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The kitchen is oddly quiet for the time of day, usually filled with the sounds of running water and stacking wet dishes. Zoro steps through the doorway, noticing Sanji bent over something on the counter by the window. He watches silently, curious.
A large jar sits on the counter, filled with sand and overgrown plants. Sanji snips the stems with practiced hands, tossing the trimmings into the compost bin. Eventually, the remaining plants are small and orderly, lining the bottom of the jar. Sanji wets his fingers, lifting a fluffy green blob out of the bowl of water beside him, then gingerly places it into the large jar.
Zoro walks quietly, careful not to let his swords clack together. He reaches Sanji and wraps an arm around him, grinning as his lover jumps before leaning into his touch.
“Whatcha’ got there?” Zoro asks, looking down at the jar.
It’s prettier up close, the glass covered in ornate swirls and blooms. The design doesn’t cover the entire jar, leaving a strip a few inches wide of clear glass towards the back. The water is clear, lacking the usual fogginess of sea water. Multiple small plants sit at the bottom, rooted into the sand. They’re trimmed short, clearly not the focal point of the jar. A fuzzy green ball floats at the top, whimsically bobbing around.
“Oh, it’s my uh.. my terrarium”, Sanji says sheepishly.
“Cool, what’s in it?” Zoro asks, bending down to get a closer look.
When he looks in from the top, he can see the world that the swirled glass concealed. Once he looks past the scattering of tiny floating plants, the jar becomes its own little world. Dozens of microorganisms swarm around the water, filtering out and eating specks of debris. Tiny little creatures with frilly tails flittering about, feasting on the algae before it can establish itself. There’s a baby snail crawling around the edge of a plant, likely a hitchhiker. At the center, there’s a sunken piece of driftwood, worn smooth by the ebb and flow of the tide. One of the plants is tied to it, its stem kept away from the soil below. Zoro likes that one more than the others, noting its broad, pointy leaves.
“Oh, it’s um. There’s an Anubia, tied there to the branch. And some duckweed at the top, it kinda tagged along with the Hornwort growing there at the bottom. A snail or too, hitchhikers as well. And well, that’s my um. My Marimo.” Sanji points each item out as he speaks, thrilled to share his hobby with Zoro, if not a little shy.
“Your marimo? You looking to replace me, cook?” Zoro asks. His words are accusatory, but they hold no real bite. Zoro looks stern for a moment, then lets the mask fall, breaking into a grin. Sanji’s blush seems a bit intense for a jar of plants, but Zoro doesn’t dig.
“No, nothing like that. It’s just, I saw him at the market a few weeks ago, and I remembered I was saving this empty honey jar for something special. I think he likes it”, Sanji says, holding the back of his neck.
“He?” Zoro asks, reveling in Sanji’s deepening blush.
“Oh, yeah.. I named him Kenshi”, Sanji says.
“You named it Kenshi?” Zoro asks, feeling his own cheeks burn.
“Yeah, you know. Like the Kanji for-“
“For ‘swordsman,’” Zoro cuts him off. He pulls Sanji in close, wrapping both arms around him and places a kiss on top of his head, “I like it.”
“Alright, we’ll be here for a week, so don’t pick any fights with the locals, okay? I’ll meet you back on The Sunny after dark, I’ve got to grab a few ingredients for dinner”, Sanji says, kissing Zoro briefly before heading off towards the markets. It’s been a few weeks since Sanji showed him his moss ball, but it’s still on Zoro’s mind. He wonders if Sanji would have shown him on his own, or if theming a plant after his boyfriend was too embarrassing to share.
Zoro steps off the ship, looking around. It’s a nice city, big enough to have what they need, but not so big that they’d run into trouble. He flags down a man walking by, asking him for directions. It’s a long walk, but after multiple wrong turns, he arrives.
The shop is small, a brick building on the outskirts of town. The wooden sign hands above the door, a painted bottle and vase adorning it. The door rings as he enters, but no one greets him. Instead, he waits at the table, taking in the different trinkets and bottles lining the shelves while he sits. Against the far wall, thin glass rods of every color imaginable lay on racks, along with raw chunks of the same glass.
He eyes a large handmade statue in the corner, depicting a kelpie dragging a siren into the water by her arm. Their tails clash, waves frozen in glass as the water splashes around them. The detail is immaculate, down to the siren’s bared fangs and the kelpie’s flowing mane. Zoro isn’t sure whether he should be impressed or unsettled by the glass folktales’ battle.
After waiting a bit, he walks around back, finding the shop owner turning a knob of glass in the roaring kiln. It’s red hot when he pulls it out, and the man quickly shapes it into a vase. He lets it cool slowly, the red hot glass fading into a peaceful lilac. Once it’s cooled, he scores the glass with a knife, then taps it free from the metal rod. Only then does the older man address Zoro.
“Thank you for your patience. How can I help you?” He asks, his eyes warm and kind.
“Could you finish something small today?” Zoro asks.
“Depends what you have in mind. And what you consider small. Come inside, we can discuss over tea”, the glassblower says, guiding them inside.
As the kettle boils, Zoro eyes the different colors of glass. He picks a deep blue, along with a shade of grey that would match well. He carefully slides the rods out from the rack and lays them onto the table.
The man returns with tea shortly after. As they drink, Zoro goes over what he’d like the man to make. The design is simple, too small to hold much detail. He offers to pay extra for it to be finished today but the glassblower refuses to accept it.
