On the easter side of the town lived a happy little family. If little meant about thirteen people that was. The family consisted of your usual parents and couple older siblings and younger siblings and your grandmother and then there was [Name].
The family had for generations produced the best of the best when it came to cooking, there were notes of it going centuries back. And then there was [Name].
The [e/c] eyed lad loved food just as much as any member of the family, but he just somehow was never able to get the recipes right. What was supposed to be sweet tasted salty, what was to be sour became sickly sweet and it wasn't even that he wasn't following the recipes right. Oh no. [Name] always followed the recipes to the point where you could see him measuring everything precisely as it was, putting it in the exact order, at the right time, and still what he made ended up being disastrous.
If you gave him a wrench or a screwdriver however and told him that there was something funny going on with your electric oven or your ship's engine or anything that had to do with mechanical problems, he was able to locate the problem within minutes and repair the thing in an hour at max. If you'd pay him some extra, he'd even upgrade things and make them last twice as long as they usually did.
This little talent didn't go unnoticed by the [h/c] head's mother, who soon had her young son study under a proper mechanic; and in the process [Name] became like the grandson the old mechanic never had.
At the age of twelve or so though, the boy started to have a little trouble because of his soul mate suddenly making themselves known. And boy did it start horrendously. The poor boy could feel the hunger pains of the other one and to his horror, it was clear that they were slowly starving, there was a time when he could even feel their soul slipping away. So he'd reacted like any rational child did and started to eat a tad bit more, believing firmly that because he could feel his soul mate's hunger, clearly if he ate more, it could save their life.
And then his advisor/grandfather figure told him that it didn't work that way. What a disappointment and a wake up call. It was honestly like a cold slap to your face.
Luckily the other person managed to survive but this brought a new problem along. [Name] could now smell the same scents as the other person could. It was mostly food but once he'd turned twenty himself, the scent of tobacco had been mixed in along with wine. So naturally, he'd thought that his soul mate was probably older than him and worked at a restaurant.
Yeah, no, the restaurants that the bloody island had didn't employ anyone who smoked. And the scents of those foods were a bit off, it was as if they were missing something trivial from them, some ingredient that just wasn't available on that specific part of the vast island. Or maybe it was the wrong type of salt.
Disappointed in his unsuccessful findings, the mechanic had returned to his work, believing that his soul mate resented him and thus hid themselves, that had to be the only reason.
"You know, [Name], ever since you mentioned that you could smell the same things that your fated one did, it has made me wonder one thing", Jun, the older mechanic said as he rested his hand on the tire, the rest of his body slouched against something one could only refer to as a very small train that could probably be driven down the streets by a single person. "Hmm?" was all that the man could hear coming from beneath the said device near its rear as the [h/c] mechanic was fixing its axel, highly concentrated on his task.
"Okay so, this might sound crazy, but hear me out on this one, you said that the gal's cooking smelled like it had some off ingredient that doesn't grow here, right, what if... Just listen to me man, what if your soul mate was an outsider"
The sound of something hitting the metal, followed by loud cursing made it clear that [Name] had just hurt his head on the said axel. Jun watched how his best friend emerged from beneath the invention the old man was obsessed with. The male's forehead was red and nose bled a little and he was holding the other half of the axel, another victim of corrosion, on his gloved hand. [E/c] eyes narrowed, he rubbed his nose, smearing motor oil on his face in the process.
"Dude, you really need to start wearing that safety mask", "I know, I know, so what was this about my other half being an outsider"
Jun jumped off of the vehicle, his hands spread into jazz hand motion, a wide grin on his face. "Okay so, your fated one, is obviously a chef, and she smokes, right, so um, since no such person lives on the island, I mean every person who smokes apparently smokes the wrong kind according to you and only third of them know how to cook and even then", the silverette started to ramble on and on about their unsuccessful hunt for the mystery person whose gender they didn't even know. Somehow Jun was sure of it being a woman, but he couldn't say why.
