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whereistheonepiece · 4 years

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A Night Out (Part One)

Note: Here’s that Performance AU thing. I thought it was going to be a oneshot, but once I woke up from a nap and looked at all that I’d written, and I thought about all that I had left, I thought it best to break it up into at least two parts.

In the words of a wise man: “I made this for myself.”

Sanji stared at the chain of unanswered text messages he’d sent to Zeff throughout the day since his shift at the restaurant ended. The strip club had closed for the night and he was having a smoke before he got into his car to drive home to get a few hours of sleep before he had to get up and start a new day with Zeff, fresh after their most recent fight. His cigarette hung limply between the fingers in his free hand. The blue light of his phone screen shone brightly in his face, the glare making him squint and eventually shut his eyes when he grew tired of staring at Zeff’s pointed silence. He turned his head away from the harsh glare, locking his phone screen and shoving the device into his pocket with a sharp sigh. Tomorrow was going to be unbearable, wasn’t it?

He heard footsteps approach him from the side and when he turned his head to look he saw Zoro approaching him. Scowling, Sanji pointed his gaze up at the night sky, bringing his cig to his mouth and drawing in a long, deep inhale of smoke. “I’m not in the mood, Marimo,” he groaned, anticipating some kind of taunt from his fellow performer.

“What’s eating you?” Zoro asked, sounding like he actually gave a damn.

Sanji exhaled, closing his eyes. A wry, bitter smile curled his lips. Damn it all, but he was actually going to confide in Zoro of all people. But after the day he had, he had nothing to lose and Sanji figured that, at the very least, Zoro could sympathize. “My old man found out about my...secondary source of income,” he said dryly, glancing at Zoro out of the corner of his eye, studying him for his reaction.

Zoro pushed his eyebrows up. “Shit,” he said, shifting his weight. “Guessing he didn’t take it well.”

Sanji dragged his hand down his face, as if he could wipe away the stress and exhaustion. Keeping his face covered, Sanji chuckled humorlessly as he peeked at Zoro through his fingers. “He said, and I quote, ‘You’re killing me, you shitty brat. You’re going to give me a heart attack. You’re going to send me to an early grave and then you’ll be sorry for never appreciating me all these years.’”

“Shit,” Zoro muttered. “What did you say?”

Sanji looked up at Zoro, letting his hand fall back to his side. He continued to smile, even if he didn’t find the situation funny. “I told him he’s going to live another fifty years just to spite me and then I left.” Sanji may have lashed out, but that was because he knew Zeff was getting up there in years, and his adoptive father’s age and health were both something that preoccupied his thoughts when they were together. The fact that Zeff wasn’t responding to Sanji’s messages after the threat he’d made wasn’t helping.

Troubled with images he didn’t want to dwell on, Sanji whipped out his phone and punched out one last text message before pocketing his phone and glaring at the storefronts from across the street: At least tell me when you’re going to bed, shitty geezer.

“So work’s going to be fun tomorrow morning,” Zoro said with a straight face while Sanji quietly fumed. Sanji stared at Zoro and he stared back until they both started laughing.

“Right, just business as usual,” Sanji said, playing along. “‘Morning, little eggplant. Did you get naked for money again last night? Yes? Okay, go wash your hands.’”

“He calls you eggplant?” Zoro asked as his laughter quieted down into stray chuckles.

Sanji nodded. “I can’t really remember how it all got started.”

“Hm. This just makes me glad that I don’t have anyone to disappoint,” Zoro said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and staring at the rain slicked roads in front of them.

“Okay, but it’s not like I’m ashamed of what I do outside of my day job,” Sanji said. Zoro looked at him, listening patiently. It was strange to see his co-worker looking at him with anything other than defiance, mockery, or with an open challenge, daring Sanji to put on a better performance than him. That was when Sanji did his best work, he realized, when Zoro got him fired up. Sanji wouldn’t admit it, but Zoro pushed him to be a better performer, which brought him bigger tips and a thrill of knowing that he was at his best.

But this was nice. Sanji was surprised that a conversation with Zoro could actually make him feel better, but maybe he would have found that out earlier if he’d tried to get to know the guy. He’d learned recently that they shared mutual friends in Luffy, Usopp, and Nami, and he’d just found that out after several months of working together.

“No?” Zoro asked.

“Are you?” Sanji asked.

Zoro shrugged. The traffic light nearby switched from red to green, reflecting off the wet pavement. “Not really.”

Sanji took another drag of his now almost-finished cigarette. “You don’t strike me as someone who has a lot of shame,” he said, merely as an observation rather than an insult, which was probably why all Zoro did was shrug.

“It does help me sleep better at night.”

Sanji chuckled. “Way I see it, we’re providing a service, you and I.”

Zoro snorted, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It was a good look on him. “God, you’re corny.”

“I’m serious,” Sanji replied, grinning. Normally he’d object to being called such a thing, but with the way Zoro said it, it didn’t sound like an insult. If Sanji didn’t know better, he’d say that it sounded affectionate. “We’re giving those ladies a night of fun. We’re providing them with something they’re missing at home.”

