Mass x Acceleration - Chapter 13
Title: Mass x Acceleration
Chapters: Prologue + 13 Chapters
Rating: R
Pairings: Eventually
Summary: Nami talks Sanji into auditioning for Braeburn's band.
Braeburn had been right - most people really didn't have the time for the band.
Every time someone walked into town hall, Nami innocently asked if anyone was interested in auditioning or if they knew someone who was, and it was a never-ending procession of the word "no". People were too busy with their jobs and their families, and those who weren't busy with those things supported Jimmy's theory about Deltana and blackmail with their sudden change in disposition from friendly and cheerful to uncomfortable and awkward.
But it was only two days later - Thursday was still young, maybe she'd have more luck that day.
"Auntie Nami!"
Nami smiled to see the twins burst through the door of town hall, followed by their tired looking mother. Wendy and Sundae were bouncing up and down at her desk, talking at the same time about what they'd had for breakfast and what their mother was doing there. Nami smiled and nodded, listening as best she could as she produced a pair of lollipops for the girls if they promised to keep it down so she and Mommy could get business stuff done.
The girls agreed this was a good plan.
"Making me deal with a sugah crash this early in the day, sugah?" Ria asked.
"Well, they're quiet. What have you got for me today, Ria?" Nami asked, folding her arms.
"Nothing too exciting, just informing the town I hired a replacement for the B-I-T-C-H who walked out on my shop," said Ria. Nami nodded, looking over the paperwork and grabbing the appropriate stamps. "How are you doing, sugah? We haven't had a chance to talk since you got the new apartment - I still want to get you those curtains, just let me know the color you want."
"No rush - we have some blinds that are doing the practical part for now, we can worry about pretty colors when you're not so swamped," said Nami. She sighed as Ria took a seat on the edge of her desk, keeping one eye on her children and another on her friend. "As for what I'm up to, Braeburn had me audition for his band."
"Oh, how'd it go?" Ria asked.
"I'm not cut out for the music world," Nami said with a nervous laugh. "I can't sing, but I'm okay with that. I told him I couldn't sing but he was all 'no, no, I'm sure you have a lovely voice' and I proved him wrong. But I did volunteer to help them find a new singer to replace that other one." She sighed. "So far I've had no luck. Either people don't have the time for the band or are afraid of something . . . I just can't find a good singer."
"Mmm, I hear you. I'd love to help them out, too, but I have toddlers- not happening."
"Can you sing?" asked Nami.
"Yes, but I'm raising two kids by myself and running my own business - I'm the poster child of that first group you spoke of," said Ria. "If the girls were a little older and the business was a little more self sustainable then maybe I could take the time to do it, but both of those things are several years away - at least the girls getting older part, I wouldn't mind the shop suddenly taking off." She laughed. "But sadly, it's just not the right time for me."
Nami sighed. "Guess we're still on the hunt for a singer then."
During the adult's conversation, Wendy had wandered over with her lollipop, Sundae following behind, both girls having somehow managed to get their lollipops down to the white paper sticks (now each sporting a damp, green end) already. The twins exchanged a look, then turned their eyes to Nami. "What about Uncle Sanji? He can sing really good."
"Wendy! He can sing really well," Sundae corrected.
Wendy glared. "Good!"
"Well!" Sundae said back.
"Good!"
"Well!"
"Inside voices!" Ria barked. The twins quieted, but continued arguing in hushed whispers.
Nami pouted. "Where did they get that idea? I don't think Sanji-kun sings."
Ria turned to her daughters in curiosity. "Actually, come to think of it, they picked up a couple of kid's songs I don't remember teaching them a few days ago - they've been singing them in their room. I guess Sanji must have taught them one of the last times he was watching them and, apparently, it struck a chord with them. You sure he doesn't sing?"
Nami shook her head. "No, I'm positive he doesn't like to sing. Back . . . before, our captain was very insistent on finding a musician - even before important jobs like 'cook' and 'doctor'. Sometimes he tried to get everyone involved in some sing-a-longs until we found a musician willing to join, but Sanji-kun was always very reluctant - the only times I ever saw him seem to get into it was in a big crowd, so I've never really heard his voice."
