Work Text:
Winter islands are the best, decides Chopper.
He lets himself fall to the ground and rolls around, delighting in the cold that slips through his fur. His body leaves a trail behind since there’s at least a foot of snow in the ground and Chopper can’t help but giggle.
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” Robin tells him with a small smile.
“Not that much,” he lies. He’s a pirate, it wouldn’t do to be too excited about something as childish as snow.
“Look, Usopp, I’m an old man!” Luffy’s loud voice makes all of them turn towards him. He has covered his hair with snow and is pretending to walk with a stick. By his side, Usopp is laughing so much that he’s crying.
“Children,” Nami sighs but Chopper notices that she doesn’t sound too exasperated. “Oh well, at least they will be distracted till the Log Pose sets.”
“Will it take long?”
“A day, I think. With some luck, we’ll be out of here before Luffy gets bored.”
One would think so, but the doctor learned long ago not to underestimate their Captain. Still, a whole day to relax? When was the last time they got that?
“Aren’t you cold, Chopper?” asks Jinbei who has downed a coat over his usual clothes.
Chopper shakes his head. “No, this is just right for me.”
“Well, he is a reindeer,” points Brook out. “As for me, I’m cold to the bones. But then again, I’m only bones yohohohoho.”
“Make sure you cover yourself well,” Chopper advises him, looking critically at his untied scarf. “Skeleton or not, colds can be dangerous.”
“I will, I will,” the musician replies. “And I’m sure Sanji will have a lovely warm meal for us ready as soon as he is done playing.”
Chopper nods and doesn’t even bother to turn towards where Sanji and Zoro are throwing each other elephant sized snowballs. Instead, he walks towards Franky and Usopp who are competing about who can make the most super snowman ever.
“Chopper, chopper, look!” Luffy tells him, bouncing around. “It has lasers!”
“Wow!”
Franky sends Usopp a smug grin, posing beside his super snow robot. Usopp just smirks back, moving aside to reveal his masterpiece.
“So cool!” Luffy and Chopper cry in unison.
Rendered in snow there’s a buffer, taller version of Usopp with slingshot included and standing with a foot over Kaido’s fallen body in his dragon form.
“That’s exactly the expression he had when I punched him!” Luffy says with a laugh. “You’re the greatest Usopp!”
“Of course! I may not be a shipwright but I’m the crew’s best artist,” the man brags. “Who designed our flag, eh?”
“I designed our ship!” protests Franky. “Are you going to tell me that Sunny's not art?”
“He’s definitely not a lion…” Usopp mutters under breath.
Franky raises an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“I asked if you wanted to make a Sunny out of snow with me!” the snipper quickly corrects. “We can make a Merry too!”
The two start working on it so Luffy loses interest and goes to play with Zoro and Sanji. Chopper looks at them but decides against joining too, he’d have to break out the Monster Form to compete with them and he really isn’t feeling like it.
Instead, he fetches one of his books and goes sit next to Robin.
“Didn’t you already read that one?” she asks, setting her own reading aside.
“Well yeah, but I’ve run out of new books.”
“Looks like we’ll have to visit a bookshop next time we stop on a populated island,” Robin tells him with a smile.
Chopper grimaces. “I need to stock up on a lot of supplies, I don’t think I’ll be able to stretch the budget enough to get books.”
Nami’s working nearby, putting markers on the islands and taking notes in her notebook. At the word ‘budget’ she straightens up and sends Chopper a warning glare. The doctor is not afraid of her, he’s not. But he’s also not stupid enough to ask her for a loan. Especially since the main reason he’s running low on supplies is because he decided to enter a pranking war with Usopp.
“Good thing it’s your birthday soon, then,” Robin declares with a smile. “Just tell me which books you want and I’ll get them for you.”
“Oh?” Brook chimes in, setting down his violin. “Is it our good doctor's birthday?”
“It’s in a couple of weeks,” Chopper admits, pleased that Robin’s remembered after their two years separation.
“We’ll have to have a party then,” Brook declares. “I’ll compose something special for the occasion.”
“We’ll have a feast too!” When did Luffy get here? “With lots of meat. Oh, and chocolate I guess. But especially meat, right Chopper?” He barely waits for Chopper to nod before he’s turned towards the two-man blizzard in the corner. “Sanji! Chopper says he wants lots and lots of meat for his birthday!”
“I heard!” Sanji snaps back. “Don’t worry Chopper, I’ll make all your favorites.”
“Thank you!”