“You almost make it sound noble,” Zoro said.

“Well, why do you do it?” Sanji asked.

“I happen to think I look good without any clothes on and people tend to agree,” Zoro said, smirking. “Might as well make some money off of it.”

Sanji released a small puff of air through his nostrils, shaking his head in amusement. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

“As if you’re not thinking the same thing,” Zoro said. “Tell me, did you take on this job because you needed the rent money or because you wanted to service dozens of women a few times a week?”

Sanji guffawed. “Don’t say it like that!”

Zoro grinned. Sanji gave him a sidelong glance, a small smile remaining. “But am I wrong?” Zoro asked.

Sanji gave a light shake of the head. “No, no, you’re right. It just turns out that I actually like it.”

“It is the perfect kind of job for you, isn’t it?” Zoro agreed, nodding. “Surrounded by all those adoring women stuffing money down your pants.”

“Cooking is the perfect job for me,” Sanji replied, “but this one has its perks.”

“Either way you’re ‘providing a service.’”

“Shut up,” Sanji said, but for once without any malice.

They watched cars pass by while Sanji finished off his cigarette. He quickly pulled out his phone to check to see if he had any new text messages from Zeff, relief coursing through him when he saw a text message.

Good night, little eggplant.

Zoro shifted his stance. “Hey,” he said. “Are you doing anything next Friday?”

“I was planning on coming here,” Sanji said, stubbing out his cigarette under the toe of his shoe. “Like I usually do. Why?”

“You know Usopp?”

“Yeah. What about him?”

“A few of us are going to The Whole Cake bar for one of his performances then,” Zoro said. “You look like you could use something to look forward to, so why don’t you come?”

“The Whole Cake,” Sanji repeated, accessing his memory banks to see if he knew the place. “That’s that place a few blocks over, right?”

“Yup.”

“Usopp’s going to perform?” Sanji asked. Zoro smirked. “Like, a song?”

“Yeah,” Zoro said carefully. “Yeah, he’s going to do a song.”

“I didn’t know he did anything like that,” Sanji said, having a hard time picturing Usopp performing in front of a crowd of people.

“Yeah, well, turns out he does,” Zoro replied. He paused before adding: “Nami and Vivi are going to be there.”

Sanji perked up, grinning at the prospect of going out with the two of them. “Oh? Well, in that case, of course I’ll come.”

Zoro chuckled softly in his throat, gazing at Sanji with an emotion he couldn’t place, his expression soft. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that.”

Note: Hokay, I’m going to go watch some more of Castlevania season 3. I’m so behind on all of the shows I’m watching since I got back into writing lol. There just isn’t enough hours in the day.

#performance au #fanfic

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blackleg5932 · 6 years

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Continued from here, for @pilawforhire

When the vet revealed that the kitty was female to them, Sanji heard Law’s amused snort and the words that followed filled him with dread. Seriously, his roommate had a very peculiar kind of humour, Law seemed to take special joy in embarrassing Sanji in front of other people.

He wanted to ignore the bullshit sprouted but couldn’t, feeling his hackles rise at the mock-scolding with that horrible, fake fatherly tone, yet Sanji also did not want to grace it with an answer and ended up glaring at Law with gritted teeth.

Thankfully the vet did not comment, though he did look taken aback and confused about the men’s relationship and circumstances. Once he had collected himself and cleared his throat, the doctor just continued with his work and explained things about a procedure to prevent pregnancy for the kitten. Sanji, still embarrassed about Law’s previous attitude, just wordlessly took the pamphlet, a bit overwhelmed by all the information dumped on them. He would not let any tomcat jump his little baby, the poor kitty was still a child after all, what the fuck!

Just when Sanji thought they were done and wanted to thank the vet for his work, the man started another lecture about the responsibilties of taking care of a kitten. He probably did not deem the men standing in his clinic worthy of such a task and offered the option of giving them contacts for rehoming purposes. He also, helpfully, pointed out that they should read up on the matter and named every possible way to do so, as if Law and Sanji were both too dumb to know what a library or the internet was.

Sanji’s patience was running thin. He had just wanted to save the little, abandoned kitten and everyone was giving him a hard time for it. Another condescending comment from Law almost had the blond explode in anger but then he noticed that, despite making fun of Sanji, the mocking tone was actually aimed at the doctor. With a scalding glare barely masked by a fake smile that surprised Sanji, Law turned and left for the receptionist, while the cook forced himself to thank the vet for his time and advice as politely as possible, picking up the kitty and awkwardly but carefully putting her back into the rucksack.

When he was finished, Law returned. Sanji didn’t feel great that his friend had just payed for all the doctor’s fees. He rolled his eyes when Law declared that he would be taking the back payment with interest on top, but he didn’t even show Sanji the receipt. “I told you, I’ll pay it back. You’re not my sugar daddy.” The cook had his own pride and he did not want to be dependant on his friend’s money at all, especially when it was for a situation he had ‘caused.

