawing at him. To some degree, he didn’t care that it was the paint that made you afraid. After all, you were screaming at him. It was his chest you were hitting in desperate attempts to fight back. It was he who had to hold you down using so much more force than he wanted. Whether real or imagined, it was Sanji who was the monster.

Sanji finally reached the paint on your arm. It smeared with a flick of his wrist. Momentarily, deep silence engulfed the two of you. There weren’t any screams, there was no rustling. Only steadying, laboured breathing. That lack of sound was deafening, like a warning siren that rattles your bones rather than pierces your ears.

With a wince and a whine, you sat up. Sanji instinctually reached out to help you but stopped himself just before his hand made contact with your back. For the first time in his life, he hesitated to show his care for you.

“Sanji,” you whispered. Your lips remained parted, as though there was something else you wanted to say; something that never came.

“I’m here,” he answered equally low. “I’ll always be here.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. His hands hovered for a moment, only for Sanji to give in to something much stronger than his doubts. One of his palms rested on your back, keeping you close to him; the other lay on the back of your head, as your face hid in the crook of his neck.

Sobs shook your body. Sanji tried to calm you down, reminding you that the two of you were safe, that he loves you and that you have nothing to worry about as long as he’s next to you. Little did he know, you weren’t crying over yourself. No, you kept remembering the heartache written all over his face. The way he looked as though he was about to collapse and give up on sanity altogether. But isn’t that what lovers always do? Take the other’s pain and make it their own? If so, then you loved Sanji to the point it physically hurt, as though your affection resided in the marrow of your bones, rather than your mind or your heart; a love that was intrinsic to your existence.

Sanji will never admit it to you but that day still haunts him. Some nights, when even the moon and the stars hide away from the world and the shapeless darkness moulds into horrors beyond comprehension, he relives your fear in his dreams. He finds you wounded and helpless, begging for mercy. When he kneels down to help you, he sees his own hands dripping with your blood. He tries to explain, argue that he would never do that. But the look in your eyes reveals the truth: he would and he did. Those nights, Sanji wakes up covered in cold sweat, shivering underneath the covers. He finds you asleep right next to him, one arm splayed across his abdomen. When his breathing steadies, he pulls you even closer. Then, barely above a whisper, he makes promises to you; vows that would make gods and deities laugh. The unending malice of this world, however, rubs its hands together. The same devilry that widows wives and orphans children, longs to test Sanji’s promises. Could the lovesick cook actually fulfil them? 

Deep in his heart, Sanji is terrified that he could.

_________

Your stomach dropped. You knew exactly what he was referring to and, if you could time-travel to change that part of his life, you would. Despite his mother departing too early, she gifted him some of the best qualities.

You walked over to him while he stared at a masterfully created lunch. Reaching up, you traced his jaw until your palm was flat against his cheek. You hated whatever bad thoughts were storming around in his head.

“It’s not happening again, okay?” You told him softly. “We’re going to heal Nami. Her journey doesn’t end here.”

Sanji sniffled and finally turned to you. His bright blue eyes devastated and ready to shed tears. “But you don’t know that.” He said desperately. “I saw it take my mum and it shattered me. If we lose… gods, if I have to watch you like this - I’ll never come back.”

You brushed the hair from his eyes to wipe away his tears. Leaning forward, you pressed a feathered kiss to his lips before wrapping your arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight.

You didn’t have the right words but a simple gesture might be enough to ground him instead of letting him fall to despair. Sanji squeezed you back, his head dipping into the crook of your neck.

His shoulders began to tremble, so you let him cry. Sanji’s fingers dug into your skin as he sobbed, no doubt leaving marks in their wake. A small pain to endure knowing that he would soothe them with kisses in the evening.

Sanji protected you from danger, it was only fair that you did the same for his heart. And a part of you wondered if his mother’s spirit acted as a guide - for you to find her little prince.

Sanji drew in a slow breath, catching traces of your shampoo and sweet perfume before unconsciously pulling you even closer. His fingers brushed lightly against the exposed skin of your waist where your nightgown had ridden up, sending a shiver through you. You twitched instinctively, and your cook immediately lowered his hand.

A quiet apology rumbled from his chest.

The two of you remained like that for a while, suspended in a sleepy sort of bliss, until he finally gathered enough sense to murmur:

“Is this alright, my dear?”

He was already prepared to untangle the two of you completely and put some distance between you when, to both your surprise and his, you only burrowed deeper into the crook of his neck.

“It’s too early,” you mumbled. “Go back to sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

A scene that would have been unimaginable only a few days ago.

Sanji gazed down at your closed eyes and peaceful figure with such tenderness that his chest ached. He pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. Settling more comfortably against the pillows, he began absentmindedly tracing patterns along your arm and shoulder with one hand while holding you close with the other, until he, too, drifted back to sleep.

By the time he opened his eyes again, your side of the bed was empty.

The balcony door stood slightly ajar, allowing a soft sea breeze to drift through the room.

Stretching, he climbed out of bed and made his way toward you, though not before improvising breakfast's most important ingredient, managing to make the two of you coffee with what little the suite had to offer.

He found you sitting on the balcony with your feet drawn up slightly, gazing out across the endless stretch of ocean.

“Good morning, my beloved.”

His voice was warm and slightly rough with sleep as he offered you a cup.

Making room for him, you watched as he pulled his chair closer and sat beside you.

Smiling, you returned the greeting and took a sip. A quiet sigh escaped you as you closed your eyes for a moment, and Sanji’s heart immediately decided this was how every morning of his life ought to begin.

“It’s so peaceful,” you said, watching the waves.

“I could get used to this.”

A faint smile touched your lips, though there was something wistful about it.

“Still… as impossible and loud as they are, I miss our crew.”

Sanji laughed softly.

Partly in agreement.

Only partly.

One day, after everything was over, he hoped to steal you away on an adventure of your own.

“We’ll see if you’re still saying that in a few days when you’re diving into the ocean after Luffy because he decided to chase some flying beetle he found fascinating.”

You bit the inside of your cheek in a futile attempt to suppress your laughter.

It didn’t work.

Sanji’s heart promptly grew three sizes.

“Alright,” you admitted. “That definitely.”

Eventually it was time to get ready for breakfast, and so you and the curly-browed cook found yourselves sharing the resort’s absurdly spacious bathroom.

You were already dressed and nearly finished getting ready, currently applying the last touches of makeup while trying to decide which jewelry suited today’s dress best.

Your fake fiancé watched from the sidelines with sparkling eyes, utterly fascinated by these small rituals of yours.

While rummaging through your jewelry case, you frowned.

“I swear I took the other earring out already…”

Without a word, Sanji gently dropped it into your palm.

“Looking for this, my dear? It was beside your toiletry bag. It must’ve slipped underneath.”

You blinked.

“Thank you.”

His smile softened immediately.

Sharing one bathroom should not have felt this domestic.

And yet somehow it did.

Later, while you were curling your hair, Sanji insisted he could help.

“You won’t be able to reach the back properly.”

Before you could argue, he was already carefully separating strands of your hair and wrapping them around the heated iron, taking exaggerated care not to burn you.

“You have such soft, silky hair, Y/N-swan,” he murmured, moving from one lock to the next, completely enchanted by the closeness. “I could do this every da—AAH!”

Naturally, he burned himself.

Even while jerking back, he made a heroic effort to keep the curling iron far away from your neck.

“The MOST IMPORTANT THING A COOK HAS, my delicate hands!” he lamented dramatically.

You looked at him with immediate concern, but after examining the situation and realizing it was, as expected, considerably less severe than his reaction suggested, you gently took hold of his wrist and guided him toward the sink.

Turning on the cold water, you held his finger beneath the stream.

Sanji forgot how to breathe.

“I knew this wasn’t a good idea,” you muttered.

Meanwhile, Sanji was busy berating himself for overreacting.

While you searched through your cosmetics bag for burn ointment and carefully applied it before placing a bandage over the spot, his thoughts galloped off in directions that were entirely unhelpful.

Directions that involved scenes like this repeating themselves years from now.

Far more often than they had any right to.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I’d willingly put both hands into a fire if it meant I could spend half an hour running them through your hair.”

You stared at him in confusion for a moment before trying not to laugh.

Instead, a snort escaped you.

“I see you’re not lacking in dramatic flair,” you teased.

“Never,” he grinned and then added, with surprising sincerity:

“But I mean that one.”

You held his gaze for a silent moment before reaching up without a word to straighten the collar of his shirt and adjust his tie.

“Since a wounded man such as yourself is clearly no longer capable of doing it alone”

Your fingers moved deftly, straightening the knot and settling it perfectly into place.

“Besides, your finger’s covered in ointment.”

Sanji very nearly started purring from the intimacy of the moment.

Standing this close to him, focused entirely on fixing his appearance, felt dangerously easy.

He silently swore that he would never wear another tie again unless you were the one adjusting it around his neck with such quiet care and attention, standing close enough that he could feel your warmth.

Since you'd arrived a little late for breakfast, you were invited to join a table occupied by several older couples, all of them comfortably past the age of either of you.

Ever the gentleman he had been born to be, Sanji escorted you to your seat and pulled out your chair, pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder as he helped you sit before taking the place beside you.

Trapped in endless small talk and snobbish fascination with gossip about other couples neither of you cared about in the slightest, you found yourself with little appetite.

Being watched so closely made you uncomfortable, and instead of eating, you merely picked at your breakfast.

Naturally, your fake future husband noticed immediately.

After carefully selecting a slice of prosciutto and ricotta and placing them atop a piece of toast, he cut off a bite-sized piece and held out the fork toward you.

“Here you are, my love. I can’t bear the thought of you going hungry.”

He looked at you with such attentiveness and affection that your heart skipped.

And somehow, despite the absurdity of trying to make you feel less self-conscious by drawing even more attention to you through pet names and hand-feeding, you found yourself loving him a little more for it.

Perhaps it was because, in Sanji’s eyes, you belonged at the center of every room.

It seemed as natural to him as sunflowers turning toward the sun no matter where it stood in the sky.

The way he always turned toward you.

Every eye at the table was now fixed on you as you blushed fiercely and obediently accepted the bite, chewing while staring determinedly at your plate and taking a sip of freshly squeezed orange juice to soothe your suddenly dry throat.

All the while, Sanji watched you unabashedly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind your ear before taking your left hand and brushing his lips softly across your knuckles.

“How adorable they are, don’t you think, Jacqueline?”

“A truly beautiful couple!”

An older woman adorned with pearls the size of apples and enough bright red lipstick for an entire theater troupe leaned toward you, immediately joined by the rest of the table.

"So," she asked brightly, "how long have you two been engaged?"

“I only gathered the courage to ask her the fateful question three months ago, on the anniversary of our relationship,” Sanji improvised effortlessly, already several chapters deep into a story that existed nowhere but in his head. “Though I bought the ring after only two weeks.”

He lowered another kiss to your hand.

“I knew she was the one for me.”

Several pairs of eyes immediately dropped to your left hand.

A collective gasp swept around the table.

“But where is the ring?!”

You grabbed Sanji’s arm and buried your face against his bicep.

“I’m sorry, darling! Just remembering it breaks my heart!” You dabbed at entirely imaginary tears. “My beloved gave me the most beautiful ring imaginable, but I…”

Everyone leaned closer.

“…I lost it on the beach we visited a month ago.”

Horrified gasps erupted from every direction.

“My darling,” Sanji said softly, brushing his fingertips across your cheek, “please don’t upset yourself. It breaks my heart to see you like this.”

He took your hand firmly and pressed a kiss into your palm.

“I’ve already hired people who claim they can find it. Besides…”

His gaze never left yours.

“I’ll buy you as many rings as necessary. You’re the only irreplaceable thing.”

The table practically melted.

As the conversation continued, you answered question after question, some silly, some surprisingly personal, yet somehow always arriving at the same answers without needing to think about it.

As though it had stopped being improvisation a long time ago.

Which, in truth, it had.

The older couples laughed when you both answered simultaneously to questions about who cooked more often, who was more likely to plan romantic dates, who apologized first after an argument, and who took longer to get ready in the morning.

“You’ve definitely been together long enough.”

The two of you merely exchanged a glance before breaking into matching laughter.

You really had. 

The resort employee barely gave either of you a chance to protest before fastening bright wristbands around your wrists.

“Congratulations! You’ve been selected for our Lovers’ Lagoon Excursion. A complimentary glass-bottom boat tour for couples.”

The smile on your face froze. You pinched your “fiancé’s” arm, but he only lit up even more.

“…Oh,” you said weakly.

“How romantic!” the woman beamed. “The captain always reserves the front seats for newlyweds and soon-to-be-weds.”

“We’re not…”

“Thank you very much,” Sanji cut in with effortless grace, bowing just enough to preserve the illusion. “We’re honored. I can hardly wait to witness such breathtaking sights beside my beloved… assuming I’ll be able to see anything past her beauty.”

The employee clasped her hands together with a delighted sigh before hurrying off to greet the next unsuspecting couple.

You let out a long breath.

“…Wonderful.”

Sanji gently patted your shoulder.

“Come now. It’ll be nice.”

The boat drifted lazily across water so impossibly clear it scarcely looked real. Beneath the broad pane of glass stretching between the benches, schools of brilliantly colored tropical fish danced through coral gardens while graceful rays glided silently across the white sand below.

Around you, every other couple leaned close together, pointing excitedly beneath the boat or stopping to take photographs.

You and Sanji leaned together as well.

Just for entirely different reasons.

From this angle, the resort’s eastern shoreline lay in perfect view.

More importantly…

“Duchess of my heart and soul,” Sanji cooed loudly enough for the nearby tourists to hear, “look at that beautiful coral.”

You smiled shyly for the benefit of your audience, already resigned to his endless stream of pet names.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“But not nearly as gorgeous as you, my lovely queen.”

Without moving your lips, you murmured,

“Supply dock. Eleven o’clock.”

His gaze never visibly shifted.

“I see it.”

Beyond the decorative villas stood a modest concrete dock that hadn’t appeared on any of the guest maps. Two uniformed security guards watched the entrance while another pair stood beside a truck that had only just arrived.

Far too much security for towels and imported wine.

A forklift rolled forward carrying a long wooden crate wrapped in thick black plastic.

No company logos. No shipping labels.

Only a serial number stenciled across one side.

Several resort managers appeared almost immediately, abandoning whatever they had been doing to oversee its arrival personally. One signed paperwork while another inspected the perimeter before motioning everyone closer.

“Interesting,” you breathed.

Sanji rested an elbow casually against the boat’s railing, every bit the lovestruck fiancé admiring the scenery. And under any other circumstances, he would have been.

But at that moment, his focus was entirely on the mission, both for the sake of the crew and for yours. More than anything, he wanted to prove himself worthy of your trust. The kind of steadfast, capable knight who would never allow harm to come to you.

“Count them.”

“Four guards.”

“Five.”

You blinked.

A man dressed in the resort’s white linen uniform stood farther back, pretending to smoke while never taking his eyes off the crate.

The crate disappeared through a reinforced service entrance carved directly into the cliffs behind the dock.

The heavy doors sealed shut almost immediately afterward.

“…That’s excessive,” you muttered.

“For supplies?” Sanji agreed quietly. “Very.”

Neither of you spoke for several long moments.

It wasn’t proof.

Not yet.

But it was another collection of tiny details, each one slipping neatly into place, slowly completing the puzzle that lay at the heart of your mission.

The captain cheerfully announced that you were approaching the island’s most spectacular coral reef.

Around you, delighted couples leaned over the glass, marveling at the vibrant sea life below.

You reached for Sanji’s hand, sending such a violent flutter through his heart that he had to fight to keep it from showing on his face.

To anyone watching, it looked like nothing more than a tender gesture between devoted lovers.

Instead, your fingers pressed twice against his palm as you rested your head lightly against his shoulder.

We come back tonight.

His thumb brushed once across your knuckles in answer.

Agreed.

After what had seemed to you like an exhausting lovers’ excursion, though in truth it had been rather enjoyable thanks in no small part to your so-called fiancé, the two of you found yourselves about fifteen minutes away from the resort when Sanji noticed a narrow path leading down toward a beautiful stretch of beach, quieter and far less crowded than the others.

“Look, my love,” he said, gently taking your hand and nodding toward the little trail.

“We’ve still got some time,” he added, looking at you with those warm, hopeful eyes of his. The very same eyes that had always filled you with a quiet sense of safety whenever they found you during one of the countless dangerous situations your crew stumbled into, or during the quieter moments, when your own thoughts became your greatest enemy.

You forced yourself to tear your gaze away from him, pretending to examine the path instead.

“Trying to play hooky, darling?”

He grinned, and that endlessly beloved curled eyebrow of his arched.

“All I’m saying, my dearest, is that it would be a terrible shame to travel all this way only to spend our time investigating kitchens and wealthy old snobs.”

His eyes never left you, captivated by the way the breeze toyed with loose strands of your hair. “Besides, the greatest tragedy of all would be for this shoreline never to be blessed by your beauty. You deserve the chance to enjoy the sunshine and the sound of the waves without having to worry about Luffy catapulting himself into you at any given moment.”

