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Sanji had a problem.
He was in love.
And he was coughing up flowers.
It started slowly; one day when he was alone to himself in the kitchen. A tickling sensation in the back of his throat that progressed to a painful scratch. When he managed to cough it out, he stared down in horror at the object that greeted him.
A small heart shaped petal, no bigger than his palm.
Sanji knew he was in trouble. Deep down, he knew the problem. He knew it was unsolvable. Truly, he didn’t love Nami and Robin. Not romantically. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it to himself, there was one person that he did love in that way.
It was Zoro.
Of course it was Zoro. Of course it had to be the guy most unlikely to reciprocate Sanji’s feelings. He didn’t know what to do. Sanji wasn’t ready to die a tragic death, his lungs overflowing with flowers and thorns.
The days carried on with Sanji trying to hide his rapidly declining health. Every time he’d feel that familiar scratchy sensation in the back of his throat, he’d discreetly cough into a napkin or rag, wadding it up and disposing of it in the trash. Every time it happened, more petals would appear.
It started with a single, small petal in his hand. But it slowly progressed to being four, five, twelve flower petals. Sanji was panicking, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t tell anyone, could he? He had no idea what their reactions would be.
That is, until Robin approached him one day.
“Sanji,” she began, turning into the kitchen and stopping in front of him. “I know something’s wrong. I want you to tell me.”
“Robin..?” Sanji mumbled in a low tone. “Nothing… Nothing’s wrong, I promise,” he said as he wiped the sweat off his brow and rose to his feet.
“Don’t lie to me,” Robin said, her tone softer. “I know about the flowers.”
Sanji paused, eyes widening as he looked up at her. How did she know? Did Sanji not hide it well enough? He thought he had been doing a pretty good job.
“I was spying,” she said, approaching him slowly. “It’s Hanahaki disease.”
“Hanahaki?” He questioned.
“When romantic feelings aren’t reciprocated, one may start to grow flowers inside them. The disease worsens until the flowers suffocate them from the inside,” Robin explained.
“Are there any cures?” Sanji asked, feeling a sense of dread settle in his stomach. He knew something was wrong with him. He knew the flowers and the unrequited love were related, having heard about it somewhere. But he never thought it’d happen to him.
“There’s two,” Robin nodded, her expression growing solemn. “Either the other person can reciprocate your feelings, and the flowers will vanish shortly afterwards…” She paused with a deep exhale. “Or you can have an operation to remove the flowers. But if you do that, you’ll never be able to feel love for that person again.”
Oh. So it was that serious.
Sanji knew he was doomed, just from those two options. The disease had already worsened greatly, and he’d be dead before he knew it. He couldn’t accept it, however.
“I—” he paused, his expression darkening. “I don’t know what to do, Robin,” Sanji mumbled, running his fingers through his hair.
“It’s Zoro, right?” She asked. “That you love?”
“...Yes,” he answered hesitantly.
“Sanji, I know how much he means to you,” Robin began. “And I know you don’t want that surgery.”
“So what am I supposed to do? I—I can’t die, can I?” He was starting to panic, and he didn’t know what to do. He was only nineteen, for God’s sake! He couldn’t die yet.
Robin put her hands on his trembling shoulders, speaking softly to him.
“Sanji. You’re going to have to get Zoro to love you,” she said. “I know it may sound hard, but you can do it.”
Make him love you.
Sanji didn’t know how to do that, but he’d be a fool if he didn’t at least try.
Attempt number one at making Zoro fall for him: prepare his favorite meals. Sanji, being a cook, decided to do what he knew best.
That morning, he got up to start preparing breakfast. After coughing up two dozen or so flower petals, he got to cooking. Zoro, when he had eggs, he always asked for them over hard. And Sanji didn’t make them like that frequently. He was an over easy kind of guy.
But he’d take Robin’s advice. Make Zoro fall in love with him.
As he began making breakfast, the rest of the crew slowly began filtering in. The more people that entered the room, the more nervous Sanji got. The disease had worsened a considerable amount, and he would frequently cough up petals.
It was getting harder and harder to hide it. And while he didn’t want to tell the crew, he also didn’t want the way they found out to be by discovering his dead body wrapped up in flowers.
He had to solve the problem himself.
Make him love you.
Sanji served everybody their food, placing the over hard eggs in front of Zoro.
“Cook,” Zoro said, turning around in his chair. “Where’s the s—”
“Right here,” he answered with a small grin, setting down a small ramekin of soy sauce.
“Oh,” he murmured, instantly dropping the aggressive tone. “Thanks..”
“No problem,” Sanji looked over at him with a smile, as sweet of a one he could manage. Zoro quirked a brow, noticing the oddly soft expression. But he shook it off and turned away.
Sanji had to duck into the kitchen to cough once more, a few pink petals fluttering into his hands. He ditched them in the trash, covering over them with a napkin.
He’d have to play the slow game with Zoro, which was unfortunate because he didn’t have time to play the slow game. He needed the swordsman to love him now, to save him from this shitty disease.
What else could he do? Treating him nice wouldn’t be able to solve the problem itself. Sanji had to think of something, anything to make Zoro fall for him faster.
Favors? Advice? Compliments? Sanji didn’t wanna be a suck up, afraid it might do the complete opposite of what he wanted. The last thing he wanted was to drive Zoro further away.
Things were getting dire, and he partly wished he had confided in someone sooner. Maybe he would have been out of this situation sooner. But he couldn’t toil in his own fear for any longer. He had to stick to his goal.
Make him love you.
