A/N: Almost three months after (I apparently can't seem to take less time to update) here we finally are again with an update! I've been on a writing roll for the past couple weeks and completed everything sooner than I thought I would. I still cannot make promises for when the next chapter will come out, I can just tell you that I'm gonna try. Just like I said in the other chapter, I'm working more regularly now and I have less free time, but it's a good thing because I'm making money and when I do have some spare time I try to motivate myself to write as much as I can. Now that I'm still on a roll I'll try and get as much of chapter 19 done as possible.
I wanna thank every single one of you for the patience, for remembering me (I hope you do remember me still, haha!) and for sending me all kinds of beautiful messages and reviews! You're literally the only thing that has kept me going these past months, because at one point I was really close to giving up – WHICH I WON'T DO, DON'T WORRY, I'LL SEE THIS STORY THROUGH TO THE END! – and your love for my work was really helpful! A special thank you goes always to my wonderful girlfriend, my personal adviser and beta, who always helps me stir the story in the right direction.
Last but not least, I wanted to remind you that if you wanna know more about whether I'm having a hard time with writing, or some updates on how writing is going I highly suggest you visit my tumblr, where you can also drop me a message .com
Now, enough useless talk, enjoy!
Chapter 18
"It works now, for real." Ace announced as he placed a wrench on the small round kitchen table and took a seat across from the silver haired man that was staring at him.
Smoker removed the cigar from between his teeth, his eyebrow shooting up in a quizzical manner – the man had obviously had enough of Ace just pretending to fix his boiler, he needed his hot water, already.
"Are you really sure?"
Ace snorted "Yeah, I am." he confirmed with a nod of the head "Do I get to drink that coffee, now?" he asked as he pointed at the mug sitting in the middle of the table.
Smoker nodded and took a sip from his own mug. Ace kept quiet himself as he reached out for the cup and brought the steaming beverage to his lips, it was nearly scorching over his tongue and as it poured down his throat but he didn't mind. He had always had a strange love for scalding drinks and food, just like his odd fascination with fire and flames.
"So..." Smoker started, eyes focused on the dark coffee in his hands "How'd it go?" there was no actual need to be more specific on what he was taking about, because Ace perfectly know what the topic was.
The brunet placed the mug down, his fingers never leaving its smooth surface, he didn't really want to vent or generally speak about that evening's rehearsals, but Smoker was the only person he could talk to without receiving an hint of judgment in his tone or gaze in response.
"Dunno. Alright I guess?" Ace shrugged, his thumb moving upwards and swiping a droplet of coffee that was rolling down the blue mug in his hands "I can barely look at Sanji, let alone speak to him... The others tiptoe around me as if I'm gonna shatter into pieces at any given moment."
Smoker nodded his head slowly, then placed the cigar back between his teeth to take a long, deep drag of smoke before saying anything. "Your brothers?"
Ace's tongue peeked through his lips, a hollow smile curving them as he shook his head "Luffy is sad. Constantly. I can see it in his eyes. He doesn't like not having Zoro around, and he hates that his older brothers aren't even seeing each other." he pressed his fingertips against the mug, almost as if he intended to scratch it.
Smoker exhaled through his nostrils, a solemn expression painting his features as he stared at his lover "Alright, but how do you feel?"
Ace huffed, shaking his head as he flashed Smoker the saddest of smiles "Does it matter?" he lifted up the mug again "I opened a fucking hellmouth." he added before hiding his face behind the mug.
Smoker lifted an eyebrow "It does, actually. You're a person, too. And it's not like you molested Sanji, you guys did it together."
Ace set the mug on the tabletop, eyes glued to the plastic tablecloth as he ran his long, thin finger through his black and faded red hair "Not entirely conscious, too." he kind of mumbled.
"I know..." Smoker hummed around the cigar, averting his gaze from Ace as well.
Ace huffed, tipping his head back for a moment "Can you please not turn all weird on me, like you always do when speaking about this?"
Smoker shrugged a shoulder "I'm not being weird, I'm always the same." he retorted as his eyes went back to stare into Ace's.
"Not to mention that you're the one who brought it up, this time." Ace's thick black eyebrows shot upwards as he tried to make a point.
Smoker snorted "It's all we talk about, really," he said, but then the hurt expression on Ace's face made him add with a sigh "and I accept that, 'cause it's a big deal for you."
Ace's lips curled and a guilty expression warped his features "I'm sorry..." he sighed, shaking his head "I don't want to monopolize our time together, I never give you enough attention."
Smoker took a large sip of coffee, taking his sweet time and leaving Ace hanging, not giving him an actual answer and making him even more nervous.
Ace groaned, hanging his head in defeat "Point made! I'm a selfish asshole!"
Smoker snorted into the mug and shook his head before placing it back down "Kinda," he smirked "but I knew what I was getting into." he shrugged a shoulder.
Ace's eyes flew back on Smoker and his jaw dropped at such words "You're one rude as fuck cop." he commented, offended.
Smoker's eyebrow lifted "I can have you arrested." he threatened.
"Ah, really?" Ace's eyebrows shot upwards at the threat "Is that how it is, now?"
Smoker tipped his chin in the direction of the counter, where his handcuffs rested "I can do it at any moment."
Ace bit his lower lip "You hear about unreasonable police brutality way too often..." he slowly shook his head as he stared at the handcuffs, his brain connecting them to a couple nights ahead when he had asked Smoker to cuff him to the headboard of the bed, and as the thought graced his mind a shiver ran up his spine.
"You should talk to them."
"What?" Ace's voice sounded strangled, and his expression was bewildered as he scowled over at his boyfriend.
Smoker heaved out a long sigh "I said... You should talk to them. Either Zoro or Sanji, or both... You can't go on like this forever."
Ace kept staring at Smoker without really understanding what he was on about, until his brain came down from the sex drive high.
"Oh..." Ace blinked "Yeah, I... You're right, I know." he looked down at the table again, his half erection was still pressing against his black jeans, but his mind was back to the state of helplessness from earlier.
"I'm gonna go to bed, now," Smoker announced, suddenly changing topic again. He pushed his chair back and stood up, he jerked his head in the direction of the bedroom. "You comin'?"
Ace's big, black eyes looked up at Smoker in confusion, but he nodded and stood up himself. He was just about to take a step in Smoker's direction when his eyes fell back to the handcuffs on the counter "You still wanna arrest me?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
Smoker shrugged a shoulder "Well, you have kind of insulted a policeman."
Ace's lips curved in a mischievous grin as he grabbed the cuffs and followed Smoker to the bedroom. Maybe he didn't deserve the happiness, but he wanted it anyway.
–
Waking up in a sweaty pile of limbs might sound sexy, it might evoke images of lust, love and passion, of having had a great night... But that was really not Zoro's case. Luffy hadn't shifted away from him, hadn't unraveled his arms from around his brother's body, and it sounded crazy just to think that because sleeping with Luffy had often resulted in being pushed out of bed by the violence and frequency of his movements.
