A/N: Two months, I know, I know. But honestly writing this story gets so hard at times, especially when I want it to be really good and do it justice. I want to thank you all for being so patient and extremely supportive, for leaving the sweetest comments, reviews and messages on my tumblr. Thanks to all of you who added me on my SIO/ZoSan instragram (everyone else can still add me at cigsandbooze, but make sure to let me know you're a SIO reader, because the profile is set to private and I don't add everyone that adds me) and watched my livestreams.
Special thanks goes to my girlfriend, and a few very special people who perfectly know who they are. Thank you for being always here for me and supporting me like no one else could do.
Enough blabbering now, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 23
Moments went by as the three people were frozen like a photograph, a snap taken right at the time of a baffling occurring. Sanji and Zoro still clung to each other, their heads turned to the back door of Punk Hazard, Nami was frozen on the threshold, a foot on the concrete, the other still inside the backstage.
Finally, as if someone had resumed the scene after setting it on pause, Nami tore herself from the door frame to take a few strides in the direction of the busted duo. Expression threatening, fists tightened by her sides, the red contacts made her glare look even deadlier.
"N-Nami…?" Sanji managed to stutter out as she raised her hand only to lower it with all her might on Zoro's cheek.
Sanji's eyes couldn't really grow wider than they already were, but he watched as Zoro's head turned underneath the strength of the slap and heard him grunt.
"Well," Zoro let go of Sanji just to turn his entire body towards Nami "you got my attention."
The drummer had kind of seen it coming. Not only because of Nami's threatening glare, but because of the way he had alienated everyone who wasn't his direct family. He knew Nami would have been the angriest one, and she had always been very physical about her rage. Especially when it came to Zoro and Luffy.
"You fucking idiot!" Nami barked at the top of her lungs.
Zoro gave a curt nod and a single-shouldered shrug "Can't argue with that."
Sanji had automatically taken a step back and was left staring at the scene developing before his eyes. Completely unable to deal with Nami's actions and Zoro's chill reaction.
"How dare you drop everything like… I don't even know!" Nami brought her hands to her head, pent up frustration violently pouring out of her like water from a fractured dam. "You abandoned us like assholes do with old dogs! Oh my fucking God! I can't even put into words how mad I am!"
Sanji had no idea of how Nami felt. He was gaping at the anger painted all over her features, at the redness tinting her ears and cheeks. She had been keeping all of this to herself and never once told Sanji about it. Of course she had been mad at the beginning of the ordeal, but he truly had no clue about how she had been holding up all this time. Now that he was left to think about it, he kind of felt like an asshole for not even once putting his own misery aside to ask about Nami's.
"I shouldn't have vanished, I know." Zoro nodded, there was still an angry red five fingers mark on his cheek, yet It didn't seem to affect him even in the slightest. "But would you rather I constantly lashed out at both Ace and Sanji, ruining everything to the point of non return?" he asked, an eyebrow cocked as he waited for an answer.
Sanji felt the most uncomfortable of tugs to his stomach, heat suddenly pooling into his cheeks. Guilt still gnawed at him, hearing Zoro's words was like picking at a scab that was still too fresh. He folded his arms across his chest, somehow trying to make himself look smaller.
Nami bit her lower lip, her gaze dropping to the concrete as she slowly shook her head. If she was going to start crying Sanji would have probably lost his shit.
"No, I know…" Nami started, her head slowly rising again to meet Zoro's eyes "But it still hurt like a bastard. You shouldn't have dropped off the face of the earth! I missed you, goddamn it!" she growled as she shoved Zoro with force, yet not really managing to move him much.
Zoro's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but at the same time not being able to. Just like usual. He hadn't really changed too much, Sanji could see that. What he did, though, was something a lot more eloquent than words, and something Zoro wouldn't really usually do.
"Quit trying to hurt me," the drummer muttered as he simply pulled Nami close to him to wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace.
The biggest grin spread across Sanji's face, and a sense of warm happiness enveloped him. He covered his mouth with his right hand and shook his head, the grin wasn't planning on going anywhere.
"You're a fucking idiot! I hope Sanji told you, too!" Nami whined as she rested her chin on Zoro's shoulder and held him as tight as she could. Her lower lip was still tucked between her teeth, but she was smiling nonetheless.
"I did, don't worry." Sanji let out a teary laugh as he shook his head, tightening his arms around himself as he smiled at the two people he adored the most on that earth.
"He did, yeah." Zoro smirked as he glanced over at Sanji, his arms still looped around Nami.
They stayed like that for a few more quiet moments, then Nami pulled back from Zoro's embrace to quickly wipe a couple stray tears off her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie. Her eyes wandered from Zoro to Sanji, then set back on Sanji.
"Are you two…?" Nami's eyebrows furrowed quizzically, as if she had just figured out what had happened moments before she had walked in on the two guys.
"Idiots?" Zoro asked, then let his eyes flutter shut and gave a curt nod.
Simultaneously, Sanji raised his eyebrows "Humans? No." he shook his head.
He was actually dying to tell Nami about the news. Every fiber in his body wanted to scream out that Zoro still loved him, and they had finally become a couple. Yet he couldn't help but being an idiot, just like Zoro had correctly said.
"Fuck off! You're more than idiots!" Nami groaned, rolling her eyes.
"He's here, Nami. He couldn't stay away," Sanji casually shrugged as he briefly tipped his head towards Zoro "he's whipped." he nodded.
"Shut the fuck up!" Zoro growled as he turned to Sanji, face flushing a dark shade of pink.
Nami folded her arms underneath her breasts, shifting her weight to her right leg as she stared at the guys with a raised eyebrow "You look like the creepiest clowns, you got black smeared all over your faces."
Zoro's first instinct was to vigorously and quickly wipe his mouth off on the sleeve of his jacket, Sanji looked at him and softly shook his head. He was still a klutz, that certainly hadn't changed either.
"I'm gonna need to fix my face, shit." Sanji sighed. There was no way he would risk ruining his coat just to clean off his face.
"Well make it quick, alright?" Nami ordered. Yes, because she rarely asked, when it came to work.
"Aye, my lady." Sanji gave her a curt nod.
He still didn't like being ordered around, but Nami had always been like that. And after everything she had done for him lately, she could definitely order him around how much she wanted. For a short period of time, of course.
Nami kept a straight, stoic expression as she nodded back to Sanji, but the seriousness slowly dropped from her face as she cut the distance between her and Sanji in two long strides. A grin threatened to split her face in a half as she threw her arms around Sanji's neck to hold him as tightly as she could. She burrowed her face into the crook of Sanji's neck, making him shiver as he felt her warm breath against his skin.
"I'm so happy for you, you have no idea!" Nami whispered, once she found her way to Sanji's ear.
Sanji's eyes fluttered shut at those words, his chest warmer than ever as he hugged her back just as tightly. He was never going to thank her enough for all the patience and love she had put into caring for Sanji when everything else was falling apart. Sanji had always found a good friend, a funny friend to hang out with and buy lingerie with, in Nami, he never thought one day their friendship would reach such a point. Not that he was complaining, not at all.
"I couldn't have done it without you." Sanji whispered back. He didn't want to cry again, but Nami was really making it a challenge. Before he could even realize it, Nami pressed her painted lips against his cheek as the only answer she could give him.
"A little more black shouldn't really hurt you." Nami smirked as she pulled back. She winked at Zoro, then swanned back inside the backstage.
Sanji touched the part of his cheek were Nami's lips had left a lipstick mark with his fingertips, then turned to look at Zoro, who was staring at him with the sliest of smirk curving his lips.
"What's so funny?" Sanji asked as his hand dropped to his side.
"You are." Zoro shrugged a shoulder, then nodded towards the back door "Shall we?" he asked.
