He built an Arky- Arky
Title:One Year Later
Theme: Set 4- Ark
Claim: (chibi)Sanji
Words:1,190
Rating: PG13
Warnings:None
Disclaimer(s):Don't own OP.
"Make something." Zeff had said.
The fishing boat that had docked a few hours ago had dropped a fortune to celebrate their success and their one year anniversary as a crew in style. "The Works", they said.
Apparently it had been a very profitable first year if the dent they were making in the Baratie's liquor stock was any indication.
Zeff had given him a block of ice and told him to carve it and present some appropriate culinary masterpiece on it.
Well that is what he took "make something" to mean, anyway.
The older chef had then slipped to his own corner of the kitchen and started chiseling away at his own party centerpiece in silence. Sanji watched the mans technique carefully from out the corner of his eye. He'd only done this a few times before and never with a block of ice this big.
The movements as Zeff attacked the ice block were sharp and yet graceful. He whittled down the block to the exact shape he desired. A bucket of fresh cleaned and shelled shrimp (care of Sanji's hard work minutes earlier) in hand, he pulled two shrimp out and placed them atop his creation before apparently deciding one of the many sizzling pans needed his attention.
Critical gaze momentarily distracted, Sanji actually slipped a little closer to the old man's work to really examine the detail of the structure.
A feeling of dread dropped painfully into the pit of his stomach suddenly and he forced himself to swallow the fear (and lump in his throat) and NOT back away. It was a relatively simple plateau or stylized volcano shape with chips taken out to make it look like a craggy rock surface, beneath it an ocean of their custom made spicy cocktail sauce the older chef had added at some point. Atop the platform two shrimp back to back, one decidedly smaller than the other, an atypical oversight but then again if the top is piled high with shrimp and Zeff stuffs the shrimp into the craggy grooves no one would notice. The effect would be an almost pinkish white mushroom shooting up from perhaps some red moss. When the food was eaten it would look more like a volcano that had erupted. A pretty brilliant display.
So why was he so freaked out?! It was just a pillar of ice, some cocktail sauce, and two lone shrimp cut off and isolated from their....oh. He nearly smacked himself in realization and took a breath, forcing the tension away. Mystery solved.
Sanji was honestly surprised that seeing something so vaguely similar to the outline of THAT rock could cause such a reaction. Why that was ages ago! He thought back a bit and counted. His eyes widened in surprise before flicking to where Zeff was adding paprika to a chicken dish about to be finished in the oven.
It was exactly one year ago to the day that they had gotten off that rock. Surely this couldn't be a coincidence. For just the barest of instants he caught Zeff observing him out of the corner of his eye. It confirmed this was a part of some plan. Was it a test to see how he was doing? Did the old bastard think he could get a handle on his state of mind by watching his reaction?
He was fine! The nightmares had stopped long ago, he had since ventured into the water to swim without fear a few times on the hot days, and he was in perfect health! He was even doing some of those powerful kicks he seemed to be the unwilling victim of so often. The fact that he had froze at the old mans ice sculpture nudged him to admit that he wasn't over the incident mentally or emotionally as much as he had thought but he was definitely on the mend.
The old man didn't ask straight out if he was okay one year after the fact. He had said "Make something." Sanji grinned to himself and spun his carving pick in his hand as he walked back to his block of ice to get to work.
"HOLY SHIT!!" The whole party seemed to freeze at the captains call and followed his eyes to where Sanji was wheeling in his piece for the next course.
To say the captain of the fishing boat had been pleased would be an understatement. Zeff's creation had been gobbled up and looked even more barren than in the kitchen but Sanji didn't hesitate in sweeping it off the table and with Carne's help, replacing it with his ice sushi boat. The fishing crews eyes grew wide at the sight of it.
Well, it was more like a very large and elaborate sushi ark so some appreciation was definitely due. It was massive, multileveled with tons of sushi lined up in artistically appealing pairs. An overflowing banquet of freshness from the blue out the window. Seafood these men had probably caught daily but couldn't ever afford to eat in such a way. The fishermen attacked the sculpture with such vigor that Zeff had to pull him out of the chaos by the collar of his chef whites. Why Zeff had been that close he didn't know, but the man set him gently on the ground next to him safely out of the fray with a grunt.
"Looks like you had fun."
Sanji looked up at Zeff and nodded wordlessly. Obviously.
"Interesting how you made a cockpit further in and sealed it with a thin pane of ice." He noted, hinting at not only seeing the most difficult detail but also the two disproportionate shrimp of Sanji's own choosing sitting in that captains quarters steering the ark wherever they wanted.
"That's the best part." Sanji agreed. A smile threatening to break through. "Once the food is gone, they are still together and can go get more. No big deal."
Of course that meant they would be stuck together too and eventually Sanji would become a young man trapped here, Zeff noted, but Sanji didn't see that side of it.and with a short smile he figured the brat never would. Well that was fine for now.
"Sounds like a big deal to me." Was the gruff reply but Sanji heard the smile in it and almost beamed himself. Almost. Zeff was pointed back to the kitchen in a familiar way that always meant unpleasant work. "Aren't there dishes that need washing Eggplant?"
"Yeah I'm going, shitty old man." To his surprise Zeff was following. At the questioning look the old man shrugged.
"You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll make something for us."
"You just want to give me more dishes." Sanji replied skeptically
"Damn right I do. You could stand to build a little more muscle. Don't think I didn't notice Carne doing the heavy lifting out there."
Sanji grimaced and moved to the sink to begin the chore the old man had now dubbed training.
"Fine! You better make something really good though."
