A/N: Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed this story and to whoever left comments or is simply reading this story, it means a lot.
A special thanks goes to my girlfriend for being a constant source of help and inspiration.
There aren't particular warnings for this chapter, but I do wanna tell you that more characters are introduced in here, so enjoy! ;)
Chapter 5
"As a few of you might know–" Sanji tucked a wet, messy strand of hair behind his ear as he spoke into the microphone "us Crows are big fans of Nightwish." Sanji smirked and let the audience shout and cheer at the band he'd just mentioned, then turned to Ace with raised eyebrows "I guess they like them too!"
Ace nodded and strummed a couple random chords on his guitar as a response, making the crowd whoop and whistle in excitement.
"What's not to adore about them?" Luffy asked rhetorically into his microphone as he scanned the audience. There was more shouting, and then a single, distinct feminine voice cried out Luffy's name. Of course he recognized it, and once he'd spotted the girl he waved at her "Hey, Hammock!"
The was laughter from the rest of the band and audience, then Sanji's hands automatically went to smooth the black and blue tulle of the short skirt he was wearing, before moving to place the microphone on his mic stand, and that alone served as a cue for the entire band to start singing in unison the opening line to Wish I Had An Angel.
The crowd went completely nuts. People in the first couple rows started headbanging, a few others in the back started moshing, and even the other bands that were taking part to the Metal Mayhem that night sang along with Sanji and the audience.
From the very back of the venue, a woman dressed in purple and black and a man with slicked back black hair, wearing a big coat sat at a table, drinking and watching Murder of Crow perform.
"People love them. They have their very own fanbase, already." the woman commented as she placed her bright colored cocktail on the table.
"I know. I think we could definitely take them with us." the man didn't tear his eyes from the stage as he took a deep drag off his cigar.
"Should I speak with them, then?" the woman turned to look at the man.
The man kept quiet for some moments, studying the audience and watching how the band interacted with it, then cocked his head in the direction of the girl, eyes still glued to the stage "Let's just enjoy the show for tonight, eh? We've got plenty of time to decide, I don't think anyone will steal them from us."
The woman nodded slowly, folded her arms and turned to look back at the band with a small smirk on her lips.
The music stopped abruptly when Ace's hoarse voice pronounced the closing line of the song and Sanji had ended up standing on the dais of Zoro's drum kit, facing the sweat covered drummer with a devilish grin as they both panted from the effort of performing.
It was in moments like those that Zoro was more and more certain that Sanji was actually a demon sent to the earth specifically to torture Zoro for the rest of his days with his existence alone.
He didn't know whether to murder or thank his brother for planting the idea of cross-dressing inside Sanji's brain, but he sure as hell needed to thank his good star for letting him perform perfectly throughout the whole song no matter the inconvenient and uncomfortable hard-on.
It was hard enough having to play drums with the distraction of Sanji's provocative movements while having his body clad in tight pants and tops, but having to watch Sanji move around the stage in fishnet stockings, a tulle mini-skirt and a lace corset could have costed him his coronaries.
Sanji winked at Zoro right before turning around on his platform boots to face the audience again, and it took all of Zoro's strength and self-control not to drop his head on a tom.
As he forcefully tore his eyes from Sanji's figure, Zoro saw his older brother look back at him with the biggest shit eating grin he'd ever seen, and Zoro would have gladly punched it off his face. Unable to fling a drumstick at Ace's eye, Zoro limited himself to flip him the bird, only causing him to snigger to himself and turn back to the audience.
They still had one more song to perform, one of their own, it was called 'Big Black Wolf' and it told the tale of a very special Red Riding Hood who got lost into the forest and slayed the terrible wolf with her very hands, and the fight was narrated as that of a knight facing a dragon. It was a very theatrical song with lots of choir parts, Brook's violin and a hammering rhythm – the band really enjoyed performing it and it was the perfect song for a finale.
Zoro managed to keep his eyes off Sanji for the longest six minutes ever, never messing up, only focusing on what he had to do, either keeping his eyes shut for a few moments or looking down at the elements of the drums.
It was a success. Everyone cheered them on once they had finished performing and Zoro even threw his drumsticks at the audience – he may or may not have laughed under his breath when he saw Bartolomeo punching a guy in the face to get the sticks for himself.
When they stepped backstage Luffy wouldn't stop screaming with Usopp and Franky about how great the show had been, and Sanji and Ace soon joined them, whooping and shouting, while Nami held Vivi so tight in her arms that she swept her off the ground and twirled her around.
"Playing on stage with you is so exciting! It gives me the biggest rush of adrenaline! Yohohoho!" Brook laughed as he threw his arms up in pure exhilaration.
"Well you're great Brook! We love having you with us on stage!" Nami beamed up at him.
