Running Off With Pirates (Sanji x Fem!Reader x Zoro)
A/N: This is a really ambitious idea for me, so please forgive me if this falls off at some point… Also, mostly a Sanji one, but there's a brief flirtation with Zoro at the end if you squint...
Part of the Adventure is Out There! series - Series Masterlist
Type: Fic; 3,625 words (long one, yoikes)
Synopsis: After helping to patch up Zoro, you find yourself increasingly entangled in the activities of the Straw Hat crew.
Warnings: Blood, injuries, drinking, violence, cursing, etc.
“Oh gosh, oh gosh,” You muttered under your breath, shuffling forward through the door next to Nami, both of you holding one of Zoro’s legs. Luffy and Usopp were in front of you, each carrying Zoro by the arms.
“Put him on the table!”
“Why is he so heavy?”
“Careful, careful!”
“Watch his head!”
Finally, the four of you managed to set Zoro’s unconscious body on the table in the center of the room. Everyone stared down at him, seemingly at a loss for what to do. There was a lot of blood.
Luffy started rambling, spiraling with worry.
“He needs a doctor,” Nami insisted. Usopp chimed in, “Where do we find a doctor out here?”
“Zeff!” You blurted, “No, I mean- no, not a doctor, but- He’d know what to do! I’ll go get him!” You darted back out the door.
“Well! You’re the captain! Go with her,” you could hear Nami shouting behind you. Then Luffy was beside you, the two of you flying down the dock to the Baratie. You led him around back to the kitchen door, where the two of you burst through, breathless and shouting.
“Help! We need help!”
“Zoro! He got cut! He’s bleeding bad!”
“My friend is dying…”
Sanji dropped what he was doing, but Zeff cut in, “What’re you doing? I don’t see how this is our problem.” Sanji snapped back at him while raiding one of the cabinets for ingredients, “You always told me to feed anyone who’s hungry. I don’t see how this is any different.”
Zeff let out a frustrated sigh, whipping off his arpon, “Fine!” He started barking orders. He looked at you, “Get me my kitchen knives and our best bottle of scotch.” Then he pointed at Sanji, “You get me yellowtail from the cooler. The bigger the better.” He finally turned to Luffy, “Bring me to your friend.”
Luffy nodded and took off with Zeff following not far behind. You and Sanji split off to gather what Zeff needed. Then you brought Sanji over to the ship you’d just come from.
The two chefs quickly got to work, clearing a space and setting up the yellowtail. Zeff took a swig of the scotch and started preparing the fish. As he worked, Sanji helping and passing him what he needed, he explained to you all that fish skin is an old sailor’s trick to bind the skin of the wound together again, encouraging it to heal faster.
In a few minutes he was done. When the crew wondered if he would be okay, Zeff told them that he was now between life and death, and they needed to give him a reason to stay in this world.
You helped them move Zoro into another room, where they laid him down on a suspended bed. Nami’s room, apparently. She stayed to look after him while the rest of you went back to the galley. When you came back, Zeff was gone, but Sanji was still there, preparing the rest of the unused yellowtail.
You stood awkwardly off to the side, unsure of what else to do with yourself. It had been a harrowing few hours since you’d woken up this morning, and now it felt strange to just go back to your regular life.
Meanwhile, Usopp leaned against the counter in the middle of the room, while Luffy sat at the table by the window, furiously cleaning Zoro’s remaining sword. He began rambling about what Zoro might need. More rest? Food? Water? Sanji spoke up, “You know, Zeff once told me that making tough decisions is what separates a captain from his crew, and he was one of the best pirate captains that ever sailed the seas…”
Hearing this, Luffy excitedly asked, “Really? Zeff was a pirate captain? How did you even meet him?” He came up to the counter next to Usopp. You realized you’d never heard this story either, and you slotted yourself next to Luffy as well. Sanji continued cooking while he spun his tale of how he met Zeff nine years ago.
Once he finished his story, he said, “You know what that’s like? Having someone give up a limb to save your life?” You, Usopp, and Luffy all stared at him from where the three of you leaned against the counter. Sanji continued, “He could’ve let me die on that rock. Instead, he acted like a captain. He made a tough call…”
“I’d eat both arms and legs to save Zoro,” Luffy muttered under his breath. You glanced at him, “Um…” Then Luffy slapped the counter with both hands, “I’m going to check on Zoro.” He disappeared deeper into the ship, leaving you and Usopp and Sanji in the galley.