Zoro was tangled in his little brother's embrace, sweaty and sore, and not only he needed to go to the bathroom, he had to get up to leave the house buy had no idea how to do that without waking Luffy up and cause some sort of commotion. Hadn't Zoro been blessed with the gift of heavy as hell sleep, he probably wouldn't have even dozed off, in such state.
He tried to turn his head to peek over his shoulder as much as the uncomfortable position allowed him to, almost to no avail, to check if Luffy was well in his deepest phase of sleep so that he could wriggle out of his grasp with little to no repercussions.
The brunet looked peaceful, a small smile curved his thin lips and his boyish features were more relaxed than ever, it was endearing, really, and Zoro felt guilt surfacing ever so slowly at the thought of having to leave his baby brother again, to having to disappoint him again. That really wasn't the time for such thoughts, so Zoro quickly shook them off and went to quietly and gently peel Luffy's arms off of him. Zoro knew he could count on Luffy being a as much of a heavy sleeper as himself, and he knew it was unlikely that he could wake him up while being so careful.
"What're y' doin'?" Luffy mumbled, his grasp clutching more firmly than before, leaving Zoro to gasp both in surprise and lack of oxygen.
"L-Luffy!" Zoro croaked out, his hand still clasped around the boy's wrist "I was... I was just... I need the bathroom." he whispered into the darkness, unable to look back at his brother.
"No, stay." Luffy moaned, pressing his face into the nape of Zoro's neck.
"Shit..." Zoro murmured, his eyes screwing shut. "C'mon, I'll just piss in the bed." Zoro went on, trying to convince Luffy to let go.
"Whatev'r." Luffy grumbled, clearly half asleep.
Zoro sighed. He couldn't argue with someone who was asleep, and he was definitely worrying too much about the consequences of just getting off the bed and at least going to the bathroom. None too gently anymore, Zoro pushed Luffy's arm away and quickly scrambled out of bed only to see Luffy groan some more, hog all the covers and hold the pillow tight against his chest. He was still sound asleep.
Zoro shook his head at the image, mentally cursing at himself for being so stupid to think that Luffy would put up a fight while he could just stay asleep in the warm comfort of a bed. He shot one last glance at his little brother, a crooked smirk hanging from his lips, and then finally took off in the direction of the bathroom.
As Zoro walked down the hallway, he found it increasingly stupid that he should be acting like a burglar in his own house, but if he wanted to leave undisturbed he had to put up that whole ridiculous act. He padded his way to the bathroom, pushed the door open, making a face when it grotesquely creaked underneath his touch, and managed to shut and lock it behind his back as quiet as he could.
He needed a shower and obviously a change of clothes, but that wasn't the exact perfect time to do so, he was just gonna take one at Franky's, hopefully without giving him an heart attack when he was going to magically appear in his house at ridiculous o'clock in the morning. Well, he had given him a spare key for a reason, after all... He should have been ready for Zoro to barge in at whatever time.
Zoro rinsed his face and relieved himself, limiting the noises as much as he could and still acting like a damn thief, but when he stepped out of the bathroom all his efforts had clearly been for nothing.
"Zoro, what–?" Ace winced, looking as though he had seen a ghost.
"You gotta be kidding me." Zoro groaned under his breath, hanging his head in defeat.
Ace was standing right in front of him, all leather jacket and ruffled hair, with the reddened cheeks of someone who was as uncomfortable as him for having been caught sneaking... Well, in, instead of out.
"I didn't think you'd be..." Ace's eyebrows drew together, his stance turning suddenly defensive.
"Neither I thought I was gonna run into you." Zoro replied, dry. Seriously, Ace was the last person he expected to be caught by, not to mention the person he least wanted to actually meet. "I was just leaving." he added as he tried to walk past his older brother, but a hand was clapped on his shoulder and made him stop.
"Wait a moment."
Zoro didn't want to stop but the greatest part of his conscience rooted him to the spot. His lashes fluttered shut, his jaw clenched, he didn't want to hear anything yet he knew he couldn't hide or run away from his family forever.
"What do you want?" Zoro asked, though his tone was far from sounding like a question.
"I think it's time you finally let me speak to you," Ace said, at last "again." he added with a sigh.
Zoro didn't turn, but his eyes opened to stare at the door across from him, his parents' room. "I think you spoke to me just enough." he answered, stubborn.
"Stop doing this! Stop shutting me out!" Ace went on, raising his voice in the process.
Zoro quickly turned around, nostrils flared as he hushed his older brother and stepped ahead to grasp his wrist and pull him roughly into Ace's own room. He couldn't avoid that talk forever, Zoro was well aware of that, but they definitely weren't going to have it in the middle of the hallway, where everyone could hear and walk in on them.
"What the hell is wrong with you, shouting like that?" Zoro growled lowly, fisting at the collar of Ace's jacket.
"Got what I wanted, didn't I?" Ace smirked, and chuckled softly when Zoro pushed him away.
"I'm tired of all this." Zoro scrubbed a hand down his face.
"Well, so am I. I'm tired of being treated like I murdered someone an–"
Zoro huffed "You murdered my damn trust in you."
Ace rolled his eyes and peeled the leather jacket off of his shoulders "I have no idea how many times I'm gonna have to tell you that the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you, or betray your trust." he shook his head, then sat down to slip off his heavy boots.
Zoro spread his arms "Well you did. And we're having the exact same conversation we had the last time we spoke."
Ace's features relaxed in what one could only call a resigned expression, his shoulders hunching as he tilted his head to the side "Well, last time you told me I've never really been your brother, so you still need to say that if we wanna do a perfect replay."
Zoro's lips curled and his jaw stiffened. He knew he had told Ace something incredibly ugly, but he really had believed those words when he'd spilled them. Now? Now he wasn't exactly sure if he believed them or not.
"I wouldn't still be so angry if I didn't think you were my brother." Zoro said in a softer tone than earlier, his eyes dropping momentarily to the floor in the process.
Ace shook his head "You're angry because I walked in on you wanting to be alone. You were probably about to run away again, weren't you?"
Zoro frowned, he didn't like the tone that Ace was using, he didn't have the right to sound so pissed. "Are you accusing me of being a coward?"
Ace shrugged, raising his hands to somehow demonstrate his innocence "I didn't say anything, you're putting words in my mouth."
By that point Zoro didn't want to have anything to do with Ace anymore. That certainly wasn't the way he had pictured this conversation to go... Not that he had really had a picture in mind of how it should have actually been.
"Fuck off, Ace. You're not making yourself look any better at a time like this." Zoro said to end the absurd conversation, he wasn't going to stay in that room another moment, just as much as he didn't want to stay in that house any longer.
Ace groaned, throwing his head back and clapping both hands on each of Zoro's shoulders. "You have no idea what's it been like for me, lately! Barely anyone fucking speaks to me, Sanji hates me like I've jumped him or... Or like I made him fight with you! Like it's all my fault if things are this fucking shitty at the moment!" he bursted, unable to contain all the pent up frustration, his eyes threatening to spill tears in a matter of seconds.
