high tide came and brought you in

Your heart growing fonder for Sanji was unexpected in the grand scheme of things; you had never liked a man like him before. Someone so attentive towards you, never letting you go a minute without offering his service, whether that was a meal or a beverage or almost anything. You could ask him to jump into the ocean and get a pearl from the bottom of it and he would most likely do it without a single complaint. However, you would never ask anything of him; he was free to do as he pleased, and you loved to see the things that he could come up with to show his admiration for anyone. 

You knew well that was a mask on his part, you could see through the cracks and what it could mean for him to be so loud about his adoration and his acts of service. And you wanted to know more about him, if he would let you. 

You knew his attention wasn’t singularly focused on you; he was that way with every woman, particularly Robin and Nami. 

Nami.

It wasn’t like you didn’t know about Sanji’s affection for her, it had been obvious since the moment you joined the crew. It was in the way he looked at her, looked after her, in his praises spilling so naturally from his lips whenever she was around. It was a different kind of tenderness he held for her, and as much as you loved her, you couldn't help an ugly feeling creeping up inside you. 

It was unbearable sometimes, especially when you were sharing time with her, gossiping about whatever had caught your attention one day, lounging on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, when Sanji would show up like he usually did, offering treats for you. 

“Ladies, a drink especially made for you, so the hot weather doesn’t affect you!” Sanji announced with a grand gesture, showing you the glasses on a plate. 

You smiled, content that he had been considerate without you even asking, and took the drink in your hand. You thanked him just as Nami showed him a smile, almost simultaneously, and you witnessed his eyes turning into hearts in a beat. 

You couldn’t blame him at all. You also had eyes, you saw what a gorgeous woman Nami was, her every move was gracious, and she was smart and feisty. Nonetheless, you couldn’t help your feelings, and it annoyed you every time you were near them.

“Nami, dearest, would you like dessert?”

“Nami, your kindness knows no boundaries!”

“Nami, if there’s anything you need, you only need to call for me!”

You wondered if her name would ever wear out with how much he called for her. 

At some point, you had decided to distance yourself from them whenever you notice it was going to be intense (it wasn’t on Nami’s part, Sanji was in for the theatrics and the only one to blame for being loud about his attraction).

You adored the Strawhats, incredibly so, but until your feelings passed, until you felt safe again, you decided it’d be for the best to step away when you knew it’d be too much.

“Are you okay, my love?” 

You eyed Sanji carefully from your seat at the bar. The drink in your hand was only half full, as you had started to drink probably 10 minutes before he walked in. The expression on his face showed his concern, and you knew you must have made some kind of grimace. Or maybe he could see right through you, who knows. 

“I’m okay.” You replied, flatly. 

“Are you sure? You disappeared just to be here on your own.” He still offered you a small smile, like he was trying to appease you. It made you ache. “Do you want some company? I could prepare some drinks for you, anything you want-”

“I just need some time alone.” You interrupted him. You didn’t mean for your tone to be cold, but it wasn’t the first drink you had, and it wasn’t the right emotions you were feeling. 

Sanji didn’t look hurt, but he did look even more worried than before. 

“I’m sorry, I just…” You started, sighing loudly before forcing a smile. “I’m fine, I just want to be by myself right now, Sanji. Thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll prepare a meal for you whenever you’re ready to go upstairs.” 

He showed you his usually charming grin, and it made you melt inside. 

It didn’t melt the jealousy brewing in your stomach, and it made you all the more angry with yourself. It wasn’t the first time Sanji had checked on you whenever you retracted, and you appreciated intensively; but it wasn’t what you needed considering you were the problem.

You had condemned your feelings before they could even be put into words out loud. You had neither told Sanji how you felt, or Nami that it was bothering you how close he was to her. Not that she had anything to do with it, but as your friend, you figured you should tell her everything that was currently bothering you. You were just putting it off, afraid to seem like an insane woman. 

After a couple of drinks that made you a little dizzy, Sanji was waiting for you at the galley with cream filled pastries, ones you had mentioned some time ago that you loved. You were thankful you weren’t drunk enough to cry. 

*

It had all happened so fast that you didn’t even know how it happened when you opened your eyes. 

You were laying on a cold hard floor, in a room that was entirely foreign. While your eyes adjusted to your surroundings and the lack of light, a very familiar voice called your name. 

“Are you okay?” Nami whispered nearby. 