"Interesting," said Ria, looking at her girls in curiosity. "If it was a crowd, he probably figured his voice was drowned out by everyone around him . . . or there was alcohol involved and he didn't care." She closed her eyes. "But he went that much out of his way to avoid being heard? I mean, even if it was just a small group of people - friends, even - just having fun?"
"Yeah, really," said Nami. "Luffy never pushed it too hard - it wasn't important enough to warrant a fight or making people unhappy, and we did eventually find ourselves a musician so the problem is basically solved at this point . . . even if said musician does have a pronounced F-E-T-I-S-H for P-A-N-T-I-E-S."
Ria stared at Nami. "What?"
"Never mind. It'll make sense if you meet him," said Nami.
The seamstress shook her head and turned her attention to the girls, who were now sword fighting with their lollipop sticks. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. But back to the original point . . . my girls seem pretty convinced Sanji can sing. If you're serious about helping Braeburn, maybe you'll want to see if you can talk him into an audition."
"Okay, you want me to talk Sanji-kun, who has a history of avoiding his singing voice being heard, to audition for a band where he'd be the lead vocalist, based on the word of a pair of toddlers?" Nami asked. Ria nodded with a smile. "Okay, I need to hear logic behind this, because it sounds like you're asking for the impossible."
"You don't spend a lot of time around small children," said Ria. She put a hand on the desk and leaned over. "Let me tell you a secret - kids are the harshest critics you will ever meet. If they don't like something, they won't have any of it. Observe." Ria called over to her girls. "Hey, how do you girls feel about having asparagus with your dinner tonight?"
Wendy and Sundae looked at their mother like Christmas had been cancelled. "NO!"
"All right, no asparagus!" said Ria. "How about spaghetti?"
"YAY, SPAGHETTI!" The girls cheered.
Ria walked over to calm the twins down, looking back at Nami. "See?"
"Those are things you already know they like or don't like," said Nami.
"Fair enough," said Ria. She wandered over to a bookshelf Mac had set up and pulled one off the shelf. "Okay, this is a book on how to conduct a meeting - probably something the girls haven't ever seen before. Now watch and learn." She took a seat on Nami's desk and opened the book. "Girls! Story time!"
"Yay!" The twins scrambled over at the promise of story time, pulling themselves up next to their mother (and nearly shoving several thing on Nami's desk aside in the process). They looked at the pages of the book and immediately turned to their mother with pouts and glares. Now Nami was starting to see the point.
"There aren't any pictures," said Wendy.
"It's all words," said Sundae.
"This is a story about the proper procedure for conducting business meetings," said Ria. She cleared her throat. "Chapter One: Organizing the-"
"BORING!" Wendy proclaimed, jumping off the desk and scurrying over to the bench where she and Sundae had been playing. Her sister was hot on her tail as Ria slid off the desk, closed the book, and replaced it. She referred to where the girls were now playing a clapping game by themselves and turned to Nami with a knowing look.
"So you're saying if the twins liked it . . ." she said.
". . . do you have any other options?"
Nami frowned. She really didn't.
Nami arrived back at their apartment and let herself in - the kitchen was dark, meaning Sanji hadn't started on dinner yet, but she could hear the shower running in the bathroom, so at least she knew he was home. Not knowing how far into the shower he was, the navigator took a seat on Zoro's loveseat (which was the piece of furniture closest to the bathroom that wouldn't need to be moved around) and listened, wondering if he was the type to sing in the shower.
No such luck. The water was shut off, but she could hear humming. Hmm. Not entirely unpleasant, but humming is a lot different, isn't it? I think? I really need to talk him into an audition. Somehow. Ugh, if it was the old Sanji I could just, I don't know, flash him my bra or something but I don't know if that'll work now.
Sanji stepped out of the shower whistling, a towel wrapped around his waist and damp blonde hair stuck to the sides of his head. He stepped into the main area of their apartment and saw Nami. "Oh, sorry Nami-san, didn't think you'd be home this early." He kept a grip on his towel, but continued to his prize - a glass of apple juice he'd left on the counter.
