A/N: Hey everyone. I want to apologize for the wait. But as I mentioned in my profile, updates for this fic are likely to be very slow. Not only have I been super busy with the holidays, but I'll be starting school up again next week, and my schedule this coming semester is going to be a lot more hectic then my previous one. Not only that but I seemed to have lost a little bit of inspiration for this story, and it is really hard to try and force myself to write something, when there is no motivation or inspiration there. I'm sure any of you that also write fiction can understand that.
That all being said, I do intend to finish this story. I'm not the kind of person that can just walk away from something, so no matter what, I promise I will finish this eventually. It just might take a while. I do apologize to anyone who is following this story, and hope you will understand and be patient.
Thank you to anyone who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one.
"Alright, everyone get in line so I can do a final check over of you all." Nami said sternly, throwing anyone who protested a look that let them know it was best not to argue. They were about to leave for the castle and she wanted to make sure that everybody was at their best…it was already going to be hard enough to pull this off, without one of these idiots ruining it by wearing something ridiculous. "Luffy! You can't smuggle in all that meat!"
"But Nami! What if I get hungry!?" The raven-haired captain whined, shifting uncomfortably in the suit that Nami had forced him into earlier.
"We are going to a banquet at a castle! I'm pretty sure there will be food!"
"But what if I get hungry on the way?! Or what if they run out of meat?!" He pouted as the irritated navigator pulled the last of the meat from his pockets.
"I keep telling you that we can't afford to screw this up! It's almost like you all want to get arrested or something!" Nami snapped, sighing when she saw a few members of her crew flinch. "I'm sorry okay…I don't mean to be harsh, I just don't want anything to happen to any of you."
"Thanks Nami," the captain said, grinning from ear to ear. "I know you're just trying to help."
"Besides, if you get any meat juice on that suit I won't be able to return it and then you will have to pay me back with 200% interest."
"And there it is," Zoro rolled his eyes, earning him an elbow in the ribs from the blonde standing next to him.
"Don't talk about Nami-swan like that!" Sanji hissed.
"I didn't say anything!"
"You implied something rude!"
"Oh, boo fucking hoo."
"Watch it Marimo, if you know what's good for you!" Sanji snapped, feeling his blood begin to boil. He couldn't believe he ever thought that Zoro could be anything other then an annoying, foul-mouthed, brute that didn't give two shits about anyone else.
After everything that he had done yesterday, from taking him to the beach, to listening to him when he talked, he had almost thought that the Marimo was a half decent human being…but that must've just been a fluke, because today he seemed to be the same irritating bastard he always was.
"What are you going to do about it shit cook!? I'd slice you in half before you could even lift one of your fancy feet!" Zoro snapped back. He honestly didn't know where all this was coming from, but he couldn't seem to help himself. It wasn't like arguing with the cook was anything new, but he didn't usually go out of his way to start a fight like this.
Yesterday had been a weird day...there was no other way to describe it. He knew what he was in for when he took Sanji to the nude beach like that, but he hadn't been expecting the day to go like it had. And he certainly hadn't expected to wake up on the beach, with a sleeping Sanji curled around him, and for his heart to be pounding in his chest like it had. He had no idea where that reaction came from, and convinced himself he was simply embarrassed to be seen in such a position with the blonde, especially considering what the blonde had been wearing…
But still he hadn't been able to look the cook in the eyes for the rest of that day, or at all this morning…so when he saw the opportunity to start an argument, he took it…this whole charade had been messing with his mind and he wanted to regain a small amount of normalcy, and what was more normal then annoying the shit out of the blonde?
"Just try it you stick swinging Neanderthal!" Sanji growled, getting up in his face.
"I'll make you regret that cook!" Zoro hissed, about to unsheathe one of his swords, when he felt a sharp pain in his ear.
"NAMI!" Both men cried out, as she yanked their ears even harder.
"Did you not hear a word I just said to Luffy!? Do you want to be arrested? Because it seems you do with the way you've been acting! We can't afford to screw this up! So you better kiss and make up, and play the damn part for the rest of the evening! You can kill each other for all I care after we get off this island! But before then, you better behave yourselves!" She let go of their ears after giving them one final yank.