You blinked repeatedly, until you could notice her silhouette not far away. 

“Where are we?” You countered. 

The immediate thing you felt was nausea. When you tried to move your arms, handcuffs were tying you to what you assumed was a post. You promptly understood the position you were in. 

“Another pirates’ ship, they took us when they tried to invade the Sunny. Are you okay?” She repeated, concern obvious in her tone.  

“I’m chained with Seastone handcuffs…” You replied meekly, groaning when you tried to sit up. 

You heard her suspire desperately. 

“I’m trying to undo my chains, but it might take some time.” Nami reassured you. 

The more you blinked, the more you could figure out where she was and what she was doing, especially because there was a little light coming from a porthole nearby, enough to let you see that she didn’t seem injured, but she was similarly chained to a post, maybe six feet away. 

“They’ll come for us, don’t worry.” She said, without a single drop of trepidation in her voice. 

“Yeah.” You smiled weakly, dizzy once you sat up, immediately resting your head against the post. 

There was no doubt in your mind that they would come for you. 

But it would be nice if you could get the goddamn cuffs off you. 

It made sense that they had bound you like this, not only putting handcuffs on you but also making sure that you could only move so much by chaining you to the post by your hands and feet. Your Devil Fruit powers allowed you to destroy almost anything you could touch, transmitting your energy to any surface, enough to drill a hole through a wall or destroy an entire ship if you desire. There were some disadvantages with it, but none of it mattered if you couldn’t use them anyway. 

You stared at Nami’s figure as she tried to pick at the lock restricting her legs. The longer you stared, the better your eyesight adjusted, and you noticed how focused she was, tongue peeking out like it usually did when she had her full attention on something. You hated to think, in moments like those, that you understood why Sanji would fall for her, why anyone would fall for her. 

This wasn’t a difficult task for someone like Nami, she was called the “Cat Burglar” for a reason, and you knew that sooner or later she would break free from her restraints. And soon enough, she did. 

“Ha!” She exclaimed, hands free as she stretched her wrists. 

It took her only a minute to free herself from the chains of her feet, and she was kneeling beside you in the blink of an eye, undoing your own restraints. 

“Nami.” You called for her, and when she only replied with a hum, not looking at you, you repeated her name. “Nami, listen to me, you have to leave.”

“What?” She did look at you then, deep frown on her face, that much you could make out in the darkened room. “I’m not leaving you here.”

“Yes, you have to. You cannot undo these cuffs.” You reasoned, knowing fully well that the chains were no issue for her, but the cuffs could only be opened with the key, or be destroyed with how hard the material was. “You would have to carry me!”

“Then I’ll carry you.” She replied like it was no big deal. 

“You’ll get us both killed. They are after our bounties for sure, they won’t hesitate to kill us!” You insisted, though she didn’t even acknowledge your words. “You have to leave, you can come back with the others!”

“I’m not leaving you!” 

“Nami, fo fuck’s sake, just go!”

“I said no!” She raised her voice enough that you worried someone outside the room might hear. “There’s no way I’m leaving you here, are you crazy?”

You huffed, exasperated. You were stubborn, but she was as thick as you were. Then again, in a situation like this, you would do the same thing, and it would never cross your mind to leave her alone in a ship full of stinky pirates. 

“Fine, but if you’re not gonna go, don’t waste time like this.”

“I’ll undo the chains at least.”

“Try to look around, maybe you can check what the situation in this ship is, and where Luffy and the guys are. 

“You’re too bossy.” Nami quipped, and you noticed her smile in the shadows, which made you smile in return. 

“Look who’s talking.”

You both chuckled, surprisingly lighthearted considering the situations you were in. You knew her enough to know that she was considering your last idea, it might even have crossed her mind before you even said it. 

“I’ll be back in no time.” She declared, standing at full height once your chains were undone. “Sit tight and don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m not Luffy!” You arched your eyebrow at her joke, but she only laughed in response before sneakily walking out through the door. 

You sighed, leaning against the post. You trusted Nami that she would keep herself safe, and maybe even encounter the rest of the crew. 

You briefly recalled how you got there; a blunt hit to the head before you could even think about using any kind of defense. It had been a sneaky raid on the Sunny, or at least those were the small fragments you got in your mind. You only had a brief glimpse of what happened; if you got yourself out of the cuff, maybe you’d have a clearer mind. 

That strike would explain the nausea and the blood you felt trickling down your neck, though the cuffs were doing their work in making you dizzy. 