You pretended to consider it, though in reality you were already longing to be alone with him, free from the watchful eyes of staff members, pretentious guests, and the constant expectation that you keep acting out a role you secretly wished were real.

“Let’s go,” you agreed. “I’m going to lose my mind if another ambush drags us into yet another painfully awkward ‘romantic adventure’ with dozens of other couples.”

A tranquil panorama of turquoise sea unfolded before you, and the empty shore, blissfully free of lurking waiters or overeager resort employees, filled you with an indescribable sense of peace.

Just the gentle rhythm of the waves, the warm sand beneath your feet…

…and your fake fiancé.

Deciding to make the most of the beautiful scenery before you, you slipped off your sandals, gathered your dress above your knees, and wandered slowly across the warm sand toward the shallow water.

Sanji soon joined you, relieving you of your sandals under the pretense that he’d carry them so you could simply enjoy yourself without worrying about anything else.

You stepped into the water until it reached your ankles, cool enough to make you draw in a sharp breath and let out a tiny startled sound.

He couldn’t suppress the small smile tugging at his lips.

You were simply too adorable.

Catching him from the corner of your eye, you flicked a playful splash of water his way.

He stared at you in exaggerated disbelief.

“Just one moment, my dear.”

To your confusion, he hurried back onto the beach instead of retaliating. He carefully placed both his shoes and your sandals together on the sand before draping his jacket neatly over them to keep them out of the sun. Only then did he return.

“I could’ve just tossed them aside,” he said with a smile, “but I’d never treat your lovely things so carelessly, Y/N-swan.”

Then he gently splashed you back.

A soft gasp escaped you before you waded forward as gracefully as one could through knee-deep water—which wasn’t particularly graceful at all—and sent a much larger splash flying in his direction before darting away.

The Straw Hat cook laughed and gave chase, sweeping his arm through the water with enough force that the spray drenched not only you but the upper half of your dress and even your hair. You squeezed one eye shut, trying desperately to keep the saltwater out of it.

“Sanji!” you cried.

He froze.

“My sweetest darling, how horribly clumsy of me!” he exclaimed, immediately launching into an avalanche of apologies. “Absolutely inexcusable! You simply must forgive me. I never intended for my uncivilized, caveman-like behavior to offend such a lovely and noble lady as yourself…”

Completely swept away by his own dramatic speech and looking seconds away from genuine tears, the blond cook was abruptly interrupted when you retaliated with a spectacular splash that soaked him from his trousers all the way to the damp blond bangs now plastered over both eyes.

Silence lingered for exactly one heartbeat.

Then, laughing, he caught your wrist and gently drew you closer.

“My love,” he said between chuckles, “I had no idea you were such a little minx. You truly frightened me.”

Still laughing, he retaliated with several gentle splashes of his own.

“As ungentlemanly as it may be, I’ll claim at least the smallest measure of revenge.”

He tried stepping back to avoid your next attack, but because he was still holding your wrist, he accidentally pulled you toward him. Instinctively, he caught you before you could stumble into the water, leaving you pressed against his soaked chest instead.

For a single suspended moment, neither of you breathed.

You could feel each other’s hearts racing, frantic against your chests like woodpeckers determined to hammer straight through your ribs until they traded places.

Your eyes met.

The afternoon sun wrapped a golden halo around him, deepening the impossible blue of Sanji’s eyes and illuminating the quiet kindness that had always lived inside them.

For one impossible instant, you thought you’d never seen him look more beautiful.

The sight left you utterly frozen, and the only thing sparing you from complete embarrassment was the fact that he seemed every bit as captivated by you.

Perhaps even more.

He noticed nothing except your long eyelashes, the softness of your hair as the sea breeze carried one stray strand across your face, hiding part of one eye.

Almost unconsciously, Sanji lifted a hand and, with infinite care, tucked the strand gently behind your ear, his thumb brushing lightly across your cheek and the curve of your jaw.

Your heart leapt yet again, somehow finding room to race even faster than before.

Meanwhile, he found himself staring at your slightly parted lips, still damp from seawater and from the way you’d been biting them between bursts of laughter.

In a desperate attempt to save yourself from what felt like an imminent heart attack, you suddenly splashed the right side of his chest and bolted forward.

Your laughter echoed across the empty beach as two hopelessly lovestruck grown children chased each other through the surf, their carefree shouts carried away by the wind.

When you finally stopped to catch your breath, both of you breathing a little harder from the running and laughing, you found yourselves gazing out over the deeper water shimmering beneath the late afternoon sun.

Sanji reached for your hand.

As though he’d read your thoughts, he raised one eyebrow and nodded toward the open sea.

“We’re already soaked anyway, my love.”

You looked at him, and for one dangerously tempting moment, you nearly gave in.

The afternoon remained pleasantly warm, and the cool water would have been wonderful. Even the splashing had already done wonders.

Still, you hesitated.

“I’m not sure that’s a convincing enough argument,” you replied. “Besides… we didn’t bring swimsuits.”

“I fail to see how that’s stopping us.”

He paused before adding more gently, “Of course, my dear, we won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I only suggested it because it’s painfully obvious you’ve been dying to dive in. You’ve been looking at the horizon rather pleadingly for quite a while now.”

Touched by how effortlessly he’d read you, you still let out an indignant little huff.

“I never look pleadingly at anything.”

Five minutes later, the two of you were swimming toward deeper water.

You’d quickly left your clothes folded on the shore so you could move more freely, and Sanji had kept his back turned the entire time while you changed, despite the fact that there was hardly any difference between your underwear and a swimsuit. If anything, depending on the design, some underwear was arguably less revealing.

Besides, after everything you’d been through together, you’d already seen one another in every conceivable state.

Even so, out of respect for you, your fake future husband wanted to offer you every bit of privacy he possibly could.

As you swam farther from shore, sometimes splashing one another, sometimes racing, other times playfully brushing a hand against the other’s leg before insisting it had probably been some mysterious sea creature, you both found yourselves wishing this holiday would never end.

A quiet melancholy seeped into the cracks of your hearts, reminding you that this adventure had an inevitable ending…

…and that every beautiful moment between you was still, at least officially, nothing more than make-believe.

When you finally emerged from the water, utterly drenched after staying in until your skin had begun to wrinkle, you both collapsed onto the sand before you.

Perhaps not the wisest decision, considering how much you hated grains sticking to wet skin, but this wasn’t the time to be fussy.

Lying there side by side, gazing up at the endless sky, you slipped into one of those rare, beautiful silences where words truly felt unnecessary.

Closing your eyes, you basked in the warmth of the sun, content to let yourselves dry a little beneath its gentle rays.

Even with your eyes shut, a faint smile played across your lips.

Sanji watched you.

Again.

For what was surely not the first time, nor the last.

Completely captivated by a sight he could have watched forever, if only you would let him.

Knowing there wasn’t enough sunlight left for either of you to dry completely, you eventually decided that “mostly dry” would have to do and began brushing the sand from your legs.

“Hey there, little troublemaker,” your “fiancé” laughed. “You don’t have to shake all of it onto me.”

Then he noticed a spot you’d missed.

Without thinking, he reached down and gently brushed the remaining sand from your leg.

His hand froze for the briefest moment as he realized what he’d done.

“…Thank you,” you murmured shyly before standing.

Walking back toward your clothes side by side, your little fingers brushing together every now and then without either of you quite meaning them to, you noticed beautiful seashells scattered along the shoreline.

You bent down several times to pick up the ones you liked most before continuing on.

A few moments later, once you’d reached your things, Sanji draped his jacket over your still-damp dress, the only piece of clothing that had remained almost completely dry.

“It’s getting a little breezy now. Better this than catching cold, my love.”

He opened his palm to reveal several seashells.

They were even prettier than the ones you’d collected yourself.

“For your collection,” he said with a smile, slipping them into the front pocket of his jacket where it hung around your shoulders.

You immediately added your own shells beside them.

“Thank you, Sanji.”

Your smile lit up his entire world.

“That’s really sweet of you.”

Then, before you could overthink it, you leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

Warmth rushed over the cook so suddenly that it spread all the way across the bridge of his nose, enough that anyone passing by might have assumed he’d simply spent too long in the afternoon sun.

At the insistence of your so-called future husband, the two of you climbed a small hill overlooking the beach.

It was close enough that you could easily wander back into the sea if you wished, yet far enough away to admire the coastline from an entirely different perspective while enjoying a conversation that seemed determined never to end, drifting effortlessly from one topic to the next.

One last quiet indulgence before returning to the resort.

By some miracle, only the occasional passerby wandered through your little sanctuary, never enough to disturb the peaceful corner you’d found for yourselves.

As Sanji recounted one of his adventures aboard the Baratie, back when he was still inexperienced and Zeff had only just begun teaching him to fight with his legs, an exceptionally beautiful tourist strolled past.

He smiled politely and dipped his head in greeting.

But he never interrupted his story.

The very next second, his eyes returned to you as though they had nowhere else they’d rather be.

You stared after the woman, waiting in silent disbelief.

Surely…

Surely there would be some kind of reaction.

But none ever came.

Instead, Sanji stood up and began demonstrating one of the kicks Zeff had taught him as a boy, using a nearby rock as his unfortunate volunteer.

The next interruption came when another beautiful young woman approached and shyly asked if he would mind taking a photograph of her by the sea.

“Of course.”

He took the picture, immediately handed the camera back, and politely offered to take another if she wasn’t satisfied with the first.

Then he returned without delay, sat back down beside you, and continued your conversation.

No shameless flirting.

No hearts in his eyes.

No dramatic declarations about the extraordinary honor of immortalizing such breathtaking beauty in a photograph.

Unable to let that pass without a comment, you nudged him playfully.

“You’re starting to slack off.”

“Hm?”

“Usually you’d have proposed marriage by now.”

He blinked, genuinely confused.

“…Would I?”

You laughed.

“Absolutely.”

He scratched the back of his neck.

“…I suppose my attention was elsewhere.”

The beach had grown quieter as afternoon drifted toward evening. The tide had crept farther inland, erasing the footprints the two of you had left behind barely an hour ago, while the sea, calm and endlessly blue, breathed against the shore in slow, rhythmic sighs.

You watched it in silence, absently turning a smooth seashell over between your fingers.

“I’ve been wondering something,” you said at last.

Sanji, who had been skipping flat stones across the water with steadily improving success, glanced back over his shoulder.

“Hm?”

“What do you think happens after?”

A faint crease appeared between his brows.

“After what?”

“After all of this. When Luffy becomes King of the Pirates, when you find the All Blue. When all of us finally achieve the dreams that set us on this long journey in the first place.”

You smiled, and for a moment only the waves answered your question.

Sanji came to sit beside you again, resting his forearms on his knees as he looked out across the water. A small smile touched his lips.

“I think…” He drew a slow breath, as though the answer surprised even him. “I’d like to build something that lasts.”

You turned toward him.

“A restaurant?”

“Maybe.”

His eyes never left the horizon.

“Nothing grand. Just a place where people know they’ll always find a good meal, no matter who they are or how much money they've got.” A quiet chuckle escaped him. “Somewhere Zeff would spend every day complaining I’m doing everything wrong while secretly praising me and stealing my food whenever he thinks I’m not looking.”

You laughed, the picture so vivid you could almost see it.

“I’d visit.”

“I should hope so.”

He looked at you then, warmth softening every line of his expression until it settled deep in your chest.

“I’d rather not imagine a future where you’re somewhere far away, beyond my reach… somewhere I could only admire you from a distance instead of enjoying your company.”

You looked back at him, quietly moved.

“I think…” Lowering your eyes, you traced slow circles in the sand with the tip of the shell. “My dream isn’t all that different. I don’t think I’d spend my life chasing the next great adventure. Knowing me, it’d probably find me anyway.” A faint smile curved your lips. “I’d want something steady. Something dependable.”

“Dependable?”

“A place where you don’t wake up wondering whether you’ll have to leave tomorrow.”

There was an old sadness woven gently into your smile.

“Somewhere safe. Somewhere you belong. Somewhere the people you love are waiting for you at the end of the day... and you know they’ll still be there the next morning.”

The sea carried your words away before either of you spoke again.

“I suppose that’s a rather ordinary dream.”

“No,” Sanji said softly, threading his fingers through yours.

“It’s mine too.”

When you looked at him, there was something impossibly gentle in his eyes.

“I think it’s the rarest dream of all.”

The corners of your mouth lifted before you could stop them.

“You do?”

“I do.”

His gaze drifted back to the horizon, where the sun had already begun its slow descent toward the sea.

“People spend their lives chasing extraordinary things.” His voice had grown quieter now, thoughtful in a way you rarely heard from him. “They cross oceans searching for treasure, glory, fame… and somehow forget that, in the end, what most of them really want is exactly what you just described.”

He smiled softly.

“A home.”

The word settled warmly between you.

“A place where you're accepted and loved unconditionally, exactly as you are.”

Neither of you noticed how naturally the conversation had become our dream instead of yours or his alone.

After a comfortable silence, you turned toward him with a small smile.

“You’ve been smiling a lot today.”

He looked almost surprised.

“So have you.”

“I have?”

“You have.” A quiet laugh escaped him. “You don’t usually seem this… light.”

Your eyes wandered back to the shimmering sea, where the waves sparkled beneath the lowering sun.

“I suppose none of this feels entirely real.”

“What doesn’t?”

You gestured toward the empty beach, the endless water stretching before you, the lazy hours that had slipped by unnoticed...

...your fingers still intertwined.

“…Us.”

For a long moment, he simply watched the waves.

Then, wearing a smile so small it seemed meant only for himself, he said,

“I used to imagine days like this.”

His thumb brushed absentmindedly across the back of your hand.

“But somehow they always felt unfinished. Like something essential was missing, and no matter how I pictured them, I could never quite reach the ending that made them whole.”

His eyes finally met yours.

“I think I forgot that even the simplest moments become extraordinary when they’re shared with the right person.”

Your fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the shell, while his thumb continued tracing lazy patterns across your palm.

Neither of you spoke after that.

There was nothing left to say that the sea hadn’t already understood.

After the sun’s golden rays began melting across the blue sky, slowly deepening into shades of amber and crimson, the two of you realized just how completely you’d lost track of time.

What had been meant as a brief escape had quietly become an entire afternoon filled with moments you both feared would one day exist only as memories.

The walk back was still wrapped in that same easy contentment, though now tinged with quiet melancholy as the perfect afternoon slowly drew to its close.

Sanji insisted on carrying both his shoes and yours, and had stubbornly taken your bag as well despite your repeated assurances that it was hardly heavy.

You couldn’t help watching him as he walked beside you barefoot, blond hair still tousled and damp with saltwater, his trousers only half rolled back down, his shirt rumpled and not quite buttoned properly anymore. The elegant shoulder bag looked almost absurd slung across his shoulder, while your heels and his own shoes balanced precariously from the fingers of one hand.

Somehow, the sight made your heart ache in the sweetest way.

Every glance at him sent another warm flutter through your chest, until the corners of your mouth refused to stay still.

The hotel soon came into view and with it came the return of reality.

But Sanji noticed something before either of you reached the entrance.

A service cart rolled away from the kitchens, disappearing along a narrow stone path no ordinary guest ever used.

At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about it.

Silver cloches gleamed beneath crisp white linen, bottles of wine rested in polished ice buckets, and a waiter pushed the cart with practiced composure.

Yet Sanji’s pace slowed almost imperceptibly.

“That’s dinner.”

You looked at him.

“For Villa Twelve?”

His eyes never left the cart.

“…Earlier than yesterday.”

In that instant, the beach, the laughter, the sea… everything vanished.

You were back on the mission.

After a brief exchange, you both came to the same conclusion.

Three days of careful observation had given you enough information to risk something bolder.

The atmosphere changed the moment you stepped beyond the resort’s public gardens.

The cheerful bustle faded behind you, replaced by a silence so complete that even your own footsteps suddenly felt intrusive.

This secluded wing had clearly been designed for guests who valued discretion above all else.

The pathways narrowed into winding stone corridors bordered by immaculate flowerbeds and towering hedges trimmed with almost obsessive precision, while elegant lanterns stood at measured intervals beneath old cypress trees, their glass panes already beginning to glow against the approaching dusk.

There were remarkably few guests.

Far more security.

Two guards stood at the entrance to the private lane, speaking quietly before one wandered toward the shoreline. Another strolled through the gardens with practiced indifference, casual enough that it took only a moment to realize he wasn’t wandering at all.

He was observing everything.

Sanji noticed it immediately.

Without appearing to look directly at anyone, his gaze drifted from one guard to the next, lingering only long enough to judge the rhythm of their patrols before moving on to the nearest exits, the balconies overlooking the gardens, the servants’ entrances concealed behind flowering vines, and the narrow footpaths leading back toward the main resort.

Watching him work was strangely mesmerizing.

Barely an hour ago he’d been laughing as the waves chased the two of you across the sand, earnestly insisting the oddly shaped shell in his pocket looked exactly like a rabbit.

Now every trace of that carefree afternoon had disappeared beneath quiet competence.

He moved with the same relaxed confidence as before, even pausing once to admire an orchid blooming beside the path, though you knew perfectly well it was only an excuse to slow your pace and observe without drawing attention.