"Dear Nami, you flatter me so!" Brook's cheek flushed slightly, then he leaned closer to her to ask "May I see your panties?"
Both Vivi and Nami kicked Brook in the shins so hard that he collapsed to the floor sobbing, while the rest of the guys were clutching at their stomachs in hysterics.
Zoro shook his head, an amused smirk on his lips as he watched his friends going bonkers over the successful gig. He grabbed a towel from his bag and scrubbed at his hair and face to wipe off his sweat.
"Marimo! Don't be boring!" Sanji groaned not too far from him "Why aren't you celebrating with us?"
Zoro tore the towel away from his face and wrapped it around his shoulders as he finally looked over at his expectant friends.
"Didn't wanna cover you in sweat." Zoro shrugged. It was so much easier to say that instead of 'I don't wanna risk my pants ripping on the front if I get too close to you'.
"You idiot, don't you see how gross your brothers are?" Sanji grimaced as he gestured towards the sweat soaked pair standing next to him.
"We're not gross!" Ace cried while his little brother picked at his nose with his pinky and sneakily tried to wipe it on Usopp's shirt.
Zoro snorted and shook his head before deciding that in that dim light and with those black leather pants the silhouette of his raging boner might have gone unnoticed.
"I can't believe you actually dressed like this." Ace shook his head as he looked at Sanji, a small pleased smirk curving the corners of his mouth.
"He looks great, doesn't he?" Nami grinned and wrapped her arm around Sanji's neck "We went clothes shopping together!" she winked.
Oh good. Now Zoro knew who to blame and possibly kill. He folded his arms over his chest and shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other as he listened and tried not to eye Sanji from head to toe.
"Yeah, too bad we don't have the same bra size, or else we could have tried on a few together!" Sanji wriggled his eyebrows and Nami slapped him on the back of the head.
"Like hell you're seeing my boobs!" Nami growled as she shoved Sanji to the side.
Sanji moaned and rubbed at his aching chest "But breasts are nice!"
"Wasn't he gay?" Vivi cut in as she half glared at Sanji.
"He's just a pervert," Brook sighed "you think I could accompany both of you ladies to buy some panties, instead?"
"What is wrong with all of you?!" Nami yelled and everyone else couldn't help but laugh.
"We just super love ladies and you know it, little sister!" Franky grinned, then he looked over Zoro's shoulder and lifted his shades "And wow, look at her! She's super gorgeous!"
Everyone including Zoro turned to see a girl with long pink hair speaking to one of the techs. Zoro had seen her before, she definitely looked familiar to him but he couldn't quite place her – not from such a distance at least, she could have been Perona for all he could know. God he hoped it wasn't Perona.
"Isn't she from Freakshow?" Sanji asked as he squinted his eyes as much as he could to try and recognize her.
"What? Tra-guy's band?" Luffy frowned as he walked closer to Sanji to take a better look.
"You guys look like creeps, staring like that!" Zoro grunted.
"Bonney?" Ace furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yeah, her!" Sanji nodded at Ace, then went back to stare at the girl.
"If that's her she'll probably snap your necks while you're not watching." Zoro muttered, then pulled on a hoodie as sweat froze on his skin. Maybe if he tugged it as down as he could it would have covered up his shame, too.
"Do you plan on harassing our guitarist any further?" a deep voice thundered from behind them, making Usopp, Nami and Brook jump in fear.
"Sneak up on us like that once again and I'll have you killed!" Nami growled and got immediately laughed at.
"Speak of the devil." Zoro arched an eyebrow at the two men dressed in black full officer tunics.
"Tra-guy!" Luffy cried out and beamed at him "How are you doin' man?"
Law slightly lifted the peak of his forage cap with the tip of his gloved forefinger and looked down at Luffy with his usual stoic expression "Hey there." then his apparently vacant eyes focused on Sanji and a tiny smirk spread on his lips.
Zoro glanced at Sanji and frowned when he saw the way in which the blond was just grinning back at Law.
"We saw you play," Kidd cut in all of a sudden, making Zoro snap back to reality "not bad."
Zoro's eyebrow quirked upwards "Yeah." he threw one last glance at Law and Sanji who had stepped away from the group to chat in private. "You're up next, right?" Zoro added as he turned his gaze back to Kidd.
"That's right, we're performing after Doomsday." Kidd explained as he jerked a gloved thumb in the general direction of the stage.
Zoro didn't exactly understand why he was alone with Kidd all of a sudden, everyone had apparently sauntered off to somewhere else, and in that moment Zoro felt an uneasy feeling settling into his stomach like a rock.
"Are you alright?"
Zoro blinked as he realized that he had spaced out and hadn't heard a word of what Kidd had said "Huh?"