Although Sanji was still gaining back lost weight, Nami noticed that a little bit of muscle definition had returned - not where he'd been before, but she'd seen him doing stomach crunches recently and he'd talked about starting an early morning jogging routine. That probably explained his slower weight gain: he was thinking ahead, knowing that he needed to get back into fighting shape.
Literally.
"See something you like?" Sanji turned his body towards her, flexing for her.
Nami blushed and turned away - she hadn't realized she'd been staring. "Oh, sorry." She shook her head, trying to compose herself. Sanji chuckled in response - of course he wasn't offended. "Don't know what came over me. I mean, it's not like I haven't seen you half naked . . . or completely naked . . . before."
"Oh, right," he said. This was true. Although there had been a few . . . incidents . . . while traveling with Luffy, there had been numerous times on That Man's ship where they'd been exposed to each other naked. The first time she'd seen Sanji had been after he'd gotten the Tank for something and had left his clothing to hang dry on one of the benches while he was crouched shaking in one of the corners. The first time he'd seen her naked . . . actually that had technically be in Arabasta, but there had been one night she'd been tossed into the holding cell naked as a punishment - Sanji had given her his shirt and spent the night in his boxer shorts.
The apartment had gone quiet with the mention of their shared trauma. It had been over two months since their escape, but they were still being haunted by the memories and nightmares associated with the year they'd lost. It took a few minutes for them to regain their composure and break the silence.
Sanji sat on the arm of the couch with his juice. "So . . . what's going on?"
"Funny you should ask . . ." said Nami. "So, I told you I auditioned for Braeburn's band, right?"
"Yeah - you said you didn't get in," said Sanji.
"Well, I volunteered to try and find someone else and Ria came into town hall today."
Sanji eyed her suspiciously. "And?"
"She thinks you should try."
The cook nearly choked on the apple juice. "Excuse me?"
Nami stood up, crossing her arms and walking towards him. "The twins think you can sing well and they're . . . picky. Really picky. Ria thinks you might have a shot . . . and not just because I'm the only audition they've had and we both know that went over . . . poorly. Because if the girls liked you that probably means something. "
"Nami-san, I can't sing," said Sanji. "The girls were probably just being nice or something."
"You spend more time with them then I do - what do they do to things they don't like?"
Sanji considered this. "Based on our first trip to the book store and how they treated any book without pictures . . . they toss them aside without a second thought." He sighed. "But those are things, objects - I'm a person. A book isn't going to get mad at a couple of toddlers - Mr. Pinova might but the book won't. The book is nothing but dead trees. And even living trees wouldn't be capable of getting angry with the girls, either."
"Someone had to write the book they're tossing aside. Someone has to cook the food they don't like. Sanji-kun, they've been singing the songs you taught them for days - if you need to liken what happened to a book, those songs are 'the book' and they haven't tossed them aside yet." Nami moved past him into the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Why are you so convinced you can't sing anyways?"
"I was told I sucked pretty flat out by a girl who was studying music," said Sanji, following her into the kitchen. Nami stuck a straw in her water and turned to him for further explanation. "Obviously she knew way more about it than I did so her opinion meant something. It's outside of my realm of expertise and that was her whole life - music and singing and stuff."
"What was the problem?" asked Nami.
Sanji looked a little nervous, looking around the kitchen before returning his gaze to her. "She said my voice was all over the place and kept changing pitch really rapidly - said I sounded like a dying cat or something," he responded. "I got kind of embarrassed and just decided not to sing like that again - I mean, with a group if it's just messing around is fine but I mean, I couldn't let Zoro hear me and make fun of me over it."
"How far along was she in her studies and what was her focus?" asked Nami.
"Violin was her focus, but she studied voice on the side. And I think she'd been studying for maybe a year or two?" Sanji seemed to be thinking hard. "I don't remember, it was a while back - at least six or seven years ago. She was in a lot, favored salmon, and Zeff let her play for the other customers a few times."
Something clicked, and Nami did some quick math. "So how old were you?"
Sanji grabbed an apple from the counter. ". . . fourteen? Maybe fifteen?"
Nami gestured for him to follow her, leading the two of them into the living room area. Bingo. "Sanji-kun, when you were going through puberty, about when did your voice change?" She sat down and looked at him. "I know it's probably not your favorite point in time to remember, but humor me for a moment."