It reminded you, not for the first time, that Sanji had always been far sharper than people gave him credit for.

The service cart eventually disappeared through a discreet entrance behind one of the largest villas.

Villa Twelve.

You remained outside the surrounding hedges, careful to keep enough distance that anyone glancing through the windows would see nothing more suspicious than another couple enjoying an evening stroll.

For several long moments…

Nothing happened.

Then voices drifted through the open French doors, carried by the evening breeze in broken fragments.

“…tomorrow…”

“…midnight…”

“…Dock Seven…”

“…bring the Eternal Pose…”

“…the buyer sails before dawn…”

The words alone were enough to quicken your pulse.

Another voice, lower this time, answered too quietly for either of you to distinguish before one final sentence floated through the silence.

“…no witnesses.”

You instinctively leaned forward.

Sanji’s eyes met yours.

The exchange lasted only a heartbeat, but the conclusion was immediate.

It wasn’t everything.

But it was enough to understand what was about to happen.

Yet one question still lingered.

Who was behind it?

Tilting your head almost imperceptibly toward the open window hidden between the stone walls, you silently suggested getting just a little closer.

Perhaps one more sentence would give you the name you were missing.

Sanji followed your gaze before giving the secluded garden one careful sweep.

“I’m not convinced that’s our smartest move,” he murmured.

“If we don’t, the name slips away.”

You were already moving before he could argue further.

With practiced agility, you climbed onto the low stone wall bordering the villa, steadying yourself with one hand while Sanji remained below, quietly keeping watch over the courtyard.

From there, the voices carried just a little more clearly, though still frustratingly incomplete. You strained to catch another sentence before it vanished beneath the rustling leaves.

It would have worked.

It almost did.

Only your feet were still damp from the sea.

The smooth stone offered far less grip than you’d expected.

Your footing slipped without warning.

The sudden loss of balance sent you pitching backward, barely managing to swallow your startled gasp.

You never reached the ground.

Strong arms caught you before gravity could.

The force drove Sanji back a step, his grip instinctively tightening around your waist as he steadied both of you against the wall.

But the damage had already been done.

Inside the villa every voice fell silent.

The conversation stopped so abruptly that the ringing quiet felt louder than the words themselves.

A heartbeat later came the scrape of chairs.

Then hurried footsteps.

“Someone’s out there.”

The French doors flew open.

Guards spilled into the gardens carrying lanterns, their lights sweeping methodically across the hedges, pathways, and flowerbeds.

There was no alarm.

No shouting.

Only the measured caution of men unwilling to ignore even the faintest disturbance.

Sanji didn’t hesitate.

One arm stayed firmly around your waist as he guided, almost carried, you toward a narrow recess hidden behind a thick stone partition, concealed from the garden by climbing ivy and carefully sculpted hedges.

The space was scarcely wide enough for two people.

It forced your bodies together.

Lantern light drifted slowly across the courtyard only a few yards away.

He shifted just enough to place himself fully between you and the opening, broad shoulders shielding you completely should anyone glance into the passageway.

His eyes never left the searching guards.

They were sharp, unwavering, though when they flickered toward you for the briefest instant, the determination in them softened into something infinitely gentler.

“We have what we need,” he breathed so quietly you almost felt the words instead of hearing them.

“Whatever we're still missing… it isn't worth risking you.”

Your heart stumbled.

Before you could answer, one of the guards changed direction.

The lantern beam swept across the hedge.

Closer.

You heard the steady crunch of boots against gravel, every footstep impossibly loud in the suffocating silence.

Then you caught the scent before you saw him.

Salt carried inland on the evening breeze, mingling with expensive cologne as the guard stopped scarcely a few feet away.

Instinctively, both of you pressed even deeper into the narrow hiding place until there seemed to be no space left between your bodies.

Your forehead rested against Sanji’s chest.

One hand clutched the front of his shirt.

His arm remained securely around your waist, holding you so firmly you scarcely dared breathe.

Beneath your cheek, his heartbeat was steady, strong, almost impossibly calm compared to the frantic rhythm pounding inside your own chest.

Seconds stretched into what felt like entire minutes.

The guard lingered, lantern raised, eyes sweeping slowly over the hedges before finally lowering the light with an irritated sigh.

“Must’ve been a cat.”

His footsteps gradually faded.

Neither of you moved.

Not immediately.

You stayed exactly where you were until the last glow of the lantern disappeared behind the villa and the muffled conversation resumed inside.

Only then did Sanji allow himself a slow breath.

Only then did you realize you’d been holding yours.

Several more minutes passed before either of you dared leave your hiding place.

Silently, you retraced your steps through the gardens, leaving Villa Twelve behind exactly as quietly as you’d come.

It wasn't until the familiar paths leading back toward the hotel opened before you that the tension finally begin to unravel.

Your pulse was still racing when an unexpected laugh escaped you.

Not because anything had been funny, but because the adrenaline had nowhere else to go.

“That was… entirely too close.”

Sanji let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair before looking you over from head to toe, as though reassuring himself you were truly unharmed.

“Far too close, my dear.”

You lowered your eyes.

Embarrassment settled heavily in your stomach.

“I almost got us caught.”

He stopped so abruptly you had no choice but to stop with him.

“Almost.”

He took your hand as naturally as though he’d been doing it for years, his thumb tracing slow circles across your knuckles.

“But we still walked away with exactly what we needed, my love”

“I still compromised the mission.”

“You kept your head,” he said gently. “And we both got out.”

You shook your head.

“You were the one who got us out.”

A smile found its way back to his face, softer than the playful grin he’d worn only hours earlier on the beach.

“That’s exactly why we make such a good team.”

As he tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, your gaze caught something that made your own smile vanish almost instantly.

A thin crimson line crossed his palm.

You caught his hand before he could lower it.

“Sanji…”

He blinked.

Only then did he seem to notice the shallow cut.

It wasn’t deep, though fresh blood still welled slowly from where the rough edge of the stone wall had caught him while pulling you safely out of sight.

He gave a small shrug.

“I suppose I was in a hurry.”

You carefully wrapped your fingers around his hand, making sure not to reopen the wound.

“I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

A fond smile softened your voice.

“Come on. Let’s get back to the room so I can patch this up properly.”

He didn’t argue.

Your hands remained intertwined all the way back through the hotel lobby, where you arrived windswept, slightly disheveled, and still carrying stubborn traces of sand from your afternoon by the sea.

Judging by the knowing smiles exchanged among the reception staff…

You looked every bit like a young couple returning from an impulsive seaside adventure.

Neither of you made any effort to correct them.

When you finally made it back to your room, you insisted that Sanji shower first.

He was practically glowing from the simple fact that you were fussing over him, and although he protested halfheartedly, there was no disguising how delighted he was by the attention.

While he was still drying his hair, he quickly slipped into the pajama bottoms before you walked into the bathroom to retrievie the first-aid kit from the shelf.

Gently taking his injured hand into yours once more, you examined the shallow cut with quiet concentration.

After carefully cleaning it with an antibiotic tincture, you wrapped his palm in a fresh bandage before finally letting go of his hand once you were satisfied with your work.

There was something almost unbearably intimate about the moment.

Sanji couldn’t take his eyes off you.

The thought that you were caring for him so tenderly had completely undone him.

He watched you with a smile so bright it could have rivaled the stars outside before admiring the neat bandage once you’d finished.

“Thank you, my wonderful Y/N-swan!”

He lifted your hand, pressing a grateful kiss against the back of it only moments after it had been tending to his injury.

“I’ll pack our things while you take a shower. I know you hate the feeling of salt on your skin, and you’ve probably been waiting for this all day.”

After lingering in the shower far longer than you meant to, wondering what tomorrow would mean for the two of you, you dried your hair, finished your evening skincare routine, and slipped into your nightgown before stepping out onto the balcony.

Tomorrow would most likely return everything to the way it had always been.

Back to the familiar and painful routine where all the affection you’d found yourself quietly cherishing these past few days would once again be divided equally between you, the women on the crew, and every beautiful stranger who happened to cross Sanji’s path.

Waiting for you outside was your wonderful fake fiancé, a steaming cup of your favorite tea already in his hands.

Somehow, while you’d been showering, he’d even managed to arrange dessert.

With unmistakable pride, he explained that he’d prepared it yesterday and convinced one of the cooks he’d befriended the night before to bring it up at just the right time.

“You’re unbelievable,” you said with a smile, savoring the sweet dessert as the cool evening breeze drifted across the terrace.

Above you stretched a sky scattered with countless stars, the kind that had always left you caught somewhere between awe at the vastness of the universe and an indescribable loneliness that seemed to accompany it.

“My love… something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

Sanji’s thumb absentmindedly stroked the back of your hand as he searched your face with quiet concern.

Very little ever escaped his notice.

You met his eyes for only a moment before looking away again.

“It’s nothing,” you murmured. “I’m just tired.”

He nodded in queit understanding, though the small smile he offered carried a hint of sadness.

“Our little love mission ended far too quickly.”

He fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

“…It wasn’t enough.”

You looked at him, puzzled.

You’d fully expected that tomorrow morning he’d be twirling around the Sunny with tears streaming down his face as he proclaimed how much he’d missed Nami and Robin, probably propelled into the air by another spectacular nosebleed the instant he laid eyes on your beautiful crewmates again.

Perhaps he’d have enjoyed this hotel infinitely more if he’d been paired with one of them instead.

Perhaps he’d even have been happier.

And yet here he was, thanking you with the same sincerity he would have shown any woman, even one who’d tricked him into walking straight into the jaws of a Sea King.

Because that was simply who Sanji was.

He had never been capable of denying a woman a kind word, no matter who she was..

Not even someone like you.

“Yeah…” You smiled faintly. “It really was a surprisingly fun mission. Almost like a vacation.”

Your fingers tightened slightly around your teacup.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get sent here with one of the girls instead. You probably would’ve solved everything much faster, and then the two of you could’ve actually enjoyed the rest of your stay.”

His brows knitted together in immediate confusion.

“I don't agree with that in the slightest.”

He looked genuinely bewildered.

“And no one could’ve handled this mission better than you, Y/N-swan.”

You didn’t answer.

Instead, you quietly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“You’ve been surprisingly well-behaved these past few days.”

He smiled, though concern still lingered behind it.

“I suppose.”

“It must’ve been difficult.”

“Difficult?”

“Resisting the urge to compromise the mission by declaring your love to every beautiful woman in the hotel.” A tiny smile tugged at your lips. “Though, to be fair, most of them seemed to be taken.”

“No.”

“No asking anyone to marry you?”

“…No.”

Then, hoping to coax a smile from you, he added with unmistakable fondness,

“I’m already marrying you.”

You looked at him.

“…Why?”

He blinked.

“…Why?”

“Was it only because of the mission?” you asked quietly. “Or did a miracle happen and every woman here simply wasn't your type?”

Silence settled between you.

Then, with complete honesty and growing concern, he answered,

“What? No… Where is all this coming from?”

“You’ve always flirted,” you said, offering a small smile that never quite reached your eyes. “Even when the woman in question was trying to kill us, you could never help yourself.”

Your gaze drifted toward the stars.

“But these past few days…”

You swallowed.

“You stopped.”

You looked back at him.

“Or rather… You just acted the way ordinary people flirt.”

The words lingered between you.

Your conscience twisted painfully at the thought of hurting someone as kind—and as hopeless—as Sanji.

“It’s not your fault,” you added quietly. “This is entirely my own doing.”

You let out a slow breath.

“I just… couldn’t stop myself from wishing that everything you said to me… everything you did… every nickname… every compliment… every small kindness…”

Your voice faltered.

“Some part of me convinced itself they were genuine.”

You forced yourself to continue.

“That they were meant only for me.”

A lump rose painfully in your throat.

“Even though I know that’s simply who you are... I know none of it was supposed to mean anything.”

A small, broken smile crossed your lips.

“But no matter how many times I told myself that…”

You looked into his eyes.

“…I couldn’t make my heart believe it.”

The ocean breeze stirred the loose strands of blond hair that had fallen across Sanji’s forehead, but he made no move to brush them aside.

A cigarette rested between his fingers, little more than a habit at this point.

He had lit it minutes ago, yet it had burned almost untouched, thin ribbons of smoke dissolving into the night air while his attention remained fixed entirely on you.

An unbearable silence settled between you.

If someone had been standing close enough, perhaps they could’ve heard the quiet sound of Sanji’s heart breaking.

She truly believes she isn’t special to me.

The thought alone made him feel sick.

After everything he’d tried to show you over the past four days, after every careful gesture and every quiet effort to make you see yourself through his eyes, you still believed you were simply another woman he’d been kind to.

Somehow, he had led you to believe the exact opposite of the truth.

When, in reality, you were the most extraordinary person in the world to him.

The only one.

A sad, disbelieving smile tugged at his lips as he struggled to understand how such a painful misunderstanding had ever been allowed to grow between you.

“You really think I’ve spent all these years treating you the same as everyone else?”

You gave the smallest nod.

“I don’t know.”

A tired smile touched your lips.

“Usualy... You compliment beautiful women you meet. You make people laugh. You make complete strangers feel as though they’ve known you forever.”

His brows drew together almost imperceptibly.

“But sometimes I wonder if you even realize how effortlessly you do it.”

Your eyes locked with his.

“You make everyone feel special, Sanji...”

Your voice trembled.

“So how was I supposed to know that I was?”

You paused, feeling both lighter for finally speaking the words aloud and infinitely guiltier for the sorrow reflected in the beautiful blue eyes you’d grown to love so much.

“You look at people as though they matter,” you whispered. “And after years of watching that… I started wondering if the way you looked at me was simply another expression of the same kindness.”

The silence that followed was almost unbearable.

“So tell me, Sanji…”

You folded your arms, more to keep your hands from trembling than to shield yourself.

“How am I supposed to believe that what you’re saying now is any different?”

Your voice softened.

“How am I to know that, if someone else had been sent here with you instead of me…you wouldn’t have looked at her exactly the same way? Said the same things, smiled the same smile.”

You searched his face.

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

You laughed softly, though there wasn't an ounce of amusement in the sound.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’ve spent so many years making everyone around you feel special…”

Your eyes shimmered.

“…that I never knew whether I truly was.”

Something in his expression faltered.

Not dramatically.

His shoulders, which had remained stubbornly squared throughout the conversation, finally eased, as though he had at last understood what had been hurting you all along.

He crossed the small distance between you with slow, careful steps, moving gently enough that you could still have walked away had you wanted to.

He didn’t reach for your hand immediately.

Instead, he searched your face with a tenderness that made it painfully difficult to look anywhere else.

“So that’s what you’ve been hearing all this time,” he murmured, his voice heavy with quiet sorrow.

Your brow furrowed.

“When I tell another woman she’s beautiful…” he continued softly, “…you think I’m saying the same thing I’m trying to tell you.”

“Aren’t you?”

A faint, melancholy smile touched his lips before disappearing almost as quickly as it had come.

“No.”

The answer was so simple that it almost frustrated you.

“...No?”

“I flirt,” he admitted without shame. “I always have. I’ll try to rein it in a little more than I usually do…” A tiny, self-conscious smile flickered across his face. “Though I suspect there'll always be at least a little of it left.”

His gaze softened.

“It’s part of who I am, and I won’t insult you by pretending otherwise.”

His fingers twitched at his side before he finally gathered the courage to reach for your hand.

He held it as though it were made of glass.

As though he feared you might pull away at any moment.

Lifting it carefully, he rested your hand over his chest.

Beneath your palm, you could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

“But flirting ends the moment I walk away.”

His thumb absentmindedly traced slow circles across your knuckles.

“What I feel for you follows me everywhere.”

Your breath caught.

“I can tell a stranger she’s beautiful because beauty deserves to be admired.”

His eyes never once left yours.

“Then she leaves, and I go on with my day.”

A quiet, self-deprecating laugh escaped him.

“But you…”

He shook his head, as though words had suddenly become inadequate.

“You stay.”

His fingers closed around yours just a little tighter.

Beneath your hand, his heartbeat quickened.

“You stay in my thoughts when I’m cooking because I wonder whether you’d enjoy what I’m making. You stay whenever I pass a bookstore because I catch myself thinking about which novel you’d disappear into for hours. I hear a joke and instinctively think, ‘She’d roll her eyes at that.’”

He smiled to himself.

“And whenever we’re apart, I can’t stop wondering whether you need help with something, even though I know perfectly well you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. It still eats at me that I can’t simply run to you if you ever needed me.”

The corners of his eyes softened.

“Every little thing about you is engraved somewhere in my heart. I know exactly how you take your coffee. I know how often you drink it and at what time of day.”

A smile warmed his face.

“I always find myself wandering back into the kitchen whenever there’s a storm because I know you can’t sleep, and sooner or later you’ll sneak in looking for something warm to drink… secretly hoping, though you’d never admit it, that someone might keep you company.”

He looked at you with indescribable affection.

“I know you pretend not to like people fussing over you because it embarrasses you, when in truth every little kindness fills your heart.”

“I know you always leave the last piece of food in case someone else wanted it... I know the difference between your real smile and the one you wear when you’re telling everyone you’re fine.”