The day had begun to wind down, the Straw Hats disappearing into their own areas for the night. Zoro, being Zoro, was on the deck with his weights. And that’s when Sanji decided to jump into action.
He quickly prepared something in the kitchen; some onigiri and sake. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and Sanji felt like that’d be his guiding advice throughout this situation.
Sanji displayed the items on a platter, closing the kitchen door behind him as he made his way to the swordsman.
“Oi. Marimo,” Sanji called, catching his attention.
“Yeah?” Zoro glanced up, busy lifting weights in either hand.
“Brought you some stuff I thought you’d like,” he said. And with a flourish, he presented the platter to Zoro, peeking an eye open to watch his reaction.
Confusion, at first, likely for Sanji’s strangely friendly behavior. But then it shifted to something softer.
“Hey, thanks. Was just thinkin’ about getting a drink.”
Sanji’s heart jumped. Thank God. That was a good step. He made a good choice.
“I’ll pour for you,” with a careful hand, he opened the bottle of sake, pouring in the glass on the platter. Upon presenting it to Zoro, he reached out and grabbed it, gulping it down quickly.
“Yeah, that’s the stuff,” he grinned. “But I’m curious. Why’re you bein’ so nice to me?” Zoro asked, reaching out and grabbing one of the onigiri.
“Just taking care of my crewmates is all,” Sanji answered before setting the platter down next to Zoro. “When you’re done, just bring that back to the kitchen.”
Zoro nodded, watching as Sanji left.
He had wanted to stick around longer, to talk more. But his throat started to feel scratchy and ticklish. Once he got far enough away from Zoro, he coughed hard, petals fluttering into his hands.
Every time, there’d be more and more. And soon enough, way too soon for Sanji to accept, he’d be dead. He had to work quicker. Do something more extreme.
Make him love you.
Two months, maybe, had passed. Sanji had been slowly working on his relationship with Zoro. Special treats and compliments here and there, some advice when he thought he could get away with it. And at first, Zoro tried to fight back, returning his compliments with insults. But Sanji persisted. What else was he supposed to do?
On top of doing things for Zoro, he tried to make himself more attractive. He changed his cologne, one that Robin said smelled nice (much to his delight). Sanji was trying to act as alluring as possible, hands on his hips, accentuating his waist whenever he could.
The disease was worsening, but he continued to hide it. Robin kept his secret well, trying to cover for him every time they thought it might be revealed.
“Zorooo!” Sanji called in a cheery voice, scanning the boat. “I’m making drinks!”
As he searched the boat, he spotted a mossy head up near Nami’s tangerines. So with a smile, he strided over, climbing up next to him and kneeling down.
“Zoro,” he murmured, gently nudging him. He waited a few silent moments, watching the swordsman. When he didn't wake, Sanji nudged him again.
“Zooorrroooo~,” he cooed sweetly. This time, Zoro's head moved and his eyes fluttered open. “Made you a drink, Zoro.”
“Mmh..” Zoro groaned tiredly, sitting up. “Alright.. Thanks..” He yawned and rubbed his eyes before rising to his feet. When Sanji didn’t, he glanced down curiously. “You comin’?”
“I’ll be there in a second.. I just.. Have to do something first,” he excused. Sanji could feel the petals in the back of his throat, and he couldn’t let Zoro see.
“Alright,” he nodded simply, standing up and making his way to the kitchen. Sanji waited until he was out of earshot before silently coughing up the flowers. But to his horror, it wasn’t just the petals.. It was an entire flower, resting in his shaky hands.
He was running out of time and he wasn’t even sure if he had made any progress with Zoro yet.
Make him love you.
It happened suddenly one day. Sanji was sitting in the kitchen, lightly flipping through a cooking book. He noticed Zoro walk in, and he perked up quickly, ready to assist if need be.
But Zoro said something that made Sanji’s heart flutter (or sink?).
“Cook. I know what you’re doing.”
“What.. What do you mean?”
“With all the kind shit you’ve been doing,” he said, approaching Sanji. “I’m not dumb.”
Was this good or bad? Fuck.. Sanji couldn’t tell. It could drive Zoro away or make this easier.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he continued, trying to play dumb. Zoro huffed, sitting down across from Sanji and leaning over the table.
“You like me. It’s obvious.”
Fuck. Sanji didn’t know how to respond.
“Got a problem with it?” He opted to answer with something snarky. Maybe deflect the question a little.
Zoro grumbled before plopping down in his chair again. “I guess not. I just don’t understand why you do.”
“Yeah,” Sanji let out a sigh, closing his book. “I didn’t know why at first either.”
The two went silent, sitting awkwardly and avoiding each other’s gaze. After the longest couple minutes of their lives, Zoro spoke up.
“Y’know.. I…. I like you, too.”
Sanji froze, his eyes widening. He looked up at Zoro, searching his face for any reason to think he was lying. But he found none.
The tension in his lungs and throat started to lessen.
“You do?” Sanji asked for confirmation, praying he’d be freed of this disease that had been plaguing him for months.
“I do,” Zoro nodded his head. “I like you, cook.”
Sanji was relieved. God… He almost couldn’t believe it. He sat up in his chair, leaning across the table towards Zoro.
“I’m glad,” he murmured. Zoro watched him move before he did the same, having understood what Sanji was aiming to do. He tilted his head, letting his lips meet with Sanji’s. A confirmation of their feelings, something Sanji had been waiting for.
When they broke from the kiss, Sanji slowly sat back down.
“Thank you,” he murmured softly.
The constriction of his throat and lungs had vanished, replaced only by a bubbling feeling of love.
Sanji had done it, as much effort as it took.
Zoro loves him.