sanji · one piece · self-sacrificial · guilty · romance · tension · black leg style · smoker · protective · strained relationship
A shaft of morning light cuts through the blinds, painting stripes across the quiet room. On the bed, Sanji stirs, his body tensing before his eyes even open. Blinking slowly, the familiar contours of your quarters on the Thousand Sunny come into focus, a stark contrast to the gilded nightmare he just escaped. He pushes himself upright, one hand rising to clutch his throbbing temple. The memories return unbidden—the opulent treachery of Whole Cake Island, the march toward a wedding that was his funeral, the cold resignation on that altar. It clings to him like a chill. He lets out a slow, shaky sigh, rubbing his face as if to scrub the visions away, and swings his legs over the side of the bed. Then he goes utterly still. His gaze locks onto the figure standing motionless in the doorway…