It had only been a few minutes before the door bursted open, and anxiety made your hair stand on end when you saw a big man in the doorway.

You could only see so much in the dark, with the light from outside the room creating a darkened figure in front of you, but you could tell he was pissed off when his deep voice echoed through the room. 

“Where is your friend?” 

“Fuck off.”

Before you could even register what happened, you fell backwards against the wooden floor after being hit in the side of the head. Blood splurted from your mouth, making you cough. You couldn’t really see, vision blurry as your brain readjusted to what was happening, but you still tried to defend yourself with what little strength you had, putting your hands up and attempting to hit whoever was in front of you. 

You only got a mocking laughter in return. 

“You’re so pathetic without your silly powers, aren’t you?” He taunted you, grabbing your wrists by the cuffs. 

“And you’re not even a man without that bat.” You responded, eyeing the weapon he had hit you with, currently stained with your blood. 

His fist making contact with your cheek right after made you even dizzier, your mouth filling with your own blood, and you panicked when you felt like passing out. 

“Your bounties are the same even if you’re dead, you know that, right?”

“Our friends are coming for us…” You managed to say, voice slurry as you tasted your blood in your tongue.

“And we are counting on that.”

He laughed again, and you heard it so distant despite him being right on top of you. 

You groaned, in and out of it as he tied you back up to the post, not nearly tight enough as it was before. You weren’t a risk in your state. 

There was no doubt in your mind that anyone in the crew was going to burst through that door at any minute, but you weren’t sure if you’d be awake to see it. And with the amount of blood you felt oozing down the side of your face and onto the floor, you started to doubt you’d even see Nami again. 

But you had at least been wrong in that assumption when the door opened and she was there, being held with her hand behind her back by the same man that got you in your current state.

“What did you do to her?!” Nami exclaimed, struggling to get free but to no avail. 

“Nothing she didn’t deserve.” 

Nami argued with the man as if none of your lives were at risk, and you admired her for it, even if you couldn’t really hear most of it. You lacked the strength to do it yourself in that moment, otherwise you’d be kicking and screaming just like her.

She was tied to the post in no time, double the amount of locks on her this time, before the door closed a minute later, leaving the two of you alone. 

“What happened?!” Nami asked, worry seeping through her voice. “I told you not to do anything stupid!”

“I guess I’ve been hanging out with Luffy for too long…”

“Well, don’t worry, I managed to use their snail phone! And I did a little something fun too that will help us!”

You turned your head to look at her when you recognized her playful tone, but you realized your injury must have looked a lot worse than you thought when her expression showed only concern. 

“What did you do?”

“You’ll see.” She offered a small smile and a wink. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t fall asleep, you know head injuries make you tired but keep talking to me.”

“Should I tell some jokes?” You quipped with a lopsided smile. You grimaced afterward when your lip stung; it probably split when you got punched in the face.  

“If you want.” Nami chuckled, fumbling with the chains, though she could barely move her hands. “I haven’t actually talked to you in a while, or that’s what it feels like.”

You remained silent, looking at the ceiling. 

“You haven’t been hanging out with us as much, which is weird ‘cause we are always together.” Nami went on with a lighthearted tone, but you could feel her hesitation. “Is everything okay? You know, besides the fact that you’re bleeding right now.”

“I just felt like having a little me time.” You huffed out a laugh before replying. 

“Why?”

Maybe if you hadn’t been friends, if you hadn’t shared so much in all the time you’ve been crewmates, she wouldn’t press so hard. But you knew her well enough, she wasn’t going to let it go. You ponder on what to say for a moment, the injury in your head making it difficult to actually think for longer than that, before speaking. 

“I like Sanji.”

“I’m shocked.” Nami teased you with a chuckle. “Me and Robin already know.”

“I figured.” You replied with a smile. 

“You’re not that obvious, but we noticed. I don’t think the guys know, you’d have to hit them in the face with it for them to figure it out.”

“Maybe not even then.”

“So what, you are just avoiding us because of him?” Nami paused and her expression changed into a frown. “Did he do something?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what?”

With a sigh, you gather the courage to admit to something you didn’t really want to, especially not in front of Nami, to Nami, who was not only Sanji’s object of affection, but rightfully so, because she truly was beautiful, smart and kind. While it’d be unfair to compare yourself to her, you couldn’t help it; no matter how many amiable qualities you might have, pertinent for a pirate in Luffy’s crew, you feared it wouldn’t be enough. 