Nami drops to a seat near him, closing her notebook with a practiced twist to the wrist. “So, anything else you want as a present? Besides books?”
Her smile is generous and it scares Chopper enough that he shakes his head. “That’s okay.”
“Don’t be shy,” Nami insists. “A birthday’s a birthday. You are allowed to ask for gifts.”
“Yeah,” Franky nods, already putting the finishing touches on the snow-Sunny stern. “You are our youngest after all.”
Wait, what?
Chopper is not the youngest!
Well, yeah, he is. But only by a technicality.
He’s definitely not the less mature one, that’s for sure.
Chopper pouts.
“I don’t want any presents this year,” he declares. “Presents are for kids after all.”
For once, his crew falls completely silent. Even Zoro and Sanji stop trying to bury each other with snow. Then they all start talking at the same time
“What?”
“No presents?”
“As a ninety years old I can assure you…”
“No cool, little bro, birthdays mean presents!”
“Chopper are you sure…”
He crosses his arms.
“I said no presents!” he repeats, louder this time. “It’s my birthday which means I decide.”
The others exchange worried glances between themselves but Chopper tunes them out, focusing all his attention on his book.
His face feels like it’s burning.
“Chopper,” Robin tries, speaking really softly.
“Did you receive presents when you were my age?” Chopper is sure she didn’t, Robin’s always been really mature.
“Well, no, but that was beca-”
“Then I don’t want any either,” he cuts her out.
“We are still having a party, though, are we?” Luffy asks. He sounds confused but their captain’s never been one to force them to do things they didn’t want to. That is, of course, unless they are things he wanted to do.
“Of course!”
His answer seems to pacify the crew a bit and the morning proceeds with no further accidents.
In fact, nothing happens until they are about to get back to the Sunny, when Usopp yells at them all to come.
“Look what I found!” he says pointing at what Chopper would have sworn was a normal log except for the fact that it has a face painted on and is wearing a strange, red hat.
“What is it?” asks Luffy, already moving to grab the log.
Usopp slaps his hand away.
“It’s a magic log!” he declares.
“Magic?” Chopper’s never seen a magic log before! He hadn’t even known they existed.
“Yes,” Usopp nods, looking really serious. “Magic.”
“What does it do? Does it transform into a robot? Does it fight? Wait, can it fly?” Luffy asks, stretching his neck to look at the log from closer by.
“Even better, this log, it gives presents!” declares Usopp with a grandiose gesture.
“Wow!” Chopper can’t believe they’ve been this lucky! To think they’ve managed to find a magic log just laying around! Surprisingly, only Luffy seems as excited as he is.
“And, pray tell, how does it do that?” asks Robin in that amused tone of hers.
“Hmm… Well…” Usopp scratches his cheek. “It poops them!”
Chopper feels his jaw drop. “What?!”
“Gross!”
“No, no, no, no,” Usopp quickly clarifies. “The poop is the presents so it’s not gross. It’s just, you know, it has to come out from somewhere, eh?”
“I don’t see presents around,” points Zoro out and for some reason, Sanji steps on his food. Hard.
“That’s because it only does it after you’ve hit it with a rod,” Usopp says quickly.
“Poor log,” Nami mutters.
“It doesn't feel any pain,” the sniper clarifies, looking like he’s starting to get annoyed. “The locals have been doing this for hundreds of years!”
“I thought the island was deserted?” Jinbei elbows Brook so hard on the ribs that Chopper is afraid that they’ll crack.
“It’s a long lost civilization,” Usopp declares with a huff. “They live in hiding but recognized me as God Usopp and came out to speak to me. I told them you were cool but they were too afraid to stick around. Any more questions?”
Nami raises her hand. “What does it eat?” she asks. “If it poops, it must eat, right?”
Usopp’s eyes glint evilly and he smirks. “Actually, Nami, it eats tangerines. You have to leave it one tangerine every night or it won’t be able to poop any presents.”
Nami’s smile sharpens. “Oh? Are you sure it’s tangerines?”
“Completely. The locals told me so.”
It may be because it’s a winter island but Chopper feels like the temperature has dropped a couple of degrees.
“If it eats tangerines then we’ll feed it tangerines,” Luffy declares much to Usopp’s glee and Nami’s despair.
“Fine,” she says. “The presents better be worth it though.”
“That will depend on the chosen one,” Usopp declares. “The islanders have the tradition that only young children can hit the log, but since our crew is made of all adults we will randomly pick who gets the presents okay?”
