#Zoro & Sanji exchanging looks like ‘do we let him keep saying it?’

[r0semultiverse]

What if instead of the people of Wano calling devil fruit power users “sorcerers” & saying they’re using “sorcery” they just said they were fruity?

[penkura]

last forever [7/13]

Summary: Zoro only offered to marry you to keep you out of an arranged marriage with a man much older than you. You agreed with the caveat of ending it via annulment once you received word from your parents regarding the original engagement, despite your growing feelings for your close friend.

Pairing: Zoro x Fem!reader, mentioned Sanami later (like epilogue later so chill)

Warnings: Marriage of Convenience, Fake Marriage, referenced sex (waaaaaay later on), mutual pining, Zoro is bad at feelings but what's new there, eventual romance I promise, mention of past attempted assault (I'll warn in that chapter), creepy older dude later on

Note: I apologize for glossing over and skipping fights and so much of this arc. Writing violence is not my forte, and I'd rather focus on the main relationship. We all know how One Piece goes anyway. I had to go back and refresh myself on some of the details, it's been a while since I read/watched Water Seven and Enies Lobby.

But also, I was SO NERVOUS writing a certain part of this, its NOT my usual style omg. But I needed to write what I did when it popped into my head. Just wait until a bit later, though omg. This stays SFW, I swear.

Taglist:

@misfits1a

[Ch. 1] ● [Ch. 2] ● [Ch. 3] ● [Ch. 4] ● [Ch. 5] ● [Ch. 6]

When you finally make it to Water Seven, after your run in with the Foxy Pirates and Admiral Aokiji, it’s nice to be somewhere you recognize. Having only been here a few times when your dad had business and he chose to bring you and Elias, it was always your favorite trip to take when your mother would let you tag along.

The only person who knows this at first, apart from Zoro, is Sanji, when you choose to go into the city with him as Zoro watches the ship; Luffy, Nami, and Usopp go to exchange the gold for actually money, and Chopper goes with Robin to find a bookstore. Sanji laughs a bit when you tell him you’ve been here a few times, give or take.

“You may have been a bit sheltered, but you were well traveled!”

Laughing in return, you tighten your arms around Sanji, laying your head on his back as your Yagara ride continues down the water street, watching all the people. It’s been so long, you forgot how lively this city was.

“Mom would always try to make me stay home with her, but I’d cry and throw a tantrum until she let me go, normally because my brother asked for me to. I was a little spoiled back then by Elias.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Sanji looks over his shoulder to give you a smile, “You were the baby, that’s expected.”

“Tch, yeah,” scoffing, you don’t look up at him, “The baby no one but my brother really wanted.”

He doesn’t say anything, instead just patting one of your hands, which makes you fist his shirt in your grip for a moment before relaxing again. Sanji knows more about your life growing up than most of your crew, only Zoro really having the nearly full story. Even then, you’ve kept somethings to yourself, not because they were painful memories, but because they were some of the few good times you remember, they were more precious to you than any other memories.

The two of you quickly find the shopping district and purchase copious amount of local foods, Sanji reeling off different ideas for dishes as he catches sight of Robin, grabbing your hand to drag you along and around a corner he swears to you he saw her go down, but she’s nowhere to be seen and neither is Chopper.

Your doctor does find you both a few moments later, apologizing on your way back to Merry for losing Robin, but you tell him not to worry, she can take care of herself, she’ll come back later.

When you get back to Merry, the update Zoro gives you feels like a knife in all your hearts. 

“What do you mean Merry is unfixable?!”

“Just what I said,” Zoro doesn’t fully look at Sanji, instead making sure you’re all right with the news, though the frown and starting of tears tell him you aren’t, “A shipwright came to check and said so.”

You hate the idea of having to give up Merry, whether that’s what Luffy’s decided yet or not, you aren’t sure, even as Nami returns and the situation gets worse with Usopp having been beaten by the Franky family and the two hundred million beri being stolen from him. The money didn’t matter, what mattered was Usopp, the rest of your crew going to find him and Luffy but Nami clinging onto you to stay with her, which you do to keep your friend safe.

The rest of the day is a blur, after Usopp is brought back, his fight with Luffy over Merry, and how quickly the rest of you leave to a hotel in the city. Some would probably think it’s strange that you’re holding so tightly to Zoro the whole time, rarely letting go of his arm, but you feel like you need some stability with how things have changed so much in just a day. You all still don’t know where Robin’s gone, you plan to go with Sanji and Chopper later the next day to try and find her.

For now, Zoro doesn’t mind you holding onto and staying by him. He tries to understand, it’s likely you’re thinking back to your parents, having told him of how they’d argue regarding you mostly, Elias being your safe haven who would remove you from the situation for safety.

Part of you doesn’t want to sleep that night, but Zoro makes you, forcing you to lay down. Really you’re worried you’re going to wake up and everything’s been a dream, none of your friends will be there, but Zoro, who you fully are coming to believe can read your mind, pokes you in the forehead before sitting by your bed with his back to you.

“Just sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”

Every part of you believes him, you’ve got nothing but trust in Zoro.

+!+

With everything that’s happened involving Robin, your crew, Galley-La, and the Franky family, you’re surprised you’re even still on your feet as you follow everyone into Enies Lobby. You’d barely slept the night before and have been awake since early the previous morning, ending up following Sanji to the sea train that was taking Robin from you all. You fight alongside him, Franky, and Usopp, er, Sniper King, to try and reach Robin, only to lose her again in exchange for your own lives.

After the Rocketman train catches up to you and the four of you board it, Nami throws a towel over you since you’re sopping wet from the rain, and you start to draw yourself back from everyone for a few moments. You just need a bit to catch your breath, to keep yourself from crying due to how tired and upset you are. It’s going to be another sleepless night as you listen to everyone try and plan how you’re all going to attack the government island, you want to rescue Robin as soon as possible, even for the selfish reason of being able to sleep properly. Zoro tries to keep you out of the plan discussion, making you sit down and rest as much as you can, giving you water and sending you the slightest of glares if you try to get up too soon.

“Stay there, wife,” he’s quiet while he tells you to stay where you are, trying to keep his slip up of calling you his wife from those who don’t and shouldn’t know, “Rest until we get there. We’ll get Robin back.”

A slight smirk hits your face as you look up at him. “Trust her now?”

Zoro shrugs a bit, leaning on the wall beside you. “I guess. I trust you and Luffy more. But if you don’t rest, it doesn’t matter who I trust.”

Ah, that makes sense, why he’s trying so hard to make you take a break, other than you’re being up for so long now.

You’ll be useless in the fighting if you aren’t as prepared as you can be, if you haven’t had any kind of rest and keep worrying over Robin and everyone else. Even when you get there, convince Robin to let you all rescue her, most of your body wants to give up and stop, but you keep going, keep running to save her with everyone else.

You don’t really mean to get separated from everyone when you go to find the CP9 members who have keys that could open Robin’s sea prism stone cuffs, but it happens and you’re left defending yourself.

A few Marines get a little too close for comfort, but you cut them down fairly quickly, before going the other way from where you came and laughing to yourself at the same time.

I’m starting to take after my husband after all.

+!+

You’ve all returned to Water Seven after rescuing Robin from the government, you’ve maybe given her numerous hugs since even though its only been a couple of hours, and your unfortunate burial of Merry that’d left most of you in tears but all of you heartbroken. So much had happened that you had to step away from everyone for a bit, while there were discussions of what to do next although Luffy had once again fallen asleep from overuse of his powers.

Truthfully you wish you could go to sleep, you’ve been awake for well over twenty-four hours at this point, it would be nice to curl up in a bed and sleep the next several days. Its times like this that make you really wonder if you’re meant to be a pirate, maybe you should just go home and do what your parents want.

“Hey, you okay?”

Then Zoro finds you like always, quietly speaking to keep the others from eavesdropping, though Nami tries, a hand on your shoulder, this time he seems to grip a little tighter than before. You know him well enough at this point, there’s just the slightest hint of worry on his face as he looks at you, brows furrowed just a bit. Zoro knows you just as well, you step away like this when things start to get to be too much, you just need a few moments to clear your head and breathe, and since you’ve had that, you give him a real smile.

“I’m okay.”

“Are you really?”

You nod, Zoro doing the same in return as he knows to believe you, before surprising you by gently taking you face in his hands, as if he’s making absolutely sure that you’re telling the truth.

Having lost track of you while he’d gone on to fight the CP9 members to get Robin’s key, his mind kept wandering to where you’d gotten off to, if you were safe, if you were fighting someone or multiple marines, he really hoped you weren’t against a CP9 member. You had to stay safe, no matter what, you and Robin were his biggest concerns at the time. When you randomly ran into him, Sanji, and Usopp, he was surprised by the relief he felt to see you were a little banged up but otherwise perfectly fine. He’d made you let him carry you on his back the rest of the way, until you got to the ship and were able to safely be on the ground again. He’d barely let you out of his sight since then.

Zoro doesn’t make whatever worry he had about you obvious, only looking like he’s fighting to find something to say while he holds your face and you continue to smile, tilting your head.

“Zoro?”

“Glad you’re okay.”

Giggling a bit, you nod before wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug, your exhaustion and the fears and worries you’ve had the last few hours finally coming to surface while you hug Zoro, making him do the same lightly, to keep you from embarrassing yourself in front of the others while you cry quietly, though you know they wouldn’t care or judge you.

You’re glad Robin is back, everyone is safe and alive, you all may have lost Merry but you’re coming to terms with it.

But most importantly to you, Zoro is safe, and to him, you’re safety is just as important, even if he barely voices it. The last thing he wants is for you to be harmed, in anyway by anyone.

He'll be especially damned if it’s by his hand so he comforts you the best he can, until you’re calmed down enough to rejoin your crew, staying beside him.

He doesn’t make you release his hand as you grip onto it, instead squeezing it back whenever you do so. When you lean into his arm later on, he lays his head against your own, telling you to go ahead and sleep, he’ll get you to a bed. You make him promise to stay with you that night, and he does once everyone goes to turn in, not leaving your side for even a second.

He’ll make sure you stay safe.

+!+

Zoro isn't sure how you two ended up away from the rest of the party. Too much alcohol, yes, but his tolerance is higher than a normal person's. He knows better than to wander off like this, but you took him by the wrist and walked away with a new bottle of sake in your hand, convincing him that it would be good to get away from the noise and everyone else.

You don't normally drink as much as he's seen you do today, he wonders if it's the alcohol that's causing you to giggle incessantly and steal glances at him every bit. Not like you had to steal glances, if you two had been talking you'd be looking at him.

But you'd barely said a word apart from when he asked why you were dragging him away from everyone else.

“Just want some quiet time, husband.”

Zoro never stops you from calling him husband, he's not sure why. Your marriage wasn't real, he should stop you from calling him that.

He should, but he never does.

He doesn't now, even as you lean against him and say “my husband” over and over again. It's only the moment you crawl yourself into his lap that he feels the need to stop you, despite knowing you're drunk or at the very least tipsy enough to not know what you're doing.

“Get off.”

He still doesn't push you off, he's not that heartless.

“Nooooo…” You whine and start to nuzzle your face in his neck, sighing happily after a moment. “My husband~”

“Ain't actually your husband, you know that.”

“But you're my husband still.”

“Stop it before someone sees.”

You pout, but lift your head up to look at him. Zoro can tell more so now that you're definitely drunk, you're more emotional than he thought you'd be. He always expected you to be a giggly or chatty drunk, not emotional to the point you're pouting but also looking like you might cry.

“You should...kiss me.”

“What.”

You nod, leaning closer and touching your nose to Zoro's, making him glance away from you just the slightest bit from the proximity despite the bit of pink across his cheeks that you can see. This is the closest you've let yourself get to him ever, even the nights you sneak into his bed from nightmares, you've never placed your face so close to his.

“You didn't kiss me…when we got married.”

“We're not actu–”

“I'll kiss you then.”

You close the gap for the quickest of seconds, kissing Zoro so fast it's like it didn't happen. Despite your drunk state your face burns with a blush and you apologize, you're not sure why you did that. Must've been the alcohol controlling you or something, that's your excuse. You're both quiet but neither of you moves for a moment, before you decide to get up only to have Zoro hold you in place by your shoulders. His brows are furrowed and you're not sure what's going on in his mind, before he pulls you back into a proper kiss, none of this tiny peck of the lips thing you'd just done. He kisses you fully and for more than a brief second, it's several seconds before he pulls away, leaving you both breathless and you personally shocked.

Shocked for just a moment before you take his face in your hands and kiss Zoro a third time, which he returns, surprising you when he wraps his arms around your waist and brings you closer to him (how you could even get closer when you’re already on his lap, you don’t know). You refuse to let him be the one to end this. You don't want this to end, it needs to continue, even if just for you. Even if all it does is make your feelings for him stronger, even if Zoro later tells you it was a mistake and he still held no romantic feelings for you, despite that fact he's so willingly returning such affection.

Even though, a moment later, Zoro pushes you away gently by your shoulders, neither of you able to breathe properly for a moment, catching your breath as your slowly sobering mind tries to play catch up with what the hell just happened.

You kissed Zoro, and he actually kissed you back. He didn't shove you off or yell at you or anything like that. He accepted it and reciprocated without a single word. You figured he would fight you about this, that he wouldn't accept it so easily.

Is this the progress you've been hoping for?

Once you've both caught your breath, Zoro doesn't even look at you, instead moves just enough that you get the hint and get off his lap finally. It's a few minutes of complete silence between the two of you, that has you confused. You thought things were changing, that you two were getting closer than you had been even before Luffy brought you along.

The fact he'd just kissed you back for several minutes it felt like, you thought maybe Zoro was going to confess to you, but when he still doesn't look at you, you attempt to bring him back by taking his hand, which he lets you for a moment before gently pulling his arm back to himself.

“Zoro…I…I'm sor–”

“I think…you should go to bed, [Y/N].”

“Do you,” you gulp a bit, looking away before you finish, “do you want to come with me?”

“No. That's not a good idea.”

You know this, who knows what trouble you'd bring to yourselves or the crew if you two went to your room together? Whose heart would be broken the next morning if you took things too far when you weren't fully sober? You didn't know, the thought of either of you being hurt made your heart ache and you couldn't bear the thought.

So, instead of trying to convince him things would be fine, you really just wanted to sleep with him next to you, you nod, standing up and dusting yourself off, grabbing the bottle you'd brought with you and looking at Zoro again.

“Are you–”

“Gonna stay here for a bit.”

It's all you can do to nod again, apologizing for pushing things too far before you turn and leave, doing your absolute best to keep your tears to yourself as you return to the party, giving Nami a small smile when she asks where you've been, promising her you'd just gone off to spend some time alone.

She doesn't believe you and intends to get all the information she can later, but she does give you a hug that nearly pushes you over, and says she'll beat up whoever made you sad, especially if it's Zoro, earning her a laugh before you return to your room at the hotel.

I wish he had come with me…

Truthfully you don't regret kissing Zoro, not even a bit. Despite his rejection of your feelings, the fact he so willingly kissed you back made you believe that maybe things were changing in your favor.

Perhaps it was because he was drunk, or maybe he was sober enough that he knew exactly what he was doing, especially when he denied returning to your room with you.

Either way, even with your heart aching from another rejection, it feels like you're making progress with Zoro and your relationship with him, little by little.

For his part of it all, Zoro stays in the same place you'd left him for nearly an hour, trying to calm his own racing heart after that exchange with you.

How he never thought of kissing you before, but now he didn't want to do anything but kiss you (it's the alcohol talking, he swears it is). You tasted like the sake you'd shared and whatever sweet wine Nami had convinced you to take several drinks of. A combination he never expected to be so nice, something he didn't think he'd want to taste again. The moment he thinks about it again his heart skips a beat, and Zoro puts head in his hands in an attempt to stop such feelings.

No, no, shit I gotta stop this.

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair, pulling it slightly to get those thoughts out of his head. Any focus on romance, on you he wanted out of his head. There's been too much of it lately, the want to stay close to you, to pull you away from everyone else, to give in and indulge himself in you alone. He'd told you nothing was going to happen and he had meant it.

But then you had to go and kiss him. The most innocent of kisses, a quick peck on the lips but he'd gone and pulled you back for more almost instantly. Then you made it worse by returning it again and holding his face this time, he didn't know why he enjoyed that so much. This whole thing was ridiculous, there's no reason for these feelings!

The only thing he could do to get some time to think was to push you away, refuse to join you when you went to bed. Who knows what would've happened if he had gone with you? Of course, he knew your thoughts were innocent, you'd shared a bed multiple times when you turned to him after nightmares, it was highly unlikely you were expecting anything more than to just go to sleep and wake up with a hangover, Zoro by your side in case of alcohol induced nightmares.

And he had made you go to bed alone.

That realization, for some reason, causes his heart to ache and Zoro has to finally admit what he's been trying not to, over the last several months, even with the more domestic thoughts he's allowed himself to entertain at times. Something he was hoping would fade away, would disappear over time like it always did for others, the feelings he's finally realized were going to be more long term than he expected.

Damn it all…I'm falling for my wife.

+!+

Contrary to what many may think, Sanji doesn’t particularly like being privy to romance gossip, not the kind involving his crewmates especially. He thinks that such things should be kept between a couple, so when he accidentally hears you telling Nami and Robin how you and Zoro finally kissed the other night, he’s less than pleased to hear it ended with your swordsman pushing you back, not taking you back to your room, or even staying with you for the night.

How unbelievably rude of him! To steal your first kiss, and not even walk you back to your room!

That’s what Sanji would’ve done. If any woman kissed him, he’d walk her back to her room or home, at the very least, to ensure she was safe and nothing happened. Zoro not doing that, when you were inebriated, when you could’ve been hurt or worse, it angers Sanji more than anything Zoro has or hasn’t done thus far. He views you as his best friend, he hates the way you and Zoro seem to get closer to a real relationship, only for something to happen or someone to intervene and ruin your progress. He’s been cheering for you from the start, ever since you confirmed your feelings for the swordsman, only to now wonder if it’s worth it for you.

If Zoro really is what you want and makes you happy, why does it seem like all you do lately is suffer?

Sanji doesn’t fully mean to give Zoro the cold shoulder this time, or even the suspicious looks he throws at him, but Zoro noticed quickly, before anyone else, and confronts him.

“What the hell is your problem, cook?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit, you’ve been giving me worse looks than normal.”

Sanji bites down on his cigarette, finally dropping the knife he’d been holding to face Zoro with a scowl.

“I heard you and [Y/N] kissed the other night—”

“Damn it.”

“—and you didn’t bother to take her back to her room?”

“What, is that my job now?”

“As her husband it should be!”

“I’m not really her husband! Damn it, this is stupid.”

Zoro goes to leave, but Sanji stops him by grabbing his sleeve, holding on and telling him to stop.

“Look, asshole. I could care less that you two are married, real or not, or that you kissed her,” Sanji grits his teeth, finally letting go of Zoro’s sleeve, “But if you break her heart, I’ll never forgive you, mosshead.”

While Sanji turns back to continue prepping for dinner, Zoro stops for just a moment. The two have had fights before, that’s obvious to anyone with a brain, but they’ve yet to fight about you. And he wonders why it's only now, after you kissed him, that Sanji seems so hell bent on protecting you, or maybe he's always been like this, it's just more on display as you and Zoro start to get closer.

“What’s your deal with her?”

“She’s my best friend, mosshead. I just want her safe and happy, even if it’s with you.”

He doesn’t say anything in response, leaving the kitchen to find you lounging with Nami and Robin, the three of you in some conversation when you look up and see him, giving a slight smile that Zoro returns with a nod, before heading off to the crow’s nest. What Sanji last said is stuck in his head, partially wondering if you told your cook what happened that night in Water Seven or if he was good at guessing, but that’s not the biggest thing he wonders about.

Would you really be happy with me, of all people, [Y/N]?

+!+

“All right, wait, so, you honestly kissed him?”

“Nami don't make me repeat myself.”

Nami laughs while Robin smiles, both amazed you got up the courage to kiss Zoro of all people. Yeah, you were tipsy at the time, even though Zoro still believes you were fully intoxicated, but you couldn't help feeling bad about it afterwards, just for a bit.

“I didn't fully think it through. I just…I don't know, I wanted to kiss him so I did.”

“I don't think he's too upset about it then,” Robin nods a bit, taking a sip of her wine, “You said he kissed you back, if he didn't push you away right off the bat, it sounds like he was positively receptive to it.”

“Yeah,” Nami quickly agrees, giving you a grin, “Sounds like you're getting yourself a boyfriend.”

“I don't think he wants that.”

“Well, what do you want? Maybe you guys could talk it through.”

What did you want? You thought you knew, to be a world renowned swordswoman, to help Luffy become King of the Pirates.

But what did you want from Zoro? Just to be with him, to stay married to him? Do you want to maybe have a family of your own with him one day? You'd had those thoughts when your feelings first started surfacing, after your impromptu wedding at that backwater courthouse. You'd stopped entertaining  thoughts for quite a while, but now, they're coming back more often.

More importantly, does Zoro want any of that with you?

“I…think… I want to be with him forever…”

Hearing Nami choke on her own drink, you give her a concerned look before she looks at you with wide eyes.

“You sound like you're in love with Zoro!”

You don't say anything for a bit, even with Nami and Robin looking at you like they're expecting you to deny such a thing. There was no way you were in love with Zoro, not at all. You two hadn't dated, your marriage was only temporary, it was meant to end as soon as you had something from your parents. You two weren't going to last forever, you weren't going to have kids together, live out your lives as a married couple. It wasn't happening.

No matter how much you may want it to. That's what Nami and Robin have come to think over time, from the things you've said to them.

