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“I’m so glad this is temporary,” Nami sighed. She and Robin sat on the deck of Sunny, watching as arms, Sanji’s arms, sprouted around them, waving wildly.
“It’s charming how much he’s enjoying himself,” Robin smiled.
Nami sighed again.
On the last island they’d visited, they had run into potentially the strangest and most useless Devil Fruit user they’d yet to meet. The pirate could, for a day, transfer a Devil Fruit users’ power to a non-Devil Fruit user. As the crew stood around, having quickly subdued him after he proudly described his power before attempting to ambush them (not the proper order of things), they debated whether this power was more or less useless than that other guy they met, whathisface, the one who could instantly heat water to the perfect temperature for green tea. For once, Sanji and Zoro were in agreement that whathisface was more useful, Sanji because he liked to make green tea and Zoro because he liked to drink it. This conversation, understandably, made the Devil Fruit user angry, and in a suicidal display of pique, he burst out of his ropes and grabbed Sanji and Robin’s hands in his own.
He was lucky Chopper quickly knocked him out and stuffed him in a barrel to deliver to the marines, because Zoro was prepared to take his life for holding Sanji’s hand. Only he got to do that, god damnit.
Sanji had apologized endlessly to Robin for taking her power, even temporarily, but under her patient tutelage, Sanji quickly got the hang of the Hana Hana no mi and began enjoying himself immensely. As could be expected, Sanji’s first thought was to cook and bake an extremely large number of intricate dishes. He spent an hour in the kitchen, using every burner, oven, appliance, pot, pan, mixing bowl, utensil, counterspace available to make a feast for the crew. Luffy, for the first time in human memory, ate until he could eat no more. Having tired himself out, Sanji slept the rest of the morning, curled up by Zoro, who glared whenever anybody made any noise that could wake the cook up.
When Sanji woke from his nap, he immediately went to Franky’s workshop and offered to help with anything related to Sunny. Franky put him to work repairing the lion figurehead of Sunny after the recent use of Chicken Voyage had snarled up some of the machinery. Sanji had happily sprouted some additional mouths to sing as he worked in his Franky-inspired Hawaiian shirt. When he finished his task and changed back into his suit, Zoro had taken the shirt and thrown it overboard before Sanji could stop him. Now that he was a Devil Fruit user and could not dive in after it, he could only glare at Zoro as his Hawaiian shirt floated away in the ocean waves.
Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy had claimed him next, Usopp having come up with a game dubiously called Whack-a-Sanji. Sanji sat perched on a railing, laughing as the three stooges ran around the ship trying to hit his feet sprouting out of the Sunny’s deck with rubber mallets. When Luffy cheated and stretched, successfully whacking Sanji’s leg and causing the cook to wince in pain, Zoro had wrestled Luffy to the ground, strapped him to Sunny’s hull, and left him dangling behind the ship screaming for help as the ocean mist sprayed him.
Sanji spent the rest of the afternoon helping with Robin’s garden, tending to Nami’s mikan trees, churning ice cream for Chopper, stirring various pots in Usopp’s workshop that bubbled ominously, singing multiple harmonies at once with Brook to help him write his next song, scrubbing empty cola tanks for Franky, and cooking up a storm for whenever Zoro would let Luffy out of his exile.
“Are you jealous?” Nami asked Zoro who was fidgeting watching Sanji tire himself out. Robin leaned against the railing on Zoro’s other side, chuckling quietly at Sanji’s antics.
“Of what, witch?”
“Sanji hasn’t done anything special for you all day.”
“He’s got enough on his plate,” Zoro shrugged. Robin had taught Sanji how to use Wing and he was currently flying Chopper delightedly around Sunny’s mast. He then dropped the little reindeer and bounced him into a Spider Net of his arms, before mercilessly tickling him until he collapsed laughing and wheezing.
“Are you going to do all this when your power comes back to you?” Zoro asked.
“No,” Robin said simply.
“Fair enough,” he nodded.
“I didn’t want to spoil his fun, but he’ll probably be unable to move for a few days after all he’s done today. I’m surprised he’s still going, frankly. He looks happy though,” Robin smiled.
Zoro’s face softened watching the cook giggling as he rolled Chopper up and down the deck with Delphinium.
“This is so Sanji though,” Nami sighed, “So endearingly excessive.”
“Namiiiiiiiii, Robinnnnnnn, can I get you anything?” a Sanji mouth asked, sprouting next to them and causing Nami and Zoro to jump. An eye sprouted nearby and Zoro idly poked it. It disappeared and the Sanji mouth hissed in pain.
“What the fuck, marimo.”
“It’s creepy, stop doing that.”
“What?” the mouth asked, as an ear sprouted next to it, “I forgot I couldn’t hear you.”
Zoro tugged at the Sanji earlobe and yelled into the ear, “You’re fucking creepy, cook.”
The mouth hissed in pain again and Sanji’s hand appeared, giving Zoro the middle finger.
“Actually though Sanji, this is really weird,” Nami said, turning a little green.
“Sorry, Nami~” and he was gone.
By the time dinner rolled around, Sanji was looking a little worse for wear. He had reduced the number of limbs, but the ones puttering around were shaking slightly from muscle fatigue. He finally collapsed after plating their huge dinner and Zoro caught him gently.
“Doctor!” Chopper screamed. Zoro ignored him and carried Sanji to the infirmary, laying him down on the bed. After remembering he was the doctor and conducting a quick check-up, Chopper pronounced that Sanji was severely fatigued and dehydrated, but otherwise fine.
“I’ll take care of him,” Zoro said quietly, “Go back to eat, Chopper.”
“You’re an idiot,” Zoro whispered to Sanji’s sleeping form after Chopper left. He slowly crawled into the bed with Sanji, cradling him against his chest.
“I was looking forward to figuring out everything we could do tonight with your new powers,” Zoro muttered into Sanji’s shoulder. Sanji continued to snore quietly and Zoro sighed, deciding to get some shut-eye himself. It had been exhausting watching the cook all day.
When Chopper came to check on Sanji later, they had somehow reversed positions, Zoro becoming little spoon as multiple sets of Sanji’s arms held Zoro tightly while they slept.
“That’s pretty cute,” Nami said, as the rest of the crew peered into the infirmary to see their cook and first mate snuggling.
When morning came, only one set of Sanji’s arms held Zoro close. Robin’s hands gently pulled the sheets over the two of them, tucking them in, and patting Sanji on the head before disappearing in a flurry of petals.