Hello, my dears! Long time no see! xD So, I'm back with a new multi chapter story! This is based on a drawing by exzire / exzireart on tumblr. And the whole surf AU idea is hers. She takes the credits. She was super kind and let me write for that awesome drawing! You should go to check it out! So hope you enjoy this! There's more to come!
The roads were cramped with cars, the occasional honking filled the air and broke the steady purring of car engines. The sun was blessing everybody with its pleasurable warmth. It was a beginning of the summer. The holiday season had just started so people were heading off for their vacations. Most likely the greatest places to spend a summer break were the beaches in the west coast of the country. And one of them was also Sanji's destination.
The blond was sitting on the most hideous hippy bus ever. It was painted with yellow and orange paint, many kinds of flowers decorating it with some bright pink here and there. Sometimes Sanji was ashamed to travel on it. The radio was on and the soft melody of the radio channel's top hundred list was filling the car. It wasn't for Sanji's taste but the others liked it so he just had to deal with it. He was surrounded by his best friends. They were a bunch of weirdos really, but that's what made them so loveable. Being normal was overrated anyway.
The man in the driver's seat had bright blue hair, styled in a really unique way, the front was sticking up and the back was almost glued against his skull, then sticking out from the bottom. Sanji sometimes wondered how much freaking hair productucts Franky used to make his hair look like that every single day. It was a mystery to everyone. The man also wore a tasteless flower shirt that matched his beloved vehicle. And speaking of said vehicle, the blue haired weirdo had even named the car. Sunny was its name. Or actually "her", as Franky insisted. He could be really weird sometimes when he got to it. Although most of the time the guy was really awesome.
The young man next to Franky was Usopp, Sanji's oldest friend. They had met back in the primary school and stuck together ever since. Usopp was trying to doodle something in his messy sketch book but it was nearly impossible when the car was moving, stopping, and moving again in the endless traffic jam. Eventually he gave up with an unsatisfied groan and put the book neatly back in his shoulder bag. He scratched his long nose and ruffles his curly hair before leaning further in his seat. Usopp stared up at the blue sky through the spotless window. It was a wonder how Franky always managed to keep them so clean. It was like there was no glass at all. And the sky was perfect too. Smooth baby blue with no clouds to be seen.
The sunrays were making their way through the windows and heating up the little bus. Sanji could hear a low whine next to him where his youngest friend was sprawled in his seat. A red haired woman in the other side on the boy fanned him soothingly with a cute little pink fan. It didn't seem to help the poor boy much but at least it brought some comfort, if not physically then mentally in theory level. Luffy really wasn't a friend of heat even, if he had lived in the south before.
Nami tried her best to take Luffy's mind off of his miserable state by talking about the ocean, which they were going to see soon. That had the black haired boy hang his tongue out like a dog who was longing for water. The sight was so amusing that Sanji had to chuckle softly to himself. He was actually quite excited too. No, excited wasn't enough to describe it. He was gleeful, enthusiastic, delighted and everything in between. He couldn't wait to feel the soft and hot sand under his bare feet and the fresh sea water surround his body.
They were most likely to surf and swim every day during their break. Sanji had surfed since he was a little kid. He always went to the coast with his parents during summer breaks. He grew up by the ocean. He learned to love and respect it. When he was younger he even feared it. The might of the sea had always fascinated him. Its beauty, there's nothing like that elsewhere in the world. Or anywhere that Sanji knew of. The sea was something… pure to him. Something that gave him life. When he was near it he could feel himself calm and being one with the waves.
Suddenly the blond was harshly pulled out of his daydreams as Franky exclaimed that they would reach the beach house in less than twenty minutes. A sudden and strong wave of excitement hit through the whole bus, making every heartbeat speed up a bit. Even Luffy came back to full awareness from shifting between heat stroke and coma to bouncing around as if he never suffered from the heat.
Those were probably the most torturing twenty minutes in Sanji's whole life. Waiting something so great as this was always horrible. He could bet his whole fortune that it was the same for his friends as well. However the universe didn't want to hold them back from having fun for too long. Usopp informed them that the beach house could be seen through the trees by yelling something utterly absurd which sounded like a mix of "We're here" and "I can't wait, oh my god!".
By the time the colourful Sunny the bus pulled to the driveway, everybody was trying to get out at the same time. And of course the result was closer to catastrophic than any good. Usopp and Franky were lucky to sit in the front seats. Sanji finally managed to stumble awkwardly out of the bus, getting some dust and dirt on his clothes from the side of the vehicle. sanji let out a happy sigh, it felt so nice to stretch his legs a bit again after the long drive. The redhead started to yell orders and quickly the bus was empty and all the bags were stacked next to the front door, including the surfboards leaning against the wall in a neat line.
"Okay folks, we have to get our bags in, settle down and go buy some food. I assume that there's really nothing eatable," Nami said and shot a look at Franky, who's the owner of the house and had been the last one there.
"I'm sorry to say but you're right, sis. I think there are only leftover cola cans for emergencies," the man said a bit too happily.
"Figures…" Nami mumbled under her breath.
She glanced at her golden wrist watch, silently making up the plan. Sanji went almost swooning about how cute she looked while being so concentrated on something. But before he could do it, Usopp was quick enough to stomp on the blonde man's toes to get him back to focus. The abused man wasn't too happy about it though so he kicked the long nose's shin as a revenge. And in the end Usopp didn't have enough guts to continue and most likely risk his physical health. He wanted to be able to surf this summer after all. So he dropped it and went to hide behind Franky as Sanji glared daggers after him before rolling his eyes.
