I did this for The Yaoi Supernova Guild's art festival. The guild's artists posted art at the beginning of this month, and the writers chose art that they liked and wrote a fic about it. The art that I chose was by psycho chibbi, and you can see it here: http:/ psychochibbi (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/Blue-and-Orange-199616657.

By the way, if you're reading this and suddenly you start to think "hey, this sounds a lot like StarkBlack's stuff" well, that's because she helped me a lot. I got nervous in the middle and begged for her to loan me some awesomeness. I hope you like it chibbi. :)

Beta by StarkBlack. Thank you!

Orange and Blue

Ace dropped his bag at his feet and smiled brilliantly at the concierge. She was a pretty girl, perhaps early twenties, with brown hair and a splash of freckles like his own.

She smiled back at him. "Your room is on the sixteenth floor. If you'll just sign here, I'll give you your key-card."

Ace signed the paper where she pointed and took the card.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Portgus, we hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," he replied." I hope I do too…

As he rode the elevator up, Ace chuckled at the knots tangling in his gut. They had been building for several weeks, ever since he had made plans to come to this festival. His friends and family back home in New York thought he was on a trip to Chicago for school, when actually he was all the way on the other side of the country. And he wasn't attending any kind of school related function either. He was in California for their annual Gay and Lesbian Beach Fest.

Now, it wasn't that Ace thought his friends or family would hate him if they knew. Actually, Luffy and the gang would probably be really supportive. But Ace wasn't ready to come out at all. He could admit to himself that he was scared. He wasn't ready to change his lifestyle, or even just the subtle changes. He knew his friends loved him, but there was no doubt they would treat him differently once they knew, and Ace just wasn't prepared for all that.

This festival, on the other hand, gave him the opportunity to explore. It gave him the freedom to be who he was for a few days, try it out, test the waters, without the stress of his family and friends asking questions or prying where he didn't really want them. He would never see any of these people again, so anything he wanted to do was a go.

He opened the door to his room and threw his bag on the bed. When he pulled back the curtains, he squinted at the bright sunlight shining on the beach below. He had booked this hotel months in advance. He had wanted to be right on top of the action. He wanted to be able to see what was happening on the beach below before he ventured out.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Ace started stripping out of his clothes. He wanted to take a shower and shave before he went down. He smiled to himself as he thought about how for the first time ever, he was going to get to walk around outside without his shirt on, and he wouldn't get crap for it.

Sanji's hands were shaking. What the hell! His hands never shook! He took great pride in having steady hands! He had been working in kitchens for as long as he could remember, cutting, slicing, garnishing, decorating… never before had his hands been so unsteady. But, really, to his credit, he couldn't remember having ever been this excited before either.

He felt like he was on an adventure. He was in a state he had never been to, far, far away from his friends and relatives. Only one person, besides himself, knew he was here. He had the freedom to do whatever, whenever he wanted without anyone judging…

Not that anyone back home would really judge him. His best friend Zoro probably already knew. Despite being a total retard most of the time, Zoro seemed to always know what was going on with Sanji, even before Sanji knew it himself. Yeah, he wouldn't be surprised if Zoro was on the in. Nami too. Nami had probably figured it out ages ago, and that was why she never returned his incessant flirting. She knew it was all fake.

It was going to be weird coming out. His foster dad would probably be awkward about it for a while, but then he'd get over it and go back to slapping Sanji upside the head and calling him "stupid eggplant" like always.

It was just going to be really hard being the only one in his family, the only one of his friends that was gay. He was going to have to go to bars and clubs if he wanted to meet anyone. His options were going to slim down to almost nothing. It was stupid, stupid fate that he lived in the one area of New York that was pretty much completely gay free.

He smoked and watched over the railing to the beach below. He had been lucky getting this room. He hadn't known about the festival until a few weeks ago, and when he started to look for places to stay, he had found all hotels in the area full to over flowing. But Sanji was nothing if he wasn't persistent. He had faithfully checked the room availability in the surrounding area on his phone, morning and night, every day. He wasn't going to be one of those losers that had to take a cab from eight miles away. Nope. He was determined to have a room overlooking the festival so he could watch the happenings below. He wanted to come and go as he pleased. Having a room in the hotel hosting the event was just another part of the freedom he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

He finished the cigarette and dropped the butt in the can. He slipped the soft cotton top over his shoulders and buttoned all but the top two buttons. He glanced at himself in the mirror. He was going to look ridiculous out on the beach with his fair skin, but really, who was he kidding? He wouldn't be able to stand out in that California sun for more than a few minute at a time anyway. Sanji had gone tanning for a few weeks beforehand, but he was still about eight shades lighter than anyone else down there.

