Chapter Text
"You could fulfill your dream, don’t you get it? You could find the All Blue."
"How? By quitting my job and sailing away? Becoming a criminal? Are you out of your
mind
?! I’m a chef! I have a duty!"
"Er...confession."
"What?"
"While I was between life and death, I dreamt. A lot. In most of those dreams, I was fighting-which is par for the course, really-but I was fighting
with you
. We were pirates, basically. And we were
friends
. Well...something more than friends, actually, If I’m being honest."
"...Uh."
"...Anyway, what if that's who we
really
are? Wasn’t your father figure a pirate too? Besides, you saw me fighting. I want us to fight together. It feels like we were made to do that, don’t you think?"
"That's
insane
, man. I don’t like to fight unless I absolutely have to. And I like
girls
. I like Nami. Not guys, and definitely not
you
."
"Think about it for just one second, okay? What if you think this is your life, but it's not?
Maybe this isn't who you’re supposed to be. And being a pirate hunter is not what
I
am supposed to be, of that I’m sure. I got this
feeling
in my gut. And I know that, deep down, you’ve got to be feeling it, too."
"Feeling
what
?!"
"That you're supposed to be doing something else. You're not just some cooking machine, man."
"Okay. I can clearly see that you're upset. You just lost a member of your crew, almost died and been in a coma for days, so if you're confused I can understand that, but-"
"No Sanji, listen to me. When you've been dealt such a good hand, you play your aces, bet all you have, you don't think about it too much. The quickest way to end a miracle is to ask it why it is or what it wants, you know."
"What does it have to do with-"
"People like us need space and air, Sanji, and you know it: there's not enough here, no matter how much you like cooking or how much you think you owe the old man for saving your life and basically raising you. You've been feeling restless lately, you've been looking for something different, a meaning, a purpose. Well, I've been doing it too.
You and me are the same, it's useless to deny it: we are alike, in each and every single cell."
"No. I'm
nothing
like you, Zoro. I'm Sanji Vinsmoke, okay? Head chef of the Baratie, on Zeff’s good days, and his head waiter on the bad ones. I spent my life learning how to cook, I'm not about to throw it all away to sail on a rickety ship following a stretchy kid in a straw hat who can’t even fucking
swim
!”
“He’s a good kid, though. One of the few good people I met in my life. Another of those is you.”
“...you’ve got to be kidding me. Luffy doesn’t want to steal or attack ships, does he? How would we get by? How would we eat? We don’t even have a damn
map
for the place we’re trying to reach! Come on, be serious."
"Sanji, are you listening to yourself? You can't possibly want me to believe you're this
weak
, especially after I've seen how much you're
not
. Stop trying to ponder it all, you're wasting your life! We are only temporary in this world, we should try to leave the best mark we can in it, and there's no better way to do it than by following our dreams and making something great out of ourselves!"
"I'm not listening to your ramblings any longer."
"Have you ever made a choice? I mean, a
real
, life-altering choice?
Well, this is your chance: grab it and go with it, because there's not many people like you, I mean it. You're different from anyone I've met, and I'm ready to bet it all on the two of us. On Luffy. On our dreams. I don't care about the risks, if-if you're by my side."
"You don't mean that. Zoro, you've known me for...how long? A couple of days? What makes you so sure that-"
"I've seen enough to know that you can't keep eating dust until you forget how to use your teeth. People like us are not made to be stepped on. But it doesn't have to be forever: if someday you grow tired of all this, I'll scoop you up and carry you."
"Oh, yeah, now is the perfect time to go all
alpha male
on me. The knight in shining armour is just what the doctor ordered. Please, Zoro, quit it already. It's late, and I have to wake up early tomorrow morning. I have gazillions of things to do, the restaurant to clean up, the food to prep-"
"We have way more important fish to fry, dammit! We can
own
this world, and maybe we're the only ones who can: we're born for this, to be great! We could be part of a crew, and if you'll let me-"
"...You should go."
"Sanji-please. This isn't you. I
know
you."
"You don't
know
me, pal. Now get the fuck out of my restaurant before I call the marines on you."
“You’ll come around, I know you will. When you do, I’ll be waiting.“