Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

The skin on Sanji's arm was glowing an angry red, but he didn't care-he still used the wet horses' brush in his hand to scrub the hell out of his goose-pimpled flesh, attacking the rest of his appendages the same way. After the search party had come back from their useless hunt, and as soon as he had doled out proper punishment on big-mouthed Ussopp, Sanji had stolen away to Walten's pond in the wooded area of his dad's land. He had shed his borrowed clothes, hung them on the branches of a tree precariously leaning over the cold, still waters, and had gingerly stepped in to plop his a** down and begin scrubbing. ******** hard, too.

'********' and 's**t' were the only thoughts he would let bounce around in his head-thinking anything else was dangerous. His brain kept trying to turn him to memories of what had just happened; Sanji snarled those memories back into a repressed state. This was ******** insane-s**t, no, don't even think about it. Just get this damn smell off, and everything would be fine.

The smell had long since worn off, but Sanji was paranoid. Somehow his brain had put two and two together, and figured out that all his problems had come from the concoction Usopp had grabbed from the local peddler in the village. And for that, he had been given double the punishment.

"Ow, ow-Sanji, stop!" The long-nosed sharpshooter had squealed pitifully under the righteous blows of Sanji's kicks. "Come on-lay off me! It hurts! I said I was sorry!"

When Sanji had finally finished letting his anger out on the coward, he sighed and helped the bruised piece of flesh off the ground. But he wasn't done-"For the whole planting season, you're doing whatever chore Pops gives me."

"WHAT?"

Sanji slowly lifted a curly eyebrow.

Instantly, the younger submitted with a sigh. "Yea, okay. Whatever. Jeez...why are you so pissed?"

He cringed when his older brother stopped from stomping across the yard, snapping at him. "You idiot! Are you shitting me? We almost got in a s**t load of trouble-if I hadn't been there, you'd be hanging in the village square right now. You should be on your knees thanking the gods I was there at all!"

"EEE! Okay, alright-I'm sorry! Don't hurt me please!"

"Tch. Better be." And with that, he had slammed the door and left a whimpering Usopp licking his wounds. He didn't want to explain anything else to him-anymore questions, and he might accidentally blurt out something from sheer stress. He needed to get out and think.

...Or ******** not think. Hell, just repress everything.

Sanji suddenly turned the brush on his neck, which to his horror, he could see in the water's reflection was covered in angry red love bites. He scrubbed the hell out of it, possibly tearing away a whole layer of skin there. ******** s**t ******** ********! How long had they been there? Had it been obvious to the other guys?

"Shiiiiiit. s**t!"

"...You okay, Sanji?"

"EEP!" Sanji flailed around in surprise at the voice behind him, looking on edge to the person watching him on the shore. "s**t! Ace, what the hell?"

The freckled farm hand's smile turned to a grin at Sanji's cry of surprise. He lifted his hand in greeting. "G'afternoon to you too."

"What the ******** are you doing here?"

"Looking for the horse brush." He smirked at it being in Sanji's hand. "Looks like I found it."

Sanji frowned, glowering at his friend. "Sorry, I'm still using it. You'll have to go back empty-handed." With that, he turned his back to Ace, ignoring him to scrub again at his neck. He flushed, hoping Ace wouldn't see what he was trying to erase from his neck. It wasn't working.

Ace blew off Sanji's dismal, his smirk widening as his eyes scanned over Sanji's pale backside, his damp blond hair sticking to his skin. The tenant's black pupils were heated, but his voice was calm. "What? Did you get into a skunk? S'kinda cold this time of year for a bath."

"No," Sanji snapped. "I just...just felt like it."

"Right."

Sanji huffed, turning his attention to his underarms and across his chest. God damn cocky farm hand-ever since that fiasco in the barn, he had been harassing the hell out of Sanji. Not that the blond really minded; when he wasn't being a prankster, the fair skinned guy was actually a good friend to have around. And he had turned out to be his best friend-especially after that forest fire the blond had dragged him out of two summers ago. Sanji just wished that one, he had better control of his random, hyperactive brother, and two...he would just stop touching him.

Still immersed in his curse-filled psyche, the blond didn't notice the stall in conversation until there was a large splash behind him. He whizzed around. "Ace?"