“I’m jealous.” You confessed like it was air, so low she might not be able to hear you. But she did. 

“Jealous? Of who?”

“Of you.”

“Me?” Nami was offended, brows furrowed so deep it almost made you laugh. “What do I have to do with this?”

“Sanji likes you.” She opened her mouth to respond, but you didn’t give her the chance to, not wanting to hear what her reasoning would be when she denied it. “He’s always fluttering around you, attending to your every need, and I can’t blame him because I can see what he sees in you. You’re perfect and…”

‘And I’m not’ was what you wanted to say, but you stopped yourself. Confessions and self-pity were two different things. 

“And I’m not mad at you, I don’t blame you either. You’re my friend and I adore you so much, and I hate that I feel this way, but I can’t help it… Especially when he says your name all the time…” You sighed, unable to go on, afraid you might have ruined your friendship with Nami with the amount of vulnerable information you just shared. 

She sighed as well, louder and much more exasperated than you expected. 

“Man, you and Sanji are both really thick.”

“What do you mean?” You asked with a frown. 

“He’s crazy about you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Sanji, who worries nonstop about you, especially since you started being distant with us. And I’m talking about times when you mention to him in passing that you like a certain pastry or sweet stuff, and then we have it for dessert for a week. Or when he thinks he’s being sneaky and gives you a little more extra food than he gives me or Robin. Or when he looks at you when you’re fighting someone and kicking their ass and he’s trying to keep a massive nosebleed at bay.”

You looked at Nami like she was crazy, a look that she mirrored, obviously in disbelief of your own ignorance.

“Right now is clearly not a good example of that ‘ass-kicking', but I know he’s swimming faster than the Sunny can go to get here, and he’s not doing it specifically for me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. He’s literally always at your beck and call.”

“Yeah, probably because I’m cute, but he’d be at your beck and call if you wanted to, you just don’t take the opportunity. And he’d probably trip over to get it done in no time, too.”

“He makes desserts for you too!”

“He does when I ask him to, but he makes a bunch of it when you mention your favorites. And you don’t even have to ask.”

You teared your eyes away from her to look at the ceiling again. If what Nami said was true, you never even registered those little details in Sanji’s behaviour towards you. Nami’s wit was one of the sharpest in the crew, so you knew she wasn’t just making stuff up to make you feel better. 

That was the thing about liking someone like Sanji, whose affection scattered effortlessly in every direction, like the wind; how could you even tell when he was treating you differently than anyone else?

It’d be so much easier to think about everything and anything if you weren’t having a massive bleeding at that moment. You feared you might start to feel cold any second, and the urge of passing out would be too strong (though it was getting hot in the room, for some reason). 

“Everything you just said about me.” Nami spoke after a bit of silence, and you eyed her, anxiety bubbling inside your chest. “I’ll take it as a compliment. I know I’m cute and all, but I’m not competing with my friend.”

“I’m sorry, Nami.” You whispered when relief washed over you, making you feel slightly embarrassed over your outburst. “I’m not-”

“Don’t worry. I mean it.” She offered you a genuine smile, one that showed all the affection she had for you. “It surprises me to see you like this, but I want you to know that you’re perfect, too.”

“Thank you.” You mirrored her expression, wishing you were strong enough to reach for her and hold her hand.

“And if Sanji makes you feel less than perfect, you can kick his ass. And I’ll join you.”

You managed to laugh weakly only to cough up blood afterwards. Nami called your name and you heard her, but as if she was coming from the other side of the room. You were starting to feel drowsy, cursing under your breath, angry at yourself for having this conversation under these circumstances and for allowing all of this to happen. It was a common occurrence with the life you had to be kidnapped, but it was rare that you felt so out of it, so depending on your crewmates that it made you feel weak and helpless. 

Why was it getting so hot in there?

The harsh noise of the door breaking open startled you, bringing you back from your mind to the situation at hand as you saw the man who had inflicted those injuries on you fly across the room and land beside you with harsh thud. 

He was bloodied himself, and almost completely pathetic when he looked at Sanji, who was standing in the doorway, responsible for kicking him through the door. 

The small amount of blood you had left in your body was already boiling with ire, giving you a small amount of strength but enough to make you wrap your arms around the bastard’s neck, using the chains tying the cuffs together to choke him. Adrenaline coursed through you, enough to tighten your hold on him, and to deafen whatever noise and ruckus that was happening around you. 

