A/N: I'll start out by saying that I'm so ashamed and sorry for taking so damn long to update, but I struggled with this chapter so much I wanted to punch myself in the face every time I thought about it. Originally it was supposed to be longer, with more scenes, but then it would have turned too damn gigantic and I didn't want that. Hopefully the next chapter will be easier to write and will come sooner!
As usual, a big thank you to everyone who has taken their time to message me or comment on the story, you make my day, seriously! You're all fantastic!
I'll shut up now, and let our "heroes" speak. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
The evenings which followed the infamous dinner with Eustass and Trafalgar were spent at Franky's working on a setlist that would have spoken volumes about Murder Of Crows. It was their opportunity to show more people who they were and what they sounded like, so they couldn't waste it at any cost.
Nami didn't miss practice, not even once, even if the first time around she still had a slight temperature, but she was more than able to play her keyboards at her best.
Everyone was extremely excited about the tour, even though the dates still weren't set, but organizing such things takes some time and Eustass kept assuring Zoro that things were being discussed each day that passed.
On a Friday night the band had finally come up with the perfect setlist and couldn't wait to actually make their audience listen to it.
"We're gonna kill it on this tour, I'm telling you, bunch of losers!" Sanji grinned as he watched Franky type up the titles of the songs on his Mac.
"We could switch and change around a few covers during the different dates," Zoro suggested while changing the skins of his drum set with Nami's and Ace's help "unless we wanna do that with our originals too."
Sanji rolled the filter of his cigarette around his teeth in thought "I was thinking about adding another IAMX cover, maybe?"
"Ah I love how you arrange IAMX's songs," Usopp sighed dreamy "you should do Spit It Out!" he nodded as he popped a can of Carlsberg open.
Sanji snorted as he lit up his cigarette, his eyes focusing on Zoro for a few moments before he could speak again "I don't sing those shitty sentimental songs and you know it," he grunted, leaving Zoro to scowl over at him quizzically. "I'd rather choose Kiss and Swallow."
Zoro rolled his eyes "Of course you were." he muttered as he rubbed at his brow, and his eyes went back to stare down at his drum set. He mentally slapped himself for allowing his mind to wonder why Sanji had looked at him with that kind of sheepish expression when Usopp had mentioned Spit It Out. He knew it couldn't mean anything.
"You got something to say?" Sanji asked with a challenging growl.
Zoro ignored him completely "Pass me those two rods, Nami, would you?"
"Coming right up," Nami grabbed the rods that Zoro was pointing at and handed them over.
"Moss-brained bastard." Sanji grunted as sat down on the floor next to Franky's chair.
"So do you want me to make different documents with the other covers?" Franky asked as he kept tapping away on his keyboard.
"Maybe we should just wait to see how many actual dates we're going to play?" Ace jumped in as he rubbed wax on the side of a tom.
"Wasn't Kidd supposed to call you or something?" Luffy asked as he finally pulled his head out of the fridge.
Zoro looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him "He was busy, maybe?" He frowned "Don't give me that look, we all work and planning a tour isn't a walk in the park."
Sanji snorted "Look at you acting like a professional."
Zoro glowered at him "Shut the fuck up, idiot."
"Want me to test the new drum heads by smashing your face into them?" Sanji threatened as he pushed his chair backwards.
Franky placed a hand on his arm "Don't start, you dumbasses," he glared at him, then with a click of the mouse his printer came to life "just take a look at how this comes out."
Zoro shook his head and went back to tune his drums as the printer did his job and everyone else stared at it in an expectant, almost religious silence for the setlist to be on paper.
It might have sounded stupid to others, but all of that was actually a big deal for all of them, so even just having the songs that they were going to play during those six dates inked on a piece of paper was something very special.
Zoro watched as Sanji grabbed the sheet and kept it between his thumbs and forefingers as he grinned down at it, looking every bit like an excited kid and sending those uneasy vibrations down the pit of Zoro's stomach.
Sanji read out loud the setlist, slowly, as if he was savoring every word like the finest dish he had ever cooked, and as he did so everyone's enthusiasm only grew stronger.
They had chosen to play a total of ten songs, three of which were covers, while the rest were all their original tracks.
They were going to open the show with The Crows Are Coming, a Game Of Thrones inspired song written by Zoro that represented them as a band and they always opened their gigs with. The Siren followed, a song about a creature that seduces evil and impure men and lures them to their death, a song during which Sanji loved to move as sinfully and suggestively as humanly possible. The third one would have been Crimson Lust, a song about a couple of male vampires having sex on their blood soaked bed, drinking from one another, another song that Sanji performed so erotically that Zoro wanted to die every time they played it. Where Is The Light would have changed the tone of the show, with the story of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, narrated as if she'd lost herself into a dark, dangerous and insidious forest; the first cover played would have been Nightwish's Wish I Had An Angel, followed by another song written by Zoro called Blood On The Snow, an epic song about a fierce battle during the cold winter on a snow covered battlefield. The peculiar cover of IAMX's song I Am Terrified would be performed as usual, only by Sanji, Nami and Zoro, followed by the very personal Tooth And Nail, the first song that Sanji had written in his life and told the tale of a young boy who'd been put down, made fun of and bullied but who still did everything he could to achieve his dreams. The third and last cover was going to be The Wolves Die Young by Sonata Arctica, and the show would end with the original Big Black Wolf.
Once Sanji finished listing all the titles there was a round of applause, and everyone cheered and whooped like they had won the lottery.
"Guys, if a producer were to casually walk into one of the venues and listen to you play these songs–" Usopp stood up from his seat to emphasize his point "you'd get a contract right away!" he snapped his fingers.
"Yeah right," Zoro snorted and Nami whacked him over the head with one of the old and worn out drum skins.
"Don't be so fucking negative!" she barked out before joining her hands together and staring up at the ceiling "Think of all the money we're going to make!" she sighed and let her eyes fall shut.
"Gold digger!" Luffy nudged her in the thigh with his foot "Think about making music, not money!" he chastised her.
"Kick me again and I'll cut off your foot!" Nami snarled up at him.
"Leave Nami alone!" Sanji shouted from the other side of the room.
Zoro shook his head "Stop doing drugs, seriously."
"So, hey! Do we have to rent a tourbus or something?" Usopp asked out of the blue as he opened his second can of beer.