Zoro stared at him bewildered. He wasn't expecting such a reaction, not after the irritating exchange they had just had.
Ace shook his head slowly, his gaze dropping to the floor as he went on speaking again "I can't do this anymore." he lifted his eyes back on Zoro "Luffy looks so serious almost all the time, he doesn't smile like he always does. Our folks are constantly in weird moods, I have to tiptoe around them... You're not here, and don't wanna know about me." he shrugged, unable to add anything else.
Zoro did feel his heart shrink in his chest and his throat tightening, he didn't like what was happening lately, everything was a mess. Seeing Ace so devastated reminded him of the night he confessed, but not quite... He was so tired, he was exhausted, almost as much as Zoro was. Yet Ace still had the one thing that mattered and didn't make him feel a complete waste of space.
"You got your man, at least." Zoro replied, his tone as dry as sand, not betraying any other thoughts.
Ace hesitated, taken aback by Zoro's words, but spoke up anyway "He's the only thing I have left." he said softly, in some kind of a pleading tone.
Zoro huffed, shaking his head "People still love you, it's the situation that they truly hate. The hurt, the change, the prospective of things never going to be the same again." he shrugged "I know Luffy loves you, just like I know that Shanks and Mihawk love you."
"But do you?" Ace asked way too promptly, almost as if he had read Zoro's mind before words had actually left his lips.
Zoro licked his lips, this time his gaze was the one to fall to his own boots "How can you even doubt that? Of course I do."
"Then why? Why are you doing all this to me?" Ace cried out, probably a little too loud to keep the conversation as private as it should have.
Zoro's eyes quickly came to rest upon Ace's again, his eyebrows knitted together in consternation. "Are you kidding me?" he uttered, puzzled didn't even come close to describing how he felt "I should be the one to ask why you did to me what you did! You stabbed me in the back, you had sex with the one person I've been in love for all my life!" he didn't mean to start shaking, but rage was slowly taking the best of him.
"I didn't do it on purpose! I never would have!" Ace retorted, springing up to his feet "How many times do I need to tell you that I was drunk as fuck? I even called him Smoker!" he growled, towering over Zoro.
Zoro would have wanted to say something in return but he simply couldn't, yes Ace had added a new detail to the story, a quite important one, and at the moment he had no idea about what he should have said.
"Also, Zoro... I'm not trying to justify myself by saying this, but... Fuck," Ace shook his head "You can't expect Sanji to just fall into your arms without filling the guy in about your undying love for him."
Zoro stared at Ace as if his words had burnt right through his skin. He couldn't believe the words he had just heard, not because he knew they were a fact but because Zoro was seriously starting to think that Ace was just trying to piss him off.
"You seriously don't get it, do you?" Zoro started "When have I ever said that I expected Sanji to fall for me unconditionally? Just tell me when have your ever heard such words coming out of my mouth." his tone was the precise definition of the calm before the storm, and by the look on his face, Ace knew it was too.
"No, I... You're right, jus–"
"Never. I've never been possessive, I've never done anything to hold Sanji back from living his life the way he wanted," he took a step ahead, large enough for him to come even closer to his brother "but to know that my brother, knowing about my feelings, having told me in the past that Sanji was completely off your radar, fucked him under the same roof as me... Well, that ticks me off. Just a little." he roared, making Ace flinch slightly.
"Zoro... I know, I got carried away, I didn't mean..." Ace tried to explain.
"Look. It's the middle of the night and I'm done yelling. Go to sleep, I gotta get out of here." Zoro said simply, completely unwilling to keep on such a conversation.
"I'm sorry, Zoro, really. Don't go again, just stay here at home."
Zoro scrubbed a hand down his face, he took a deep breath as he looked at his brother again, and his pleading expression.
"Please," Ace repeated for God knows how many times, now "I shouldn't have said those things, but you gotta believe that I never meant to hurt you."
"Oh, there's so many things you shouldn't have done." Zoro huffed, sarcastic.
He shook his head, ready to turn around and leave the room, but Ace grabbed his wrist.
"Zoro, c'mon! I spoke out of anger, I shouldn't have!" Ace screwed his eyes shut, hanging his head as he begged his brother.
"You're making a fool of yourself." Zoro said calmly, his trademark frown appearing on his brow.
"I don't care!" Ace said as he opened his eyes and stared into Zoro's very soul "I don't care if I can get my brother back. Fuck pride, I need you back. Luffy needs you back." Ace bit his lower lip as he shook his head slowly "We're losing it completely here, man..." he loosened the grip on Zoro's wrist, leaving his arm to drop and hang back along his side, a clear sign of surrender.
Zoro's brow relaxed at those words, and at that point he couldn't argue anymore.
It was time. No matter how much Ace could trigger his anger with his mindless words, it was time to face life once again instead of avoiding everyone. He couldn't keep on pushing Ace away, it was clear that he hadn't done it on purpose and that everything that seemed so obvious really wasn't. Ace was in love with someone, someone who wasn't Sanji and Zoro knew it was true, he could read it in Ace's eyes and he had known it since when Ace had confessed his feelings for the man the very first time. Rage can blind you, and mixing it together with jealousy, they can cloud your judgment and drive you insane, but now it was time to stop and lower the weapons, because the enemy wasn't in the room... If there really was an enemy at all.
Zoro shook his head slowly, his throat feeling dry and tightened as he tried to say a firm "Alright." that actually came out strangled.
Ace's eyebrows shot up in utter surprise "A-alright?" he repeated, oblivious to the meaning of such word at the moment.
Zoro groaned lowly "Alright. I'm staying." he added, to make the concept clear.
A small cry of relief escaped Ace's lips as his face lit up with happiness "Are you, really?!"
Zoro nodded, keeping quiet. He couldn't bear to break Luffy's heart again, anyway, yet he knew that being home again meant that Mihawk was going to kick his ass until he went back to teach Kendo at the dojo, and he really didn't feel like starting again, yet.
"So, am I forgiven?" Ace asked, his eyes scrutinizing every single inch of his brother's face to read the smallest expression it could betray.
Zoro shrugged a shoulder "Yeah." then knowing what could have been the consequential request after accepting to come back home, he raised a hand "Do not ask me to join the band again, because I won't. That chapter is over."
Ace's expression turned from utterly relieved to slightly hurt but he nodded anyway "I get it, I know. I wouldn't ask you that."
Zoro nodded as well "Good. Can we sleep, now?"
"Just one more thing."
"What?"
Ace didn't say anything and just launched himself at Zoro in what could only be described as a football player kind of tackle, and both brothers flew few feet back before crashing to the ground as Ace held Zoro in an impossibly tight embrace.
"Ow! You're a fucking idiot!" Zoro growled as he tried to push Ace off of him "Get off!"
"Like fuck I am!" Ace laughed as he planted a hard kiss to Zoro's cheek.
"For fuck's sake, man!" Zoro kept groaning and trying to move Ace away from him, but his brother's laughter was so infectious that he couldn't help but start laughing himself.