His own voice had begun to waver.

“Do you really think I’d notice all of that about everyone?”

His now-empty hand lingered near the ashtray, unconsciously searching for the cigarette he’d forgotten moments ago before falling still again.

Your eyes burned with tears.

“So when we were separated during the investigation…”

He gave a small, breathless laugh.

“I wasn’t wondering whether the receptionist smiled back at me.”

His gaze never left yours.

“I was wondering whether you’d remembered to eat lunch.”

He stepped a little closer, leaving barely enough space for the evening breeze to pass between you.

“If Nami had been sent with me…”

You nodded.

“I would’ve protected her.”

“If Robin had been sent…”

Another nod.

“I would’ve protected her too.”

“If it had been Vivi… Rebecca… any woman in this world…”

He smiled sadly.

“I would’ve complimented them. I would’ve played the devoted fiancé because that’s what the mission required.”

His voice dropped to little more than a whisper.

“But every night, when we came back to that room…”

You had never seen him look so vulnerable.

“…I would’ve been counting the days until it was over.”

Silence settled gently between you as his thumb continued its slow circles over your hand.

“But with you…”

The smallest smile appeared.

“I kept wishing we’d been given one more day.”

He let out a quiet laugh.

“Pretending you were mine…”

His eyes shimmered.

“…made me happier than I’ve ever been.”

His gaze searched yours, stripped of every trace of theatrical charm.

“You can doubt my judgment.”

A rueful smile tugged at his lips.

“God knows I’ve given you enough reasons to.”

“You can doubt my timing...”

He looked down for a moment.

“I’ve waited far too long to tell you any of this. I should’ve found the courage years ago instead of foolishly hoping you’d somehow notice on your own.”

He drew a slow, unsteady breath.

“But don’t ever convince yourself that what I feel for you is the same as the compliments I scatter to the wind.”

Almost hesitantly, he reached up to brush a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

The gentleness of the gesture made your chest ache.

“You may doubt the stars if you wish. Doubt the sea beneath our feet. Doubt every foolish promise I’ve ever made...”

He rested his forehead lightly against yours.

“But never doubt this.”

His voice was scarcely louder than the breeze.

“I love you.”

He closed his eyes for a fleeting moment before smiling, almost in disbelief.

“And if these last four days have taught me anything… it’s that once pretending stopped feeling like pretending… there wasn’t another person in this world I wanted beside me but you.”

He swallowed.

“I’d choose you.”

A faint, almost embarrassed smile.

“Tomorrow. The day after. For as long as you’d let me.”

Tears streamed freely down both your faces.

You had never imagined happiness could hurt this much.

You wanted to answer him.

You wanted to tell him everything.

Instead, all that escaped your lips was a trembling whisper.

“Sanji…”

“Yes, my love?” he answered immediately. “I’m so sorry… I should’ve told you sooner. I just—”

Unable to bear the distance between you for another heartbeat, you silenced him the only way you knew how.

You rose onto your toes and gently pressed your lips against those of the man who, by now, you could finally call your boyfriend.

For a heartbeat, the world stood perfectly still.

Sanji remained utterly frozen. Not because he didn’t know what to do.

But because after years of quietly loving you, after days spent pretending this moment belonged to him, his happiest dream had become real so suddenly that his heart needed a second to believe it.

Before you could pull away, his hands found your waist with infinite care, as though you were something precious entrusted to him rather than something he dared claim as his own.

He pulled you just a little closer.

The kiss lingered.

Soft. Unhurried. Tender beyond words.

He kissed you with astonishing patience, as though hurrying even a single heartbeat might somehow wake him from the happiest dream he had ever known.

It felt as though every tightly folded corner of your heart, kept closed for years by fear and uncertainty, slowly unfurled beneath the warmth of his lips until there was nothing left to protect.

Nothing left to doubt.

You bloomed before him as naturally as a flower turning toward the first light of spring, and in that quiet moment you understood, with breathtaking certainty, that this was what home had always been meant to feel like.

Eventually, the night drew to a close.

A night the two of you would remember for the rest of your lives.

One you would return to again and again, years from now, with the same fond smiles and quiet certainty that, somehow, everything had begun here.

Your cheeks ached from smiling.

Happiness coursed through your veins with an almost dizzying intensity, leaving you restless, exhilarated, completely unsure what to do with yourself.

You had never been happier.

Judging by the way Sanji looked at you, neither had he.

“…May I?”

You smiled, gently running your fingertips over the soft stubble that framed his jaw.

“…Please.”

His arms slipped around your waist once more, drawing you against him as though he were still afraid you might disappear if he let go.

You nestled closer without a second thought, both of you smiling like hopeless fools.

Another kiss found you.

Slow and unrushed.

This time you let your fingers wander higher, tracing the graceful arch of one of his eyebrows with featherlight touches.

When you finally pulled back, both of you slightly breathless, your lips pleasantly swollen from an evening spent stealing kisses, you shifted just enough to look down at him.

Then, to his complete surprise, you leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss against one curly eyebrow.

Then the other.

Sanji’s entire face turned scarlet.

He actually moved his fringe aside with embarrassed haste to make it easier for you to reach the second one, his heart threatening to beat straight out of his chest.

“My love…” he whispered, barely able to form the words.

His fingertips drifted lazily over the small of your back before your lips found each other once more.

The kisses came easily now.

Some impossibly gentle, little more than lingering brushes of affection.

Others filled with years of quiet longing finally given permission to exist.

Every now and then one of you would begin to smile halfway through, forcing you apart with breathless laughter before inevitably drawing you together again.

Your foreheads remained resting against one another, your breaths mingling in the quiet room while a gentle summer rain began tapping softly against the balcony doors.

Sanji smiled again.

Not the dazzling smile he offered strangers.

Not the hopelessly lovestruck grin that accompanied his theatrical compliments.

Something quieter and smaller.

Infinitely more precious.

The smile of a man who had finally stopped dreaming.

By breakfast, the difference was impossible to miss.

Oblivious to everyone except each other, the two of you sat at the table stealing glances every few seconds.

Whenever you reached for something, Sanji was somehow already there, carefully choosing your favorite foods before absentmindedly lifting your hand to place a light kiss against your fingers.

You talked and laughed.

The rest of the dining room might as well not have existed.

You had come to this hotel searching for an Eternal Pose.

Instead, you’d found something infinitely more valuable.

Something neither of you had expected.

Something that might never have had the chance to grow had you not been separated from your wonderfully chaotic crew.

Robin had already contacted you through the Den Den Mushi.

Before evening, the two of you would reunite with the Thousand Sunny before setting out to recover the Eternal Pose.

“Lovebirds!”

One of the elderly ladies from the neighboring table waved enthusiastically.

“You’re even more smitten than when you first arrived. That room of yours must be magical! Richard and I shall request it next time.”

Sanji only smiled, keeping your hand firmly in his.

“We’re simply making the most of our last few peaceful hours together before duty steals us away for a little while.”

And we don’t need anyone else.

Slightly disappointed that she hadn’t lured you back into another afternoon of gossip, the woman eventually returned to her husband.

Once she was gone, Sanji reached into his pocket and carefully slipped something between your joined hands.

It was the photo the hotel photographer had taken a few days earlier.

The one your then-fake fiancé had accepted with such ridiculous enthusiasm.

You couldn’t help smiling.

His grin in the picture was wonderfully carefree, while your own face wore the unmistakable blush of someone trying very hard not to admit how happy she was.

“I’m going to frame it.”

He looked almost dreamily at the photograph.

“We’ll keep it in our room once Franky builds us one.”

Then his eyes widened.

“That is…”

He immediately scratched the back of his neck.

“If… if that’s something you’d ever want.”

You laughed softly before kissing his cheek.

“Thank you.”

Sanji practically melted.

Then, with unmistakable excitement, he placed a small velvet box into your hands.

“Until then…”

He closed your fingers around it.

“…you’ll have this.”

You opened it.

Inside rested a delicate necklace with a tiny locket.

When you gently unclasped it, you found a miniature copy of the very same photograph tucked safely inside.

Your eyes lit up.

Throwing your arms around his neck, you peppered his cheeks with delighted kisses until he looked seconds away from fainting.

“It’s beautiful! When did you even manage to do this?”

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I slipped out the night before last while you were asleep and found a jeweler just before he closed. I asked if he could make it for me.”

A bashful smile spread across his face.

“I picked it up later while we were apart.”

Then he reached into the pocket of his jacket.

“And this one’s mine.”

He revealed an elegant pocket watch.

Inside was the same tiny photograph.

You stared at him.

“…How did you know?”

How did you know we’d end up here?

His smile softened.

“I didn’t.”

A quiet pause.

“But I hoped.”

He lowered his eyes.

“I thought… that maybe one day I’d finally find the courage to give it to you.”

A tiny laugh escaped him.

“Even if you threw it back at me.”

You couldn’t stop smiling.

“You’re unbelievable.”

Every ounce of your affection found its way into another gentle kiss.

The sounds of your crew reached the harbor long before the Thousand Sunny came into view.

As soon as Sanji helped you aboard, Luffy launched himself across the deck, chanting “FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!” like a sacred prayer, while Usopp and Chopper enthusiastically joined in.

“WOULD YOU THREE CALM DOWN UNTIL WE’VE LEFT THE HARBOR, YOU UNCIVILIZED APES?!”

Sanji barked, kicking the deck beside them.

Not one of them noticed.

For the first time that day, he reached for a cigarette.

These idiots really do bring out the worst in me.

While you hugged Nami and Robin, eagerly recounting everything you’d seen on the island, Sanji watched you from across the deck with unmistakable affection.

After stubbing out his cigarette, he wandered over.

“Ladies,” he greeted warmly, kissing each of their hands. “It’s always wonderful to see you.”

Then, almost absentmindedly, his fingers found yours.

He intertwined them naturally before lifting your hand to his lips for the briefest kiss.

“I’ll go prepare something refreshing for the Straw Hats’ princesses.”

The deck fell strangely quiet.

Nami slowly raised an eyebrow.

Robin smiled knowingly.

“…Finally.”

She chuckled.

“We should’ve sent you two on a mission together years ago if this was all it took.”

Usopp’s jaw hit the deck.

“THEY'RE ACTUALLY TOGETHER?!”

Chopper burst into delighted tears.

“I KNEW THEY'D FIGURE IT OUT!”

Luffy looked up from the loaf of bread he’d already stolen from the kitchen.

“Huh?”

He blinked.

“Weren’t they already?”

As the Sunny sailed toward its next adventure, leaving the suspiciously cupid-infested hotel behind, you and Sanji stood side by side at the railing.

He rested his chin lightly atop your head while both of you watched the horizon.

“So…”

His voice was quiet.

“Still willing to go on adventures with me, my love?”

Smiling, you answered the only way that felt right.

With a kiss.

The first of countless more to come.

To every adventure that awaited you.

And, someday, to the greatest one of all.

From the other side of the deck, Nami sighed dramatically.

“I’m beginning to think we may regret opening their eyes.”

Robin laughed softly.

“They’re going to be unbearable.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Nami groaned. “She’ll sigh over him even more than before, and he’ll become completely impossible.”

Robin watched the two of you for another moment, her smile impossibly fond.

“I don’t know. I think they’re adorable.”

Authors note: Thank you so much for reading! 🩷 I hope you enjoyed the conclusion as much as I enjoyed writing it. And thank you again for all the love you showed Part 1. It truly means the world to me!

Sanji’s thumbs slowly ease off the triggers, heart swelling as he listens to you laugh next to him. He only goes full pressure again once your water line is well above his. The buzzer goes off. His arms are already open as you jump into them. “I told you, Sanji! You can’t beat me at carnival games!” 

He smiles at you, pressing a kiss to your temple as you turn to the game host. “Pick your prize, my love.” You point towards a small red lobster. The host grabs it and hands it over to you. You happily hold it up for Sanji to look at, the sparkle in your eyes meeting the confusion in his. 

His arm wraps around your waist, guiding you towards the next game. “Why a lobster, sweetheart?” 

“Because lobsters fall in love and mate for life. Like us.” Sanji finally raises a hand to hold it. “When we get to Fishman Island, we should look for old lobster couples, walking around holding claws.” You giggle and Sanji swears he falls in love all over again. 

Sanji holds onto your little lobster, the one you picked because you were thinking about him, for the next handful of games you both play. 

It’s not long before you end up in line for the ferris wheel. “We need to have fun on the islands we visit more often.” 

“I agree. I don’t get to take you out enough, princess.” The line moves and you both get closer to the front, one group before you get to go on. 

Your gondola arrives and the previous riders step out. Sanji steps in front of you and holds out his hand to help you onto the still rocking surface. You step inside and hold your hand out for him, giving him the same help he just gave you. 

“You don’t have to do that, my love.” He smiles and red dusts his cheeks as he sits next to you, his arm going around your shoulders. 

“I know I don’t have to, you handsome dork, but I want to.” You rest your head against his shoulder, settling into the gentle rocking of the gondola. “I love you, Sanji.” 

He doesn’t have time to respond before you jump up, pointing down towards the ground. “Hey look, it’s the game I beat you at earlier!” You laugh as you turn back to him. 

He fakes offense and lifts the small lobster up near the edge. “Look there, buddy, it’s your first home.” 

You pout as your hand lands on his wrist, the other one grabbing the front of the lobster. “Don’t drop our child.” 

Your brows furrow as your eyes meet. Sanji’s widen as he tightens his grip on the lobster. “I would never drop our child.” The determination on his face makes you laugh. 

You’re both quiet as the ferris wheel stops, leaving you at the top. Sanji watches you, hearts in his eyes, as you look out. “We can see the entire archipelago from here.” Your voice is quiet, soft enough that it warms his heart. 

Looking back at him, the smile that appears on your face matches the soft one on his. You bite back a laugh as you look down at the lobster. “I don’t think it’s safe for Snapster to be hanging out this high.” You try to force a serious face as your eyes move up to Sanji’s. 

“Oh no, definitely not safe for Snapster up here.” Your smile grows as you watch Sanji safely tuck Snapster into his front pocket. “He’s all safe now.” 

Sanji’s hands are still near Snapster, still slowly looking up to you, when your hands land on his face. You whisper, feeling like it’s the loudest sound in the world this high up. “I love you, Sanji.” 

His face lights up, his hands gently landing on your waist. “I love you, (y/n).” A soft smile tugs at his lips as he lets you pull him in. Your lips meet in a soft and slow kiss, both of you savoring the moment until the ferris wheel moves again. 

Laughter erupts from both of you as you fall into Sanji’s lap. “I guess it’s not safe for us up here either.” The twinkle in his eyes meets yours. 

Once your gondola is back on the ground, you step out first, holding a hand out for Sanji to follow. His cheeks are dusted pink as he squeezes your hand and lets you lead him further through the park. 

Only one more game gets played, Sanji smiling as he watches you beat him again, before you both hear the sounds of a battle breaking out. 

“You don’t think…?” You slowly turn to Sanji, reaching out to grab his hand again as he leads you towards the noise. 

“Yep. That’s definitely our circus and our monkeys.” You sigh as Sanji drags you back towards your crew. Can’t even have one day off. 

The crew is quickly gathered and Usopp lets you and Sanji know what just happened. The navy is here and they have new machines they are using to fight pirates. Luffy decides the crew needs to split up, you can all meet back at the ship in three days. 

Sanji’s hands are on your face, gently cupping your cheeks as you look into his eyes. You’re both looking through tears as you speak. “Keep Snapster safe, Sanji. We have to show him his new home in three days.” 

“I will, sweetheart. Snapster is safe with me.” A small smile ghosts past your lips as Sanji kisses your forehead. “I’ll see you in three days. Stay safe for me, my love.” 

“I will. Stay safe for me, my handsome dork.” He cracks a small smile. 

“Always.” Sanji’s hands drop off your face as he pulls you into a hug that you quickly return. 

Usopp yells your name, reaching towards you. “C’mon, we gotta go!” 

Sanji’s hand lingers in yours as Nami starts to pull him away. You give him one last squeeze and a small smile as you both head in opposite directions. It’s only three days. We’ll be okay. 

Sanji pushes Snapster deeper into his pocket, making sure the lobster is secure as he runs after Nami and Franky. Usopp pulls you with as he follows Zoro and Brook. 

Kuma, the machine the marines sent after your crew, comes to your group first. Zoro pushes you all behind him as he takes on the fight. It looks like he’s winning until Kuma hits Zoro and you all watch your crewmate disappear. “Zoro!!” 

A few blocks away, Sanji recognizes your scream. “Nami, Franky, we have to go help them.” They both quickly agree as Brook’s name is screamed next. 

Sanji gets to the block you and Usopp are at quickly enough that he watches Kuma approach Usopp. He watches his crewmate disappear into thin air. Nami slams into his back as his eyes move to you. 

You’re staring at the space in front of you. The space Usopp was just occupying. Entirely frozen in place. You don’t move until Sanji screams your name. He’s running towards you. Not even ten feet away. He’s so close. He can get to you. Your eyes turn to meet his. You start to run, screaming his name. The desperation in both of your voices shakes the archipelago as you scream for each other. We can’t be separated. Not like this. Please don’t take me from him.