"I'm sorry Nami my sweet." Sanji mumbled, while Zoro simply crossed his arms and glared at the woman in question.
Nami turned away from the two idiots toward the rest of the crew so she could finish her inspection.
"Franky…" Nami sighed, "Go put on the pants that came with the suit."
"But…"
"Wearing a black speedo with a bowtie on the front doesn't make it less perverted. Now go put on the damn pants!"
She sighed again…they were doomed.
…
The castle seemed to be a lot grander and bright this time compared to when they were here last. But seeing as they were here for a party, rather than to be interrogated by the king and possibly arrested, it made sense that the place might have a calmer, more relaxed atmosphere to it.
The ballroom itself was beyond impressive, Luffy commenting that you could probably fit a hundred Sunnys in there…which was of course an exaggeration, but the more they looked around, they realized it wasn't an exaggeration by much.
Several large tables ran vertically across one side of the room, where the dinner was likely going to be served. There was also a massive dance floor, complete with what could be described as a small orchestra to provide the music.
The ceiling had a dome shape to it, with several elegant chandeliers hanging from it. The moment Nami spotted Luffy staring at them with mischievous eyes, she sighed, keeping them all in line, as well as in character, was going to be a hell of a lot harder than she thought. She just hoped the others that didn't have to put on any act, like Robin, Brook, and Chopper, would help her keep an eye on things. But she took another quick look around and noticed that everybody had already scattered.
"Well shit," she muttered to herself, scanning the room to see what disaster she would have to prevent first, and just like she thought, it involved their captain. He was getting dangerously close to one of the chandeliers, and she knew that look in his eyes.
She darted across the room, and tackled him to the ground before he could even begin stretching his arms and grabbing for it.
"Hey Nami!" Luffy whined, rubbing his head where it had smacked into the ground. "I was just…"
"No…"
"But…"
"I said no!"
"But I'm supposed to be acting childish, remember?" Luffy said some what smugly, crossing his arms, as if daring her to challenge that.
"Your supposed to be acting 15, not like some immature monkey! Besides, do you know how much that chandelier likely costs? We probably wouldn't even be able to sell the Sunny to cover the cost if you broke it. So like I said before, no."
"This is going to be so boooooooooring." Luffy whined once more, clawing at the tie around his neck in a desperate attempt to loosen it, before Nami smacked his hands away.
"Look over there! Meat!" Nami said, pointing toward a snack table that had just been stocked up with various appetizer items. Luffy didn't have to be told twice, and was off toward the table before she could even blink.
"Sort of feel bad for those waiters right now, but at least that should keep him distracted for a couple of minutes…now who's next…" She mumbled to herself, before taking off in the direction she saw Usopp. His lie was probably one of the harshest, and she just prayed that he was managing all right with it.
But as she got close enough to hear the conversation going on, and how Usopp was telling one of the guards about how he single handily took down an army of giants, she turned back around. She should've realized he wouldn't have a problem maintaining that façade.
Now for the most worrisome of all…she spotted Zoro and Sanji near the bar. She assumed Zoro was probably already a few drinks in, despite arriving here just moments ago, and Sanji wasn't looking too please with him. This could spell trouble real quick…
"Why don't you slow down you drunk!?" Sanji snapped, and the idiot swordsmen shot back yet another drink.
"It's a party…" Zoro shrugged, ordering another.
"A party at a castle, for some princess's birthday. It's not some wild party for you to get hammered at! Plus we're already on thin ice with the king!"
"Don't worry, I don't get drunk…but if I'm going to have to deal with you all night, I at least need a slight buzz."
"You're such an ass!" Sanji hissed, about to snatch the drink out of the damned Marimo's hands, and then possibly toss it in his face, when his beautiful Nami-swan walked up to them, wearing one of her oh so beautiful glares.
"What's going on?" She asked through clenched teeth, a forced smile never leaving her face.
"The Marimo is trying to get drunk."
"I am not!"
"Would you two stop it," she hissed, ignoring the swordsmen's glare as she grabbed the drink from his hand, and shot it back herself. She enjoyed the burning sensation the alcohol caused as it slid down her throat, thinking that she would likely need a few more of those if she wanted to get through the night, before she turned her attention back to her two crewmates and continued. "I seriously can't understand why this is so hard for you guys to comprehend!"