Sanji glanced at the door, a grimace warping his features as the thought of having to share Zoro with the others hit him. He wanted to keep holding him in the outside cold, in the dim light of the backstage door. He wanted to keep kissing him until his lipstick would be completely gone from his lips, until Zoro's lips bruised from Sanji's teeth abuse.
But he knew they had to check back in with reality, they couldn't spend the rest of their lives in a parking lot. Someone was bound to find and interrupt them again, at some point, there was no escaping that.
It still felt somewhat weird to have Zoro right there with him, just like it felt absolutely odd that Sanji could just look at him and finally don't see restraint in Zoro. Sanji could run his hands over Zoro's chest and through his hair without him moving away or complaining. He could kiss Zoro and not be pushed away, and that was one of the most amazing feelings he had ever experienced in his life. And now that he knew what it was like to kiss someone he was in love with, Sanji didn't want to stop.
"C'mhere, first." Sanji said as he took a fistful of the front of Zoro's jacket, and roughly yanked him in to swallow any possible complaint in his mouth.
Zoro was still smirking against Sanji's lips, but quickly relaxed as he deepened the kiss, hands holding Sanji's slim hips firmly, yet gently. Sanji pulled back a few seconds afterwards, eyelids drooped and a content expression painting his features as he stared at Zoro's slightly black stained lips.
"Ready now?" Zoro asked, but didn't let go of Sanji's hips.
"Not really," Sanji scrunched his nose.
He slowly snaked his arms around Zoro's neck. Though he found it so cheesy, it also felt so good to push his fingers through Zoro's mohawk and massage the back of his head.
Sanji felt Zoro shiver underneath his touch, his eyes suddenly fluttered shut as he lowered his head to give Sanji's hand more access to the soft skin on the nape of his neck.
"Neither am I." Zoro confessed with a purr, making Sanji laugh.
He was pretty sure he had never actually heard Zoro make that kind of sound, yet he felt like it could quickly become one of his favorite sounds ever. Sanji worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and tasted the metal from the small cut. He could feel that Zoro was still slightly tense, and it made Sanji smirk ever so slightly.
"Well… We still got later tonight," Sanji shrugged, casually "don't we?"
Zoro opened his eyes again, there was a light in his eyes that made Sanji's heart skip a beat. Had Zoro always looked at him with that same gaze? Sanji wasn't sure he'd ever seen that soft glint shine into the deep brown of Zoro's eyes. No one had ever looked at Sanji like that, there was nothing impure into that gaze, it was… Love. Yes, it was love. Sanji could finally recognize it.
"Of course we do, if you want." Zoro's voice was soft and warm as he gave Sanji a curt nod.
He was making sure that Sanji really wanted to spend the night at his place, and if Sanji would have been able to melt into a puddle of himself, he most definitely would have. He didn't know what he had done to be so lucky to have Zoro. To still have him, actually, despite everything.
"Let's go, then." Sanji smiled as he pulled away from Zoro to walk back inside, but was suddenly stopped by Zoro's hand holding his.
Sanji looked down at their hands, then up to Zoro's very serious expression, and once again risked exploding right there and then. It was the simplest, most innocent gesture, they had held hands countless times before, but this time it held a higher meaning.
They were a couple, now. It was a symbol of their love for each other, a symbol of them belonging together, and it felt so stupidly powerful that it nearly brought Sanji to tears all over again. Fuck, he was starting to morph into a fountain or some shit, how pathetic.
"You need another moment?" Zoro asked, eyebrow cocking as he searched for Sanji's gaze.
"Fuck off." Sanji muttered as he looked away, not letting Zoro see that underneath the half removed make up his cheekbones were reddening all over again.
Sanji tugged on Zoro's hand as he started in the direction of the back door, and for the first time in too long of a while, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps following in behind his own.
It was insane. Every small sound or gesture made Sanji's heart flutter. All the tiny details meant something so much bigger to Sanji than he could have ever imagined. Even the warmth of Zoro's hand around his could have made him emotional. He tried not to think about it too much, at least not in that moment. He still had one last stage performance to deliver, and he needed to make Zoro proud of him. Not to mention how much he wasn't in the mood to be made fun of by the others.
They had just taken a few steps towards the threshold when Zoro stopped abruptly, and Sanji turned around to shoot him a confused look.
"Is everyone in the backstage?" Zoro asked, his trademark scowl back on his face.
Sanji frowned as well at the question "Huh? I don't know. They should be," he shrugged a shoulder "why?"
Zoro pursed his lips.
Was he nervous?
"You better not chicken out and run away, because I'm gonna run after you and break both of your legs." Sanji threatened, both his eyebrows lifted as he spoke.
"No, what the fuck?" Zoro snorted "I didn't mean it like that," he shook his head "I only wanted to know how should we act."
Sanji's bewilderment only increased. He didn't say anything in return and just kept staring at the man standing in front of him.
"Like…" Zoro rolled his eyes, huffing. Yep, he still didn't like explaining himself. "Should we just walk in holding hands like nothing ever happened?"
"Ohh…" it finally dawned on Sanji. Zoro wanted to know if they had to make any particular entrance. A smirk tugged at the corners of Sanji's mouth "Yes, that's the best entrance we can make. That'll give them a stroke."
Zoro grinned "That's what I was talking about."
"Shall we?" Sanji asked one last time to make sure Zoro was ready. Even if really… Maybe it was Sanji who still wasn't.
"Yeah, just–" Zoro licked his thumb and then brought it to Sanji's face to try and take off all the smudged lipstick and eyeshadow off his face.
Sanji grimaced in the process "Why you gotta be gross?" he said, without really moving away, nor slapping Zoro's hand off.
"You love me, so embrace my grossness," Zoro said, completely concentrated in what he was doing "also you are the gross one, with all this black on your face."
Sanji snorted and rolled his eyes, yet kept still until Zoro was done cleaning him up. Or attempting at it.
"You done?" Sanji arched an eyebrow when Zoro finally took his hands off of Sanji's face.
He wanted to be annoyed, but he simply couldn't. Not when Zoro was being so thoughtful and his concentrated expression was making Sanji want to pepper his face in kisses.
"Hm, kinda." Zoro said as he tilted his head to the left and to the right.
Sanji pursed his lips and shook his head. He definitely had his doubts on how much black Zoro could have cleaned up by using just one finger, yet he appreciated the effort.
"Trust me, it's definitely better than the corpse paint from before." Zoro nodded as he resumed holding Sanji's hand in order to walk inside.
Sanji laced their fingers together, absentmindedly giving Zoro's hand a squeeze "I'm sure I looked great even with runny makeup." he smirked as he started again in the direction of the backstage.
"Yeah, you looked like you're in Satyricon or something." Zoro teased as he walked right beside Sanji.
"Shut up." Sanji rolled his eyes as they finally stepped inside, and were suddenly surrounded by Freakshow's slightly muffled music, coming from the stage.
No one from the Freakshow crew was obviously around, they were all busy either on the sides of the stage, or at the lights and mixer console. Sanji could spot The Crows all huddled up by the stage ladder as they watched the concert from down below. Ace and Smoker weren't around, they were probably off to get drinks for everyone, but Bartolomeo was right there, standing a little too close to Sabo who didn't seem to mind at all. That was weird, but Sanji didn't think too much of it, except maybe for the fact that he couldn't wait to rub the recent development into Barto's face.
Yes, Sanji really couldn't wait to show everyone that Zoro was there, after all, but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to take even one step further ahead. He had stopped halfway towards the stage and Zoro was now frowning over at him.
"You alright?" Zoro asked, eyebrows drawn impossibly close together as he studied Sanji.
"Yeah, I am! Stop asking!" Sanji bursted, and he had definitely been loud enough for everyone to turn around and gawk at both of them.