Kuma approaches you. Hitting you and making you disappear only a foot from Sanji. If he was half a second faster. If he didn’t tell Nami and Franky to follow when he heard you. He could’ve made it. He could’ve saved you. He’s stuck. Hands holding the space you were just in. Tears streaming down his face. 

Nami screams his name, watching in horror as Kuma hits him next. Her and Franky run, not knowing what to do after five crew members just disappeared. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

On the day the crew was supposed to meet back up on the Thousand Sunny, you finally slam into the ground. Or you slam into a couple people. More than a couple, really. There’s loud music all around you and the crowd lifts you up like people fall out of the sky every day. You’re pushed around as everyone dances, tears streaming down your face as you try to figure out where you are. 

Everytime you spot a wall and try to pull yourself out of the crowd, someone pushes you back in. Hands all over your body, keeping you from getting free. Keeping you from figuring out where you landed. Keeping you from a moment to breathe. A moment to process. A moment to wish Sanji was here. 

The sun was high in the sky when you crashed onto this island. It’s starting to disappear beyond the horizon as you collapse. Knees slam into the concrete. Head falls into your lap. Hands cover your ears. Sobs shake your body. 

“Hey, is that one of the Straw Hats?” Arms wrap around your waist, lifting you off the ground before they carry you out of the crowd. You’re set back on the ground. Slowing moving your arms down, your eyes slowly move up the body of the person who saved you. Black work boots, blue pants, yellow shirt, cigar in his mouth. Paulie.  

You blink a few times. Slowly looking around to see if you didn’t recognize Water Seven. 

He squats down to your level, waiting for your eyes to focus on his face. “Why are you in San Faldo?” 

You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to figure out what happened. “We were on Saboady, fighting the navy. I don’t know how I got here. We were attacked and I just landed in the middle of this party a few hours ago I think.” Paulie’s face is neutral as he processing everything you tell him. “Is this Water Seven?” 

He shakes his head. “It’s an island on the Sea Train route. Do you want to come back to Water Seven with me? We can figure out what happened and how to get you back to your crew.” 

You nod, taking his outstretched hand to help you up. Unknowingly, you travel closer to Sanji as you and Paulie take the sea train to Water Seven. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Sanji lands on Momoiro Island and he lands hard. Groans spill from his lips as he makes sure he can still feel his whole body. His hand quickly flies up, making sure Snapster is still safely in his pocket. He lets out a sigh before opening his eyes and sitting up. 

His fear is immediate as he looks up to the large amount of okamas looking down at him. Snapster is slowly further secured in his pocket before he’s up and running. He runs the entire length of the island, looking and searching. Hoping he can find you. He hits the shore for the sixth time and collapses onto himself as the okamas close in. 

He screams out towards the ocean. Tears streaming down his face. Where are you, my love? His heart falls to the pit of his stomach as its contents empty onto the beach. He falls, landing hard on his back as every tiny piece of his broken heart falls into the sand. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Iceberg meets you and Paulie at the station on Water Seven with a huge smile and a quick hug. “Welcome back, (y/n). What brings you here?” 

You recount the story as you told it to Paulie, adding in extra details you didn’t think of before. Both men have pity in their eyes as they listen. 

“I’m so sorry. You are more than welcome to stay here on Water Seven until you can find your crew and safely return to them.” Iceberg gives you a small supportive smile. “I can find you a place to stay, we may have an extra room in-” 

“She can stay with me. I have a spare room.” Paulie cuts Iceberg off before quickly turning to you. “If that’s okay with you.” 

Giving him a small nod, you give him an even smaller smile. “Just until I can get back to my crew. I promise.” 

“Stay as long as you need.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

A few weeks later, a News Coo flies by Paulie’s house, dropping a newspaper by the door. Paulie gets up from the table to grab it, eyes wide as he walks back towards you. He pulls the cigar out of his mouth, letting you know the breaking news before tossing you the paper. “Your captain directly challenged the authority of the marines.” 

Your eyes widen to match his as you take the paper and read it. Straw Hat Luffy is alive! Sixteen rings for the New World at Marineford. Spotting the writing on his arm, you turn back to Paulie. “Is it alright if I stay here for two years?” 

“Of course.” 

It’s not long before you and Paulie get into a routine of the news over breakfast, working all day at the shipyard, and dinners with Iceberg. He quickly trains you into a shipwright worthy of working at the Galley-La company, and worthy of sailing with the future king of the pirates. 

Most days, you happily follow Paulie’s lead. Working hard to prove your worth in the shipyard. 

Most nights, you can’t sleep. Sitting up on the bed in the room Paulie lets you call home. Tears streaming down your face as you struggle to get a wink of sleep. Struggling to get comfy. Struggling to get your mind to rest. Your thoughts are on Sanji. On all the adventures you had. On all the love you share. On the home you created in your cabin on the Thousand Sunny. 

Most nights you wish you could fold the Grand Line in half so that you could be with him again. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

One island over in Paradise, Sanji gets the newspaper. He sees Luffy’s message. He accepts the two year wait if that’s what Luffy needs. His heart shatters. He cries as he thinks about spending the next two years without you. Snapster comes out of his pocket and up to his lips. We didn’t even get to show Snapster his new home, my love. 

The okamas don’t give Sanji the space he needs to grieve this lost time with you. The further he runs, the more he’s chased, the more he’s cornered, he gets stronger with each passing day. Constantly training as he constantly runs. He checks no less than every five minutes to make sure he still has Snapster. To make sure he didn’t lose the one part of you he got to take with him. 

He sleeps up a tree, in the safety of the branches, where the okama won’t find him and won’t chase him. He sleeps, or says he does. He hasn’t slept a wink since Sabaody. Since he watched you disappear right in front of his eyes. When you were almost within reach before you were gone. When he almost had you in his arms before he can’t hold you for two years. Throughout their nights on Momoiro Island, Snapster gets more and more soaked in Sanji’s tears. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

During a nightly dinner with Iceberg and Paulie, you share the adventures your crew has gone on since leaving Water Seven. Updating them on how Franky’s doing as they happily listen, both excited to hear about their old friend. 

Iceberg’s face softens as you sidebar into cute stories about Sanji, telling them about all the side quests he lets you join on each island, giving you both a chance to adventure by yourself together. 

“I can tell you miss him. It’s always been clear you love each other.” Iceberg sets his hand on the table near you, giving you a silent opening to reach out if you need to. 

Your hand lands on his, giving it a small squeeze as you give him a small smile. “I really miss him. I miss the whole crew. Two years is a long time.” 

The two men give you small nods, Iceberg squeezing your hand back as Paulie gives your shoulder a squeeze. “You’ll be back with them soon.” Your eyes meet Paulie’s as he speaks, spotting the sadness in his eyes as he remembers one of many nights he woke up to your yearning. 

The scream ringing through the house jolts Paulie out of his slumber. He grumbles as he pulls pants on, heading over to your room to check on you. He opens the door to silently watch you frantically digging through the blankets, completely covered in sweat as you mumble Sanji’s name, asking where Snapster went. Paulie only watches for a few minutes before he comes to sit beside you on the bed, carefully taking the blankets out of your hands. He takes your wrists in his hands, making you look up to him. “Where is he?” Paulie’s heart aches as he works to calm you down. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Sanji’s cornered. He’s got no where to run. The okamas are on all sides. Sanji tries to attack, kicking once. Kicking twice. By the third kick, he realizes he’s no longer on the ground. The fourth and fifth kicks get him higher up and he shouts, laughter erupting from his body. His first Sky Walk is rough, but he smiles as he looks down at the island. 

His body quickly starts plummeting to the ground as he thinks about how excited you would be to see this. His body is thrown through the trees, tears streaming down his face as sobs wreck through his body. He lands with a hard thud, not moving for a long time as he falls apart. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Paulie helps you build a small boat, a piece of Water Seven to take with you, something to show all that you’ve learned, as you prepare to leave. One of his shipwrights in the company gets you an eternal pose set for Sabaody, sliding a map of Paradise into your hand with it. 

Iceberg swings by as you’re both working, laying down the blueprints for the Thousand Sunny on Paulie’s work table. “Franky had designed this ship ages before he built it. These might help you make something you can safely store on board.” 

Paulie looks over the blueprints, comparing them to the ones you and him made. You smile at Iceberg, thanking him as he heads back out. 

The three of you have one last meal together, breakfast this time, before they bid you a farewell. Hugging them both, you thank them more times than they believe necessary as you try not to cry. 

“I’ll never be able to repay you both for the home you’ve provided over the past two years. I owe you both my life.” You wave from your ship as you start to sail away. 

Paulie waves back with a much bigger smile than Iceberg as. “Tell Franky we wish him well!” 

Iceberg gives you a small salute as you swear you spot a little sadness in his eyes. He watches you and Paulie continue waving at each other until your little ship turns into a dot on the horizon.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

A day later, Sanji sets sail from Momoiro Island, both excited and nervous to see you again. He’s about half a day behind you, unknowingly following you across the Grand Line on your way back home. He secures Snapster in his pocket for the journey, making sure the lobster’s head is peaking out and he can see the adventure, too. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

You arrive at Sabaody second, spotting Zoro napping on deck as you get your ship into the spot Paulie suggested. You decide to head out onto the archipelago, hopeful you can find other crewmates. 

Ending up walking through the amusement park, you’re shocked by the size of the crowd. One body slams into yours, then another. After the third body and a scream right in your ear, you’re on the ground. Reliving that night from two years ago. Knees slamming into the concrete. Hands on your ears. Head tucked as low as it will go. Tears start to stream down your face as you try to will yourself to be anywhere else. 

Sanji arrives on the Sunny and spots both a sleeping swordsman and your backpack, leaned against the door to below deck. He heads down, looking all over the ship for you before heading back up to deck. He glances at the crows nest before looking out to the island. 

He sighs, making his way back off the ship, wishing you could’ve been the first thing he saw upon returning. His bag is left on the ship, but Snapster is still secure in his pocket. 

He gets to the amusement park and spots you collapse on yourself. He’s running towards you. Only ten feet away. His movements speed up, not willing to let himself be too late again. He lands by your side, hands hovering above your shoulders like he’s trying to decide if it’s really you. 

You’re too absorbed in your panic to look up, or even notice, when Sanji lands beside you. 

His hands continue hovering. He tries whispering comforting words, not sure what to say to make it better. Too scared of making it worse to touch you. 

He lowers his hands and takes Snapster out of his pocket. He gently holds him under your head and waits. 

Your sobs start to slow, your breathing trying to level out before you whisper, confusion dripping off the word. “Snapster…?” Your arms slow come down as you take the lobster in one hand. 

As soon as you realize it’s real, your fear ridden eyes shoot up to meet Sanji’s worried ones. “Sanji…?” He slowly nods before your arms are quickly around his neck. Tears soaking his shirt as you cling to him. 

His arms come around your waist, pulling you in close as he tucks his head in your neck. His heart aches as he takes in your familiar scent, now coated in the added smell of a hard day’s work. “Hi, my love. I’m sorry I didn’t make it to you in time” 

“Hi, my handsome dork. You made it in time today.” 

You step back as Sanji helps you stand. His hands quickly move to your shoulders as yours grab his wrists. Snapster stays tucked between your hand and his wrist. Both of your eyes drop, scanning the changes the other has gone through over the past two years. 

“Sanji, did your legs somehow get stronger?” 

“My love, you look like you could bench mosshead.” You giggle as he pulls you into a tight hug. 

The next couple of hours are spent hanging off of each other, always having at least one hand on the other as you both shop for food for your crew. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Sanji’s hand is in yours, fingers intertwined as you carry the food back to the ship. The bags are piled on the counter as you help him put everything away. He tells you about the horrors he experienced on Momoiro Island and the cool new tricks he’s dying to show you. 

You tell him you spent the past two years in Franky’s hometown, learning how to be a shipwright from the company he apprenticed at. You drag him away from the kitchen to show him the ship you and Paulie built. He admires it with care as you watch his face light up. You point out all the quirks, everything you added to make it your own. He fails to bite back a smile as he looks up to you. 

He wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you in as you finish. His lips land on your temple as you admire your own creation. 

On your way back up to the galley, a new excitement fills your body. “I can’t wait to show Franky the ship.” Sanji drops his head onto yours, joy in his heart for the first time in years. 

Despite coming back to the galley to keep working, you both end up on the couch. Sanji’s on his back as you lay on top of him, running your fingers through his hair as you give him a lot of funny hairstyles. 

“I really missed you, Sanji.” His heart aches, tears starting to fall as you tell him how much you were aching to get him back. You wipe away his tears, gently cupping his cheeks as you pull him into a soft kiss. 

His eyes are still glistening as he leans his head back. One of his hands comes up to cup the side of your neck, the other landing on the small of your back. “I missed you so much, my love.” He tells you how badly he was aching, how much he hated the island and how much worse it was without you there. Your arms wrap around him as you lay your head on his chest, listening to the steady thud of his heart as your own tears start to fall. 

He holds you close as you both drift off to sleep. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

You both know the second Luffy returns because he jumps right on top of you, pushing you deeper against Sanji’s body. Both now very awake, you turn to your captain as he asks for food. 

Sanji grumbles, heading over to make something easy as the crew gathers around the counter. Seeing that he’s making something simple, you move over and wrap your arms around him as your head rests on his back. His body relaxes as he continues cooking. You both smile listening to the stories your crewmates tell of their past two years. 

After a delicious simple lunch, the crew all exchanges hugs before parting ways to get the Sunny ready to sail. Sanji’s hand is in yours as you call out to Franky, not letting him leave the galley quite yet. “I have to show you something.” 

Confusion lines his features as he follows you down to the belly of the ship. His excitement grows as you tell him where you spent the past two years. “Both Iceberg and Paulie wanted me to say hi for them. They both miss you and are glad we’re doing well as a crew.” 

The tears that are lining the bottom of Franky’s eyes start to fall as he takes in the ship you and Paulie built. You proudly smile at Franky while Sanji wraps himself around you, resting his head on your shoulder. “This is super! The detail, it’s all so-” He cuts himself off as he moves closer, admiring the care you and Paulie put into the ship. “How did you match it to the Sunny so well?” 

“Iceberg still has your original blueprints. We worked with them to edit mine.” You laugh as Franky smiles. “Is this an okay spot for it to stay?” 

“Of course!” Franky’s smile grows as he reaches a fist up. You bump yours against his before he excitedly mentions wanting to work in the own workshop for a bit. 

“Have fun, Franky!” You smile at each other before Sanji unwraps himself, taking your hand again to lead you back to your cabin. 

As soon as you get into your room, Sanji turns to you. Before he can say or do anything, you judgingly look down at his outfit. “As much as I like you in a suit, you’re much more cuddly in comfier clothes.” You pout at him as you quickly change out of your travel clothes and into his comfiest clothes. Carefully taking Snapster out of his pocket, you step back so he can change. 

“You took the comfiest of the clothes, my love. What do you expect me to wear?” His sweet smile betrays the annoyance in his words. 

Humming in response, you climb into bed while watching him. “Where did we leave your green sweatshirt?” He thinks for a minute, watching you tuck Snapster into the corner of the bed, before opening your closet. “And put on comfy pants!” 

He peeks his head back out with an attempted glare towards you but your sweet smile brings out his own.  He quickly changes and climbs into bed next to you, tightly wrapping his arms around your waist. 

You carefully take his head in your hands, tipping it up so he’s facing you. “Hi, my handsome dork.” You press a gently kiss to his nose, sending a wave of red creeping up his neck. 

“Hi, my love.” He tries to bury his face into your chest but you bend down to press a kiss to his forehead before he can. His smiles grows and his eyes drift closed as you press another soft kiss to the side of his mouth. 

When you let your lips fully meet his, one of his hands moves up to the side of your neck. He softly kisses you back, smiling into the kiss as his heart swells. 

You both pull back with soft smiles on your lips and pure adoration in your eyes. “I love you.” He finally settles his face into your chest, nuzzling his body closer to yours. 

Tangling your legs with his, you press one last soft kiss to the top of his head. Your hold on him tightens as you start to drift to sleep. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

The crew’s only been on Fishman Island for a few hours. Havoc has already been wreaked. Chaos has already ensued. But there’s a smile on your face as Sanji pulls you along, needing you to urgently see something. 

He stops you close to a small pond. You lean into him, following the line of his arm as he points. His other arms wraps around your waist. Your smile grows as you watch the old lobster couple taking a stroll on the beach, holding claws.

Luffy

When his mind is set on something, he won’t give up.

I mean, it’s not like he’s stalking you or harassing you. He’s just making sure he won’t leave your mind.

Cause he prefers to hear how much you regret him and pray to Gods that you never met him than forget him (Lewis Capaldi dramatic ass bitch)

He understands why you broke up; he’s not stupid.

Luffy will still be Luffy; he won’t ever give that up, but he makes an active effort not to jump at every decision that makes for a “good adventure”.

Gets Nami and Usopp to help him and remind him of stuff. He starts showing up to things on time, he tries to be less selfish (but he’s still getting you back, no discussion)

Wants you two to be friends again. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Even if it makes his skin crawl, he is unable to hold you as he wants to.

