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Ace once told Sanji, "This is fun."
He was sitting at the kitchen table when he said it, while Sanji leaned against the countertop, arms folded, waiting for the coffee to finish percolating. His eyes were fixed on the dark droplets dripping into the big brown puddle forming at the bottom of the pot, and he thought, what about this is fun? Tedious, more like it. Tiresome, exasperating, something along those lines.
Mornings together are bliss for Ace. For Sanji, they're a constant reminder of why it took him so long to come around to the idea of living with someone else.
Some mornings, Ace will refuse to get up and hold Sanji hostage in his arms, forbidding him from moving. When Sanji is finally tired of this, he'll grab his wrist and tug him out from under the sheets, guiding him to the bathroom. When his fingers weakly grip his toothbrush, sloppily gliding along his teeth with his eyes closed, Sanji will reach from behind and guide his hand back and forth in the correct scrubbing motions. After, he'll sit Ace in the kitchen and make him breakfast while he lies slumped over, still half-asleep.
Other mornings, Ace will spring up from bed when Sanji wants to sleep in, and he'll pull Sanji from his slumber, begging him to get up too.
But most mornings start like this: with Sanji waking up too early. It's ten minutes until five, and he can't be bothered to move, but he isn't tired enough to fall back asleep either. With nothing else to do, Sanji stares at Ace's faint backside, dark and toned, freckled all the way down. The shadowed muscles in his back and shoulders twitch and flex with every slight change in position.
A deep exhale leaves his mouth uncontrollably as he admires the man before him. Together all these years and yet, he's still processing their relationship, as if it's something new. Constantly, he thinks about how it started, how it progressed, how Ace told him he loved him two dates in, and Sanji called him crazy. He feels like the crazy one these days, obsessing over Ace in his mind even when he's close by, a head-turn away.
Ace, out of nowhere, turns over, wide awake. Sanji nearly jumps out of his skin when their eyes lock. How long had he been awake? Was he aware that Sanji was too, silently watching him like a museum goer ogling a priceless painting?
Ace's face melts into a sweet, sleepy smile, and Sanji melts along with it. "Morning, sweetheart." He grumbles, reaching a hand out to stroke his arm. His deep morning voice fills Sanji's stomach with an egregious amount of butterflies, to the point of almost nausea.
Sanji drops his gaze down to Ace's lips so he doesn't have to look him in the eyes as he shyly mumbles, "Stop that."
Recently, Ace brought up the fact that they've never used pet names for each other, something Sanji wouldn't have noticed if he didn't say anything. Since then, he's been slipping them into their conversations, casually testing which ones Sanji liked, which ones he hated. Embarrassingly, he likes all of them, even the overly cheesy ones that should make him cringe, but instead cause him to blush and stumble over himself like a newborn learning to walk. He can't tell Ace that, though, or else he'll never hear the end of it. Though, he's starting to suspect Ace knows. He's highly perceptive, especially when it comes to Sanji.
He can tell what he's feeling at a glance, from the way his eyebrows furrow to the shape his lips make. Right now, he bet Ace knows his heart is fluttering, a mixture of early morning fatigue and bashfulness.
Sanji, still eye level with Ace's mouth, says, "You're up early."
Ace lifts his head at the alarm clock on the nightstand and a joyous look crosses his face. He nods to the time, "Know what that means?"
Sanji shakes his head.
He smiles with his eyes, and the expression brightens his face so much, it's hard to believe he was sound asleep not too long ago. His fingers slip through Sanji's front bang, curling gold-like strands around his index. "It means we can watch the sun rise."
He mirrors his smile, "Pretty romantic of you."
Ace's thumb glides along Sanji's rosy cheek. "Someone has to keep the romance alive."
Ace moves to sit up, but the second his back leaves the mattress, hot skin peeling off the sheets, Sanji pulls him back down. His grip tightens around his arm, pulling Ace closer until his elbow is poking into Sanji’s chest.
"What?" He asks, a low string of chuckles slipping out at the sight of Sanji's pouting face.
Tentatively and without another word, Sanji cups his face, pulling him in to seal their lips. Lazily, they kiss. Ace falls into it easily, resting a hand on Sanji's stomach and lovingly twisting the hem of his shirt with his index and thumb. Ace's knuckles knock against his exposed stomach, ever so slightly skimming at his waistline. It pulls shaky exhales from Sanji, his morning breath hitting Ace's lips, and he grins into the kiss. His body leans forward instinctively, chasing the gentle grazing. Ace listens to his silent plea, sliding his warm hand up his stomach, over his bare skin until it burns hot.
