~Author's Note: Part One Piece & AU setting. Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me, but to the Awesome Oda!~
An old worn photograph framed in a solid gold frame showed a young healthy blonde chef and a young handsome blonde boy in front a newly opened restaurant at the mtime called Baratie. Chef Zeff and Sanji. That was back when they first opened their restaurant business. The photograph stood on a small oak table. Chef Zeff had sat up on his dark blue bed as he wakes up his sleepy eyes for another day on the life of the floating sea restaurant Baratie.
Bright sunshine reflected off the glass from the photograph frame and Chef Zeff turned around to look at the gleaming photograph. He picked it up and smiled happily as he reminisced memories of Sanji growing up in the Baratie and of him raising Sanji up as if he were his were times when customers thought he was Sanji's father and how they thought it was so cute that he let Sanji do the cooking business with him.
"Him? My son?" A baffled Chef Zeff would say back then and had pointed at the young blonde lad who was carrying some silver platters of hot steamy food over to a table nearby. Sanji looked up a bit anxious to see his reaction. Chef Zeff merely glanced then, "Bwahahahaha! You mean that little annoying twerp?! He's a good lackey in the kitchen I guess when he's not disobeying my orders! Bwahahaha!" Boomed Chef Zeff in front of the questioning confused pair of customers.
Sanji stood there shocked and bug eyed even though he knew in actuality he wasn't Chef Zeff's biological son and that they didn't always see things eye to eye but he thought that in a way Chef Zeff had thought of him like that.
~Flash Back of Sanji's Past~
Considering how he had saved Sanji from drowning in the cold abyss under the raging sea storm that night when Zeff was a pirate captain who had his crew attacked the luxurious cruise ship Sanji was working on at the time. How he had cut his own leg in vain deep underwater in an attempt to save Sanji before he sank any deeper into the dark waters. And those weeks they spent on a cursed rock out in the middle of nowhere.
At first Sanji thought the rude and strange brute had cheated him out of the bigger sack of food only to find out later there was nothing but shimmering gold and fancy jewels inside the sack which values nothing over nutritious food that can keep you alive in the middle of nowhere.
"What is this? It's all mere treasure?" Sanji stated in completed shock! "Having money but nothing to eat. Funny story don't you think?" Replied Zeff without turning around to face Sanji."Hey. This sack is just full of treasure." Sanji went over to Zeff; tugging onto his filthy clothes demanding answers. "What is this nonsense? What's going on here? What about the food? Didn't you eat anything till now? Hey, say something!"
Sanji desperately pleaded to the silent man. That's when he took a good look at him. He saw that Zeff had gotten extremely skinny and bony. He also saw that one of his legs was missing and that only a small rope was tied at the bottom of his dirty blank pants.
"What happened to that leg of yours?" Sanji asked him but suddenly remembered what happened that stormy night under the sea. "It was then...Wasn't it just a dream?...To have you saving me..." "The food you handed me, was that all of it?" Sanji suddenly had tears in his eyes. "Precisely," was all Zeff said. "Without that leg, you can longer be a pirate, now can you?" "Guess you're right," replied Zeff. "Why?" Cried Sanji as more salty tears started to flow down his face.
"You didn't have to! I don't remember asking you to treat me so kindly! Why? Why?!" Sanji cried out loud. "You...You have the same dream as I do." Said Zeff. "All Blue? But even your crew said that such a thing doesn't exist." Sanji exclaimed."But it does! When the time comes, travel to the Grand line! All Blue is definitely there! I certainly can't be a pirate anymore! So this time, you go there and find it!"
Zeff was doing his best to encourage Sanji to fulfill dream for the both of them. Suddenly Zeff collapsed probably didn't have any more strength left in him after not not eating anything over the past weeks since they've been on that small rock. "Hey! Old man, don't die!" Sanji panicked desperately.
"Don't just lecture then die out on me!" Zeff began to slowly open his tired eyes. "This sea...I wonder how many people have cursed the vastness of this sea and died?" "Up until now, whenever I've been drawn in a drawn out starvation dilemma, I'd think to myself...Wouldn't it be nice if there was a restaurant somewhere on this vast sea?" "Restaurant?" Asked Sanji.
"Yeah. If I manage to escape this hitch, I'd bet everything into the building of my own restaurant." "Yosh! I'll help you out, so don't die out on me!" Zeff laughed at the idea. " For a weak small eggplant like you, that'd be impossible!" "I'll get stronger!" "So...don't die!" Sanji bawled his eyes out but then noticed a ship coming their way. "Hey! Help us! The old man! Help this old fart!" Sanji desperately yelled for their attention as he began to waves his arms frantically.
~End of Flashback~
Sanji's mind went back to the present. He could still hear Chef Zeff booming loudly with his laughter that filled the restaurant. Angered by how Zeff seemed to thought that Sanji being his son was nothing more than a laughing stock, Sanji burst out:"Oh Yeah?! As IF I'd ever want an old washed up pirate geezer like YOU to be my FATHER!" At that, Sanji stormed off to his small bedroom cabin to throw and kick all his belongings in frustration till he went over to his blue bed to sleep away his angry tears.
Meanwhile at the front of the restaurant,"I apologize..." Zeff began say to all his customers. "For...My Son's behavior." Before Sanji had caused scene in the dining area, Zeff was laughing uncontrollably with mixed emotions. He was laughing at how people could easily mistake them as father and son even though they have no blood relation what so ever. He was laughing out of pure joy and pride not because it was a ridiculous idea. Zeff had grown fond of the little blonde boy who shared the same dream as him.