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A quiet but persistent clicking noise woke Ace from his peaceful slumber.
He frowned, not knowing where it came from but too tired to actually care much.
Keeping his eyes closed he turned onto his other side to try and fall back asleep.
The clicking noise continued though, like an annoying mosquito that just wouldn't leave him alone and with an annoyed little huff Ace managed to open one eye.
It was dark around him but every few seconds a couple of sparks lit up the small space the same time as the clicking sound reached his ears.
It was enough light that he could easily make out the silhouette of the cook sitting a few feet away from him.
The sparks must come from his lighter then, Ace realized.
“Sanji-kun?”
The chef jumped and swivelled around.
“Ah, sorry if I woke you up”, Sanji apologized right away, a bashful smile on his lips.
“S'okay, don't worry”, Ace yawned and pushed himself up into a sitting position.
He rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles, trying to get the fog in his mind to clear a little. “Can't sleep?”
“Yeah, it's just too cold. I never knew the temperatures dropped this low at night in the desert.”
Ace noticed that the cook was shivering under the blanket he'd thrown around his shoulders.
“Ah, yeah, I guess it's pretty cold.”
Not that he knew, actually.
Thanks to his devil fruit powers Ace never experienced being cold anymore.
“Here, let me help”, he offered with a friendly smile.
He focused on the small lamp next to Sanji and re-ignited the flame inside. “Should help warming you up a little.”
“Actually I just fancied a cigarette”, Sanji explained, sounding apologetic as he held the cigarette up for Ace to see. “Maybe the smoke will warm me a little from the inside. If that's okay with you of course! Nami and Vivi don't like when I smoke near them and if you don't either I can-”
“I don't mind”, Ace interrupted his rambling. He yawned, then smiled. “Really, it's okay. Do you want my blanket maybe?”
“Don't you need it?”, Sanji asked sceptically.
“Nah, not really. I'll be just fine. Freezing temperatures don't faze me anymore.”
The chef's eyes lit up in understanding.
“Your devil fruit?”
“Bingo.”
“Only if it's really okay”, Sanji answered after thinking about Ace's offer for a moment.
“It is”, Ace assured him with a grin, shuffled over (they had taken one small tent, Nami and Vivi the other while the rest of the crew shared the bigger one) and draped his blanket over the one already on Sanji's shoulders before he sat down next to him.
“Need a light?”
Without actually waiting for an answer he activated his powers and let a flame dance from the tip of his index finger.
He held it up between them, offering it to the cook.
Sanji lowered his lighter and leaned over, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' through the cigarette between his lips.
Ace couldn't be a hundred percent sure because the light of the flame was only dim but he thought he noticed a faint blush on the cook's cheeks.
He grinned when the chef held the cigarette to the sparks and inhaled deeply once it was lit.
Ace let the flame die.
Sanji relaxed with the first drag and let the warm smoke sit in his lungs for a few seconds before he let his head fall back and exhaled.
It was still cold though and he shivered, taking another quick drag to distract himself from the freezing temperatures.
He felt Ace watching him and turned to look at him.
He raised one eyebrow in question but didn't say anything.
Ace showed him that stupid lopsided smile that had already made his heart race the first time he'd seen it.
It affected him just the same now.
“Can I have a drag?”, the brunet asked and gestured to the cigarette.
“Uhh, sure”, Sanji answered and passed it over.
Ace's fingers were wonderfully warm where they grazed Sanji's cold ones for a heartbeat.
Pictures of those warm hands on his hips, his thighs, his wrists suddenly shot through the chef's mind.
Embarrassed and confused he briefly shook his head to get rid of these thoughts.
Why had they been there? And where had they come from so suddenly?
Surely it was because Ace had such a naturally high body temperature and Sanji was still freezing.
A hug from him would probably feel nice too...
The thought made him shiver for a different reason than the freezing temperatures and he heard Ace mumble a quiet “Oh for fuck's sake” before suddenly his blankets were gone and a warm body pressed up against his.
Sanji's mouth opened but the words of protest died on his tongue when Ace's unnatural body heat started to bleed through his clothes and warmed him up much quicker than the blankets had been able to.
