Adella sighed and took off her glasses, peering over at the window. It looked to be around mid-morning; the sun was high in the sky over Grimsdale. She reckoned she’d better take a break. A cup of tea sounded wonderful.

Leaving her study, Adella walked down to the kitchen and opened the drawer above the sink. But there weren’t any tea bags left. She hummed in confusion. Where did all her tea go?

A sudden memory came to mind. The Straw Hats! How could she have forgotten? Nami and she drank the majority of it as they chatted fondly about her home and fashion. Having someone to talk to seemed to brighten her day. Perhaps they could do it again before the Straw Hats left Grimsdale.

Adella hoped so.

I guess I’d better go into town before the shops close, she thought.

Dressing into something more presentable, Adella left her house. She kept to the backstreets as she always did, then turned onto Rainey Way, heading towards P2 Lakefair Street. There was a wonderful tea shop she loved to buy from that had imported teas from around the world.

As she got closer to the street, she noticed a familiar man standing in front of a store window on the adjacent street, Holcomb.

“Mister Sanji!?”

What was he doing in town? The residents out and about didn’t seem to pay him much mind thankfully.

Upon hearing his name, Sanji turned and began to swoon.

“Adella dear! It’s so good to see you.”

She felt her face turn red. He was such a sweetheart.

“Likewise,” Adella mentioned. She hummed in wonder. “What are you in town for?”

“I’m looking for supplies, but there don’t seem to be any spice shops or kiosks in this town,” Sanji answered.

Adella laughed.

“That’s because everything is sold indoors here, because of the street muck. You see Grimsdale is laid out in a fishbone shape, and each adjacent street is a shop that sells food products. Rainey Way runs between each of them and coming from the port, Stainton is the first street. Across from it is Lakefair, a food street,” she explained.

Sanji hummed.

“So, there are three of them?”

“That’s correct. Lakefair, Alghera, and Nazaire are all streets with shops that sell food products. Their adjacent streets: Stainton, Holcomb, and Entrance sell just about everything else,” Adella answered.

Sanji grinned.

“That certainly saves me some time. Thank you.”

“I’m happy to help,” Adella mentioned, “And if you like I can show you the best shop for spices. Of course, that is if you don’t mind escorting me to Lakefair Street. I have to buy more tea.”

He didn’t mind at all. Sanji felt bad for his crew having drank all her tea yesterday, but if it meant getting to walk around with a pretty girl then he was content.

“I’d be more than happy to escort you, Adella dear.”

She was thrilled. Adella linked her arm with his and walked with him over to Lakefair Street. Sanji held open the door to the tea shop for her and watched as she browsed the selections. He too looked around.

Spotting a familiar brand, Adella grinned.

“How wonderful!”

Since Sanji made her a cup of Vanilla Kiss during their first meeting, she had been wanting another. Adella held it against her chest and picked out a few more that would last her a while, then waited on Sanji. Once he was done, she led him to the front desk where a woman with deep-set eyes stood.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Helene,” Adella greeted her.

“Is that everything?” The said woman asked with a bite.

Sanji raised a brow. How rude. Adella didn’t seem to mind though. She put on a smile and paid Helene, then collected her bag and moved aside for him.

“Are you one of those pirates wandering around?” Helene asked, looking him over.

Before Sanji could answer, Adella interrupted.

“He’s a close friend of mine who came to visit. He’s only going to be in town for a short while.”

It was an obvious lie, but Sanji’s heart swooned regardless.

“Best not cause too much of an issue for us,” Helene mentioned, clearly not impressed.

“He won’t,” Adella assured her.

She waited for Sanji to pay, then took him by the hand, leading him outside.

The entire ordeal was awkward for her, it seemed, so Sanji squeezed her hand and allowed her to lead him to the next store without a word. Still, he wondered what the shop owner’s issue with Adella was. He was beginning to think sourly of the people of Grimsdale.

“I’m sorry for this,” Adella mentioned sadly, taking out her keys.

She never meant to drag Sanji back to her house, but seeing him so passionate about cooking, she ended up asking him to prepare a dish for her. It occurred to her a little too late that he must have better things to do than cater to her. She just wanted to eat his cooking again; his sandwiches were delicious.

“It’s no problem. I don’t mind cooking for such a beautiful lady,” Sanji mentioned.

Adella was relieved. She hummed in delight.

“I’m so excited. My mouth is watering just thinking about what tasty dish you are going to make.”

Sanji grinned.

“You’re too cute.”

Adella felt her face heat up and opened the door for him; he was the one carrying the most shopping bags, to her disagreement.

Like the first time, Sanji removed his shoes and walked back to the kitchen, setting the bags on the table. Adella offered for him to use her fridge to store the cold food until he left, so he made use of it as she unpacked her teas.

“Let me make you a cup of tea,” Sanji offered.

Adella hummed. She supposed it was fine.

“Thank you, Mister Sanji.”

She sat down at the table and watched him navigate around her kitchen. He was rather gentle with her things. She was thankful.

“Have long have you been a cook?” Adella asked.

Sanji hummed.

“Since I was a kid. I was the sous chef on an ocean-going restaurant in the East Blue before I joined with Luffy.”

“You had your reasons, I imagine,” Adella mentioned.

Sanji grinned. She didn’t seem to like prying much, not that he minded.

It was quiet for a while between them as Sanji prepped the dish until he looked over his shoulder at her; Adella averted her eyes in embarrassment having been caught staring at him.

“We appreciate the Log Pose you gave us. You didn’t have to hand us over your spare one though,” he brought up.

“It was my pleasure. Honestly, it was just sitting upstairs in the study gathering dust. I’m glad it can be of use again,” Adella mentioned.

Sanji hummed.

“Your father was an adventurer I take it.”

“He was. I got to travel around with him before my mother got sick, and when she passed, we gave up traveling all together,” Adella explained with a sad smile.

It was a touchy topic, Sanji could see.

“Do you miss traveling?”

Adella hummed.

“I do, but our house has been in Grimsdale for generations, and I’d hate to leave it.”

He understood.

Once her tea was done, Sanji poured her a glass and brought it over to the table. He could see that she was a little upset, but he was curious about something.

“Back in town, the owner of that tea shop was a bit rude to you, and you said that your house has been here for generations. Have they always been like that?”

Adella shook her head no.

“No one here likes for things to change. And once my father and I came back from our adventures, things for everyone changed. It’s a long story, honestly.”

Her eyes teared up.

Sanji felt bad for digging up the bones of her past, but he couldn’t stand how the people in town treated her. There was no reason for her to have to take the mucky backroads and stain her pretty dresses or fake a smile every time someone curled their nose up at her.

“I don’t know what happened in your past, Adella,” Sanji mentioned. “But I am going to cook you something so delicious that it wipes away those tears.”

Was he serious? Adella widened her eyes. She had never met a pirate so kind before. All she could do was nod as he turned around to continue.