"Yeah, right," Sanji snorted as he glared at him "Where do you even get these ideas?"
"Are you gonna pay for it?" Nami asked with a raised eyebrows.
"Get me those other rods," Zoro waved his hand in front of Nami's face to get her attention "don't even listen to his crazy ideas."
Nami swatted Zoro's hand away "Don't put your greasy palm in my face!"
Zoro widened his eyes "It's not greasy! I'm not changing a tire, for fuck's sake!" he grunted as he glared down at the drum head he had just replaced.
"But we should think big! Make a good impression!" Usopp insisted.
"That would be really cool, though!" Luffy agreed, then clicked his own can with Usopp's.
"Listen, not even Freakshow has a proper tourbus yet, I'm pretty sure of this," Sanji began "and we sure as fucking hell aren't able to afford one."
"It's not even like we're going overseas, we'll probably even get back home after every date," Ace shrugged before standing up and stretching out.
"There's no denying it would be super cool, but it would definitely be super expensive too," Franky jumped on the bandwagon "but dude, when you guys do get a tourbus I wanna drive!"
"No way! I'll drive!" Luffy cut in, slapping himself on the chest.
"No, you're the bassist," Franky frowned "you're a star. So you take it easy while I take the wheel." he nodded slowly, trying to convince the younger boy.
Sanji flicked ashes on the floor and nodded "Like Jesus."
"Stop using my floor as your personal ashtray!" Franky yelled bloody murder as he glowered up at Sanji.
"I'm a singer, I'm a star," Sanji shrugged "I can do it."
"No, you're a fucking dick." Zoro commented from his seat on the couch, but all too soon he found himself thrown to the floor with Sanji on top, growling and trying to strangle him.
"Get the hose, get the hose!" Nami smirked as she shook her head and let them kill each other.
"You're such a big help," Ace scoffed before he and Luffy tried to pull them apart.
–
Practice was scheduled for every day of the week until the dates were going to be set, so they could improve the arrangements of the covers and put the final touches to the originals, unless someone was otherwise busy, then they'd skip practice and relax a bit.
Right when everyone had started losing hope for Kidd to contact them and let them know anything about the tour at all, on a Thursday morning, while Zoro was coaching a customer at the gym, his phone started vibrating insistently.
"Alright, put your back into it and watch the angle of your legs," Zoro instructed the man before placing a hand on his phone from over the pocket of his sweatpants. "I'll leave you for a couple of minutes, okay? I'll be right back."
Zoro didn't even hear the customer mutter out his consent and just strode towards the backdoor while pulling his cellphone out to check who was calling him. He squinted down at the unknown number and decided to answer while he was still on his way out.
"Hello?" Zoro's tone was slightly lower than usual, he just hoped it wasn't some sales call or other promotional crap.
"Z-Zoro?" the voice from the other end was soft and unsure.
Zoro frowned as he pushed the door open "Yeah, who's this?"
"It's Bartolomeo," there was a small pause and Zoro raised both eyebrows in surprise "I-I'm sorry I'm the one callin' but... Kidd's busy, so he asked me to do this."
"Oh," Zoro blinked in confusion "he gave you my number?"
"He did, yes. Oh God, it doesn't bother you, does it? I'm sorry!" Bartolomeo was so prone to panic when speaking to Zoro it was ridiculous.
"No, no!" Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose, he didn't mean to sound angry or anything "It's fine, it's all good."
"Okay then!" a nervous giggle came from the other end of the phone, then Bartolomeo cleared his throat "So the reason for this call is to let you know that they're planning what they called a date zero."
Zoro scowled "Like, in addition to the others?"
"Yes, exactly!" Bartolomeo's tone turned definitely more confident than a few moments earlier "It's a gig that people will pay half the price of the regular ticket and it will take place here in town, at the Colosseum probably."
"Like a promotional show?" Zoro asked as he leaned back against a wall.
Bartolomeo sniggered "Yep! They wanna launch the tour here in your hometown, so people will talk and shit."
A crooked smirk tugged at Zoro's lips. Freakshow definitely knew their shit, Zoro gave them that. "Sounds perfect." Zoro scratched at his eyebrow with his thumb "When would it be?"
"Next Friday, probably? Will you make it?"
Zoro snorted "We definitely will, no problem."
"I can't wait to see you!" Bartolomeo blurted out excitedly, then quickly added "All of you guys!"
Zoro swallowed thickly, but then shook his head. He didn't have to read too much into it, Ace could talk all he wanted but he still didn't want to think that Bartolomeo actually liked him. "Yeah, same." Zoro squeezed his eyes shut and nearly punched himself in the face for his poor choice of words.
The other end of the phone was quiet, and Zoro didn't like the awkward silence, so after clearing his throat he spoke again "Did your brother mention anything about the rest of the tour?" that was exactly what he had wanted to know from the beginning, so he might as well ask Bartolomeo about it.
"Th-the rest? Uh... It should be either one or two dates a week, so you guys don't need to take too many days off at work."
"How thoughtful," Zoro couldn't help but snort. "Will they let us know next Friday, at least?"
"I-I... I don't know? Maybe even sooner?" now Bartolomeo was starting to sound less confident again.
"That would be great," Zoro pushed himself away from the wall and began to walk back towards the door adding a "thank you, Barto."
"Oh, don't even mention it, Zoro!" Bartolomeo suddenly cried out.
Zoro smiled to himself and shook his head "Listen, I gotta head back to work, alright?"
"Sure! Oh God, I held you on the phone for too long, shit! Go back, go back!"
"It's fine, I can always use a break!" Zoro shrugged a shoulder.
"I could call you more often, if you want!" Bartolomeo chuckled, leaving Zoro to gape at the door "I-I mean, no, I-I'm just kidding!"
"No, I–" Zoro shook his head and for a moment he felt some sort of blinding panic wash over him.
"I should go too, actually! B-bye, Zoro!"
"Wai–!" Zoro didn't even manage to say bye to him that Bartolomeo had already ended the call. He stared down at the screen of his cellphone like it was the first time he'd ever even seen one, then blinked "The fuck is going on?" he shook his head and walked back inside the gym.
–
Zoro tried to bury the awkward part of the phone call as deep into the back of his head as he could and focus on work, this entire Bartolomeo business was the last thing he needed.
What he really needed to do was tell the good news to the others and make sure that they would cancel any plan that could have compromised the show on Friday – well at least it was nearly lunch time, he could speak directly to Sanji and then text the others about it with him.
