Work Text:
They've been sailing for a few weeks after leaving Wano and they're nearing that point where it's time to resupply the ship again. Luckily, according to their log pose, an island's nearby and they should reach it soon enough.
As they're approaching the docks and most of the crew is out on the deck, taking a first look at the city's port in search of anything of interest, Sanji spots a snail ship, a design that he's all too familiar with, more than he'd like to be.
The sighting sends shivers down his spine and he goes back inside the galley with the excuse of needing to check the inventory one last time. With his back propped against one of the walls, he fetches a cigarette and his lighter from one of his pockets and takes a long drag after lighting the stick.
After the incident in Whole Cake Island he'd assumed he wasn't going to run into Germa anytime soon, if ever again. He hasn't expected to be so wrong.
Granted, the ship he saw was a smaller one and he doubts Judge's onboard of it, but the prospect of possibly running into one of his siblings isn't the most thrilling either, all with not knowing where they stood with each other after his escape from Cacao Island.
He's pulled from his thoughts by Luffy screaming while jumping from one of Sunny's rails onto the city's docks, and by Nami shouting at everyone to spend the allowances wisely and not get into trouble. He puts his cigarette out on the ashtray he always leaves on the side of the table and disembarks after the others.
Sanji's careful as he walks around the city looking for fresh product and good deals, scanning every corner and every market stall before taking the next step, and making sure he had an escape route at the ready, just in case.
He runs into Nami and Robin not long after, and they dismiss his swirling and dramatic greetings to ask him to accompany them into a clothing store so they can use his strong arms to carry a few things they intend on getting for themselves—"And maybe we can get something for you too," Nami winks at him.
Sanji keens at the compliment, eyes turning into hears, "Of course, mellorine, it'll be my pleasure!" He is quick to agree and, on the inside, he's also relieved for the opportunity to get out of the streets.
What isn't his surprise, however, when as soon as they enter the store he sees his three brothers sitting on some chairs near the checkout area, holding an assortment of bags Sanji doubts are theirs and looking as bored as one could be.
A quick glance around shows Reiju walking back and forth with a vendor trailing behind her, dropping dresses and shoes and purses on Ichiji, Niji and Yonji's laps. The three only do so much as to reach out with their arms, grab whatever was dropped on them and pile everything up on another chair. Much like her brothers, she doesn't seem to take notice of Sanji standing still at the entrance.
Before Sanji can turn around and bolt out of there, Nami's already shoving multiple items of clothing, shoes and a small coin pouch into his arms, completely oblivious to his internal struggle.
"Try these on while Robin and I go shopping for ourselves. And no need to hurry, looking for the perfect piece takes time, we'll be here for a while." She tells him before hooking her arm with Robin's and disappearing behind a line of clothing racks.
Sanji quickly walks to the other side of the store and enters one of the changing rooms, taking the opportunity to hide and hope his siblings would leave soon.
He sits on the stool placed opposite to the mirror and looks at what Nami gave him. Dresses, skirts, frilly shirts and three pairs of heels in different heights.
He feels himself blushing as he carefully places the shoes on the floor and reaches for the fabrics again. The texture of velvet, satin and cashmere all feel incredibly soft against the palms of his hands and the designs look very pretty up close, with colors and fits that clearly suit him. His chest blooms with love for his precious Nami-swan and Robin-chwan, how incredibly thoughtful and tasteful they are!
He opts to ignore his brothers' presences for the moment and selects a dress to try on first. When he's done, he is pleasantly surprised by his reflection in the mirror.
The piece he's wearing is made in a dark blue velvet that compliments his blue eyes, and its halter neckline, with a cut in the front, is discreet enough not to show too much skin while also balancing his masculine frame. Silver chains drape over his shoulders and cascade down the open back, stopping just above the curve of his ass. It accentuates his hips beautifully, with tasteful flower appliques at the sides, and the fabric clings and flows down his legs flawlessly until it flares at the bottom in a small train.
He looks stunning, to put it simple. Breathtaking. The gown is form fitting and elegant, better than any of the over the top outfits the candies put him in back at Momoiro Island. He sits back down and reaches for a pair of silver five inch heels that match the chains of the dress. After they're on, he stands up again and gives a little twirl in front of the mirror, admiring every line and curve of his body.
Still in his trance, he peeks his head outside the cubicle, looking for Nami and Robin to ask for their opinions. He's aware he's already blushing at the prospect of appearing like this in front of them, but he figures it's the least he can do when they went out of their way to select something for him that'd make him feel this pretty.
It's while he's scanning the store that his eyes lock with his brothers' and he's immediately reminded why he'd been in such a hurry to get to the changing rooms in the first place.
He tries to duck inside again and close the curtains, but it's too late, his brothers are quick to get up and are already marching over to him, leaving all of Reiju's bags behind without a second thought—mindlessly, Sanji thinks she'd be furious at their lack of care.
Niji's hands reach the curtains in no time, keeping them open, and Sanji tries to pull at them and pry them from Niji's grasp. He's attempt is futile, though, as Ichiji's already joined them and placed his own hands near Niji's.
