Chapter 64

Straight ahead

"The tarama?"

"Been out for ten minutes as you requested, chef!"

"Bread and olives?"

"Arranged on the plates!"

"What about the white wine?"

"In the ice packs, chef!"

Sanji scanned the counters full of appetizers and canapés that the first customers could start ordering in about twenty minutes. In the dining room, Amy checked the cleanliness and reservations before opening the doors. Outside, a small crowd had already formed in front of the restaurant and the blond was reviewing the preparations of his two cooks to ensure that everything was in order.

Suddenly, he pointed at something between the ginger avocado mousses and the mini shrimp and curry muffins, frowning. "Don't tell me you only made this tiny bowl of garlic." Elio followed his gaze towards what he thought was a large saucepan. "You think that won't be enough, chef?" He wondered, "We made the usual quantities for the appetizers though."

Sanji gritted his teeth and a little further away, Zeff shook his head while examining the cooking of his langoustine cream. Elio and Sam exchanged a questioning glance before being interrupted by the rolling of their boss's nails on the worktop. They raised their heads and looked at him cautiously, suddenly worried. The blond was never gentle when it came to explaining his working methods and now, he was visibly restraining himself from throwing the dishes in their faces.

"Alright. Let's remember the menu, shall we."

Elio swallowed. "Langoustine cream and sesame salmon tartare. Sea bass with orange zest and champagne sauce and assortment of grilled meats. Pink grapefruit meringue tart and blueberry coconut cupcakes."

"That's right. Now let's focus on the meat. Isn't there something you missed? Let's say, about sauces."

"Puree of garlic confit to accompany the leg of lamb!" Sam exclaimed, horrified. "We only considered appetizers even though it's a reminder of the previous flavors!"

Sanji gave him an icy smile in return. "Bingo." The blond grabbed two particularly sharp knives and looked up at his cooks with impassive eyes. They couldn't help but take a step back then.

"From this second on, I suggest you become the best garlic peelers I've ever seen," Sanji explained calmly. "If in fifteen minutes I don't have a puree of garlic confit worthy of the name, you can start packing because you are not staying in my restaurant."

The two cooks nodded frantically and Sanji glared at them again, his cold anger terrorizing his employees more than his usual kicks.

"And don't even think about trying to save time by not crushing the fibers enough to separate the pulp, I'm not gonna be in the mood to put up with your incompetence any longer." Sanji threw the two blades on the worktop in front of them and the two cooks stared at them, frightened. "You have fourteen minutes left."

The urgency of the situation finally caught up with them and Elio and Sam rushed for the knives along with the ingredients while Sanji turned away towards the huge refrigerators, his lips pursed.

"There's still a long way off when I can leave the All Blue; they're far from ready," he muttered to Zeff when he arrived at his side to grab the meat.

"I wouldn't trust them to run the kitchens alone," the old cook agreed while adjusting the spices in his cream.

"I don't understand why they don't blend flavors; this is the basis of cooking." Sanji was annoyed as he selected his products.

"I remember a kid who couldn't tell the difference between a mouliné and a soup for a long time and who persisted in saying that no one would know the difference," Zeff pointed out to him.

"You put bacon in the mouliné to make me believe there was broth!" His former student got indignant.

"When it came to taste, your education was pitiful," the old pirate confirmed.

Sanji closed the refrigerator door with his hips, his arms full of meat which he placed on the counter. "We need to work on their inventiveness," he admitted, glancing at the men who were peeling their stock of garlic as if their lives depended on it. "They have the right mindset and solid knowledge but they lack creativity…"

Zeff didn't answer and Sanji grabbed the marinades he had made to grill his pieces of meat in order to reveal their various aromas. The All Blue served relatively little meat but the team had had an opportunity thanks to their supplier and the blond wanted to take advantage of the last days of summer to offer their customers a prolonged taste of vacation thanks to the flavors of the barbecue.

The cook walked through the back door and towards the small table in the shade not far from the All Blue wall bordering the terrace. He placed his ingredients there and began to brush the meat with his preparations while slowly starting the fire in the huge barbecue that Franky had built. Satisfied, he then decided to put back his marinades into the fridge so that he could reuse them during his second batch. As he turned the corner of the wall though, a figure coming from the opposite direction branched off at the same time.

Sanji stopped abruptly and the little pots rocked violently in his hands. He looked up at the intruder who had almost spilled his preparations, furious, before recognizing Liam's equally surprised face in front of him. His tools clutched against him, the scientist obviously intended to repair something and the blond's anger immediately subsided.

"Sorry, I thought you saw me," Liam apologized.