It all starts nice and neat, you are able to hang out at the same gatherings and events.

Now you answer his TikToks and send him some.

You can see the changes he’s been making. And you know his love and intentions are genuine, but you are still hesitant.

It’s the little things that make him feel like everything’s gone back to the way it was.

He’s at your door, bringing snacks and claiming it’s movie night; Fridays become date nights once again; he starts leaving things at your place, clothes, toothbrush, his favourite rock. That last one is how you realise what’s going on.

“Luffy, you can’t stay the night. And more importantly, we can’t sleep on the same bed.” “Why not? We’ve done it before.” “Because.” “Because?”

You try to establish limits, but are also weak.

“We can’t go out this weekend, Lu. I have plans.” “Can I join?” “I’m going with Robin to a museum and then book shopping.” “Okay, can I go?” “You don’t like museums or books, Luffy.” “No, but I like you and I miss you.”

(dear gods, my heart.)

It’s up to you to put a stop to this.

“We can’t be friends, Luffy.”

“What? Why?” His entire face is smeared with food. You thought taking him to a restaurant would make things easier.

“Because we can’t. We always end up in the same place, and that can’t keep happening. It’s not fair to me or to you.”

“Then let’s just date again. If we like each other, I don’t get why we aren’t together.”

“I don’t know Luffy. Last time it didn’t work out and I...”

“You love me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but...”

“And I love you. Then it’s decided.” That’s it. You can’t even retaliate. He shoved a slice of pizza into his mouth.

You ask him to go slow, and he agrees (your definition of slow and his are very different, but he’ll respect what you say)

Luffy is very touchy, and you know this, but he tries to control himself.

First, he’ll start by holding your hand, small kisses on the lips, cuddling and hugging each other constantly.

He’s happy that you are back together. He missed you in every aspect. Your presence, your love, your laugh, and your sense of humour.

There’s also a thing Luffy really missed while you two were apart.

“Luffy.” You moaned quietly. Since getting back together, it's like his appetite had multiplied. No matter the day, no matter the hour, he just had to have you. Whether it's on the bed, couch, table, or between the library halls. If he wanted it, he got it.

He hummed against your wet cunt. His tongue and lips slurping and sucking sloppily. Up and down the underside of your clit before descending into your entrance, then fucking you with his tongue while his fingers toy with your bundle of nerves. Mouth opened wide, exploring every crevice, every spot.

“Oh god, Luffy.” You closed your eyes tightly shut, your fingers pulling on his hair. Trying to contain yourself, if anyone were to find out...

Two fingers fucking you, tongue flicking on your clit, or lips sucking on it like his life depended on it. A mixture of his spit and your juices dripping down his fingers and throat, “Come on, baby. Give it to me.”

He never asked; he demands it.

Zoro

How did he get you in the first place? He thinks long and hard, but he can’t seem to come up with an answer.

He’s a stubborn asshole, prideful and, not that he’ll admit it, a tad stupid.

And while there are a bunch of things Zoro is, coward is not one of them.

So, he tries. He knows you, and he knows when to stop trying, but right now he recognises his fuck ups and is how he broke your trust.

At first, he's got no clue what to do. Thankfully, Nami and Sanji exist.

Oh, they make him beg them for help (not a lot, just an appropriate amount)

Marimo’s got to learn how to be a good boyfriend and a man who's worth of you.

He learns how to handle his schedule, Google Calendar, and to actually read the fucking clock.

Then, even though actions speak louder than words, he is still expected to speak his mind every once in a while. He needs to learn how to be vulnerable, open. If he can’t be honest with you, then who else?

This won't take a day, and it's clear that his friends can't perform miracles on his broken mentality, but every effort counts.

He enlists the things he knows he failed at, just to know what he’s apologizing for. He won't lie, his pride took a blow when he saw the size of it and wondered how the fuck you'd kept up with his shitty attitude all that time.

Now, with a new sense of responsibility, maturity (and hygiene), he’s off to get you back.

What? What the fuck do you mean she's out on a date, Vivi?!

His hands are sweating, and his mind is racing. Fuck, was he too late? Had you finally moved on?

He stands outside the restaurant. Grumbling about how it’s supposed to be yours and his spot, why would that unoriginal idiot bring you there?

A chill runs down his spine. There you are, beautiful as ever. Dressed to the nines, all dolled up for someone who isn't him.

You are bored out of your mind. You knew this wasn’t going to be a good date. You were very aware of this. My gods, it’s Sanji’s younger brother, of course, it couldn't be good, but, you know, green brings you comfort.

He's got no clue you have checked out of the conversation long ago, too busy rambling about something only he understands. Meanwhile, you look around the place, remembering all the times you were there with Zoro. How the hours would go by so easily, the way the place always felt so cosy and bright, but now you know it wasn't the restaurant itself, but who was next to you. You never should've suggested it for a first date, but you were feeling like punishing yourself for agreeing to it in the first place.

“You look really hot in that dress.” Said the man in front of you, who, by the way, wouldn't stop staring at your rack. It's funny how alike he is to his older brother, and yet, is a bigger and nastier pig. You almost wish it was Sanji instead (emphasis on almost)

“Thanks, I guess.” You can't bear to look at him, two seconds away from excusing yourself to go to the bathroom and never coming back.

As you take a sip from your drink, trying to get the awful taste of this evening out of your mouth, a shadow you are quite familiar with shows up on your plate.

“Hey, buddy. Mind getting the fuck out of my seat?” Goosebumps cover the back of your neck. That's the sound you've been missing for so long, the presence you've been craving ever since that morning.

When Zoro sees Yonji, he only sees a green-haired Sanji and, for some reason, it pisses him even more. It isn't that hard to get him to leave; threatening to call Reiju seems enough.

Now he's in front of you. Conflict and anxiety in his eyes and uncertainty in his mouth. You see how a thousand thoughts run across his mind, not sure which one to let out first. Where did all that previous confidence go? You decide to show him a bit of mercy.

“How did you know I was here?” You swirl your drink, trying to cover up your own nerves.

“Vivi.”

“Ah.” You can always trust your friends to make the right choices, even if it's just to save you from one bad date.

It takes him a couple more seconds to gather courage, “I’m sorry.”

You don't say anything, keeping your eyes on the tablecloth. You think that if you look at him, the tears will come.

“I was a selfish asshole, and I took you for granted. And I'm sorry it took me losing you to see it.”

“And?”

“And I'm sorry for using sex as an excuse to get close to you again.”

You snorted. Well, at least he's honest. And if you were to also admit things yourself, you did the same.

“I've been working on learning how to manage my time and priorities. Also on...” he groaned, this was hard, “on being more open about... my feelings, or whatever.”

“I see Sanji finally got in your head.” You teased, amused by this side of him.

“Fucking curly brows didn't do shit.”

“It wasn't him?”

He went silent, groaning under his breath. Of course, it was Sanji; no one else could get on his nerves like him.

“I can't promise I’ll be perfect. I'm still an idiot, but I love you, and I will make sure you feel appreciated and loved, and if not, you may punch me in the head.”

You smile at him, “I know you are an idiot.” He glares at you playfully, “I just wanted you to try. ” You hesitated for a moment, “Zoro, if I give you another chance, that is it. No more.”

“I swear on my life I won't repeat my mistakes.”

And he tries.

Zoro is still the stubborn man you know, but he makes an effort for you.

He learns to speak his mind. To consider you when making decisions. And to use Google Maps whenever you guys are going on a date as not to get lost.

His actions and words have consequences, but it's never his intention to purposely hurt you. He's a softie at the end of the day.

Back on his arms, where you belong. He’s on top of you, leaving small kisses on your neck and cheeks, making you giggle. Pure love and admiration fill his eyes; the only thing he sees is you.

He's deep inside you. He moves with passion, but it's not hard and fierce, but unhurried and tender. His hands travel up and down your skin, making goose bumps cover it. The way his hips move makes it a slow, delicious journey.

“You feel so good, baby.” He whispers in your ear, kissing it after.

You tremble. You can feel yourself getting closer and closer, “Zoro”, you whimper, scratching his back.

“That's it, girl.” His cock hits all the right spots, taking your breath away. “Give it to me.”

The knot in your belly snaps.

Sanji

It’s like he’s missing half a brain. Truly.

He’s such a man (derogatory)

During the first weeks, he’ll show up at your door with flowers, plushies, and desserts. Each and every single time, Nami will tell him to fuck off and leave you the fuck alone (and her)

No matter how much it hurts to say it, you have to face the truth; you can't trust Sanji.

Flirting while in a relationship isn't something you are comfortable with. Also, you know if you were to act the same way he does, he wouldn't be okay with it. Fucking hypocrite.

Mmm, that gives Robin an idea. She and her beautifully fucked up mind are always so quick.

You've never been one to sleep around, not because you have a problem with it, but, you know... men.

Still, the first time you looked at Law, you couldn't help but blush. (and your core to clench)

You both know what this about, him to rearrange your guts and you to explore his tattoos with your tongue. No feelings, no commitments.

You won't lie, that was so easy and so good. And while sometimes you may still think of your blonde ex-lover, Eustass Kidd sure knows how to take the edge off a heartbreak.

That's the way you move now. You feel happy, free, and satisfied with your sex life, after feeling like any woman was more than you in your boyfriend/s eyes.

Now, you may be all content with your situation, but Sanji feels like throwing himself off the roof.

What the fuck is going on? And why is Perona parading around with a hickey and telling people it's your fault?

He feels like he’s going crazy. Why all of a sudden is everyone getting you, but not him?

Fights with Zoro increase, food comes out burnt and bitter according to his customers (Luffy says it’s still good), and no woman is getting compliments when he’s around (Nami doesn't miss it tbh)

Zeff is two seconds away from killing his own child, so he calls Usopp to come get Sanji before his wooden leg commits a crime.

Usopp thinks Zeff is scary, but compared to how Sanji is acting right now, he'd rather take a kick to the head from the older chef.

“What's going on with you?” “Nothing.” “Sanji, everything you cook is either burnt and inedible or spicy and inedible. Why are you acting like this?” “Why is she sleeping around?” “Didn’t you guys break up?”

Yeah, you did. And he’s been miserable since. He knows what he did was wrong, and he knows if you were to do the same, he’d kill any bastard that dared look your way. He acted like a pig; he knows.

He knows he won't get a third chance, but he will at least try.

He chooses a direct approach, no more games, no more excuses.

“And I'm sorry that I didn't take your feelings into consideration. I have no excuse for the way I acted. No woman is more important than you, my love.”

You look at him. To be honest, you don’t know what to do, you don't trust him, even if you still love him, so you listen to the one voice of reason you know, Robin. “Okay, Sanji, I forgive you.”

“My love.” There's hearts in his eyes. An unbelievable amount of joy fills his insides, “Thank you so much, I swear to you that I...”

“Let's just do this real slow, Sanji, you know? Let's not throw ourselves into something so formal, so committing, for now let's just have fun, okay?”

Yeah. After you said you forgave him, he didn't hear anything else, too consumed with love and delusion. Boy, will the future be so confusing and enervating for his poor heart.

For the first days, he goes about life as if everything in the world is good and nice, and, in a way, it is. He's got you back, and nothing could be better, right?

Dates become a recurrent thing once again. Yeah, you might be on your phone a lot, but that's okay. You have lots of friends, right?

Oh, you are going to a party with your friends? That sounds fun, let him just... oh, yeah, it's okay, he's got things to do anyway.

Yeah, Sabo's scar is cool, but why are you telling him this? Ah, right, cause of that time he said Nami's are beautiful.

What? Law’s so interesting? Oh, yeah, you also like people who have a special interest, he said something like that about Viola, didn't he?

But none of this dampens his enthusiasm, yet.

Flowers on his arms, a white prince shirt, and his heart on his hands, he goes looking for you, but what he comes across is less from a fairy tale and more from a horror movie.

Why in the fuck are you and Izou standing so close to each other? And more importantly, who the fuck does he think he is to touch you like that?

“Sanji, chill, we are just having fun.”

Wait. What the fuck?

“Oh, come on, Sanji. This arrangement is so much better, you can still be you and act like you please, and I'll just do the same.”

Oh, hell no.

It's as if his frontal lobe has finally developed; he sees things clearly now. You haven't forgiven him.

(Women in male fields, am I right?)

This isn't healthy or sane, but he comes to a conclusion: he can't be without you, so he'll just have to show he’s better than all your little flings.

His hips snap against the bags of your legs. He's got you bent over against the stove, the pans and pots on the floor, and your hands desperately grabbing onto anything to keep yourself grounded.

Turns out that Sanji does have a rough side. The man who used to worship and praise your body and existence is fucking you like he hates you. In complete disregard of everything he feels for you, chasing his own pleasure and satisfaction. And you can't even lie, you love it.

He grabs you by the hair, pulling your head close to his mouth, “Is this what you wanted? To be treated like a common whore? That's what it takes to make you happy?”

You shut your eyes, tears running down your cheeks. You try to pull away from his grip and cock, but this only makes him pull you closer, pushing his tip harder against your cervix.

“No. Isn't this what you wanted? For me to show you how no one else will make you feel like this? How no one can fuck you like I do?”

“Sanji!” You squirt. Your entire body trembles as it's set on fire from the stimulation.

“You are mine, sweetheart. Don't forget it.”

Ace

He lets things cool down for a few days. He’s gone down this road with you; he thinks you just have to stop overthinking everything and have fun.

Well, shit, why haven’t you called him in three weeks?

He looks for you at every party, but either you are a ninja or you aren’t there.

Your phone is flooding with messages and calls. Somehow, he convinced Sabo, Luffy, and Yamato to back him up, and they won’t leave you the fuck alone. (Luffy sends you TikToks of cats eating wagyu beef in between, so you aren’t that mad at him.)

You decided long ago that being friends with Ace is something you can’t do, no matter how much it hurts; your little heart can’t take it.

You try everything and anything to avoid him, even if it means sacrificing your favourite bar or coffee shop. But there’s one thing you didn’t account for (or hope he wouldn’t be brave enough to do)

He knows where you live and shows up with a purpose.

“I’m not leaving until you open the door.” “You’ll die out there.” “I brought snacks and a water bottle, I’ll live.”

You open the door, not because you want to see him, but because he threatened to piss on the bottle if you didn’t.

You stare at each other for a couple of minutes, and you’ve got no idea what to do or say. “Umm...”

“How long are we going to keep on playing games?”

“You don’t want a relationship, Ace.”

He groans, exasperated, “Stop putting words in my mouth. I do. I want you, you are the one who keeps pushing me away.”

“When we were dating, you never made time for us. Always at parties or with friends...” He cut you off.

“I took you everywhere with me!”

“A relationship isn’t showing up together at places. It’s about spending time together, being there for each other, and communicating. Not making out on Marco’s couch every weekend.

“I didn’t hear you complain back then.” He said under his breath.

You looked at him, unamused.

“Okay, we’ll do that. I’ll give you everything you are asking for.”

You sighed. It was getting exhausting, “Ace...”

“I want this, I want you, I want a relationship.”

“Leave, Ace.”

You want him. Of course you do. But you are scared.

You believe him when he says he loves you, but how do you know he won’t get bored of you?

He decides the ball’s in your court. If you want anything to change, it’s up to you. He tried, and you pushed him away.

He knows you better than you know yourself; he knows you can’t stay away.

Dick’s too good. (okay, I’m being too self-indulgent)

Nine days. That’s how strong your will is.

It’s okay, he wasn’t expecting you to last long (tbf neither were you)

And that’s how you find yourself knocking on his door.

“Well, well, look what the wind blew in.” He leans against the door frame. Shirtless, sweaty, and with messy hair. That’s all it takes for you to be on your knees for him.

“Ace.”

He stares at you for a couple of seconds, debating on what to do, “You know how I feel about you. I can’t just let you in for you to run away after I fuck you.” His words are crude, and so is his tone. He’s done with your indecisiveness.

“Okay.”

“Say it.”

“I believe you.”

“That’s a good girl.”

Oh, how love works. One second, you are a mess of tears on your bed, missing him and trying to heal your poor heart, the next, you are being shoved against the door while he fucks you like he hates you. Makeup sex has never been better.

“Ace!” Your nails dig into the skin of his shoulders. He's sat on the couch, you on top. His hat on your head and his hands on your hips. You ride him with passion, desperate to feel him cum inside of you.

“Yeah, that's a good girl.” His arms help you bounce on his cock. His eyes were glued to the way your tits jump, making his mouth water.

You lean back, resting your hands on his knees, moving your hips in circles. The look on his face tells you how good he's feeling, his lazy smile making you melt.

“I missed you.” His hand travels from your lips, down your chest, pinching one of your nipples; going across your abdomen, and ending on your clit, where he pushes and toys with it, enjoying the way it makes you clench harder. “Cum on my cock, love.”

Law

Corazón wonders sometimes how he raised such an emotionally constipated idiot. Unbelievable how that boy can dissect an entire being, but can’t seem to understand everything he’s done wrong.

It didn’t take him much to get Law to talk; he knows where to poke.

