Tati

Small writer n hoping to get better :)

[m00ngel]

Get to meet me :)

Name: Silas

Age: 19

Race: Mexican/Latina

preferences abt my account; no one under 16, nothing weird regarding minors, ill write for whatever requests you have and ill do my best too fulfill them. It will take me some time as I normally write in my free time. I have college and work to attend too so please be patient. I will write NSFW stuff because I can :) if you have a problem please go take it up with ur momma.

Fandoms:

Ultraman, COD, Ouran Highschool Host club, DC, Marvel, Inside job, The Office, Monster High, Kickass, Spiderman, Community, Gravity Falls, My hero Academia, Sunkenji (YouTuber), Megan Thee Stallion.

again feel free to request anything and I’m sure there’s more fandoms I just forgot I’m in.

[voodoochildthings]

Live to serve

Sanji x reader

You and Sanji have a mutually beneficial agreement.

Word count: 4K

Tags: MDNI! smut, 18+, secret relationship, Sanji loves to please, oral sex, fingering, p in v, multiple orgasms.

A/N: I've always had a little crush on Sanji, but it's become unbearable since OPLA came out. And I blame Taz Skylar and his Instagram account.

Enjoy!

You snort and shake your head at the boys while you get up and clear your plate, the mood in the kitchen light and cheerful. Both Luffy and Chopper are back to pretending to be walruses again and Usopp has engaged in an enthralling tale about the Sniper King’s adventures, but as fun as an evening of camaraderie might be, you have different plans for tonight. 

Sanji’s bent over a cutting board, garnishing a cheese platter that he just threw together when you put down your plate at the sink, casually excusing yourself from the party. 

“I’m gonna call it a night, I still have some work to do. You guys have fun! Oh and… Sanji? I probably could still go for some dessert later, if you wanna whip something up. I’m in the mood for something salty today, I think.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see Nami waving good-bye, Robin’s head turning, and, of course, Sanji just about catching the drink he almost toppled when he heard your request. You don’t turn to look at him, not wanting to risk Robin catching your glance. Discovering your little arrangement. She really is annoyingly perceptive, that one.

A little over half an hour later you’re sitting at your desk, brows furrowed over today’s newspaper. You’re trying to align the information printed with the things your little birds from all over the world wrote to you in their letters when you hear a knock at the door. Two short raps, followed by a long one. 

“Come in.”

The door creaks open, and a half bowing, long, slender figure appears in the doorway. Funny how he can make himself so small, you think as Sanji slips inside your room, quietly closing the door behind him. 

“Evenin’, love.” 

He straightens up as he makes his way toward you just to bow down low again when he reaches you. You can feel his cheek brushing against your hair, how he's greedily inhaling your scent while his hand carefully places a small plate in front of you, careful not to put it on your documents. 

“Chocolate soufflé, with a dash of Aqua Laguna salt. And I still had some of those white strawberries you liked so much.” The tone of his voice is so sultry, so charming, it sends a tingle down your spine. You turn a little to look at him, his keen eyes observing your reaction.

“That looks delicious, Sanji, thank you,” you say as you pick up the spoon, take a bite of the treat. You close your eyes, savor the explosion of flavors on your tongue with a soft hum as you lick the spoon clean. When you open your eyes again you can see Sanji staring at your mouth, his lips slightly parted, almost drooling on your shoulder. You have to giggle when a needy little huff leaves him. “Anything for you, dear.”

“Roll your tongue back up, Sanji,” you smirk, and he snaps back to reality. “You know you’re gonna be using it quite a bit.”

You can hear Sanji inhaling deeply, breath staggering as his ears turn pink. He clears his throat, takes a step back and sits on the edge of your desk. 

“Anything specific you're in the mood for today?”

You turn on your seat to fully look at him, standing there. He’s got his hands stuffed away in his pockets, you can see they’re balled into fists beneath the silky fabric of his trousers. His eyes are glued to you, follow you around the room as you stand up and walk over to your vanity.

“You know, I’m still not done working. I really have to figure some stuff out…” you sigh dramatically as you reach under your skirt, hook the waistband of your panties with one finger and quickly pull them down. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t get started.”

Sanji all but squeals as his head snaps to the side, turning to follow your panties’ trajectory as they fly over to the bed. You can’t help the self-satisfied smile on your face, you just love watching him like that. Big ocean eyes, adoring, practically begging for you to let him do your bidding. You know he has very little self-control when it comes to beautiful women, that he will bend over backwards to get praise from anyone with a nice pair of tits and a pretty smile, but you know he'll drop anyone if you summon him. He's even pried himself away from Nami to revere you.

It was purely carnal at first. You had gotten drunk on a long voyage after not setting foot on land for weeks, things had gotten boring for everyone on the Thousand Sunny. So you threw a party. Everyone had had a blast, and Sanji had waited on you, Nami and Robin hand and foot. Paid you compliments. Boosted your ego. And it had made something stir deep inside of you. 

You can’t fully recall the events of that evening, but you do distinctly remember squeezing his face with one of your hands, telling him that you’d kill him if he was ever to breathe a word of what was about to happen to a living soul – or Brooke – and then you’d been on each other. And boy, had he delivered. 

You had always imagined Sanji to be like one of those firecrackers that immediately exploded in your hand, but you’d never been so wrong. Behind the facade of that lovesick puppy, chasing after any short skirt, getting a nose bleed from talking to a woman for too long, there was an animal lurking, a lion waiting to be freed from his cage.

You don’t remember how many times he had made you come that night, but it was more than enough to break your previous record, and to make you crave more of it as soon as you were able to walk straight again. And Sanji? Happy to do your every bidding. Now, you'd like to think what you're doing is strictly physical, but if you were honest you would have to admit to yourself that you enjoy the attention. Really enjoy it.

When you’re back at your desk, you lay your hand on Sanji's cheek, softly guide him onto his knees as you sit back down. You’re met with zero resistance, and you feel his nose running up the inside of your leg as soon as he’s vanished under the table. You have to grin to yourself as you hear his blissful sigh, then you get back to work on your letters.

You feel Sanji’s hands wandering up and down your legs, caressing every inch of your skin with the soft tips of the fingers he’s so careful never to use in a fight, peppering feather-light kisses all over you. He pries your legs open, just like you’ve seen him do to all kinds of exotic fruit with practised ease, slowly getting you ready for what he’s about to give you. 

When his mouth finally reaches the inside of your thigh, he, apparently not being able to help himself, bites down on your flesh longingly, prompting a small moan full of surprise from you. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you want to reach under the table, grab a fistful of his hair, tell him he’s doing good, but you’re not there yet.

You close your eyes, take a deep breath, focus on the sensation between your legs and try to relax. You've noticed over the past couple of weeks that Sanji has this weird, pressure relieving effect on you that's so much more enduring than when you just get yourself off. He'll just keep working you for hours and hours on end, putting you in an almost trance-like state as he pleasures you just the way you like it, without even so much as thinking about his own high.

You've learned not to be impatient, to savor Sanji's diligence as he makes sure every inch of your body gets worshipped the way it should. Your lower half is already tingling nicely when he finally comes close to where you really want him.

Your back arches involuntarily when his tongue runs up the inside of your thigh, you can feel your legs twitching but Sanji's firm grip keeps you in place. He places a kiss right in the valley where your leg ends, and then one more further up. You're not sure when you started holding your breath, but the gasp shaking your body when he finally runs his tongue through your folds fills your lungs with new life.

You feel the vibration in your core as he hums into your body, satisfied with the response he's eliciting from you. You can feel him nuzzling his nose into you, tongue lapping up every bit of wetness he can find. The first time he went down on you like that you were genuinely scared he'd suffocate, but you've come to learn that Sanji has a strong will to live. Especially when he's drowning in pussy. Now, you just lean back and enjoy the entertainment. 

You feel the buzz spreading through every cell of your body, the heat in your core rising, and if you let yourself, you could easily come right on the spot. But that's not what you want. You want to make this last, stretch it as far as you can, because once he pushes you off that ledge? You'll be a goner.

That's why, when you feel one of Sanji's slender fingers getting closer to your entrance, you tell him, “no.”

His movement stills immediately, you can feel him lifting his head. Like a good little soldier, waiting for your command.

“Not yet,” you huff, noticing how mellow your voice sounds. “Just your tongue, for a little longer.”

“Your wish is my command,” you hear his raspy voice from underneath your desk, and without further ado, he dives back in. You finally give up on reviewing the paper, let your head drop onto your arms that are lying on the table, and you notice how you almost fall off your seat because you keep scooting forward, your body seeking out more and more of the delectable sensation Sanji's providing you.

You feel Sanji's grip on your thighs tightening as he keeps devouring you, edged on by your moans that become less controlled with each passing moment. All the muscles in your lower body seem to be fighting against you, spasming as you try to ground yourself, try to control your breathing, but when Sanji finally finds that unforgiving rhythm that's just right for you today, you give in.

The sound you make is beyond sinful as you finally allow yourself the release you've been building up to. You know exactly what's going on in Sanji's head, that he must be bursting, finally reaping the reward of having you come on his face, but apart from his fingertips sinking deeper into your skin it doesn't show. He just keeps you high, firm grip on your thighs so you don't accidentally crush him.

He only eases up when your quivering legs finally start to slump, your moan turning into a staggered growl. He chuckles as he wipes his lower face on your thigh, keeping you close as you twitch in response to the feathery light kisses he scatters on your skin.

You groan, letting your head loll to the side, lids heavy, hair sticking to your sweaty face. Everything's still in a haze, you don't remember him getting up when you feel Sanji brushing the offending strain away with his thumb. You can smell yourself on him when he lowers himself to your level so his face is mere inches from yours.

“You good, princess?”

“Mhm,” is all you manage to press out, accompanied by a half-hearted nod that Sanji rewards with a light chuckle.

“Come on. Let's get you to bed.”

Before you fully realize what's happening, Sanji has swept you up, your body apparently weighing nothing to him, and carries you across the room. You're still breathing heavily, press your face into his firm chest and let yourself fall into his delicious, peculiar scent of cloves and some other spice he must have picked up in one of the many towns you passed through.

He gently places you on the bed, making sure your head is resting on a pillow and your skirt pulled down enough to cover you, and then he sits down next to you.

“That kinda took it out of you, huh?”

You sigh blissfully, heart still racing, but Sanji’s voice immediately reignites something deep within. You roll onto your side, prop yourself up on one elbow and look at him, expectantly. He raises his eyebrow, a puzzled look on his face.

“Oh, you– do you still want more?”

You can feel the confusion flicker across your face for a second, and then you see that intoxicating smile of his curling around his lips. 

“Sanji!” You both laugh as you playfully hit him in the chest, and then, before you could say “millefeuille”, he’s on you again. You squirm a little as he covers you with his long body, moan when you feel his hot breath against your neck. Sanji leaves enough space between the two of you so you can unbutton his blue pinstriped shirt and make quick work of his belt buckle. He’s already down to his boxers when you quickly peel yourself out of your shirt and bra while he pulls your skirt down, finally discarding it on the floor. 

Sanji’s kneeling over your naked form, drinking you in, his face appearing almost reverent in the low light. You bite your lip, earning a breathless huff from Sanji. He places his hand on your collarbone, then proceeds to trace it down your body, along your curves and dimples until it finally comes to rest just underneath your hipbone. 

“God, you’re beautiful.”

You hum softly, and while this kind of praise from Sanji is exactly what you want, exactly what gets your engine going, the sincerity he expresses it with goes straight to your soul. You tilt your head up, and, as he always does, Sanji gives you what you want.

You can positively taste the burning passion as he kisses you tenderly, a quiet little moan betraying how much he’s been longing for this. Still, he’s so soft, so controlled, not allowing himself to run wild. Stoically holding back. When you lift your hips, trying to seek out some friction in vain because Sanji’s too far away, you know what you must do.

There’s not a lot of space on your bed, but luckily, Sanji’s not the only one who knows how to use his legs. You wrap yourself around him, and, with the smoothest movement, spin him to lie flat on his back. Now, finally straddling him, you press down and feel his hot, throbbing cock pressed right up against your still needy pussy. 

Sanji groans as you slowly grind over him, only the thin fabric of his boxers separating your heat from his. His hands find their way to your hips, fingers denting your skin while he throws his head back, eyes closed. You run your palm over his chiseled chest, his lean body twitching in sync with your movements. For a second, you think you should drag this out as well, just keep riding him like this. But when you look at his twisted little face you decide you want him, stat.

You shift your weight so you can reach under yourself, and, unceremoniously, pull his boxers down only as much as you need for his cock to spring free. You grab him, maybe a little too tight, give him a couple of cursory strokes, and then sink down on him with no hesitation.

One of the things you love about Sanji is the fact that he's so vocal. Every little movement of yours is rewarded with a moan, growl or quiet curse. The way he whispers your name when your pussy clenches around him sends shivers down your spine every damn time, the way he mewls when your fingers wander over his skin makes you feel so powerful and wanted at the same time you could combust.

You shift a little, settling on his lap, allowing him to reach even deeper. Through hooded lids you can see that Sanji's eyes have fluttered shut, he looks like he's hanging on by a thread. Still, you decide to start grinding. You know he's not going to disappoint you. Your vision goes blurry when you start rolling your hips, Sanji's thick head inside you hitting that spot that switches off the outside world.

You can already feel yourself speeding up, your body just taking over, greedily seeking out another high. Your hips keep working him, nails digging into his hard surface in a way you're sure it would hurt a normal person, but you know he can take it. And even if he couldn't, he wouldn't complain.

When you feel you're close you lean back, prop yourself up on his thighs for a better angle, better purchase. You and Sanji almost fall out of rhythm as he tries to match your erratic movement, but when the wave finally crashes down over you, your back arching, toes curling, Sanji's got you. Like he always does. 

A loud, almost pained moan spills from your lips as he keeps thrusting while you ride your high, pulling you into him as your cries turn into whimpers before you finally go slack. 

You feel your arms on his thighs turn into jelly, but Sanji sits up in the blink of an eye, catching you before you can fall. He pulls you close, your bodies slick against each other's, your chest heaving way more noticeably than his. 

Sanji pulls you into a tight hug while you try to regulate your breathing, nuzzles his nose into the crook of your neck while you try to come down. His hand wanders up and down your back, gently caressing you, keeping you as close as he possibly could. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear.

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs, lips ghosting over the shell of your ear. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you just looked? Like a goddess come down to earth just to bless me.” He inhales deeply, the squeeze he’s giving you turning possessive for an instant before he quickly regains his composure.

As soon as he notices you shifting, having recovered enough to move again, Sanji gives you space to lift yourself off him. He groans at the slight twitch your pussy gives around his still hard cock. 

“Okay. Wow. That was… that was good.” You fumble with your legs as you lift yourself off him, your body immediately protesting at the loss of contact even though you should be exhausted.

Sanji cocks his head, looks at you with that impish smile of his, the erection between his legs bobbing up and down.

“Good? Are you trying to hurt my feelings?”

You have to chuckle as you scoot closer, kneel next to him. You let your lips ghost over his shoulder to the back of his neck, where you place a couple of kisses before you whisper in his ear.

“That was amazing. You were amazing. Mind-blowing. Earth-shattering.”

You can feel the goosebumps rippling all over his body as you praise him just before he captures you in another kiss, just as searing hot as the last one, but way less controlled. You feel him brushing a strand of hair behind your ear and then quickly turning you so you're in his arms again.

He gently lowers you on the bed, eyes not leaving yours for a second. He runs his hand over your breast, circles your nipple once, then lets it move further down. You can’t control the way your body twitches under him, and it’s a good thing because Sanji knows exactly what you’re asking for, even if your mouth is refusing to say it. 

He dips down, lips trailing down your chest until they find your nipple. He licks a broad stripe over it, making you twitch again, and then takes it into his mouth. Your eyes flutter shut as he starts sucking on one while pinching the other with his fingers, and a little gasp leaves you as he pushes two fingers into the heat you've been desperately pressing up against him.

You’re not entirely sure for how long Sanji keeps working you, at this point, the thing turning you on most are the content, passionate little sounds he’s making while chasing your high. His voice is raspy when he finally drops your nipple from his mouth with a soft plop. You open your eyes to find him looking at you, enamoured with the way you're writhing beneath him. 

“I, uh,” he says, voice cracking at the single syllable as he continues to pump his fingers into you. “I’m really sorry but I don’t think I can keep this up for much longer,” he huffs, eyes only shooting down to look between his legs for a second. You can’t see much with the dim light and his body so close to yours, but you’ve felt his hardness poking you. Felt the pre-cum oozing from his tip against your sizzling skin. 

You lift your hands, cup his face to look at it for a moment. Study the adoration, the devotion written all over it, brush that rogue strand of hair away only for it to immediately fall back in place. 

“Sanji?”

He holds his breath, eyes wide, trying to read your wish before you say it out loud. As he always does.

“Will you come inside me?”

The sound he makes is almost a whimper, and then he’s so fast you’re almost unable to follow his movements. Still on his knees between your thighs, he runs a hand over your ass and down your leg as he gently pushes it up to finally rest it on his shoulder. All air leaves your body when he presses into your wetness, his movement offensively unhurried for someone as consumed by lust as you know him to be. He runs his cheek over your calf, kissing every inch of skin he can reach as he slowly drives into you. His thrusts are deep, powerful, and it takes only a couple of them for you to almost lose yourself again. You can feel him tensing up inside you, and the moment you allow the moan that’s been trying to break free from you to escape you’re both gone. Sanji’s hips stutter as he paints your insides white, his entire body shudders before he collapses onto you, not halting his movement before the tension in your body subsides. 

You both lie there for a while, breathing falling into rhythm with each other, quietly enjoying the peace of the moment. Sanji rolls off you, careful not to break your skin to skin contact for a second. Pulls you into his arm before his back even hits the mattress. He gently caresses your shoulder, tracing imaginary lines on your arms.

You're not exactly sure how, but he produces a cigarette from somewhere, lights it on the oil lamp that's standing on the bedside table. He takes a long drag, slowly exhales, letting the smoke curl its way up to the ceiling.

“So,” he says, the cheeky grin already back on his lips. “You hungry for anything else, my queen?”

[warmfrequency]

after price kills shepherd, he has a finite window of time to grab his things and say goodbye to his wife.

cw: angst

You hear the front door swing open and hit the wall behind it and your first thought is he’s early.

You’re at the stove, wooden spoon in your hand with the skillet throwing up steam, onions gone soft and golden at the edges, music murmuring from the speaker on the windowsill.

The word ‘early’ is halfway up out of your throat, light, a little teasing, but it dies there when the sound coming from down the hall isn’t the sound of a man home for the night. There’s no pause to toe his boots off, no keys dropping in the bowl. Just the stairs taken too fast, two at a time, the whole house shivering under the weight of him going up.

Your hand finds the gas dial and turns the flame down. You open up your ears, straining to listen. Then you’re moving, following the sound of him up into the dark of the second landing.

The bedroom door’s open, and inside, John’s just a blur of motion against the moonlight behind him. The wardrobe’s flung wide open, the duffle is out — the one that lives at the back of the closet behind the winter coats, the one you were trained long ago not to touch nor ask about — and now it’s unzipped, open on the bed. His hands are working through the canvas with a fervor that turns your blood cold before he’s said a single word.

He hasn’t looked up, he’s too focused. And there’s something practiced and deeply troubling about the speed of which his hands are movings — it tells you more than his face even would.

“John?” you try, his back is to you now.

“Hey,” he says, a drawer slides open, he rifles through it, turns around, and whatever he took from the drawer disappears into his bag. “Listen to me a minute.”

“What’s happening? Wh- what’re you doing?”

You take a tentative step toward the bed.

“I have to go,” he says flat, pared down, slotted neatly into the rhythm of his packing. “Right now. Tonight.”

“Go where? You’ve only just got back. Is it a—,”

“It’s not work,” he cuts in roughly, then shakes his head, eyes squeezed shut.

His hands go still over the bag and he turns his head and finally, finally looks at you, blue eyes hooking under your ribs. He takes a steadying inhale through his parted lips, then out his flaring nostrils.

“It’s… it’s not a job, dove.”

You feel so behind him in this, like you’re still standing in the warm kitchen five minutes ago, still on the version of tonight where dinner’s almost ready. You can feel a tickle of dread crawling up the back of your neck.

You’ve never seen him like this.

He’s never like this — frantic.

“Then what is it, J—,”

“Shepherd’s dead,” he spills. He says it the way you’d pluck a splinter from a soft palm, all at once because slow is worse. “It was me, I did it. There’ll be people comin’ here to look for me, and I can’t be here when they come, and I can’t—” His throat bobs. “I can’t be anywhere near you. D’you understand me?”

You don’t.

His confession arrives in pieces and your hands rise to your temples as the words work their way into whatever corner of your mind is properly conscious.

He’s gone back to moving, the zip of the bag closing like something tearing in half. It’s the moving you can’t deal with right now because the moving means it’s already decided. It was decided before he came through the front door. You’re hearing the end of a conversation he’s been having with himself for god knows how long.

Sick turns over in your belly, hot and acidic as it ascends your esophagus, burning the back of your tongue before you swallow it back down.

“Stop.” Your hand closes firm around his forearm. “Stop, just— just look at me. Goddamnit, just— Stop moving!”

To his credit, he goes still for a moment, turning fully toward you now and lifts both hands to your face, cradling your jaw, and every scrap of that frantic velocity drains out of him. His forehead comes down to yours, warm, a little slicked. And suddenly you would give anything to have the frantic version of him back, because stillness means he’s made time for it. John doesn’t make room for things that don’t matter. He’s making room to say goodbye, and knowing that opens up beneath you like a trap-door.

His thumbs sweep the tears you didn’t even feel on your cheeks. “Look at me,” his hands stiffen and close tighter when they rest on your face, forcing your gaze onto his. “I need you to hear me.”

“No.” You’ve got two fistfuls of his shirt now, the cotton crushed in your hands, your head moving side to side against the cage of his palms. “No. No! You don’t get to do this, we’ll— we’ll fix it,” you try to sniffle but sob instead. “You’ll go to someone— Kate! There’ll be a way—,”

“There isn’t,” he murmurs, almost pleading.

“There’s always a way.”

“Not for this.” He says it so softly it takes the legs out from under you. His breath is warm against your mouth. “Not this one, dove. Not this time. I’m sorry.”

Part of you doesn’t quite believe the apology. It was tacked on at the end like an afterthought. You know John. Or, maybe you thought you did. The blood in your heart feels like it’s curdling, heavy, turning to tar as you continue to process exactly what’s happening here.

What he’s done.

You wrench your neck and free your face from the heat of his hands.

“How long?” you ask, voice breaking.

He doesn’t answer.

You strike his chest with the flat of both hands, again and again, then again. You can’t even shift him an inch and the both of you know it, it’s just somewhere for the fear to go as it bubbles. His chin tucks, watching with a curling devastation as you keep connecting with his body. In a flash, he’s got both of his hands on your wrists, yanking you forward against him. “How long, John?!”

You’re starting to learn how long.

He says nothing.

This isn’t a tour. It isn’t a season away with a date at the end of it. He’s running. There is no number because there is no horizon he can point to, no morning he can promise you he’ll be standing in this room again.

The realization comes out of you barely above a breath as you tip your head back to see him. “You’re not coming back.”

His eyes fall shut. He presses his mouth to your forehead hard and holds there, and when the words come they come muffled into your hair just above your ear, into the warmth of you he’s trying to memorize.

“I love you.” It’s not an answer to your question by any stretch of the imagination. He pulls back again to meet your eyes. “Whatever they say about me, whatever you hear — that’s the only truth, yeah?” His knuckles lift to your chin, the pad of his thumb pushing against the front of it, holding your gaze. “When they come, you tell them I was here, I threatened you, and I left in a hurry.”

Your lip wobbles as you look at him, your throat is so tight it hurts.

“Say it back to me.”

“Y- you were here, you left in a hurry.”

“I was here, I threatened you, I left in a hurry,” he repeats.

“You were here, y-you thre- threatened me, you left in a hurry.”

“Good.”

He kisses you and you can almost taste both halves of him in it at once: the half that’s yours, and the half that's already gone. You give it back to him like you can hold him in the room by your mouth alone. But you can’t. And you feel the precise instant he decides to stop, the breath he takes to force himself away.

“Lock the door behind me,” he says.

And the velocity is back. He swings the duffle bag up onto his shoulder, and he’s past you before you’ve turned, out the bedroom door, and you spin and rush after him with his name tearing out of you, your bare feet slapping against the hardwood.

“John! Please! John!”

But he’s already at the foot of the stairs, already crossing the hall, always faster than you, and you’re only halfway down when the front door swings open and the cold of the night pours in over the threshold to meet you. You reach the bottom step, lurch for the door.

The street is empty.

You look left, you look right. It’s as if you dreamt the whole thing. As if you made him up, boots to beard.

Behind you, the speaker’s still playing music from the kitchen. The onions have started to catch, the sweet smell tipping over into something bitter and charred.

[m00ngel]

𝒮𝑒𝓍 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒

my first request!! I’m very excited!!

Cw: pinv, unprotected sex, body praise, fem!reader, plussized!reader, cream pie, cowgirl.

Taz didn't know who to thank, the view on above him was a sight to see, he was greeted with the sight of the woman he fell in love with. Fully nude with the body you tried hiding but couldn't because of the belt around your wrists. His arms were on your hips, lowering yourself down even quicker before you pulled back, tugging his head back to speak quickly. "You tell me if I'm too heavy for you and I'll stop and get up."

He rolled his eyes and pulled you down, "too heavy? Te voy a mostrar lo que es pesado." (I'll show you heavy). Your legs were on either side of his shoulders, you were in a squat with his tip rubbing against your entrance. His blue eyes were trained on the nails that were scratching and clawing at his perfectly toned body. Your head dropped out of sheer pleasure the second his cock thrust inside, past those gummy walls that he loved so much.

"Fuckk, you feel so good.." he groaned as his fingers gripped deeper into the squishy flesh of your ass, taz practically melted into the mattress. Holding you close as he thrusted up into you. "You're so fucking stunning.." he muttered and leaned up, holding you in place making sure his hips didn't stop moving upwards to let him attach his lips onto your breasts. Leaving behind deep purple hickeys with each moan that left your mouth.

Taz's blue eyes were stuck on your face as you grabbed his hands to pin them above his head, grinning, "feel good? I told you pretty gir—" a sharp moan left the back of his throat as you began grinding your hips against his. Feeling the tip of his cock pressing against that delicious spot deep inside you, your pace quickened. Small and desperate whines leaving the back of your throat. His hands flew back to your ass as his eyes rolled back. "Fuck, baby I think—"

A hiss left your lips once you felt his heavy balls slapping up against your ass, the confidence you had disintegrated. You stared taz in the eyes before your lips collided in a messy frenzy, teeth and all. One of his hands went to tangle into your hair to hold you close as the kiss deepened and his pace quickened.

Broken moans left your slightly sore lips as you sat up, your hands holding up your hair with his hands ending up on your upper waist, bouncing you on his cock. His eyes were trained on your tits, watching as they bounced with each jump against his cock. They went further down to your belly where there was a slight jiggle to it but fuck that. It drew him in further. Taz's hands gripped your waist, "fuck, I'm close!!" You whined with a tight grip on his shoulders, yelping a bit as he pulled out of you and flipped you onto your back.

The second you were flat on your back, your legs were put over his shoulders and his cock was drilling deep into you. A loud feverish moan came from the both of you, his hands gripping your tits with your hands clawing up his back.

"Fucking love this pussy." He groaned into your ear before attacking your neck to leave more hickeys. Your eyes rolled back as he further praised you, his heavy hands rubbing over your breasts and belly. "Should fill you with my cum huh pretty?" He teased and nipped at your right nipple.

A sharp nod made you slightly dizzy but a laugh left him that made you blush. "Yeah? Imma make sure this pussy is full of cum, show you just how pretty you are." He teased, going a bit further to tease you. He sat up to make his thrusts more rough and made sure his tip hit the deepest part of you. A clench of your walls and a small high pitched moan let him know you were closer than you thought. Taz quickened his pace, knowing his release was close too, his eyes were trained on your body, watching as each part of you bounced with each passing thrust given to you. "Fuck you're so pretty." He moaned as his hands played with your nipples.

