#then they watch the stars in together in silence for a bit before Sanji asks if she'd like some tea

[paperultra]

aries and the turtle.

Pairing: OPLA!Vinsmoke Sanji x Fem!Reader Word Count: 1,169 words Warnings: None

asterism (noun): a group of stars; a constellation; a cluster of stars

The first thought that comes to Sanji’s mind when he sees you curled up on the kitchen floor, rummaging through the box of herbs and spices, is that you’re the single most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on.

“Darling,” he says softly, leaning against the doorframe and smiling a bit when you startle, “you could’ve woken me up if you wanted a midnight snack.”

“O-Oh! Um.” Your voice colors the gentle calm of night into something warmer – and like always, he’s drawn to it like a moth to a flame, walking over and squatting down next to you as you scramble to put back a jar of paprika. “I’m sorry, Sanji, I – er, well, um …”

“What are you looking for? I’ll help you.”

Under the yellow glow of the lantern, you seem to shrink. You duck your head and mumble into the collar of your pretty nightshirt. “That chamomile and lavender tea you made a couple nights ago …” you begin hesitantly. “I wanted to make some.” Your voice quiets further. “I can’t sleep.”

Sanji frowns, angling his head to catch a glimpse of your face. You do look a little more haggard than normal, your eyelids heavy, your shoulders burdened. His heart aches. How long had you laid in your hammock, tossing and turning, until you couldn’t stand it anymore?

“I see,” he murmurs. “Let’s make that tea right away, then, shall we?”

Sanji quickly finds the flowers and some lemon rinds he had sun-dried last week. You insist on helping at least a little bit despite his protests for you to just relax, fetching two teacups and setting some water on the stove to boil as he measures the right amount of each ingredient to put into the infuser.

Once the water is ready, steam billowing up past your heads and to the ceiling, he pours it into the teapot and covers it to steep.

(You don’t say anything while the two of you wait, and although Sanji yearns to coax a smile and a sweet conversation from you, he contents himself with the silence as well, which is just as sweet. You sneak glances at him every once in a while, though. He knows because he does the same, and the attention sends a thrill through his chest.)

Time passes. He pours the tea – first for you, then for him.

“Tell me when.” The silence breaks once more as Sanji spoons some honey into your cup.

“That’s good.”

He stirs the tea up, hands it to you. You blow across the top of it and then take a sip as he watches attentively.

“How does the madam like it?” he asks.

You exhale and meet his eyes for a split second before quickly looking away. A small smile touches your lips. “It’s perfect,” you reply from behind the cup. “Thank you, Sanji.”

Warmth stains his cheeks a gentle pink.

“The sky is clear tonight,” he ventures hopefully as he adds two teaspoons of honey for himself. He picks up his cup and gestures at the open door. “Stars and tea pair well together, if you have an appetite for it.”

You bite your bottom lip. His gaze immediately darts down to it, and he swallows, throat suddenly dry.

“Sure,” you whisper.

And so Sanji gains another precious sliver of time with you. Elbows resting on the railing, hot tea and your presence protecting him from the cold, he stands out on the deck of the Going Merry and tilts his head back to look up at the sky.

He knows how much you love the stars. They are one of the few topics you can talk about without your usual shyness, and he thinks of you every time he sees them, pinpricks of pure light shining through the darkness, guiding weary sailors home. Sometimes he thinks you must have been one yourself, carried down from the heavens. Ethereal. Out of reach.

“This time of year,” you say, and Sanji turns his attention over to the stars reflected in your eyes, “you can see my constellation.”

“Yours?” he questions.

“Yes. Those three stars over there.” Your arm stretches out to point at something on the left, your finger tracing an arc in the sky. “In my home village, parents dedicate their newborns to a constellation three days after birth. Mine dedicated me to the turtle.”

A turtle. That fits you incredibly well, he thinks to himself fondly, considering your quiet tenacity. “How come?”

“Turtles represent good luck and a long life.”

“I see. Well, do you think you’ve had good luck so far in life?”

You hum thoughtfully, looking down into your tea.

“I think so,” you say after some time, hushed. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

A chuckle escapes him. “I would argue that you’re the one who’s brought good luck to us, sweetheart.”

You bite back a smile and whisper a small ‘oh’ as he gently bumps your shoulder with his own. Even now, you’re unused to compliments, but no matter; he’ll praise you at every turn until you finally realize you deserve every word of it.

There’s a brief period of silence before he asks, “What do you think my constellation would be?”

“Your constellation?” It doesn’t take long at all before you reply, pointing upward into a spread of stars that he could never even begin to puzzle out, “The ram. Some call it Aries.”

“What does it mean?”

This question seems to fluster you. You cough and stammer for a few seconds. He sips his tea, the beverage sweet and floral on his tongue as he waits.

“Rams … are artists at heart,” you finally say, glancing over at him. Your eyes, normally wary and somber, glitter. “They’re strong and passionate, but also gentle and kind.”

Oh.

Sanji can feel a blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks. God. Surely, you’ll be the death of him, saying something like that so honestly and with eyes that look like that. He’d move heaven and earth for you if you asked.

“I’ll dedicate my life to living up to those qualities,” he breathes once he can speak again. “Just as much as you’ll live up to yours.”

You take a sharp breath.

“You already do,” he hears you whisper.

And Sanji truly, truly cannot resist anymore.

Your name leaves his lips. He reaches out, hand departing from the dying heat of the teacup and seeking out yours.

You do not pull away when his fingertips brush your cool skin over the railing; instead, you let him turn your hand over until palm touches palm, until the spaces between his fingers are filled with your own and his heart beats to the rhythm of yours.

Sanji squeezes your hand, and every cell in his body begs to falter and fall at your feet.

You rest your head on his shoulder.

The tea cools. But the stars remain as brilliant as ever, and your hand stays warm in his, and everything – everything is beautiful.

#aesthetic words prompt list #opla #one piece #sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji #sanji #opla sanji #one piece live action #opla fanfiction #one piece fanfiction #reader insert #trying to write from sanji's pov is like. how can i show that this man is absolutely on his knees all the time for reader #just look at him. just.look.asdhgjkl #also i just think !! looking at the stars would be a great date idea w any of the straw hats while at sea #:<

[smol-fatale]

GN Reader x Ace, Angst with a Happy Ending, TW for mentions of self-harm, depression, and the result of arson (involuntary of course), ~1800 words

Person A wants to bake a cake for Person B’s birthday but ends up lighting the kitchen on fire instead.

Ace really wants to bake you a cake for your birthday. However, instead of him cheering you up, you cheer him up. After all, he's more important than your birthday anyway.

