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A heart is a heavy burden.
Those were the words that echoed in your head as you walked down the pier of the town. It was your last stop, your final stop as a pirate. It was a long time coming - after years and years out on the scene and drifting from village to village, you had finally decided to reign it in and settle down in the quaint little village in the south.
The town was cozy - cobblestone roads, people walking to and fro from their houses to the town center, to the markets that were laid down by the pier. It’s a nice place to settle, your dear friend had murmured to you, clasping your hands tightly. He had promised you a place to stay, recalling a friend who had enough space for you to share in the spare room of his house.
“He’s a chef!” Luffy had said, overjoyed at the overlapping of his friend groups. He was bouncing around his own home, joy bursting from every seam of his. Luffy had insisted on helping you find a place to settle, claiming he knew the absolute best places for you to carve a home in, his years of pirating experience making him beyond knowledgeable in the area.
He had pointed excitedly at a southern port town, “They have the best pastries, the bakery near the hat shop is so good and Sanji always gets the good fish from the market, so you’ll always have good food!”
And so, that was the place you had decided to call home.
The wind was gentle, caressing softly into your hair, with the smell of salt and sea carrying you further into town. The clamoring of the townspeople was something that brought a smile to your face, the close interactions between people and loud chattering was reminiscent of your crew and pirate ship. Nevertheless, you continued meandering throughout the town until you found yourself in front of a cerulean blue door, the paint slightly peeling and the doorknob a bright bronze. Above the door written a flourishing kind of lettering was, The Great - Vinsmoke, with the word in between being smeared, undistinguishable for you to read.
Cautiously, you pulled on the door knocker, the knocks making a loud thunk thunk noise down the street and after a minute or two of standing awkwardly on the doorstep, a blonde man had opened the door.
At the sight of him, you felt your breath catch as you took him in. His hair was longer than you expected, with the strands trailing a bit past his nape and in a flurry of layers and his eyes matched the vibrant blue of his door. Even more than that, he was bejeweled, looking akin to a prince, with a matching set of necklace and earrings adorning him, the bright emerald pendant winking at you in the sunlight.
“Hello, can I help you, beautiful? Are you here for an elixir?" He asked, tilting his beautiful head in question, the earrings tilting in tandem with his movements.
You remember to close your mouth and drag one of your cased luggages near you. Waving a hand in front of your face, you rush out the words, “No! No, I’m the person who’s going to take up your spare room? Wait - did you just say an elixir? Can you do magic?”
The pretty man’s face blanched and he wags a hang in front of your face in a hurry before proceeding to slam the heavy wooden door in your face. Staring blankly at the door, you stand there wondering if you decided to board with a lunatic because did he just slam a door in your face?
There is clattering and certain crashes heard from beyond the door and you hear a strained yell before the door crashes back open and the blonde man reappears, much more frazzled than when you had seen him about two minutes ago. He leans against the doorframe, trying to appear the picture of nonchalance, and he leans forward, “Yes, of course, I was just… getting the room settled for you.” He clears his throat before reaching for the bags that are scattered around your person.
A bag in each arm, he props the door open for you to enter through before he bolts the door shut. Inside, the house is a quaint thing - pretty tile walls covering a large amount of the space and a roaring fire paired next to an exquisite kitchen took over the main center of the room. You stood there taking it all in - this was your new home. Home, until further notice. There’s a slight clip-clopping noise coming down from the stairs and you are staring down at a reindeer with a bright pink hat laid across the crown of its head. You turn to Sanji in confusion and he smiles bemused, “This is my friend, Chopper. He lives in the first spare room I had, he’s practicing medicine but he stays with me while he studies. Chopper, this is our new roommate.”
Sanji says your name with a practiced flourish that makes the corners of your lips quirk up. No doubt, Luffy sent forward a letter detailing all the things to know about you and you had a funny feeling this man had committed them to memory. Chopper gives you a cheerful hello, before turning to Sanji and waving his short arms around, “You promised me you’d help me make the medication! You said you knew an herb!”