Kidd squinted at Zoro, puzzled, but spoke again anyway "I said that we'd like you guys to be the opening act for a few of our shows."
Zoro raised both his eyebrows at those words. Freakshow were more famous and known than Murder Of Crows, which meant that they were touring outside of the city and they were close enough to start touring outside of the country. They also had a contract with the Baroque Records, a big record company for underground and alternative music. If Zoro and the guys really ended up opening a couple of Freakshow's gigs they would have definitely gained more notoriety and some new fans.
"Really?" Zoro inquired "Why us?"
Kidd snorted "Are you seriously asking me that?" then when Zoro's expression didn't change he sighed and continued "You guys are one of the best bands around, and we don't want shitty bands to perform before us."
Zoro couldn't help the small laugh that left his throat, then shrugged "I guess it wouldn't really hurt us."
Kidd nodded "So we got a deal?"
"I gotta talk to the others first," Zoro frowned, then gave a one-shouldered shrug "but I'm pretty sure they'll be fine with it."
Kidd was about to do or say something when his gaze strayed from Zoro's eyes to past his shoulder, his eyes darkening all of a sudden as he focused on something. Zoro frowned and turned in order to see what was bothering Kidd only to find Law with his hand on Sanji's hip, whispering into his ear as the blond listened with a smirk plastered on his face.
"Fucking hell..." Zoro really couldn't help the words that slipped past his lips.
"That asshat can barely keep it in his pants." Kidd snarled.
Zoro whipped his head into Kidd's direction so hard that his three earrings jangled and his neck creaked. "Come again?" he wasn't really sure he'd understood correctly, but no matter Sanji's behavior, Zoro wasn't going to let anyone insult him.
Kidd shook his head "Trafalgar," he finally went back to look at Zoro "He's clearly hitting on your singer, the fucker." his jaw clenched after the last word was uttered, and it was then that Zoro knew what was up.
Kidd was jealous. Probably just as jealous as Zoro was – there were rumors about Kidd and Law being a couple, after all.
Zoro glanced back at Sanji and the way he laughed when Law spoke to him and felt a tug to both his heart and stomach. His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment, as if he was trying to resume his cool, then looked at Kidd "It's not exactly as if my singer isn't enjoying it..."
Kidd scowled at Zoro, but nodded without saying a word, much like he'd understood the bigger meaning behind those words and that masked look of defeat.
"Law! You little slut, we're up in fifteen minutes!" someone behind Zoro roared, startling him.
A grin spread on Kidd's lips as he looked over Zoro's shoulder again, so the drummer had to turn one more time to see what was going on.
"Fuck, Bonney!" Law grumbled as he'd finally detached himself from Sanji's body "You gave me a heart attack!"
"If only!" Bonney shook her head and proceeded to walk up to Zoro and Kidd, leaving Sanji to just stare at her dumbfounded and Law to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck.
Zoro bit back a smirk and mentally thanked the girl at least a thousand times.
"You're one to talk, stuffing your face right before the show." Kidd commented with a gesture of his hand towards the half eaten hotdog in Bonney's hand.
"My fast metabolism is none of your fucking business, really." Bonney replied right before taking a bite of her sub.
Now that Zoro saw Bonney in her stage costume he definitely recognized her as the lead guitarist of Freakshow. She was wearing the same uniform as Law and Kidd, but instead of trousers she was wearing shorts with ripped stockings. Most importantly, she was just as badass as Zoro remembered.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kidd rolled his eyes, then pointed at Zoro "He's Murder of Crows' leader."
One of Bonney's eyebrows quirked up as she looked at Kidd like he was demented "I know," she glanced at Zoro "So you're coming out for a few gigs with us?" Bonney inquired as she snapped at her sub and then pushed the rest of the sandwich into her mouth.
Zoro couldn't help but stare at the way she ate, she would have definitely been a fair challenge to his brothers. "I still need to speak to the rest of the band about it but I guess we might."
"We'll have fun," Bonney spoke around the last mouthful, then hit Kidd in the chest with the back of her hand "You and Kidd here seem to have plenty in common." she winked at Zoro, then looked at Kidd "I'll get my guitar then we get on stage, eh?"
Kidd just shoved her in the direction of the lockers "Just go, you bossy little shit."
"Push me around once again and that'll be the last time you have hands." Bonney sneered as she stomped towards the lockers.
Zoro folded his arms across his broad chest and cocked his head as he watched Bonney disappear around the corner "She'd be best friends with my keyboardist."
Kidd shook his head "Without Bonney we probably wouldn't even be here. She keeps us all in line." then he lowered his voice "Just don't tell her I said so."
Zoro smirked "Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Come on, Eustass-ya." Law suddenly pushed past Zoro and fixed the strap of his bass around his neck "Time to shine." he briefly glanced at Zoro, then swanned off in the direction of the stage stairs.