This is for @burnthoneymint‘s b-day event. Happy birthday my dear! Also read down below.

Involuntary Arson

Ace would be the first to admit that he had an obsession with fire. He was a pyromaniac though he never lit any living thing on fire and nothing bigger than a flatscreen TV. However, he hasn’t lit anything on fire in the past nine months which is an accomplishment for him. He has found other ways to relieve his stress, some of them including you.

You had done much in the past to care for Ace and Mr. Freckles over here was dying to return the favor. Your birthday was at the end of the week and the genius that is Ace thought it was a great idea to make you a cake, even though there is a literal five-star chef in the friend group.

Ace pestered said five-star chef until he caved and taught him the basics of making your favorite: chocolate cake. Ace practiced in Sanji’s kitchen, writing down all the steps and committing each of them to memory. By the time the cake was done, Ace was confident, maybe overly so, that he could recreate the dessert perfectly the next day. He even suggested for Sanji to give away the cake they made together since his was going to turn out better. (A joke of course as Sanji is the most talented chef in the world.)

***

On the day of your birth, Ace was ecstatic to show off his baking skills.

Ace laid out the ingredients neatly in a row and got started on melting the chocolate chips on the stove first. Sanji suggested for him to use cocoa powder instead since the man was fire-prone but he refused and insisted on following Sanji’s recipe exactly. Surprisingly, he managed to melt the chocolate perfectly without burning it. Becoming a little more confident in his skills, he set the chocolate on the lowest flames (as some more had to be melted) and started sifting the dry ingredients in a bowl. Afterward, he folded the chocolate into the bowl, just as Sanji had shown him. Finally, he added avocado which was weird sure but he did trust Sanji with anything food-related. (The cook insisted on it as it was healthier than oil or butter and makes the cake richer in comparison.) Ace then spooned the mixture into a cake pan and placed it in the oven for thirty minutes.

Fifty minutes later Ace woke up to not only a burnt chocolate cake but the stove on fire as well as everything else between it, the kitchen sink, and the window. The smoke is what woke him up and his fire training kicked in as he immediately ran to get the fire extinguisher to put out the flames. He then called down to the station insisting that he was fine and there was no need for the team to come over, except maybe Marco who was a fire inspector.

Luckily they lived in a brick building so the structural integrity was saved. However, the same couldn’t be said for the kitchen. The entire thing had to be excavated and revamped. Anything metal and plastic melted. The rest burned to ash. It was found that the fire was caused by the oven being almost seventy degrees hotter than it should’ve been causing the cake to cook faster than intended. The entire process would take weeks and it cost thousands in repair. Ace considered just buying another apartment but that was cowardly as he would only be running away from his problem. Plus, he still had to pay for the damages regardless.

***

Ace was devastated. He knew you were indifferent to your birthday but he wanted it to be extra special for you because he was so damn happy that you were born. It took everything in his power not to start a fire in another part of the apartment due to how stressed he was. He kept a match between his teeth and flicked a lighter nervously waiting for you to come home from your half-shift.

After what felt like centuries he heard the click of the lock as you arrived home. The loud gasp you took as you walked inside reminded Ace that the kitchen was the first thing one encounters when walking into their home. That made him recoil into himself more in his place behind the couch.

***

Meanwhile, you took the time to survey the damage to the kitchen. It was hard to tell that the color scheme was navy blue and stainless steel as everything was charred black. The sink worked but just barely and most of the cupboards were...well...half were burned away leaving nothing but an imprint on the wall and the other half were hanging on by a nail. The oven was the worst of all. It was so badly burnt and mangled, it was only due to its place in the kitchen that you even recognized what it was. You stood in the kitchen until the smell aggravated your nose. Then you left to find your boyfriend.

You searched everywhere: in the bedroom, spare room, and bathroom before finding him behind the couch in the living room. He wasn’t crying but he was shaking. He had a lit match between his teeth that was dangerously close to burning his lips. This was an internal “game” he played when the stress became too much. He would light a match between his teeth and if he put it out, then he knew he wasn’t worthless. If he didn’t and got burned, then he felt as though he deserved every negative thing that happens to him, whether it was his fault or not. It took years for you, with therapy, to convince him that he was worth living and to stop this dangerous “game.” However, he still did it occasionally when his dark thoughts overcame him.

You crouched down next to him and blew out the flame. His unseeing eyes then snapped towards yours as he broke and started to cry. You scooped your boyfriend into your arms and soothed him as the tears freely flowed.

“I fucked up.” He sniffled into your chest.

“We all make mistakes Ace.” You combed your fingers into his hair allowing him to calm down after the tears stopped.

“What happened?” You whispered into his ear as to not disturb the unsteady peace that surrounded you two.

“Iwantedtobakeyouacake.” He squeezed you impossibly tight to muffle the words and to hide his shame.  

You looked to the island in the middle of the kitchen. Half was a beautiful blue. The other a smoldering black. You squinted and spotted a medium black disk in the center.

“Thank you. I bet it tasted delicious.” You were grateful for his attempt and the honesty in your voice sparked a new round of tears.

“Why are you with me?” He asked quietly after settling his face into the crook of your neck.

It broke your heart to hear the love of your life sounding so despondent as if he wasn’t worth every single star that speckled the night sky. You knew that he had issues of self-worth. That he appeared as confident and strong as a maverick wave but was just as turbulent as the ocean on the inside. Somedays, he felt as though he didn’t even deserve life itself and you always, always, contradicted that statement. Yes, he made be reckless and make idiotic mistakes but he had the biggest heart you’ve ever seen. No questions asked he would give you the shirt off his back. You’ve witnessed him give his boots to a total stranger and then proceed to walk the streets barefoot for half an hour in search of a shoe store. One time he missed a date with you because a child was lost in the park and he waited with them for over two hours for their parents to pick them up at the station. He became a firefighter because no matter how much he wanted to burn himself with flames he wanted to rescue people from them even more. His heart shone brighter than the sun and the world would be a much colder, let alone darker, place if he wasn’t around and you made sure he knew this.

“Because there is no one else I’d rather be with. Your heart rivals the sun and I’m eternally grateful for every single millisecond that I get to spend with you. Out of 7.5 billion people in the world, I choose you. And I will continue to choose you until the Earth drops out of rotation and the sun dies out. Do you understand?”

Ace didn’t say anything but gave a small nod into your shoulder confirming he heard all that you said. You two sat in a calm silence until an idea popped into your head which was sure to perk up your boyfriend. You softly shifted him out of your arms and he watched you silently in confusion. You went into the kitchen towards the fridge that was miraculously undamaged from the events of the day. From it, you pulled a small package that contained two chocolate snack cakes with white icing in the middle. You then went back to sit in front of Ace. You gestured for him to splay out his legs so you could sit on his lap and he did, albeit a bit warily. You unwrapped one of the cakes and placed a match in it. Then you took the lighter from Ace’s limp hand and lit it.

