Fire

Ace glared ahead determination shining in his eyes his lips set in a thin line. He clenched his fists in front of him before sending them slamming into the bag dancing before him. Again and again he pounded the bag channelling all of his frustrations and desires into his fists, feeling it burn through him and into the bag. He kept hitting the bag until his knuckles were raw and he was dripping in sweat. Tossing one more half-hearted punch Ace moved to lie down on the floor his breath coming quick and shallow.

He had worked his body to near exhaustion and still his mind wouldn't shut down, hell it wasn't even slowing down. His mind kept replaying the encounter with Smoker, over and over again in vivid detail. It was supposed to have been a one-time thing (well one day at least) and then they would both go their separate ways and Ace would have satisfied the hunger, the fire within. Instead the fire burned hotter than ever, he craved the touch of the cop and couldn't seem to shake it. Ace had tried everything. He had bought a new car and broken all the speed limits. He had tried a few extreme sports, launching himself off bridges, cliffs or out of planes. He had seduced several good looking men and even tried a few women but in the end it was never what is body wanted.

It had been weeks since that day and Ace still burned with that aching fire that had started the first time he had purred at the unsuspecting cop on the side of the road. He focused on slowing his breathing, forcing it back to the natural rhythm of inhalations and exhalations. He cleared his mind of everything focusing only on the sound of his breath and his heart. His heart beat calmed, returning to its regular steady pumping. In the quiet of the room the soft beats seemed unnaturally loud and suddenly Ace felt himself being yanked to another time, his mind filling with images so vivid that he could have sworn they were real.

A couple weeks earlier

The steady thumping of the cop's heart suddenly sped up, the noise seeming to echo across the room as he stared open-mouthed at Ace. Ace smirked back at him twisting ever so slightly and revelling in the further increase in tempo.

"Where...?" Smoker managed to gasp out his erection once again evident.

"They're yours. I helped myself when you gave me the ticket."

"Brat!"

"I know it was very naughty of me, do you want to punish me taisa?"

Ace's wrists strained against the cool metal of the standard-issue handcuffs that held him to the headboard, not in an attempt to get free but simply in anticipation of what was to come. The hunger in the cop's eyes was unmistakeable even from across the room, not that he stayed there for long. Suddenly Smoker was above him on the bed, his mouth crashing against Ace's with more force than before and a possessive growl already ripping its way through his body. The force of the onslaught had even taken Ace off guard and for a moment he could do nothing but let Smoker kiss him. Their bodies pressed together desperately, eliminating any space between their slick bodies.

Present

With a deep groan Ace dragged himself out of the past focusing once again on the present. He was hard and aching as he struggled up and moved to shower. The water pounded unmercifully against his back scalding him but not being able to erase the images from his head. He tried switching the shower to freezing but as he stood there shivering under the spray the images kept sifting through his head, his erection as hard as ever. With a sigh he switched the water back to warm and closed his hand around his shaft. Ace tugged at his erection pulling it roughly in his hand while his bottom lip slipped between his teeth. He was in such a constant state of semi-arousal that it didn't take long to find some semblance of release. As he came hot over his hands an image of Smoker growling in his ear burned his retinas.

Sex and adrenaline was clearly not working to tame the fire so maybe he needed to go at this from a different perspective. Maybe he needed some pure innocence. With that thought in mind he threw on some pants and headed out the door grabbing his hat as he went. A few seconds later he was in his car soaring down the streets towards a familiar old house and all the comforts it offered.

He knocked obnoxiously on the door before stepping inside and announcing his presence. Ace noticed a flurry of red come down the stairs before launching itself at him. He caught the grinning heap with a smile, deep laughter wrenching out of his chest.

"Hey Luffy. How've you been?"

Luffy jumped out of his hands fixing the straw-hat on his head before grinning back up at him.

"Ace! It's been so long since you've come by I missed you. Are you staying for dinner? Makino will want you to. Where have you been? Why haven't you been visiting? Is that your car out there? Is it new when did you get it?"

Ace laughed as his little brother continued to rattle question after question off not bothering to pause for an answer in his excitement. Luffy was still rambling when Makino appeared in the entranceway to the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron, her raven black hair held back with the familiar bandana.

"Hi Ace. Welcome home."

"Hey Makino."

Ace crossed over to the older woman who had raised him and enveloped her in a bear hug spinning her around to her delight. Ace gave the slender woman the usual edited version of how things were going making a promise to not wait so long before stopping by again. They chatted a bit more before she went back to the kitchen to work on dinner. Ace followed Luffy into the living room with the promise of an arm wrestle. As Luffy cleared the coffee table Ace spotted a familiar green head on the couch, he tossed a pillow laughing as it landed on the teen's face. The sleeping teen didn't move and Ace turned back to his brother who had his arm up and ready.

The arm wrestle ended in a draw as usual and Luffy laughed while Ace apologized to Makino for breaking the coffee table. Somewhere in the middle of it all the teen on the couch woke up with a groggy grunt.

"Hello to you too. What no hug?" Ace teased.

"Yeah right. I'd hug you and you'd probably rape me." The teen muttered darkly.

Ace laughed and fought to keep his brain from going down that path. A flash of white hair crossed his mind before Luffy quickly reclaimed his attention and in the process saved Ace from himself.

Dinner was soon ready and Ace stuffed himself with the delicious food only falling asleep once. Soon however the familiar tingling of the fire started up again and try as he might Ace couldn't squash it. He tried desperately to focus on Luffy and his bemoaning about some Spanish presentation coming up. Makino noticed the dazed look on his face and looked at him with concern.

"Is everything okay Ace?"

"I'm just tired Makino, it's been a long day." Ace lied smoothly, feigning a yawn.

His answer seemed to wrap the night up and shortly after Ace left to return to his cold and empty bed in his apartment. Most days he enjoyed being by himself. The lack of roommates made it easier for him to come and go at all hours while being able to bring home anyone he wanted. Tonight however as he lay on his bed in the dead quiet unable to sleep he couldn't help but feel like something was missing.