salmon_pink: (Hypno)
Salmon Pink ([personal profile] salmon_pink) wrote2008-08-31 12:16 am

(One Piece) Minuet

Title: Minuet
Fandom: One Piece
Pairing: Brook/Zoro/Sanji
Rating: R
Words: 1355
Timeline: Post-Thriller Bark
Notes: Voyeurism. For [livejournal.com profile] 50_smutlets, prompt "music".
Summary: A gift, from somebody who knows what happened.



Zoro didn’t like owing favours. He considered them a weakness, something for the enemy to exploit. Potential for blackmail and debts, and Nami’s smirking face always swam into his mind, with her calculations and her interest.

There were some favours, however, that were worth the sacrifice.

Getting the love cook to stop staring at him was one such example.

There shouldn’t have been any way Sanji would really believe Zoro would just stand back and let him put himself on the line for Luffy’s sake. Sanji should never have thought, for even a second, that Zoro would allow it, would allow Sanji to take his place.

Apparently Sanji did believe it though, because he’d been shooting Zoro weird looks ever since they’d left Thriller Bark, dark looks that made his face appear drawn, and he always averted his eyes when Zoro turned to glare back.

Whether it was anger or jealousy or whatever the hell else that kept the idiot cook up at night, Zoro really didn’t like it being directed at him.

Sanji didn’t know what had happened, and that was the way it was going to stay. For everyone’s sake.

Brook was older than them, had been even before he’d died. Fifty years alone, but he still was apparently as shrewd as his age would suggest, as experienced. He reminded Zoro of Robin, with his weighty silences that clashed terribly with his Luffy-like exuberance at the dinner table.

Zoro would catch him, when Brook wasn’t burying his face in his plate or belching, staring back and forth between Sanji and Zoro’s own face, and knowing someone else caught those looks meant that they were definitely real and not his imagination, and that just made him more pissed off.

He’d challenge Sanji, but he had no desire to even bring up the subject.

Not to mention he’d strained his body far more than ever before at Thriller Bark, and there was no way he was letting the damn cook get any kind of advantage over him.

He had been training specifically for the purpose of forcing himself back to his best and beyond when Brook had quietly sat beside him.

“You wish he’d stop staring at you,” Brook had said simply, and Zoro’s attention had been caught.

He’d given Brook the requested five minutes, before setting off to find them.

He’d almost forgotten what it was like to walk into a room and not have Sanji’s gaze turn to him, the temperature of the room dropping around them in a way that had nothing to do with their usual fire.

He didn’t know what Brook had done. A part of him didn’t really want to know.

Whatever it was, Sanji’s eyes remained closed, sprawled across the couch, and there was a smile on his face that wasn’t troubled or false or bitter, one that Zoro hadn’t seen since they’d left the rubble of Moria’s mansion.

Brook was humming, and it blended with the notes of the violin tucked under his chin that filled the room.

“He’s been waiting for you,” Brook said quietly, and Zoro might have wondered at that, but Sanji’s eyes fluttered open and fixed on him, and Zoro was completely distracted.

There wasn’t any of the cold silence that had been in his gaze of late, nor any of the usual irritation that usually simmered between them. It was something else, something lazy and serene and deep, and it felt wrong in a way that Zoro didn’t understand.

Sanji wasn’t angry at him in any way, shape or form. It was as if he had been waiting for Zoro, only any waiting on his part was usually accompanied by insults and annoyed little gestures and chain-smoking.

The look in his eyes was like a welcome.

Something in his stomach lurched, and Zoro wasn’t sure what was going on, but Sanji was still staring at him like that, and the sound of violin was surrounding him, and Brook was still humming.

Zoro took a step forward.

“Don’t mind me,” Brook murmured.

Zoro didn’t.

There hadn’t been time, not since Water 7, and he could almost admit to missing the taste of nicotine on his lips, the feeling of Sanji moving under him. There was none of their usual rush, none of the familiar sensation of trying to get at every part of Sanji he could reach without ripping the prissy bastard’s clothes. Just Sanji surging up against him, arms reaching for him in an instant, tongues sliding over each other, hungry for it as Zoro leant over him, and his body gave an insistent throb at the position, lust and awkwardness of still-sore muscles, but Sanji only wrapped his legs around Zoro’s waist when he settled over him more comfortably.

It was lazy exploration, the hundred kisses before never quite enough, as if they’d never taken the time to really enjoy it, and the violin throbbed along with Zoro’s pulse, the pace catching and increasing so subtly that he barely caught it over the noise Sanji was making against his mouth.

