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The first Sanji hears of Luffy’s brother is in some far off story Luffy tells the crew.
Sanji is up to his arms in dishes, sleeves rolled up with soap suds clinging to his face and his cheek. He’s only half paying attention to the story that Luffy is telling, busy trying to keep his porcelain plates from breaking. So, he’s paying attention but again, not really. Luffy’s mouth is stuffed with chicken — which means only Zoro can understand what he’s trying to say — but Sanji hears a few snippets here and there.
That’s the first time he hears of the name Ace.
Sanji has never faced anything like Alabasta before. There are assassins coming to kill them, there’s the beautiful Vivi whose kingdom is in shambles and then there’s Ace. Luffy’s brother, Ace. The Whitebeard Pirates’ second division commander, Ace.
Sanji hears something about the Flare-Flare fruit, about Ace being strong enough to defeat Luffy. He hears something about Pirate King but Ace doesn’t want to be Pirate King. He hears something about a murdered crewmate, a devil fruit and he hears that’s what brings Ace to Alabasta.
Revenge. Justice. Sanji understands every bit of it. He’d do the same for any of his friends.
Before Ace, if anyone asked Sanji what he thought about men, Sanji would’ve shrugged. He doesn’t think anything about men. He was raised by one, he was taken over the Grand Line by one and there’s Zoro (does he even count as a man?) who is nothing more than a menace to the planet.
The second Ace jumps up to the Going Merry, adjusting his hat, freckles littered across his cheekbone — things change for Sanji.
Ace is easy to talk to. He has a lot of stories for a twenty year old — which isn’t surprising, considering that before he joined Whitebeard’s crew, Ace still led an interesting life — and Sanji is pleasantly surprised by how to easy it is to brew tea and sit by him, exchanging stories about the Baratie and Luffy and about the one time Zeff’s mustache caught on fire when he was sauteing vegetables.
When Ace laughs, he puts his lungs into it. He laughs, loud and bright, with no qualms about who might overhear and think this man might be insane. The molten gold of the sunlight falls in splices onto the kitchen floor, the breeze coming in through the window is warm like desert sand, but Sanji is pretty sure that’s just Ace.
Unreasonably warm.
Sanji hasn’t had a lot of friends before. Sure, there was the crew at the Baratie, the few people they’ve met along their adventures that somehow still want to keep in touch with Sanji and then there are his crewmates. (There’s no one back home, no matter how hard Sanji tries to think about it. It doesn’t sting.)
It doesn’t matter what the rational part of his brain says. Sanji always wonders if he’s even earned his place on the crew yet, if he considers his crewmates as friends. He’s certain they do — mildly certain, that is — but sometimes he’ll see Chopper clinging to Zoro’s leg, he’ll notice Luffy’s hands tightening around Usopp’s wrists and he’ll wonder if he truly even belongs here.
He’ll wonder if he’s been given this place on the crew or if he’s earned it, like everyone else.
These moments of self doubt hit him like a train at unassuming moments. When he’s lying in the hammock late at night or early in the mornings when he’s prepping for breakfast or when he’s in a fight and he can feel himself getting exhausted.
His father’s voice rings in the back of head. Weak. Worthless. Powerless. And Sanji feels the fight leave his body all over again, like clockwork.
Somehow, those thoughts never enter Sanji’s head when Ace is around. Something about Ace makes Sanji feel like he belongs.
For the few days that Ace is on the ship, he manages to spend a lot of time with Sanji. Always offering to help him with the dishes, waking up early to help Sanji with prep — although Sanji quickly learns that Ace’s culinary expertise is far from perfect.
The first time Sanji hands him a knife and a wooden dashboard with carrots on it, Ace brings the knife down with such force that it breaks the dashboard, sending the carrots flying out the window.
It’s still early in the morning so the air is warm, there’s a heat crawling under Sanji’s collar. Ace watches the carrots as they fall onto the lower deck and he adjusts his hat before he turns to Sanji, a sheepish grin on his face.
They’re close enough for Sanji to see the ripples in Ace’s skin as his grin stretches into more of a full blown smile when he sees that Sanji isn’t angry. Ace’s body heat is almost his own. Sanji isn’t sure if he could even pretend to be angry. That’s a lot coming from someone whose entire survival depended on his acting skills.
It’s not just that.
There’s this thing Ace does that gets Sanji’s heart racing. When Ace jumps onto the ledge of the ship, Sanji barely registers it as flames rise from Ace’s fingers and he lights Sanji’s cigarette with ease. Then he does it again. And again.