“I am, Nami.”

Despite Nami's new outburst and saying she knew it with Robin laughing, you don't feel any kind of worry or fear about admitting your real feelings for Zoro. Neither of them would tell, your secret was safe as could be.

But for you, all you do is smile to yourself.

You love Zoro, more than anything. You've thought so for a while now, but finally voicing it aloud gives you a sense of peace and happiness. Whether Zoro ever returns your feelings or not, whether you two come to act as a married couple or not, you're more than happy to even stay by his side as his crewmate and friend. Even if you have to love him silently, you'd do so.

You'll hope he comes to love you back one day, but you won't force anything on him.

“I'm in love with Zoro.”

~~

Note 2: Me writing this: now KISS.

After writing: omg they kissed

[thirtysixsavefiles]

For the title meme for yllazy on bsky, “the keeper of the crossing knows (where all the winding rivers go)” is a beautiful title and this is a story about a curse

~~~

This is the story of a curse. This is the story of a boy who carries a curse underneath his skin, in his wrists and his hands, and he knows, Sanji knows that to touch him is to risk death.

(The curse was a parting gift from his father, a condition of his freedom and a final act of cruelty. If you cannot be useful to me, his father had said, nor will you be useful to anyone else.)

So. So he wears gloves, and long sleeves, and layers upon layers until no skin might graze his accidentally. He learns to keep his distance, even when it seems like he isn’t, and although he never quite learns the trick of not falling in love he learns to overinvest in it, and that too keeps people at a distance. Keeping people at a distance keeps them safe.

The problem comes in the form of a swordsman as infuriating as he is brave, and his companion who smiles like the sun. Sanji never had learned the trick of not falling in love.

Food is safe, however, where these near-strangers are not, and so Sanji cooks for them and checks on them in the busy tavern as they eat. He soaks up Luffy’s smile and trades jabs with Zoro, and it’s the closest he’s felt to alive in a long time. But death still marches beneath his skin.

The offer to go with them is not unexpected but the way it’s delivered is: behind the tavern, where Sanji is stealing a quiet smoke and trying not to think about the very people now standing in front of him. Sanji delivers a polite, rote refusal, but he can’t quite make himself turn away. Not yet.

Zoro and Luffy exchange a look, and Sanji barely knows them but he knows enough to step back when they turn toward him in unison.

Zoro plucks the cigarette from Sanji’s fingers and Sanji squawks; but that was a mistake, that was the distraction, because there are warm hands on his face — on his face, on his skin — and a mouth pressed against his and Sanji shudders at the contact.

So does the curse.

He can feel it roiling underneath his skin, boiling up his throat — 

But then there’s something else, something that tastes like sunshine pouring into his skin and when Luffy lets go Sanji lets out a sob. Luffy watches him carefully, and — and he’s not dead, not even a little bit, and the impossibility sweeps down Sanji’s spine and makes his knees weak.

“We know something about curses,” Zoro says, offering Sanji’s cigarette back to him. “If that’s why you’re saying no.”

“Because you should be saying yes,” Luffy chimes in as Sanji shakily accepts the still-burning cigarette.

Sanji inhales sharply, but all he can taste is sunshine.

“You don’t know what this is,” he says, gesturing vaguely with one hand. “You barely know me.”

“But I do know you,” Luffy says cheerfully. “So? What’ll it be?”

Sanji swallows. Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine on his tongue, and nothing of the taste of death. He closes his eyes. “Yes.”

[sb-1495]

I don’t think I’m ever gonna write this fic out, keeping my word to not writing another full/finished nsfw fic, but I mulled this concept around enough that I just started typing

tw mtf, sex swap, mention of rape (doesn’t occur; it’s all consensual), bad sex

Zoro gets hit with a curse where his chest becomes breast tissue and his dick gets replaced with a vagina, and that’s it. He’s completely the same otherwise. and of course, the cure is either to wait for a long time for the spell to wear off or have sex with a man.

Zoro asks Sanji, citing that even though he knows Sanji doesn’t see him that way at all, he knows that Sanji is horny to stick his dick in some pussy and Zoro doesn't feel like dealing with this body so he figures it’s a win-win. Zoro clarifies that if Sanji really can’t stand the idea of having sex with Zoro, Zoro will just go to someone else on the island. Sanji is embarrassed at being asked such a thing so casually and hesitates, but agrees, and they grab a cheap hotel.

Zoro doesn’t bother arousing himself, grabbing a bottle of lube and telling Sanji to get himself hard while Zoro works himself open real quick, trying to be very clinical about the exchange. Sanji seems disarmed over the way things are going, even tentatively offering to help, but Zoro snaps back that even though he’s letting Sanji fuck him, he is NOT one of his ladies to fawn over. He tells Sanji that he can pretend he’s a woman during the act if it gets the job done, but he doesn’t want the swooning, he just wants to get back to the usual.

Sanji gets really quiet and focused after that. He tries to follow Zoro’s example, tries to be clinical, and gets himself hard after a bit of messing around. Finally, Zoro takes off his shirt and places it over his own face; even though his body isn’t that much different than his usual (the trademark scar across his chest especially damning) he figures it’s enough to help keep the cook aroused. He even tells Sanji that he can touch Zoro’s body if it helps him get off, but otherwise he’ll be quiet until it’s over.

He can’t see Sanji this way, only listening to Sanji’s panting and feeling as he gently starts moving, hands firmly placed on either side of Zoro on the bed. Even if he’s not used to the sensation of having a vagina, he’s had sex with men and even bottomed before, so it’s not completely alien. To his surprise, it even feels a bit good. However, he doesn’t want to distract or turn off Sanji with moaning, so he bites his lip to keep it in.

But Sanji does start to soften up inside Zoro. And his pace slows down, and his breathing starts to get erratic. Zoro can’t help biting something out like “wow I know you don’t like me but I didn’t think the thought of having sex with me would be that disgusting for you” before he really thinks about it. In his mind, even though he was getting into it, Sanji’s rejecting him, and he’s trying to start a fight to mask how he feels disappointed.

Until he feels something wet falls on his pelvis. And he hears Sanji choke out a sob. Tentatively, Zoro pulls his shirt off his face to look up at Sanji failing to hold back tears, and not in a good sexy fun way. Immediately, Zoro shoots to sit up, a cautious hand between them until Sanji kinda falls into Zoro’s arms.

“Whoa whoa hey, Curly!“ “Shit, I’m sorry—“ “No no no it’s fine, it’s okay, I didn’t mean it, we can stop.” “I can’t—it felt like I was violating you, I couldn’t—“ “…What?”

Sanji explains that the dissociation between Zoro and his body didn’t work as intended and the sight of Zoro still and covered and quiet during sex made him feel like he was raping Zoro and it freaked him out bad. Zoro kinda understands Sanji’s perspective, admitting that he had a feeling Sanji already didn’t want to do all this and pushed him to keep going anyway, apologizing for it.

Very quietly, Sanji corrects Zoro by saying he was never REALLY opposed to having sex with him. Zoro can’t seem to comprehend what he’s saying, like it’s some sort of paradox. Sanji admits that the idea excited him, because he was already attracted to Zoro on some level, regardless of genitalia, but he knew Zoro wasn’t on the same boat. He felt bad taking advantage of Zoro’s situation too much and tried to separate his feelings from it and not demand anything from the exchange, but it obviously ended poorly.

Everything starts clicking into place in Zoro’s brain while Sanji is clearly ashamed, saying that maybe it’d just be easier for Zoro to find another guy until Zoro fuckin pins Sanji to the bed with his muscular arms, his ample chest dangling between them. Sanji is fucking red in the face as Zoro asks again if Sanji wants to have sex with him. Sanji gulps and sputters a weak affirmative.

Zoro reaches down to his own crotch and puts a finger in, pulling it out slowly to show a string of slick, his own face flushed.

“Then lets get you hard again.”

Zoro then rides Sanji for awhile before Sanji confidently takes over. Zoro changes back and they have probably have more sex bc they’re fuckin animals.

(can you tell that it’s easy for me to write the emotional stuff surrounding smut but I have difficulty writing the actual smut without sounding like an alien)

edit: important thing is that when Zoro is riding Sanji in the end, he looks him in the eye and lets himself pant and moan and make sounds and curse and shit. He's vocal, and while he's clearly just chasing his own orgasm until Sanji does something, he's trying to be vulnerable. In the back of his mind, he still worries that this will turn Sanji off leave Zoro rejected. But of course it pays off because it turns Sanji on so much to see Zoro feel good and enjoy this, and that gives him the confidence to be an active participant and be vulnerable too, taking control to make Zoro feel even better. Because they're stupid repressed horny dummies but they're workin on it okay bye

[goldenblu]

hold your fire (by the throat) - chapter 3

One Piece | Zosan | Post-Wano AU where Sanji slowly loses his emotions

Chapter 3: the currents of your laughter

The cook’s voice stops him in his tracks. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, mosshead?”

Preview:

When Zoro next opens his eye, they’ve docked already. He stands, stretches, walks over to where most of the crew are standing by the gangplank. Does a mental count. “Where’s Luffy?”

“Went on ahead, as usual,” Nami says, sounding annoyed. “I sent Chopper and Brook after him. Hopefully they can keep him out of trouble. Sanji, do you still need an allowance for your groceries?”

Sanji looks up from where he’s piling equipment into a small rowboat, and Zoro spares a moment in an attempt to figure out what he’s doing. Probably more stupid love-cook things. “Not at the moment, Nami-san. This bay looks like it’s full of shellfish, so I’ll go diving for food before doing any shopping. It’ll save us some berry.”

Quickly losing interest, Zoro tunes out whatever Nami says in reply and starts heading down the gangplank. Maybe he can buy some more booze in town. The cook’s been getting better and better at hiding his alcohol supply; it’d be impressive if it wasn’t so exceedingly infuriating.

Said cook’s voice stops him in his tracks. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, mosshead?” 

Zoro jerks his thumb at the shoreline. “What does it fucking look like? I’m getting off the ship.”

“Not by yourself you’re not, you directionless idiot. Go with the beautiful ladies and Usopp. I’m not in the mood to have to track your sorry ass down later.” 

As if he would ever need the cook to track him down. What’s he gonna do, get lost? “I’m not a fucking child, shitty dartbrow!” 

At the same time, Robin, Usopp, and Nami all exchange glances. Then Robin says, “Ah, we were thinking of finding a bookstore in town. I don’t think that’s really your style, Zoro.”

Sanji shrugs. “Guess you’re on ship duty, then.”

“Nah, Jinbe and I have got the ship handled.” Franky waves him off. “Go and look around if you want.”

“Why don’t you take him with you, Sanji?” Usopp suggests innocently. 

Zoro squints suspiciously at him, and then Robin. They’re acting weirder than normal. The fuck is up with them?

“Fuck no, I’m not his damn babysitter,” Sanji scoffs.

The goddamn nerve. Zoro scowls. “I don’t need a babysitter, I can go on my own.” 

He starts making his way off the ship, only to be pulled back sharply by the collar of his shirt. “What the fuck? Let me go!”

The cook shoves him in the direction of the rowboat with a resigned sigh. “You’re not giving me a choice, huh?”

“Hah? I should be saying that to you!” Zoro shouts, shoving him right back. He’s not getting on a tiny fucking boat with the cook. He’s not.

“Stop acting so grumpy about it when you’re the one inconveniencing me. Just get on the shitty boat.”

Zoro’s scathing response is interrupted when Nami calls out, “Have fun, boys!” 

“Enjoy your day, Nami-swan, Robin-chwan! I’ll have dinner ready for you lovely angels by the time you get ba—Ow, shitty mosshead, stop that!”

After much struggle, Sanji finally succeeds in forcing Zoro into the boat, much to his chagrin. Although if he maybe wasn’t fighting back as hard as he could have, no one needs to know.  “We’ll be back in an hour or two,” Sanji says to Franky, picking up two paddles and holding one out to Zoro. 

“This was your idea, you do the rowing.” Zoro crosses his arms and is promptly smacked upside the head with the paddle.

“What good are those stupid muscles of yours if you don’t use them?” 

“At least I have muscle, shit cook,” Zoro retorts, though he does take the paddle.

On the Sunny, Jinbe listens bemusedly to the sound of their bickering fading out as the boat slowly moves away. “Those two are certainly something else, aren’t they. I can’t say I quite understand their relationship.”

“It’s best not to get between them.” Franky pats him on the shoulder sympathetically. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”

(continue on AO3)

[cipher-zoo]

Have you considered what Buggys’s reaction would be if during a fight between cross guild and the red haired pirates, shanks offered for them to team up and head to LaughTale together?

Okay, I finally get around to answering this!

TBH. I have tried to answer before and that ended with me going on a 500 word tangent about a different subject because I got distracted ... and I really didn't want to subject you to that, so now I am trying to stay on the topic!

Firstly, thank you so much for the message! 💙 I am always happy to talk about Shanks and Buggy and especially this specific part of their dynamic.

I was surprised, when I realized that this is actually a hard question for me - on one hand, because I keep going off on tangents, while trying to answer and on the other hand, because I think Buggy's answer and reaction would be very dependent on where they, what exactly is going on and how Buggy is doing in general.

I can already tell this answer is going to end up being far longer than it needs to be, I am so sorry, please bear with me!

Before I say anything else, please note that this is simply my opinion and my interpretation of the character and if anyone sees this differently, you are very welcome to do so. Let me know how you would answer this question!

Now, let's talk about Buggy.

Buggy, in my eyes, is characterized by two very important - and at times seemingly contradictory - traits. His sense of survival and his pride. And I know what some people (those who are not nose (haha) deep in Buggy Characterization Hell) are thinking:

"Cipher, in what world does snivelling, growling "I'll lick your boots" Buggy have any pride? Don't you mean Shamelessness?"

And to that I say, no I mean pride, because Buggy is a lot of things but definitely not "shamless" in fact Buggy is riddled by shame - but I won't go into that right now.

What I want to talk about is his pride. It's not the same pride Sanji has in his cooking or Zoro in his swordsmanship. No, Buggy's Pride, like so many things in his life, is often a mask.

One he puts on, when he gets hurt.

For example: He is deeply ashamed of his nose, so as compensation he turns himself into a clown, a "genius Jester", puts on a whole show and takes (or fakes) pride in being not only a pirate but also an entertainer of sorts. Because nobody can hurt you, if you are proud of your flaws (now, this of course doesn't work out in the end, because his shame and his body dysmorphia is stronger than his pride, but - in my eyes - it is still an attempt.)

The same goes for the whole Shanks situation. I, personally, don't think that Buggy hates Shanks. He can say so, and he does, but his actions speak louder. Because when they met again, what did Buggy do? A favor for Shanks [And yes, of course Shanks offered him a treasure map in exchange, but come on. If you hate someone to the level Buggy claims to hate Shanks, would you agree to a deal like that? I personally wouldn't.] No, Buggy is deeply hurt by Shanks and that is something he doesn't want to be. Because being hurt by someone is out of your control, you take a passive position in that case. But hating someone, being angry at them, that is something you can "chose".

When Shanks told Buggy that he wouldn't be looking for the one piece straight away, but still offered to sail together, Buggy claimed his pride as reason why he wouldn't.

"I'm not going to work under you!" that is what Buggy tells Shanks. The reason why I won't keep sailing with him. And we know that is simply not true. Because barely a panel above Buggy is fine sailing under Shanks as long as they are looking for the One Piece. In fact, he tells Shanks, "You said it yourself, didn't you, Shanks. You said your crew would to reach Laugh Tale one day too"

There is no indication at that point that Buggy has a problem with being a part of that crew. In fact, I get the sense, that he needs to be a part. Because his dream rests on Shanks' shoulders. But then Shanks makes the (rightful) decision not to look for Rogers Treasure, Buggy sees his dream die and immediately switches from "hurt in his feelings" to "hurt in his pride."

But his pride isn't always a character flaw. No, I think the whole scene, where he tells Crocodile and Mihawk about his dream - or, to put it differently, the scene where he finally reclaims the dream he gave up as a kid - is a show of true pride. A moment of being on the floor, as low, as he could possibly sink, and still not giving up. And that is the first time Buggy's pride is stronger than the other character trait I mentioned before.

His sense of survival. Or better said: His deep longing to survive. Buggy is a character who desperately wants to be alive. He is prideful, in his own way, but that won't stop him from grovelling at Crocodiles feet, because what does his pride do him good, if he dies?

We have seen this throughout all of One Piece. In Impel Down and now at Cross Guild, especially so. Buggy wants to live, and he is smart enough to know what lengths he has to go to, to do so.

But in that moment, when his sense of survival takes a backseat, we finally saw a glimpse of his true pride. Not the one he puts on as a show.

NOW! Did I say all of that just to talk about Buggy? Yes, but it is also important for my answer, because I think, the question we would have to answer is: "What is Buggy dictated by at that moment." His fake pride? His sense of survival? Or his true pride?

Let's say it's his fake pride. Let's say the fight between Cross Guild and the Red Hair Pirates is not tipping in one direction and Buggy feels like he could actually win: I don't think he would accept the offer: There is a Star Trek quote that Jean-Luc Picard says to Miles O'Brian. It goes: "I think, when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it. And it becomes comfortable, like old leather. And finally, it becomes so familiar, that we can't remember feeling any other way." [man, i love me some star trek quotes]

And I think Buggy is teetering dangerously close to that feeling. To not remember any other emotion he every felt towards Shanks, other than hurt and anger. And in that case, Buggy would say no to teaming up.

Now, let's say it's his sense of survival: If the Red Hair Pirates are clearly winning. If the threat of Crocodile and Mihawk is minimized? Yeah. I have no doubt that Buggy would say yes to a team up. We would complain about it and have his conditions and boast to his men that he managed to convince Shanks to a ceasefire (he is still Buggy after all) but yes, if Shanks actually met him on eye level [at this point I am keeping myself from going off on how, during their meeting at Marine Ford, Shanks kinda looks down on Buggy - even if he maybe (doing a kind reading here) doesn't do it consciously], then I think a team up could happen.

Last but not least, what if it is not that fake pride that makes Buggy angry or his sense of survival that makes him stick to the strongest player? What if it is his "true Pride" that we saw so little so far? Well, the boring answer is: I don't know.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about Buggy in different situations and context, but this Buggy is so new that I still need a little more time to decide how he would act.

I hope you aren't too disappointed by this answer, because I do feel like I am taking the easy way out, giving you an "Anything could happen" but yeah, the truth is what it is. I don't know.

But I would love to read everyone's opinions!

[lenny-rambles]

About "in another life (and in this one as well)"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39941298/chapters/100016535

Title: in another life (and in this one as well)

Author: tibuki

Relevant tags ig: zolu, timetravel, fluff

A cute time travel post-wano ZoLu fic! Real good, definitely a delectable read for any ZoLu fans. Maybe more so for main Zoro fans, because it's kinda Zoro-centric.

Let me start by saying I ADORE time travel fics. The possibilities they generate for angst are just *chef's kiss*. However, this is not an angsty fic, it's fluffy with the right dose of shenanigans for a 3.9K word work. Also, this is all my own subjective opinion, with no ill intentions to anyone, so please keep that in mind.

Now, spoilers for the fic and the Wano Arc ahead, BEWARE.

The way that old!Zoro knew from the start not to say anything because Luffy wouldn't want a boring adventure is SO on point! Robin deducing THEY got married because Nami officiated the wedding IS such a Robin thing to do, I love her so much.

AND JEALOUS YOUNG!LUFFY AAAHHH. I know we all know Zoro is DEVOTED to the man, but I really like it when people also show Luffy's possessiveness and adoration for Zoro. We do forget sometimes that Luffy WENT SEARCHING FOR HIS SWORDSMAN, ahh, I love them.

Oh! And jealous Sanji? Absolutely perfect. He CANNOT understand for the life of him why someone would choose anyone, LET ALONE ZORO, over Hancock. And to be fair, he has a point! Anyone not interested in men would absolutely pick Hancock over Zoro. Maybe even people interested in men would pick Hancock over Zoro. But this is not about any person. This is about Luffy and Zoro, and how it's always been just them!

It's just, really nice. Young!Luffy saying "ah, all right, you can keep it then!" EXCUSE ME?! This man was GOING TO TAKE OLD!ZORO'S RING?!!! What a petty thing to do, I love it. AND THE KNUCKLE KISS. THAT'S SO TERRIBLY DEVASTATING. IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!! Young!Luffy's brain just shortcircuited right then and there, beautiful.

AND THE SCAR MOMENT!!! Can I get more appreciation for scar moments in ZoLu Fics? Like, you guys, scars work so different in the OP canon. We know these people have been stabbed, punched, and went through basically every hell imaginable and the number of scars canon to them is actually really low!!! Like, Zoro's got 4 (1 each foot, the chest, and the eye) and Luffy's got 2 (under the eye and chest). I like the theory that scars only appear when it's an emotionally cathartic moment, when some BIG FEELINGS happen.

So old!Zoro having a burn scar over his heart, matching with Luffy, can only mean so many things, you know? He is, once again, willing to lay down his life in exchange for Luffy's, and looks like it could've been on instinct, not something old!Zoro actually planned for. All the same though, 'cause THE MOMENT young!Luffy sees the scar Zoro Knows he's not going to like it. And the implication of Luffy killing Akainu in the future? Incredible, great!

Also, before I forget, and it was a short scene, merely a few dialogues, but I adore when people get Zoro's Conqueror's Haki to show. Like, honestly? I think about both Luffy and Zoro being Conquerors a lot, but the fic is not about that, so I won't delve too much into it. But the reaction of crew, as if they didn't expect him to have it? It just shows how much the crew (and a lot of the fans, let's be honest here) have internalized how down-bad Zoro is for Luffy, and so don't really see him as a leader.

The off-hand comments about Law are funny! Poor Law, stuck on a friendship with the Straw Hats that will transcend all their lifetimes, sucks to be you. They truly only do what they want, and Law's gotta deal with it, oh well! I just wanna know what Law was trying there? Like, man, how do you even fuck up a shambles that badly? Hold on, now that I think about it. It could've been just Zoro getting lost in the shambles. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. And Law has to sort it out on his own lmao.

And we'll, the end? The younger versions of them confessing and holding each other?!!! AHHHHHHH It's great, fantastic, awesome. I just really liked the way Luffy's mannerisms came through, I know it's difficult to get them right, so the author did a great job there!!! If I might say something I wasn't the biggest fan of, was young!Luffy's hesitance when talking about their feelings. I'm just nitpicking here, it just doesn't match the way I picture Luffy in my head, but Luffy IS a hard character to portray, in any media, so once again, great work author. It ended sweetly so no harm done.