They didn't know for how long they had actually lied on the floor in hysterics, even after Ace had finally rolled off of Zoro, they had just lied one next to the other laughing as they stared up at the ceiling. For both brothers it felt like they hadn't laughed in a lifetime, anyway, and the best thing to do at the moment seemed to not stop doing so for a while.
"So... You really are in love with that geezer boyfriend of yours, huh?" Zoro broke the silence after the laughter had finally simmered down.
Ace groaned and slapped Zoro's arm with the back of his hand "He's not that old, knock it off!"
Zoro snorted in order to bite back another laugh, but Ace slapped him again.
"He's a great guy who cares about me a stupid amount," Ace went on as he stared at the dark ceiling as if he was intensely thinking his feelings through "I do. I just... I really, really love him. And I'm pretty sure he really loves me, too."
Zoro hummed in response. He didn't want to be handled with care by his brother, nor pitied for the fact that he wasn't as lucky as Ace, but he really wasn't thinking about that at the moment, Zoro had been genuinely interested in knowing more about Smoker. Zoro had thought it was horribly unfair that Ace got exactly what he wanted after what had happened, but in the end Zoro knew that Ace was no liar and that, at least on his part, he never meant Zoro any harm.
"You can't avoid him forever, you know that right?" Ace broke the silence that had fallen upon them.
"Watch me." Zoro replied, dry.
"Come on... He's as destroyed as you are." Ace kept pressing.
Zoro huffed "Yeah, right. He told me he purposely did this to hurt me. I have no intentions to see him again."
Ace kept quiet, probably unable to find anything to say in return, and Zoro took it as a cue to finally leave the room and go back to bed. He stood back up on his feet and cracked his neck.
"Zoro?"
"Hm?"
"I'm really happy you're back home."
Zoro looked down at his brother and smirked softly before exiting the room. He still wasn't sure about how he felt, happiness was still something he didn't have, but being home and having made up with at least Ace certainly made him feel better.
Zoro pushed the door of his bedroom open, revealing Luffy being spread-eagled on the entire bed as he snored softly. Zoro sighed, he truly was back home.
–
Rhythmical thuds and chatting in the background didn't manage to cover up the thoughts swarming through Sanji's chaotic mind, he had spent an entire night thinking this over and he had come to the conclusion that he needed to add one very specific song to the setlist for their upcoming show.
He exhaled the last drag of cigarette through his parted lips, crushed the butt of the cancer stick with the steel heel of his boot on the floor of Franky's garage, and sucked in a deep breath. He could do this, no matter how much Nami had tried to make decisions as much as Zoro had allowed her to, Sanji was still the one in charge, he hadn't lost his mind and grief and guilt weren't a good excuse for being overthrown.
"Listen up..." Sanji started, his voice sounded kinda groggy but it was steady and assertive.
Bartolomeo stopped beating on the tom right away, and those who were chatting went quiet as they aimed their attention at Sanji. The reaction made him feel definitely a lot better about himself, but he didn't let his facial expressions betray anything as he gave a curt nod and went on speaking.
"I know it's kinda sudden, and the concert is only a couple days away, but I also know how good you all are," Sanji looked at everyone in the room but Barto and Ace – he could barely stand being in the same room as them but there was no helping it "so I'm asking you to change one of the Sonata Arctica covers. Just one."
"Wait, which one?" Nami asked, her eyebrows furrowing in question.
Sanji ran his tongue between his lips, the tongue stud clicking ever so lightly against the lip ring in the process "I think we should drop The Wolves Die Young and switch with Shamandalie." he replied, trying to sound as casual as he could, even if his gaze dropped inevitably to the floor.
"Do you really wanna drop one of the fans favorites for a ballad?!" Luffy chimed in, almost offended by the idea.
"We never even tried it, I don't know if we have enough time to do so." Ace spoke, leaving Sanji slightly bewildered – he wasn't expecting Ace to actually speak directly to him.
"It's the best Sonata Arctica ballad, and you all know it." Sanji pressed, ignoring Ace.
Nami's eyes were boring a hole through his skull, Sanji could practically feel her eyes on him, so he turned his eyes slightly in her direction and found her staring at him just as intensely as he had thought, with an unreadable expression on her face. Sanji's eyebrows knitted together... She couldn't have already read through him, could she?
"I think we should do it." Nami spoke over the quiet arguing, and Sanji stiffened.
She knew.
"Shamandalie is probably the most beautiful ballad from Sonata Arctica, and fans will love it." she added when everyone had finally turned to look at her.
Sanji worried his lower lip between his teeth as he listened, Nami had never, not even for a moment, moved her eyes from his and Sanji felt so exposed that for a moment he feared he was actually naked.
"I know the drum part of the song, already." Bartolomeo said shyly.
Sanji's eyes flew to him. He had to got to be kidding.
"You do?" Nami asked before anyone else could speak up.
"Y-yeah... I like Sonata Arctica, so I learned a few of their songs on my own." Barto explained with a shrug.
"That's good, isn't it?" Nami frowned her lips as she went back to look at Sanji.
Sanji was literally struggling to keep from lashing out on Bartolomeo and how much his sole existence bothered him.
"One less person who's gotta learn it." Sanji said, dry.
"Well, what the hell," Ace shrugged a shoulder "I'll learn it just fine, too."
Luffy gave a nod "Sure, shouldn't be a problem." he said with a smile and giving Sanji a thumbs up.
"Well... I gotta admit I love the song, so I already know it, too. Also I'm very good at what I do, so it wouldn't be a problem." Nami said in a casual tone as she shrugged a shoulder and pulled her long, orange hair up into a messy bun.
Sanji stood in his place dumbfounded, and in a kind of numb state of both mind and body. Did that just happen? Everyone was so accommodating and nice... It felt way too weird and unnatural. He didn't like it.
"O... Kay, then?" Sanji said after a few moments of silence. He kept standing rooted to the spot, unable to actually move his long legs and get to his position behind the mic stand. It felt like haze had swirled up around him in a suffocating manner, clouding his brain and eyes as if he had been pushed into a trance, barely aware of his surroundings.
"Sanji?"
He heard after a while, Nami's hand coiling around his wrist and squeezing just enough to pull him back to reality. Sanji turned his head to her, the veil of void and unconsciousness finally dropping from his blue eyes.
"Can we start practicing, or did you have a stroke?" Nami continued in a sarcastic, yet gentle tone.
Sanji heard small laughter coming from his friends, but it wasn't as irritating or mean as he thought it would be.
"Why are you guys being like this?" Sanji asked, his face warping in a weirded out expression as he stared into Nami's eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Nami's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Yeah, must be a stroke of some sort." Usopp echoed from one of the benches, but Sanji didn't turn to glare at him.
He took a general glance around the garage, everyone looked at least some different degrees of puzzled and it irked him to no end. Were they playing dumb, or something?
"Nevermind..." Sanji sighed out as he moved to the mic stand "Let's just do this thing."
"About time." Luffy commented with a grin as he cracked his fingers, getting ready to strum on his bass guitar.
