Chapter Text
»Here, now the flour goes in... very gently...«
His fingers barely grazed the edge of the bowl, yet he didn't pull them back entirely, just in case his assistance was still needed. But no, except for a tiny bit, the flour nearly entirely ended up in the mixing bowl with the other ingredients they had already prepared.
»Very well done.« To emphasize his words, he gently ran a hand over the head of the little boy. The small furrow on his forehead, which always appeared in the same place when he concentrated, vanished instantly at the touch. Sanji had to suppress a laugh as Minato placed the now-empty bowl next to him on the kitchen counter in the same slow-motion-like movement and then bestowed upon him a wide grin filled with little milk teeth.
»Do you want to stir alone? Or should Daddy help?«, Sanji continued, to which almost instantly followed »Alone!«. His son had a strong urge for independence, which was not surprising for him. Children at that age were still learning a lot, and Minato had also inherited his mother's ambition on top of that. Or rather her stubbornness, even though he would never say that out loud. After all, they lived on a ship where there was always the risk of being heard by someone, and he was definitely not foolhardy enough to pick a fight with Nami. He loved her more than anything, but she could be really intimidating when she was angry.
He chose an appropriate whisk and held it out to Minato, who accepted it with a practiced grip, clutching it with both hands to then draw it through the dough in circular motions. It wasn't the first time Sanji had let his son help in the kitchen. But compared to his first attempts, his movements were no longer as shaky and more deliberate, and the chaos in the kitchen was now also kept to a minimum after their joint cooking attempts. Not that Sanji minded if his workspace was a bit messier than usual. He had suppressed many memories from his childhood, but he still remembered the first times he stood in a kitchen. Chaos was part of learning. And he was glad that his son - unlike himself back then - had someone by his side who supported him in his passion. Not to mention that it also kept him very successfully away from the card room while Nami was working there. She hadn't been thrilled when Minato had discovered one of her inkwells and spilled it on one of her latest maps.
»Okay, that's enough. Now we just need to pick a few oranges. What do you think, should we bring one to Mommy, too?« Minato nodded excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the mention of his mother. Promptly, he extended his short arms to Sanji, and without needing to hear the request, Sanji casually lifted him off the work surface and set him on the floor. Almost automatically, Minato's small hand wrapped around his ring finger, and although his son often reached for his hand, the touch still elicited a pleasant warmth in his stomach every single time.
Sanji had to bend his knees a bit to hold his son's hand while walking. Zoro would surely mock him for the sight, but surprisingly, he didn't care. Preserving his pride in front of the mosshead used to be one of his top priorities, but that had changed with the little boy in his life. And besides, it helped that Minato had taken on the nickname that Sanji had given to the swordsman. For a child his age, Marimo was just easier to pronounce than Zoro, but he still found it incredibly funny.
Most of the oranges hung a bit too high and too firmly on the trees for Minato to reach and pick them by himself. Therefore, he contented himself with accepting the oranges from his father and carefully placing them in the basket that stood between them on the ground. When Sanji paused, he met his son's questioning gaze.
»Here«, he had removed the peel of an orange and handed him the remaining flesh. »Do you want to take these to Mommy? I'll take the basket back to the kitchen.«
Minato nodded approvingly and toddled away, holding the peeled orange tightly with both hands to avoid losing anything along the way. Sanji watched him until his blonde curly head disappeared on the stairs before turning back to the tree and picking a few more oranges. They wouldn't need so many for the cake he wanted to bake with Minato, but he wanted to make Nami happy by preparing orange jam for breakfast tomorrow.
He was in the process of lifting the full basket when he heard a noise that made his blood freeze. A heart-wrenching sob coming from one of the rooms. Had Minato hurt himself? Maybe he had fallen on the way to Nami...
Alerted, Sanji put the basket down and hurried down to the deck with quick steps, but there was no sign of his son. Contrary to his expectations, the sound did not come from the direction of the chart room, where he had sent the boy, but from the kitchen. With furrowed eyebrows, he opened the door and looked around.
»Minato, are you— ... huh?« He stopped in confusion, staring at the sniffling Den Den Mushi, almost drowning in its own tears. Relief flooded him for a tiny moment until the thought occurred to him that he had no idea how to make the damn snail shut up. He had never seen them react so distraught before.
»Hey, Sanji, what's going on... Oi! What's wrong with the Den Den Mushi?! Are you sick?!« Luffy had entered the room along with the rest of the crew, apparently following the noise, and directed his last sentence directly at the Den Den Mushi.
»That's a Den Den Mushi, Luffy, it won't answer you«, Usopp replied.
Luffy frowned. »But why is it crying so terribly? Is it not feeling well?«
»The crying doesn't come directly from the snail«, Robin, who was studying the crying creature with a furrowed brow, interjected. »It's an emergency signal.«
»What's going on here?« Nami had also entered the kitchen, holding her son in her arms, who was just finishing the last slice of orange. »Why is the Den Den Mushi crying?«
»An emergency signal«, Franky repeated Robin's words.
»An emergency signal?«
»Exactly.«
»And from whom?«
»That's what we'd like to know« Usopp shrugged.
Luffy was already reaching out.»Well, we just have to answer it, right? Whoever is on the other end will tell us why they called.«
»Wait, Luffy!«
The captain's hand actually froze just before the Den Den Mushi's receiver, as Robin's voice sounded. He turned to her with a questioning expression.
»This could be a trap set by the Marines!«, she reminded him.»If you answer the call, they'll be able to trace us through the line!«
»And what if it's a real emergency?« Luffy retorted.
Robin pressed her lips together and remained silent. They couldn't know if the signal was genuine until they answered the call. Luffy looked at her for a moment before grabbing the receiver.
»Hello? This is Monkey D. Luffy! And I will be the king of— ... OW!«
Usopp and Sanji had both swung to give their captain a solid hit on the back of his head. Two thick bumps were already forming under his dark hair, but at least it had shut him up.
»Don't reveal everything right away, you idiot!«, Sanji hissed at him as the Den Den Mushi sobbed again.
»Help«, a voice whimpered. »My colleagues... they are all being... cut into pieces!« Sanji saw Nami cover Minato's ears and turn away with him from the Den Den Mushi to leave the room.
»Cut into pieces?«, Chopper whispered with wide eyes, clinging anxiously to Robin's leg.
»The samurai will kill us!«, the voice screamed now, filled with terror. »Please, please help us! We... we are on Punk Hazard! Please, we - ...!« His words were interrupted by a prolonged, terrible scream, making Sanji grimace. Even without the sound of the blade in the background, he could imagine what was happening on the other end of the receiver.
»That sounded like trouble.«
The sentence earned Luffy another hit on the back of his head.
»Of course! He just got cut up!«, Usopp snapped. Luffy ignored his words and looked around the room. »Where's Nami?«
»She went outside with Minato so he wouldn't hear it«, Sanji answered, fumbling with his suit pocket to retrieve his cigarette pack. However, he flinched when Luffy shouted »Hey, Nami!«
»What's wrong?« Nami stuck her head through the door. »Is the call over?«
»Set the course for Punk Hazard!«, Luffy ordered, grinning.
»Huh?!« Chopper and Usopp screamed simultaneously. »Didn't you just hear that someone is running around there cutting people up?«
»Yes« Luffy's grin widened. »I want to see what's going on!«
Sanji resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. Nami and he would have to have a serious talk with Luffy about not willingly putting the crew in dangerous situations while a baby was part of said crew. But he had the unpleasant feeling that even that wouldn't deter his captain from his thirst for adventure.