His hands were no longer content to brace themselves against the couch cushions, and they seemed to move of their own accord. Sliding up, framing Sanji’s face, one thumb following the curve of his eyebrow, but Sanji didn’t flinch away. Only undulated beneath him as Zoro’s fingers ran through his hair, and it distantly occurred to Zoro that he’d never touched Sanji that way before, almost like he was petting him, discovering him. He kissed as the corner of Sanji’s mouth, let his lips and his instincts guide him as he kissed at Sanji’s face, feeling Sanji’s fingers stroke lightly at his wrist, and at some point Brook had moved closer, but Zoro barely noticed as the sound of humming seemed to vibrate through him.

Sanji’s hips were rolling up into him, steady rhythm that didn’t feel quite like his usual restless energy, and Zoro’s fingers needed skin, had to slide under Sanji’s shirt, just resting his palm against Sanji’s stomach, feeling the heat there. Rolling down against each languid thrust, and the tempo of the humming had increased and it seemed only natural that Zoro should match it. Hearing Sanji whimper beneath him, his features relaxed in a way that Zoro wasn’t used to and couldn’t stop kissing at, breathing him in, and there was pressure against his back, thin and sharp and running along his spine, and he shuddered to realise it was Brook’s fingers, and that humming was right against his ear.

Sanji’s arms wrapped tighter around Zoro’s neck, leaning up to bury his face against Zoro’s throat, and he was shivering almost constantly in time to the tune, and the air seemed to shimmer with it, shudder and swirl with the music, and Zoro was breathless with it. Pressing his lips almost desperately against Sanji’s face in senseless patterns, feeling Brook’s fingers explore him, running over his clothes, and it felt like it could last forever, but Zoro’s body didn’t agree. There was pain in his joints and a suffocating warmth in his stomach, and Sanji was mumbling against his throat, and Zoro was grinding his hips down against Sanji’s, needing release and relief from the ache, one of Brook’s fingers drawing small circles over the back of his neck. Brook’s voice was so close, soft and soothing and stoking the heat within him, and Sanji whined high in the back of his throat, and it fit the tune so perfectly in Zoro’s mind, splintered through it and wrapped around it, and his body trembled and gave in, arching crescendo, and he instinctively knew Sanji was falling over the edge with him, as if something in the air commanded it.

Sanji’s breath was against his neck, and Zoro felt winded and shredded and as close to content as he could ever remember being, and Brook’s chuckle was barely a whisper in the back of his mind.

“Yohohoho, quite the performance,” he said softly, but sleep was already creeping into Zoro’s vision, and Sanji’s breathing was growing more shallow beneath him, and the door clicked shut behind him.

[identity profile] ohsnap9292.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
I love the tune of this fic (bad pun, sorry). But seriously, I can practically feel the song going on in the background.

Also, Brook has serious issues with personal space.

[identity profile] sinisterbug.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't mean to imply the entire story was confusing, just Sanji's complicity. But everything else was so good - my confusion was only momentary and I continued with a suspension of belief that only really good writer's can accomplish for their audiences. :D

[identity profile] scribe-protra.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
hmmmmm. Very very veeeery nice. Awesome job!

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
*melts into a blushing puddle of blushiness*

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Brook is all about the bad puns. As long as they're skeleton-related. And Brook has lots of issues in general. I absolutely loved how he couldn't really ask to see a mermaid's panties, so he asked for money instead. My kind of guy.

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you, Brook needed a bit of porniness in his life. Even though he's dead. Yohohoho.

[identity profile] kala-aira.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
I'll admit it, I was a bit bewildered at the R rating with Brook. I mean… he doesn’t have… the equipment. XD

But, I like how you worked him in there. The power of music, right?

[identity profile] cypher-away.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
I second that, with an enphasis on HOT! >3

[identity profile] kala-aira.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
Err. I should say... a bit bewildered at first. Because, I'm not still bewildered. ...ack. >.

[identity profile] ohsnap9292.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
I can't believe I had forgotten about that! I really need to reread the chapters from when Brook is introduced.

It's funny, whenever new characters are introduced I always think I'm going to hate them (maybe it's a fear of change). At first I only like Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. It took me a little while to get used to Nami but now I really like her and I don't think she's useless anymore. I only took to Robin after Water 7. I wasn't sure about Franky until I realized how emotion and lovable he is. When Brook came aboard I thought he was only going to be used for comic relief but when they showed his backstory I couldn't help but cry (and think of that song, y'know the one that's all "one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do").