She grabbed one of Zoro's arms and forced it around Sanji's waist, shooting him a warning look before he could take it away.
"This is literally a matter of life and death! So suck it up and deal with it!" She turned around and was about to walk away, before she turned back and added, "And if I have to come back here to tell you again, I promise you will regret it."
After that she left the two alone, leaving to go check on Luffy once again.
"Sea witch…" Zoro mumbled once Nami was no longer within earshot. He felt a hard jab in his side, but ignored any pain; he would not give the cook the satisfaction of reacting.
"Don't you talk about…" He began but was cut off when, out of nowhere, Zoro slammed his lips against his own. He completely froze his mind going absolutely blank, when he felt the swordsmen's lips begin to move. He was about to shove the other man away when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.
Zoro pulled back, giving Sanji one of the smuggest looks he had ever seen, before he turned toward the individual who had been trying to get their attention.
"Evening your majesty, princess," Zoro said, causing Sanji's heart to literally skip a beat. He turned around slowly, eyes widening when they landed on Lucy, who was standing next to her father, as well as a much smaller blonde girl. "Sorry about that, we didn't notice you approaching."
Sanji chuckled; trying to appear embarrassed, but was mentally plotting the Marimo's murder. He definitely saw them approaching, and knowing how he felt about Lucy, he had no idea why the swordsmen would've chosen then to make a spectacle out of their act.
"Obviously," the king said, sounding rather un-amused. "I just wanted to introduce you to the guest of honor of tonight's ball."
"This is Katie," Lucy said, "Can you say 'hi' Katie?"
The little girl hid behind her sister's leg shyly, before Zoro crouched down, so that he was eye level with the little girl. And then he did something that Sanji wasn't sure he had ever seen the swordsmen do, except for maybe with Chopper, he gave her a kind, warm smile.
"How old are you turning Katie?" He asked, keeping his voice soft, the little girl looked up at her sister unsure, but smiled when she received a nod of encouragement.
"Six," She said, holding up six fingers proudly.
"Wow, six. You're practically a Lady now," he said, causing the little girl to giggle.
"Dance with me?" She asked, now smiling from ear to ear.
Sanji couldn't help but laugh, the look on the Marimo's face was priceless, he obviously hadn't been expecting that. He looked up at him for help, but Sanji just smirked, "I bet he would love to. Wouldn't you sweetie?"
"I'm sure the king doesn't…" Zoro began, but was quickly cut off.
"I'm fine with it," the king interrupted, narrowing his eyes, daring the younger man to refuse her. As much as he might not necessarily like the idea, if his daughter wanted to dance with the green-haired man, than he would make sure it happened.
"Alright," Zoro said, standing back up, and offering the small girl his hand. She took it happily, and Zoro shot the blonde one last glare before turning around and leading the fair-haired girl onto the dance floor.
"That is so cute," Lucy cooed, seeing her sister step on top of the green-haired man's shoes, as the two began swaying back and forth to the music.
"I don't…" The king began, but trailed off when something across the room caught his eye. "What the hell is he doing!?" He barked, taking off across the room, Lucy and Sanji both looking up to see Luffy carrying away a giant gold statue.
Sanji rolled his eyes, wondering why Nami would've allowed him to do that…when he realized…Nami…gold…she was probably hoping for him to actually get away with it.
"Your crew is certainly full of some interesting characters," she giggled, causing Sanji's heart to flutter, as his attention snapped back to the blonde, who he was now standing alone with.
She looked absolutely incredible, wearing a baby blue dress, with a sash that was a darker blue, one that matched her eyes. Her hair was curled and done up, all except for two small pieces that were left loose, framing her face perfectly.
"You don't know the half of it," he chuckled, before a somewhat awkward silence fell between them. They both continued to watch the dance floor, seeing Zoro spin the little girl around.
Katie was laughing, and Zoro was smiling, the sight of which caused an involuntary smile to appear on Sanji's face as well. It really was kind of a cute sight, despite the Marimo having absolutely no rhythm.
"You really care about him don't you?" Lucy asked, causing him to tear his attention away from the dance floor. He looked at her confused for a second, before her words sunk in.
