Chapter Text
Sasha, Jean, and Connie made their way to Rosa Madre, the restaurant where Niccolo worked. Since they were good terms with Niccolo, he claimed they could come over at any time. The trio was looking forward to a good meal from the "best chef in the world", according to Sasha.
"OOOOO, I can't wait to see what Niccolo cooks up this time. Maybe a stew, or a steak or even potat-". Sasha was so overcome with anticipation that she couldn't even finish her sentence before she started drooling.
"Can you at least wait until he's started cooking the damn food first," Connie commented on Sasha's all-consuming gluttony.
The three entered the foyer of the resturant where Niccolo was waiting for them.
He was happy to see to Jean and Connie but when he saw Sasha, he was filled with joy.
Jean walked up to greet the man. "Hey Niccolo, been a while since we last saw ya, hasen't?"
"It has. Let me take you to a dining room where you can make your orders". But before he could even start walking, Sasha rushed up with barely an inch left between her and the blonde.
"Wait, Niccolo, let's take the to the kitchen so they can see how big the whole thing is."
Niccolo was put off by her random suggestion (and how close the two were), and she was looking at him with sparkles in her eyes. Plus, Jean and Connie had no objections.
He sighed."Fine, follow me."
He took the trio up to the kitchen on the second story. It was massive, decked out with lavish utensils, silverware, and dozens of pots and pans. Everything a chef could ask for. The Scouts Regimen was pretty much the only reason Niccolo was allowed to work at a place this nice.
Sasha and Connie were gushing over the sheer size of the room, but Jean paid attention to something much more subtle. As they were walking to the kitchen, and as the other two were dashing around, the only time Niccolo truly smiled was when he was looking at Sasha. His face lit up like she was the sun to his sky. He was more... alive.
Jean instantly caught on to what this meant and had an idea. He grabbed Connie's shoulder to keep him still, whispered his scheme into his ear and turned to Sasha and Niccolo, who were standing beside each other.
"Connie and I are gonna head back to the dining room to get some fresh air, Sasha, you already know what we want, so I'll just leave the rest to you." Before she could protest, the two boys sprinted to the door, and Sasha could hear the faint sound of giggling as they left. Yet, in her heart, she didn't mind because she was still with someone she wanted to be with.
She told Niccolo what Jean and Connie's orders, and he started getting to work.
But when he turned around, Sasha was still awkwardly standing there,twidling with her fingers, until she finally spoke. "Can I help you cook, just this once?"
In his mind, Niccolo wanted to refuse. Not because he didn't want Sasha around, but because he worried about what would happen if someone else came and saw the two together. Yet he could bring himself to say no, not to her."Just don't touch anything unless I tell you, alright?"
"Got it!" The two got to work preparing the meals. Eventually, Sasha's mind couldn't help but ask a question she had had on her mind for a while.
"Niccolo, why did you decide to become a chef?" Her query made him stop dicing the onions in front of him. He looked at her, and then the knife he was holding with his reflection starting back at him.
"I only really became a chef after the Scouts brought me here. The reason I learned to cook was..." He stared back down at the onions in silence.
Out of nowhere, Sasha grabbed his free hand, held it up and smiled. "It's okay, if it's too personal, you don't have to tell me." Her voice was filled with warmth and understanding. Niccolo instantly started blushing and tried to cover it by putting his head down and getting back to the onions. He couldn't tell if Sasha had noticed, so he continued to distract her.
"My parents spent most of their time working. We weren't poor, but we weren't well off either, so they had to do everything they could to make ends meet. When I woke up, they were gone, and when they came back, I was already asleep. I had to learn how to cook because no one was going to do it for me. It also gave me a way of helping them. I would cook meals and wake up early so I could give them to my parents. It let me be a bigger part in their lives, at least from my view.
He looked up, only to see that Sasha was in the same position as when he started talking and was looking right at him. Had she really been that interested in his life? No one ever had.
"Hey, I thought you said you wanted help" His tone was halfway between nervous and playful."Take those pots over there and put them on the cooker on low heat."
"YES CHEF!" She shouted and saluted for no reason, while having the biggest smile on her face.
Her eternal optimism put some pep in his step, and he got back to work too. But he figured it would be rude if he only talked about himself, so he decided to ask a question of his own.
"Sasha", he said softly."Why do you love food so much?"
She kept following the instructions Niccolo gave her, but slowed as she thought.
"I grew up in a village called Dauper within Wall Rose. My father and I would go out almost every day to hunt. Since that was how we got most of our food, there were times when we had little to eat and had to ration what we had. Things only got worse after Wall Maria fell."
Niccolo turned his head down in shame. When he and the other members of the navy were captured, they were given a summary of the events that had happened since the Marleyan Warroir Unit had attacked. He hadn't yet joined the military when they left for Paradis Island, and he wasn't responsible for what happened in any way, but he still felt a twinge of guilt.
Sasha chuckled."I used to be so close-minded back then. I was so upset at the idea of all these random people coming in and taking what I thought was rightfully ours. I didn't even try to understand their feelings or the position they were put in. All I thought was how it wasn't fair to me and the other villagers, why we should share the food we worked so hard for." She started into the boiling pot in self-reflection until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Niccolo was right behind, looking hesitant, but he broke through it and spoke. "The fact that you can look back and admit your faults is proof of how far you've come. You're not that person anymore, and you should be proud of that."
His smile enamoured Sasha, and she could only grin in return. Food was finished, and the two got to work plating everything. Niccolo saw a chance to get closer to Sasha (although he would never admit that) and took it.
"Um, hey. Sometimes our patrons overorder, so we make more food than we need to and end up throwing it away. But the chefs are allowed to keep some or give it away." Sasha looked at him with curiosity, which made him more nervous. He needed to stop dancing around the point or he'd give up.
He gathered his courage."Listen, if you want, you can visit the restaurant after hours to eat the leftovers." He turned his eyes away, scared to look at Sasha's expression, but forced himself to turn back. She deserved that much.
When he did, Sasha had the brightest smile on her face he'd ever seen. She put the two plates she was holding back onto the table and rushed up to hug Niccolo. He was thankful her head was behind him as his face turned as red as a tomato. By the time she pulled back, he thankfully managed to calm down.
"Thank you so much. I promise I won't let a single grain go to waste.