“Do we have to? Can’t we share them?” Chopper asks. It doesn’t seem fair that only one of them gets gifts.
Usopp shakes his head. “It won’t work if we do that. Better one person gets all the presents than no one, yeah? And the person can share what he, or she, gets afterwards.”
“How do we pick, then?” Robin asks, and her smile is actually genuine for once.
“I’ll think a number from one to ten, whomever guesses it, will be in charge of the log. If no one does, then it will be mine. Sounds fair?” Everyone nods and Usopp concentrates to pick a number.
“One,” Zoro and Sanji declare at the same time before turning to glare at each other.
“I said it first!”
“Did that algae already root into your brain? It’s obvious that I was faster.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Usopp cuts them off. “It wasn’t one. You are both out of the running.”
“Five. Wait, no, six!” Luffy tries.
“Sorry, neither of them.”
Chopper bits his lip before venturing, “Seven?”
“That’s exactly right!” Usopp says, eyes widening comically. “You got it. Dammit, I really wanted to be the one.”
“Rules are rules, I won fair and square!” Chopper protests, smirking at Usopp. “Which means the log is mine!”
“That it is,” Usopp nods.”So you better remember to feed it and cover it with a thick blanket, okay? We don’t want it getting cold and pooping herrings instead of presents!”
Chopper winces. “I won’t let that happen,” he promises. “And I’ll make sure to fatten it up! How long will it take before it gives us presents?”
Usopp examines the thickness of the log and weighs it in his hands. “I’d say around two weeks.”
“That’s when my birthday will be!”
For some reason, half the crew chuckles at that. “Isn’t that the most amazing coincidence?”
Back on the ship, Chopper finds a very thick and large blanket and uses it to make the Log comfortable on deck. He’d wondered if it would feel alone, being taken away from home, but Usopp had reassured him that it was part of a Log’s life to leave the island. Still, Chopper intends to at least offer it some conversation since it’s due to his selfishness that it will be traveling the seas.
So that’s how he spends the next two weeks. Every day, he sits by the Log side and talks to him about his crew, what they like, what they don’t, the crazy adventures that they’ve had. He’s kind of hoping that the Log will take that into account when making the presents though he’s not sure how much control it has over them.
He also makes sure to leave a bit of water and a tangerine by its side every night and every morning the water is gone and there’s only the peel of the tangerine left. That means it’s eating it, right? Chopper hasn’t managed to see him eat but Usopp assures him that it’s just shy and that he’s indeed getting fatter.
A couple of days before his birthday, they stop on an island that has a small port and Chopper begs Robin to buy him some tangerines for the Log since he’s stuck on guard duty. That night, he’s able to present the Log with three tangerines instead of the single one that Nami allows him to get from her trees and, to his delight, by the next day they have all been eaten.
When the day of his birthday arrives, he’s more excited about the Log ceremony than he is about his own party.
Still, he waits patiently till it's done since Sanji has been cooking nonstop for him and all his crewmates want to congratulate him and celebrate his birthday. They are all so nice! Chopper often wonders what he’s done to deserve them.
“Choppe, why don’t we move the Log here?” Nami asks, pointing at the middle of the lawn. “It will be easier for all of us to look than there in the corner.
“Okay.”
Once the Log’s been put in the middle, Chopper goes to cover it with the blanket but Usopp takes it for him.
“I’ll cover it, don’t worry, why don’t you go get the rod?” he suggests.
“Yeah,” Sanji nods. “I think there was one in the kitchen’s pantry.”
The rest of the crew, all of whom are surrounding the Log, nod in agreement so Chopper shrugs and goes to look for it.
It takes him a lot longer than he was expecting because for some reason the rod is hidden behind a couple of flour bags so by the time he comes back, the Log is already covered and his nakamas have taken a seat around it.
“There you are,” Robin says with a smile.
“Yeah, sorry I’m late.”
Now that he looks at the Log from closer by, it’s obvious that it has gotten fatter. The blanket is far more bulky than it was a week ago.
Chopper grabs the rod and squares his shoulders.
“Remember to do the song!” Usopp calls out and Chopper rolls his eyes. Of course he remembers! He’s been learning the traditional chant for a week!
He mentally apologizes to the Log and starts very gently hitting it while he sings. The rest of the crew are silent until he finishes the song.
“That’s it?” Luffy asks, turning his head to the side. “It doesn’t look like it’s done anything.”
“That’s because the blanket is still covering it,” Usopp points out. “Take it out Chopper.”