Still Zoro pulled out his cellphone while his customer was doing push-ups, opened the last received calls list and hovered Bartolomeo's number with his finger until he decided to tap on the options button and save it. He might have needed it, professionally speaking of course, and if Bartolomeo were to call him again at least he would have known it.
Lunch time felt so out of reach during Zoro's last hour of work that he would have gladly smashed his head against the closest wall, still he held on and helped a lady who was in need of a massage to her cramping calf.
"Boy, I don't get them so often," the fair haired woman grimaced down at the pressure that Zoro was applying to her hurting muscle.
"I saw you were working on them the entire morning," Zoro commented, eyes not leaving the woman's calf as he pressed and massaged on the right points "you should balance your exercises more, ma'am."
"Zoro!" suddenly Conis called out.
Zoro perked up and scanned the room to see where the girl was, then arched up an eyebrow once he'd spotted her "What is it?"
Conis didn't even have to say anything that Sanji appeared into his line of sight, grinning like an idiot and flipping him off.
"Dickhead," Zoro tried to mutter as low as he could.
"Is that your boyfriend?" the woman asked innocently.
Zoro turned so hard to look at her that he lost his balance and fell ass first on the parquet. He could hear Sanji laughing his ass off from the other side of the room, so Zoro made a mental note to strangle him later.
"Are you alright?!" the woman asked, eyes wide with worry.
Zoro's face was burning and he definitely didn't need the many mirrors covering the walls to remind him of how red he was as he got back on his knees. "He's not my boyfriend." he stammered, avoiding to make eye contact.
"Okay," the woman paused for a few seconds before going on "it's just that I'm here almost every morning, and he's always here around this hour."
Zoro looked up at her in horror. Were people spying on him now?
"I don't have a problem with gay people," she shrugged "my cousin is married to a woman." she smiled encouragingly.
Zoro jolted up to his feet "Is your calf better, now?" he didn't have any problem with his sexuality, not at all, but he couldn't stand nosy people.
The woman looked up at him with a confused expression, then nodded "Y-yes, it's all good now, thank you."
"Good. Keep hydrated and don't strain your muscles." Zoro shot the woman a hollow little smile before storming towards Sanji.
"What the fuck are you being paid for? Being a dumbass?" Sanji guffawed into Zoro's face.
"I'll rip off your tongue with my bare hands," Zoro threatened lowly "see how you like to laugh then."
Sanji placed a hand over his chest "You wound me, Marimo." he thrusted the usual box of food in Zoro's arms then pulled out a cigarette from behind his ear and stuck it between his lips "Let's go."
Zoro watched as Sanji sauntered outside, glaring a hole in the back of his stupid blond head, then followed him in silent anger until they settled down on their usual bench and Zoro peeled the lid off the box.
"Grilled salmon and spinach," Sanji sing-songed as he lit himself a cigarette "tasty and healthy."
"It would be even healthier if you didn't smoke while I eat." Zoro rolled his eyes and grabbed the fork to start eating.
"Shut up and eat, ungrateful fuck!" Sanji snarled as he sat on the back of the bench.
"I got news." Zoro started before jamming a huge piece of salmon inside his mouth.
Sanji's eyebrow quirked "Yeah? Tour news?"
Zoro nodded as he chewed slowly, so that he could use the food in his mouth as a reason not to speak and torture Sanji with the suspense.
"What is it then?" Sanji tugged on Zoro's ear.
"Ow!" Zoro groaned and finally swallowed his food.
"Speak!" Sanji tugged on the shell of Zoro's ear one last time, then let go of it to flick at his cigarette.
Zoro slapped Sanji's leg and blocked a kick that was aimed at him in return "Stop it!" he growled.
"You started it! Just tell me!" Sanji groaned exasperated "Did Eustass call you?"
Zoro raised his eyebrows "Uh... One of them."
Sanji scowled down at him "What the fuck does that even mean?"
Zoro shrugged a shoulder "Kidd was busy, so Bartolomeo called me."
Sanji's eyes darkened "Are you fucking kidding me?"
Zoro huffed "What is your damage, Shit Cook? He called me instead of his brother, why are you making that face?"
Sanji flared his nostrils "I don't like him."
"No shit! Really?" Zoro gaped at him in faux surprise "That's brand new information!"
"I'll stab you with that fork, I swear to god!" Sanji sneered lowly.
"Gimme a break." Zoro rolled his eyes "Don't you wanna know what he told me?"
"I don't know, that he fingers himself while thinking about you at night?" Sanji shrugged a shoulder "Or maybe he uses a cucumber."
Zoro widened his eyes "Shut your shitty mouth!"
"Or what?" Sanji retorted.
"I'll knock you over and kick your ass!" Zoro growled "Cut the crap!"
Sanji took a deep drag of cigarette and looked away, letting his bangs fall over his eyes "So what the fuck'd he say?" he finally asked, not looking at Zoro and just puffing away on his practically burnt out cigarette.
Zoro sighed as he watched Sanji, then looked down at his food. Trying to speak to Sanji could drain him more than any kind of physical training, he could be so exhausting some times.
"You got plans for next week on Friday?" Zoro asked before going back to eating his now lukewarm lunch.
Sanji turned to look at him quizzically "I don't know, I still don't have next week's shifts. Why?"
Zoro smirked up at Sanji "We've got a date zero of the tour."
Sanji's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, making the cigarette fall in his lap "Oh shit!" he cried as he just bat away the cigarette and didn't even care that it still wasn't completely finished "A date zero? Like a proper concert with Freakshow and everything?"
Zoro watched the entire scene rolling his eyes but the smirk stayed plastered on his lips "Yes!" he exclaimed victorious as he stabbed another piece of salmon "Like a promotional gig in the bands' hometown, half the price, just us Crows and Freakshow at the Colosseum."
There was a flickering in Sanji's eyes that Zoro rarely saw, it was that particular light of sheer happiness and excitement that only this kind of things could give him. "Shit! That's like... Oh fuck!" he started stammering and giggling, covering his mouth, then running his fingers through his hair "Damn, this is starting to feel real, now! I'm so excited!"
