No matter how hard he tried, Sanji didn't manage to wake up in time to avoid Franky being his horrific alarm clock. The poor blonde jolted awake immediately when loud 80's disco music filled his room.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! It's a new day and waves are waiting for us!" The blue haired man yelled over the music.
The man was wearing one of his Hawaiian shirts, hanging open on his broad shoulders. His pants were only hideous, bright orange speedos. The sight hurt Sanji's eyes. Franky was going to have this attire for the whole goddamn summer. There were going to be kids at the beach, for god's sake! The man was striking different poses and danced along the way too loud music as he held the stereos on his shoulder. Sanji groaned in pure annoyance and pulled a pillow over his head before growling under his breath.
"Turn that shit off or I will smash it in your face!" Sanji groaned.
"Aww come on! This day will be SUPER awesome! We are gonna surf, relax and spot all the nice ladies," Franky winked and the last words actually did the trick and got Sanji's attention.
The mental image of beautiful ladies in marvellous bikinis and swimming suits was more than enough to make the blond snap his eyes open and sit up. Franky grinned widely, beaming at Sanji. Then he turned the music off as his blonde friend started to seem pained by it. The curly brow sighed in ease when his eardrums stopped getting hammered by the disco racket.
"Okay, I'm up," Sanji mumbled through a big yawn and stretched his stiff limbs.
With a huff he got up and ruffled his messy hair. Sanji looked over at his friend and yawned once again.
"Is everybody else up? I should probably go to make breakfast…" the sleepy blond continued, and sauntered to the wardrobe where Nami had unpacked all his clothes. Ah, always so sweet Nami-chan folding his clothes so neatly!
"Luffy is the only one sleeping so you have good time to cook. He will probably wake up on his own the second he smells something," Franky stated with an amused smile on his face.
"You couldn't be more right. Damn… Okay, I will be downstairs in 15."
Sanji glared at the clothes in the wardrobe. And he glared hard. He had used HOURS for packing to pick out the most fitting clothes. But there he was, not knowing what to wear. Well of course he would change the wetsuit on right away when they got to the beach. But… still! He let out a frustrated sound and just grabbed a loose bright blue t-shirt that covers one shoulder and reveal his other, a comfy light grey shorts that hugged his legs just enough. Quickly he changed clothes and went to the bathroom. The blond took his sweet time there before coming out, looking all fresh and chill. He had his golden locks in a tiny ponytail. Sanji loved to keep it like that during summer time so that his neck was free, cooling him a bit.
The cook walked the stairs down and the same wave of excitement hit him again, even stronger than yesterday. Franky, Usopp and Nami were all settled on the living room floor and prepared their bags for the beach while chatting cheerily. The air was thick with utter joy but also light and full of energy. For some reason Sanji had a feeling that this was going to be the best summer yet.
"Oh, morning Sanji! So weird to see that you weren't the first one up," Usopp spoke up and flashed a delighted grin at his friend.
"I haven't gotten used to these routines yet, I guess. I need to practice to wake up early to cook for you guys," Sanji chuckled back and strolled behind the bar counter and started pulling out ingredients for a rich breakfast.
As Franky had guessed, Luffy indeed bolted out of the bedroom he shared with Usopp. Sanji watched in horror when the kid darted towards him with a speed of light. The cook was fast enough to take a step to the side before the bouncing ball of energy could crash on him.
"Luffy for fuck's sake! You almost ruined my cooking! AGAIN!" Sanji scolded.
"But it smells so good," Luffy whined and clung on Sanji's midsection, giving him puppy eyes. That was a dirty move. There was no way Sanji could have resisted that.
"Ugh, you're such a nuisance sometimes," the blond muttered half-heartedly, missing the real edge in his words and a little tug in the corner of his mouth gave him away.
Once Sanji had managed to peel the drooling Luffy off of him, he turned back to the stove and continued frying the bacon. The room filled with a delicious smell of eggs, fruits, bread, bacon and coffee. It was a really simple breakfast, nothing too fancy but it was filling. And that's what mattered now. The day was going to be long and tiring so the whole group of friends needed all the energy they could possibly get. Of course Sanji was going to make some snacks to take with them and there was a small restaurant at the beach as well. Better be safe than sorry when they have Luffy in the party, Sanji had better to cook lots of snacks. No one wanted to experience a hungry Luffy.
With the black haired boy drooling behind his back, Sanji finished cooking in no time. He set the table and with that the others left everything what they were doing to gather around the bar counter before Luffy could eat everything. After knowing the boy almost for six years, Sanji still wondered how on Earth could he eat so much and still stay so slim. It's a big mystery which no one could probably ever solve.
"So Usopp, is Kaya going to come this summer as well?" Franky asked between shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth.