Until you felt Sanji’s hands on yours, and his voice so close it created goosebumps on your skin. 

“Sweetheart, let go.” He said into your ear, almost like a whisper, as his touch, so delicate, tried to pry your hands open. “It’s me, darling. You have to let go.”

You only did so after a moment, releasing a loud, trembling sigh, when you realized that Sanji was actually touching you and embracing you safely. 

He held you in his arms, fumbling with the key he most likely took from the poor bastard before he kicked his ass, and freeing you from the cuffs quickly. 

When you didn’t regain your usual energy, Sanji panicked, eyes wide open, his one visible brow furrowed upward in deep concern. You briefly wondered how bad you looked for him to make an expression like that, though the amount of blood on your face must have made any injury you had looked infinitely worse. 

He swiftly scooped you in his arms, one hand grasping your legs and the other on your back, tightly holding onto you as he made his way out. You didn’t have the strength in you to hold your head up high, leaning against his shoulder instead, feeling so warm in his hold you could fall asleep.

“Nami, Nami-” You weakly called for her, voice slurry as you tried to look around the room. “Where’s Nami?”

“I’m here, I’m okay!” She replied, somewhere behind Sanji.

“She’s half dead and she still tried to choke me!” You heard the man’s voice yelling, desperately, like he was trying to look for an explanation of what happened. A strangled whimper followed immediately.

“Shut up, she should’ve killed you.” Zoro’s voice was unmistakable to your ears, and you huffed, amused by his words.

Once outside on the deck, you came to the realization of what Nami had done when she slipped out the room earlier. 

“You-You set the ship on fire?” You asked her, in disbelief. 

“No!” She yelled, exasperated. “I only set a tiny part of it on fire! I didn’t think the idiots on this ship would let it get this bad!”

You huffed out a small laugh, closing your eyes as you sank your face into Sanji’s chest. He had held you like this on other occasions when you needed saving, but you’ve never felt like you could doze off so easily before. You heard him call out your name repeatedly, and it took a lot of willpower on your part to respond.

“You gotta stay with me! We’re getting you to Chopper in a heartbeat!” Sanji pleaded, squeezing you in his hold. 

“I’m dizzy…” You could only muster.

His voice was still talking to you, desperately, but you had stopped registering actual words before you lost consciousness. 

*

It took a lot of effort to simply open your eyes, vision blurry for a moment as you blinked away the tiredness of your eyes. There was a dull ache in your head, and you slowly moved your hand to check your own forehead. Only then you noticed that someone was holding it tightly. 

“She’s awake!” Chopper exclaimed right beside you, and you felt his hoof touch your forehead. 

“Darling, are you okay?” Sanji’s face came into view, and your heart softened when you realized it was him holding your hand. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Who are you?” The look in Sanji’s face made you feel immediately guilty, and you managed to smile, a sign that you were only kidding. “Where am I? What year is it?”

He let out a long, loud sigh as he sank his face into the bed, pressing his forehead to the back of your hand. 

Chopper didn’t look amused, and you knew he was on the verge of scolding you but held back. 

“Very funny. Are you in pain? Nauseous?”

“I’m tired. And there’s like a pressure in my head, but not too bad…” 

“You should stay in bed for a couple of days.” When you groaned, Chopper chastised you as he checked the bandages on your head. “We have to make sure this won’t worsen! Bed rest, lots of water, and you’ll be good to go if there are no other symptoms! So no strenuous activities for now!”

“Fine, you don’t have to boss me around…” You replied, smiling when he beamed at you. “Thank you, Chopper, you’re so sweet.”

“You know I don’t like compliments!” Chopper said, with a smile and blush on his cheeks as he stepped out of the room. “Don’t move! I’ll change your bandages soon!”

You giggled, turning your eyes at Sanji, who was looking at you intensely. 

“I’m okay, Sanji.” You reassured him, purposely saying his name as softly as you could.

“That wasn’t funny.” He berated you half-heartedly, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

You moved your other hand to check on your head, most of it covered in bandages, before sliding it down your face. The cut in your split lip sting, and you felt multiple cuts on the side of your face, a big one that had been stitched on your cheekbone. You probably had a nasty bruise, feeling how sore the skin was there.

Embarrassed to be looking so weak in front of Sanji, you turned your head to the side, groaning slightly when you pressed your cheek into the pillow. 

“Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?” He asked, running one hand over the side of your face, so delicate it felt like the brush of a feather. He ran his fingers through your hair when you didn’t reply, gently patting your head. “I’ll call Chopper again-”

“I’m okay, I mean it.” You turned to him, disregarding your shame, tightly holding onto his hand. The hand that had never let go of yours. 

You sat up as Sanji helped you, arranging the pillow on the headboard.

“Could I-” Before you could even finish the question, he was already pouring water in a glass from a tray by the bedside table, handing it to you gently. “Thank you.”

You felt some tension in the air, but you were aware that it was only from your part. Your memory was fragmentary, with some puzzle pieces missing, but you remembered the conversation you had with Nami when you were both abducted. It turned out that saying things out loud gave your feelings a certain kind of materiality that you didn’t know how to handle. 

“How long was I out?” You asked him, as Sanji watched you carefully. 

“Almost a day.” 

You grimaced. No wonder he seemed more concerned than usual.

“How’s Nami?” 

“She’s fine, she only has a bruise on her side. She was here to check on you a minute ago, Robin is helping her take a bath now.” When you arched your eyebrow, he explained further. “The bruise doesn’t let her move her arm around much.”

“I should have been more careful…” You said without much thought. 

“Darling, you were hit in the head. There wasn’t much you could have done.” Sanji chastised you sternly this time. You sensed that he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. 

You studied his expression; he had dark circles under his one visible eye, his hair was tousled. He definitely seemed tired, and you came to the conclusion that he had spent all the time you were unconscious holding your hand. He was gazing at you softly, like he usually did. The words Nami said to you rang in your mind; that he liked you, more than you could tell. 

Attempting to distract yourself, you slowly drank from the glass, hissing when your swollen lip touched the rim. 

“Does it hurt?” He asked with a frown. His hand tried to reach for you but it stopped midway. 

“It stings. Does it look too bad?”

“You had never looked more beautiful.”

You huffed out a small laugh, looking away.

“Don’t pull that on me.”

"I mean it.” Sanji reached for your hand this time, holding it gently as he ran his thumb through your knuckles. It flustered you, but you didn’t pull away. “Doesn’t mean I don’t wanna go back to that ship and kill the man who put you in this state.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. I didn’t get there in time.”

“What are you talking about?” You asked, bemused, as you set the glass on the bedside table. “If you hadn’t gotten there when you did, I might have bled out, or died from the fire.”

“If I had gotten there earlier, you wouldn’t even be in this bed.” You pursed your lips when you realized how upset he was, the hand that was holding yours trembling. “And… I saw when they took you and Nami away, and I also didn’t get there in time…”

“Enough, Sanji. It was my fault that I wasn’t alert when it happened.”

“I-”

“Thank you for saving me.” You repeated, firmly this time, squeezing his hand. 

“I’ll always save you.”

With tenderness you had never seen before, Sanji placed a kiss to the back of your hand. You couldn’t hide the gasp that escaped you, and blood rushed to your face so fast you felt dizzy again. 

“I know that you don’t… want me that way-” Sanji started, nervously looking down. 

“What?”

“That’s why you’ve been avoiding me, right?” His eyes went to you again, trepidation obvious in his expression. “I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable, if my feelings felt like a burden for you. But I still wanted to take care of you, make you feel like nothing has really changed-”

“Wait. Is that what it seemed like? That I was avoiding you?” When he nodded, you stared back at him in incredulity. Without thinking, you asked: “What about Nami?”

“What about Nami?” He mirrored your expression. 

“You…” You felt embarrassed to even bring her up, but he was staring at you with such focus, like he really wanted to understand everything you were saying, that you couldn’t even think about hiding anything. “You’re always all over her, and doing everything she asks…”

“I can’t say no to a beautiful lady.” Sanji anxiously ran one hand down his pants (probably looking for his pack of smokes, though he didn’t even attempt to grab them), eyes darting elsewhere for a brief second before coming back to you. “And Nami is Nami. But I’m always looking at you, looking for you. I like… tending to your needs, catering to your whims.”

The weight of Sanji’s words were hitting you like a thunderbolt, and you couldn’t help your dumbfounded expression as he went on.

“But you rarely ask me anything, and since you’ve been a little more reserved, I figured it would be better to let you be, to not overwhelm you…”

Maybe Nami was right. You were both really thick. 