Now, young!Zoro's reaction to the old!crew? Incredible! He's just SO CONFUSED, old!Luffy might be taller than him! Sanji finally let his hair grow and Usopp's got muscles!!! (let's go Sanji and Usopp's character growth being reflected in their appearance, looking like they are most comfortable with, truly loving themselves) (sorry I just love them as well). The time young!Zoro spent in the future seemed so little in comparison, but it's really entertaining nonetheless.

And finally, when both Zoros are on their respective times, the conversations they have are just- I love my dumb funny pirates. Luffy's may be a bit dumb but he's not stupid!! He knew how to get Zoro to kiss him!!! I love a sly Luffy, even if only he and I think he's being sly. In the end, they are both no-nonsense, so they share a kiss rather sooner than later. Adorable, sweet ZoLu kisses that are just perfect to tie up their side of the story.

And now, the very last scene of the fic, ANOTHER SCAR MOMENT WOOOOOOO. They wake up in their bed many years later and suddenly there's not a burn scar anymore in old!Zoro's chest, and old!Luffy's reaction is also peak Luffy reaction. The tenderness they share, almost afraid it's a dream, agh, my heart!!! The time travel is actually able to change the future so they get to prevent 1 bad thing, and get 1 good thing before. I see this as an absolute win.

All and all, it was a very good fic, would recommend if you like sweet ZoLu stuff. It is well-written and made for a good insomnia past-time.

Anyways, thanks for reading my ramblings about this. Please read the fanfic and then some more.

[tooweirdforyou]

Can I please request platonic straw hats x female teen reader, more specifically with nami & robin, like they would think that she doesn’t like them because she requested to have her own small room and doesn’t really talk to them & is always glued to her books . But she’s just Quiet & keeps to her self. Fluffy ending please & thank you 😊. ( sorry for the long request😅)

The Straw Hats With A Teen! Shipmate Who Keeps To Herself

a/n : hey! Sorry if this is a bit short but I hope you enjoy!! Thanks for requesting! :)

SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG 😭

Summary : the straw hats with a shipmate who’s a teenager and tends to keep to herself, causing them to believe she doesn’t like them.

-

“She’s eating alone again..”

Seeing you walk off into your room, with a tray of Sanji’s food in your hands, through the small window of the kitchen door made the crew sigh.

“We can’t force her to eat with us though, it’s her own decision.” Usopp points out, arms crossing as he ate a piece of meat.

Nami only frowns at Usopp and continues to stare over at the doorway, wondering if you had a problem.

She couldn’t even remember if there was ever a time where you actually sat down WITH the crew to eat, since the day you first joined.

Did you hate them? Then why join? Or were you just that introverted, that you even had asked to have your own room?

Since you were a girl and younger than most of them, the crew agreed to your request but they never thought it’d create a giant wall between you and the others.

In fact, you were so isolated from them since you never did anything with the crew, except maybe fight with them during battles.

For example, you would read, eat, draw, sleep and relax in your room, away from the others. The door was often locked so the others had to knock on the door to check up on you, but even then, they weren’t always let inside.

Robin closes her eyes and thinks back to herself. If she has to admit, you reminded her a bit of her past self. Before she joined the crew, she was always reserved and kept to herself, only occasionally speaking with others.

But was your reason the same as hers back then?

“Maybe she’s just being a normal girl teenager, doing teen things. They are often quiet and keep to themselves right?” Franky suggests, chomping down at his burger with his mini hand.

“Not all teenagers are like that.” Nami scoffs, rolling her eyes as she poked at her food with a fork. A pout could be seen on her lips.

“...but why does she always leave? Do you think she doesn’t like us?” Chopper frowns sadly, eyes just glossing over his plate without touching it.

The group only sat in silence. But everyone had mixed feelings about you.

-

Luffy was concerned and a bit confused by you. He didn’t understand why you stranded off from the group and often did try to talk to you, but he figured it was a girl thing. Maybe you didn’t like the boys?

Zoro was indifferent about it, because as long as you at least fought with the group and was loyal to Luffy, he didn’t mind that you often spend time alone. Hell, he can kinda understand the need to get away from the group for a bit.

Sanji was pretty saddened about it, he hates to not see your cute but rare smiles at times, but he at least has a sense that you enjoy his food since you come back with the tray empty, so he’s glad about that in the very least.

Usopp is also a bit confused and wishes you spend more time with the crew and bond with them, but he respects your decision if you want to be alone. He just wants to be able to get to know you.

Nami is pretty upset, because now that there’s another girl to gossip with, spend time with and bond with through all these chaotic boys, she’s sad that you don’t seem to want to be around any of them and just keep to yourself. Did you really dislike them that much? Did they do something?

Chopper finds it saddening because it seems like you don’t like them. You don’t want to spend time with the crew at all and it’s sad for him because you seem really kind and sweet and he wants to know you more! And if you’re ever sick, he might not be able to help you since you’re in your room a lot.

Franky doesn’t quite get it either. You joined the crew but you don’t even hang out with them, even if it’s to do stupid things? Not even to just do whatever you want on your own, but in the presence of the crew?

Robin is secretly disappointed. She had hoped she could be able to spend time with another female around and perhaps teach you some things since you seem to share her love of books. But she’s understanding in the very least.

Brook both understands and feels indifferent. He can’t force you to spend time with the crew but he does hope to see you warm up and spend some time with the group one day.

-

“It can’t be helped.”

Hearing Robin, the crew all watch as she stood up, finished with her sandwich and tea and make her way over to the door with the gentle smile on her face.

“I’ll go check on her. Maybe it’s time we asked if everything’s alright.” She suggests and the others widen their eyes a bit.

“You’re right. I’ll go with you.” Nami smiles determinely, standing up from her seat and went over to the door as well, standing beside Robin.

“Yohohoho~ good luck!” Brook calls out just before the girls closed the door and walked out.

-

Nami and Robin shared a glance before nodding in unison and Nami knocks against the wooden door.

You were so invested in your book while eating, you didn’t hear the knock at first, until Nami’s voice was followed after.

“[Name]? It’s Nami and Robin. Can we come in?”

Tilting your head at their request, you glance down at your tray of [ Favorite Food ] that Sanji prepared especially for you, and then moved it aside onto your desk.

Closing your book and setting it on the bed in front of you, you stood up and walk over to the door, peeking your head out when you opened it just a crack.

“..What is it?” Your voice was so soft and quiet, they almost didn’t hear you.

Robin simply smiles gently and hums. “Did you finish eating?” She questions and you shake your head. “No.”

Nami smiles awkwardly before clearing her throat. “Actually, we just wanted to talk. Is it okay if we come in?” She says, her hand slowly making it onto the door and you stare at her a bit.

It was just the two of them, but you were hoping to just relax and eat in peace.

Though, knowing Nami, she wasn’t one to give up and you weren’t going to try to argue with her.

So sighing lightly, you pull open the door wide and allowed them entrance, closing it behind them when they came and locked it, as usual.

Walking past them, you went over to the bed and sat down, picking up your book and grab the tray of food onto your lap to finish eating, ignoring their stares that lingered on your form.

“Whatcha reading?”

Glancing at Nami’s bright smile as she made herself comfortable on the edge of your bed, Robin sitting on the other side.

Shifting a bit and repositioning yourself against your headboard and in center to keep a distance from the two, you turn down to the book.

“It’s a novel.. called Heaven’s Official Blessings.”

You answer quietly, turning the page in your novel and then used your hand to pick up a piece of your food.

“That’s the one about the God and the Demon lord, right?” Robin hums and you nod in response. “I haven’t read it myself, but I heard good reviews of it. What’s your opinion on it?”

You shrug a bit. “I don’t know. I didn’t finish.” You answer, motioning to the page you were on which was a little less than halfway.

Robin chuckles and nods. “Fair point.”

“Well, what’s it about?” Nami speaks again, trying to continue the conversation but you just chew on your food and held out the book for her to look at.

Nami blinks a bit before seeing the summary of the novel in the front and shakes her head. “I want to hear you read it.”

Furrowing your brows, you only swallow your food and frown. “Why?” You didn’t prefer talking and you didn’t understand why when she could easily just read the synopsis.

Nami giggles sheepishly before shrugging. “I just wanna hear your voice some more.”

You gave her a weird, skeptical look as you move the now empty try back onto the desk and bookmark the page you were on before closing it in silence.

The room was quiet, Robin’s eyes observing you while Nami’s roamed the room.

“Say... do you hate us, [Name]?”

“..huh?”

Turning serious, Nami turns away and stares around the room a bit more, Robin’s smile slowly fading as her lips turn to a firm line.

“You asked to have your own room.. you never eat nor spend any time with us. Is there a reason for your separation from us? Have we done you a wrong? If so, please tell us so we can fix it.”

Lips parting in shock at their question, your eyes widening along, you just stare at them. You hadn’t even realized you were so.. away from them. You were just doing what you normally do even back in your island, it was just habit.

“[Name]?”

Blinking, you quickly shake your head before calming down a bit, taking a soft breath. “I-I don’t hate you.. You guys didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why are you avoiding us?” Nami asks with a sigh, running a hand through her orange locks of hair and brushed it with her fingers.

“..I didn’t realize I was.. I was just enjoying time alone.” You admit honestly, eyes trained on the novel in your hands. “I figured I just read in peace until it was time for Luffy’s new adventure or something.”

“Uh.. besides, I.. I don’t really like hanging out in big groups or anything like that. I’m not very social so I’m not good in that stuff.” You add, rubbing your arm before rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly.

Nami and Robin stare at you, clearly surprised at your answer as they slowly exchanged glances, just seconds before a snort being heard.

Nami then busts out into light laughter, hands clutching her stomach while one went to wipe tears forming. Robin herself was expressing a few amused and relieved giggles, covering them with her hand a bit.

“Is that really all it is?”

“I guess we were worried for nothing.”

The two women smile brightly at you as Nami goes over and hugs you tightly.

“All of us were worried you hated us or something but now we understand! You’re just shy!” Nami grins, nearly asphyxiating you in her chest as you struggle to pull away from her.

“I must say, I am relieved to hear that isn’t the case though. If you’re just someone who prefers to keep to yourself, it’s amazing you somehow managed to continue to stay on this ship.” Robin lightly jokes as you finally pull away from the navigator and inhaled deeply.

“Come on, you. We’re going to spend time with the crew and each other, so you will open more and we can get to know you. Okay?”

Already pulling your hand, you felt yourself get forced up off the bed before you could even protest or reach for your book.

“W-wait, but-“

“No buts!” She turns back to give her signature grin to you. “Unless you wanna pay me to let you back to your room alone, you are now going to spend the rest of the day with us!”

Robin smiles, seeing you being dragged off by their navigator and despite you looking helpless and even a little lost,

She could see the faint ghost of a defeated smile forming on your lips.

Whether it was because you were just in disbelief and accepted your fate, or because you truly did want to spend some time with the crew at some point one day,

Robin was just glad to be able to see you smiling and getting to spend time with the group.

Maybe this will let you be more comfortable and spend time around then even more in the future.

Grabbing your tray from earlier, Robin began to leave the room and closed the door behind her, a soft smile present as she hears the loud commotion from the kitchen.

“Finally a family.”

-

A/N : ahh, I’m so sorry this isn’t as great as I hoped, it wasn’t the ending I originally planned but I wanted to get one post out quickly- and I’m so sorry this took so long ;-;

It’s so rusheddddd

[holykillercake]

Love Ordeal

SANJI X f!READER

word count: 2k

summary: The Strawhts decide to play Secret Davy Treasure and Sanji doens´t stop asking whom you got. 

highlight:  ¨Sanji,¨ you sighed ¨I love you, but if you don´t stop, I will be forced to throw your cigarettes in the ocean and straighten your eyebrows.¨

warning: F.L.U.F.F.

notes: Guys! This a part 2/3 of a request for a fluff where they have a s/o that made them a thing with crochet and how they would react. Also, Secret Davy Treasure is like Secret Santa, but you know. ALSO, there is a surprise at the end! 

𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘, 𝖗𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊!

¨Just pick one, Luffy!¨

¨But which one?¨

¨It doesn´t matter!¨

¨Hmm, can I pick two?¨

¨NO!¨

Earlier that day, an old lady told Nami that whichever path Luffy chose would always lead to another Winter Island. So with the end of the year approaching and the cold weather, you decided to play Secret Davy Treasure, a great South Blue tradition.

It consisted of the participants writing their names on a piece of paper, mixing them in a bowl - or Luffy's hat - and drawing them.  Whoever’s name you picked is who you will buy or make a Secret Davy Treasure.

You should have guessed that even something that sounded so simple would be complicated in the Thousand Sunny. The crew didn´t seem to understand nor follow the rules of physics, reality, and the game. 

At first, Zoro folded his paper with his name on the outside; then Brook picked himself and didn´t tell anyone. Now you were struggling with Luffy, who couldn´t pick one because A) he wanted to know what was written inside, and B) he wanted to pick more than one. 

While Franky, Usopp, and Chopper yelled at him, trying to make him understand, Brook laughed at the whole situation, and the rest of you wished to die and get reborn as clams. 

Sanji adjusted the blanket around your bodies and hugged you tighter, chatting until the commotion was over.  

¨Will you tell me?¨ he blew some smoke, and you tilted your head to look at him. 

¨Tell what?¨

¨Who you got.¨

¨What? Of course no!¨ you laughed ¨This is not how you play it!¨

¨But we are a couple, Y/N-chan!¨

¨.., and?¨ you sang the word.

¨We shouldn't keep secrets from each other!¨

A cloud of white smoke came out of your mouth when you giggled before snuggling deeper in his arms. 

¨Okaay,¨ Usopp crawled closer to you, defeated and holding Luffy´s hat ¨he will be the last one.¨

Despite your captain yelling that he should be the first to pick, you were all getting tired and opted to ignore him. 

¨Thanks!¨ you used the blanket to cover yourself as you unfolded it.

A chuckle left your mouth when you saw the name written, and the blonde behind you tried to peek over your shoulder. But you were faster to put the piece of paper with the name of your boyfriend inside your bra.

You turned and gave him a peck on the cheek while he pouted. 

You would have one week to come up with a Davy Treasure for Sanji, and you knew exactly what to do, but some butterflies still flew in your belly, wondering if he would like it. 

As a matter of fact, he loved everything you did, from sweet love to extremely salty culinary disasters. He would find perfection in every little thing done by you.

Enjoying your last days on the island of Snow Globe Pole - yeah, almost as bad as ¨Long Ring Long Land¨ - you decided to tour the city, looking for what you needed to make your gift. Or rather, to crochet your gift.

That was the easy part, for you were on a winter island, yarn and wool were pretty abundant. Every style possible of every possible color, anything that crossed your mind was available in the store. It would have been distracting if you didn´t have the colors already chosen. 

But again, so much for an innocent game. So much for a bit of fun. So naive to believe that Sanji would stop asking you whom you picked. 

In his defense, he had gotten calmer during the first night. But after seeing the bag you brought from the store, he became even more annoying. 

Charming, loving, but still annoying. 

¨It´s not Franky, right? His hands wouldn´t fit in it.¨

¨His regular-sized-robotic-mannequin hands would.¨ you looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. 

You could almost see the gasp stuck in his throat and his heart skipping a beat. 

After that, he kept bringing you desserts, offering massages, and doing everything in his power to bribe you. Skypiea Sanji was not the real Love Ordeal. Secret Davy Treasure Sanji was the real Love Ordeal. 

¨Sanji,¨ you sighed ¨I love you, but if you don´t stop, I will be forced to throw your cigarettes in the ocean and straighten your eyebrows.¨

He grumbled ¨I love you¨ back among some other things and marched to the kitchen with flames on the top of his head. You chuckled and went back to your colorful wools. 

Before you chose his gift, you thought about Sanji and the things that he liked or needed. From cooking to smoking and women. 

Cooking for him would be outrageous. You wanted to give him something amazing, and you couldn't compare to him in the kitchen. At all.

Women. You were the only woman he wanted and needed, and honestly, you were the woman for the job. 

Now, smoking. You would not buy or make him cigarettes, obviously. But he had this adorable and clumsy thing of always burning the tips of his mittens whenever he lit a cigarette. 

Because of that, you decided to crochet him one of those fingerless gloves that come with a mitten flap so he could cover his fingers once he was done. Like that, he would be warm and natural disaster-free. 

¨There is orange, Y/N-chan! You got Nami, right?!¨ you jumped and almost stabbed yourself with the hook when he yelled in your ear.

¨Oh, my sweet Davy Jones, give me strength...¨ you whispered ¨There is also purple, Sanji-kun. It could be Brook or Robin.¨ 

He pondered over it a little, frowned, and made his way to the door.

¨Hey!¨ he turned with sad puppy eyes ¨Is this really important to you? To know who I got?¨ he nodded. 

You gestured with your head, telling him to come closer. A big and bright smile appeared on his face, and your heart beat stronger. That smile, you would punch the Red Line broken to create another All Blue for that smile. 

Oh, how you love this cook. 

¨Ok! Just because I am asking I´ll tell you first, ok?¨ he spoke with a lower voice but still sparkly. You smiled and nodded. ¨I got Chopper! And I bought him a new backpack with a lot of compartments for his medical stuff.¨

The way he paid attention to the tiny details made you melt. He was always taking care of others, complimenting the crew - except Zoro - and celebrating even the smallest of the successes. 

He showed you the blue backpack, very similar to Chopper´s current one, but a lot stronger, prettier, and more practical. He would love it, no doubts. 

¨Well,¨ you began ¨I got... Usopp.¨ 

You felt terrible about telling him a lie, but you couldn´t spoil your surprise.

 ¨Since we´re going to winter islands, I don´t want his finger to get tangled when, Uhm... he´s picking his Ketchup Stars, Green Stars, or Let´s-scare-creepy-girls-to-death Stars. I really hope he likes it.¨

If you were not paying enough attention, you would have missed Sanji´s disappointed look, which he quickly hid with a kind smile. 

¨You always think about everything, Y/N-chan. He will love it.¨ he kissed your forehead and went back to the kitchen. 

You waited until he closed the door to cringe ¨You are going to hell, Y/N.¨ 

Finally, the Secret Davy Treasure day arrived. You would exchange gifts and then have a nice dinner if Luffy didn´t make a party out of it. He definitely would. 

But you were also grateful that today was the day. Since you told Sanji that you had picked Usopp, he has been acting a little upset. The other guys didn´t notice, but you did. 

You would always notice. And you had an idea why. 

The gift exchanging rules were pretty simple.  The Secret Davy had to offer information about the person receiving the treasure, and the others had to guess. 

It started with Usopp, whose Secret Davy was Franky. He gave him a bunch of super tools and some colored light bulbs for the ¨Party Nipple¨ idea.

Franky´s Secret Davy was Robin. He gave her a journal with waterproof pages he created. 

Robin´s Secret Davy was you, and she presented you with a beautiful copy of a fictional adventure book since you were always reading them on the ship.

Then it was your turn. You held the gift wrapped in a shiny blue paper and began to describe your Secret Davy. 

¨My Secret Davy is... slightly annoying sometimes.¨

¨It´s the stupid-eyebrow.¨ Zoro said.

¨Shut up, marimo head!¨

You continued after Nami punched them. ¨My Secret Davy always takes care of us.¨ 

¨It´s Chopper!¨ you shook your head.

¨Hmm... my Secret Davy is an exceptional fighter! Really strong!¨ 

¨It´s me!¨ 

¨No, Zoro! It´s me! I will become the Pirate King!¨ 

¨Shut up, you two!¨

¨My Secret Davy is...¨ you looked at Sanji and smiled ¨... loving and caring.¨ 

He looked back at you, confused.  Why would you say those about Usopp? Not that he wasn´t loving and caring, but... still. 

¨My Secret Davy is... the man of my dreams, the prince of my fairy tale, and the love of my life.¨

A minute or two passed while everyone waited for Sanji to say something, but he remained frozen with a perplexed expression. 

¨Sanji-san, I think the treasure is yours.¨ Brook said calmy. 

The cook made his way to you slowly, taking the gift from your hands and opening it gently, without tearing the wrapping.  

Did he get upset because of your lie? 

¨Sanji...¨ you called him, but he kept staring at the gloves. 

You saw his eyes fill with water before he excused himself and exited the deck, leaving everyone staring at you. 

¨I don´t... I´m gonna...¨ you pointed and left too. 

When you entered your room, he was standing, back turned to you. Was he really crying, or you saw things?

¨Sanji-kun?¨

¨You remembered...¨ he turned around, still holding the mittens ¨These colors...¨ 

¨Yeah, they don´t really match, but...¨

¨I wanted it so much, Y/N. When I saw it, I wanted it so much.¨

He rushed in your direction and hugged you tight. He hugged you and you felt all his emotions, you felt the weight he carried in his heart. Not a bad weight, just the weight of missing someone you love. 

You knew that that was the reason he was pestering you so much, the colors. You had chosen the colors that Zeff, Sanji´s mentor, wore. 

The fingers were orange and purple, like his striped shirt. You added yellow details of his hair; the blue of his ascot, and the white of his apron. 

As you said, they didn´t match, but apparently, Sanji didn´t care.

He would always share stories about their lives and cook recipes that Zeff taught him. Despite him always calling him old man or damn geezer, the Red Leg was his father.

¨Thank you, Y/N-chan. I loved it.¨

The sound of him sniffing made you hold him stronger. 

¨I miss that damn geezer.¨ 

¨I´m sure he misses you too, Little Eggplant.¨ 

¨Oi!¨

You squeaked and laughed when he threw on the bed.

¨I´ll show you Little Eggplant!¨

Hey, Guys! SURPRISE! Here´s my first decent art? hahaha THE MITTENS!

I don´t know if the quality dropped. I´m using krita and still don´t know how to adjust the settings stuff when I´m saving a jpeg. Anyway, I hope you liked it!

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Enies Lobby

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

this is still one of my very favorite nami panels. i think she’s really great through all of water 7 and enies lobby in general, actually, even though she isn’t really one of the characters in focus for a lot of it- like zoro and sanji, she stays pretty steadfast and very badass even though everything that happens, and never gives up on robin for a moment despite being one of the ‘weaker’ members of the crew. and it’s always fun to see her playing with lightning.