Zoro smiled despite the full mouth and watched as Sanji basked in the enthusiasm that had taken over him. That was definitely a big deal for every one of them, but most of all to Zoro and Sanji. Murder Of Crows was their creature, it was their dream and a way to get revenge over all those people who had bullied them over the years – especially for all the horrible grief people gave to Sanji. That tour was going to take them several small steps closer to all of that.
"I need new clothes for this tour, maybe I should do something to my hair, too." Sanji started rambling as he pulled out another cigarette from the packet.
"There he goes," Zoro muttered and shook his head. He knew that Sanji wasn't even paying attention to him by that time, because when Sanji started babbling like that he didn't care about anything else.
"If you weren't a troglodyte I'd ask you to come clothes shopping with me, but Nami and Vivi are way better at giving advices," Sanji snorted as he went on and paused just enough to light up his cigarette "yeah, I should totally do something to my hair. Not cut them, I like them shoulder-length."
Zoro shrugged a shoulder as he picked one of the last pieces of salmon, then frowned when he felt his cellphone vibrate inside his pocket. He pulled it out and his scowl became even deeper once he saw that Bartolomeo had just texted him. Zoro looked up at Sanji, then back down at the screen and decided to open the text.
'so sorry i hung up on you earlier, im a damn idiot. a rude one too. forgive me.'
Bartolomeo really liked to apologize, apparently, and Zoro couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Are you even listening to me?" Sanji smacked Zoro over the head with the lid of the food box.
"Oi! Don't get oil and shit all over my hair!" Zoro growled as he bat the lid away with his hand.
"That would be an improvement," Sanji grunted with raised eyebrows "listen to me when I talk to you, bastard!"
"You wanna do something to your stupid hair and buy more clothes, as if you don't have enough shit already!" Zoro singsonged, looking at him with the blank expression of someone who had said and heard all of that way too many times.
"Fuck you!" Sanji huffed, then tried to peek at Zoro's phone "Who is it, anyway? Ace? Luffy?"
"Mind your own business?" Zoro raised his eyebrows as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket.
Sanji drew his eyebrows together in a mixture of confusion and outrage "What the fuck?" he took the cigarette away from his lips and casually flicked off the ashes on the ground "Since when do you care if I ask you who's texting you?"
"Because you're a pain in the ass." Zoro deadpanned as he finished off his lunch, then handed the empty box to Sanji.
"Hey, fuck you!" Sanji spat, not even looking down at the box "Why are you being like this?"
Zoro groaned and threw his head back "It's Bartolomeo, okay? He just texted me." he gave in, just because he knew that otherwise Sanji would hold a grudge against him for a month or something. Not that he didn't know that he would have probably been screwed whether he'd say who it was or not – he didn't even consider lying because he didn't see the point in doing so.
Sanji's expression turned to something unreadable, then his eyes darkened "You two are texting, now?" he asked with that faux calm that Zoro knew all too well.
"What the hell?" Zoro grimaced "He just texted me, he didn't even have my number before he called me a couple hours ago." then he blinked and shook his head "Why should I even justify myself? He's a person I know and he just texted me, so what?"
Sanji didn't look at him but he took the box from Zoro's hands and hopped off of the bench "I gotta go back. Remember to tell the others about Friday."
"Don't you walk away now, Cook." Zoro's voice was deeper than usual, thick with irritation towards Sanji's behavior.
"Or what?" Sanji asked as he looked at him "I have to go to work, or else Zeff will be a pain in the ass," then he raised his eyebrows "just like his son."
Of course he would play the victim now, how typical. "Don't make this about you, Cook, you're the one who turns into a three headed monster if I dare to even mention Kidd's brother!"
Sanji didn't answer to him, he turned on his heels and began to walk away "Date zero. Tell the other Crows." was all he said before disappearing.
Zoro punched the bench so hard that he broke one of the planks and got several splinters to jab into his fist "Fuck!" he hissed as he looked down at his hand, clenching and unclenching it, then looked over at the gate of the gym and shook his head.
Great. Now he would have had to take the splinters out, just to make his already terrible mood worse.
When Sanji shut Zoro out like that it was one of the worst things ever, there was no telling when he would stop ignoring him and Zoro refused to justify his behavior. There was no point in lashing out like that, and if they had both been better at expressing their feelings Sanji should have just explained to Zoro why Bartolomeo disturbed him so much, instead of storming off and ignore the matter completely.
Zoro was starting to believe his brother, of course. He believed that Bartolomeo had a crush on him, and believed that Sanji had noticed and was unreasonably jealous, and maybe if he would just admit that, then things would be much easier.
Zoro didn't care whether Bartolomeo was hitting on him or not, he wasn't the kind of person to fall for a few nice words or kind actions, he wouldn't just replace the most important person of his life in the blink of an eye, no matter how horrible that person could be to him sometimes.
It was unconditional love the one he felt for Sanji, he didn't like his flaws and was pretty vocal about it, but he accepted them, because they were the things that made Sanji who he was, that made him special and different from everyone else.
Zoro didn't want anyone else, didn't need anyone else, it wasn't an obsession, it was the purest and most sincere of sentiments that he could only feel for that single person that had made his life so much better, and it hurt more than any wound he'd ever endured in his life that Sanji would even think that someone else could ever take his place in Zoro's heart.
"Zoro, is everything alright?"
Conis' voice brought Zoro back to reality, making him look up at the worried expression of the receptionist that was looking down at him.
"Yeah, I just–" Zoro didn't really know what to say as he looked down at his grazed knuckles with a frown.
"Oh God! What did you do?" Conis cried out as she saw Zoro's hand "You need to go to the hospital!"
"Just a few scratches and a couple splinters aren't worth a trip to the hospital." Zoro waved the other hand "Don't worry," he stood up and gestured to the bench before walking back inside the gym "I'll pay for that."
He didn't wait for Conis to go after him and just went to the restrooms to at least wash the blood off his hand. His knuckles burned and the splinters stung, and Zoro knew he couldn't just leave them in the whole day, he was going to need help to get them out, especially since he didn't have needles or tweezers, or anything else that he could use to remove them. Well, he was going to find a way to fix his own stupid mess once his shift would be over.
–
Zoro kept working like his hand was uninjured, despite colleagues and customers telling him that he should have at least disinfected his knuckles, he just shrugged it off and kept on helping people lift and all sorts of things.
Once he was finally able to go back to the changing room and relax, he suddenly remembered about the news he still hadn't told the rest of the Crows about.