Sanji’s heart jumps every time and he can’t explain it, can’t explain any of this.
Sanji’s sleep schedule is non-existent, so he’d gotten used to being the only one up at three in the morning. Sometimes Sanji wouldn’t even turn the stove on, he’d just watch the moonlight shine down upon the disturbed waves of the sea. They’d look like buckets of molten silver, sea salt smeared across his top lip and Sanji would smoke his cigarette to completion in peace.
But of course, there’s Ace.
Ace explains his condition to Sanji after an incident where Sanji is halfway through telling Ace about a new recipe and Ace passes out. He practically faints and Sanji, like any normal person, panics. He gets Luffy and Chopper, absolutely terrified by the thought of having to explain to Luffy that Sanji practically bored his brother to death.
Luffy takes one look at Ace on the kitchen table and bursts into laughter. Chopper still checks Ace (still asleep, the chaos around him does nothing to wake him up) because he’s Chopper and because just like Sanji, he’s a paranoid being.
“Sanji, Sanji, there’s no need to worry.” Luffy sing-songs, as he takes Sanji’s pale face in his palms. “That’s just Ace.”
Which explains absolutely nothing. But Ace wakes up, disoriented and confused, and Sanji nearly bursts into tears of relief before he demands an explanation. That’s how Sanji finds a partner to spend his normally solitary nights with.
Ace joins Sanji on the lower deck, trademark hat uncharacteristically hanging around his neck. They talk a lot about everything and nothing and Ace gets this look on his face — eyes hazy and soft, a smile peeking at the corner of his mouth (pink, pink, pink) — as he listens to Sanji complain about Zoro or Luffy sneaking into his fridge in the middle of the night and screwing up his inventory count.
“He really is such a menace.” Sanji complains through gritted teeth, but he knows Ace knows that Sanji said it without any intended malice.
“Captains tend to be like that. All that power, ya know. Goes to their head.” Ace replies, his voice a low drawl, syrupy like molasses. Sanji keeps his eyes fixed on the sea because he isn’t quite sure about what he’ll do if he looks.
“Luffy isn’t like that, though.” Sanji says, because despite everything, Luffy is still his captain and Sanji would go to the ends of the earth to defend him. “He’s a good captain.”
Ace hums, as he leans against the railing. Sanji sees a flash of his Whitebeard tattoo.
“Ya know, I wanted to be Pirate King once.” Ace says and his face is locked into a bit of a grimace. “I wanted — ” Ace pauses, sighs. “When people said Pirate King, I wanted them to think of me instead of that bast— instead of Roger.”
Sanji takes a drag from his cigarette. “What changed?”
Under the moonlight, Ace glows. His head hangs low, the grimace leaving his face in exchange for a more characteristic grin. “Pops defeated me. It was embarrassin’, ya know, I thought I could take him in a fight. Then, instead of leaving me for the dead, he asked me to join his crew. At that moment, I vowed to make him Pirate King.”
Ace had once mentioned that Whitebeard disapproved of his decision to go after the murderer, but Ace had refused. Before they could stop him, Ace had jumped onto a boat and made his way to Alabasta. Sanji understands that. Loyalty.
Sanji’s cigarette burns out and he reaches for another one in his pocket. Before he can reach for a match, though, Ace is moving to light it for him. Sanji watches the flame on his finger cast shadows across Ace’s face, freckles alight. He suddenly becomes aware of how close they are, the electric jump of his pulse.
“What made you follow Luffy?” Ace asks, and Sanji takes a step back as he laughs.
Sanji leans against the railing, knee knocking into Ace’s. Sanji sees the wind blow through Ace’s hair, tousling his curls as they fall over to frame his face. If Sanji was a brave man, he would’ve reached over to brush Ace’s hair out of his eyes. But Sanji isn’t brave — he was born a coward, after all — and so he settles for telling Ace his dream instead.
Sanji smiles, that giddy, giddy feeling rising in his chest. “Do you know about All Blue?”
*
“This has been fun,” Ace says one day, his mouth stuffed with rice, “but I need to get back.”
This is met with quiet protest, but everyone understands it. They’d do the same. Sanji packs him countless lunch boxes until Ace’s backpack runs out of space. Luffy spends every passing moment clinging to him. In the short time that he’s been here on the Going Merry, Ace has carved his own space into the crew and Sanji is going to miss him.