Since the drummer and the keyboardist knew what to do, Sanji knew that the rest of the band could follow even without knowing the song wholly, they could work around it, follow the melody, because they all knew the song more or less and even though they were going to have to study the sheet properly at home, they could still practice it once.
Sanji felt the song brew into the pit of his stomach like a storm, it rumbled into his rib cage with the eagerness of a caged animal ready to burst out. He had played out this moment for the entire night and now all he wanted to do was scream at the top of his lungs, letting everything out, even if it was only a mere evening at practice. Singing was the best therapy for Sanji, and he had been ignoring this detail for too long, now.
The song opened with a piano section that Nami remembered and played by heart, maybe not perfectly but it was enough to cue the rest of the instruments that came to life all together, giving Sanji the right time to step in with his powerful, yet emotion imbued voice. The lyrics were too close to his heart and felt so personal that he couldn't keep a straight line of singing, no matter how hard he tried.
"In good old times, remember my friend
Moon was so bright and so close to us, sometimes
We were still blind and deaf, what a bliss?
Painting the world of our own, for our own eyes, now?
Can we ever have what we had then?
Friendship unbreakable
Love means nothing to me
Without blinking an eye
I'd fade, if so needed,
All those moments with you
If I had you beside me
One cloudy day we both lost the game?
We drifted so far and away
Nothing is quite as cruel as a child
Sometimes we break the unbreakable, sometimes?
And we'll never have what we had then
Friendship unbroken
Love means nothing to me
Without blinking an eye
I'd fade, if so needed,
All those moments with you
If I had you beside me now"
Sanji had some time to breathe, his hands both clasping around the microphone as he closed his eyes, forehead resting against his own fists as he listened to his friends play their instrumental part, he gathered as much oxygen as he could, even if relaxing his diaphragm wasn't the easiest thing to do as his cue to scream out the next stanza approached.
"I was unable to cope with what you said
Sometimes we need to be cruel to be kind
Child that I was, could not see the reason
Feelings I had were but sham and a lie?"
Sanji's throat hurt slightly, but he didn't complain, he turned his head away from the microphone and cleared his throat in time to go on singing the rest of the song.
"I have never forgotten your smile
Your eyes, oh, Shamandalie
Time went by, many memories died
I'm writing this down to ease my pain
You saw us always clearer than me
How we were never meant to be
Love denied meant the friendship would die
Now I have seen the light
These memories make me cry
Can I ever have what I had then?
Friendship unbroken
Love means nothing to me
Without blinking an eye
I'd fade, if so needed,
All those moments with you
And see the world with my wide open eyes
Friendship got broken
There's no other for me
Like the one of my childhood days
Can you forgive me?
The love got better off me,
On that day back in old times"
Once the song ended, Usopp, Franky and Vivi were all standing and applauding as if they had witnessed the greatest performance off all times, their eyes glistening all along.
"God, Sanji... That was unbelievable." Vivi said, slightly choked up as she shook her head and approached Sanji to pull him into a tight hug.
Sanji remained frozen into the hug, puzzled. She had never hugged him like that and he seriously had no idea why she would do that, until he realized that he had been crying throughout the entire second half of the song.
"I-I'm... Fine, Vivi, my dearest. Thank you." Sanji nodded and pulled back from the hug "Just gotta..." he gestured towards the door that led to Franky's house.
"You were amazing, bro! It was so emotional!" Franky barked out as he wiped off his own fat tears.
Sanji stared at him terrified, and avoided further eye contact with anyone else as he escaped the garage and made his way to the bathroom to wash his face, hurrying up the small stairs.
Once he locked himself into the small room he stared at his reflection in the mirror, Sanji was utterly horrified at the thought of having cried in front of everyone while singing, and now he was afraid he could have ended up doing just the same during the actual concert. He quickly opened the faucet to splash a ridiculous amount of water on his face, way too many times, then turned off the water and sat down on the lip of the tub that was right behind him.
He took in several deep breaths in order to calm down, he wasn't feeling an actual panic attack surging but what he had just gone through was still a bit overwhelming. Sanji knew he was going to get emotional while singing Shamandalie, he had mentally pinned the lyrics to Zoro and the entire situation he had pushed himself in, but he didn't think he could start crying while singing it out loud during rehearsal. That wasn't good, the song affected him more than he'd thought.
Sanji sat there for what had seemed like a handful of moments, but really he had no idea of how long he'd been locked inside the bathroom, until a knock on the door startled him awake from his trance.
"Sanji, are you still alive?" Nami's voice filtered through the wood of the door.
Fuck. Why did it have to be her of all people? The last thing Sanji wanted was for Nami to see him in that pathetic state.
"I'm fine, Nami, thanks for your concern. I'll be out soon, really." Sanji tried to get her to leave him be, even though he knew how stubborn she was.
"Are you politely telling me to fuck off?" Nami went on, and Sanji could hear the deadly glare burn a hole through the door.
"I'm not..." Sanji sighed, hanging his head. Was it really hard for people to understand that he needed some space every once in a while? "I just need a few more moments, then I'll come out." he went on, trying really hard to get Nami to... Well, fuck off.
"C'mon, let me in. I gotta speak to you "
"Nami..." Sanji cried out in a poor attempt to mask his frustration.
"You either let me in right now, or I'll bust down the door." Nami pressed.
There was no arguing with the woman, and Sanji was the last person who actually wanted to get into a fight with her, so he stood up to unlock and open the door.
"See? It wasn't that hard." Nami smirked softly, then pushed him further inside the bathroom as she walked in and shut the door behind her.
Sanji let out another sigh as he went to take his seat on the tub again, unable to look Nami in the eye as she pulled down the toilet seat and sat down on it.
"You know that Zoro won't be there to hear you sing Shamandalie, do you?" Nami started, going straight to the point without dancing around it.
Sanji gaped at her as the words hit him hard enough to knock the wind out of him.
"O-of course... It isn't about him! Not everything is!" he tried to sound convincing, but he couldn't even convince himself.
"It is. Everything is about him, because you're still hurting for what happened, and it's fine." Nami said in the softer tone she could muster "You don't have to torture yourself with that damn song, honey."
The very last thing that Sanji wanted to do was cry in front of Nami, especially after he had already cried during rehearsals and had probably looked like a huge idiot, but Nami's expression as she spoke to him, her gentle voice and those words were the ultimate tear trigger. He growled, pressing his fingers into his eyes as if they could stop those stupid salty drops from streaming down his face, and shook his head.
"I just–" Sanji started, not even knowing where that phrase was headed, because his head was a pounding mess. "I need to sing that song, even if he doesn't hear me," he sobbed and gulped – God, how much he loathed speaking while crying. "I need to let those feelings out, I wanna yell out how much of a fucking dick I am for fucking everything up."
There, he said it.
Sanji wiped his tears off with the sleeve of his sweater, sniffling in the process. He wasn't trying to gain the attention of others, nor did he demand to be pitied, he didn't see himself as a victim but as the usual screw up who couldn't even keep the person he loved the most. There was no way he was going to back up from signing Shamandalie, he was going to go through with it and even if he risked bawling his eyes out during the live show, he was going to be magnificent while doing so.
