Aya was always earnest in her giving, even when her gift missed the mark or seemed less sincere than it really was. Still, her gifts were always earnest. Which is important to remember because today Aya came jogging up to her darling brother, a small glass bowl in her hands that was wrapped with a bow. Wait - was that a marimo moss ball inside? "I, um, happy birthday Sanji! I, um, I hope you like it - it's, um, it's a Marimo." Oh dear. "I, um, I thought it was, um, well, cute? And, um, clever?"
Sanji turned around when he heard the rushed footsteps and smiled at Aya, as she came towards him, wishing her brother a happy birthday. As she handed Sanji his gift, he was shortly distracted by the cute little bow, that was so very Aya-like but then blinked twice and directed his gaze towards the content of the pretty glass bowl, holding it up towards his face to see better, because he was sure he must have missheard Aya telling him what it was.
Nope, that definitely was a little marimo in all its tiny moss ball glory sitting right at the bottom or rather floating just a little above it from the recent movement. Sanji’s cheeks got a bit of colour. Oh boy, had he been ranting that much about his crewmate, rival, bane of his existence aka his stupid crush? Whelp, Aya surely had picked up on that and she only knew Zoro by his nickname, Marimo, curtesy of the very chef himself.
He snickered to himself, sweet Aya and her way of encouragement. “Thank you, it is indeed very cute”, unlike the human counterpart, he thought, “and maybe even too clever.” Sanji pulled Aya into a hug and pressed a kiss onto her forehead to show his appreciation for the lovely gift.
“I hope the little fella won’t give my secret away,” he mumbled, not sounding too worried, while he turned to put the glass bowl onto the kitchen counter for everyone to see. Let the teasing come, Sanji was sure he could come up with a counter to any comment.
Turning back to face Aya, a sudden thought hit him. “Or, wait, could it be...that was your intention all along?” He knew Aya loved those romance stories even more than Sanji himself did and maybe there was a little match-making magic at play here.
Either way, the present was chosen thoughtfully and with heart. Sanji could not have wished for anything better.















