#xlpoww

the resident blonde of the going merry is in a foul mood. 

what reason did he have to wake up on the right side of the bed? he’d gone to sleep before you’d even come home last night, and woken up to see you missing from your usual morning reading spot. the eggs made this morning were over whisked and undercooked, and sanji couldn't find room in his brain to truly care. 

“good morning sanji,” nami walked into the kitchen with a yawn. she’s covering her mouth as she shuffles towards the island. when she reaches it she leans on her elbows, looking at sanji’s back as he moves about around the stove.

“good morning mademoiselle, how did you sleep?” there was a robotic feeling to his flirting, the redhead frowned at the sound; with a raise of her eyebrow she spoke

“what’s gotten into you?” sanji turned to look at her with a smile, placing a plate with eggs and bacon in front of where she stood leaning on the countertop. he wipes his hands off and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his suit pants.

“nothing gorgeous, i’m quite alright! especially since i have the pleasure of seeing your beautiful face so bright and early.” before nami can push him any further, luffy comes barreling into the kitchen nose first. 

“sanji! i knew i smelled something good cooking!! i am starving.” nami is forced to drop the subject as she quickly snatches up her plate before luffy can steal a piece of bacon straight from it.

—

by the time you walk into the kitchen for breakfast, the crew has assembled and luffy is on his third plate of eggs. everyone greets you kindly, except your favorite blonde. the silence from his causes a stinging feeling in your chest, and as you sit down you notice he’s staring intently at the wall opposite of you. ‘why wont he look at you?’ 

it stings, of course it does! you considered sanji a very good friend of yours, for him to suddenly start ignoring you. you can't deny the pang you felt in your heart. ‘did you do something to upset him?’

"how was your night y/n?" nami turns to look at you, there's a ghost of a smirk on her face. you face lights up like a fire engine, you're looking bashfully down at your plate of eggs when you reply.

"it was nice, he was very sweet." 

"i'm glad to hear that, do you have any plans to see him again?" she's leaned her elbows onto the table and placed her chin in her hands. her question is finished off with a wink.

"well actually-" your reply is cut off by an abrupt slamming sound that makes you jump. sanji has slammed his hand onto the table and stood up, his chair making a loud noise as he propels it backwards. he snatches his empty plate off the table, grabbing nami and zoro's as well before stomping over to the sink. he takes the time to light a cigarette and stick it in between his lips before starting to clean the dishes. 

the rest of the crew sitting at the table with you are staring at sanji's back with confusion (zoro with frustration) but no matter how piercing your gazes are. he wont turn to meet a single one. 

"what's your problem waiter?" zoro speaks up, looking so very over the cook's jealous antics.

"whatever could you mean my friend?" sanji speaks up, plastering a smile that doesn't meet his eyes on as he turns to look at zoro. you subconsciously tilt your head in confusion, and when sanji sees it out of his peripherals he cant help the way his heart swells. you make it impossibly hard to stay mad. you're so naturally adorable.

"you've been in a shit mood ever since we left the bar last night." zoro crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.

"i'm not in any kind of mood. why don't you mind your own mosshead?" sanji's words are practically spit out of his mouth.

"why don't you quit acting like you're not jealous, waiter." sanji turns off the water, forcefully placing down the plate he'd just washed on the drying cloth. he turns around and begins to roll up his sleeves. 

"it would be wise of you to shut your stupid mouth, now wouldn't it."

"you think i'm scared of an idiot who can't even tell his best friend he's in love with her?" it feels like your heart has jumped out of your chest and into your throat. before you can even begin to process the words that just left zoro's lips, he's standing up to face sanji as the blonde walks over. 

"you don't know shit." and sanji's legs has gone flying up into the air, aiming for zoro's head. the green haired man catches it with his hand and pulls it, knocking sanji off balance.

'holy shit. they're fighting.' 

"guys, stop it." nami has stood up from her place at the table, but her words fall on deaf ears. usopp is looking at you sadly, but has to quickly dodge a stray kick from sanji. he stands up and back away from the table. 

"woah hey guys, maybe it's time to cool down a little yeah?" the sniper raised his hands next to his head and slowly backs away from the scene.