Slipping on his flip-flops, Sanji took a breath, grabbed his key card, and headed down stairs.

The best part of the festival so far, was how friendly everyone was. Ace had heard California was a state filled with snobs and antisocial pricks, but he was seeing none of that here. Even the butch chicks tossed him smiles as he passed.

Ace was currently running over the soft sand, chasing after a Frisbee tossed by a group of laughing, charming, high school guys. Ace had caught a wild toss, and the group had looked him up and down once before asking him sweetly if he wanted to play. They were a little younger than Ace, but he was a friendly guy, and he loved Frisbee. Why not?

They had been playing for about an hour and had worked up a bit of a sweat, so one of the boys asked if Ace wanted to join them for a quick swim. Ace took one look at the water, and felt a little shiver go up his spine. He loved the beach, and he loved sailing, and pretty much anything about the ocean in general, but swimming in it? Not really. Ace wasn't the best swimmer, and the thought of trying it in the ocean, in the salt water, was frightening.

Ace thanked the boys for the game, but bowed out of the swimming excursion. He was getting kind of hungry anyway.

Grabbing his sandals, Ace started up the beach to the row of tents set up along the berm between the sand and the park. The smells of barbequed chicken and pork, French fries, and Asian noodles had been calling to him since he had stepped out of the hotel's doors. He stopped in front of a taco stand, and ordered a family combo, downing two of the spicy treats before the man behind the register got him his change.

He walked slowly, savoring the meat and crisp taco shell. He had tucked the bottle of Mountain Dew he had bought to wash everything down with underneath his arm, but it was quite forgotten as he stuffed his face.

Many people passed him, and several gave Ace a once over. It wasn't surprising, Ace knew he had a nice body, and all he was wearing were his sandals and a pair of orange cargo shorts. Well, and his beaded necklace, but that really didn't count now did it?

When a couple of very attractive guys in swimming trunks passed, they made a point of letting Ace know they appreciated how he looked. Ace gave them a dashing smile as he bit into his sixth taco, and made sure his hips did a little work after he passed. They whistled after him, and Ace felt giddy.

When he started passing though booths filled with jewelry and various other trinkets, Ace slowed his pace even further to look at the wears as he wandered by. There were several booths that had chances to win stuff, and several people were attempting to throw rings over items, or toss balls into cups.

Cheering drew Ace's attention to a booth surrounded by a small crowd. He wandered over, wondering what all the excitement was.

The challenge of this particular booth seemed to be cup stacking. The buzzer sounded, and the contestant who could stack and un-stack the pile of plastic cups first, won. It looked the like the next round was starting, so Ace slid in beside a couple of girls, munching on his second to last taco.

Now, Ace had come to this festival with a realistic view on things. He had planned to come, have a good time, maybe meet someone that was cool enough to have dinner with or maybe mess around with for a couple days. He had no delusions of coming here and running into 'the one'. He had known he wasn't going to be seeing someone and feeling a flash of lightening or anything.

Except that, well, it was totally happening.

The buzzer sounded, and the two contestants started stacking. Well, one started stacking anyway, the other… seemed to be making them dance.

The guy was blond, tall, and slender. But not the skinny kind of slender, no. He worked out. You could tell if you knew what you were looking for. A lot of lean muscle hid underneath that blue button-up. His skin was very fair, so he obviously wasn't from around here. Large sunglasses covered most of his face, but his looks really weren't what had caught Ace's attention. It was the way he moved. He was graceful like a dancer. His hands and arms moved with the fluid and precise confidence of someone who studied martial arts. Ace would know, he'd been around it since he'd been born. The man captivated him, pulled him in and made it impossible to look away.

The cups were stacked and un-stacked in mere seconds. The challenger had no chance. The blond's little following of fans cheered, and the booth's owner handed him a bracelet. The blond guy added it to the other six or seven he had around his wrist.

Ace watched as another challenger was called, and bit into another taco.

Sanji was having a blast. The people, the food, the atmosphere, everything was all exactly as he had hoped it would be. He had walked the beach, joining in on a sandcastle building contest, then after his team had won, they had offered to buy him lunch. He had declined, saying he had already eaten, but if he saw them again later, he would join them for dinner.