“Thank you for making this the best birthday ever,” you said holding the small cake between the two of you before blowing it out.

Ace studied you carefully as you took the match out and broke the cake in half exposing the icing. You took some and smeared it on your boyfriend’s lips, covering the various little burn marks on them, before kissing him. It was sweet and wet, reminiscent of the first kiss you two shared in the rain. You pulled back and though the smile you received was small, it was the most ethereal thing you have ever witnessed. You repeated this process with every single freckle on his face, including eyes and nose, before moving on to his neck. By the time you finished you completely rid the cake of its icing. The result was an Ace softly chuckling as your little kisses tickled him. He took you into his arms and laid back so your head rested on his chest. One hand was on your back while the other slowly massaged your scalp. You laid still in his arms until his arms went lax and his breath evened out. The stress of the day finally drained him of his energy.

Was this truly your best birthday? Well, that’s subjective but it does have the top spot as of now. Who’s to say what will happen in the future. What you do know is that you aren’t a liar and you loved the man beneath you more than life itself. Every birthday was the best if it was spent with him no matter what happened that day. With that, you kissed his chest, over his heart, and settled down to sleep on top of the man of your dreams.

Masterlist

#birthdaycheer #one piece #Portgas D. Ace #ace x reader #one piece x reader #OP Ace #words of ki

[madlymiho]

Also can I ask you for a scenario in which zoro is gathering up his courage to confess his feelings to the woman he's in love with and he ends up doing it mid battle? Thank you my darling I'm so glad you're back 💚💚💚

Hello my sweet darling! I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this one, and I hope you didn't wait for too long! 😞

I'm very happy to write about the mosshead hehehe! I hope this scenario will suit you! It's slightly angsty! 😁 thanks for asking me this one 💙

Words : 2172

Zoro scenario : Something I should have told you before (read after the cut)

He loves her. He knows it for a long time, a very long time. He knows that there’s something different within him whenever she’s around. The way she smiles, dances, the way she simply looks at him. There’s something deeper than a regular friendship, and Zoro is deeply insecure because of his deep obsession with her. He thinks about her all the time, even during his trainings, where his brain is supposed to shut for good, the pain of his muscles becoming the only music he hears. Yet, he can’t shut his heart. He can’t pretend anymore, and it affects him deeply. How he’s supposed to confess feelings he’s so afraid of? He feels blocked by his own brain. Each time he’s seeing her, there’s something invisible which shuts his mouth. Despite his cruel need to say out loud how much he loves her, and how deep he wants them to be together, there’s nothing coming out of his throat. 

“Zoro?” 

He blinks and turns his head to gaze at her. There are both walking to meet powerful enemies, his fingers strongly crushed around the handles of his swords. He shakes his head and offers his best cocky smile, hoping that she wouldn’t notice his silent inner torture. 

“Afraid?” He asks, avoiding her stare. His heart is already too much painful at this particular moment. 

She pinches her lips together, somehow slightly disappointed to feel that everlasting coldness and distance coming from him. She’s not an idiot, she knows him. For a few weeks, she has the sensation that he’s keeping something from her. If usually Zoro is pretty honest and direct, this time, he’s clearly hiding something. And she hates it. 

“Why would I be afraid of them? You’d be around, and the others are not so far,” she shrugs, looking at the road.

“Hey, I’m not here to fight for you.” Zoro snaps coldly, clicking his tongue. 

“You don’t have to be so mean.” She answers sadly. 

It hurts Zoro right in the chest. Once again, he’s so clumsy with her, it’s almost unbearable. He suddenly grabs her wrist and forces her to freeze. Anxiously, she looks up at him, eyebrows furrowed. He feels his mouth becoming dry, the words still stuck inside his throat. Why does it feel so hard to speak out his feelings like this? Each time he meets his eyes, he feels terribly numb ; and idiot unable to talk. He wishes that he’d be like Sanji sometimes, extravagant et ready to always share his feelings loudly. He wishes that he’s not that cold heart man. The tension in his arm becomes even more painful. She’s waiting, her mouth slightly open, her tender stare mapping his features. She doesn’t seem to know, and yet, she’s patient, silent, offering him enough time and space to muster up his courage and talk. 

But Zoro turns his head, and looks at the ground. Why? He doesn’t know. He wants it to feel easy and natural, yet his brain refuses to let him tell those forbidden words. 

“Just watch your sorry ass. I don’t know if I’d be able to rescue you.” He lies, and immediately walks again, abandoning her on the road. 

She remains silent, and terribly upset. She brushes her wrist, where a second before, Zoro’s hand was circling her skin. She bites her bottom lip and prevents herself from shouting terrible words. That man is a catastrophe, an impossible idiot. Yet, she wishes deeply that one day, finally, he would be brave enough to tell the truth, for once. 

So Zoro runs, enraged. He runs and attacks the first enemy he sees, his frustration and disappointment becoming a new strength driving his every gesture, giving im even more power. It feels easy to cut enemies, to hurt them. There are just pack of meats, and nothing else. Walking bags with blood inside, no more, nothing useful, nothing he would care about. Yelling, growling, Zoro keeps attacking his many opponents, unable to stop the boiling feelings inside his brain. He can’t help but think of her. He left her on the road, somewhere behind and he clearly doesn’t know where’s she at the moment, and how does she feel. He can’t even know if the distance between them is long or not. He can’t even tell if he saw her five minutes or two hours ago, times itself becoming blurry. In her eyes, he has perfectly noticed that she was hoping for someone else ; something more. But again, he gave up on her. He’s good at fighting, good at drinking his sake and have fun with his friends. Yet, revealing the deepest part of his heart seems just like an impossible quest to achieve. What a pitiful man. 

“Idiot.” He growls for himself, slashing another man with his sword. “You’re just a fucking idiot!” He snaps again. 

Slowly, he feels that he’s about to lose control. His entire mind is poisoned by the fact that he can’t confess his love to the only woman in the world he’s in love with. He hates himself for being such a coward. She deserves to know after all? He tried many times before… Over and over again, clumsily trying to make her guess his feelings. He can’t bear the look in her eyes anymore. She must despised him now. And it would be normal. He doesn’t deserve to love someone so kind, and patient, when he’s just a pill of insecurities and cowardness. 

“Zoro!” He suddenly hears from across the field. 

Name. 

