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pirates-pirates-pirates · 3 years ago

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Chasing Legends

This is me and my wonderful partner @donivanessdoodles collab for the @opreversebang . We had a very clear idea what we wanted before we started and I was so happy and excited about this project and I am in love and adore with my soul what Doni drew for this and I was reminded why I love writing so much.

Thank you for doing the thing for me <3 Read it on AO3

Chasing Legends SFW Action/violence - mild description of injury PG 13 Mad Max inspired AU Word count: 5,086 implied/could be read as Marco x Ace

I suck at tittles btw

The sun beat down, punishing all living things below that dared to venture out into its intensity. The heat made the air hot, dry, heavy, oppressive. In this new world caused by the sins of the past, the pollution and selfishness of those who’d come before had caused the world to be a wasteland.

The ground was hot to the touch, sand and rocks that burned uncovered flesh. Even in the shade, the suffocating atmosphere gripped at a person. Dust and sand cling to everything, drawn to the perspiration on a person’s body.

Further pulling them into the world of rust and decay.

Being punished for the crimes of the past wasn’t anything that Ace was a stranger to feeling. Travelling through the middle grounds, a place between the fractions, no law’s dictated where and who he could or couldn’t be, not out here.

Sand and rocks didn’t care about the blood that ran through him, nor the name he’d been born from. The dust ate away at every man all the same.

He saw a palm tree in the distance, the green leaves are long gone, just faded brown, making a pitiful rustling sound in the slightest of breezes. Still, it didn’t matter to him if the tree was dead or alive, he just needed somewhere to sit for a moment, take a break.

The gravel crunched under his heavy boots as he made his way towards the palm. He sighed and allowed himself to slide down the tree, landing on his ass in the dirt. Unphased by the heat rising through the earth, his body temperature handled the heat.

Having an ability like his had been a Godsend in this nightmare world. Fire to keep himself warm at night, the power to keep himself cool in the day. He’d been owed some good karma considering the legacy he was dogged with.

Ace pulled out his flask, unscrewing the cap, taking a swig of water. Another blessing to his gift, whenever he found water, he was able to sterilise it, one of the few people he’d come across that hadn’t had their insides tainted by the poisoned water.

He adjusted his hat, enjoying the shade it provided his freckled face, keeping the sun out of his eyes. Leaning back against the palm he covered his face with his hat, arms behind his head as he got comfortable. The journey between territories had been longer than anticipated, a quick nap would fix him up.

That was until his shoulders tensed, the distinct feeling of eyes piercing into him caused him to stir. There was something in the air, a presence. Sighing to himself he stood, brushing the dust off himself.

“So much for a nice nap.” Ace grumbled to himself.

A sharp crack interrupted the sounds of the desert around him. Gunfire, not just any gunfire, he’d attracted the attention of a sniper somewhere in the area. The clever little fuck had managed to hide their presence until now. He clicked his tongue; he wasn’t in the mood for a fight but it seemed to be in the mood to have him.

He glanced at the smoking hole in the front of him, the bullet had whizzed right through his body, and he was curious if the sniper would try again.

“What the…” Marco squinted down the sights of his rifle, he’d shot the man through the chest, but he was still standing. He pulled away and rubbed his eyes, he didn’t think the sand had been kicked up enough by the breeze to affect his vision.

Reloading the rifle he adjusted his aim, the crosshairs fixed on the stupid hat he was wearing. He never missed a shot and this time he was taking it personally. The other hadn’t even moved out of the way, it was as if the stranger was staring right at him.

“I hope you have something on you worth my time yoi. Two bullets, damn.” He chuckled to himself as he pulled the trigger.

The shot fired, whizzing through the air, hitting Ace in the forehead, it should have killed him! He should have hit the floor! He then noticed the other man’s face in the scope, the incredibly smug smirk as he simply tipped his hat in greeting.

“Alright, my turn!” Ace laughed and turned his entire body to face what used to be a transmission tower.

He formed a decent sized ball of fire in the palm of his hand, lining up the fireball he couldn’t help the manic expression as he launched it in the direction the bullet had come from. He wouldn’t stand for being underestimated.

Marco stared at the fireball coming right towards him, he grumbled and let the gun fall around his neck. He changed into his harpy form, large blue talons to match the blue flaming wings. He jumped back from the tower, catching himself in the air with his powerful wings as the tower was hit with the blazing attack.

The creaking of rusted metal grinding against itself made Ace wince as he gritted his teeth, watching the metal crumple, he didn’t have time to feel smug though, seeing the beautiful bird in the sky. For a second, he didn’t even consider the abnormal creature could have been the enemy he was fighting with.

He just couldn’t move, the bird was the most gorgeous blue he’d ever seen in his life, the gold flames and tail that shimmered like something out of this world made Ace stare, mouth agape as the phoenix looped around in the sky.

Sharpened talons came hurtling down from the sky, speeding up at an alarming rate. Marco flexed his natural weapons and tucked his wings in to get a faster dive on his prey, what he hadn’t expected was his prey to turn into a wall of fire.

Too late to stop his charge now he simply accepted his fate, Wings closed around his body, waiting for the impact of the ground and the burning of flames. He hissed letting out an animalistic shriek as something made a sickening crunch upon landing.

Marco’s cooling flames at least stopped the red ones from burning him badly or for very long. His wings unfurled and he snapped his attention to the stranger in the stupid hat. He winced at the pain in his leg, looking down at the protruding bone splinter.

“We both know an injury like that is a death sentence out here. Just give up.” Ace said as his body formed from the flames Marco had crash-landed into.

The bird seemed to regard him for a moment before it transformed into a tall man with messy blond hair, a gas mask covering his face, sniper rifle strapped to him. Ace’s eyes flashed with realisation. A zoan, the sniper on the tower was a zoan.