The older man re-arranged their blankets so Sanji was covered from the waist down, keeping his legs warm while giving him enough space to comfortably continue smoking his cigarette.
“O-Oh, thank you...”, the blond mumbled and dared to lean back into Ace's chest a little.
Ace grinned around the cigarette in his mouth and draped an arm around Sanji's shoulders.
“Believe it or not but when the nights get really cold I'm the most wanted person on my ship.”
'I can see why', Sanji thought to himself but didn't say it out loud.
“Didn't think you were a smoker”, he said instead to distract himself and not make this moment awkward somehow.
“I'm really not”, Ace replied with a smile before taking a drag himself. “But sometimes it's relaxing.”
Sanji couldn't argue with that. After all, he too smoked to relax. And when he was stressed. Or annoyed.
Okay, he smoked way too much and he knew it.
But it was nice that Ace wasn't judging him for it (like some of his crew mates did – they did so in silence, but they did!) and Sanji smiled to himself.
He liked the guy.
Ace's warmth filled the whole tent remarkably quick and Sanji felt himself finally getting a little sleepy.
He had recovered well after drum island but his ribs still hurt sometimes and sleep wasn't as restful as usual some nights - especially since the past few days had been tiring.
Ace took another drag and Sanji held up his hand, waiting for the other man to give his cigarette back to him.
He laughed when instead the brunet took another drag and sighed contentedly.
“Don't hog my cigarette, Ace-san”, he said with a grin. “I would offer you one but this is my last one.”
“Oh sorry, sorry.”
Ace gave it back and Sanji put it back between his own lips before inhaling deeply.
Smoke filled his lungs again and the familiar burn made him unwind further.
Without thinking he let his head fall back on Ace's shoulder and slowly blew out the smoke, eyes closed.
When he opened them again he caught Ace glancing down at him.
He found and held the older man's gaze wordlessly as he tried to read his expression.
His dark eyes were gentle and Sanji couldn't be completely sure in the dim flicker of the lantern but he thought he saw something like curiosity too.
He raised a curly brow, a silent question.
A smile flitted across Ace's handsome features.
“Just thought about how pretty you look”, he admitted quietly.
There was no shame in his voice. Nothing mocking about it either.
Sanji felt a blush starting to burn across his cheeks the same time his body tensed and he swallowed thickly.
Ace couldn't help but giggle because the chef looked like a startled animal with the way he was staring at him.
“Not used to getting compliments like this, huh?”, he guessed.
He tilted his head to the side with a smile as he waited for the blond to find his words again.
“Not at all”, was what he finally answered, voice small.
Ace's smile softened.
He carefully plucked the half-smoked cigarette from Sanji's lips with two fingers before he leaned down.
“Can I kiss you?”, he asked, the words nothing more than a whisper in the quiet of the night and their tent.
Sanji's face felt like it would burst into flames any second now.
Or maybe that was just Ace's freakishly high temperature?
Is this what a marshmallow felt like being roasted in a campfire?
Wait... where the hell had that come from now?
Sanji suddenly was aware of the fact that he had been staring at Ace with big eyes and an open mouth for a few seconds now.
“You don't have to say yes”, Ace assured him already and leaned back a little. There was still a gentle smile on his lips but Sanji could clearly see that he was a little disappointed.
He wanted to pull him back in but didn't dare to.
He wasn't that bold.
Apparently a sweet compliment and a simple question was enough to render him speechless, huh.
Sanji had never known that it took so little to make his brain short-circuit.
But then again – he had only just realized that his feelings towards Ace weren't quite as simple as he'd thought.
Sure, he liked his company, conversation between them flowed easily and in the past few days he'd grown to like him.
He was funny, considerate, a bit of a mess maybe but Sanji could tell that he had a good heart.
Just like his captain did.
They truly were brothers.
But hadn't he imagined Ace's hands on his body only minutes ago?
Hadn't he melted into his embrace readily?
Hadn't he willingly shared his last cigarette with him?
Oh shit.
He liked Ace.
He liked him.
“I've just-”, he croaked out quickly before clearing his throat. “Just... never kissed a guy...”
“Really?”
Ace sounded genuinely surprised.
But Sanji nodded his head and avoided his eyes.