one of my favorite jokes from the first half or so of enies lobby is the strawhats both being completely unsurprised that luffy charges in ahead of them as soon as they arrive AND being able to find him immediately by following the explosions. they know him so well. 

luffy’s never been scared of dying, going all the way back to when he told coby he was fine with dying for his dream back in chapter two or three. that conversation is what his exchange with blueno here reminds me of- blueno asks him how long he intends to keep fighting, and luffy says until he dies, like there’s nothing to it.

it’s always been a trait of his to face death unflinching with a grin, so long as it’s for the sake of something he cares about, be it his crew or his brother or his dream, and i just really like that about him.  

i’ll go into it in the dressrosa post too, but i think it’s really impressive just how long oda held off on giving luffy any sort of significant power-up. he gets his first big power boost in the whole series here, forty volumes in. i’ve always liked that oda is very conservative with power boosts like this, because it both keeps the series’ powerscaling in check and makes the times it does happen much weightier. this is a monumental moment, and it feels like it.

also, i love the way gear two is drawn pre-timeskip, especially with the steam. it looks very cool and atmospheric.

i really like how united the strawhat crew feels throughout enies lobby, after all the internal turmoil and discord of water seven. even though the matter of usopp leaving the crew is still unresolved, they’ll all together once more, on the same page, and fully united in the goal of saving robin, whatever consequences it might bring. 

the tree of knowledge has such a cool design- it looks massive, and even more than that, it looks old. you look at that tree and you know its been there for easily thousands of years. its seen entire eras of history, and it would be priceless even without the countless books stored inside it.

and then it burns.

i’m so endlessly sad about the tragedy that is robin’s relationship with her mother. they never even got to see each other until their world was ending, and even then only for a couple minutes.

olvia is a very interesting character, because she’s someone who chose her dream over the people she loved. that’s not an inherently good or bad choice, but it is a choice she made, and it’s what led to the ending she and robin had to have. i’ve wondered a lot what might have happened if she chose the other way, if she never left or if she came back sooner or if she chose to flee the buster call with robin, and how different (and almost certainly better) robin’s life would have been if she had.

in a way, olvia reminds me a lot of kouzuki toki. they both die in order to fling a light of knowledge and hope into the future, and they both send their children away and choose to stay behind to choke on ash for the sake of a better tomorrow. 

i didn’t really notice until putting these panels together, but a lot of things burn in enies lobby. ohara burns, and the pluton plans and the world government flag, and enies lobby itself, and at the end, the going merry burns, too. if you extend it back to water seven, there’s the galley-la headquarters, too. in an arc that deals so much with the preservation and destruction of history and knowledge, it’s a fitting motif. 

the world government flag burning is still to this day one of the most striking panels out of a series full of them, in my opinion. in one act, the strawhats proclaim their absolute defiance against the world government, and their willingness to make enemies of the greatest power in the world for the sake of their friend.

it’s also another one of those moments that’s interesting to think about in the context of luffy’s past. it was a ship flying that same flag that shot sabo down, and while luffy wasn’t there to see it, i don’t think he’s oblivious to that fact, especially given how he says just before this he understands robin’s enemies perfectly.

dadan told him and ace that there was nothing they could do against the whole world, and luffy went and did it anyways.

sometimes i just think about how scary it must have been for robin, someone who’s been weighed down by the shackles of her past with no escape in sight for so very long, to open herself up and let herself hope, for life and freedom and a dream that’s always been out of reach. 

franky has a lot of really great moments between this arc and water seven- his conversation with usopp as usopp is working on merry and his talk with robin on the sea train are two others. it’s almost impressive how quickly he becomes an immensely likable character once we start getting to know him, given how he’s first introduced as an absolute piece of shit.

his burning of the pluton plans is a favorite of mine, and i think it might be because, like so many people before and after him, he’s choosing here to stake all his hopes on the strawhats, on luffy’s ability to pull off the impossible and on robin’s goodness. when robin’s only ever been chased and hated and called a demon by the world, franky chooses to trust her and luffy with the legacy his dad died for, and neither of them let him down.

monster point looks SO FUCKING TERRIFYING in enies lobby, and i LOVE it. look at that. franky is seven and half feet tall, and in front of monster point he’s tiny. monster point is huge, and dead-eyed, and a force of absolute destruction. i do kind of wish we got to see chopper go completely feral like this more often. he deserves to be terrifying!

i love how much FAITH all the rest of the strawhats continue to have in usopp throughout enies lobby. he left the crew and they really would have a right to be angry at him if they chose to, but it doesn’t even seem to cross any of their minds. they’re just happy he’s okay, and they include him again without missing a beat, because he’s still their friend and they know down to their bones they can trust him, even after everything. 

i’ve always really loved zoro and kaku’s little moment of post-battle banter here- zoro relays paulie’s message about cp9 being fired, kaku says he’s out of a job, zoro tells him to try the zoo, and kaku cracks up.

it feels very real to me for whatever reason, and i think part of it ties back into how well one piece handles morality with its characters- zoro and kaku are genuinely pretty similar people who get along decently, it just happens that they wound up on opposite sides. there are series where you’d never see moments like this due to the lines between good and bad being so firmly drawn, and i love how one piece blurs those lines so much they may as well not exist a lot of the time.

this is the other sequence, along with luffy climbing the drum rockies barehanded, that always makes me physically cringe to look at. it looks so painful. robin is so nearly powerless here, but not quite- she can still buy time for her crew to catch up, even if it’s only seconds, even if she risks shattering her teeth or even her jaw in the process. she’s spent so long giving up and has only just started daring to hope- she’s not about to go gentle.

there aren’t many panels that give me catharsis like this one. there really aren’t.

oda’s villains are usually complicated and awful and often a little admirable, if only for how clever or how terrifyingly powerful they are, but every now and then he comes up with someone who’s just pathetic and cowardly and pointlessly cruel. spandam is like this, obviously, and so is orochi, and the celestial dragons, and i’d argue flampe from whole cake island as well. and there’s nothing like seeing characters like them- weak, cruel people so assured in their own power and rightness- get obliterated.

one of the things i really like about enies lobby is that nobody really gets sidelined- everybody gets multiple chances to shine. luffy, usopp, and obviously robin are the most in focus, obviously, but zoro, sanji, nami, chopper, and even franky all get a bunch of individual awesome moments. oda’s ability to handle his cast satisfyingly is consistently really impressive (if sometimes strained in huge ensemble arcs like dressrosa or wano) and it really shows here, i think.

i just really love the entire climax of enies lobby. much like the arc as a whole, it just feels triumphant, even though the situation is extremely dire. luffy unlocking gear three, robin’s cuffs getting unlocked, usopp shooting spandam and the marines all the way from the tower of justice- it’s all just good, a long chain of much-needed victories and catharses, and it feels very good to read.

i’ll always be impressed by just how much characterization oda manages to give merry, a boat. she’s only really a character in water seven and the end of enies lobby, only about two chapters of which she actually speaks in. and yet i don’t think you’d find a single one piece fan who disagrees that merry’s death is easily one of the most heartwrenching in the entire series.

i love the reactions of the strawhats to robin’s thanks. they’ve just gone through hell to save her, most of them are beat to shit and they all risked their lives, and yet they all just smile, or brush it off, because to them there’s nothing else they could have done. it’s all worth it, so long as they got her back, so long as she’s safe and happy.

merry’s funeral just hits me in the chest every single time i read it. it’s tragic, of course, but there’s also something almost lovely about it, something peaceful about her getting to go out on her own terms, carrying her crew to safety one last time, defying every rule of the universe to do it. just like a strawhat pirate.

oda’s ability to communicate emotion through expressions really comes through here, too. merry has the only lines in this scene, fitting for her death in the limelight, but the shots of every other crewmate’s face let us know at a glance just what they’re all feeling and just how strongly they’re feeling it.

you know, i’d forgotten we only learn the name of the new world after enies lobby. we only get proper exposition about the revolutionary army and the yonkou here, too, despite them being set up since loguetown and jaya (or alabasta, or even chapter one if you count from shanks’s introduction) respectively. oda’s ability to parse out exposition and explanation so we always have just the right amount of information is really impressive- we always have more questions, but we also always have the feeling that those questions have answers, and that sooner or later they’ll be revealed.

points at shanks. i just think he’s neat.

it’s my opinion that one of the great joys of one piece is seeing luffy and the crew rise up in the world, and seeing them gain more and more notoriety. i love nothing they do ever happens in a vacuum- everything has impacts, and there are always outside eyes watching, and often those impacts are things that they never could have predicted.

ace and blackbeard is still, i think, definitely one of the coolest looking fights in the whole series. it’s not all that often we get to see two people with extremely flashy and showy abilities go all-out against each other, and the resulting fireworks are still really something to behold, despite how badly it all ends. 

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1029 - Initial Thoughts

These breaks always seem to take forever

But now One Piece is back again, after not having a chapter OR an anime episode last week, so I'm sure we're all feeling that withdrawal

Closing in on 1030 it does look like Oda's deciding to further and further escalate the situation

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release as well

Starting with a Bonney cover with otters, pretty cool, but also a reminder that she was at the Reverie

We pick up right where we left off with Sanji, having to adjust his face back from the supposed-killer blow he just ate

Queen also throwing the exposition if you forgot about Judge's tinkering with his children, with the stinger of removing their emotions

Despite Tiny Tiny Chopper's encouraging, Sanji's in a panic because of the lack of emotions part

Interesting that the panel only showed his brothers and not Reiju huh?

Sanji then does a runner, which Oda probably is doing because he wants more fans to think he's clowning on him. Fleeing the scene so he can try and figure out what's causing his change

I mean, it's likely the Raid Suit, but you can't deny that Sanji would feel a little traumatized by feeling like he's turning into his brothers, and that his emotions will dwindle

In his fleeing he's also shot by some grunts, but his durability means that they don't do much damage, only hurt him a little

His fleeing is drawing Queen away from the Performance floor though, almost like we're setting a grand stage

Moving over to Big Mom, and Kid is still in a bad spot due to Killer vs Hawkins

Law is to his credit trying to carry, landing a Counter Shock, but then he gets blindsided by Prometheus

BM then just flattens them with Hera-powered Napoleon, which the two survive because swords mean nothing unless you're Zoro or fighting Zoro XD

While Kid is getting frustrated by his headache we see why it's the case; Hawkins is basically smashing his head against a plank to transfer the damage over

Killer is also in a rough spot, pretty beaten due to his inability to attack and surrounded by the Kid Pirates he's ordered not to attack, there's also the fire burning around them

Killer pulls a Zoro move and offers his life in exchange, but Hawkins to air some grievances, insisting that Kid will be dead anyway because the Yonko are too strong

There is a bit of mercy in him mind you since he would let Killer join with him, but he's also offering Killer to come at him and do more harm to Kid so it's mixed messages

Killer though sees the truth of his grievances; Hawkins is being extra hostile to Kid and Killer because they keep coming out well despite the odds, while Hawkins is stuck believing his fate is sealed

Killer has been patient though, he finally figured out the opening I thought of weeks ago: go for the arm

Because Kid doesn't have that arm, damage can't transfer to him, and thus Hawkins' own arm is severed

And because of that damage taken, the Straw Man with Kid's life force is now in Killer's hands, meaning Hawkins is unguarded and down an arm

To be fair to Hawkins he is taking this surprise pretty well, even see a smirk in there

He draws the giant straw demon card again, confident that the result ends the same, but Killer quickly beheads the creature

Interesting that it's an undying creature, and that it's attached to the cards, it's still a power we don't know much about - which was one of the reasons I found Hawkins so interesting

Hawkins however has panicked upon his next card drawn; the Tower

Killer gets the finishing blow on Hawkins, KOing him in a shower of his cards, while the narrator of Hawkins' monologue tells use what the Tower means

Turns out the Tower is the upheaval of the old guard, a change in the established order, which bodes kinda well for our heroes - unless it means the Government swooping in, but he did say to see the Result of the Battle

We must also be wary that if Hawkins is right then we have to pay attention to the cards floating around him; two cards of Death, one with a Sword looking like it's in a stone, an angel and something that looks like a building EDIT: I've done some digging and I think I can identify each one, Oda's being clever with authentic Tarot here but the small space did mean he had to shy on some details but I'll explain below in italics

According to this list the tarots shown are likely; (Panel of Killer's final blow) Strength, Ace of Swords, Knight of Cups/Swords/Wands(?), The Sun(?), (Panel of Hawkins falling) Seven of Wands, Nine of Swords, and Judgement.

Clearest of the first lot are Strength - which is self-explanatory - and Ace of Swords, whose definitions can play to different areas; it can be either a mental breakthrough, a new idea, or the vague 'Surgery' that may fit for Law

The two in the first panel I'm unsure about are the Sun and the Knights; the Sun image I have involves a horse and a man but I don't see any alternative it could be, the Sun is depicted as optimism though and positive vibes. The knight is very small so it's uncertain what he's holding, given how his horse is not in motion you'd think it's the Knight of Cups (Appearance of a saviour) but he's facing the wrong way, the others are facing the right way but the horses are in motion; Knight of Wands (passion/motivation/lust which can apply to Sanji) or Knight of Swords (assertiveness and haste). Either one seems like it could apply.

The three in the next panel are specific because two of them are upside down, which inverts the meaning. The only one right side up is the Nine of Swords (Pain, Worry, Betrayal), upside down we have the Seven of Wands (Retreat, Giving Up), and finally Judgement (Critical Error). These could be worrisome if they apply to the future, but they do also apply to Hawkins' defeat, as the previous panel's cards could simply allude to Killer's victory.

But now that Hawkins is done, Kid can get his second wind and properly fight BM

Bros4Life Hawkins and Kid feeding all the gay shippers in all the fandom after all that time we spent ignoring their fights

And no break, so good for everyone

This was a solid chapter that did feel like it went a little quickly. The Sanji stuff does feel like we need to be a bit patient on and Queen chasing him does mean that we're going to have to move this fight to a newer environment, whether this will cross paths with King vs Zoro is yet to be seen though.

The rest of the chapter belongs to Killer, pulling off the arm slice, nice bit of cleverness vindication there and getting the win over Hawkins. Alas poor Hawkins, now you join the missing arm club with Shanks, Kid and maybe Queen (it's really unclear because it grows and turns into dino limbs with him), I held out hope that he would turn on Kaido when seeing the odds beaten but Oda instead just made him bitter about the odds being beaten and let down he couldn't take the risk, I don't hate it but I wished more out of him given how he was continually touted to be the top 5 of the Supernova, maybe he will rejoin the fray with this revelation though - I mean we still didn't know who the 20% guy was and it doesn't look like he's dead, but I'm likely just digging my heels here.

It is at least another battle dealt with, and now with that done we still have BM vs Kid/Law, Raizo vs Fukurokuju, Zoro vs King, Sanji vs Queen and Kaido vs Luffy III left

[husbandograveyard]

Out of all days to get lost...

Hello everyone! This is part II of the beautiful Fern Flower Scenario @some-piece​ wrote for her summer challenge. Please go read it and follow her, she writes the best things I swear!  The part II started off as a joke of which I really loved the concept, and I couldn’t say no when she asked to collab! I hope you enjoy part 2~ 

Summary: Zoro has an awful habit of getting lost. Even on his wedding day.  Character: Zoro. Word count: 3.2k  2nd person Reader insert. Disclaimer that the wedding is loosely based off of the stereotypical western idea of marriage.

Weddings weren’t really common in the pirate world, besides the arranged kind, especially if you’re in any way or shape related to big mom or another influential family. But the ones out of love? Rare. There is very little time and space for love, let alone wedding parties with entire pirate crews involved while there’s enemies all around, marines and other pirates alike. 

Zoro and you hadn’t been really sure on how you would break the news to the other crew members. So far, Robin had been true to her word and had not spoken a word to anyone about it. There were some mysterious smiles and knowing glances, but those were not new for Robin, so everyone kept sailing after you left the island where the Fern Festival was held, blissfully unaware of what had happened in the forest. 

The way everyone found out was by accident. Nami had ‘spotted’ the ring in cleaning out the room. You had decided to stash it away carefully, keeping the news and the funny story around it between mostly you and Zoro for now, but once Nami connected the dots, she went off about how you had denied her the berries price for finding the Fern Flower, and you had no choice but to explain the circumstances. Nami’s yelling had by then attracted the attention from some other crew members, and before you knew the whole ship was aware of yours and Zoro’s status. 

Luffy was immediately ready to throw a whole feast, right then and there, but was quickly stopped by Nami, who had forgotten about her anger from minutes ago to now enthusiastically name all the things she wanted to do with you. You had to curb her enthusiasm a little by telling her you had already agreed on Robin as maid of honor, after all, she knew and had been able to keep quiet. 

That didn’t stop Nami from still rambling on about all the things she wanted to do and plan. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think she was more happy about the engagement than you are. After talking it over with the whole crew, Zoro placing a hand on yours the entire time as you said what the both of you wanted to do, actual plans were made. 

Nami and Robin would be in charge of the clothes of everyone. Your dress, the men’s suits, everything. Zoro agreed as long as it wouldn’t be ‘too flashy’ or ‘too tight’. His only requirements were being able to breathe, and being able to carry his swords. It’s not like Zoro didn’t want to be involved in everything, he just mostly wanted you to be happy, himself to be comfortable and have a party with those who matter most. Other than that, he was fine with mostly everything. 

Nami would map out a route to an island that did not have many inhabitants and would be safe to dock at without getting in trouble with the locals, marines or other pirates. A ceremony on the beach would be a little more special than one on the sunny. 

Jinbe would be the officiate the marriage, and Usopp and Franky would take care of the special effects. You weren’t entirely sure what that meant but you let them to that, if it made them happy to contribute. 

Luffy was Zoro’s best man, you were not entirely convinced if your captain was the best choice for the role, but it was Zoro’s choice, and you knew how much he cared about his captain. In all honesty, Luffy had very little idea of what exactly was going on, but was happy to just follow whatever instructions, as long as there was enough meat at the afterparty. 

Of course, Sanji would take care of the food, his eyes lit up when you said he was free to experiment with whatever recipes he saw fit. The moment he got the okay, he practically dove into the kitchen to get started on little testers for you, Nami and Robin to decide on. Even begrudgingly giving some to Zoro, he had a say in this too after all, it was heartwarming and hilarious to see them interact on their best behavior just for this special occasion, it truly was something. 

Chopper was going to be the ring bearer. Zoro really wanted the little reindeer to have an important role and this seemed perfect. Chopper was more than excited to even help go pick out the wedding rings. The actual wedding rings would be kept in his possession just so Zoro couldn’t lose them again. Just to be safe. 

Last but not least, Brook was in charge of the music and he had promised to compose a handful of songs just for the occasion. Seeing the whole crew work together for this made you emotional already, even weeks before the big day came. It was heartwarming and it seemed to give everyone an extra boost during the rest of your adventures, because on your way to the island that Nami picked out, there were still plenty of pirate things to do.

Time flies when you’re having fun, or when you are dreading something. The closer you came to the island where it all was gonna happen, the more nervous you got. You didn’t even know why exactly. You were looking forward to it so much, the cherry on top of the best relation you ever had and the only one you wanted to have still for the rest of your life.

You were looking forward to it every night you went to sleep in Zoro’s arms, your head resting on his broad chest, his even breaths lulling you to sleep even though your heart was racing with unnecessary stress and anticipation. But with every preparation that got finished, every little item checked off the list, you were feeling like everything was just too perfect? Suspiciously so. The day could be perfect, that’d be ideal. But the slightly pessimist voice in the back of your head kept nagging you about what could possibly go wrong.

You docked at the island by the evening a few days later. All preparations were complete, now it was only a matter of going through the motions. A small party in the evening, preparations in the morning and noon, and then the actual ceremony would be tomorrow in the evening, exchanging vows as the sun goes under. It seemed incredibly cheesy to Zoro, but it everyone had rather unanimously decided that it was also incredibly romantic, and time-management wise it worked out very well. You could party all night, and continue the adventures in the morning. It was all perfect.