"I miss him too, Sanji..." Nami confessed, a small smile curving her lips as she reached out her hand to grab Sanji's.
Sanji's eyes went back to Nami's, then down to their hands "I don't know if I can go on that stage without him, and be alright."
Normally he wouldn't say something like that to anyone than his own reflection or shadow, but keeping everything in only made it harder, and Nami's concern for him made him want to open up more.
"You will be," Nami nodded as she squeezed Sanji's hand softly "none of us likes the idea of performing without Zoro, but we gotta." she gave a small shrug.
Sanji didn't say anything as he kept staring down at their hands. Nami's was as pale as his own, just smaller and shorter, her nail polish looked perfect and usually Sanji's would be too if he weren't in such a self loathing state. He couldn't really help but comparing how Zoro's hand would be much bigger and rougher than Nami's, the skin would be darker and the nails would be barely covered in chipped black polish. He missed the feeling of that hand in his own more than he had ever realized.
"You're our vocalist, and the founder of the Crows, we need you." Nami went on, probably thinking that Sanji had dissociated or something.
Sanji huffed, shaking his head slowly "I'm fucking disposable, no one needs an asshole like me."
He didn't even have time to finish talking that Nami had already punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could, making him groan in pain.
"Ow! What the fuck?!" Sanji glared at her as he massaged his sore shoulder.
"Because I'm done listening to you spewing crap from your mouth, but I didn't wanna ruin your face for the concert." Nami explained in a deadly tone.
Sanji clenched his jaw and looked away like a scolded child. He didn't care if he sounded too dramatic, he genuinely thought that about himself.
"You gonna come finish rehearsals with us?" Nami asked as she stood up, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Do I even have a choice?" Sanji sighed as he looked up at her.
Nami didn't answer and just opened the bathroom door to get back to the garage, leaving Sanji alone for a few more moments. The singer sucked in a shaky breath and stood up from the tub, rinsed his face once more and grimaced at his bloodshot eyes before finally following Nami in joining the others again.
"Everything alright?" Vivi asked as soon as Sanji set foot on the garage floor.
He raised his eyes on her and smiled softly with a nod "Sure, sweetheart. I wasn't feeling to good, so I needed a short pause."
"Are you sure you wanna continue?" Luffy asked. Was that concern that Sanji heard in his tone?
"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Sanji asked as if Luffy's question was absolutely inappropriate.
"No reason at all." Luffy shrugged and beamed at the blond, flashing him one of those knowing looks that always felt too wise for such a boyish face.
"We should probably play something a bit lighter, huh?" Ace suggested as he swung the strap of his guitar back over his shoulders "Something of ours."
Sanji looked at Ace in the eyes for what was probably the first time in all those days and nodded in approval "Yes, let's do The Siren." he grinned.
"The Siren it is!" Nami cracked her fingers as she set her synth up and got ready to cue everyone in.
Bartolomeo had kept completely silent, so much that Sanji had almost forgotten about his presence until he glanced over to the drums and saw the wrong green-haired dude sitting by it – and Sanji struggled very hard not to fling the microphone (with the stand attached) at his ugly mug. He sucked in an unsteady breath, trying to focus on the rest of the band and pretending that the drum sounds was just a recording and not an actual person who had replaced Zoro.
"Five, four, three, two, one!" Nami counted, almost sing-songing and then finally began to play the intro to The Siren.
It could be easy now, doing all of that in the coziness and intimacy of Franky's garage, but the terror of having to do an entire live show without Zoro was starting to brew inside of Sanji, no matter how much he was trying to ignore it.
–
Practice didn't last long, apart from Shamandalie the other songs were perfectly carved into everyone's memory, so there was no actual need to go over every single one of them every time.
Franky had suggested going out for drinks, but apart from Sanji who had firmly agreed to go and get wasted, everyone else either had plans or just a visceral need for their comfy beds. Not to mention that there was something important to deal with as a band that they had either forgotten to do or pushed back for too long.
"There's an announce to be made on each and every one of our social media accounts." Nami announced.
"What?" Luffy asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Sanji had a vague idea of what this could be about, and his blood was already starting to freeze in his veins as the clock ticked away.
"The fans need to know about Zoro." Vivi chimed in with a frown of her lips.
Nami nodded her head "I've always wanted to do this, since day one of him parting ways with us–"
"He didn't fucking... Part ways with us, he–" Sanji bursted all of a sudden. His concerns were well aimed, after all, Nami was going to address the fact that they needed to make Zoro's leave official and Sanji felt like throwing up.
He wanted to say that things could have been momentarily, that Zoro might have come back, even if Sanji was the first one who didn't believe that, but he couldn't. He couldn't speak about Zoro, no matter how hard he tried.
Everyone looked at him, everyone but Barto who kept glancing anywhere but at Sanji, definitely knowing that the singer might have launched himself at him with murderous intentions.
"Sanji is right! I mean... Why should we say that he left the band like it's something definitive. I don't like the sound of it, Nami!" Luffy cut in adamant, crossing his arms across his chest.
Sanji looked at him in a mix of surprise and pure gratitude, he couldn't believe that some of his friends still agreed and sided with him, he especially didn't expect Luffy to do that.
"Well, you should somehow say that at least for a brief time he won't be at live shows," Usopp shrugged a shoulder "it's only fair to the fans."
"Shut up, Usopp." Luffy said briskly.
"Don't be fucking rude!" Usopp shouted back at him.
"Usopp is right, guys. We need to be at least partially honest with our fans... They're part of the family, and the only reason we've come so far." Nami went on.
Sanji threw his head back at Nami's words "You're doing it again."
Nami lifted an eyebrow "Excuse me?"
He didn't want to argue in that moment, it wasn't fair to do so, especially not after how kind she had been to him just an hour before, but all he wanted to do was ask her who the hell had died and made her queen of the band.
"Let's just make important decisions together, alright?" Sanji said, trapping all the poison he could have spat behind his teeth.
Nami blinked a couple times "That's what we're doing, I just merely suggested that we should think about the fans, too. We cannot just barge on stage with Bartolomeo instead of Zoro and expect that no one will notice the difference."
Sanji snorted "Maybe from the very back of the venue they would be slightly fooled."
"Look... I'm gonna go and leave you guys to it. I did my part." Bartolomeo muttered as he shrugged on his jacket and walked to the front door.
"Barto..." Nami called out to him.
"Please let him go." Sanji said in an exasperated tone.
"I'll see you on Friday." Barto went on as he didn't turn to look at anyone and just walked out of the door.
"Still don't wanna go out for drinks?" Franky suggested again, earning a glare from Nami.
"We should be a bit nicer to him." Nami commented, ignoring Franky's words completely.
"I did ask him to join us for drinks." Franky sighed.
"That's not what I meant!"
"I don't give a shit about him, and I sure as hell won't be nice to that idiot." Sanji spat as he lit up a cigarette. He had been nice enough not to kick the bastard's teeth in.