“Oh?” You turn to Sanji, “Are you also a doctor? I thought you were just a cook?”
There is a brief moment of panic on his face before he waves his hands out in front of him, “No, no, just a cook. I just happened to encounter a herb that seemed like a good healing aid to put in soups so I thought it’d help.”
You glance over to Chopper and there is a look of confusion on his face before Sanji plows on, “Anyways! Let me show you to your room and then I’ll help Chopper out.” You feel his hand rest on your lower back as he guides you through the house, passing by vintage furniture as you make your way to the room. Sanji gestures to where the bathrooms are (though he assures you there is one connected to your room), the hallway closet, and where his room is. “You won’t ever have to worry about the kitchen - I’ll cook you anything you want.” He says warmly, the bright smile of his so lovely, you cannot differentiate if he’s being kind or flirtatious.
He leaves you at the door to your room, all your bags brought along with you and politely deposited at the opening. Tentatively, you peer into your new room and let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into when you had agreed to this - had no idea what your room was going to look like but you were pleasantly surprised. There was a bed planted straight in the center of the room, flowery sheets taking up the expanse of the mattress. A desk with a window that shot straight to the street outside was on the right side over, blue curtains hung to the side for when you no longer wanted to view the street or for it to view you.
Among other things hung on the wall, no doubt to make you feel at home, was a large poster of the world map. On a shelf, set next to the map, was a small set of pins with the very indication for you to mark all the places you’ve visited over the years at sea. Smiling to yourself at the sweet gesture, you take your time to push the pins into the map, making it your first declaration of ownership of the room. After that, unpacking became easy.
The first two weeks rolled by like that - with slow unpacking and quiet smiles being released into the unknown of your new home. Sanji came to be someone who was kind and a subtle flirt but something about him left an air of mystery you just couldn’t put your finger on. Chopper, on the other hand, was left an open book who let you tag along into any inquiry you may have - medical or otherwise. He was the one who insisted you take your first trip to the port to explore the seaside from a non-boat side, and now he was the one who also insisted you go explore the town center market later this afternoon.
Sanji was enthused to hear this, encouraging you to try out the market as well and when you had come out your room adorned up in a sundress, he had insisted on giving you a twirl, your hand cupped in his, as your skirt flared around you. “You’ll be the prettiest at the market, ma belle.”
He sent you on your merry way with a small list of groceries that were needed for the kitchen - you had seen the list as you were leaving and insisted on buying them since you were already on your way, despite Sanji’s protests to leave it and for you to just enjoy your time.
The market was lovely, no doubt. There were canopies strung down from one end of a street to another, seemingly never ending. Young children were rushing past your legs, giggles were a rush of secret language between them and the calls of each stall owner trying to beckon new customers to their station swept up the environment.
You were inspecting the jewelry placed behind a case, the glittering silver rings had gems encased in the center and had caught your interest. The stall owner smiled warmly and leaned over the case to gesture at the jewelry. “Lovely aren’t they? They’re meant to be a pair, they are.”
At your inquisitive look, she nodded and continued on, “Aye, each ring set is meant to be a pair. You buy one and wear the other one until you find your true love to wear the other, romantic, no?”
You nodded in agreement, still marveling at the pretty jewels sitting just beyond your reach. Nevertheless, you made your way past the stall, keeping the rings stored in the back of your mind as you continued through the endless amount of stall clamoring around. You were bartering with the man over the price of carrots when you heard his husband next to him gossiping with a fellow customer, “... The wizard isn’t as rampant as he used to be for the past few weeks, huh?”
Your head whipped over to their conversation, the carrots you were so passionately fighting for, forgotten. “Wizard?”
The two in the conversation gave you a wary eye, sizing you up for whether you were suited to be included in the discussion. The woman nudged the man with her bag full of groceries and he let out a grunt of protestation, “She deserves to know, Marcus!”