There was a loud cry of "Zoro?!" then everyone ran towards the couple who was standing dumbstruck in the same exact spot they had stopped in.
"You're here, bro! I can't believe it!" Franky said as he pulled the drummer into a bone crushing hug.
Luffy, Usopp and Sabo were standing aside with knowing grins, it was easy to tell that they had known all along he was coming. Weren't he as happy as he was, Sanji would have gladly murdered the three of them with his bare hands.
"I'm so happy you came! Did you watch Sanji's performance of Spit It Out?!" Vivi asked right away. She definitely didn't play around.
Sanji lowered his eyes for a moment, a small grin playing on his lips as he heard Zoro snigger.
"I did, yeah. I'm still recovering from that, actually."
Sanji's head snapped up to stare at Zoro with wide eyes. Had he truly said that? In front of all their friends? Shit. He knew he was turning redder than a tomato, he wished he could vanish for a couple days at last.
"I didn't think you'd be this quick to bring him back, Sanji," Robin chimed in, making everyone but Zoro and Sanji laugh "great job!" she smirked.
"What?" Zoro asked, bewilderment suddenly painting his features.
"Z-Zoro!" Bartolomeo finally had the chance to slip into the confused conversation, rudely interrupting Robin.
"Hey, Bart." Zoro smiled softly at him, and Sanji casually shifted as close has humanly possible to Zoro.
"Bart…" Sanji spat out under his breath.
Zoro's eyebrow shot upwards, Sanji didn't think he'd heard his whisper, but apparently he'd been wrong. The drummer wrapped a strong and possessive arm around Sanji's neck, pulling him closer and making his stomach flutter. Sanji didn't know whether he should have been embarrassed or proud, but he felt his cheeks flaring up as he straightened up and wrapped an arm around Zoro's waist.
Bartolomeo's jaw dropped at the gesture and his eyes grew so wide that Sanji thought they were going to fall off of their sockets. Yes, that was the reaction he'd hoped for. A gigantic grin spread on Sanji's lips and he pulled Zoro even closer than he already was.
"Holy shit!" Bartolomeo cried out, making Sanji's grin grow even bigger. He looked like he was about to have a stroke or something, but Sanji didn't have time to comment or inquire because suddenly everyone was shouting.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Luffy yelled as he pumped both fists in the air.
"About fucking time!" Sabo laughed out as he raised his eyebrows and clapped his hands together.
"I super agree with you, bro!" Franky sniggered as he nudged Sabo with his elbow.
"Oh my God! Sanji, Zoro, I'm so happy for you guys!" Vivi covered her mouth with both her hands, then all but threw herself at the couple to hold them both tight.
"Don't kill them, babe! They just got together!" Nami teased.
"This is too good," Usopp said as he snapped a photo of Vivi crushing Sanji and Zoro with her affection and excitement.
"Usopp!" Sanji growled as soon as he realized what he had just done "Don't post that anywhere! I probably look like shit!"
"You don't!" Usopp rolled his eyes "But I promise I won't."
"Sanji!" Nami gasped all of a sudden, making everyone stare at her with a quizzical frown "You should tell Kidd whether you're gonna sing with him or not!"
"Fuck!" Sanji gasped, himself. He turned to look at Zoro, he didn't want to miss any moment with him, even if they had plenty of time ahead.
"What?" Zoro asked, arching an eyebrow "It's not like I'm gonna disappear, or anything.".
Sanji snorted "Like you've never done that."
Zoro rolled his eyes "Shut your face."
"I can't be bothered," Sanji huffed, then looked over at Nami "I should redo my whole makeup, I don't feel like."
"That's fine, I'll go tell Shachi." Usopp winked at Sanji, cracking a smile.
"I'll go with you!" Luffy cried out way too loudly, as he threw an arm around Usopp's neck.
"Thanks, guys!" Sanji smirked, content.
"We should fucking celebrate, guys!" Sabo said as he clapped a heavy hand on Zoro's shoulder "I've been waiting for this moment for years!"
"Oh my fucking…" Zoro growled lowly as covered his eyes with a hand.
"You what?!" Sanji yelled out, one octave too high.
"Honestly…" Bartolomeo chimed in softly, his cheekbones red tinted as everyone's gaze flew automatically to him "I was kind of waiting for this to happen, too." he looked down and a sheepish smile curved his lips.
Sanji couldn't believe his ears. That made no sense whatsoever. Bartolomeo had always had the biggest crush on Zoro, how could he be waiting for he and Sanji to get together? He could accept such statement coming from their friends, who had known about Zoro's feelings for Sanji for such a long time. Bartolomeo's confession sounded plain impossible.
"What? Really?" Zoro scowled, clearly taken aback.
"Y-yeah, really…" Bartolomeo went on, but he still didn't look up at them. "I-I... I can't deny I've always liked Zoro, b-but…" his face was turning completely scarlet. He was so distressed that it was a surprise he didn't pass out or started crying. "I'm a big fan of yours, first! A-and… And I've always known about the special bond you two shared, a-and I'm so, so, so sorry I made things hard for you."
Everyone kept quiet. Zoro's eyes were comically wide as he listened through Bartolomeo's unexpected confession. Sanji didn't know how to feel, but he was gaping at Bartolomeo probably the same way as Zoro was.
How the fuck could that be true? Sanji didn't think he could believe it.
"You're so full of shit." Sanji blurted out, unable to control himself.
Bartolomeo's eyes darted in his direction, confusion painted all over his features.
"I'm serious!" the almost outraged looking guy retorted.
"You've tried to get into his pants a lot more than I did," Sanji kept vomiting uncontrollably, not caring about the fact that the two of them weren't having a private conversation. "You did everything in your power to try and ruin everything that Zoro and I had. And now you dare say that you're happy for us, and this is something you've been hoping would happen?"
"Cook, let it go." Zoro sighed as he briefly tightened the grip of his arm around Sanji's neck.
"Like fuck I will, I'm not shitty Elsa!" Sanji growled in response to Zoro. He felt legitimately like he was about to combust from rage. That was a load of crap, even if Barto could mean it.
The bewilderment on Barto's features was slowly melting into despair. Sanji could see the color drain from his face and tears welling up into his waterline. That suited him, if he wanted to keep being smart with Zoro he could, but Sanji wasn't going to buy any of his crap.
"We weren't together, he had his right to try and hit on me." Zoro commented all of a sudden.
Sanji had never pushed anyone away quicker than he did Zoro in that moment. He wriggled away from his boyfriend to shoot him the dirtiest of looks, he couldn't believe his ears.
"What did you just say?" Sanji asked, his glare was deadly but Zoro was unnervingly unaffected.
"He was free to hit on me, just like you were free to hit on every other guy you've ever been with," Zoro shrugged, his expression completely blank "still that didn't change how I felt about you in the slightest. Bartolomeo has tried his hardest, yes, but he still miserably failed." he effortlessly explained with a shrug.
Bartolomeo let out a soft moan as he dropped his head.
"Sorry, pal. Nothing you didn't know." Zoro went on.
"That's alright." Bartolomeo nodded, but his head was still lowered.
Sanji didn't know what to say, but he could feel multiple pairs of eyes burning against his skin and making him feel like he was completely naked. He shouldn't have picked that very moment and place to start that argument, he really regretted that. Yet he also felt incredibly warm inside, because of what Zoro has just said. It was even bigger than a simple 'I love you', it was such a beautiful declaration of love and Sanji definitely didn't want to start bawling his eyes out for the millionth time that night.
"Sorry…" Sanji muttered out.
He was apologizing to everyone in that room, for everything that had ever happened and every stupid thing he had ever done... And that he was apparently still doing.
"I'll leave you two alone now," Bartolomeo nodded, a weak smile playing on his thin lips "I'm gonna see if Shachi and Penguin might need a hand."