"Ah, shit." Zoro rested his head back against the wall and fished his cellphone out of his pocket. He hadn't noticed that he had accidentally switched the vibration off, so he found way too many unread texts.
The Crows convo was the one with the greatest number of messages, so he figured out that Sanji had probably told them about the date zero before he could do that, then there were a couple more texts from Bartolomeo.
Zoro sighed and quickly scrolled through the group chat to see what the guys were actually talking about, and after dozens of messages he finally found the first of the day, which was Sanji's indeed.
'i see the moss-brain shit still hasn't told you yet... well it doesn't surprise me, because he's dumb as fuck and he's probably busy lifting a house or something. shit aside, wE'RE PLAYING WITH FREAKSHOW NEXT WEEK, ON A FRIDAY, FOR THE DATE ZERO OF THE TOUR HERE AT THE COLOSSEUM.'
Zoro rolled his eyes at the beginning of the text, but he couldn't help grinning at the excitement of the messages from the rest of the band and their friends who were seriously going crazy over the news.
Then he noticed that the conversation had taken a different path and they had started talking about Vivi being away with her family for a couple weeks and how Nami was sad because Vivi would have spent her birthday away from her, so Franky had offered to host a late birthday party at his house the day after the concert, that would have also celebrated the beginning of their tour with Freakshow.
Zoro wasn't particularly fond of parties, but he surely was fond of drinking and spending time with his friends, so he was definitely okay with the idea of Franky throwing a party at his house.
'i was definitely lifting houses and my phone was on silent, sorry for not being the one to tell you the good news, but i see that the shit cook did a good job. also the party sounds great, i'm terrible with presents so nami you'll have to help me out with that.'
Zoro hit send, then stood up from his seat to change his clothes and shoes. He wasn't particularly eager to head to the dojo, but Mihawk was probably going to be able to help him with those damn splinters... Once he would have stopped making fun of him or whatever he was going to do once he'd see his hand.
Zoro sat down again to put on his boots, then remembered about Bartolomeo's texts, he had nearly forgotten about those and no one else had still replied to him so it was the perfect moment to check what Bartolomeo was texting him about.
'i must have really done something wrong, i talk too much i know, i'm so sorry i don't want you to be pissed'
'and you also hate it when i apologize too much ugh, i'm a fucking idiot loser'
Zoro sighed long and loud as he read the texts, Bartolomeo was a good guy but he could definitely be unnerving at times, especially after work, but even more after fighting with Sanji and having microscopic wood chips embedded into his flesh. Zoro cursed Kidd mentally for giving Bartolomeo his number, then proceeded to type up an answer.
'look, i'm not mad, i was just busy. i was working and i've had a bit of a rough time. relax, ok? also never mind about the phone call.'
Zoro sent the text and slid his cellphone into the pocket of his torn jeans, then proceeded to slip on and tie up his combat boots, even if his left hand was definitely giving him a hard time.
He had just stood up whent his phone buzzed against his thigh. Zoro did hope it was one of the Crows, but when he pulled out his phone he saw it was Bartolomeo's reply.
"Jesus, fuck..." Zoro's eyes rolled in the back of his skull before he opened the message.
'oh god, that's a relief, it'd kill me to know that i'd wronged you, really. i'm so sorry to hear you had a rough time, hopefully your evening will be better. i'll leave you alone now, can't wait to see you at the gig!'
Zoro wanted to be annoyed, but Bartolomeo had been so nice to him that it felt wrong to be mad at him in any way.
'i hope so too. yeah, i'll see you there.'
Zoro stared down at his minimalistic reply for a while before sending it, then he pushed his phone back into his pocket and finally shouldered his bag to take his leave.
–
The rest of the evening at the dojo wasn't half bad as he had thought, and curiously enough Mihawk didn't comment too much on Zoro's wound apart from telling him that he should avoid doing stupid things that might compromise both his swords and drumsticks wielding – and yes, Zoro had been quite shocked to hear that sort of kind paternal advice, so much that he nearly punched Mihawk in the face while the man bandaged his hand.
When the pair of tired but proud swordsmen entered their house, what they didn't expect was to find the rest of their family drinking beer and placing two gigantic pizzas on the coffee table.
"What is going on in here?" Mihawk asked as the deepest of frowns twisted his face.
Zoro dropped his bag in the usual corner and shrugged a shoulder, there was no way he was going to question pizza and few cold ones.
Shanks popped an Heineken open and walked towards his husband with the smuggest of grins "We need to celebrate our kids' success!" he handed the beer bottle to Mihawk.
Zoro raised his eyebrows and watched as his brothers gave him the thumbs up, they had definitely told Shanks about the date zero and the tour, and he had probably decided to throw a domestic, last minute party. That was definitely very Shanks-like.
"What success?" Mihawk kept scowling at Shanks, then turned to Zoro "You didn't mention anything."
Zoro shrugged a shoulder "I was going to tell you once we'd get home." which was partly a lie because it had totally slipped his mind, but he was sure that Ace and Luffy would have taken over.
"We're going on tour!" Luffy cried out, throwing his arms in the air and spilling beer all around.
"A tour? What?" Mihawk looked more and more lost, and Ace and Shanks were clearly keeping from throwing themselves to the floor and laugh at Mihawk's completely puzzled expression.
"The guys from another local band, who are more famous than us and have a contract and shit," Zoro began to explain, since apparently no one else was going to "asked us to open a few dates of their tour. They're not many, like five or six, but it's still something." Zoro shrugged, almost as if he was pretending like it wasn't that big of a deal and just some casual conversation.
"Our children are gonna be famous! Aren't you excited?" Shanks shouted as he grabbed Mihawk by the shoulders and shook him lightly.
Zoro shook his head, smirking at his parents as he moved to finally grab the beer that Ace had been waving in his direction since he had walked past the threshold.
Ace leaned in to speak into Zoro's ear "I think I'm gonna tell Smoker to come see us at the date zero." he pulled back to beam at his brother.
Zoro sniggered and nodded "Sure, do that." he clapped a hand on Ace's shoulder and squeezed it.
"On tour? When? And where?" Mihawk began asking "Outside the country?"
"On the moon!" Shanks commented sarcastically as he rolled his eyes "No, they're staying inside country for now."
"We're playing at the Colosseum for a date zero, next week!" Luffy informed Mihawk "You guys should come see us! You haven't done that in ages!"