He’s going to miss him.
Sanji doesn’t say this, though. He hasn’t known Ace for very long and Ace is Luffy’s brother — which is a whole different can of worms that Sanji hasn’t dared to open yet. Sanji doesn’t want to have to explain to Luffy that his feelings for Ace are far, far from platonic, even though Sanji doesn’t understand it yet.
All Sanji knows is that Ace makes his heart jump, the way only some women have done before. Ace, a man, makes Sanji sweat behind the knees. It’s so simple, yet it’s so difficult to understand why.
He deals with it the way he deals with every problem he can’t immediately solve. He ignores it.
Sanji packs Ace’s lunches and gives him drinks and he never talks to Ace about the fact that they’re probably never going to see each other ever again. Sanji is very good at pretending things are normal. So, the day Ace leaves, Sanji is pretending to be okay.
Clearly, it isn’t working because Nami walks up to him and asks him if he’s okay.
“I’m fine.” Sanji shrugs, as he dices the tomatoes.
He hasn’t looked from the crack on the dashboard in a while now. Nami stands next to him, arms crossed over her chest before she sighs, reaching over to clasp her hand onto Sanji’s shoulder.
“It’s okay to be upset.” She says, in that tender tone and Sanji shakes his head.
“I’m not upset.” Because really, he isn’t upset.
Sanji knew this was going to happen. Ace had a different crew, a different family, a different dream. He had friends waiting for him, he had to avenge his crewmate, he had to see his father become the Pirate King. Sanji had to find the All Blue and he promised that he’d stand by Luffy’s side when he became Pirate King.
Their lives were entirely too different, yet Sanji finds himself hoping that Ace could stay for just a little bit longer.
“I’m okay. Really.” Sanji says, and he knows Nami doesn’t really believe him. He doesn’t believe it himself.
It’s late evening when Ace unties his boat and lets it out onto the sea. The crew gathers onto the lower deck to say goodbye, but Sanji stays back, reaching for his third cigarette of the hour. Sanji leans against the door to Nami’s room — ready to leave this gathering the second Ace is gone.
Luffy gives Ace a tight hug before reaching into his bag to steal some of Ace’s food. Zoro gives Ace nothing more than a nod. Usopp and Nami easily chat with Ace about where they’re after Alabasta while Ace holds Chopper in his arms, trying to console the sobbing reindeer who can’t seem to comprehend the fact that Ace is leaving.
Sanji can’t help his smile. It’s such an Ace thing to do.
Sanji stays rooted in his spot for the next few minutes, listening to the chatter as it picks up then ceases and suddenly, he is engulfed by a familiar warmth. His eyes slide open, Ace’s familiar smile coming into view. The end of Sanji’s new cigarette stays unlit.
“Hey.” Sanji says, finding himself suddenly breathless.
“I have something for you.”
Ace lets his bag fall off his shoulder, searching past the countless lunch boxes and bottles of water until he finds what he’s looking for. A Transponder Snail. It makes Sanji’s heart jump as he looks at the Snail then back at Ace, whose face comes alight with a grin.
“Promise me something. Wait for me.” Ace says, and he lights Sanji’s cigarette with his index finger. The cigarette burns red hot, a newfound warmth crawling up the side of Sanji’s neck. “After this is over, I’m gonna come find you.”
Sanji can’t trust himself if he leans in now. Instead, he nods. “Drinks are on me next time.”
Ace grins. “Deal.”
*
Ace leaves and two months later, Nami finds a newspaper. Infamous pirate and former Whitebeard crew member, Marshall D. Teach is dead. Sanji reads the article, detailing the fight, and then he reads it again. Sanji chews on the inside of his cheek, his eyes traveling to the Transponder Snail kept on his bedside table.
They’ve barely spoken since Alabasta. Not even Luffy hears from Ace, but that doesn’t concern him at all. Ace’s disappearing act is hardly surprising. The news of Blackbeard’s death shakes Luffy a lot, though. Sanji is just glad that Ace was able to do what he set out to do. After all, anyone who stabs their crewmate in the back deserves a fate worse than death.
In the coming months after Blackbeard’s death, a lot happens. They find Skypiea, crash through Water Seven, declare war on the World Government. There’s not one moment where Sanji has stopped to take a breath until after they manage to rescue Robin and meet Luffy’s all-powerful Marine Vice Admiral grandfather, Garp.