The rows of booths through the park had been too great a temptation to resist. Sanji liked games, and he just happened to be really good at most of them. The ring toss had won him several nice bits, but he had ended up giving them back, feeling like he was cheating the owners out of their wares. The cup stacking booth, however, seemed to have been made for him. Cup stacking was something that went on a lot at the bar he tended every third Friday and Saturday night. It had just come naturally to him, someone that had been handling plates and cups and all manner of dishes on a regular basis for most of his life. He had won that first round in only eight seconds, twenty-one seconds faster than the last winner. The owners of the booth had asked him to stay and challenge people for a while. He was attracting customers, and they were selling better than they had in all previous years. The jewelry and accessories they made were weaved out of soft hemp. Some was dyed and some was beaded. Sanji liked the colorful bracelets he received for winning, and he was glad to help the nice couple.

After seven or eight challenges, Sanji was very satisfied with his technique. He had gotten his time down to just a little over six seconds, a record for the bar back home. He was going to have to challenge Usopp again. The guy was going down.

"How do you do that?" a voice asked.

Sanji smiled behind his glasses and positioned his cups for the next challenge. "Not really that hard. Just let 'em drop. Control it by squeezing the stack."

He heard a crunch, and the voice spoke again, muffled this time.

"You a bar tender or something?"

Sanji was surprised. He looked up to see who this perceptive person was, and was met with a lot of tanned skin and muscle. His face was handsome, and that splash of freckles was charming. The guy was just finishing up a taco, and smiled around a mouthful. He was cute; really, really cute.

"Something like that," Sanji smiled. He lowered his glasses to get a clearer look at the guy. "You want a bracelet?"

The brunette took a moment to answer, seeming to have trouble swallowing his last bite. He tossed the empty taco container in the trash and sucked the remnants of sauce from his fingers. "Sure," he said quietly.

Sanji slipped his sunglasses back up and readied himself. The buzzer sounded. He stacked, and un-stacked. Five and three quarters seconds. Sanji was gonna own Usopp when he got home.

Ace hadn't expected his eyes to be so blue. He had thought maybe green, not ocean on a clear, cloudless day while the sun made the waves sparkle, kind of blue. When the blond had slid his sunglasses down to look him over with that intense appraisal, Ace had been unable to move for several seconds. He had never been looked at like that by someone he actually found attractive. It was quite a thrill.

The guy won the next round in something crazy like five seconds, and when the booth owner gave him the bracelet the guy moved around the table and tied it around Ace's wrist.

When he looked up, Ace found it as a hell of a lot easier to concentrate when his bluer-than-the-actual-color-blue eyes were hidden behind those sunglasses.

"There's a party at the docks tonight," Blondie said softly, "you should come out. I'll buy you a drink."

Ace's throat went dry. "Sure."

Damnit, that seemed to be the only word he could get passed his lips.

Blondie smiled at him. "Okay, I'll look for you then."

Ace nodded, taking a step back as Blondie moved back behind the table. He turned to head back down to the beach. He finished off the bottle of Mountain Dew and threw it in the recycle. He fingered the bracelet and wondered if he should just go jump in the ocean. That might be enough to bring him back to reality.

He was back in front of his hotel again when he realized he had no idea where the docks were.

Damnit all if Sanji knew where the freaking docks were. He had been invited by his sandcastle team, but they hadn't mentioned where they were, and then he had invited Taco Boy without having any idea where he had just invited him to.

Shit.

Well, he would just have to ask around. Too bad Taco Boy probably knew, he should have just asked him. The guy probably lived around here, and surfed a lot or something, judging by how tanned his skin was.

Sanji was still a little shaky from the encounter. He had played it off real well, but that didn't change the fact that he had been shaking in his khaki shorts. That had officially been the first time Sanji had propositioned a man, for anything. Yeah, it was only to meet him at a party with a promise of a drink, but it was still something. It was a big step for Sanji. A big first step.

When the sun started to set, Sanji made his way back to his room. He wanted to change. He had sand in places he didn't want to name, and the volley ball game after the cup challenges had made him pit out his nice button up. California was nice, but it was too damn hot for April.

He ran a washcloth over his sweaty skin, reapplied his deodorant, and grabbed a black t-shirt. He did a quick mirror check, ignoring the voice in his head that said Taco Boy might not even show up, and slipped out of his room.