He knew it would be, it was just the point of the thing, really.
Theme: Set 4- Ark
Claim: (chibi)Sanji
Words:1,190
Rating: PG13
Warnings:None
Disclaimer(s):Don't own OP.
"Make something." Zeff had said.
The fishing boat that had docked a few hours ago had dropped a fortune to celebrate their success and their one year anniversary as a crew in style. "The Works", they said.
Apparently it had been a very profitable first year if the dent they were making in the Baratie's liquor stock was any indication.
Zeff had given him a block of ice and told him to carve it and present some appropriate culinary masterpiece on it.
Well that is what he took "make something" to mean, anyway.
The older chef had then slipped to his own corner of the kitchen and started chiseling away at his own party centerpiece in silence. Sanji watched the mans technique carefully from out the corner of his eye. He'd only done this a few times before and never with a block of ice this big.
The movements as Zeff attacked the ice block were sharp and yet graceful. He whittled down the block to the exact shape he desired. A bucket of fresh cleaned and shelled shrimp (care of Sanji's hard work minutes earlier) in hand, he pulled two shrimp out and placed them atop his creation before apparently deciding one of the many sizzling pans needed his attention.
Critical gaze momentarily distracted, Sanji actually slipped a little closer to the old man's work to really examine the detail of the structure.
A feeling of dread dropped painfully into the pit of his stomach suddenly and he forced himself to swallow the fear (and lump in his throat) and NOT back away. It was a relatively simple plateau or stylized volcano shape with chips taken out to make it look like a craggy rock surface, beneath it an ocean of their custom made spicy cocktail sauce the older chef had added at some point. Atop the platform two shrimp back to back, one decidedly smaller than the other, an atypical oversight but then again if the top is piled high with shrimp and Zeff stuffs the shrimp into the craggy grooves no one would notice. The effect would be an almost pinkish white mushroom shooting up from perhaps some red moss. When the food was eaten it would look more like a volcano that had erupted. A pretty brilliant display.
So why was he so freaked out?! It was just a pillar of ice, some cocktail sauce, and two lone shrimp cut off and isolated from their....oh. He nearly smacked himself in realization and took a breath, forcing the tension away. Mystery solved.
Sanji was honestly surprised that seeing something so vaguely similar to the outline of THAT rock could cause such a reaction. Why that was ages ago! He thought back a bit and counted. His eyes widened in surprise before flicking to where Zeff was adding paprika to a chicken dish about to be finished in the oven.
It was exactly one year ago to the day that they had gotten off that rock. Surely this couldn't be a coincidence. For just the barest of instants he caught Zeff observing him out of the corner of his eye. It confirmed this was a part of some plan. Was it a test to see how he was doing? Did the old bastard think he could get a handle on his state of mind by watching his reaction?
He was fine! The nightmares had stopped long ago, he had since ventured into the water to swim without fear a few times on the hot days, and he was in perfect health! He was even doing some of those powerful kicks he seemed to be the unwilling victim of so often. The fact that he had froze at the old mans ice sculpture nudged him to admit that he wasn't over the incident mentally or emotionally as much as he had thought but he was definitely on the mend.
The old man didn't ask straight out if he was okay one year after the fact. He had said "Make something." Sanji grinned to himself and spun his carving pick in his hand as he walked back to his block of ice to get to work.
"HOLY SHIT!!" The whole party seemed to freeze at the captains call and followed his eyes to where Sanji was wheeling in his piece for the next course.
To say the captain of the fishing boat had been pleased would be an understatement. Zeff's creation had been gobbled up and looked even more barren than in the kitchen but Sanji didn't hesitate in sweeping it off the table and with Carne's help, replacing it with his ice sushi boat. The fishing crews eyes grew wide at the sight of it.
Well, it was more like a very large and elaborate sushi ark so some appreciation was definitely due. It was massive, multileveled with tons of sushi lined up in artistically appealing pairs. An overflowing banquet of freshness from the blue out the window. Seafood these men had probably caught daily but couldn't ever afford to eat in such a way. The fishermen attacked the sculpture with such vigor that Zeff had to pull him out of the chaos by the collar of his chef whites. Why Zeff had been that close he didn't know, but the man set him gently on the ground next to him safely out of the fray with a grunt.
"Looks like you had fun."
Sanji looked up at Zeff and nodded wordlessly. Obviously.
"Interesting how you made a cockpit further in and sealed it with a thin pane of ice." He noted, hinting at not only seeing the most difficult detail but also the two disproportionate shrimp of Sanji's own choosing sitting in that captains quarters steering the ark wherever they wanted.
"That's the best part." Sanji agreed. A smile threatening to break through. "Once the food is gone, they are still together and can go get more. No big deal."
Of course that meant they would be stuck together too and eventually Sanji would become a young man trapped here, Zeff noted, but Sanji didn't see that side of it.and with a short smile he figured the brat never would. Well that was fine for now.
"Sounds like a big deal to me." Was the gruff reply but Sanji heard the smile in it and almost beamed himself. Almost. Zeff was pointed back to the kitchen in a familiar way that always meant unpleasant work. "Aren't there dishes that need washing Eggplant?"
"Yeah I'm going, shitty old man." To his surprise Zeff was following. At the questioning look the old man shrugged.
"You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll make something for us."
"You just want to give me more dishes." Sanji replied skeptically
"Damn right I do. You could stand to build a little more muscle. Don't think I didn't notice Carne doing the heavy lifting out there."
Sanji grimaced and moved to the sink to begin the chore the old man had now dubbed training.
"Fine! You better make something really good though."
He knew it would be, it was just the point of the thing, really.