"T-taz!!" You squealed once you felt the tight grip he put around you as he pressed your bodies close together, his pace was relentless before your thighs twitched with his cock twitching deep inside you. The sound of the claps of skin against skin echoed across the room. Both of your moans synched up the second both of your climaxes hit. Your hips bucked up a bit as he held himself in place, rocking his hips slowly to make sure that every drop of his cum stayed inside.

Taz pulled back to watch you, breathless and all. Kissing your flushed cheeks as you both came down from your highs, "such a pretty girl." He teased and pulled out of you. "Let's hope it took huh?" You teased back as he chuckled and got up to help clean the both of you up.

@queenprompto @blond3ang3l

[loverrin]

| SKATE 'TILL YOU DROP | VINSMOKE SANJI

summary: in the perform or die world of figure skating, you're revered for being the current best skater in the women's singles category. when your coach, nico robin, insists that she has a solution to your competitive slump, you're speechless to find out she's somehow paired you with none other than vinsmoke sanji - the best men's singles skater in the world. pairing: sanji / f! reader wc: 10.9k (holy shit) tags: MDNI (or lowk just skip the smut it’s like two tinkles long compared to everything else), f! reader, figure skating! au, friendly rivals to lovers, slowburn, fluff and smut, p in v sex, RAW RAW RAW, you're both switches but sanji is highkey submissive as fuck, you're an absolute tease, i really don't know much about skating i just like to watch it, olympic competitiveness, zoro and robin lowkey play cupid, i know no woman has landed a quad axel yet let alone in pairs but wouldn't it be awesome if you were the first, i stole ilia malinin's nickname and slapped it on you, classic overachiever burnout, sanji is a LITTLE BIT of a pervert, one bed trope a/n: i'm NOT shipping zoro and robin (like u can if u want) i genuinely just think they're goated friends and i love their dynamic, i know pairs skating is a lot more complex than i wrote it out to be but i did not want to write TWO routines let alone every turn of them i'm sorry

Your teens flew by in a flash. The moment you first stepped foot on the ice rink, you could feel it - this was the sport you'd do for the rest of your life. You worked yourself to the bone, swapping to a private school that had an ice skating club.

At sixteen, you were headed for the Olympics. Your schoolwork was entirely forgotten, as you spent hours on end in the chilly indoors of the ice rink you begged the owner to keep open after hours, who eventually gave up and just gave you an extra key to the facility.

Your appearance in the Olympics created an uproar in the figure skating community. Your first year, you took home gold for your country. Four years later, at twenty, you held two gold medals for the women's singles category, and had two gold medals for the team event overall - the only female to land a quad axel. At twenty-two, you were the only female to consistently land quad jumps in your competitive routines, aiming for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

The Quad Goddess.

"I'm tired," you sighed, leaning against the partition of your hometown rink. It was nine o'clock at night, and your coach was frowning at your words. "Really, I am. I love this sport - I think I will for the rest of my life. But I don't want to go to the Olympics anymore."

Robin's frown turned deeper as she handed you your water bottle. She watched you sip, sweat dripping down your face from hours of prior practice. "Then, what? You'll skate for fun for the rest of your life?"

"Yeah." You shrugged. "My prime has passed, you know. I've broken so many records - I've shown it's possible for women to enter the competition amongst men. What more could I do?"

You handed the bottle back, letting your hair fall out of the band to re-tie it. "I should leave it to everyone else." You said. "I've done a lot, you know. Somebody else should have a turn."

"Well, aren't you cocky?" Robin laughed, smiling as you stuck your tongue out of your mouth, skating away.

Her smile dropped again, watching as you closed your eyes to focus, standing calm and poised in the middle of the rink. She began the track for you, watching as you pranced across the ice.

My moon, my man, so changeable, and,

Such a lovable lamb to me.

Robin groaned. It was clear you were in a slump. Years of forcing yourself to work on routines made only for Olympic-level competition had drained you of motivation to skate purely for yourself. There was always something else on your mind - fans, fame, records, achievement.

Your solution to that was to just... leave the scene?

No. Robin shook her head, pulling her phone from her pocket. Looking at you finally performing a routine for yourself - just you, it was clear this was your prime. It wasn't past you just yet. Your thighs were just as strong as they'd always been, your figure just as graceful as ever, and your heart prominent in your routine.

What you needed was for the fire in you to be reignited. You still had things you could do - other categories you could change the scene in.

She knew you'd be angry if she did this on your behalf. But hopefully, you'd be able to see sense as to why she did it to begin with. Scrolling through her contact list, she prayed that she still had the number she was looking for.

Roronoa Zoro. Notoriously difficult to work with, constantly scuffling with the skater he managed, and never, ever letting somebody else reach him.

Coach of the male skater that was top of his category, Vinsmoke Sanji. She texted, hoping he'd take sympathy on her.

- Zoro.

- Robin? What

- How are you?

- What u want

Robin's brow twitched. Well, he was just as brash as ever, wasn't he?

Take it slow, take it easy on me

Shed some light

Shed some light on me, please.

Robin looked up now. Your routine had sped up considerably, sweat once against gleaming on your face. Hot puffs of air came from your mouth as you jumped, thighs tensing under the pressure.

Quad salchow. Back camel. Biellmann. Robin huffed. The absolute nerve of you to say that your prime had passed.

- How is Sanji?

- Same old. What u want

- Still doing men's singles this year?

Typing bubbles faded and returned for the next five minutes. Robin furrowed her brows - she was almost positive that he was arguing with Sanji again. Just as she was about to tuck her phone away, the blade of your skate scratched particularly hard against the already weary ice.

Triple axel-quad toe loop.

Out of your prime, you'd said. Robin's phone vibrated.

"He's not doing singles this year." Zoro's gruff voice said, tinny over the phone. "Whaddaya want?"

"You're awfully mean for an old friend." Robin chuckled. "Perhaps I just wanted to catch up."

"Nah, I know you." Zoro huffed, almost amused. "You want something. You always do."

"What's he doing, if not singles?"

Zoro paused. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head. "You're still coaching her, right?"

"Yes."

"She in a slump?"

Robin resisted the urge to hang up. For someone so dim-witted, he could be awfully perceptive at times. "Yes."

Zoro grinned, fingers tightening his hold on the phone as he watched Sanji skate aggressively around the rink, pace furious and fast. "Perfect."

That, Robin had not been expecting. "Pardon?"

"Robin, this is a one time thing." Zoro said, gleeful at his luck. "But for the winter Olympics in two years, Sanji wants to try the pairs category. He hasn't got a partner locked in yet."

"Are you serious?" Robin replied. "That's unheard of. He's swapping over?"

"Yeah." Zoro stated. "Said he's got no passion for singles skating again. Insists he's made to dance with a partner."

"Well, that does sound like him." Robin admitted, watching you move flawlessly through your choreographic sequence. "What if I had a candidate in mind?"

"I already know," Zoro responded, "So you don't have to play coy with me. Honestly, I'm in no place to argue. He's scared off every woman who was experienced in the pairs category and was looking for a new partner. Ya know him - not the easiest to deal with. He's cooled down a bit by now, though."

"What, is it his flirting?" Robin queried.

"That, and, well -" Zoro cut off along with the music of Sanji's routine, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Well, nobody can really keep up with him. I was gonna reach out to you if we had no other options, but I was really prayin' it wouldn't get to that point."

"Well, good thing I reached out first, then." Robin grinned. "Let's do it."

"You've ran this by her, right?"

"Don't worry about that. I've got it." Robin stated calmly. "I'll see you in a week, then?"

"Oi, Robin. We're not in your country-"

She hung up the phone. You ended your routine, final pose firm and resolute. "Hey." Robin called to you, grabbing your attention. You skated over, wiping sweat from your face with the sleeve of your hoodie. "Hear me out."

"That's not good." You chuckled nervously. From the years of knowing your coach, if you took away nothing else, you would always be left with this - Nico Robin was a schemer.

"Listen." Robin said, trying to placate you. "I think I've got a way to get you out of your little slump."

"It's not a slump, Robin." You sighed, chugging more water. "I'm not in it anymore. The comp scene isn't for me."

"It is." She insisted. She watched you frown, and for a moment, she almost felt bad. "No, really. Listen. I get it, I do. I was a skater too - I'm not your coach for no reason. I get how competition is tiring. But I've seen you skate at the Olympics. Yes, you're tired. But that's because you're in the same scene."

"Same scene?" You laughed. "What other scene would I be in? Mens skating?"

"Come on." Robin sighed, poking your cold thigh. "Look at you. You're made for skating. You have the strongest legs I've ever seen. When you compete, you're happy. You're tired because you're not, and you're bored because you're used to it. Nothing else you can do? Bull."

You blinked at that. Sure, there was other stuff you could do, but why?

"Pairs." Robin stated. "Try pairs."

"Are you crazy?" You snorted. "You know me - I can barely handle myself. Who could possibly handle me?"

"It's not a matter of handling you," Robin chuckled, tone airy. "It's a matter of finding someone to keep up with you." Her phone buzzed.

Two days. He's looking forward to it. Cya.

"I found someone for you." She said, putting her phone to the side. "And I guarantee he can keep up with you. And it's his first year doing pairs too, so you'll be in the same boat."

"Robin, do you hear yourself? I barely want to be in the Olympics in two years, let alone compete for a category I have no experience in."

"Please, give it a try." She pleaded. You paused - you'd never seen Robin beg for something. "If you don't care for it after the next winter Olympics, I'll never push it again. I'll quit as your coach, and I'll just stay your friend. No more comp."

"You know, for most people, training for two hard years to be on equal ground with others that have years of experience in a category is a big ask for a friend." You grumbled. You were really mulling it over now. The feeling of winning. The feeling you had when you competed in the Olympics for the first time. The feeling of taking home gold.

If you pulled it off, then you'd feel it all again. You sighed, limbs weak. "Fine. But this is it, Robin."

"Yes." She promised. "This is it."

"So?" You asked, stepping off the ice and putting your guards on. "Who is it?"

"That's a surprise." She smiled.

"You're a damn tease." You huffed.

At the very least, she'd had the courtesy to book your favorite restaurant. But whoever your partner was, he was late.

By an hour.

It seems she'd anticipated that, too, because before she sent you the details of the reservation she'd told you,

"Listen. I don't want the two of you to get off on the wrong foot, but I know for a fact his coach is going to drive him. And his coach is the worst with directions. So if he's late, please don't take it out on him. I'll yell at his coach after, okay?"

You hummed, scrolling your phone. You weren't particularly mad about it, but you sure were hungry. You'd waited thirty minutes before giving up and just ordering for yourself. The waiter looked at you pitifully, like you'd gotten ditched.

Your favorite restaurant was dark and discreet. In all the years you came here, you'd never gotten recognized. The staff were dreadfully familiar with you, the bartender being an ex (if you could even call it that) from middle school, and the owner being his father.

"Wine?" Your waiter asked kindly, bringing your mapo tofu to the table. "I can always stop by the bar for you, miss."

"A mojito, please." You replied. "If I drink wine, I just might cry."

Your waiter blanched at that, fearing the worst for your emotions. "Oh, please, I'm just joking." You chuckled. "A mojito."

"Of course." He said, walking away and stopping by the bar, your ex waving at you. You grabbed your bowl of rice, putting mapo tofu over it and taking a bite.

Extra spicy, just as you liked it.

Footsteps rapidly approached your table, as a figure entered your periphery. You glanced up, watching as a man with long strides dashed for you.

What in the world? Am I about to be attacked? You thought, bracing for the man to slam into you.

Mercifully, he stopped right at your feet, panting slightly. "I'm..." He began, before dropping to his knees and slamming his forehead into the floor. "So sorry for being late!"

You blinked, seeing mussed blonde hair against the dark carpet. The waiter stopped by again, standing behind the kneeling figure. Apprehensively, he stepped over the kneeler, putting your mojito on the table. "...Your drink, miss." The man stayed kneeling.

"Um.. Thanks..." You said. "I appreciate it."

"Are you okay...?" The waiter asked, confused at the scene before him.

"Probably." You waved him off. "Um, can you get up, please?"

"Yes, of course!" The man said, standing to his feet. In the dim light, you could vaguely make out his features as he sat across from you. "It's nice to finally meet you, miss. I'd say we're a few Olympics overdue."

"Wait, you're..." You trailed off.

"Vinsmoke Sanji." He smiled, taking your hand and kissing it gently. "Pleasure."

"You're my partner?" You gaped. "But you... You're a singles skater!"

"I could say the same for you." He retorted, flipping through the menu. "Wow, the dishes here are exquisite. What a lovely variety!"

You blinked, watching his facial features flicker in the candlelight. "Yes... This has been my favorite restaurant since I was a child. I'm glad you like it."

"I'm glad you invited me." He said, waving the waiter back over. "Hello. An aperol spritz and a coq au vin, please." The waiter nodded, filling up his glass with cold water before leaving.

"It was Robin, really." You replied, still shocked at the circumstances. "I'm sorry, I'm really confused."

"Sure, sure." Sanji grinned. "I'm a bit tired of singles skating, you see. It's lonely, being on the ice all by yourself for years on end."

Sanji was two years older than you. Despite that, you could see the sadness in his eyes as he explained his circumstances to you. Perhaps this was how you looked when you'd spoken to Robin two days ago.

"After the Olympics two years ago, I vowed to Zoro that I wouldn't do singles skating again unless I tried pairs in the next Olympics." He said, gratefully accepting his drink from the waiter and taking a sip. "After skating alone for a decade on the ice, I cannot help but feel that I might love it just that slightest bit more with a partner by my side."

"I see." You pondered, grabbing another spoonful of mapo tofu. "Does this have anything to do with your reputation as a hopeless romantic who can't land a date for the life of him?"

"Well," he sighed, a bit wounded, "I was hoping this counted, you know. This is a rather intimate setting, don't you think?" He looked at your unamused face in the candlelight. "Alright, maybe not. But no, not exactly. My passion for skating is fading, but I don't want it to. This is my final hope at making it work."

"I guess we're in the same boat, then." You smiled, chewing on your food. "Fine, then. Who best to keep up with me than the best mens skater in the scene?"

"I'll do my very best." He promised, offering his hand out to you. You quirked a brow, but gave it to him anyways. "I meant it, by the way. We should've met a long time ago, but I'm afraid I was unbelievably busy. I'm quite the fan of yours."

"Flattery doesn't work on me." You smiled, poking his palm. "But yes, I'm glad we met. You're quite the skater!"

"Only the best can keep up with each other, I suppose." He responded, raising his glass. You reached for your mojito, clinking it against his drink. "Cheers, then. Let's rock the Olympics in two years!"

You laughed heartily at that. "Sure, sure. Two newbies to the scene are about to change everything."

He grinned at you. "You never know, mademoiselle." Then he paused. "By the way... you're very beautiful."

"Oh, here he goes." You sighed.

Despite hailing from the same country, Sanji currently held residence in France - so you were rather confused on how this arrangement was going to work. Pairs was all about, well, skating in pairs. Conditioning was something you could work on yourself - singles routines only required your own presence, but pairs?

Well, both people were needed. Imagine your shock when Sanji stated that him and Zoro rented an apartment in the city nearby for the next two years.

"You don't think that it's sort of crazy to upheave your home life just for the Olympics?"

"My dear, it's the Olympics we're talking about." Sanji had laughed. "For a record-breaker like you, maybe it's not a big deal anymore, but all I've done is placed first, you know?"

He fell silent then, staring off into the distance. "For me to break a record, we need to be the first singles skaters to swap to pairs and win. That'll change things."

You paused, taking his words in. "Sure." You said lamely, unsure of how to respond. "Where, exactly, are you living?"

"Actually," he laughed, "Robin gave us the name of your apartment complex. I'm your new neighbor!"

You blinked. "You might as well have asked to live with me to save yourself a lease."

"Would you have let me?"

"Nah."

He pouted. "You wound me, mon cher."

You waved him off. "You're going to bother me anyways, aren't you?" He nodded gleefully. "Yeah, what difference does it make?"

You'd expected the first hurdle - agreeing on a song to skate to - to be a big one. You often skated to jazz or soul-like music, with slow, drawling tones that could be felt in the heart. Sanji, on the other hand, was famous for skating to classical music, his most popular routine being to the tune of Gnossienne No. 1, by Erik Satie.

Dark, brooding notes were Sanji's playground - he glided effortlessly across the ice, body contorting as emotions swelled in the track. When he was younger, Sanji had practiced a predominantly kick-based martial art. When he made the switch to figure skating, he continued his martial arts training, resulting in a balance of powerful legs and elegant poise.

Yet, Sanji was surprisingly compliant to your requests. "Cher, there's many a song that's a perfectly reasonable blend to both our styles. Plus, if there's truly a song that speaks to you for the next Olympics, I'm more than willing to acquiesce."

You smiled. "Well, it's actually less about my style, and more about..." You paused. "Well, I'm trying to make my next performance a tribute to Robin, actually. Just in case it's really my last Olympics."

"Oh." He blinked. "That's sweet of you. Come to think of it, Miss Robin's only a few years older than you, isn't she? She placed second the first year you entered the Olympics."

"Yes." You agreed. "She competed the same year that your coach quit, as well. Despite coming second to me, she swallowed her pride to coach me and improve me. I owe my career to her, and she's a friend I deeply care about."

"I had a single's routine prepared for the song I wanted." You continued. "It's the last song she skated to - the first one I ever watched her perform. In a way, it's become our song. Naturally, we'll have to scrap the singles routine and entirely rework it, but perhaps watching would give you some inspiration?"

Sanji nodded, lighting a cigarette by the side of the rink, bashfully ignoring your glare. "Certainly. I'd never turn down a chance to watch you."

You scoffed, but hit play on your phone anyways. A smooth jazz beat flowed over the speakers, before percussion was quickly swayed by saxophone.

Diamond life, lover boy~

Sanji blinked. He remembered this tune - he'd had the privilege of watching Robin perform it. The year you took home your first gold, many people (as they always do), argued that Robin had performed flawlessly and naturally deserved the gold medal.

She had. But so did you. When it came down to it, your performance was simply harder, and still flawlessly executed. You took home first - but not a day in your life did you fight the critics. In a way, Robin did deserve first, because her routine was simply beautiful.

He moves in space with minimum waste, and maximum joy.

Your arms reached outwards as you glided across the ice, calling to spectators, gathering speed. The door to the ice rink opened quietly, and Sanji turned just enough to see who it was.

"I told her she didn't have to," Robin sighed, entering with Zoro, both holding a six-pack of beer. Zoro had already snagged one from the pack, cracked it open, and was halfway through. "But she insisted."

"It was a beautiful routine, Miss Robin." Sanji acknowledged, bowing his head, before looking back at you.

No need to ask, he's a smooth operator~

Your blade snapped elegantly against ice. Triple axel. Camel spin. Foot change. Quad salchow.

"I'm afraid the scene simply changed that year." Sanji sighed, finishing off his cigarette.

"Damn straight." Zoro shook his head. "Can't feel bad about it, Robin. Your student's just damn crazy."

"Trust me, I know." Robin laughed. The day after her final Olympics, Robin faced endless berating online from fans, and many a scolding from her coaches and managers. She'd dominated the scene before you came along, only to be swiftly defeated by sixteen year old you.

She couldn't beat herself up over it. In the face of the new generation, she was in awe - and in your own words, perhaps it was time to give somebody else a turn. You said she swallowed her pride to work with you, but truthfully, that wasn't what she'd done at all.

She'd jumped ship to a better opportunity. She was proud of how far you'd come. Glancing at Sanji, she smiled.

That's why she couldn't let your career end here.

"See, at least you're not as bad as Zoro." Sanji teased. "He lost to me a few years back because he just plain stank."

"That's not true." Zoro frowned, poking him in his tense shoulder blade. Sanji groaned, reaching for his back and scuffling with his coach. "You rigged it!"

"How would I have done that?!" Sanji yelped.

"Dunno." Zoro shrugged, pulling Sanji's ear. "That's the only explanation."

"I'm just better than you, moss-head!" Sanji retorted, kicking his foot into Zoro's back. The two men bared teeth at each other, pulling at the other's hair.

"So?" Robin asked, pulling their attention away from each other. "Is the song okay with you, Sanji?"

Sanji stood upright, shoving Zoro to the floor, ignoring his loud protests of beer spilling all over him. "Yes. Honestly, even if I didn't think I could skate to this style, I would try anyhow. It's very touching, what she's trying to do for you."

"I know." Robin smiled warmly, both her and Sanji watch as your legs tensed. Quad axel. Perfect rotation. Easy as that. "I couldn't ask for a better student."

"I could." Zoro grumbled, fishing another beer out of the pack, dodging Sanji's foot that slammed into the ground.

The other hurdle, blending your skating styles, also turned out to be less vexing than you thought it would be. The moment Sanji took your hand on the ice, you began to realize what his coach had meant when he claimed Sanji believed he was made to dance with himself.

When you began trying out different aspects for your routine, it was like he could sense what you wanted to do before you even executed. Skated away from him? A new jump sequence. Grabbing his forearm? Try a lift. Holding his fingers and drifting ever so slightly away? Mirror skate.

Before you knew it, a year had passed. You got used to seeing Sanji and Zoro almost every day of the week, eating meals with the two and Robin. You started expecting Sanji in little parts of your life.

After grabbing breakfast from the cafe downstairs, you'd head to the gym in your apartment complex. Since he moved in, without fail, Sanji was there at the same time you were. He started off with light cardio, waiting to finish until you had joined him for at least fifteen minutes. Then he stretched, ensuring his flexibility, as you did the same.

Depending on the day, you both either hit legs or arms, push or pull. Even after a year, he was baffled at how strong your legs truly were. By the time the two of you were done, Zoro would wake up, arriving in the gym to lift weights, barely acknowledging your guys' existence.

Over the span of the year, the two of you began to realize being a pair meant you touched. A lot. On the rink, that was natural. Lifting meant your waist was always being held, and the performance aspect of pairs was always absurdly intimate. A touch to the face, a caress of the lip, holding each others' stares.

It became natural to you. However, from the first moment Sanji helped you stretch in the morning, he could not get the feeling of your skin off his mind.

Even now, a year later.

"Um, hello?" Your voice snapped him out of his daydreaming, and his eyes flitted back you, body contorted into a chest stand. "Is my form all good?"

He swallowed heavily. How on earth did you bend like that? "Yes. Onto the next one?"

Your legs swung over your head as you sat normally, opening your legs and reaching forward into a saddle stretch. "Yup. Push, please."

His fingers twitched, and he scolded himself mentally to get a grip. God, it'd been a year already, and he still acted like this. Nevertheless, he settled his hands on your back and gently pushed you downwards, watching as your body slowly folded in half.

"You can push more." You advised. He nodded, even though he knew you couldn't see, and you groaned a bit. He paused.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"Yep." Your right hand, flat on the ground, gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I think I just cracked something. Probably just tight."

Sanji tried to stop himself from moaning aloud.

"Push."

At this point, Sanji was sweating. Nonetheless, his fingers flexed on your warm lats, and pushed more. Your chest was flush with the floor, and you exhaled, before sitting up.

"Good. Thank you as always, Sanji." You turned around, blinking as you saw him beet red, shooting you a thumbs up. "Are you good?"

"Never better!" He replied hastily, giving you a grin. "Lunch?"

Over time, Sanji seemed to get more and more comfortable with appearing at the door of your apartment late at night. You realized that somehow, you also began expecting him. He'd always scold you for being awake, and you'd retort that he was in the same boat.

He would shrug, realizing he was caught, and like clockwork, come into your kitchen, prepare you a late night snack, and plop down on your couch, watching a show with you. It wasn't unusual for you to wake up with him sprawled across both you and the couch, head in your lap, your fingers intertwined.

Neither of you would address it the next day.

Sanji caught himself looking at you more than he expected. He began frowning every time you would text Robin and Zoro for every meal, resisting the urge to ask you to call it off - just once, to eat alone with him.

You two had your year of peace. But with the Olympics right around the corner, two years later, all hell broke loose for the two of you - and your tired coaches - when the press inevitably started sniffing around the moment you landed in Milan.

All four of you realized you had let your guards down when you managed to get spotted in the airport by the paparazzi. Naturally, many of them would be camping out. Robin and Zoro groaned mentally - they should have prepared for this, but the past two years of easy living and routine had made them weak.

"So..." A nosy reporter wiggled her brows at Robin and Zoro, who were uncomfortably pushed shoulder to shoulder as the press surrounded the group. "Perhaps we can take this as a blossoming relationship between mentors?"

"We're drinking buddies." Robin and Zoro stated blandly, Zoro rolling his eyes. "Nothing more."

Just a few feet away, Sanji stood in front of you as cameras flashed violently in your face. Your hair was mussed from sleep, neck pillow still on as he held your luggage. A wet spot was on Sanji's shoulder - evidence of your drool as you leaned against him, though you'd never admit it.

"Mister Vinsmoke, we have many questions for you and the legendary Quad Goddess!" A reporter crowed, face ecstatic at catching the two of you. "But firstly, let's start off with why the two of you are getting off from the same plane? You currently live in France, do you not?"

Sanji grimaced, scolding himself. He was lucky - unbelievably lucky, that nobody had caught him in your home country the past few years. Unfortunately, now, it all had to come out. He glanced at you, frowning as he saw you rubbing sleep from your eyes, upset at the media hindering your arrival.

You met his eyes and smiled gently, shrugging. He couldn't help but smile back, shoulders loosening a bit.

"Well," he began, the crowd around him quieting, "This year, I'm actually in the pairs category."

The crowd erupted with questions, microphones being shoved in your faces. He held his hands out, pushing back against the crowd as he saw a microphone almost graze your cheek. "Please, calm yourselves!" He yelled, outraged. The crowd fell silent again. "I'm fully willing to talk to you, but you need to behave."

You laughed a bit, watching as he scolded the group of adults like a kindergarten teacher. You, too, stepped forward now, cameras clicking once more. "Oh, please. I know I'm beautiful right now, but surely you don't need that many pictures."

Sanji grinned at your cheekiness, hands adjusting on your backpack before looking back at the cameras. "We are in the pairs category this year. We've spent the past two years training together in her country, and now we're here. That's all."

Quiet, nervous scribbling. You almost hoped you could be on your way - but no, too soon, as one brave woman piped up in the back of the crowd. "You two look quite comfortable with each other."

You and Sanji tensed visibly, you chewing your lip as you saw more cameras flashing once more. It was true - you were and you knew it, but you and Sanji had never talked about the matter. Not once over the past two years.

"Training with a partner results in an inevitable trust between two people," Sanji responded, stepping in front of you once again. "The two of us, and our coaches, have spent enough time with each other over the past few years to call each other friends - and the mademoiselle here has to spend a lot of time with me to make sure I don't drop her."

A few laughs sounded in the crowd. You tugged lightly on his sleeve, drawing his attention as you jutted your chin at Robin and Zoro, who were managing to tiptoe away. He nodded, looking back at the media.

"...That's all." He finished. "I'd appreciate if you allowed us to arrive in Milan - properly. We do have dinner plans, the four of us."

Grumbles and complaints resounded, but the crowd scattered nonetheless, Sanji leading the way for the two of you as he held your backpack in one hand and dragged both of your luggages in the other.

"Nosty bastards." Zoro muttered, taking off the eye mask around his neck.

Robin nodded, stretching as she erased the sleep from her body. Reaching for her phone, she checked the status of your car. "The driver should be here momentarily. Naturally, we're all staying in the same hotel."

"I liked when you lied about us having dinner plans." you teased Sanji. "You'll have them running around Italy looking for us."

Zoro and Robin grinned at each other. Sanji swallowed, his walking slowing just a bit. "...Well, that wasn't a lie. We have dinner plans. Robin and Zoro are getting room service."

You blinked. "Huh?" Sanji was already walking on, gait unnaturally stiff. "Wait, Sanji! What?!"

He refused to say a word to you in the car, only smiling mischievously and laughing as you poked his side, trying to get him to spill where the two of you were eating. Zoro pretended to barf in the backseat, stuck in between the two of you as Robin had swiftly snagged shotgun.

As if that shock wasn't enough, you were faced with another one when Robin and Zoro checked into the hotel at the front desk.

"Hello." Robin greeted the concierge. "We have three rooms booked."

"Name?" The concierge asked kindly, taking Robin's passport.

"Nico Robin, Roronoa Zoro, and Vinsmoke Sanji."

