Sheets
Smoker looked at all the sheets in front of him. Each one boasting a thread count, size and several other pieces of information that didn't help him in the least. He stared angrily at the shelves as if he could will the situation to be different. Obviously nothing happened and he was still standing in some home and hardware store in the bedding aisle unsuccessfully trying to get new sheets.
"Brat" he muttered under his breath.
If it hadn't been for him he would have been able to sleep on his old sheets. He had liked those sheets, they were comfortable and familiar. They were safe. Now he had to buy new ones and it had been awhile since he had done that. He should have sent Tashigi to do it, he almost had after all she probably wouldn't have questioned it. The thing that stopped him was that there was always that chance that she might and that was definitely not a conversation he wanted to have. Ever.
"Excuse me sir but can I help you this evening?"
Smoker turned to look at a bratty teenager with bad acne and a nametag that said Kyle. He looked overeager and Smoker could just imagine his picture in the back over the caption 'employee of the month'. Smoker glared at the kid a bit longer but he continued to stand there smiling cheerfully.
"I need sheets." 'Clearly' he added under his breath.
"What size, sir?"
"Bed size."
"Yes but is your bed a double? A Queen size, a King size or a single?"
Smoker found the kid overly irritating but struggled to recall which of the lame sizing his bed fit into. He knew it was pretty large, after all he was a big man and he liked his space. The kid was staring at him expectantly so he blurted out the first one that he remembered from the kid's list.
"Queen."
"Alright well now what did you have in mind? Were you looking for cotton sheets or flannel? Did you want a pattern or a solid colour? Are you going to need a matching comforter to go with this or just the sheet set?"
Smoker stared as the words came out of the still smiling mouth trying to comprehend half of what he was rambling about. Why was buying sheets so difficult. It was all that god damn hooligan's fault too. If he hadn't...
"Maybe we'll just stick with a solid colour for now. You look like a man who likes darker colours."
Smoker followed the kid down the aisle to where a bunch of solid squares of colour were sitting in plastic coverings. He looked the colours over not knowing what he wanted just knowing it had to be different. Suddenly a bright orange caught his eye, he whipped over to look at it and let out a nearly silent gasp. The orange was the exact shade of orange as the nymphomaniac's hat.
A few weeks earlier
Smoker bit back a groan as Ace stood in his doorway, hat slung low over his eyes and wearing nothing else. The smirk stretched across the freckled face and he shot him a look so full of lust that Smoker was instantly hard which had seemed impossible given their activities for the past few hours.
"Who knew you had a hat fetish, taisa."
"Shut up and get your hot ass over here." Smoker growled, licking his lips in anticipation.
Ace stalked forward like a cat stalking its prey and a delicious thrill ran over him, his body practically humming with excitement. Ace continued closer until he was at the foot of the bed Smoker was sprawled across.
"Taisa, you haven't seen anything yet." Ace replied as if hearing his thoughts.
Then Ace's hand trailed down his smooth, toned body and Smoker nearly went blind from the pure sexual desire that rushed through him as Ace moved.
Present
"Sir? Sir did you want the orange then?"
Smoker snapped back to reality with a cruel mocking laugh.
"No." Was all he said to the now confused and probably worried employee. "I'll take this one."
Smoker grabbed a random package off the shelf glancing at it only long enough to determine it wasn't orange, or black like the silky hair that had been surprisingly soft, or brown like the rich chocolate eyes that had burned with desire for him. In his rush Smoker nearly forgot to pay for the sheets, he was stopped by the greeter at the door and embarrassedly changed directions heading to the closest check-out line.
Smoker stood in line, forcing himself not to tap his foot impatiently. Finally it was his turn and the clerk rang through the sheet set and told him the total. Smoker looked up as the total was said and nearly screamed at the unfairness of his life that day. Standing behind the till was a boy he had never laid eyes on before. A perfect stranger who happened to have a healthy dose of freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks. There was no reason for this boy to remind him of anyone but suddenly the image was burning his retinas and causing his stomach to tighten. A smiling Ace trying to look all innocent and talk his way out of a ticket. Smoker threw down more money than was necessary and practically ran out of the store not waiting for his change.
Smoker made it back to his apartment after having circled the block a few times to blow off some steam and calm his nerves. He took the stairs at a run up to his floor, relishing in the slight burn in his legs and the sharpness of his breath. He unlocked his door and walked into the empty apartment cursing himself for the disappointment at not seeing the hideous hat dangling off the hook. He ran his hands roughly through his hair and lit a cigar inhaling deeply and feeling the nicotine seep into him. A few more drags later he moved into the kitchen to throw some food together for dinner.
He moved through the regular tasks almost in a daze, mechanically preparing food and eating it. By the time he had washed and put away the dishes the sun had set and darkness had descended. He picked the home and hardware bag off the ground and slowly, reluctantly moved to his bedroom. His bed stood in the middle of the room, his attention immediately drawn to it as if it was under a spotlight. There were no sheets on the mattress and Smoker moved quickly, efficiently to spread the newly purchased ones out over it. He took a whiff of the blue sheets pleased to find they smelled of plastic and nothing else.
The old sheets sat in a pile of ashes in his fireplace, disposed of the night earlier. Smoker had tried washing the sheets, in fact he had washed them seemingly hundreds of times using extra strength detergent, bleach, anything he thought would help. Still each time he took them out of the dryer they seemed to hold on to that sweet and musky smell that belonged to the freckled boy who had graced his bed. He hadn't been able to sleep, his mind drifting back to that day, replaying the events over and over.
A few weeks earlier
Smoker drove into Ace with all of his strength enjoying the way he tightened around him urging him deeper, writhing under him desperate for his touch. He bit hungrily up the strong arm that was handcuffed to the bed, bruising and marking the tanned flesh. Ace strained under him and Smoker could see the desire on his face, he could see the desire to be touching him instead of trapped and it only fuelled the fire in his belly, driving harder and faster, drinking in the wanton moans and pleading whispers for more.
Present
Smoker jumped out of the bed his thoughts racing and his heart hammering. He was not gay. He did not like guys and he most certainly did not like Portgas D. Ace. The other day had been a mistake, he had been weak and given in to the brat's charms. It shouldn't have happened. It certainly wasn't going to happen again. Smoker told himself all these things over and over again. Repeating them like a mantra in his frayed mind but he couldn't keep one more memory from slipping forward and enveloping in the dark.
A few weeks earlier
Darkness had crept into the room and shrouded both the figures on the bed. They lay spent from the day's activities, deep in slumber. As the moon rose in the sky it shone through the window illuminating the bed in its soft glow. The cop laid on his back, his naked chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep while the raven-haired nymph curled into his side a soft smile barely turning up the corners of his swollen mouth. The cop had one arm firmly around the nymph rooting him to his side as they continued to sleep oblivious to the ordeals to come.