Aria's mind starts racing, trying to figure out what on Earth one of the Strawhat Pirates is doing in Baratie. Could they have heard about Zeff flying their flag and come to confront him about it?

Black Leg doesn't seem very upset. He's looking around the restaurant almost curiously, ignoring the fearful customers and the stuttering maitre d'. When his eyes land on the wall of wanted posters, they widen in shock for a moment , before his lips pull into an almost fond smile. It makes him look almost sweet, completely unlike his ruthless reputation.

Then, his eyes continue roving over the restaurant, and when they come to rest on Aria, the smile from before morphs into something confident and charming. Aria stands, rooted to her spot, while Black Leg gives her a suggestive wink, before turning back to the poor maitre d', who is usually more than a match for the pirates that like to trouble them, but who seems to have lost his nerve when faced with the pirate king's head chef.

A hush falls over the restaurant as everyone waits to see what he has to say.

With his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes half-lidded, he looks the very picture of nonchalance, but his voice brings a chill to the air when he says, "Bring me the owner of this shitty restaurant."

Aria feels her heart thud painfully in her chest, her fear rising. That doesn't sound good.

"The owner, sir?" asks the maitre d', his voice impressively stable as he ignores the jibe.

Black Leg raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, he says. "You know, the crappy head chef, Zeff?"

Okay, yeah, definitely not good news. The very fact that he knows Zeff's name is a testament to how much they must hate him. Aria prays her hotheaded boss won't come out of the kitchen any time soon. Knowing him, he would probably just add fuel to the fire.

And then, almost as if the heavens have heard her and instead of granting her prayer have decided to play a cruel joke on her, the doors to the kitchen open, and Carne steps out.

Their assistant head chef is very nearly as hotheaded as their boss and at the moment, his expression is thunderous, probably wondering what on Earth is taking Aria so long.

Aria watches as Carne notices their new guest, and his eyes widen comically, his expression dumbfounded.

"What the hell are YOU doing here?" he exclaims, dashing all Aria's hopes of this confrontation ending peacefully. She watches with her heart in her throat as Black Leg's eyes flicker over to Carne.

And then, miracle of miracles, a smile crosses his face.

"Carne!" he exclaims, "You still here, you old bastard? Thought you'd have been fired by now!"

He looks startlingly happy, despite his words, and as the fear in the room turns to confusion, Aria wonders – hopes – that she's misunderstood Sanji's actions until now.

"Think again, you little beansprout," answers Carne, his voice gruff, but happy. "Assistant head chef."

Sanji's eyebrows raise in surprise as he takes a slow step forward. "No kidding?" he asks. "The old man must've finally lost his mind, to make someone like you the assistant head chef."

Carne rolls his eyes at this, also stepping forward. "Say what you want, it doesn't change the fact that Baratie is way more successful than it ever was while you were assistant head chef."

Aria chokes, thinking she must have heard wrong.

But a quick look around at the dumbfounded expressions around the room tells her she's heard perfectly.

The two men continue their conversation, as if they haven't just broken everyone's minds, and Aria struggles to wrap her mind around the fact that the Black Leg Sanji once worked at this very restaurant.

The thought is too surreal.

"HA!" laughs Sanji, and she struggles to bring her attention to the really very interesting meeting (reunion?) taking place in the middle of the restaurant. "That's because they must be hoping I'll return some day," quips Sanji. "A vain hope, unfortunately. Can't afford to leave that idiot crew of mine alone. They'd starve within a day."

By now, they're both standing in front of each other, but instead of throwing out a witty reply, Carne chuckles in amusement , and pulls Sanji into a rough embrace.

A shocked murmuring has broken out among the customers, steadily growing in volume. But when the two men pull out of their embrace, it quiets again.

"So? You still haven't told me what you're doing here," says Carne, speaking up, and Sanji's lips pull up into a smirk.

"We're here to eat of course," he answers, and Aria watches as Carne puts all the pieces together in his head, sees the realization dawn on his face at the same time it does for her.