You excused yourself from the evening party rather early, nerves eating at you and you wanted to be up early and feeling well the next morning to be able to help wherever you could. You kissed Zoro goodnight, who replied that he’d be joining you in a bit. He would probably only admit it to you if you asked, but he was looking forward to it too, and was actually uncharacteristically nervous about it as well. But even if everything possible went wrong, there was nothing in the world that could ever diminish his love for you and that helped a lot to make him feel at ease. He had proposed to you buck naked, it could only get better from here on out.

You were still awake when he eventually joined you for the night. He noticed, but was still careful as he joined you in bed.  “Can’t sleep?”  “I’m nervous”  “No need to be. We know we work well. You’re gonna look so nice, and we’re just gonna have a nice party with the crew. It’s just affirming what we have”  You smiled. His blunt honesty sometimes was exactly what you needed. You turned to your side, kissing him softly before gliding down so you could rest your head on his chest. 

You were about to close your eyes when you started overthinking again. You jerked up as your brain had successfully misguided you into thinking you misplaced something.    “The rings!”  “Don’t worry, Chopper is keeping them safe.”  “Oh, right...”  Zoro chuckled, stroking your back as he tried to calm you down so you could sleep. You felt stupid for being so nervous, but well, there was nothing you could do to keep your emotions from going haywire.

Zoro’s breathing was steady and even as it always was, but you could hear his heart beating a little faster in his chest and you smiled, happy to know you’re not alone. But he had been right. Nothing could go wrong. You were just going to affirm what you had. And what you had, was magical. Dorky as he could be, blunt as he could be, you loved this man with all your heart. He was strong, honest, and too many other things to name up. He made you so, so, so incredibly happy and it was the good thoughts of the man you were lying on, combined with his soft snoring - even nerves weren’t enough to keep him from his naps - that eventually lulled you to sleep as well. 

The following day chaos ensued. It was not that nothing was prepared, it was just that so many little things and final touches needed to be done, that everyone seemed to be in each other’s way. You barely managed to kiss Zoro good morning before Nami dragged you out of the room to get you all ready, but not before she lectured Zoro on not being allowed in your room under no circumstances until the ceremony. Zoro was barely awake, but groggily nodded as Franky came over to drag him away as well. 

Nami and Robin barely let you do things yourself, making sure your hair was perfectly in place, the dress was in order, and when they were all done, you felt yourself tear up a little when you looked in the mirror. You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. You spent most of the afternoon talking, the two doing their utmost best to distract you to keep you inside so you wouldn’t accidentally be revealed to Zoro too early. It worked fairly well, in spite of the occasional emotional moment when you talked about Zoro and the few nervous moments when there was just too much ruckus outside for it to be normal preparations. 

Time was dragging on, and then there was a knock on the door. Sanji came in, looking rather serious, you figured it was because of the whole buffet he’d been cooking from early morning on till now, one would be tired from doing less than that in a day. He swooned when he saw you, complimented you and your dress furiously before taking Nami to the side and whispering something in her ear. Her eyes widened and you felt your heart sink. Something was wrong. 

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”  Sanji took a deep breath, sighed heavily and stood in front of you.  “Don’t panic y/n, we will get it in order. But....”  “But what?” You were getting nervous. What could possibly have gone wrong at this point in time that it would mess with the wedding enough to make you panic?  “They can’t find Zoro.” Nami filled in angrily, “I told you to watch him!”  “Hey! I was cooking all day, he was with Franky and Usopp. Said he was nervous, went into the city for some sake so he’d leave us alone to deal with all the wedding things so he wouldn’t bother us. And then he just went off in the general direction of the city.”

You were unsure whether to laugh or cry or panic or all at once.  “Guys, you really let Zoro, go find a city, on a new island, all by himself? He’s probably wandering around somewhere”  Sanji replied. “We realized too late that it might be a bit of a problem. Franky already went into the city to retrieve him but we cannot find him.” 

You stood up, Nami pushing you back into your chair.  “Please y/n, let us handle this.”  You scoffed. “Like hell I will. Besides, I have a knack for finding him whenever he’s lost. Call it our connection or something. I don’t care if he sees me earlier  than we’re supposed to.” You weren’t even that discouraged, finding Zoro was something you had done before. Just never in a wedding dress. But hey, there was a first time for everything right? 

You crumpled up your dress and held it up with your two hands so you could walk around more easy, thanking whatever deity there was on sea that you had opted for flat shoes as you ran onto the beach, in the general direction of the city, before going a completely different direction, something your instincts told you your fiance must’ve done as well.

The sky was starting to color all kinds of yellow and orange and you cursed a little, pretty sure the planned timing was already off. But well, no wedding without a groom right? You chuckled a little to yourself. Of all the days he could get lost, he had to pick today. He was probably getting at least frustrated, and you hoped that maybe he’d yell out, that would at least make locating him a little easier. 

You ended up in a little forest in between the beach and the city, almost half an island away from where the Sunny was docked. Your heart was beating fast and you were a little out of breath from power walking all the way here, but you were pretty sure this was it. An frustrated grumble and the familiar sounds of swords slashing something let you know that you were dead on. Was he really getting so frustrated that he was ready to cut down a forest in order to find the way back more easily? Apparently. Relieve washed over you and you ran in the direction of the sound, now yelling out his name. 

Now, Zoro’s inner compass isn’t worth anything, but there is nothing wrong with his ears and withing seconds he was by your side, looking a little disheveled from running around in the forest, and completely speechless when he saw you in your white dress. You hugged him tightly and when you stepped back he was still kind of staring. It was almost funny, you had never seen him at such a loss for words. 

“Are you okay babe?”  “Yes... I... wow... Fuck..Sorry”  You giggled, you’d never seen him like that.  “You look gorgeous”  “Thank you”, you smiled, “you’re not looking too shabby either.”  “I ruined it all didn’t I? Lost the ring, now lost myself?” The guilt in his voice was apparent. It had to be, otherwise he’d never even be admitting that he had gotten lost.  “You didn’t ruin anything. I am here, in a white dress, you are here, in your costume. There’s a crew waiting for us with food, and booze, and a ring. There’s nothing wrong, we’re just affirming what we already have.” You used his own words against him, smiling broadly as you pressed your lips to his. He melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist and holding you so close you felt like you were going to lose your balance if it weren’t for his support.  “I love you so much”  “I’m glad you do cause we’re literally about to get married” He laughed one of his rare, heartfelt laughs and it was so pure, so genuine, that you felt your eyes tear up already. It may be getting dark, but it was not too late to do this thing. 

The crew had decided to trust you, after all, you did manage to find Zoro more often than anyone else, due to that connection that could almost only be explained by you and Zoro really being made for each other. They had continued finalizing the preparations, but were still getting a little nervous as the sun was setting already. 

Franky just started making the big fire already that was meant for the afterparty. You could still get married in the moonlight, it would work out just as fine. The whole crew was reassuring each other that you could come back with Zoro any moment now. But that didn’t take away from the growing worries they were all getting. 

It was Jinbe who first spotted the silhouette of Zoro carrying you back to the sunny. Zoro had proposed he’d run with the two of you, while you gave directions. He didn’t want to tire you out more after running all the way to him, and was very fittingly carrying you back bridal style, under loud cheers of the rest of the crew. 

There was no time for scolding Zoro or fixing your hair. You laughed as Zoro put you down on the ground and kissed him quickly. “Let’s get married”. 

The ceremony itself was short and simple, and you were pretty sure Jinbe had cut out some parts to make it go even faster. You didn’t mind, now that everything was in place you couldn’t wait to get married, all the worries and nerves you had felt the past few days and hours had ebbed away the moment you kissed Zoro in the forest. 

You had promised yourself not to cry anymore, but when you were exchanging your vows, you couldn’t help but tear up, and you felt your heart swell when you noticed Zoro’s ever so steady hands were shaking when you exchanged the rings. You were pretty sure you heard Franky sniffle the entire time in the background too. When you sealed the vows, the ‘I do’s’ and the whole ordeal with a kiss, the crew cheered so loudly, you were pretty sure the entire island could hear it, and the party ensued. 

You sat down with Zoro, enjoying the delicious food Sanji had prepared, enjoying the warmth of the campfire and laughing at the stories of everything that had gone wrong during the preparations that the others were retelling now that it didn’t matter anymore and actually was funny. After the cake was cut and eaten, speeches and well wishes were given, another barrel of sake was opened and the strangest thing you’d ever seen happened: Zoro refused his refill. 

You were about to say something about it when he swiftly swooped you up in his arms. You yelped, immediately attracting the attention of the entire crew.  “Thank you all for helping us out. Thank you all for being here. But now that you all will stay out on the beach for a little longer, I am going to enjoy a proper wedding night with my beautiful wife.” Zoro’s tone of voice and smug grin left no room for imagination and you buried your blushing head in his chest while the crew could only laugh in response. 

Zoro didn’t even wait for answers as he walked towards the Sunny with you in his arms. You didn’t dare say it out loud, but you were happy that Sunny was right in front of you so at least he wouldn’t get lost on the way to your bedroom. 

Fin. 

[physicalturian]

Why don’t you listen to me? Law x GN! Reader - Part 5

Spoilers for : Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs [No gender used for the reader, no physical description, everyone is +18] Words : 4547 Archive of our own Blood, exhaustion, fighting, violence, despair If you feel like I should put more warnings, send me a DM or an ask!

… Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Considering I was responsible for Luffy, when I saw him take off with everyone else after the plan was detailed on the shore, I had to take off with him too. I had to use my power more than I thought I would with how fast he was, but managed to keep up. When we reached a restaurant, I stayed out of the way even more so when they annoyed the man I knew was from the Marine, they did not seem aware of who they had angered but I was not going to stress them out and ignored it.

 However, when Zoro started running after some stolen good, I couldn’t stay out of it and had to catch up before he got lost. He was one of the strongest of the team and would do great damage in time but I did not know what to do. Stay by Luffy and make sure he’d follow the plan or follow Zoro?

By the time I made my decision and turned towards where Luffy was, he was nowhere to be found. “Fuck. Ten seconds of inattention and I’ve already lost him.” I looked around, desperately trying to see where they had gone. I did not even have a map of the place, the only one I had seen was Bepo’s badly done one that Law showed us on the ship. Even if the map was ‘good’ in theory, my memory wasn’t. Sighing, I walked out of the restaurant, making sure to pay for what had be consumed by the loud pirates and samurais. “There better be gold at the end of this stupid suicidal-mission because they cost more than they’re worth.” I mumbled to myself as I walked down the streets, dolls, puppets, and plushies were walking the same street I was.

 Those usually inanimate objects made a huge part of the population, it was a strange sight but there was probably something grimmer behind all of this. Their eyes looked almost… human. A shudder ran down my spine, I had to pride my eyes away from them to avoid being suspicious. “It looks like a huge amusement park, there should be a map somewhere, right?” I stopped by some sort of souvenir shop and asked if they had maps, the seller stared at me in awe, then back at something under the counter. When he looked back at me, he smiled and nodded, handing me the map.

 I was going to take it when his wooden hand gripped mine and brought me down closer to him, “It’s you! The King- I heard that the King wants to see you but…” He trailed off, his eyes gazing around in panic.

“Who’s the King? How does he know who I am?” I asked, snatching the map from his hand.

“King Joker, but it’s only a rumor… he says whoever finds you has to bring you to him, there’s bounty on your head,” then out of nowhere a knife was pulled from under the counter and planted in my arm, I grabbed the man/doll by the arm and threw him across the room before running out of the shop, the knife hit the ground and I scrambled to get it as I made my escape.

 I made a short detour to run by a stand outside and grabbed a black drape to cover my head better than the cap Robin had given me. I thought I was the only one of the whole crew who wasn’t known, but for some reason Joker wanted something with me. But I was not going to let him catch me. For a second I thought, maybe Law was right and I should have stayed on the ship, then I got back to my senses and ignored that thought.

 I was teleporting from places to places, to get off those streets and was now on the rooftop of a high building. “Right, maybe I overreacted. Maybe I could have just walked out of the shop, and play it off…” I pondered out loud, “But I didn’t, it’s alright though, I’ve got the map, I have-“ I looked at my right arm and saw the blood trickling down the stab wound that turned partially into a cut as I had pulled back from the puppet.

 “And I have a stab wound, nice. I’ll just,” using the drape, I cut a part of it with the knife and wrapped it tightly around the wound. I was no doctor, maybe it was a bad thing to do but I did not care. At least blood wasn’t dripping on the ground anymore, which means they couldn’t follow me.

 The building was not a high enough vantage point, so I opened the map and looked at it; Green Bits was across a long bridge that I could see from where I was, but it was very far away. Tucking the map away, I sighed and started making my way to the bridge. I had to pause every time to recharge, I was expecting to use my power a lot more than I used to but not for such things. I thought I’d be helping people out not running around like an idiot, but things never went as expected. I couldn’t begin to imagine Law’s face when I’d tell him I lost Luffy. He’d probably beat my ass then beat his, but, all in due time.

 I had this strange feeling in my guts at each of my jump. The closer I was getting to the bridge, the heavier the air seemed to be. The fact of the matter was that if anything was happening there, I couldn’t be of much help considering the lack of items around me. I had not taken any weapon with me, except the knife the seller had used one me. It wasn’t the sharpest but it would do the damage. The plan was to trade off Caesar to the Marines at Green Bits but anything could wrong from there one. If I knew something from experience it was to never trust Marines nor pirates, all were crooked and while one of them claimed to be working for the government, the latter was corrupted to the core. I had yet to come across a truthful Marine.

 Except that one guy that helped Law when he was younger, but once again… he was a spy among the pirates and I don’t know how I felt about that. I don’t know how I’d feel if one of my crewmates was actually a Marine. Maybe thinking the Marine would enroll a spy was giving our crew too much credits, we weren’t war criminals or anything… I think…

 I was brought back to reality when I heard a loud crash. Looking ahead of me, I saw the bars on each side of the bridge get cut off, then four big animals jump of the water to loom over the two miniscule forms on the ground.

 I hurried, recognizing Law’s fighting, he wasn’t meant to turn it into a fight just yet. He wasn’t meant to fight with Joker just yet, the plan wasn’t going as expected and I could see it from the desperate attempt to keep the Warlord at bay. Once I was close enough, I managed to get out of the large cut the blonde made, the fishes were cut in pieces and fell into the water with a loud plop. I looked from afar, needing the gauge if I could help, if help was even needed.

 Law was running head on onto the man in front of him, he wasn’t thinking straight, he wasn’t running he was rushing. The grin on the Warlord’s face did not put me at ease, and soon enough he blocked Law’s attack. A huge explosion ensued, I was left speechless, staring at where my Captain used to be. For second my stomach did a flip at the thought of him dead, then I saw him running away from the rubble and sighed in relief. He must have seen me since his eyes widened and he screamed my name, telling me to get out of here. I yelled back, telling him I’d teleport him but he told me to go, now.

 “What’s the matter Law, I thought you wanted to kill me?” Said the Joker. It made Law pause, and so did I, I watched. I observed how it’d end up, although I believed in Law, I could still very much notice he was at the limit of his capacity. He was out of breath, exhausted and clearly unable to continue. And yet he did, he tried to attack the blonde with the metal debris, only for him to slash them in pieces. I was going to sneakily grab him and get him away when he desperately went for another strike, I could see the bubble around him grow as he summoned his power.

 I was just as surprised as the Warlord, I did not know how he could continue to go past his limits over and over again, but I could easily tell it wasn’t good.  He exchanged places of Joker with a huge piece of metal and struck down with his sword, but once again he was blocked by the strings.

 Grinning, the tall blonde man sneered, noticing that Law’s power was at its limit. I was surprised to hear he had faced a lot in the little time we were apart, a meteorite from one of the marine, rescued Sanji when they fought the first time? What was going here, how long had he been fighting? I couldn’t think more, they kept exchanging hits, only in vain. Law’s attacks were all blocked, and when he was catching his breath, the maniac shot him down with string bullets which sounded ridiculous but that thought only lasted half a second before I saw my Captain on the ground.

 “Law! Let me-“ I cried out, but he raised his fist.

“Get out! Leave, it’s not safe!” My heart clenched at his attempt of fighting back once again, he tried to summon Room but it didn’t work, I looked away, fearing the worst but a phone rang. I turned around and look as Joker picked up his den den mushi and talked casually on the phone. There was another attempt from Law but he got taken down just as easily as before. When the call was done, he strutted towards Law, his walk more threatening than his outfit.

 He started explained how annoyed he was with this little plan of ours and mentioned that if he didn’t trust the Straw Hat, perhaps as friends even but that was left unsaid, then he couldn’t have planned something this big. When he mentioned me, I was startled and looked at him in shock, he was staring right back at me but Law ignored it and said he trusted the will of D. That was the words too many, Joker turned into a full berserk mode and raised his fist and was about to strike down Law.

 Seeing his state, I didn’t think, I reacted out of instinct and teleported closer to finally reach the blonde’s man back and try to hold his arm. He laughed manically and made cuts on my skin, making me let go of his arm but I was still holding tight onto him. It hurt a lot, but the adrenaline made me ignore it for now as I gripped his other shoulder tight.

 “Let him go! You fucking psychopath, you’re not fit for a King, you’re not fit for a Leader- You’re barely a man as it is!!” I rambled as I grabbed the knife from my back and was about to shove it in his throat when he laughed some more in response and took if away from my hand forcefully. I say forcefully but it scared me, the ease with which he used his power to open my hand.

“You talk too much, I should finish you just like I’m about to finish him.” He raised his arm once more, but this time made sure I couldn’t move mine.

 He did not hesitate a second more and started hitting Law over and over again, blood spurting around, grunts of pain following each strike. I wanted to throw up from the sight but did not let go of the Warlord. I couldn’t teleport away; I was gripping him tightly but if I let go there was no chance to find Law again. “You’re insistent, can’t you see he’s already dead?” Joker spat as he kicked Law into the air and followed the strings to get closer and closer, kicking my Captain further away at each kick.

 “Fuck off, I don’t care if I have to strangle you myself-“ His laugh interrupted me, but it quickly turned into the deadliest expression. I couldn’t see it full well from my place on his back but he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Guess I’ll kill you both, the traitor’s bastard and you.” He scoffed and gripped one of my wounded arms, lifting me off his back with ease before slamming me into the ground. I let out a painful groan and swore the best I could, this was not ending here.

The air got knocked out of my lungs, I had a hard time breathing but I tried hard to roll onto my stomach to look at the still ongoing fight.

 The Warlord was stepping closer to Law’s body that was lying on the ground, motionless. The ground under him was crushed, I couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. Slowly, Joker raised a gun and aimed it at Law.

A screech ripped out of my throat, I tried to teleport closer to him but I couldn’t. For some reason I couldn’t, I was fucking helpless. “Don’t! He’s-“ I coughed some dryness, maybe even blood, and placed my hands on the ground to steady myself. The Marine was there, I couldn’t stay here, but I couldn’t leave him there either. The so called ‘King’ ignored my attempt and cocked the gun. I could hear Luffy’s voice somewhere, he did not know what was happening but he tried hard to get any sort of information.

 “You’ve pushed it too far, kid.” Joker said as he aimed the gun well, before shooting one bullet. My breath hitched inside my throat, then I cried out Law’s name in utter horror. He couldn’t be dead, right? One bullet was alright, the King doesn’t look like he’s a good shot- but two other gunshots rang. I looked at the scene in horror before collapsing on the floor, my arms too weak to carry my weight anymore. I covered my mouth to muffled the sound of my sobbing but couldn’t tear away from the scene displaying in front of me. “Law…” I gasped, pushing myself up to go up to him. “Don’t … die” my voice was weak; I could barely hear it.

 He couldn’t hear it either, people were talking, arguing. A Marine stepped up in front of Doflamingo and was about to strike down Law when Zoro stopped it with his sword. I was silently thanking him with all my heart. After managing to stand up, I tried to take a step but fell to my knees. How hard have I been slammed into the ground? I’ve taken worse beatings, now is not the moment to be fragile. I scolded myself, pushing way over my limits and getting up once more. This time I was able to take a few steps but had to hold onto a nearby wall when the Admiral used his power and the pressure was back. I looked around; I couldn’t see Law on the floor anymore.

 My heart was already beating fast in my chest, I felt it hammer against my ribs, I was exhausted from so little and scared, scared for Law’s life and mine too. Perhaps Law’s more than mine. I heard Doflamingo’s voice in the air and saw him floating, thanks to his strings, along the Admiral. The King was carrying Law like a grocery bag, I wanted to get up there and beat him up but I had no energy. I felt pure hatred towards the man, and except for being the worst kind of scum all he did was beat up my Captain... for now. I hated being so emotional and tried to force myself to calm down, but my hands were shaking.