Ace could kind of guess by his reaction that he wasn't used to speaking about things like this either and it was adorable how shy he got.
It was a shame that someone as beautiful as him was turning into a stuttering mess with just one little compliment about how pretty he was.
He deserved to hear things like that everyday.
Ace's eyes flickered down to Sanji's still burning cigarette between his fingers and an idea slowly took shape in his head.
“Do you wanna try something then?”, he asked. “I promise I'll ease you into it.”
Sanji peeked up at him with a questioning look in his eyes.
He wanted to ask what he was planning to do but his gut feeling was telling him that he could trust Ace and that he didn't need to know if it would end with them kissing.
Sanji realized that he would love to kiss him.
“Okay”, he agreed, breathless.
Ace grinned wide, flashing his white teeth, and Sanji's heart fluttered a little.
“Good. Open your mouth, Sanji-kun.”
Startled by the request Sanji didn't follow the plea at all and watched with wide eyes as Ace took a deep drag of their cigarette, kept the smoke in his lungs and leaned in.
He smiled when he saw the chef all frozen up and quickly reached for his face with both hands.
Warm palms cupped Sanji's cheeks and when Ace's thumbs poked the corners of his mouth he finally remembered the request and parted his lips.
Ace gently coaxed his mouth open wider and then their lips touched when Ace opened his own mouth and let the smoke flow into Sanji's.
The older man didn't kiss him yet, not technically but Sanji felt a thrill rush through his veins at the mere thought.
The cook shivered but understood and inhaled the smoke directly from Ace's mouth, his eyes opening slightly to look at the older man.
Ace met his dazed eyes with a smile and pulled away an inch or two, licking his own lips as he watched the chef blow out the little smoke that was left.
“Good?”
Sanji nodded against his shoulder.
“Again?”
Ace grinned.
“Here.”
He held the cigarette to Sanji's lips.
The chef's grey eyes flicked down to it and he took one last deep drag before snatching the thing, putting it out carelessly and leaning up into Ace's arms.
The brunet grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that made Sanji's heart skip a beat as he noticed.
Ace welcomed him, his arms winding around Sanji's middle and they repeated the procedure from before.
A hot shiver raced down Sanji's back when their lips touched again as he tried to mimic what Ace had just shown him.
Ace stayed still and stole the smoke right out of Sanji's mouth with practised ease – as if he had done it hundreds of times before.
Sanji had to pull away way sooner than he liked to and he gnawed on his lips for a brief moment, watching Ace who just grinned back at him lazily, eyes half closed as he blew out the smoke a moment later.
Sanji wanted to kiss him, so he did.
It was barely more than a peck, in all honesty, but Ace let his eyes fall shut to just take in the way the cook kissed him all shy and a little clumsy.
It was his first kiss with a guy after all and Ace wouldn't dream of making fun of him for being nervous.
Neither did he want to overwhelm him by taking the lead.
He briefly squeezed Sanji's small waist with both arms and gently kissed his lips in return.
“Just do what feels good”, he mumbled against the corner of his mouth.
Sanji nodded curtly and Ace smiled at the way his brows were furrowed in concentration, his lips turned into a determined pout.
Ace bit his lip to keep himself from smiling and readily closed his eyes when Sanji leaned in to kiss him a second time.
The cook's lips were softer than he had expected but maybe it felt that way because of the careful way he was kissing him.
The press of his lips was barely there and Ace reciprocated just as gentle, letting Sanji set the pace.
Another soft kiss followed the first one, then another, this one lingering for longer.
Sanji dared to open his mouth a little more next and Ace slowly deepened the kiss, looking for any signs the chef might feel uncomfortable.
But the way he melted against Ace's body told him that he was enjoying this greatly.
Ace tightened his grip around Sanji's waist a little, sighing into his mouth softly.
Oh, he could get used to this.
Sanji's blush was burning furiously now but he got bolder the longer they kissed.
His hands were gripping onto Ace's broad shoulders and he tried to inch closer.
He hadn't realized he liked being held this much but Ace's arms around him alone made him feel dizzy.
Combined with the way the older man mirrored his every kiss and let him do as he pleased Sanji felt completely weightless.