"Don't, it's my fault, I… I was elsewhere."

The dark-haired man nodded and Sanji cleared his throat, embarrassed. Since they had ended their relationship ten days earlier, the cook felt constantly guilty whenever he encountered the man and he invariably was at a loss for words in front of him. As if all their commonalities had vanished and only the uneasiness from their last conversation remained. Actually, Liam was doing his best not to prolong their meetings and Sanji blamed himself all the more. The reality was that he didn't know how to behave so that the ordeal would be as easy as possible for Liam, but by doing so, he knew that he was doing the exact opposite of what he wanted to convey.

"Aren't you, uh, watching the doors today?"

Sanji mentally slapped himself when he saw the scientist's eyes instantly lower at those words.

"I just wanted to make sure the alarm batteries were still working…"

"Oh, of course! You're right, we need to check the batteries."

"I won't be long and I'll leave then," the man assured him, his eyes still fixed on the ground.

"It's, uh… It's up to you."

Another awkward silence stretched out.

"Do you… still want me to go to Basterl to pick up the brothers later?" Liam finally asked after a few moments.

"I do. Well, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind." Liam clutched his tools tightly, carefully avoiding his gaze. "I won't be long."

He shifted to pass and Sanji closed his eyes when the dark-haired man walked past him, cursing himself once more for no longer knowing how to put two words together in his presence. He sighed then continued his walk towards the kitchen. He simply hoped that with time, his guilt would lessen and he would be able to talk to the scientist more calmly. The worst would be if he left All Blue before definitely resolving this issue between them…

"These perch are magnificent, sweet Lily!" Sanji exclaimed.

"There were a few giltheads seabreams and also…" The young woman pointed to an imposing basket at her feet, over which the cook leaned curiously. "... a huge yellowfin tuna."

Sanji lifted the lid of the basket and his eyes widened.

The lunch service had ended without problem and the garlic confit had had the expected success but the incident had given pause to the blond who wanted to involve his two cooks in all related tasks about the restaurant now. This is how Zeff had taken them shopping to select their next foods while Sanji was still working on the dishes he wanted to serve to the cheesemakers. Lily had then found him in the kitchen and showed him her catch of the day so that he could think about the next menus.

"This fish weighs about a hundred kilos!" He calculated while moving the different pieces that had been cut to fit into the basket, impressed.

"It took us more than twenty minutes to pull in it," Lily told him with a smile. "It was really sporty!"

"It looks great. I can make many variations for tonight's and tomorrow's service!" The blond rejoiced.

"That's what I thought. I was thinking of going to the north side of the archipelago from the end of the afternoon to catch soles and dabs then. Fishing at night is nice to catch different species and there are also a lot of crustaceans along the coasts."

"That's an excellent idea, it's been a long time since I last put shellfish in the spotlight," the cook agreed while he was still examining the fish.

"I'll take the whole team. Now that they know how to handle themselves, we'll be able to form groups and go faster."

Sanji nodded before closing the basket and getting up to look lovingly at her. "You did an amazing job with this group, sweet Lily! Now most of them are experienced fishermen!"

"They were willing to learn, it's always easier," the young woman reminded him, amused.

"You also managed to make Amy discover a new passion," he said adoringly, pointing to the necklace of pink pearls that the fisherwoman had tied around her neck.

"I think she found her calling," Lily confirmed with a smile. "She left with Liam a few days ago to ask for a spot at Basterl's market and she got one for next week."

"I'm sure she'll make it!"

Lily approved before grabbing her other fish to place them in the refrigerator while Sanji took out the different pieces of yellowfin tuna on his worktop to sort them.

"I didn't see Liam this morning," she suddenly remembered, closing the refrigerator's doors a minute later.

"He's in Basterl," the blond replied. "He had to go to the university and he's gonna come back with the cheesemakers' brothers. They're still hesitant to team up with us and I don't understand why. They told me that they loved the dishes I made with their cheeses last week…"

"Hm." Lily opened the compartments of the huge freezers and took out several ice packs which she stuffed into her bags in preparation for her next fishing trip. "I'm a little concerned about Liam… He's not at his best and he doesn't take the time to rest between his trips to Basterl and the other doors."

Sanji slowed down for a second despite himself before returning to sorting his pieces of fish normally. He didn't know what Lily knew or didn't know about the state of his relationship with Liam. He had never even known what the young woman knew about it and that had suited him very well. Yet he was aware of the very strong bonds between the fisherwoman and the scientist, so he suspected that she knew the latest events.

