Chapter Text
The ship was a mess. Like usual. It wouldn't be the same without that early-morning chaos, routine by this point. It was hard to keep track of what was going on amidst the bickering mixed with excited yelling.
You were spared from dealing the ruckus head on, sitting with Nami and Robin while they enjoyed morning coffee. It was only natural you were close with the women on the crew, and after the transition — Well, there was no reason to let go of it.
Then, Sanji burst through the kitchen doors and you could practically hear the romantic saxophone along with it.
"Oh, mademoiselles, I've prepared some lovely treats for you this morning~" He swooned, twirling to Robin's side. You looked up, catching the subtle, amused smile on her face.
"Madeleines for you, Robin-chwan" He gracefully set the plate down next to her coffee cup, hopping over to Nami. "Linzer cookies with orange marmalade, my dear, Nami-swan"
Then he turned towards you. And blinked.
The plate clinked down in front of you. Eclairs. "You can have these" He coughed and avoided your gaze, flustered and mumbling into his own collar. "...For no special reason"
He really wasn't subtle at all, was he?
Some part of the chaos on the lower deck distracted him, and he scampered off.
Nami picked up one of the sugar-powdered cookies, shaped like hearts. "Does it bother you that he's acting like this?" She spoke firmly — you knew she wouldn't hesitate to slap him over the head if it made you uncomfortable in the slightest.
You looked down at your plate, decorated with a chocolate drizzle. Huh, there was a heart shape there, too. "I think I'm gonna miss the special treatment more than anything, when he realizes"
"Realizes what?" Robin interjected, setting down her coffee cup.
You swallowed the bite of your eclair, slightly confused. Robin of all people should understand what you're referring to, right?
"That I'm... Not a girl anymore?" You stammered, tilting your head inquisitively.
Robin smiled, as if she expected that answer. "Oh, but he knows that already. He just needs to realize his feelings" Her calm gaze wandered over to Sanji, just as he was kicking his captain over the head.
Feelings... You followed where she was looking, watching as Sanji frustratedly rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, heading back into the kitchen. Something about it was attractive and — You just realized you had some self reflection to do as well.
—
It was late and you were leaning against the handrail, mindlessly gazing into the horizon. It was relaxing to get a breath of fresh air and just listen to the mindnumbing crashing of waves against wooden planks. One of the nicest benefits to living on a ship. Typically, you'd be in bed at this time, but recent events had your mind too active to be sleepy. Plus, you were still figuring out the sleeping arrangements... Would it be better to move over to the guys' room? You weren't sure if such a downgrade was desirable.
Something shuffled behind you. Someone. You could tell. If you had to guess, probably Zoro. Had anyone bothered waking him up after he took that nap in the middle of the deck?
"Oh, you're–! Ahem." What was now evidently Sanji coughed. "You're here too"
You looked over at him as he approached. Only the moonlight reflecting off the waves served as lighting, bathing him in a soft, dim blue glow. His presence was strangely comforting, in a way you couldn't explain.
He perched against the railing beside you, and you heard him open a pack of cigarettes.
You can't quite remember the last time you smoked, and yet, "Can I borrow one?"
"Of course" The way he tried to stifle own enthusiasm was audible. You wonder, in the dark, if there were still hearts in his eyes.
You plucked a cigarette, pressing it between your lips. Sanji had already lit his in the meantime, and well, you needed a light, so...
You leaned in, arms jailing him as you tilted your head, trying to line up the flaming end of his cigarette to your own. The fire certainly wasn't the reason why the temperature felt like it raised a couple degrees in that moment — nor why Sanji was almost visibly steaming.
It lasted no longer than 5 seconds till you pulled away. It silenced him for the next 5 minutes. Stiff as a plank, he almost suffocated on own cigarette smoke. It felt nice to know you could have such an effect on someone, especially a man as charming as Sanji. His reactions were simply priceless, it only fueled the urge to tease him.
You kinda wanted to kiss him right now.
You'd given him a kiss on the cheek before, usually to get what you wanted. But this was different. Was it purely to get a reaction out of him? No, no it wasn't. You wanted to feel him relax into your touch and reciprocate. But a kiss from a man? Sanji would shove you off of him in a second, wouldn't he?
You were grateful to Ivankov for this opportunity, but lord, did it open a gateway of new problems.
—
Up to this point, you'd been wearing your old clothes. You'd never dressed particularly feminine, but with the changes in your body, not everything fit quite right. Nor did it feel right.
But now you'd docked at an island and finally had the opportunity to buy some new clothes.
Nami gave you a fair share of money and told you not to worry about paying it back. The generosity was almost disturbing coming from her.
