Aaaand here is another chapter! And it's even longer than the others, what?! This was also my favorite to write so far 3

Special shout out to YunisuKozakura who has been reviewing every chapter so far. You are awesome!

Story set: Timeless

The best kind of soup

Sanji had begun to feel dizzy about an hour before dinner and he silently cursed his luck and began preparing food for the next few days. One of the cons of having a crew with very few members was that if someone got ill or injured, it was hard to find a replacement. Some roles could be done without for a couple of days, but there were three people whom everyone always prayed would never even catch a cold. Nami the navigator, Chopper the doctor and Sanji the cook. The one time Nami had fallen ill and they had had no doctor had been a complete nightmare and only the gods could know what would have happened if Vivi had not been around.

Luckily Sanji was not the only one on the crew who could cook, but the people who could (Nami, Robin and Usopp) had to take time off their own jobs to do Sanji's. Sanji wasn't all too fond of the idea of taking time away from his precious women, especially Nami who had a very taxing job to begin with, and Usopp was already a hard worker who spent hours and hours everyday honing and polishing his skills. Even in Usopp's free time he was eager to help Sanji by fishing with whomever had extra time on their hands (Usually Luffy) to fill their tank for Sanji to use. Robin's job was quite inconsistent, so it wasn't a problem for her to take a break for it, because she could easily catch up on lost work. But her alone wasn't enough, when you had to prepare food for eight people and Luffy.

So Sanji made sure that the work they had to do, when he eventually collapsed from... whatever this illness was, was minimum. The only problem was that they were running low on food and the best way to optimize ingredients was to prepare them only right before consumption. Therefore Sanji had to make a few sacrifices here and there, and hope that the weather would stabilize sooner rather than later in order for them to restock on the next island.

When dinner came by, Sanji was having a hard time pretending to be fine and ended up doing the dishes while some were still eating, just to avoid showing his face, which he was sure was flushed and sweaty due to fever. He somehow made it through dinner without anyone commenting on his strange behaviour and soon enough the kitchen cleared and Sanji found the biggest pot he owned and started preparing a stew that should get them through at least two days, even with Luffy eating a little extra. Although Luffy was surprisingly good at minimizing food intake when they were running low on food. Luffy would have eaten the exact same amount of food as everyone else had it not been for Sanji and Chopper forcing him to eat more.

This might seem strange as Luffy was rather small compared to literally every other pirate in the world and it seemed like he could live on a regular sized meal, but Sanji knew better. Luffy was always moving around and, believe it or not, stretching was just as taxing as running was. Since Luffy had had his powers almost his entire life, he was so used to always using it that it was hard to make him stop, which consequently meant that he needed more food than everyone else. And of course, he was the Captain and their strongest fighter, so in case of an enemy attack, Luffy always had to be in his best condition.

When Sanji had made all the preparations he possibly could in the kitchen (by making a stew and various other dishes that wouldn't spoil if kept in the fridge), he was sure that even if no one was cooking, they could at least survive for three days and with a few people in the kitchen, they should be good for five or six, which would give Sanji plenty of time to recover. By now, he was hardly standing and his throat was sore, so he made himself a big cup of tea and wrote down how to prepare and serve the food to properly ration it without starving anyone. He also wrote his easiest-to-follow recipes, so no one panicked when they eventually ran out of Sanji-prepared food. When Sanji had successfully done everything he could, he finally allowed the illness to take hold and he collapsed.

Sanji was lying on the floor of the kitchen and compared to when he had been forcing himself to work with a fever, he was rather comfortable. He hadn't exactly passed out, but he wouldn't call this being awake either. It was like he was aware of his surroundings, but everything was blurry and confusing and sometimes it was like the furniture around him was moving, but he forced himself to at least stay awake until someone found him, just so that he could tell them of his preparations. Sanji wasn't really in the mood to move, but he did manage to drag his body across the floor just enough for him to keep a look on the door, waiting for someone who wanted a late night drink.

Sanji was greatly annoyed when Zoro happened to be the one to come strolling in, no doubt wanting saké, but the look on Zoro's face when he noticed Sanji collapsed on the floor was priceless and Sanji wondered if he would have made that face two years ago. Zoro was quick to call for Chopper and knelt beside Sanji to determine what was wrong... as if it wasn't obvious.

"Marimo..." Sanji panted and found that talking was painful and taxing, "table... note" he tried, hoping that Zoro's tiny brain would understand. At this point he didn't even have the energy to keep his eyes open, but he could still hear and feel... though he mostly felt pain and exhaustion. He was faintly aware that Zoro had found the note and that he was also checking for a fever, which just meant that he wasn't actually reading the goddamn thing. He then heard the sound of Chopper's hurried steps and his name being shouted, which was sure to be drawing attention.