"Sanji…" He instinctively looked up and Lily's sad look made the lump he already had in his throat double in volume. "He told me that he has the impression that you no longer want to be in his presence, that you're running away from him."

The cook bit his lips, uncomfortable. "It's not that but…" Unable to finish, the blond shook his head, eyes downcast. "Forgive me, sweet Lily, but I'm really not ready to discuss this subject…"

Sanji felt shame burning his cheeks and Lily moved closer to gently place her hand on his shoulder. "I didn't say that to make you feel guilty, Sanji." She soothed him, "Liam doesn't blame you and neither do I. I just wanted to tell you because… he really liked you. He still does. And thinking that you no longer want anything to do with him is all the more painful…"

She sighed, her hand gently squeezing his shirt. "Please don't change the way you see him. He would be deeply hurt…"

"Don't worry, sweet Lily," the cook murmured, his eyes still fixed on his task, "I can assure you I don't see him any differently, it's just… We both probably need some time to learn how to talk to each other again."

"I can understand."

Lily let her hand slide down his arm in a reassuring gesture before moving to pick up her basket, now emptied of pieces of tuna. "If you don't mind, I'll suggest Amy to join our expedition so that she can collect more pearls tonight. She could come after her shift."

"No problem," the blond assured her immediately, relieved by this change of subject. "She can even leave this evening; I'll ask Elio and Sam to take turns waiting tables. These two seriously need to learn to step it up anyway…"

"Uh, Sanji?"

Busy putting away the last glasses in the dining room's sideboard, the blond turned to Liam as he entered the restaurant, their guests just behind. "Adrien and Aaron are here."

"Ah, perfect; the dishes have just come out of the oven!"

Sanji walked over to the two brothers to greet them, exchanging a firm handshake with each of them. He then suggested that they enter and as he stepped aside to let them pass, the cook took a short breath.

His conversation with Lily had been brief but it had still been eloquent enough to push him to want to reverse the trend of what he had allowed to develop between him and Liam. He didn't want the scientist to suffer because of his own torments again and he didn't want Lily to worry about her friend either.

"Liam, do you wanna stay? There'll be more than enough for everyone to taste."

The scientist seemed to hesitate for a second before looking down. "No thanks. I still have a lot of things to do, I'll come back… later."

The young man walked out the door hurriedly and Aaron raised his eyebrows at their host with amusement. "Well, if things aren't tense between the two of you, I don't know what is! Usually, every time he comes to take orders, he can't stop talking about you! But for the past few days, it seems like there's trouble in paradise!"

Sanji totally ignored his remark while walking past him towards the tables and Aaron laughed while his brother rolled his eyes. The cook then turned towards them to point out a table he had set behind him.

"You can sit down right now or visit the restaurant first. Either way, I hope you're hungry."

"Hm, wow, that's not so bad," Aaron admitted as he devoured his last piece of bread dipped in olive oil.

"Not so bad?" The blond repeated with a mocking smile in front of his delighted face.

"Okay, it's fucking delicious."

Sanji shook his head, amused. He had served several small portions of various dishes to the two brothers in the hope of convincing them that his skills were not limited to cheeses. And if Aaron seemed to be convinced given the quantity of food he had already eaten, the blond had more difficulty knowing what Adrien thought as he had quickly got up to inspect the kitchens, the terrace and now the dining room.

"This restaurant has quite a character," he commented, studying the landscape out the window.

"We take care of it," Sanji agreed. "Moreover, ideally, we're looking for suppliers who come to live on All Blue. With its temperate climate and four seasons, it is possible to adapt to all crops and this helps reduce the risks of unforeseen events."

"Reduce the risks, are you sure? All Blue is not affiliated with the World Government, you're a vulnerable land," Adrien pointed out.

"We made the choice of independence but as you can see, we don't live in constant fear of being attacked," the blond replied. "New residents choose to stay here regularly."

"What about pirates?"

"We handle them. Vorgo hasn't exactly been kind since we refused to join their territory, but for some time now, it's been peaceful."

"Is that a fact?"

Sanji raised a curious eyebrow in the direction of the man who had turned towards the tables again to grab a menu which he looked at in detail. "The attack on Basterl's port almost three weeks ago. It was you, wasn't it?" He asked him then.

The cook frowned, suddenly suspicious. "Maybe. Why do you care?"

"It made quite a fuss, there was noise and witnesses. What did these guys want from you?"

"It's an old story."

"What kind of story?"

"Personal."

Adrien finally put the menu back on the table. "Something about pirates?"

Sanji stared back without blinking. "What if it was?"

