Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
On the rooftop of the Thousand Sunny Ship there was a wide place for Nami's orchids, Robin's flowers, and Usopp's poppingreen plants. It was springtime in the area where the ship was sailing, and Robin's flower garden was blooming with life. She had collected seedlings by purchasing them at a market or collecting them during their travels. The archaeologist smiled as she sprinkled water on the awakening buds. Her flowerbed was filled with an array of vibrant colors, from dark purple to turquoise to red and pastel pink. Robin knew the name for each one of them. She created little nametags beside them, so if any of her crewmembers stopped by to look at the flowers, they would also know their names.
She scanned through her garden, and a nameless flower caught her eyes. A pretty white five-petal flower with a light blue and pink hue greeted her. Five or six flower of its kind bloomed, and its head nodded gently as if they were whispering to one another. She didn't recall buying or finding this in the island, so she assumed that its seedling snuck into her collection. She couldn't recognize it, so she went to the ship's library to get the plant book. Her eyes looked for the picture, and when she found it, she made sure that the physical properties were the same.
"Aurora's Dream," Robin read to herself, "The name derives from Princess Aurora, the princess in 'Sleeping Beauty'. It blooms only in the springtime in large groups of five to a dozen flowers, all blooming from one seedling. It is found only in deep forests."
After reading several paragraphs, she closed the book and looked back at the flower, "How sweet."
She wanted to tell Franky and Nami about this new discovery, so she closed the book and climbed down a ladder that led to the kitchen and dining room. It was almost lunchtime, so Sanji should be calling out soon. When she was climbing down the ladder, she saw Sanji laying out sandwiches and pouring a fresh cup of coffee in her cup. When their eyes met, each exchanged a smile.
"Good timing Robin-chan."
Robin peered down at the big plate of sandwiches, "It looks delicious."
"There are four different types: the first row has bacon, lettuce, and tomato; this one has tomato, ham, cheese, lettuce, and mustard; this one has roast beef and melted cheese; and this one has nutella. I supplied some fruit if you want to add them into the nutella sandwich."
"My, I can't wait to try them." Robin gave her honest answer because she was getting hungry. Sanji blushed and tried to hide his embarrassment by scratching his hair.
"Oh, my flowers are blooming." The archaeologist blurted out suddenly.
Sanji was surprised that Robin said it with so much enthusiasm. He knew that she loved flowers and were taking care of them like children. She was really happy and couldn't wait to tell everyone. Sanji could almost see her as a child getting excited over the simplest things.
"That's wonderful. When I'm through with the dishes, I'll go up and see your heavenly garden." A beautiful smile formed on Robin's face, and the cook couldn't help but return a sloppy grin.
"There's also a flower in my garden that I've never seen before."
"Is that safe?"
"It's safe." Robin opened the book where she found the information, "It's called Aurora's Dream."
"What a beautiful name for a flower." Sanji mused.
"It also has an interesting property."
"What is it?"
Robin told him by reading an excerpt of the book.
Sanji's curly eyebrow rose and he crossed his arms. "That's exactly like a fairy tale."
"You read 'Sleeping Beauty' before?"
"When I was a twerp." Sanji chuckled, "The princess was a beauty. I hope it doesn't affect me."
"If you don't get allergies, I think you'll be alright."
When Robin took her seat at the table, Sanji set the gigantic plate and her cup of coffee. Then, he walked outside to call out Nami and the rest.
"Nami-swan! Your lunch is ready!" Sanji called out in a prince-like fashion. Quickly, his voice turned loud and harsh, "Lunchtime! Hurry up or you're not going to get any!"
Like a sound of stampede of bulls, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Brook, and Franky ran from different places to the kitchen. Sanji moved out of the way so that the bastards crashed in. His eye turned into hearts as he saw Nami walk up the stairs. He raised his hand to take hers and guided her into the room.
"My lady."
"Thank you Sanji-kun." Nami smiled, "What's for lunch?"
"It's-"
"Sandwiches!" Luffy shouted for Sanji. "It's good!"
Nami joined in with the rest of the gang, but she ate in a casual way. The others were elbowing each other and grabbing a handful of sandwiches. Luffy shoved them all in his mouth, declaring delicious, swallowing them, and repeated the process. Chopper followed suit, but he could only fit two sandwiches in his mouth instead of four. Brook was sitting formally and taking one sandwich at a time, but his clothes and face grew filthier on every bite. Robin pulled Franky close to her and told him about the new flower. Nami was sitting by and listened too.
Sanji poured seconds in Robin and Nami's cup and saw that Usopp was eating slow today. He looked like he was having trouble eating.
"What's wrong Usopp?" Sanji asked with a frown.
"Uh," A low, stuffy voice came from Usopp's mouth, and it startled Sanji.
"Do you have a cold?"
"Someone needs a doctor?" Chopper yelled suddenly and spat out some lettuce.