Marcus rubbed his arm fervently and glared at the woman over the counter before sheepishly giving you a smile. “Yes, the wizard. He’s been here in this town for so long, we heard he’s on the prowl to find his true love.” Marcus scratched at the back of his neck, fidgeting, “He’s been here as long as I can remember, he can concoct the scariest of elixirs and potions, why just last month he- oi!”
The farmer was cut off from his conversation as he spotted a young boy sneaking off with a small iced cake and broke off from the stall to chase after him while you and the woman laughed at their diminishing forms being ran down the streets.
Later, when you’re back in the cozy space of your shared home and you’re sprawled across the couch on your stomach, scribbling into your journal, you decide to ask Sanji about it. He was across the room from you, humming to himself to the tune of the record player that filled any silence that could’ve been present. He stood firm on making every meal for you, it’s the least I can do for you, it’s my duty as a chef and a man, he had said. You snorted in response at that, declaring you always prepared your own meals when you were sailing but who were you to complain about fresh, good meals from a chef?
He was preparing dinner, a panda apron strapped to his figure and his blond hair tied back into a low bun with some stray strands framing his face. He was irritatingly pretty. “Sanji?”
“Ma belle?”
You felt your stomach swoop at the pet name, you were sure it meant nothing, not with the way he seemed to say such casually flirty things on the fly but it affected you nonetheless. You hadn’t had much time for any romantic relationships beyond the few one night stands in villages you stayed at through your journeys so his casual affection always left your heart racing more than you were accustomed to.
“Have you heard of the wizard?” you question, head tilted and continuing to write in your weathered journal.
There is a silence, a bit more than is expected from a thoughtful response, almost like he was buffering and searching for the correct answer. “Sanji?”
“Ah! Yes, no, I have not heard of a wizard. In this town? That’s quite peculiar, no?”
Something about his response felt wrong, off put almost. It felt like he was leaving something out, you thought. You nodded at his response despite it, “Odd, it’s just something I heard of today when I was in the market. They were saying he’s been here for years… something about hunting for his true love?”
Sanji makes a noncommittal noise from the back of his throat, “Haven’t heard of it.” There’s a few more minutes of silence between the two of you where all that can be heard is the quiet tune of the record player and the (now) louder clattering of pats and pans until Sanji calls your name out softly to the dinner table. “I made you your favorite.”
✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚
The days passed on like that, the three of you finding a routine that leads you working in tandem alongside each other. Chopper was constantly experimenting on you on what best ways to bandage an arm or just tagging along to any adventure you decided to take through the town - he made sure you always had a chipper companion (him) by your side. Sanji, on the other hand, was worming his way into not only your life, but your heart.
It was from the small ways like when he made breakfast for you and knew how you liked your eggs, to putting on your favorite record on the record player when you were around, or simply helping you around the house even when you didn’t need it - he wanted to be there for you in any and every way possible. Even then, you could argue that he’s just being a friendly housemate, that he’s just someone who’s unreasonably kind. It’s when he takes the time out of his day to spend the hours by your side on the couch and he sits so near you or when he listens to you rant about when you had visited your favorite island during your pirating days and he’s listening with his chin cradled in his palm, adoration in his eyes, and he leans forward to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and says, “Keep going, I’m listening.”
It’s when he calls you ma belle and you can feel all the butterflies fluttering in your stomach, when he passed by you in the kitchen with a hand around your waist, when he looked at you straight in your eyes as he tied his hair up while the hem of his shirt lifted to show the peek of the flat planes of his stomach and the trail of hair going downwards. He was driving you insane. You could not have feelings for your housemate, but it was rather hard to prevent it given the way he was acting.
You had decided on another venturing into town, hinting at perhaps another trip into the seaside market you had visited a few weeks ago, when Sanji piped in and asked to join you. You were surprised to say the least - it was rare that he ever joined you when you were leaving the house, he always preferred staying in during those times, muttering something about having to do work and shutting the door to his room.