“Normally you’d be right yoi,” The blond said with a chuckle, distorted from the mask on his face.

His hand flickered with blue flames, brilliant, beautiful, mesmerising flames that Ace tried to not let distract him. Ace prepared for an attack from the hand made of cyan fire, flinching before he noticed Marco was placing it over his leg. Ace’s eyes opened wide; his mouth hung open like an idiot as he watched the leg mend instantly in front of his very eyes.

“You can heal?”

Marco nodded as the flames dissipated and he stood to his full height, he had a good few inches on Ace much to Ace’s charging. Marco blinked half-lidded blue eyes at the younger man. Marco cocked his head to one side and examined Ace, he seemed to be disarmed, hands open and flat palmed at his sides, he wasn’t going to attack him again.

“Fire versus fire is a stalemate yoi. We’d both be wasting precious energy if was carried on with this” He sighed and folded his arms over his chest, a thin brow quirking as he waited for the stranger to concede along with him.

“You’re not part of a faction then?” Marco asked while he watched Ace as he casually flicked a spark into the pile of debris between them. A roaring fire crackled to life in no time, spurred on by the dry as bone offerings that had been scouted for and piled up in the centre. Rocks and stones slotted into place around the ring of fire, keeping the blaze contained.

“Nah, I got asked by the idiot in war paint to join his side once and I wasn’t buying what he was sellin’. I just want to be free, find my way ya know?” Ace shrugged and stared at the dancing flames.

The zoan nodded crossing his legs and got comfortable as he recalled the man Ace meant. He’d learned the factions were best to be avoided from his own misadventures with the wild animals that played pretend with the notion of ‘civil society.

“Eustass?”

“Yeah, him.” Ace confirmed and mimicked Marco’s posturing, sitting on his legs and looking up at the rusty sky, he’d heard there was stars years and years ago, glimmering jewels in an ocean of black. He couldn’t imagine anything but the deep orange that clouded up the world.

“I’ve heard he’s a real piece of work yoi. The other delusional idiot with the hook and sly grin was tailing me until a few weeks ago.” Marco ran a hand through his tuft of blond while picturing that wicked grinning face looming over him. Eustass was insane, like an animal that had spent too long in a cage waiting and bristling for a chance to exercise his brutality. Mr 0 however was just as cruel, maybe more so, his violence was hidden by a nice veneer of ‘for the people’; that had the masses seeking him out as a saviour, as a saint.

“How did people like that come into power?” Ace asked, bringing Marco out of his little trance, the man fixed his eyes on Marco, not sure he would get an answer.

“It’s simple, isn’t it? Sure, they aren’t the only ones with gifts but in a world that’s sand and metal is it any surprise they rose to the top yoi? They are almost unbeatable.” Marco leaned back on his palms, feeling the scratchy sand tickling at his skin.

“Almost?” “Yeah.”

“Do you mean the third faction? The one that’s a myth? The great and powerful Whitebeard? You know nobody has heard anything from him and his ‘pirates’ in years, right?” Ace couldn’t help the laugh he let out, shaking his head.

His father’s old rival, a relic from the past, someone who could remember when there was grass on the ground and birds in the sky. He glanced at Marco as he had that thought, maybe that wasn’t so wild.

Marco said nothing, he’d searched for that ‘legend’ for years. Chasing a dream, simply clawing at every hope he could. Ducking and dodging his way through the warring badlands, those in between the big cities and not one person was able to utter the whereabouts of the pirate captain.

“Why are they hunting you anyway?” Ace asked, picking up a twig, snapping the stick into smaller pieces, idly flicking them into the flames.

“Isn’t it obvious? I can heal I’m as rare as clean water yoi” He chuckled with an air of disdain; bitterness tinged his otherwise pleasant laugh. Pushing himself to sit Marco hunched over his lap, picking up a stone and flicking it into the fire, joining Ace in the display of disinterested boredom.

“Now Eustass knows that Mr 0 is after me he’s trying to beat him to the punch.” The sadness in Marco’s voice made Ace furrow his brows, his jaw set firm.

Marco caught the look and shrugged his shoulders, reaching out towards the fire. His own blue flames conjured up in his palm, mingling with the brighter ones, they looked as If they were dancing together in a rhythmic harmony instead of trying to overpower.

“You’re not the only one who longs to be free yoi.”

Ace was wanted for his power and the reputation he’d had thrust unwantedly on him by his father and Marco was hunted like a wild animal for his abilities. Maybe if there was something left akin to fate it had brought them together.

“This is why we should stick together,” Ace said with a tone of finality, not even offering it up as a suggestion to Marco.

“There’s no point in fighting one another. We both want freedom, to be rid of chains and shackles others want to slap on us. Plus, we would make a terrifying force! My flames of destruction, my determination and you with your healing and wings!” Ace flapped his arms in a gesture, playful grin in place.

“Wings?” Marco closed his palm abruptly snuffing out his flames.

“Come on..” Ace started with a slight whine to his voice that caused Marco to smirk inside his mask “Flying would cover so much distance!”

“No one ever sees birds; how subtle do you think a giant blue one would be in the sky yoi? We might both be formidable but those two have entire armies, they control the land both figuratively and literally, we’d be dead where we stand yoi” Marco saw how Ace deflated and scuffed some sand into the fire, pissy because he knew the sniper was right.

“Although,” Marco adjusted how he was sitting, his eyes focused on his companion’s face. The fire spun shadows across his features, he could see a fire in his eyes that burned brighter with ambition than any fire he’d seen.

“Would be nice not to be alone anymore yoi”

Ace nodded; he couldn’t help the growing grin on his face as the fire danced between them. He had a good feeling about this decision, about his newfound friend.

---

“Is this such a good idea birdbrain?” Ace was walking behind Marco, dragging his feet as he went.

“Marco.”

“What?”

