Prompts

“Where are we going to eat?” Sanji asks Nami.

“Nowhere special.. There's a canteen down the road. You get all sorts of food there and it's pretty decent.”

They were all walking down the stairs, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Chopper had bandaged Sanji’s arm and while she did, Luffy had decided to ransack the fridge.

The glee on the boys face to find anything other than beer in the fridge was indescribable. He had picked up the first thing he could lay hands on - home baked cake - and had almost ripped off the wax paper cover when Zoro realised what he was doing.

Luffy was currently booing in Zoro’s ear, complaining about the older guy snatching the treat and locking the fridge.

Usopp had his arm slung on Chopper’s shoulders and the two were discussing the latest manga releases, excited voices drifting over all others as they discussed future possibilities of a certain long running one, “ he is intelligent, he will know how to deal with it. I bet he persuades them to use clones instead of going to the wedding themselves.”

When they crossed the lobby and were almost out the door, Kokoro said something to them and everyone - except Sanji - replied in unison. Once out the dorm, Sanji asked Nami what Kokoro had said.

“She said to be back by 10. That's the dorm timing… You need to be back by ten night. But you can leave by five morning. It's honestly the only time we spend in here when the school actually starts. You'll love it here, it's always busy, not a free moment!”

As they walked down the road, Nami and Sanji chatted more and Nami informed him even more about the place. The basement of dorm 10 was rumoured to be haunted and there was a light always glowing in The dark, despite no electricity branch provided to it. Nami pointed it out and Sanji could just make out a faint yellow glow coming from the basement window of the building.

It was getting dark outside and the street lamps were being switched on. The group littered out the gates and Luffy headed the group to a comfortable looking canteen, not 400 metres away.

“Have you thought of a part time job, Sanji? To keep up with the living expenses?” Nami asked.

“I did. I was thinking of cooking? Maybe in one of these canteens itself? I'm sure some of them would have some vacancies.”

Nami hummed as they entered the haunt. Sanji looked around in interest while walking upto the counter with everyone. Metal band posters, skull portraits, aesthetic pictures of witches in the woods or wildlife like crows, foxes and bugs like spider draped the wall. There were rickety old chairs and tables set up in a circular formation. The lighting was bright and white, illuminating every corner and giving a very gothic feel to the place.

A huge poster of the Addams Family was hanging behind the counter which seemed to be deserted. Luffy dinged the bell kept next to a lone notepad and pen.

A door on the side opened and a girl, the same age as Sanji glided in, looking at the customers for a moment with a bored expression before pure glee replaced it.

“You guys!” She exclaimed, flipping the board and entering the customers area before flinging herself onto Zoro. Sanji stared at the pretty young girl, clad in black, hugging Zoro tightly, the boy returning the hug with equal fervor. Luffy and Chopper started complaining about wanting a hug too and Nami laughed while Usopp was busy taking a picture of the two on his phone.

Sanji didn't understand what the others were saying to each other but when the girl planted a kiss on Zoro’s cheek, making the boy blush furiously, Sanji guessed she was Zoro’s girlfriend. He suddenly felt like a stone had been placed on his stomach. He didn't understand why and thought that maybe it was the nausea Chopper mentioned.

Perona was leading everyone to one of the circular tables, talking non stop. She had a very high, shrill voice that hurt Sanji’s ear a little. He sat down between Nami and Usopp when everyone took their seats. This is where the girl noticed him. She looked at him and said something.

“Oh, my bad.” Luffy quipped. He was sitting opposite Sanji and spoke in Tchach,“Sanji, this is Perona, she runs the canteen and is a very good friend of ours.” Luffy then turned to Perona and said,”This is Sanji. Zoro’s new roommate.”

“What? Wasn't Ace Zoro’s roommate!?” She asked, eyeing Sanji. It made him feel a little uncomfortable.

“Yeah, Ace will be in another dorm this year, he’s in college now.” Zoro said.

“Ooohhhhhh! That is great!!! And look at him! He is so cute!” Perona leaned in and squeezed Sanji’s cheeks between her finger and thumb.

Sanji looked shocked at the sudden attention and Nami laughed at his expression when Perona left his cheeks and stood straight again. “Anyways, I have no cooks, you guys. No one is back. So it’ll be instant noodles and limewater for everyone, alright?”

Fallen faces suddenly loomed on the table, Luffy looking crestfallen. Sanji stared in puzzlement as Perona blistered.

“Don't make that face! How could you refuse my instant noodles and lime?”

“We aren't refusing.. We just wanted more.” Luffy looked at her with huge puppy eyes.

As they quarreled, Sanji tapped Nami’s hand, wanting to understand what was happening. “She doesn't have any cooks,” Nami explained, “we only get to have instant noodles.”

