Chapter Text

Something was wrong.

That’s what Sanji felt deep within his bones as he stretched them out, the last dregs of sleep stubbornly latching on to his groggy mind.

He had woken up to silence that morning, which was by no means unusual.

His sleep schedule always had him rising with the sun at dawn, often before his crewmates, save for the singular soul on night watch.

And yet, he never truly woke up to silence.

It was the kind of silence leftover from what unfurled under the shadows of night, known to those whose eyes willed to remain open past twilight.

Silent and permissive in its soft cradle, in the way it held space for him, unbroken and unending if only for the racket his crewmates drummed up even as they slept, unaccompanied and yet never truly alone.

That morning, the silence was different.

Empty and stale, as if it had been sitting stagnant for hours, it settled heavily on him like grime after days of no bathing.

Sanji fought against the blankets wound tight around him, his pyjamas uncomfortably sticking to his skin while he rubbed at his eyes, the action causing his head to pound as if he had just finished sparring with Zoro.

He cracked his eyes open, his vision slowly adjusting to the dimness of the room when his brain caught up with his sight.

His blood froze at the sight of the beds and hammocks, swinging too eagerly along the Merry’s bobbing, almost is if they were…

Empty.

Sanji immediately sat up, blood rushing in his ears as his muscles prepared to dash through his morning routine, unencumbered in his pursuit if only for the wave of dizziness that wove into his mind.

He swayed slightly as he leaned back onto his pillow, his eyes closing again as his head swam with each tilt of the ship, fingers rubbing at the skin of his temples only succeeding in worsening the pressure assaulting his senses.

He opened his eyes and tentatively sat back up again, his vision righting itself as the ground straightened once more.

Sanji would be the first to admit that his sleep schedule was catastrophic, and it wasn’t the first (nor last) time he powered through a day with less sleep than the fingers on his hand.

But when he was passed out not soon after the dinner rush, it should have accounted for his entire night’s rest, with plenty leftover to ruin the following night.

Sanji latched on the edge of his bed as he stood up, his head lightening as he attempted to look for his clothes.

But first…

Sanji winced as the sunlight hit him harshly in the face, stars dancing behind his eyelids even after he slammed the cabin door shut.

So, he was late late to breakfast.

He fumbled through the buttons on his dress shirt (why couldn’t he own more simple clothes, he should have taken Nami up on her offer, stupid-) and pulled on his slacks as he braced himself for the light once more, apologies already fashioned on the tip of his tongue to be handed out like candy.

He was responsible for filling the stomachs of nine other people. When other peoples’ wellbeing was in his hands, he couldn’t afford to just mess about-

Sanji cursed under his breath as he made his way to the kitchen, narrowly avoiding tripping on the last step as the empty deck and high sun confirmed his suspicions of the nature of their gathering inside.

He peeked through the porthole as they ate and conversed like normal, his consciousness starting to eat at him upon noting the simplicity of the meal.

They seemed happy enough without him, carrying on like usual as if his absence held no weight to them or their routine.

No one even bothered to come wake up him up.

Maybe they were better off...

Sanji shook his head as he clutched the door handle and swung it open.

He fed them food that wasn’t slop in a can and did a well enough job at keeping them alive, his role was valuable enough to keep him around-

Like a delayed chain of dominos falling into place, the voices slowly petered out one by one, as they noticed his presence, eyes snapping to the alien noise of the door amidst conversation.

Luffy first looked up, midway through his bite when he exclaimed, ‘’Look, Sanji’s here! Can I get meat now- ‘’

Usopp brandished his toast at him.

‘’You’re literally eating bacon right now, at least give the guy a chance to settle in first. ‘’

Nami glared at the sprayed crumbs in front of her as she slapped Luffy upside the head, ‘’And stop talking with your mouth full, it’s so disgusting- ‘’

Sanji rubbed at his face as he took his place behind the counter, ‘’You should have woken me up- ‘’

Usopp scoffed, ‘’And deal with you when you’re sleep deprived? No chance.’’

‘’That was one time, I’m completely fine today- ‘’

‘’It was enough for me! I’ve still got scars, Sanji! Scars.’’

‘’Yeah whatever, do you want something else to eat or not?’’

A soft-spoken voice spoke up.

‘’You know, we are almost done with breakfast, maybe you should take this chance to rest-‘’

‘’Not a chance, Chop.’’

