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It is said that Sanji lights a candle every time he has sex.
It was odd at first, but Nami clocked the candle's appearance almost immediately.
They appeared around the ship casually.
The first arrived after Arlong’s defeat, after they made it over reverse mountain, and after they were officially a crew with bounties on their heads.
The first one, well, it appeared when they landed at an odd port. Both Sanji and Zoro disappeared into a bar.
It was quite obvious– Zoro came back absolutely peeved, glaring in anger at the galley, before storming to the crow's nest and handling the largest weights she’d ever seen.
This would later become a normal occurrence.
She cornered him, holding a substantial debt over his head if he chose not to answer. Zoro had grimaced, before blatantly telling her about the cook running off with a ‘muscled bonehead.’
“And why does that bother you?”
Again, he clenched his teeth, his eyes narrowed as he glared at her. She loved the wrinkles that appeared around Zoro’s eyes when he got mad.
“Because–” He gritted out. “I’m not really sure.”
“Is it because you maybe have a crush on Sanji?”
“Never.”
“And that’s 1000 beli for lying.”
He hadn’t spoken to her again.
Zoro avoided her at every corner, even more so on the days that Sanji seemingly disappeared from bars with strange men.
“Does it bother you that it’s always men?” She asked once, not cornering him, but instead asking over the dinner table. Both her and Robin were digging into a delectably sweet yogurt while Zoro sharpened his swords. She could see the glint in his eyes– forever the masochist– as he looked at her up and down.
“What are you referring to?”
Nami pointed at the tiny candles, surrounded by flowers and other herbs, on the ledge of the windows, the walls, the shelves.
“They are just candles?” He responded.
Nami and Robin exchanged a glance.
“He lights them after he has sex.” Nami explained, popping the sweet spoon in her mouth.
“I think it’s a weird way of him keeping a list,” Robin offered an explanation at his raised brow.
Zoro had put his swords away, even though he still had two to sharpen. He stood, and walked to the candles, counting them.
There were no additions to the candles while the wars raged around them, not that Nami could say she was surprised. They were constantly busy– Luffy would throw himself into action almost immediately without even questioning his crews’ desires. First it was for Fishman Island, and then it was following along on the alliance with his obvious crush on Law, and then came Whole Cake Island, and Sanji had just never been the same.
She watched him as he cathartically made them food.
His hands always moved in the exact same rhythm.
As if nothing had ever changed.
And, on the day he dropped sweet chocolate ice cream with orange ribbons in front of her and Robin at the table, Nami took the opportunity.
How could she not?
“Sanji,” she started, watching as his legs began to wiggle and he began to swoon. Hearts popped from his eyes, but she ignored him. “Are you alright?”
“Well, my dearest Nami-swannn, of course I am alright!” He spun in a circle. “What a wonderful woman to worry about me!”
She asked again. She stuck a spoonful of the delicious ice cream in her mouth, noting the wonderful flavors. It was probably healthy too, safe to indulge on.
He really was the best chef of all time.
“Is it Whole Cake Island?” Robin wondered, trying to direct his train of thought to the correct place. “You know we all care about you. Nobody holds it against you.”
He stopped spinning, coming to a halt with a red face. “I–”
“We don’t hold it against you.”
“It’s not the crew,” he said, a blush creeping across his face. “It’s… It’s Zoro.”
“Zoro doesn’t hate you,” Nami answered. “Quite the opposite.”
“You can’t actually believe that,” Sanji muttered. “Look how he treated Usopp when he left the crew.”
“Sanji,” she stated, finishing the ice cream and dangling the spoon in front of her face. “That was different. The way Zoro feels about you is different.”
“We mean it,” Robin reassured, and Sanji met her blue eyes.
Nami knew he believed it. They might actually be on a track.
“Go ask him,” Nami said, rising, done with the dumb boys. “He’s in the crow’s nest.”
“Avoiding me.”
“Sanji, I mean it. Go ask him.” She thought for a second before adding, “I’ll raise your debt if you don’t.”
And he obliged, twirling on his feet about Nami’s romantic love as he exited the door and spun his way to the crow’s nest.
The next day, a candle appeared, and within three days, there were ten candles littering the table, decorated with a green mossy faux substance. Nami eyed them carefully, watching the new candles burn.
Sanji had sex? They were in the middle of the ocean. Who could he have possibly had sex with?
Within the week, twenty-five candles had appeared, each one flickering delightfully and decorated with the same moss.
It wasn’t until she was seated across from Zoro, once again sharpening his swords, ignoring the fact they were heading into enemy territory and just acting so casual, that she noticed the hickeys.
The small faint bruises crawling up the swordsman’s neck.
“You–” she said, balling up her fist, and then releasing them. No way Zoro was taking advantage of Sanji… maybe this is just what they wanted.
Had Zoro finally admitted his big crush?
Her eyes flickered to the candles, and then back to Zoro.
Sanji entered the room, and she watched as his body language relaxed, and he leaned into Zoro’s presence. They were calm, a collected storm among the waves, mirroring each other.
They had sex 25 times within one week?
Guess that’s how they earned the nickname monsters.