Sanji didn't know the girl very well. She was always taking her dinner and eating it away from the crew. Always keeping herself to herself, she was an enigma. And it made him upset. Of course, he was upset because she was a beautiful lady and he would love nothing more than to know her well...
But something else gnawed away at him. Her eyes were always tired, shoulders always slumped, arms always covered. Why would the last be suspicious? She always had her arms covered, ALWAYS. Even in summer where Nami and Robin would try hard to get her to wear something more relieving of heat.
But no. She always pushed away.
Tonight was like any other, Sanji prepared the food, left a plate on the counter for ______, then sat with the crew. All of them greeted the shy girl as she slipped in to get her meal.
She simply smiled in response, it was a fleeting quirk of the upper lip, and was gone again within a few seconds. Sanji sighed as she left the room, and turned back to his food. Prodding and poking it.
"Sanji," he heard the sweet voice of his dear Nami call beside him. But for some reason... he didn't want to smile and sing, and declare his love for her. So instead, he hummed his reply, and continued to stare down at his plate.
Clearly, this didn't go unnoticed by the rest of them, as the clank of forks dropping and hitting plates echoed in the room.
"Sanji !" The blond man heard the almost feminine voice of Chopper call out. "Are you ok?!" Chopper yelled, bounding over to Sanji, and tugging at his trouser leg. The chef turned to look at the smaller male, and nodded. "What? Yeah..." Before turning back to the table.
"You sure, dude? You don't seem very.... well, you." He even heard the booze-loving-swordsman question. "Yes, I'm fine." He growled, venom lacing his words. Everyone fell silent, and Sanji looked up, with a somewhat guilty expression.
"Sorry," he began, pushing out his chair and getting up. "I just need some air....Luffy, you can have mine." He mumbled, striding away from the tension-filled room.
As he reached the deck, he saw the silhouette of a person, standing on the sunny's lion head. Immediately recognizing the figure as ______ he made his way silently over, silent cries getting louder as he sped up.
"______?" He called suddenly, the girl jumping and almost losing her footing. She whipped to face him, tears streaming down her face, bottom lip shaking.
"G-go away Sanji !" She hissed, as she turned back to face the rolling waves, moving closer to the edge of the head. Suddenly, it all clicked in Sanji's mind. And he felt a painful constriction in his chest as realised how blind he had been.
"______, whatever is wrong, you can tell me. It's ok, love. Come down from there." Her (h/l)(h/c) swayed as she shook her head.
"No!" She cried out. "You... you won't understand!" She moved closer, toes now touching the very brink of the ledge she longed to drop from.
Sanji looked past the girl, and noticed the craggy cliffs close by. Very close by. If she were to jump now, she would most certainly be ripped to shreds. Panicked, he edged closer to the sobbing girl, now standing at the ladder leading up, and onto the sun-like lion head.
"I can try. But to try, you need to tell me. Will you come down and tell me?"
He asked, hope dripping from his words. She said nothing, did nothing. Simply sobbed. A few minutes passed in silence, before she took another step closer. Toes now hanging off the edge.
"As a child," she began. "I was happy, and funny. I had great parents and I loved them dearly..." She aloud a single laugh to lace bitterly with her words. "But, I was tossed into the sea when a storm ravaged the boat we used when moving island to island.... I survived by chance on a small island... more like a rock. I don't know how I did.... but when I lost my family... I just wanted to die...."
Sanji's eyes widened as he noticed how similar their pasts were. They both lead happy childhoods, both were struck by a storm that tossed them onto a desolate island, both only just survived.
"______. I know how you feel. Believe it or not, a similar event happened to me to." He stated, before hearing a creak behind him. He turned to see his fellow crewmembers and his captain, stood with bated breath as they watched. He shot them ALL a small glare, before turning back to the girl who, despite only knowing vaguely, wanted to help so desperately.
And to his relief, she turned and looked at him with sad eyes. "It....did?" He nodded. "Yes, I'll tell you more about it... if you come down." He spoke softly, yet sternly. He reached out a large hand, a gentle smile on his face. Her gaze alternated between him, his hand, and the slightly violent waves before her.
The entire crew sighed as she stepped down off of the sunny head, and immediately ran right into Sanji's embrace, which he sheepishly returned. His ears picked up on the sound of the crew evacuating deck, and he pulled away from the girl to look her in the eyes.
"It's ok now, ______. I'm here for you, you can always talk to me. Ok?" She nodded. "But... would you really commit to just one girl?" He smiled and laughed warmly. "Of course. ______, you mean a lot to me. As my crew and as a beautiful woman. I may flirt with Nami and Robin, but I'll always be here for you when it matters."
She smiled, her head nuzzling into his firm chest. Her tired eyes began to slowly slide shut, the sleep she thought she would never receive again, finally dawning on her. And she fell into this comfortable slumber with Sanji's last words echoing in her mind...
'I'll always be here for you when it matters.'
-AN-
Please, if you feel in anyway like the description in this story, don't be afraid to message me! I'm not trying to romanticize depression or suicide at all, it's a very serious matter. So please, message me if you want to talk.