"That's because they're old and they'd rather stay home." Zoro nodded.
"That, and they have to put their alone time to good use," Ace nodded as well, then humped the air in a very suggestive manner.
"Yeah, that too!" Zoro laughed and shook his head.
"Christ, boys." Shanks had tried not to laugh but it had been impossible.
"If you go on tour we'll definitely have more time to dedicate to sex. There's no doubt about that." Mihawk stated, as blunt as he could be, then took a big swig of beer while everyone looked at him in mild shock "But I guess we can make an exception and come see you at the Colosseum."
"Oh... Fuck..." Ace was the first to break the ice.
Shanks looked at Mihawk and shook his head slowly "You're terrible, you know that?" Mihawk shrugged in response, so Shanks went on "That's why you're my husband." Mihawk nodded and Shanks laughed before pulling him into a kiss.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Go upstairs!" Ace commented, pulling a face.
"It's like a car crash," Zoro grimaced "you wanna look away but really you can't."
"Oh, shut up you amateurs!" Shanks huffed after breaking the kiss "You may speak up again once you'll be married and have a bunch of annoying kids like yourselves!"
Ace and Zoro gasped out in outrage.
"Oh we are annoying, huh?" Ace folded his arms across his chest.
"You wanted us," Zoro crossed his arms as well, then raised an eyebrow at Mihawk "especially me!"
"Luffy! Are you hearing this?" Ace called out, but there was no answer, so he furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at him "Luffy, wher–" then he stopped suddenly as he saw his little brother stuffing his face with as much pizza as he could.
"Fucking hell." Zoro shook his head and sniggered.
"And you guys are expensive too," Mihawk finally spoke up "the food you consume could be used to feed a small village!" Mihawk turned to Shanks to seek his help on the matter, but he was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. "Why?" Mihawk shook his head and threw Zoro and Ace in hysterics too.
–
The Crows kept on rehearsing like there was no tomorrow during the days that separated them from the fateful date zero, and between Zoro and Sanji things slowly but surely got better.
Bartolomeo had texted Zoro a few more times to talk about the most trivial stuff, but still he tried to keep up some sort of conversation with Zoro who decided to humor him, at least when he was bored and alone. He avoided texting back to him when Sanji was around, not because he didn't want to see him burst with jealousy, but because he didn't want to deal with the drama which obviously was going to follow.
On Friday morning Ace had asked Zoro to take the day off from work and join he and Sanji to the hair salon, just to keep them company, but Zoro had preferred to only take the evening off from the dojo and work at the gym in the morning.
"You girls go have fun." Zoro waved his hand as he shouldered his bag on his way out.
"I wanna skip school, I'll come with you guys!" Luffy whined as he glared down at his backpack.
"No, you'll have to skip during the tour, we've talked about this a million times!" Ace growled as he shrugged on his coat.
"I wanna drop out, already!" Luffy groaned, and Ace widened his eyes.
"Shut your mouth! Don't let dad hear you, or he'll kick your ass!" Ace chastised him, pressing a hand against his lips.
Zoro shook his head and opened the front door "I'm gonna go, or I'll be late."
"Don't get lost!" Ace waved at him.
Zoro flipped him the bird "I hope you go bald!" he saw Ace picking up Luffy's backpack and knew he was ready to fling it at him, so Zoro stepped outside and shut the door behind him as quickly as he could.
After the agonizing wait that everyone had gone through for the entire day, the band met up at Franky's so that they could go all together at the Colosseum for the soundcheck and to finally get ready for the gig.
Apparently every member of the band apart from Zoro had got themselves something new just to kick off the tour, be it a haircut or a piercing, or a piece of clothing.
Ace had dyed the tips of his hair a fiery shade of red, while Sanji had dyed his own tips black, apparently Nami had visited the hairdresser too, since her ginger head was now sporting an undercut, and Luffy had added a second eyebrow piercing next to the one he already had on his right eyebrow over the past weekend.
"What the fuck, am I the only one who still has the same hair and the same number of piercings as always?" Zoro furrowed his eyebrows right after Nami had let him touch the shaved half of her head.
"I told you to come with us, this morning!" Ace sighed as Franky unlocked his van.
"My hair is fine the way it is." Zoro grunted as he opened the back of the van.
"Then you should have come with me last week," Sanji cut in as he unbuttoned his coat and lifted up his shirt to reveal a still healing left nipple piercing.
Zoro didn't want to get hard even before arriving at the venue, but apparently Sanji had other plans.
"You didn't tell me about it!" Ace gasped, almost offended.
"Oh God, it looks great! Where'd you get it? I wanted to pierce mine too!" Vivi chimed in and both Sanji and Ace turned to her looking like they were on the verge of a nosebleed.
"She just wants the address of the piercer, she isn't inviting you to watch." Nami's voice was low and threatening, and her eyes were dark and dangerous.
"Of course, of course!" Sanji and Ace both spluttered out like a pair of scaredy cats.
Zoro rolled his eyes and climbed inside the van, taking place on the center row, right after Usopp had claimed shotgun as usual. Luffy wasn't exactly alright with Usopp's decision but was still happy to share the back row with Nami and Vivi.
"Isn't Brook coming too?" Usopp suddenly asked as he poked his head out of the rolled down window.
"He's getting there on his own, just sit tight." Franky reassured him as he pushed Usopp's head back inside the van.
Sanji hopped right next to Zoro, and Ace sat beside him.
"Oh, I'm in the middle of a hunky siblings sandwich!" Sanji exclaimed "Has my birthday come earlier, this year?" he added with a smirk.
"Quit being a living porn cliché, shit Cook." Zoro growled with a grimace.
"Fuck off, Marimo!"
"I'm gonna throw both of you out of my car!" Franky barked as he turned in his seat to glare at them.
Zoro and Sanji both folded their arms over their chests and looked in opposite directions.
"Jesus, it's like dealing with second graders!" Franky huffed as he finally turned on the van and the engine roared to life. "I'll have to go a bit fast, or else we'll be super late. I hope you put your seatbelts on!" Franky grinned at the others through the rearview mirror before backing the van out of the parking and speeding off in the direction of the Colosseum.
Outside of the venue there were already at least twenty or more people queuing up, some of them were sitting, other standing in a small group and there were still three hours to go before the concert would even happen. Those things had never happened to the Crows, and they genuinely couldn't believe their eyes when they hopped out of the van.