"WHAT!?" shrieks Carne, loud enough to be heard in the kitchen. "YOU are the special guest?"

Sanji smirks, but before he can reply, the doors to the kitchens open, and some of the other chefs step out to see what all the commotion is. Some of them, like Aria, are shocked and fearful upon seeing the infamous chef standing in the middle of their restaurant.

But then Patty steps out, and he's one of the few that have been working at Baratie practically forever now, and a wide grin stretches his lips when he sees the pirate, and he cries out, "SANJI!"

And suddenly, there's a scrambling, there are shouts of shock, there are a dozen chefs trying to get through the kitchen doors all at once. They step forward with enthusiastic greetings and arms open for embraces.

Sanji grimaces and scowls, barbed words are thrown around in gruff voices, but they're so full of affection, Aria is taken aback. She feels slightly uncomfortable, watching such an intimate reunion.

Patty and Sanji seem to be having a competition of who can come up with the most creative insults when the doors to the kitchen swing open, and Zeff steps out.

"Owner Zeff!" calls out one of the chefs. "You should have told us Sanji and his crew were our special guests! If we knew, we wouldn't have put so much effort into preparing their table!"

Even Aria knows that is a blatant lie.

"Yeah!" agrees Patty. "Now dartboard here is going to be under the impression we actually care about him!"

Aria doesn't really hear what Zeff says in reply; she's too taken aback at the look on his face, so full of fierce pride and affection, and that's when she finally understands.

Sanji isn't just a former employee dropping by for a chat.

He's Zeff's protégé.

His legacy.

He's a son returning home.

When they're within reaching distance of each other, Zeff folds the younger male into a tight embrace, and no one mentions it when the hug lasts just a little too long, or when both men's eyes look just a little teary when they step back.

Instead, Zeff asks, "Where's that captain of yours then? My chefs have been working all morning to make sure there's enough for him to eat, so don't you tell me he hasn't come after all!"

Sanji barks out a laugh in reply.

"As if my idiot captain would ever pass up good food!" he says. "Last I checked, he was still asleep. We were fighting off marines the entire way here, and the idiot tired himself out. The others are trying to w-"

"MEEEAAATT!"

Aria jumps, startled, as the doors of the Baratie burst open, interrupting Sanji, and a certain young pirate king bounces in and right onto Sanji's back, winding his arms multiple times around his chef's neck, and his legs around the man's waist.

"Sanji! Ossan! I want MEAT! Is the meat ready yet?" he calls by way of greeting, and the chefs all laugh in amusement. The customers, also, seem to have gotten over the fact that the infamous Straw Hat pirates are in East Blue.

"You haven't changed a bit, brat," replies Zeff, smacking the young captain on the head, and Aria feels her heart stop. Zeff might very well be one of the only people in the world that can get away with doing that to Strawhat Luffy.

"One would think the pirate king would have better manners," chides Zeff.

"We get that a lot," says a new voice then, tinkling with laughter, and Aria turns to see the rest of the Strawhats are entering.

In the lead are Cat Burglar Nami and Devil Child Nico Robin, arms entwined and laughing. Cotton Candy Lover Chopper is riding in the latter's arms, dozing with his head against her shoulder.

Right behind them are Cyborg Franky and Sniper King Usopp, looking around in wonder.

And bringing up the rear are Pirate Hunter Zoro, Soul King "Humming" Brook, and Knight of the Sea Jinbe, all seeming to be deep in discussion about something of the utmost importance.

They're a happy little crew dressed all in bright colours, all of them laughing and happy, and maybe just a little bit crazy.

Not that they care.

They have the very world at their fingertips.

They have love in their hearts, joy in their eyes, and youth in their bones.

And suddenly, Aria thinks, it isn't quite so hard to see why Zeff holds so much respect for them.

Fin

SkyGem: Thanks again for taking the time to read, and I really do hope you all enjoyed! I would appreciate it if you'd leave a review letting me know what you thought! And once again, if you enjoyed this fic, please check out my marines!AU.

Bye for now!