He can perfectly recognize her voice, despite the cloud of dust in front of his eyes. There’s something wrong, he can tell. He pushes on of his opponent to make his way through the battle, cutting more enemies whenever one of them tries to stop him. 

“Name!” Zoro shouts desperately, stopping his race to listen to his environment. 

He’s lost. He doesn’t know where he came from earlier, and he can’t be sure to follow the right direction. Fuck, he’s even more useless. 

“Zoro, here!” She suddenly appears in the middle of the chaos. 

She’s hurt. Drops of blood are running down her cheek, dripping from an open wound on her forehead. She looks tired as well, as she’s barely able to maintain her sword between her fingers. Toddling in his direction, she manages to grab his arm when Zoro quickly crosses the distance between them. Zoro still feels the presence of her enemy behind her back, and immediately decides to react. If she can’t fight anymore, then he’d be the one to rescue her. 

“Stay here!” He orders, helping her sitting down on the ground, her back resting against a pill of rocks. 

“Zoro, please don’t leave me…” She mutters, her weak fingers grabbing his collar, a bit desperately. 

He puts her hand down on her thigh, ignoring her plea, unable to think about anything else but revenge, rushing into the dust and the broken buildings to find the man he’s looking for. He has to avenge her. In less than a second, he finds the enemy he’s looking for, a deep growl escaping from his throat. He wants to spit how much he hates him. How hard he will make him suffer for what he done. But instead of talking, Zoro jumps forwards, one of his sword trapped between his teeth. He’s enraged, out of control. He has never been like this before, it’s the first time ever he feels so violent. He wants to make them pay, twice the price. Each cut on her skin must be payed the double by him. He can’t let them escape, nor live after what they did to her. The enemy is strong and powerful, Zoro can perfectly sense it thanks to his Haki. But he also knows how much he’s far more precise and deadly. After several minutes of an intense fight, the man finally falls on the ground, eyes blank, unable to lift his sword anymore. Unconscious, his head hits the floor in a loud and almost pitiful crack, as Zoro catches his breath back. 

Still driven by the adrenaline of the fight, Zoro looks up for her body, and finally recognize her figure in the middle of the rubble. He puts his swords back in their sheaths, walking right to her as if he’s about to lecture her. He clenches his fists, dazzled by his own rage. When he’s finally in front of her, he squats down and grabs her collar. 

“Why the fuck did you try to fight him?” He snaps angrily, his fingers twisting her shirt dangerously. 

“He was the one who attack me first!” She tries to argue, her eyes gleaming and full of tears. 

“He could have killed, you idiot!” Zoro shouts again, furious. 

Her bottom lip is trembling, tears falling on her cheeks. Zoro once again feels the familiar sensation of his heart falling in the middle of his guts. He exhales loudly. 

“Why are you so mean with me?” She finally questions, her voice slightly broken. “You’re always so mean with me!” 

“I’m not!” 

“Yes, you are!” She violently pushes on his shoulders, trying in that desperate gesture, to repulse him. “You’re always cold, and violent. You used to be kinder with me… What the hell is wrong with you?!” 

Tears keep falling on her face as she stares at him with furious and desperate eyes. She needs an answer, and Zoro knows it. He can’t hide himself behind his coldness and distance with her ; he needs to stop being so selfish and coward. He catches her wrist when she tries to push him once again, plastering her back against the rock, his eyes intensely looking at her. She sniffs and looks away, her fingernails digging a bit in his skin. 

It’s now or never. 

Zoro grabs her chin between his thumb and his index, forcing her to turn her head and looks back at him. He clears his throat, the silence surrounding them, and he thinks for a second that if she’s attentive enough, she would definitely hears his intense heartbeat pumping against his chest. He clenches his other fist, mustering his courage up to confess his love. 

“I don’t know how to say it…,” he starts, blinking a few times. “I’m… I hate when you’re around when I’m fighting someone…,” 

“Tst, you really are stup -” 

But Zoro circles both of her cheeks, preventing her to speak anymore. He shakes his head, pinching his lips together, before he continues. 

“I hate that because I feel that I won’t be able to protect you…” He continues, his husky voice slightly broken. “I...I don’t want to lose you.” 

She remains silent, her fingers still crushing the skin of his wrist intensely. She breathes heavily, the tears in her eyes finally drying. Zoro sighs, and closes his only eye for a second. 

“I tried many times to tell you this... But I’ve been a coward,” he feels his voice turning into a whisper as he finally opens his heart. “I’m afraid that I won’t be able to protect you from this cruel world, since the first day I met you. I didn’t want to feel this. I didn’t want to have such a burden on my shoulders...But it seems that fate played with me by putting you on my road, and now I can’t pretend anymore. I can’t lie anymore.” 

“Zoro…,” she calls in a long exhale, unable to move. 

He looks back at her, his thumbs softly brushing her cheeks. 

“I’m in love with you.” 

His all world is spinning while he finally confesses his love, his eyes watching her features intensely. 

“I’m in love with you, Name,” he repeats, once again, to make sure that she understands his statement. “It burns my chest, my soul, my entire body.” 

She softly lets lose her grip on his wrist, her digits coming to brush his face. She skims his features for a long moment, remaining silent. She smiles, at first timidly, until it turns into something solar, enlightening her entire face. She suddenly jumps between his arms, ignoring the blood on her features, nor his. She just crushes her lips on his, closing her eyes, her digits digging in his green hair. He growls, surprised, shocked, until he finally understands that it’s her way to answer to his confession. Intensely, he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer, answering to her kiss. They both share this moment of a passion for a long time, their tongues dancing, their bodies entirely flushed together. She finally parts her lips, her hands cupping his jawline. 

“You’re seriously an idiot…” She whispers, shaking her head. 

He rolls his eyes, and clicks his tongue. 

“Shut up, brat.” 

And just like that, as if the world around is disappearing, Zoro kisses her again, freed from that invisible jail trapping his heart. He loves her and she loves him back, and for the first time in his entire life, Zoro finally feels carefree and deeply fulfilled. 

#one piece headcanon #one piece scenario #one piece headcanons #roronoa zoro #zoro one piece #zoro x reader #roronoa zoro x reader #one piece imagines #one piece imagine #one piece #fluffy scenario #lipstickandbarbedwire

[forcedapotheosis-blog]

Gloomy Days

So, how am I going to start this one? A while ago, maybe three months or so, I was scavenging the internet for fanfiction regarding my OTP in One Piece, SaNami, but after a while I didn’t find any new ones. But no problem, eh? Be the change you want to see in this world! Thus I started writing my own, my second fanfiction in general, in German, mind you, and thought it was going to be a oneshot. Well, so much for that, three months later I’m still not freaking finished. And until the muse kisses me again, I decided to translate it into English and share it with you. Please, cut me some slack though, it’s very average and, at times, a bit too angsty. Plus English is not my mother tongue and I’m a far cry from being a Shakespearean scholar. That said, I hope that you can force yourself to enjoy the first chapter. Cursive are the character’s thoughts.