Sanji looked at him embarrassed and just nodded his head. Bartolomeo was officially out of the band, because Zoro was back. He wondered if he was still going to be part of the Crows fandom, though.
"I'll go with you," Sabo chimed in, a charming grin stretching his lips.
Bartolomeo's eyes lit up all of a sudden "O-oh… Alright, thanks!"
Sabo winked at him, then turned to the others before disappearing with Bartolomeo past the pit door "See ya later!"
"Are they serious?" Nami commented.
Sanji mentally blessed her for being one hell of an ice breaker.
"Sabo is totally gonna nail him," Franky snorted "what a legend."
"Quiet." Robin said in such a calm tone that it actually chilled everyone's blood.
"S-sorry babe. I clearly super kiddin'." Franky nervously chuckled.
Despite everything, even how weird it was that Sabo was apparently going to hook up with Bartolomeo, and that Franky had just been called out by Robin, Sanji's mind was still set on Zoro's words from just a few moments before.
"I'm always an asshole, huh?" Sanji commented, soft enough for only Zoro to hear it. The small smile stretching his lips was hollow.
"Yeah, but at least you acknowledge it." Zoro replied with the shrug of a single shoulder, cracking a crooked smirk a second later.
Sanji rolled his eyes. He didn't have any energy left for that kind of banter, he had been going through the biggest roller coaster of events and emotions and he was actually exhausted. He just wanted to crawl underneath a pile of comforters and sleep for a century or two.
In that moment he felt Zoro's arm wrap around his neck again, and his heart started hammering in his chest when he felt Zoro's lips getting closer and closer to the shell of his ear.
"But you're my asshole, so don't worry." Zoro whispered, his warm breath caressing Sanji's skin.
"Fuck off, oh my God!" Sanji whined as he covered his eyes with a hand.
Zoro was the absolute worst. Sanji couldn't believe the nerve he had to almost make him cry in front of everyone. If that wasn't enough, he went on and planted a kiss to Sanji's temple, making Nami, Vivi and Franky shout like they were watching a baseball match or something.
"I'm gonna cry, you guys are too adorable." Vivi groaned out as she fanned herself with both hands.
"Stop!" Sanji whined as he tried to wriggle out of Zoro's grip again.
"Hey, hey! What's going on, here?" Ace's voice suddenly made everyone stop, and turn to look at him. "Holy shit... You guys made up?" he grinned, his arms were overflowing with beer cans.
"About time," Smoker commented as he appeared beside Ace, his hands full of wine bottles. "Ace told me plenty about you."
Okay, but… Why was the floor still intact, underneath Sanji's feet? Couldn't it just crack open, already? That would have been quite helpful.
There was no time for anyone to say or do anything, beside laugh, because Luffy and Usopp were back too, with food in their hands, and Chopper walking along with them with sparkling eyes and an inhumanely large grin spread across his face.
"Zoro, look who I found all alone in the pit!" Luffy sniggered as he tilted his head towards the boy standing on his right.
"Oh my God! You're Sanji! The Crow Prince!" Chopper yelled as soon as his eyes landed on Sanji.
A whirlwind of voices and people all arriving at the same time, everything and everyone was louder than ever, and Sanji was starting to feel somewhat dizzy. His eyes landed on the young boy that was staring at him like he was the very best thing after sliced bread. He had the biggest pair of hazel eyes, sitting on childish features that probably made him look younger than he actually was. He looked considerably shorter than Luffy, and had light brown, incredibly messy hair – probably due to the headbanging, if he had watched the concert.
Sanji's eyebrows creased as he understood that Zoro actually knew the boy. Confusion permeated his being, as his eyes darted from Zoro to the boy, then to Luffy's excited expression. Though Sanji couldn't tell if he was more excited about the food or the boy that had just shouted at him.
"I see you met Luffy!" Zoro smirked down at the boy, then turned to look at Sanji, who was still dumbfounded. "This is Chopper, he's young but already a doctor," he explained, not that it made complete sense to Sanji, still "And a fan of ours." he added.
"Chopper?" Sanji's left eyebrow quirked, quizzically. He still couldn't understand how Zoro and this young man knew each other. Hadn't Zoro disappeared from earth's radars?
"It's just a nickname!" Chopper quickly dismissed it, waving his hands "My real name's actually Tony!"
"Oh, that's fine," Sanji shrugged. He didn't really care what his real name was, it wasn't an important piece of information.
"And I'm not a proper doctor yet, I'm still studying to become one!" Chopper went on with a nervous laugh, his left hand scratching the back of his head.
It was still quite impressive, no matter how much Chopper tried to shrug it off like it wasn't a big deal. He was probably the same age as Luffy, if not a tad younger, and he was already a doctor? Or at least, becoming one?
"You patched up Zoro pretty damn well, anyway! Didn't you?" Luffy laughed out as he clapped Chopper several times on the back, the nervous laugh coming out in strangled bursts in result.
Sanji's eyebrows drew together impossibly close. That's when things got clearer, yet simultaneously more confused. So Zoro had gone for a hospital trip and met Chopper on that occasion, still that certainly didn't make Sanji feel any better.
"Patched up?" Sanji groaned as he looked over at Zoro with an inquisitive frown "What the shit happened to you?" he went on, worry laced with annoyance dripped from his words. That damn muscle-brain always injured himself.
"It's nothing," Zoro dismissed it right away with s shrug "just my arm. It's already pretty much healed." he assured Sanji with a curt nod, that definitely didn't put Sanji's mind and heart at rest.
"You went to the hospital for nothing?" Sanji arched a skeptical eyebrow.
"It was a blade wound." Chopper dared chiming in.
Sanji saw indignation warp Zoro's features as his jaw tightened and his eyes darted over to Chopper in a scolding glare.
"A blade?" Sanji cried out. He should have known. It wasn't like Zoro wasn't accustomed to that kind or wounds, but Sanji still didn't approve of it. Never did, especially not after the scar that runs from Zoro's left pectoral to his right hip. "You and your father have been sparring with real swords again?" Sanji scolded with a huff.
"He didn't do it on purpose," Zoro rolled his eyes, arms moving to fold across his chest in a defensive stance "it was my fault, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have."
"I can't believe you…" Sanji sighed, exasperated.
"It's so beautiful to see them doing this again, isn't it?" Nami commented way too loudly, and definitely on purpose.
"The married couple is back, full force!" Usopp went on, triggering a series of hysterical giggles that made both Zoro and Sanji freeze and turn to stare at their friends.
"Let's celebrate!" Ace shouted as he thrusted a couple of beer bottles into Sanji's and Zoro's hands, then moved on to distribute booze to everyone else.
In the midst of the commotion, the shouting and whooping, Sanji bit his lower lip as he looked at Zoro. He was sincerely concerned about Zoro's arm, now. He didn't even want to know in which condition he might have been sparring with Mihawk. Could he have been drunk? Or just out of his mind for the grief? Anything could have been possible.
"What?" Zoro asked as he twisted the cap of the beer bottle open with his teeth.
Always a brute. But Sanji didn't comment on it out loud.
"Will you show me the wound, later?" Sanji asked softly, chin jerking in the general direction of Zoro's arm.
Zoro didn't say anything in response and just nodded. Sanji smiled softly and twisted the cap of his bottle off before taking a large sip of lager, only to have a kiss stolen from him the moment he wasn't looking.
"You'll make me spill my beer." Sanji muttered, his cheekbones flushing slightly as he sheepishly looked over at Zoro's grin.
"Nah, I wouldn't let you waste any of it." Zoro shrugged a shoulder.
"Let's go dance, you guys!" Luffy yelled as he began to push Zoro and Sanji towards the door to the venue.
"This is how you truly spill beer." Zoro commented with a laugh.
"I fucking hate your family." Sanji rolled his eyes, making Zoro laugh even harder.
