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fandomlifeofsara · 11 months ago

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BONUS

After a quick shower, Zoro heads out on deck and starts making his way towards the sleeping quarters. But a faint light, coming from the kitchen, stops him in his tracks. What is that idiot cook doing at this hour? he thinks to himself. He considers if he should just ignore it, but his curiosity gets the better of him. When Zoro enters the kitchen, he calls out to the cook. “Hey Curly, what the hell are you-“. Before he can finish the sentence, he finds the cook sitting down, his head on the dining table, sound asleep.

The swordsman walks up to him, ready to wake up him and mock him for falling asleep in the kitchen. But when he gets closer, he sees that the cook is bent over a little book, pen still in hand as if he fell asleep mid-sentence. Zoro recognizes the book as the cooks little notebook that he carries around everywhere and always has up while making meals for the crew. It was probably full of different recipes, and he was probably working on one before he dozed off. At least, that’s what Zoro thinks at first, before he sees the header for the page the cook had open. “MOSSHEAD” it says, with big, cursive letters.

Is… is Curly writing about me? He leans closer over the cooks shoulder and reads the rest of the page.

“Preferences: not a picky eater, could eat almost anything (would probably eat trash too). Prefers white rice and sea beast meat*

No allergies. Dislikes sweet food - avoid chocolate.

Meal plans: Workout routines require high protein and carbohydrates, combined with low fat, for the majority of the meals, especially after workout session. Make sure pre-work out drink varies for full nutrition and fiber intake.**

Other notes: Low water intake, get the idiot to replace his sake with a water bottle for better results in training. For celebrations, make healthy snacks that go well with sake. Not too sweet.

*Check page 23 for Sea Beast recipes

**Seems to not like bananas all that much. Try avocados, artichoke or broccoli for high fiber intake. Update page 56 (high fiber recipes).”

The rest of the page is filled with notes and observations that the the cook has made during their time together as a crew. Zoro notices how the cook had tracked the development of his workout and adapted his diet accordingly. The swordsman knows the cook is careful with all the crews meals and diets, but this… this level of observation, of detail in every note. He hadn’t been aware of just how much time the cook actually puts into making sure they are all healthy and happy. Even for Zoro himself.

Zoro thinks back to all the times the cook had prepared banquets where everyone was satisfied, every morning smoothie and breakfast, all the times he threw a water bottle at his head. He had never realized how much he actually… cares.

The thought travels around in his head until he gets slightly dizzy. It was getting late, he needs to get some rest. What about him? Zoro thinks to himself, turning back to look at the cook. His closed eyes lays heavy, his lips slightly parted. He looks… peaceful. Waking the cook wasn’t as tempting anymore. Instead, Zoro quietly makes his way over to the kitchen counter, where the cook has left his jacket. He picks it up, walks back to the sleeping cook, and places the jacket over his shoulder. At least the idiot won’t catch a cold.

—

The next morning, Sanji wakes up from a bad ache in his neck. Ah fuck. He had fallen asleep on the table last night. Well, at least I’m already in the kitchen. As he stands up, clutching his lower neck, he hears a soft thud. He turns around and looks at the ground, where his jacket is laying in a heap on the floor. That’s weird, he thinks to himself. Could’ve sworn I left it on the counter last night. He picks it up and places it on the chair he has just vacated. The sun hasn’t risen yet. Time to get to work.

It’s still early hours, with dawn barely on the horizon when Zoro walks into the kitchen. The cook doesn’t look away from his task at hand, but he can hear by the heavy footsteps that it was the swordsman. He calls out his usual greeting. “Your drink is on the counter, take it and get out of my kitchen”. Sanji waits for a stupid comeback while sorting out Robins morning coffee. But it never comes. Instead, he hears a soft murmur, barely audible across the vast room. “Thanks”. The cook finally stops what he’s doing, standing still in shock for a moment. When he comes to his senses and turns around, the swordsman is already out the door. What the hell was that all about? Something has to be wrong. Right? But before he can think it over, Robin knocks on the open door. “Good morning Sanji,” she says. “Sorry, it’s a bit earlier than usual. Couldn’t sleep all that well”. The cook assures her it’s not a problem at all and that her coffee will be ready in a minute.