Disclaimer: One Piece doesn’t belong to me. Which is a shame.

---

Chapter I – Broken, damned and drained

“Cast your stone into the water now

And watch the ripples spread like poison

Under the gun, underneath

You'll feel slaughtered and betrayed”

Witchcraft – White Light Suicide

Can't believe that I really came here. It's like cutting my own flesh, some kinda shitty devil must've possessed me, forced me to endure this torture.

Despite these grim thoughts, the scenery Sanji was enjoying in this very moment was far from horrible. Not a single cloud shrouded the bluest sky imaginable and the sun shone in all its glory. He was sitting on a bench, quietly staring at the marvellous estate before him. Two wide floors, born from the finest architecture one could find this side of the Grandline, surrounded by pillars made of incredibly expensive marble.

The owner must've been financially gifted.

Also, the obvious addiction to perfection didn't seem to stop when it came to the encompassing garden, blooming in all the wonderful colours of spring, seamlessly becoming one with nature while still holding its own special place. At this very moment, a literal army of gardeners  was working tirelessly to preserve the status quo, only adding one little piece to it: They were planting tangerine trees. Sanji of course knew where they came from.

Doesn't come of as a surprise, eh? She never settled for anything but the best., he thought.

He should've felt warm, sitting under the bright midday sun while wearing a custom tailored black smoking and, instead of his usual tie, a bow-tie made of silk. A few minutes ago, he had opened the jacket before sitting down to have a cigarette and contemplate his situation.

Look, even the shitty sun's giggling about the poor clown that is me. Goddamn shitty schadenfreude. So grossly incandescent, it seems that there's never going to be night-time again while I'm probably facing my darkest days here. Oh, l'ironie!, surprisingly enough though, he smiled. A tired and resignated smile, but nonetheless a smile. And the only thing that seemed to fit into his current mood. Fate had forced his hand when answering her invitation, fate and a whole lot of booze. How long has it been since the Straw Hats were forced to disband? How did it happen? He wasn't able to recall, mostly because he didn't want to. It's been a terrible time for all of them. He could still remember their former captain, Monkey D. Luffy, crying bitter tears of helplessness, vowing that they'll meet each other again to continue their adventures and the pursuit of their dreams.

 All of them again, together. Those have been his words.

But nothing did ever come true. I should be the last person to be surprised by that, shouldn't I? That's what comes from living a life of making empty promises to each and every attractive woman under the sun. Promised 'em the moon and the stars, but still left with the first light of dawn. Even after the bonds of friendship were shattered, even when I wasn't forced to live as a fugitive anymore, I couldn't stop moving to new places, from island to island, from woman to woman.

The cigarette was finished and he slowly thought about moving, not wanting to risk a late arrival to the ceremony, but he couldn't be bothered with that right now. Thus, he ignited another one. A ritual of his own. The first draw from a fresh cigarette always breathed life back into his body and soul, sometimes literally. With a slight smile on his lips, he remembered shrugging off devastating damage done to his body just by smoking. But those days were gone, probably forever. Why fight anymore, for anything?

At least some of us have been able to .. finally be happy with their lot in life. Shouldn't I be happy for them?, but he wasn't able to force himself to feel good, not for them, not for anyone. It even seemed to him that an eternity had passed since he felt anything at all anyway.

From a strictly objective point of view, those past years had been good to him. He managed to gain a small fortune with his cooking and his name was first on the list of many a food connaisseur on the entire Grand Line and all the four Blues. No, not 'Black Leg' Sanji. And don't even bother with that whole Vinsmoke-thing. He was 'Sanji, protégé of Uke Mochi', the mythical goddess of food. Sanji couldn't even remember when it was that he dropped the 'Black Leg', but sometimes, when his mind drifted away, he was compelled to remember just how proud he had once been.

All the lives he - no, they - touched, all the tyrants they brought down, the marvellous and sorrowful moments they shared were connected to 'Black Leg'.

And maybe that was very the reason he had to get rid of it.

Absentmindedly, he gazed upon the estate, inclining his head from one side to the other, asking himself how many rooms this monster had anyway. And in how many of these rooms one lucky man received what and who he had been denied for so many years. He arrived an hour ago but had not yet taken any steps to introduce himself to the personnel or the owner.

Because he didn't know how he would react to seeing her again. Her beautiful copper-coloured hair .. I wonder how she wears it now. Still long? Maybe short again? Pinned-up maybe? Oh my.., her gentle and clever brown eyes, so deep that a man could drown himself in there, sometimes, especially when she was working on some kind of plan, looking sly, making her even more attractive. Her face as a whole, he was sure about that much, would still look like angels descended from the Heavens to sculpture it, their one flawless masterpiece walking amongst mere mortals. Only .. happy now, that she has arrived somewhere in her life after all the running, the fighting and falling of silent tears. No longer restless, no longer a fugitive, no longer burdened with fear about what would happen the next day.

Did they not have good times too? Even with the marines ever so close by, even with all the pirates that had a different understanding of that word than they had. At least they usually didn't have to go to bed with their stomachs empty.

But .. I guess I can understand her. These times left everyone of us scarred in more than one way, and some of them will never be able to heal .. but could it be that she had the worst lot of us all? At least I wasn't kidnapped and forced into marriage by that .. beast, Absalom. Yeah, I think I understand why she has chosen this way. Away from everything, conquering new frontiers., actually, he did want to walk the path of oblivion too.

Of course, he never thought about marriage. But after the end of the Straw Hats, he just wanted to forget everything, not willing to torture himself any more than he already did.

Before his thoughts could drift away again, he suddenly became aware of somebody entering his sphere of solitude.

"Marimo."

"Ero-cook."

A few seconds passed until they finally looked at each other and somehow both of them knew that it wasn't easy for the other one to be here. No matter how aloof they had tried to be when the bonds of friendship, nakamaship even, couldn't hold the crew together any longer, each and everyone of them was devastated. "Didn't expect to see you here, ero-cook.", the former pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro finally tried to start a real conversation, even though in his usual laconic manner.

"And I didn't expect that you'd make it in time before the ceremony ended, all the guests left and Winter Solstice.", was the obvious answer. The pirate hunter's bad sense of direction was the stuff of legends.

Sanji took a last draw of his cigarette and flung it away, pulling out another one while exhaling the smoke into the warm day.