“It’s been a while since I’ve made anything other than bowls and vases. I’m happy for the change of pace”, he says, smiling. “You’re welcome to watch me make it, if you’d like. It shouldn’t take me long.”
Zoro pulls the wooden chair out back and watches the man work. He snaps off a piece of the grey rod, holding the glass in the kiln with long tongs. The grey quickly becomes orange as it heats, then red before he pulls it from the flames.
The shopkeeper works quickly, using another pair of tongs to flatten the glass into a thin, flat ribbon. He trails a blade against the length of it on each side, leaving a faint intention in the glass. He slants one edge then holds the glass until it cools.
“Would you like to help?” The glassblower asks, breaking off a piece from the blue rod.
“Me?” Zoro responds.
The glassblower laughs, looking around. “You’re the only one here, aren’t you? Come over here. I’ll show you.”
Zoro walks slowly to the kiln, wary of its heat. Even from a distance, the change in temperature is drastic. Little smell escapes the furnace, but the heat is striking at first. The man hands him two smaller sets of tongs.
“I’m going to heat the glass in the middle until it’s soft. What I need you to do is pull the ends apart, slowly. Then I’ll wrap that around the grey piece”, the old man explains slowly, making sure Zoro is following along. He clamps tongs on each end of the glass to demonstrate.
Zoro nods, bracing himself. He watches as the man places the glass into the kiln. After a few moments, he pulls it out, both ends still blue but the middle a fiery orange. He holds it out to Zoro, who grabs the edges with tongs and begins to pull, very slowly.
“Perfect. Maybe a little bit faster, but you’ve got it! Set the left one on the table, hold onto the right.” The man instructs, taking the grey piece of glass and swirling the thread of blue around one end of it. He trails the blue up about a third of the way, then stops, snipping the strand. He presses the end firm against the base of the trinket, then holds it steady as it cools. Zoro places both of his tongs onto the table, watching the glass cool to its normal color.
“I hope Sanji likes this… I’m going to feel like an idiot if he doesn’t”, Zoro mutters.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. That’s why I had you help me. Who can refuse something made with love?”
The glassblower smiles, adding a final yellow detail to the trinket. Once it cools, he separates it from the glass rod, then files the edge smooth. The man cradles it in his hand, then gestures for them to go inside.
Zoro walks with him back into the shop, glancing at the finished object. He’s more impressed than he thought he’d be, the minimal details adding to its sleek appearance. He places a bag of Berri onto the counter while the shop keeper digs for something. “Keep the change.”
The shopkeeper fishes a small paper box from under the counter and places the item inside of it. He nestles it in tissue paper, ties a ribbon around it, and slides it to Zoro
“Thank you for your business. You’re always welcome to come back, if you’d like another lesson”, the man says, smiling lightly.
Sanji is rushing around the kitchen and putting away groceries when Zoro steps in. He doesn’t say anything, just joins in beside him to help. It’s been long enough that he knows where things go, along with which items Sanji prefers to put away himself. Soon enough, the mountain of groceries has disappeared, replaced by an orderly and well stocked kitchen. All that remains is a small paper box on the counter. Sanji notices it, picking it up carefully. When Zoro grins, he relaxes, untying the ribbon slowly.
“What’s this? Zoro, you didn’t have to get me anything!” Sanji says, his cheeks pink.
He lifts the lid off the box gingerly and gasps. Nestled in the paper is a tiny glass katana, only a few inches long. The blade is simple and grey, while the handle is intricately wrapped with strands of black and blue glass. A small band of yellow glass separates the two.
“It’s so small, where did you even find this?” Sanji asks, placing it in his hand. “It’s so delicate.. I’m not sure where I can keep it without breaking it.”
Zoro takes Sanji’s hand and leads him to the window. He pulls the glass jar down, looking at the moss ball inside of it.
“I had the glassblower make it for you. For in your terrarium. You can’t have a swordsman without a sword”, he says, smiling at Sanji.
Sanji sets the sword down on the counter, wrapping his arms around Zoro. He leans in, taking Zoro’s lips in his. It’s soft and tender as they move together, gratitude and love expressed through movement instead of words. Sanji’s hands threading through Zoro’s hair. Their lips part but they stay pressed together, tight in their embrace.
“You didn’t have to do that, it must have cost a fortune!” Sanji says, looking into Zoro’s eyes lovingly. He picks up the sword and places it into the jar, fussing with it until he finds the perfect place. It stands, pommel to the sky, perfectly in view of the clear panel towards the back. Zoro pulls Sanji in for another kiss before speaking, breaking away to pepper kisses against his jaw.
“Not as much as you’d think”, he says. “I helped make it, though.”
Sanji tilts Zoro’s head up to look at him. He brings his hand to Zoro’s cheek, caressing it lovingly. He smiles as Zoro leans into his palm. “You helped?” Sanji asks.
“Yeah. The glassblower had me help with the handle, with the blue”, Zoro says, pride in his voice.
“So that’s why the wrap is a little uneven?” Sanji asks, a wicked grin spreading on his face.
Zoro opens his mouth to argue, but Sanji cuts him off. He presses their lips together for another messy, passionate kiss. Zoro nips at Sanji’s lower lip playfully. A strand of blond hair falls onto his face, tickling their noses. Sanji pulls away and Zoro gently tucks the strand behind his ear, his callused palm resting on his cheek. Sanji’s smile is bright, looking up at Zoro with all the warmth of a thousand sunsets.
“That’s okay. I like it better that way.”