Work Text:
Sanji remembered the day he finally lived his dream. It had been just weeks after Luffy had acquired the title of Pirate King and the crew had continued sailing from Raftel. It was common knowledge that the One Piece was located on the final island of the New World, but Nami had wanted to sail to the very edge of the ocean. She wanted to see the very end of the New World so that she could map out where exactly their journey would end.
It was there that they discovered All Blue.
Sanji cried that day. He had not cried in years, not since he left the Baratie. But the instant he realised what they had stumbled across, a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and tears flowed from him; tears of joy, awe and even a little sadness.
That day Sanji cooked for hours on end and when the sun set, the Strawhats celebrated and enjoyed the array of dishes their chef had prepared for them. They ate cuisine from the north, south, east and west and it was everything Sanji had dreamed about. This was his passion, his dream. And it was so very real.
So many people had told him to give up his search. So many laughed in his face. But Sanji always believed. And so had Zeff.
That night, when the rest of the crew were asleep, Sani took a couple of glass jars and made his way down to the mini Merry. He went out at sea, staying within sight of the Sunny, and just sat with his eyes closed. He listened to the waves and felt the breeze and he thought of home. He made a decision. Then, he filled his jars with water and went back to the Sunny.
The next morning they were off, though several of his nakama asked if he wanted to stay for longer. He assured them that it was fine.
Months later, the sunny docked at a certain floating restaurant in East Blue.
When Sanji walked through the doors to the Baratie he was greeted by the cooks the same way they had sent him off; with tears masked by harsh insults and half-hearted rough housing. They bombarded him with questions and praise for finding one piece. When Zeff stormed out of the kitchen to see what the ruckus was about, he took one look at Sanji and cracked the most shit eating grin the blonde had ever seen.
“So you finally found it, eh?”
Sanji didn’t know how the old man knew, but he smiled despite his curiosity, and raised his voice to be heard above the crowd.
“All Blue exists!”
Yet another party was thrown in their honour, but Sanji was content to spend the majority of it in his old kitchen, cooking next to the man who shared his dream. As shouting and singing continued from the dining room, Sanji quietly spoke of the legendary sea and all the adventures leading up to its discovery. Zeff listened in silence but was filled with pride for his not-so-little eggplant.
Life moved on after that. His nakama parted ways, intending to visit homes and loved ones they hadn’t seen in years. Sanji stayed for a few months at the Baratie but eventually set out as well. He had plans to finalize after all.
Before he left, he gave Zeff one of the jars he had filled with water from the All Blue and pretended not to notice a different kind of salt water pooling in the old man’s eyes.
It was a surprise to no one when Sanji opened his own restaurant on the sea. It was a surprise to everyone when it did not open in All Blue.
It had taken careful navigation and research to find the rock. A rock he had spent a lifetime trying to forget. When he finally sailed beside it, Sanji found that the sight of the cold, grey stone was not as painful as he’d imagined. It was also smaller than he remembered.
He had told Zeff about his decision to build a restaurant here and the old chef had studied him quietly before nodding his approval. Zeff understood better than anyone how much the time on the rock had shaped Sanji. He had almost died here. But it was here that he had also survived.
All Blue was Sanji’s dream. It motivated him and fed his passion, allowing him to grow. It was his heart and soul.
But the rock was his reality. It reminded him to keep his feet planted firmly beneath him, because at any moment a storm could surround him, leaving him lost and helpless.
He would never forget that lesson.
A year and a half later, his restaurant is built and thriving. It has become an All Blue of sorts because all sorts of people gather in his dining room to taste his world renowned cuisine. Pirate or marine, rich or poor, Tontatta or Skypiean, Fishman or Mermaid, North, East, South or West, Sanji catered to them all.
It was early one morning and the sun had just begun to crest over the ocean when Sanji stepped out onto the rock. He had built the restaurant behind it, so that patrons had to walk on the rock after docking to enter the establishment. They probably thought nothing of it. But it was very intentional on his part.
He slowly lifted a cigarette and put it to his mouth. It was odd, the feeling of nostalgia, that came with watching the sunrise. After all, he had watched eighty five sunrises from this very spot, hoping desperately that the silhouette of a ship would break upon the golden horizon. Back in those days there was no certainty that one ever would.
But these days are different. In a matter of hours, that once barren horizon will be filled with vessels, bows pointing towards his random rock in the sea.
He smiled softly and lit his smoke. Then, he turned on his heel and strode back inside. He had a restaurant to run.