–
Industrial metal greeted them loud and aggressive, like it was supposed to. The audience dancing and shouting lyrics back at Freakshow, the darkness of the venue was brightened by red and blue lights flickering on the stage.
Zoro had missed all that. He had missed the loudness, the colored lights shattering the darkness, thick fake smoke penetrating your throat, the smell of alcohol and the stench sweat. But most of all he had missed sharing all of that with his friends. Experiencing it all with Sanji.
It still felt insane to be there. It was surreal that he had actually managed to cast everything aside, his nervousness included, and finally kissed Sanji like he meant to. Zoro probably looked cool on the outside, but he had been terrified on the inside. His heart had been on the verge of exploding when Sanji had jumped into his arms the way he had always dreamed.
He thought he'd never made a better decision in his entire life than getting out of his house and letting an eighteen years old drive him to Punk Hazard. Zoro's lips still tingled with the ghost of the feeling of Sanji's mouth on them. The taste of nicotine still lingered atop his tongue. His fingers were probably still stained in black lipstick, but he didn't care.
Zoro held Sanji's hand as Luffy stirred them in the direction of the back of the venue, he knew the others were somewhere behind them but the place was so crowded that he could barely orient himself, even if they were inside. Once they had reached a small portion of the venue where people weren't trying to knock each other out by moshing, Luffy quit pushing and pulling his brother around.
"Usopp and I need a refill!" Luffy shouted from over the music, showing his empty bottle to Zoro and Sanji.
Zoro didn't reply, he didn't feel like yelling an answer, so he just gave him a thumb up and leaned against the wall behind him. They definitely had a good view of the stage from that spot, but the acoustics wasn't as great. A shame, yes, but way too common for smaller venues like that one.
Sanji casually encased himself between Zoro and the wall, a hand slipping into the back pocket of Zoro's jeans that made the drummer gasp in surprise. He was lucky that his surprised sound got drowned by Bonney's guitar and Kidd's booming voice. He glanced over at Sanji who was intently watching the concert, sipping on his beer every now and then. It was so natural and relaxed, and Zoro's chest felt warm and overflowing with all the things he felt for Sanji.
"So," Zoro began, catching Sanji's attention right away "you sang with them, last time?"
"Yeah, it was fun." Sanji nodded. It sounded like he was trying to diminish the event, for some reason, but Zoro didn't think anything of it.
"Why didn't you do it tonight, too?" Zoro kept going before swigging his lager. He probably knew the answer already, but hearing it directly from Sanji's lips would have been a lot more rewarding.
"You know why." Sanji replied, eyes rolling and lips curling into a small smirk before downing some lager.
"Me?" Zoro arched an eyebrow "I know nothing." he shook his head and took another sip of beer.
"Just like Jon Snow." Sanji added. He went back to looking ahead "It's 'cause I gotta babysit you."
"You jerk." Zoro snorted.
Sanji didn't look back at him, his eyes were still focused on the stage as his head softly bounced to the rhythm of the song playing. "Will you dance with me?"
Zoro froze. He never danced, he was probably awful at it, too. He was more of a headbanger kind of guy, he always watched the others going nuts on the dance floor while he sipped huge glasses of strong alcohol.
"What's that?" Zoro dared asking.
"Dance with me?" Sanji repeated, this time his head turned to face Zoro.
"No fucking way." Zoro huffed with laughter.
He didn't want to make a fool out of himself, not that night. Why would he want to ruin it?
Sanji cocked an eyebrow and detached himself from the wall, moving away from Zoro as he simultaneously rounded to grab him by the front of his jacket.
"That was a rhetorical question, Marimo." a mischievous grin spread on Sanji's mischievous face as he tried to tear Zoro away from his little safe corner.
"Gimme a break, you know I don't dance!" Zoro protested, remaining safely anchored to the wall with the aid of his weight. "And I'll spill my beer!"
"C'mon!" Sanji whined, snatching the beer from Zoro's hand and just placing them on the floor, close to the wall "Just this once? For me?"
Why was Sanji even allowed to make that voice? Why was he allowed to let his big blue eyes glisten like that in the darkness? Why was he allowed to pout with those plump lips?
It was so unfair. Zoro was completely powerless before Sanji.
"You're so fucking annoying." Zoro grumbled as he pushed himself away from the wall and allowed Sanji to grab him by the jacket again, and tug him towards the rest of the dancing crowd.
"I'm fucking amazing." Sanji corrected him as he backed up a couple more steps.
"Watch it!" Zoro warned him, not quick enough to prevent him from bumping into a bigger and much bulkier blond dude.
"Ah, shit." Sanji gasped, quickly turning around to offer the stranger an apology that was actually never uttered.
Zoro furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Sanji freeze at the mere sight of the man that cracked him a weird looking grin.
"I didn't even have to look for you, this time." the man spoke in a raspy voice as he stepped closer into Sanji's personal space.
"How the fuck did you get in?" Sanji sputtered.
"Through the front door, baby!" The man shrugged as he barked out a laugh, looking absolutely pleased with himself for his clever answer.
Sanji seemed unable to work up an answer, he was just staring at the other man, petrified. Zoro didn't know who the person was, didn't know if he was someone that Sanji actually knew but his guts told him to stay very alert.
"I knew I'd find you," the man went on speaking, his grin looking grotesque into the dim lit venue. "You gotta pay for getting me fucking banned from a club," one of his massive hands shot up to roughly grab Sanji's chin. "Just because you're a picky slut, a cock is just a cock!"
The singer looked so small and defenseless as the other man screamed abuse into his face, his fingers pushing into Sanji's pale skin enough to bruise it. He was screwing his eyes shut, his entire body was shaking.
Sanji was scared.
He was terrified, and that was so unlike him, he was always capable of fending for himself, but in that moment he looked ready to give up and let the other man do whatever he pleased. The other man's hand was already trying to sneak underneath Sanji's skirt, while the singer didn't even try to stop him.
And Zoro saw red.
He threw the hardest punch he could muster, hitting the bastard into his cheekbone. There was a crack of bones, and the man flew a couple feet aside only to land on the sticky linoleum floor.
"Zoro!" Sanji cried out.
Zoro turned to look at Sanji, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily. His heart broke as soon as he saw the terror in Sanji's eyes. It reminded him of the afternoon in which Zoro told him he didn't want to see him anymore.
Zoro reached out a hand to gently cup Sanji's cheek, and the blond immediately leaned into the reassuring touch, closing his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Zoro asked, still struggling to be heard from over the music.
Sanji opened his eyes again. They glistened with the tears he was holding back, but he still nodded. He still confirmed that he was alright, and that lifted a weight off Zoro's chest.
"That's g–" Zoro's sentence was briskly cut off by a punch. He stumbled to his left for a couple feet but still managed to stand still.
"You fucking asshole, what the fuck do you want?" The man growled as he charged at Zoro once again.
Zoro turned around and was quick enough to dodge the other punch that was being aimed at him. The bastard actually had the nerve to come at him again, after laying his dirty hands on Sanji.
"You're the asshole that should mind his fucking business." Zoro retorted as he spit a bit of blood out and onto the floor.
He briefly raised his eyes to throw Sanji a quick glance, and found him frozen again, only this time with his hands sunken into his golden locks. Sanji looked traumatized, and it was taunting Zoro. He wanted to kill the person that had made Sanji feel like that.
"I was actually trying to fuck my goddamn business, but you had to stick your shitty nose into it!" the man went on as he rounded to try and clock Zoro in the face, again.
Zoro's jaw clenched and his eyebrows twitched at the man's words. He couldn't believe how shallow and awful he was, he was dehumanizing Sanji and treating him like a sex object. A sack of meat with no feelings or opinions that was just a good fuck.
Zoro wanted to destroy him.