Kidd followed Law with his eyes, then saluted Zoro "Let us know your answer."
Zoro answered with a nod, then watched Kidd strut towards Law and lean in to speak to him with an angry expression painted on his features. They were just about to start arguing when Bonney and the rest of their band (Zoro was pretty sure the other guys names were something like Killer and Heat, but he wouldn't bet on it) walked up to them, so they immediately knocked it off and walked out on stage one by one.
"Got yourself a date?" Sanji's voice arrived seemingly from out of thin air, as he'd quietly moved to stand beside Zoro. "If I didn't know how much of a giant homo you are I'd also ask if you fell in love with Bonney."
Zoro cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at Sanji "Maybe you got a date with a bassist," he spat out those words as if they were harmful to his body and he needed them out of his system "I got a work offer." he added in a more relaxed tone.
Sanji frowned and nodded, then placed a cigarette between his lips "Been there, done that." he shrugged his shoulders as he cupped a hand around the flame of the lighter, inhaling deeply before tucking his lighter inside the tight cleavage of his corset. "A work offer, huh?" a shit eating grin spread on his lips "Gotta help Kidd weight lifting?" he sniggered.
Zoro's eyebrows drew together and a couple deep creases formed between them "You've already slept with Law?" the details about the actual offer that Kidd made him was completely forgotten in that moment.
Sanji's cheek hollowed more then necessary as he sucked on the filter, making Zoro's dormant arousal stir in anticipation of something that definitely wasn't going to happen. "I have," he exhaled smoke in a thin streak "what's so shocking about that?"
Zoro's jaw tensed for a couple moments as he blinked and raised a shoulder "I thought Law was with Kidd."
Sanji snorted and carelessly scattered ashes all over the floor as he flicked at his cigarette "He kinda is, then again he kinda isn't." he shook his head then took a drag "Dunno really, they're fucking weird." he raised his eyebrows and chewed on his lip ring.
If Zoro wasn't already confused, by the time Sanji had finished spilling his poor explanation he definitely was. He shook his head "What does that even mean? Are they an open couple or–?"
Sanji's eyes rolled back into his skull as he let out an exasperated huff of air "What do you care?"
Zoro spread his arms "Humor me, alright?"
Sanji stared quietly at Zoro for a few moments, then began "Law likes the attention–" he stopped speaking right when Zoro cocked an eyebrow knowingly "I won't say shit if you stare at me like that, you dickwad!" he barked, turning a light shade of red.
Zoro groaned and rolled his eyes "I'm just looking at you!" of course he wasn't going to make a kettle calling the pot black joke, but it was exactly what he was thinking.
"You're silently judging me!" Sanji sneered and dropped the cig on the floor before mercilessly crushing it under the weight of his platform.
Zoro's expression changed to its usual frown right away "Don't give me that crap, Cook. You know I don't do that." and it was true, at least when he wasn't blinded by rage or jealousy he never even thought anything bad about Sanji's lifestyle. Of course he was jealous, of course he thought it was unhealthy on different levels, but apart from teasing Sanji about it, Zoro had never been downright judgmental. Or at least he tried not to be. He cared about Sanji.
Sanji stared Zoro down as if he was trying to turn into a lie detector and understand if he was bullshitting him, then finally went on. "Alright..." he sighed "He's actually in love with Kidd, but they're just–" he grimaced "weird. I can't even explain. They fuck around, but then they're at each other's throat because of that and never talk feelings." he shrugged a shoulder.
Zoro took everything in like a blow to the guts. Those words hit home somehow, or at least they sounded way too familiar. Zoro didn't know if Sanji realized that, he had noticed that he hadn't particularly enjoyed speaking about it but that might have meant all kinds of different things.
He had seen for himself that look in Kidd's eye, the mixture of raw pain and anger, Zoro knew that feeling all too well but he was just better at masking it – or so he hoped.
"That's... Fucked up." Zoro scrunched his nose, his eyes not meeting with Sanji's.
"Told you, they're weird." Sanji's tone was still low and calm "But at least they want us to open a few of their gigs, huh?"
Zoro's gaze flew back up and locked with Sanji's smug expression "Law... Told you about it?"
Sanji tilted his head to the side slightly "Well I ensured it. Sort of."
Realization dawned on Zoro, and at the same time he hoped that he was completely wrong before he opened his mouth to cry out "By fucking him?!"
"You make it sound so dramatic!" Sanji scowled "I didn't exactly trade sex with us becoming Freakshow opening act... I mean, we're fucking amazing, our talent did the job but–" he gestured down to his body "this helped."
The mixture of emotions that suddenly washed over Zoro left him breathless like a bucket of icy water down his back. He didn't exactly know what infuriated him the most, but he was so enraged that he could feel a vein in his neck throb and his heart pound furiously in his chest like a hammer.