"When I was fourteen . . ." Realization lit up on Sanji's face. "Oh. I see your point."
Nami crossed her legs in the seat. "See?"
Sanji sat down on the couch. "Just because I was going through puberty and I'm a dumbass for not realizing that sooner doesn't mean I'm a good singer. Even before that happened, if I sang too much I'd go into a coughing fit . . ." Sanji paused again and pressed a hand to his face. "That was probably from the cigarettes, wasn't it?"
"And I know it's annoying for you sometimes, but I bet your extra sensitive hearing might make you more aware of things like pitch," said Nami. "Sanji-kun, they don't have any other options and this means a lot to them. Besides, getting up on stage in front of a crowd is probably good for your confidence, and we both know that's been lacking as of late."
The cook still seemed a little nervous, looking at his lap like he'd find an answer there. Nami put a hand on his shoulder, and Sanji looked up to smile a little. "Well . . . worst that would happen is they'd tell me no, right?" he asked. Nami nodded, but Sanji still seemed nervous. "I still don't know about this, Nami-san."
"I think it would be good for you," she said. "You told me you're unhappy with the way you've handled the other men in your life so hanging out with Braeburn and his buddies might help you there. If you want to get along better with Zoro and the other Straw Hats, you need to learn how to get along with other guys first." Nami started to rub his shoulders.
"What if I am good? Won't Luffy be mad he's had someone who could sing since East Blue?"
"Even if he did get mad, and I really don't think he would, just make him a pot roast and he'll remember the reason he wanted you in his crew. And that's assuming it even got that far, which I doubt it would - this is LUFFY we're talking about, and besides, everyone is going to be more focused on us being ALIVE than anything else," she said. Nami rested her head on his shoulder. "It's a paying job, too - the money would bring you closer to that chef's knife set you want so bad."
"Really!?" Sanji asked excitedly. "And the wooden cutting board? Oh, and the spice grinder!" He lit up. "Wait, we'd need to get pots and soil to grow our own spices first. Oh! Cruets! Or an apple corer - they must have those here, right? A waffle iron! A sandwich press? No, maybe some pie dishes . . . it's Apple Island, I should be making apple pies. And apple crisp. And apple dumplings. And-"
Nami laughed. "Anything you want."
"Okay. I'll go to the audition."
Nami had never heard Sanji sing before - at least, not as a soloist. If he practiced before the audition it wasn't around her (and it was entirely possible he didn't, considering it was less than twenty-four hours since she'd convinced him to try out and part of that time had been spent sleeping and working), so the audition was the first time she was actually hearing if the twins were right.
Sanji's voice was smooth and even, demonstrating an impressive range and very little difficulty navigating from one end to the other. He kept his eyes closed the whole time, probably to keep his nerves down, and she could see beads of sweat dripping down his brow. He didn't force any vibration or march around like she had, focused on the task at hand.
Braeburn, Darryl, and Jimmy were exchanging looks and nods - they were impressed.
By the time he finished, Sanji looked even more nervous than before. He swallowed, waiting for their evaluation. They started to clap politely, and Sanji smiled a little. "You were just a little, teeny bit pitchy at the start of the second verse, but that was very good for someone who's never had any training," said Jimmy.
"Really?" Sanji asked in disbelief. "That good?"
Braeburn nodded. "You have a good range of octaves, too - you don't have the range of, say, an opera singer but definitely one or two more than the average dude. That's very good - it broadens the number of songs we can try without having to readjust what key we're playing in." He got up from the piano, looking to Jimmy and Darryl. The two nodded, and Braeburn held out his hand. "If you want the position, it's yours."
Sanji stared at Braeburn for several moments, eyes wide and his jaw slack. Nami bit her bottom lip - even with her encouragement, she guessed that he didn't think he'd be good enough to join and was trying to process it all. She covered her lips with her mouth, her stomach tying itself in knots. Was he going to be okay? Maybe this wasn't a good idea. She shuffled from foot to foot.
The cook finally composed himself and took Braeburn's hand. "Okay. I accept."