"They're here! Oh God, Sanji dyed his hair!" Duval cried out all of a sudden, making everyone in the band jump in surprise.
Perona and Hancock were there too, wearing Murder Of Crows shirts, shouting out greetings and waving their arms together with the rest of their fans.
"God, this is the best feeling ever!" Luffy bursted as he grinned and waved back at the small crowd.
"And we still haven't got on stage!" Ace smirked and decided to approach the people in line, so that he could greet them properly.
"We should really get inside..." Franky tried to say with a tone so unconvincing that not even he could believe himself.
"Fuck it, the soundcheck can wait." Sanji shrugged and grabbed Zoro by the sleeve of his jacket "You comin'?" he grinned.
Zoro snorted "Of course, I am." and with those few words they went to bask in the small yet wonderful glory of having such dedicated fans, followed by Nami who definitely wasn't going to miss out on it.
They usually always spoke to fans after their shows, because people mostly came on time for the beginning of the concert and never earlier, but if this was starting to be a thing for them then they definitely weren't going to complain.
Zoro felt so thrilled that he didn't even mind having to take the millionth photo together with Perona, he spoke to many Freakshow fans too, and found it extremely odd that people were asking him if it was true that he and Sanji were dating – where the hell did they even get that idea?! Another thing that he found extremely weird was not to see Bartolomeo there with the other fans, even if Zoro now knew that he worked with Freakshow.
"Guys, I hate to be a party pooper," Franky chimed in once again "but you really need to get inside."
Zoro looked at their roadie, then back at the guy who he'd been speaking to and patted him on the shoulder "Sorry pal," he then jabbed his thumb back at Franky "you heard the man."
Sanji shook Duval's hands off his wrists "Yes, we gotta go now. We'll see you later."
"Bye guys and girls!" Ace beamed at them one last time, then yanked Luffy out of Hancock's reach to follow the others inside.
"Later everyone!" Nami winked, and there was a choir of moans and cries that made her snigger on her way into the Colosseum.
"Yohohoho! Here you are! I thought you weren't going to make it!" Brook greeted them with a wide smile and spread arms.
"Brook!" they all cried out in unison.
"We thought we were never gonna see you again!" Luffy replied before he and Usopp ran to hug him.
"You'll never get rid of me! Not even when you'll be worldwide famous! Yohohoho!" Brook hugged the two boys back, then looked over at Nami and Vivi "Oh! My beautiful ladies, here you are!" he went to kiss their hands.
"Before you even ask, we won't show you our panties." Vivi sighed as she let Brook press his lips to the back of her hand.
"So the pervert is with you," a female voice cut in from behind Brook, catching everyone's attention "he asked the same thing to me. I'm not even wearing any panties."
Zoro furrowed his eyebrows at the figure who was still hidden behind Brook's height, then widened his eyes when he realized it was Bonnie.
"You're not wearing any?!" Sanji cried all of a sudden, making Zoro glare a hole into his skull.
"Nope." Bonnie folded her arms over her chest "I'm wearing boxers."
Zoro snorted at that answer, arching an eyebrow as he glanced at Sanji to see his reaction and, surprisingly, he didn't seem as devastated as Zoro thought he would have looked.
"How funny," Sanji blinked with a shrug of his shoulders "I'm wearing panties."
Zoro widened his eyes, and Luffy started laughing really hard behind him. Everything Sanji was doing and saying seriously made Zoro wonder whether he was going to make it alive by the end of the night or not.
"You definitely are a curious bunch," Bonnie smirked at Sanji's answer, then shamelessly eyed Nami from head to toe "and extremely interesting, too."
Zoro caught a glimpse of Vivi wrapping an arm around Nami's waist in a very possessive manner and couldn't help but think that Freakshow was a band made up from sexual predators or something.
"You're Luffy, right?" Bonnie asked as she averted her gaze from Nami to the bassist.
Luffy beamed up at her "Yep!"
"Eustass said you eat as much as I do," Bonnie began as she seemed to study the boy "I don't trust that idiot, I think I should see it for myself."
Luffy sniggered at those words "Whenever you want." he flicked his thumb at the tip of his nose, then added "But I'm pretty sure I will beat you!"
"We'll see about that, shorty!" Bonnie grinned, then whipped her head in the direction of the stage as a voice called out for her "I'll see you all later." and with those last words she went to pick up her guitar and got on stage with the rest of the band.
"I feel like we're gonna have so much fun during this tour!" Luffy commented with a chuckle.
"I'm not sure Vivi feels the same..." Ace smirked as he looked over at the girl who instantly blushed at those words.
"Shut your mouth, Ace!" Vivi sneered and let go of Nami only to cross her arms over her chest.
"Oh c'mon, babe!" Nami groaned, tugging on the hem of Vivi's dress "I don't care about her! I only care about you!"
Zoro heard a gagging sound coming from beside him, and even without turning his head he already knew it had been Sanji.
"Sorry," Sanji said as he lit up a cigarette "my relationship allergy is acting up, do go ahead." he waved a hand and moved outside for a smoke.
Zoro shook his head, then jabbed a thumb in Sanji's direction when he saw Vivi's confused expression "You must know him by now, he has serious issues with couples."
"Yeah, I figured as much." Vivi pursed her lips.
All of a sudden everyone was staring at Zoro with this sympathetic kind of look in their eyes that creeped him out to the point that he widened his eyes and took a step back "S-stop staring at me! You guys are creepy!"
Soundcheck didn't go exactly as smooth as they had hoped, there were some mistakes, some imperfections, and everything nearly resulted in a big fight until Brook stepped on stage to chastise their childish behavior. They were just nervous, restless and filled with anxiety to the brim and if they didn't want this date zero to be a disaster they needed to pull their shit together and act like professionals.
Brook's talk apparently came through, since the last part of the soundcheck was close to perfection and served to pump them all up.
Zoro had never been so grateful to hear Brook's laugh as they all got off stage and headed to the changing room to put their war gear on.
"Zoro!"
The drummer scowled, hearing his name called out like that while he was about to step inside the room. Zoro stopped and saw Bartolomeo smiling from ear to ear at him.
"Oh, hey!" Zoro raised a hand in greeting.
"I heard the soundcheck, you're gonna do great tonight!" Bartolomeo gave him a thumbs up.