"What... Did you just say?" Zoro sneered through gritted teeth as he still tried to hold it in.
Sanji stared at Zoro dead in the eye "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"You fucked Law to be his band's supporting act?" Zoro asked with an incredulous expression. He couldn't believe Sanji had so little faith in their own abilities, they could have waited instead of fucking their way through the business.
"I fucked Law because I wanted to! But I also made sure that they were really gonna pick our band!" Sanji explained with a tone that made clear that he didn't understand what Zoro's fuss was all about.
"When did you become a music whore?" Zoro growled as he raised his hands in surrender. He was so mad he could barely contain himself "Why don't you do it for money, next time? Or a record contract!" he huffed, then shrugged both his shoulders "Go fuck a producer, so we can become famous thanks to how good you are at giving head!"
Sanji stared at him outraged, his entire face and ears as red as a tomato and hands balled into fists "You're a fucking asshole! Don't you dare call me a whore ever again!" he barked right before shoving Zoro as hard as he could.
Zoro stumbled backwards and returned the push "I'll stop calling you a whore when you'll stop fucking to obtain gigs and favors!"
By that point they were both shouting and Sanji had resorted to aiming a kick right to the side of Zoro's head, Zoro blocked it with his arm then threw Sanji a punch that was deftly dodged. The fight got rougher but thankfully the commotion caught the attention of a few techs that immediately called Ace and Franky who promptly broke off the fight before blood could be added to the few bruises that Sanji and Zoro had already earned.
"I'll bash your brains in, you fucker!" Sanji yelled and wriggled as Franky held him by the chest and waist.
"Go ahead, you asshole!" Zoro roared as he tried to jerk out of Ace's hold.
"If you dumbasses keep at it you'll be kicked out!" Franky chastised them as he struggled to hold Sanji back.
"He called me a whore! I'll kick him until he regrets even thinking that!"
"You've proved to be one, so I won't take it back!"
Sanji succeeded in slipping out of Franky's hold and all but launched himself at Zoro and Ace, making both brothers fall backwards.
"What the fuck is wrong with you two?" Franky growled as he sprinted forward to catch Sanji all over again.
In the meantime the rest of their friends had quickly gathered around them, but the ruckus had inevitably caught the attention of the security who, despite Nami and Usopp's pleadings, made sure to kick Sanji and Zoro out of the venue.
"Thank your good star for not getting banned from this place!" Nami scolded them as they sat on the concrete of the sidewalk, panting and scowling. "I would have fucking killed you, if that were to happen!"
"Now, now," Usopp raised his hands and frowned at Nami "let's calm down, okay?"
"You guys are awesome! You managed to fight even after a great success!" Luffy laughed as he watched them with his hands on his hips.
"We fought because he's an asshole." Sanji grumbled as he fixed his skirt, avoiding to look at Zoro directly.
"We fought because you're a–"
"Oi! Knock it off!" Ace punched Zoro right on top of his head to shut him up before he could trigger Sanji again.
"Ow! Fuck you, too!" Zoro cried as he pressed both hands on top of his aching head.
"I'll go get our stuff from the lockers," Nami shook her head, then looked over at Vivi and Usopp "will you give me a hand?" they both nodded and followed her back inside the venue.
Zoro sat still with his knees bent and a hand still rubbing at his head. He threw Sanji a glance and noticed that he looked genuinely upset. Zoro never meant to hurt Sanji's feelings, but there was no way he could have held back from telling him what he thought about his stunt.
It wasn't just about being jealous, it was about doing something that went completely against their values and principles. Sure Murder Of Crows could use some help, but only because of their musical talent, not Sanji's sex skills. That was just plain wrong.
"I'll wait for Nami to bring me my stuff, then I'm outta here." Sanji suddenly broke the uncomfortable silence, making everyone's heads whip in his direction.
"Yeah? You're not coming out for a drink?" Franky furrowed his eyebrows at him.
Sanji stood up and dusted off the back of his skirt "What the fuck is there to celebrate?" he patted his chest, then pulled a terrified expression "Shit! I lost my lighter!"
Zoro looked up at him with wide eyes. He knew it was just a stupid coincidence, but if Sanji'd lost the zippo he'd given to him that night it definitely sounded like a bad omen.
"Ah! I have it, sorry!" Luffy raised his eyebrows and reached into his pocket to pull out Sanji's lighter. "I picked it up from the floor earlier and forgot to give it back!" he grinned as he extended his arm towards Sanji.
"Oh fuck," Sanji hung his head for a moment, then grabbed the zippo from Luffy's hand "Thank you, really."
"Don't mention it!" Luffy sniggered, and Ace patted his head.