The long nose's face flushes scarlet red and he almost choked on his coffee.
"What?! No! I mean, how would I know?! It's not like I have been texting with her or anything," the poor man squeaked out. Smooth.
"Oh sure you haven't! We so believe you," Nami cut in, holding down her giggles.
Usopp's face turned more and more flushed and he tried to make up stories how he had been texting with some kind of queen of some weird ass country. The red head couldn't hold it back anymore and just laughed straight at her friend's face before Usopp shot back.
"Well look who's talking! You have been drooling after Vivi the whole winter and spring!"
Now it was Nami's time to turn bright red. Everybody knew that the woman had a crush as big as the continent on Vivi, a young woman whom they met couple summers ago. As much as it crushed Sanji's heart that his sweet Nami-chan was far from being interested in him, he was still really happy for her and hoped that something would happen between the two fine ladies. They were cute together after all.
When the breakfast was gone and Nami and Usopp were still trying to prove that they didn't stalk their crushes or anything, the group started to get ready. The blond quickly prepared a big bag of sandwiched before getting his beach bag ready as well. Franky hauled everything inside his bus and tied the surf boards on the roof. Everything was ready and soon they all were sitting in the car, heading to the beach.
The bus filled with breathless gasps when they finally saw it, the beautiful sea, the long beach, the people there. They had been waiting to see the beautiful blue for so long. The sky was once again free from clouds, letting the sun show its true power. The weather was really warm so the beach was rather crowded. It didn't bother the group of friends, they'd be spending most of their time in the water anyway.
Luffy was the first one to storm out of the car when it stopped at the parking lot. Sanji had to pull his legs out of the way so that the kid wouldn't have tripped over and hit his head. They didn't need that accident to happen so early in the morning. When Luffy was out and bouncing around, the rest of the group climbed out. They probably made a new world record of unpacking a car. Franky took the surf boards down from the roof of the bus while the others hastily pulled the bags out. Before too long everything was done. The blue haired man locked the doors of his beloved hippy bus before turning to his friends.
"Okay, let's go to have an unforgettable summer!" he cried out, striking his signature pose, sticking his hands up and spreading his legs.
That was the end of the final countdown for the group. They all sprinted towards the beach with surf boards under their arms and bags on their backs.
The last one there pays the drinks for the whole day!" Usopp declared.
Nami didn't need more than this to pick up the pace of her steps and she dashed past everyone. There was no way in hell she was going to pay for all of these gluttonous idiots. Luffy was running right after her, followed by Sanji and Usopp. Franky for his misfortune was the last one to reach the surfing camp area. He panted heavily and cursed half-heartedly under his breath as Nami grinned widely in her victory.
Now they were finally there. The sea was only a few steps away. Sanji took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh, salty sea air. This air was like a substitute for cigarettes. When he was surfing he didn't crave for a good smoke. His body didn't need anything else at those moments. When he wasn't near the sea, cigarettes were the substitute in their turn. But of course they were that for many other things too than just the sea and surfing, sadly. The blond glanced one more time at the endless looking sea before turning to face his friends and following them to the main camp building with equipment rent and changing rooms and also a small restaurant. Sanji waved his hand as a greeting at the manager of the place who came to greet them. The man had long green hair and way too big canine teeth for his mouth. He had a golden nose piercing, earrings and some ink on his face and chest. He wasn't wearing any shirt, only swimming shorts with tasteless plaid pattern. The guy seemed pretty cool when you first saw him but Sanji knew better…
"Luffy-samaaaaaaa!"
And within a second the green haired man was flailing loudly and almost kneeled down in front of them. Luffy laughed in amusement and hauled himself at the crying man and hugged him which made him cry even more. Sanji was sure he could see stars in his eyes.
"Barto! Nice to see you again!" Luffy exclaimed and Sanji was getting worried about their Bartolomeo friend who looked like he was in the verge of a heart attack.
Bartolomeo kept crying from pure joy when everybody greeted him with hugs and patting on the shoulder. The man was in seventh heaven. He was the greatest and craziest fanboy of the friend group and Sanji had troubles to understand that why. He had a guess that it was because of their surfing but it wasn't the greatest of all either. So who knows… They had befriended some years ago when the tattooed man got the manager's place in the camp. Bartolomeo ran the place pretty much on his own. And he did it really well, Sanji had to give him his whole respect for that. He was weird as fuck but also a great surfer. All in all, the green head was a nice guy.
"Are you going to stay here the whole summer again?" the still sniffing man managed to ask after calming down a bit.
"Yup! That's the plan! Luffy and Usopp said in unison.