"We'll try to!" Zoro cocked his head, then felt a slap on his shoulder and when he turned his head he saw Sanji glaring at him.
"C'mon Marimo, or we're gonna be late."
Zoro rolled his eyes "You're the one who takes forever."
"Just move!" Sanji shoved him.
"Quit being a bossy bastard." Zoro slapped Sanji's hands away.
"Shut up!"
Zoro shot Bartolomeo an apologetic glance, then let Sanji push him into the changing room.
Zoro had the hardest of times in zipping up his leather pants while side-glancing at Sanji as he dressed up in his fishnet shirt, a pair of short leather shorts, knee high New Rock boots and a black jacket with a feathered collar.
"Dude, you look fucking fabulous!" Ace couldn't help himself as he stopped doing his own make up while looking at Sanji from the mirror.
"I want a jacket like that, too. That's so cool!" Luffy grinned as he watched Sanji twirl and pose like the diva that he was.
"Down boys, there's enough Prince of the Crows for everyone!" Sanji replied with a snigger.
Zoro nibbled on the inside of his cheek and turned around to stop looking at Sanji and focus on how he was going to do his hair – a much better way to pass the time instead of agonizing over the hard on he was idly trying to hide.
Just when he was about to comb his wax slicked fingers through his mohawk to just smooth it back as usual, he felt a pair of hands locking around his wrists that made him scowl and glare back at whoever they belonged to.
"Marimo, it's our first important gig, I am not letting you go out there looking like a cow just lapped at your moss hair."
Zoro didn't really expect that to happen, his tongue felt tied up and he couldn't really manage to spit out a witty retort right away "Fuck... Off! Are you a singer or an hair stylist?" he mentally patted himself on the shoulder for the absolutely clever remark, but then again Sanji was too close and looked too damn spectacular for Zoro's brain to properly connect to his vocal cords.
Sanji arched an eyebrow "Are those things supposed to be mutually exclusive?" he rolled his eyes and shook his head "Just shut the fuck up." Sanji dipped his fingers into the wax jar, then proceeded to style Zoro's mohawk. His green hair was now long enough to be tossed partially to the side, so that he had some bangs nearly covering his left eye, then the shorter hair in the back could be played with and maybe spiked up a little.
Zoro kept still through the entire ordeal, his leather pants only feeling tighter as Sanji's hands worked on his head, and a few times, as Sanji (and Zoro could definitely tell he's been doing it on purpose) pressed and massaged his scalp with his fingertips, Zoro had to literally swallow and bite back his moans.
"Are you done?" Zoro complained at some point.
"Yes, shitty Moss Brain, look at you! You're not boring as fuck anymore!" Sanji grinned at Zoro from the mirror.
Zoro flared his nostrils and turned around to hiss "I hope you trip while getting on stage."
Sanji's expression darkened as he bared his teeth "I hope you'll stab yourself in the eye with your stupid drum sticks!"
"Those are very good purposes for our gig, really!" Ace suddenly chimed in, patting his brother on the shoulder "Now how about we calm down and get out of this room?"
"It's time to do some metal!" Luffy cried as he adjusted the t-shirt with a huge, bloody crow on the front "Not argue like a pair of dimwits!"
Sanji and Zoro shared one last deadly glare, then Sanji theatrically pulled away from him and stomped out of the changing room, leaving the three brothers alone.
"Couldn't you just thank him for doing your hair?" Luffy scoffed as he grabbed his bass by the neck.
"No." Zoro grumbled as he wore a pair of fingerless leather gloves. His knuckles were still healing, but he could definitely manage to play.
"You need a hug?" Ace asked, nudging Zoro in the ribs with his drum sticks.
Zoro yanked the sticks out of Ace's grip then looked up at him "No, we're both shirtless. That would be gay as fuck." he deadpanned.
Ace shoved him "Fuck you!"
Zoro grinned and spun one of his sticks through his fingers "I think we should go."
"I think I'm gonna throw up." Luffy said as he threw his fists in the air.
"Do it before you get on stage." Ace patted Luffy on the back, then stepped out.
"C'mon." Zoro pushed Luffy out of the room, where they found everyone else waiting for them.
Yes. Everyone. Even Freakshow.
And apparently they were discussing which one was the best Game Of Thrones character, because Bonnie was wearing her lucky Targaryen t-shirt under her uniform jacket.
"Please, everyone! Arya is the best, her bloodthirst and want for revenge is all I live for." Sanji announced with a dramatic wave of his hand.
"Shut up, Margaery is the absolute best," Nami grimaced "she would make the perfect queen!"
"Margaery? Gimme a break!" Sanji scoffed.
"No way, Tyrion is the smartest, sassiest and greatest of them all!" Usopp tried to hush both of them.
"The Red Viper of Dorne," Franky shrugged "that's all I'm saying."
"We're all forgetting about Jaime Lannister, apparently." Ace chimed in with raised eyebrows.
Sanji furrowed his eyebrows, but Law was quicker to ask "Is it 'cause you wanna fuck your brother?"
"What the fuck are you all talking about?" Zoro thundered all of a sudden, enraged by the abrupt turn of the conversation he had just started to hear.
Most of the people jumped, startled by Zoro's shout, and turned to glare at him, except for Bartolomeo who widened his eyes and just stared at him with his jaw hanging.
"By the way you're all fucking wrong," Zoro went on, then pointed at Bonnie ''except you. Khaleesi is the greatest."
"For fuck's sake, get on stage already." Kidd barked as he shook his head and walked back to the changing room.
Law sniggered, and after throwing one last lecherous glance at Sanji he followed Kidd.
"What happened to your hair, Ser Jorah?" Nami gasped as she took a better look at Zoro.
Zoro felt his cheekbones warm up "Don't call me that, you idiot!" he growled.
"I happened." Sanji winked at Nami.
"Wow," Nami blinked "it suits you." she nodded.
Vivi smiled at him as she absentmindedly played with one of the sleeves of Nami's bolero "You really do look fantastic!" then she gestured around "You all do! And I'm so proud of being part of this family!"
There was a choir of aww's and ohh's that Zoro didn't take part in, even if he hadn't been uncomfortable, and Sanji decided to thoroughly ignore as well, especially when Nami embraced Vivi as tight as humanly possible.
"Crows!" Brook suddenly cried as he paced towards them "It's time!"
To Be Continued...