Marco sighed, stopping in his tracks, and digging in his bag, pulling out paper that looked older than Ace. “My name is Marco, not ‘birdbrain’ yoi.” He explained and looked around for a flat surface, struggling to find one he turned to Ace, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and making him turn and bend at the middle, using the other back as a table.

“A map? How do you have a map?”

“I found it, been adding things as I travel, how do you find places yoi?”

“I just kinda… walk in a direction?”

Ace could FEEL Marco rolling those pretty blue eyes at him. He placed his hands on his knees, doing his best to act as a table for Marco as he studied the paper, tapping roughly on one spot and looking up, surveying the land.

“I need to get higher.”

“Ace by the way.” He mumbled, voice deadpan as he was allowed to stand to his full height, watching Marco stash away the map like it was a prized possession.

“Alright, Ace.” Marco began as he turned his arms into wings, letting the cool flames lower the temperature around them, his companion couldn’t help himself, wanting to lean in and feel the flicker of the blissful reprieve from the heat inside and outside of himself. He imagined this was what splashing his face with fresh water might feel like.

He resisted the urge to get closer when Marco turned around and shot him a confused look.

“I won’t be long yoi.” With that Marco took off into the sky, trying to find a high vantage point to examine his map, compare it to the land. Ace rolled his eyes again and kicked pebbles along the dusty path, watching them skitter.

Marco found a tall telephone pole and used his sharp dexterous talons to keep himself attached to the narrow perch. Squatted in place and retrieved the map from his bag, holding it up and staring across the wasteland.

The phoenix brought out his rifle, holding the scope up to one eye, closing the other to focus around the area. Marco’s claws dug into the wood, splinting it in frustration, something that was defiantly not on the map was the dust being kicked up over the desert. The large rumbling cloud of orange in the horizon, rushing over the sand as if the dunes were little than a mere inconvenience.

“Ace!” He called.

“Yeah?” Ace walked slowly towards the vantage point, tipping his hat to keep the sun off his face, trying to focus on the zoan.

“You know when you refused Eustass? Were you ah, polite about it yoi?”

“Why would I have bee- oh shit, oh fuck.” Ace could feel the low rumble in the ground, approaching vehicles coming from the direction Marco was facing.

The ground vibrated under his feet, and he winced, maybe he could have been nicer about telling Kid ‘no’. An afterthought he guessed, he watched Marco’s wings appear in a flash, taking flight and coming right for Ace.

“We have to go!”

“You aren’t dragging me like some sort of roadkill, Birdbrain!” Ace protested when Marco snapped open his talons and hovered in place.

“You brought this down on me, on us, and there is no way we can beat that many of his men alone yoi.” Marco’s usually laid-back voice was laced with panic.

Which caused the hairs on the back of Ace’s neck to stand to attention, his mouth never felt so dry. He didn’t expect Kid to be this petty and come after him with such aggression. “Is it too late to say I come with baggage?”

Marco’s narrowed brows and ‘tsk’ was answer enough. “I assumed that a pretty face would come with a price yoi.”

“Aww you thi- HEY!”

Marco could hear the rumbling of heavy machines getting closer to their location and he wasn’t in the mood to die because Ace wanted to linger on the fact he’d called him pretty. The zoan now in full avian form approached Ace and carefully grabbed him under his armpits, lifting the struggling man off the ground.

Marco said nothing, irritation furrowed his brows as he flapped his wings, harder than before, the extra wright of Ace throwing him off. They beat desperately, the rumbling getting closer and closer, the building anxiety in his chest was palpable.

He may have gripped Ace a little tighter than needed. The other hit one of his toes with a balled-up fist and a mouthful of complaints. Marco couldn’t hear the words, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Marco’s impressive wingspan kicked up a dust storm around them, their own personal cyclone. Ace lifted the bandanna up from around his neck, coughing up as the dust invaded his breathing space, choking him with the gritty dryness of the dead earth. Marco would say sorry once they were somewhere safe.

A loud screech of tires descended on them as they got some distance from the ground, a shout of aggression split the air. The zoan glanced over his shoulder just in time to see something glimmering in the light. The whizzing sound as metal cable attached to a harpoon tip flew at them, Marco tilted to the side just in time to evade being pierced.

“Why didn’t you just become fire! You’re shaking me around and I am this close to throwing up, Birdbrain!” Ace huffed, his hands holding onto the rough scaly skin of talons, panic causing him to need something, anything as a comfort.

“Sea stone tipped!” Marco quipped and tried to ignore the burning ache where his wings met his body.

He wasn’t used to carrying someone. The thought of dropping Ace and using him as a distraction for his own safe getaway flickered through his mind for just a moment. Fleeting as it was it had disgusted Marco. Where had his humanity skittered off to?

Ace was still near enough a stranger to him; one he’d only just met. The dependency already blooming in his chest, the desire to not face the world alone anymore was enough to keep Marco’s mind grounded and his talons firmly gripping the wriggling form of Ace.

“Their loading it up again!” Ace shouted, peering down at the mass of vehicles only just behind them.

“Fucking, fucks!” Marco shouted when the same gut-wrenching, anxiety building whizz sound filled their ears once more.

He dipped to the other side this time, feeling the razor sharp tip graze his wing. Kid was getting too close; Marco didn’t appreciate having shots taken when he was at a disadvantage.

Ace watched as the main truck was directly underneath them, a new harpoon loaded, it was aimed right at them. They were shooting to kill! No, they were shooting to kill him they knew Marco would heal and he was the real prize here. As much as that hurt the man’s ego he didn’t plan on anything happening to himself or his new friend.

Kid grinned, a maddening look on his face. Red lips twisted into a sinister snarl, the pleasure of the hunt running through his body. He felt alive, full of electricity and his veins pulsing with adrenaline. The red paint on his face looked like blood-smeared, only making his crazed expression even more terrifying.

