This is a story written in a moment when I loved Sanji more than Zoro! ^^"
again a slice-of-life genre (as I love One Piece in that way), a character x reader and now a romantic story right from the begining.
Hope you like it and please review your thoughts about it! ^3^
thanks~
update: the story has been slightly edited/fixed (typos, some grammar and sentences)
This story takes you way back to your old high school days. Those days were filled with lots of exams, classes and puberty. But, not just that, in those days you were madly in love with a tall blonde guy named Sanji. He was from a different class, your love at the first sight, your first serious crush, that one strong crush that you just knew he had that special place in your heart. Sadly, your love was never returned. You never met Sanji and he never noticed you. There were 2 specific reasons why he never knew you existed:
The first reason was simple - because of your name. You weren't popular, your name wasn't well known and you didn't drive the attention towards you. You were always shy and distant, always hidden. Your grades were nice but not the top. You weren't so good at sports either. You were average at everything, always somewhere in the middle.
The second reason was even simpler – your appearance. Your height and body size was also… average. Even if you had "something", your school uniform would hide it. Sanji would always chase for busty and girls full of curves. And then, there were you – average and shy high school girl.
And Sanji was all perfection in your eyes. He wasn't on top of his class but still better then… average. He was a great athlete, top in home economics, great at class with nice grades. He was so great to you; you actually caught yourself staring at him from the distance, following him, looking like a freaky stalker.
You successfully graduated high school without any love, without meeting Sanji, without confessing your feelings to him. You felt like a loser, missing all the opportunities life gave you. You and Sanji parted ways and went to college.
When you entered your new school, you forgot about your blonde high school crush. New problems emerged and you had to deal with all of them, erasing that unrequited love. But it wasn't all so bad… You found a new crush, a new guy you fell in love with. Still keeping it all shy, you now observed a guy named Zoro. He was your dream, your fantasy, your new God. Tight and strong muscles, deep, manly and sexy voice, tall and handsome, Zoro meant everything to you now. You found your new staring target, but you weren't alone. Many girls "drooled" over Zoro but he would reject every single one, even those "with qualities". And so, Zoro was even harder to approach than your high school crush. Sometimes, you would wonder what Sanji's doing and how is he but that would all go away when your eyes meet Zoro.
As time flew with your daydreaming, doodling, poem writing, you graduated college too. You are now an adult. That was the word you were afraid of, the word that sounded so harsh, so strong, so bad to you, you couldn't stand it as you still saw yourself as an innocent young high school girl. Time came when you needed a job, time to move out of your parents' house and become independent.
And who said you didn't have a job or two? In fact, you changed your jobs like you changed your socks. Nothing ever worked for you as you tried many different things:
-being a cashier at a supermarket – math, too many numbers and annoying, nagging old people;
-being a waitress at a bar or a café – clumsy with carrying glasses, annoying old geezers aka skirt chasers;
-being a florist at a flower shop – too many botany and biology with demanding old grandmas;
etc.
In the end you choose to help with a delivery in a big bakery. That was a job that seemed light to you and suited you, even though it was a job delivering big packages of bread early in the morning. There, you even made a friend – a nice, generous and helping guy named Ryan. He was a driver and your partner in one of the delivery vans. One morning you had a new delivery to a newly opened restaurant in town.
"Are you ready for another busy morning, [y/n]?", Ryan asked, closing the door of the van on its side.
"Ready as always. Let's do this!", you shouted, unusually fired up. This delivery job became exciting to you.
"Okay, boss said it's a new restaurant. Where are we heading?", Ryan asked, turning the key, starting the van.
"Hmmm, it says here the restaurant name's 'Baratie'… Did I pronounce it right?", looking worried at Ryan.
"Haha, yeah, it's one weird name, alright… Anyways, let's go there!", he said, turning the steering wheel to the left. You looked at the order papers worried. For a newly opened restaurant you had a big delivery to do.
"Alright, we're here. I'll go and hand the papers to the workers inside and take a new order and you start getting those packages out.", said Ryan as he parked the delivery van behind the restaurant, near the back door of the place.