He caught the man's fist in with his left hand and began to squeeze it as hard as he could, then proceeded to bend it backwards until it almost touched the wrist. The man screamed in pain and tried to use the other fist to deliver a blow to Zoro's face, but Zoro caught that one too and did exactly the same thing.
"Fucker, let go of me! Stop it!" the man groaned as he was slowly forced to his knees, desperately trying to ease the pressure to his joints.
Zoro couldn't hear the cracking of bones, it was definitely a disappointment, but he enjoyed the pain that warped the man's features probably a little too much. He deserved every moment of that suffering for the pain he had caused to the man Zoro loved.
Just when he thought he had won, a burning hot pain pervaded the center of his face. Warm blood trickled down his nostrils and his vision blurred white. He let go of the man's fists to cover his face with both hands. The fucker had managed to headbutt him pretty hard.
"Fuck! Zoro!" Sanji let out a strangled cry, then proceeded to hurl himself at the man and landed a powerful kick at his kidneys.
The man howled in pain and his legs nearly gave out, but he was so infuriated that he succeeded at turning around and clasping both hands around Sanji's throat so hard that he lifted him off the floor. Sanji's hands grasped at the man's wrists, he gasped for air to no avail.
Zoro didn't waste to much time wiping off blood, he shook his head quickly as if he was trying to regain the full function of his senses. In two long strides he was near the man again, this time he twisted his fingers into the dirty blond mop of hair that sat atop his head and violently yanked him to the floor. Sanji fell on top of him, but managed to squirm his way out of his hands.
"Dirty fucking asshole!" Sanji coughed, massaging his throat with one hand.
Zoro seized his occasion to straddle the bastard and started pummeling his face like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. He couldn't even hear the music anymore, he was completely enraptured in the violence he was perpetrating. He never thought he could kill anyone, but if he killed the man underneath his fists he wouldn't have minded.
"Stop, Zoro! You'll fucking kill him! Don't!" Sanji shouted as he idly tried to pull Zoro away.
His warnings were falling upon deaf ears, and Zoro had too much adrenaline pumping through his system for Sanji's strength to be enough to stop him. The other man was trying to fight back, he tried a few times to strangle Zoro the same way he had wanted to do to Sanji, but Zoro had simply kept on punching him.
"Please, Zoro! Stop it! You'll go to jail if you keep going, stop this!" Sanji yelled again. He tried tugging at Zoro as hard as he could, still to no avail.
Suddenly Zoro felt two more pairs of arms yanking him up and away from the almost completely unconscious body of the bastard. He was being dragged a few feet away from the man and he tried wriggling away with as much might as he could muster, but the people holding him back were doing a damn good job at it.
"Oi! Knock it off!" Ace yelled into his ear.
It was almost as if a spell had been broken, and Zoro quickly readjusted to reality. Ace and Smoker were the ones keeping his arms in a vicious grip, so hard that it actually hurt. He quickly whipped his head back ahead of him, eyes frantically looking for Sanji. He found him standing over the bastard's body with a hand through his own hair and the other covering his own mouth.
Fuck. Had he seriously murdered the scumbag?
"Shit…" Zoro breathed out. His voice getting swallowed by the music that he had suddenly started hearing again.
"If you killed him you're gonna be screwed," Ace growled "what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Zoro's head turned again to look at Ace, face warped with the same anger from a few moments before.
"He was molesting Sanji, he fuckin–" Zoro couldn't even bring himself to say the words that were going through his head.
He bit his tongue and shut his eyes. His head hung, almost surrendering to the horror that was flashing in his mind. Sanji being touched inappropriately in front of his eyes, and the thought of what could have come next nearly made him launch himself at the bastard all over again.
"He did what?!" Smoker barked over the loud line of bass and drums that was filling the air.
"You fuckin' heard me." Zoro snarled, then looked back at Sanji again. "Cook!" he called out to him "Cook!" but he just couldn't hear him, he wasn't reacting at all he was just staring down at the scumbag, motionless. "Sanji!"
The singer perked up and let his arms fall along his sides as he immediately looked over at Zoro, still being held back by his brother and Smoker. The fear in his eyes was still there, still heart wrenching, and Zoro wanted to chase it away somehow.
"That bastard is gonna answer to me." Smoker announced as he released his hold on Zoro and walked past him.
Zoro and Ace watched as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs from the back pocket of his jeans, then crouched down to probably check his vitals.
"He's still alive, you're lucky." Smoker informed Zoro as he rolled the bastard on his stomach and proceeded to cuff him.
No one had noticed the small crowd of people that had turned away from the stage to stare at what was happening behind them. Zoro had caused a commotion that could have definitely got him kicked out of the venue, but he didn't care.
Sanji threw one last glance at the man who was being forced to stand up by Smoker, then looked back at Zoro. He seemed lost in an unfamiliar place, he looked confused as if the things that had happened were things someone else had experienced. He started in the direction of Zoro, walking slowly and not caring about the several pairs of eyes that were staring at him.
"He looks so weird, what the hell happened?" Ace asked, his voice low enough for only Zoro to hear.
Zoro's gaze was fixed on Sanji as he replied to his brother "That piece of shit was trying to touch him in places that he shouldn't even have thought of. And he just couldn't fight back." he explained simply.
"That fucking pervert..." Ace growled under his breath, "I'll see if Smoker needs me to go with him. And take care of your nose."
"Go ahead," Zoro muttered, then brought a hand up to touch his nose. He had completely forgotten about it, but it didn't feel broken. He wiped off the blood that had run down his lips and chin with his sleeve, and watched Ace walk towards Smoker and the scumbag. Zoro really hoped he was going to be taken care of in the way he most deserved.
Sanji stopped a few inches away from Zoro, his gaze a million miles away from there. Zoro was full of anger towards the man that had ruined their perfectly happy moment, they were supposed to celebrate.
"Are you alright?" Zoro asked, his hands balled into fists to tame the urge to touch Sanji, to make him feel protected. He knew he was distraught, and touching him without his consent could have only made things worse.
Sanji didn't say one word in answer, but he slowly brought his arms up to loop them around Zoro's neck. He burrowed his face in the crook of the drummer's shoulder and heaved out a shaky breath against his skin.
"I wanna go home…" Sanji whimpered, his lips tickling the skin of Zoro's neck ever so slightly.
Zoro wrapped his arms around Sanji's waist, as those words vibrated through his chest. He knew people were probably still watching them, but he couldn't really care. He pressed his lips to Sanji's cheekbone, then rubbed slow, soothing circles into Sanji's back. He would have definitely wanted to still enjoy the rest of their night at the venue, but it was time for Sanji to rest.
"I'll take you home. But first let's get outta here for a while, yeah?" Zoro spoke softly into Sanji's ear.
Zoro felt Sanji nod in response, then watched as he pulled back to catch his lips in a chaste and gentle kiss.
"You can't drive, I always forget about it." Sanji teased him, but with a very soft smile just barely curling his lips.
Zoro rolled his eyes and shook his head "Shut up. I'll have to get my brothers, or someone else."
"Alright." Sanji gave a curt nod, and Zoro pecked his lips one last time before taking his hand to guide him through the crowd and towards the exit.
No one tried to stop them for photos, nor for any other kind of interaction. Zoro truly hoped he hadn't scared their fans off, but on the other hand he was glad no one tried to bother them on their way out.
Once they were outside, Zoro watched Sanji breathe in the cool air and let his eyelids fall shut. He looked like he was trying to regenerate himself, and that definitely made Zoro feel better.
"Asshole, you broke my fucking nose!"
Zoro couldn't believe it. He slowly turned to look at the voice that had just barked at him and found Smoker and Ace holding back the handcuffed piece of shit. Zoro felt Sanji tense by his side, so he wrapped an arm around his shoulders to make him feel protected.