 I think the blonde said something that must have angered the Marines or maybe were they working together? Whichever it was, they started shooting at Zoro and Kin’emon; I was going to sneak away and hide when one of the civilians grabbed me by the arms and lifted me off the ground, “It’s the one!! It’s exactly like the picture- The king said we should-“ I mustered all my strength and got rid of them before teleporting myself to the roof on top of them, I barely made it through and was hanging on the edge. I had to bring myself up and doing so made it hurt everywhere. My throat was sore, my breath shallow and my arms wounded all over. But I made it and was now sitting securely on the rooftop.

 “Fuck this, I knew it’d end bad…” I huffed, rolling up my sleeves to look at the multiples cuts on both my arms. It was more sore than painful, kind of like a cat’s scratches but when I touched it hurt a lot more. Hitting my head against the chimney I was resting against, I groaned. “I fucking knew it’d end up bad, but I promised everyone I’d look over him…” I’m a failure, I scoffed dryly, my hands gripping my thighs tight. I was trying so hard to keep the tears in but I was alone, I was horrified, I didn’t know what to do. “Always making stupid promises… if you can’t even keep them, what’s the point?” I wondered rhetorically, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks silently.

 Hearing footsteps echo nearby I stood up quickly and jumped on another roof. I have to stay on the move, I can’t relax, I need to find the others. Wiping the tears away, I tried to hype myself up, even though I did not believe the words that left my mouth, I kept repeating them over and over again, “Maybe he’s still alive, maybe I can still save him, maybe he’s still alive…” But what if he’s dead? If he’s dead, I get over it. I’ll have to, the fighting is not over. Should I finish what he started? I’m not strong enough for that… I could become strong enough, I could come back later and finish Doflamingo. The thought made me giggle nervously, who was I kidding? If I came out of this alive, I wouldn’t come back here, I would never ask the Heart Pirates to follow me.

 I cared too much about them to force them to join me- Stop thinking that like that, Law is alive, get to him in time and he’ll be fine! He won’t be fine though he’s on the verge of dying- but that’s okay, he’ll come through he went through worse right? I let out a frustrated groan at the mix of thoughts in my mind, I did not know if I should be realistic or optimistic so I kept moving towards the castle. I had seen both the Admiral and Joker make their way towards that building, chances were that Law should be there too.

 After a while, the castle was finally in my reach. I was weary, drained and bloodied up, I no longer had the drape around my knife wound. When Doflamingo use his strings on me, he made sure to cut that too and now I had and open wound and tons of cuts all over my arms. Still, it seemed to be taking care of itself enough since no blood was dripping which was the bare minimum I was hoping for.

 Stopping at one spot in the shadow, I looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone. It reminded me of Punk Hazard which immediately threw me off, I was very bad at sneaking around on Punk Hazard, maybe I was just as bad here. Out of the blue, I remembered something, Law’s vivre card. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I tried to find it amongst other things in it, soon enough I found it and looked at it, it was halfway gone but very slowly gaining back some of its life. A nervous breath of relief escaped my lips as I stared at the blank paper in front of me.

 I felt relieved but couldn’t waste more time, tucking it away, I kept my back against the wall and peeked inside the room through the window. I could see someone sitting on the ground by the door as the man from earlier, the Admiral, stepped in and seemed to be talking calmly to Joker. They weren’t paying attention to anything else, but the blond had a victorious grin on his face. But perhaps was his face always adorned with such expression? Since I couldn’t hear them, I looked around some more and realized that someone was sitting on one of the four seats in the middle of the room, at the heart-shaped one… it was Law.

 He was handcuffed to the seat, his head hanging low, beaten, bleeding, knocked out. I hated that a part of me thought he was still handsome like that, but the most logical part was anxious, how long could he stay alive in that state? I’m sure those handcuffs weren’t simple one either, they were made for fruit user. I was startled when Doflamingo tried to kick the Admiral, and moved to rest against the wall once more, I would rather not get caught.

 After a moment, I looked back and there were more people inside the room. Law seemed to be awake and from what gathered, they were interrogating him. When he didn’t answer, the girl in the maid dress slapped in head, I felt my fingers tingle at the thought someone laying a hand on him when he was in that state, but gripped the wall tighter. I saw something move the back and realized Luffy was there with two other people, one of them being a doll soldier. Relief coursed through my body at the thought of not being alone if I was discovered, not that I was aiming to be.

 My legs were starting to get weak from staying on the tip of my toes, on the edge of the wall. It wasn’t made to be walked on, but I was trying my best to stay balanced. I was careful not to look down, I was very high above the ground; One wrong move and I could fall down, which almost happened when Doflamingo slammed opened the window to overlook the city. He was mad, he was angry, he was more than infuriated. And I love it. I don’t know what had happened to make him mad like that but I was living for it, perhaps the plan was still ongoing and things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.

 Things kept happening, one after another, I had no opportunity to get off my spot until a large man with a missing leg jumped out of nowhere and ‘heroically’ cut Doflamingo’s head off. But it was useless, it wasn’t the real him, and yet I took that opportunity and leaped back inside, the thumping of my feet on the ground made Law turn his face towards me. When our eyes met, I felt all the frustration that had built up since then melt away and I stood there, holding onto the edge of the window. “You’re alive-“ I was interrupted when Luffy came crashing in with a woman in his arms, “Torao!! You’re alive!!” he screamed.

 That was supposed to be my line, but yeah sure go off, I guess. Luckily, they had the key to the handcuffs but the adrenaline and their over enthusiasm made it hard for it to fit the keyhole. And they said so, I was going to suggest I’d do it but Doflamingo’s double came back and everything went to shit. I heard him mention a birdcage, a grin spreading on his face, which was a huge contrast to the horrified look that painted Law’s face. The soldier raised his sword once more, but the Warlord was faster and was quick to get behind him and raise his foot, ready to kill.

 I threw myself over Law’s seat and pushed it to the ground as Luffy threw himself on the man, I heard his name being screamed by the Straw-Hat Captain and learned it was Kyros. While Luffy was fighting with the blonde maniac, I scrambled to my senses a tried to find the key to Law’s cuffs. Stress was getting the best of me as my hands were shaking, it didn’t stop me from patting the ground to see if it was around. I stopped when I heard Law say my name, his voice gruffy and filled with worry.

“I’m trying, I’ll find it, I swear I’m trying-“ Why was my voice so uneven? Why was I getting so emotional, it was just a key, I had to take a breath and calm down… But it was mixed with elation from knowing Law was alive too, and I had a hard time getting myself under control.

He said my name again, but even though I heard it, I didn’t really hear it. I overheard it, I was too focused on the blood pumping in my ears and my hands on the moving ground.

 “Look at me!” He said a bit louder this time, I looked up and met his gaze with panic. “You have to go, you can’t stay here, Joker he-“ Law bit back his words and gulped, it almost looked like he was getting emotional but I think it was his exhaustion that was getting the best of him.

“The birdcage, I know what it does. You have to go back to the Sunny-“

“I’m not leaving you behind,” I grabbed his hands, avoiding the cuffs knowing full well its effects. “I promised Bepo, I don’t care if I’m not part of the crew. I just…” His eyes were fixed on my arms, horror in his eyes. I pulled my hands from his and kept searching around the room, continuing in a lower tone, “I need you alive, that’s all.”

 Before I could find the key, the ground started moving once more. It was guiding us towards the open part of the castle, towards the edge, towards a big fall. “Fuck-“ I tried to reach out for something, anything to grab to avoid falling, in vain. We were all free falling, Violet was screaming, Luffy was falling head first, Kyros and Riku were scared shitless too, but Law could not see what was under him. As much as he tried to keep his composure, there was terror in his eyes and I couldn’t help him. I was useless.

[Part 6]

[purplehairedwonder]

Hearts With(out) Chains Chapter 8

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen (eventual Lawlu) Words: 3629 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Monkey D. Luffy, Nico Robin, Usopp, Sanji, Vergo Note: I’m taking my turn at the Corazon!Law AU because my brain won’t leave me alone until this is written down. Tags will be updated as the chapters come out.

The story title is based on the Ellie Goulding song “Hearts Without Chains.”

Summary: Law is reclaimed by the Family when he's 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he's repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

Previous chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

Robin watched as Luffy came out of the infirmary, a smile on his face as he shut the door behind him. She’d left an ear on the desk, disguised by her book, and she had to admit she was surprised by the conversation—especially that Luffy had gotten their guest (prisoner, despite what Luffy wanted) to volunteer his name. During her time with the Revolutionary Army, she’d known of many attempts by the Revolutionaries and others to learn Corazon’s real name. She filed the name Trafalgar Law away to look into later while once more marveling at her captain’s ability to read—and reach—people.

She rose from her seat and walked over to Luffy, who’d been intercepted by Usopp just outside the door.

“So, what happened?” Usopp was asking, glancing between Luffy and the closed door.

“We talked,” Luffy said, entwining his fingers behind his head. “Torao’s a good guy!”

Usopp frowned. “Torao?”

“Shishishi,” Luffy chuckled. “His name!”

Bemused, Usopp glanced at Robin, who smiled. “I believe our captain convinced Corazon to reveal his real name.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because I asked,” Luffy replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. Perhaps it was to him. Usopp sputtered, and Robin patted his shoulder.

“Usopp’s right, though.” They looked up to see Sanji emerge from the kitchen. He was still moving carefully, but he looked much better than when they’d first arrived outside the lab. “Names have power, and that guy’s been going by an alias for years. Why share something so dangerous with his enemies?”

There were a number of potential answers to that question, but Robin had a feeling it was the Luffy Effect in action.

“We’re not enemies,” Luffy said, crossing his arms and frowning.

“He tried to kill us!” Usopp protested.

“He electrocuted me,” Sanji added, lighting a cigarette.

“And we have him locked up in Seastone,” Robin felt obliged to point out.

But Luffy shook his head. “Jimbei made it sound like he took a big risk helping us at Marineford. He said that Mingo guy would be angry, but he did it anyway.”

Robin knew the rumors about Doflamingo’s abilities, his crew, and his underground operations. His cruelty and brutality. Doflamingo saw his crew as a family, with his executives being his most trusted. And he did not stand for disloyalty in his Family. She could only imagine how he might have reacted to his second-in-command helping rival pirates.

“Luffy,” she said gently, waiting for her captain’s eyes to find her, “Corazon was already infamous when we met him on Sabaody. But over the last two years, his reputation has only gotten darker. They call him the Surgeon of Death.”

She had a feeling this wouldn’t dissuade him—little tended to once Luffy had made his mind up about something or someone—but she wanted to make sure he knew anyway.

As expected, Luffy shook his head again while Usopp spluttered in the background. “He saved me.”

There had been endless speculation over the last two years about why Corazon had saved Luffy and Jimbei, ranging from an attempted coup within the Family to a secret love affair (Robin had laughed aloud when this had been floated).

As she’d sat in the infirmary waiting for Corazon to regain consciousness, she found herself watching him. From what she could work out about him, he was a few years younger than her yet had risen to the rank of second in command of the Donquixote Pirates more than half a decade earlier; how young had he been when he had joined such an infamous pirate group to rise so high at such a young age? She knew a thing or two about joining criminal organizations and the way they took advantage of children.

Corazon’s defensiveness upon waking up had been unsurprising, and she again found herself wondering why he had saved Luffy—but then she’d seen the way he’d frozen when Luffy had entered the room, the breath catching in his throat and something in his expression. And he’d given Luffy his real name.

“Luffy,” Usopp said, pulling Robin from her thoughts, “the guy he works for owns this lab where they are experimenting on kids. He’s trying to protect that.”

Luffy huffed. “I don’t know how to explain it. I can just feel it,” he said, a hand going to his chest where the scar—from Corazon’s life-saving operation—was hidden under his winter coat. “I can feel that he’s a good person. He helped me, and I think maybe I’m supposed to help him.”

Robin exchanged glances with Sanji and Usopp. They all knew Luffy’s senses when it came to people were beyond rational explanation but somehow right. Robin in particular knew the power of Luffy’s intuition, having been saved from her own darkness because he wouldn’t let her go. If that intuition was telling him that Corazon—Trafalgar Law—was similarly important and worth helping, then there wasn’t much more to argue.

That was the Luffy Effect.

“Okay,” Robin said.

Sanji and Usopp took a moment longer but also nodded grudgingly. They might not understand it, but they’d trust their captain. (But, if need be, they’d protect him, too.)

-----

Once the door shut behind Straw Hat, Law dropped his head back against the wall and shut his eyes, suddenly exhausted. His head throbbed from the hit from Zoro’s blade, and he considered getting up to look for some painkillers in the infirmary supplies but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Outside the door, he could hear the Straw Hats talking, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

As he sat there, he couldn’t stop Straw Hat’s words from playing over and over in his mind.

“Jimbei said that you’d be in trouble with that Mingo guy for helping us, and I was worried. Were you? In trouble?”

“I fail to see how that matters.”

“But you helped me anyway. And I’m grateful! So, you’re a good guy. No matter what anyone says.”

“No, I’m really not. You should listen to Nico-ya.”

“Nope, I can feel it. Right here.”

Law had no illusions about what kind of person he was. He’d joined the Donquixote Pirates as a terminally ill ten-year-old, determined to do as much damage as he could before he died, and in many ways, he’d never outgrown that broken boy with bombs on his chest. He was the second in command to one of the biggest names in the slave trade, among other morally reprehensible operations. And though he was a doctor, he’d killed more than he’d saved, the letters tattooed on his fingers a promise as much as a warning.

Perhaps worst of all, though, he’d stopped feeling anything when he killed.

He shuddered to think what Cora-san would think of the man he’d become.

And yet, Straw Hat looked at him and—impossibly—saw something worthwhile. Felt that Law was something worthwhile. Felt it in the same place Law had felt the tug that pulled him to Marineford two years earlier.

What did it mean?

What did Law do with that?

The Seastone cuffs weighed heavily on his wrists, clanking as he opened his eyes and rubbed his face through his hands. He stared up at the ceiling, the words of his nakama from before his departure ringing through his head in the wake of Straw Hat’s declaration:

“I know you spooked when I lost my arm. But it’s not your fault.”

“You’re not this person you’ve let yourself become. They might think of you as Corazon, but to us, you’re Captain.”

Two years of pushing his crew away to protect them, of doing nothing to earn their trust or affection, yet they refused to give up on him. Like Straw Hat, they looked at him and saw something worthwhile. But how could Law accept that from them after what he’d cost them?

Despite what Violet said, Law knew he was, inside and out, Doflamingo’s creature. He knew what he saw when he looked in the mirror, the marks of claiming left on his skin and the emptiness in his eyes. After what he’d lost, Law was too tired to fight it any longer.

So why did people keep looking at him like he was anything but Doflamingo’s broken doll?

Law was startled from his reverie by a loud thud from the deck of the ship. He straightened as he heard the tone of the Straw Hats’ voices change in response to whatever had happened. Punk Hazard was unfriendly territory for them and full of more hazards than they could have known about when they anchored on the island. And most things unfriendly to the Straw Hats should be friendly to Law as Joker’s second.

Law rose and made his way to the door in an attempt to hear more clearly. He was wondering at the odds of using this distraction to search for the key to his cuffs when a familiar voice responded to the Straw Hats’ demands of who he was. Law’s stomach dropped.

“—ase commander of G-5,” Vergo was saying as Law pulled open the infirmary door.

The Straw Hats looked back at him, surprised, but Law ignored them, his eyes focused on Vergo. Vergo inclined his head when Law appeared, which was not a good sign.

“Torao, you should—”

“What are you doing here, Vergo?” Law demanded over Straw Hat.

“You two know each other?” Long Nose asked, glancing between them nervously.

“Your ally?” Black Leg asked, stance turning defensive. “But he’s a Marine.”

There was no way Vergo was here to help Law. But why had he come? Doffy hadn’t wanted him to blow his cover; that the entire reason for sending Law to Punk Hazard in the first place.

“It seems Joker was right to send me to check on your allegiance, Corazon,” Vergo said, lips twisting mockingly around the title he’d once worn himself. “I’ve been warning him for years that you were disloyal, and now I find you defecting.”

Law’s eyes narrowed, and he raised his shackled wrists. “Does this look like defecting, Vergo?” he hissed. Not that it would make a difference; Law was certain Vergo didn’t actually think he had defected. “I’m a prisoner.”

Vergo smirked. “No matter. All Joker needs to know is that I found his favorite plaything standing with the very crew whose captain he betrayed Joker to save two years ago.” His expression darkened. “And don’t forget the -san, boy.”

Law flinched at being called a plaything.

“What’s going on?” Straw Hat asked, frowning between the two. Law ignored him.

“What do you think Joker will do to your crew when he hears you betrayed him again?” Vergo went on.

Law felt the color drain from his face. “You son of a bitch.”

Straw Hat turned to look directly at Law, his expression turning concerned when he saw that Law had gone pale. “Torao—”

Turning his back on Vergo was a mistake. Law’s eyes widened as Vergo drew his bamboo stick, and, as he surged forward, coated it with haki. He swung at Straw Hat’s exposed back. Straw Hat sensed him coming, but Vergo’s speed took him off-guard; Vergo swung his bamboo, and Straw Hat tried to dodge but took enough of a blow to his side that it knocked him off-balance. He yelped in surprise as Vergo swung again, sending him over the ship’s railing into the water below.

Law inhaled sharply as Long Nose and Black Leg both cursed. Long Nose turned to Black Leg.

“Stay with Robin,” he said before taking a running leap and jumping overboard after his sinking captain.

Without missing a beat, Black Leg and Nico Robin took defensive postures in front of Law. Law looked at their backs in disbelief. Why? Why would they help him?

“I have no quarrel with you,” Vergo said to them. “Step aside. This is Family business.”

Black Leg snorted in disbelief, and Nico Robin smiled in that knowing way of hers. “Donquixote Doflamingo wouldn’t want it known he has a spy so high up in the Marines. You won’t let us go.”

Vergo straightened his glasses. “You caught me. But if you step aside, I’ll make your deaths quick.”

“I don’t think so,” Black Leg replied.

Vergo frowned, clearly as confused as Law himself. “Why would you protect him? He tried to kill you.”

So Vergo saw the fight. He must have followed Law from Dressrosa, leaving right behind him. That bastard was just looking for an excuse to cut Law down and finish what he’d started on Minion Island. Had Doffy told him to come, or was Vergo acting on his own?

“Our idiot captain seems to like him,” Black Leg replied with a shrug.

Law started as Nico Robin gave him a small smile before turning back to Vergo. “And Luffy is a very good judge of character. Even if we don’t understand his reasons at first.”

Law’s breath caught in his throat.

Vergo hefted his bamboo. “So be it.”

He charged once more, swinging his bamboo at Nico Robin. Black Leg intercepted the blow with his leg. Vergo fell back and Black Leg charged in a flurry of kicks. Vergo met him blow for blow until the two stopped in the middle of the deck, legs locked. Law winced at the sound of cracking bone. Black Leg slumped, and Law momentarily regretted hitting him with Counter Shock earlier.

“Sanji-kun!” Nico Robin called, worried.

“Where’s the key to these cuffs?” Law demanded urgently as Vergo turned back toward them. He did not want to be defenseless again with Vergo bearing down on him. And he was not going to let Vergo kill Nico Robin for protecting him. Too many people had been hurt or killed protecting Law, and he didn’t deserve any of it.

“Usopp has it,” she said, glancing toward the railing.

“Great,” Law muttered.

As Vergo approached, Nico Robin summoned giant hands, creating a wall between them and Vergo. Law knew it wouldn’t hold against Vergo’s Demon Bamboo. She winced as Vergo slammed against it, the structure shaking under his strength.

“Take Black Leg-ya and get out of here,” Law told her. Hopefully, Long Nose had rescued Straw Hat by now, and they could recover on shore. Vergo would let her go, at least temporarily; he was here because of Law, after all.

She looked at him, startled. “And leave you? You’re powerless.”

“You have no reason to protect me, Nico-ya. I tried to kill your friends. I wouldn’t have stopped, either.” She winced again as the wall trembled against Vergo’s onslaught. “We may both work for Doflamingo, but Vergo wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if given the chance. And now he has the chance.” He shook his head. “Get out of here and regroup with your crew. This is Family business.”

Nico Robin opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by bamboo tearing through her wall. She cried out as the wall collapsed. Vergo met Law’s eye and smirked. Law gasped in pain and surprise as, in a flash, bamboo met his side and sent him flying into the ship’s railing. Slowly, he pushed himself upright and blinked against his spinning vision in time to see Vergo grab Nico Robin by the neck.

“Demon Child Nico Robin,” he said. “I should kill you, but I have a feeling Joker could make good use of you.”

“No thanks,” she choked out between gasps. “I have a crew.”

Vergo simply laughed—a sound that made Law’s skin crawl—and flung her across the deck. She slammed into Black Leg, who was struggling to balance with a fractured leg, and the pair were knocked into the far wall.

Law pushed himself to his feet. Vergo turned to look at him, the malice radiating from him palpable on the winter air. If Law had access to his powers, he would have no problem taking Vergo on. But with the Seastone shackles blocking him from his Fruit and draining his strength, he was as helpless in the face of Vergo’s rage now as he had been as a sick child—and they both knew it.

Vergo moved and suddenly Law’s back slammed into the wall, a haki-clad hand around his throat. Law’s feet dangled off the ground as he struggled to breathe. He grasped at Vergo’s wrist, struggling vainly to loosen the grip stealing his air.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Law.”

“Beating a terminally-ill child nearly to death wasn’t enough for you?” Law wheezed. It somehow seemed fitting that Vergo would finish the job he’d started on a winter island on the winter side of Punk Hazard. There was a feeling of things coming full circle as the snow fell around them.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor,” Vergo growled. “You’ve never been good enough for Doffy. Yet he brings you back and elevates you to his right hand.”

