Hot Chocolate

Ten cups of milk, chopped bits of sweet chocolate, five pieces of orange zest, some instant coffee, and just a hint of ground nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Melt these ingredients into a saucepan, but be careful to not let them boil. Whisk until foamy, then remove the orange zest pieces. Whisk some more and serve the hot chocolate in cups of eight. Top with whipped cream and a pinch of cinnamon.

Sanji knew the recipe by heart; it was one of the few things he had brought with him from home, before he joined the Orbit. Over the years he had added or removed different things, making the recipe his very own. Even if it was a simple recipe on hot cocoa, it was a very dear one, and one of the dishes that he was most proud of. It seemed silly, but it was true.

When working at the Baratie he used to make it for himself on Christmas Eve (the one evening that he had off, unless they were short-staffed) in a fit of nostalgia. If he closed his eyes now, Sanji could remember the view he had while he was looking out at the sea with a cup of the hot chocolate in his hands, a blanket around his shoulders, thinking back on his childhood.

His mother used to make it for him on snowy days around Christmas time before she passed away on a snowy December 24th. The doctors never really told Sanji what the problem had been, but now afterwards, he was thinking it might have been a bad case of influenza. His mother had always had a fragile health, and winter struck hard and merciless upon their home village in North Blue. The blonde had almost forgotten how she looked (he had been so small when she passed away, only five years old), but he remembered the smell and the taste of the hot cocoa; a warm, rich chocolaty taste with a light orange flavor.

Sanji smiled for himself and opened his eyes again as he added the instant coffee into the saucepan, present day. It was Christmas Eve, and the Thousand Sunny had landed on a deserted winter island somewhere on the Grand Line. His sweet Nami-swan had been very rigid before they got there, rambling and shouting about the darn weather. When he thought about it, she was still kind of rigid. He supposed she didn't like snow, but he still liked it. It reminded him of home. And he was going to be honest; he would have been a little disappointed if they had happened upon a summer island on Christmas. The past ten years he had been forced to go through Christmas without the snow, and he had never really gotten used to it, so it was nice with a change. The old fart Zeff had just called him a wimp and to get over it.

Sanji stirred lightly in the saucepan as the ingredients melted. He wondered if the rest of his nakama celebrated Christmas. Luffy, Nami, Zoro and Usopp came from East Blue, so it was probable that they celebrated the holidays. Then again, there hadn't really been any fuzz about Christmas at the Baratie, and other than chillier weather and a few more reservations, there had been nothing else to highlight the holidays. Chopper, Franky and Brook all came from the Grand Line, and seeing that the Grand Line islands were so much different, there were no way to be sure. And Robin originated from West Blue, but then she had pretty much grown up all around the world worrying about fleeing from the World Government, so it was a safe bet that she hadn't given Christmas a thought.

Either way, Christmas was a great holiday in Sanji's opinion. The holiday of sharing, giving, love and family. And maybe Nami could share her lovely body with him this winter…? The love cook began to giggle madly and swooned over the imaginary scenario. Oh, that would be wonderful.

But then again, he'd be likely to get a slap across the face (or a punch in the head) for even trying to come onto her like that. Even if it was only in his inner mind theatre.

Oh well. Whether or not his nakama celebrated Christmas or not, he sure would. Even if the only ones to celebrate it with was with his memories and a cup of steaming, warm chocolate. Sanji whisked the hot chocolate for the last time, then poured it into cups of eight (seeing as how Brook couldn't really drink), then topped with whipped cream that he had made from scratch and sprinkled cinnamon onto it. The blonde cook smiled at his masterpiece, then took the two trays – four mugs on each – and walked out of the galley. His crew was having a snowball fight on the deck, but they stopped when Luffy's incredible nose sniffed the chocolate smell in the air. The raven-haired boy captain swiftly turned his bendable neck in the cook's direction.

"Oi, Sanji!" he yelled with a goofy grin, his cheeks and nose tinged with blush from the cold weather. "What's that?"

"Hot chocolate" said Sanji with a grin and placed the trays down onto the table outside. "Figured you needed something warm"

"You sure seem happy today, cook-san" Robin said with a delighted smile as she sipped on her cup. The others had just taken their mugs and downed it, then gone back to their game (after a few SUGOI from Luffy and praising comments, even from Zoro).

Sanji shrugged and smiled as he looked at the winter landscape. "'Tis the season to be jolly, Robin-chwan"

-Fin-

A/N: This is a very bad and pointless oneshot xD But I just wanted to write something for the holidays D: I've been so absent with my updates, and I've kind of been having writer's block… ._. So yeah. And as Sanji is my favorite character in One Piece, and I love hot chocolate, so there you go. Then I thought that since he grew up in North Blue, then maybe he celebrated Christmas? Y'know, north = snow. Lol.

Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Aww, now you made me sad ;A;

Please R&R~