"And based on this, it has to be a chick from some other place!" the man ended his little rant, or was a deduction, his brown eyes shining with pride. [Name] on the other hand hadn't been paying much attention in favour of stopping his nosebleed and getting the new axel piece. " Did you figure all that by yourself? Impressive", his sarcasm filled voice caused the silver haired dork to blush from embarrassment. "I was just trying to help", he mumbled.
[Name] sighed, already regretting what he'd said. "Sorry, I'm just so frustrated with all of this, I'm already past twenty, and I haven't gotten any physical marks from my bonded, the first sign of them was me feeling like I was starving and then I've only known what they were cooking and tobacco", he brushed his [h/c] hair back in frustration, "I've already come to accept the fact that my fated one probably resents me and that why they must be hiding. I mean look at me Jun, I'm just a block of meat! I can't cook to save my life, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, all I can do is fix mechanical stuff".
"Woah easy there tiger, who told you that you we dumb? Imma beat them up", "I did"
Jun shrugged, he couldn't really beat his friend's mind up so that plan just got thrown out of the window. "Okay but isn't it kinda woman's job to cook anyw-", [Name]'s facial expression made the silverette bite his tongue and swallow the rest of the sentence. As he did so, the clouded [e/c] eyes of his friend turned towards the window where they could see the sun climbing up to the sky. They'd really started early today huh.
"You don't get it Jun", [Name] said softly, "I want to be able to surprise them pleasantly, I want to be able to make their favourite food. I... I love food but at the same time... I somehow can't make anything on my own, and that makes me feel like such an idiot".
On the Thousand Sunny, Sanji couldn't help but to attempt to block his nose entirely. Staring at none other than Zoro with distaste, the chef made several hand gestures to get him leave his domain. "Huh? What are you waving at", the swordsman finally said feeling annoyed at the blonde. Sanji inhaled sharply.
"You reek, go take a shower or you'll be banned from the dining area", he finally said bluntly making his rival instantly mad at him.
"If you didn't notice, I just came from the washing area you perverted chef", "Well how do you then explain this oil smell you stupid marimo"
At that moment Chopper decided to step in only to then comment about how nice and fruity the air smelled as courtesy of Sanji's current work. The fighting chef came to halt, his curly brow furrowing in confusion. "Chopper, don't you smell that oil?", "What oil?"
The chef stared at his hands in panic, was he losing his sense of smell and with that his ability to taste? It was the chef's nightmare!
"..... Fruity", [Name] mumbled suddenly, deciding that now was the perfect moment to take a pause, when it came to working at the workshop, you really needed your sense of smell incase of a fire or some gas being loose. With the food related smells, he couldn't really tell that and it made things more dangerous for him. Moving to his locker, the mechanic opened it. He might as well have his lunch break now right?
Sanji's face was the epitome of confusion as the scent of oil got itself a mix of different scents that vaguely made him think of a sandwich. He covered his mouth in thought. "Chopper, mind calling Law here for a bit? I think that I'm going to need his way of diagnosis this time", he said quietly, getting more and more sure that he was actually having a stroke or something.
A visor was lifted up as the [h/c] haired man bit into one of his four sandwiches. Now that he thought about it more carefully, Jun's talk did have a point. And he did smell the scent of the ocean too when he concentrated, but he'd just assumed that it was because of how close to the sea the town was.
"There's nothing physically wrong with you Sanji-ya", the doctor, and the captain, of the other pirate ship, Trafalgar Law said calmly as he sheathed his sword once more allowing the room to dissipate. He'd scanned the chef several times now and he'd always gotten an empty reading. The tanned man took a look at the horizon and seeing the thick fog, an idea came to his mind.
"There might be a way for us to find out what's going on if we go through that mist, but we'll need to go all the way", he said as he shot a glance at Chopper, who somehow got the message, soon hurrying to tell Nami. The commotion had caused most of the crew to arrive to the dining room to check out what was going on, but so far they all were still unclear. Law took a seat.
"Now what I'm going to tell you will sound odd", he started, just in time for Nami who also had now arrived.