"guys!" nami's next shout is fractic, zoro had drawn two of his swords and sanji had kicked usopps chair far away. the two men show no sign of stopping, apparently this argument had been building for much longer than you would've known. 

you're still frozen in place in your chair as zoro's accusations, sanji's weird behavior towards you this morning starting to make sense. he had feelings for you, and you had left with another guy last night. you only can begin to wonder how heartbroken he must have been, had he stayed up to see if you would come back home to them, to him?

'you felt awful'

you're broken out of your train of thought by a sickening cracking noise, and when you turn sanji is on the floor covering his nose. you can see blood flowing from underneath it, and you jump up in worry. 

"sanji!" you rush to his side, kneeing down besides the broken man on the floor and placing a hand on his shoulder. you can hear the sound of a sheathing sword behind you, but your eyes don't leave sanji's. he looks so, defeated. you had never seen his eyes so sad.

he brushes you off without a word, standing up and walking out of the room. there’s a heavy silence in the air, and you slump down on your knees. with tears in your eyes you turn to glare at the swordsman.

“what the fuck zoro.”

“mmmm! sanji these taste amazing!!” the smile you give him can’t be helped, neither can the blush across your cheeks as you look into his eyes. there’s a proud smile on his face as he places the last strawberry on the platter in front of you.

“you flatter me darling, truly.” he pushes off the counter, moving over to the sink to wash his hands as your own steal another perfectly made chocolate covered strawberry. another satisfied ‘mmm’ leaves your lips as you take a bite. a chuckle leaves the blond’s, and he turns to look at you with a smile that makes his eyes crinkle in the way you daydream about. “is there anything else i can get you, pretty girl?” 

in an attempt to mask your rapidly beating heart, you turn to look out one of the windows. while you are frantically trying to compose yourself you hear the water shut off; but you fail to hear sanji’s footsteps getting closer. his hand on your shoulder makes you jump, which gets a laugh out of him. “did i scare you? too deep in thought to pay me any mind?” 

“I WANT HOT CHOCOLATE!” you blurt out loudly.

the sudden flustered shout makes him flinch, but he quickly recovers, shaking his head with another winning smile. he pauses for a moment, slowly moving a hand up to rest on your cheek. you freeze in place as he rubs his thumb over your lower lip. time seems to stop as he retreats his hand, only to return it to your face after he licks his finger and delicately wipes his thumb across your lip. his face showing an adorable amount of concentration for such a small task, tongue is even poking out slightly. after wiping away the offending chocolate, he pulls his hand back to suck on his thumb. he makes a dramatic show and “hmmm” of approval of the taste, the taste of your lips.

as quick as the moment began, its over; and he’s taking a step back with a barley hidden smirk. you’re so red you can practically feel your skin burning. 

“you had some leftover on your lip my love, i couldn’t let it go to waste.” 

you might pass out.

—---

sanji made sure to store away some strawberries for you, because as expected, as soon as the rest of the crew returned to the ship, they were devoured. not without plenty question as to why you got made a special desert.

“why does y/n get the professional chef all to herself when she stays back on the ship? i thought you weren’t feeling well. we should have known it was your plan all along to keep sanji to yourself.” usopp’s complaints are paired with a pointed stare that makes you feel like he knows more than he’s letting on. you stick your tongue out at the liar childishly, and he scoffs loudly. “the audacity you have is actually crazy.”

“calm down usopp, she had nothing to do with my plan to come back and keep her company. can you blame me for wanting to bring a smile to such a pretty face?” sanji walks up behind where you’re sitting at the table to place a hand on your back. he slowly rubs up and down it comfortably as he continues on, “leave my girl out of your jealous accusations.” 

there’s no way to hide the way your eyes go wide when four out of six crew members are staring directly at you. sanji’s hand comes to rest on your shoulder and squeezes slightly as nami raises an eyebrow and looks at him. she crosses her arms and speaks “your girl?” 

“like hell the waiter finally confessed to you y/n” zoro adds on with a scoff and crossed arms. your jaw drops so low, you’re a bit worried you might have strained it. you can’t even bring yourself to look up at the blond when you feel his body go rigid.

“it would be wise of you to shut your mouth swordfighter.” there’s a bite to sanji’s voice that you’re unfamiliar with, still, it does nothing but confirm zoro’s words. 

‘he likes you?’ 

before the argument escalates any further, nami steps forward and turns to zoro. “let’s go guys, it seems these two need some more alone time.”