Ace's clothes were a pool near Sanji's, but he was nowhere to be seen. Whipping in every direction, Sanji looked suspiciously around him, keeping an eye on where the splash had appeared. "Ace...?"

Something lurched itself out of the water. Before he could turn, arms suddenly snaked around Sanji's waist. "HOLY ******** it, get off!"

Ace had his chin on Sanji's shoulder, laughing. "Haha, why? I just wanted to help you get your back. Can you hand me the brush-I'll be gentle, I swear."

"Ace, you perve-I mean it! Let go!" A violent blush was staining Sanji's face. Ace's naked body was way too close to him. His body warmth was making the water less numbingly cold...or maybe that was just the blond's own heated flesh.

Yet the arms almost instantly returned to Ace's side. He lifted them in surrender and backed away, barely dodging a roundhouse kick of Sanji's. "Okay, okay! My bad, I'm sorry. Haha, you're just too easy to freak out."

Sanji's eyebrow was twitching dangerously. "Shut it, you pervert!",

"Ah, sorry." Ace cocked his head and smiled. "So? Hunting didn't go well this morning?"

"No, it ******** didn't!" Damn, how could Ace just change the subject like that? And how had he seen-wasn't he suppose to be working out in the fields? Ugh, nevermind-questioning this guy was useless; it just left Sanji with a huge headache. He sighed, scratching his head as his temper went down. "How'd you know?

Ace smirked. "Usopp came back here sobbing and looking like he had seen a ghost. He couldn't even lie straight. Made all the men think something horrible happened-like a Demon had gotten you."

"Yea, well...things got pretty out of hand in the woods."

"You mind explaining?"

Sanji snorted. After giving the woods surrounding the pond a good once over with his eyes, he grudgingly explained the deal with the Satyr to Ace. Everything, even the Stitching details-it was just the s**t ******** don't think s**t part, and the fact that it had all been caused by the smell on his clothes. He skipped over that, hoping Ace wouldn't notice.

But ofcourse he did. "So...what happened to your clothes?"

Oh god, just kill me. Sanji angrily blushed under Ace's skeptical look, growling lamely, "Shitty thing took em."

"...Sanji, you know you suck as a liar, right?"

"SHUT UP! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED, OKAY?"

"Tch." Ace smirked, lifting his eyebrow. "Whatever. So, you got attacked by a Satyr? Wow...that's unbelievable."

Sanji flush went from red to pink as he bent his head down a little. "T-Tell me about it."

"No seriously-nobody'd believe that. Satyr's are protectors, Sanji. S'why we give em offerings."

"Yea? Well this one was ******** different, okay?"

"Alright, alright-no need to get so overheated about it-"

"I'M NOT!" Obviously he was. Sanji swallowed, trying to control himself while Ace watched him curiously. Finally, the farm hand said conversationally:

"Well, Ussopp got lucky. Without you there, he would have been in deep s**t. Big brother saves the day."

Sanji snorted, for once smiling. "Yea, I guess."

Ace snickered. "Man, if the roles were switched, and freakin Luffy had done that...I would have lost my mind. Probably have killed it-which is kind of sad."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Yea, great-you'd sacrifice the village for your brother, and give us all a decade long drought?."

Ace pursed his lips. "But ofcourse. He's my cute little brother."

"Dumbass."

"Usopp's cute too."

"KEEP THE ******** AWAY FROM USOPP!"

Ace laughed, disturbing the water they were waist deep it. "Jeez, Sanji-I was just kidding."

The blond huffed, unamused. "You damn well better be. Shitty farm hand."
Ace smiled, but said nothing. He just looked at Sanji with his deep black orbs, unnerving him after a few seconds. And then the air between them got awkward.
Damn, why couldn't Ace just act normal--like he had before that night in the barn, two months ago. One night of booze over the Spring Solstice festival, a little tustling (cough, hot sex) in the hay, and he woke up next morning with a horrible hangover and a deliciously naked Ace questioning if he could go for Round Two.
Oh, ******** no. And that had been his answer for the last two months.

"Oi, you okay?"

Sanji lifted his head, having been dragged from his thoughts by Ace's voice. He shrugged, his hands suddenly itching for some nicotine. Along with recent events, it was no wonder he was so irritable-for gods' sakes, how had he gone a whole morning without cigarettes? "Got any smokes?"

Ace yawned, scratching his back and rippling the water around him. He thumbed to his pool of clothes on the shore. "Yea, I rolled some and put em in my pocket. Help yourself."