His whole body tingled but in a good way and he was surprised with himself when he let his tongue dart out to lick into Ace's mouth.
He did panic a little when Ace grinned so wide that he had to break the kiss.
Fuck, had he done something wrong?
Isn't this what you were supposed to do when kissing someone you liked?
Before his thoughts could spiral more Ace had grabbed his face in between his hands and pressed their lips together in an a little uncoordinated but sweet kiss.
“Can't believe this is actually the first time you're kissing a guy”, he giggled afterwards. “You're doing great.”
With that he dived back in and Sanji welcomed him.
Ace took the lead for a few heartbeats and Sanji let him.
He hadn't kissed many people in his life but Ace was a million times better than all of the ones before him.
He was confident but not too pushy, patient and it just felt right.
Sanji melted more and more into the older man's chest with every new touch, every press of lips, every swipe of his tongue, completely enamoured with the way Ace was handling him.
It was only a matter of maybe a minute until Sanji unintentionally moaned into their kiss.
The small sound was too loud in the quiet of the night and Sanji wanted to pull back in embarrassment and preferably clasp his hands over his mouth but Ace stopped him by kissing him deeper, letting one of his hands come up to cup the back of his head, tangling his fingers into the chef's blond hair.
Sanji's eyes shot open in surprise but he whined when Ace just kept the kiss going, pushing his tongue so far into Sanji's mouth that Sanji couldn't do anything but play along. Their tongues swiped together and the cook shivered in response, not yet used to the sensation but finding he liked it.
Ace gently scratched at the base of Sanji's scalp, it felt like reassurance to the cook and the kiss immediately turned less aggressive again.
Sanji sighed softly and let his eyes slip shut again.
He didn't know for how long they made out but at one point Ace laid back down and pulled Sanji with him.
They shared a quiet laugh, then a few more soft kisses.
When they finally parted Sanji had to catch his breath, his heart pounding against his ribs with excitement.
Ace grinned up at him, feeling a little sleepy all of a sudden.
“You feelin' warm now?”
Sanji burst into a breathless giggle and playfully hit Ace in the chest.
But instead of a teasing answer he resorted to a quiet: “Very. Thank you...”
Ace could see in Sanji's flushed face that he was clearly getting shy about the kisses again.
He reached up, gently swiping his thumb across Sanji's cheekbone, then cradling his face in his palm.
Sanji closed his eyes and leaned into the warm hold, not unlike a cat would do.
Ace grinned, smitten.
“Thank you for sharing your last cigarette with me”, he whispered and leaned up for one last kiss.
Sanji didn't hesitate to reciprocate, smiled against Ace's lips in the process and Ace felt his heart skip a beat.
When he sank back onto the thin mat he couldn't help but marvel at the cook through half-closed eyes.
Sanji hadn't stopped smiling at him and Ace smiled back.
Ah, what had he gotten himself into, huh?
He felt nothing but content though when Sanji lied down next to him and snuggled into his side, the blankets slung around his body again.
Ace wrapped an arm around him and pulled him as close as he could.
“Can't have you freezing again, can we?”, he teased, letting his eyes flutter shut.
He could feel the heavy sleep his narcolepsy brought with it sometimes tug at his mind and he yawned.
“Mmm, you're like an oven. So warm”, Sanji mumbled into Ace's chest as he got comfortable.
“Hehehe... Glad you like it...”
Ace yawned again.
“Sorry, but I'm gonna fall asleep, Sanji-kun”, he said, voice already a little slurred.
“Ah, it's fine. Don't worry about it, Ace-san. Sleep well.”
Ace managed a little smile.
“You too...”
Then he was out like a light.
Sanji stayed awake for another while.
His racing heart took it's sweet time calming down and couldn't help a stupid smile blooming on his face every time he remembered their kisses.
He glanced up at the peacefully sleeping Ace and just watched him for a little while.
He couldn't quite place the new feeling buzzing deep in his chest but it felt good so he decided that he didn't need to name it yet.
“Thank you for being my first kiss”, he whispered to the sleeping man with a smile. “Couldn't have asked for a better one.”
Then he closed his eyes and burrowed further into Ace's warmth.