"Me? Care about him? Absolutely not!" He whispered, feeling his face begin to heat up. "You know it's just an act…"
"I know," She smiled, finding his embarrassment adorable, "I just meant as a friend. He is your friend, isn't he?"
"I don't…I mean…" Sanji trailed off, unsure how to answer that question. Was the Marimo his friend? They were nakama of course, crewmates, and also rivals…but were they really friends? Could he see himself hanging out with the green-haired man if they hadn't been forced together by fate? He looked back up and saw Zoro being led off the dance floor by the little girl, and watched as he poured Katie a cup of juice.
Despite his flaws…his many, many, many flaws…he really was a good guy, deep down. No matter how much he might usually piss him off, not even he could deny that. "Yeah, he is my friend."
"Well I think he is sweet, treating Katie like that," Lucy smiled, casually slipping her arm around Sanji's, "And watching them dance made me a little jealous."
Sanji felt a spark shoot through him at the contact, and it took a moment for his brain to catch up and comprehend the situation.
"Would you like to dance?" He asked, blushing when she nodded, biting her lip teasingly.
"Lead the way," she said, and he quickly obeyed.
On the other side of the room, the gold statue was now back in place, and Luffy had his arm's crossed in a pout.
"Why can't I have it? You have like a hundred of them!" Luffy said, feigning innocence in a way that made Nami proud.
"You know you can't take things that don't belong to you," Nami said sternly, receiving a confused look from her captain.
"But you were the one that told me to…" His words were cut off when Nami slapped a hand over his mouth.
"I was the one that told you to never steal things from people," she chuckled, turning towards the king, "I apologize about that your majesty. At his age I thought he would know better. I swear sometimes he acts more like he is 5 instead of 15."
"15? What are you talking ab…" Despite being made out of rubber, the elbow he received in his side hurt, "Right, I'm 15. And as a growing teenage boy I need meat!"
"You just ate," Nami sighed, but knew her words fell on deaf ears, and watched as the raven-haired teen took off toward the newly restocked snack table. "I apologize again your highness," she said, bowing, "but please excuse me." She wasted no time before taking off after Luffy, not trusting him to be unsupervised, especially not when it involved food.
Zoro stood alone in front of the bar, Katie having abandoned him when she spotted something shiny…or something like that, he hadn't really been paying attention. He was too distracted by the sight of the cook making a spectacle out of himself on the dance floor. He had to admit, the cook could really dance, not that that was really surprising. Dancing was something that could please a woman; therefore of course the cook could dance.
He watched as the idiot pulled the blonde woman closer, and felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. The feeling was strange, and he smelt the bottle of ale in his hand, to make sure it wasn't rank or something. The beer smelt fine, so where the hell had that feeling come from?
He looked back up and saw the woman lean forward and whisper something into the cook's ear, causing the blonde idiot to blush. The uncomfortable feeling returned and he narrowed his eyes at the sight. The shit cook was being too damned obvious! He was going to get them caught! That must be what that weird nagging feeling was…he was worried that the Sanji was going to blow their cover. He had to stop this before the king got a good look at what was going on. With that decided, he shot back the rest of his drink before stalking toward the dance floor, missing the smirk on the raven-haired woman's face, who he hadn't even realized had been standing next to him.
"What are you smirking about?" Franky asked, approaching his crewmate.
"Oh nothing," Robin said, still smirking as she watched the swordsmen interrupt the blonde couple's dance. She turned away and gave the cyborg beside her a look up and down, before adding, "I'm impressed."
"Why, because I'm so manly and SUUUUUUPER!" Franky shouted, earning them more than a few stares as he struck his signature pose.
"No, because you still have your pants on…" Robin said, chuckling before walking away. She saw the navigator struggling to restrain their captain, and figured she better offer a hand…or ten.
Meanwhile on the dance floor, Sanji was absolutely fuming as he watched Lucy walk away, and was now stuck on the dance floor with the green-haired idiot.
"What the hell was that about!?" Sanji hissed, pulling away as Zoro tried to wrap his arms around his waist.