Soon, another problem made itself clear: you'd never shopped for men's clothes before. You had no idea what would suit you. The men on the ship weren't very inspiring in terms of fashion, either. Usopp might be the only one somewhat knowledgeable about fashion — Sanji always looked good in the suits he wore, too. You should get some advice from them later.
Ideally, you'd go shopping with them, but by the time you stepped of the ship, everyone had gone their seperate ways.
After buying yourself a variety of clothes, you made it back to the ship, ready to try out your new wardrobe. At least something would stick out to you, right?
To your luck, all of the outfits so far have fit you well. You just had to give it some time to find your signature. Trying on the last arrangement, you buttoned it up to two buttons below the collar. A little tug at the sleeves, and the new shirt fit you perfectly. There was just one little thing...
"Sanji!" You called over, twiddling the fabric of the tie in your hands till he arrived. When he saw you, his jaw nearly dropped.
"... Wow" He muttered, trying (and failing) to sound casual about it.
"I copied your style a little bit" You admitted with a smile, "Anyway, I didn't call you over to show off"
You held up the tie in your hands. "Can you help me tie this?"
Sanji's gulp was audible. He stepped further inside, closing the door behind himself — like it was something private between you two. "... Yeah"
When you were standing toe to toe, he accepted the tie from your hands and draped it around your neck. He was trying really hard to keep his gaze focused forward, like anything else would distract him. It didn't help that due to your height, he had to tilt his head downwards just a tad. All it would take was a small lean forwards
"You picked an interesting pattern" Mumbling, he brushed his thumb over it.
"Yeah... Didn't want it to be too boring, right?" You chuckled and the air nearly hit his face.
His fingers worked to delicately tuck the folds. You'd expect him to be fast and precise with it after all these years, but it's like he was taking a minute with each step. Sanji would never do a thing like that on purpose, would he?
"...If you like these clothes you can always, y'know—" Unable to control himself anymore, he glanced up at you.
"Borrow yours?" You completed the sentence and he quickly nodded, lowering his eyes once more. Something about the way he was chewing at his own lip looked like he was suppressing a giddy smile. Imagining you wearing his clothes?
"Mhm" He confirmed, finally tightening the tie around your neck. But before he could take a step back, you grabbed him by the lapels.
"Even the ones you're wearing right now?" It was teasing, you knew it, but with the way his cheeks reddened and he stared at you with those wide, oblivious pupils — Who could blame you for indulging?
"Not while I'm wearing them!" He scoffed in a playful manner, managing the strength to push you away.
He actually pushed you away. Sanji wouldn't dare to shove a woman, not ever. The fact he was beginning to play rough with you made you way happier than it probably should've.
—
Sanji stared at the ceiling. When he closed his eyes, he saw it. The warm light of the flame flickering across your face—your lips. His eyelids fluttered and you were gone.
His fingers clenched around the pillow he cradled to his chest. A whiny exhale spilled from his lips as he curled into himself. What was wrong with him? He knew he was hopeless. He knew he fell deeply in love with every woman who so much as looked at him, and he knew it was shallow affection. So why, when you weren't a woman anymore, did those feelings not go away?
He liked women's waists, their breasts, their delicate voices — Now he found himself enamored by the hair on your forearms, the bob of your Adam's apple and the slight deepness to your voice when you spoke.
You — A prince. And he envisioned himself kneeled before you like a knight.
Ugh... What was he thinking?
When he was preparing the vegetables for lunch that day, he sliced them into hearts. Bringing a piece to his lips, he smiled. His love seeped into every dish he made. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he foolishly hoped that you could taste it.
—
Fishing alongside Zoro felt like the most stereotypically male thing you could be doing. Though honestly, you concluded sitting around in silence in the hot sun waiting for a bite wasn't something you were that interested in.
And it was really hot. Yeesh...
Then you remembered Ivankov's ability had flattened your chest. You could go shirtless, if you wanted to. You glanced over at Zoro to check if he'd mind, but he was as still as a statue. You had a feeling if you said anything to him he'd ignore you completely.
Well, who cares? You grabbed the edges of your shirt and pulled it over your head, flipping your hair back. How refreshing... Finally, you could feel the air against your skin.
Sanji came down the stairs, holding drinks. When they suddenly rattled, you whipped around to make sure he hadn't stumbled over a step. But he was, in fact, staring at you. You could probably guess what his thought process was.
It made you smirk and wave over at him.