The two of you had decided to go out into town the night prior, with Sanji excitedly telling you about all his favorite stalls he’ll take you to. So, that morning, the smell of eggs and bacon wafted through the house when you made your way out of your room. You were dressed in a pretty sundress to match the heat outside and when you cleared your throat to let Sanji know you were behind him, he turned around and stilled. He took in the sight of you, all pretty and dolled up and you could see his throat bob as his eyes went up and down your form. You giggled and pointed at the stove, “Your bacon is burning.”
“Hm? Yes…” Sanji said dreamily before the words actually sunk in, “Oh, my bacon!”
He hurriedly turned back to his pan, waving his hands around to blow the smoke out. You could just faintly make out where the tips of his ears were turning a shade of red under the emerald earrings he adorned. “You look beautiful today.” He said, clearing his throat and running a hand through his blonde hair.
You quirked an eyebrow at his turned form, smiling at the opening for you to tease him, “Oh? Do I not look beautiful everyday, Sanji?”
The pan clattered into the sink as he set the plates on the counter for the two of you and you could see the flush crawling from his ears to the apples of his cheeks, “That’s- you know exactly how I think of you-”
“Ah, do I now, Sanji? You could’ve had me fooled, darlin’.”
There is a brief moment where Sanji is placing your cup of tea next to your plate and he is stammering for words at your flirtation and you think to yourself, two can play this game, before digging into your breakfast with a grin plastered on your face.
With a still slightly flustered Sanji, the two of you head off into the bustling village market. The cobblestones elicited a slight tapping sound under your feet and you looked around while you walked, trying to find something to talk about. Sanji seemed content with the silence, the smoke off his cigarette blowing behind your two walking forms.
Gently, his hand nudges against yours as the two of you keep walking, the sounds of the busy stalls coming closer. You feel your heart rise in anticipation and you glance over to him but he keeps looking straight ahead, trying to appear unaffected, but you can see the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. You brush your hand against his, reciprocating the subtle action of his with your knuckles grazing against the back of his hand. His fingers brush the inside of your palm and this anticipation will surely kill you-
“Fish! Fresh salmon right here!”
Your head swivels over to the lady whose stall marks the beginning of the seaside agora and just like that, the moment was broken. You and Sanji shuffle slightly away from each other, but not far enough for one to presume you’re not together.
“Shall we?” Sanji’s eyes look over to yours, the romantically tense moment still held a light of hope in his eyes as he waited for your response.
You grin at him and tug him forward into the chaos, giggling at his yelp of surprise.
✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚
The market, for the most part, was an uneventful adventure. Sanji had pointed out which neighbors carried the best fish and when to tell when someone was scamming you out of your coins despite it being called a deal. You, on the other hand, had dragged him along to show him the promise rings you had seen last time and to convince him to buy a whole chocolate cake for the house (“You know I can’t say no when you ask me so nicely, ma belle.”).
It had gone uneventful - except when you were waiting for Sanji to finish haggling with the old man over the potatoes and someone else had come up to you in the meantime. He was tall and irrevocably handsome, which seemed to be a requirement to live in this town, frankly. His face was littered with freckles, black hair framing his tan face, and he smiled at you so sweetly. He had introduced himself as Ace and had grabbed your hand in his, while sweetly asking what your name was and whether you lived near here.
It was at that moment, Sanji had finished with the vendor and grasped your hand away from Ace’s. The glare on his face was lethal as he eyed the black haired man up and down and laced his hand with yours. Despite the glare on his face, he held your hand with gentleness and his thumb rubbing slow circles onto your hand. “Sorry, she’s busy. We’re grocery shopping. For our house.” Sanji gritted the words out, making sure to put the emphasis on his words and you stood there wondering if you were meant to correct him or just accept your fate as the two men faced each other off.
