A/N: So this is a collection of drabbles I wrote for my Sanji and I's AU. Basically it's about Perona and how she's in love with Zoro, but at the same time Sanji's in love with her. I thought I'd share the crack, because c'mon, who doesn't love crack? Enjoy~.
I own nothing but the words.
The town of One Piece held a huge Christmas festival every year, one that Perona made sure to attend ever since she was little. She loved everything about the holidays; the snow, the cheerful faces, the presents, it was all so appealing to her. She made a point to wear her best holiday outfit, a long red dress with more lace than she could probably deal with, all complete with black stockings and a nice side braid. She prided herself on her clothes, but there was also an alternative motive to this—she was seeking to grasp the attention of a certain green headed man, and maybe finally, he would sweep her off her feet.
But he had done no such thing. In fact, he had done the exact opposite. He hadn't even looked at her once the whole party, and the pinkette was almost completely bummed. That was, until a welcomed sight appeared in front of her.
"Perona-chan, there's no need to look so down," Sanji started, holding out his hand for her to take, his smile as warm and bright as always, "He's an idiot for not spending any time with you. I for one, would love it if you would take a walk in the light park with me."
She looked up at him, sending him a soft smile in return of his own. Without giving another moment of hesitation, she took his hand and interlocked their fingers together. The warmth of his gloved hands wrapped around hers were more than enough to draw her in closer, craving the warmth of his body even more. As they walked, her eyes lit up with each passing display of Christmas lights. Really, the townspeople did a fabulous job of making things really sparkle, and the surrounding snow only made it all the more special.
"Ohhhh look at how cute that one is!" She exclaimed, pointing to the polar bear shaped light to their right. Sanji just watched as her eyes sparkled and twinkled, content with the company of the bouncing female. She turned back to him, a content smile on her face as her arms wrapped around his waist suddenly in a tight hug. He had taken her out, and gotten her to completely forget about that stupid idiot. She had to thank him somehow, right?
As she nuzzled her head into his chest, his arms wrapped around her, "Thank you, Sanji. I needed this."
He grinned in return, resting his chin on top of the knitted hat on her head. "Anytime, Perona-chan, anytime." He didn't know how long they stayed huddled together in their hug, but he wasn't going to make any move to remove it any time soon. He enjoyed things like this with Perona, and since she was always so occupied with chasing after that shithead, he didn't get them as often as he'd like. He took in a deep breath, her flowery scent filling his lungs and calming him. "Ne, Perona-chan? Why don't we get out of here. I could use an expert's opinion on what decorations to use for the apartment."
She nodded in return, looking up at him before reluctantly pulling away all together, "Alright!" Her hands placed themselves on her hips, "But I want cookies in exchange."
Sanji let out a soft chuckle, nodding once and leading the way back to his apartment.
Things hadn't gone as planned. The woman had completely dumped him, and two weeks away from Christmas, nonetheless! Not to mention Zeff had called him a couple days earlier to just pick another fight. Not exactly Sanji's idea of a fun December night. But when he got the call from Perona, asking if he wanted to accompany her to her father's mansion for the evening, he couldn't refuse.
After all, it was Perona.
So as the two of them sat, huddled together in one blanket in front of the warmth of the large fire place, he set his cup of hot chocolate down in front of him. She was showing him pictures of how cute a toddler she was, and Sanji was more than content to stay like this for the rest of his life.
As her head rested on his shoulder, he watched as the fire sparked in different places, making that distinct crackling noise it usually did. "You know, this is much better than going on that date. Why cuddle with some strange woman when I can just have Perona-chan?"
She gave him a playful tap on the chest, turning from the book to his face, "Sanji's so silly. I'm more than a cuddle buddy."
His heart thumped, could she be?…
"I'm his best friend."
…Of course. But regardless of being let down slightly, he put on a smile. Being best friends with Perona was better than not having her in his life at all.
The holidays were anything but slow paced for Perona. There were a million things she had to do, and only barely enough time to do them. She had managed to knock out the present shopping, and the thousands of New Years dresses she was commissioned to make before she got the call.
That one call that would change her fate.
It was from a designer, which whom Perona was rather fond of. They wanted her to come spend the holidays with them, and show off her Holiday collection in a fashion show. It almost seemed too good to be true, but there was a catch. This show was in a completely different country, meaning she'd have to spend it away from every one of her friends and family, and more importantly, from Sanji.
It wasn't until her recent activities at a Christmas party that she had realized just how much the man meant to her. He was always there for her, even when things were looking dark. And even though she had been so obsessed with Zoro the past couple years, he never stopped his affections. This had made her realize that deep within her, she had slowly developed feelings for this man as well.
In fact, along with the new suit so delicately wrapped underneath the yellow and black wrapping paper, she had planned on confessing to him just how much she meant to him, and perhaps changing their relationship completely.
But that wouldn't happen. At least not for Christmas. Or so she thought. For you see, she couldn't keep him off her mind. Even at the show, all she could think about was Sanji, and what he was doing. Unknown to her, Izou had popped next to her, a smile on his face.