[Name] closed his eyes for a brief minute, taking a short nap in order to regain some energy, he did need to finish the axel change and do few gears too. Oh and the engine needed to be also looked at, last time they'd tried to run it, it had been smoking a bit which wasn't a good sign at all.
"The tribe of soul bonded?" the question was lingering on the air like a confused hummingbird. Law sighed.
"What Sanji-ya is experiencing is either a very strong sense hallucination, which I would've been able to find out with the scan, or he has a soul mate who happens to share their senses with him", the pirate explained, his fingers tapping the long sword that rested against his shoulder. "There's no doubt that this person was working on something when the connection suddenly turned on, it probably startled them too"
Inside Sanji's confused mind, several prototypes of what this unknown person could look like went past quickly before settling on the idea of a beautiful woman. The idea pleased him greatly, but Law wasn't yet done. "A person can't choose who their bond is with, so it could be anyone, man, woman, child, elderly, most of the tribe members apparently end up marrying their soul mates without caring if they're the same gender as they are", hearing this, the chef fell on his knees praying that his bond was with a hot lady instead of an elder or worse, a man.
"I better get back to work", [Name] mused to himself, snapping the protective mask back on and sliding under the pop's pet project.
"GAH! THERE IT IS AGAIN!" Sanji screeched trying to figure out how to block that smell, but no avail. Though if he was being honest with himself, he kind of liked that husky scent of oil and musk. It was... Weird considering how many those scents were, but it made him feel safe. Shaking his head in frustration, the chef decided to check if there was need for anything, he might aswell stock on food items while he was on the island.
"Oy [Name], there's apparently two pirate ships at the dock, you interested in checking them out?" Jun said as his head peeked from the doorway, but he was met with the sight of the [h/c] being again working. Shrugging to himself, he decided to at least check it out himself.
The silverette zigzagged within the sea of humans, yet he ended up to the town square by accident. And there he happened to lay his eyes on a blonde man, with a broken carriage. Oh well, he might as well offer some help.
"If you need that repaired, I know just the guy"
Sanji wasn't entirely trustful of the silver haired idiot he'd ended up following, his mind craving for a smoke more than ever. The man took him to a workshop and there he could see different kinds of people working on different projects. However they passed all of them as if they didn't matter at that time, though it most likely was because of them being too busy. The oil scented environment was unfamiliar and even terrifying place to the chef who loved his tidy little kitchen more than anything.
They stopped at a creation that could only be described as a very small train build for two people. The dark eyed man knocked on the train that echoed with a metallic sound. "You're not being funny Jun", a low yet rich voice answered. The silver haired man, now identified as Jun, chuckled a little. "Relax [Name], I have a good reason this time. I brought you a customer actually", there was silence, a long silence, during which Sanji broke into his nervous habit of smoking. A man with a mask emerged from behind the construction, seemingly curious. "So what is this about?", "That's rude [Name], take off that mask and introduce yourself properly like Pops taught"
Leaving out a tch sound, the mechanic complied and as soon as the mask was off, Sanji could feel his disbelieving heart do a flip.
Oh...
Ohhh.
Oh no...
He might've been in love.
The man's features could only be described as perfect and handsome, his [e/c] eyes shining like a pair of stars, as he brushed his [h/c] hair away from his face. Not even the oily stain that was left behind onto his forehead from his gloves could make that look unappealing to the chef now. Though it did kind of bother him.
"Just call me [Name], it's nice t- Oh... It's you", the man started before suddenly putting up mental walls around himself. The man's obvious friend Jun watched his actions unsure of what to do. Minutes ticked by.
It took Sanji two minutes to find his ability to move again, four for him to get a towel and fifth for him to wipe away that dark oil smear from the man's face. The man stated at him unsure of what to do or think about. "So, you're the person who I could suddenly smell starting about three days ago, it was a bit of a challenge for me to be able to cook properly with that going on", he finally said to the angel in front of him, dropping the towel into a bucket near by, "Name's Sanji". He puffed out another ring of smoke, observing his supposed soul mate who was obviously fighting against himself at that point.