Ace clicked his tongue when the clicking of gears signalled the count down.

“Should have fuckin’ agreed to my kind offer Portgas!” Kid yelled loud enough to be heard over the rumbling engine, the clanking of chains and cheers of his men as they got closer to taking them down.

“Eat shit.” Ace replied, his smirk growing as he place his two index fingers together to form a cross.

Kid blinked, narrowing his eyes when Ace’s fingers started to glow bright orange. Ace didn’t have time to warn Marco as he fired off his blast. Brilliant intense heat, fire and fury pulsed out his simple hand gesture.

Marco winced when he felt the sudden heat on his underside, wafting up and mingling with the cold air his wings provided. He didn’t have time to blink when he saw the tower of fire coming from Ace’s hands. Heat and flames spiralled down and hit the truck head-on.

The explosion rang out loudly, deafening the two airborne devil fruit users. The truck caught fire, sparks, and metal debris flew in all directions. Marco was thankful the redhead hadn’t the forethought to cover his vehicle’s armour in sea stone, each sharp splinter of shrapnel shot through his body.

Marco didn’t have time to gloat in his enemy’s defeat, other trucks were gaining on them, the same malicious intent clear as gunfire crackled and popped. Machine guns with full belts aimed at them again.

“Ace! Do that again, this time at the GROUND!” Marco yelled at his dangling companion.

“The ground?” Ace looked straight up; confusion wrinkled his nose.

“Just trust me yoi!”

Ace had no reason to doubt Marco, the phoenix hadn’t dropped him to his immediate death after all. Crossing his fingers once more he aimed at the ground this time, the same intense blast hitting the ground, the dust it created lost in the chaos of the armoured convoy’s man-made sandstorm.

The blast did exactly what Marco had hoped for. It propelled him higher into the air, he held those brilliantly gleaming blue wings out at an angle, letting the rising heat and velocity of Ace’s attack further their ascent into the sky.

Higher and higher he took them. Using the extra momentum to rest his weary wings for a moment. Rising into the air, the problems chasing them along on the ground seemed a distant memory. Marco flapped his wings with renewed vigour.

Above the layer of dust, orange, and decay they rose. The sky above was clearer than anything he had ever seen. The sun! Oh, the sun was bright yellow, who’d have thought? Marco let out a laugh as he managed to control himself in the air once again.

Marco took in a deep breath, the clean air above the pollution ceiling filled his lungs and resonated within himself. His ancient zoan thrilled with the wounder and memory of this world. When the sky was clear, the air was clean, and water flowed freely on this once green earth.

The phoenix life force sang inside Marco. Fresh air ran across his feathers, his flames dancing in the wind as he glided across the sea of pastel blue. He could feel tears pricking his eyes, so many emotions both his and the spirit that dwelled within.

“Ace, take a good long breath, can you feel this yoi?”

Ace was too dazzled to say anything. He laughed and felt himself shedding his own tears of happiness. The bliss he felt in this moment, these joyous seconds he’d never have hoped in his lifetime to feel. Clean air washed over his face, he closed his eyes, feeling baptised by the rays of sunlight on his freckled face.

He did as Marco suggested, taking a deep breath, filling his lungs. He didn’t want to exhale. If he died at this moment, he wouldn’t even care. He let out the breath, shuddering, emotional. Ace reached up and dried his eyes, still laughing, the feeling of joy overwhelming.

“I wish we could stay up here forever, Marco!”

Marco nodded, a happy trill coming from him. They glided across the sky, Marco purposely flying through the clouds. Water droplets from the vapour causing his blue flames to jump and spark harmlessly. Both men enjoyed the feeling of the rain particles splashing across their faces.

It was at this moment they felt reborn.

He couldn’t tell how long they’d been flying, hoping once they’d vanished from sight their pursuers would have given up. Even if Kid was a cantankerous piece of shit, if he was alive, even he wouldn’t chase a hunch above the clouds.

They started to descend, Marco letting out a pained squawk. He’d grievously miscalculated how long he could go without landing. The bewitching freedom of the world above had entrapped him. He adjusted himself as Ace’s feet dipped into the dirty air once more.

“You doing okay?”

“Great, thank you for asking but we might have to prepare for a bumpy landing yoi.” Marco warned his passenger as his body sagged lower in the sky.

His wings fanned out attempting to grip at whatever depleting air current there was, trying to sink from the sky with any form of grace. Lower and lower before he felt his shoulders twinge in pain. He could heal, sure. There was no stopping the pain in his joints. Wings snapping to his side involuntarily. The fatigue was too great, he cursed himself.

“Nice knowing you!” Ace nervously laughed as he saluted the bird.

Marco rolled his eyes as they fell from the sky, like brilliant shooting stars, dazzling and tumbling through the sky in a blaze of glory set to burn out into nothing. Marco’s energy running dangerously low, he’d slipped back into human form now.

Ace reached out as they free-fell through the air. He brushed his fingertips against the zoan’s. Marco understood what Ace was asking for, to not die alone, to have some sort of connection. The sadness settled in the pit of Marco’s stomach as he gripped Ace’s hand tightly in his own.

There were worse ways to die, worst places to end up. At least they’d die free as they’d always dreamed and not locked down at some assholes beck and call.

The darkness gobbled them up.

‘Strange, my eyes aren’t closed… and I can still think…. Am I dead?’ Marco thought to himself as he blinked.

Darkness like he’d never seen, pitch black and unmoving. He couldn’t see anything. He focused on the warm hand in his grasp, clutching harder to it, to Ace. The dark was causing Ace’s anxiety to spike until he felt the hand squeeze.

Marco was right here with him still. That settled Ace, if just a little.

Just as abruptly as the unrelenting, inhuman darkness swallowed them it just as swiftly spat them out. The light was shocking, blinding in comparison. Marco landed painfully on the dark orange earth he’d walked along for so many years.

