Chapter Text
Nights in Alabasta were cold.
It was, on one hand, a blessing. After the unbearable heats of the day, the glaring sun which rays worked like lasers burning into the skin of fools who decided to try and conquor the daylight, the wind, the blast of cool air was a relief hard to describe in simple words. With time, however, as the hours passed, the freezing temperatures neared the same level of discomfort as the heat, sending shivers down travelers' spines and making the hair on their body stand up like a soldier during a salute.
Sanji got to experience that feeling closely during his nightly watch in the desert.
The girls and the rest of the crew were sleeping- Vivi and Nami cuddled together under a blanket, tucked in and huddled to each other to keep whatever warmth they created trapped. The redhead's hand rested on the princess's back, a shining beacon of comfort that kept the other girl from another tense and fearful attempt at sleep. The boys presented a less appreciative image, all of them in a pile of sorts, with Usopp curled up into a ball, Luffy and Zoro sprawled on the ground and snoring loudly, and the tiny Tony Tony Chopper resting on top of them, subconciously holding onto the swordsman.
One was missing.
"Hey, blondie, mind a gentelman keeping you company?"
Ace. Luffy's brother.
It was unexpected, to out of nowhere run into someone claiming to be their captain's older sibling, but it didn't take long to notice just how similiar the two of them were, leaving no room for a mistake when it came to questioning their relationship. While the older certainly graced himself with a lot more manners, something which Luffy definitely did not posess- not out of malice, but rather his insanely mind boggling lack of understanding of any social norms or clues- they still shared certain aspects of character unique to them both, from their foolish instantaneous bravery to refusal of actually thinking before jumping into action.
It was charming, in a way. Irritating and causing him to want fo rip out his own hair at times, but charming nonetheless.
It was also just interesting, to observe a relationship between brothers, seemingly deprived of the toxicity he was so used to when it came to biological bonds. They bickered, they teased eachother, but nowhere was the cruelty and the intention of harm that Sanji was so used to. No, instead there was this protectiveness, this glint in Ace's eye that meant one thing and one thing only- no one was allowed to touch Luffy when he was around, or they'll get a taste of his flames.
How nice it must be, to have someone who cares about you to this degree.
"Ah, Ace... shouldn't you be sleeping?" Sanji asked, looking up at the man standing on the other side of the dimly lit bonefire. It was hard to see in the darkness of the night, but his statue was illuminated by the slight light of the fire, painting him in warm golds and oranges, a perfect compliment to his dark, tanned skin covered in freckles, in a way almost resembling specs of ashes.
He knew he shouldn't focus so much on the look of another man, but...it was captivating. Unnatural, almost, in how beautiful it looked while still belonging to a male form.
"Didn't feel like it. Wouldn't want to waste time while I have more interesting things to do, don't you think?" He smiled, dropping into a squat to match his height and...sending him a wink?
Did he just wink at him?
Why...why would he do that?
"Oh, um, that's- that's certainly a way to see it-" The cook responded, praying the flush that attacked his face wouldn't let itself be known under the moonlight.
It didn't feel appropriate, yet he had no strenght to fight it off.
Ace only chuckled, shuffling closer towards him, sitting down on the dry sand. He was leaning backwards, his weight held up by his palms supporting him, flat on the ground. One of his arms wondered somewhere behind Sanji, and if he too decided to mimic him in his action, he would most likely feel it against his back.
They were close.
Close, yet deep inside he couldn't help but yearn they were even closer.
It felt like a dirty thought, like something that even in the secrecy of his mind should cause him shame, because how dared he want something like that, but all it took was one look from the other man to cover those beliefs under a thick curtain and make him forget they were there. Ace, intentionally or not, made him feel like those new ideas were something normal.
He still couldn't decide if it was ultimately good, or if it would only bring him even more harm.
"No need to be shy- you don't carry yourself like a shy type. Can't say it isn't a bit cute, but I'd much rather hear you ramble about that one meal you started describing on the way here than get all sheepish"
God, Sanji didn't know how to handle any of it.
He wasn't a stranger to flirting, obviously. It was a language he was, in his humble opinion, very well versed in, with years of experience and practice to back his point up. The difference, though, that of a monumental level, was that usually he was the one speaking it, not to one subjected to be at its' recieving end.
Not once had he fallen a victim to the sweet nothings rolling off someone's tongue- he, in quite the opposition to that, was of the understanding that he would never even hear them, because they were a gift to the beautiful women of the world, to be given by men competing for their hearts.
He was neither beautiful nor a woman.
He wasn't.
And yet...
