When i first met her she was vulgar. After two years apart she's worse. She slept in the men's quarters, when she wasn't sprawled out on the deck. The first time i saw her at the restaurant i thought she was a man, then she turned towards me and started to laugh at something Luffy, our chore boy at the time, had done. When she fought with Dracule Mihawk and refused to back down, almost causing her own death. I thought she was insane.
The first time i flirted with, actually treated her like the lady she was, i was thrown overboard. She yelled at me after i was dragged up by Usopp
"I am to be treated like a man, you shouldn't treat me any different than you do our idiot captain and sniper, got it shit-cook" she looked like a demon then, quite different from when she was fighting, it was scarier. Much scarier, it had then made me realize that she had blood on her hands, that she had probably killed people. She fought pirate's way before she was one. She was a real demon.
That night after my watch, i found her passed out on deck empty bottle of sake in hand. The strongest we had on board.
I got her up, thinking i could move her to sleep in the women's Quarter's. She woke and started crying, muttering constantly
"I'm a boy, I'm a boy, please don't hit me, I'm a boy" and then she realized who she was with. I was abandoned for a spot against the rails.
"Don't need your help you shit-cook" she muttered, slurring. I snorted sitting next to her. I would always recall this as the day we first talked without violence becoming involved or maybe it was better to say it was the day i fell in love with her.
"What man would hit a girl?" i questioned, a little curious.
"One who wanted a son, to get back at her for killing his wife, for being weak" she leaned on my shoulder heavily, her face flushed for the cool air and alcohol.
"My dad wanted a son, one to follow in his legacy and become a marine, fuck i wish i had been born a boy, my mother was weakened by child birth and died, it was my fault" she sighed, i stared at her intently 'rather pretty close up' i thought shocked at myself.
"He started to drink, he lost an arm in some war and then had it replaced with a hunk of metal, beat me senseless till i was five or six, then i joined the dojo took up sword fighting, it made him happy and then i cut off my hair and started dressing like a boy, even talked like one, it worked till i got older and developed breasts, started beating me again, that time i took up drinking as well, he died not long after that, i doused him in his favourite beer lit the match and walked away, that was when i became a bounty hunter" i sat there shocked, no woman could kill their own father like that and not become messed up. She looked so much like a damsel in distress that night.
When chopper and Robin joined i had finally convinced her that she had to sleep in the women's cabin. Even Luffy agreed it would be better, now that chopper had joined us. Every morning i woke to Luffy halfway on the floor and her in his bed. She had shoved him out of bed in the middle of the night.
When she was badly injured by Kuma, i had to look after she refused to be treated and chopper was to kind hearted to force her down to be bandaged. She was an idiot the girl, ripping off bandages to go train.
"Your an idiot, you know that don't you?" i muttered peeling potatoes, she snorted.
"I'm the first mate Sanji, you're the cook your needed more than me, sides i lived, just drop it" i dropped the potato on the floor, half peeled, it rolled over to her feet.
"I didn't mean drop the potato" she picked it up passing it back to me
"No, it's just that's the first time you've ever called me by my name" she blushed slightly, turning her face away from me. I smiled at her ditching whatever i had in my hands.
"Zoro look at me" i grabbed her chin, making her look at me.
"You are beautiful and i mean it" i got up moving to the stove to start dinner.
I sat down on the deck next to Luffy, with the last tub of chocolate ice cream.
"Tell me something why don't you treat Zoro like a girl?" he started laughing, like he normally did when he knew something others didn't
"she didn't ask to be treated like one and when i first met her i kind thought she was a guy, Zoro was treated like a guy as a child so it's quite obvious she has problems with dealing about the fact she's a girl i just let it be, sides you treat her like a girl and she's getting used to it so i think she might like you" i dropped the spoon overboard at his words. It was a little shocking.
"Oh and it's obvious you like her, well more than like isn't that right Sanji" and there went the ice cream. Luffy frowned and stretched out to catch it but missed by a millimetre.
I hated sparring with women but she always seemed to goad me into it and after a while i liked sparring with her. She wasn't weak and was soon labelled as one of the three monsters of the crew, the other two being myself and the captain.
One of the most terrifying times for me was when we lost to Kuma a second time at Sabaody Archipelago; she disappeared just before my eyes. I was so scared that i had lost her forever; i couldn't help but scream out to her. Kuma made me so mad.
I didn't see her for two years and those two years i spent running i only thought of her, growing stronger for her not the captain.
"Zoro" i called out waving. There was no mistaking the moss green hair, even if it was longer. She turned to face me for a split second and then walked off. Even after two years she still hadn't changed. I smiled brightly heading towards the ship with a spring in my step.
She was lost again, i saw arguing with someone pointing vividly in the wrong direction shouting about going south.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble she's caused sir, I'm a shipmate i can take her for here, thank you" i bowed to the man and walked off dragging her with me without another word. She glared; the term if looks could kill came to mind. I was hit in the head and dumped.
"I'm not some lost kid Sanji, i can find my own way" i had to laugh, it was ridiculously funny.
"The ships this way" i spoke softly after the harsh outburst. Her whole face dropped and she let herself be dragged away.
I dragged her over to one of the more secluded areas of the grove we were in.
"You lost an eye" i murmured tracing the scar. Her hair was longer now it almost reached her waist, i liked it better longer.
"We all made sacrifices to become stronger, for you it was your pride of being a man" i stared at her shocked. I started to ask her how she knew but she placed a finger on my lips silencing me.
"I stayed with Mihawk for two years, as a shichibukai he has his sources" she gave me that demonic grin i missed so much and grabbed the back of my head pulling me forward. For a kiss. I pulled away, tomato red muttering senseless words. I only managed to get one proper word out
"Why?" she just smiled, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Because you listened and you were the first person to ever say i looked beautiful" she looked down and blushed as she spoke looking naive and innocent.
"It took me those two years to realize what i had lost that day; it was you, the chance to be loved by you Sanji" i wrapped my arm around her waist pulling her closer and buried my nose in her hair.
"I love you" i muttered.
We walked back to the ship, hand in hand. Robin was watching us over the top of her book with that all knowing stare, Franky was doing his super pose, chopper was trying to copy Franky, Usopp was gripping onto the railing bug eyed and Luffy had his arms wrapped around Nami. The both of them laughing. I nudged her shoulder with mine, getting her to look up at me. I smiled at her before kissing her on the cheek.
"I love you"
"I love you too"