The dark-haired man shrugged his shoulders. "I say it's not necessarily a problem depending on the type of pirates."

"We need to understand, Sanji," Aaron chimed in while helping himself to a portion of cranberry mushrooms. "We're not stupid, your name isn't common and we asked around."

"That's why you didn't respond after tasting my first dishes," the cook understood.

Aaron nodded. "The Straw Hat Pirates don't have a bad reputation, but given the state these men were left in according to witnesses, we just wanna make sure you know how to control yourself."

"Control myself?"

"If you make a scene every time someone looks at you funny, you're gonna make lots of useless enemies and we don't need that," Adrien clarified.

"It wasn't a funny look."

"Then what? Homophobes are legion around here; you'll have to get used to it."

Sanji turned to him again. "I don't care what anyone thinks of me, but if someone disrespects the people I love, they better be prepared to suffer the consequences. And Liam has nothing to do with this so I want you to leave him alone," he added firmly for Aaron who raised his hands in front of him in a sign of surrender.

"What happened?" Adrien asked.

Sanji hesitated for a second before gritting his teeth. "One of these assholes came to the restaurant several months ago and he insulted our waitress, I couldn't let that pass."

"That's understandable," Aaron agreed.

"He wanted revenge when he met you again?" His brother asked.

"He recognized me and with his pals, they thought it'd be great to collect my bounty at the same time as taking their revenge at twenty to one," Sanji quipped ironically.

"Why didn't you walk away? They didn't look smart and I'm sure you run fast," he insisted.

"I wasn't gonna let them insult us and threaten me; those bastards are real cowards," the blond growled.

"You're touchy?"

"I value my honor, that's all."

"As a pirate?"

"As a man. Anyway, I wasn't the one who scared them away. A guy I'd never seen before came rushing in and gave them a beating without me having time to understand anything."

The two brothers exchanged a look. "It's the other blond that the witnesses said they saw," Aaron said.

"Honestly, without his intervention, I might not even be talking to you," Sanji added, handing them the card he had kept on. "I don't know why he helped me; he just told me he knew my captain."

The cheesemakers grabbed it and Aaron raised his eyebrows. "The Revolutionary Army? These guys aren't just anyone! Who does your captain know among them?"

"No idea. All I know is he gave it to me in case All Blue needed it."

Adrien looked up at the cook while Aaron handed him back his card. "He seems legit," he said to his brother. "He told us about this second guy and he couldn't have invented this card."

"Maybe", Adrien admitted, still suspicious. "But why aren't you with your crew?" He asked the blond again.

"Because I wanted to develop All Blue. Finding this ocean has always been my dream, you can ask the chefs at Baratie, Zeff or anyone."

"Your dream, huh?"

Sanji took a step forward to look into his eyes. "Let me be clear. You're the best cheesemakers in the region, but if I have to do without you, I will. All Blue will continue to grow, with or without your help. The only question is whether you want to be associated with its success or not."

Adrien held his gaze for a few more moments while Aaron licked his spoon that he had dipped back into the sauce, his eyes fixed on his brother. In the end, the latter nodded and held out his hand to the blond.

"Fine, I'm in. Let's set up a four-month rotation. We have an almost unlimited choice in terms of raw materials but we rarely work with the same products for more than a few weeks in a row, we like renewal."

"That's fine by me," the cook agreed, shaking his hand in return. "The specificity of the All Blue is its diversity and its menu adapts daily to the fish and seafood we get. Cheese won't be an exception."

"Awesome!" Aaron rejoiced as he grabbed a new plate of pie. "Sanji, we need to discuss our fees and I'm willing to be paid at least partly in food!"

A slight smirk stretched the cook's lips at this remark. "If you ask me, you'll be living on All Blue much sooner than you imagine."

The ringing of the Den-Den Mushi echoed in the silence of the night and Sanji jumped up in his bed. Immediately worried, he ran towards the small animal on his desk and nearly fell flat on the floor before answering.

"Hello?"

"Sanji, you need to come to the north beach right now!"

"Amy, what's going on? Did something happen? Is Lily okay?"

"Yes, she told me to warn you as quickly as possible but we were quite far out to sea and by the time I got back to the coast to call you, I don't think their ship is very far away now!"

"Who are they? Pirates? Were you attacked?" He asked in a panic while trying to put on his pants.

"No, Lily says there's nothing to worry about!"

"What do you mean, nothing to worry about?! Are they pirates or not?"

"They are, but she told me not to worry because they're pirates with a straw hat!"

Yes, they're finally reunited in the next chapter!

I think it's faster than most of you would have thought!