"What's his name?"
She burnt a bright color, turning to look at him in shock. "W-What?"
"The boy you're thinking about. I know it's a man because you're smiling like so many women I've seen before—and they were all thinking of a certain significant other."
Damn him. Was she really smiling like that? She bit her lower lip, "It's uhm…Sanji."
"That handsome blond cook? My, my, princess…" He tapped his chin, thinking. "I didn't know you and him were seeing each other.
"I uh…well, I haven't told I love him yet, you see. I was planning on doing it on Christmas."
This caused the male to frown, "And I took that dream away from you by taking you on this trip…"
"N-No, no! I wanted to come!"
He was silent for a moment. "…Go pack your bags, girly, and hurry. The last flight back home leaves in an hour."
She stared at him for a moment, not knowing what to say. With her lower lip trembling, she reached out and hugged him, "T-Thank you."
And with a smile from the other, she dashed off to go pack for her flight home.
...
He was miserable to say the least. Zoro was busy with whatever he did(most likely taking advantage of the cold weather to "train"), leaving him alone, on Christmas Eve. Of course, he could just go over to Luffy's or perhaps Nami's, but he didn't want to be a bother. Still, the thought of spending this holiday was enough to make him depressed. Sanji twisted the cigarette stem between his lips, watching as the embers burned the stick. He contemplated going out, and perhaps grabbing a drink at a bar, but something about that didn't sound right. He shouldn't be drinking alone, on Christmas Eve.
No, what Sanji should be doing is sitting next to a pretty pink headed girl, eating cookies and exchanging presents. But Perona had gone off on some trip a week earlier, leaving him here alone, by himself with that mosshead.
Another sigh. Maybe that drink didn't sound so bad after all.
As he stood up and grabbed his coat, his stomach did some sort of churn. Like when you know something's going to happen. He shrugged it off, securing the scarf around his neck. Even if Perona wasn't there, the least he could do was display her clothing to the world. Hell, it was more than worth it in his eyes. But just as he opened the door to the apartment he froze, breath hitching and causing the steam of it's heat to hit his surprise in the face.
Standing in front of him, wearing the most adorable smile he had ever seen, was Perona. "P-Perona-chan…" It was all he could manage to get out before her body collided with his in a hug. His arms wrapped around her petite body, keeping her safe and warm. "I thought you were suppose to be gone…"
As she looked up at him, she sent him another smile, "I was, but I came home just to see you. It wouldn't be cute if I left you all alone on Christmas Eve, now would it?"
He stared at her, a bit stunned. It took him several minutes, but once the realization that she had came home for him hit, his expression softened. "No…" He tightened his grip again, placing a chaste kiss onto her forehead, "It wouldn't be cute at all."
But then her features suddenly changed, and her face grew a bright red. Sanji had no idea what was going on, but he could feel her muscles underneath his grasp tense. A look of concern filled his face."Perona…are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine, I just…" She took a deep breath, "There's something I have to tell you, Sanji. You see…the past couple weeks I've been thinking, and well…" She averted her gaze, her voice becoming soft and mousy, "I think…I uhm…I think…"
"I think I'm in love with you."
He could feel the heat rise to his face, and his heart begin to race. She….Perona…was in love with him. Perona was in love with him. Sanji wasn't quite sure how to react to this.
So he let his instincts take over.
He was sure his hands were shaking as they reached up and cupped Perona's cheeks. Within seconds their lips had connected leaving both of them warm, and quite frankly breathless. Her hands reached up and grasped onto the cloth of his scarf, pulling him closer to her body.
As she pulled apart slowly, she sent him a sheepish smile, "Merry Christmas, Sanji."
He grinned back, pressing his lips against hers again, the sweet taste of Perona filling his taste buds, "Merry Christmas, Perona-chan."
The New Years party was a big success, which was no surprise to Sanji considering the mastermind behind it all was the one and only Perona. It amazed him just how well she could coordinate things, but then he recalled just what she did for a living, and it all made sense. Fashion designers had to be able to see the patterns in things, and keep everything nice and organized, otherwise their clothing might not turn out the way they wanted it to.
Still. To know that this miraculous party around him was planned by one woman and one woman alone stunned him. She was brilliant in his eyes, and no one could dim the sparkling light that was Perona. Especially since now she was all his. Ever since Christmas Eve the two of them had been nearly inseparable, spending almost every waking hour of the holidays with each other. It was nice waking up to her flowery aroma, and seeing her smile because of him. To Sanji, this was heaven.
His arms wrapped around her petite body, pulling her closer as they both watched the ball begin to drop on the screen above them. And as the globe hit the bottom, ushering the era of a new year, Perona turned to him and promptly placed her lips on his.
He had had plenty of New Years kisses before this mind you, but none of them were as sweet, or as delightful as this one. Sanji could feel his whole body melt underneath her lips as he kissed her back eagerly. With the cheering crowd around them had finally died down, Perona pulled away slightly, a smile on her face. "Happy New Year, Sanji."
He grinned back, pecking her lips again, "It is a happy new year, indeed."