"Because you were being too obvious! You might as well have been wearing a sign that said 'I'm straight and want to bone the kings daughter'!" He snapped, forcing his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling the other man closer to him.
"I was not! It was just a friendly dance! And what the hell are you doing?" Sanji snapped back, feeling his face begin to heat up when he realized just how close Zoro had pulled him. He could literally feel every single muscle in the Marimo's chest, down to his abdomen. The contact caused his stomach to give an involuntary flip, and he had to shake the feeling away. That was weird…he thought, but chalked it up as him still being excited about having danced with Lucy, and what she had whispered to him shortly before the idiot had interrupted them.
He could still feel her sweet breath on his ear as she had told him to meet her in the west corridor after the dinner had ended. He shivered at the memory; his heart rate picking up as he thought about what she could want to talk to him about…assuming there was going to be talking involved at all.
"You cold or something shit cook?" Zoro asked, snapping Sanji back out of his thoughts.
"What…no."
"Then stop shaking," Zoro mumbled, swaying back and forth lazily to the music, relaxing a little when he felt the blonde finally wrap his arms around him as well. He had felt like an idiot standing there with his arms wrapped around a frozen Sanji…not that he felt like much less of an idiot now.
He had no idea why he had initiated a dance with the blonde. Originally he just intended to stop the cook and the princess's dance, he couldn't figure out what possessed him to try and take it a step further. Because despite his foot work abilities when it came to swordsmanship, apparently he had two left feet when it came to dancing.
"You're a shit dancer," Sanji sighed, relaxing a little as well. It was still such a weird feeling to be this close to the Marimo at all, let alone to be wrapped in his arms, and he didn't think it was a sensation he would ever be able to get use to.
"And you're a shit cook…"
"No I'm not…"
Neither man had the energy to have a proper argument in that moment, and just continued to sway back and forth to the music, blocking out the world from around them.
"He really does look a lot like him…I can understand now why you've taken such a liking to him," A brunette woman whispered to the blonde standing beside her, as they both stared at the two men swaying together on the dance floor.
"I know…and I feel horribly for leading him on like I have been. It's just, whenever I see Sanji, I can't help but think of him and then I completely lose myself…I'm a horrible person."
"No your not." The brunette reassured her. "Your just in a horrible situation, we all are. I can definitely understand you not thinking clearly, especially when you see someone who looks so much like him."
"Thanks Grace, I knew you would understand…doesn't make me feel much better about it though." Lucy sighed, taking another look a Sanji, the sight of which caused her heart to clench.
"Are you still prepared to go through with our plan tonight?" Grace asked, looking over to her sister, who seemed to be lost in thought once more. "We can postpone things if you need more time…"
"No…" Lucy said, finally able to tear her eyes away from Sanji, "We've been preparing too long for this for me to ruin it simply because I met some guy that reminded me of Peter. Besides, if all goes according to plan, I will get to see the real thing soon enough."
"Good," Grace smiled, "Then we will follow through with our plan tonight like we discussed. Just make sure you keep a low profile the rest of the night with father…the last thing we need is for something to happen, and for him to start keeping an extra close eye on us or something."
"Understood," Lucy nodded, sighing deeply. The conversation she would have to have with Sanji after dinner was going to be hard, but not as hard as staying silent and allowing things to continue the way they had been.
The two sisters exchanged one last look, before separating to go mingle with some of the guests, leaving the raven-haired woman standing alone. Who, for the second time that evening, had went unnoticed.
"Now that is very interesting," she smirked, sipping her cocktail, before turning back toward the dance floor, seeing her two crewmates still slowly swaying back and forth with each other, neither seeming to have noticed that the music had stopped, and that dinner had just been announced. "Very interesting…"
…
A/N: So there you have it. I know it probably wasn't worth the wait, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. It was hard to write this chapter, as I mentioned in the other author's note, there wasn't much inspiration here and I had to all but force this out. I hope it still came across okay though. I have a general direction in mind where I want to take the story, so hopefully I can get there with out the quality of writing going down too much. If any of you have any sort of suggestions or ideas, I would love to hear them. Who knows, any plot bunnies you might give me might be the spark I need to regain that lost inspiration. But for now, thank you for reading, sorry for the wait, and let me know what you thought!