You paused at that. "Am I sleeping on the street?"

"Nah." Zoro said, grinning at you with an evil look in his eye. "The second closest option."

"I'm sleeping with you?" Your expression twisted in disgust. "I'd rather sleep on the street."

"Why would that be your first choice?!" Zoro yelled, pointing at you furiously. "What about Robin?!"

"Sleeping with her wouldn't be like sleeping on the street." You shrugged.

"What about me?" Sanji pointed at himself, hurt.

"That wouldn't be like sleeping on the street either." You explained, pointing back at Zoro. "He reeks of alcohol. He farts under the covers. He steals the pillows even if you're not in the same bed. He kicks in his sleep. He talks."

"You can stop now." Zoro's brow twitched.

"Okay." You said, sticking your tongue out at him. "So, what, I'm sleeping with Robin?"

"No," your coach hummed, smiling at the concierge as she received the room keys. She tucked her own in her pocket, handing the next to Zoro, and the last one to Sanji, with two keys in the slip. "Me and Zoro thought that a little extra bonding time could do the two of you some good before your performance."

Your ears turned the slightest shade of pink. Nobody noticed but Robin, who was observant as an eagle, grinning at you slyly. "Now, I did mean to book two beds in one room, but unfortunately, there seems to have been a mixup, and they only have suites with one bed. Dreadful."

"Ma'am, we do have two beds if you need-" The concierge piped up, before being swiftly silenced by a glare from Zoro. "...Right. I'm afraid we're all out."

Sanji shot Zoro a look that could kill, before his gaze slid to Robin and changed into one of unamused disappointment. Robin returned his gaze with one of her one that seemed to speak words.

Don't you dare complain. I'm helping you.

Sanji swallowed heavily, turning to take your bags off your hands once more. "Well, then, cher. Shall we?" He reached his hand out for you.

Your gaze was fixed on Zoro and Robin. If looks could kill, the coaches would be slightly wounded. You focused on Robin, who was smiling at you, eyes closed.

"Schemer." You whispered pointedly. She only smiled harder, laughing ever so slightly. "Traitor."

"I'm helping you~" She said, sing-songedly. "You'll thank me later."

You huffed, before taking Sanji's offered arm and heading for the elevator. Behind your back, Zoro and Robin low-fived, the slap resounding through the lobby.

The elevator ride was awkward. Sanji kept shifting from leg to leg, avoiding looking at you at all costs. Your arms were empty (he was holding all your luggage), so they were crossed disapprovingly, an inquisitive look on your face.

"You plan this?" You asked blandly.

"No." He quickly shook his head, tugging at his tie. "I swear, I only planned the dinner."

"Right..." You trailed off, watching the number on the elevator tick upwards. "And why, exactly, are we having dinner alone?"

"...Do you not want to?" He asked, scared for your answer.

"I didn't say that," you replied, stepping forwards and stealing the key to the room from his shirt pocket. He swallowed, watching as you looked up at him, eyes examining him. "I was just wondering why we're doing it."

You flipped open the slip, observing the two keys and the room number written inside. The elevator dinged, signaling your arrival to the thirtieth floor. Room 3034, it said.

You walked out of the elevator, Sanji trailing behind you. "Well," he said softly, not trying to disturb any hotel residents with his voice in the hallway, "I just think we have some things to talk about, don't you think?"

You walked silently down the hall, head turning from side to side as you looked for your room. Stopping abruptly in front of a door, Sanji almost slammed into you, sidestepping as you tapped the key against the sensor, holding the door open for him since he had full hands.

"Yes," You shrugged, "I guess so."

It was five thirty in the evening when you and Sanji finally unpacked, music softly playing through your suite. Just as Robin had promised, there was only one bed.

"I can take the couch." He offered gently, changed into his outfit for your dinner as he watched you in front of the vanity. He restlessly tapped his foot against the bathroom tile - not to rush you, but because he couldn't look at you for more than ten seconds without his gaze sliding to your neck, your collarbone, lower and lower.

"There's no need for that." You responded. "You've slept next to me almost every night for the past year or so. Nothing different about this scenario."

His gaze slid to the king-sized bed, neat and organized with a box that said "Lovers Set!" on it, folded on top of a bunch of towels. He'd sneaked a peek at it when you were changing.

It was a bunch of condoms, lube, and other things that he had never planned on using on his Olympic trip. It didn't help that now, as you curled your lashes and slid mascara on, you looked devastatingly good.

"...You don't think so?" He asked, sweat dripping down his brow.

"No, I lied." You responded bluntly. "But I suppose until we have that conversation at dinner, I'll have to act like everything's normal, won't I?" You peered at his reflection through the mirror. You couldn't help but grin when you realized he was flustered once more, gaze lingering low enough on your back that it might as well have been somewhere else.

"I can cancel," he breathed, knowing that you were watching him but unable to take his eyes off you nonetheless, "If you want to."

"I'm just not entirely sure why you need to take me to dinner to have a proper conversation with me." You shrugged, standing up. His eyes followed you as you turned to face him, and he finally looked at your face.

So pretty. He groaned internally. You were going to be the death of him. You were in front of him now, looking at him once more. Huffing out a laugh, you undid his tie just the slightest bit and he couldn't help but whimper as your finger slightly grazed his Adam's apple.

"We're here to skate, Sanji." You whispered in his ear, tugging on his tie.

"Right." He rasped, eyes darting all over you. "I just thought that maybe, getting a bit... Closer... Would improve our performance in three days."

"Is that how you'd put it?" You wondered, unbuttoning the first button of his dress shirt. He groaned aloud now, grabbing your wrist to stop you from going any further.

"Don't." He pleaded with you, intertwining his hands with yours. "I want to do this properly."

"You were about to pin it on improving our performance." You snarked, rubbing circles into the back of his hand anyways. "Maybe you want to try again?"

Sanji stared at you, vexed, before sighing in agreement. You'd caught him. "Alright." He admitted, giving in. "Would you like me to cancel? We can order in, like always. Sit on the couch."

"Yes." You agreed, sliding the strap of your dress down. "I think I'd like that."

Sanji's fingers twitched as if to stop you - but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He watched, speechless, as you slid the dress down your body, hand trailing away from his as you stepped out of the fabric, hanging it up in your closet as you reached for your pajamas instead.

A totally natural occurrence, except for the fact that as you changed, you didn't bother to step into another room. You did it fully in front of him, as if he wasn't there. When you were clothed again, he released his breath, unaware that he was holding it to begin with, and shakily accepted the pair of pajamas you'd dug out for him from his luggage.

"So, are we going to talk now?" You queried. His eyes were still drifting, staring at your bare thighs. This was another habit of yours that drove him crazy - sleeping with no pants on. 'Freeing', you called it.

"Yes, cher. Just let me get changed, yes?" He said, holding the clothes in front of his crotch.

"Aw," you frowned, sliding your t-shirt up just a bit to scratch at your stomach. An innocent enough act - except Sanji was at his wits end. "I thought I might've urged you on a bit more than that with my earlier display."

Sanji finally snapped, pajamas forgotten as he dropped them to the ground, reaching for you. Surprised, you yelped a bit - his hands tugged your t-shirt above your head and his lips slammed against yours, groaning into your mouth before drawing back.

"You're killing me, mon ange. You know that, don't you?" He panted, one hand on your hip and the other hand kneading into your ass.

"Well," you huffed, tugging the back of his head to force him to look up. He groaned, surprised, as you held his chin, forcing him to continue staring at the ceiling as your mouth latched onto the skin of his lower neck, sucking harshly before releasing him. "You were taking a long time, Sanji."

"'M sorry." He said, hand wandering below the waistband of your underwear. The outfit was nothing he hadn't seen you in before - that didn't mean it didn't kill him every time he saw you so casually. "Please, let me make it up to you, cher, I'll be so, so good."

You hummed, releasing his hair. He lunged for you, scooping up your legs with an arm and practically dashing for the bed. He inserted himself between your legs, keeping them open with a firm palm, groaning as he saw the shape of your pussy against your underwear.

"Can I, please?" He sighed, content, as he peppered kisses into your inner thigh.

"Yeah," you said, tugging his hair as encouragement. "Yes, god, please-"

He wasted no time in sliding your underwear off, pocketing it, and stuffing his face into your folds. You moaned, legs tightening around his head as he tugged you closer, grip bruising on your waist.

"God, so good-" He whimpered. "So, so good. Better than I could've imagined."

"So you imagined, huh?" You sassed, teasing tone leaving you as soon as his tongue slipped into your hole.

He withdrew, replacing it with two fingers. "So many times." He sighed, eyes glued to how you slowly soaked the covers beneath you. "So, so many times, you have no idea."

"Sanji," you said, quads tight and tense, "I can take it."

He shook his head firmly. "I need to prep you."

You sat up then, a little annoyed at his consideration. You gently pushed his fingers out of you, whimpering a little at the loss, before flipping your positions so you straddled him. He was speechless at your movements, jaw slack as you removed his trousers and boxers with a surprising urgency.

"God," you moaned, seeing his cock, "so fucking pretty."

Sanji covered his face, fingers still wet with your slick, embarrassed at the sight of you salivating over any part of him at all. "So ready for me, huh?" You panted, sliding your thumb over his leaking pink slit. He twitched, not expecting you to touch him so firmly.

"Fuck-" His voice cracked, ears flushed bright red as he looked down at you. Your face was so close to his cock, he could feel your breath on him. You wrapped a firm hand around his base, before licking a strip from base to tip and wrapping your mouth around him. "Fuck!- Don't do that- oh, fuck!"

He moaned like a pornstar, you realized. His thighs twitched against the bed, fingers curled into the cover as one hand still covered his face. "No - you have to stop, I'm gonna cum-"

You hummed around him, taking him deeper, planting your nose against his pubic hair. His quads popped out, cramping, and he grimaced in pain, though it was quickly overwhelmed.

Fuck, he was cumming already. He moaned, planting a hand firm on the back of your head, keeping you down. You rubbed soothing circles over his thigh, swallowing what he gave you.

When his voice settled into quiet pants, you pulled your mouth off of him, licking your lips clean. "Good?" You asked.

"You're fucking crazy." He replied, staring at your cleavage. "So you can suck me off, but I can't spend a little more time in between your legs?"

"Yeah." You grinned. "I have places to be, you see."

"No, you don't." He huffed, whimpering as you straddled him again and slid your glistening pussy over his half-hard length, rocking back and forth.

"Sure, sure." You hummed, not entirely listening to him. "Whatever you say."

Sanji had had enough. He flipped the two of you again, putting you on your back with him hovering over you. Warm fingers gently played with your nipples as he grabbed your thighs, putting your legs in the air as he slid his cock in between them, bumping against your clit.

You both moaned at the feeling - a mess was collecting where your bodies met. As his cock hardened again, you couldn't help but rub your thumb over his tip every time it peeked out between your thighs.

"You've got a weird obsession with my tip." He huffed out laughter, though he was really trying to grapple with the fact that he'd really just cum in your mouth when what he'd meant to do was take you out to a nice dinner and ask you to be his girlfriend.

"I think your dick likes me." You grinned, pressing down your thumb particularly hard, watching him buck his hips, fully erect now.

"Don't say obvious things." He groaned, pulling out from in between your thighs to rub steady circles over your clit. Your thighs tightened around his hand, but he continued anyways, palm splayed over your stomach as he continued circling. "I'll make you give me one before I fuck you. I deserve at least one, don't I?"

"Yes, yes, yes-" You babbled. You really had just wanted him to fuck you, but this felt so, so good, intensity coiling in your lower stomach. "Just like that, Sanji, feels so good, fuck-"

He pushed you over the edge when he slipped two fingers inside you, unexpectedly. Your back arched off the bed, thighs clamping down on his arm as he watched your face, entranced with the expression you were making.

"Good." He hummed, satisfied. He rubbed soothing circles into your waist, smiling as he watched you keen at his touch. "How was that?"

"Good." You breathed. "Just... Give me a second." You held your hand out, asking for his.

"My hands are covered in you." He laughed.

"I couldn't give less of a damn." You huffed. He relented, intertwining his fingers with yours.

"I really did want to take you out to dinner, you know." He frowned a bit, watching as you blinked blearily at him. "Ask you properly."

"I know." You tightened your grip on his hand. "But it's okay, Sanji. I love spending my off time with you. I like to just relax around you. Things are about to get crazy, you know?"

"I know." He said, leaning over to kiss you. Just as his lips pressed against yours, your legs tightened around his waist, pressing him into you. He breathed out, voice gravelly. "As long as you're happy."

"I am." You stated firmly, legs tightening further. "But I could be a lot happier right now."

Sanji sighed. You were insatiable. He reached for a condom, frowning when you slapped his hand away. He looked at you inquisitively, only to be met with your absolutely resolute face. "Raw."

Sanji smiled, huffing out a laugh, pressing a kiss to your neck. "Deep breath, cher."

You obeyed, and as you inhaled, he slowly slid into you. The stretch was undeniable as you keened, his grip moving from your hand back to your waist, teeth gently nipping at your breasts.

"More." You said, shifting your hips further down the bed.

"Take your time." He gritted sarcastically, before deciding to indulge you and slide himself in completely. Your jaw hung slack, fingers finding purchase in the covers once more. He groaned, buried to the hilt, before slowly sliding out so only the tip remained inside you, before fully sliding in again.

Gradually, he sped up, moans and wet squelching filling the room. You reached for him, and he placed a hand under your back, helping you sit up as he adjusted. You were back to sitting on his lap, his mouth back to being firmly latched around your nipple.

"You're obsessed." You said, hands on your shoulders as you began to bounce yourself up and down. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head. "God, you feel so good, Sanji."

"I'm obsessed with every part of you." He admitted, lapping at your neck and nipping at it. His hands began pushing you back and forth, helping you bounce faster. Your lips found his again, and you tugged at his lower lip as you slid up and down his length, both of you moaning uncontrollably.

"Fuck, cher - if you keep this up, I'm going to-"

"Me too." You cut him off, swallowing his moans. "Me too, me too - please, please, please-" Sanji was almost entirely setting the pace now, forearms tensing as he helped you move, eyes heavy and lidded.

You lost yourself first, throwing your head back as your body shuddered, violently clenching around him as you moaned his name breathlessly. Watching you cum, Sanji came undone too, groaning at how you squeezed him.

His cock twitched, milky ropes spilling out inside of you as he held you close, grip still firm around your waist. Your forehead slumped against his shoulder, and your breaths slowly evened out, heartbeats slowing back to normal.

Slowly, you pulled yourself off of him, Sanji watching closely as cum slowly dripped down your thigh. You flopped next to him, tired and yawning as he laid down next to you, flailing an arm over your stomach as he laid his head on your chest.

"Pervert." You huffed.

"Cher, you called my cock pretty." He teased, pressing a kiss to your breast. "I think liking your boobs is a perfectly reasonable tradeoff."

"It was pretty." You grumbled, running your fingers through his tousled blonde hair.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to dinner?" He asked, peering up at you. You shook your head, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Too tired." You grinned. "Let's just order room service."

He nodded, before sitting up and suddenly picking you up. You laughed at the way his hands groped at your thighs and your ass, but settled down as you watched him draw water for a bath, before sitting you on the edge of the tub and soaking a towel in warm water to wipe you down.

When he ensured the water was a perfect temperature, he gently set you down in the tub, before motioning for you to scoot over. You obliged, and he squeezed himself in, the space a bit too cramped for the two of you as water sloshed over the edge. He picked you up gently, settling you in between his legs before wetting your hair and massaging your scalp with shampoo.

You grabbed his wrist, turning around, forcing him to pause. You sat on his lap, facing him this time, before splashing a bunch of water on his face. He sputtered a bit, before breaking out into a grin. You dipped your head a bit, allowing him to continue shampooing. When he was done and he rinsed it all out, you started shampooing him.

The routine continued, shampoo, conditioner, and soap, until the water was covered in suds and you were both entirely clean. It was quiet, but not uncomfortable.

He broke the silence.

"I've been in love with you for a few months now." He admitted, leaning his head back against the edge of the tub and closing his eyes. You were quiet, watching him speak. "First, it was admiration. Like I said, you're a lovely skater and a strong woman. A record breaker, an achievement setter. That's what it started out as."

He peeked an eye open, drinking in your intense expression. "When we started skating together, it turned into a crush. I've never met a skater like you - but I'm sure a lot of people can say that. The only woman to land a quad axel." He paused, returning to his habit of circling his thumb on your waist. "But when we skate as a pair, it feels like you're a part of me."

He leaned his head into you now, breathing against your shoulder as he peppered kisses into your skin. "It turned into love when it became routine to sleep in your apartment. When you opened the door one time before I even knocked, even though it was past midnight, and let me in wordlessly. When I became part of your routine."

He pressed a kiss to your jaw, looking into your eyes. "I wanted that. For the rest of my life. Training for the Olympics is how we met, but we can figure all of that out at another time." He said, kissing the corner of your mouth. "We can skate together, or we can skate separately. We can skate at the Olympics, or we can skate just for fun. Maybe one of us will do competition and the other one will just skate for themselves. I'm fine with all of it. I just want to be able to do that with you."

You smiled, and he swore it was the only sight he wanted to lay his eyes on for the rest of his life. You leaned against him, arms wrapping around his neck as you hugged him tightly.

"I love you too, Sanji." Quiet, unconditional love. "See? No dinner needed."

He sighed, laughing into your neck. "I know it wasn't needed, I just thought it would be nice."

I know." You hummed. "But you could've said this to me anywhere and I would've reacted the same."

A knock rapped at the suite door, you and Sanji snapping your heads towards it. "Hey, so, we're really happy for you." Robin said calmly from outside the door. "But we're also your neighbors. So, maybe keep it down?"

"I could hear you from across the hall." Zoro was slurring his words, a clear indication that him and Robin were doing their nightly drinking.

"If you don't actually have dinner plans," Robin laughed from outside the door, whacking Zoro lightly on the head as he groaned, annoyed, "Maybe come join us and we can order room service to celebrate! Or not, maybe you'd like to spend time alone."

Sanji met your gaze, amusement swimming in his eyes. "It's up to you, cher. I can spend time with you whenever."

"We'll be there in half an hour." You called. Zoro snickered from beyond the door. "Shut up, Zoro! We're washing off!"

"Oh, I'm sure." He snorted, voice fading away.

"Just take it easy, okay?" Robin's smile was evident in her tone. "Make sure those legs of yours can still perform for the Olympics."

You groaned, standing up in the bath. Sanji's eyes trailed over you as water slid down your skin, before reaching forward and pulling the plug in the bath to let the water drain, accepting a towel from you gratefully.

You picked his pajamas off the floor, handing those to him too. "Might actually need these."

"Yeah, yeah." He smirked. "They were abandoned for good reason, you know."

You hummed in acknowledgment, drying yourself off. As you grabbed the hair dryer, Sanji pried it out of your hands, pulling a chair over and pushing you down gently, forcing you to sit.

"I got it." He said, before clicking the hair dryer on. You sighed as he ran his fingers through your hair, gently undoing every small knot.

This, you could get used to.

"Shockingly enough, it seems this year we're getting a super cool treat!" Monkey D. Luffy, one of two figure skating commentators, boomed over the loudspeaker. His close friend, Nami, also the second commentator, clearly pinched him somewhere as he yowled into the mic, her muffled voice questioning how he got this job.

"Anyhow, Luffy certainly has a point." She stated into the microphone, still pinching Luffy somewhere. "instead of seeing our two top contestants compete separately in the mens and womens singles categories, we're getting them both in two performances together, as they've both opted to do pair skating this year! This is certainly unprecedented - reports state that they seem to have been training together for about a year and a half!"

"They're both really good skaters of their own." Luffy chimed in, desperately trying to stop Nami from hurting him as he shimmied out of his chair. "But how will they perform together?! Pair skating is an entirely different beast, and it's a bit hard to envision two skaters of incredible power maintaining their specialty moves while also incorporating the teamwork needed for pairs."

"It's important to remember that this is their second, and final performance - the free skate." Nami interjected. "Their first performance in the short program was certainly excellent, but nothing we haven't seen before, earning them a solid 78.33 points. Maybe today, they'll pull off a routine that will truly change the scene!"

Both of their mics then went silent, clearly muted, though from the commentators table onlookers could still see Nami yelling at Luffy, shocked that he'd somehow made a good point while also berating him for his informal commentating.

As you both skated onto the ice, hand in hand, spectators cheered loudly. Sanji grinned at you as Robin and Zoro clapped from rinkside.

"We've practiced for this." Sanji reminded you. "We're going above and beyond expectations."

"I'm not nervous." You replied, pinching his wrist. "So you don't have to console me. Are you nervous?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm excited to see my girlfriend land the first quad axel in pairs skating."

"I'm excited for my boyfriend to watch me land the first quad axel in pairs skating." You grinned. "I'm excited to watch my boyfriend's big, fat butt as he carries me above his head, too."

"Gross!" Zoro shouted from rinkside. "I can hear you!"

"That's because you have freakish hearing!" Sanji shouted back, irritated. "Piss off!"

The arena fell silent then, as the signature crackle of an audio about to begin rumbling over the speakers. You and Sanji squeezed each others hands, before taking your starting positions in the middle of the rink, Sanji holding you from behind, breathing into your ear, as you posed like a swan, gently holding his fingers, about to let go at any given moment.

A smooth jazz beat you'd heard hundreds of times. Percussion, quickly overtaken by beautiful saxophone.

Your hand left Sanji's the moment the saxophone began, skating around his body as he turned, reaching for you.

Diamond life, lover boy

He grasped your fingers once more, before his skate finally pushed him into movement, fingers leaving yours. He swiftly performed crossovers, gaining speed.

He moves in space with minimum waste, and maximum joy

Triple axel. Perfect rotation. The crowd erupted as Sanji landed, right foot gracefully spinning outwards. The two of you performed the choreography perfectly as the music swelled, the act of two lovers who were never in reach.

When sentiment is left to chance,

Sanji pivoted, digging his toe pick into the ice and reaching for you. You grabbed his hand, leaning your body backwards and parallel to the ice. Robin held her breath, Zoro chewing on his lip next to her. They'd seen the two of you perform this countless times, but it wasn't any less nerve-wracking, and the arena clearly felt the same as gasps sounded from onlookers.

Maintaining your balance on a single skate, relying on centrifugal force and Sanji's firm hold, the two of you spun around with your back almost touching the ice.

Death spiral. He pulled you up in one swift movement, making an attempt to hold you though you gracefully slipped out of his efforts, doing crossovers of your own to gain speed as he mirrored you, though just one step behind.

Robin's fingers were white-knuckled on the partition of the rink as you took off.

No need to ask, he's a smooth operator.

Quad axel. Four and a half perfect rotations. Perfect landing. The arena erupted in violent cheering, Sanji's gleeful grin undeniably wide the moment your blade once again met the ice.

You melted into a layback spin, before slowly stopping yourself, Sanji's hand coming to your waist. He looked unbelievably happy for you, grinning from ear to ear as your fingertips met once more, but parted after only a brief moment.

Across the north and south to Key Largo,

Love for sale.

Sanji teasingly skated away from you, meeting your eyes before you both jumped at the same time. Triple lutz. Perfect landings. He winked at you, and you withheld a smile as you skated back towards him.

"This might shape up to be one of the most difficult routines in pairs history!" Nami said, clearly shocked and awestruck from the commentators table. She glanced at Luffy, who was clearly not going to say anything until the routine ended because his mouth was wide open and hanging on the table. "Not only is their sequence immensely hard, but it's also telling a tragic tale of two lovers constantly separated!"

You mirrored each others' movements for your choreographic sequence, gliding across the full expanse of the ice, before he lifted you, tossing you into the air effortlessly.

Throw triple salchow. The arena is vibrating with energy, shocked. The two of you were powerful skaters, undeniably - but to put it into work in pairs within just two years was unbelievable.

Smooth operator.

Your routine ended just as quickly as you felt it started, Sanji's hand on your hip, your back bent backwards as he huffed above your face. The arena burst into applause as the two of you bowed, waving as roses were thrown at your feet.

"Well done, cher." He said, pressing a quick kiss to your temple, drawing more screaming from the crowd. "Another record for you."

"Good skating, Sanji." You breathed heavily, taking his hand in yours as you skated off the ice, taking one final bow together before pressing your lips to him, eliciting whoops from everyone around you.

When you pulled back, Zoro thumped Sanji on the back congratulating him, as Robin handed you your guards, drawing you into a deep hug.

"Thank you." She whispered, tears in her eyes. "You two were so amazing."

"Nothing to thank me for." You smiled, hugging her back. "Let's wait for the results."

The four of you shuffled off to the waiting area, Sanji's arms wrapped around you to ensure you didn't catch a cold since you were sweaty in a cold arena. Robin and Zoro had draped a blanket over the two of you, staring intensely at the screen.

"Scores are in!" Luffy's voice broke the tension from the loudspeaker, gleeful. "On top of their 78.33 points from their first routine, the newest duo on the block has earned a whopping 160.78 points in their free skate, bringing their total to an absolutely shocking 239.11! Ladies and gentlemen, we've got our gold medal winner for this year's Winter Olympics!"

Thunderous roars erupted from around the stadium, Zoro and Robin cheering for the two of you. Sanji's arms tightened around you, peppering kisses to your cheek before spinning you around, dipping you deeply and meeting his lips with yours.

Cameras flashed in your faces once again, but this time you didn't seem to mind as your arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him back.

"Same time in four years?" Sanji asked, pulling back from you.

You grinned at him, then at Robin, who quirked a brow at you. "Yeah. Sounds good to me."

| BREAKING NEWS: THE NEWEST (AND HOTTEST) COUPLE IN THE FIGURE SKATING WORLD JUST WON GOLD! |

[voidreynolds]

the future pirate king | monkey d. luffy

summary: luffy picks up a few strays from alvida’s crew— one joins the marines, the other follows him across the east blue.

warnings: language, violence, slight abuse, reader disguises herself as a boy, friends to lovers, found family, implied past trauma, reader is a man hater except for koby and luffy- she falls first but he falls harder, reader has trauma, reader falls for luffy instantly and realizes maybe she isn’t a man hater, not completely canon compliant

koby was the only one who knew. he had found out on accident— he had walked in while you were pulling your shirt over your head and he had screamed and fallen backwards, nearly shattering crates of ale. he hadn’t even seen anything— you were wrapped tightly, attempting to hide any curves you did have. koby just stared at you for a full ten minutes, saying nothing, wide eyed and mouth hanging open.

“koby.”

“you’re a girl.”

“thank you, i wasn’t aware.”

“i mean— you… why? i mean why keep it hidden?”

“ship’s full of men. i’ve learned long ago to stay hidden. not to mention, how do you think alvida would take to another woman on board?”

realization hit koby’s eyes and he paled, “your secret is safe with me… i promise.”

you nodded once, gratefully, “i know… you’re the only thing close to a friend i’ve ever had.”

“you consider me a friend?”

“i don’t consider you one of them…” you gestured to the ship and sighed.

koby smiled to himself, wide eyed and more confident than he had been.

“not to mention, we share a supply closet and a hammock.”

“i can sleep on the floor! if you—“

“no, koby.”

“if i had known— i wouldn’t— i don’t want…”

“koby. it’s fine. you’re different… and i’ve been through worse than just sharing a bed.”

you cursed as you ran your hands through your hair. it had grown significantly in six months— now looking very much like an appropriate length for a girl. you hadn’t let your hair grow out in years— couldn’t— the cropped curls hanging down past your jaw, longing to be shown off like intended.

“do you want me to do it?”

koby eyed the knife in your hand and frowned slightly. you eyed him softly, hoping he could see your gratefulness without words.

you sighed as koby sliced at the back of your head and strands of hair fell around your feet. koby eyed you with a small frown before returning the dull knife to the edge of the shelf.

“cabin boys!”

you shoved your hat back on your head and rushed into action. you tripped over koby, who muttered frantic apologies as the two of you scrambled onto the deck.

the sight of bodies twisted your stomach and you fought the waves of nausea.

“there they are.” alvida stood with her arms spread wide, grinning smugly, “who is the most beautiful woman in all the east blue?”

you straightened your shoulders, pressed close to koby, “you are, captain alvida…”

“good… now clean up this mess!”

you adjusted the mop in your hand and ignored your stomach twisting as your shoe stepped into the puddle of blood, “yes, captain alvida.”

you had thrown up over the side of the ship, wiping your mouth on your sleeve as you fought the dizziness. “go sit down.” koby’s voice was soft, a hand on your shoulder to steady you.