"He has a fever," Zoro told Chopper possibly trying to be some sort of helpful. Next he heard heels, making him pretty sure that it Nami had walked in and true enough... "Sanji-kun!" he heard her exclaim, sounding concerned. Ah, yes, the one saving grace of this illness was Nami-san being worried for him. Sanji heard Nami asking what was going on and Chopper began explaining that he was ill with... what now? Sanji couldn't really comprehend all the fancy word Chopper used, but he did catch that he should be fine within five days, so unless someone stole all their food, starvation was no threat. Thank god!

When the sounds around Sanji had begun to melt into one, he finally drifted away into a dreamless sleep.

Sanji woke up in the Sick Bay at who-knew-what-time and tried to sit up, but gave up when his head started spinning. He then noticed a damp cloth resting on his forehead. It was still cool, meaning it couldn't have been placed there long ago and it felt nice and cold on his burning forehead. He had been stripped of his usual attire and found himself in a pair of shorts and a light shirt, which he didn't remember owning, but he was quite thankful for the change. There was light shining from the window, meaning that he had at least slept through the night and possibly multiple nights, but, again, how would he know? He figured it was a good thing though. He had once heard that rest was the best medicine... or something like that. He kind of wanted to go back to sleep, but he was dying for some water to calm his burning throat. He also thought that it was unusual for Chopper to leave a patient alone, but he figured that even Chopper had to eat and such, so he didn't blame him. And it wasn't like he was dying.

It wasn't long before Chopper came through the door carrying a basket of.. green stuff? Chopper immediately noticed that he was awake and did a quick check-up.

"How are you feeling?" Chopper asked, and it occurred to Sanji that this was the first time he had been around Chopper while he was being doctor-like... at least in a conscious state.

"...Hot...cold..." Sanji said, because he was finding this sweating a lot with a burning head and a cold body very discomforting, but even more than that: "...thirsty."

"Of course," Chopper said and transformed into his bigger form to help Sanji sit and gave him some water. He then went on to explain what kind of illness it was and how there was no danger and it was very common and all of those things which Sanji just forgot seconds after hearing them. When Chopper was done talking and Sanji had consumed at least two litres of water, he went right back to sleep.

The second time he woke up it was night and Chopper was in the room, but sleeping in the bed opposite Sanji. Sanji quickly took a glass of water, because damn did he need it (He even managed to sit up by himself, victory!). It was then that he noticed the small note by the table, and he thanked the heavens for moonlight.

Eat before drinking all the water ~ Chopper

There was a small green ball of something on the table and as soon as Sanji put it in his mouth, he wanted to spit it out. Sanji had had medicine before and he had had spoiled food, but this thing really took the cake. Screw what all the ability users said, this had to taste worse than a devil fruit. Sanji was glad that he hadn't drunk all the water before reading the note, because he really needed that water now. Sanji collapsed when he ran out of water. (To this day Chopper still claims that the devil fruit tasted worse)

He woke up again to the sound of talking. He couldn't make out any words, but it was a very comforting sound. It was like the sound of a party with all the people you loved. You didn't listen to a particular conversation, but you understood that they were having a good time. The talking didn't sound at all like a party, it was more like a friendly, peaceful chat. He could hear Luffy the best. Perhaps because he was sitting closest to the Sick Bay (Luffy and Zoro were the only ones with a fixed seat. Luffy by the end, so that he could look at all of his friends and Zoro by his right hand where he belonged), perhaps because he was the loudest or maybe because Sanji found comfort in his voice and sought it out.

He was feeling thirsty again, but this time he actually had the energy to sit up by himself and not get crazily dizzy afterwards. As he reached for the water on the table by his bed, he also found another note and a weird device with a button. He decided that before he could find it in him to read, he had to drink, because he was burning up and his throat was somehow drier than before. After successfully drinking all the water Chopper had put out for him, he read the note, which happened to not be from Chopper

If warm, press button ~ Super gift from Franky and Usopp

Sanji smiled and pressed the button. From the ceiling above came a cool breeze of air, which felt nice on Sanji's warm skin. Franky and Usopp had set up three breath dials on the ceiling and filled them with cool air, which could be activated with a remote. Sanji just had the most amazing friends. He fell asleep again, but this time he wasn't feeling like a human torch.

