Work Text:
You don’t know why you’re aboard this ship. A boy with a straw-hat is yelling at you and a small, anthropomorphic raccoon dog is trying to push him away. They’re speaking the tongue of the pirates who abducted you -- which weren’t them. They were the second crew of pirates to abduct you. Your hands ball up the blanket they put on your shoulders into two fists, wrapping the fabric closer around you. A ginger woman deftly hands you a towel, shooing the boy with the straw-hat away. You think she’s swearing at him.
She almost knocks a dent into the boy’s head and you find yourself a bit scared. As soon as she turns around to you, she puts on the kindest smile you have seen in years. The raccoon dog points to a door at the back of the ship, guiding you to stand up. What were they going to do? It’s not like you had any possessions or anything even remotely valuable on your person. The tanuki is gesturing for you to follow him, grabbing onto the edge of your towel with his… hoof?
It’s not easy; adjusting to life aboard the Thousand Sunny. The rocking of the boat is nauseous at night and the weather is always inconsistent. Although, it wasn’t like you had much perspective on weather in your previous lodging. At least you always had a full stomach, thanks to Sanji.
Many days and nights were spent recovering from nightmares and trying to understand people you did not speak the same language as; communication was often a game of charades and common sense. You even have a little schedule now, aboard this ship of misfits. You wake up much earlier than everyone else (except maybe Zoro, with his rather confusing sleep pattern after all) and spend time outside reading by candlelight if it’s warm enough. If it’s not, you just go back to sleep.
You find that one of your favorite times of the day is watching the sun rise over the ocean. You supposed that you had forgotten about this beautiful luxury when you were captured by those other pirates. That time, and also Luffy always asking you to watch his new move, Sanji making you a parfait he saw you enjoy once, and Nami scolding the both of them for whatever reason. It’s nice. The Thousand Sunny is quite an accurate name for this ship.
Sanji wakes up usually an hour after you. He attempts to flirt the best he can with his little understanding of your language and you laugh – he gets a sweet smile on his face when you do. Nowadays, you’re even occasionally helping him in the kitchen! He teaches you about his cooking and in return, you try to teach him about your own. The curly-eyebrowed cook is always eager to learn and never discouraged if unable to finish. It’s no matter, he always turns the dish into something delicious.
Luffy loves to play charades with you. In the process, he learns some words of your’s and you of his; it’s a lot more productive than he imagines it is. Whenever he understands what you are trying to communicate, he bounces up and down and hugs you so tightly. It’s so warm in this place.
But just because it’s nice now doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten what occurred before.
Months of being subjected to chains and a damp and moldy cellar. Your vision unable to decipher what is the floor and what is the stains from your own excrement. It had almost been time – almost time for you to give up. And then the Straw Hats came. And, from what you’ve seen since then, they are determined to bring lasting hope wherever they proceed and they haven’t failed yet. Not even once.
You wouldn’t know it (or maybe you would), but every Straw Hat has a goal of making you smile a little bit more each day. Sanji, especially, is trying his hardest. You would smile the same with everyone anyway.