"It's not like that you're very punctual yourself, mh? On your way here, did you have to cling to the last pieces of virility your startlingly small frame possesses?", surprisingly enough, the green-haired swordsman wore a suit himself. Not custom tailored, of course, but it was an actual suit. And it was even more surprising that this very guy, who usually couldn't care less about his appearance - as long as it was terrifying – seemed to have at least basic knowledge about the colours he could put on with that rather uncommon hair of his. Over a pale shirt, he wore a navy blue suit coat, complemented by trousers of the same colour. He didn't wear a tie though, but that didn't surprise Sanji in the least. The swordsman always went for a more casual look, but he could've done a lot worse.

"Actually, I saw you from a distance and it took me half the day igniting candles and having a hell of a lot of moments of silence for the poor, sodding drunkard that finished your attire.", both men looked at each other again and, surprisingly enough, both of them smiled the very same smile. For just one second, it seemed to both of them, the past was alive and well, new adventures and friends on their way.

"Jokes aside, I did not expect to see you ever again, ero-cook, here in the least of all places.", some seriousness found its way back into the conversation and both immediatly knew it, Sanjis mind unable to ignore it all. Maybe I wouldn't have come if I had received the invitation when I was sober. Maybe I would've just torn it apart to burn it and throw its ashes into the wind instead of thinking about all the good times we had for hours on end, weeping bitter tears just to accept it in the end, because I persuaded myself that I had to see her one last time.. How could I even think that some dreams are worth suffering, fighting for? Could've just stabbed myself right in the shitty chest, it'd amount to the same. What an idiot I am.., instead of replying with even one of these things, he just fell into a somber silence and for a second it seemed that not even the sun in all its glory and schadenfreude did not dare to touch him.

The first conversation after so many years it was, he didn't want to start it with lies.

More moments passed and the good mood had gone into the the realms of forgottenness.

#sannami #sanji #nami #op fanfiction #op fanfic #otp #one piece fanfiction #sanji x nami #nami x sanji #sana #alternate timeline #fanfiction

[your-iron-lung]

Mixed Up 16 | Take It Easy (Love Nothing)

Chapter Word Count: 3711

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Chapter Warning: Strong Language

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Next Chapter: 17

"So, how was the show? Did you enjoy it?"

Seated opposite of one another at a small window-side table, Nami smiled encouragingly at Sanji. He returned the smile and hoped it didn't look as forced as he felt it was.

At Nami's insistence, they'd gone to a small, locally owned café that Sanji was relatively familiar with. Originally, he'd wanted to take her somewhere a bit more upscale and popular; a place where he could vouch for the quality of the food they served, but she had refused and expressed an unwillingness to support any sort of non-local chain establishment.

And while Sanji knew the owner of the Mermaid Café, he didn't know much about the menu or what they served. Nami had seemed delighted, though, when he'd brought her there after picking her up from the downtown area's community parking lot.

"It was interesting, to say the least," he said, passing their waitress a charming smile as she dropped off their drinks. He drew his coffee closer towards him as Nami went to take a sip of her tea. He traced a finger around the saucer dish of his cup absentmindedly before reaching for a sugar packet nestled in a ceramic container in the middle of the table.

As he opened it and began to pour it into his coffee, Nami set her cup down and offered him another smile.

"Oh yeah?"

There was something wrong about this, Sanji thought. Something had happened to him the other day that he hadn't been able to figure out, but had affected him so greatly that he could no longer find the energy to flirt as effectively as he knew Nami deserved. He still found her to be irresistible and absolutely darling in every aspect, but something was blocking his will to express his adoration to her.

He felt awkward, stiff, and found, ultimately, that he didn't really want to be there with her. In the back of his mind, there was another person he found he wanted to be spending his time with.

"How was it putting up with Zoro that whole time? I bet that was rough, huh?"

Sanji's heart palpitated at the mention of his name and he had to advert his eyes as soon as she'd spoken it.

"It wasn't that bad, actually," Sanji replied, swallowing the feeling down with a quick drink of coffee. "The worst part was not being able to smoke throughout the whole thing."

Nami nodded solemnly and held her cup between her hands, sipping at her drink whilst pretending that the awkwardness between them wasn't there. She didn't want to try and force the conversation if he didn't want to participate in it, but she would've been lying if she'd said she was having a nice time.

"Zoro told me you met Robin," she said, trying to give the conversation some kindling to work off of. "How'd that go?"

As she spoke, she saw again the same reaction breach Sanji's face that he'd expressed before at the mention of Zoro's name. It was a sour look accompanied with a deep frown that left him looking incredibly uncomfortable.

Sighing, he nodded almost reluctantly.

"He warned me about her," he said melodramatically, slouching over the table. "I had every intention of avoiding her, but, alas, her beauty sought me out."

As he spoke, he reached a hand into his coat pocket that was draped across the back of his chair, intending on taking out his cigarettes, and paused.

"Do you mind if I do?" he asked, glancing at Nami before he withdrew his pack.

"Nope! Go ahead," she said pleasantly, amused by the start of his story.

He smiled thankfully and pulled out his pack, taking out a single cigarette and pulling the ashtray closer towards himself.

With his cigarette lit, Sanji drew in a deep, smoky breath and instantly felt a bit better. A new energy entered him that he had been lacking previously, and he wasted no time in directing it towards his date.

"In fact," he began, easily settling into the charming personality he'd spent a great many years nurturing. "I dare think she had a bit of a thing for me."

"Is that so?" Nami said, giving him a catty grin. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, for one, it was she who sought me out to begin with! What woman alive is immune to my charm?" At this, he winked at Nami and blew her a kiss, to which she responded with a roll of her eye.

"And, well, beyond that, if she didn't fancy me, then why would she have gone through the trouble of bailing us out?"

Nami shrugged, entertaining Sanji's long-winded thoughts on the matter. She knew everything about what had happened that night already, having pestered Zoro about it as soon as he let her know he was home. To be honest, she was just relieved Sanji seemed to have dug his way out of whatever slump he'd gotten himself into.

"She must have fallen in love with me at first sight," Sanj continued, smiling serenely to himself. "I can find no other explanation for her actions."

"Obviously," Nami said, taking a drink of her tea. They fell into a relaxed silence as they waited on their food, listening absentmindedly to the conversations happening around them.

It was just about to become a nice lunch outing for Nami when she felt her phone buzz against her leg. She debated on whether or not she should check it now or later, but as she looked at Sanji, still lost in his fantasy, she decided she would.

Leaning to the side a bit for leverage, she managed to weasel her phone from out of her pocket to see that she had received an email from Zoro. Here she hesitated, unsure if she wanted to see whatever it was he had to say about her date. Curiosity getting the better of her, though, she opened it.