“good luck with your confession sanji!” luffy’s enthusiastic voice calls out as he’s ushered out by nami. before she closes the door behind them, she turns to offer you what feels like an apologetic head tilt. you can't really tell, nor do you care to dwell on it when sanji is standing right behind you. ‘what the fuck.’

“y/n?” sanji used your name for the first time, ever.

“sanji, do you really like me?” your turn in your chair the best you can to face him. when you look up, you’re met with a face you’d never imagined you would see on the flirtatious chef. his face was dusted with a beautiful pink blush, and his eyes were looking everywhere but you. he looked so shy. it was nothing short of adorable. he seems to take a moment to compose himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe. when he breathes out he opens his eyes and holds his hands out to you. when you take his hands in your own, he pulls you up to stand with him. with a squeeze of your hands, he finally responds.

“i so much more than like you sweetheart, you have absolutely no idea.”

“i thought,” you stammer, “ i didn't think you liked me more than any of the other girls your flirt with-” 

“i love you y/n, and i have for so long now. all those other girls were nothing but momentary distractions, an attempt to flush my mind of you. clearly it never worked” he smiles bashfully, squeezing your hands once again. your shoulders have never felt lighter, heart never fuller. 

“i love you, sanji.” your smile is brighter than any star he’s had the pleasure of gazing at.

“can i kiss you, my love?” you unravel your hands to wrap your arms around his neck. his hands fall onto your waist like missing puzzle pieces.

“i never thought you'd ask.”

you were fuming, why wouldn’t you be? zoro had instigated an argument with sanji that turned into a full fledged fight.

and it was about you

there were a million thoughts racing through your head, but the biggest one hurt you the most. you’d upset him? your best friend? how could someone as insignificant as you have the power to upset sanji vinsmoke so deeply? he had women falling at his feet, the gorgeous man. the biggest flirt in all the seas was hung up over, you?

that man that you’d left with last night, he didn't matter to you at all really. he was sweet and funny, but he wasn’t him. would sanji feel a bit lighter if he knew you couldn’t even remember that guy's name? no, that might make it worse, wouldn’t it.

you don’t know where to go from here, sitting on the deck left alone with your thoughts. after the  blow up fight in the kitchen, you’d chewed zoro out to hell and back. so much so it even felt like he felt some remorse, but you figured it was a trick of the light. if he had truly cared about the cook’s feelings, he wouldn't have pushed him so far. he wouldn't have exposed him like that, made him so vulnerable without a choice in the matter.

how would you feel if your heart was left so defenseless by someone else’s words? if you had no say in the matter of confessing your feelings?

you take a deep sigh, leaning back onto your hands. your head falls back as you look to the sky. not a cloud in sight, it felt wrong for a sight so beautiful to appear on such a gloomy day. 

so deep in thought, you fail to notice the sound of footsteps walking towards you. the man stops silently besides you, hands in his pockets. from one of them he pulls a cigarette, a lighter from the other. still, not a word leaves his lips as he begins to light it, only the sound of the lighter catching your attention. with wide eyes you turn to your right and see sanji, tagging a long drag of his cigarette. he peeks at you out of the corner of his eye.

“hey y/n” his voice was devoid of the usual flirtiness, it sent a pang through your heart.

“hey sanj, how are you doing?”  you angle more of your body towards him, speaking softly. the conversation felt so delicate. he blows out the smoke from his cigarette before responding.

“could be better darling, that wasn’t how i wanted you to find out about my feelings.” his words are paired with dry laughter, and he’s avoiding your eyes.

“so it’s true? you’re in love with me?” your hand has come up to grasp your other arm, your eyes finding their way to the ocean as you speak.

“since the moment i laid eyes on you, back on the baratie.” his words sound like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. “you sitting there at the table with the rest of our lovable group- you’d looked scared to order the wine, like was going to rat you out to the marines or something!” he’s laughs, the sound warming your heart.

“i had never sat down at such a fancy restaurant!” you defend yourself with a huff, continuing on exasperatedly, “anyways. that can’t be true, you were just as flirty with nami back then- you couldn’t have liked us both could you?” you turn to face him once again, your eyes frantically searching his own. how could you have missed this, how could everyone in the world have known but you?