Chapters: Prologue + 13 Chapters
Rating: R
Pairings: Eventually
Summary: Nami talks Sanji into auditioning for Braeburn's band.
Braeburn had been right - most people really didn't have the time for the band.
Every time someone walked into town hall, Nami innocently asked if anyone was interested in auditioning or if they knew someone who was, and it was a never-ending procession of the word "no". People were too busy with their jobs and their families, and those who weren't busy with those things supported Jimmy's theory about Deltana and blackmail with their sudden change in disposition from friendly and cheerful to uncomfortable and awkward.
But it was only two days later - Thursday was still young, maybe she'd have more luck that day.
"Auntie Nami!"
Nami smiled to see the twins burst through the door of town hall, followed by their tired looking mother. Wendy and Sundae were bouncing up and down at her desk, talking at the same time about what they'd had for breakfast and what their mother was doing there. Nami smiled and nodded, listening as best she could as she produced a pair of lollipops for the girls if they promised to keep it down so she and Mommy could get business stuff done.
The girls agreed this was a good plan.
"Making me deal with a sugah crash this early in the day, sugah?" Ria asked.
"Well, they're quiet. What have you got for me today, Ria?" Nami asked, folding her arms.
"Nothing too exciting, just informing the town I hired a replacement for the B-I-T-C-H who walked out on my shop," said Ria. Nami nodded, looking over the paperwork and grabbing the appropriate stamps. "How are you doing, sugah? We haven't had a chance to talk since you got the new apartment - I still want to get you those curtains, just let me know the color you want."
"No rush - we have some blinds that are doing the practical part for now, we can worry about pretty colors when you're not so swamped," said Nami. She sighed as Ria took a seat on the edge of her desk, keeping one eye on her children and another on her friend. "As for what I'm up to, Braeburn had me audition for his band."
"Oh, how'd it go?" Ria asked.
"I'm not cut out for the music world," Nami said with a nervous laugh. "I can't sing, but I'm okay with that. I told him I couldn't sing but he was all 'no, no, I'm sure you have a lovely voice' and I proved him wrong. But I did volunteer to help them find a new singer to replace that other one." She sighed. "So far I've had no luck. Either people don't have the time for the band or are afraid of something . . . I just can't find a good singer."
"Mmm, I hear you. I'd love to help them out, too, but I have toddlers- not happening."
"Can you sing?" asked Nami.
"Yes, but I'm raising two kids by myself and running my own business - I'm the poster child of that first group you spoke of," said Ria. "If the girls were a little older and the business was a little more self sustainable then maybe I could take the time to do it, but both of those things are several years away - at least the girls getting older part, I wouldn't mind the shop suddenly taking off." She laughed. "But sadly, it's just not the right time for me."
Nami sighed. "Guess we're still on the hunt for a singer then."
During the adult's conversation, Wendy had wandered over with her lollipop, Sundae following behind, both girls having somehow managed to get their lollipops down to the white paper sticks (now each sporting a damp, green end) already. The twins exchanged a look, then turned their eyes to Nami. "What about Uncle Sanji? He can sing really good."
"Wendy! He can sing really well," Sundae corrected.
Wendy glared. "Good!"
"Well!" Sundae said back.
"Good!"
"Well!"
"Inside voices!" Ria barked. The twins quieted, but continued arguing in hushed whispers.
Nami pouted. "Where did they get that idea? I don't think Sanji-kun sings."
Ria turned to her daughters in curiosity. "Actually, come to think of it, they picked up a couple of kid's songs I don't remember teaching them a few days ago - they've been singing them in their room. I guess Sanji must have taught them one of the last times he was watching them and, apparently, it struck a chord with them. You sure he doesn't sing?"
Nami shook her head. "No, I'm positive he doesn't like to sing. Back . . . before, our captain was very insistent on finding a musician - even before important jobs like 'cook' and 'doctor'. Sometimes he tried to get everyone involved in some sing-a-longs until we found a musician willing to join, but Sanji-kun was always very reluctant - the only times I ever saw him seem to get into it was in a big crowd, so I've never really heard his voice."