Ace landed sprawled across his lap, hitting Marco between the legs with a misplaced elbow. Marco hissed like a vexed goose and pushed Ace from his body and shot him a look. The flame user groaned and rolled off his lap. Getting on all fours he stared at the looming shadow that blocked the stained sun from beating down on him.

“Good work Thatch! Gurhaha!” The booming laugh made Marco flinch.

“I thought they were about to meet our maker!” The man ‘Thatch’ said with a jovial laugh, as if he hadn’t mentioned their almost very real untimely death.

“Yeah, I kinda thought we had died when it all faded to black.” Ace sighed as he sat back, brushing his dusty palms down the front of his clothes, staring at the large man with the big white moustache.

How various other men stood around the giant. Ace elbowed Marco in the side, tugging at him and nodding to their saviours. “Whitebeard.” The skull and crossbones insignia each of the men gathered wore was unmistakable as well as the legend standing tall and in the flesh.

“Whitebeard?” Marco repeated and jolted up, scrabbling to get to his feet and stare in awe at the man who until moments ago was just a mere legend, a dream he’d been so intent on spending his days chasing.

“Just call me ‘Pops’” The man smiled brighter than the sun they’d seen moments ago, the clear and brilliant version.

Whitebeard’s eyes crinkled in fondness, watching as Thatch helped Ace to his feet, slapping him on the back with a chuckle. Another man walked to Marco, his long black hair done up beautifully, red-stained lips quirked into a smile as he handed the phoenix a flask of water.

“You’re safe now boys, you’re home.”

Marco felt himself smile, the first real smile in longer than he could remember. Hope he thought he’d lost slowly returning, filling his heart to bursting. He blinked when he felt Ace’s searching hand, trembling fingers desperate for comfort. Marco reached out once more, taking Ace’s hand in his own. Intertwining fingers as their new family swarmed around them, chattering and introducing themselves.

They were truly home.

#onepiecereversebang #marco the phoenix #portgas d ace #implied marco x ace #alternate universe #mad max au #one piece #fire fist ace #fushichou marco

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vannahfanfics · 3 years ago

Text

Hunger

Word Count: 4,400

Fluff, Romance, Comedy, Established Relationship

Summary: It has been one year since Nami and Sanji started dating. All they want is to have a few precious moments together to celebrate this, but Luffy and his voracious appetite keep interrupting. At this rate, Nami is going to pull her hair out from the frustration. Is one kiss too much to ask for?!

Hello, everyone! Here is my story for the @opreversebang! I had a great time working with my partner @natsudorkoneel, so be sure to check out their art! I hope you enjoy this wonderful bit of SanNami fluff! <3

The scent of his morning cigarette still lingered on his clothes, the acrid smell filling Nami’s nose as she breathed him in; but it wasn’t just cigarettes—he smelled like spices and herbs and sea salt, too. The blond stubble adorning his chin was scratchy and rough under Nami’s fingertips, but she loved the way it felt against her hands, her cheek, her lips. His eyes twinkled like the light refracting off the sea, glittering just as much as Nami’s own chestnut orbs. Slowly, as if pulled by a magnet, their faces leaned in toward one another…

“Sanjiiiiiiii!”

Nami and Sanji sprang apart as Luffy came barging out of the mess hall. He looked like a hulking ape—back hunched, steam billowing from his flaring nostrils, lips scowled, arms poised in a fighting stance. He stamped his feet against the floor, the flat soles of his flip-flops making loud slap-slap-slaps of indignance.

“Sanji, come on! What’s taking you so long? It’s time for breakfast, and I’m starving!” their captain ranted. He paraded in a circle around the cook, snorting and grunting all the while. Nami and Sanji both heaved simultaneous sighs; even acquiring the mantle of Pirate King hadn’t matured Luffy in the slightest. He still threw his childish tantrums, particularly when it came to food.

“All right, all right! I’m going to get it right now!” Sanji snapped. Nami could see the vein bulging on his forehead, and so she wasn’t surprised when she heard the sharp click of his lighter. Sanji stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up, sucking down the nicotine-laden smoke greedily. “Stop throwin’ a fit already!” he grumbled, smoke billowing out of his lips. He turned on his heel to stomp off to the kitchen. Luffy, not satisfied with leaving him to his devices, shambled after him with his shoulders still hunched to his ears in displeasure.

Nami stayed behind, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall of the hallway with a sigh.

“So much for an anniversary good morning kiss,” she said wistfully.

Sanji and Nami had been dating for a year now. Everyone on board knew, and though the Straw Hats loved celebrations, a dating anniversary wasn’t exactly something you planned a whole crew party for. Nami and Sanji had decided to keep the day low-key, preferring to simply celebrate it themselves… Or so they had hoped. More than an hour into the day, yet the two had been able to do much more than steal glances at one another because the ship was rowdier than ever.

Nami had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the lovey-dovey anniversary that she had been hoping for. Yet she smiled softly as Sanji came walking back down the hallway, arms laden with freshly-cooked breakfast foods and Luffy yapping at his heels like a deranged mutt. Maybe their ship was chaotic, but it was what had brought them together.

She’d learned to think on the bright side of things, lest her high blood pressure lead her to bust an artery.

Sanji cast her an apologetic glance as he passed her. “Later,” he mouthed, winking at her as he kicked the door open. Nami smirked at his open flirtatiousness, then indulged him in a wink and a blown kiss back. Sanji’s cool façade immediately crumbled. His body flushed instantly, sweating blooming on his reddened skin, and he let out a few excited pants. Nami hadn’t meant anything mischievous, of course; he just got so excited when she was affectionate with him, even after all this time. He ate up her adorations, and she had plenty to give.

I just hope I get an opportunity today! She thought with an inward groan as she walked into the mess hall after him. Surely, they could find some time to themselves in the span of twenty-four hours.