Sender: wildslutangel22

Subject: guess what I got

Message: hows the date with the asshole. look what I got

Frowning, she noticed that there was a picture attached. She hadn't even known Zoro knew how to attach an image to an email, seeing as how he was so technologically inept. Across the table, drinking his coffee languidly, Sanji watched her expression as she opened the attachment and saw her face turn from shock to utter outrage in a matter of seconds.

"Oh my fucking God! I can't believe he did that!" she exclaimed angrily, fury boiling in her eyes as she slammed the phone down onto the table.

"What? Who?" Sanji said, startled and a little bit frightened by her sudden mood swing. Nearby patrons of the Mermaid Café had turned to look at what had disrupted their peaceful meals, making him nervous. "What happened, my sweet?"

"Zoro! That fucking prick!" Fuming, she shoved her cellphone across the table to Sanji, who gingerly picked it up to inspect the picture displayed on the screen.

The picture was a little blurry and there was part of a finger in the image, but Zoro was the clear focus. He was sticking his gross tongue out and holding out what looked to be a movie or concert ticket. He didn't understand what the big deal was, unless he was holding something Nami had wanted and was unable to obtain herself.

"Um," he began, unsure of what the appropriate response to this situation should be. "Yikes."

"He bought his own ticket to the Tralalaw show so he wouldn't have to pay me back," Nami pouted, sighing as she took her phone back when Sanji offered it to her. "To be fair, I was going to make him pay me double back for it, but still! Now I have an extra ticket, and he knows I hate dealing with scalpers."

Sanji didn't know what a Tralalaw was, nor did he know whose side he should be on regarding the issue, but the look on Nami's disheartened face told him he should at least try to make amends.

"I'll buy it off you, if you'd let me," he offered, despite not knowing anything about what it entailed. "It hurts me deeply to see how unfairly he treats you."

He reached out to touch the back of her hand in support and was taken aback by the sudden mirthful look of glee that shot across Nami's face.

"Oh my God. Oh my God, yes, that's perfect! Of course you can, Sanji! In fact, I insist."

With that, she took her hand away from under his and turned to grab her purse. He watched her root through it excitedly before she produced an envelope. The manic look in her eye frightened him to some degree.

"This is for you," she said, opening the unsealed envelope and taking out a ticket. As he took it from her and read the front, he ascertained that it must have been Zoro's ticket for whatever the hell the Tralalaws were.

Sanji took in a deep a breath to prepare to give a speech of thanks when Nami cut him short.

"Save your thanks, just- do me this one favor real quick; take a selfie with me?"

Baffled, he found he could only nod, inciting an evil grin from her as she got up from her chair, grabbing her phone and coming to stand by Sanji.

"This is going to be so good," Nami rambled excitedly, opening the camera on her phone and wrapping her arm around Sanji's shoulders, forcing them to become very close together. "Hold that ticket up, and, ready?"

Too fixated on being pressed so close to Nami's body, Sanji didn't even get a chance to see how the picture had turned out before Nami had returned to her seat. When he realized her chest was no longer pressed against the side of his face, he returned to his senses and peered at the ticket still in his hand while she began giggling menacingly, rapidly typing out an email response to Zoro.

Subject: RE: guess what I got

Message Body: Wow! I'm impressed; what'd you even use to take that picture with? That's crazy. But hey, no skin off my back, I've already got someone lined up for your ticket.

Attaching the picture she'd just taken with Sanji to the message, she hit send and could almost hear Zoro's outrage from where he sat, miles away at the work computer, smug feelings of having one-upped her transforming into abrupt horror.

"Fuck!" He shouted at the screen, face paling as he stared at the picture Nami had just sent him. "She can't do that!"

Customers of Super-Star! Guitars had long since grown accustomed to Zoro's crude outbursts, but the newer ones feigned offense when they heard his unfiltered tongue. He ignored them as he studied the picture, twisting his lips in annoyance at the idiotic expression on Sanji's ridiculous face.

"That witch!"

"Who can't do what, Zoro?"

Recognizing Tony's voice, he tore his eyes away from the screen and reluctantly stood up, gazing down over the counter to find Tony standing there, waiting for him.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Zoro grumbled angrily, rubbing at his forehead that had begun to ache. Coming around the desk, he looked up and around alertly. "Where's your grandma?"

"Trying to find parking," Tony said pleasantly, hefting up his guitar case.

"Alright, quick, let's go to the back before she does."

Together, subtly trying to hurry, they made their way into the lesson room they used. Tony fell into their routine easily, unpacking his guitar and plugging it into the nearby floor amp. Zoro still looked pissed, despite his assurances to Tony that he wasn't, and took a while to find his groove.

How was it that Sanji kept finding ways to interfere with his life? If Zoro had known that giving a ride to him a week ago would have resulted in all this meddling, he wouldn't have done it. He could handle taking him to the art show (at Nami's absolute insistence); didn't even mind getting high with him, but, guitar lessons? The Tralalaw show? Sanji was getting far too involved in the aspects of Zoro's life that actually meant something to him.

There was nothing for it now, however, and Zoro knew he'd have to come to terms with that. If Sanji kept finding ways to get mixed up in his life then he'd either have to learn to adjust or cut the idiot out completely, no matter how attached Nami got to him. Caught up in his thoughts, Zoro almost ignored Tony when he spoke.

"Um, Zoro, about the Solstice show…"

"What, not having second thoughts again, are you?" Zoro mumbled, coming out of his thoughts. The downtrodden expression on Tony's face betrayed that he was. "Aw, c'mon Tony, how many times do I have to go over this with you? I've told you plenty of times that you are good enough to perform-"

"No, it's not like that this time! I just- just wanted to know if you'd sing the song while we play it!"

Zoro blanched at his request.

"No, absolutely not."

"But-!"

"No, Tony," Zoro said with a sigh, explaining his logic as patiently as he could. "It'd take way too much away from your playing. The recital is supposed to show off your talents, not mine."

"Yeah, I know, but, I was just thinking, the song's not really recognizable on its own, you know? With just the guitars? If you sang it, people might recognize it better!"

Tony looked so expectant and hopeful that Zoro felt a little bad turning him down.

"I can't, Tony-"

"What if I did a solo!" Tony suddenly blurt out, holding his guitar tightly in hand. "If- if I do a solo, will you sing for me then?!"

Zoro frowned; he'd been on Tony's case about improvising guitar solos for a while now. The kid was so shy though that he never would, despite having the skills to perform them. As much as he didn't want to agree to it, he found that this was a deal that he could get behind, if only because it would improve Tony's capabilities.