With trembling pawns, Chopper does so and to his amazement it reveals a dozen gifts and sweets.
“Wow!” he exclaims. “It really was true!”
“Of course it was!” Usopp declares. “I’d never lie.”
There’s chocolate coins and candy canes, books on medicine, rare ingredients, the softest hoodie ever and even some medical artifacts.
“Is this what I think it is?” Chopper asks, grabbing a weird looking denden. He points it to his nakama and takes a picture. “It is!”
“That was a very nice picture of mine,” Brook declares, looking at it over his shoulder. “The rest of the crew look rather skinny though, yohohohoho.”
“It’s a rare denden that allows you to take pictures of people’s skeletons,” Chopper explains excitedly. “It’s really useful for seeing if there’s any fractured bones. With you, it’s easy, but the rest of the crew are more… fleshy. This will come in handy.”
Choppers lets it down near Robin, who is looking particularly smug for some reason, and picks up a vial full of floating eyes from among the medical ingredients he’s received.
“Anglerfish Seaking eyes?” he wonders out loud. “Those are really rare!And they can be used in a lot of poison remedies!”
“I heard they taste surprisingly fresh and meaty,” Sani pipes in. “And pair quite nicely with lemon.”
Chopper nods. “That shouldn’t interfere with its medical properties so I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Look at this, little bro!” Unsurprisingly, Franky has picked up the mechanical-looking present and he’s holding it for Chopper to examine. “It’s a soda-powered grinder! You can adjust the potency too!”
“Wow! It will help a lot with making the rumble balls!” It’s a tedious and long process but with this, he’ll be able to do it in half the time! And do other things meanwhile too!
Franky and Usopp must share his enthusiasm because they high five.
“You should try the hoodie on,” Nami advises. “I’m sure the Log can exchange it if it’s the wrong size.”
It can? This Log is truly magical!
It doesn’t need to, though, because the hoodie fits him like a globe. “So soft!”
“It comes with a hat,” Brook points out. “Here, try it on.”
The hat is cool, very similar to his usual one but a bit more flashy and Chopper decides to save it for important occasions.
He goes to examine the medical books from close by and he lets out a happy yelp.
“Look,” he says, turning towards Jinbei to show him the title of one of the books. “It’s a book comparing the different anatomies of all the species! This will be so useful when treating you! And if we ever find someone in need of help who isn’t human.”
“I’m happy you like it,” Jinbei tells him with a smile. “I’m sure the Log is too.”
“There’s a lot of candy there,” Luffy points out. He’s pouting for some reason.
“Yeah! Want some?” Chopper offers. For some reason, this seems to be the wrong thing to say.
“You don’t like it?”
“Of course I do! I’m not giving it all to you. You can only have some , okay?” His answer perks Luffy up so Chopper decides to write this up as one of his Captain’s eccentricities.
All that’s left to examine now is a bottle full of what looks to be milk. Chopper opens it and smells it. It’s sweet and cinnamon-y.
“What’s this?” he asks, already drooling a bit.
“The locals call it ‘Llet merengada’,” Zoro tells him smugly. The rest of the crew glare at him for some reason. “I think. I could be wrong. I mean, it’s a magical log, who knows what it can make? You should try it, though, it smells really sweet.”
Chopper does so and he immediately decides that he has a new favorite drink.
“Sanji, try this,” he orders. “Can you make more? Please tell me that you can.”
Sanji chuckles before complying. “Doesn’t seem too complicated,” he decides. “I’ll make some this afternoon so you can tell me if I got it right.”
“You are the best!”
“Hey, he isn’t the one that got you some!” Zoro protests.
“No,” Sanji agrees. “It was the Log, right mosshead?”
Zoro glares at Sanji but answers, between gritted teeth. “Right.”
And that’s right, the Log got Chopper all his favorite things! Chopper kneels beside him and pats him gently with his hand. “Thank you, mister Log. I loved everything.” His crew are looking at him with smiles so soft that they make Chopper blush. “What?”
“Nothing,” Robin replies. “We are just happy that you enjoyed your birthday, that’s all.”
“We should use the Log for everyone's birthday,” Copper proposes.
“We can’t,” Usopp tells him. “It needs to rest for a year now that it’s pooped. But you know what we can do? We can find him a dark, quiet place to sleep for the next months and take it back out again when it’s your birthday again. What do you say?”
Chopper nods, the Log has done a lot for him, the least he can do is let it rest for a while.