Sanji knows if they continue like this, it'll escalate to the point of no return, so begrudgingly, Sanji lets out one final sigh and breaks their contact, not before leaving a parting kiss to Ace's spotty cheek. Ace opens his eyes slowly, holding Sanji's gaze. He imagines if the color of their eyes swirled together, golden brown and cerulean, they'd create a perfect shade of dark teal, similar to that of the deep sea.
"So needy." Ace teases, dropping a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
"Shut up." He scoffs, not bothering to deny that there's some truth to that.
That cheeky smile never leaves his face. "C'mon." He says, pulling Sanji up as he moves to climb out of bed.
The hardwood floor is cold on their bare feet as they make their way through the apartment to the kitchen. Sanji makes a mental note to purchase a new heater before the weather gets colder. They start off their morning like they would any other early Saturday, with coffee, partly because neither of them is awake enough to eat an actual meal, so this would suffice until the late morning.
Ace intercepts him when he goes to plug the coffee machine in. "I've got it." He says.
Sanji backs away, a small smile on his face, and watches him. Watches the way his hair bounces when he moves. The way his fingers dance across the countertops when he's waiting for the coffee pot to fill. The dimples in his back, the dark light from the drawn curtains glistening off his smooth skin, the splatter of brown dots across his shoulders, getting fainter as they trail down.
He understands what Ace meant then. Fun still isn't the word Sanji would use to describe waiting impatiently for coffee to brew, but watching Ace watch the coffee pot gives him this swelling feeling of bliss. Something so simple, done silently and together, is painfully euphoric to him.
"Here," Ace says, disrupting Sanji's domestic thoughts. He hands him a mug filled tall and as he takes it, their fingertips overlapping, Ace pecks his cheek.
Red invades his face as he drops his eyes and utters a small "Thanks."
It's annoying how Ace can still make him feel like a love-stricken teenager with the smallest gestures and a few words.
Ace heads to the sliding glass door leading to their balcony while Sanji makes a detour to grab his cigarettes. When he joins Ace, he beckons him over, slipping his arm around Sanji's shoulders.
"Are you cold?" He asks as he starts to feel the goosebumps peppering up Sanji's arm.
Glancing up and down at his shirtless frame, Sanji breaks out into a grin and counters, "I should be asking you that."
Ace laughs in response, squeezing his arm. "Warm me up then."
"Who's the needy one now?"
He places a soft kiss on Sanji's jaw. "Still you, baby."
Sanji doesn't fight back with a reply, too flustered by the pet name. Instead, he nuzzles his face into the crook of Ace's neck, inhaling his musk, forestry scent until he can taste it. Ace kisses the side of his face, covering the surface in a flurry of gentle pecks. He says I love you between each one.
How can a man be so perfect? Sanji must've dreamt him up.
He smokes his cigarette, sips his coffee, while Ace strokes down his bare back, hand up his shirt. He finds comfort in his soft touch, pressing against him like a kitten begging for scratches.
"Look," Ace tells him.
Sanji glances up from his mug, out at the sky, beginning to brighten with orange hues. He catches the sun peeking out from the horizon, inching closer and closer to the sky. Sunlight begin to pierce through the clouds, the trees, streaking the world around them with golden streams of sunshine.
Parting his eyes from the beautiful sight, Sanji sneaks a glimpse at Ace, but he's already looking at him.
"What?"
"Nothing." He muses. "Just thinking."
"Thinking what?"
"That I wanna do this for the rest of my life." He states.
"Watch the sun rise?" He snickers. "You wouldn't be able to wake up early enough."
"No." He clarifies. "Be with you."
Sanji flushes. "Well, we've been together this long."
"You aren't sick of me yet?"
"I'll never be."
Even though he's a nuisance in the mornings, and sometimes he can't get out of bed or leaves bed too early, and even if he relies on Sanji a little too much sometimes or annoys him with his cheery attitude first thing in the morning, Sanji still loves him. He can't imagine a life that doesn't involve loving Ace.
The sun rises high in the sky, and as the sun beams down from the heavens, golden light shines across Ace's face. He looks so beautiful, and it's a reminder of why Sanji finally said yes to living with him. So he can spend every morning looking at this beautiful face.