"Gotcha! I'll just stack the packages next to their back door.", you shouted to your co-worker, unlocking the van's door where the packs were stored. "Okay… we have 3 packs of French bread…", you said to yourself, looking at the first order on the list. You stacked all the ordered packages next to the restaurant's back door when someone opened it.
"Thank you for your hard work.", said a deep manly voice behind you. It seemed familiar but more adult-like, still so strange. You put one more package next to the others and stood up to meet the employee of the restaurant. All the memories flew back in your mind as you saw the familiar warm face, familiar black eyes, right one covered with familiar golden hair.
"Miss… are you alright?", he spoke to you, waking you up from your thoughts. You were embarrassed for staring at him so intensively. You turn quickly and ran to the truck for more packages, fixing your hat down to your eyes.
"Umm, y-yeah, sorry. I-I think this is all of it… And, congratulations on opening the restaurant.", you pulled out the last ordered package and handed it over the familiar man.
"Thank you.", he responded with a sweeter smile you've ever seen… and it was all dedicated to you. You blushed terribly red and ran to sit back in the van.
'He smiled… to me?', you thought, taking off and gripping your hat.
"Hey, you're already done? Sorry for taking so long, there were lots of papers… [y/n], are you okay? You seem red…", said Ryan to you after he got back in the van.
"I-I'm fine… no worries. Let's go on our other destination.", you tried to sound enthusiastic as much but your co-worker wasn't sure of your words.
…
You came back to your home, fully exhausted after hard day at work. You dropped yourself on your bed, facing the ceiling. You were now lost in thoughts…
'I saw him today... and it wasn't a dream, I really saw him! Oh God… it's been so long! He really changed!', you thought and the image of the blonde restaurant employee, smiling nicely at you, flashed in your mind. You covered your face with a pillow as you were burning red.
'What should I do now? He doesn't recognize me. I can't just say we went to the same high school…', you thought looking at the ceiling again, trapped in your thoughts about your first love.
What you actually did was nothing more than delivering bread to the restaurant every morning. You had no courage to speak to him and you spoke to the blonde cook just so you can "thank him for the hard work". Your co-worker, however, suspected something and it wasn't pretty. Surprisingly, he never spoke a word about it, Ryan kept it all silent. Morning after morning, you and the blonde talked a bit more and exchanged names. It was him who spoke up first, confirming your thoughts – it was him, your high school crush! It was Sanji who worked at the new restaurant where you delivered bread in the morning.
One morning, after one casual and happy delivery to the "Baratie", you just as casual and happy sat back in the delivery van to head to your next destination.
"Say, [y/n]… do you, maybe… like that blonde guy?", Ryan asked, all out of the blue. You were shocked and embarrassed at the same time. You were now in a tricky situation but you had to answer him.
"No~! We were just talking, that's all.", you smiled at him, trying to stay calm and not show the lie. Ryan just snorted silently and continued to drive with nothing else to say. He stayed silent the whole day, not letting off his small frown. He acted like that every following day, after the delivery at the "Baratie". You, on the other hand, were feeling more confident, happier and freer to talk to your Mr. Prince, as you named him like that for yourself.
One specific morning was just wonderful for you as your prince invited you to his restaurant for a visit after work.
"Are you serious?", you stood in shock. Sanji was still smiling, nodding happily. You couldn't be happier! Emotions grew stronger, wider and deeper and there was nothing that could break them. You were again madly in love with Sanji.
"[y/n]! We must go now! Are you done?!", shouted Ryan, crushing the moment. You certainly agreed to the invitation and went back to work, excusing yourself.
…
After work, you visited "Baratie". You ate the most wonderful, the most delicious food in the universe. It was so awesome that your mind was blown away by the taste. Sanji invited you again, saying he'll prepare new and more delicious food for you. You were in Heaven! The guy you fell in love with as a mere teenager is now serving you delicious food, talking and smiling to you. Just YOU!
And so, enjoying yourself to the maximum, you came to the restaurant day after day, tasting again that marvelous food, all prepared by Sanji alone. That made you even happier because you were eating his food and his food only. But, one day, after work you couldn't just rush to Sanji's restaurant. It's because your boss called for you in his office. You were never called, you never made and faults. It was all odd and unusual for you, so you were beginning to feel scared.