"Interesting," said Ria, looking at her girls in curiosity. "If it was a crowd, he probably figured his voice was drowned out by everyone around him . . . or there was alcohol involved and he didn't care." She closed her eyes. "But he went that much out of his way to avoid being heard? I mean, even if it was just a small group of people - friends, even - just having fun?"
"Yeah, really," said Nami. "Luffy never pushed it too hard - it wasn't important enough to warrant a fight or making people unhappy, and we did eventually find ourselves a musician so the problem is basically solved at this point . . . even if said musician does have a pronounced F-E-T-I-S-H for P-A-N-T-I-E-S."
Ria stared at Nami. "What?"
"Never mind. It'll make sense if you meet him," said Nami.
The seamstress shook her head and turned her attention to the girls, who were now sword fighting with their lollipop sticks. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. But back to the original point . . . my girls seem pretty convinced Sanji can sing. If you're serious about helping Braeburn, maybe you'll want to see if you can talk him into an audition."
"Okay, you want me to talk Sanji-kun, who has a history of avoiding his singing voice being heard, to audition for a band where he'd be the lead vocalist, based on the word of a pair of toddlers?" Nami asked. Ria nodded with a smile. "Okay, I need to hear logic behind this, because it sounds like you're asking for the impossible."
"You don't spend a lot of time around small children," said Ria. She put a hand on the desk and leaned over. "Let me tell you a secret - kids are the harshest critics you will ever meet. If they don't like something, they won't have any of it. Observe." Ria called over to her girls. "Hey, how do you girls feel about having asparagus with your dinner tonight?"
Wendy and Sundae looked at their mother like Christmas had been cancelled. "NO!"
"All right, no asparagus!" said Ria. "How about spaghetti?"
"YAY, SPAGHETTI!" The girls cheered.
Ria walked over to calm the twins down, looking back at Nami. "See?"
"Those are things you already know they like or don't like," said Nami.
"Fair enough," said Ria. She wandered over to a bookshelf Mac had set up and pulled one off the shelf. "Okay, this is a book on how to conduct a meeting - probably something the girls haven't ever seen before. Now watch and learn." She took a seat on Nami's desk and opened the book. "Girls! Story time!"
"Yay!" The twins scrambled over at the promise of story time, pulling themselves up next to their mother (and nearly shoving several thing on Nami's desk aside in the process). They looked at the pages of the book and immediately turned to their mother with pouts and glares. Now Nami was starting to see the point.
"There aren't any pictures," said Wendy.
"It's all words," said Sundae.
"This is a story about the proper procedure for conducting business meetings," said Ria. She cleared her throat. "Chapter One: Organizing the-"
"BORING!" Wendy proclaimed, jumping off the desk and scurrying over to the bench where she and Sundae had been playing. Her sister was hot on her tail as Ria slid off the desk, closed the book, and replaced it. She referred to where the girls were now playing a clapping game by themselves and turned to Nami with a knowing look.
"So you're saying if the twins liked it . . ." she said.
". . . do you have any other options?"
Nami frowned. She really didn't.
Nami arrived back at their apartment and let herself in - the kitchen was dark, meaning Sanji hadn't started on dinner yet, but she could hear the shower running in the bathroom, so at least she knew he was home. Not knowing how far into the shower he was, the navigator took a seat on Zoro's loveseat (which was the piece of furniture closest to the bathroom that wouldn't need to be moved around) and listened, wondering if he was the type to sing in the shower.
No such luck. The water was shut off, but she could hear humming. Hmm. Not entirely unpleasant, but humming is a lot different, isn't it? I think? I really need to talk him into an audition. Somehow. Ugh, if it was the old Sanji I could just, I don't know, flash him my bra or something but I don't know if that'll work now.
Sanji stepped out of the shower whistling, a towel wrapped around his waist and damp blonde hair stuck to the sides of his head. He stepped into the main area of their apartment and saw Nami. "Oh, sorry Nami-san, didn't think you'd be home this early." He kept a grip on his towel, but continued to his prize - a glass of apple juice he'd left on the counter.
Although Sanji was still gaining back lost weight, Nami noticed that a little bit of muscle definition had returned - not where he'd been before, but she'd seen him doing stomach crunches recently and he'd talked about starting an early morning jogging routine. That probably explained his slower weight gain: he was thinking ahead, knowing that he needed to get back into fighting shape.