Just because Blondie had invited him, didn't mean he was actually going to be here, or actually buy Ace a drink, but that thought hadn't stopped Ace from asking around at the hotel where the docks where, and retreating to his room to shower again and change into a clean outfit. He had even grabbed a wife-beater. Now he moved through the throng of people that were drinking fruity drinks and dancing to the music the live band was playing. Ace knew he should probably buy himself a drink and stop looking, but he really couldn't stop himself. He wanted to see those eyes again. And he really wanted Blondie to talk to him in that sexy voice. All night.

He mingled for a while, accepting a margarita from a cute red head, and tried some of the little shrimp things they had spread out on a giant platter.

He had just set his empty glass down, when a shrill cry pierced the night, overpowering the band, and startling the people dancing and talking.

"Help!" someone called. "Help! He's fallen in! I can't see him!"

Ace raced to where he thought the voice was coming from. He pushed through a gathering of people, to find a small group of girls leaning over the railing and crying hysterically. Ace grabbed a slender arm and pulled a small brunette around.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He was showing off!" she cried. "He's had a lot to drink! He fell over the railing and I think he hit the rocks!"

Ace moved to the railing as someone shouted behind him. "Someone's fallen on the rocks!"

"Oh my God! There's a drop-off right at the edge!" Came another cry.

Looking down, Ace saw nothing but dark water and jagged rocks. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't swim! He was afraid of the water! There had to be something-

"Out of the way!" a familiar voice shouted.

Ace turned just in time to see Blondie push through the crowd. He kicked off his sandals and climbed the railing in one smooth motion. He leaped, sailing towards the water in a graceful dive, landing well clear of the rocks and disappearing beneath the black waters.

"Holy shit!" someone cried.

Ace turned around and pointed to a sturdy-looking guy.

"He's gonna need help if he finds him," Ace said. "Help me get down there so we can get them both back up."

The guy nodded and grabbed a few of his friends. Ace climbed over the railing and with their help, lowered himself to the rocks. He turned searching the water, terrified at how long Blondie had been under. What if he never came back up?

There was a splash, and a gasping breath. Blondie surfaced a few feet from Ace, holding a guy with long hair in one arm. Ace reached for them both, pulling them from the water with his strong arms.

"I got 'em!" Ace cried. "Somebody take him from me!"

Many hands reached down to take the long-haired guy from Ace's arms. He and Blondie handed him up, and the guy was pulled back up and over the railing easily. The two climbed up after him, and dropped to their knees beside the unmoving, unconscious man.

"Shit," Ace cursed as he checked the guy for signs of life, "he's not breathing."

"Fuck!" Blondie spat, moving immediately to tilt the guy's head back and run a finger through his mouth.

"You know what you're doing?" Ace looked up, and Blondie nodded.

"Okay then."

The next minute and a half, everyone on the dock stood frozen. Ace compressed on the guy's chest and Blondie breathed into his mouth. After three cycles, they switched and Sanji did compressions. Ace breathed into the man's mouth, his heart clenching at the thought that they might not be able to save him.

Then Blondie made a noise and shouted to Ace. "Yes! Yes! Roll him! Roll him quick!"

Ace pushed the guy to his side, and Blondie slammed his fist into his lower back. The guy gurgled, and spewed water all over the deck. He coughed, and took in one deep, gasping breath.

The girl Ace had questioned fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around the long haired man. A cheer rose up through the crowd, and the lead singer of the band announced that everything was okay. People all along the beach started to jump up and down, howling and cheering at the top of their lungs. The band congratulated Ace and Blondie.

"I propose that these two gentlemen not pay for another drink as long as this festival is goin' on! Everybody! Let's raise our glasses in a toast to our two heroes!"

Ace sat back against the railing, his breath still coming hard, his arms burning from the strain and the stress. People congratulated him, and shook hands with Blondie as the newly arrived paramedics checked out the long haired man. Ace was grateful for the thanks, but at the moment, he really just wanted to sleep.

Sanji moved to sit beside Taco Boy. He leaned against the railing and let his arms settle on his legs. His muscles burned, his eyes stung from the salt water. He wanted a cigarette, but he'd just jumped in the ocean. His pack probably hadn't survived.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

"Yeah," Taco Boy murmured. "Hell of a way to meet up."

"Yeah, let's not do that again."

Taco Boy chuckled and turned his head. "You were awesome."