Sanji still wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep the cat, frankly everything kinda spoke against it but he couldn’t deny that he had the urge to take care of the little thing for a while. Despite just having made it clear that he did not have the money to provide for the kitten’s fees on a regular basis, Law was surprisingly creative with coming up with a method to earn more money on the side. Leaving the clinic, they walked back to the bike on the parking lot and Law continued to explain that they could sell some food Sanji would make. Law even offered to play the delivery man.

His friend’s rare enthusiasm once again took Sanji by surprise. He felt honored that Law thought his food was good enough to be sold, but didn’t think the idea was that easy to pull off. First of all it wasn’t exactly legal to regularly sell stuff without registering a business, not to mention the health regulations for selling food, and that would only be all kinds of new costs and bureaucracy that one or two university students could not handle. But apparently legality wasn’t one of Law’s priorities, since he already contemplated adding a little something to some baked goods.

Sanji lightly and playfully kicked Law’s ankle in a small rebuke when they reached the bike. “Are you sure you didn’t choose the wrong field of study? You are really lacking morality for a future criminal investigator...” Sanji shook his head in disbelief. “And I won’t ever...EVER put any of that disgusting shit into my food, understood?!” He caught the helmet thrown at him and put it on.

In a change of topic, Law suggested that they should buy some stuff for the cat - and the name he had used for the little thing for the third time now was a name Sanji was not willing to accept - before the markets would close for the day. Sanji took his seat behind the driver and knocked his knuckles on Law’s helmet. “I couldn’t tell you off before but her name is not ‘Pussy’!” He growled. “If I hear you call her that again I’m gonna kick your ass.” Sanji warned and thought about how else to name her. Minka sounded a little old for the young cat. He protectively put a hand on the backpack he was wearing on his chest again, feeling the little thing move inside. “Missy, her name is Missy, remember that.” Well, Sanji wasn’t that good at spontaneously naming animals but anything was better than what Law had come up with.

It only took them a couple of minutes on the bike to reach the nearest supermarket. Sanji glowered at the sign that clearly stated no animals were allowed inside. Normally, he was a law-abiding citizen and Sanji really wouldn’t have minded waiting outside, maybe even taking the time to smoke a cig, but this time he really didn’t want to leave things to Law again. Not only did he want to check that his friend would get the right things for the first night, Sanji also really did not want to let him pay for everything again. So he made sure to wear the backpack as unconspicously as possible and accompanied Law inside, hoping that Missy would be quiet enough in her hiding spot.

The shopping trip was quickly done, target-oriented they only went to the shelves that held pet food and appliances. Law put cat food into their cart, the one that Sanji pointed to and told him to get. Missy deserved the good stuff. He added a plastic tray and some cat litter as well as two stainless steel bowls for food and water to it in the next section, then they went to the cash point. Sanji put their groceries onto the conveyer belt and immediately pulled out his wallet before Law could get the idea to increase his debt. The items paid for and packed away into bags, they left the store and returned to Law’s bike.

They really couldn’t have bought more stuff than they already did, since transporting everything on the bike would have become tricky, but they managed and soon finally arrived back home.

As soon as they entered their apartment, Sanji was overcome with tiredness, it had been a long day and adopting a kitten had not been part of that day’s agenda. At least the storm seemed to have moved on now.

When Law closed the door behind himself, Sanji let Missy out of the backpack, petting her lovely orange fur straight again since it had been a bit mussed up in her confinement. As thanks she kept licking his hand with her tiny, rough tongue, which did melt the cook’s heart a bit, putting a smile on his face.

He straightened up and walked to the kitchen,where he placed all the pamphlets and flyers he had gotten from the vet on the table, putting the newly bought bowls into the sink to rinse under clean water before the first use. Sanji picked up the dishes he previously used to feed the kitten and thoroughly cleaned them, too, then set up the new bowls, filling one with water and leaving the other empty so far, since Missy had already eaten before.

The cook then thought about a good place to put the litter tray. The kitchen wasn’t ideal for that and neither were Law’s or his rooms since they would have to keep the doors open at all times. Same for the bathroom and its limited space. That only left the corridor, which was rather small as well but there was just enough space between the commode and the shoes, so Sanji set up the cat toilet right there. With his tasks finished, Sanji looked for Law, finding him in his room with the door left open. The blond leaned against the door frame.

“Hey,...thanks for driving and everything.” Sanji still didn’t know what had put Law into such a charitable mood but he did appreciate everything he had done for Missy this evening. “You should put the receipt for the vet fees on the table in the kitchen. If you want your money back as soon as possible I should at least know how much I owe you.” If he was lucky, Sanji would be able to withdraw some money from his bank account when he would go and buy more stuff for the cat tomorrow, depending on how high his debt was he might have just enough saved up.

#long post for ts #pilawforhire #✕ kitten rescue squad [plot]#[as always thank you for your patience!]#[let me know if I got something wrong]#[I had to go long for this one still]#[starting to TRY to write a little less from the next one onward]

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