"No, they're allergies." Usopp dismissed Chopper by waving his hand, "Stuffy nose and itchy eyes." Looking close up, the sniper's eyes were red and watery.
"I didn't know you get allergies." Nami asked with amusement.
"Half of my blood has a wolf ancestry. While I have the best olfactory scenes, I get the worst kind of allergies."
"That's cool!" Luffy and Chopper shouted, "What kind of dog are you?"
"Oh, I'm a shepherd and bloodhound with a pinch of Dalmatian."
"Wow!"
"You know he's lying right?"
Sanji laughed while handing Usopp a box of tissue because the sniper looked like he couldn't breathe.
"But why are you suddenly getting allergies?"
"It could be my flowers and the poppingreens." Robin stated, "We're in a spring environment, so everything is blooming."
"Ohhh, that makes sense..." Usopp groaned, his nose sounding like a kazoo.
"Usopp, you sound miserable!" Luffy peered into Usopp's face and laughed when he saw a long string of snot hanging down like an icicle.
Sanji looked back at the crew and then toward the ceiling. Of course, he wasn't looking at the ceiling, but beyond it. He imagined the large crow's nest where a swordsman was training or sleeping. The cook put an unlit cigarette in his lips and pondered. The swordsman never came for lunch, so it was normal. But today, Zoro missed breakfast, and that wasn't normal.
-.-.-
The crow's nest was bright for all the windows were open. A cool breeze mixed with sunlight and ocean mist entered through and created a comfortable atmosphere. The weather was warm and the sun's ray sent down a cozy ray of sunlight. The sounds of the billowing sails and the crash of the waves were like a lullaby to a sailor.
Zoro was in the room and was sleeping peacefully. He lay on the long cushioned seats with his swords propped against them. One hand was on his chest while the other was touching the floor. His legs were lifeless logs and either was bent or falling off the seat too.
Eyes opened when he heard Sanji's call out for breakfast. In the thick fog of stupor, the cook's voice sounded faint and distant. Eyes were heavy, and he could barely keep them open. He couldn't move his arms and legs because they felt like lead. Zoro gave up rather quickly because his eyes closed, and he sank into sleep once more.
However, he was awoken the second time because he heard the cook say lunch. Lunch? Did he miss breakfast? His stomach started to grumble at the thought of food. He wanted to eat, so he should get up and head to the rope ladder. But his mind wouldn't command, his legs wouldn't move, his arms wouldn't budge, and his eyes wouldn't stay open. Sudden laziness took control of his mind and he didn't feel like getting up. Sleep felt really good right now, so he gave in and began to snore.
-.-.-
Sanji managed to save five sandwiches before it all disappeared into everyone's stomach. He poured in a glass of iced coffee and set it on a small tray with the sandwich. He balanced it on his head as he climbed up the long rope ladder to the crow's nest. Usually, he wouldn't do this because the swordsman came down sooner or later, but today there was no sight of the green haired brute at all-and lunch ended an hour and a half ago. Even a brainless organism's first priority was food. The man should be hungry by now, even if the man concentrated on his training.
He jumped onto the mast and walked to the crow's nest room. He climbed up another short set of ladders and finally got in. There was no need to scan around the room since it was small. Plus, the swordsman was easy to spot with his bright green hair.
A low grumbling noise reverberating from Zoro's stomach made Sanji frown. The man was starving, yet he didn't come down to eat? Was sleeping more important than eating? Sanji set the tray of food on the seat and woke Zoro up by kneading his leg with his shoe.
"Uuhhn?" Zoro asked in a heavily tired voice.
"Don't 'uuhnn' me. You missed breakfast and lunch. I don't want to see Luffy cry if you die of starvation. Once you're done, bring the tray back to the kitchen."
There was no answer, so Sanji leaned in and saw that Zoro was sleeping again.
"Hey!" Sanji kicked his leg harder, "Did you hear what I said?"
"W-What...?"
"Lunch. L-U-N-C-H. I brought lunch. You eat. Finished? Take tray down to kitchen. Understand?"
"...rrrg, don't need to svway..."
"If I come back and the food's still there, I'm going to kick you out of the ship!"
Finally, the baboon seemed to understand human speech and started to move. He rose on his arms and grabbed the seat for support. Sanji sighed and turned to the descending ladder when there was a loud thud behind him. He turned and gasped at the sight. Zoro had fallen face forward onto the floor. His arms didn't cushion his fall because they lay like spilled spaghetti. With the rest of his body still on the seat the swordsman looked mighty pathetic. To Sanji's disbelief, Zoro let out a snore and resumed sleeping.
Now, Sanji was concerned. Zoro was a sleeper, but he had never seen him this tired before. He pulled Zoro off the seat and into his arms. Zoro got a bloody nose from falling on his face, but Sanji ignored it and began slapping his cheek.