When it’s time for breakfast, Zoro seems to be back to his usual self, bickering heavily with the cook, not holding back on his opinions about the “shitty cooks shitty meals”. But it doesn’t go unnoticed to Sanji that the swordsman observed him more than usual, stealing glances when he thought the cook wasn’t looking. And for some reason, it doesn’t bother him as much as it should. For the rest of the day, he can’t stop thinking about that morning. That single word. And all those stolen glances. Maybe the idiot finally learned to appreciate my contribution to this crew. But the smile that spreads on his lips as he thinks the thought isn’t of spite or mockery. It is something else entirely. And it s the very same one that decorates Zoro’s own face the next time he drinks that smoothie.

Mornings on the Sunny

As the night draws to an end and the light of dawn closes in on the Thousand Sunny, the strawhats prepare for yet another day on the open seas.

Sanji is the first one to wake, before the sun rises over the horizon. He makes himself a cup of coffee before getting on with planning the meals of the day, from breakfast to supper and every meal in between. With Luffy on the ship, it’ll be quite many of them. He takes out his little notebook with notes on everyone’s preferences, allergies and needs when it comes to food and diet. He reads through it carefully before planning each dish for each person for the day.

Next to wake is Zoro, who’s also up before the morning light for a workout session before the rest of the crew wakes up. Might be some distractions otherwise. Before heading to the crows nest he walks by the kitchen where the cook is preparing breakfast. “Your shitty pre-workout smoothie is on the table” the cook calls out, his back to the swordsman, concentrated on the delicate tea leaves he’ll use for Nami’s morning tea. “Try not to choke on it”. The swordsman calls back, ”Like I need your stupid drinks to help me”, but he grabs the smoothie anyway and heads out.

When the first rays of sunshine hit the sails of the Sunny, Robin makes her way from the room she shares with Nami over to the kitchen. She didn’t get much sleep this night but it wasn’t unusual. She still felt rested enough to get up and get some studying done before breakfast. In the kitchen, Sanji just finished pouring a cup of coffee. “Good morning, beautiful” he says by way of greeting before handing Robin the cup. “A fresh cup of black of coffee, just the way you like it!” He made it sound simple but she knew the time and care the cook put into making each of his creations. One sip and Robin could taste all the flavor of the freshly ground coffee beans, straight from Jaya Island. Once again she thinks about how lucky she truly is. Robin gives the cook a smile. “You’re too sweet Sanji”, she says and takes the cup with her to the library where she can spend some time with her books.

It’s a while yet before anyone else wakes up. Zoro has finished his workout and is napping in the morning sun up in the crows nest. He did wake up early after, he deserves some rest. Down below, Nami finally appears on deck. She’s still tired, but a walk between the orange trees always helps wake her up in the morning. She makes sure they have enough water and nutrition before heading to the observation deck to check on the weather for the day. It’s always good to be prepared, and she likes giving the weather report over breakfast. On her way, she looks up and sees a pair of feet hanging over the edge of the crows nest. Nami mutters to herself about how she always finds that damn swordsman either sleeping, training or drinking.

Franky may not be the earliest of birds but he rarely stays in bed for long. Once he’s awake, there’s simply too many things to do, too many ideas to realize. Last night he actually fell asleep in his workshop, tinkering with yet another new innovation that would improve the ships defenses. And when he wakes up he goes straight back to work. At least for a few minutes before he realizes that he needs some energy. Franky leaves the workshop and goes to the kitchen, where Sanji is plating up the dinner table for breakfast. The whole room was smelling delicious with different flavors and spices. Franky couldn’t wait too see what the cook had prepared for them this morning. So instead of heading back to the workshop, he grabs a cola from the temporarily unlocked and unchained fridge, and sits down at the table to chat with Sanji while he cries the last of the eggs.