Ace, to his credit, had backed off with his hands raised a slow smirk on his face. “Whatever you say man, just don’t go blowin’ up my face.” With that, he walked away.
You turned to Sanji, a multitude of questions running through your mind. “What does that mean?”
Sanji’s jaw clenched and he looked away, still holding onto your hand, as he slowly started on the walk back home. “Nothing. Just a little inside joke we have.”
You raised an eyebrow at him, making sure he saw that you were thoroughly unconvinced by his lie but decided not to push it. “Right. Inside joke, sure.”
Nonetheless, you held his hand for the entire trip back and had only let it go (begrudgingly) when the two of you had arrived home and he had to unload the groceries from the wicker basket.
That moment still played in your head weeks later as you watched people shuffle in and out of the house during that course of time. Something wasn’t adding up. While your heart was racing and beyond itself with joy at the actions of Sanji, there was something he simply wasn’t telling you.
People would come in and out of your house at random times of the day and request to meet with Sanji in private. At first you thought he had some odd side job, something he wanted to keep private but then you started noticing that nearly every single person that ended up leaving Sanji’s office always left with a weird bottle or pouch.
It wasn’t like you hadn’t tried asking Sanji himself, but every time you questioned what was going on, he would start stammering and avoiding eye contact or present you with a lie so blatant there was simply no way for you to believe it. It had gotten to the point where you had even cornered Chopper to get some answers out of him but even he refused to give you the slightest hint about what was going on.
It didn’t help that you and Sanji kept having… moments. It would be something small - he would come sit by you and somehow the two of you would end up so close next to each other, thighs pressed against each other and shoulder to shoulder like it was a natural pull. Or another time, when he was reading a passage of his favorite novel to you and he reached out to tuck the quilt closer around you and somehow he ended up cupping your face instead. You’re sure it wasn’t a mistake on his part, but the feel of his soft touch against your skin was going to drive you insane if neither of you did anything about it. The thing was, you weren’t sure you wanted to do anything about it - not until you figured out whatever this mystery was.
But still, your lips ached to kiss him. To feel his arms around you and to know what the press of his body against yours felt like. It all came to a rearing point when he came home one evening way past midnight. He claimed it was for work and he was meeting a client and at first you had assumed it was for something regarding his cooking. But then, the time had passed from morning to afternoon and from afternoon to a late, late evening. Worry gnawed at the inside of your heart as you waited for him patiently on the couch, twiddling with the worn quilt laid next to you.
There was the creaking of the door opening and you swiveled around to see Sanji’s slumped form hobbling into the house. He looked battered and exhausted with his hair ruffled and his clothes tousled about.
“Where were you?”
Truthfully, you knew you had no right to ask. No right to be angry. Objectively, he was your roommate and nothing more. The romantic moments that were held between the two of you, the soft touch of his, him calling you his beauty…it didn’t give you a right to be angry at him. Not technically. He didn’t owe you anything. But still, your heart tugged in worry and care for him - it pleaded for his safety and for him to come back home to you to tease you once more and read to you again.
Sanji’s eyes widened when he saw your angry form, cross-armed next to the couch and the air of worry and outrage surrounding you. “I- My dinner went on too late and…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair and looking down, trying to find a good enough lie to fill in the blank.
You walked closer to him and he looked up at you as you tugged him firmly by the lapels on his coat. “Sanji, darling, I know you’re lying to me. Tell me what it is you’re hiding from me. Tell me - what are you so ashamed of? Is it some kind secret business? Is it someone else? If so I can put some space between the two of us and-”
“No!”
You jolted back at his tone and looked at him, pleading. Sanji looked at you apologetically and grasped your hands that were still holding onto him. “No,” he said softly. “It’s not someone else, it’s…”
He brought your hands away from his coat and held them in the gap of your two bodies. His hands were still gentle, oh so gentle, as they rubbed small comforting circles into your skin. His slender fingers reached around to pull a ring off his index finger and slowly slide it onto yours. It was silver with a red jewel indented right into the center - an exact replica of the rings you had been enamored by in your earlier weeks in the village. On his opposing hand, Sanji was wearing an identical ring to the one he just slipped onto your finger but with a blue jewel glittering in the center.