"[y/n], I've received and information that you have some relationship with a young chef at that new restaurant. I don't want you to mix your personal life with your work.", said the boss, leaning on his chair. You stood there, in shock, gripping your worker's hat in your hands.
"But, Sir, I don't have—"
"I am not finished!", he yelled, cutting your sentence and making you even more afraid of him, "I don't want to hear any more excuses! I know you're young, you fall in love and it's because you're so young, I can't tolerate it. You are not suited for this job. Please change your clothes and leave your uniform in the locker. You're dismissed now.", said the boss, looking at you with the piercing eyes that had no mercy in that moment. You had to obey…
"Yes, Sir. Please, excuse me.", you said with a bow and left the office, feeling crushed and smashed like a little cookie. You changed your clothes as ordered and left the bakery. As you didn't want to break the promise you gave to Sanji, you once again went to the "Baratie". Everybody there already knew you and considered you family, greeting you again with smiles. But you could barely force a weak smile in that moment. You felt like shit as it was the job you really cared about and now it's gone… for some over exaggerated thing.
"[y/n]-chan~! Welcome! I have a very special course for you today.", said Sanji coming to the table you sat at, smiling sweet as ever.
"Thank you, Sanji. But a glass of water is just enough.", you said, that weak smile now gone off your face. Sanji formed and unusual worried face and sat on a chair next to you.
"Is there something wrong, [y/n]-chan? Can I help you out?", he asked leaning to your side.
"I don't think so… I just lost my job…", that was all you could say at the moment. You were feeling like crying but didn't want to make a scandal in the middle of a busy restaurant. The pause came until you spoke up again, "I don't know what to do now… I have no choice but to get back to my parents as I don't have money to pay the rent for my room.", you didn't want to but those words just came out of your mouth. You had to share it with someone, but you were regretting that because you made Sanji even more worried about you. You were feeling horrible…
"Hey… don't feel down. You are still young. There are plenty of other places you can work at so don't lose your hope. And I know just how to cheer you up and make you forget about this problem!", Sanji made you look at him as he was smiling again, "You just need to taste my new food, prepared just for you. I bet you will feel better right away! Wait here!", he ran to the kitchen and brought you one very rich dish. As always, you loved it! And it was true – you forgot about the job and you were feeling happy again, both with Sanji's food and his smile.
After the meal he dragged you in the back of the restaurant to meet someone, as he said. You two entered one office where the old chef and the owner of the restaurant, Zeff, was waiting for you.
"I heard it from the pipsqueak here… You need a job, right?", he asked but you were too shocked to speak so you just nodded, "It would be just temporary, but you can work here. Is it alright for you?"
"Sir, thank you so much! I promise to do my best! Thank you!", you bowed so many times Sanji had to stop you. Chef Zeff told you that you're starting from next week and gave you a nice and fancy uniform. You were really grateful so you bowed again, making Sanji drag you out of the office.
"Sanji, I don't—"
"No need. We're friends, right?", he said with another sweet smile of his.
"But I really want to thank you properly.", you were persistent in your decision.
"Well, if you insist… One simple date would do it.", he winked, sending you waves of love. You literary couldn't believe your ears! Sanji, the guy you first fell in love with, now asked you on a date! Once shy girl who would watch her crush from afar now has a date with that same crush and he asked her out first! This is what people call "a miracle" because it was so unbelievable, so magical but again so real! You, of course, agreed, still floating on the pink clouds in your own fantasy.
…
The day of the date was already tomorrow and it came so fast you were starting to feel nervous. That day you needed to make sure you look great for the date but every time you would remember Sanji, you would go crazy; your body would burn from all the feelings. You put on a nice blue dress, feeling a little embarrassed that a long awaited date with Sanji is finally here and you look so… feminine.
Sanji came to pick you up and you two went to a nice café in town
"You look very beautiful in a dress, [y/n]-chan. It suits you way better than that old baggy delivery jumpsuit.", said Sanji with a calming and sensitive voice, making you blush and look down at your squeezing hands on your lap.
