As SunnyBaudelaire looked tentatively over the precipice, a word which here means “edgeof the extremely steep cliff that was the only thing keeping the youngestBaudelaire from her siblings and from a very injurious fall,” she heard afrustrated voice behind her exclaim “OUCH! Stupid fish!”
Turning, Sunnysaw the hook-handed man struggling with a partly frozen salmon he had just caughtfrom the Stricken Stream. He had clearly been trying to debone the fishcarefully, but he was encumbered by his hooks, and so he had torn at the fishclumsily, accidentally cutting himself with his own hook in the process.
He threw the fishdown in frustration and nursed his wound. Glancing up, he made eye contact withSunny.
“What are youlooking at, baby?”
“Batali,” said Sunny,which meant something along the lines of, “I’m looking at a cook that has mademany avoidable mistakes.”
“Well if youthink you’re so smart, you prepare it then.”
Sunny walked overto the fish, and after sanitizing her mouth with some clean snow, went to workcutting the fish precisely with her extremely sharp teeth. Her cuts were soprecise that she was able to debone the fish easily.
“You’re muchbetter at that than I am, baby,” said the hook-handed man, after a period ofsilence. “Back when I used to associate with more noble people…when I had myhands…I used to love to cook.”
“Iago!” Sunnysaid, which meant something like “But you’re a villain who betrays the peoplewho love you! The only thing you’re good at cooking is schemes!”
“No!” said thehook-handed man, “I’m not a villain, I’m just….a complicated person! I’ve lostmany people that I love, and loved many people that I’ve lost, and that hasmade the world a scary place. I’m just like you. Can’t you understand that,baby?” and when he said, “baby,” it wasn’t in the threatening voice Sunny wasused to hearing from Olaf’s troupe. It sounded like the same tone Justice Strausshad used when she begged the Baudelaire siblings to stay with her. It soundedlike the tone that Klaus had used when defending the Incredibly Deadly Viper againstaccusations of homicide. It sounded like the tone that Jerome had used when hepleaded with Esme to let him continue drinking aqueous martinis, even when theywere “out.” It sounded like the tone of her mother’s voice when she asked Sunnyto never grow up.
“I know I know, Ihave metal utensils for hands and I chase young children as part of my job. Iassociate with a group of other sinister people, and I run around on metaphoricalislands trying to escape the ticking clock that has chased me since the day Iburned down the place which I had called home. I assuage my guilt with seasshanties and occasional bowls of salmon soup. But you must believe me, baby.I’m not a villain.”
“Pan,” said Sunnyagain, and gestured to the metal pan that lay in the snow next to him.
“Oh,” said thehook-handed man, and picked up the pan and put it over the fire. Sunny placedthe cleanly-cut salmon fillets on the pan.
“Lemon?” sheasked, and the hook-handed man produced a few old pockets of soy sauce andhoney from his pocket.
“Fleming,” saidSunny, which means something along the lines of “That’s a happy accident,because soy sauce and honey will make a perfect caramelizing marinade to pairwith the smokey flavor of the Stricken Stream salmon.”
“You’re prettysmart, for a baby,” the hook-handed man said sheepishly, handing her thepackets.
“Hookie,” shesaid, and bit the hook-handed man’s wrist affectionately.
“Fernald,” hesaid. “My name is Fernald.”
“Fernald.” Sunny said,and then, after a pause, pointed to herself. “Sunny.”
Fernald lookeddown at the searing salmon fillets – which had begun to caramelize nicely – asthe steam from the pan drifted lazily through the cold air, just like the smokedrifted above the cold sea all those years ago, and felt, for the first timesince that day, like he was no longer looking over the edge of a precipice.“Thank you for your help, Sunny.”******
Thanks @virtualfindingsdocumented for sending me this prompt! I had tons of fun writing this…got teared up a bit at the end there.
Send me a pairing and a number and I’ll write a short fic!