“i can’t—“

“i will take care of it. go down to the storage and look busy…” you smiled at your best friend gratefully, one again, swaying on your feet slightly.

you cursed to yourself as you rolled a barrel of ale back into its secure spot. it was so damn heavy. you glanced at it skeptically, trying to see if it was something other than ale. you tipped it slightly and heard a sharp inhale. from the barrel. you jumped backwards, crashing into the shelves behind you. the barrel tilted slightly, then fell down all together. you scrambled backwards again, bumping into koby, metal pry bar you used to open the barrels raised as a weapon.

the lid flew off, shattering against koby’s shins, who shrieked and instinctually jumped behind you. you raised the bar and prepared to swing it, when a pair of wide eyes met yours. you froze— though koby was screaming, you just stared blankly.

“what are you going to do with that?”

you lowered your crowbar slightly, wide eyed as you stared at the trespassing boy. he adjusted a straw hat on the top of his head, eyeing you with a soft interest.

“i—“

“who are you?” koby stepped out from behind you, to which the strange, straw hat wearing boy tilted his head slightly.

“monkey d. luffy.”

he was beaming at you proudly, as if that had explained everything.

you blinked once, glancing over to koby in silent disbelief.

“do you have any food? i’m starving.”

luffy, apparently, brushed himself off and strolled around the shelves as if he owned them. he had his hands on his knees, bent over, reading the labels on each barrel. he turned to you quickly and you flinched. luffy grabbed the crowbar from you and you just stood there stupidly, not fighting him or defending yourself. he pried open the nearest barrel and you watched in horror as apples toppled out and rolled across the floor.

“what do you think you’re doing?”

luffy glanced up at you, head tilted slightly, “i’m sorry,” he held an apple out to you, “do you want one?” you debated taking it. who was this pirate to go around taking the ship’s supplies and then offering it you? “i—“

“we aren’t allowed.” koby’s voice shook and you straightened your spine. luffy’s head popped back up, eyebrows raised, “what did you say?”

“we aren’t…allowed to eat until after the captain has had her fill.” it sounded stupid and pathetic when you said it. your stomach twisted, as if guilty of something.

“that’s no good…” luffy tossed an apple to each of you, “that explains why you look like you’d blow over in a storm.” koby dropped his and cursed, chasing after it in a way that was almost comical, given the situation.

you lifted an eyebrow, “i’m very strong, thank you for your concern.” you bit into the apple regardless, still eyeing him.

he was certainly no pirate you had ever met.

luffy was also likely your own age— possibly not yet completely hardened by life or turned into something else entirely.

“i didn’t say you weren’t. i just said you look like i could knock you over with one finger—“ to your horror and surprise, luffy reached an arm out and gave you a small shove.

you grabbed luffy’s wrist and flipped him over your back. coming down with your heel on his chest, his arm still stretched in your grasp. luffy looked up at you with wide eyes and an impressed smile.

you stared at him incredulously, eyes sharp, trying to figure out what the hell kind of pirate he was…

“i don’t like to be touched.”

and luffy just grinned, regarding you with all the admiration and interest in the world.

“that was amazing… how did you do that?”

“i just…”

“she’s incredible—“

your eyes darted to koby, furious and disbelieving. he paled, eyes wide, stammering over his words in a panic.

“she?”

luffy regarded you intently— he didn’t look overly keen, he didn’t have that usual glint in his eye that meant trouble for you. he only looked…impressed.

you tore your gaze away from him, feeling as though you would melt from the intensity of his gaze. you straightened your spine again before crossing in front of koby, “you’d better get out of here. if alvida finds you she’ll kill you.”

on the deck, you scrubbed the same spot until your knees ached and your wrist throbbed. you cursed as the handle of a broomstick came down over your head, biting back the sting of pain and tears that formed with it. you gritted your teeth and scrubbed harder, knowing the blood stain wouldn’t come out, but still scrubbing until your own fingers bled— only adding to it.

“cabin boy!”

a heel stepped directly down on your hand and you fought the urge to cry out in pain. you swore you felt one of your fingers crack, but you didn’t allow yourself to react. you closed your eyes tightly, forcing your breathing to even.

“you can’t even tell a difference! in fact i think you’re adding to it.”

“apologies, captain—“

“i should kill you right here. all you’ve done is fuck up and make my life harder!”

there was a shaky inhale and you realized koby had returned.

“i wouldn’t do that.”

the voice had you lifting your head in question. luffy was standing between you and alvida, hand on his hat, squinting against the sun.

“who the hell are you?”

“you two bring a stray on board?” her weight got heavier on your hand and you swallowed a whimper. “no matter. once i kill this one, you can take his place.”

luffy stepped directly in front of you, hands on his hips, “her.” your eyes shot up, wide.

“what?” alvida was momentarily dazed.

luffy was grabbing your hat and pulling it off your head, “she is a her. your cabin boy is a girl… told me she keeps it hidden because bad things would happen to her if anyone found out.”

already, men on the ship were smirking, exchanging glances that twisted your stomach.

“you little witch!”

you scrambled to your feet, but luffy was still planted firmly in front of you. “that doesn’t seem like a very good and beautiful captain, if you would let your crew get hurt…”

rage flashed across her face and you held your breath. luffy was sweet— but he had sentenced you and him to death.

“koby!”

koby flinched, scrambling forward.

“you’re going to watch as i kill this hero boy. and then you’re going to kill your little girlfriend.”

because of course koby had known. he would have reacted if he hadn’t.

“i’m—“

“he’s going to come with us, actually.”

us?

“why, you—“ alvida’s club swing down, hard, before you could scream for luffy to move. it hit luffy directly on the top of his head and you screamed. he had defended you and—

nothing had happened.

his head visibly deflated, then popped right back up as if he was—

you stumbled backwards, brain scrambling to make sense of this. he should be dead. his head should be split open— blood and—

the crew had started to panic, scrambling around and whispering, all control lost.

“what the—“

luffy flapped his hat once to restore it’s shape and then placed it on your head. he glanced back at you with a mischievous smile, eyes light with everything you had never seen from anyone but koby.

“that was a cool trick…” he shifted on his feet, now massaging his bicep, “my turn.” you didn’t make out what he said but his arm expanded- stretching out to the sky as if he was made rubber.

it hit you with a startling realization that he was. he had eaten a devil fruit… he was—

the fist came down— swinging like a vice— landing directly in alvida’s face. she flew. she was sent through the banister and careened through the air like a ball that had been hit perfectly.

you turned to luffy, open mouthed, staring at him as if you had just hallucinated everything. “what the fuck are you—“

luffy just turned to you again, that same small smile— like he was truly just happy all the time— and then glanced back to the remainder of alvida’s crew, “does anyone else have a problem with her or koby?”

the crew stared at you wide eyed and then to koby, and then took in luffy with a look of absolute horror. they all shook their heads frantically which made luffy smile all the more, “good.” he put his arm around koby and glanced at you, “do you have everything?”

“do we— what?”

you didn’t have anything to collect and koby was still trying to catch up. “we’re going with him…” you sounded more sure of yourself than you should have. he had already been kinder to you than anyone from your past— he had defended you against a captain and her crew after only knowing you for less than an hour…

monkey d. luffy was certainly not like any pirate you had ever met… but there was something in his smile and the light in his eyes that proved he was a safe bet…

koby looked at you wide eyed, face pale, unsure. he grabbed your wrist as you moved to follow luffy, “are you sure about this?”

“it’s him or this crew that will eat me alive. i think he’s safe…”

koby eyed you again, more skeptical this time. he glanced at luffy then, expression settling slightly. luffy tugged at the tethers for the long boat, letting it drop without a care in the world. he shifted on his feet, taking hold of the dangling rope and bracing a foot against the side of the ship to climb down. he did remind you of a monkey— you were mildly impressed by how he kept his stance and balance without even slipping.

koby was eying him anxiously, glancing over the edge with a slight green tint to his face. luffy patted him on the back once with that same smile— the pushed, sending koby shoulders first into the dropped boat. you bit back a laugh as koby screamed and landed face down in the boat. you eyed luffy with a sharp glare when he turned his attention on you. instead of the ungraceful nudge he had given koby, he stuck his hand out for you to take. you did take it, meeting his eyes as you did.

luffy’s brown eyes were soft— looking at you like someone who mattered and wasn’t just extra muscle or labor. there was a small wave lapping up in your stomach and your heart fluttered strangely.

“i’m going to put my arm around you… is that okay?” his tone was soft, eyes still on you like you may break apart.

he had asked—

he had asked permission to help you down.

you nodded once, finding air suddenly scarce.

luffy’s arm locked around you, other arm shifting around your ribs as he held onto the rope with both hands. he lowered you both down slowly and you fought the urge to put your arms around him tighter for extra security. your arms were around his neck, holding your breath as he seemed to take up every space around you.

your feet landed on the ship gently, like luffy was scared your legs would snap if he didn’t set you down in almost slow motion. your head spun slightly as he released you with an almost too soft smile. you wondered in horror if he could feel your heartbeat— if he could—

you bumped into koby, who was eyeing you scrutinizingly as he rubbed his elbow- where he had apparently landed.

“what?”

you hadn’t meant to snap at him, but he was looking at you with that look that promised he knew more than you did. you sat beside him, eyebrows lifted in a silent, expectant scold.

“you like him.”

“i what?”

luffy was eyeing you still and you fought the urge to hide behind koby just to not be able to see the softness in his brown eyes or the way he adjusted his hat like it was the most important thing in the world to him.

luffy lowered himself into a squat before sitting down and passed koby the paddles. you bit back a smile as koby looked at him blankly.

“come on, let’s go…” luffy didn’t sound impatient, though he did sound almost amused.

“me? i’m rowing?”

“i saved you. and i’m the captain… it’s the least you can do.”

you fought back a smile as you shifted and grabbed a paddle. koby was still stuttering over his words as you settled in and began rowing.

“you’re going to make her do all the work?”

“i’ve got it, luffy.”

“that’s not a very good best friend.”

“luffy…” but you couldn’t hide the amusement in your face and your scold was half hearted.

koby looked at you with his mouth slightly open, perplexed that you had spoken so gently to a man and that you had not yet screamed at or insulted luffy. your best friend wasn’t as clueless as you chided him about…

you had settled into a half dazed slump, head on koby’s shoulder as luffy had taken over rowing. “what do you want to do?” luffy was looking at you, eyes soft.

you shifted, eyes on him softly, “do with what?”

“your life…” he shrugged as if it was obvious. “your dreams… future…”

the question struck you like a bullet. you had never once been asked that— no one had ever once asked you what you wanted to do with your life… you had always been told, demanded, ordered. your life had never been yours. you had never once been able to speak or think for yourself—

“freedom.”

it sank in like an anchor, heavy and suddenly filling you up completely.

luffy was smiling, a soft smirk that showed more from his eyes than his mouth, “now you have it… what will you do?”

you breathed out deeply. you had always wanted to see the world. sail the seas— as your own person or even a captain. never again as a slave or cabin boy.

“you haven’t thought about it…” luffy eyed you sadly and you swore that was the first time you had seen him look anything but bursting with happiness.

you just looked out at the ocean, watching the water reflect the sun in a sea of sparkles.

“you could join my crew. if you want…”

you had had it with pirates. you had had it with men and stealing and murder and—

even still, something deep in your stomach twisted and wriggled up like a plant pushing through soil. you looked at luffy and it seemed to want to crawl out—

safe, it promised.

safe.

safe.

you didn’t remember falling asleep, but when you woke with your neck at an awkward angle you groaned. you had no idea where you were and panicked for only a moment. koby was staring at you. as was luffy. you sighed and sat up, exhaling deeply.

“where are we?”

you shifted to your feet and balanced yourself in the rocking, unstable boat. luffy shifted, adjusting his hat and squinting against the sun, “no idea… i think we’re heading south.”

you glanced up at the sun and clicked your tongue, glancing back at luffy with a look that couldn’t quite meet annoyance, “we’re heading north… looks like we’re right exactly in the middle of nowhere.”

koby sat up at this, so quickly that he nearly tipped the boat and threw himself overboard. you reached forward and grabbed koby by the back of his shirt, steadying him with a small sigh. koby looked at you gratefully, still wide eyed from his near tumble.

“koby never told me what he wants to do… he said i would laugh at him. but i think whatever it is can’t be any less important than king of the pirates.”

you shifted as koby sat down beside you, now shy.

“he wants to be a marine. he wants to help people… to be good.”

if anyone was truly good, you knew it was koby. luffy smiled at koby, looking at him softly, “i think you should do it. i would like to have you on my crew, but you should do what you’ve always dreamed of…”

the thought of leaving koby struck you suddenly. you had been always within arms reach of him for over a year and suddenly not seeing the person you had grown to trust and consider a best friend filled you with a grief you had never had anything to feel for…

“i do… i want to be a marine.”

koby looked at you then, as if that same thought had crossed him. he hadn’t planned on parting from you. and you hadn’t planned on finding a friend that would make goodbyes hard.

“we can head for shell’s town. there’s a marine base there… and we can..figure out what to do from there…”

luffy was watching you again, that same softness that soaked through your chest like a hug, “we’ll need supplies.”

“we’ll need a bigger ship.”

his eyes lit up at this, “we? you’ll join my crew?”

“i have no intention of staying in a marine town… and it sounds like you need a little help for the time being…”

luffy didn’t argue, he just settled back and put his hat over his face as if he were preparing to take a nap. you approached an island hours later, though you had no idea where you were or what possibly awaited you on it. you nudged luffy awake and he startled with a snort that you were positive was a snore.

“mm?”

“land… i smell food.”

this had luffy jumping to his feet and moving to exit the boat before you had even docked. you assumed maybe he just wanted a swim, but in his half asleep state he hadn’t registered the lack of land and stepped right off the boat.

you blinked once, glancing at koby in question as if you should follow him. you waited ten seconds before you realized something was very wrong.

luffy had not come back up for air.

luffy couldn’t swim…

“shit—“

you dove off the boat without bothering to strip off your jacket. you dove head first, hand closing around luffy’s wrist with a desperation you wouldn’t admit to. his arms grabbed you tightly and you didn’t pause to think about how hot you had suddenly become. you broke the surface, dragging luffy towards the shore rather than trying to hoist him back into the boat. luffy clung to you desperately, coughing as his face hit the sand.

“thank you—“ you rolled him into his stomach and pushed his head down while he coughed up water.

koby was pale when the boat reached the dock, standing up on shaky legs, “you can’t swim?”

luffy was still catching his breath, head bent as he dropped his hat by your feet.

“you’re a pirate and you can’t swim??”

you knelt down slightly, hand on luffy’s back before you could stop yourself. you applied the faintest bit of pressure and the rest of the water came out in a sickening gag.

“devil fruit makes you lose the ability to swim…”

luffy shifted back to a sitting position, breath returning to a normal rhythm. you shook off his hat and placed it back on his head, avoiding meeting his gaze in case it gave away everything you were trying not to feel.

“you saved me…”

luffy looked up at you like you had hung the sun. a soft, disbelieving smile and eyes that glinted like the stars.

“i suppose now we’re even…” but your tone was too soft for it to be indifferent. luffy stood to his feet and just watched you and for a moment you both forgot all about koby.

“maybe i will stick around… someone has to make sure you don’t drown, captain.”

koby was staring at you as you slid into a wooden bench outside a diner that was so small you had only missed it and only found it because of luffy’s nose.

“what?” you eyed him sharply, though by the smirk on his face you already knew it was something you would threaten him for saying out loud.

“nothing. you already look like you want to hit me.”

you snorted, “i’ve never hit you.”

“but you look like you want to pretty often…”

this made you smile to yourself as you glanced down at the drink in front of you before your eyes located luffy, inside at the bar, likely ordering more food.

“you’re going with him, aren’t you…”

“i don’t want to be a marine…”

“you could be anything… you said you were done with pirates.”

“i am done with pirates… at least the kind i always knew— the mean ones. the ones that plunder and murder and look at me like…” you trailed off but koby changed the subject before your mind drifted to a bad place.

“he is certainly nothing like any pirate i’ve ever met…”

you fought back a smile as you watched luffy laughing at something the man behind the counter said.

“he certainly isn’t…”

“he can’t swim, he thought we were going in the opposite direction… he’s made out of rubber…”

you tilted your head slightly, as if debating on if any of that would make you change your mind about him.

“yeah,” you took another sip of your drink and leaned back, shoulders straight and certain, “but he’s good…”

koby looked at you like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. he would miss you. you would miss him— but he saw something in you he had never seen… you looked happy. you looked sure of yourself.

sleeping out in the open of the ship made you feel more on edge than you would admit. you were used to bunks and barracks or at least a closet— not the open ocean where it was blacker than the lids of your eyes. where it was so quiet you could hear every breath and shift from luffy and koby. even in the silence you jumped when something was draped over your shoulders.

luffy had woken up, though you could barely make him out, even inches from your face.

“you looked cold.”

you wondered greatly how you could look anything in this darkness, but his presence wasn’t unwelcome. he ungracefully sat down beside you and you didn’t pull away when his arm brushed against yours or when you sat shoulder to shoulder.

“you’re coming with me?”

you could… you could have your freedom and do whatever you wanted and go wherever you wanted… you could wander the east blue or even further— alone and unchecked.

or you could join luffy’s crew. you could do all of those things— not alone, but not under the orders of someone else… under a jolly roger, under a pirate captain…

“you could be a good marine…”

you held your breath, letting those words sink in. you could be a marine. help people… stay with koby, serve under—

“no…”

you didn’t want to take orders from any one else ever again. you didn’t want to keep peace or uphold order.

luffy was watching you softly, intently, head tilted just slightly— like a puppy, “but i think you would be a better pirate…”

you hummed, tilting your head to mirror luffy, “pirates… i think i’ve had my fill of pirates.”

“we’ll be different kinds of pirates. i promise… we’ll be good ones…”

you woke up to the sun fully up, beating down on you and the raised voices around you. your had been covered in a jacket and shifted just slightly against the thing you had been using as a pillow. the thing, it turns out, was luffy. and he was carrying on arguing with koby as if he had not been trusted by the most untrusting person in the world to be fallen asleep on. you shifted with a squint up towards the sky, relieved to still be going in the right direction. you were still slumped against luffy when he finally realized you were awake.

“oh, hi,” luffy’s tone was drastically different to how it had been towards koby only seconds ago, “i was trying to be quiet…” he did sound apologetic and his usual grin had turned into an embarrassed, almost guilty smile.

you highly doubted that luffy was actually capable of being quiet. in the few days you had known him, you hadn’t heard him talk softer than an enthusiastic, raised voice.

“shell’s town!” luffy pointed to the island a few kilometers ahead, looking proud and overjoyed. you rubbed your neck and didn’t bother fighting off a smile, “so it is…” they hadn’t gotten more lost while you were asleep and they both looked at you eagerly and proudly, like puppies awaiting praise. you fought back a laugh as you playfully patted both of their heads, turning koby’s face several shades of pink and making luffy beam brighter than the sun.

“you’re sure about this?”

you dropped the oars neatly across the boat and glanced at koby, who looked very close to throwing up. koby managed a nod, but you swore he swallowed a mouthful of bile in the process.

“i don’t think they’ll want me..”

you knew he meant it as an inside thought. he looked paler than usual and had somehow shrank his frame even more.

“of course they’ll want you… you have everything that matters.”

koby shrugged and now luffy was eyeing him in disbelief, almost pitying the lack of confidence he had.

“i bet they would really like someone that brought in a pirate…” luffy adjusted his hat with a wide smile, looking at you enthusiastically. you hadn’t meant luffy. you didn’t think you could bring yourself to turn luffy in and risk not actually getting him back.

“say, captain?”

you were looking at koby with a proud smile, but luffy had nearly tripped over his own feet at you addressing him.

“do you suppose you could break a cabin boy out of stocks?”

luffy eyed you again, now piecing everything together. he adjusted his hat again, “i’m sure of it. especially if the cabin boy was the first member of my crew.”

you smirked playfully, tucking your hair back under that damn hat, “does this give me first mate priority?”

luffy grinned at you, as if he still couldn’t believe you had willingly followed him, “i think you would be the greatest first mate ever.”

you smiled to yourself, shoving your hat tighter on your head and turning to koby. “i’m going to miss you…”

“you could still come with me.”

“i need you to hit me when i tell you to.”

“what?!– i’m not— no, i won’t- i—“

you sighed and hopped onto the dock, eyeing koby incredulously. luffy shoved koby forward again, laughing as if mildly abusing him was the funniest thing in the world, “koby. i need you to toughen up. no one wants a marine who’s scared of action.”

you eyed luffy with raised eyebrows, but you didn’t argue. your best friend was good and kind and you loved him for it. but he needed to find that other side— all the mistreatment and anger and push it towards something else. he never wanted to hurt anyone. or make anyone feel the way others had made you both feel…

luffy tied the ropes around your wrists because koby was shaking too much and kept nervously gagging. he glanced over to koby with a nervous look before meeting your eyes in a way that was entirely too intimate and soft—

“are they too tight?”

you shook your head, reminding yourself to breathe when he was this close to you. you glanced down stupidly at the bindings on your wrists and fought the urge to laugh. if this plan didn’t work and you got arrested or hanged, you might actually laugh… you had willingly put yourself into custody for koby to get a chance at this… you had put yourself into restraints so luffy didn’t.

koby nervously gagged again as you lifted your wrists and held them out for him. luffy rolled his eyes slightly and you fought back a laugh.

“you’ll be a good one…” you placed your own hands in koby’s and eyed him sternly. he opened his mouth and moved to shake his head and you pressed both fists against him firmly, “you will be.”

“i’m not so sure… you put yourself in bindings for me, is that really—“

“she won’t be in them for long.” luffy had his eyes on you again and you forced away the urge to squirm away from his gaze.

“and what if something happens and she—“

“i will be there.” luffy’s tone was more firm, but he still held that soft smile.

“but—“

“koby.”

“maybe this isn’t such a good idea…”

there was another sigh from luffy and you briefly wondered if koby was going to get smacked again. you were still sure of it. koby had made the year with alvida less miserable and the least you could do was help him achieve his one dream…

luffy’s eyes were on you again, wide and soft. you dumbly wondered how many people he had looked at that way— and stupidly hoped it was only you. there was just something about him—

soft hearted and kind and funny. nothing like what you had learned pirates— or even men— to be. you decided to blame it on the messy, black curls and brown eyes that always sparkled like he was laughing.

there was a tug on your wrists and you realized you had completely spaced out and luffy and koby were both staring at you in mild concern.

“sorry,” you breathed out in embarrassment, “i was…”

daydreaming about the captain you had agreed to follow blindly?

“i’m ready.”

“are you absolutely sure about this?”

“koby. you deserve more than a cabin boy and a doormat… you will be an excellent marine.”

luffy was smiling to himself as he looked between the two of you, “next time i see you, you’ll likely have orders to arrest me.”

you lifted your arms over koby’s head and pulled him in for as much of a hug as you could manage.

“next time we see each other, we’ll be enemies…”

you felt tears on your cheek and you breathed out slowly, “no… you’ll always be my best and closest friend. even if you hang my wanted poster some day…”

now koby was crying and luffy put a hand on your shoulder, “ you know i’ll get you out of there… do you trust me?”

you considered for only a second— two days ago, you would have told luffy to go to hell and leave you alone. two days ago maybe you would have become a marine, just to stay with koby– just to convince yourself you were doing good…

“yes… i know.”

luffy could have left you on that ship. he could have kidnapped you and used you however he saw fit— he knew your secret, he could easily have—

“hey, i’m here. you keep wandering off…”

luffy placed a gentle finger against your temple, smudging a bit of dirt on your face. his touch pulled you back to reality and when you didn’t flinch or stiffen at his touch, luffy smiled to himself.

you put on a good act. even as koby dragged you behind him, he would occasionally glance back with a worried expression.

“let go of me!”

you threw yourself to the ground, knowing koby never would have shoved you. there was already others in the main office— a group of marines all surrounding a single man. you kept your eyes on the ground as footsteps approached. you hoped the dirt luffy had spread across your face and arms was convincing, you hoped this plan worked…

you hoped—

“what do we have here?”

“p— pirate, sir…”

“a pirate? you caught a pirate? you want me to reward you?”

“no— no, sir… i was- i was hoping to—“

you kicked your foot against koby’s from the ground, hoping it was subtle but firm enough to encourage him.

“i would like to enlist.”

“you?”

“yes, sir.”

“well, what’s your name, boy?”

“i— i’m– koby.”

there was a moment of quiet before the foot was on your hand. you bit back a yelp and heard koby inhale sharply. hands were on your face, dragging your chin up to look up at the man above you.

axehand morgan.

well known for a reason.

“put him out with the pirate hunter.”

you were hauled to your feet, shoved forward and forced to march towards the doors again. you glanced back at koby once more and behind his pale, guilty, terrified expression, there was a nod. you nodded back, letting slip the smallest, barely there smile.

you grunted as your arms were tied on either side of you, head falling forward as you let your weight fall against the restraints. beside you, the pirate hunter didn’t so much as fight or say a word. you glanced over, squinting your eyes as if hallucinating.

“roronoa zoro…”

he may have had even more of a reputation than captain morgan. the demon pirate hunter. most feared and most deadly bounty hunter in the east blue…

he didn’t respond, only glanced over at you with a bored expression. you looked him over and realized he was young— much younger than someone with such a lethal reputation and impressive head count.

“do you need something? i don’t help pirates.”

you almost laughed— he knew who he was and clearly had no remorse about it.

“what are you even doing here? how did they catch you, anyway?”

his jaw twitched and clenched, “they didn’t catch me. i turned myself in.”

“stupid.”

this time he turned to you with a furious expression, “says the one who got caught.”

you smirked at this, “i didn’t get caught either. i’m helping a friend…”

zoro lifted an eyebrow, taking you in fully, “helping a friend by being tied to a crucifix…”

you actually snorted at this, “he wanted to be a marine. i gave him an edge over the other newbies…”

his brow furrowed, “you let your friend turn you in to get recruited?”

you shrugged, turning your attention back in front of you.

“are you even a pirate?”

you smiled at this, tilting your head. “i don’t know what i am yet. maybe i am a pirate… but a different kind.”

zoro snorted and shook his head, “and i almost liked you… there are no different kinds.”

“that’s what i used to say. and then i met luffy.”

“luffy? is that your marine friend?”

“no… luffy is my captain.”

“your captain that’s just going to leave you here?”

“he’ll be here…”

another snort, disbelieving and almost pitying, “pirate. remember?”

before you could argue or act on the need to defend luffy, you heard a dull pounding. you and zoro looked up at the same time, eyes narrowed as if trying to make out the sound.

“what the hell is that?”

“no clue…” zoro seemed unbothered, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, “but it makes it difficult to sleep.”

sleep?

who the hell was this guy?

this time the pounding was louder and with an echoing clang, the grate on the ground was knocked out of place and thrown to the side. you flinched, zoro actually looked interested and both held your breath.

a head popped out of the hole, revealing messy black curls and an always smiling expression.

“hey!”

luffy replaced his hat on his head and squinted at his surroundings, hand on his hip.

you felt embarrassingly relieved— at least that’s what you convinced yourself it was. that you heart had beat faster and shoulders seemed to relax at luffy’s appearance. he was grinning, clinging out of the grate and crossing the stockyard towards you.

“i told you i would come for you.”

you must have looked surprised…

“that’s luffy?”

luffy glanced over to zoro and then back at you, smiling widening. he had squared his shoulders and stood straighter at being addressed informally.

“you were talking about me?”

shit…

there was that smirk, though now it was almost teasing. he put both hands on his hips and glanced at zoro, who now looked bored again.

“was she talking about me? did she mention my search for a crew or how i’m going to be pirate king?”

you rolled your eyes slightly and sighed.

“she—?” zoro glanced at you once more, irritated for not noticing it himself. he glanced at you once before letting his head fall back again and closing his eyes. he hadn’t looked you over like a meal either— in fact he had looked away as if unsurprised and unimpressed.