You looked at Sanji again, “All that about how you met Zeff… You’ve never mentioned it…” He threw the kitchen towel over his shoulder, “Doesn’t tend to come up…”
“In two years?” You quirked an eyebrow at him. He shrugged and offered you a piece of the cooked yellowtail. Wordlessly, you took it and ate it, still pondering how you could have worked with someone for years and still not know that much about him. But then again, he didn’t know anything about you…
A few minutes later, Nami stormed out of her room, brushing through the galley and out of the ship without stopping. You all exchanged glances. Then Usopp piped up, “Something tells me I should check on Luffy…” He then receded down the hallway.
You stood up straighter, looking around, suddenly realizing that you were just… on someone’s ship. You had a sinking feeling that you didn’t belong.
“Nervous about something?” Sanji asked, cleaning up some of the dishes he’d been using, not really looking up. You winced, “Uhh, yeah, but when am I not…” Sanji chuckled.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Sanji smirked, wiping down the counter, “Just good to know you’re self-aware.”
“Hey!” You picked up a discarded sprig of herbs and threw it at him. He expertly dodged it. Before you could demand to know where that comment came from, you heard Nami shouting.
“Luffy! Luffy!”
“What’s wrong?” You asked as Nami ran in and Luffy and Usopp appeared in the galley to meet her.
“The Arlong pirates are at the Baratie. We have to leave, now.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re looking for Luffy.”
Sanji dropped what he was doing, “If the Baratie is in danger, I need to be there.” He began moving toward the door. You nodded in agreement and followed close behind. Luffy put out a hand and said, “I’m coming with you.”
“What? No. Did you not hear me? They’re looking for you,” Nami insisted. Luffy argued that they needed to return yours, Zeff, and Sanji’s kindness by defending the Baratie. Nami tried again, her eyes glistening in the light from the window, “Luffy, we need to go. Now.” Luffy’s voice softened, “It’s gonna be okay. You stay here and protect the map. We’ll be right back.” He gave her one more smile, and then the rest of you took off for the Baratie.
“I’m Monkey D. Luffy,” the young man addressed the dining room when you all entered the Baratie. Down below, a purple fishman was menacing one of the patrons. Luffy continued, “I heard you’re looking for me?”
“That I am…” The fishman backed away from the older man he was threatening and turned to address Luffy, “So this is the pirate I’ve heard so much about…” You followed Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji down the stairs into the dining room. They exchanged a few terse words, the tension building. Luffy questioned how Arlong found him, and to your shock, one of the other fishmen pulled a talking head out of a bag. You swallowed what you assumed would’ve been a very embarrassing squeaking sound and tried to compose yourself. But unfortunately, that didn’t last, as one of the talking head’s ears wriggled its way out of the ribbon on Luffy’s hat and flew back to rejoin the head.
“Ew,” you muttered under your breath. Apparently, the clown head had been listening to everything on the ship, which is how Arlong knew everything. Arlong demanded both the map to the Grand Line and 50% of their future takings as tribute, which Luffy refused, saying, “If you want it, you’ll have to fight me for it.”
Suddenly, a shot rang out. You gasped, your eyes darting to where Zeff stood, holding a still smoking pistol, pointed at Arlong’s very much uninjured back. One of the other fishmen roared and jumped up, kicking out Zeff’s peg leg. He crashed to the ground, hard. Sanji shouted in anger and lept across the dining room. Jumping off a table, Sanji’s kicks landed squarely on the fishman’s face and chest. Suddenly, you saw the other fishman get up from the table and lunge for Sanji’s back.
“Hey!” You conjured a glowing sphere in your hand and threw it across the room at the fishman’s face. It made contact, exploding into a bright flash of light. He cried out, stumbling back. Unfortunately, the other fishman Sanji was fighting took the opportunity to grab Sanji by the leg and hurl him across the room, sending him tumbling into one of the tables and knocking it over with a crash. A frightened Usopp crawled out from where the table previously hid him and darted back over to the stairs. There, you met back up with Sanji as he limped over to the bottom step. He looked up at you, “What the hell was that?!” You winced and shrugged helplessly, “Doesn’t tend to come up…”
“In two years?!”
But before you could respond, Arlong and Luffy’s fight smashed through the door of the Baratie and onto the docks. You helped Sanji up. He winced but stood on his own. Thankfully, he didn’t look too hurt. Then, you, Sanji, and Usopp rushed out after Luffy and the Arlong pirates.
When you came out into the sun, you saw Luffy land a few punches on Arlong. But just as it seemed like he could have the upper hand, Arlong leaned down and sent a wave of seawater crashing onto him, knocking him over and sapping his strength. Arlong grabbed Luffy by his shirt and pulled him into the air. He threatened to tear out Luffy’s throat with his teeth. Just as Usopp raised his slingshot and you were forming another sphere, you all heard Nami’s voice call out over the docks, “Arlong, wait!” Everyone stopped.
“I have the map. I got it for you, just like I said I would.”