Without a place to run to, Sanji lets out a defeated sigh and backs down, readying himself for any bullshit they might spit at him.
With Sanji right where they wanted him, Yonji comes from behind his brothers and steps closer to him, puts an arm around his shoulder and leans in to whisper in his ear, "Looking good, brother."
Sanji can't decipher the tone in Yonji's voice, can't tell if it's praise or mockery, but coming from any of those three, he assumes mockery.
Anger and a smidge of shame—mostly from letting his brothers affect him so much than from being caught in a dress—flare up inside in, but he doesn't have time to retort as he flinches when an unknown male voice sounds from behind them, "If you want help beating this fruitcake up, count me in."
The change in his brothers' stance and behavior is immediate. They turn in perfect synchronism towards the voice, and Sanji easily catches the murderous intent behind their glares and in the way their fists close at their sides.
It's Robin's extra arms, coming seemingly from nowhere, that stop them in their tracks while Nami glowers at the man threateningly, walking in his direction with intent in her steps and showing him to the door, practically kicking him out of the store herself.
Robin sends a look over her shoulder to make sure Sanji will be alright being left with his brothers—to which Sanji replies with an automatic nod—before going after Nami to make sure she isn't going to actually kill the guy. Not that she'd have a problem with the act exactly, but she's trying to follow Nami's own advice of staying out of trouble.
Before Sanji notices it, his brothers are crowding him again, this time protectively hiding him from the curious eyes of other patrons. He even sees Yonji turning around at one point, glaring and growling at anyone that dares stretch their necks in an attempt to peek inside.
A warm feeling spreads inside him and Sanji doesn't know what comes over him, but he moves further into the cubicle to fetch a lipstick he noticed Nami had stashed inside the coin pouch. He applies it to his lips, smacking them when he's satisfied with the coverage, and completes his look.
He turns to his brothers to ask them what they think, now confident that Yonji's comment earlier had been genuine, but the words get stuck at the tip of his tongue when he sees Niji moving closer to him again, leaning on one side of his face.
Maybe Sanji feels lips brushing softly against one of his cheeks, maybe he yelps a little and his eyes widen, and he definitely can't help the way he comically jumps back to stare at the three of them with an open mouth.
It all happens so fast, but Niji takes a hold of his wrist before he gets too far and Ichiji snakes an arm on the small of his back as he whisper against his ear, "You shouldn't dismiss Yonji's words so easily. He's right, you do look incredible."
On Sanji's other side, Niji completes, "Seeing you like this, it does things to us." And his hold on him tightens. "But you can be sure we're gonna kill anyone that looks at you wrong."
Sanji can barely process what he's hearing as right at that moment he takes notice of Reiju coming back into the store with Nami and Robin trailing behind her (when had she even left?) and stopping at the entrance. Nami and Robin continue their way inside to resume their shopping, but Reiju raises a brow, scans him up and down, looks at Ichiji, Niji and Yonji from the corner of her eyes and winks at him. She gives him time to go back to hiding behind his brothers until the flush of his cheeks subsides, but soon she gestures for the three to follow her with a wave of her hand.
Sanji feels Ichiji's arm leave his body after giving a light squeeze to his hips and Niji placing another kiss on the side of his face, this time at the corner of his mouth. Yonji's more daring, quickly swiping in to give him a peck on the lips before the three of them walk away, smiling predatorily—if it's at him or at the prospect of killing the guy from before, Sanji doesn't know—while collecting the multiple shopping bags they had abandoned on the chairs they were sitting at initially.
Even in his dazed state, Sanji still catches Ichiji commenting with his brothers about the color of the dress he's wearing, something about it complimenting his eyes and how they should make use of this knowledge at a later date.
They exist the store and Sanji is left breathless, expectant and with his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest.
When Nami and Robin reunite with him again, he's still stunned, but some semblance of normalcy has returned to him as he's back in his suit and standing next to the checkout lines. He averts his eyes when the two take notice of what he's holding closely to chest and only nods in response to Nami asking him if he's already paid for it.
Nami and Robin share a knowing look.
After they entered the store again, Ichiji stopped them for a few moments, dropped a hefty amount of money in their hands and told them to get Sanji something nice with it. The gesture was amusing in and of itself, even more so considering Sanji already had the allowance given to him by Nami, but what really did it for them was that despite wearing sunglasses Ichiji still refused to look at them while doing so, as if that was enough to hide the blush that was so obvious on his face.
Amused, Nami dramatically rolled her eyes at him and pushed the money back into his hands, "Why don't you get him something yourself?" She suggested.
Ichiji grumbled under his breath, but shoved the money back inside one of his pockets and soon he was falling into pace with the rest of his siblings again. Nami could only scoff and shake her head at him.
It's staring at the dreamy look on Sanji's face now, which hasn't left him since he tried on that dress, that Nami's certain Ichiji's seen it too, and he'll do exactly as she told him.