As darkness encroached on the edges of Law’s vision, it hit him that Vergo wasn’t simply holding a grudge about Cora-san’s betrayal. Since Law’s return to the Family nearly a decade earlier, Doffy had kept Law close, giving him no opportunities for betrayal. Holding Law’s crew hostage, he’d groomed Law—teaching him, training him, even fucking him. He did everything to make sure his ownership of Law was complete. Law had hated every moment of it—the only freedom he’d found was leaving Dressrosa on the Polar Tang with his crew on missions—but Vergo was jealous.

Law croaked out a disbelieving laugh at the realization.

Vergo frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“I didn’t take you for the jealous type, Vergo.”

Vergo snarled wordlessly and tightened his grip. Law gasped, feeling what little strength he had leaving him. His lungs screamed, he was light-headed, and his eyes started to close.

Would it really be so bad if Vergo killed him now? It would end nearly a decade of hell, the daily physical and emotional torture that had beaten him down to the point of pushing his nakama away…

Law’s eyes flew open at the thought of his nakama. He couldn’t die and leave them alone to face Doffy’s retribution. He couldn’t die without them knowing how much they meant to him, that even if he’d been a poor excuse for a captain, there was no greater honor than leading them.

A sudden fire burning in his chest, Law’s gaze sharpened, and he dropped his hands from Vergo’s wrist. Vergo looked at him in confusion—clearly, he’d thought Law had been about to succumb—and Law took his moment of distraction to loop the Seastone shackles over Vergo’s neck and cross his arms to tighten them with his waning strength. Vergo didn’t have a Devil Fruit so the Seastone wouldn’t affect him, but he would feel the bite of metal into his skin.

In his current position, Law didn’t have enough strength to truly strangle Vergo, but the move was enough to startle Vergo and cause pain. Reflexively, he loosened his grip, and Law gulped in the delicious, frigid air. Letting go of Law’s neck, Vergo grabbed Law’s arms.

“Let go,” he growled.

“You can’t kill me, Vergo,” Law rasped.

Vergo regarded him through those sunglasses. “Why not?” He only had to strain a bit to speak against Law’s attempted strangulation.

“Doffy has plans for my death, and we both know it.”

The surprise was evident on Vergo’s features. “How did you know—”

Law scoffed. “You don’t think I know why they call the Ope Ope no Mi the ultimate Devil Fruit? Kill me now and Doffy will have to look for the Fruit all over again if he wants that operation.”

Law never intended to go through with the operation, but it was leverage Vergo couldn’t ignore.

“Doffy always says you’re too clever for your own good,” Vergo said, lips curling in distaste. But Law knew he had the other man; Vergo was completely devoted to Doffy, and he wouldn’t do anything to risk his master’s chance of receiving immortality.

In one sudden motion, Vergo let go of Law’s arms and grabbed the chain wrapped around his neck. He pulled it free and held the chain above his head, leaving Law dangling in midair by the wrists. Law hissed in surprise.

“Now what, Vergo-san?” Law asked, sneering the oft-demanded honorific.

“I take you back to Dressrosa, a fallen traitor,” Vergo taunted. “Doffy will finally see you for what you are—nothing better than his miserable excuse for a brother. You can watch Doffy slowly destroy your crew one by one. Maybe he’ll even make you kill some of them.” He sounded amused at the prospect. “And then he’ll make you beg to perform the Perennial Youth operation—and only then will you die, doing one useful thing in your miserable life.”

Chest clenching, Law thought of his crew. Of kind Bepo. Of goofy Shachi. Of brave Penguin. Penguin’s words came back then, sharp and pointed.

“You want to pull that, maybe you should start acting like a captain again.”

No. I won’t let that happen. He was done failing them as their captain.

His eyes flew open as Vergo’s haki-coated fist connected with his stomach. The breath left his lungs—again—and he would have curled in on himself if he wasn’t hanging in midair. Vergo let go of the chain and Law dropped to the grass of the Thousand Sunny’s deck. He looked up in time to see Vergo’s bamboo coming right for his head.

“Torao!” he heard in the distance.

Then nothing.

Next chapter

[onepdumpsterfire]

Maelstrom

Reader . Straw Hat crew

Word count: 6623

Trigger warning: Death. Gore, I suppose. (spoiler: the reader dies then comes back to life)

if there are any triggers that you need specifically tagged, please feel free to tell me.

Summary: Reader was betrayed by their past comrades and left in a cage for the rest of eternity. straw hats stumble upon them and  decide to help them.

Nami’s pov.

A harsh current pulled at The Sunny, dragging us closer and closer to the raging whirlpool behind us. 

We raced around on The Sunny, trying to get her to move away from it, but its claws took hold of us before we could even take control from the waters. Roughly pulling at The Sunny one last time, it sucked her into its glistening wrath.

“Not like this, Sunny,”  Franky yelled at his most prized creation, “You will not go down like this.” He pulled on the helm, hoping to salvage any form of power.

But the current was too strong, and before we knew it, the whirlpool took us from its lip down to its pit; swallowing our screams with its ear-splitting roar up to the very end.

-

We should be dead. The raging waters should have destroyed our ship and drowned us for trying to defy the sea’s fury; but it calmed at the apex of the whirlpool, making the Sunny swirl to a dizzying stop before it started moving in the same lazy path of the current at the whirlpool’s center. “. . .What . . . just happened?” I’m amazed at our continued death-defying luck, and it seems most of the crew did too. They either stood incredulous at the events or celebrated our, once again, unbelievable escape of danger.

As are many of the moments here, it didn’t last long before our captain decided to do something stupid.

“Hey! there’s an island!” Luffy pointed towards the very center of the whirlpool that caged us in. “Franky, turn The Sunny! We’re stopping at the island!” He shouted over his shoulder as he stretched out his arms on the railing. “Gomu gomu-no...”

I should have known that he would think very little about the situation we’ve gotten into. Walking over to him, I try to take hold of him before he can launch himself. “Oh, no you don’t. You are going to help-” Without a care in the world, our reckless captain slingshotted himself off The Sunny, yelling about finding a good restaurant on the island before I could finish my sentence. 

“That idiot captain.” A vein practically burst out of my forehead as I shook a menacing fist at the spot where he once stood. “When I get my hands on-” taking in a long breath, I calmed myself. There’s no point in getting mad at that idiot captain right now. Let’s just anchor the ship somewhere secluded so that I can RIP HIM A NEW ONE.

Soon after, my anger towards Luffy’s rash personality dissipated and began to get replaced with a crawling sense of dread. Even before we anchored the ship, I felt there was something wrong.

The island seemed so still. So… quiet, besides the constant cascading water surrounding us there weren’t any sounds of bugs or birds or ANY animals. It’s getting hard to believe that this island was inhabited by anything, let alone humans.

To add to the ominous feeling the island gave off, the beach ended as soon as it began. The small strip of sand that surrounded the island like a halo turned into stone more than a yard in, and the few plant life that was here miraculously thrived from between the cracks on the rocky floor. No grass, no trees, just bushes, weeds, and a tall rugged mountain that seemed to be too steep to even be called that. It appeared to be more of a tower that onlooked the rest of the island. Looming over everything like a guardian that promised safety only to backhand you with its cracked and coarse hand.

Few of the bushes seemed to have some food to eat, but all of it were poor excuses for berries. Too small to carry any nutrients and too little to sate any hunger. I’m sure that even if you collected all the berries in this place it wouldn’t even be enough to constitute as a meal.

Without even looking I knew that the water surrounding us would be the same. Devoid of all life, plant, and animal alike. Had we really survived? Or do we await a less abrupt ending? One where we prolong our inevitable doom by scrounging up any food we can find or starve.

Looking over to the thrashing water that surrounded us, tumbling over itself to create an impenetrable gate, it seemed to be harsher than what we’d crossed to get in here. Was it even possible to get back out? With the way things looked if we even tried we’d get ripped to shreds. I don’t think The Sunny can survive that.

My concerns were interrupted when Luffy came running back to us yelling that he hadn’t found a town or village on the small island. “Of course not! Do you not see how deserted the island looks?”

“That’s right, Luffy!” Usopp joins in my scolding, “we should worry about how we’re gonna get out! Or what we’re gonna eat! Our food won’t last forever!” At least there’s one person here that’s reliable. I can always count on Usopp to be grounded!

“We can just eat fish-” I quiet the thundering dumbass with a hit to the head, “obviously not! There are no fish here!” With a huff, I look over to our cook, “Sanji-kun, can you ration out the food?”

“Yes, Nami-swan!” Hearts practically bulge out of his eyes as he praises my genius. disregarding that one, I need to make sure the whining resident glutton of the ship gets the message.

Glaring, I grab the scruff of Luffy’s vest, “EVERYONE’S on a diet until we get out or miraculously find food on this godforsaken rock.”

“Bᵤₜ ₙaaaₘᵢᵢᵢᵢ”

“No buts.”

“Bᵤₜ ₙaa-” Giving him another hard knock to the head, I dish out the rest of the orders.

Zoro is gonna go scout the island more thoroughly, taking Chopper with him because he wanted to see if there were any herbs he could use for medicine in between all of the weeds. Robin went to go check out the stone tower mountain with Franky and Luffy, who would have gone anyway even if I had told him otherwise. Usopp and Brook took charge of seeing if the sea was really as barren as the rest of this place in the Mini Marry. Lastly, I’m gonna go explore the island, map it out, and try and find any clues that explain why this place is so lifeless.

-

After an hour of looking around, I've come to the conclusion that this place makes no sense! If an underwater volcano erupted and created the island not so long ago then maybe it would make sense but by the looks of the untamed, patchy shrubs this place has been here for much longer. Not to mention, after an eruption, the first life that forms is lichen that slowly breaks away at the rock that formed; but it’s as if a sheet of rock landed on top of this island, killing everything that couldn’t claw its way out through the cracks. More so, it looks like it’s sealing everything beneath it so that no other life passes. It’s purposefully trying to keep any vegetation from growing.

The longer I walk around the island the more off it becomes. I should get back and tell the others what I found. Hopefully, Robin was luckier and found better clues about this place in the tower.

-

As I approach The Sunny, I can see that all of them are back and… there’s someone with them.

So there was life here?

How is that even possible?

Either way, I have a piece of my mind to give to this person about the island.

“Look who we found in the tower.” Robin gestures towards the new person in the group, “this is Y/n.”

“Thank you, Robin. I can always count on you.”

“Luffy and I were there too, y’know!” Franky yells at me.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Y/n-”

“Don’t ignore me!” 

“- how long have you been here? How did you manage to survive? Is there anything that’s edible here, other than the barries?” I give them a look like they’re our saving grace. Maybe, just maybe, there could be hope for us after all.

Reader’s pov.

They’d introduced themselves already; the black-haired woman that initially found me in my safe haven had done the courtesy, even going as far as telling me what each of the people on the crew did. That includes the redhead that approached us with a worried expression that soon turned to absolute bliss as she laid eyes on me. She must think I can get them out of here or find them some supplies, but she will soon be disappointed.

After a small one-sided exchange from the redhead and… Franky… she bombards me with questions.

“... no, sorry. There is no food here…” The life practically saps out of her eyes as she deflates into a feeble state of worry. “You all should leave if you can. This is no place to live.”

“Says you!” the long nose speaks up. Usopp, was it? “You live here don’t you? If you’d fallen in after us Brook and I would have seen you when we were searching around the island and we didn’t see any boats or wrecks!”

“Plus, you’re all alone here. What happened to your crew?” Chopper the tanuki braves his fear and speaks from behind Zoro. Well, not quite. He’s more hiding his face than his body.

“Maybe they ate their crew.” Usopp and Chopper scream in terror at Robin’s attempt at humor. “Don’t say that, Robin! They wouldn’t... R-r-right, Y/n-san.” Stuttering, Usopp tries to give me the benefit of the doubt so as to land a better standing with me. “W-we’re all friends here right, Y/n-san?”

“Maybe I did.” Usopp ashened at my words while Chopper yelled that I’d be restrained.

Such a lively crew. It's been a while since I’ve had such a nice interaction with… Well, anyone. Looking off to the side, I make note of the time of day. It’s nearly sunset, they should get out while there’s still light, if they even can. At the very least they should die trying. What this place is… What this place becomes after dark. They won’t survive for long if they stay here.

“All jokes aside,” admitting that I was only joking seemed to calm the scaredy cats, though what I’m about to say will raise their anxiety once more. Poor them, thrown one thing after another. “It’s getting dark. There are things on this island that come out during the night-”

“The caves dug into the floor Chopper and I saw, there was something inside,” Zoro steps forward, already knowing the answer to his upcoming question. “I felt something was in there, that’s what you’re talking about, right?”

“Yes, there are creatures here who burrowed down into the rock of this island,” turning behind me, I face the tower again, “they won’t go into the tower, so if you need it, you can stay there for tonight.”

“But take anything you want from your ship, those creatures will ravage everything on it.” I raise a hand to stop their upcoming complaints, “it would be best to leave right now so that the ship has a better chance to make it over the whirlpool, but there is no helping it if you have no idea how to cross it yet.”

Letting them finally say what’s on their minds they hurl a flurry of complaints at me.

Luffy: can that thing even hold up? When we went to go see it, it looked like it was about to fall over!

Franky: I’m not leaving my baby alone with whatever those things are!

Usopp: What are those things?!?!?!?! Do they only come out at night?! Am I the only one worried about them?!!

Zoro: I’ll cut them all down.

Sanji: Nami-swan, Robin-chwan! Your prince will protect you!

Nami: Thank you Sanji-kun

Chopper: I wasn’t aware there even was an entrance to the tower.

Robin: I hope we don’t get eaten…

Brook: Same here, I doubt I’m any good. I’m all bones yohohohoho

Taking a deep breath, I try to answer whatever questions or complaints they have. The tower will probably hold. No guarantee, though. It’s the safest bet to make it through the night.

The things leave when daylight hits.

They can’t just sail around the island until those things are gone in the morning because they are a type of magical creature that learns and evolves. (The creatures would struggle to swim at first but soon enough they would become exceptional at it and catch up.)

You can’t just cut them down because they’re immortal beings that re-generate.

“Well, not quite beings, considering that they were made from magic to mindlessly attack whatever is in the cage.” I corrected myself, gaining more inquiries. “Magic? Cage? Is that what the whirlpool is? What is it keeping inside, if not those creatures?” Robin seems to be one of the more inquisitive people on the ship, considering how gung-ho the others appear to be, I’m glad they have someone that they can count on. Such loyalty and trust from comrades is one thing that I miss most from the outside world.

“Hahaha those are good questions, maybe I’ll answer that some other time,” I turn on my heel, not really caring if they take my advice or not. “It’s a long story and it’s about to get dark. We should head inside.”

I’m not gonna stay out here to be live bait to those THINGS.

Suddenly a warm, cream-colored thing snakes around my abdomen before yanking me back, full force. Nearly making me spit out my heart, may I add. What the ABSOLUTE FUCK?

Flying past the ship’s railing, I land on the hard mast, knocking the wind right out of myself. “Ah, sorry. Sorry, shishishishi.” Luffy stands above me, laughing at my expense. That stupid face makes me want to throw him into the ocean. A devil fruit user huh? I hope he sinks, bastard! I prepare to scold him, but he cuts me off, “you’re coming with us, right?”

“I- wa- No! I can’t ‘come with you’!”

“Huh? But why not?”

“Because the cage won’t let me! Believe me, I’ve tried! It just drags me right back… I can’t… I can’t leave.” Pushing past Luffy, I try to jump ship but it seems they have other ideas. His arm now tightly secured to my waist he tells me they won’t let those things hurt me. That I can leave with them. To the outside world.

His words and the full confidence looks his crew gives us almost makes me fall to my knees. How can they believe so blindly in someone? Putting so much faith in someone can only lead to betrayal. They can’t be serious. This isn’t real.

I try to worm myself out of his grasp. Pulling and pushing at Luffy’s skin, kneading away at his arm but his hold only tightens. “We’ll get out, Y/n. Don’t worry.” He isn’t looking at me, rather choosing to stare as the last sliver of light vanishing and a tidal wave of misformed creatures rushing towards the departing ship.

They were all butched, they looked like the person who made them once intended them to look human only to change their mind at the last moment. Some of the creatures looked sickly, with stick-like bodies that clashed with bulbous limbs. Dried out, pale skin that cracked under their every jagged movement, spilling blood with every jerk of their body. Their faces so sunken and hollow you could barely tell there were eyes in the black sockets that reflected back the murky color of the dim moonlight.

Others had random limbs that were too long for them; elongated further than they should have to contradict the rest of their proportions. Their skin sagged on their forms and their orifices oozed a dark and coagulated purge liquid that slopped down with their every step.

They crawled at an alarming speed with their spidery appendages, falling over each other’s tangling limbs. They pulled on each other to get to us. Gnarled limbs clawing, biting, ripping each other open to get farther ahead.

Their dark gray blood painted the stone beneath them as they healed themselves then tried to get past again. Shoving, piercing, and sinking their teeth into one another turned to push each other underwater when they got to the sea.

They took no breaths between the waves that pulled them or the body pushed them under; they didn’t even look like they cared that they were drowning themselves.

They had one objective.

Destroy the occupants of the cage at any cost. 

“Oh, god! What are they doing?!” Usopp yelled from the stern, firing off a few rounds with his slingshot, kabuto. Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper stood beside him observing the horrific sight. “Stop firing at them! It’s useless, that won’t make them stop!” I yell back at him, finally managing to free myself from Luffy’s arm. Whether they heard me or not didn’t show, all four of them began to throw any attack they could at the creatures.

“Have a little faith, Y/n shishishi,” Luffy smiled at me, “we’re gonna get out of here.”

Rolling my eyes, I walk over to the railing. “If you guys wanna take your chances with the cage that’s fine, but leave me out of it.” I prepare to leap over the railing only to be pulled back again. “Are you crazy?! Those things will rip you to shreds if you go into the water!”

“No, crazy would be staying here, and at the very least it’ll give you some time to try and go through to the other side! Look!” I pointed back to the mass of bodies that dived down before springing out of the water, almost taking out Usopp when they collectively reached out for him. “I told you those things learn, it’s just a matter of time before they manage to get on board!” 

I pleaded with them to just let me buy them some time. I can’t leave but at the very least I can do that! I can do one nice thing to the only people that I’ve seen in centuries! To the people that tried to save me with their stupid blind faith.

But Luffy stubbornly refused to just let me go. No matter how many times I told them I’d be fine.

The waters sped up as we neared the edge of the whirlpool, leaving the creatures to get pulled under. “There isn’t much time before they resurface, or until the curse... I need to leave. I can buy you time! Please!” I am practically on my knees begging, but they won’t even listen to me.

“Luffy! We only have enough Cola reserves to make a small coup de burst,” Franky shouted over the white noise of the gushing water, “The wind that’s surrounding the whirlpool is being sucked in from the outside. If we don’t time it right we might end up being engulfed by the waters!”

“Alright, Franky! I’m counting on you!”

“Aye, captain! I’ll do it at the last possible moment to ensure we make it through!”

Panic sets in the pit of my stomach, “no, I can’t. I can’t!” I pull and punch at Luffy,  “I won’t make it! Let go of me so you won’t be left behind with me, Luffy!”

“No.”

“Luf- Lu.” I nearly choked on my own words when I got a glimpse of the wide horizon line.

I thought I’d never be able to see such a beautiful eternity again. I’ve never made it this far, the water would only get more aggressive no matter how hard I tried with whatever unlucky ship was dragged down here. It would always drag me down under or pull me back to the island.

 We’re getting closer and closer, the boys in the back are holding themselves against the creatures and Luffy isn’t letting go.

Can I… Can I actually leave this place?

Can I be free?

Tears distort my vision before falling freely down my face, “can I leave? I can be free?” I look up at Luffy for confirmation. Light seemed to radiate off of him. Could you be my savior? 

“Of course, Y/n! Shishishishi!” Luffy lets me go, now satisfied knowing that I won’t try to jump off. I look out into the ocean that I haven’t seen In lifetimes and I can’t help the hope that swells in my heart.

I can see the outside again. 

I’m gonna be free

I am gonna be FREE

All too suddenly the familiar weight on my neck constricts my airway.

No. I’m so close. no. No. NO! 

The chain that binds me to the island finally shows itself. Shortening the closer we get to freedom.

How cruel to have me believe I could actually be free. 

The chain pulled me back with such a crushing force that it immediately snapped my neck. 

Sanji’s pov.

We were so close. So close to leaving this hell hole and then a chain appeared around Y/n neck. It pulled them back into the water and dragged them all the way back to land. All of the creatures that pursued us stopped immediately, taking more interest in Y/n’s body that flopped in and out of the water with the dragging force of the chain. The creatures jumped on to them, injecting their claws into their soft skin to secure their hold on them.

“Stop! Turn around! Y/n fell off!” Luffy yelled up at Franky. 

I agree with Luffy, we may have just met Y/n but I heard about how they were willing to jump into the water to give us time to escape. There’s no way we can leave them behind after that!

“As the navigator, I’ll make sure to keep the ship safe, captain.” With an unshaken voice, Nami assured Luffy, “Go to the island and get Y/n back. We’ll keep The Sunny going around to keep her safe until you get back!”

“D-don’t worry c-captain. I’m a b-brave warrior of the sea! I’ll protect the ship!” Shakily Usopp raised a thumbs up to Luffy.

“Yes! Leave it to us, Captain!” Brook chimed in, soul solid at the ready.

“Oi, Captain. Don’t keep all the fun to yourself. We’re coming too.” Zoro and I stood resolute on our decision. 

“Shishishi alright! Let’s go! Gomu gomu-no!” Luffy stretched his arm over the railing, while the other wrapped itself around us. “No! Wait! Luffyyyyyyyy!!” Our idiot captain wants to kill us! Launching us straight into a rocky shore, this ASS!

“Stop throwing us everywhere, Luffy!” I raise my hand to give him a hard knock to the head, the moss head agrees with me by giving him one too. “Sorry, sorry.”

Sorry, my ass. Grumbling I take out the cigarette box before fishing in my pocket for a lighter. “Alright, Y/n was dragged off somewhere near the tower thing, so let’s head there to look for them first.”