“You miss her?” “I do, but I know she won’t come back.” “Here’s a thought, how about you actually try and not just stick your dick in her?” “Cora-san!”

“I don’t remember raising a coward.” “That’s because you didn't raise me, Cora-san. In fact, you died when I was like thirteen.” “You insolent brat.”

Ah, yes, because if Law didn't have enough issues already, he could see and talk to the ghost of his last fatherly figure. No matter how much of a boring life he wanted to experience, the tall, lanky, clumsy ghost of a man would never allow it (how can a fucking spectrum trip)

Every single day since he lost you, Rosinante had made sure to remind him how much of an idiot he is (not like Law wasn't aware) and, fruitlessly, tried to get him to do something about it. Law was too much of a self-deprecating asshole to even text you after you'd rejected him.

The shifts at the hospital are weighing on him even more. The days would blend together, and the clock never seemed to matter to him; the beginning or end of the day was the same. He would wake up and go to bed without you.

Food had lost its taste and appeal, and days off were a nightmare where he’d have to do absolutely anything to keep himself busy in order not to think about you every single second.

Anything to distract himself from the absence of you. Anything and everything. Even if that meant being dragged out by Luffy. Anything. He was desperate.

Frankly, he was rethinking his decision as he watched the younger man fill the hole he calls a mouth with forks (and that's because Law forced him to use cutlery) full of every and any dish available at the buffet, “Mugiwara-ya, I'm begging you, swallow down and then talk.” Maybe him choking wouldn't be so bad. Right now, he wasn't a doctor, just Luffy's victim friend.

“It's been so long since I saw you last, Traffy.” He gave him a bright smile, teeth covered in sauce and herbs.

“I’ve been busy with work.” He murmured, pushing around the food on his plate with a fork.

“That's what your girl said the other day, but I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” he giggled, before shoving a piece of meat into his mouth.

Law froze. He hadn't been ready for the mention of you. That was one of the reasons why he’d accepted the invitation in the first place, knowing Luffy had a terrible memory and wouldn't bombard him with questions about your relationship (unlike Sachi and Penguin), “you talked to her?”

“Yeah, I ran into her the other day on my way to Zoro's place.”

He didn't want to show it, but he was desperate to know. “How’s she doing?”

Luffy tilted his head, confused. “You see her every day why are you asking me?”

My god, can’t he take a hint? Law simply stared at him, waiting to see if he'd connect the dots.

It took him a couple of seconds, but the younger man's eyes opened wide in realisation, “Oh! You broke up!”

The surgeon didn't say anything, staring at the table to avoid the pity look he was so accustomed to. People always reacted the same, as if they knew you were the one to dump him, because there was no way he'd have a reason to break up with you, but you did.

“I'm sorry, Law.” He was being sincere; the look in his eyes said it all. And the fact that he stopped eating for long enough to say it.

“It’s okay.”

Next, his hungry friend produced a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Nami told me to ask.”

Law looked at him, confused.

“Okay. First, when did you break up?” Mouth full, empty-headed, and a total disregard of societal cues and norms. So, Luffy.

Law can’t say he's shocked. He knows how the younger man is and how his friend, Nami, can be so, whatever. “Like, five months ago?”

“Wow, really? Umm, maybe that’s why she didn’t want to talk about you the other day.”

Law sighed, wishing it would soon be over.

“Why did you break up?”

He contemplated his answer. Because I'm a selfish asshole who took her and her love for granted. Yeah, that’s what he wanted to say, but instead, “our schedules and plans weren't lining up.”

“Bullshit.” He heard the man behind Luffy say. Oh, how nice, Rosinante had decided to join them.

Law didn't indulge him. How would he without looking like a psycho?

“You guys couldn't come to an agreement? Like, just talk about it?” Luffy said, plain and simple.

“My god, Monkey boy has a better understanding of emotional responsibility than you?” Smoke came out of Cora’s mouth.

“No.”

“Mmm, okay. Who... umm, who broke up with who?” Luffy narrowed his eyes as he read the list, trying to decipher the next words. It was a crumbled sheet of paper, stained, ripped, and, for some unknown reason, humid. Law could see his dignity plastered on it, though.

“She broke up with me.”

“Oh, so her plans didn’t line up with you. Got it.”

Corazón snorted. Law wished he were alive just so he could punch him.

Next bullet point. “How did you take it?”

“I'm fine.”

“You don’t look like it.”

“I’m annoyed you are interrogating me.”

“You don't look angry or annoyed, you look sad.”

Oh.

Well. Shit.

It was then and there that Law finally admitted out loud (and not to someone who he's still not sure isn’t a figment of his imagination) that he misses you.

“I am sad.”

“You tried calling her?”

“Tell him what you did the last time you called her, see if he agrees with talking with your dick instead of your heart.”

“Something like that.” He avoided giving any more information.

“Well, I'm sure you'll move on. Sanji will surely get excited when he knows she's single.” He put another spoonful of whatever concoction of food he'd mashed up on his plate.

“Good for him.” Even if he knew you’d never go for the perv cook, the idea still made his insides churn, “Are you done?” Eating, asking, just let it be over.

“Would you be upset if she moves on?”

He had thought about it incessantly. The sole image of you in another’s arms was gruesome and ineffable; at the end of the day, his brain still couldn’t process the idea of not being with you.

“Yes.”

Five months. That’s how long it had taken him to push past his pride and say the words his heart and Corazón had been begging him to.

The next nights were spent debating whether he should try or die with the shame and guilt of losing you.

“Hey. I know you probably don’t want to see me ever again. And you are absolutely right. But can we meet up? Even if it's for the last time.” Not a text, but a call. It's the middle of the night, but he couldn't contain himself anymore.

“I think everything's been said, Law.” Your voice is croaky. Lack of sleep and an ache in your chest have been some of the symptoms he has left behind in you.

“I still have a lot to say.” He won't back down, not now, “and I'm sure you do too, even if it is just to insult me.”

A few seconds go by, and you contemplate your next words. The sane thing to do would be to hang up, “I could talk shit about for hours.”

“I'm ready to listen.”

But it's Law who you are talking to.

Sabo

He took you for granted. He got too comfortable and expected you to wait around for him.

You knew he was a man with a strong sense of duty. You also knew you might not always be his priority, but, frankly, it got to the point you weren’t even on the list.

Of course, Luffy and Ace would be his main ones. You expected and respected that. Then, it was work and his loyalty to Dragon. Okay, sure, whatever. Then, Koala. Then, friends. Then, then, then...

At the beginning, none of this had been imposed as a problem, but as time went by, he got too complacent. You never seem to have a problem with him leaving in the middle of a call, in the middle of a date, in the middle of a fight, so he just assumed you would always be there.

It wasn’t until one evening when you were arguing about this exact issue.

“Sabo, I feel like you are never here!” Tears streamed down your face. It was like you couldn’t get your point across, not because it was nonsense, but because he wasn’t interested. “I shouldn’t have to yell for you to listen.”

“I have a job. You knew this before we started going out. I don’t know why you are acting like this is news to you.” He pushed you aside, as always.

“You aren’t listening to me!”

His phone rang from the couch, and he was quick to go pick it up. Shutting the conversation down in a second, no longer there for your relationship or for you. “Dragon, yeah, I saw the charts, I think...” Just like that, he walked out on you.

You stayed there, in the middle of the room. No more tears left to cry, just a deep and hollow space in your chest. There was no point to this. If Sabo doesn’t care, why should you? You grabbed your bag and coat and walked out, on him and on what was left of your relationship.

It had been a week since the last time he saw you, and it was like you had vanished from earth. He’d tried calling you, knocking on your door, asking your friends. Nothing. And he was getting worried, but mostly, he was annoyed.

He stared at his phone, as if doing that would make a notification with your name pop up.

Ace looked at him. He didn’t want to bring it up, but he knew how hard breakups can be, and he didn’t want his brother to go through it alone.

“I’m sorry you guys didn’t work out.”

“What are you talking about?” Sabo typed another message in your chat.

“Yeah, Robin told Luffy, and well, he told me. Why didn’t you tell us? I didn’t know you were having problems.”

“Ace, I have no clue what the fuck you are talking about?”

Ace stared at him, confused, “She said you guys broke up a week ago and to please give her some time to heal...”

It clicked in his head. That night. The fights. Your words. Everything made sense now.

He’s a fucking idiot. (well, duh.)

His efforts doubled. The calls and texts became even more insistent, the knocks on your door were now reported to the police by your neighbours, and Robin was practically getting harassed at work.

He didn’t want to believe it’s over. It couldn’t be. Not if he had a say.

On your end, things weren’t great. You missed him a lot. You knew you had made the right decision, but still, it hurts a lot that everything had come to this.

Nami, Robin, and Vivi were at your side at every moment. You profusely apologise to Robin for Sabo’s lack of boundaries. She didn’t mind, amused with how much he’s willing to drag himself to ground just for you (same.)

They decide you can’t keep living like this. Working, crying, and sleeping isn’t a healthy cycle. (whaaat? craaazy...)

Bartolomeo is throwing a party. Those are always fun and liberating, and even better, Sabo never goes.

Yeah, well, Ace and Koala had the same plan for him.

There you were, in front of him. Even more beautiful than the last he’d seen you.

You looked at him. All feelings came back, all at once. Your brain is your biggest enemy, completely erasing every bad memory. Why did you guys have to break up?

Fucking in a closet wasn’t your plan for the night, but you won’t complain. You missed this. The way his skin feels against yours, the roughness of his lips tasting every centimetre of your neck, the passion in his thrusts, and the sounds of pleasure that escape his mouth.

“Fuck, Sabo!” Your hand is pressed against your mouth, trying to conceal your loudness.

His hands grip your hips as he keeps pushing against them, shoving you into the closet’s wall, “You like that, pretty girl?” He whispered against your ear, his hand traveling down your body until it reached your clit. His fingers toy with it, pulling even more noises out of you, “I can feel you getting tighter, baby, you missed me that much?”

Words wouldn’t come out of you, just gibberish. Too cock-drunk to answer properly. “Sabo!” His name became like a mantra.

He slapped your clitoris, making you whine. Your legs almost gave in, but his arms held you. “Answer me.”

“Please, don’t stop.” Tears threatened to spill out of your eyes.

Love had made you weak. You had caved in a second—anything to be back in the place you adore the most, right next to him.

Sabo thought the same. He longed for you the second you left. He knew he’d fucked up, but he was willing to make things right.

“I missed you so much.” He pressed against your lips. And for a second, everything felt alright. You in his arms, him loving you, both revelling in the warmth and presence of each other. But it wouldn’t last long. You could hear his phone ringing from the floor.

“Sabo.” Your heart is breaking.

His hands abandoned you in a second. The moment was gone. “Dragon, hey, yeah, I already...” He’d never change. And you aren’t going to wait around to find out.

Humiliated, heartsore, and disappointed, you pulled your dress down. You grabbed what you felt was left of your dignity and left. Sabo tried to communicate with you through hand and face gestures, but never got off the phone.

“I don’t want to see you ever again, Sabo.”

And that’s what it took. Sabo pulled himself away from the call. Eyes wide, mouth dry, and at a loss for words, hands trembling and ringing in his ears as he watched you walk away.

He doesn’t know what to do. This time, it might actually be over. You aren’t even hiding from him anymore; you don’t care.

You move on with life as if he’d never existed. How do you do that? How do you care so little about what he’s feeling?

Oh.

Dragon gets a very detailed (and kind of trauma dumping) email about why he’s got to cut down his hours.

Ace and Luffy see a bit less of him, but they don’t mind. They know he’s got to set his priorities straight, and searching for funny-looking bugs isn’t one of them (tho Luffy disagrees)

Koala hits him in the head when she realises how he’s been acting. “No wonder she dumped your ass, I’d done it way sooner, you asshole.”

Little by little, he fixes everything you asked for. Not only for you, but for himself. He didn’t realise how tired he was.

“He’s changed,” Ace tells you. “He understands how much he hurt you; he’s sorry.”

Truth is, you’ve also changed. Prioritising yourself, not allowing anyone to disrespect your boundaries anymore.

“Hey, I know you said you don’t want to see me again, but I cannot allow myself not to try, at least once. Would you like to grab a coffee? If not, I won’t bother you again. I know I lost my chance to love you.”

And that’s how you find yourself on a first date. He sits in front of you with a latte in his hand, a nervous smile on his face, and hope in his eyes.

It feels like hours that you’ve been laying there on your bed, knees spread and fingers working at your aching core. Your poor body is exhausted from the abuse you’ve been putting her through, but you’re so desperate for release. For days, you’ve had this craving and no matter what you do, you just can’t satisfy it. You weren’t even sure why, it wasn’t ever a problem you had before. But now, it seems you’ve been cursed. You can nearly make it, so close to tipping over the edge, only to stumble and fall short.

It’s so endlessly frustrating. Real tears roll down your cheeks with another failed attempt. Your body is exhausted and there’s a soreness between your legs where you’ve been so carelessly working yourself- all to no avail.

You stand up, nightgown sliding back down over your knees as you pace around your room, trying to will some of this pent up energy away. You can't keep going like this. You can't sleep and you’ve barely eaten. Both of which Sanji has started nagging you about-

Sanji.

Maybe… Maybe…

You slap your hands to your face and shake your head, growling in frustration. No. No. That is a line you can’t cross. Sanji is your friend and your crew and there was no way that could possibly end well. That’s if he didn’t flat out refuse you and you lived in complete shame for the rest of your days.

Sanji had always been a flirt. But that was just who he was. He was like that with every woman he’d ever met. While you know his charms come from a good place, you're certain the advances he sometimes makes aren't serious. That's just who he is, that's how he expresses himself. What sort of friend would you be to try and use it against him?

But, then again… Sanji does seem experienced. Or, at least, knowledgeable. Maybe you can just ask him for advice. It would be embarrassing as hell, but you’re confident he would at least try to offer some ideas. Or reassurance if he couldn’t. And absolutely, you are confident he can keep it a secret. He would do that for you. You are close enough to ask this of him.

With a deep breath and before you can think better of it you slip out of your room. Bare feet pad down the hall and when you reach his door, you think you should have grabbed a robe. But if you went back now, you would lock yourself in and not come back out.

Your hand hovers in front of his door, heart pounding, gnawing your lip with nervous frustration. This is a bad idea. You should go back to your room. You should-

You knock. You body betrays you by acting before you could stop it. You hold your breath, listening. You think maybe he didn’t hear it, maybe you could still escape.

There’s a shuffling behind the door and you’re frozen when it opens just a crack. Sanji’s face is drawn into an annoyed scowl, hair disheveled hanging over his forehead. He’s shirtless and his sleep pants hang loose, untied, and barely staying on his hips.

Sanji blinks, focus sharpening through the haze of sleep as he realizes he’s not dreaming and it’s not Luffy at his door begging for something to eat.

You stand there before him like a vision. Long silk of your gown draped down your body, hair unbound around your shoulders. Your hand still hovers in the air in front of you from where you had knocked on his door and his heart flips, his brain trying to process it.

But, then he notices your eyes. Wide and red with tracks down your flushed cheeks. You had been crying.

Sanji’s face softens, “ma chérie…?” His voice is deep with sleep and concern as he blinks at you.

Your lip trembles, “Sanji…”

And he’s awake, opening the door wider for you to come inside. You wrap your arms around yourself as you move past him, and he softly closes the door behind you. You stand there fidgeting in the middle of his room. “What’s wrong?” his words are gentle, but his voice is still gravelly from sleep.

“I’m sorry… I know it’s late…”

“I don’t care about that. You can come to me anytime,” he steps forward, getting nervous that something is wrong. “What’s happened, sweetheart?”

You suck in a shuttering breath and there are fresh tears pricking at your eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”

“What do you mean?” He steps closer.

“I… I just… I don’t feel right.”

He holds his hand out, but you tighten your hold around yourself and don’t take it, “let me take you to Chopper.”

You shake your head, “no. That’s not… it’s…” you take a deep breath and Sanji sees how you’re trying hard to steady yourself.

His hand touches your arm, “hey. It’s okay,” he guides you to the bed, “here, sit down.” You let him lead you there. His bed is still warm. Sanji kneels in front of you. “Tell me what’s the matter.”

He looks up at you, patiently waiting for you to be ready to open up to him. You can’t hold his gaze for long before your eyes drop and your fingers tangle together in your lap. “I… I haven’t been feeling good, lately…”

“I know,” he admits. Of course he knows. He’s always paying attention to you. He knows you’re not eating as much as you should be. He knows the dark circles under your eyes mean you’re not sleeping. He knows something has been bothering you, he just hasn’t figured out what.

“I wanted… I thought… maybe, you could help. Maybe you would know… what to do.”

“I’ll do anything I can for you,” he reassures. “Anything. Just tell me.” Sanji’s heart was breaking watching you, so clearly distraught, and there was no part of him that would hesitate to do anything to make you smile again.

“I can’t… I’ve been trying, but I can’t… my body just won’t…” Tears spill over and he reaches up to brush them away with his thumb, brow furrowing as he tries to piece together what you’re telling him. “I can’t…” you press your thighs together and something clicks in Sanji’s brain.