Right?

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Nami liked the sound of her shears cleaving through the little twigs of her orange trees. Such a clean sound; she felt like in pruning her orange trees, she was pruning herself too, snipping off all her anxieties and worries to leave herself renewed. The little pieces of twigs and leaves piled into the soil, joining their half-composed brethren in the endless cycle of life and decay. Nami’s nose was filled with the scent of loamy earth and citrus, but in the back of her mind lurked that smell of smoke and spices.

He’s been busy all day, she thought with a sigh, pulling aside one of her plants so that she could pout down at the grassy lawn of the ship. All of her crewmates were piled there, embroiled in a hot-blooded and raucous dice game that had started after breakfast. A long one, too, that had a high point threshold to win and locked everyone in for a good while. When it had finally ended, Nami had hoped she and Sanji could escape for some time alone. Alas, Luffy’s stomach reared its ugly head again, and the poor cook had to shamble off to the kitchen to prepare lunch. To take her mind off the fact that she was not enjoying their anniversary, Nami had decided to do her own chores for the day.

Considering that she was staring longingly at the slightly-ajar kitchen door, her efforts had not borne fruit.

Nami closed her eyes and let go of the tree, allowing it to spring back into place. Sanji’s kitchen was his safe haven and cooking his relief. Even for all her neediness, she never went in there and bothered him when he was cooking. It was another love, a love she had to make room for, and she knew that. Still, it was hard not to get at least a little bitter over the fact that her captain’s insatiable appetite made it damn near impossible for her to get any alone time with Sanji, He was always in the kitchen!

I shouldn’t get too worked up about it, she reminded herself. There’s still plenty of time left in the day. I just need to be patient. Nami had played many long games in her life, and this was yet another. She sucked in a breath, allowing the scent of citrus to flood her body and drive the last bit of restlessness from it. When she opened her eyes, they were gleaming with determination. She resumed pruning her trees with gusto, eager to keep herself from wallowing in self-pity for the rest of the day and focus on being productive.

Instead of being irritated by her crewmate’s laughter riding the salty wind up to her ears, she redirected her feelings to those of joy. She reminded herself again that this ship and this crew was what brought her and Sanji together, and so there was no reason for her to feel spiteful that it was taking up his time. We shouldn’t be more devoted to each other than to the people who brought us together in the first place. We don’t need a whole day to ourselves. Those few precious moments are plenty.

By dinnertime, Nami’s patience was worn as thin as paper, as she had yet to experience even one of those “few precious moments” she had talked herself into thinking would eventually come.

The cup of pens and pencils on her desk rattled as she repeatedly banged her forehead against the wood. Eventually, it tipped over and spilled the writing utensils over the map she had been working on. They rolled over the painstakingly drawn curvy altitude lines before continuing onto the wood, filling the air with repetitive tack-tack-tack-tacks before diving off the edge and landing on the floor with several light thunks. Nami didn’t even raise her head to retrieve them; she had abandoned herself to wallowing now because wallowing felt so much better than tricking herself into being optimistic.

She dragged her head up with a long groan after pressing her head into the desk for several minutes. The map stuck to the oils on her forehead, but gravity swiftly pulled it down, sending it fluttering down to the desk. She just blankly followed it with a listless gaze until it came to rest back onto her desk. Then, she pushed it away from her with a disgusted sigh and rested her forearms on the table so she could flop her head back down.

Nami had thought that after lunch, she would finally be able to get a few moments alone with Sanji. However, just as she was approaching him from across their mess hall, Luffy and Usopp hauled him away for a spot of afternoon fishing. Nami had instantly deflated, even with Sanji tossing apologetic glances over his shoulder in-between trying futilely to escape the clutches of the two earnest fishermen. Nami, determined not to let the frustrations of the day ruin her mood for when they finally got to be together, decided to treat herself to an afternoon bath.

After emerging from the bathroom fresh, clean, and smelling of her homemade tangerine soap, the three boys were wrapping up their afternoon fishing sensation. Nami didn’t even care that he smelled like raw fish; she had zoomed right up to him, batting her eyelashes demurely as she went in for a kiss. Her lips met only open air, as Sanji had been yanked away by the bank of his shirt by Zoro, who was challenging him to a contest of breaking a series of large rocks which served as the grim remains of a long-eroded archipelago. Nami nearly screamed, but she managed to suppress it by biting her tongue and clenching her teeth so that a very high-pitched whine was the only thing that slipped free. She clenched her shirt to avoid ripping out her hair, and she could only watch helplessly as Zoro easily riled up her boyfriend enough for him to forget how desperately they had been attempting to get five minutes together all day.

Though she was close to having a stroke from the sheer frustration of it all, Nami once again tried to maintain her optimistic attitude. There was still plenty of time left in the day, after all. Come sunset, the excitable personalities of the ship would begin winding down. Even Luffy didn’t have boundless energy; as soon as his tummy was full, he would go stretch out on the bulkhead of the ship to watch the starlight play over the sloshing waves before being lulled into a gentle snooze. Usopp would join Franky in their workshop, for they always experienced their “eureka moments” at night, or so they said. Yes, all the distractions would be removed, and Nami and Sanji would finally be able to celebrate their relationship.

Still, though Nami liked to pretend herself a paragon of patience, she could only play the long game with certain things—and showering her beloved boyfriend in affection was not one of them. She longed to tease the silky strands of his blond hair between her fingers, to feel the stubble of his beard scratching against the soft skin of her cheek as she nuzzled him, to be surrounded by his intoxicating aroma of smoke and spices. She replayed their little hallway rendezvous from the morning over and over in her mind; though also interrupted, it was the closest she had gotten to him all day. Her skin tingled with the memory of his touch, her ears rang with the rumble of his sweet nothings, her heart fluttered with the vision of his eyes sparkling with pure adoration. She was pretty much dangling a treat on a rope in front of herself, with no chance of snagging it—but she couldn’t help it! The waiting was agonizing.