Sanji shook his head. "No way, I would've never gotten him out of the water if it hadn't been for you. That was quick thinking."

The paramedics asked them a few questions, and then took the long haired man away on a stretcher. A few people brought Sanji and Ace drinks, and they both accepted. Sanji was pretty sure he never wanted a drink more in his entire life.

"Hey," Taco Boy said softly, "You're all soggy. Let's get off the dock and back on the beach where there's less wind."

Sanji nodded. "Sounds good."

They made their way through the crowd and back up on the beach. Sanji pulled off his shirt and wrung it out, annoyed that he had gone to change only to ruin the outfit within twenty minutes of putting it on.

"What do you do that has you toned like that?" Taco Boy asked.

Sanji looked at him curiously. "What?"

"You do some kind of martial arts, I can tell. What do you do?"

Sanji blinked. This guy was sharper than a danba knife. "How can you tell I do martial arts?"

Taco Boy shrugged. "The way you move, the way you handled the cups. The way you flew off the bridge. I've been coaching at my family's studio since I was fifteen. I know it when I see it."

"Mm," Sanji pulled the t-shirt back on, wincing at the feel of cold wet cloth on his skin. "Well, you're right. I do a mixture of savat and Chinese kempo. What do you do?"

"Mostly judo," he answered, "a little Tai boxing."

"That's cool," Sanji smiled, genuinely happy to have found someone he could connect with. He had pretended he was okay with just messing around while he was here, but the thought of meeting someone cool had always been there. This guy was smart, kind, and insanely cute. It was going suck to go home and have to say goodbye. He was going to have to get this guy's number or email or something so they could keep in touch.

"Hey," Sanji said suddenly, "I have a question."

Taco Boy looked up at him, his grin was wide and mischievous. "Yeah?"

Sanji stopped and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What the hell is your name?"

Ace stuffed another crab rangoon in his mouth, and moaned softly. The best thing about this festival, besides Blondie—who's name turned out to be Sanji—was the food. He could sit on the beach and eat nonstop until Saturday afternoon when he was scheduled to fly back home. He peeked a glance at the blond sitting next to him and did a kind of half chuckle, half swallow thing.

"What?"

Sanji blinked at him, his expression deadpan. He put a cigarette to his lips, pulled smoke into his lungs, and blew it out slowly. His pack had gotten wet during the rescue, but he had bought another at a nearby vendor. He'd forgotten a light, but Ace never left home without one.

"Well" Sanji said, "I asked if you wanted to go get a snack, and you get enough food to feed a small village. When's the last time you ate? When you were ten?"

Ace shot Sanji a look that usually had girls melting right there on the spot. "I'm a growing boy, I need protein!"

Sanji snorted.

"Besides," Ace said, shoving another deep friend piece of amazing into his mouth, "This stuff's awesome."

Sanji shrugged, poking at the last of his egg rolls. "It's okay. I could do better."

Ace's ears pricked up. "Oh? You cook?"

Sanji smirked. "I'm a chef."

"REALLY?" Ace caught the piece of crab that fell from his mouth with his hand and tossed it back in. "That's awesome! My brother has a friend that's a chef. Or, well, I guess he's more of a friend of a friend, but whatever. I always wanted to know a chef!"

Sanji chuckled and shoved the rest of his egg roll in his mouth. "Your love of food is that great?"

"My love of food knows no bounds!" Ace exclaimed happily. "What kind of restaurant do you work in?"

Sanji shrugged. "Family type, lunch and dinner, steaks and mashed potatoes, Caesar salads, grilled salmon and pilaf kind of things. Nothing fancy."

"You bar tend there too?"

Sanji shook his head. "No, I bar tend at my friend's place one weekend a month. He needed the help, and I can afford to do it for real cheap."

Ace nodded. "That's cool of you. My friend's got a bar too, I know how hard it is. He struggled with it for a while. It's doing better now, but there's still times when he's not sure he can pay the bills."

Sanji nodded, his face thoughtful. Ace ate in silence for a few minutes as Sanji seemed to think about something. When his crab was gone, Ace downed the cup of iced tea and stood to dump everything in the trash. He sucked the last of the salty goodness off his thumbs and returned to Sanji's side.

"You wanna go back to the docks? Get some more free drinks?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

Sanji smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's milk that hero shit."

They danced together on the docks, the music from the live band rocking. People were happy to buy them drinks, and soon Sanji was feeling floaty and loose.