His eyes darted away from you and he stammered. "Ugh. Don't let Zoro rub off on you"
Zoro's eyebrow twitched and, miraculously, he shifted his attention away from the fishing rod. "What the fuck do you mean by that, hah?" He turned around, just about ready to jump to his feet and fight him.
And then he did.
You turned your head away, used to their squabbling. Off course, it was impossible to turn your ears off completely, so you passively listened to the array of insults. However, one comment in particular stuck out to you.
"I haven't even hit you yet, why's your nose bleeding?"
—
Sanji walked into the kitchen and nearly froze as he saw you standing at the chopping board. It startled him, not expecting to find anyone inside.
"What are you doing? Let me–" He reached a hand out, approaching you.
You pushed him away with your hand, still wielding a knife. "Relax. You don't have to cook every single meal on this ship– I'm trying something out"
Sanji stiffened. It's like he couldn't comprehend this scenario. While he let the cogs turn in his head, you returned to chopping the meat in front of you.
"You're holding it wrong" He remarked, hesitantly placing his hand over yours and settling at your side.
As he adjusted your grip, he caught whiff of the cologne on your neck. It nearly sent him into a trance, the urge to just slump into your shoulder growing strong. "What's that scent you're wearing?"
The words softly slipped from his lips and he regretted being born with vocal cords at all.
"Been trying to switch from my old perfumes to some more masculine scents" You responded, certainly intrigued by his behavior. "It's nice, huh?"
Your gentle tone of voice helped Sanji relax, unstiffening his shoulders. "Yeah. Much better than the other guys, they reek"
It made you chuckle and Sanji delighted in it. If he could make you laugh, then everything was alright.
Resuming his instruction, he guided you on how to chop. His free hand, however, was starting to get very tired just hanging at his side. He managed to stop himself before daring to grasp your waist — He couldn't. To grab the counter meant cornering you between his arms, he couldn't do that either.
His hand experimentally brushed against your shoulder, and once he determined you weren't bothered by it, he let it rest there.
Eventually, you got the hang of it and Sanji watched as you took control. Then he realized his fingers still clasped over yours and pulled them away like your skin had become hot iron.
"Gosh, what is it?" Setting the knife down, you turned toward him and brushed the back of your knuckles against his cheek.
He responded to your touch like a fawn, unsure what to do except obliviously stare at you, stiff and startled. You were partly convinced he'd start steaming from how hot his face was getting.
Your expression faded from amusement into a wary doubtfulness. "You don't still see me as—"
Sanji abruptly shook you by your shoulders. "No!!" He blurted out, then took a second to calm down. "No, I just... Don't know what to do with myself anymore"
Unsure of how to respond yet, you stayed silent.
"I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?" Sanji asked worriedly, stepping away from you. "I'll control myself"
"Oh, no, I adore seeing you like this" You replied, the truth easy to state.
But Sanji was already in his own head, fingers tangling in his own hair as he lurched over himself. "Ugh I'm so stupid!! You're not even...—But I still...." he sighed in frustration.
Now seemed like the best time to try. You grabbed his chin upwards and sealed his blabbering lips with a kiss. Sanji's knees almost gave out beneath him.
You pulled back, keeping it short. Either Sanji liked it, or he didn't — that would settle things, right? The first thing you saw when you glanced up at him was the blood trickling onto his lip.
That answered it.
"...Can you do that again?" Sanji asked, not budging an inch.
"Can't. Busy" You stepped back towards the kitchen counter, pretending to resume your cooking. In the corner of your eye, you saw the way he blinked and scratched the back of his neck.
"Oh. I'll wait, then."
"Seriously?" You couldn't hold back your own laughter, tugging at his tie before he could get away. The action had him arching down towards you.
Then, your faces were practically an inch apart. The urge to kiss him all over that stupid, flustered face of his was strong, but the way he looked at you expectantly was worth the build up. With one hand tightly gripping his tie, you held his chin by the other. The coarse feeling of his facial hair under your thumb had you wondering...
"You think I'd look good with a mustache or a beard?"
Sanji couldn't think with the way your breath almost hit his lips at this angle. "You look pretty... handsome either way" He stammered out.
That was enough for you to smack his lips against yours. He practically melted into it — You should've known he'd be such a lovesick fool. Eventually, he even gathered the courage to wrap his arms around you.
Then he pulled away and hid his red face in your neck. "I have something really stupid to say"
He panted, struggling to catch his breath after the way you stole it. "And I don't want you to pay it any mind"
It had you intrigued, but you remained silent. Pretending not to acknowledge it, after all. Sanji needed a moment to compose himself, and once he did, you could just barely hear the way he whispered into your collar.
"I think I might like you more as a man..."