“something about you, it just stuck with me. i don’t know how to explain it y/n, but ever since you came into my life, i haven’t gone a day without thinking of you.” he takes a moment to take another drag, the smoke falling from his mouth as he continues on. “all those other girls, they never really meant anything. i was just hoping to be distracted from you, though it never worked. no matter who i talked to, it was always you who held my heart captive.” there’s a bitter sweet tone to his words, yet they’re elegant and thoughtful all the same.

“sanji, i- don't really know what to say. i can’t believe i didnt notice-” you’re scrambling to find the right words when he cuts you off with a smile.

“no-no it’s fine, you don’t have to return my feelings or anything love.” he dropped the cigarette, leaning towards you slowly. it’s like he’s giving you the chance to pull away. when you don’t he gets closer, bringing his hand to rest softly on your cheek. the light touch causes a burning blush, and you smile softly at the man sitting in front of you so bravely. “i just wanted you to hear it from my lips. i love you, y/n.”

you want to say more, but when you open your mouth he shakes his head softly, and you close it. there are a million combinations of words, yet no one feels right at this moment. with the way sanji is looking at you, it feels right to stay quiet. to sit in the silence, next to a man that loves you with his whole heart. 

and when you close your eyes, leaning into his soft gentle touch, a smile graces your lips, only one thought on your mind.

‘i think i could begin to love you too.’

“oooohhh how about this dress y/n?” nami says, pulling a gorgeous blue dress off the rack and walking towards you. she holds it up to your body, tilting her head in thought and then looking at you with a grin. you look down at it and hum in thought,

“you know it depends on the price tag-” you trail off, walking towards a clearance rack in the small boutique with a shake of your head. 

“don’t be so stupid, i can totally buy this for you-”

“i cannot afford your loan interest, nami!” you laugh, turning back to her. her smile is sincere as she walks up to you, placing a hand on your shoulder and shaking her head.

“not as a loan, as a gift.” your eyes widen and you tilt your head in uncertainty, before you can voice any objections another person speaks up.

“i think you should accept the gift, that dress would be a waste on anyone other than you.”

with a turn of your head you’re met with bright blue eyes and a dusting of freckles that almost seem to form constellations.

‘holy shit, he’s so pretty’

you feel your face beginning to burn, laughing shyly and turning your head to avoid his gaze, mumbling out a soft “thank you”

nami’s stare burns on your back as the man lets out a chuckle of his own, taking a step forward and reaching a hand out for the article of clothing in question. nami hands it off to him, and he inspects it for a second, pulling the tag off of it and tossing it to the side,

“hmm would you look at that- it seems to have lost it’s tag- i wouldn’t even know how much to charge you!” he laughs, holding the dress out to you “consider it a beautiful gift for a beautiful girl.” he winks with a smile that makes your stomach do flips. reaching out for the hanger it’s on, you know the way your fingers brush is intentional on his part.

“there’s a dressing room off that way if you wish to change!” he says, gesturing behind you and taking a step back with a small bow. he turns and walks back to the register towards the front of the store, leaving a stunned you standing next to a smirking nami.

“don’t say a thing. i'm going to change.”

-

the blue dress is truly to die for, a shimmer fabric that hugs your body in all the right ways. you can’t help but feel beautiful in it, and it seems no one else can help but think the same thing.

“damn y/n, it feels like no guy in this bar can keep their eyes off of you.” usopp speaks up from his place across the table. you smile bashfully, while nami speaks up

“neither could the shop owner who gave her that dress for free!”

“for free?” luffy asks with an innocent tilt of his head, while usopp waggles his eyebrows at you and zoro raises an eyebrow. you fail to notice the way the best cook in the east blue tenses at the thought.

"a beautiful mademoiselle like you deserves all the free things in life y/n" sanji says sweetly, reaching out to place his hand on yours. you giggle, turning to sanji with a smile while pulling your hand out from underneath his; mistakenly assuming he's flirting with you like he does every other woman

"how sweet of you sanji." his finger twitches as he loses contact with you, reaching into his pocket to pull out and light a cigarette. he takes a long drag and turns his attention to the wall off to the side of him. the swordfighter notices the blonde's movements, and a smirk creeps onto his face.

“what’s the lucky guy’s name?” zoro asks, it almost feels like he’s teasing more than just you.

“she didn’t even ask his name-” nami rolls her eye, taking a swig of the drink in her hand, while you huff, turning away from the table with a pout.