There was nervousness, confusion, relief and... Fear?
But why on earth would someone like him be afraid? After a long battle against his own mind, [Name] sighed, his hand reaching out to snatch away the cigarette, earning a "HEY!" from the chef, which was brought to an abpurt end as he brought it to his own mouth, deeply inhaling the smoke before exhaling it creating a small smoke screen around him.
"So Jun ended up being in the right after all... Well.. Just let me know one thing my little chef", the mechanic said as he leaned closer, still holding onto the cigarette, "Do you now take a good care of yourself? The way you made yourself known to me twelve years ago was a great shock". Sanji's eyes widened in surprise as his brain counted back in time. Realising what the [h/c] head meant, he looked down, blushing ever so slightly from both shame and embarrassment. "Yeah, I do, and I also now have friends who look out for me", he mumbled, barely hearably.
Jun watched how [Name] relaxed visibly, taking it as a que to take his leave, the other mechanics who'd been present following his suit, many shooting thumbs up towards the two which went unnoticed.
Confusion was very much the most dominant emotion within Sanji at that point, closely followed by flusterment as he watched how the mechanic was holding onto the cigarette that he'd been smoking only few seconds ago and smoking it himself. Why didn't he feel resentment towards the man despite of him being there? Was it because of how distant he was being? No... That part actually hurt a little.
[Name] side glanced at the smaller man, but as he only saw how he was staring at his face, which was about a head higher than the blonde's own, he couldn't but to sigh. It was that facial expression, those flushed cheeks and slightly parted lips. He just couldn't keep being angry about the other one not seeking him out, hell he apparently hadn't even known that he had a bonded one. Blowing the final smokes for himself, the mechanic made his mind.
"Fuck it", he muttered right before he turned his head and bent down a bit.
Sanji hadn't expected his first (known) kiss to be with another man, had you told him this few days earlier he would've kicked you in the face, but now... He was being overwhelmed by the scents that were part of the man, [Name] thanks to his profession, but he didn't hate it, it was actually the opposite. This near the man he could make out the other scents too, like the freshly cut grass, rain that had apparently stained his being earlier, salt from the tears he'd been shedding in secret and the motor oil. God, the motor oil.
It had this stinging scent that alone would make your nose twitch in disgust and eyes water, but when it was mixed with everything else, like the smoke of the fresh tobacco, it was just right.
[Name] on the other hand was also making new discoveries regarding his soul mate, who was now holding onto his shirt like a lifeline his delicate looking hands curled into fists. Sanji's scent was... Different. It was like the ocean, but a different kind of ocean, cleaner, kinder, more forgiving, he also smelled like spices and herbs, honey and soap, and you couldn't forget the tobacco he'd learned to love during his life.
Eventually, he had to let go, now holding onto the almost completely burnt out cigarette, while staring right at the flushed face of the blonde. Leaning in once more, [Name] placed kisses on the blonde's both cheek bones and forehead, completely surprising him. He then leaned in a bit more to whisper to his ear.
"I guess that I don't hate it like I thought and it seems to me like you were hoping for more"
The instantaneous reaction of the chef that was in the form of speechlessness and a shiver made the mechanic smirk before he took a look at the cart and its broken wheel. However it took quite some time before the chef was able to even move from his shock regarding his newly found attraction men on top of being attracted to women. Or... Well.. Man. One man. Also [Name] ended up carrying him to the ship with his groceries, and to say the least, the man hadn't expected to see the local super model next to a tanned man in a beanie, the brother of the prosthesis maker and the therapist of the town there too.
Even if only one of the three was on the same ship as him and the third one only came to give his number to a long haired man with a goofy grin.
Huh... Guess that their generation had a lot more outside bonds than the previous ones.
[Name] couldn't really complain though, after all his bonded turned out to be rather cute chef even if he liked to hide his kindness and cuteness under a tough guy act.