"T-thank you.", you barely looked at him, still embarrassed. You were behaving like a high school girl again – all shy and embarrassed. After all, you never experienced something like this before. After calming down a bit, you looked at your right, through a window and in a café across yours was one more familiar guy.
"Hm? Is there anything wrong, [y/n]-chan?", asked Sanji and looked at the same direction as you, "Ah, him? That's Roronoa Zoro, a local champion at kendo. He got suspended after he got cut in a fight. He messed with some bad guys. I heard all the stories from the folks in the restaurant and he would just come and order a large amount of booze. I also heard he treats women like trash – for one night only. Damn, makes me wanna kick his ass off! He pisses me so much!", Sanji growled under his voice, taking a sip of his coffee. You carefully listened to the story that left you sad in the end, as you remembered that you were once in love with that guy. It made you even sadder that Zoro turned out to be like that… You looked at him again as he was drinking another large bottle of beer, behaving weird in his group of "friends".
It was that moment when you decided to give up on Zoro. He was just a type of a guy you couldn't and can't handle. You and Zoro were two different worlds, even though he was good looking, considered a Sex God, you had to erase him from your thoughts.
You stayed silent with Sanji, not telling him about your connection with Zoro, even though he was just an ordinary college classmate. You didn't want to say you were once in love with that man. You were still shy to tell Sanji about your feelings towards him and that you knew him from before, non less telling him about Zoro.
'It's better this way. He doesn't need to know I 'stalked' him all over the school like a maniac. He would think I'm weird and hate me immediately!'
Your date went well, you had a great time and just being with Sanji made you extremely happy. You were now ready for a new life!
After losing your delivery job, your life changed: you spent more time with your Mr. Prince, you were feeling happier with a strong will and confidence, but you also never saw your old co-worker, Ryan, again. You were 100% sure it was him who set you up to lose your job but being with Sanji erased those hate thoughts and in the end you didn't mind it at all.
…
Already next week, you started working at "Baratie" as a new waitress and the work went pretty well. You were happy that you were now spending more time with Sanji and you never dreamt about it. It was just as he said – Zoro came to the restaurant and ordered a huge doze of alcohol drinks, mostly strong sake. Sanji would put you away and take responsibility to serve Zoro himself. And after some time of working and seeing Zoro behaving like a jerk to Sanji, drinking uncontrollably, your feelings for him cooled down and you did that by admiring Sanji which stronger your love for him. But you were still damn so stupid to open up and finally confess! That irritated you so damn fucking much!
And where's love, there's also… jealousy!
Sanji was still like he was in high school – treating women like jewels. With every female customer you had, he would act like a top host in a host club, providing the young ladies with great time, well manners and his charm, sweet-talking all the time. Yes, Sanji wasn't your boyfriend but this behavior just pissed the Hell out of you! And that scenery repeated itself over and over again. You were feeling sad and would always turn your head away whenever he starts flirting with them. One day, you couldn't stand it anymore. It was his ex-girlfriend that visited the restaurant, specifically demanding for Sanji to serve her.
'Is this a host club or a restaurant, you fucking bitch?!', you thought marching to the employee's room for a break as you couldn't stand to watch that girl touching Sanji, talking to him with tender and seductive voice. Once alone, you let it all out - you crawled in the corner and let your tears flow.
'Why is this happening? What am I doing? I'm acting like I know Sanji the best, like I own him! Of course she would speak and touch him, they were once together. But I hate it! I hate it so much! I hate her!', you bursted into tears, crawling even more, hiding your face from everything.
"[y/n]-chan?", you heard Sanji's voice and lifted your head immediately. Once your eyes met, you tried to wipe the tears off, standing up.
"I-I need to go.", you tried to escape the weird situation but a strong hand stopped you, grabbing you by your wrist.
"Wait! [y/n]-chan, what happened? Why are you crying?", Sanji asked but you couldn't dare yourself to turn to him. You shut your eyes not saying a word. Sanji turned you to him and even without any words your tears spoke for themselves, "[y/n]-chan…", he tried to calm you down with a low voice, to make you look at him. You did that - you looked at him crying more.