"You shouldn't just say things like that to anyone, you know?" He decided on commenting, curling his knees closer to himself. He reached towards his pocket, to the very familiar pack he kept there at all times, in an almost religious manner, pulling out the much needed cigarette and bringing it to his lips.
Before he could look for his lighter, a finger tapped the bottom of his chin, coercing him to turn.
And oh, what a sight he witnessed upon turning.
Ace was leaning dangerously close, with his hand still placed where he first felt it, holding up the blonde's face. He stuck his tongue out with a playful smirk, the tip of it meeting the almost forgotten cigarette between Sanji's lips, limp as a result of his slightly agape from shock mouth. Once the two met, the muscle promptly burst into a small flame, lighting the object, and the perpetrator pulled away.
Sanji, for a moment that felt like an eternity, forgot how to breath.
"Who said you were just anyone, though?"
His limbs trembled, the experience so new he had no scheme based on which he would know how to react. No words would come to the forefront of his head, no gestures came to his mind as his body stilled, paralyzed from what he couldn't decipher, either placing itself between fear or excitement.
Ace sensed the distress eminating from him- that much was clear, based on how his expression suddenly sombered and how he moved away, giving him space.
"Hey, sorry if that was a bit too forward- I might have read things the wrong way. Give me a word and I'll get out of your hair, okay?" He explained, almost nervous in his delivery.
It made Sanji stop.
"You...read things the wrong way?" He repeated, dumbfounded, more to himself than to the devil fruit user next to him.
Ace's eyebrow raised up.
"Ah, were you not aware? I can say it out loud if you want, or we can pretend nothing happened. It's your choice"
And what a choice that was.
Because Sanji knew- of course he knew, that much was literally written right in front of him. To ask for confirmation in that case would be to give a permission to push things further.
Rationally, he knew denying would be what he should want. He was already toeing the line of his own set out rules and to engage in something like this would be to, just as well, simply spit at what he taught himself over the years and do a metaphorical backflip over that said line.
But Sanji was a...a man, a man of his heart, and when his heart called, he answered.
And so, with half lidded eyes and anxiety stirring in his gut, he faced the other man and whispered.
"Tell me"
And in an instant the two of them were tied together, Sanji pulled into Ace's lap with ease, his arms wrapped around the pseudo-cowboy's neck to keep himself steady. Their mouths fit together like puzzle pieces, moving in a messy harmony that made the cook forget about any doubts he carried just minutes ago. Ace was warm- so warm, so perfect against the desert's night's cold, only making him want to touch more, to steal more of that heat for himself.
And his tongue.
God, his tongue.
It was hot, not only in the way it made him shiver while pushing past his teeth, but also in the temperature itself. It burnt, almost, in a way that reminded him of his long forgotten cigarette, dropped somewhere in the mids of everything. A normal person would flinch, perhaps, jump away from the sensation, but Sanji was a cook, and what kind of cook would he be to get scared of a little bit of fire?
When they pulled away, he breathed and panted heavily, and he couldn't decide if the steam he saw leaving his mouth was caused by the freezing air or the human furnace who just invaded him so deeply.
Ace looked delighted. He was grinning, smile pulled from one ear to another, creating a hillarious contrast to his earlier subtle- or not really- flirtatious persona.
He really did resemble his dear captain Luffy so much.
Not a good thing to think after making out with him.
Because he just made out with him.
All Blue be damned, he just made out with a man.
A man who is, coincidentally, his captain's brother.
Oh gods.
"Hey, come on now, I can hear you overthinking from over here. We don't have to do much more if this is not what you wanted- can't say I wouldn't be a bit upset for letting a catch like you go, but consent is consent. That being said..."
Ace pulled his hat off, shaking his black hair off from his face almost like a dog trying to dry its' fur, before placing it upon Sanji's own head, tugging at the string hanging off of it in amusement and tipping the brim up to make the blonde look at him.
"When your shift ends, you can go to that little cave over there and... return the hat, hm? If you're not up to it, you can keep it for the night, but if you change your mind I'll wait there. No matter which you pick, if you want, we can pretend it all never happened once the sun rises. Take your time, blondie, but I can't promise you I will be very patient. That runs in the family"
And after that, he was gone.
It was then that the true horror begun.
Not because of Ace, no- sure, thinking about what exactly could happen once he wondered into that cave made him nervous, but more so with unwanted excitement than genuine fear. The source of the issue was something different.
Somone different.
Roronoa fucking Zoro was wide awake and staring at him with a devious grin.
"DON'T. Do NOT even start-" Sanji threatened, pleaded, skin turning pale immediately.
