Sanji loved his job for multiple reasons.
The first was that Sanji loved to dance. He loved the freedom of movement and expression that it brought him. The absolute thrill that came with the beat of any and every type of music. No matter what kind of music it was, Sanji was sure to find some way to move with it and make it look good.
The second reason was that Sanji loved to teach others how to dance. There was something fulfilling about teaching others to move gracefully, with purpose and meaning. Seeing such optimistic faces of those who were just as passionate about the activity as he was always made the blond man's day.
The third reason (which really shouldn't count as a reason since it was more like a subdivision of the second reason) was that Sanji absolutely loved teaching women how to dance. Women were already beautiful treasures that deserved to be dotted on and cared for, but when a women knew how to dance, she became something otherworldly, too lovely and beautiful for the common man. As a bonus, since Sanji taught many women how to dance he had multiple opportunities to touch the smooth and soft skin that women took such good care of, keep in close contact with the pretense of correcting them on their form.
Oh yes, being a dance instructor certainly had its perks.
Teaching muscle-brained, marimo jerks, however, was definitely not one of them.
Sanji glared at the green haired man who was currently doing stretches on the floor of his small dance studio, completely oblivious to the hatred directed toward him. The blond dancer cursed his shitty luck. Why did he have to give a one-on-one dance lesson to this…this moron?
It had all started when Sanji had been hired by the Grand Line Theater Department. They had asked that he help choreograph the dances for the upcoming winter play and Sanji had only been happy to obliged. It would be the biggest project Sanji had ever taken and would help advertise his small dance studio.
It had been great at first. The members of the ensemble were quick, determined learners who practiced and performed with enthusiasm. Sanji couldn't help but feel giddy to see his dances coming to life on a stage. Sanji had been most ecstatic about one dance in particular. A fast paced tango between the two leads, a representation of their fiery and passionate love that Sanji took weeks to perfect. The blond dancer had been delighted to teach Robin, the female lead of the play, the dance during private lessons. Not only was the older woman absolutely gorgeous but she danced with a memorizing swing of her body that was perfect for the tango. Robin had gotten the dance down in no time. Her partner, however, was a different story.
Sanji wasn't sure how Zoro got the male lead. He supposed the man had a deep, gruff singing voice that matched his character, and okay his acting wasn't that bad, but his dancing was horrendous. Week after week Sanji would watch in horror as Robin attempted to teach Zoro the dance, that Sanji worked extremely hard to choreograph thank you very much, only to have the idiot moss head butcher it beyond recognition.
"Perhaps he would learn better with a professional," Robin suggested to him after rehearsal one day and Sanji couldn't say no to that charming and polite smile that she gave him.
So there he was, stuck giving the man he most certainly did not get along with a private lesson on how to dance the tango. Great.
"Alright, let's get started," Sanji sighed, motioning for the other man to stand in the middle of the floor. Zoro only grunted as he got into position which only served to grate on Sanji's nerves more.
"Okay," Sanji said through clenched teeth. "I'm going to start the music and you just do the dance. I'm going to correct you along the way. Think you can handle that, marimo?"
Zoro looked at him in confusion. "I'm dancing by myself? Isn't this suppose to be a two person thing?"
Sanji growled. Thing? A thing? This thing is a creative masterpiece you Neanderthal!
"Do you see any women you can dance with?" Sanji said instead, rolling his eyes.
"Well," Zoro started, his mouth quirking into a smirk as he glanced at the blond dancer.
"Just do the dance!" Sanji said hotly before the green haired man could continue with whatever insult he was ready to say. Sanji pressed play on the stereo, allowing the music to fill the room. The beginning was slow meant for the two leads to be serenading each other with pretty words. Sanji could see Zoro mouth the words of the song quietly to himself, his brows creased in concentration.
There was a slight pause in the song, signaling the beginning of the dance. The tempo got faster, picking up with each set of counts. And Zoro was absolutely lost. The man stumbled and tripped, cursing out loud each time he fell behind the counts. It was painful for Sanji to even watch.
Feeling merciful, Sanji shut off the music plunging the room in silence and leaving Zoro awkwardly mid-step of the dance.
"Geez, marimo, what have you been doing these past few weeks of rehearsal?" Sanji asked, crossing his arms. "It's like you haven't learned this dance at all."
"Shut up!" Zoro scowled at the other man. "Just correct me where I'm doing something wrong."
"Everything is wrong!" Sanji yelled exacerbated, throwing his hands up in the air.
"This is stupid," Zoro complained, glaring at the hard wood floor beneath him. "It's harder when it's just me dancing."
Sanji bit his lip as he watched the other man actually pout. Okay, so maybe he felt a little bad for the guy. The choreography was pretty hard for those who didn't have a background in dance so it was a little understandable that he couldn't get it right away. Sanji sighed when he came to a decision.
"Alright, I'll dance with you," Zoro's head shot up, looking at Sanji as if he didn't trust his words. The blond dancer started the song over and pressed play, the slow beginning starting up once more.
"It's easier if you have a partner, I guess," Sanji mumbled when he got to Zoro, placing one hand on the taller man's shoulder and intertwining their fingers on the other. Sanji stubbornly ignored the warmth that seeped through his clothes when Zoro placed a firm hand on his hip and kept his head down to avoid the man's gaze. The quicker the idiot learned the dance, the quicker they could be out of each other's lives.
The pause in the song happened and Sanji took a deep breath, ready to lead Zoro while still dancing the part of the woman.
Except that didn't happen. The music picked up and suddenly Sanji was moved backwards, Zoro stepping forward in steps that matched with the time of the music. It was happening all so fast. Zoro was moving, turning, twisting, in a blur of movements. His feet tapped around Sanji's, his legs swinging, his hands pushing and pulling his blond partner along to the music. And Sanji could nothing but follow, his body set on auto pilot as he followed Zoro's every move, and god, it was exhilarating. Sanji couldn't remember the last time he moved this fast, this intense, desperate to match the pace of his partner.
I forgot how much contact was in this dance, Sanji thought as he wrapped a leg around one of Zoro's, swinging himself around. Zoro followed the motion, pulling the blond in close enough so that nothing could come between their bodies. The taller man lifted Sanji, allowing the blond dancer to kick his legs out before wrapping them around Zoro's torso forcing the green haired man to carry his weight as he spun. Sanji could hear the song coming to an end as Zoro lifted him up again to place him back down on his feet. When the final note of the song rang out Sanji found himself in a dip with Zoro hovering above him, his arm wrapped tightly around Sanji's back as support.
Sanji was out of breath and could barely think, still too elated from the surprise that the other man could actually dance and dance incredibly well. Zoro was panting too, his dark eyes wild and filled with an emotion that caused Sanji's face to heat up. Coming down from his high, Sanji searched the other man's face coming to a stop at his mouth.
The bastard's smirking! Reality came crashing down hard as Sanji took in everything that had happened and the position he was currently in. He gave one more look to Zoro's smirk which was much to smug for Sanji's liking.
The blond dancer brought a leg up and kneed Zoro in the stomach. Hard. He carefully removed himself from Zoro's hold as the other man fell to his knees with a groan of pain. At least the smirk was gone.
Sanji stalked toward the exit, fuming in anger and embarrassment. "If you don't need help, don't waste my time, shitty marimo,"
Sanji could still hear Zoro's breathless laughter when he slammed the studio door shut.