When you saw the sawfish tattoo on Nami’s shoulder, you exchanged a look with Usopp. You mouthed at him, “What?” He looked just as perplexed as you.
Arlong was about to return to shredding Luffy to bits, and you stepped forward. But at the same time, Nami snapped at Arlong, “Why waste your time killing a devil fruit eater? Let the sea do it for you…” She turned and walked away. Arlong smirked. With one shove, Luffy dropped into the ocean.
“No!” You whipped around, “Sanji! He’ll drown!” Instantly understanding, Sanji stripped off his shirt and dove off the docks. You didn’t breathe again until Sanji and Luffy’s heads broke the surface. The fishmen and Nami were long gone by the time you and Usopp were dragging them both back onto the docks. Sanji placed Luffy down and you turned him over on his side, patting his back until he coughed and spit up seawater.
The first word out of his mouth was Nami’s name.
“She’s gone,” Usopp told him, quietly, “She’s a member of Arlong’s crew…”
“No,” Luffy murmured into the wood beneath his cheek, his voice hoarse, “She can’t be…”
He seemed completely despondent, staring off into the distance. Your heart was breaking for him, but there wasn’t anything you could do about Nami, not now… But you could help in other ways. You looked up at Usopp, “He needs to be dried off. I’ll be right back with towels. Can you get him back on your ship?” Usopp nodded, beginning to pick up Luffy.
“Come on, man. It’s gonna be okay,” you heard Usopp telling Luffy as you rushed back to the Baratie to grab towels, sheets, tablecloths, anything dry, really.
While you were in the linen closet, grabbing towels off the shelves, you became aware of a presence. You turned your head slightly to see a dripping wet Sanji behind you, still shirtless. The towels in your arms tumbled to the floor.
“Ah,” you squeaked, immediately bending over to gather them up again.
“Think you can spare me one?” Sanji huffed, swiping his wet hair from his face.
“Mhm,” you tried hard not to look at his abs, his arms. You threw one of the towels squarely into his chest. Trying to find anything to take your mind off of it, you said, “Zeff is gonna kill you for dripping all over the floor.”
Sanji chuckled, “I think he can excuse it just this once, given the circumstances. The dining room is trashed anyway.”
“Right,” you looked anywhere else, “Tell Zeff that as soon as I’m done helping Luffy, I’ll be back to help with that too.”
“Yeah, sure,” Sanji began toweling his hair. You closed your eyes and darted back through the restaurant. You banged your hip into a table.
“Ow,” your eyes snapped open. What is wrong with me? You stumbled and kept going.
Finally, you made it to the ship with the ram’s head where you’d now spent most of your day. You found Usopp standing over Luffy, who was sitting limply on the deck, leaning against a crate. He was still staring off into space.
You handed a few of the towels to Usopp and dropped down to your knees beside Luffy. You took one of the towels and wrapped it around his shoulders. Usopp placed another over Luffy’s head.
“Do you all have anything he could eat?” You peered up at Usopp who was scruffing up Luffy’s hair with the towel while you patted down his legs. “I’d offer something from the Baratie, but,” you scratched your head, “the kitchen is kind of closed for the foreseeable future…”
“Uh, yeah,” Usopp nodded. “I can find him something. Luffy loves food, that should help cheer him up.” You smiled at him as he retreated below decks.
Then you went back to drying Luffy off, removing his shoes and dumping the seawater out of them.
“You’re like me…” Your head whipped up at the sound of Luffy’s voice again. It was still hoarse, but his eyes were more clear. He was coming back, “A devil fruit user…”
You nodded, “Yeah. So I know how important it is to get you dry again.”
“I haven’t met anyone else like me before… Other than Buddy, the Clown.”
“That weird talking head?” You laughed.
“And the rest of him, but I don’t know where that is.”
You shook your head, smiling faintly. Then you reached up with another dry towel and dabbed at Luffy’s cheeks. “I’m glad you’re okay. Your crew is lucky to have a captain like you.”
Luffy scoffed, “I’m a horrible captain. Zoro is dying, and Nami is gone.”
“Hey, hey,” you placed a hand on his shoulder, “Listen. I might not know her as well as you, but… I think- I think Nami was trying to save your life.” Luffy looked up at you, apprehensive, eyebrows drawing together. You continued, “Back there on the docks. She stopped Arlong from killing you. Twice.”
“She told him to throw me in the ocean,” Luffy protested. You paused, “Okay, yeah, but!” You bit your lip, “I think she knew we were there. I mean, she knew your friends would save you, so maybe- maybe don’t give up on her yet…”
Luffy stared at his hands in his lap, lost in thought again. You began pulling wet towels off of him, hoping the sun would help dry the rest. Then Luffy spoke up again, “I think you should come with us. Be a part of my crew.”