“or did she talk about my hair? she looks at my hair a lot. she thinks i don’t notice. but i do. i think she looks at me a lot in general—“

you were now blushing several shades of red and cursed under your breath. luffy was looking at you again, amused and smiling softly, taking you in like he wasn’t used to you. he reached up and untied you, glancing back over at zoro again.

“your new friend doesn’t talk much.”

“i don’t talk to pirates.”

luffy glanced to you, anticipating.

“he’s a pirate hunter. roronoa zoro…”

luffy’s eyes lit up, as if this had made his entire day, “ah!” he finished untying you and approached zoro, “we could use someone like you. you should join my crew.”

“i don’t want to play pirates with you… i kill your kind for a living.”

“i don’t think you’ve ever met my kind… we’re good guys.”

zoro grunted, unconvinced.

“why are you in here, anyway? if you kill pirates, shouldn’t the marines be thanking you?”

another grunt.

luffy shrugged and untied roronoa zoro, “you don’t have to come with us. but you should… we could use a fighter. and everyone is already afraid of you, so that could come in handy…”

you smirked to yourself as you watched zoro eye you, obviously questioning why you had agreed to follow him at all. he had spoken to you. he had almost liked you. and what good was a crew of two…

“for the record, i am not a member of your crew.”

you glanced at zoro across the bar, nodding once, “of course not. why would the demon pirate hunter ever join a pirate crew…”

zoro grunted and you fought back a laugh, “we could have left you in shell’s town. but you willingly came with us.”

“i didn’t like the idea of prison.”

you snorted, “uh huh.”

luffy returned with an armful of food, still grinning, still looking hungry. “you have got to try this!” he held out something on a stick and when you opened your mouth to ask what it was, luffy shoved it in.

you choked unceremoniously, smacking your chest as you swallowed it before it was fully chewed. “shit—“ you chewed the little that was left and hummed, “that is good… holy shit, is that what real food tastes like?”

luffy shrugged, “i’ll eat anything. good or not.”

zoro glanced at you with an almost amused smile, “edible or not… yesterday i swear he ate a plant.”

you fought back a snort, “dirt or no dirt?”

zoro looked at you incredulously, waiting to see if you were kidding. when you didn’t laugh, or snort, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, “no dirt…”

“ah, he’s getting better, then.”

zoro was still glancing at you disbelieving when luffy returned again with water, “why is he looking at you like that?”

you glanced over and held back a laugh, “i think he looks at everyone like that…”

zoro grunted in response but you almost saw a smile. you shifted closer to luffy and glanced over the map that had— miraculously, really— not gotten food dropped all over it.

“where are we now?” luffy looked over your shoulder, dropping something messy and tomato based. you shot him a sharp look and he looked at you wide eyed, bright eyes quickly turning into a kicked puppy. he set down his food and inched himself even closer to see where your thumb was.

the scold was forgotten as his chin rested on your shoulder as if the concept of personal space was entirely foreign to him. you didn’t push him away, though you made sure your breathing was regular and hoped he couldn’t feel your pulse.

zoro sighed and then scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked away from the two of you with a look that said you were not doing well at being discrete.

“we’re here—“ you pointed, keeping your voice even. it was an island that you had never heard of and would likely never be remembered for anything other than how much luffy liked the food.

“and where’s the grand line?”

it was adorable how hopeless he was when it came to directions and maps…

you moved your finger all the way across the map and luffy inhaled slowly, “oh,” you glanced at him with a small amused smile. he reminded you of an impatient kid, though if he started asking if you were there yet, zoro may use him for sword practice.

a crash of dishes and wooden crates had you snatching the map back up, while zoro and luffy jumped to their feet. they crossed the room to evaluate the threat- or maybe zoro was just bored— while you shifted your legs and glanced back down to properly fold the map and not wrinkle it.

“big map for a pretty girl…”

you didn’t look up at first. because you knew what you would see… a man— entirely too smug and needing to be taken down several pegs— eying you like you were dessert and hoping he would charm his way into something more than just a date.

“you traveling alone?”

you folded the map neatly and glanced up– just enough to gage the threat and see if anyone was nearby in case this went sideways. you had historically never won a fight. you had never been bigger or stronger or sometimes even faster. but you were smarter. and sometimes that was enough to at least stall the inevitable…

“it would be stupid for a girl to travel alone, don’t you think?”

the man shifted, hand coming to rest entirely too close to your chest, “well, i don’t know… i’d say a girl alone is more likely to pick up companionship. i reckon she wouldn’t be alone for long at all…”

your skin crawled and you fight the nausea in your gut. “i’m not interested in companionship.”

“aw, of course you are! everyone gets a little lonely…”

you gritted your teeth and glanced up furiously, opening your mouth to say something that would likely only make things worse— but a hand reached out, settling gently on your arm as luffy stepped between you and him.

“she’s not interested, i don’t think…”

“who the hell are you?”

“i am the captain! now, please step away from her.”

the man glanced between you and luffy and then laughed. it was the loud obnoxious laugh of someone who thought they had the upper hand. he was genuinely amused at the thought of this kid telling him to do anything.

luffy glanced back at you, as if reassuring himself that you were still there. he gave you a small smile and the striking snake uncoiled from your gut. your chest eased, your shoulders relaxed. you breathed.

luffy was here again. defending you, jumping in front of you as if it was instinct. the big man was still laughing, hand on his stomach as if the action hurt him. he finally caught his breath and let out a breathy laugh, “you? you think you’ll tell me what to do, boy?”

“i think i just want you to get away from her…”

your heart fluttered and you realized that was not the reaction you should have in this situation. luffy spoke as if he wasn’t sure, but there was an edge to his voice.

“you—“ the man reached forward and his hand closed around your wrist. you inhaled sharply, jerking to pull out of his grasp.

luffy threw a hand out this time, grabbing the man’s wrist that immediately tightened around. you gritted your teeth and didn’t drop your eye contact, staring at him like it was a dare.

“i said,” you watched with wide eyes as luffy’s grip tightened and twisted and the man let go of your wrist— “get away from her.” the light, playfulness always in his tone had vanished and for once he looked like a threat.

the man yelped as luffy pried his hand off you and kept a tight hold of it, backing him into the wall— away from you. zoro had appeared now, looking rather enthusiastic about a fight, but luffy put a hand out to stop him. zoro looked slightly disappointed as he stepped back and stood beside you, hand still braced on his swords in case he was needed. luffy removed his hat and placed it on your head with a single pat of reassurance, not looking back at you as he kept his gaze on the man.

your heart had increased its beats immensely and your head started to spin. he had placed his hat on your head— his precious hat that he had always been so particular and cautious with—

“he’s insane…”

you stood beside zoro, watching as the pair fought like feral animals around the bar. you would sidestep, zoro would duck, both of you looked more amused than you should.

“he’s… incredible.”

luffy sent you a grin as he was tackled and you held back an alarmed shriek. luffy somersaulted backwards through the door, grunts and curses sounding as the pair stayed locked in a brawl.

the man cursed as luffy finally got the upper hand, pinning the man against the wall with a growl. you couldn’t hear him but the look on his face was nothing like luffy. zoro was smirking, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back slightly.

“now that’s a captain…”

that was luffy.

he was so soft and attentive and energetic, and yet every time you had been involved— there was a soft shout and a louder curse and the offending man fell backwards over the banister, landing in the water head first. luffy dusted himself off and shook out his curls as he reached you once again.

“hey,” he always said it like he was relieved to see you. like he was disbelieving that you hadn’t changed your mind about him yet. you grinned despite yourself, feeling your chest swell insufferably when you were the center of his attention. you shifted slightly, hand on the top of his hat to lift it off your head.

“keep it for now. looks better on you. and i know you’ll keep it safe…”

your heart raced and flipped and you heard zoro mutter something under his breath that sounded a lot like pathetic and maybe whipped. you scrambled to find the sense left in your head to say something that wasn’t idiotic or embarrassing.

“thank you.”

it stumbled out as one word and luffy’s eyes softened, smile spreading to a tender fondness.

“don’t mention it… of course i’m going to protect you. i told you i would be there…”

you had thought he meant under circumstances. like with alvida. like breaking you out of the marine base— but he had meant always. he had decided his loyalty lies with you, even as captain. he had picked you and you hadn’t realized just how much. or how seriously he would take it…

you were still staring at him stupidly. he was looking back at you with a smile that could only be described as pathetic and smitten and sure of himself.

“thank you…”

you held your breath and fought the urge to curse. you had said that already. he was so close… he was so tall— his eyes were so soft and dark and—

zoro smacked luffy on the back until he stumbled forward and crashed into you. you gasped as you caught him, feeling more pathetic for getting so lost in his eyes that you had both nearly gone down.

“pathetic… if you two don’t stop getting lost in each other’s eyes and not do anything about it, i might walk myself off a cliff.”

zoro drained his drink and rolled his eyes at you. you scrambled away from luffy in embarrassment, but luffy didn’t let you go too far. he kept his hands on each of your arms like you were the one that needed steadying. he finally looked away from you and the world resumed to a normal orbit. you dropped money on the table and made sure you had everything as luffy trailed behind you without a second thought.

zoro said nothing further about the eyes luffy was giving you. or that you wore his precious, sacred hat. or that he had grabbed ahold of your hand before you could get too far in front of him.

it hadn’t happened with any words or feelings that finally boiled over to a melting point. luffy had placed his hat on your head like he had claimed you. he would take your hand without thinking about it. he would trail behind you anywhere you went, if you needed him to protect you or not.

luffy had simply decided you were his. and he was yours— this he was most proud of. you never pulled your hand away from him, you never tensed against his touch or when he would put a protective arm around you. you never had to call him over if there was a problem because he was already there. he stood right behind you, an arms length away— which with him, could be across an entire island.

“she’s with me.” luffy would say it at any given opportunity. if someone looked at you, if someone asked where you were from— “she’s with me.” and you never argued. not even when you had been introduced to both nami and usopp not by your name, but by “she’s with me.”

and it hadn’t bothered you. because being with the straw hats— following luffy blindly– had been everything to you. you were free, you were happy.

you were ridiculously and pathetically in love.

you sat on the figurehead of the new graciously given ship, listening to usopp and zoro argue. nami would sigh in exasperation and glance down at the map— not correcting them, only double checking that she was right. luffy sat beside you like he always did— assuming that’s the only place he belonged and only place he ever wanted to be.

“i’m hungry.”

you tilted your head slightly, eyebrows lifted. he was always hungry. but that was evidently your responsibility now since luffy had found a navigator that you argued was much much better and more experienced than you. you had taken the rolls of chef, medic, neutral ground in arguments and most recently— unwitting but not complaining- pillow.

the gulley was mostly empty. you had been instructed to ration food strictly and you were very bad at telling luffy no when he gave you that pout and sad brown eyes. zoro was already grumpy and you suspected telling him you were mostly out of food would do nothing to improve that.

you scrounged together apples, a minuscule amount of cheese and something that had once been edible meat. you threw that over the side and hoped greatly that luffy hadn’t seen it and attempted to eat and gotten food poisoning. apples, cheese and mostly stale bread was your winning snack and even you admitted it was pathetic.

usopp and zoro argued over it, while luffy had to be stopped from scarfing all of it down. you pried his face away from the plate and scolded him half heartedly. you ran your hands through his hair with a soft, not quite stern expression, and luffy all but melted into you.

“we need food…” you glanced to nami with a sigh, “we’ll need to stop at the nearest island and restock.”

there was a few mutters and disagreements, and you huffed, “we need food or our captain will start eating one of us.”

luffy laughed at this, though he didn’t disagree. zoro grumbled something else before crossing his arms, “i think he already wants to eat you. let’s not push it…”

luffy only smiled even wider at this, cheeks flushing slightly, but looking like he was not at all sorry. you felt yourself flush, chest swelling slightly once again. there hadn’t been anything physical- nothing other than enthusiastic hugs that nearly knocked you over, arms around you anytime he was within a foot of you and falling asleep tangled together like the only sort of comfort would be found climbing in each other’s skin.

“oi, first mate,” it had been your own idea for luffy to make zoro the first mate over yourself, though you still said it with a playful, mocking tone.

zoro sighed in response, eyeing you with a look that was not real irritation, “yes, mrs. captain?” the crew had thought whatever you and luffy had was more amusing than it should have been. the nickname had been zoro first and now everyone had adopted it.

“our captain has decided to change course…” as you said it, nami was heard groaning and her tone sharpening as she verbally sparred with luffy.

“that’s the third time today, right?”

you smiled to yourself, crossing your arms, “he swears he smells food coming from the east.”

zoro lifted an eyebrow and smirked faintly. no one had ever questioned luffy on his nose and his ability to sniff out food…

almost on cue, nami stormed across the deck and huffed, “i need you to talk to your boyfriend!” you smirked to yourself, hand on your hip, “you mean our captain?”

“no. our captain can’t be told! i need you to go flirt with him or bat your eyelashes or do whatever it is that makes him listen to you!”

you fought back a laugh and glanced over to luffy and usopp, who were still arguing. you smirked slightly at the way his hat was tilted slightly and his hair was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it in frustration.

“luffy,” your tone was soft, almost quiet enough to get lost in the wind. luffy’s head snapped towards you and his irritation vanished in place of a wide smile. he abandoned usopp mid sentence, crossing over to you without a single hesitation. nami huffed in disbelief and zoro fought back a laugh that you could get him so easily.

luffy stopped inches away from you, ruffling his hair and adjusting his hat while he straightened his shoulders. he was smiling again, looking expectant and thrilled to have been called by you.

“did we change directions again?”

as if you hadn’t heard all about it from everyone.

“yes! something tells me to go south.”

“we’re going east…”

“east, yes! there’s something that way.”

luffy pointed and you squinted slightly. you watched him softly, glancing back over the horizon. “are you absolutely sure about east? we were supposed to be going more south…”

“what do you think?”

your stance faltered for a moment, caught off guard by the question. he had asked you? he actually wanted to know what you thought?

“i think… i think we should keep heading south.”

luffy tilted his head slightly, glancing out over the horizon. your heart raced entirely too much for someone who had simply answered a question. you weren’t used to voicing your opinion— you were never supposed to.

“okay,” luffy nodded, hand on his hat as he crossed the ship. you opened your mouth to question, trailing behind luffy with a look of confusion. “nami!” you bumped into him with how sudden luffy had stopped, “back south! we need to go south!”

nami dropped whatever had been in her hand, nearly shrieking in frustration. she stammered over her curses, looking at you incredulously. you only shrugged innocently, letting your hands wrap around luffy and your head fall forward between his shoulder blades.

luffy stiffened slightly as if he had forgotten you followed him. he turned his head to face you, that stupid charming smile back on his face. he removed his hat again and placed it on your head. your entire body heated up and you felt your legs threaten to give out— if you were a damn dog you’d likely be wagging your tail. luffy looked down at you with a soft smile, brushing your hair out of your face as the wind picked up. you nearly melted at that and were glad to have his arms around you to keep you steady. “i’m glad you’re here… thank you for coming with me.”

your eyes stayed locked on his, softening and threatening to fill with tears. you were too. more than you could likely ever say… luffy had saved you; in more ways than one. he had found a crew, he was creating a rather pathetic and disjointed family. he had felt safe when you first met him. now you couldn’t think of finding safety anywhere else…

you leaned up and kissed him before you lost your nerve. your hand tightened around the edges of his vest as you pulled him against you. his arms that hung awkwardly at his sides found your hips and slid around your back until you were pulled flushed against him. you had never kissed anyone— you had had no one to compare this one too— but you still knew this was exactly what it was supposed to be like…

luffy pulled you closer to him until you were off balance and falling into him completely. your hand flew up to catch his hat from blowing off your head and you just felt him smile against your lips. the kiss deepened and you both seemed to forget that you stood in the middle of the ship, where the crew was watching and making bets on which of you would pass out first. luffy pulled away only when he felt your breaths become shaky. he just smiled down at you, eyes glossy, lips slightly swollen and slick from where you had been.

you almost laughed; your head was spinning slightly and your knees were greatly considering letting you drop— but it had been good. you had actually kissed him— something previous you would have scoffed at the thought of.

yet luffy… nothing would have ever prepared you for monkey d. luffy.

luffy had smelled it before you had seen it. the giant ship floating in the middle of the ocean, brightly lit sign luring you in even without the smell of food. it was a restaurant— a floating restaurant that was packed full, other ships teathered to it as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. luffy looked remarkably similar to how he looked after you had kissed him— drooling slightly, wide eyes glossy, likely spaced out and not aware of anything else.

“i bet they have drinks.”

zoro was already stepping off the ship before you could stop him— or beat him to it. usopp and luffy followed behind him, while you and nami had the sense to tie the merry to the ship so it didn’t float away.

“boys…” nami muttered and you coughed out a laugh. you secured the knot and glanced up to see that usopp, zoro and luffy had already disappeared inside without a single thought of waiting for you and nami. you rolled your eyes slightly and playfully took nami’s arm to escort her like a proper gentleman should have.

you knew immediately that there wasn’t enough berry between the five of you to afford this place. one look at the menu had you and zoro inhaling slowly. zoro muttered something about the price of wine and you fought away a smile— he hadn’t even seen the price of fish…

“good evening.” you glanced up at the tall blond that had approached the table, gaging threat or friend.

“what might i get you lovely ladies?” he leaned in slightly with a small smirk and you caught yourself blushing. not a threat. nami eyed you innocently and you read her expression like a book.

“what would you suggest?” she was always too good at flirting and having it mean nothing.

the waiter straightened, eyes widening just slightly that his charm had actually worked, “nothing on the menu, gorgeous. the other chef has indignantly been placed on table duty so anything edible will be found not on the menu…”

you inclined your head slightly, noting the white apron he wore around his waist, “perhaps you could see if he’s willing to whip something up for us…” you leaned in just slightly, keeping your hand on luffy’s thigh— he had tensed up considerably and was now eyeing the waiter like a rabid dog. “we just don’t have a lot of money… so, go easy on us…”

the blond practically bowed, damn near giving you and nami heart eyes, “not to worry, beautiful… it’s on the house. for you and your lovely fire haired friend…” your mouth twitched as luffy was starting to fidget next to you. you swore jealousy radiated from him like a furnace and you fought the urge to reassure him. usopp and zoro scoffed when the blond left, while luffy was practically smoking from the ears.

“who the hell is that guy? so… blonde and… accent-y… all—“ you put your hand over luffy’s and eyed him with a small, amused smirk.

“easy, captain… you’re practically foaming at the mouth.” zoro tipped the sake back with a smirk, clearly enjoying this entire evening.

“he’s— i ought to-“

“luffy…” your voice was soft and he relaxed next to you, “you don’t need to worry. i’m not into blondes… but i am starving.” this seemed to work as luffy draped an arm around you and pulled you in closer with a small laugh, “right. koby said you liked black curly hair. he once said—“

“luffy.” you tried not to laugh, “i like you. koby just thinks he’s subtle…”

luffy paused, considering this. he eyed you skeptically and you just eyed him with lifted eyebrows. luffy finally grinned again and pulled you closer, not seeming to mind at all that you were in a public, five star restaurant and that sitting in his lap probably wasn’t the most appropriate…

the food, it turned out, had been impossibly good. perhaps you had just grown up eating scraps and things barely edible, but you swore this was not normal food. the blond watched the table as you ate, smiling in a small satisfied way as the table nearly collectively moaned.

“everything satisfactory?”

you covered your mouth, now slightly embarrassed that you say at the most loud and obnoxious table. “spectacular… this is- this is seriously…”

the blond nodded, bowing slightly, “thank you. food tastes better when the chef actually cares…”

“you made this?” luffy had seemed to forgotten all about his irrational anger towards the chef, “this is the best thing i’ve ever tasted!” he licked his plate clean and you almost snorted.

“what’s your name?”

the blond was still eyeing you, doe eyed and rather pathetic, “sanji.”

“sanji… you should join my crew. we need a cook.”

you glanced at luffy with raised eyebrows. the idea of you not being in charge of cooking and fulfilling luffy’s endless appetite seemed appealing… however—

a fight broke out across the restaurant and your thoughts evaporated. sanji sighed, setting down the bottle of wine he had brought to further appeal to you and nami, “excuse me for a moment…”

he had evidently been given tables and bouncer tonight as he strolled over to the problem patrons and—

the table fell silent as both offending men toppled the ground as sanji moved swift enough to miss him. sanji pushed both men off the ship and brushed himself off, sighing in inconvenience. you weren’t even sure you had seen what happened. sanji had thrown a leg out and both men collapsed like—

zoro had sat back down, hand still on his sword, though he looked disappointed that there wouldn’t be a fight.

“apologies, madam. some people just don’t know how to act in the presence of a lady…” you didn’t miss the glance he cast at usopp and luffy. luffy was wide eyed, mouth hanging open slightly, “that was amazing… how did you do that with your legs?”

sanji blinked once, brushing himself off once more, “i don’t like to dirty my hands… makes cooking a bit more difficult…” zoro scoffed beside you, clearly having already formed enough of an opinion on the chef.

“you should really come with us…” luffy sounded more desperate than you would ever let him know.

sanji glanced at him, looked around the table, amused, likely waiting for a laugh, “thank you. but i’m needed here…”

sanji joined the crew that same night.

you hadn’t heard the exact conversation, but when luffy came back from dishes duty, sanji was with him. you suspected it was more than just luffy’s pep talk, though luffy sure was good at getting what he wanted.

you watched sanji argue with zoro for the third day in a row. he met your eyes with a soft expression and a wink and you rolled your eyes. you leaned back against the railing, feeling something settle into your chest. luffy had picked sanji. so far he had not been wrong… even with the arguing and wrestling matches and nami smacking at least two of them daily, this has started to feel like a crew. this had started to feel like a family…

luffy brushed past you with a grin, placing his hat on your head like he always did when he wanted the wind in his hair. he pushed it down on your head with a smile that wrinkled your nose and kept his eyes on you for a moment.

safe, everything in you still echoed.

safe…

you took his hand and squeezed it. luffy was still smiling as he looked out over the horizon, bringing your hand to his chest and holding it with both hands. he glanced over at you again and that voice stirred again as you met his eyes.

home.

[ghostedink]

Small delivery.

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You had been terrified your entire pregnancy. Not of being a mother. Not of König. No— you were terrified of the size of the baby.

Because your husband was a mountain of a man.

Nearly seven feet tall, broad enough to block the entire doorway, hands so huge they made coffee mugs look childish. König looked like the kind of man built to father massive babies with bowling-ball heads and shoulders wide enough to ruin your life on delivery day.

The closer you got to your due date, the more emotional you became about it.

“König..” you whispered one night, staring at his chest while he held you against him, “what if your baby comes out built like a full-grown toddler?”

He nearly choked trying not to laugh.

“Our baby is not coming out with a beard, Schatz.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It is a little funny.”

You’d smacked his chest weakly while he kissed your forehead, though the poor man did try comforting you afterward. He promised he’d stay beside you the whole time, promised your body was made for this, promised doctors existed for a reason.

Still, you expected pain.

Expected terror.

Expected to hear nurses gasp in horror at the giant infant you’d somehow created with this massive Austrian soldier.

Instead—

Your baby arrived…..tiny.

Absolutely, unbelievably tiny.

A little thing wrapped in hospital blankets, blinking up at the world with huge blue shiny eyes and the faintest dusting of strawberry-blonde hair across their soft head.

The nurse placed the baby into König’s arms and the sight almost made you cry harder than labor itself.

Because König looked gigantic.

His enormous scarred hands cradled the baby so carefully, so delicately, like he was terrified even breathing too hard would hurt it. His shoulders shook beneath quiet laughter, stunned and disbelieving.

“So small..” he whispered.

Your baby’s hand curled around one of his fingers— and couldn’t even hold all of it. König stared like his heart had been ripped straight from his chest. Meanwhile you were still emotional for an entirely different reason.

“That’s it?” you croaked from the hospital bed. “That’s what I was scared of?!”

König outright laughed then, deep and breathless behind his mask before he leaned down to kiss your forehead repeatedly.

“You were very brave for surviving our terrifyingly tiny child.”

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[katsunoir-deactivated20260523]

got this one in dms, i'm a firm believer in the fact that he loves talking during sex.

When Sokka led you to his workshop with an excited grin on his face and babbling a mile a minute about his nearly done invention, you half thought it was gonna be something like a stink bomb grenade at the very least. So imagine your surprise, when he gestures with fanfare towards two padded chairs surrounded by welded metal.

"I give up," You turn to him with a blank expression. "What am I looking at?"

"Babe, the Sokka Subamarine!" He grips your shoulders excitedly. "Well, that's what it'll be when it's done; right now I need ya to help me test out the seats, gotta see if they're sturdy enough."

"How, do we just jump on it?"

"Well..."

ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩

The pale blue seats creak loudly as Sokka bounces you off his dick like a pinball. He's laying flat on his back, hair askew as his gloved hands grip your hips, slamming you on his length with such a force that your thighs ripple. Your acrylic nails—which he invented and designed btw🤪—dig into the upholstery, clawing marks into the fabric,but it doesn't tear as Sokka continues to manhandle your slick heat with strokes that nail your sweet spot dead on.

"C-coulda just told me you wanted to fuck, Sokka." You whimper when you feel him throb inside you and your hips roll to meet his, trying desperately to match his rhythm as he ruts into you.

"It's all in the name of sci—fuuck." His head tips back, exposing the column of his throat and you lean down to suck a bruise there. His breath hitches and his grip tightens, he's not even pretending anymore, just content to grind into you.

"Why a submarine though?" Your tone is breathy as your hands move to his hair. those pointed nails scratch his scalp, making him shiver, and then you're tugging at the strands the way he likes making him keen. Those slender hips stutter as he tries to wade through the fog in his head, tries very hard to remember why a submarine was useful in the first place.

"Aquatic attacks." He answers after a beat, lost in the wet sounds of skin slapping against skin and the view of your naked chest glistening with sweat from the exertion and the heat from the harsh lights from above.

"From who?" He lets you flip him so he's on top and he grabs your leg to toss over his shoulder, then he's hitching your hips higher so he can hit it deeper.

"Shit, I don’t know anymore, sea monsters?"

© KATSUNOIR 2026 ! do not translate, repost, recommend or modify my work.

[xqwrites]

SO VERY INTIMATE (intimidating at times)

Taz Skylar x fem!reader

warnings: rpf (don‘t like, don‘t read), strong language, heavy suggestiveness, pure fluff, no mentions of y/n, i’m trying to keep the reader‘s appearance as vague as possible, the only thing that could be implied is that Taz is taller than us - if you notice something that i haven‘t mentioned yet, let me know!

wordcount: 1.4k

a/n: There we go! The second post made it through editing lol. I really liked the idea of assisting him like that. I hope you have as much fun reading as I had writing it!

dividers by @strangergraphics

Even though you weren’t inexperienced at all when you started sleeping with Taz, getting intimate with him quickly reached an intensity you’d never felt before.

And you hadn’t thought it possible, but after you’d revealed how you felt about each other, it grew even more vivid.

Looks drilling into each other, intimacy hitting you with a force that literally knocked the air from your lungs.

His touches were exquisite, intentional, and with his hands and lips roaming over your skin, you all too quickly fell apart and forgot how to assemble yourself again.

One of the things he managed to carve out of you was the ability to clearly express your wants and needs. It’s not like you’d been a particularly shy person, but when it came to intimacy, you’d never really learned how to voice your desires.

That inevitably led to often being frustrated after you’d slept with someone, which ultimately resulted in you somehow avoiding proximity altogether.

Taz came around that quicker than you liked.

Over those first meetings, when your kisses grew from soft and delicate to hungry and intense, he quickly noticed that you had a hard time opening up and admitting what you liked.

So he started teasing you about it, constantly demanding reassurance while his hands and lips moved from one sensitive part of your body to another.

He took a bit too much pleasure in annoying you up to the point where you snapped at him, only to act all innocent after.

“I only just want to do it right, Love,” he’d asserted, unable to fight the grin around his lips, “I’m very eager to please you.”

Between gritted teeth, you’d pressed out, “you’re insufferable,” before patting away his fingers that had started twisting one of your nipples. “Alright, I fold. What do you want me to do?”

“I want you -,” Taz had then said, a smug look on his face, leaning down to mouth at the breast he started teasing before, “- to tell me -,” he’d proceeded, now with his teeth gracing your delicate skin, “- exactly -,” he’d all but bitten you, so harshly you’d sharply sucked in your breath, “- what you want me to do,” he’d then closed, softly licking at your sore skin, gently kissing the ache away.

