a/n: i'm so bad at remembering to do things - though this time it's game of thrones' fault. anyway, more self indulgent fic coming your way. also if any of you would like to, i created a personal prompt meme on A03 (just type archiveofourown ( d o t) org and add /collections/BubblesPersonalPromptMeme at the end and you should make your way to it) so if you guys have any requests you can go there and request me to write things for you! ( they can even be requests for things you want to see in this story!)
whateves about that though, hope you all enjoy more self indulgence. i loved writing this chapter so much, its got such vibes that i love.
Afternoon came and passed with Sanju doing nothing. It seemed that her husband wanted as much to do with her as she wanted with him, which meant that she was left to her own devices.
Which was a shame because nothing in the large brightly colored room held her attention.
Her eyes threatened to turn to stare out the window, yet again, but she managed to instead turn her attention towards the wall. The brightly colored wall only held a mirror and a picture, nothing too interesting but far more interesting than staring at the denizens of Komugi.
If anything, she wished she could walk around. Yet, she was unsure if she was allowed.
Rolling on the large bed until she reached the other side, she huffed. She could use this time to come up with a plan, but given that she had no idea what the area around her looked like, it would be a stupid idea.
Standing up, Sanju moved about the room yet again. She bypassed the large windows and moved towards the door that she entered in, opening it and peeking out. No one stood watch, but she would bet that if she stepped one foot out, she'd be met one one.
She closed the door.
There wasn't a lot in her bright room, two doors - one led to an attached bathroom, the other to what she assumed was her new wardrobe; large windows which she spent a million moments already staring out at the world; a bed - obviously - with gigantic bright pillows. Honestly, it was a bedroom.
Turning back to the door, she opened it again. One foot stepped out the door followed by the other; Sanju looked down the hallways once more. No one came running. She closed the door behind her and started walking. The worst that could happen was that she was attacked, she could handle that.
Sanju walked a distance from her room, ignoring every room that she bypassed. She wanted a door that led outside, if she were being honest, but at the moment, a kitchen would do well.
"Your highness!"
She squeezed her eyes closed, willing the person to go away.
"Your highness!"
Yet it didn't. Turning slightly, Sanju gave the brightly colored person a smile, "Yes?"
The man - she assumed it was a man at least, based on what she could see - bowed to her, "Your highness, why have - I mean, do you need anything? Should I get your husband?"
"No need," Sanju turned slightly to greet the giant of a man, "Are you in need of help?"
"No." Her tone was far too sharp to be polite, but she didn't care, not until she noticed the look upon the man's face. Tempering herself slightly, she gave another smile, "I mean, no, thank you. Where is the kitchen though?"
"Your highness?" The servant squeaked, eyes going back and forth from her to Katakuri.
She stared at the giant man, eyes narrowed as she did. What would be his reaction to her asking to cook? Would he offer to get someone to do it for her? Pudding got to cook - so why wouldn't she?
"I'm looking to cook, where are the kitchens?"
Katakuri nodded, "Go," he said to the servant, and Sanju watched as the lump of a man bowed before leaving them alone. He looked down at her, "Follow me."
He led her - slowly - through bright colored hallways until they made their way deep into the castle, towards a large set of double doors. Of course they had to be large, she thought as Katakuri pushed them open, tilting his head to beckon her to enter.
The kitchen was what could only be described as her dream kitchen.
Back when she had been a child with Zeff, daydreaming about the kitchen she'd have one day when she was a famous chef - near the All Blue, of course - she had talked on and on about it, boring Zeff with her words.
Keeping her mouth closed, she walked forward. Stainless steel counters lined the walls, huge ovens and stoves sat near a wall with a window - even the ground was perfect, old wooden planks cleaned and sanded. Turning around once, twice, three times, she tried hard to not show her amazement.
"It's beautiful," she wanted to say, yet instead she said, "I can cook here?"
"Hm," Katakuri nodded to her.
Sanju moved forward again, hands reaching to touch the counters. She looked back slightly towards her.. husband, giving him a real smile. "Thank you," she said before making her way towards the giant fridge.
She wanted one of these for the ship, she thought as she began her rummaging, it be big enough that she'd never fear running out of food. Grabbing ingredients for her favourite dish, she turned back to get started when she noticed that Katakuri had sat down on the far side of the kitchen.
She paused. Was he going to watch her? Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, well if he was, she'd have to double the amount of food she was planning. Moving again, she placed her ingredients down, returning her full focus to the food. As uneasy as she felt towards being watched - mostly by the idea of him watching her - she was used to it.
Pulling a head of garlic from her pile of ingredients, she pushed down with the heel of her palm to break a clove from the rest, quickly cutting the base ends of the clove. She pushed down with her knife against the clove, breaking up the skin.
She wanted a medium garlic taste to the pasta which meant that she minced her garlic larger than she would normally. Her eyes darted upwards, before she mentally berated herself. She needed to focus, cooking was far more important than dealing with the giant elephant in the room.
She chopped parsley, tomatoes, onion; sliced basil and thyme, mixed ingredients and seared shrimp and scallops; boiled pasta noodles until she had made her favourite food.
Sanju looked around the kitchen for a tea pot, ah-ha-ing when she did. She filled the pot with water placing it on the stove before turning to face Katakuri, "Would you like some?"
He watched her for a second, eyes following her as she walked around, plating the cooling food. She flushed slightly under the scrutiny.
"I'll take some to go," he replied after a moment.
"You're not going to eat with me?" If there was a dash of disappointment, slight disappointment, he made no mention of it.
"No, I don't eat with anyone."
His tone made it final, yet Sanju refused to accept it. Until she was able to make it back to the Sunny, her secondary objective would be see if she could get this man to open up a nit - or at least let her see him eat. It was her favorite part of being a chef, enjoying the reaction of those she fed and she'd be damned if she let him take that small joy from her.
"Hm, sure," she said.
With two plates made, she turned back to her tea, ignoring the servant that came out of nowhere to grab a plate and take it off somewhere. This was comfort food at its finest, she thought to herself. He was still watching her as she poured out two cups, pulling one up to her nose as soon as she did.
"Thank you," he said as he stood, another servant coming around to steal away a tea. It was a tiny cup though so she doubt he'd actually be able to drink it, but she wasn't going to focus on him at the moment. Right now was between her and her comfort.
"You're welcome," she replied, watching as he left the room.
a/n: shitty ending i know, i just felt like that was the best way to end it without getting into any parts that i'm saving for a later chapter, hope it was still good! again, if you want to reach me you can find me .com - i know it looks like i'm not there, i'm mostly lurking and playing around with my theme because i'm a shy girl but i swear i am on there. anyway reviews feed me, likes and favourites are fuel - y'know the drill. hope you enjoyed this chapter!