They started to fanboy together and plan out all the possible beach parties and such. Sanji smiled softly at them while walking to the changing room to put his wetsuit on. Nami did the same as Franky stayed to talk with the others. The blue haired man wasn't going to change his clothes anyway…
Sanji locked the door of the small room and placed the bag on the bench and put the surfboard to rest against the wall. He glanced at the full body mirror and smiled to himself. The joy was glowing from him and he loved it. Without thinking further the blond slipped out of his shorts and then took the loose shirt off as well. His slippers were tossed to the side soon after. The mirror was reflecting his slightly tanned, lean body. Sanji wasn't that muscular but not like a toothpick either. He was quite proud of his body. But of course that little annoying feeling of self-consciousness crept into his mind when he was standing side by side with some really well toned. Franky didn't count though. His muscles were just freakishly big.
The cook bent down to rummage through his bag to find his wetsuit. After some searching he found it under all the towels and lunch boxes. He smoothed it out and slipped one strong leg in and then the other one. The long digits clutched the special fabric as Sanji slid the suit up on his body. He adjusted it on his upper body before finishing it up by pulling the zipper up. The blond turned back to the mirror again and fixed his little ponytail before eyeing the wetsuit. It was sleeveless and the pant legs reached his middle shin. It was pitch black with turquoise stripes each sides of it. It hugged Sanji's body completely, not really leaving anything for imagination. Daydreams immediately filled his mind as he imagines how all the ladies would look at him with a little sparkle in the corners of their beautiful eyes. Though he didn't really mind if some men did it too…
Someone called Sanji's name just outside of the changing room. It was Nami.
"Are you done, Sanji?"
"Ah yes, my flower! I will be right there!" the cook hurried to say while stuffing his clothes into the bag.
He settled the bag on his shoulder and grabbed his board under his arm before exiting the room. Nami was standing there in her own wetsuit which was similar to Sanji's, only with more stripes, yellow and orange ones.
"Ready to go?" Sanji asked with a toothy grin.
Nami nodded briefly and grinned back at her friend. Together they headed back to the store area where the rest of their friends were waiting. Sanji wondered that how the hell were Luffy and Usopp able to change so quickly. Though he wouldn't have been surprised if they had done it then and there in front of everyone. Those guys had no shame. When Bartolomeo saw that they all were together again he started talking in way too excited voice.
"Hope you will enjoy your time here again this summer. Don't hesitate to come here to ask if you need something. Oh and also! If something happens, which I highly doubt since you're all so amazing and talented surfers," he started babbling, his voice rising almost one octave, "We have some new lifeguards. But you can find them in their usual spots. Have fun!"
They all thanked the man who was now flailing around again and promised to come to see them at some point. Luffy waved madly at him before running out like he was on hot rocks. They all followed him and soon just tossed everything on the ground and ran straight in the water, laughing loudly. People around them watched the group of friends run to the water, but it was nothing new.
Sanji laughed from the bottom of his heart when he felt the water touch his skin. He lifted his face up at the sky to take in the warmth of the sun. The light freckles on his face were glowing in the light and his hair was flowing in the wind. A childish glee was bubbling inside his chest. He felt so alive once again. The cook closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and diving in the water. And damn, didn't it feel absolutely amazing!
The blond gave a few kicks to dive even further in the water. He even dared to open his eyes slightly even if the salt water burned a little bit. A wonderful, slightly blurry sight opened in front of him. The water was crystal clear with a hint of different shades of blue. Sanji was able to see the bottom with soft sand and rocks, also some seaweed floating around. He let the water support him, kicking and moving his arms only slightly, just enough to not float away. Eventually his lungs started screaming for air so he had to give up and swim back to the surface. The blonde man gasped for air and wiped the water off of his face. Sanji had to blink a few times to regain his vision and to make the slight burning stop. He could hear his friends somewhere near him so he looked around. Luffy was already running back to the shore to get his red and white trick board in a speed of light. Sanji grinned to himself and swam to the shore as well. He didn't even realise how far he had swam earlier.
When the curly brow reached the shore he went to take his surfboard right away. He actually had two other boards too but he left them at the beach house. Today he was going to use his fish board. It had two fins and it was nicely smooth. It was his favourite board. It was colourful, bright yellow with greenish decorations. The stripes formed different kinds of triangles and in the middle of the boars was a bigger pattern, an argyle with a horizontal oval inside it. That board could easily be recognised. And that was one of the reasons why Sanji loved it so much. And of course it was like a dream on waves!
"Oi Sanji! Wanna have a race today?" Franky asked when he came to stand next to Sanji with his baby blue long board.
Sanji smirked playfully up at his friend and gave a solid nod after strapping the leash around his right ankle.
"I bet you're going to fall ten times during the first five minutes."