"Sanji…"
"Talk to me… please…", you saw that as a perfect chance to open yourself up. There was no more room for you to be shy and embarrassed. You flew to his chest and gripped his jacket hard, sobbing more.
"I can't stand it anymore! I tried to keep it a secret but it just eats me from inside! You don't know about me, Sanji. I am a creepy and crazy girl who's been in love with you ever since high school. Ever since I saw you at the opening ceremony, I knew I was in love with you. But, damn it all, I didn't have the courage to tell you. I now became the low of the lowest, feeling jealous just because your ex-girlfriend is there with you. I can't stand it anymore! ", you sobbed hard, clinging onto Sanji's jacket, feeling worse than crap. Sanji, of course, didn't say anything and you were expecting a rejection anytime soon. You just didn't want to show your face to him. You didn't want to let go of him. Sanji became everything to you these past years.
"I knew…", he finally said, making you stop your sobs. You still couldn't look at him, "I knew who you were back then and I recognized you right away that morning you delivered the packages. I just didn't believe it. In school, I would always notice you but you were always hiding from me. So I realized that you were just a scared type of a girl. That's why I never approached you… And the truth is… I always liked you…", in that moment you were shocked more than ever before. You finally looked at Sanji, tears still dropping from your cheeks. Sanji has already placed his hands on your shoulders, supporting you, making you feel comfortable with him.
"You don't know it, but you were always special. You were nowhere near creepy or crazy. You were always so cute, gentle and sweet and I regret it for not talking to you back then. But, [y/n]-chan… you just don't know how happy I was to meet you again and just like you, I was scared of confessing. I didn't know how you would react to that… I was afraid of getting rejected by the sweetest girl I ever saw.", he smiled at you. Your eyes widen and you cried again but Sanji was there to wipe those nasty tears off your face, "And as for that girl right now… I could never forgive her actions in the past. So, you don't have to worry… I will be all yours."
"Sa-Sanji…", he waited for you, still keeping that precious smile on his face, "I always loved you. And now, I love you more than ever before…", you said, your voice shaky and insecure. Sanji leaned and put his forehead against yours. In that moment, you wanted only one thing… to stay like that with him, forever!
"I know… I love you too, my sweet angel.", he said finally leaning closer until your lips met.
You can swear to God that was the best moment of your life. You were finally in Sanji's arms, in his kiss, being all his and he being all yours. You knew your cheeks were burning but you couldn't help yourself because that was all you ever wanted. Your wish came true, your love came back to you and you couldn't be happier.
Feeling the moment, you put your arms around Sanji's neck, bringing him closer to you. He took a chance and wrapped his arms around your waist, closing that little space between you two. His lips felt moist, tender and sweet, like you imagined them. You drove your fingers through his blonde silk hair, making your first movements and he followed – Sanji trailed his hands up your back, hugging you even more.
You were so happy, you had to let another tear because the unbelievable dream was now reality and Sanji, who seemed so far to reach was now in your arms, kissing you softly. Neither one of you let go, the kisses were just enjoyable as you took it to another level, opening your mouth and letting Sanji have his way. Your tongues danced together, creating an unrealistic sensational kiss that sent shivers of great love all over your body. It was then you knew you don't want to let go of your Prince. Not now, not ever!
You had to break the kiss to search for air, panting heavily, staring at your lover. You both smiled, still hugging, love exploding for you.
"I am so happy right now…", Sanji whispered again leaning his forehead to yours.
"Me too. I don't want to let go…", your whisper followed, still keeping the smile on.
"Please don't. Because I can't imagine a better place than with you right now. Stay with me…", he said coming closer to you, closing that gap between your lips with another soft kiss.
You kissed him back, keeping the promise and not letting go. Your first love became your present and you couldn't think of anything else beside Sanji and his kisses. You broke the kiss again, just for a second until you said one more "I love you" now with a steady voice. For the third time, your lips met in a wonderful and lovable moment as you two stood in the middle of a room, enjoying your precious time together.
In the end, after so many things happened, you stayed loyal and true to your first love. No matter what people you encounter and how many other crushes you have, you would always come back to him. It was just Sanji and only him – your prince, your love, your world, your everything. Because, it's just like people say it – you can't forget your first love!
~THE END~