In the back of your mind, the old vendor’s words echoed; Aye, each ring set is meant to be a pair. You buy one and wear the other one until you find your true love to wear the other.
You looked at the man in front of you in confusion, “Sanji, what-”
His grip on your hands got tighter, his eyes pleading. “It’s me. I’m the wizard. That’s what I’ve been trying to hide this whole time. I’ve been cursed to stay in this village until I find my true love, and I thought that day would never come and then - then, you came in that day and I just knew. I felt it hit me with a pang and I knew I couldn’t tell you without scaring you off and so I tried to hide it the best I could. I wanted you to love me because you wanted to and not because it was written in our fate.” He pressed a kiss to your knuckles, whether in apology or affection, you couldn’t tell. “Forgive me, my love.”
You felt your mind rush as you took in the words, every single word in your head buffering as you tried to process all that he just told you. “But all those people, what-?
He nodded assuredly, kindly guiding you through your confusion. “I’ve grown up a wizard so I help the townspeople with any ailments or spells they need. I make them elixirs and potions for when they need it and in exchange they keep my secret. That’s what you heard in the market and that ‘joke’ that Ace was making then. It was all me.”
You felt the words wrapping around your mind, fitting the pieces of the long-waiting puzzle finally. Sanji’s kind gaze looked in your imploringly, waiting, yearning. “And you - you love me, Sanji?”
The ring felt like it was burning up with the heat of your emotions rising ever so slowly. Sanji pressed another kiss to your hand, this time directly onto the ring. “I love you like breathing, I love you like I was born to do so. The moment I saw you that day on my doorstep, I knew I would love you like nothing else in my life and I can only hope that you feel even the slightest bit similarly, ma belle.”
There was a ringing silence for a few moments, the only sounds coming from the crackling fireplace. And then, like you were running out of time, your hands left Sanji’s and went up to cup his face and crash his face into yours, kissing him with every single fiber of your being.
His hands wandered first from your elbows then to your shoulders and then they dragged down your back wrap around your waist. He was walking you backwards towards your room as he kissed you fervently, like he couldn’t get enough of you, like he needed to devour you this instant. The door clattered shut behind you and he pushed you against the door and hurriedly tugged his coat off. You yanked him back before he could bother with his shirt and you ran a hand through his hair, continuing to kiss him.
His tongue swiped against yours, his hot breath against yours, panting. He tilted your head slightly to the side before he started pressing hot kisses against your neck, sucking and biting before gently licking the area. “I have wanted you, for so hah, long. I can’t believe I have you.”
You winded a leg around his waist, reeling him in closer as your nose nudged against the column of his neck. The emerald that hung from his earring shone in the dark and you grinned before gently sucking on his earlobe. Sanji let out a keening sound and nudged closer into you and you could feel every part of him. “You? Sanji, I have wanted you since the moment I saw you. I thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. I love you and from now on, I refuse to let anyone else have you.”
Sanji let out a whine at your words and he looked at you with utter adoration in his eyes. “Say it again.”
You smiled against his skin before pressing another kiss to his neck. “Say what, darling?”
His grip on your hip tightened. “Say you love me.”
You grinned, nose brushing against his. “I love you, Sanji.”
You could see the moment his pupils dilated completely and he kissed you so deeply, breathing felt like a secondary option compared to his kisses. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He repeated it with every kiss, every caress on your body.
“I will love you now and forevermore, I swear it.”
With that he took you to bed and wrapped you into his arms, murmuring sweet affections under his breath while you kissed every part of his face you could touch. A heart is a heavy burden, you thought. But with Sanji, the love your heart contained felt the lightest it’d ever been.