Zoro's expression softened in a small smile of gratitude towards his little brother who beamed back at him.
"I'm sorry that the night took a bad turn, but I've really enjoyed it!" Brook spoke softly as he adjusted his glassed on the bridge of his nose "I'm afraid I have to leave now, I've got an early morning. As usual. Yohohoho!"
"Aw, that's too bad!" Ace frowned.
"Yeah, well... I'll see you soon!" Brook saluted them "Tell the others I say goodnight!"
"Definitely, bro!" Franky gave him a thumbs up, then everyone watched him leave.
Zoro stood up and glanced furtively at Sanji once again. Part of him wanted to punch himself in the face for what he had told Sanji – he'd never said anything like that to him before, so it must have hurt him greatly. But Sanji couldn't always just get away with everything, could he?
He didn't have much time to ruminate on Sanji's shenanigans any further, because Nami, Vivi and Usopp reappeared from the club with everyone's bags and stuff.
"Here, hopefully we got everything." Usopp sighed as he placed the bags on the concrete of the sidewalk.
"Thanks, buddy." Ace smiled softly and clapped a hand on Usopp's shoulder, then bent over to grab a hoodie from his bag.
"We're gonna go," Nami jerked a thumb over her shoulder, then furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around "where's Brook?"
"He left already," Luffy shouldered the case of his bass, then added "he says goodnight."
At last it came back to Zoro that he was supposed to tell them about Kidd's offer before he forgot again and everyone left.
His eyes focused briefly on Sanji who was struggling to take off his boots in order to wear a pair of jeans over his stockings and pull down the skirt he'd been sporting all night, this time Zoro wasn't going to get distracted by anything Sanji said or did.
"Before you all go," Zoro began, and every head turned in his direction, except Sanji's of course which remained low and concentrated on what he was doing. "When I was speaking to Kidd he proposed something to me."
"Ohhh, you're getting married?" Usopp exclaimed "That's really sweet!"
"Shut up, Usopp." Zoro glared daggers at Usopp who bravely hid behind Franky. "Kidd asked me if we'd like to accompany them in a couple of their tour dates... As their opening act." Zoro finished and folded his arms over his chest "What do you think?"
Everyone except Sanji stared at him wide-eyed and Zoro didn't know how he was supposed to take it, until finally someone spoke up.
"An opening act for Freakshow?" Ace huffed and spread his arms "Dude, they're like the real deal already! I say we do it!"
An excited choir of yeahs followed, and Zoro could let out a relieved breath.
"I can't believe they actually asked that!" Nami started, both eyebrows drawn together in thought "I mean I know they've seen us before but..." she shrugged "I just didn't expect them to do something like that."
"Well we're different but can both kick major asses," Luffy cut in "it's only fair to join forces!" he beamed, then let out a small chuckle.
"Well they like us," Zoro hunched his shoulders "especially one of us," he said as he tried to not so subtly look at Sanji who was zipping up his jacket "and they want us on board. That's as much as we need to know, and what really counts."
"We should celebrate this super news!" Franky suggested with a clap of his big hands.
"We definitely should!" Vivi agreed and Nami turned to look at her with the biggest grin before pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Whoa whoa! Get a room!" Usopp waved his hand, then laughed.
All the while, as everyone burst into excited comments or cheerful laughter, Zoro couldn't help but notice how Sanji was silent and listless. He'd definitely hurt his feelings, he knew just as much and couldn't help but feel bad about it, even if he'd somehow deserved it, or at least that was what Zoro still firmly thought.
"Hey..." Zoro began, and Sanji's head slowly lifted in his direction "You gonna join us?" he nodded in the direction of the others. He would have wanted to say more, wanted to be more convincing without sounding desperate or annoying, but he wasn't sure how. "You're our singer, you should come with us." was all he could manage, and in that moment he wanted to punch himself in the face really hard.
Sanji shook his head "I've already told you, I'm not coming. There's nothing to celebrate." he lifted his bag and slung the strap over his shoulder "Uh, guys?" he called out to get everyone's attention "I'm gonna go. Have fun." and with those words he lifted his hand, then turned around to leave.
"What?" Luffy stared at Sanji's back outraged "It's a big deal, come back! We gotta celebrate!" then when he saw that the singer didn't stop, nor turned his head he called out for him at the top of his lungs "Sanji!"
The blond finally stopped, rooted on the spot, and he turned with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth "Maybe tomorrow, alright?" he rubbed the back of his neck "I'm tired and I'd rather not go out drinking."
Luffy's frown deepened, but he nodded his head "Maybe we could give you a ride home?" he glanced towards Ace.
"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem." Ace nodded.
Sanji shook his head "It's fine, really. Go have fun, guys." he saluted them and resumed walking away.