You were done for.

Right now you were standing behind him in his bathroom, him sitting on a stool whilst you helped him redo the bleach in his hair, both of you in your underwear.

Through the mirror he watched closely as your fingers moved across his scalp, massaging the dye into his roots, seemingly listening to you going on about your encounters with one of your mutual friends.

When you noticed him watching you, you stilled.

“You even paying attention?” you asked teasingly, swatting the back of your gloved hand against his naked shoulder.

“‘Course,” he answered, voice a bit rough from being quiet so long.

“For someone earning his living with acting, you’re a pretty bad liar.”

“Well,” he said, then smacking his lips but never elaborating further, which made you laugh.

As you rounded him to wash the spare dye from the gloves, you bumped your hip against him and stated, “I guess we’re done here.”

“Are we?” he asked, voice raising over the sound of the running tap.

Your eyes met through the mirror, the suggestiveness strong in your shared gaze. Your core clenched just from the intense look in his face.

You bit your lower lip and fought hard not to show how full of anticipation you were. After spending the better half of the day in bed, you at least wanted to try and have a somehow average afternoon.

So you broke eye contact and focused on cleaning the gloves, then taking them off very deliberately.

“I should wrap up your head whilst the dye develops,” you told him, very intentionally ignoring that he was trying to pry a whole other response out of you.

His grin got impossibly wider, and when he leaned forward and made an attempt at biting into the flesh of your ass, you squealed.

“Stop biting!” you shrieked, turning off the tap a bit too harshly whilst you tried to stay away from his teeth.

Taz’ next moves where so quick and predatory you couldn’t help but gasp. He grabbed you by the hips and twirled you around, pressing you against the countertop whilst coming to a stand, caging you between his body and the hard surface behind you.

“Make me,” he rumbled before catching your lips in a rather toothy kiss.

You had to be careful to not get hair dye all over you as you were responding to his approach, grasping where it was safe - his neck, his chest, his shoulders.

“Please, stop,” you breathed when the kiss broke and his lips began to wander down to your jaw, “you’re getting dye all over me.”

Taz paused, looking up at you. “I might,” he said as if he couldn’t care less.

“I don’t want you to,” you told him, your breathing already accelerated. This man had a little too much power over you, you thought.

“Then I won’t,” he simply stated, and thereafter retreated from you so quickly that a noise of complaint tore from your throat.

“What?” he giggled, “you undecided now?”

“You better not leave me like that.”

His smile grew gentle as he leaned back in and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to the corner of your mouth. “I’d never.”

You waited patiently whilst the dye worked, and then you helped him rinse and shampoo his hair. Your touches were guarded, even though your glances weren’t. And when he finally lowered the towel after drying off his head and his eyes locked into yours again, you had already lifted your bum onto the countertop.

Your stare felt so heated that you were certain it’d be able to set something aflame. Taz dropped the towel, not sparing it another look. Your whole body felt like it was on fire, all the tension that had built between you since you started your task eventually about to snap. Your anticipation was almost unbearable.

And when he finally spoke, his rumbling voice shot straight to your core.

“Tell me.”

You had quite a bit of trouble speaking around your pounding heart.

“Come closer,” you told him, giving yourself a moment to muster up the courage for what was to come next.

He obliged, coming to a stop mere centimeters from you, close enough so you could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

“I want-,” you started, noticing you needed to clear your throat before you were able to continue, “- I want to feel your mouth on me”, you managed, and when you saw the hungry look on his face, you were flooded by sudden boldness. “I want you to devour me.”

“Will do,” he said, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Do you want me to fuck you after?” he then offered, almost generously, before he started trailing kisses down your neck.

A soft moan escaped your lips as soon as he reached your collarbone. His hands were already roaming up your thighs, fingers hooking into the hem of your slip.

“No,” you struggled to get out over your quickening breath.

Taz stilled, looking up at you, obviously curious.

You had a hard time keeping control of yourself. All of this felt staggering and at the same time so arousing you were damn sure it’d only take a little nudge for you to completely break down.

“I -,” you wrung out, feeling so heated and so overwhelmed by his touches and his looks and his everything, “- I want you to come in your pants.”

A surprised huff escaped him, paired with a twitch of his eyebrows.

“That’s a new one,” he then mused, already carrying on with the task at hand - making you lose your goddamn mind, “you’re pretty demanding today.”

“Well, Babe, that’s on you, I guess.”

“Mmmh,” he hummed accordingly as he squatted before you, pressing his cheek against the inside of your thigh, “and I love everything about it.”

You were utterly, completely gone for.

a/n: Thank you so much for reading! And leave a thought, if you like. 💋

[voidreynolds]

well watered gardens // vinsmoke sanji

summary: zeff’s daughter!reader x sanji; you fell for the boy you grew up with, despite your father’s best effort.

warnings: language, [ sexual themes, heavily implied sex, suggestive comments– *look at who you’re reading about fr ] smoking, established relationship, childhood lovers, forbiddenish romance, a few time jumps,✨a man who yearns is a man who earns✨// the most pathetic lover boy you’ll ever meet

a/n: fyi, this is literally just a romance novel. i’m obsessed. it’s hella long and will likely have a part two

- the baratie was packed– fuller than even the average hectic friday night. you were practically tripping over the other waiters as you rushed to fulfill orders and refill drinks. there was an agitated curse as you fully collided with one of the sous chefs. his infuriation turned to mild panic as he stumbled over frantic apologies.

“apologies, miss! i didn’t see you there.”

you knew if it had been anyone else, he would have fired them or cursed the out until he was blue in the face. it was always different with you. it had to be different with you— you were the owner’s daughter and the baratie princess aspired to be more than just what you were and desperately wanted to be anywhere else…

“i wish i didn’t see you at all…” you brushed past him and scooped up the upcoming orders, eyeing them skeptically, “these look drier than your wife, chef… why you were elected sous chef i will never understand. you’ve done crimes to my beautiful tomatoes with this sauce—“

perhaps you were biased— it was a five star restaurant after all, and zeff only hired the best— though there was one– one who’s cooking outdid even your father and even he knew it.

“there was no one better qualified, love. your father’s decision– take it up with him.”

you huffed in exasperation as you tilted your hip against the door to open it just as someone else swung it towards you. the trays flew into the air as your feet slid out from under you. multiple dishes splattered onto your head as a pair of arms lunged forward to catch you. you gasped as scalding liquid soaked down the back of you, shrieking as the door slammed into you once again and sending you tumbling to the floor.

“shit!” the body that had attempted to catch you went tumbling down on top of you, bringing plates shattering and even more miscellaneous liquids and solids down on your head. the familiar head of blond hair looked down at you with a guilty expression, reminding you greatly of a scolded puppy.

“you two!” you cursed and attempted to scramble to your feet at your father’s sharp tone, “out! both of you out! tonight is not the night for your bullshit!”

“but i–“

“it was my fault, sir—“

“both of you out! now! go back to your garden and you can clean this entire place later!”

you cursed as you threw your apron on the floor, stomping out of the kitchen and drawing the attention of many guests.

“i’m sorry—“ sanji was stumbling over apologies too, though his were sincere and an attempt to placate your mood only slightly. you grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind you, not slowing until you were on the roof.

“i am sorry. i didn’t see you behind the door and—“

you pulled him against you with a sigh as your lips met his. he shut up instantly; arms snaking around you and pulling you in with all the more enthusiasm and desperation.

“you didn’t do that on purpose, did you?” sanji pulled away breathless, eyeing you with that damn smirk that always got him in trouble.

“of course not. the door swinging back and hitting me in the ass was just a happy accident.”

sanji snorted and shook his head, looking you over with an incredulous smile, “now you’ve landed us with clean up.”

“as i recall you quite like making use of the empty kitchen… and the stainless steel counters-“

sanji just kissed you again— all passion and hands and intensity as if every time he kissed you would be the last. your knees nearly gave out as you get lost in the feeling of him. the constant giggles and goofing off of childhood had shifted to quick kisses and stolen glances and were now something deeper and heavier and all consuming.

“i think he’s a damn fool and has no right to handle your produce…” sanji’s mouth dropped to your neck, lips brushing against your skin as he spoke, before placing slow and agonizing kisses along your throat. you hummed, tilting your head back and closing your eyes.

always knowing just what to say, while always making it sound suggestive, sanji responded with a hum. the stress and frustration of the day washed away as sanji pulled you closer and the kisses deepened, slowed and turned more sensual.

“sanji—“ you gasped as your calves fell against the edge of a planter, “the plants—“

sanji didn’t move his mouth from yours as he shifted once more, “i would never ravage your beautiful plants, darling…” he eyed you with a soft, devilish smirk, “only you.”

you pulled him closer, head falling back as he returned to his trail along your throat and collarbone. “if my father comes up here—“

“i will talk to you father…”

“sanji—“

“we’re going to do things right, love. the moment we tell him, you’re getting a ring… i’m still going to ask for your hand. call me old fashioned—“

“i think i’ll call you a hopeless romantic…”

“hopeless for you. that’s for sure…”

you rolled your eyes and breathed out a laugh, “sanji, it’s been four years… sneaking around and taking the early shifts and closing shifts… i just think… what if he says no—“

sanji’s head burrowed into your neck again as he shushed you softly. you just sighed contently, hands reaching for his hair to steady yourself. -

the morning had started quite like every other morning for the last ten years since your father had emerged from sea with a strange boy— finally claiming you after your mother’s death. growing up in the baratie had taught you anything culinary and customer service you would ever need, while your mother had taught you to cook, clean, tend to flowers and plant a garden bountiful enough to provide for an entire village. you had never experienced anything of the real world, living your life as the quiet cook’s daughter, growing the produce for the restaurant and wishing desperately to one day leave.

sanji cursed beside you as zeff’s voice rang out orders throughout the kitchen. he was slicing your precious herbs with a careless urgency that would have anyone else in this damn kitchen chopping off a finger or leaving horribly uneven cuts.

“you seem tense this morning…” you shifted just slightly so your shoulder brushed against sanji’s, head ducked so only he heard you.

“i’m not tense, love.” sanji’s tone held its usual soft fondness towards you, though his posture and aggressive chopping proved otherwise.

“he’s just been— really really—“ sanji tilted the chopped dill into a bowl and reached for the cilantro– you placed your hand over his and lifted your eyebrows. sanji tensed and froze, eyes on you softly, “i’m sorry. the talk didn’t go well. ever since—“

“the talk? you asked him?” you nearly dropped the knife you were holding, “you talked to him? what did he say?” you abandoned your cutting entirely and grabbed sanji’s elbow, pushing him into the walk in freezer and shutting the door behind you.

sanji didn’t meet your eyes, jaw tight, glancing around the freezer as if looking for a way out. “he said i wasn’t good enough for you. and that if he was in his right mind, he should have me arrested and shipped off to-“

“sanji.” you leaned back against the door to block him from trying to end the conversation by leaving, “i told you not to talk to him. i told you there was no point— he doesn’t care that you tried to do the right thing…”

“i wanted to do it right! i want to show him that i’m… i’m… more than he just lets me be.”

“sanji. i have loved you since we were running around here in training aprons and i couldn’t see the top shelves of the freezer. i have known you as long as i’ve known my father. i don’t care what that bastard says… he has no right to say anything about me… where was he for the first nine years of my life? i don’t care what he says and you shouldn’t either.”

“i think you underestimate the shipping me off in handcuffs for going near his daughter.”

you eyed him sharply, lifting an eyebrow, “is that why you never came back last night?”

sanji looked away and you exhaled slowly, not needing any answer other than that.

“he raised me… like his own son. i just thought—“

“who gives a fuck?”

sanji looked at you incredulously, startled by your bluntness. “he said no… fine. i’ve always found the sneaking around rather…” your fingers closed around sanji’s wrist, thumb sliding up his arm and grip closing tightly around his bicep, “invigorating…”

sanji’s foot slid slightly and you fought back a snort as he cursed under his breath.

“i just… i tried to do things right. i want you— i want to be enough for you.”

“sanji.” you shook your head, jaw tight, “you are all i want. this stupid restaurant, this stupid staff— my damn father— this stupid ship…..”

sanji closed his eyes, nose resting against your forehead. he shifted slowly until his lips were against your skin, placing a delicate kiss on your forehead, “i love you. i’ll keep proving myself… i’ll keep doing what the damn old man says until i’m deemed good enough for you.”

“sanji…” you stood on your toes and tucked his blond bangs behind his ear, “do what you think you need to. but don’t you dare ever let my father stop you from meeting me in my room again…”

sanji grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously. he gave you his usual devilish smirk, tilting his head to eye you softly, “whatever you say, my love…” he kissed you once more as your hands slid around his neck, “i get off at eight tonight. so long as the old man doesn’t have me cleaning up the entire place again, i’ll be there by eight o’ one.”

the plants in your windowsill seemed to visibly perk up as you hummed. managing to grow flora that wasn’t found anywhere in the east blue in your tiny ship bedroom was enough of an accomplishment, let alone having blossoming bushes and vines that slowly climbed up the walls. you took a deep inhale at the orange blossoms, eagerly waiting for their fruit to be ready. there was a knock on the door and you nearly dropped the watering can and hit your hip against the corner of your table. cursing, you limped towards the door enthusiastically, opening the door to an exhausted, yet still smirking sanji.

“eight o’ five.” you smiled in amusement, “you’re late.”

sanji ducked his head with a playful smile, “apologies, my love. but i found these and couldn’t resist.” he held out a bouquet of colorful blooms of numerous shapes and sizes. you grinned, scooping them into your arms as you inhaled their scents.

“beautiful… where did you find them?”

“some sorry bastard double booked a date. i scooped up the ones that weren’t smashed. i figured you would be able to tell me what they all were…”

you eyed him adoringly, smiling up at him like he had hung the moon and stars. sanji loved hearing you talk about plants– your garden, your house plants. it was the same passion and excitement that he shared about cooking. you shifted the bouquet into a vase and readjusted the flowers, talking softly as you plucked and flattened. sanji watched with an expression that would have had you folding had you seen it. you grabbed his hand and pulled him over, listing every individual flower and their origin. he slid his arms around you, settling against your back, nose brushing against your jaw, breathing deeply as he just listened to you.

when you were satisfied with the flowers’ new home, you turned to sanji, who was still giving you those dangerous eyes. he looked tired— eyelids heavy and hair slightly undone. his apron was still on— hanging crooked, streaked with tomatoes, green sauce and miscellaneous meat juices. you slid your hands around his back, kissing his jaw as you pulled him closer to untie his apron. sanji sighed contently, head falling forward onto your shoulder.

“is he working you terribly hard, chef?”

your tone was light, soothing him as if he were in need of being babied. sanji’s mouth quirked up, breathing deeply as he settled against you, “nothing i can’t handle… still needing to take orders from the sous chef and not getting caught fixing up his sorry excuse for meals…”

sanji ducked his head gently so you could lift the apron over his head. you tossed it onto the back of the chair and brushed off his suit, pausing to glance up and admire him. his hair had fallen over his eyes and you swore he had never looked more gorgeous. he still wore his suit, wrinkle free and pristine, always showing up and looking his best for a job that didn’t appreciate or deserve him. you pulled his jacket off and his breath shook just slightly.

“i’m supposed to take care of you, love.”

“quiet, you. i recall— as only a humble waitress and occasional host— my job is to serve the sous chef…”

sanji smirked at this, raising a suggestive eyebrow. “i don’t recall that rule… especially since your official title is supplier of our produce and daughter of the owner...”

you clicked your tongue, “see, that’s where you’re confused, then… her job requires her to work directly under the sous chef…”

sanji’s tongue pressed against the back of his top front teeth, smirking, eyeing you with a look that promised you would both be running late tomorrow.

you shifted into the warm sunlight on your face, smiling to yourself at the comfortable heaviness that still clung to you. your limbs felt tired, the mattress seemingly pulling you down further into it. a heavy arm draped over your middle and pulled you against a solid chest that radiated heat. the ship rocked slightly, doing nothing to shake the absolute contentment and satisfaction you felt.

the bed shifted as you were pulled into an all encompassing hug— warm breath on the tip of your spine, sanji’s nose brushing against the back of your neck as his bangs fell forward onto your jawline. you hummed softly, “g‘mornin…” your voice was thick with sleep and the satisfied wear from last night.

“good morning, gorgeous.”

sanji’s accent was thick, tone rasping slightly with sleep. he shifted to his elbow, placing a light kiss on your jaw, leaning in until his lips created pressure against your face. you grinned, humming once again as you shifted closer, turning to face him.

sanji’s hair stuck up in numerous places, disheveled, clear grooves where your fingers had run through it the night before. “like what you see, love? this certainly isn’t your first time waking up next to me…” you smiled to yourself and answered him with a kiss. you shifted as his palm tucked between your shoulder blades, rolling you slightly with the full intent of carrying on what had been finished last night.

an abrupt pounding on your door sucked the sensual domestic bliss from the air and you sat up so quickly your forehead nearly knocked into sanji’s.

“are you awake yet?”

the tone would not be expected from a father, but it was much softer than the usual tone of zeff— you gave sanji a grave look before standing to your feet, untangling yourself from the blankets and second set of limbs. “how fast can you climb out that window?” sanji almost laughed, but he glanced at the table full of plants sympathetically, as if weighing how to best avoid tipping any of them on the way out.

you tripped awkwardly on the way to the door, struggling greatly at pulling on a shirt in record breaking speed and also trying to walk on jelly like legs.

“is there a problem? you could have paged me.”

“i— no, no problem… i wondered if there was anything you needed?”

you blinked skeptically.

zeff eyed you up and down and you stepped closer to the wall, pulling the door closed with you, stupidly.

“we are docking soon… picking up more supplies and taking a little day break. if you…want to buy some clothes… or new seeds…” you stared at him incredulously as he dropped a sack of berry into your hand.

“take sanji with you. you could use… i mean— some places can be unsafe. i wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

you almost smiled, though you were so stricken at his uncharacteristic gesture. sanji had always been directed to go everywhere with you— likely another factor that inevitably pushed the two of you together. zeff knew sanji would die before letting anything happen to you— you had grown up together and were raised together so the two of you going off together or getting into trouble on a day off was nothing new. and zeff was assured that sanji knew the lines that couldn’t be crossed and what should happen should anything ever escalate between you…

sanji had argued— he really hadn’t wanted to disrespect or go against zeff’s wishes. he had taken him and saved his life and raised him with everything he had given you– but when you gave him that look and inevitably pulled him into bed the following night, once again– despite your father’s threats and warnings— he really couldn’t say no. after all, you had been sneaking around and stealing kisses since you were sixteen. the fact that sanji had tried to go about things properly and been blatantly told no and to stay away from you wasn’t stopping you– and he certainly wasn’t going to argue with you. he had promised that you would get a ring. you had promised that one day you would both get the hell out of here. the glass jar filled with tips gave you a trickle of hope, though you swore you were happy as long as you were with him– secret or not, sneaking around or not— ring or not. you would have that future, even if it consisted of staying in the baratie, keeping sanji hidden behind your door and pretending like his bedroom had not been vacated for the better part of a year.

the small curl of cigarette smoke hit your nostrils as you turned to reach for another fish. you coughed, hands on your hips as you eyed the culprit. sanji had his eyes half closed, taking another slow drag as his hands settled on the table.

“sanji…” you scolded and his eyes snapped open and his attention turned to you. he took you in with a guilty expression, smiling shyly.

“that could kill you.”

“so could this work environment, love.”

you raised your eyebrows in a silent scold and sanji grinned. he stuck his lip out slightly, shifting to lean into you with a knowing smirk.

you snatched the cigarette from his lips and placed it between your own, inhaling slowly with a small smirk. sanji tipped forward, catching himself on the counter with an exhale as his head fall back, “what are you doing to me, gorgeous?” he eyed you like you were in trouble and you just smiled innocently before dropping the lit cigarette into the dirty sink water in front of you, “you’re too easy, ji. and smoking is a dirty habit that will kill you.”

“i could say the same about you, love.” he smirked and met your eyes, leaning in all the more. you narrowed your eyes and gave him an amused smirk, lifting your eyebrows in a dare for him to say more. the kitchen door swung up and sanji straightened his back, standing upright and shifting away from you. you cast him a final smirk before dropping the dead fish down in front of him. sanji eyed you incredulously with a sigh, shaking his head as he began his delicate process of chopping up the fish.

“we’ll be docking tonight!” you perked up slightly, turning your attention to zeff, now standing in the middle of the room, holding everyone’s attention, “sanji, make a list of any and all ingredients you may need. you all will have the evening to do as you wish… we will be leaving before first light. anyone not on the ship gets left behind and out a job.”

sanji ducked his head slightly, voice lowered so only you heard him, “do you think that’s a promise?”

you bit back a snort, covering your mouth with an exaggerated clearing of your throat. zeff barked orders at the staff before stopping in front of the two of you. he lifted his eyebrows at you, expectant. you blinked slowly, sensing sanji tense slightly. you fought the urge to reach a hand out to stop sanji from starting something or getting himself stuck with working the entire night off.

“you two don’t get into trouble tonight. and don’t piss me off today or you’ll be on overnight shift.”

sanji’s mouth twitched and you swore you could read his thoughts for a moment— your hand behind your back closed securely around his wrist– a silent warning and plea.

sanji exhaled slowly, almost reaching for the cigarette that was no longer there. “yes, sir. thank you. i’ll get right on that list…”

“nothing weird or fancy! stick to the usual!”

sanji’s mouth twitched again and he ducked his head in agreement. zeff crossed the kitchen once again, leaving the staff breathing once again and you releasing sanji’s wrist.

he eyed you with a glare that wasn’t at all sincere, “you took my damn cigarette…” he exhaled and rubbed his face and you fought back a laugh.

“you can get all the weird and fancy stuff you want, you know... i’ll sample anything my favorite chef makes…”

sanji lit up at this, practically coming to life with an animated gesture, “i’ve had a lot of ideas. some of them incorporate fruit too. i was thinking of making some kind of jelly— then i’d pair it with—“

you leaned back against the counter and watched sanji with a smile. he sliced and stirred and boiled without even looking up– all while talking enthusiastically about his plans for the dinners he would cook you.

“sounds wonderful, my love. i’ll try all of it and then more… god, you’re brilliant–“ you grabbed his face and kissed his forehead once, quickly, before releasing him and shuffling off towards the back exit. sanji was left speechless, smiling like a damn fool as he watched you go, too flustered to bother checking if anyone had seen that. at the last moment he grabbed your wrist and pulled you back against him, realizing you would do much more effectively than a cigarette— he kissed you once, fully on the lips– quick enough to look like he had merely reached past you for something. “dinner tonight… we’re going out.”

you opened the door with a sharp yelp as zeff stood on the other side. you closed your coat around the front of you in a desperate attempt to cover the dress you were wearing— any idiot could see you were dressed up for more than just picking up seeds. black and entirely too low cut for anything other than a rare and inconsistent date night, slightly slitted up the leg and sequined enough that the light caught your every move.

“what are you wearing?”

as if you were sixteen, and not twenty two.

you shrugged, glancing down at yourself with an innocent smile. “i’m going out. i haven’t had a proper night off in months. so i put on something nice and i intend to have a nice time.”

zeff blinked slowly, lifting his eyebrows, “is that so? you look like a show girl. that could be free advertising to some, you know.”

you eyed him sharply, debating telling him the true reason you had gotten so dressed up— that you wouldn’t be going to clubs and bar hopping alone and considered this a highly important date night.

zeff was still just staring and you fought the urge to wave your hand in front of his face, “you— perhaps i’ll go with you… or— no…” he rubbed his face and for the first time you realized he truly did care about you— he was just shit at expressing it.

“why don’t….” he grunted, clearly debating his own thoughts, “take sanji with you.”

“sanji?” you fought back a smirk, “you want sanji to see me in such a low cut, thigh slit dress?”

“well i— no! but it’s better than… i think he— you two always get along.”

you scoffed slightly, finding all of this more amusing than he would ever know.

“are you giving him permission to take me on a date?”

“well— no! don’t you get any ideas too! for tonight… just have a nice time. i want you back before sunrise. i was serious what i said! i’ll leave you both behind.”

tempting…

zeff dropped a handful of berry in your hand, face slightly red like he was still trying to figure out how to function around you. “make the boy buy you dinner… it would be a shame to waste a lovely dress…”

sanji had taken your arm, other hand tucked over the top of yours as if escorting a queen. he had required a full ten minutes and splashing cold water on his face to recover from first seeing you in the dress. it had taken an additional five minutes to convince him that he didn’t need to take it off just then and that getting ready all over again would further delay your night out, to which he countered that you getting ready again would definitely take longer than he would.

“so he told you to take me with you? like actually verbatim told you to bring me?”

“he also instructed me to make you buy me dinner and that a dress like this shouldn’t go to waste.”

sanji clicked his tongue and eyed you up and down again, “certainly not. the old geezer does have some wisdom sometimes…” you let sanji continue to guide you through the streets, talking about absolutely everything and sometimes nothing at all.

“do you think we’ll ever get out of here?”

“one day. i still think i’ll see the all blue.”

“i sincerely hope you do… before you’re old and bitter like zeff. if he ever lets you go…”

“oh, you would come with me. a man needs his guiding light. someone to keep him out of trouble…”

you inclined your head, eyes softening.

“please, darling. do i look like someone who could handle long distance? now really, love, sometimes not seeing you for an entire shift about does me in…”

you smiled to yourself, shifting to lean up against the banister to look up at him, “i suppose i would have to come with you… it would be horribly boring without you. i don’t think i could bear not having you here…”

sanji leaned in, voice softening, “you’ll always have me. i’m all yours…”

you kissed him softly as the waves met the shore, the sunset showing off her full colors as if trying to make the moment even more perfect.

“i’ll hold you to that, ji.”

“always…” he took both your hands and kissed you again, “i’ll prove it to you every day. if i have to work here forever just to be with you, so be it…“

“sanji…”

“i love you. i’ve always loved you. you’re the only thing that’s kept me sane in this damn place. you’re it for me, love. no matter what the baratie or all blue holds… nothing will ever compare to you.”

you felt tears in the corner of your eyes and were willing to bet he had just streaked your makeup, “shit, sanji.” you pushed him away playfully as you reached to wipe at your makeup.

“i promise… there’s nowhere in this world i’m going without you.” he held both of your hands, looking at you as if falling in love all over again.

“that’s quite a promise… almost sounds like a proposal.”

sanji’s mouth curved into a smile as he lowered his head to you, “if i had a ring for you i would put an eternal vow around your finger right now…”

you just stared at him— cursing yourself for wiping at your eyes too early. he still held both of your hands, glancing down at your intertwined fingers. you watched his eyes light up, expression turning to a fierce determination that you had only seen when being given compliments by customers— the look that he was sure of himself—

sanji dropped to one knee and pulled the ring off his own finger. his ring. the ring that had been on his finger since the day you met him. the ring that always clinked gently as he washed dishes, was sometimes cool to the touch when he looped a lazy arm around you and caught that small area of skin between your shirt and pants. the ring that he had told you the story of many times when you couldn’t sleep— of his life before zeff…

“i promise… with this ring… one day we will get out of here. or grow old together on the same damn ship… either way– i only want you.”

your knees nearly buckled as you collapsed into his chest, kissing him like you were deprived. sanji arms flew around you, grinning into the kiss as he stood to his feet, bringing you with him. your feet didn’t touch the ground as he held you in that kiss, arms locking you against him as if you hadn’t seen him in a very long time.

“i love you…” you muttered it against his lips, tilting your head to deepen the kiss once more.

“is that a yes?”

“of course, you idiot… you made me cry and everything.”

“apologies, love. i know you spent time on getting ready…”

you merely kissed him again to placate his concern.

“shall we get some of this to go?” sanji was eyeing the glass of wine in his hand, “we’ll have to thank the old geezer for dinner…”

“was it to the greatest chef in the world’s satisfaction?” you glanced at the empty plates between you, hand on your stomach.

“it was divine. i think they could do with a little less salt in their sauces, and i think i would have cooked the meat for a fraction second more so it truly fell off the bone…”

you eyed him with a small smile, eyes lighting up. you had your hand on your chin, watching him go into detail about the dishes he would add to the menu. “i think if this place got ahold of some of your berries or fruit trees, they could have the best deserts in the east blue.”

you shook your head with a small smile, “i believe that title goes to you.”