"You aren't really helping your case, pal." Smoker commented in a monotone. He pushed his cellphone into the pocket of his jacket and jerked his chin in the direction of Sanji. "I'm gonna need your deposition, but you can do that tomorrow."
"Yeah, I just wanna go to bed, now." Sanji said in a hushed tone.
"Yeah, so that freak standing beside you can fuck you just the right way!" the scumbag went on.
"Wash your mouth before you speak about him." Sanji sneered between gritted teeth.
Zoro squeezed his shoulder to let him know that it was okay. He didn't need to defend him. Zoro knew that guy was completely insane, he couldn't take any offense from demented insults.
"I told you to watch that damn mouth, Bellamy." Smoker grumbled.
Bellamy. That was a name he definitely wasn't going to forget.
"Now I know why my brother broke your nose," Ace commented "he should have done worse, though."
Bellamy spat into Ace's face, and Smoker punched him so hard on the back of his neck that he fell to his knees.
"Take him away from me or I'll slaughter him." Ace growled as he wiped spit off his face.
Just as Ace uttered those words, a police car siren howled as it approached in great haste. They were probably the backup that Smoker had called with his cellphone.
"Don't worry, I'll lock him up." Smoker nodded and pulled Bellamy back up to his feet as soon as the car stopped.
"Do you need me to go with you?" Ace asked.
"No, just go home. I'll call you." Smoker saluted the officers and watched as they slammed Bellamy in the back of the car.
"I could testify?" Ace went on.
In another moment Zoro would have probably laughed at his brother's insistence. He clearly also wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend, that's why he was pushing.
"Alright. My car is that way." Smoker pointed at the packed parking lot, then looked at Zoro and Sanji "Night guys."
"Night, and thank you." Zoro gave a curt nod.
Sanji didn't say anything, he just waved. The screeching of the police car tyres on the concrete and the siren going off again, made him flinch in surprise.
Ace walked up to them, a frown curving his lips downwards. "I'm sorry about everything, we were supposed to celebrate."
"We can still do that," Zoro nodded "just some other time."
"You alright, Sanji?" Ace asked, concern lacing his words
"Yeah, don't worry." Sanji nodded with a small smile.
"Give these to Usopp," Ace threw his car keys to Zoro "he can drive y'all back."
Zoro caught the keys "Sure. Thanks."
Ace raised his hand in goodbye, then jogged towards Smoker's car, himself.
"Guess we'll have to find Usopp." Zoro sighed.
"Hopefully your lil bro didn't get him too drunk." Sanji commented.
"Shit…" Zoro sighed.
–
It took Sanji and Zoro approximately an hour to actually find Usopp and Luffy. Going back inside the venue proved difficult, since people had sneaked outside to take photos with them and ask Zoro all kinds of questions.
Was he alright? Where had he been? Was he going to go back to Murder Of Crows? Did they really see him kiss Sanji? Were they dating, now?
Zoro was sort of prepared to be bombarded with all those inquiries, but all he wanted to do was get Sanji home and let him rest. Still, fans were valuable and important, and Sanji didn't seem to be too irritated by them, they both took photos and chatted with everyone a bit.
Everyone was in the backstage, eating the rest of the food that had been offered to them by the Punk Hazard staff. Luffy was wolfing down a humongous portion of french fries while Usopp and Chopper gaped at him in concern. They were probably wondering if he was ever going to explode or just slip into a comatose state. Nami, Vivi and Robin were all sipping red wine while Franky told them one of his terrible jokes – he was definitely failing to make the ladies laugh as they stared at him unimpressed. Poor guy. Sabo and Barto… Well, those two were still M.I.A.
"Zoro!" Luffy suddenly shouted, spitting out half a french fry when his eyes settled on his brother. "Where the hell have y'all been? Where's Ace?"
Everyone was startled by such loud reaction, but were suddenly drawn to look at Sanji and Zoro, standing awkwardly a few feet away from them.
"Uh… Something happened and Smoker had to go to the police station. Ace went with him." Zoro explained with a shrug.
"What? Why?" Luffy asked, his eyebrows drew together.
"Did it happen here or…?" Nami asked, her eyes wandering from Zoro to Sanji.
Zoro noticed that Sanji's gaze lowered as soon as Nami looked at him. Did she know something he didn't?
"No, no. Nothing happened here." Zoro lied through his teeth, only to ease off Sanji's tension.
"Why is there a bruise forming around your nose, Zoro?" Robin inquired.
Well, crap. Why did everyone have to be so curious and observing?
"Did you get into a fight? Without me?" Luffy asked, clearly disappointed about not having been able to join in.
"Guys, we just came to tell you that we wanna go home," Sanji cut right to the point "Ace left us his car keys. You gotta drive, Usopp."
Sanji snatched the keys out of Zoro's pocket and tossed them to Usopp who promptly caught them before they could land onto Luffy's fries.
"Alright…" Usopp nodded, but as he was about to stand up his boyfriend held him down with a hand on his shoulder.
"But we don't know where Sabo is!" Luffy weakly protested.
"Yeah, I know where he is." Nami commented, triggering snorts and giggles from Vivi, Robin and Franky.
"He's got his bike, anyway." Zoro shrugged.
"I should get going, too," Chopper rubbed his hands together to get salt and oil off of them "I got a morning shift at the hospital."
"Will you be alright on your own?" Zoro asked. He had almost forgotten about Chopper having to drive back home alone.
"Of course I will! And your concern definitely doesn't make me happy, you asshole!" Chopper squealed in a merry tone that earned him quite a few weirded out stares.
Zoro had started to get used to that odd behavior of his, so he just smirked and rolled his eyes "Alright then."
"So where the hell is your cousin?" Sanji asked.
"If you listen very closely you can hear Bartolomeo's moans from the toilets." Franky replied only to make Nami and Vivi burst out laughing.
"What th–" Sanji growled, a disgusted expression warping his features.
Zoro couldn't believe what he was hearing at first, even if he should have definitely known. He wasn't exactly jealous, but knowing how obsessed with him Bartolomeo had always been, it felt kind of odd to know that he was hooking up with Sabo.
"Guys, there's more important matters we should be discussing." Robin chimed in before setting the half empty glass on the coffee table in front of her.
"Oh, that's right!" Nami raised her eyebrows, then stared up at Zoro.
"What?" Zoro scowled, then looked for Sanji in search of an answer or reaction to Robin's words.
Sanji looked sort of bewildered, his eyebrows shot up just like Nami's, but then his front teeth sunk into his bottom lip as if he was keeping his excitement at bay.
"Yes, of course I'm coming back to the band. I heard this question only twenty times, tonight." Zoro spoke way ahead of everyone, absolutely certain as to what the topic of the discussion was going to be.
"That wasn't even an option, I would have shot you if you didn't." Sanji huffed.
Now he was back to being puzzled. His eyebrows knitted together impossibly close as he scanned the room to see a bunch of oddly excited faces.
"What the hell is going on?" Zoro growled. He was already starting to get annoyed.
"I actually work for Baroque Records," Robin started, and Zoro's eyes immediately flew to her "the others have recently discovered this too. But what's really important is that we want you to sign with us." she smiled, like she hadn't given Zoro some of the most important news of all times.
"We did it, Marimo," Sanji's voice came to Zoro disembodied, as he kept staring at Robin, incredulous "we're gonna be pros!"
He was completely overwhelmed.
Robin had just dropped a huge bomb like it was nothing.
A positive bomb, an incredibly positive one, but it was still a bomb.
He was sort of used to her personality by now, Zoro knew she could threaten to take someone's life with the sweetest smile stretching her lips, or being morbid and grotesque by keeping the most relaxed of tones. Yet he truly couldn't believe the calm she had used to reveal something so crucial and unexpected.
"I think I'm getting a stroke or something." Zoro muttered, and everyone but Robin bursted out laughing.
