Hello! I present my first One Piece fanfiction. All characters belong to Oda, I just control the situation.
The bar was lowly lit and the quiet murmur of voices drifted and swelled like the tide. Couples and singles mixed across the room and twirled to the low piano music filling the air. It was a high class place and Zoro, oddly enough, almost blended in, though he still couldn't figure why he had come in. It wasn't his usual type of haunt. Too stuffy and too high priced. He had traded his usual outfit of t-shirt, black pants, and haramaki for a black button up shirt and nice, clean jeans earlier that day, hence the slight blending he managed. Sanji had teased and insulted him all day for it, but Zoro knew there was a reason, even if he didn't quite understand it yet. Now he knew why.
He sat at the bar and ordered another drink, listening to the melody of the piano and thinking. It had been a long time since he had last heard one and it was stirring up memories. Finally, he finished off his drink and set the glass down, intending to leave, when the lady at the piano played the last note. He sighed and swore quietly under his breath but redirected his steps anyway.
Sanji, looking for a suitable place to unwind, spotted the same classy bar. Heading that direction, he grinned. There would be no Marimo or Luffy there to disturb him, and plenty of beautiful ladies to meet.
Opening the door, he held it for a couple that was leaving before entering himself. It was an interesting room, like a curved oval, with the bar running around one wall and tables on the other side. The low light was filtered through blue and purple lampshades and cigarette smoke, giving it a calm feeling of privacy and elegance. A dance space was inset in the floor on the far side of the room and quiet piano music emanated from that direction, but the pianist was hidden from view by the gentle curve in the wall.
Sanji spent almost an hour trying to find a lady to dance with. He managed to gain the interest of a petite brunette with wide hazel eyes and a fitting red dress. After chatting for a few minutes more he convinced her to dance. Leading her out onto the floor, he listened to the music with his eyes closed, finding the beat and learning the time. It was a slow waltz, sad and melancholy, he had never heard before. Sanji opened his eyes, smiled down at the girl and slowly led her around the floor. They twirled gracefully, never missing a beat, and when the song came to an end, he couldn't help but grin again. The next song started immediately, another one he didn't recognize. Again they danced. After several more songs, all of which Sanji didn't know, he showed his partner to her seat and ordered a drink for her. She smiled and leaned on her elbow, watching the pianist play, and Sanji watched her.
"I've never seen him before, you know."
"Who?" he asked, leaning forward a bit to hear her quiet voice.
"The pianist. He isn't from this island."
Sanji looked at the man for the first time, and he couldn't believe his eyes. Zoro, in his only black dress shirt, was sitting at the piano, eyes closed, and playing. The music was soft and sweet and so sad, nothing like the man himself. It was so out of character to see him looking nice, let alone near an instrument, that Sanji completely missed what the girl said and only heard her as if from a distance when she shook his arm lightly and asked if he was okay.
Tearing his eyes away from his crew mate, he assured her that he was perfectly fine and begged her to please excuse him. Standing up, he walked toward Zoro, transfixed by the music and the sight of him. He had realized long ago that Zoro was attractive and only said otherwise because it irritated the other man, but he had never seen this side of him. He played by heart, having memorized it to the point he no longer needed to look. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Sanji made it to the stage and climbed the steps, stopping at the green haired man's elbow to stare at his hands. They flowed over the keys, rippling like water and dancing like the waves. His broad hands coaxed the sweetest of melodies from the instrument. Hands Sanji had personally seen tear a building out of the ground and toss like it was nothing.
"What do you want, shit cook?"
The blonde jumped and turned to find Zoro looking as if he hadn't said a word, his eyes still closed.
"How did you-"
"You're breathing in my ear like a pervert. It could only be you."
"Ass." He'd have kicked him across the room, but he didn't want him to stop. He stared at the man's face next. It was totally relaxed, serene almost, and frighteningly beautiful. If he didn't know him, he'd think Zoro had never touched a sword in his life the way he played.
"So what do you want?"
"Where did you learn to play like this?"
"That's my secret, dartboard. Gotta problem with that?"
Sanji twitched, glaring at Zoro as he finally looked up at him and smirked. He played the last notes of the song, then stood and stretched before turning to leave without looking at the chef.
"Wait a minute Marimo! You can't just leave!"
"Oh really? And why's that princess?"
"You didn't answer my question jerk off!"
"I don't have to answer any of your stupid questions, shitty blonde!"
"Fucker!"
"Ass hole!"
It just went downhill from there. They almost made it outside before breaking into a full fledged fight, but as they didn't, they took the door with them when Sanji kicked Zoro through it. They tussled in the street for a few minutes, names and insults flying, before Zoro knocked Sanji into an alley. Following, he was mildly surprised when the blonde pushed him into a wall and pined him there with a powerful knee to his chest, holding his wrists above his head.
"Why don't you just answer my question!"
"Why should I!"
Without answering, the cook did something he only had the rare dream of. He leaned in and kissed him roughly. He nearly jerked back in surprise when the green haired man returned the kiss with the same force.
Zoro pulled his hands down without breaking the kiss and shoved the blond man's knee out of the way before grabbing him around the waist, pulling him closer. When they finally broke for air the two men were flushed. Staring each other in the eyes, they watched warily for a sign of deception or trickery, both secretly hoping the other wasn't just using that kiss as a distraction. When Zoro leaned in for another kiss, Sanji responded, again surprised at the gentle nature of it. It was a learning kiss, meant to test and find out whether true emotion was there or not. The cook reached up and wound his long fingers through the short green hair at the nape of the swordsman's neck, marveling at the softness. When they broke apart again, Sanji smirked.
"Well, this is a surprise..."
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! If you want to know what music inspired this, check the links on my profile. ^^ Thank you for reading!