One Piece One-Shots! - Requests Open

Midnight Baking Lesson || Sanji

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It all started with the wrong decision on how to hold the knife. Your index finger had been perched atop the back of the blade as you roughly sliced the vanilla bean pods. You didn't know why, but it was somewhat impossible to get under control. You had tried to reposition the bean pod, and that was when your finger and the knife slipped.

You quietly nursed your cut finger with a damp washcloth, glaring at the herb in frustration. It was the middle of the night, you couldn't risk waking up your friends, especially Sanji. He was the one you were trying to make this for, after all.
A month ago, he had mentioned his birthday, and despite offers from the crew of having a party, he declined for some reason. It had only been about a year since you had been traveling with the band of wild pirates, but you had gotten to know them all pretty well, and you knew Sanji wouldn't pass up a celebration. You looked at the clock through the dim lighting of the moon, frowning. It was about 12:14 A.M., Sanji would be awake by sunrise. You had time, but if you kept slipping up like this that wouldn't count for much. You sighed, picking up a small bandage and tying it around your finger before going back to the cutting board. Initially, you had planned to make him a pie, but you thought it would just be easier to make him a little cake instead. The rough handling of the bean pods had made little noise, but it was enough to stir Sanji and put him on high alert. He crept out of bed, convinced Luffy was attempting to break into the refrigerator again. He snuck down the stairs stealthily, his sock-padded feet silent on the wood as he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the door, blowing his sneaky cover out of the surprise of seeing you.

"[Name]?? What the hell are you doing in here?" He asked, startling you. You hadn't heard him come in, so it was a bit of a cold shock to see him out of the blue. You set down the knife quickly, making a futile attempt to hide the sloppy slicing job behind you.

"S-Sanji!! I could ask you the same thing, why are you up so late?"

You asked, internally twinging at the nervous edge of your voice. He frowned at you, his eyes wandering to the mess behind your back in curiosity.

"I thought I heard Luffy gorging himself in here, so I was going to surprise attack the shithead.. But instead I found you."

He explained, raising one twirling eyebrow at the cutting board.

"What were you trying to do in here...?"

Damn, you were caught. You sigh, looking down at the ground.

"Well, when we were all talking a month ago, you mentioned your birthday. I know you said you didn't want a party, but I thought I should.. Well.. Let you kick your feet up for the day, and bake you something special.."

The last few sentences were mumbled, your face growing flustered as you revealed your birthday plans to him. You look down at the floor, feeling dumb and expecting no less of an insult from the ship's cook. You heard nothing, and looked up to see the cook with a rather surprised look on his face. Not only that, his cheeks were tinted a rosy hue.

"You.. You wanted to do that... For me??"

He asked in confirmation. You nodded, looking up at him sheepishly. You watched as he took a moment to process, looking a little red in the face as he faced you again. He let out a huff, your face burning as he came up behind you and started to correct your mishandling of the pods.

"W-Well, let's start by showing you how to actually deal with these."

He picked up his own paring knife from the block and took a piece of the butchered pod, focusing on his cutting as he explained your mistakes.