Sanji nodded, turning around to walk to shore. Yet his eyes widened from suddenly assessing who he was alone naked with and he whizzed back around to glare at Ace. His eyes narrowed when he spotted a grin on the other male's face before he stifled it.

Ace cocked an eyebrow, trying to look innocent. "What?"

"Don't try anyth-"

"Try what?" The ends of Ace's mouth twitched up.

Sanji paused, giving him a hard glare. "...Whatever you were about to do."
Ace looked ascant, as if hurt. His lip was even pouted. "Tch. Have no idea what you're talking about. Really, Sanji, the things you say..."

Sanji, for the second time, rolled his eyes. He gingerly turned his naked back to an equally naked Ace, then quickly waded towards his and Ace's clothes.

He got only as far as a few inches to shore before he was tackled. Ace was on top of him, holding him down with his weight, nearly drowning him as his fingers swirled and touched every crevice of his torso.

"A-ACE!" Sanji floundered in the shallow water, trying to stay above the centimeters of water his head was being pressed down in. He blushed, feeling Ace chuckle in his throat while his hands played with him.

"See?" he murmured in the blond's ear. "A little touching, and you're already red all over."

The blond's face flushed deeper in anger, shuddering against Ace's touch. A n****e was tweaked by delicate fingers, and he had to bite down on his bottom lip.
"Ace, I swear to God-" Yet Sanji couldn't finish his sentence. Ace's teeth raked down the sensitive skin Sanji's neck, his sweet spot, bidding out a stifled moan from Sanji's lips.

Ace smirked at the sound. Yet he suddenly frowned. "Hmm...you seem to be more sensitive than usual."
"Kn-Knock it off, Ace!"

"Ey, what are you guys doing?"

Sanji felt Ace look up, and he did as well. Luffy was at the shore of the pond, looking down at them with a confused, questioning look on his face. Oh, great. Just ******** great.

Ace grinned, as if it really was great. "Nothing, Luf. Just wrestling."

Wrestling? Well, at least it was some sort of an excuse. And it seemed to work-Luffy's face instantly cleared up, as if suddenly understanding. The simple-minded teen grinned. "Oh! Okay-can I come in and wrestle too? I can take my clothes off!"

Sanji deadpanned. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out. Ace, however, found his brother's innocent request funny.

"Haha, no Luffy." Ace rolled off of Sanji, getting up. Sanji did as well, but strategically cupping his hands over his crouch to hide what was all Ace's fault.

The cold air helped.

Ace didn't notice. "This is a wrestling game for older guys-you'll have to wait a few years and get Ussopp to play if you want to do it."

Sanji felt his eye twitch. He snapped his head around and practically roared at Ace's s**t-eating grin:

"HE IS DEFINITLY NOT WRESTLING WITH USOPP!"

"Whaaa?" Luffy's exaggerated disappointment didn't better Sanji's mood. "But I wanna! I wanna do older guy stuff-not later, but now!"

"SHUT UP LUFFY!"

"Heh-ey, Sanji. Be nice to my little brother. He just wants to have fun."

"ACE, I'M GOING TO ******** KILL YOU! KEEP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS AWAY FROM USOPP!"

"Yea yea, fine." While Sanji stewed, Ace snickered and looked back at his put-off brother. "Whatcha need, Luf?"

"Zeff made me look for you," the young teen grumbled, pouting at what Sanji said. "Nobody's making dinner!"

Sanji snapped, his temper rising exponentially. "Tell that old geezer to make it himself-he can cook too, can't he?"

"But Saaanji, I don't want Zeff to cook!" Luffy's eyes got huge and puppy dog-like. "He's mean, and doesn't make enough for seconds. And you always make seconds!"

Ace laughed, stifling whatever Sanji was about to say about the gluttonous teen. "Alright, Luf, we're coming. Come on, Sanji-you know the men like your food better anyhow."

Sanji grumbled, subjecting himself to flattery as he was dragged by his elbow from the pond onto the shore. He grabbed his clothes from the leaning tree with one hand, his other hand on his crotch.

With Luffy babbling oblviously in his ear as he put on his clothes, Ace smirked. "Oi, Sanji-don't be shy. There's no need to hide your crotch-"

"SHUT UP, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT DAMN IT!"