"Hey, Marimo, wake up."
"Gghh..." Zoro answered, but his eyes were closed shut.
"Zoro, wake up." Sanji worded out as he slapped Zoro's face again. This time, the eyes opened but only a sliver.
"I'm-"
"Yeah?"
"-not through with you Hawk Eyes-"
"Stop talking in sleep!"
"Cook, can't you see where in a middle of a duel-?"
"Wake up damn it!"
Zoro's head suddenly titled backward and a dry snore answered him. Sanji let out an exasperated growl and shook the swordsman by the shoulders, but it was no use. It was equally frustrating that his stomach grumbles were as loud as his snores. The man wanted to eat, but he couldn't wake up. If Sanji left him like this, Zoro would likely die from hunger-but in sleep.
Sleep.
Ah, sleep reminded him of the conversation he had with Robin: Aurora's Dream. It produced a strange pollen that it causes anyone to feel sleepy. No allergy medicine could cure it, except one: the promised rule for every end of a fairy tale. The cook stared down at the sleeping swordsman, and a faint shade of pink formed despite his apathetic look.
He grabbed one of Zoro's towels to wipe off the drying blood off of his nose. With his hand, he brushed Zoro's hair back to look at him closely. The hard features were softened from sleep. His eyelashes batted, clearly he was dreaming of something pleasant. No way was the swordsman a beautiful princess, but he was pretty.
Leaning in, Sanji closed his eye and kissed him.
-.-.-
A sound of rushing footsteps passed by and Zoro woke up. His eyes were light, and his head was clear as the blue sky. However, his face hurt and felt as if they were slapped several times. While rubbing his cheeks, he looked around, only to spot a blood stained towel and a tray of food. His arms reached for the tray and he stuffed the sandwiches and iced coffee into his mouth. The grumbling in his stomach stopped, and he felt satisfied.
Finished, he blankly stared at the opposite wall because he was confused. First, he was sleeping. Then, he vaguely remembered the cook calling out to him. He must be the one who slapped his face, that bastard. He also remembered the battle between Hawk Eyes, but obviously that was a dream. Finally, he woke up, but he thought he felt something had touched his lip.
He got the tray of food and didn't bother taking the ladder, so he leapt down. Chopper let out a scream when the swordsman landed.
"D-Don't scare me like that! What if your legs couldn't stand against your weight and broke?"
"I'll handstand."
He meant to head to the kitchen, but got lost and found his way to the gardens. Zoro stared at the orange groove, Robin's flowers, and the green plants that grew to become weapons.
He scratched his head, "Where did that kitchen go?"
"Zoro?"
Zoro turned to find Robin walking up from the ladder. She smiled and walked up to him, "Good evening. I haven't seen you all day." The sun was setting in the horizon, and Zoro clicked his tongue. He felt like he wasted a whole day.
"I slept in."
"I can see." Robin giggled, "It's springtime, so it's a nice weather to take a nap."
Zoro knelt down to read the flower nametags, "Your flowers are awake."
She smiled and watched as the swordsman read each of the tags. When he came to the Aurora's Dream, the eyebrow rose.
"This one doesn't have a name."
"It's because it grew without me knowing. It's called Aurora's Dream."
"Hou."
"Do you know 'Sleeping Beauty'?"
"I've never heard of it."
"It's about a princess, named Aurora, who has fallen into a deep slumber after pricking her finger on a spindle. There are different endings for the story, but the happiest one is that a prince comes and kisses her. The kiss breaks the spell, and she is awake."
"That's some weird story." Zoro snorted, "So, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, this flower has special pollen that makes people fall to sleep, and only a kiss will clear the allergy away."
"What kind of cure is that-" Now it all made sense why Sanji left without saying anything and the strange sensation on his lips. All of a sudden, Zoro blushed in scarlet. Robin's eyes widened and let out a small gasp.
"That pervert! I'm going to tear him up into pieces!" Zoro had run off, completely forgotten to take the tray with him. Robin wanted to tell him that taking the ladder was faster than running off the northern side of the ship, but she didn't. A smile danced on her face because she now knew what happened between the cook and swordsman. She thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever witnessed.
-.-.-
Luffy found Usopp sleeping on his workshop. Everyone circled around the sleeping sniper and tried any remedy to wake him up. Usopp was limp and didn't react as his crewmates pinched, kicked, shook, and even drew on him. Ending in vein, they straightened up and pondered.
"Allergies?"
"Did the pollen get him too?"
"What do you mean 'too'?"
"Shut up Robin!"
"What did I miss?"
"Fufu, I'll tell you later Nami-chan."
"Will Uso-Bro wake up?"
"Not until someone kisses him."
"Um..."
It took three rounds of rock paper scissors and a minute of privacy to get one hesitant winner to kiss Usopp awake.
The End
A/N: Who kissed Usopp? I'll leave it to your imagination.