"That would be less than ideal, we wouldn't let the band sign with us, without you as part of it." Robin explained with the same calm tone from a few moments before.
She was truly scary as hell, he wondered how Franky was still alive.
"Oh…" was all Zoro could manage to utter.
His brain had partially short circuited, he could only stare at Robin in complete disbelief. Zoro could feel everyone else's eyes burning his skin, boring into it, but he couldn't quite bring himself to add anything else to the conversation. He couldn't even hear the way in which Chopper was squealing at the exclusive news he had just heard.
How could have Robin just omitted the small little detail that she worked for Baroque Records?
He could have probably suspected it since she was friends with the guys from Freakshow, but he wasn't that much of a Sherlock Holmes type of guy. Also he was definitely the last one to know about that, Sanji had never mentioned this opportunity. Of course he wasn't blaming him or anything, Zoro was well aware he was the one who had dropped out of the band of his own will. Yet he did appreciate the fact that the record company wouldn't have taken in the band without him. That truly meant the world.
"I think you broke the Marimo, Robin."
Everyone laughed again, and Zoro seemed to finally jerk awake from that sort of daydream. He blinked a few times and turned his head to look at Sanji, who was still sporting the same soft, exhausted smile from a few minutes before. There was the most beautiful light shining in his big blue eyes, the same light from the first time they had kissed that night. Zoro felt the now familiar fluttering of butterfly wings in his stomach, and his lips slowly curled into a smile that twinned with Sanji's.
"We did it…" Zoro gave a small nod. He was only now reprising Sanji's words from some seconds before, but the singer grinned nonetheless.
"I guess we can sign, then." Sanji told Robin, and Zoro went back to look at the woman.
"Mhm, I guess you can." Robin nodded, a knowing smirk replacing her usual small smile.
Everyone started cheering and hugging each other. Luffy knocked over his french fries portion and didn't even seemed to care about it. Zoro didn't even realize that Sanji had jumped up on him until he felt his lips pressing hard against his cheek, and his arms and legs constricting him like a python.
"I still can't believe this!" Sanji laughed as he tipped his head back.
Zoro promptly looped his arms around Sanji's waist to support him, and got infected with Sanji's laughter. That's how he wanted to see the love of his life, happy and carefree, without anything or anyone threatening his sanity. He kissed Sanji's throat as soon as it was exposed, then shook his head at his words.
"Neither can I!" Zoro admitted, a huge grin threatening to split his face in a half.
"Oh my goodness, that's too much for my heart! They're too cute, look at them!" Vivi shrieked, making Zoro and Sanji stare at her in horror.
"I still can't believe you finally got together, I've been shipping this for years." Franky confessed with a curt nod, making the others laugh.
"Shipping this? Christ…" Zoro snorted and shook his head. He knew that his cheekbones and ears had flushed red, but couldn't do much to hide it.
"You guys need to fucking stop!" Sanji faked a whine as he slid off of Zoro. He knew Sanji was probably enjoying every single moment of that, no matter his poor attempt at denying it.
"I'm pretty sure even our parents have been waiting for this to happen since we were all kids." Luffy chimed in.
"Stop it!" Zoro barked, his face felt like it had literally caught fire. "Let's just go home!"
"Alright, alright!" Luffy huffed "You're no fun at all." he complained with a roll of his eyes, then stood up from the couch.
"Wait a sec!" Nami almost shouted "When are we supposed to actually come sign the contract?"
Nami was right. Thank goodness for her. Everyone turned to look at Robin, who had resumed sipping on her glass of red wine.
"On Monday morning, I'll text you the details as soon as I speak to my boss." Robin informed them before refilling her glass with the almost empty bottle or Pinot that stood on the coffee table. She sighed at the sight of how little was left.
"Alright, then," Sanji clapped his hands together "we can fuck off now."
"Yes, let's." Zoro agreed, eyebrows shooting up as he nodded.
–
After waving everyone goodbye, Zoro, Sanji, Luffy and Usopp managed to sneak out of the back door of Punk Hazard perfectly unnoticed by any fan. Coming down of the high of just a few moments before had left Sanji completely powerless, exhaustion didn't even begin to cover it.
He still hadn't truly recovered from the encounter with Bellamy, yet at the same time he was having a hard time believing it had actually happened. That asshole had had the nerve to show up to another one of their concerts, and only with the intent of trying to fuck him. Again.
Just thinking about it again made Sanji want to simultaneously cry and throw up. He didn't think he could have been so utterly terrified of Bellamy, last time he had been able to defend himself. Yet the more Bellamy threatened him, the more Sanji was reminded of the nightmares, of all the abuse he had endured but buried deep inside his mind.
Sanji quietly climbed into the backseat of Ace's car, his mind still filled with ugly images, his heart still heavy with fear and disgust. If Zoro hadn't been there, Bellamy would have probably got what he wanted and Sanji couldn't have rebelled to him. He felt so disgusting in that moment, he could barely breathe.
"You alright?" Zoro asked as soon as Luffy turned on the radio, and Usopp started up the car.
Sanji didn't look at him but nodded.
"Are you sure?" Zoro kept pressing.
"Yeah…" Sanji sighed, then leaned his entire side against Zoro.
He was too tired and traumatized to even be alive in that moment, he didn't want to discuss the details of what was going through his brain. Not in that particular moment at least. It was like he could still feel the rough palm of Bellamy's hand sliding across his thigh, the stench of his breath still ghosting over his face.
Sanji felt Zoro's arm wrap around his shoulder, and for a moment he tensed up, his mind unable to tell the difference between Zoro and Bellamy. Then Zoro's lips pressed against his temple soft yet long, and his mind finally recognized the difference. Sanji closed his eyes and relaxed into his boyfriend's protective embrace.
His boyfriend.
Sanji still couldn't believe he could call Zoro that. It was so weird.
"Does your nose hurt?" Sanji blurted out as the car backed up and pulled into the street.
He immediately regretted asking and screwed his eyes shut as he mentally cursed himself. He didn't want to start that conversation. He was such an idiot.
"It's a bit sore, but I'll live." Zoro answered, but didn't delve into any sort of third degree about Bellamy and what had went down just an hour or something ago.
Sanji could barely believe that, but it was Zoro, after all and Zoro perfectly knew how to handle him. He was such an open book to the other man, it was insane, but also something that Sanji was incredibly grateful for.
Sanji wrapped an arm around Zoro's torso, burrowing his face into his neck and inhaling his scent. He could have probably sat there, all curled up around Zoro forever. He would have been the happiest person on earth just doing that.
Zoro's hand moved from Sanji's shoulder to his jaw and gently tugged on it so that Sanji would pull back and look into his eyes. Zoro stared at his lips for some seconds, then brushed his nose against Sanji's in the sweetest way ever before placing a soft kiss to Sanji's lips.
Sanji didn't know whether he should have cried or kissed him back, but he opted to cup Zoro's cheek and part his lips as he tentatively pushed the tip of his tongue against Zoro's own lips. Zoro obliged and welcomed Sanji's tongue in his mouth right away with slow brushes from his own.
Kissing Zoro was the most mesmerizing yet thrilling experience Sanji had ever had. It made him melt, it made him tremble like it was the first time he had ever kissed somebody. The truth was that Sanji had never kissed someone out of love, and kissing Zoro truly made him feel like he was doing it for the first time.
Sanji pulled back, his vision slightly hazed as he sheepishly smiled at Zoro, who kissed the tip of his nose before Sanji had a chance to rest his head on Zoro's shoulder.
"I got you." Zoro murmured, and a small, happy tear escaped Sanji's eye, right before he slipped into a brief yet comfortable slumber.
To Be Continued...
A/N: the story is most likely to have at least two more chapters, I still haven't perfectly figured it out, yet.