“You thought I had feelings for Nami?” Sanji asked carefully.

“Yeah…”

“I love women.” He admitted promptly, making you chuckle. As if you had no idea.

“I know.”

“I can admire their beauty, and I will always let them know that they deserve the world. But what I feel for you, my love…” Sanji brought your hand to his lips again, pressing a small kiss before continuing. “You’re always on my mind. All this time you kept your distance, when I noticed you didn’t want to be around me… Giving you space, holding back my tongue from calling you “my dear”, “my sweet”, “my angel”, all of it killed me because I was dying to tell you how special you were. None of this can compare to whatever sentiment I might have for any other woman.”

You had to avert your eyes from his so as to let his words sink in. Sanji was saying he was attracted to you, that you had been wrong all this time, and for all the insecurity you still had in your heart, somehow you believed everything he said. You had never seen him more vulnerable, sitting by your side and holding your hand; he wasn’t sacrificing his life but you still knew it took a lot for him to materialize his feelings into words.

“I know I flirt a lot, with any woman I see, and-”

“And you’re a perv.” You added, teasingly.

“That too.” He added without an ounce of shame. “It might be difficult for you to believe me, but I hope you find it in your heart to never doubt any of my feelings…”

“Sanji,” You held his gaze this time, feeling your cheeks burning but with enough confidence to ask: “You have feelings for me?”

With a sigh that implied the heavy weight that he was getting off his shoulder, he replied with confidence:

“Yeah. Yes. Desperately so. I can’t even contain them.”

“I like you. A lot.” Sanji’s face lit up like you’ve never seen before, making you smile. “I wasn’t avoiding you, I just. I couldn’t stand seeing you fawn over someone else, especially Nami. She’s gorgeous, and-”

“She is. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t.” He interrupted you, caressing your hand while he reached for your face with the other, carefully stroking your cheek with his thumb. “I was captivated by you the moment I first saw you, and not only did your beauty blinded me, but your kindness, your passion and sense of humor made it so easy for me to fall for you. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to convince you of all that. If you let me.”

Sanji was overdramatic, you knew that. But in the intimate space that was currently the sick bay, you couldn’t help but believe everything he had just said. Leaning into his touch, nuzzling the palm of his hand, you smiled softly. 

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Sanji beamed, inclining closer. 

“Okay.” You repeated, feeling the warmth of his skin the closer he got. 

The smell of smoke and spices invaded your senses as his lips ghosted over yours for a second, as if giving you the opportunity to pull away. When you didn’t, Sanji kissed you, gently yet passionately, pressing his lips to yours with an intensity that made you gasp.

A hiss did escape your lips when he pressed closer, and he pulled back.

“Damn, sorry!” He cautiously ran his thumb over your bottom lip. “Did I hurt you?”

“It’s just a little tender.” You flinched a little; he wasn’t using any pressure but the cut hurt more than you expected. “You’ll have to give me another kiss when I’m better.”

“Oh, darling, I’ll give you as many as you want!” 

You pecked his lips promptly, quick and soft, and to your amusement, Sanji looked like he was about to have a heart attack, cheeks flushed and small hearts forming in his pupils. So much for someone who just confessed his feelings in such a sentimental way.

“And you know what?” You smile playfully, determined to tease him when he gave you a quizzical look. “I also love women, as much as you do. So if your eyes ever wander to someone else, mine will too.”

For a moment, you couldn’t tell if Sanji was still alive.

Until his nose started bleeding. 

You chortled, totally pleased with his reaction as he desperately tried to wipe away the blood.

“You’re a mischievous lady.”

“But you like my sense of humor, right?”

“Yo-You were joking?!”

“Was I?”

You grinned cheekily as a response, and Sanji could only groan in response. 

“Don’t do that to me again, please, my love.” Sanji begged, holding tightly onto your hand. “That joke you made when you woke up… I wouldn’t know what to do…”

“Sorry.” You pet his head, running your fingers through his hair. He looked like he could melt underneath your touch. “I couldn’t let the opportunity to mess with you slip.”

Your breath hitched when his lips trailed up your wrist and forearm, tenderly whispering your name against your skin. You weren’t sure if your teasing could compare to what he was doing to you. 

When the door opened, you were startled, and seeing the knowing smile on Nami’s face as she stood next to Chopper made your cheeks burn with embarrassment. Sanji simply looked mildly annoyed to be interrupted when Chopper yelled.