The blue haired man snorted loudly and patted the blonde's back a bit too hard, almost making him trip over. It was on. Sanji had always loved to race with his friends and it was mostly about how many times would you fall and for how long could you ride one wave and so on. It was fun and it drove Sanji to do better and better every time. This beach was perfect for it too. Waves came often and they were big and powerful. The cook had started his surfing hobby further down at the beach where the waves weren't that big. Year after year he had moved closer to this spot where he was now.
Sanji turned to look at the sea. It was shining like millions and millions of diamonds. It was inviting and challenging. The cook stared intensely at the horizon before taking a few slow steps and then sprinting in the water with the board under his arm. Once the water reached his belly button he put the board down and laid down flat on it. His hands automatically started to row the board forward. Sanji's eyes scanned the water and when he spotted a good wave, he paddled faster towards it. When Sanji got to the swell of the wave he paddled slowly at first so he wouldn't be too early on it. He felt the power of the wave under his board, pushing and pulling. Quickly the blond pushed up on the board, arching his back then snapping his legs up under himself. His right foot behind him on the tale of the board and his left one under him. The wave swelled and Sanji pushed up a little more into a crouching position, pushing on his toes to turn the board. He shuffled up a little more to the nose of the board so he wouldn't lose the wave. The board sliced through the water like a knife through butter. Smooth with little drag. The feeling was indescribable. Sanji's heart swelled and his eyes brightened. He was alive.
The wave was big and the feeling was absolutely amazing. Sanji rode the first wave and then moved to another one which was a bit smaller. He fell couple times but got back on the board right away and kept going. He laughed in delight and sported a wide childish grin on his wet face. He felt home again, and so very strong.
The group of friends was surfing and laughing like there was no tomorrow. At the same time a green haired lifeguard was standing by his post with his co-worker who was currently fixing his black hair.
"You know, you could pay more attention to the people around here and do your job. You will have time to play with your hair later," the green head grunted, keeping his eyes fixed on the people in the water.
"You aren't doing any better, Zoro. People will be in the need of CPR because of your death glare."
"Oh shut your trap, Ace! I'm at least doing my job!" Zoro shot back but Ace just chuckled in amusement.
"Don't worry, I won't ruin our jobs. I always look around and do my job, run around a bit and save people," the black haired man kept babbling on and on but at some point Zoro tuned him out.
The moss head was working here during this summer as a lifeguard with his friend Ace. They had been working at different places every summer and this year they had ended up here. The two young men got to know each other in one lifeguard course and after that they ended up in a same college. They have been close friends ever since.
At some point Ace changed the subject and started talking about how he wanted to try surfing but Zoro cut him short when he saw a big wave coming towards the beach. And with big he meant fucking HUGE! His friend spotted it too and was ready to get his little plastic board and Zoro did the same and brought his bright red whistle to his lips and blew in it sharply a few times. Most of the people got startled enough and moved out of the wave's way as they were instructed. Everything happened in one fast blur. People did what they were told to immediately. Except one man. Zoro saw one blonde guy who was recklessly surfing towards the wave. The green head blew in the whistle again.
"Hey, don't go there it's too dang-" Zoro's order was cut short, the words didn't come out from his mouth when he watched the man.
The guy was now hugging the huge wave, it looked so effortless and almost hypnotizing. The blond was grinning widely, Zoro could see that much. He stared how the blonde hair was flowing in the wind and sparkling from the water and sun, just like the rest of his body. His strong-looking legs were firmly on the bright coloured surfing board, like they were glued on it. He slid along the wave, escaping from the other end which was starting to break and fall down. The man slid out of the wave's way before it reached the shore. He seemed to be completely fine and just continued what he was doing, giving high fives to his friends.
Zoro and Ace both stared at the blonde guy in disbelief and a slight arousal was making its way in their guts. The man was absolutely gorgeous, beautiful and handsome at the same time. And that surfing… those skills… The green head swallowed thickly as a blush was forming on his tanned cheeks.
"Holy hell." Zoro managed to choke out, the red whistle falling from his lips.
Ace stared at the blond as well the same flush on his freckled face.
"Bro, if you don't hit that, I will," the black haired man stated with a thick and husky voice, patting his friend's shoulder.
"Shut up," was the only answer Zoro could manage right now.
The bickering continued between the two men until something caught Ace's eye.
"Holy shit, man! He's coming here!"
Zoro snapped his head towards the shore and… yes, the gorgeous surfer was really making his way straight towards them, swaying his hips inside that tight wetsuit. Zoro was so doomed.
Thank you for my lovely nofreedomlove for beta reading this and helping me to describe the surfing scene. XD And no, I couldn't stop myself from slipping other pairings in here too... Shh... And also, exzireart and I have drawn some other drawings for this story so go check them out! My tumblr name is gagakuma and hers is exzireart.