“What? Why?” You stared at him, bewildered. Luffy shrugged, “I like you. And you’ve helped us a lot. I think you’d be a good crewmate.” He said it so matter of fact, you let yourself imagine it for a moment. Running off on a pirate ship, travelling the world, seeing and doing the unimaginable. Everything you’d ever dreamed of since you were a little girl…
You blinked at him, “Do- do you mean that? Really?”
Luffy finally cracked a smile, “Of course.”
“Like, now? Leave with you? I- I mean, I’d have to tell Zeff, but I think, I think it’d be fine. I mean, I’d love to-” You head was spinning. You sat back on your heels. You whispered, more to yourself than anything, “I’d love to…”
“Great!” Luffy shook a few droplets of water out of his hair and stood up. He put his hand out and you took it, letting him pull you up as well. “Meet us back on the ship when you’re ready, okay?”
You nodded and noticed Usopp coming back onto the top deck. He had a plate of food in his hands. Luffy turned to him and smiled, “Y/N is gonna join the crew!” He noticed the food, “Is that for me?” He stretched over and snagged the plate from Usopp, who still looked a little surprised by what Luffy said.
“Uh,” Usopp blinked and processed everything, “Awesome! Okay, and yeah, that’s for you. Glad you’re feeling better.”
You realized you were grinning. You were used to the usual churning in your stomach and tightness in your chest when anxiety took hold, but this was different. It felt more like waves rushing up to meet a ship on a windy day. It felt like something was buzzing inside of your chest. Excitement? Hope?
“I’m gonna tell Zeff, and pack my things, and I’ll be right back!” You ran off the ship, yelling over your shoulder, “Don’t leave without me!”
Back inside the Baratie, everything was quiet. Most people had scattered after the fight with the Arlong pirates, but you knew if Zeff was anywhere, he’d be in the dining room, putting things right again.
You took a deep breath, trying to psych yourself up for what you were about to say, practicing it in your head. But when you came closer to the dining room, you could hear shouting. You slowed down as you approached, instantly recognizing one of Zeff and Sanji’s arguments.
“Look, do you want me to quit?! Is that what you want?”
“Quitting is staying here! It’s one thing to have a dream. It’s another to go after it…”
“Well, the staw hat captain offered me a place on his crew. Maybe I should take it!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!” Plates clattered.
“Fine!”
“Fine!” Something thudded loudly.
You peeked around the wall to see Sanji storming off. Zeff’s shoulders slumped, and after a moment, he said, “Keep an eye on that idiot for me, will ya?” You stepped out into the dining room, whispering, “How- how did you-?”
Zeff turned around to look at you. He sighed, “It was only a matter of time ‘til you kids moved on…”
You darted forward, wrapping Zeff up in a big hug. He was taken aback. You felt him tense, but you just squeezed tighter, saying, “Thank you, Zeff. For everything.”
Zeff relented, quickly squeezing you in return. Then he cleared his throat and pulled away, back to his gruff self, “Now, you’d better go and get all your crap out of here. Quarters are for crew only, and you’re not on my crew anymore.”
You blinked away the tears forming in your eyes and nodded, “Yes, chef.” Zeff sat down at the table again and watched you disappear into the Baratie’s halls. Dammit, he was gonna miss those kids…
“Heard you guys need a cook,” Sanji said as he climbed up onto the Going Merry.
“Yeah!” Luffy shouted, pumping his fist in the air, “Yes, we do!” He hopped down from the rigging and clapped Sanji on the back, “Welcome aboard.”
From down below on the docks, you called up, “Room for one more?” They both looked down at you. Sanji’s brow furrowed, “Did the old man put you up to this?”
You grabbed the ladder and climbed up, snapping back, “I was invited, actually. By the captain.” You glanced at Luffy, who smiled and nodded. “Yep! Y/N is a devil fruit user, and I thought she’d be a great addition to the crew, so I asked her to come along.” They both reached down and helped pull you up the rest of the way onto the ship. You nodded your thanks and Luffy welcomed you aboard too.
When you hopped down onto the deck behind Sanji, you were surprised to see Zoro up and conscious.
“Zoro! You’re alive!”
The corner of his mouth quirked up, “I am. Did you doubt I would be?”
“I’m not gonna lie, I was a little concerned for a minute there.”
Zoro smirked and put out his hand, “Welcome to the crew. Hope this means I get a chance to make up for last night.” You tried not to blush as you took his hand and shook it, “Thanks, and- yeah, maybe… I mean, as long as you don’t challenge anymore warlords.”
“No promises.”
You laughed and Zoro tilted his head to the stairwell, “I can show you your cabin if you want to unpack.”
“That would be great, actually. Thank you,” you said as you hefted your bag onto your shoulder. Then you followed Zoro down below decks to what would be your new home.