Zoro wasn't sure whether Sanji would have actually gone home, maybe he was going to find someone that would brighten up the rest of his night and lighten up his mood.
"What's wrong with him?" Vivi asked, her lower lip tucked between two rows of perfectly white teeth.
Nami shot Zoro a half-hearted glare, then shook her head "He's just sulking because of the argument he had with his boyfriend." she sighed.
"I'm not his boyfriend!" Zoro roared. He could feel his cheekbones and ears warming up all of a sudden. God, couldn't she just shut up about these things?
"Oh but you wish." Nami cocked an eyebrow and Ace, Usopp and Luffy had to literally slap a hand over their mouths to keep quiet.
"I'll kill you! Shut up!" Zoro growled, then started walking in a random direction "Let's just go!"
"Zoro, our car is in the opposite direction..." Ace bit his lower lip and Luffy and Usopp mercilessly bursted out laughing.
At that point Zoro's face was so red and hot that it could have been used as a warmth supply for a small country.
The celebration wasn't crazy, nor did it last for hours on end since everyone was busy the day after.
Zoro hadn't planned to get drunk, but the uncomfortable feeling of jealousy mixed with guilt and a sprinkle of anger that had settled on his stomach as heavy as a rock didn't exactly help out his case. He didn't get monstrously hammered, but he stumbled on his way out of the club and into the car and slept throughout the entire ride.
Once they had parked into the front yard of the house, Luffy and Ace had done their best to pull Zoro out of the car and forced him to stand on his own legs and make it through the front door. His knees almost gave out when he was stirred in the direction of the kitchen, and complained like a child as he was pushed down to sit on a chair while Ace made him some coffee and Luffy poured him a huge glass of water.
"I don't want coffee, and I won't–" Zoro grimaced, his eyelids as heavy as iron and his mind on the verge of giving in to sleep "...drink water." he tried to rest his elbow on the table but missed it twice before actually succeeding, then he dropped his chin into his hand.
"Yes you will, it's good for you." Luffy explained and took Zoro's free hand to wrap his fingers around the glass "Go on, drink."
Zoro hummed and kept his eyes firmly shut. He was too tired for that, why were his brothers so damn restless?
"Drink your water or I'll pour it on your head." Luffy threatened him, his tone as serious as ever.
"You wouldn't dare." Zoro muttered, barely parting his lips to speak.
"Don't challenge him." Ace sighed.
Zoro didn't hear anything anymore, he wasn't sure if he had completely fallen asleep but one thing he knew for sure. He had heard a splash and then a horrible feeling of cold and wetness washed over him, jerking him awake and making him rear back so hard and suddenly that he nearly fell backwards with the whole chair. He could barely breathe both from the shock and the cold, but he had one thing very clear in his mind.
"You're fucking dead!" Zoro growled, and Luffy sprung to his feet and jolted out of the kitchen as fast as lightning, laughing like an idiot.
"No, no, no! Don't! Our folks will kill us!" Ace cried out as he caught Zoro just before he could charge in Luffy's direction.
"I'm fucking soaked! Shit!" Zoro shouted, and Ace pressed both his hands over his brother's mouth.
"Shhh!" Ace hushed him, pure horror painted his face "Did you not hear a word I said? If we wake them up we'll definitely be dead!" he hissed, then removed his hands from Zoro's lips "It's nearly 2 in the damn morning!"
Zoro tried to even out his breathing, his chest heaving like mad in the wake of his outburst, but he did slowly come down from it.
"You guys are such bullies." Zoro finally commented as he ran his fingers through his wet mohawk.
Ace scowled "We aren't," he grumbled "don't compare us to those who made your childhood hell."
Zoro rolled his eyes "You're not like them," he precised, then added "but you can definitely give me hell."
Ace grinned "That's what brothers are for." then a bubbling sound came from behind him as the coffee boiled into the moka pot. "Are you sure you don't want that coffee?" Ace cocked his head slightly.
Zoro sighed and sat back down in defeat. It would have definitely been better to go to sleep without feeling like the undead, after all.
Zoro went to sleep at 2:15 and as soon as he hit the pillow he was completely dead to the world, not even a cannon shot or an earthquake would have waken him up. Or so he thought.
Zoro's phone buzzed at least three times with different text messages, and none of those times he opened an eye.
Around the fifth text he blinked his eyes open, then groaned when the light of his mobile phone screen blinded him.
"F'ck off..." he moaned sleepily and turned his head to the other side.
A sixth and a seventh message were sent, then the phone started vibrating insistently with a call, but Zoro pulled the duvet over his head and kept sleeping through the noise.
Eight, nine, ten texts. One more call, and Zoro finally woke up with a groan and a string of colorful curses, and grabbed his phone.