"You can really move," Sanji commented as Ace did another thing with his hips that got his groin tightening in pleasant ways.

"Only when I've been drinking." Ace's smile was wide.

They partied with some surfers down from Northern California. They were a fun bunch. They danced like they were on stilts, and had absolutely no rhythm, but they were hilarious. Ace got to laughing so hard a few times that he doubled over holding his sides. Sanji regaled them with tails from his crazy job, and Ace taught them some basic judo moves, which they proceeded to butcher, sending everyone into hysterics once again.

As the evening progressed, the surfers decided they would try out some night waves, so Sanji and Ace said goodbye to their new friends and sat down at the bar.

"How long are you staying?" Sanji asked after taking another free drink from the bartender.

Ace took a sip of his own while watching Sanji's lips. "Until Saturday, I have to get back for work on Monday and thought I could use one day of recovery."

Sanji nodded. "Me too. Time change and everything."

"Where you from?" Ace asked.

"New York."

Ace eyes widened. "Are you kidding?"

Sanji laughed. "No. I swear I'm from New York."

Ace just blinked at him for a moment, staring big-eyed as the music played above them on the platform.

"I'm from New York too."

Sanji almost inhaled his drink. He coughed and placed the glass back on the bar. "What? No way! You can't be from New York! I was sure you were from here!"

Ace grinned again. "Why'd you think that?"

Sanji gestured to Ace and felt his cheeks going hot as he stuttered. "Cause you've got the… the beach… body."

Ace's grin practically split his face. "Oh yeah? What exactly is the 'beach body'?"

Sanji took another drink, hating his inexperience. "You're all tan, like really tan. Like the 'I walk around on the beach half naked every day' kind of tan. How the hell do you get so dark with no lines in New York?"

"I do walk around naked," Ace wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, mostly anyway. My friends hate it. My buddy Law's always bitching at me to put some clothes on."

Sanji laughed into his glass. "You sound like my best friend. He's always working out on the deck, no shirt, no pants, just goes out there in his boxers. Freezing-ass cold, he'll still do it."

"He nice to look at?"

"Oh hell yeah, it sucks."

"Ah," Ace nodded in understanding. "Not gay then."

"Not gay at all."

"Lame." Ace took another sip. "He know about you?"

Sanji shrugged. "He might."

"You haven't told him?"

Sanji shook his head. "I haven't told anybody."

Sanji sat there a moment, waiting for Ace to answer. When he didn't Sanji looked up to find the other man staring thoughtfully into his glass.

"What is it?" Sanji asked.

Ace looked up then and chuckled softly. "It's just funny. I travel all the way across the country to get away from everything so I can just be myself for a while, and the guy I hit it off with is from where I'm from."

Sanji felt a flutter in his chest. He leaned in, resting his jaw in his palm. "You think you're hitting it off with me?"

Ace looked at him and his freckled seemed to spread. The blush exploded across Ace's face and he turned back to his drink. He laughed nervously. "Well, I was hoping I was anyway."

Sanji bit back a laugh and scooted his stool closer. "You haven't come out yet either?"

Ace shook his head.

The flutter in Sanji's heart morphed into a light hammering. "So… you've ever done anything with a guy before?"

Ace shook his head again.

The hammering was suddenly a heavy pounding. Sanji scooted still closer and nudged the dark-skinned man. When Ace looked at him, Sanji smiled nervously.

"I haven't either…" he murmured.

Something lit up in Ace's dark eyes, and Sanji was startled when the brunette got to his feet.

"Let's go down to the fire pit," Ace said softy.

"What's at the fire pit?"

Ace shrugged. "No idea. Let's go."

Sanji smiled and followed.

The "fire pit" turned out to be a bonfire. There was a group playing acoustic guitars and a few of them rapped out a beat on small hand drums. Ace liked it, and felt the atmosphere wrap him up. Sanji, in a bold move Ace would have probably never have made himself, reached out and took Ace's hand. The man jumped when Sanji's fingers touched his, but he let the blond lead him towards the fire.

"What are we doing?" Ace asked.

"We're going to dance, my friend."

Sanji took the lead, slipping his fingers through Ace's and sliding one arm around the thicker man's waist. Ace could feel himself blushing again, and Sanji smiled like he had just won a prize. Again. Ace felt some of his nervous tension slipping away as they swayed together slowly.