“Yosh! Let’s go!” without a second thought, this reckless idiot rushes straight in, leaving us to catch up.

It didn’t even take long to reach the tower, the island was small. Which is why it surprised me how many of those things there were. How far had they burrowed under the island for there to be this many?

The mass practically moved as one when they noticed us. Descending on us with such ferocity that it would have left a weaker man feeling helpless.

“Sit back and watch, marimo! I’ll take them all out.”

“Big words for such a small man, curly.”

“You shitty- Watch me!” I ran in yelling the name of my starting attack ‘Joue Shoot’ hitting my mark right in the face and sending it, along with every creature behind it, flying.

We aren’t making any headway! Every time we push forward we are pushed back with the same strength. One after another, every enemy we took down bounced right back up, better and stronger than before.

The ones I was fighting got tougher, callused skin and became resistant to the fire from my ‘Hell Memories’ attack; and to make matters worse, those things have started learning my attacks, and a quick glance can confirm that the others are having the same luck. Luffy’s creatures are doubling their speed, increasing their bulging muscles so that they look like Luffy’s Kong Gun. Zoro’s opponents broke their arms, shanking their bones through their skin to make imitation swords.

These things are fucking monsters. They don’t seem to be able to feel any of the pain we’re inflicting. We can’t keep the same mindless pace they do! We take a hit and keep all damage from it!

“Luffy, this isn’t gonna work, we need to retreat for now!”

“Oi, shit-cook! You think these things are just gonna let us retreat!”

“Fuck off, pea-brain!” I kick one of the creatures over at Zoro, “Let’s make them chase us-” the stupid marimo threw on back in retaliation, “obviously they’re gonna chase us no matter what, ero-cook!”

“Just listen, dick head! We make them chase us around the tower; when they leave an opening we can just grab Y/n and run!” There’s no time to fight over this! I sky walk over to Luffy, “Let’s go! Now!”

“Come on, Zoro!” finally taking the hint, Luffy rushes off behind me. 

The monsters bolted with us to the right, but they were smarter than what I’d anticipated. While most of them did follow, there was still a large group guarding the entrance to the tower. They knew what we came for and won’t let us take Y/n so easily. We circled around the tower. Once. Twice. Three times, and still those things didn’t give us an opening. I can’t stand this! We’re just chasing our own tails here!

Impatience at away at us, but the first one to act on it was Luffy.

“They’ll never leave the tower alone! So if they won’t give us an opening we’ll make one!” Luffy threw his arms at me, a silent command that I understood all too well. “Armée de L’Air,” I positioned myself to throw Luffy, “Gomu Shot!” Launching Luffy off with a kick, he rocketed himself straight to the center of the tower.

The tower collapsed almost entirely on itself. Luffy would have just gone straight through it if he hadn’t reached back to hold on to the base and sent himself back in a rebound, effectively clearing the rest of the tower.

Rubble and ash covered the creatures as they all rushed back to the tower. “C’mon!” The moss-head shouted over to me, having seen the opening just as well as me.

. . .There’s something wrong.

The creatures surrounded the tower but weren’t fighting back when we attacked them to get past. They weren’t even moving. Just staring straight ahead to where Luffy should be. As odd as it is, I won’t slow down just because those freaks stopped. I need to get to-

I wasn’t prepared for this. It’s not…. It can’t.

No.

Luffy had a dark shadow casted over his face as he kneeled next to a bloody and gored out Y/n. Their neck was broken by the chain that pulled them away. Skin shredded off and placed in piles around the both of them. Their bones were broken. Protruding. Piercing through in white splayed out spikes from the pink muscles, slathered in blood. Their abdomen slashed open and organs ripped out.

Had the monsters been eating them?

Their arm missed its hand. The leg was torn off. A stray foot laid across from them, mangled. Bitten. 

If those things wanted to eat them they had done it already. They had plenty of time!

But they didn’t.

Looking into the horde of creatures. They all stood still, watching us. Grotesque faces with gnarled teeth bared at us…. Smiling. They're smiling at us.

"Damn it all! Those things were just toying with us."

The creatures went wild at my words. Screeching and shoving each other, but never passing the remaining debris of the pillar that still circled around us. They’re waiting for us to get out of here.

“We can’t stay here,” Zoro pointed at the back of the throng, “some of them have already left. Probably towards The Sunny.”

“Luffy, we can’t bring Y/n with us. They’ll be safe if we leave them inside the circle. In the morning we can bury them but for now, we need to head back the ship.”

-

No words were exchanged on the trip back. All three of us fought as much as we could against the wave of creatures that pursued us, eventually making it back to the ship by sunrise.

 The creatures hissed and hollered in pain when the soft rays of the sun became too much for them to handle. Their gray skin almost seemed transparent in the growing light.

Those thing’s bodies looked like luminescent meat bags carrying distorted skeletons inside. Too warped and bent to look anything like the humans they were initially mirrored after. The things clawed at their eyes, blinding themselves as they rushed back to hide in their caves.

After the last of the nocturnal creatures retreated, we docked the ship again.

Then the dreaded question came.

Nami asked if we’d managed to retrieve Y/n but she was only met with grim looks that turned the exhilaration of having won another breath of life sour. 

“It’s not fair! Y/n just wanted to be free… they just wanted...” Luffy trailed off, glancing back to where their body should be laid. “We should take them with us and bury them out of here.”

“It won’t be that easy, Luffy.” Zoro tried to reason with him.

“We can’t just leave them in this cage!”

“We don’t even have a coffin! Are we supposed to just stuff them in a box and keep them in the freezer until we can find the next island?!”

As much as I’d like to take them with us, Zoro does have a point. We can’t just carry around a brutalized body with us. “Luffy, we don’t know when we’ll reach the next island. It could be weeks! We can’t-”

“Yo,” A voice greets us from beside me.

“Hey,” I give them a quick glance before getting back to what I was saying. “Anyways, we can’t t-”

Was that?

.  .  .

“You’re supposed to be dead!” 

“Oh, shit. Am I?” Y/n’s tone was light, as if they hadn’t just been mauled to death by beasts. “The hell do you mean ‘am I’!?” 

Reader’s pov.

After being magically resurrected, one would think that people would be surprised, confused, or maybe astonished? But curly over here seemed pissed.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, bud.” Putting on the saddest looking face I turned around, “guess I’ll just crawl into a cave and die again...” 

“N-no, that’s not what I-” Sanji reached his hand out to stop me.

“Ahahaha I know, I know. Don’t worry about it….. Though I suppose I do owe you guys an explanation for this.” 

It’s been so long since I had to explain to someone what happened that day… 

No. 

It wasn't just that day. Things were off since before that, but I didn’t pay attention to the signs. God, why didn't I? 

I keep asking myself that.

Why didn't I back out when I had the chance? Why couldn't I just let sleeping dogs lie? 

Either way, on that day, everything went wrong.

-

Long ago, when the world was in a time of mystic and wonder, the practice of magic was common throughout the four blues. Most things that could be done with magic were done with magic. Magic was so common that even the most secluded tribes used some form of it. And so, as with any type of power, people began to abuse it. People began to use dark magic to rule and terrorize. 

Don’t get me wrong, magic isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it good. Magic is a form of science. It follows its principles and has its limits. People’s intentions, though, can be either-or.

Order had to be put in place. A council of the noblest, wisest, and strongest magic users was made. They became the authority; their rule was final. And in an act of democracy, they input a system that would not let them become all-powerful.

That’s where the seven covens come in.

The seven covens (separately) ruled over the four seas, the new world, the grand line, and the calm belts. The members of the covens were chosen by the people and, unfortunately, that’s where it started.

After magic regulation rules and laws came into place, people were angry that they couldn’t use it freely and unchecked as they did before. When the ones who were strong stood on top of those who lacked it. They couldn’t rule over people as tyrants or terrorize others for their amusement and gain; but it also meant magic couldn’t be used to ease everyday life either. Magic was monitored, you had to seek permission from a coven to use stronger types of magic for your work and some forms of magic were even banned.

Curious people that tried to see how far they could push the boundaries of magic were furious when their research was trashed. With magic now limited, underground organizations began to arise. I was part of one.

Since magic is a natural part of the world like waterfalls or clouds, that’s why I wanted to explore all of its nooks and crannies! It’s the same as when man first evolved enough to wonder what was beyond the island we were born into. 

We wanted to explore the whole world back then! And this should have been the same as that. It’s normal to want to know our extent of power and knowledge. I just wanted to explore magic’s limits and push past them. It should be like training to sword fight or lifting weights. It should have been the same.

We could have used our findings for so many wonderful things!

But I was naive.

Banning together with a group of people whom I thought shared the same passion for the unexplored and unknown….

In the shadows, we did our research and found so many new ways to use magic! So many new types! We were doing so good.

We wanted to find a way to bring what we’d found to the world.

We wanted this.

We…

I wanted this. 

As much as I want to believe otherwise, the signs were there from the beginning. But they were my colleagues. . . my friends. I gave them the benefit of the doubt at first.

We came up with a plan to get ourselves elected for the coven. We wormed our way in like maggots then ate our way up. 

We were going to instill new rules. Be more lenient towards magic usage for businesses. Introduce a research team for magic that would take us out of the underground. Slowly release our findings.

That was as far as I would go. They left me in charge of the research team while they went behind my back and found new dangerous and unstable magic. They used it to hurt people and to gain authority. 

They’d cart away lost civilians, people who were so forgotten from society that if they were to disappear no one would notice.

They breed them to keep their human supply going. Then they’d used them as guinea pigs.

Eventually, I did find out what they were doing, but by then it was too late. The plan had gone too well and now they were inside all of the covens except for the ones in east and west blue.

I tried warning the council, but my old comrades found out before I could.

They branded me a traitor and punished me with never-ending torment. Sealing me away in a whirlpool that would cancel my powers, where as long as I was inside I would never age. I would never die.

They put me on this island that would never bear enough fruit but would always have enough to have me desperate for scraps. Lastly, they added those things so that I’d fear their wrath and power for the rest of eternity.

Between slowly dying of hunger or dehydration over and over again and being mauled to death, the thing that hurt most was them branding ME as the traitor. They betrayed ME.

They USED me.

The people I thought of as friends.

-

Taking a deep breath, I finished off my story. 

“...Y/n… that was a really sad story and all, but what do you mean magic?” Out of all the questions, I didn’t expect Usopp to ask that one. 

“... what do YOU mean?” I shared a look with all the members of the crew. How could they not know about magic? It’s everywhere??? “Y’know magic. Like what brought me back to life and is keeping me from leaving this place.”

“Like witches, with wands and brooms?” As much as it worries me that they don’t know about magic, I have an even bigger question, “what the fuck do brooms have to do with this?” 

“Ah, well witches fly around... on them…” With every passing word, Usopp’s face got redder and redder, a telltale sign of his growing embarrassment under my judgmental gaze. “Of all things someone could make fly, why a broom?”

“I uh… I don’t know…”

  The conversation carried on until finally, they told me about the outside world. Apparently, the most magical thing that there was out there were the devil fruits that granted their users powers, like Luffy’s rubber body. 

In a way, I was kind of glad that almost all traces of magic were gone. That meant that my comrades from back then failed.

My guess is that after their reckless abuse of power, magic was banned; or at the very least only used by those of the highest standing.

In time, magic must have dwindled, little by little until it just disappeared. 

With so much time passed and with how things turned out, it’s hard to believe that any of my former friends survived.

That must mean that they tethered my cell to an object. If whatever the object is gets destroyed... I could have a chance of leaving this place.

“... Luffy… do you… do you still want to help me escape?”

Luffy’s voice didn't waver.

He said it as if it was the most obvious thing.

No hesitation. No doubt.

At that moment, I swear, the sun shone brighter than it ever had in this cage full of torment. His bright gaze made it feel like every horrid year I had spent trapped had somehow vanished. It gave me something that I hadn’t had in a long time.

He gave me such a knee-bending sense of hope that I could have cried. He had such conviction that it made me believe that I would soon see the outside once more.

In the evening, after I gave them some information that could help them find the object that kept this cage alive, the straw hats tempted the ferocious waters again and this time I wasn't on the ship.

Before they left they made me a promise.

One day, they will be back.

They will set me free and we’ll explore this new world together.

I’ll keep waiting.

No matter how long it takes, until that day.

[whereistheonepiece]

Tactile

Quick summary: Sanji is cold and Zoro is so very warm. Takes place before these idiots are officially together.

Note: I think this was inspired by a headcanon I saw once that Sanji doesn’t do well with the cold. I have known people who put on hoodies in hot weather, and given that we see him wandering around in a full suit, rarely ever taking off his jacket, I’m inclined to adopt that headcanon.

And here’s a tag for @optigeress for being one of my biggest supporters 💖

-

It was cold. Other crew members–Chopper, Luffy, Zoro–might tell him that he was making a big deal out of a slight chill, but Sanji was cold and he was eagerly waiting for the weather to change. And given that this was the Grand Line, that could be in a matter of hours or days, so Sanji had to make do with what he had. It was easy to warm up when he had the stove or the oven running, but he couldn’t keep those appliances running all day, which was frankly a pain in the ass, and it left him suffering in silence. 

So Sanji sequestered himself in the kitchen, where it was warmer than it was outside, even without the oven on. He kept himself preoccupied with food prep, getting a headstart on today and tomorrow’s meals. He was making good time on lunch by the time Zoro wandered into the kitchen.

“Go away, Marimo,” Sanji muttered, keeping his attention on the vegetables he was dicing. “You can wait until lunch.”

“I’m not here for food, Cook.”

Sanji glanced at Zoro, who’d headed straight for the wine and beer rack. Naturally. He clicked his tongue. “It’s not even afternoon yet.”

“What even is time?” Zoro replied, studying the label on the bottle in his hand, as if he had any semblance of standards. “Shouldn’t matter when I get drunk.”

“Flawless argument from you, as always,” Sanji said brightly before a chill passed through him, causing his frame to spasm involuntarily.

Zoro quirked an eyebrow at him. “You really can’t handle the cold, can you?” he asked, calling back the exchange they’d shared earlier in the morning. Sanji had rubbed at his arms and complained about the temperature, and Zoro had stared at him incredulously, asking him how he could possibly be cold. Sanji explained that he hated weather that was even remotely cold, but Zoro remained unsympathetic.

Like he was right now. Sanji sent him a dirty look. His hands were cold and he wanted to blow warm air on them, but he refused to give the green haired bastard the satisfaction. “Not all of us think skinny dipping in frigid waters sounds like a good time,” he snarled.

“I wasn’t completely naked.”

Sanji snorted. He felt his face heat up as he glared at Zoro and he desperately hoped it wasn’t turning red. He’d brought it up to try to embarrass Zoro and it had backfired spectacularly because now he was fixated on a naked Zoro.

Zoro turned back to the alcohol rack, putting up the bottle he’d grabbed and searching for something else. “And that was training,” he continued. “Not because I like to go swimming in the nude.”

Sanji watched Zoro as he picked up bottles of booze and studied them, unable to find whatever it was that he wanted, which Sanji found strange. Zoro only needed to grab a bottle–or two or even three–to be satisfied, so why did he linger? It was almost like he was stalling.

Sanji continued to watch him, setting his knife down on the cutting board, watching Zoro’s torso bend and stretch as he reached for and grabbed the contents of Merry’s alcohol supply. Sanji put one of his hands up to his neck, hoping his pulse might help warm it up. It didn’t.

“Not completely naked, huh?” Sanji asked, eyes traveling from the broad points of Zoro’s shoulders to the narrower point of his waist. So much more room to cover than a neck...

“I had pants on, pervert cook,” Zoro shot back, looking over his shoulder to glare at him. Sanji wasn’t sure if Zoro had caught where he was staring–not that he was being subtle–but if he had, he said nothing, his expression instantly losing its hard edge. He turned his attention back to the rack, his movements stiffer.

Sanji swallowed. He cautiously moved forward, crossing the kitchen until he stood behind Zoro, close enough for him to reach out and touch him. And he did, placing his palm directly on the center of Zoro’s back. Zoro tensed momentarily, then relaxed, setting his hands down on a shelf. Sanji stared at Zoro, transfixed, as he observed the muscles on Zoro’s back moving. “Is–is this all right?” he asked, softly. Zoro was so warm. He wanted more.

“Go crazy,” Zoro murmured, voice devoid of the usual bite it had whenever they were around each other.

Sanji placed his other hand on Zoro’s back and brought both down, running his palms against the smooth fabric of the white cotton. Just like the rest of him, Zoro’s back was hard and firm. Sanji stared at the solid wall of muscle that was Zoro’s back. He’d spent so much time watching it, making sure no enemy came close enough to touch it, and now here he was, allowed full access. It was a strange feeling and he wanted more, wanted to slip his hands past the obstacle that was Zoro’s shirt and run his fingertips against the hot flesh that lay underneath.

Glancing tentatively at Zoro, he circled his hands around Zoro’s waist, slipping his fingertips into the confines of the green haramaki. He stared at Zoro for a sign, but when the swordsman didn’t respond, Sanji started to pull his hands back, feeling his face and neck heating up as he realized he’d probably pushed too far.

“I didn’t say you had to stop.”

Sanji blinked. “Can I–” He stopped himself. “Do you want me to keep going?”

Zoro finally turned his head and looked at Sanji, staring at him like he was an idiot. “Do you think I’d just stand by and let you touch me if I didn’t want it, dumbass?”

Sanji bristled. “I’m trying to be considerate, asshole!”

Zoro opened his mouth to respond, paused, and then closed it. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I guess you are.”

Grumbling under his breath, Sanji gripped the edges of Zoro’s haramaki and started to tug at it impatiently until it came loose. Zoro helped him pull it off, tossing it aside so Sanji had better access. Wasting no time, Sanji shoved his hands up the back of Zoro’s shirt, sliding his palms up Zoro’s torso until they came to a stop midway. Zoro recoiled at the feeling of Sanji’s hands on his skin. “Shit, Cook! Your hands are cold!”

“And your back is warm,” Sanji replied, a content sigh escaping him. Sanji stepped closer, circling his arms around Zoro’s middle, resting his head on Zoro’s back.

“Cook...”

“Shut up,” Sanji mumbled, closing his eyes. He found himself wishing that he didn’t have several layers of clothing separating the skin of his arms from Zoro’s chest, but not everything could be perfect. “Don’t ruin it.”

Zoro chuckled softly. “I hope you don’t think this means that I’m gonna let you feel me up every time the weather gets a little chilly.”

As Zoro spoke, Sanji had begun to idly stroke his abdomen. Zoro responded by flexing his abdominal muscles, causing Sanji to smirk. Feeling emboldened, he said, “Okay, so...”

“Cook.”

“Hear me out,” Sanji pressed on. 

Zoro hesitated. “I’m listening.”

“W-what if I’m not doing this just because you’re a convenient human space heater?”

“Asshole.”

Sanji chuckled, resting his forehead against Zoro’s back. “Seriously, though,” he continued. “This is...nice. And I’m not just saying that because your body’s so warm that it’s taking all of my self-control to not stick my head up your shirt.”

Zoro laughed. He turned around slowly, giving Sanji time to adjust. They stared into each other’s eyes, their breathing in sync. Sanji wanted to lay his ear against Zoro’s chest, listen to his heartbeat. Zoro brushed Sanji’s bangs out of his face, pinning them to the side as he cupped his cheek. “You’re hopeless,” he murmured.

“Yeah, well, then what does that make you?” Sanji teased. “You’re the one flexing your abs for me while saying I have ulterior motives.”

Zoro chuckled. “You got me there.”

Sanji started to pull away, pulling his arms out of Zoro’s shirt. “Okay, I’m feeling pretty warm now. I’ll let you get back to it.”

Zoro grabbed hold of Sanji’s chin. “You said it felt nice, huh?” he asked, staring down at Sanji’s lips.

A small smile broke out on Sanji’s face. “Yeah,” he said softly, wrapping his arms back around Zoro. Zoro let go of his chin and began to lean in closer, and Sanji did too, caught in Zoro’s gravitational pull. “You feel good in my arms, Marimo,” he murmured before their lips finally brushed against each other.

It was gentle and kind of sweet, kissing Zoro. It wasn’t angry or desperate like Sanji had fantasized it to be when he’d looked over at Zoro on the battlefield and watched him attack the enemy in an show of raw, animalistic power. How many times had Sanji looked at Zoro when he was fighting or training and had pictured him swaggering up to him at the end of it, pulling him by the tie, and taking what he wanted?

But he didn’t need that in this moment. Right now, it was all Sanji could ask for. Let the rest of it come later, he thought to himself as he smiled against Zoro’s mouth as their kiss reached its end and they both began to pull away.

“I know what’ll warm you up,” Zoro said, readjusting his shirt and reaching for his haramaki.

“Oh?” Sanji asked, shooting a quick glance at the alcohol rack and wondering just how sturdy it was.

Zoro looked back at him and held up a bottle to the light, shaking it enticingly.

Sanji started laughing, running his fingers through his hair.

“What’s so funny?”

“N-nothing,” Sanji said, shaking his head. “I, uh... I’m not saying no; I’m saying not now.”

Zoro stared at Sanji inquisitively.

Sanji adjusted his tie on his neck, giving his hands something to do. “S-some of us have responsibilities on this ship, Marimo,” he said, walking back across the kitchen to wash his hands in the sink. “Can you wait until after dinner?”

Sanji heard footsteps approach him from behind. A strong arm wrapped around his neck, giving him a small squeeze as lips brushed against his heated skin. Sanji whimpered.

“Sure,” Zoro whispered close to his ear. He pulled away, taking the bottle with him. “See you then, Cook.”

Sanji nodded, though he was sure Zoro wasn’t looking. He stared at the counter in front of him in a daze for a few moments until cautiously looking around to see if he was alone. With the coast clear, Sanji wheezed and gripped the edges of the counter. He laughed softly, shaking his head in disbelief. When he got a hold of himself, Sanji returned to dicing vegetables, his thoughts returning to the muscles of Zoro’s back. Dinner suddenly felt so far away.