“not much of a baker, love…”

“nonsense. your birthday cakes and the pies you’ve made me have been better than anything the baratie serves…”

“i think you’ve had too much to drink.” he tipped his glass against yours, grinning like usual.

you eyed him with a playful smile, “i think we need dessert.”

“excellent idea. shall we get a menu?”

you hummed and stood up, “i have a better idea…”

you tipped a handful of coins onto the table and grabbed sanji’s hand. he trailed behind you without a single question, leaning into you slightly as you lead him along. sanji draped and arm over you as you crossed into the street again. the street lights were lit, vines crawling up them with flowers and a few fruits. you inhaled sharply, cutting sharply to admire the greenery.

“we should have flowering fruit vines on our ship… wouldn’t they be beautiful along the entrance? and people could pick the fruit while waiting to be seated…”

sanji was admittedly looking at you more than the plants. but your excitement and awe made his stomach and flip as he smiled down at you, “absolutely, love…” sanji picked one of the fruits and dropped it in his pocket, “think you can grow this from the seeds?”

your smile grew and you kissed his jaw, grinning, “of course i can.”

you tucked yourself under his arm once again, leaning into him as he pulled you closer. “i know this will be appalling to you…” sanji lifted his eyebrows in interest.

“but i saw a few food carts… a bakery, some gelato…”

sanji leaned in, “food made in a mobile kitchen that you then eat standing up?” his tone was playful.

“come on, sanji… not all the best parts of life can be lived sitting down.”

sanji sighed and trailed behind you, fighting back a comment that there was a great many things he enjoyed that were not done sitting down- or sometimes even laying down…

“why is this the greatest thing i’ve ever tasted?”

you grinned at him as you held out the mostly eaten pastry once again. he pushed it back towards you and leaned in for a kiss instead.

you hummed against him, melting into him slightly as you closed your eyes, “i have an idea…”

“i’m not sure i can eat another thing, love.”

“i was thinking maybe we see if there’s any rooms available in that little oceanside inn…”

sanji’s eyebrows shot up, grinning like a fiend.

“when’s the last time we’ve slept somewhere besides the damn ship? in a real bed… away from everyone else… with a room that doesn’t rock with the waves.”

sanji’s eyes nearly glazed over just thinking about it. “i should have thought of that… i shouldn’t call myself a hopeless romantic having not thought of that.”

you sprawled out on the too big mattress in the too fancy hotel room. sanji had his arms wrapped around you as you just closed your eyes, savoring the quiet, the normalcy— the lack of voices and yelling and pounding in the door.

“we could just stay here…” he traced small circles on your stomach, placing lazy tired kisses on your temple.

you hummed contently, glancing over at him between heavy eyelids.

“i’d bring you pastries from that bakery every day… spoon feed you gelato… give you more reasons to wear your fancy dresses… find a house with a garden…”

“that does sound nice…” you kissed him once, sitting up, “but you need to see the all blue. we haven’t seen enough of the world yet to settle down…”

sanji tucked his fingers between yours and closed his hand around your own. his thumb traced the ring of his you now wore before bringing your knuckles to his lips gently, “i’m happy wherever you are, my love.”

you had left sanji in bed, after what you deemed a very well deserved birthday morning wake up. you knelt in your garden, overlooking the waves and the restaurant that was not yet open to customers. you hummed at the sight of your berries, picking a few of each and popping them in your mouth. they were perfect. juicy and nearly exploding in your mouth before you could fully chew. you scooted your vegetable baskets to the side and procured a single, smaller basket. you dropped berries that you had handpicked in the small basket and closed the lid. you then moved to the final wheeled bin reserved for today’s apple and orange collection.

once nearly overflowing, you stood up with a content sigh. “there you are!” you glanced over your shoulder at the arrival of zeff. “good morning… do you need anything extra?”

zeff normally didn’t venture up to your rooftop garden— no one actually, was allowed in your little area of sanctuary. sanji and very rarely, zeff, were the only two that had not been threatened off or thrown over-ripe produce at.

“no, no… i just..haven’t been up here for a while. it looks wonderful. really, really amazing what you’ve done up here…”

your arms fell uselessly to your sides, wondering what the hell was coming– “thank you…”

“i know i don’t spend much time with you.”

you stiffened slightly, finding your thumb brushing against a mint leaf suddenly very interesting. “i do apologize. i just… it’s hard. i’ve never been- i’m not really… a people person.”

you smiled slightly to yourself, “at least you know that…” zeff actually laughed at this and the normalcy panicked you.

“i don’t know if i ever… you remind me of her. so much… your mother. i promised to look after you and i’ve done a pretty pathetic job.”

your eyes stayed fixed on the plants in front of you, heart hammering in your chest, “you’ve done satisfactory. i’m clothed and fed and have a place to live…”

“but do you truly live? do you experience life? outside of this restaurant? laughter, culture… love.”

your breath caught, head spinning slightly at his words. “i–”

“are you happy, little bug? is this garden truly a big enough world for you?”

you inhaled deeply, hands shaking slightly.

“you’re an adult… you can talk to me. you have never once asked me to leave. you have never once brought up getting away from this place…”

you fidgeted with the hem of your sleeve, closing your eyes against your racing mind. you collected a handful of cherry tomatoes in your hand and shifted them back and forth. you could tell him..

you could tell him everything—

if he knew sanji was the only thing keeping you there—

“i should have talked to you sooner... do you think there’s anything that happens on my ship without me knowing? do you think i don’t see the way he looks at you? the way you are with him…”

you closed your eyes, feeling like a weight was lifted from your chest.

“i forbid him from it, you know… i told him i would have him arrested or enlisted.”

your mouth quirked up, finally looking up at zeff with a small, guilty smile, “i know. he was willing to listen… he didn’t want to disrespect you. sanji, he’s…”

“he’s good. last night he nearly knocked out the cook to feed a customer that couldn’t pay… he stayed long after his ship, even though– i assume… he was going to meet you.”

you stood up, arms crossed, allowing yourself to smile. he hadn’t even told you that– he had merely apologized for being late and started on dinner despite you arguing that he did not need to cook for you every night.

“he’s the reason you stay…”

you nodded once, “i’m not going anywhere without him.”

there was a vow. a promise between the two of you… you could never imagine life without him. goddamn him, you would die in this ship if it meant growing old with vinsmoke sanji.

“can i ask you something?”

you shrugged stupidly in response, eyeing zeff softly.

“how long? how long have you been sneaking around as more than friends…”

your mouth twitched up, eyes falling on your finger that would have had the ring.

“since we were fifteen.”

“seven years…” zeff shook his head, looking torn between being impressed and disbelieving, “do you love him?”

“yes.” you didn’t even have to think about it. you didn’t hesitate or feel embarrassed to answer.

“and you’re sure?” zeff sighed in mild iritation, “you’re absolutely sure about him? ….him?”

you smiled to yourself and sighed, standing up to collect all your baskets. “sanji is the only thing i’ve ever been sure about…”

zeff cursed under his breath, rubbing his face as he paced, “goddamn it, kid.”

you just grinned, “if you try to forbid it, i will go out of my way to make the entire staff uncomfortable around us…”

zeff made a choking sound and waved his hands over his head, “i’m not that stupid, kid. i tried that already. and it turns out you’re worse than he is…”

you smirked slightly, “does this mean you approve?”

“hell, no. the two of you could take down the entire world if you tried… but he’s always loved you. and i clearly can’t stop it…” zeff rubbed his face again and shook his head. he exhaled again and looked up, face set in stone, “if i ever catch the two of you swapping spit, i’m chopping something off him.”

you had landed front of house shift and while listening to zeff cuss out half of the wait staff, you tied a black apron around your waist, anticipating yet another job assignment thanks to useless staff. sanji stuck his head out of the kitchen, looking tired but not the receiver of the cursing, “geezer says he wants you—“ his eyes landed on you tying the apron around your waist, “ah, you heard.” your mouth twitched up, eyeing him in amusement. you turned you back to him and sanji reached for your ties without being asked, placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder as he secured your apron. you tilted your head just slightly to meet his lips, “you’re going to get me in trouble…” sanji didn’t protest, though, as he leaned in to deepen the kiss, hands still on either side of your waist.

“oi! you two!” sanji jumped back, at zeff’s voice, though you followed him, fully intending to finish the kiss. “no time for that! customers are coming!”

you sighed, looking up at sanji with a slight pout at being interrupted.

“no distracting my chef! tonight is a big night.”

zeff was scolding you with a wisk and a steak knife and you only smirked, “he doesn’t get distracted. i don’t think there’s a single thing i could say that would distract him from food…” this was a blatant lie and likely even zeff knew it. sanji was always thinking about you, though he had become a professional at not letting it effect his cooking– he also tried very much not to think about you during work, but was thankful for an apron that covered the evidence of when that failed.

you squeezed sanji’s arm as he moved to follow zeff back into the kitchen. he turned to look at you once more, stealing one last quick kiss. you kissed him twice more, smiling into him, “be good. don’t get distracted…” your tone was playful, and sanji smirked, “and definitely don’t think about that time i wore nothing but your chef hat.”

sanji cursed as his knees buckled and he nearly collapsed. his hand grabbed onto the counter to catch himself, wide eyed, “why the hell would you say that?” his voice shook slightly, reaching desperately to adjust his suit and fix his hair.

you smirked to yourself, eyeing him innocently. he really did look wrecked. just one little comment and he was tripping over his own feet, breathing heavily. you grinned once more, kissing his cheek before sending him back towards the kitchen. sanji glanced behind him, looking very much like a scolded puppy you were sending away.

it was within the second hour of being open that you realized this night would be remembered as one from hell. waitressing was not your favorite thing on a good day, but now with a full house and only one competent waitress — you — you would be sure to tell zeff exactly what you thought about his staffing. you returned to the kitchen, sure you looked as run thin as you felt.

“table four sent the wine back again—“

there was a slam and a curse and you winced, “the hell for now!?” sanji had kept an eye on you all evening, watching you slowly run out of energy and a pleasant expressions.

“they say it’s not the ‘46.”

this time, even zeff peered over the corner, “not the 46? does he think we’re upselling him and bringing him cheap garbage?”

you sighed and opened your mouth to answer as a line cook pressed two fresh trays into your chest. you blinked slowly, eyeing them with a blank expression.

“come on, they’re hot!”

he pushed them further into your ribs and you nearly winced, “excuse me?”

sanji had looked up from his seering dish and it was a look you knew you would never be on the receiving end of. the cook had all but dropped the trays, wheeling around to get back to his station, not bothering to see if you had ahold of them. you scoffed as you adjusted to hold the trays, glaring daggers into the chef as he retreated without a second thought.

“excuse me…” sanji’s tone was calm, despite the tense expression on his face and the way he was forcing himself to breathe slowly, “apron off. you’ve got dishes now.”

“what?! sous chef, i— at least let me wait tables! she was just standing there! i’m sorry- we’re in a rush.”

“apron off. you’ve got dishes. you do not speak to or treat her like that and if you do it again, you’ll find yourself much worse off than dishes. and your sorry ass does not need to be the first thing the customers see.”

you fought back a smile as you shifted back into the dining area, suddenly looking much more pleasant and energized.

“pardon me, miss!”

you winced slightly, nearly toppling over as you turned to address the voice, “just give me one moment, i’m sorry!” you served the first table with all smiles and agreement, shifted completely around to slide the plates onto the next table before finally addressing the man that now had his hand up and was waving you over. you breathed deeply, summoning that charming customer service smile you had learned and perfected all those years ago.

“is there a problem?” your cheeks hurt from smiling and your tone was several pitches higher than natural.

“this is excellent. truly spectacular… i mean i’ve been here numerous times, but this…” you glanced down at his nearly empty plate and immediately recognized the fancy layout as sanji’s handiwork.

“thank you, sir.” this time your smile was genuine, “tonight’s chef puts a lot of care into his cooking… he will be thrilled to hear that.”

“is he— if it’s not too much trouble, could i compliment him?”

“oh, of course! he’s—“

before you could finish, there was a bottle slamming and raised voices, “sir! i assure you this is the wine you ordered. i have even brought the bottle out to prove it… perhaps you were mistaken and you might have wanted the 48 or even the 45.”

“with all due respect, kid— i know my wine! maybe you’d better stay in the kitchen with the things that don’t require acquired taste or special aging!”

you cursed under your breath and hoped you hadn’t just imagined the apology you uttered to the table you now rushed away from.

“with all due respect to you, sir. the ‘46 is a fine wine. even better than whatever you thought you were ordering. had you any sense of taste or sophistication, you would quickly realize that the food here is significantly better than even the wine and perhaps next time you’d better bring your date to a burger joint if your palate is so dullingly boring that you can’t see—“

you stepped in front of sanji quickly, seeing the man’s knuckles tighten in warning. “is everything good over here?” you pulled your best smile, hoping your voice shaking wasn’t noticeable.

“chef, table twelve would like to complement your—“

sanji’s hand tightened around the table as he leaned in, “at least someone appreciates art! all that money and not a lick of taste—“

you stepped further between the now nearly steaming marine and sanji, who had never once backed down from anything in his entire life.

“aw, the waitress is protecting the sous chef from getting hurt… how quaint. i’ll give you a bigger tip girl, if you step aside and let me land one right in his smart mouth.”

“sir, there’s really no need—“

“step aside please, love. someone needs to be taken down a peg— if he wants to take a swing at me, that is his right as the customer.”

you eyed sanji sharply, silently pleading with him not to cause a scene. he gave you a reassuring glance, using his palm to straighten his hair and taking a deep breath to regain composure, before glancing at you once more.

“i should think your services would be better suited elsewhere. wrangling an unruly chef and serving mediocre wine… i could pay you more just for your tit—“

the table went flying before you had taken a breathe. before you could throw your arm up to stop sanji from inevitably reacting. people were staring now. wide eyed in horror at the sous chef that had just punched a marine captain so hard that the table flipped. you scrambled to think of a way to keep sanji from being blamed and inevitably punished for this asshole’s behavior. the bastard’s date looked pissed that he had hit on you— storming out with a furious expression. sanji moved forward again and grabbed the man by the collar and you moved. your hand flew over your face, gasping with a hiccup as if you had been struck. sanji looked at you wide eyed, realizing what you were doing. the door to the kitchen opened and zeff stormed in, looking more red than the marine.

“what is this!?”

“your waiter attacked me!”

“sanji—“

“i’m the sous chef, you boarish—“

“he hit me.” you stared at your father with tearful eyes, hand still on your cheek.

“what!?” zeff roared— and if the entire restaurant hadn’t already been watching the scene, they were now. sanji moved towards you, hands around your shoulders protectively as zeff grabbed the man and dragged him towards the door.

“i didn’t hit her! i would never lay a hand on the lady! i merely complimented her figure and—“

there was cheers as zeff sent the man swiftly into the water with a swift press of his foot against the man’s tailbone. “i don’t serve creeps who hit on my daughter either!”

you cleared your throat and straightened your shoulders, wiping off your apron as if nothing had happened. sanji was eyeing you with a slight smirk, shaking his head slightly.

“you’re welcome.”

“it would have been worth getting in trouble for that bastard.”

“sanji.” zeff snapped his fingers as he returned to the kitchen, “try to make that your only time attacking a customer tonight…” you glanced at sanji with an amused smirk— he would have been verbally slaughtered if he had acted for any other reason but you…

“apologies, everyone…” sanji adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat, “i simply will not stand for anyone laying a hand on our gorgeous waitress, here…” you eyed him with all the adoration that was anything but subtle as the restaurant applauded. “now, who was wanting to compliment me?” you rolled your eyes slightly as you returned to refilling drinks, smiling to yourself that he was at least getting the attention he deserved.

sanji, having had it with the kitchen staff, had elected himself to be host at the front of the house and keep an eye on you and occasionally step in to serve tables. zeff had taken over for sanji and the yelling could occasionally be heard from the dining room. you met sanji’s gaze from across the room, to which he gave you a coy smile, silently taking bets on which one of you would have to inform zeff that he could be heard from the front door.

“right this way, madam, this absolute stunner will be your waitress and she’ll take wonderful care of you.” sanji shot you a wink and you nodded to him with a smile and the flush of your cheeks. zeff would have his head for flirting so publicly with you. he had no shame, however and his charm and your dynamic always got you both bonus tips. sanji shot you one more wink before returning to the next waiting couple, in which he would repeat his introduction to you, embellishing and getting more and more flirty each time.

you carried the final stack of plates into the kitchen, sanji on your heels with empty wine bottles cradled in his arms. his feet were dragging, apron dangling uselessly at his sides, the ties nearly tripping him as they dragged by his feet. you dropped the dishes unceremoniously into the sink, ignoring the glare of the exhausted dishwashers.

you side stepped the staff, ducking the cleaners and cooks that were closing for the night and leaned into sanji, exhaling in exhaustion. sanji draped his arms around you, kissing your temple.

“i have something for you. i’m too tired to put in the effort of surprising you…”

sanji eyed you, “you don’t get me gifts, love… i get you gifts and you just look pretty for me.”

you eyed him sharply, fighting the smile creeping onto your face. zeff stormed through the kitchen, chef had dangling from his hand, apron draped over his arm, “night from hell—“ he was muttering, scrubbing the stainless steel counter aimlessly.

“what are you two doing?”

you tensed slightly, glancing away from sanji with a blank look.

“go to bed! your shift is over! stop standing in my kitchen uselessly and making eyes at each other!”

sanji opened his mouth to counter, but you grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind you without another word.

sanji collapsed onto the bed with a sigh and a groan, stretching out full length, sprawled on his stomach. “i’m spent, love…”

sanji hadn’t gotten past stripping to his boxers and you paused to take him in, shamelessly. you pulled the box out of your drawer and shuffled over beside him before collapsing across his back, causing sanji to groan with a laugh. you dropped the box by sanji’s head and opened one eye.

“what is that?” he lifted his head with interest, eyes shifting to you questioningly.

“your surprise.”

“that looks like an extravagant surprise…”

“only the best for the world’s best chef.”

at this, sanji sat up and you rolled off him just enough to see his expression over his shoulder, “what have you schemed…”

you flipped open the box’s latch and sanji took his eyes off you to take in his surprise. he opened the wooden box to a small piece of paper, hand scribed with a small heart.

to the world’s greatest cook (and lover)

sanji eyed you with a soft expression, clearly already losing it at the card. you took the liberty of removing the card and uncovering the shiny blades underneath.

sanji inhaled sharply, sitting up further, so quickly you nearly fell off the bed.

“what are these?”

“kitchen knives… i assumed you would know that.”

sanji eyed you sharply, clearly not joking, “what— where did— why… why would you? i— when?”

you eyed him, running a thumb over his, “if you don’t like them i can give them to my father… but they are engraved with your initials so—“

sanji shut you up with a kiss, wheeling around so quickly, hand on the back of your neck to pull you in.

“you can’t have bought these— they’re… my love, what are these for?”

you kissed him once more, fingers stroking through his hair, “i did, thank you very much. specifically for you. consider it a ring…”

sanji lead you through the crowded street, hand around your waist, looking at you, rather than where he was going. “i’m telling you! i did not like how that man spoke to you.”

“i didn’t notice any sort of tone, ji.”

“it wasn’t just his tone! he was looking you up and down like he was trying to decide which part of you to eat first.”

“he was perfectly fine, i thought… i just wanted to try his mangoes. i haven’t quite gotten them to grow right…”

“and i think he wanted to try you.”

you shoved him playfully, eyeing him with a disbelieving smirk, “am i to cause a scene then, every time women look at you like you’re a meal?”

sanji’s brows furrowed, a smirk forming on his lips, “you do, love. that bartender batted her eyelashes at me and you nearly crawled inside me, until she moved away from me…”

you narrowed your eyes slightly, “she could see that i was right there! glaring at her clearly wasn’t enough.”

sanji snorted, “i think it’s quite endearing, love. you being jealous, as if i even see anyone else in the world.”

“you have a rather flirty personality…”

“get better tips that way. as i recall i have never once directly complemented a woman’s looks or called her anything that you get called daily.”

“it’s the tone, sanji.”

“do you want me to loudly pronounce my love for you to every table? i apologize, madam, i will not be friendly with you because my fiance exists and i shall only ever lay eyes on her!”

you were laughing now and that only made sanji carry on all the more, “i’ll do it, you know! don’t think i won’t. if you want me to never speak to another woman, i wouldn’t. if you want me to walk around blindfolded on a leash, i’ll do it.”

this time you snorted, looking up at him with a loving expression and shaking your head, practically grinning from ear to ear, “you’re insane…”

“you know i’m committed.”

“i have never once doubted…”

sanji crashed through your door with a curse and his hand running through his hair. you paused, eyeing him with raised eyebrows. even though clearly irritated and possibly enraged, he still held himself calm and collected. you nodded to the bed, silently urging him to sit. sanji began pacing instead, to which you eyed him sharply.

“sanji, you’ll stress my plants out.”

“i’m sorry, love…”

sanji finally sat, only once you did– on the floor rather than the bed– leaning back between your legs. you ran loose fingers through his hair, sighing to yourself at how much it actually relaxed you to play with his hair. he smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and kitchen grease and you breathed him in fully. “what happened now?”

“nothing… just a fight.”

“a fight?” you pulled his hair sharply so he was glancing awkwardly back at you. he winced, inhaling sharply, though there was a slight smirk on his face at the gesture— he had never been one with an aversion to hair pulling…

“sanji–“ your tone was scolding, which made him smirk all the more, “you can’t just—“

“it was self defense. the bastard tried to punch me… all i did was correct him in front of his date.”

you eyed him, sighing.

“then he snapped at his date and the table just… ended up broken. all the food gone to waste, glasses of wine all over the floor. quite the mess…”

your mouth twitched up slightly, “did she at least tip you?”

sanji smirked to himself, letting his head fall back fully so it rested on his thigh and he looked up at you. “she did. though i expect she was after something a bit more, after a failed date…”

you smacked him and he grunted with a laugh, “don’t worry love, i work even harder to get tips from you–“

you smacked him again but this time you held a devious smirk, “aren’t i usually the one working to get your tips?”

sanji made a violent choking sound, snapping into an upright position. his face had gone red– something he should have been used to after all the years of comments and flirting back and forth– and he coughed once, hand over his chest as if he was having a heart attack. you watched him in amusement, eyebrow lifted with that same smirk. he recovered— somewhat— and adjusted his jacket and cleared his throat, “i assure you, darling. those you don’t have to work for at all.”

you smirked again, looking down at him in amusement, “take a break… smoke if you open the window.”

sanji kissed your jaw, smiling, “old geezer says i’m grounded from customers for the rest of the night.”

you lifted an eyebrow, grinning to yourself, “probably not a bad idea… i’ll come down and entertain you when the rush is over.”

“as i recall, you entertaining me isn’t allowed in the kitchen.”

you just eyed him again as he lit his cigarette and continued to smirk.

the kitchen was packed and the dining room had not emptied of customers at all. there was a loud group at table four, and you couldn’t help but stare at them. they were so out of place. sticking out like sore thumbs— not dressed up in the least, not at all acting as though they were in a five star restaurant. they laughed too loud and their clothes were too bright. they stuck out so strikingly in the baratie— they didn’t belong there at all. yet your feet started moving towards them.

“you just told me—“

“table four, sanji!”

the loud table. obnoxious and amused. laughing over a table of waters— clearly not having been served yet. sanji was already glaring when he strode in, though his eyes lit up when he saw you.

you had approached the table yourself— curious about this group and feeling a strange pull towards them.

“you lot seem hungry…”

the table fell silent three pairs of eyes met you— intrigued, interested, interested in more ordering

“it’s been a long time since we’ve eaten!”

“shut up, luffy.”

“well then you’ve come to the right place! our sous chef is the best cook in the east blue. possibly even the world.”

the man with green hair observed you, lowering his beer bottle and tilting his head, “you seem biased.”

“i might be. but i could get you to sample some things not on the menu. you could let me know with an unbiased opinion based only on experience.”

green hair lifted an eyebrow, now eyeing you fully. the girl between them looked between them before keeping her attention on the guy in the straw hat— who looked overjoyed.

“that sounds amazing! i will eat anything!”

“luffy, i think she meant— i think she’s just…”

“we don’t have any money.”

you glanced between straw hat and his friends, waiting for one of them to laugh. green hair exhaled slowly, closing his eyes in an expression you had seen sanji make when trying very hard not to start a fight. and his female friend, who just stared at him in disbelief.

you glanced between the three, knowing if you had learned a single thing from zeff you should throw them all out and never give them a second thought.

“give me a moment…”

you turned slowly, hand on sanji’s chest as he approached you and the table. his mouth was open, preparing to greet the colorful table, when you pushed him back gently, guiding him away from the tables.

“everything okay, love?”

you winced, tilting your head slightly, “they don’t…have money.”

sanji glanced over your shoulder, eyebrows raised. you exchanged a glance, noting the trio’s uneasy— or in straw hat’s case, enthusiastic— eyes.

“you know what zeff or chef would do.”

you nodded, crossing an arm over yourself while keeping your other on sanji’s chest, “they said they’re hungry… they haven’t eaten in a while.”

sanji’s posture straightened, eyes shifting to you softly before glancing back at the table. “understood.” he brushed past you without another word and you trailed behind him enthusiastically.

“any preferences? what are we in the mood for?”

“booze.”

sanji eyed green hair, unimpressed– before looking to the other two. “i’ll eat anything. i like meat. i really like meat…” sanji blinked slowly, glancing to you in silent question. your mouth twitched up slightly. “but i was telling your friend, we don’t have any money—“

“she’s too pretty to be my friend, mate.”

“sanji—“

sanji glanced over to you with a wink before turning back to the table, “not a problem.”

this time the other two perked up, “what?”

“no one leaves here hungry…”

you ducked and shifted around sanji as he cooked and you brought him ingredients. you ignored the glares and questions from the rest of the staff and kept your attention fully on sanji. you had a small smile on your face as you watched sanji plate up a more than full serving, only glancing at you occasionally when he noticed you staring.

“i won’t let you get in trouble for this…” you shifted a tray onto your shoulder, following sanji back out into the dining room.

“let the old geezer try…”

“you gave the entire table free food!? what is possibly in your head, sanji!?”

“i don’t let people go hungry…”

you kept your back straight, glancing between the chef and your father in silence.

“you idiot! this is a restaurant not a charity!”

sanji said nothing, calmly placing a mint leaf on a slice of chocolate cake.

“that better not be for them!”

sanji passed three plates of cake to you, eyeing you knowingly. you turned slowly, carrying the plates back out to the dining room.

“stop! i will not let you serve more customers free food!” the chef positioned himself in front of you, arms on your shoulders.

you stared at him, daring, glancing slowly down at his hands on you. “let go of me.”

“you are not giving away my food! owner’s daughter or not! you’re acting like a spoiled brat and you two are nothing but a thorn in this place’s side!”

sanji had shoved the chef roughly, shelves clattering as his back slammed into them. you ducked as a fight broke out, adjusting the desserts on your arm as you returned to the same table. the fight carried through the kitchen doors and through the dining area and nearly to the front door.

you sighed as you placed the plates down, not missing the way the table’s eyes were on sanji with wide eyes. sanji took a hit to the jaw and you cursed under your breath.

“who is he?”

“clearly he’s more than a cook…”

you didn’t glance back to respond, “he’s sanji. my fiance…”

zeff had appeared and tore the pair apart, throwing the chef back into the kitchen and dragging sanji back to his feet.

“you!” zeff pointed to straw hat, who looked up, chocolate frosting on his nose, wide eyed, “you’re working that off.”

straw hat stood up, grinning, “sure! just call me your chore boy.”

zeff grunted, clearly expecting an argument or protest. he grunted once more, gesturing for him to follow.

you pulled sanji along by the tie, earning a slight groan as he wiped at his bleeding nose.

you pushed sanji down into a chair in the kitchen and knelt between his legs, “did you have to hit him?”

“he put his hands on you.”

you scoffed softly, nudging him slightly as you shifted the bandages into his hand. you tilted his chin up slightly, eyeing him disapprovingly, “you need stitches. he got you good…”

“but i didn’t lose.”

you sighed, glaring at him softly.

behind you, there was a clatter of dishes and a quiet apology. you glanced up at straw hat in amusement, “what do you think his deal is?”