He realized as Sanji moved against him, that the blond was about the same height as him, maybe a little tiny bit taller, that his body was thinner but just as muscled as his own was, and underneath the faint smell of cigarettes, the man smelled like sweets and spicy things. He was falling so hard for this guy already, did he really have to smell like food on top of it all? It wasn't fair!

"This ruins my plans a little," Ace murmured.

Sanji brushed the shaggy bangs from Ace's eyes and ran his fingers down Ace's jaw.

"Plan?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, I was going to just mess around a little here, try new things. Then go home and go back to my normal life—after telling my brother I'm gay of course."

Sanji frowned. "How does this mess up your plans?"

Ace smiled, his heart hammering in his chest. "Because… you're from where I'm from…"

Sanji pulled him closer, letting go of his hand and sliding both arms around his waist. "That makes it so we can't mess around?"

Ace realized they had stopped dancing. They were just standing there in the sand, the music still playing around them, other couples swaying to and fro on every side. The fire cast shadows across Sanji's handsome face, turned the ocean blue of his eyes a dark shade of blue-green.

"No," Ace murmured, "Not… I mean we can, I was just-"

"How about we continue this week like we both first planned? We mess around, we do whatever, and then we'll think about what's gonna happen back home when we go home?"

Ace blinked, not sure if what he was hearing was what he was supposed to be hearing.

"What exactly are you saying?"

Sanji smiled, even as his body trembled just a little.

"I'm saying, let's do whatever we want here, and then we'll go home. Together. See what happens."

Ace felt a swell in his chest at the other man's words. He didn't say anything, instead, he pressed forward, touching his lips softly to Sanji's. He felt the blond's sharp inhale and the tension that shot through his body, but then he relaxed and opened his mouth to let Ace explore.

At the first gentle sweep of Sanji's tongue over his own, Ace felt like he could fly.

Sanji had been expecting to kiss Ace before the night was over. He hadn't, however, been expecting Ace to kiss him. That first press of lips against his mouth shocked him, but only for a moment. He felt the other man trembling, and relaxed. Ace was just as nervous, just as scared as he was to kiss another man for the first time. Sanji closed his eyes, opening for Ace, letting the dark-skinned man kiss him for real. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. This was what he had been missing when he kissed all those girls. For the first time, Sanji felt like he was doing the right thing. He felt freer than he had ever felt before. He felt chains of doubt and uncertainty that he didn't even know were weighing him down, lift from his shoulders. He felt light, he felt free, and for the first time, truly aroused.

When he pulled away, Ace's hands moved to his cheeks. The man was panting harshly against his skin, and Sanji almost chuckled to find he was in the same situation. He couldn't seem to catch his breath. He let his hands clutch at Ace's hips, massaging circles into hard muscle with the pads of his thumbs.

"Holy shit…" Ace whispered breathlessly.

Sanji nodded. "I know…"

Ace slid his hands through Sanji's hair, and pressed himself fully against Sanji's body.

"This week is gonna rock."

Sanji showed just how much he agreed by kissing Ace again.

"Zoro?" Luffy's eyes were wide.

The swordsman halted in his tracks. "Luffy? What the hell are you doing here?"

Luffy moved from the baggage claim and bounced over to where Zoro was standing. "I'm here to pick up my brother. He's flying in on flight 129."

Zoro frowned. "Are you sure, Luffy? That's the flight Sanji's coming back on."

Luffy blinked at him. "Sanji was in Chicago?"

"No, Luffy. Sanji was in California for some food thing."

Luffy looked terribly confused. "So… who's wrong here?"

Zoro turned to his friend, now more confused than ever. "What?"

Luffy shrugged. "Someone is wrong. Ace is coming back from Chicago, Sanji is coming back from California, and they both told us the same flight number. They can't be on the same flight if one of them is coming from Chi-"

"-I get it, I get it," Zoro cut him off. "Let's just wait and see. The passengers are unloading now."

"Wouldn't that be funny if they were on the same flight? That would be like crazy, unrealistic coincidence or something. How weird would that be if—oh! There he is! There's Ace!"

Zoro looked where Luffy was pointing, and his eyebrows rose.

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy said with awe in his voice. "Sanji was on the flight, see? And uh… is he holding Ace's hand?"

Zoro crossed his arms over his chest. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. He wanted to laugh but he held it in.

"Yes he is, Luffy," Zoro hummed. "Sanji is most definitely holding Ace's hand."

END

O.o