"Well, he saved our asses." Nami continued.
"Oh please, he's caused more trouble than you think." Sanji rolled his eyes and took a drag of tobacco.
"If you start yelling at each other I'm gonna have to tear down this house, and I don't think Franky will be happy." Luffy threatened. He looked on the verge of explosion, he had definitely had enough of their friends arguing with one another.
"No, I would be super pissed." Franky agreed with Luffy.
"Look," Ace started, and Sanji's head whipped immediately in his direction "I think Nami has a point. We won't be telling our fans that Zoro left us for good, we'll just let them know that it's something temporary." he shrugged at the end of his thoughts.
Sanji didn't want to hear Ace's suggestions, no matter what, even if they were reasonable he didn't want to agree with him. Sanji kept quiet as he puffed away on his cigarette angrily, the muscles in his body tensing up and the vein on his forehead pulsing behind the blond bangs. Ace should have kept his damn mouth shut, since he was one of the reasons why Zoro wasn't there in the first place.
"This is what I wanted to do all along, thank you." Nami said as she waved her hand towards Ace.
"It's gonna freak people out." Luffy went on.
"It's still gonna freak them out when they won't see him on the goddamn stage, Luffy!" Nami groaned, exasperated.
"Let's just do it." Sanji finally agreed. She was right, she was right even if it hurt like hell.
Deep inside, what bothered Sanji was that he wasn't as lucid as he thought he actually was, he couldn't make certain decisions for the band because pain clouded his judgment and he felt like a damn idiot for that. It seriously angered him that he needed Nami to come up with these ideas because lately his mind was a complete disaster... His father was right and it made everything even more unbearable.
Everyone stared at him once he finally agreed with Nami, and Franky nodded towards him.
"Well, you heard the man." the blue haired man said "My laptop's on the kitchen table, I'll go fetch it."
"Thank you, Sanji." Nami said with such a genuinely grateful expression that made Sanji bite his lower lip harder than he should have.
He mattered. He still had the last say in the band's decisions and he seriously wanted to cry all over again. Sanji shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything back, making it look like he didn't care about being thanked, and kept on smoking.
Luffy looked at Sanji like he had betrayed him, and for a moment he thought he was going to get his ass kicked "I know it hurts you, too, but I guess it is the right thing to do after all." he sighed.
Was everyone seriously trying to make him bawl his goddamn eyes out? Holy shit.
"We owe it to the fans." Sanji nodded, then moved to the coffee table to put out his cigarette and stay away from the others for a moment.
Why did these rehearsals suddenly get so emotionally draining?
Sanji sat down on the couch and waited as Nami got down to business and typed up an announcement for all the Crows' social media accounts. He couldn't wait to go home and lay in bed skipping dinner, he just wanted to burrow himself into a protective cocoon of blankets and possibly never come out of it.
"Alright, see if this is alright," Nami announced as she read out "Dearest Ravens, there's no need for us to be formal with you, so we'll just avoid dancing around the subject of this announcement and get to the point: Zoro has taken a break from the band for personal reasons. Don't worry, he's healthy, but he just really needed to step away momentarily. We're deeply sorry, we know you were looking forward to seeing him on stage and meet him after the show, but he needs some time and we gotta respect that. We already have someone who will fill in for him during the upcoming gigs, so we'll still be able to play for you. See you all at the next shows, love, your Crows."
There was a feeble choir of "Yeah. Sounds good." but Nami's eyes were glued to Sanji and he didn't even feel like opening his mouth.
"Post it." Sanji said as he was already halfway through his second cigarette, and stood up. "I'm gonna go home, now."
"You sure you're alright?" Vivi asked, concern written all over her features.
"I haven't been in a while." Sanji said as he stomped towards the coat rack to put on his own "Bye, guys." he said as he hurriedly left the house, promising himself not to cry.
–
One day bled into the other, leaving Sanji numb and unable to take proper care of himself, dreading that Friday evening that everyone was so eagerly talking about. He didn't know whether the days were passing by painfully slowly or too excruciatingly quickly for him to actually take a breath, there was no in between in what he was feeling and it was consuming him.
In the back of his mind there was still that feeble hope that Zoro was actually going to show up to the show, either as a spectator or as a bandmate, Sanji had often had this kind of dream but it always abruptly ended when he tried to call out for the moss-haired idiot, no sound coming out of his mouth as he jerked awake and reality slapped him across the face all over again.
Sanji had barely eaten throughout the three days separating him from the fateful day, he had kept listening to songs able to shatter to tinier pieces his already broken heart, torturing himself with guilt and poisonous thoughts, dreading the moment he was going to have to climb up that stage without the other side of his sky, the missing part of his soul.
Sanji couldn't stop the passing of time, so he just forced himself to be at least physically strong enough to endure the live show that awaited him that night and took care of his body the way he was supposed to, especially since Zeff had been pestering him all the time for looking like a dry prune instead of his usual eggplant self. He ate properly, indulged in a long bubble bath and tried to flush out all the bad thoughts off his mind by being constantly busy either operating on his appearance by shaving, fixing his eyebrows, redyeing the tips of his hair, or tidying up his room.
The meeting hour with the others by Franky's was set for 5:30, since there was a two hours drive awaiting them to get to the venue. That night they were going to perform a bit later than usual, but other than doing a quick sound check (supposing that they weren't going to discover any technical problems during it) they didn't have much to do and could relatively take it easy.
Despite having eaten plenty and taken care of himself more than he usually did, Sanji had only managed to get a couple hours of sleep for how damn agitated and anxious he had been, so he resorted to napping throughout the entire trip in Brook's car, while the older man chatted with Nami and Vivi.
The two hours went by unexpectedly slow as he was lulled by the calm background voices. Sanji opened one eye every now and then, just to make sure he still had time to snooze, and always found out that he still had plenty of time to try and recharge as much as he could, and once they had actually arrived he felt relatively rested.
It was dark outside, the air cold but dry, there was no wind blowing and making it a struggle for everyone to take their equipment and bags out of the cars. Sanji was immensely grateful that the venue had a backdoor, because at the moment he really didn't feel like having to deal with the fans before the show, and having to answer uncomfortable questions that would have destroyed his already precarious mental stability.
He helped with all the gear, leaving anyone dumbfounded when he usually was the primadonna who always sneaked away to start on his hair and makeup and never helped, but this time he only wanted to be useful and keep his brain as focused as possible on whatever wasn't Zoro.
Of course he avoided helping out with the drum set, enough was enough and lending his help to Bartolomeo was most definitely not on his list of things to do, so when the time came for it to be unloaded and set up, Sanji grabbed his bag and made his way to the changing rooms, leaving Franky, Usopp and Bartolomeo to it.
"Hey Blackleg."
A deep voice made him stop and turn on his heels, Kidd was staring at him irradiating his usual unfriendly aura.
"Eustass." Sanji nodded in greeting. He didn't really feel like wasting anymore time when he really should be getting ready.
"How you doing?" The red haired man went on, making himself looking pretty damn awkward in his attempt to make small talk with Sanji.