“i was caught off guard- i didn't know how to react!”

sanji doesn't know what to make of the twisting feeling inside his chest.

and you don’t know what to do when you make direct eye contact with the shop owner in question. a beautiful smile graces his features as he notices you, walking over to the table.

“i knew that dress was made for you darling-” his voice is a smooth as silk as he reaches your crew’s table, and catches the attention of everyone sitting with you. “i don’t recall catching your name?” 

the man sitting next to you clenches his fist around the glass in his hand, breathing smoke out of his nose and glaring at the guy.

“it’s y/n.” you smile sweetly, a bit of a buzz in your body from the fruity drink you had ordered.

“well y/n, you look lovely, would you like to join me at the bar?” he holds his hand out.

normally you wouldn’t be so eager, but the warm feeling in your body boosts your confidence, and you stand up, taking his hand. you miss the way sanj’s jaw tightened.

“how can i resist?” he tugs you along, telling you his name is theo. you can hear some of your friends shouting encouragingly, one voice is clearly missing. 

you’re too caught up with the boy holding your hand to notice.

-

the stars are shining so brightly, but sanji can't help the sour mood he’s in. you hadn’t even returned to your friends, he assumes you went home with that stupid man who stole you away. 

sitting on the deck of the ‘going merry’ all alone, he fails to notice the footsteps walking up behind him. when the person finally makes themself known he chooses to ignore them.

“so you’re jealous, aren’t you waiter?”

a large puff of smoke leaves sanji’s mouth, and he angrily tosses the cigarette into the sea, making a point to bump shoulders with zoro as he walks by. 

there’s frosting smeared onto your nose somehow, it should be impossible considering you didn't even have a cake to frost yet. the chef’s beloved kitchen is in disarray, utensils scattered about and various powders and liquids covering the counter. you’re trying your absolute best to craft sanji a birthday cake, managing to stay up long enough for everyone else to fall asleep. in the dark of the night you began your plan.

had you ever baked before today? well.. no? but it couldn’t be so hard now could it. you knew better than to attempt anything too extravagant, purchasing a box cake mix from the last island your ship had docked at. the box of triple chocolate cake mix now taunting you from the garbage can you had tossed it into. why wouldn’t your cake bake?

3 eggs? check! you’d added the water- hadn’t you? and you definitely added the oil, so what was wrong? had you not beat the batter well enough? what does vigorously even mean!

you cant help the frustrated grumbling as you pull the pan out of the oven yet again, placing it onto the counter with a clunk. you aggressively pull of your oven mitts, tossing them to the side. unbeknownst to you, your attempts at a surprise had failed. sanji had woken up to the sound of you dropping an egg on the ground and loudly saying “SHIT!” curious to what was happening and if you were safe, the blond had made his way to the kitchen.

the sight he’s met with brings an adoring smile to his lips, as he leaned onto the doorway of the kitchen to watch. the confusion etched on your face was nothing short of endearing, and the pout you were sporting had a vice grip on his heart. his eyes scan the kitchen in hopes of offering you any advice, when they land on the oven he can’t help the laugh that falls from his lips. at the sound you raise your head, eyes wide as he shakes his head with that same loving smile.

“my love, what’s got you up in the middle of the night like this?”

“sanji! you weren’t supposed to be awake!” there’s a frown on your face as you look at him. you make no attempt to hide your plan, the bright colored birthday candles out in plain sight. with a defeated sigh you motion to the table in front of you. “i wanted to surprise you for your birthday”

“all this trouble just for me darling?” he walks towards you, a smile so bright anyone would think he’d just got the best news of his life. when he reaches you his arms wrap around you in a hug, holding you close as he leans down to kiss your cheek. “you’re too cute y/n, what a lucky man i am.” his words and affection warm your heart, a giggle falling from your lips as you wrap your arms around his torso to hug him back.

 “i love you sanj,” you nuzzle your head closer into his chest. the sound of his heartbeat does wonders to ease your tension. 

after another squeeze he pulls away from you, turning to look at the counter. he takes a moment before picking up the pan and placing it back into the oven. you look at him with a tilt of your head, and he winks, pressing a button on the stovetop and the oven roars to life.

“i love you more sweetheart, even if you forgot to turn on the oven.” it feels like your whole body lights on fire, and with a level of shame you didn’t know was possible, you screech.

“I WHAT?”