Ducking Through Doorways

"Ow…"

"Kahahaha, still banging your head on the doorways, Brook-kun?" the little old shop keeper asked.

"Only when lost in thought, Madam Gertrude," the lanky sixteen-year-old replied with a smile.

"Kahahaha, and what's got your head all stuck in the clouds today, eh?" she asked, moving around the counter and beckoning him over to one of the shelves.

"Pazmoti's Etude in E Minor," he answered, humming the beginning of it as Madam Gertrude laughed some more.

"It's always music with you, Brook-kun. Sometimes I wonder what was going through your father's head when he shipped you off to the military academy," she said with a shake of her head as Brook browsed the new books of sheet music on the shelf. "They feeding you enough up there? You're skinny as a rake!"

"Yohohoho, yes, yes, there's plenty to eat. It just seems that all I ever do is grow up and not out," Brook replied with a cheeky smile.

"Kahahaha, you're not letting any teasing get to you, are you?" Madam Gertrude said, a look of relief in her eyes. He was a good boy and she worried about him as if he were her own grandchild, though he was really just a regular at her shop.

"Not at all. I have to stop myself from laughing actually," Brook said with a conspiratorial smile. "They look like petulant children when they have to glare up at me." They both shared a good laugh over that.

"You still showing them up in officer training?"

"Yohohoho, I would be, if I could manage to stop stepping on their feet in ballroom dancing," Brook answered, an amused smile on his face. "They can't decide if they should make a big deal out of how it hurts that I stepped on their toes or if they'd look weak doing that since I'm usually half their weight."

Madam Gertrude laughed some more. "If they're serious about treating it as training, they'll shut their mouths. No woman wants her weight commented upon."

"Of course, Madam. I'll keep that in mind," Brook said with a small bow, always willing to listen to her advice. She had yet to steer him wrong. "How much for the North Blue Waltz Compilations?"

"Play me that etude you were so caught up in when you came in and a pick from that book next time you stop by and we'll call it good," Madam Gertrude answered with a nod of her head after a moment's consideration.

"I have money today, Madam Gertrude. I can pay for it," Brook insisted. When his mother had first started bringing him to the shop, they hadn't had the money to actually buy anything, so his mother would sing and dance in exchange for more musical material. Madam Gertrude had let Brook do the same when he later came on his own, but today he had money, won off his peers in a bet, so he didn't need to take advantage of her kindness.

"Maybe so, but I'd rather hear you play, Brook-kun. You've got real talent and someone's got to appreciate it, so go pick an instrument and play me that etude," she said, shooing him towards the instrument selection her shop offered.

Brook did as instructed, playing the etude and more. His skillful playing attracted several more customers and Madam Gertrude smiled and enjoyed the show.

"I'll be going now. Take care, Madam Gertrude!" Brook called, waving to her with the book tucked under one arm. Unfortunately he wasn't pay close enough attention and whacked his head on the doorway again, gaining a sheepish smile.

"Kahahaha! You take care too, Brook-kun. And remember, you're supposed to be ducking through doorways, not running into them!"

Author's Note

Brook is really tall. Like a foot taller than the average doorframe tall, so he would have to duck down to pass through them all the time. There had to be a point in his life where he was learning to deal with this, and that would still be before he was full grown. So yeah. And then I have a little head-canon that his mother was a dancer/singer/performer of some sort while his dad worked for his home kingdom/country's military and pushed Brook to do the same. Brook wasn't sold on it because music is his true calling, but he's a crowd pleaser, so he went along with it. Well, at least until Yorki got to him. You'll probably see more of that head-canon somewhere down the line in here.