“clinically insane, perhaps.”

“say, you’re pretty good at that!” you lifted an eyebrow as straw hat’s eyes were now on you.

“and you’re a good fighter. we could definitely use someone like you… and it would be awesome to have a cook on the ship.”

you both just stared at him, clearly sharing expressions.

“i’m monkey d. luffy. i am sailing to the grand line with my crew, and one day i will find the one piece be king of the pirates.”

“that’s very ambitious…” you swatted sanji’s hand away as he reached up to fight your fingers off his face.

“what about you? do you have any dreams?”

“everyone has dreams, luffy.”

“you should come with us.”

you didn’t look up, though your mouth twitched slightly, “become pirates with you?”

“that’s right!”

“you’ve just met us. quit—“ you pushed sanji’s head back again and he smirked up at you slightly.

“you served us anyway…. i told you we couldn’t pay and you didn’t hesitate. that doesn’t seem like a fun star chef to me. and your food is amazing. better than anything else here.”

you glanced over, now realizing he was eating all the leftovers from every plate before cleaning them. he wiped his face with his arm, dripping soap suds on you as he did. you blinked once again, turning fully to now look at him.

“we could use you too. we’re always getting injured… and it seems like a bad idea to separate the two of you.”

sanji had stood up and now looked luffy over with amused interest, “and why is that?”

“i can see it. the entire time i’ve been talking you only looked at each other. even when i mentioned getting you out of this place.”

“it’s a nice offer.” you returned the first aid kit under the sink before taking the stack of dishes from luffy.

“you mean you’re happy here?”

you kept your eyes on the stack of plates, though you knew both eyes were on you.

“i could never leave the old man. after everything…”

“you should go with him.”

you nearly hit your head on the counter, with how fast you stood up. there was a palm thrown out between your head and the metal shelf and you glanced over to see luffy, still standing the same spot, arm outstretched to cushion your head.

he was— rubber?

you looked at sanji for answers, but he was only looking at zeff. zeff stood with his arms crossed, taking the two of you in like you were being scolded once again as children.

“what?”

clearly you had misheard him.

this place wouldn’t last without sanji— you wouldn’t—

“go with him, kid.”

what?

“what?”

“i have no use for you anymore. you’re making trouble, you’re always getting into fights! you’re making too many fancy dishes i have no need for!”

sanji stood, dumbstruck. he looked like a scolded puppy and you just watched, frozen.

“you’re crazy, old man! what would you do without me? i can’t just leave! you know i can’t!”

“i would be just fine without you! you get out of here! go see the world! find the all blue! start your restaurant…”

sanji was numb. he hadn’t moved an inch, wide eyed and statuesque.

you would go with him—

you couldn’t—

not without—

“sanji.”

luffy eyed him, still grinning, “what do you say?”

he had his way out… the first time it had ever been dangled in front of him. the first time it had ever seemed like a possibility—

“i can’t. i’m sorry. i can’t be your cook. i can’t leave…”

you felt like you were falling. relief washed through you, but a guilt twisted inside you.

“you stupid boy… you idiot girl.”

your attentions snapped back to zeff, furious and speechless.

zeff lifted his hand, flicking a single object to sanji in a clean shot. sanji caught it, wide eyed, brows furrowed.

“i wasn’t stupid enough to suggest you leave without her. i thought it was a given…”

you felt tears stinging in your eyes at the weighty realization of his words. your father’s tearful eyes met yours and it felt like a slap.

“you wouldn’t stay here even if i forbid you from going with him.”

sanji opened his palm and stared down at the object in it. his knees nearly gave out from the sheer shock of it. he looked to you, eyes lighting up, face set in determination.

“it was her mother’s. the only thing i ever got right…”

you were trembling slightly, heart hammering in your chest like a drum. surely—

there was a catch—

“sanji.”

he had turned to you, mouth curved up in that smirk that meant he knew something you didn’t. he glanced at zeff, who gave a single, approving nod.

“is it still yes?”

sanji opened his palm to reveal a small blue stoned ring. your mother’s. you nodded— because what else could you do—

you were leaving.

you were traveling the world.

your father—

you were rushing forward before you realized it, hugging zeff for the first time ever.

“i’m sorry i was a lousy father.”

you just shook your head, clinging to him like you never had.

“thank you. for everything…”

“i don’t do tearful goodbyes, kid… go on. get out of here before i change my mind. get that punk out of my sight…”

you laughed and wiped your eyes.

“take care of him. he needs you more than you need him… i expect you to come back for a wedding. captains are ordained, after all.”

you grinned, stepping away from him and taking sanji’s hand. zeff blinked away a tear and cursed to himself. he cleared his throat and waved his arm, “get out of here, i mean it. you’re both more trouble than you’re worth and now you’re someone else’s problem.”

sanji had slid the ring on your finger with a tender kiss to your knuckles. he gave one last glance to zeff and they both hoped the expression shared between them said everything.

[blond3ang3l]

°

Toji who catches you "moving on" after not answering his text for a full week making him absolutely lose his shit.

It wasn't like you guys were on bad terms. It was actually quite the opposite! It only didn't work out because you had left to go on a two year trip across the world, but now you were back and fuck it hurt to see you all happy. He missed you. He didn't want to be just friends anymore now that you were back home.

Everyone's getting cussed out for some reason or another. No one could ever breathe around this nigga before he would tell them to basically shut the fuck up. He was itching to get some time off just so he could see you again, and when he did, oh he was pissed.

There was no knocking at your door. His ass never gave you back your key, so he walked in like he owned the place. Heavy footsteps filled the room as he stepped in. You had been lying in bed when he suddenly came in causing you to scream. He rolled his eyes before moving to sit at your vanity

"Relax it's just me...you still haven't changed this place huh?"

"You're actually insane. How did you get into my place? Matter of fact, what are you possibly doing here."

"Needed to talk to you. Felt like shit this past week since you haven't answered."

"Haven't answered? What are you- oh! Oh shit I must have forgot to hit send. I am so sorry Jiji. I totally meant to respond but I guess I didn't hit send."

Somehow that actually made it a little bit harder for him. Knowing you still cared for him almost made him feel sick. He hadn't felt this type of love since his ex-wife. You had been there for him throughout all of it, he couldn't beat to lose you to some boy.

"I needed to talk to you baby. For real."

"Is everything okay Ji?"

"No- yes. Fuck I don't know. I just missed you so much."

"Oh! Toji you should have just called me we could have hung out."

"No. I missed you. Missed waking up to you. Missed spending the night with you after putting megumi to bed. I miss the pillows smelling like you when you're gone at work. I need for all your stuff to be in my room again. The house feels so dull without pinches of you being expressed through all your decorations. Hell Megumi misses us being a family. More than anything though, I never got over you."

"Toji-"

"I know. It's weird and creepy of me but... I just can't stop thinking about you. M' too old to be playing back and forth with people. I need someone like you. I need you in my life."

"No. No Ji. I was gonna say I missed you too. Fuck I wish I stayed with you most nights. Yeah I had fun, but it would have been better with you with me. I still love you Toji. You're the only man for me."

Hearing this made him so happy that he felt breathless.

"Fuck baby you don't know how much I needed to hear that."

With that, he leaned in and smashed his lips against yours. A kiss that he waited years for. Finally, he was whole once again.

[jqtsblyth]

jesus. fucking. christ.

[m00ngel]

Smash no hesitation

[tojisteddy]

Y’all don’t like ‘kitten.’ y’all don’t like ‘princess.’ Yall don’t like ‘baby girl.’ y’all don’t like rough play, y’all don’t like fluff, you don’t like smut, y’all don’t like anything taboo (from fictional power imbalances to daddy k!nk), y’all don’t like short fics, y’all don’t like long fics—

YALL DONT LIKE NOTHING. OMG STFU 😫😫😫

[blond3ang3l]

KILL THAT NIGGA KLAY IMMEDIATELY

[tralawre-deactivated20260603]

f! reader.

Shanks wasn't a one woman type of man. He was like a dog on heat, needing to swoon every woman in sight and take them to his bed for a one night thing. He didn't care much about their tears, or if they threw things at him, he didn't want to drag anyone down with him. That was until you joined the crew. You, perfect as ever, denying him everything about you.

"Y/N, how's my favourite girl doing?" He put one arm around your shoulder, drunk, and in need of a kiss from you.

"She's busy, contact your other thousand favourite girls and leave her alone." You say, speaking in third person deliberately, and when he pressed his cheek to yours you scowl. "Captain, I'm trying to work!"

"I love you."

"Good for you. Now scram."

Shanks pouts, his hands on your stomach. If this was anyone else, you'd smack them across the face, but this was Shanks, the man you silently love but know that he will never seriously love you back.

You sigh. "I don't do one night stands, Shanks, I'm a serious woman. I love love, I love the experience of falling in love, and doing things with a man whilst being in love with them. I'm a forever woman, and you're a one night man. This won't work. If anything, it'll create a drift between us and I will leave."

Shanks sobered up. He hiccuped. "I was a one night man, but I'll be a two night man for you. A three night man, a four night man, a forever night man. I want you by my side always."

"Words can be empty." You say, flicking his forehead. Your Captain wasn't the type of man to lie about something like this.

"Not always. I'll show you that I want you forever, pretty, just trust me, yeah?"

That conversation was years ago, and that trust in him is what led to the two of you being married for about a decade. He was now the Emperor of the Sea and as loyal as ever.

At his side, a woman at the bar tried to hit on him, but Shanks shut it down. "Can't you see my pretty lady?" He slurred, placing a sloppy kiss to the side of your cheek before dragging you down with him to the floor, laughing happily when you laugh with him. "She's all mine."

[reesespiveces]

thinking of SIMONRILEY staging a break in, in the middle of the night to test his sweet country wife.

he waits until he knows you’re down for the night. you were under the guise that simon wouldn’t be home for another week or so and with that he makes his plan. simon trusts you wholeheartedly, he knows you’d take a bullet for him and vice versa, especially for your newborn child. his intentions are to see what you’d do in these very real situations, because simon does have enemies.

simon goes the whole nine yards, cuts the power, busts a window and climbs though and everything. he has installed cameras but he’d made sure to cut off any access to them.

simon wanted you terrified.

imagine his surprise when he bursts into your bedroom to “attack” you and you’re sitting on the bed in an oversized shirt with a 12 gauge pointed in his direction — your new born hidden behind you and surrounded by pillows for safety.

but only simon has at least two seconds before your firing off a round in his direction—that just barely misses his right ear by a few inches. he has another five as he watches you cock the shotgun to fire another round at him but he’s able to stop you before.

“down bird—it’s jus’ me lovie.”

he snatches the black balaclava off, right hand raised in surrender as your baby screams bloody murder behind you from the thunderous clap of the shotgun.

the calmness in his voice isn’t what takes you by surprise, anger and pure disbelief flooding your veins as your baby’s cries get louder and louder. not only did you almost just kill your fucking husband but now there’s a big ass hole in the wall of your bedroom that’s you spent weeks choosing the wallpaper for.

the cherry on top being your newborn now wide awake because of simon’s stupid shenanigans.

“simon!?!? what the fuck!? i could’ve killed you. are you fucking insane!?”

the next couple of hours consist of you rocking your baby while calling simon every rendition of an idiot you could come up with.

as you bitch him out, the sadistic fucker can only look at the mother of his baby with hearts in his eyes.

even if he knew it would take a while for you to forgive him for this little stunt.

©REESESPIVECES ( 2026 )

[sophville]

Love In The Dark — F. Shanks

Shanks x Secret Wife! Reader

Author Note: HAPPY 300 FOLLOWERS EVERYONE!! On another fic I’m writing (coming soon…) I said i was becoming a Sanji fanfic page, I stand corrected.

Summary: No one would ever imagine that Red Hair Shanks was married. Even when he begs the crew to visit Foosha Village when they are remotely close to the island.

——————————————————————————

Playlist:

Talk — Hozier

(I love how he sings ‘Eurydice’ in this song)

Jackie and Wilson — Hozier

(I love Hozier SO FREAKING MUCHHH)

——————————————————————————

You’d met Shanks when he was first forming his crew.

You were working at the bar in Foosha Village with Makino. The young pirate captain had swooped in, used his charming smile and smooth talk, and within hours you were hooked.

Shanks’ ass was practically glued to the bar stool sat directly in front of you for the whole night. Makino periodically scolding you for getting distracted, especially by a man that you’d most likely never see again.

Yet despite all odds he managed to come back. Every chance he got. And always ended up in your home, in your bed. Even when the years passed, one, three.

The proposal was on a whim, not planned whatsoever.

You and Shanks were in bed, the early days of Sun shone through your windows. Shanks watched as you slept, tenderness clear in his eyes, a sight he’d kill his crew for if they were to have found him. Your naked bodies entangled with the others, your head resting on Shanks’ chest.

You let out a deep breath, the warm air ticking Shanks’ skin. Your eyes fluttered open, “Mornin’…” you smiled softly. Shanks only stared for a moment longer, “Would you marry me?” He spoke without thinking.

The thought wasn’t entirely unappealing to you.

Shanks realized what he’d said to you, falling back into bed, hand over his face. You laughed, crawling over him once more. “Do you mean it?” You asked. Shanks moved his hand from his eyes, allowing himself to get a peak at you.

Your cheeks were tainted pink, smile still plastered on your face, chin resting on his chest. You’d known each other for two years now, never really addressing this thing you two had. But it was obvious that it was there.

Slowly Shanks nodded, “Yeah. Would you…?” He whispered. You beamed, smile stretching your face, you nodded, “Yeah. I would.” You cupped his cheeks, kissing him.

The ceremony— if it could even be considered that… was quiet. Shanks didn’t speak a word of this to the Red Hair pirates, so when he left at night they didn’t question him. He was the captain after all.

When you walked down the aisle Shanks cried. He was never one to shy away from showing his emotions, but crying wasn’t something a crowd of people got to experience often.

You were just so beautiful.

The dress wasn’t extravagant, it didn’t need to be.

All that mattered was that you were there, beside him, wearing matching bands on your ring fingers.

Shanks wore his wedding ring on a chain around his neck, the crew never questioned him.

Again, he was the captain.

You never took your ring off, Makino would questioned who wore the other, but you’d deflect and change the subject.

——

Your life flipped upside down when little Luffy showed up on the island. Making the bar his new hideout.

You’d taken Luffy in, though he’d sneak off every so often. Over time he’d become a son to you.

Luffy usually came home for supper or whenever he was hungry— which was a lot of the time— so your home was no longer quiet from your nights alone.

Shanks hadn’t visited in quite some time now.

You were getting worried, was he lost? Had he forgotten about you? Was he dead?

Those thoughts didn’t plague your mind for long, because in the dead of night you felt your bed dipping, strong arms wrapping around you.

You turned to face your intruder, pulling the knife from under your pillow. You held it to the persons throat, “Shanks!” You exclaimed, dropping the knife and throwing yourself into him, causing you two to fall off the bed.

Shanks held you close, making sure he hit the ground first. You both laughed, blankets now half tugged off the bed too, “You idiot I was beginning think you’d died.” You buried your face into the crook of his neck.

Shanks moved his hand, brushing your hair (or head). “I couldn’t bear to do that to you, love.” He whispered.

“(NAME)!”

Luffy bursted into your room, a bat his height raised over his head, “Luffy!” You rushed over to him, taking the bat out of his hand, “what are you doing with this? How did you get this?” You questioned the little boy, “I heard a noise and I thought you were in trouble.” He looked up at you with wide eyes.

You crouched to his level, kissing his forehead, “My hero~” you cooed, lifting him into your arms, “Who’s this?” Shanks spoke up from behind you, “My son.” You spoke without hesitation, “SON?!” Shanks went through thousands of emotions, calculating the times, this kid couldn’t possibly be your son, right? RIGHT?

“Well not biological at least.” You added.

Shanks sighed in relief, though he didn’t know why, he had his own little devil on the ship.

Luffy yawned in your arms, rubbing his eyes, “Tired?” He nodded his head, eyes half closing. You carried Luffy to his room, tucking him in and giving him a final forehead kiss.

You made your way back to your room, finding yourself in Shanks’ arms once more. His hands snaking around your waist, “So is this a bad time to mention that I have a daughter too?” Shanks smiled sheepishly, pecking your lips, “You? A daughter?” You laughed a little too hard.

“I’m serious,” he lifted you, bringing you to the bed you two had shared many times before, “found her in a chest.” You hummed, “Just like you then.” Shanks laid on top of you, you rubbed in between his shoulders; Shanks’ muscles relaxed instantly.

Shanks had told you more things of his past than any other person. He knew he could trust you.

“So we both got busy on our alone time.” You spoke, Shanks breath tickled your neck as he laughed, “How’d you get stuck with him?” He asked, “He’s Vice Admiral Garp’s grandson, he dropped Luffy off on this island and I’ve been taking care of him ever since.” You explained.

Shanks stayed silent for a moment. Then lightly kissed your neck, “Suppose we should get some rest then?” “Or…”

Let’s just say you didn’t get much sleep. Luckily for you two, Luffy slept like a rock.

Shanks snuck out early in the morning— before the sun rose— back to his ship. His crew was passed out on the deck, but that didn’t stop Shanks.

With his arms outreached, Shanks tiptoed over and around arms, legs, and heads. In a few minutes Shanks had made it back to his own cabin without stirring one crew mate.

Except for his little devil.

Uta.

“Where were you?” She demanded, a little louder than necessary. “Sh, shh,” Shanks scooped his daughter into his arms, “what are you, my mother?” He joked. “You’re deflecting.” She crossed her arms, Shanks needed to think of something. Quick.

“I was out with a friend.” He blurted out. Perfect. You’d beat him if you heard him say that. Uta narrowed her eyes, “This friend wouldn’t happen to be a girl, hm?” Was she catching on? No way.

“I-I mean yeah, but boys and girls can just be friends, you know?” He reasoned. Uta thought, and for a moment Shanks thought he was in the clear.

Until Uta’s eyes glanced at this neck. “I don’t think friends leave those marks on friend’s necks.” She smirked. Damnit. Shanks could’ve argued ‘friends with benefits’, but he wasn’t about to explain thag to his infant daughter. Plus, she should see what he’d done to you— scrap that, maybe she shouldn’t…

Shanks sighed. This might’ve been something he could hide from his crew, but it was obvious Uta wasn’t going to let this go anytime soon.

“I was with my wife.”

Shanks admitted quietly, entering his room. Uta blinked a few times. “WI—?!” Shanks covered her mouth before she woke anyone with her screaming, “o do ta me I av a moter?” Uta’s voice was muffled by Shanks’ hand, which he quickly removed when she licked it. “What did you say?” “So does that mean I have a mother?” Uta could barely contain her excitement.

She’d never had a mother before, of course she’d be excited about this.

Shanks sat on his bed, Uta propped on his knee. You had a ‘son’ of your own, but you didn’t seem completely bothered that he had a daughter either.

“Would you want to meet her tomorrow?” He asked, voice light. Uta eagerly nodded her head, “Mhm!” Shanks laughed quietly, “Alright, that means you need to go to bed,” Uta hopped off his knee, “oh, and Uta?” She turned back to face her father, “Yeah dad?” “This remains our little secret, right?” Shanks held his finger to his lips, the ‘quiet’ motion. Uta nodded, copying his action and continued on her way to her room.

Shanks woke groggily to someone— he knew very well who it was— bouncing on his bed. “Uta, five more minutes…” Shanks rolled over.

In retaliation, Uta ripped the blankets off him, “C’mon! You told me you’d introduce me to your wife.” She whispered the word like the Marines would arrest her if they heard it.

Shanks groaned, rolling again to face his daughter. Uta’s wide bright eyes boring into his. “Alright…” Shanks sat up, scratching his head, yawning. “Hurry, hurry!” She ushered him, pulling his arm and dragging him out of bed, “Okay, give me a minute to get ready.”

Shanks shooed Uta out of his room— to which Uta sat directly across from the door— and got dressed in his usual clothing. This time, Shanks removed his ring from the chain, sliding it on the respective finger.

Uta bounced up as Shanks opened the door, “Let’s go!” She took his hand once more, Shanks letting her lead the way off the ship. Once on the ground Shanks led the way to your home, though you were probably out in the forest with Luffy doing Gods know what.

Shanks let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the house he was sneaking out of only a few hours ago. He opened the door, the only light was the sun filtering through the windows, “Love?” Shanks called out, “In the back!” He heard your voice in the distance.

Following the source, Shanks and Uta ended in the backyard. The sight in front of them was you and Luffy— mostly Luffy— covered in dirt, various flowers and veggies planted into the ground or in vases waiting to be planted.

Uta had hidden herself behind Shanks’ leg, “Didn’t expect guests.” You stood, wiping your hands and making your way to your husband. Giving him a well deserved kiss when you reached him, “Clearly.” He teased, wiping some dirt off your face.

“And who’s this?” You crouched to Uta’s level, Luffy joining you by your side. Shanks gently nudged Uta forward, “This is Uta,” Shanks crouched down too, “Uta, this is (Name), my wife.” You offered the little girl a small smile, “It’s nice to meet you Uta,” the little girl nodded, cheeks tinted with pink, “this is my son, Luffy.”

Luffy was practically vibrating with joy, reaching his hand out and grabbing Uta’s “Nice to meet you, let’s go play!” He dragged her off into the garden, “Careful for the open holes!” You called out after them, knowing Luffy— who was just like Shanks— he tossed caution to the wind. Not even a minute later tripping into a hole he’d dug himself.

You and Shanks laughed at your children, “She really wanted to meet you, you know?” Shanks faced you. You hummed, handing him a drink, “And Luffy is going to be begging you to take him with you.” You chuckled, the little boy was filled with so much ambition.

You two sat on the back deck, the evening sun warming your skin, Shanks’ arm around you; holding you close, watching Luffy and Uta run around with endless energy.

This was something that Shanks thought he’d never get. The calmness and peace of such an easy life. Right at the tip of his fingers, a home, a wife, kid— now kids— he always looked forward to coming back to.

Of course there were times that Shanks so desperately wanted to take you with him, but he couldnt do that to you. He couldn’t have you constantly in harms way, his one weakness in enemies grasps.

So Shanks takes his time. Letting this moment sink into his bones, it might be a while before he’s able to see you again.

He should just come clean to his crew, shouldn’t he? They’re probably already suspicious.

A knock at your front door snapped you two out of the little bubble. You kissed Shanks’ cheek, scratching his stubble, and stood, “I’ll get it.” Walking inside and opening the front door.

Benn Beckman stood before you, cigarette in his mouth. “Hello miss—” his eyes caught your glinting ring in the sunlight “—or missis… Uhm, sorry, but have you seen our captain?” You felt bad for the first mate of your husband, “Oh, no—” “—Benn, what brings you out here!” Shanks’ voice boomed behind you, making you jump out of your skin. The sounds of pattering feet stop behind you too, Luffy and Uta each grabbing one of your legs.

Benn just stared for a moment, “Erm… we are getting ready to pack up, we just need final confirmation on some last items.” Shanks nodded. Leaving? Shanks hadn’t told you that he was leaving. He only just got back. “You’re leaving already?!” You demanded, Shanks scratched the back of his head. “Tomorrow, yeah.”

Luffy and Uta both ‘Aw’ed in disappointment, their small bodies running around once more, “I’ll— just go back to the ship—” before Benn could take a step away Shanks spoke, “And Benn. This stays between us.” You hadn’t heard Shanks be this serious before, this was his biggest secret. You were his biggest secret. Benn looked over his shoulder, “No need to worry, your secrets safe with me, captain.”

Shanks kissed your forehead, stepping out for a moment to check how packing was going, promising that you two would talk once he got back. Leaving you with the two children, “Food?” Luffy questioned, him and Uta already sitting at the dining table, “Food.” You repeated, making dinner for your new little family.

By the time Shanks got back Uta and Luffy were fast asleep in Luffy’s room— you’d tucked them both in. Making your way to your room again, you sat on your bed, eyes drifting over to the framed photo on the bedside table.

It was an old-ish photo, you and Shanks on your wedding day. You both wore large happy smiles, you were in Shanks’ arms— like you belonged there— and his eyes were solely on you, because you Shanks? You were his world.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, love.” Shanks stepped into the room, noticing the frame you were holding. He sat beside you, the bed sinking, making you lean into him.

“Do you have to leave so soon?” You mumbled, Shanks took the frame from you, thumb brushing over your face underneath the clear glass. “The sea waits for no man.” He replied, smirking at his own remark. “Then take me with you.” You pulled his collar, forcing Shanks to face you.

Shanks sighed, “You know I can’t,” he knew more than anything that he very much could take you, it’s just that he wouldn’t let himself to it. “Please, don’t be mad.” Shanks caressed your cheek, the warmth of his skin flushed on yours.

You wanted so badly to be mad, but you couldn’t find it in yourself. “I hate you.” You turned your head away from him, hiding your face. Shanks chuckled, pressing his face to the side of yours. His lips tickled your cheek as he spoke, “You’re such a bad liar.” Finishing with pressing his lips to the soft skin.

Shanks laid on the bed, his hands outstretched— hovering over your skin, the heat lingering. “Please, my love. Please lay with me for one last night.” Desperation laced through Shanks’ voice, as if this would be your last night together.

You complied, your bodies seemingly moulding into one. Shanks held you close as ever, whispering sweet nothings into your hair, hand stroking your waist.

“I love you.” Your eyes fluttered open just before sleep claimed you, “I love you.” Shanks raised his eyebrow, “Isn’t it ‘I love you, too’?” “I say it not because I’m forced to, not because it is something I’m supposed to reciprocate. But because I love you just as much as you love me and more.” Shanks racked his brain, had you always been this poetic?

Morning dawned once more. You could feel eyes on you, only it was more than usual and not the ones you were expecting. “Morning!” Luffy and Uta whispered through the creaked door, you smiled, “Morning…” you waved.

Shanks woke up not much later. “Good morning, sleeping beauty,” You teased, “ready to ship out?” You asked, “So desperate to get rid of me already? Is your boyfriend coming over?” You couldn’t help but laugh, playfully slapping his chest.

You got out of bed, getting dressed and made breakfast for your now full family. You wished this dream could last longer.

Noon came quicker than it was supposed to, you held Luffy and Uta’s hands as you walked them to the docks. The sun perfectly shined down on the Red Force, “Captain!” Some of Shanks’ crew greeted him.

Uta hesitantly let go of your hand, eyes starting to swell with tears. “Uta, we’ll see each other soon!” You reassured her, after making sure no one could see you, you kissed her forehead, wiping her tears away.

Finally Shanks approached you, “I’ll miss you the most, as always.” He wrapped his arms around you, some of the crew was watching now. That of course didn’t stop Shanks, it was about time they found out.

He kissed you, deep, passionate, everything he couldn’t put into words was put into that kiss.

The Red Hair pirates gasped, to them it seemed like their captain was kissing a random woman. Shanks laughed, running up onto his ship, leaving you breathless.

“I’ll see you soon, my beautiful wife!”

Shanks leaned over the railing, waving to you as the red force sailed into the horizon. “Promise you’ll come back to me in one piece, my husband!” Luffy was now in your arms, waving to Shanks, who shouted “I PROMISE!” Loud enough the entire island heard it.

On the deck, crew mates swarmed Shanks, “WIFE?!” They all exclaimed. “You’re just jealous that I’ve got the prettiest, smartest, funniest, most caring woman in the whole world!” Shanks flicked his hat. His word was final, the crew knew that, so if he said you were the best woman in the world, you were the best woman in the world.

In his cabin, Shanks took the photo of you two on your wedding night out of his pocket— the photo he’d snagged from your room— placing it on his bedside table, thumb brushing your face. Shanks smiled to himself, reliving his favourite memory.

In your room, you found a new photo framed on your bedside table. It was brand new, you had no idea who took it or when it was taken, but it was perfect. The moment frozen in time.

You and Shanks leaning on each other, sitting on the back deck, sharing a beer, wedding rings glinting in the setting Sun. Uta and Luffy playing in the garden, wide smiles on both their faces as they ran through the field of flowers.

A family.

Something you or Shanks thought you’d never get. Yet here you were. The moment frozen in time. Living proof that even a pirate captain had peace in his life.

And he couldn’t wait to come back to you.

——————————————————————————

I loved writing this… 🥹 (I love Shanks in general istg)

Have a great morning/day/night!!