Soon enough Nami started talking again, taking her wallet out of her purse.
"The plan is this: Luffy and Sanji go to buy groceries, Usopp takes care of the boards while Franky and I unpack everything."
Usopp grumbled because he wanted to go shopping too; he had planned to buy some pencils and special ice tea. But a death glare from the red head made him change his mind less than in half a second. As Luffy was constantly screaming "foooood!", Nami handed Sanji enough money and with that he started walking to the down, Luffy by his side.
The young boy pretty much jumped around and beamed in pure joy the whole way.
"I can't wait to try out my new board! I have been waiting for AGES! Winter time is no fun!" he exclaimed loudly and threw his hands in the air, helping to make his point.
The blond chuckled and put his hands in the pockets of his white bermuda shorts. This boy never hid his joy. Though, why should he? Sanji shared the same feelings so he couldn't blame the kid. They talked about everything possible related to this vacation while they walked along the sidewalk to the closest grocery store.
Sanji could already feel the sun kissing his slightly tanned skin. He would definitely get a nice tan during this summer. Being near the water really made it easier. He had made sure to stay enough in the sun before the trip though so that he wouldn't burn so easily. Like one year… Three years ago he happened to forget the sunscreen and by the end of the day he was as red as a boiled lobster. It was painful as fuck! Sanji shuddered at the memory. His friends had laughed at the hilarious sight. Excluding Nami who had scolded him and was the first one to throw an after sun lotion bottle in his face with a heavy sigh. He had learned from his mistake, in a hard way, of course.
The two of them passed all the familiar places and even spotted some people they knew. They all had spent many summers here together after all. Mostly because of that the walk to the store took a little bit longer than planned. Finally, after many sweaty minutes, they managed to make their way to the store. Luffy sighed in ease as the cool indoors air surrounded him. Sanji had a feeling that the kid was going to enjoy his time in the frozen food section. The older man took the trolley but Luffy insisted to push it. To play around and cause chaos… Sanji let him have his way and instead concentrated on finding the best ingredients for their meals. He had one other passion beside surfing, and that was cooking. He wants to do those both until day he dies. He'd be happy with his life.
He took his sweet time to gather all what he needed. Luffy even started to get impatient, he wanted to go back and eat all their food. Sanji apologised to him with a half-hearted smile and offered to buy him an ice cream and everything was fine again.
Many examined ingredients and picked packets and bags later the friends were out of the store. Sanji was carrying the shopping bags while Luffy was devouring his ice cream. It was gone in seconds. At least he seemed to be satisfied.
The walk back to the beach house wasn't any faster than the other way. Only this time the reason was the heavy bags full of groceries. Luffy offered to carry some of the bags but the blonde haired man didn't trust him with it for two reasons. One, the boy would have tried to eat everything, and two, he would smash the bags.
By the time they made it back, the others were already inside and the sun was ready to set below the horizon. They had arrived late afternoon so it was no wonder. Luffy was a bit disappointed when Franky stopped him from running straight to the surf boards and told him that it was a bit too late to go to the beach. So the boy had to suck it up, actually together with Usopp who joined his whining and groaning. Nami rolled her eyes at that and just continued reading her magazine. They would have the whole day tomorrow. And the whole summer for that matter.
Sanji cooked a quick dinner for the whole party as the others chatted. Usopp offered to set the table at one point but other than that the blonde worked alone. Well not really alone. The kitchen area was separated from the living room only by a long bar counter that also served as their dining table. That way the cook could also join the conversation. The whole dinner was really calm, surprisingly calm. Everybody was probably too exhausted to goof around, even Luffy. All the excitement and the heat really did their trick, successfully draining all the energy from the travellers. So after the dinner they disappeared to do their own things, mostly to go to sleep. Sanji of course stayed to do the dishes.
Eventually all the plates, glasses and utensils were clean, shiny and in their right places. Even if this kitchen wasn't Sanji's own, he still took good care of it. A kitchen is a kitchen, no matter who owned it. A big yawn split his face in two as he dried his hands. He glanced at the clock on the wall and raised his curly eyebrow. It was nearing midnight. Damn. He had no idea how fast the time had passed. He better head to bed now or he will never be able to wake up early enough. And he really didn't want to experience Franky's way to wake up people. It was anything but pleasant.
After a cool and calming shower the blond was all nice and comfy in his bed, tucked under the covers. Thank god the house was big enough that he was able to get his own room. Not that he didn't like to spend as much time as possible with his friends. No, it was nothing like that. He loved their time together more than anything but after a hectic and noisy day like this it was simply just nice to get some alone time and peace. That was actually one of the reasons why Sanji hated living in the college dorms and sharing a room with someone. But he could thank his luck that his roommate was at least nice.
Slowly Sanji started drifting to peaceful sleep, his cheek pressed securely against the soft pillow. His own pillow. That was a one weird thing that he always did when he went somewhere where he was going to spend a night. The curly brow always had to have his very own pillow or he couldn't get sleep. Some weird fixation he caught as a kid, he assumed. But it made him feel safe and… homey. Just like the sea. And tomorrow he could feel that wonderful feeling again. He could be in his true home.
Thank you so much for nofreedomlove for being a beta reader for this one! And also for the amazing exzire to let me write for her drawing! QuQ I will definitely be working on this fic more than gladly from now on!