“I can cook!” Sanji suggested, “ if she doesn't mind ofcourse!” Sanji added.

Nami hummed, then turned to Perona who was facing the complains of everyone on the table, “Perona, Sanji here has been a cook. He says he could cook for us.”

Everyone turned to stare at Sanji with a look of surprise as well as thankfulness. Perona eyed him calculatively.

“I don't have much in stock,” she said. “But alright, c’mon.”

Nami made to stand with Sanji but he refused her to join him, smiling at her and following Perona through the door she had entered from. The kitchen was one place where he didn’t need translators. Since he didn’t have to cook a particular order, Sanji would be free to cook all and as he wanted.

The kitchen was clean, Sanji thought that Perona was probably behind it’s sparkly state. He walked over to the fridge and took out the marinated chicken, carrots and diced onions. He then headed to the small store to extract rice and spices, noticing Perona taking out the same ingredients he did, but in larger quantity.

“Sanji is very quite, isn’t he?” Chopper said. She had taken the seat emptied by the blonde.

“Not really,” Nami frowned down at the aspiring doctor. “He just doesn’t speak English. I’m sure he’ll catch up soon though. It has to be weird for him to not talk.”

“He still seems shy.” Luffy added.

“Well, he is new.”Nami agreed.

The door of the haunt opened and everyone turned to watch a freckled boy with medium black hair walk in. He was wearing a red tank top and black jeans, right arm wrist clad in various bracelets and a choker looped around his neck. Ace, Luffy’s brother, was the heart throb of the entire University.

Everyone was on their feet in a moment and rushing to meet him. Luffy got there first and hugged his brother tightly, howling with joy while the others surrounded the older boy too.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Ace chuckled, patting Luffy on his back. “It’s nice to see you again too!”

“Where’ve you been Ace? Why didn’t you come home? Gramps was so angry. Dad didn’t care…”

“Christ! Let me breathe!” Ace huffed, trying to get luffy’s death grip off him. When he finally succeeded, Luffy pulled him over to their table eagerly.

“Garp was pissed that you left. You wouldn't believe it! He was threatening to write you off his will!”

“I'm not surprised,” Ace grinned, sitting down next to his brother.

“Where did you go? You could have atleast informed one of us.” Nami said pushing Zoro off his chair to take the seat next to Ace.

The Raven head grinned at her, “I just wanted to leave. I lived with them for a week, what more do they want?”

“You're avoiding the question, Ace.” Zoro grumbled, pinching Nami near her armpit to get her off his seat.

“Yes, I am.”

Before anyone could continue questioning the older man, the door on the sides opened again and Sanji and Perona walked out. Sanji was carrying three trays- two in his hands and one on his head while Perona was carrying one.

A waft of the freshly cooked food hit everyone, making their mouths water as the two set up the trays on the table. Sanji forced Perona to take a seat and everyone tucked in instantly, not caring about how hot the food was.

Sanji had cooked fried rice with chicken and carrots, accompanied by simple onion soup. It tasted like heaven and everyone sighed the moment the food touched their tastebuds.

“This is delicious!” Chopper exclaimed through a mouthful of soup and everyone hummed in excited agreement.

Sanji was filled with happiness when he saw everyone enjoy their meal. He loved it when people stopped talking to eat what he had cooked. He considered it the best compliment a chef could ever receive. He felt someone tug on his sweatshirt and looked down to see Nami beaming up at him.

“Where is your plate?” She asked.

“It's in the kitchen, my dear… I better..”

Sanji smiled at her, then headed back to the kitchen. He headed to the pot still kept on the stove and picked up a plate and fork on the way. Reaching the gas, he kept the plate on the counter and leaned the pot on the side, using his fork to scavenge every tiny morsel of food. He was a good cook, not once had he cooked food that resulted in the ingredients sticking to the bottom. But in cases like today, when he cooked a lot, a little extra food was always cooked and Sanji was not going to let that go down the drain.

Emptying the contents into his plate, he sighed and leaned against the counter, eating in silence. He liked this… He liked the peace. He hadn't had a single moment alone since he boarded the flight that morning and right now, in the sanctity of the clean kitchen, Sanji felt comfortable and whole.

“Excuse me?”

Sanji looked up from his plate to the kitchen door, noticing a rather tall guy with black hair and freckles smiling at him.

“I'm sorry if I interrupted your thoughts. Just wished to compliment the chef.” He said, in Tchach, raising an empty plate in the air.

Sanji smiled at man, “no, you aren't interrupting.” He replied. “Thank you.”

“Not an issue,” said Ace as he made his way across to Sanji, “been a while since I ate something so delicious.” He placed his plate in the sink and stood next to Sanji. “I'm Ace, Luffy’s brother.”

“I'm Sanji, Zoro's new roommate.”