[identity profile] 3goodtimes.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
God that was lovely. Just gorgeous. And Brooke was a wonderful additon! I'm impressed by how well you wrote him!

Loved it. <3

[identity profile] 3goodtimes.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
Oh and wanted to mention one tiny, little thing I noticed:

Sanji’s arms wrapped around tighter around Zoro’s neck

You've got two "arounds" floating in that sentence.

Only caught that after I re-read the fic. Enjoyed it just as much the second time, I might add. ^__^

[identity profile] halflight007.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I clicked on the link expecting to be squicked.

...I'm glad I took the risk. I love how you characterized Brook - I expected something sexual with him, which was why I was kind of squicked, but...wow. I loved the place you gave him in this.

*squirrels away into her horribly disorganized mems to go back and read later*

[identity profile] lys-cookie.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
GOD this is sexy...

I need a cigarette after that mother-lover...I'm painfully impressed that you managed to even just write Brook. I've tried, failed, and purged myself at the attempt, but you managed to capture him in smut?!

I love the context, as well. The Zo/San/Zo undertones (no matter how fanciful) are sooo prominent at that point in the story (and right now, might I add) and it's just lovely to read about the obvious angst there. Adding to that, I like how you referred to Sanji's feelings as either 'anger or jealousy', because the former is obvious, and the latter is more realistic, no matter how much more the former is expressed. Does that make any sense at all? Didn't think so.

It's gorgeous, like you. I'll leave it there ¬_¬;

xxx

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
*blushblushblush* Well, I'm incredibly out of touch with fandom, so I don't have any recs. There's some awesome stuff in the Memories at sanji_is_a_slut, but I'm scared to go other there because I'm so behind on modly duties. Plus it's all about Sanji, obviously. XD

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you. ^___^

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
I was really leery of Franky at first. I think a lot of it was asthetic, because I'm a shallow cow. There was much gnashing and wailing "but he doesn't fit!" in my brain. But he totally won me over of course. The most adverse reaction I've had to any of the Straw Hats was actually Usopp. I love him to itty bitty pieces now, of course, but at first I was rather unimpressed. Something about him rubbed me up the wrong way, I don't know what. *shrug*

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
Haha, don't worry, I knew what you meant. And, yeah, it's all about the power of music. ;D Brook and his lack of fun parts just makes him an interesting challenge. *cracks knuckles menacingly* XD

[identity profile] paperteacup.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
I splorfled at the name. I might see sometime, I-- Sound like a biased fangirl, I wish there was more Franky/Robin out there, but besides those two I can read pretty much any OP pairing and like it if it's well done.






Well, never Robin/Chopper that breaks two laws of eww (bestiality and underaged!)

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Oh bugger, thank you for pointing that out. *stealth edits* I usually try to sit on fic for a few days so I can edit and re-edit, but I kinda threw this one straight out there. *shame*

Thank you so much for the lovely comments, I'm glad you liked Brook here, I'm always nervous when writing new characters. ^___^

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
Mwahaha, Brook has some damn scary potential that I'm not gonna touch with a ten-foot pole. XD

Thank you for the lovely comments, I'm so glad you enjoyed. I only just read through Thriller Bark, so I was pretty damn nervous about writing Brook, so I'm thrilled he didn't come across as ridiculously misplaced or OOC.

[identity profile] 3goodtimes.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I for one am glad you threw it out there! I needed a good fic today.

And I feel a little shame at making two spelling errors in my own responses to this fic. I always forget it's Brook not Brooke. ;)

[identity profile] halflight007.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
I just finished up that arc today myself. (And oh my God I love Brook. He's, like, my second favorite character next to...uh, my ridiculous three-way tie between Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. I might challenge myself to write him someday, if I ever get the chance.)

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
The Zoro/Sanji stuff at the moment is slaying me. Everything that happened at Thriller Bark, all the subtle ways Sanji has his eye on Zoro at the moment. Damn, I need the next chapter so badly!

It definitely does make sense. Zoro and Sanji's relationship revolves around oneupmanship and pushing each other to the next level, and I think Zoro and everything that happened at the end of Thriller Bark upset the balance, and I think Sanji especially is feeling that. I would have loved to have seen a bit more breathing room between the arcs, would have loved to have seen some reaction and interaction between them, but I know it won't get swept under the carpet, Oda will bring it up again at some point.

And thank you for the lovely comments, you are far too kind to me. ^___^

[identity profile] salmon-pink.livejournal.com 2008-08-31 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, do, definitely, Brook needs more fandom love. ^____^

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