‘’Darn.’’, Chopper muttered under his breath as he turned back to his pancakes.

‘’It’s okay, you made an admirable attempt’’, Robin smiled warmly at him as he hid his face behind his hooves.

‘’Either way, I need to start preparing lunch. Don’t take it so hard.’’, Sanji glanced behind his shoulder, ‘’Sorry you had to end up cooking this morning, Robin.’’

‘’Don’t fret, cook-san. It was my pleasure.’’

Sanji sighed dreamily as he turned back towards the fridge, passively admiring the flurry of hands currently refilling glasses and filling plates back up with food.

Robin-chwan was so cool.

He was in the middle of taking out ingredients when they graciously cleared the table for him.

‘’Hey, don’t worry about it.’’

Usopp stopped, his hand mid-way to rolling up his sleeves, ‘’Are you sure? We kinda used a lot of dishes to cook…’’

Sanji waved him off.

‘’Yeah, just leave them be. Trust me you’d be doing me a favour; I have a system.’’

‘’Suite yourself’’, Usopp shrugged, ‘’Let me know if you need help though, I really don’t mind.’’

‘’Me neither, thanks anyways though.’’

‘’Anytime.’’

Sanji turned back to the ingredients in thought.

If he used the leftover beef to make a nice stir-fry, he could try sneaking some vegetables on Luffy’s plate. Pair that with a nice spicy sauce infused with lime…not too spicy of course, Nami and Chopper wouldn’t be able to stomach it otherwise, but he could always adjust it later based on the person.

With some egg-fried rice to accommodate the Marimo as well. But then Franky’s plate needed to complement his cola-

Sanji stared sagely at the ginger.

Maybe…

Or something with citrus?

The door creaked open as tiny clacking accompanied it.

‘’Hi Sanji, I need to prepare some herbs to stock up my medicine cabinet, would you mind if I stayed here?’’

‘’Yeah sure, you don’t want to do it in the sun? It’s nice out today.’’

The reindeer peered over his shoulder sheepishly (ha), ‘’I know but Luffy is trying to start a water fight and, well, you know how that ended last time.’’

‘’Ah, the mighty perils of water fighting’’, Sanji hummed sympathetically, ‘’I understand, stay as long as you like.’’

Chopper brightened up significantly.

‘’Thanks!’’

Sanji turned back to his dilemma, already drowning out the tinny sounds of Chopper’s mortar and pestle as he set up to make his medications.

He was in the middle of sautéing when the pungent, earthy smell hit him, travelling its way to the back of his throat as he gagged violently.

He nearly slammed down the spatula trying to find the source when he stopped in his tracks.

The reindeer’s back was turned toward him, his arms bobbing as they grated at the fine herbs, small vials set aside at the ready to house them to later be made into ointments.

Could it be…?

Sanji shook his head and turned back to the pan.

Chopper prepared his medicine countless times in the kitchen before, and sure the smell was a bit strong, yet it never bothered him before.

It had to be something else.

Yeah.

He grabbed a piece of ginger, still undiced as it waited to be stored away, and inhaled.

He shook his head as the sharpness overcame the smell, his brain stuttering as it momentarily overwhelmed his senses.

Sanji sniffed it again before sighing in relief.

It was gone.

It had to be something in the kitchen, he’ll air it out after he was done cooking.

The smell hit him twofold as he lurched forward again, bile stubbornly refusing to move from his stomach. His fingers clasped tightly on his mouth as his throat spasmed.

‘’Are you okay?’’

Sanji wiped at his watering eyes and turned around, a small smile already fixed on his face, ‘’Yeah definitely, I’m just cooking something a bit strong right now. Don’t worry.’’

‘’And you’ll tell me if you’re not feeling well? You promised you would.’’

‘’I don’t tend to break my promises, Chop. Trust me, I’m okay.’’

‘’Okay, then’’, the reindeer aimed a hoof in-between his eyes and turned it at Sanji, ‘’I’m watching you.’’

‘’Oh, I have no doubt’’, he muttered under his breath.

Sanji attempted to breathe out of his mouth as he resisted the urge to gag again, swallowing back the saliva pooling into his mouth.

He picked up the spatula once more, his shoulders trembling as he clutched it like a lifeline.

He took a shallow breath and turned to the sizzling pan.