The fourth time Sanji woke up, he was no longer feeling too hot or too cold and his throat was better. Although he was still light-headed and weak, at least he was recovering and that was a good start. It was also this time he noticed that he was hungry... really hungry. Since he couldn't very well go to the kitchen, his first instinct was to grab a cigarette to dull the hunger, but he had no doubt that him smoking was something that Chopper did not want him doing, so he didn't even bother trying to find his pack. He had been cutting down lately and only smoked when he felt particularly stressed, but he really wanted one right now... or some food. The thing with food though was that he knew that he would not be able to keep it down and smoking would mean not wasting any of the food they had left. He ended up settling for a glass of water.

A few moments later Usopp walked in carrying a tray. "How are you feeling?" he asked when he saw that he was awake and left the door open behind him.

"Better," Sanji said, not wanting to talk too much.

"Good, it's weird without you," Usopp put down the tray and seated himself on the edge of the bed.

"Is that so?" Sanji asked, wanting whatever update he could get. Weird as it sounded, he missed his friends.

"Yeah, you should have seen Luffy when he heard that Zoro had found you collapsed in the kitchen. He was so worried he cried until Chopper explained that it wasn't as bad as Zoro had made it seem. Luffy had somehow gotten the impression that you were dying or something... Jeez, talk about overreacting. He wanted to stay until you woke up, but Chopper and Zoro convinced him that you wouldn't want him to be missing out on both sleep and your food, though Brook had to help put him to sleep... Luffy cares so much, I sometimes wonder how people can hate him."

Sanji smiled and agreed. Their captain sure was special.

"Zoro has also taken to it quite badly, although he isn't as verbal about it as Luffy. I think he misses his sparring partner."

Sanji laughed lightly at that. Who would have thought?

"Nami and I are in charge of food now and Robin is covering navigation, but you sure have made it easy for us. Did you know you were gonna get sick? There was so much prepared food and with instructions too."

"I felt dizzy and adjusted to the situation... I am the cook after all."

"Y'know... Chopper said that part of the reason you collapsed was because you didn't get enough rest..."

"...?" Sanji looked at him with questioning eyes.

"You and Nami are the only ones who are required to work all day, but on top of that, you are also one of our strongest fighters. The more I think about it, the more I notice how much harder you work... it's like you have two jobs while the rest of us just have one."

Sanji had never thought of it like that, since he had been raised as a cook of the Baratie where you would only work (and survive) if you could fight. However, when Usopp put it like that, Sanji could see where he was going, but still... he was missing something.

"I work just as hard as everyone else..." he said, "it's just different."

Now it was Usopp's turn to look confused, and Sanji wanted to elaborate, but his throat was protesting, so he tried to keep it short.

"Everyone works hard in their own way," he tried, hoping Usopp would understand. It looked like he did, but that didn't mean that he was done scolding him for not getting enough rest.

"Still, we can't have you collapsing, so if you ever feel like you need a break, I don't mind cooking a meal. I'm nowhere near as good as you, but it's better than having you out for a whole week. And I'm sure the others wouldn't mind helping out as well, whether it be assisting or just washing dishes, just ask."

Sanji found it hard to argue with anything and he had always known that he only had to ask, but damn him and his pride. He would rather overwork himself than waste other people's time. He still nodded though, telling Usopp that he would be more careful from now on. Usopp seemed to also get that he wouldn't be asking for help any time soon and probably made a mental note to come help out anyway.

"Oh yeah, I brought food," Usopp said, suddenly remembering why he had come in the first place. And Sanji eyed the food, trying to convey that didn't want to eat. "Chopper said that you had to eat. It's been three days and if you don't eat, your body won't have the energy to recover." It sounded so logical, but if his body needed the food, why did it reject it?

"... no," Sanji tried and noticed how spoiled he sounded. He heard Usopp sigh.

"Come on, Nami and I made this especially for you," Usopp knew Sanji too well and the mention of Nami made him rethink his decision of not wanting the food. Usopp smiled when he knew his plan had worked.

"Fine, but only for Nami-san," and for you, because I care about you just as much as I care about Nami-san.

"It's a simple mushroom soup with some herbs of Chopper's choosing, it should be light enough for your stomach not to reject it."

Sanji took a spoonful. It tasted like friendship and love. "Thank you."

Am I the only one who just loves sick!fics? Such a good excuse to have people take care of each other :3 It's my first attempt at one, but I'm quite happy about the outcome. It you liked it too, then please fave and follow for more. And leave a review to let me know what you thought xx

Also, if you have any food related headcannons, which you think would fit the story and you want me to write about them, feel free to leave them in a review and I will most likely write about it. (Unless you want something like cannibalism, then you just need to get out)