"Don't worry, I remember how the song goes. I won't make you look like an idiot on stage," Sanji assured him "now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go get ready because it's fucking late." he concluded as he turned back to storm in the direction of the changing room.
"I know, I know..." he heard Kidd mutter in his wake.
Sanji knew he had probably looked like an asshole, but the last thing he wanted to do was chatting casually with Kidd who had already been creepy enough to suggest he singed Death March with Freakshow when it was a song that clearly held more meaning to Sanji than anyone else could tell.
After walking down a brief corridor, Sanji's eyes caught a glimpse of a sheet of paper with 'Murder Of Crows men' written upon glued to a door, so he came to a halt and pushed it open. The changing room was surprisingly more spacious than what they were used to, and Sanji really hoped that Nami wasn't going to get a small, awful, stinky cubicle for herself just because she was the only girl in the band. Man, if that really happened the venue was probably gonna be burned down.
Sanji found the perfect spot for him with a large mirror and a chair, so he dropped his duffel bag on the floor and began to strip off his regular human clothes so that he could finally shuffle into his Prince Of Crows clothes. He had no idea when the others were going to burst into the changing room, but he'd rather be already fully clothed when they were gonna enter. For some reason, he didn't particularly feel like hanging around the others half-naked, at the moment, so he quickly got to work.
He carefully pulled on his good ol' fishnet shirt, then proceeded to fit into his skin tight fake leather pants, he topped the fishnet shirt with a fake leather underbust corset that matched the pants, then sat down to put on his Demonia Trashville 518 boots. He could still accessorize later, at least he was dressed and could be more relaxed and have all the time he needed to work on his makeup, even if the others were to arrive.
Once Sanji was sitting by the mirror, applying foundation to his already moisturized and primered face, it didn't really take long for Luffy, Ace and Bartolomeo to come in.
"Look at you, all dolled up." Luffy commented with a grin "Very Marilyn Manson-esque." he added with a wink.
Sanji didn't turn to smile directly at Luffy's compliment, but he did so through the mirror, where he also caught a glimpse of two jack slacked Bartolomeo and Ace. Holy shit, the last thing he needed was the green haired monster to develop a crush on him too.
"Gotta put on my feather collar coat and o-ring choker, then I'll be all set." Sanji replied as he patted his face with the palest shade of foundation.
"God, I'm so nervous... I never dressed up for a show." Sanji heard Bartolomeo whine from behind him, but kept his mouth shut. It wasn't the right time to reduce him to a sobbing mess.
"I'm sure you'll look great, you always wear cool outfits!" Luffy encouraged him.
Sanji was watching them from the mirror as he applied translucent powder over his foundation, tricking them into thinking he wasn't paying attention. He saw Luffy clap a hand on Barto's shoulder and then pointing at his teeth.
"Plus you got fangs, dude! They're so awesome!" Luffy beamed, laughing the last word out in excitement.
Sanji couldn't deny that he really appreciated seeing Luffy being his usual self after what had felt like a lifetime. He didn't know why, or how it had happened, but Sanji was glad it did. Even if it meant that Luffy would compliment someone Sanji highly disliked.
From that point on, Bartolomeo exploded in a huge verbal diarrhea as he gushed over Luffy and then proceeded to put up his outfit while Luffy helped him out – apparently the idiot had brought an entire suitcase full of clothes, because he was too indecisive about what he should have worn that night. Sanji rolled his eyes so hard that he feared his white contacts might have fallen off.
"Fucking hell, you're making my ears bleed!" Ace growled at one point, silencing Luffy and Bartolomeo who looked at him with eyes the size of the moon.
"I was gonna say that." Sanji commented casually as he buckled up his choker and stood up to get his coat.
He knew he had three pairs of eyes focused on him, but he didn't care, he was gonna have many more pairs fixed upon him in a couple hours anyway. Sanji glanced at them briefly, then walked out of the changing room without even dignifying them with a word.
He was back. The Prince Of Crows was back. Dressed to kill and with his warpaint on, Sanji felt invincible, even if he was really more fragile than paper, but he needed to seize the moment of invincibility if he wanted to make it through the night. He strutted right back to the leisure area where Brook, Usopp and Franky where hanging out together with the amazingly beautiful Robin.
"S-Sanji... Whoa." Usopp stuttered when he saw him, jaw hanging slightly and cheeks pinking up.
"Robin!" Sanji cried out as he marched towards the woman sitting next to Franky "You're always the most beautiful creature ever, but tonight you're simply glowing!" he chanted as he took Robin's hand in his to plant a kiss with his black matte lips on it.
"Hey, hey!" Franky groaned.
Robin laughed a crystalline laugh, covering her mouth with her free hand "Well, Sanji... You're absolutely beautiful yourself!"
"Oh, please!" Franky muttered with a pout, making Robin laugh again.
Sanji blushed furiously, no matter how covering was his foundation. He was never going to get used to receiving compliments from women, especially women as impossibly beautiful as Robin.
"Are you alright?" Robin asked with a small tilt of the head.
"Y-yes! Yes... Yes, I am." Sanji nodded, then finally let go of Robin's hand to move towards the small fridge and get himself a cold one. He needed it more than he thought.
"So, are the others ready yet, or...?" Usopp asked once Sanji reemerged from the fridge.
"Uh... Dunno about Nami, but the boys should be almost done." Sanji answered with a shrug, then walked over to plot down on the couch next to Usopp.
"I think Freakshow are gonna do their sound check soon, they're all ready and are just tweaking with their gears on stage." Franky said as he took a sip of his own beer.
"Yeah? I ran into Eustass, earlier." Sanji tossed casually before taking a large swig of beer, its coldness feeling like heaven as it rolled down his throat.
"They have been here for quite some time. I arrived with them pretty early." Robin chimed in as she bent over to refill her glass from the bottle of red wine placed on the coffee table.
"Yeah well, Nami and I have been studying 'til a few minutes before going to Franky's and everyone else had work, that's why we couldn't show up earlier." Usopp explained as he crossed one leg over the other.
"Of course, I know even Franky had quite a busy day." Robin said as she turned to look at the man sitting close to her.
"Well you know me... I'm a super mechanic, always full of work to do!" Franky said with a laugh that made Sanji roll his eyes.
Music started playing all of a sudden from the stage area, and everyone perked up to peek over at the backstage, Freakshow had started their sound check.
"Should we go over there?" Usopp asked.
Sanji shrugged a shoulder "Still better than just sitting here waiting."
"Let's go." Franky said as he stood up and offered his hand to Robin.
"Thank you." She smiled.
Holy shit, now even Franky and Robin had to be lovey dovey with each other, Sanji could just throw up. He stomped as quick as possible towards the door leading to the pit, leaving the others behind.
As soon as he pushed the door open the music surrounded him loud, making him smirk, he walked up to the stage to see the band up close and saw Perona sitting on a huge crate that was right behind a speaker. Shit, he really hoped she wasn't gonna start bugging him about Zoro, or else he was gonna flip out.
To Be Continued...