“Princess…” he ventures gently, thumb stroking your cheek. “Do you mean you can’t cum?” You take in a shuddering breath, and nod, closing your eyes. It’s embarrassing to hear him say it so plainly, but at the same time it’s such a relief that he understands what you’re trying to tell him- without forcing you to keep stumbling through an explanation.

Sanji’s heart thumps in his chest. Of all the things he expected, that had not been on the list. He swallows, voice thick, “do you want me-“

“No,” you stop him, fingers wrapping around his arm. His heart drops at how quickly you reject him, but he tries not to show it. “I mean- it’s not-“ you stutter, trying to find your words. “That’s not why I came,” you shake your head, “I wouldn’t ask that of you-“

“You can ask anything of me,” his fingers interlace with yours and there’s not a single lie in his brilliant blue eyes.

“I thought, you may have some advice. Maybe you would know what to do…” You look down with a shrug as little as your voice, “you know, since you’re… you…”

“I might… But,” he pulls your hand closer to his chest, “ma chérie, look at me.” His voice is so gentle you don’t even hesitate to look at him. He brings the back of your hand to his lips and presses it with a tender kiss. He keeps it there near his lips as he asks, “do you want me to help you?”

You know he’s not talking about giving you advice. You had so many reasons as to why he couldn’t. But in the the way he holds you, the way he looks at you- you can’t remember what they are.

But Sanji sees the hesitance in your eyes. He’s pretty sure he understands what your reservations are. “It doesn’t have to be anything else,” he places another kiss to the back of your hand and there’s an unsettling weight in your heart. He smiles at you softly, “it can just be a dream.”

“A dream…” you muse. As you feel yourself falling into the ocean of his eyes, you don’t know how he could be anything but.

You nod your answer and Sanji puts your arms around his neck, pulling you up into his arms as he goes to his knees on the bed. He lays you down softly onto his pillows that smell so wonderfully like him. You settle into the warmth of his bed, nestled in the shape he’d left behind.

Sanji looks divine atop you. His toned body beautifully accentuated by the muscles of his form. His hair falls over his face as he looks down at you with nothing but delicate adoration. It’s an expression that’s mirrored in your own face. Sanji’s heart beats with the way you look at him. So open, so vulnerable- and completely trusting. You have placed something so extraordinary- so fragile- into his hands and he vows to die before he breaks it.

He leans forward, placing a kiss to your forehead. Letting his love settle there, his unspoken feelings. Sealed there with his promise. He longed to kiss you more, to pour his reverence into you- but that was not what you needed right now. That was not what you were ready for. So he leaves it all there, pressed between your eyes.

Then he crawls down your body to settle between your legs. He holds your gaze as he places a kiss to your inner thigh and you give him a little moan, hand reaching towards him. He entwines your fingers together, “just relax, mon amour.” Another kiss, a little higher this time- his free hand slowly sliding the silk up your legs. “Let your Prince take care of you.”

The silk of your gown whispers against your skin as Sanji pushes it up to settle around your waist. You fingers tighten in his, heart pounding as you’re suddenly bared before him. “So beautiful…” he muses, placing warm kisses to your thighs. Lips trailing higher and higher.

Your body jolts as Sanji glides a finger through your center. He gives a purpose to each nimble digit, exploring your body for the first time. Your eyes have fluttered closed but Sanji watches your face, memorizing every twitch of your brow, every quiver of your lips, every dart of your tongue. He notes how your body responds to his ministrations- teaching himself the map of your pleasure.

He can tell how you’d tried to bring your own release. How you must have furiously worked your body, trying to force it to come. He will not force it. He will not drag it from you or work you hard the way he knows he could. Not this night.

Sanji’s lips are chaste as he presses them to your clit. Your hand not twined with his, settles atop his head, fingers gliding through his soft hair. He continues to kiss the most sensitive bud of your body and your arousal begins to flower. His movements are persistent, but tender. Every touch of his lips soothing the sore ache of your overwrought body.

Sanji feels you relax, allowing yourself to slip into the comfortable weight of your desire. There’s a delicate flutter in your lower region as it begins to embrace the feeling. Warmth flows from your body, and Sanji allows himself the taste of it. His tongue slides into you and your back arches, fingers petting the crown of his head.

He runs the flat of his tongue back up to your clit, letting it drag long and slow, before circling the point of his tongue around it. His free hand slides forward and you feel the tip of his finger start to prod at your entry and you groan as your body squeezes in anticipation of his arrival.

Sanji presses his finger into you slowly, letting you feel every bit of him. His fingers are so much longer than yours, gliding in, in, in… until you feel the bump of his knuckle. He reaches so much more than you ever could alone, touching parts of your body that had been far too long neglected. He curls his finger, and your hips roll as he touches that sweeter, deeper, spot inside.

He starts to drag his finger through your body, back and forth and steady, keeping his finger curved to rub over your spot with every pass. His mouth hasn’t stopped caressing your clit, tongue still spelling out the words of his reverence against you.

There’s another squeeze of your body around his fingers and on his next drag, he pulls back to the tip- another finger coming up to join it. You gasp, fingers tightening in his hair as both begin to slide into you. “Sanji~” you moan and you feel him sigh deeply against your core, a soft hum of appreciation vibrating his lips around you.

He continues to make love to you, patient and deliberate and it feels so delicious- so wonderful- you wish it would never end. But that warmth you’ve been longing for begins to swell with a pressure of promise.

Sanji knows you’re approaching that which you’ve been so desperate for. But, he’s in no hurry to push you through it. He keeps his pace steady and lets the feeling build. Sanji doesn’t rush you, doesn’t demand or ravish. He romances you to the edge of your want, steadfast in his devotion to your pleasure.

Your breaths pick up, your hand pulls against his and he lets you use him for the purchase you need, his strength as resolute as his passion. Your fingers tighten in his hair as your body comes off the bed. Sanji’s name is a prayer on your lips as you finally - finally- let go.

The orgasm Sanji brings forth is made for him. Slow, powerful, and resolute. It rocks through you with an embrace of delectations. Sanji stays the course, keeping you on the ride of your passage for as long as your body will allow. It’s a bliss that could extend into forever before you begin to fall featherlight back into the present.

Sanji rewards your body with more kisses as you still. You whimper when he removes his fingers and sits back, looking down at your satisficed body. He places a kiss to your conjoined hands before gently settling it atop your stomach. “Wait here, mon amour.” You nod, but you couldn’t have moved even if you wanted to. Your body was too heavy and your eyes fluttered closed.

Sanji was kneeling before you again and there's a warm drag between your legs as he begins to wash your body. You hum at the pleasant feeling and think he’s saying something to you, but you’re not sure what. Your only response is another pass of his name from your lips before you sink completely into content.

➽──────────────❥

As Sanji finishes drying you off, he knows you’ve already fallen asleep. You look so peaceful- so beautiful- there in his bed, spread out in his sheets. He reaches out to softly brush the hair from your face. All he longed for now was to lay down next to you and fold your body into his.

But that was more than he had been permitted. You had entrusted him with the task of your care for only one purpose and he wasn’t going to push the boundary of the faith you’d placed in his hands.

So even though every fractal of his soul screams at him, he scoops you up and carries you back down the hall to your room. He lays your angelic body upon the bed and tucks you in safe and sound. A small whimper falls from you as he pulls his hands away and Sanji’s heart cracks. The very idea of leaving you there alone after what you had just shared pools in the corners of his eyes.

But what you just shared was a dream. It will stay that way until you decided otherwise- if you ever decided otherwise.

Of all the dreams Sanji ever had of you, none of them would ever compare to this one.

He leans down to place one last kiss to your brow. Lips trembling with the possibility it may truly be the last. “J’ai tant rêvé de toi,” he whispers into the kiss, praying it reaches your heart.

Before he turns and walks away from his sweetest dream of all.

➽──────────────❥

Translations: “J’ai tant rêvé de toi,” = I have dreamed of you so much.

The warmth of the early evening sun hits your cheeks, highlighting you wonderfully in the beautiful, soft pink glow. And even the wind seems to be a friend to you this evening, the gentle breeze flows over you, causing your clothes to flap distractingly and your hair to cascade across your cheeks.

Sanji huffs, the weight of his feelings sit heavy on his chest as he watches you talk with Zoro. He knows he shouldn't be watching you, he can almost feel Luffy searching for him—there's no doubt in his mind that soon enough the familiar cry for food will fill the already loud evening celebrations.

"Pull it together…" Sanji chastises himself under his breath.

His heart thuds hard against his chest. With every pump Sanji swears his hearing gets more and more muffled, like bits of cotton are being stuffed into his ears.

The pit in his stomach grows heavier the longer he stands on the deck.

So distracted, so caught up in his own head, Sanji almost turns around without so much as a nod of acknowledgement towards Usopp, who is dancing his way across the deck towards him.

"Hey, Sanji! Are you feeling okay? You've got the weirdest look on your face…" Usopp asks, tilting his head sideways, as he comes to a stop in front of Sanji.

He brings a finger to his temple and scratches at it, eyes narrowing slightly as he ponders the reason for the cook's distracted behaviour.

Sanji splutters, "pardon? Oh, yes I'm–"

Your laughter cuts him off, breaking his concentration as his eyes focus back onto you. Usopp follows his gaze, confusion written on his face.

"Right... well–"

"Sorry! Yes, I'm fine."Sanji turns away from you, snapping his focus back to Usopp who stands with his hands on his hips as if to say what the hell are you doing?

"What can I do for you?" Sanji asks.

"Well, it's not me, it's Nami. She told me to ask if we've got any of that tangerine drink from earlier left over."

Sanji does his best to ignore the sound of your voice, your happiness is infectious and Zoro's voice soon joins the chorus, making Sanji's mood sour further. "Give me a second, it's best served at room temperature so I left it in the kitchen."

"You're the best! Thank you."

Sanji turns and stalks back toward the kitchen. His glare could cut glass.

"And don't forget to bring some back for me as well!" Usopp cries out after him.

The volume of his shout is loud enough that it draws your attention. When you turn your head you catch a glimpse of Sanji as he heads back inside. His posture tells you all you need to know and with an apologetic smile you turn your head back towards Zoro before excusing yourself.

"Hmph." Is all Sanji has to say as he pulls out two glasses and begins to fill them with the tangerine drink.

There's no reason for him to be this sour, he's being ridiculous. It's Zoro after all. And it's you.

But something stirs in his chest when he sees you laughing so freely with someone else.

It's the look of pure joy on your face, given to you by someone other than Sanji, that makes his hair stand on end. It's that nagging feeling at the bottom of his stomach that tells him if he's not careful someone will come along and snatch you from his hands like he never meant anything to you.

And it's unfounded. He knows that. You're nothing but good to him.

You show him every day just how much he means to you.

He knows that.

But it's nothing to do with you, not really. There's not a bone in his body that feels unloved when he's with you. You treasure him beyond words, even when he's difficult or demanding and those feelings of unworthiness rear their ugly head.

In fact, all you've ever done is show him that you mean what you say. When you tell him you love him there's no room for anyone to doubt your words.

But he doesn't think he'll ever escape those nasty thoughts. Or those feelings that tell him just one bad day will be enough to scare you off.

He loves you, more than anything. The idea of you falling in love with someone else makes him feel sick, but it follows him around like a dark cloud anyway. Haunting him even on the brightest days.

His own jealousy makes his skin crawl. He hates how out of control he feels.

Seeing you enjoy your evening with your friends shouldn't make him feel like this.

So, like he does everytime he finds his anger bubbling and his insecurities raging, he disappears. He avoids you, tries to not look your way, tries to forget the sight of you smiling with someone else.

He hides until the clouds pass.

"Stupid mosshead and his stupid jokes..." Sanji mutters, harsh hits of the knife slamming down onto the chopping board with every word.

The lemon and lime juice trickles down the side of the board. Usually Sanji is careful and precise with how he slices the fruit, but this evening it's rough and jagged. The knife cuts violently and the juice splashes across Sanji's knuckles. It stings him and Sanji curses, bringing his finger up to his mouth and sucking the juice off before it has a chance to sink further into the small cut he hadn't even known was there.

With his free hand he drops the fruit slices into the 2 glasses—1 lime slice for Usopp, 2 lime slices and 1 lemon slice for Nami.

Sanji walks to the sink and runs his hands under the cool water. It sends shivers down his spine and his shaky breathing even outs as he cleans and rinses the skin where the fruit juice has left its sticky residue.

Sometimes his head quiets down when he's alone in the kitchen, putting his focus towards creating delicious meals and drinks for his friends. It can be grounding, although a lot of the time it's the renewal of his confidence. He knows he can cook. He knows he can treat people to food beyond their wildest imagination. He's a good cook. That he is certain about.

You can tell Sanji's mind is elsewhere as you enter the kitchen. He doesn't turn around to greet you as you push your way through the door, he doesn't even move.

The sounds of celebration get shut out immediately and you welcome the silence with a deep sigh. You love your friends to death but god do they know how to party. Franky and Luffy show no signs of slowling down and when you add Brook to the mix, his music only adds fuel to the already blazing party fire.

But tonight was different. You had felt his eyes on you ever since the party had started, but somehow you knew it got more intense as the evening went on.

You would have found your way to the kitchen at some this evening anyway, you always do. When the music grows louder and the dancing gets wild there's just something about the kitchen that revives your energy.

Sanji usually joins you and the two of you sit in comfortable silence, sometimes making light conversation and sometimes doing things in a darkened corner that perhaps you shouldn't when someone could walk in at any second...

You were no stranger to the inner workings of Sanji's head. You knew something was off and you knew it had something to do with you. You also knew he had a tendency to disappear when something was bothering him, like he was ashamed of his own feelings.

You're only a couple of steps away from Sanji when you clear your throat. The noise startles him and he turns, expecting Usopp, and readys an excuse for his lack of urgency in bringing out the drinks.

The words die on his lips when he sees you. His expression softens, his eyes skirt over your figure quickly—the necklace he got you on the last island you visited sits pride of place around your neck. And there's no mistaking the look of understanding in your eyes.

It makes him shiver, knowing you can see right through him.

But he tries to play off your concerns anyway, hoping he can put off the inevitable a little longer.

"Hey there, pretty lady, care for a drink?" He eyes you, speaking slightly louder than he means to. "You'll take 2 lemon slices and 2 lime, is that right?"

You nod your head, a small smile appearing on your face. As you step forward Sanji steps back towards the cupboard, unnecessarily since there's already a spare glass on the counter. You frown, taking a small step forward again, trying to get a good look at his face.

He refuses you such a luxury this evening, turning his head away from you at every opportunity and busying himself with reorganising and tidying things that you would say are already organised and tidied.

You lean towards the counter and count the fruit slices left on the chopping board. He has already cut the perfect amount of slices for your drink—like he was intending to make you a drink as well, despite you not having asked him yet.

Your heart lurches at the thought.

Gingerly you place a hand to his shoulder, halting his frantic movements. You see him take a deep, uneven breath and you step closer once more, trying to block the escape route you know he's already thinking about disappearing through, under the guise of more busy kitchen stuff.

"Sanji..." Your voice is gentle, almost stern in how serious and sincerely you whisper his name.

He falters as your hand slips down the curve of his back, tracing the band of his trousers and holding him tightly by the belt loop. With a soft tug you pull him towards you. He falls into you with ease, but still he continues to pretend nothing is wrong.

"I really should be getting these drinks back out there, angel. Usopp and Nami will be waiting."

The petname usually disarms you.

It's something that he calls you in those tender moments between islands, when you lie together beneath the stars and rest your head on his chest.

It's said in those breathless moments where he has you moaning into his mouth, arms wrapped around your waist like he'll die if you're more than a hairs width away.

And it's said casually. Over the dinner table, in front of everyone just so he can see your eyes roll with affection. Knowing your cheeks are glowing with heat and that you'll soon disarm him in return, with a kiss to the cheek or a soft rebuttal that will have him needing to turn away from you.

But it doesn't disarm you now. Not when there's something so clearly wrong. There's a distinct lack of his usual affection in the word, no playful smirk or raise of the eyebrow. It's off-putting and it sends a shiver of unease down your spine.

"They'll be okay to wait, baby. Nami is in the middle of trying to haggle with some poor islander and Usopp is... well he's thoroughly distracted singing with Chopper and Brook."

Sanji's nose scrunches and you can see a retort sitting on the end of his tongue, he's fighting with himself.

You're here, in front of him, touching him, it's silly to still feel jealous. Isn't it?

You came after him, you wanted to see him.

You care.

He shakes off your hand not unkindly before plastering a smile on his face. It fails to reach his eyes but he doesn't give you the chance to dwell on it. Instead, he pushes past you, arm brushing against yours and scoops the three glasses into his hands.

The featherlight kiss he pressed to your hair as he passed you leaves a burning imprint on your head.

"I'll see you out there, beautiful."

You reach a hand out, "no. Sanji, please. Can we just tal-"

But he's gone before you can finish your sentence, leaving you before you even the opportunity to ask him if everything was okay.

With a sigh you drop your arm, it slaps harshly against your side but you don't so much as flinch. You flop into the seat closest to you, folding in on yourself and dropping your head against the table in defeat.