"I don't know, Tony," Zoro said slowly, mulling it over in his head. "It'd have to be 15 seconds long, at least."

"I can do that!" Tony said, though he appeared scared and unsure of himself.

"And you'll use chords?"

"Yeah!"

Zoro sighed again slowly before agreeing to Tony's request. He didn't want to do it; didn't really sing much anymore, though he figured his voice would be a good match for the song Tony had picked to play, even if it didn't really fit in with his usual genre.

"Alright, well, let's get to working on some structure then," he began, plucking out the tune to the song on the guitar in his hand, trying to remember the lyrics to The Prettiest Waitress in Memphis.

However, Tony, who had been looking positively jubilant a few moments ago, now appeared downcast again, prompting a comically bad chord from Zoro, who groaned and set his acoustic aside.

"Oh my God, Tony, what is it now?"

Fidgeting in his seat, Tony's face turned slightly red in embarrassment.

"W-well, it's just, I was thinking that…"

"That…?" Zoro prompted impatiently.

"That… that if you agreed to sing, then maybe you'd get Nami to play the drums for us, too! We'd have a full band!"

Zoro could hardly believe his ears. He stared long and hard at his pupil, taken aback by the demands he was being hit with.

"Are you serious? Tony, that is absolutely-"

"Absolutely a great idea!"

Standing in the doorway to their lessons room was Brook, looking jovial and positively enthused about the proposition at hand.

"What?" Tony and Zoro said in unison, both turning to stare at the tall anemic-looking man.

"How long have you been standing there?" Zoro asked suspiciously, squinting hard at him.

"Long enough to know that young Tony could gain some valuable insight on what it's like to play in a full band from this! Especially if he chooses to pursue a professional career in music! We would have to have you all play last, of course, so as not to outshine and deter our other performers, but it could work!"

Zoro had been about to retort and defend his stance on the matter, but when Brook explained his reasoning, he found that Tony's idea wasn't actually half bad. The kid didn't have much friends; all the ramblings from his grandmother told Zoro that much, so joining a band with his social presence would be hard for him to do under normal circumstances. This really could be a valuable learning experience for him.

"Alright, fine," he said finally, relenting. Tony actually jumped up from his chair to cheer, nearly throwing his guitar to the floor in the process. "But! The solo has to be 30 seconds."

Some of Tony's enthusiasm waned, but there was a strong look of determination on his face as he rose to the challenge.

"I can do it!" he exclaimed. "I think."

"Yes, that's the spirit," Brook said with a laugh. "Well, I'll leave you two to it then! Good luck, dear Tony, and practice hard!"

"Yes sir, I will!"

Brook gave a mock salute before he departed, walking with a light spring in his step and leaving Zoro alone to deal with the aftermath of his visit.

"How the hell does he always know when to come and fuck with with my shit?" Zoro wondered aloud, making Tony laugh before getting serious. "Alright though, for real, we've got a lot of practicing to do with only a week left to do it."

"Right!"

Zoro picked up his guitar and quickly went through a set of scales. He stared at Tony, who immediately hurried to do the same.

"So let's do it," Zoro announced as they launched into different scales.

As they resumed their practice in earnest, Nami and Sanji concluded their date. They'd both had light meals that left the bill small enough for Sanji to cover completely so that Nami only had to pay the tip, and as they stood on the sidewalk outside the café, he couldn't help but think that maybe his Saturday curse had somehow been lifted. The date had been nice.

He helped Nami into her coat before putting on his own, and together they walked towards where Nami had parked.

"You know, I'm actually glad you made this a lunch date instead of a dinner one," Nami said, making conversation as she took Sanji's arm. "I actually have a party to go to tonight that I'd totally forgotten about."

"A party, you say?" Sanji replied, hoping she was about to invite him to accompany her.

"Yeah, it's a fetish party, though; I don't think you'd be interested," she said, laughing at the look of disbelief that had appeared on Sanji's face. "Don't judge me! I'm only going because a friend of mine is performing, that's all!"

"I would cut off both my hands before I dare judge you, my darling," Sanji said in all seriousness. "I think it's wonderful of you to support your friends."

"Thanks."

A million images and imagined scenarios were manifesting themselves in Sanji's head about what Nami would be doing at a fetish party as they continued the rest of the short walk in silence. He missed the forlorn look on Nami's face as they stopped by her small, white pickup-truck and she separated herself from him, reaching into her purse for her keys to unlock the doors.

"I'm afraid this is goodbye, my sweet Nami."

Looking as pitiable and sad as he possibly could, he closed the door for her after she'd started the engine and taken the driver's seat. She looked sad as well, he thought, as she suddenly turned to him, biting her lip. He cocked his head as she rolled the window down and leaned out a little bit.

"Can I ask you something?" she questioned, speaking urgently.

"Of course," he replied, though he was a little wary about what she had to ask, her tone intimidating him.

A moment passed between them with neither of them saying anything before Nami finally spoke, abruptly asking, "Do you like Zoro?"

The warmth he'd felt during his lunch date was suddenly consumed and replaced by a chilled sort of dread he didn't want to focus on.

"What?" he asked, trying to force a slight chuckle but feeling his body lock up. "I mean, I guess I see him as a friend?"

"No, not like that. Do you like him?" she repeated, staring him dead in the eye.

The distant sounds of the downtown area disappeared as he both felt and heard his heartrate increasing, hating the way it felt. The idling engine of Nami's truck rumbled steadily on, even as Sanji's thoughts raced away from him.

"Where is this coming from?" he asked, ignoring the way his voice shook a little.

Nami broke eye contact and looked away guiltily.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't going to tell you this, but the fetish party thing I'm going to tonight is actually another date."

"What?" he asked, beyond confused. Of all the ways he'd pictured his date with Nami ending, this was not even remotely close to what he had imagined.

"I don't want to date you, Sanji. I'm sorry if I've led you on; I don't mean to be a bitch about it, but whatever you're feeling for him is getting to be a little obvious."

"What?"

"Just tell it to me straight, okay?" she said, turning back to him with a soft smile. "Do you like him?"

"I- I don't know." Stuttering slightly, he answered honestly, becoming distraught by the conversation and the line of questioning she was grilling him with. "I've only known him a week; is that even enough? What does any of this have to do with… anything?"

"Because, I can help you."

"Help me?" His eyebrows drew tightly together as he stared at her, unsure of what anything they had been saying meant.

"If you want it."

"With what?"

"With Zoro."

#zosan fanfic #zosan fanfictoin #zosan #zoro/sanji #one piece fanfiction #one piece #punk au #modern day au #slow burn #mixed up