Was the swordsman going to rat him out? To tell everyone about his gross perversion and unpure intentions with their temporary companion? Would he look at him with disgust and change his view of the cook just because of-
"Just go to him, love cook. I'll take over the watch"
Huh.
Huh?
Zoro rolled his eyes.
"You fucking deaf? Go and get layed, maybe you'll be less annoying later" He huffed, walking up towards the fire and sitting down, letting his hands hang over the pile of burning sticks to warm them even a bit.
Sanji was speechless.
"W-wha- what do you- I'm not-!" He tried to say something, anything, but his sentences kept twisting and falling apart.
The swordsman didn't look too impressed.
"Not gay or not about to sleep with your captain's brother? Get over yourself, idiot. First is normal, second is fun, pull that stick out of your ass and take this one act of kindness I'm giving you, because no shit am I ever doing that again" Zoro told him, casually, no attention payed to how much Sanji just didn't seem to understand.
How could someone react to this so...so nonchalantly!? How could he not care if he was-
Unless.
"Um...normal?" Sanji questioned, carefully, watching the marimo's reaction closely. It had to be a trap, right? The second he admitted to maybe, possibly, being okay with an intimate relationship with a man, the other would change his attitude and let him know just how vile it was.
But, nothing like that happened.
"You do realize I'm gay, right?"
Sanji chocked on air, coughing harshly in suprise, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.
"Wow, you are really fucking stupid" The green haired man groaned, his brows furrowing.
Just great, now he had to deal with that.
Sanji just couldn't help his reaction. Sure, he figured out Zoro held no interest towards women, but he never pondered about it too deeply. First of all, that just made things so much easier for him- he wouldn't have to worry about the bastard stealing a lady's heart and then breaking it. It just gave him more free reign without having to worry about competition. Second of all, he just wrote it off as another side effect oh having moss for brain, thinking the man was simply too much of moron to consider anything except for swords, sleeping and alcohol.
Turns out he was wrong, and apparently plants don't have to all be asexual. What a discovery.
"I like dudes. Like dick. If that's a problem for you, I don't care- not like it should be, since you clearly want to get your guts railed by a guy. Good for you, whatever, just go before I think about it too much, I don't want to have to imagine your pathetic sex life"
Unlike the heat from before, the burn on his face was anything but pleasant.
"Shut up you stupid fucking brute, do you have not have any fucking tact!?" Sanji shrieked. How could that swordsman even imply-!? Who did he think he was!?
Zoro snorted.
"I hope he fucks the priss out of you. Maybe then you'll finally stop being a cretin"
Sanji's puffed his cheeks, furious, aiming a kick at the humanoid algea, only for it to get blocked with a hilt of a sword. He tried again, and again, with no results.
"You are such a pig! Moron! I hope you shrivel up from the cold and die you stupid fucking-" Sanji cursed him out, so angry he felt like smashing the bastard's skull in and tossing him for whatever dangerous desert animal could find him first. Or make that shithead marimo into a soup- he'd probably taste awful, exactly the way he smells. Would it really kill him to shower more than once per full fucking moon, soon the cook would lose his poor sense of smell from the abuse that idiot's fregrance put him under-
"Ugh, just go get your back blown out and leave me alone, Curlybrow, for fuck's sake" Zoro hissed and pushed him away, in the direction of the cave.
So he knew SOME directions after all. Another suprising discovery.
Sanji's head was steaming from embarrassment and anger.
"I will starve you, you perverted- perverted piece of seaweed!" Sanji retorted.
"Uh huh, unless you can't walk tommorow after he-" Roronoa was interrupted by a boot smashing into face.
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! You're so disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! Only thinking with your sword or your dick!" The cook yelled, falling to the ground when his leg was grabbed and he lost his balance.
"Oh, you're the one to fucking talk when it comes to thinking with dick! Go suck him off, someone needs to keep your mouth shut" Zoro bit back, this time getting kicked in his midsection.
If his hands weren't precious, Sanji would gladly use them to choke that asshole out.
"One more word and I'll make sure to throw all of our sake supply out once we are back on the Merry"
That finally worked to get Zoro to stop, of course not without some mild complaining.
"Sure, sure, don't get your panties in a twist. How about this- I don't talk about this ever again, you tell me where you keep the hidden booze. Deal?" He proposed.
Opportunistic prick.
"Fine. Fucking fine. Deal" Sanji agreed, defeated, ignoring the hand waiting for him to shake it, instead getting up and dusting his pants off from the sand.
"Don't fall asleep during the job. Make sure Nami-san and Vivi-chan are safe. And DON'T tell anyone about this"
And, with that, he steadied himself on his shaky legs and slowly stepped towards his doom.