The smell of beef stew wafting into her half-ajar doorway eventually led her to peel herself away from her desk. If she could smell the food, then it meant dinner was almost ready. Yet her steps were not swift with excitement, nor hurried by anticipation; no, it felt like her legs were weighted down by ten-ton weights. She practically dragged herself down to the galley. It seemed that the multiple failures had conditioned her, and her body was just preparing itself for another crushing disappointment. Her poor little heart couldn’t even muster a flip when she clapped eyes on him, the way his toned muscles flexed as he distributed the heaping plates of food across the long wooden table.

It seemed that Nami had become so starved that she wasn’t even hungry anymore.

“Ah, Nami-swan—” Sanji started to say as soon as he saw her. His eyes illuminated with delight; it seemed he still held out hope. Just as his excitement was beginning to infect her, prompting her to crack the teensiest of smiles, the illusion of happiness was promptly shattered. Luffy came bounding past her with an animalistic howl, hopping onto the table on all fours to drool over the ceramic pot of beef stew placed in the center of the table.

“God, damn it, Luffy! Don’t you have even a shred of patience or dignity?” Sanji barked. He hurriedly clapped his hand in Luffy’s face to forcibly shive it away, just in time to prevent a big glob of Luffy’s slobber from dripping down into the stew. “You’ll get some when you get some! Now sit in the chair like a decent human being, or I’ll serve you last!”

There was something different about the way Sanji yelled at him; Luffy and Nami could both feel it. With a whimper, like a dog that had been whipped, Luffy just slunk obediently off the table and into a chair without even a peep of protest. He stared up at Sanji with big, petulant eyes; he was probably wracking his poor little brain trying to riddle out what he had done to make Sanji snap at him so. There was real anger behind the cook’s words, not just mild irritation like usual.

Sanji huffed and pushed his hand into his hair. His jaw clenched tight, crushing the cigarette between his teeth and causing ashes to rain down onto the table. The last of his patience had snapped, leaving him a frayed and sparking live wire. He wanted time alone with Nami just as much as she wanted time alone with him, and the fact that he hadn’t gotten but a shred of it all day was finally beginning to weigh on him, too.

Yet what could they do? The crew filed into the galley, blissfully unaware of anything amiss. Sanji muttered to himself under his breath while he finished distributing the food, while Luffy just watched him apprehensively to see if he would really follow through with his threat. But his anxiety dissipated as soon as Sanji plopped a plate of food down in front of him, his usual zeal returning; he began wolfing it down, praising Sanji in-between blabbers of their adventures and what he wanted to do tomorrow.

Luffy thought everything was fine, that Sanji was just uncharacteristically stressed. But Nami could see past the façade. She could see the tension in his face when he smiled at everyone’s praise. She could hear the tightness in his laughs, the clips in his words. She could see the light dimmed in his eyes, only brightening into a desperate inferno when his gaze flickered to her.

Starving, he was starving, and not for the food in front of them. Sanji was a rope stretched too painfully thin, and one more wrench in their plans was going to make him snap.

Nami pitied the poor fool that made it happen, but at this point, she didn’t even care if he took out his rage and on who. She couldn’t stand it anymore.

And of course it was Luffy.

“Hey, Sanji! So what’s for dessert?” Luffy asked, though he still had half a chicken leg sticking out of his mouth.

Despite the overwhelming din of conversation, the sound of the wooden mug splintering was deafening. Sanji flexed his hand, dislodging the lingering splinters from his wine-soaked skin. The red liquid streamed down his hand, puddling on the table and staining the white cuff of his dress shirt. Though a smile danced on his lips, it was malicious, punctuated by the burning tip of his cigarette.

“Luffy.” The word was short, clipped, dangerous. The room was silent now, dead silent, and so they could all clearly hear their captain gulp loudly. “I am not making dessert for the crew tonight. Do you want to know why?”

The terrified look in Luffy’s eyes clearly indicated that he did not, but apparently he was even more scared of not answering Sanji, so he meekly squeaked out a small, “Why?”

“Because today is Nami-swan and I’s anniversary!” Everyone in the room jumped, even Nami, when Sanji abruptly stood up so fast that the chair fell over behind him. He slammed his hands down on the table and bit down so hard on the cigarette that it actually snapped in half. “So no, I am not going to make anything else for you, because I have been catering to everyone else all day and I am tired of having to keep Nami waiting!”

“In fact—” He jerked away from the table and stalked over to Nami, grabbing her by the wrist to pull her up from her seat. She let out a small gasp, mostly from excitement than fright. “We are going to get some well-earned private time. The rest of you can clean up the mess hall for a change!”

And with that, Sanji marched her right out of the room. Despite his angry rant, he dragged her up the stairs to the upper deck of the ship, steering her into the kitchen. He slammed the door shut behind him and flipped the lock, then slammed both his fists up against the metal door. It was then that the balloon of frustration inside him burst, and he breathed it all out with one long, heavy sigh. Nami cautiously approached him, hesitantly placing her hands on his shoulders to begin massaging into the tense muscles.

“It’s all right,” she cooed soothingly. Sanji melted into her touch, his head tipping back with a small groan and a flutter of his lashes. “No one will bother us now.”

“God, I thought I was going to go insane,” he groaned. He indulged himself in her touch for a few moments, but soon he could not stand the fact that he was facing away from her. As he turned around, his hands made a home on her waist. Nami responded in kind by sliding her hands up to cup both sides of his neck. She could feel the pulses pounding against her palm, the blood rushing through his arteries with the lingering effects of the adrenaline, persisted by the fact that they were finally alone together.