"Two missed calls and ten texts?" Zoro stared at the screen in a mix of horror and confusion, then began to check the texts from the latest.
'you're a fuckface omg'
'thats not how a best friend acts'
'ffs answer the phone'
'thats it im callin u'
'cmon moss brain reply'
'dont ignore me'
'no srsly i need u to answer to this'
'marimo am i good enough? do u think im a good singer or am i just a fucking slut?'
'i mean, u guys are all so talented but then there's me with my mediocre singing and fuck i dont think im good enough. zeffs right im just a stupid eggplant with a stupid shitty dream'
'marimo... do u think we would have been asked by freakshow to play with them even if i didnt sleep with law? i mean we're fucking great aren't we?'
Zoro's heart skipped a beat, then began to race in his chest. He didn't even know if he should have been annoyed by Sanji's behavior, but the first three texts were a clear cry for help and Zoro couldn't ignore him anymore.
"What the fuck, it's nearly 5..." Zoro burrowed his face into the pillow as he gathered the energy necessary to call Sanji, then he pressed the green handset button on the screen of his phone and waited.
"Took you a fucking while." Sanji's voice was kind of shaky and Zoro immediately furrowed his brows.
"I was sleeping, dumbass. What's goin' on?" Zoro croaked out. He really wished he were still sleeping.
"You read the texts?"
"Yeah."
"Then you know." Sanji's voice cracked slightly.
Zoro scowled at the odd sound of Sanji's voice "Have you been crying?"
"Fuck off!"
Zoro sighed "Just askin', don't get your panties in a twist."
"I actually am wearing panties."
Zoro squeezed his eyes shut and thanked God for being too tired to get a boner. "Are you regretting what you've done?"
"A straight answer, goddamn muscle brain!" Sanji barked from the other side of the phone.
"Screech like a damn vulture again and I swear to Christ I'll hang up." Zoro deadpanned.
"I'll kill you."
"Go to sleep, Cook."
"No, no, no!"
Zoro smirked, then sucked in a deep breath and sighed out his answer "You're a halfwit, but you're a good singer." some moments of silence followed those words, and Zoro thought that Sanji had probably hung up on him until be actually spoke again.
"Fuck you, I'm not an idiot! And you're just saying that 'cause you wanna sleep."
Zoro rolled his eyes and let out a long and annoyed moan "Yes, indeed! I wanna sleep!"
"See? That's why I hate you and you're a horrible best friend!" Sanji half whined.
Had Sanji been standing in front of him, Zoro would have probably strangled him "Where are you, anyway?"
"I'm home, asshole. You're the actual halfwit here!"
Zoro's eyebrow quirked up. There were two options: either Sanji had been with someone and only later he'd gone back home, or he'd really walked all the way back home after the Metal Mayhem. "And you haven't slept at all? Not a minute, 'cause you were kicking yourself for the Trafalgar thing?" he rarely voluntarily poked his nose into Sanji's business, but certain situations called for it.
There was more silence, then the hushed sound of a few ragged breaths reached Zoro's ear.
"I've tried sleeping, didn't work out. I kept tossing and turning, and torturing my brain." Sanji explained in this soft, almost childish voice.
Zoro was done for, but couldn't show it. "You're a good singer, Cook. You're mostly dumb and annoying, but you're the core of our band." Zoro let his eyes fall shut and rubbed at his tired eyelids as he lay on his back. "Murder Of Crows is your baby as much as it is mine."
Sanji let out a small huff of laughter, then Zoro heard him sniffle softly before saying "We're good parents, right?"
Zoro snorted, a smile spreading on his lips "We are... After all." then his tone turned more serious as he added "But please, believe in your parenting skills more, alright? You don't need to hire and fuck a babysitter, yeah?"
Sanji finally gave in to laughter "Shut up, you dumbass."
"You gonna sleep now?"
"You really can't wait to hang up on me, can you? Jerk."
Zoro sighed "We both need to sleep. We've got work in the morning, you might accidentally crawl into an oven."
"You fucking wish, huh?"
Zoro sniggered "Sometimes."
Sanji let out an outraged gasp "You bitch!"
"Goodnight, Cook."
"Night asshole Marimo, don't choke in your sleep."
"I'll try." Zoro waited for Sanji to hang up first, then finally set the cellphone back onto the nightstand.
He stared up at the ceiling for a good couple of minutes and realized that something had definitely moved inside Sanji, maybe what he had done with Law and the fight back at the Colosseum had changed some things. Or maybe Zoro was just trying to convince himself because it made him feel better, because it started raising some hope.
"I just need to sleep." Zoro whined to himself and flipped on his stomach, burying his face into the pillow and trying to give in completely to sleep.
To be continued...
A/N: The band Freakshow is inspired for looks and sound to Deathstars.