Holding a spoon with a generous piece of chocolate cake, Robin takes the dessert toward his lips trying to feed the blonde man. "Say 'aaah', Cook-san."
Robin stands before him with one of her soft, mysterious smiles on her lips, her beautiful, long fingers hold the spoon delicately. Sanji recognizes the dark chocolate mousse cake on it instantly, it’s the very one that he has just sent down to her a while ago. When he retrieved the plate from the dumbwaiter, Sanji had found a note with a request to join the lady at the aquarium. Not one to make a woman wait, Sanji immediately went down to offer his company to Robin. That’s how he had found himself in the current situation.
Now, as the cook understands, Robin wants to share her treats with him, which he finds incredibly generous and kind of her. But his brain short-circuits when everything looks like the older woman is trying to hand-feed him his own cake. When Robin outright asks him to say “aaah”, Sanji’s mouth does fall open, not because he is obedient to the request, though, but because of utter shock. Slack-jawed, Sanji stares at Robin, who unwaveringly brings the spoon closer. The cook’s vision grows unfocussed, he can’t believe that this is happening. Is this a dream? Is he dead? This must be what heaven is like.
With the spoon on his tongue, Sanji realizes that he should close his mouth and does so with a speed that his teeth painfully clash against the metal. He barely flinches, his body is already out of control, sending goosebumps across his skin while a wave of heat paints a rosy colour on his cheeks.
His tongue uselessly registers the cake’s taste and sends it to his brain for analysis. Deep, rich, not too sweet but a strong taste nonetheless, delicious, of course, since he had made it for Robin. The automatism of taste-testing anything that lands on his tongue probably is the only thing that keeps Sanji somewhat rooted in the here and now.
Sanji swallows with a big gulp and opens his mouth just enough to release the spoon again. Before he can speak, the cook has to clear his throat, turning to the side to cough into his fist, embarrassed and almost shyly. When he turns back to address Robin, his voice still comes out a bit raspy-sounding. “Thank you very much.” He cringes because it’s the dumbest thing he could say at that moment but Sanji really doesn’t know what else to say. Sure, he has dreamt of a scenario like this before, but fantasies like these usually don’t come true. It doesn’t help that Robin looks as elegantly beautiful and unfazed as ever. In the presence of such an amazing woman, Sanji almost feels like a young, naive boy. To his dismay, his blush deepens.