Sanji wasted no time in sweeping her up in a kiss. She unabashedly moaned into it, so grateful to finally taste the sweetness of him on her lips; smoked spices dancing on her tongue, filling her up like a cloud to make her mind hazy and her knees weak. They kissed again and again and again, trying to make up for each one they had missed throughout the day. They finally broke apart when their hunger for air overtook their hunger from one another, but Nami still licked her kiss-swollen lips, eager for that last little tantalizing taste of him to sizzle on her tongue.

Nami was surprised when Sanji’s gaze flickered somewhere off to the side. Confused, she turned her head to follow it; on the counter was a surprisingly messy array of baking supplies, bowls of batter and whipped cream and peeled fruit, and a half-made cake.

“Sanji…?” she wondered aloud, turning back to him with moonish eyes. A blush colored his cheeks as he shrugged, his smile turning bashful and resigned.

“I was spending so much time in the kitchen today that I figured I would try to make us an anniversary cake… But even that kept getting interrupted. I’m sorry, Nami-swan.” His shoulders sagged with the weight of his guilt, so heavy that it hauled his mournful gaze to the floor. “I wanted to make our first dating anniversary something special… But it turned out to be quite a mess, huh? I should have put up more of a fight for your time…”

“No, it’s okay,” Nami said, and he peered up at her through his lashes, looking a little hopeful at the genuineness in her voice. And she was genuine. She placed the tip of her index finger under his chin, pulling up his face so she could look him in the eyes. “Being a Straw Hat is all about the chaos, right? Nothing is ever going to go according to plan. Even if the moments I get to spend with you are briefer than moments other people get to have, I still treasure them very much. All that matters to me is that you’ve been thinking about me all day. Just like I have been about you.”

Sanji’s smile widened—that cute little boyish smile where he was trying to hide how happy he was but totally failing. Nami leaned in to press a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips—nothing hungry and passionate like before, but no less full of feeling. When she pulled back, she stepped away fully, her hands sliding down the planes of his chest to drop down to his hands. She curled in her fingers, then tugged against his.

“We have all the time in the world now. So let’s spend it by making that cake, huh?”

“Are you sure?” Sanji blinked in surprise. “I know you can cook, Nami, but I sure that there are plenty of other things that you wanted to do… Go walk around the ship, or look at the stars, or—”

“Nope,” she said with a shake of her head. “Not at all. I want to bake this cake with you.”

“... All right,” he agreed, his expression falling into one of pure and utter hopeless adoration. She could tell that he was exceptionally happy that she wanted to share in something that he loved so much. And Nami did. She knew she was the only one who could get this close. No one else could share this space with Sanji, not like this—standing right next to one another, elbows bumping as they stirred bowls of batter and whipped cream, their laughter mingling in the air with the aromas of sweet cake and tart oranges, their hands tracing patterns of icing over bits of exposed skin when the other wasn’t looking.

Nami never bothered Sanji when he was cooking, save for the few precious moments that he invited her in. She knew it was a love that she had to make room for, but it was a love that he was also willing to share with her. And so she did make room for it, but room to grow inside of herself as well, to grow into a love of her own. A love of watching their joint effort grow into something beautiful, something borne of passion and love shared.

“It’s so pretty I almost don’t want to eat it,” Nami remarked as she surveyed their handiwork. What was once a handful of ingredients was now a beautiful multi-tiered orange sponge cake, smothered in decadent vanilla frosting and adorned with orange slices. Sanji stood next to her with his arms crossed, a proud smile dancing over his lips.

“Ah, but trying it is the best part!” Sanji said. He grabbed a fork, scooping up a bit of the cake and icing before holding it to her lips. Nami’s eyes glittered as she slowly opened her mouth, making a show of pulling the cake onto her tongue and swirling around the icing.

“Mmmmmmmm,” she hummed loudly as she let it dissolve on her tongue. It wasn’t just to tease, either; Sanji’s food was always delicious, but especially his baking.

“You’re a minx,” he laughed. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. And just as the romantic mood began to simmer around them with a quiet heat…

A loud, rumbling growl bled through the thick wood of the kitchen door.

Sanji and Nami both turned around to look at it with identical expressions of confusion. Their frowns quickly morphed into smirks of realization.

“... Luffy?” Nami called. Though there was a period of silence, she could hear his clothes rustling as he fidgeted outside. “Luffy, we know you’re there.”

“... No I’m not.”

“Luffy!” she laughed. “It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry!” he whined loudly. “I wanted to be good, but… Ugh, it just smelled so awesome! So I just thought I would sit out here and just, just smell it, but, ugh, I’m so hungry!”

“He’s hopeless,” Sanji laughed, then walked across the room. He flipped the lock and opened the door to be greeted by the most pitiful-looking Luffy they had ever seen. He was sitting on his knees on the floor, hands resting on his lap and genuine tears welling up in his eyes as he wrestled with his conscience and his yowling stomach.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to ruin your anniversary,” he pouted as the big, fat tears slipped free to roll down his ruddy cheeks.

“You didn’t ruin anything, Luffy,” Sanji chuckled reassuringly. “In fact, Nami-swan and I were just thinking…” Nami couldn’t help but cover a snicker with her hand at how Luffy perked up, just like a puppy being told it may get a treat. “We made way too much cake. We should probably share it, yeah?”

“Y-yeah! … Only if you want to, though.”

Oh, he’s trying so hard! Nami thought with another giggle.

“Oh, just go get a piece, will you? But you’d better leave some for me and Nami,” Sanji sighed contentedly, stepping to the side. Luffy zoomed into the kitchen so fast that there was a dust cloud in the shape of him floating where he’d been sitting. While he hopped onto the counter to begin gobbling down the cake, Nami walked over to Sanji, winding her arms loosely around his hips and pressing her face into his chest.

After all, she could never truly be satiated. She was always hungry for these precious little moments, no matter how many of them they shared.

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#sannami #sanami #one piece #sanji x nami #nami x sanji

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