They’re all out in the living room, staring at their bounty posters. Sanji, Chopper and Nami are sobbing simultaneously, while Zoro and Luffy have triumphant grins on their faces. Sanji stares at that bushy-browed abomination on his poster and his heart breaks all over again.
Sanji is still crying over his bounty poster when Ace’s Snail starts ringing.
The call of the Snail from Sanji and Zoro’s shared room is loud, shrill. Everyone looks up at Sanji, whose cheeks are gone red. Sanji clutches his bounty poster, tossing it away before he rushes into the room. As suspected, it’s definitely Ace.
Sanji’s heart is racing in his chest, a million miles an hour. He sits on the bed, legs crossed. With ginger hands, he picks the snail up and answers it. “Hello?”
“Well, well, Sanji-kun, you won’t believe what I’m looking at.” Ace’s voice comes in through the mouth of the Snail and Sanji’s heart leaps in his chest. He sounds exactly like he did in Sanji’s head, from all those months ago. “Blackleg Sanji, wanted dead or alive at seventy-seven million berries. That’s really a hell of a photo on your poster. You’ve been having a real rough time, huh?”
Tears brim in Sanji’s eyes again. “Don’t even joke about that, okay? I can’t — I can just imagine the ladies around the world laughing at me — that’s not even me!”
Ace laughs, loud and bright. There’s loud chatter going on in the background, the sound of drinks sloshing and food being passed around. “At least you don’t have it as bad as Chopper, ya know. Seventy-seven million — even my first bounty wasn’t that high.”
“They’re never going to find me with an awful photo like that.” Sanji whines. “Which is a good thing, I guess.”
“Exactly. See? Look at the positive side. You have plenty of time to buy me that drink.”
“You still remember?”
“Of course! I remember the names of everyone who promised to buy me a drink. There’s you, Buggy, Shanks. Benn Beckmann, too, but he’s kinda terrifying. Not sure if I want to remind him of that drink.”
“Shanks?!” Sanji says, and the second he takes Shanks’ name, the chatter outside his door ceases. Sanji clears his throat, then lowers his voice. “The hell are you doing talking to Shanks?”
Ace sighs. “It’s a long story. Remind me to tell you next time.”
Sanji hums under his breath, not mentioning the fact that he doubts there will ever be a next time. “Deal.”
*
Their talks become a lot more frequent. At least once a month. Ace keeps putting off the Shanks story and Sanji vows that he’s going to wring the story out of Ace the next time they meet. Sanji finds out a lot about Ace, even when they’re not face-to-face. Luffy gets packages from Ace every month and sometimes, there’ll be a box in there addressed to Sanji.
Most of the time, it’s strange ingredients that Sanji has never seen before. Ace manages to send him a few local recipes for the ingredients, but whether or not it’s practically possible is another question. Once, Ace sends him a necklace that looks like it’s definitely haunted by a few spirits. Usopp nearly ends up tossing it overboard in fear while Sanji nearly throws Usopp over for that.
Ace turns out to be a great strategist, too, which seems like a no-brainer considering the fact that he’s Whitebeard’s second division commander. Most of the time, he keeps Sanji up with elaborate stories and some of them are so extravagant that they sound completely fabricated. Like the time Ace and Marco robbed Surfer, the biggest bank on the East Blue, which only ended up raising their bounties fifty million berries.
Sanji listens to these stories while he’s prepping for lunch. There’s loud chatter on the lower deck of the Thousand Sunny, but as always, Sanji’s brain tunes it out in favor of the low drawl of Ace’s voice as it fills the quiet space of the empty kitchen. Sanji doesn’t even notice it until blood drops onto the dashboard, splashing onto the vegetables.
Sanji blinks. He checks his hands, but he hasn’t cut himself. He isn’t cooking with beetroot either. Ace is talking about the fact that his crew and Luffy’s crew might have a similar destination and that they might actually meet this time —
Sanji reaches for his nose and his fingers come away bloody.
Ace says something to Whitebeard and laughs.
“Oh, fuck.” Sanji mutters under his breath.
*
It’s no surprise to him. The fact that Sanji might have (read: definitely has) feelings for Luffy’s brother is the farthest thing from surprising. They may not frequently talk, but Ace is always trying to get in touch, sending Sanji things that remind Ace of Sanji and Sanji can’t tell if he’s completely in over his head or if there’s a small chance that Ace might like him back.