When breakfast is finally ready, Sanji and Franky make rounds on the ship, calling everyone to the kitchen. Jimbei, after having had a long night of steering the Sunny across treacherous waters, had decided to sleep in this morning, but the call of breakfast was enough to wake him from his deep slumber. When he goes out to grab the morning paper, he’s met by Brook, the only other old man in the ship. He’s delighted in the skeletons simple jokes and lightheartedness. Brook himself is overjoyed to have someone onboard who finally appreciates his clever puns. “I can smell the omelettes all the way from here” he says to Jimbei. “Sanji sure is an eggcellent cook!”. They both laugh on their way to the kitchen.

Last ones to wake are the boys; Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are laying on a pile on the floor in their shared room, all of them deep in sleep and snoring loudly. It isn’t until Sanji himself walks into the room, after having called out to them several times, and gives them a gentle smack in the head, that they finally open their eyes to take in the late morning light. These three could sleep for days. The mosshead too, if he didn’t wake up to workout, Sanji thinks to himself. And Luffy, he could sleep through a storm without a care in the world. With much complaining about having to wake so early, the boys finally, slowly, make their way to the kitchen. But as soon as Luffy gets a whiff of the freshly cooked food, he’s once again full of energy. He takes off across the deck, leaving Usopp and Chopper to follow as fast as they can. On his way back, the cook kicks the mast that holds the crows nest, shaking Zoro from his nap. Annoyed, he makes his way down, and is the last one to sit down at the table.

Finally, all the strawhats are gathered over breakfast, loudly chatting to each other, sharing stories, enjoying their personalized food and are having a wonderfully simple morning. Nami shares the weather report and plans on where to sail according to her maps and her log pose compass. Luffy, of course, wants to take the most fun route possible, even though the others know that his definition of “fun” is the equivalent to “dangerous”. Usopp once again tells them all the story of how he single-handedly fought and defeated a giant goldfish with nothing but his slingshot and wits. Franky excitedly shares his new ideas for how to make the Sunny go even faster if he could just adjust the main and foremast. Zoro, with his mouth full, complains about how the shitty food would taste better if he had some sake, to which the cook does not respond well.

After breakfast, everyone sets about with their tasks and doings for the day. While Sanji stays in the kitchen to clean up, Nami and Robin head to the library, where the former will study her maps and the latter will try to decipher yet another ancient text the crew had found on an earlier adventure. Usopp and Franky walk together to where their workshops lie at the stern of the ship, talking excitedly about mechanics and wood properties. Before Jimbei takes his place behind the steering wheel yet again, he takes a quick swim around ship to freshen up and scout the area from under the water. Chopper collects some herbs from the garden he shares with Usopp, and heads down to the sickbay to prepare some medicine and do some research. Robin had recently gifted him a book with rare and peculiar deseases that he had been reading intensely for the last couple of days. Zoro was back on yet another workout session. Can’t lift too little, right? Brook goes back to the boys room to pick up his violin. When he comes back out, he stands on the middle of the deck, between the orange trees, and plays a little tune. It’s a new song today, one he’s been working on for quite a while. It’s calm yet eerie, each note sounding as if the waves had been given a voice to sing with, and they were singing the song of old ancestors, waters that hadn’t been sailed for hundreds of years. The song echoes throughout the whole ship, keeping each of the crew members company while they go on about their day. At the very front of the ship, on top of the lion-shaped figurehead, Luffy has taken up his usual seat. He looks out over the ocean, towards the horizon, as far as his eyes can see. The music fills his ears and his heart, giving him goosebumps all over his arms. His eyes are filled with excitement and his soul with longing. He smiles to himself. Let the next adventure begin.