Probably not. There must be a million women throwing themselves at Ace’s feet. Ace is powerful, sure, and he’s crazily famous but above all, Ace is objectively gorgeous. Anyone with eyesight would agree with him. Ace is perfection packed into a pretty little package and Sanji can’t handle it, any of this, especially after Nami confirmed the fact that within some time next week, their ship is going to pass by Whitebeard’s ship.
That news has Usopp and Chopper crying. It makes Sanji nervous for another reason. He isn’t sure how he’s going to act around Ace after that revelation of his. They’re meeting after months now and the last thing Sanji wants to do is make this weird.
As two days become four and four become five, Sanji internally breathes a sigh of relief. Luffy seems pretty disappointed about the fact that he didn’t get to meet Ace before they reached their next island but Sanji is internally celebrating. He needs some time to sort all this out — the fact that Ace, a man, gave Sanji a nosebleed, it’s all a bit too much. Of course, Sanji should’ve known he wouldn’t get what he wished for.
The next island they dock at, the Whitebeard ship is already there, waiting for them.
Luffy launches himself off the ship in crazed excitement, Robin and Franky already in tow. Nami and Usopp are half-convinced it’s a trap, but Chopper sees a cotton candy establishment somewhere in the corner and he’s already running off. That leaves Sanji with the resident idiot, who’s still asleep.
Sanji glares at Zoro, who’s on the floor, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. Sanji goes to kick Zoro to wake him up, but even in his sleep, Zoro’s sword comes up to block him.
“Wake up, idiot.” Sanji hisses as Zoro opens one eye. “We’re here already.”
Zoro peeks past Sanji, noticing the Whitebeard ship. He gives Sanji one very knowing look before he closes his eyes again. “Just go meet your boyfriend and leave me alone.”
Sanji blanches. “He isn’t — we’re not — ”
Zoro sighs, as he lets his eyes open. “Look, I’ll explain something to you. It’s pretty obvious that you’re into Ace and that’s cool and all. You obviously miss him, but you’re trying to avoid him just because you think it’s not going to go well. It’ll be fine, love cook. Stop being an idiot and go to him already.”
“I didn’t know you could speak so much, mosshead.”
Zoro goes to draw his sword. “I’ll really fucking cut you this time.”
Sanji laughs, loud and bright. “Thanks.” Sanji only gets a tired grunt in response. He takes Zoro’s advice and climbs down the ship.
The first few people Sanji only recognizes thanks to Ace’s countless stories. Marco and Izou are the most familiar and clearly, they (oddly) recognize him, too. Marco waves at him in acknowledgement, taking a swig from his beer bottle next. Robin, Franky and Usopp stand at the base of the Whitebeard ship and they see him, waving him over.
Luffy has his arms wrapped around Ace, a familiar hat and familiar tattoo that distracts Sanji from the ripple of the muscles on his back. Sanji can feel the race of his heart, the jump of his pulse and he can taste the blood in his mouth from where he’s bit into his cheek too hard.
The plummet in Sanji’s stomach is something akin to the feeling right before the drop on a rollercoaster. His organs lurch, his heart jumps up into his throat and he’s filled to the brim with this restless energy, pushing him to do something.
Sanji stands next to Franky, grabs Marco’s offered drink and lets the sun beat down on him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there’s a hat being pushed onto Sanji’s head and he almost lets his drink fall. Splices of sunlight catch on the bridge of Ace’s nose as he grins and Sanji’s heart bursts into flame.
“You promised me a drink, stranger.” Ace says, and there’s a warmth filling Sanji’s chest.
They find a dingy bar somewhere in the middle of town and Sanji buys a drink, then buys him another. There’s a purple light bouncing off Ace’s cheekbones, the pink corner of his mouth and Sanji forgets that he had any qualms about this at all.
They’re halfway through their fifth drink when Ace kisses him. Normally, Sanji would be worried about this. Anyone could see them, anyone could think anything but Ace’s fingernails dig into the back of Sanji’s neck and he finds that he doesn’t really care.
They’re fucking pirates. As far as the world government is concerned, they could be doing a whole lot worse.
“I told you,” Ace mutters against Sanji’s lips, when they break away for a breath. “That I’ll come find you.”
“Good.” Sanji says. “I was gonna hold it against it if you didn’t.”
Flame bursts at Ace’s fingertips as he laughs, so loud and so bright that he glows. “You’re really something, Blackleg.” He says, and leans in once more.
*