Literally.
"See something you like?" Sanji turned his body towards her, flexing for her.
Nami blushed and turned away - she hadn't realized she'd been staring. "Oh, sorry." She shook her head, trying to compose herself. Sanji chuckled in response - of course he wasn't offended. "Don't know what came over me. I mean, it's not like I haven't seen you half naked . . . or completely naked . . . before."
"Oh, right," he said. This was true. Although there had been a few . . . incidents . . . while traveling with Luffy, there had been numerous times on That Man's ship where they'd been exposed to each other naked. The first time she'd seen Sanji had been after he'd gotten the Tank for something and had left his clothing to hang dry on one of the benches while he was crouched shaking in one of the corners. The first time he'd seen her naked . . . actually that had technically be in Arabasta, but there had been one night she'd been tossed into the holding cell naked as a punishment - Sanji had given her his shirt and spent the night in his boxer shorts.
The apartment had gone quiet with the mention of their shared trauma. It had been over two months since their escape, but they were still being haunted by the memories and nightmares associated with the year they'd lost. It took a few minutes for them to regain their composure and break the silence.
Sanji sat on the arm of the couch with his juice. "So . . . what's going on?"
"Funny you should ask . . ." said Nami. "So, I told you I auditioned for Braeburn's band, right?"
"Yeah - you said you didn't get in," said Sanji.
"Well, I volunteered to try and find someone else and Ria came into town hall today."
Sanji eyed her suspiciously. "And?"
"She thinks you should try."
The cook nearly choked on the apple juice. "Excuse me?"
Nami stood up, crossing her arms and walking towards him. "The twins think you can sing well and they're . . . picky. Really picky. Ria thinks you might have a shot . . . and not just because I'm the only audition they've had and we both know that went over . . . poorly. Because if the girls liked you that probably means something. "
"Nami-san, I can't sing," said Sanji. "The girls were probably just being nice or something."
"You spend more time with them then I do - what do they do to things they don't like?"
Sanji considered this. "Based on our first trip to the book store and how they treated any book without pictures . . . they toss them aside without a second thought." He sighed. "But those are things, objects - I'm a person. A book isn't going to get mad at a couple of toddlers - Mr. Pinova might but the book won't. The book is nothing but dead trees. And even living trees wouldn't be capable of getting angry with the girls, either."
"Someone had to write the book they're tossing aside. Someone has to cook the food they don't like. Sanji-kun, they've been singing the songs you taught them for days - if you need to liken what happened to a book, those songs are 'the book' and they haven't tossed them aside yet." Nami moved past him into the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Why are you so convinced you can't sing anyways?"
"I was told I sucked pretty flat out by a girl who was studying music," said Sanji, following her into the kitchen. Nami stuck a straw in her water and turned to him for further explanation. "Obviously she knew way more about it than I did so her opinion meant something. It's outside of my realm of expertise and that was her whole life - music and singing and stuff."
"What was the problem?" asked Nami.
Sanji looked a little nervous, looking around the kitchen before returning his gaze to her. "She said my voice was all over the place and kept changing pitch really rapidly - said I sounded like a dying cat or something," he responded. "I got kind of embarrassed and just decided not to sing like that again - I mean, with a group if it's just messing around is fine but I mean, I couldn't let Zoro hear me and make fun of me over it."
"How far along was she in her studies and what was her focus?" asked Nami.
"Violin was her focus, but she studied voice on the side. And I think she'd been studying for maybe a year or two?" Sanji seemed to be thinking hard. "I don't remember, it was a while back - at least six or seven years ago. She was in a lot, favored salmon, and Zeff let her play for the other customers a few times."
Something clicked, and Nami did some quick math. "So how old were you?"
Sanji grabbed an apple from the counter. ". . . fourteen? Maybe fifteen?"
Nami gestured for him to follow her, leading the two of them into the living room area. Bingo. "Sanji-kun, when you were going through puberty, about when did your voice change?" She sat down and looked at him. "I know it's probably not your favorite point in time to remember, but humor me for a moment."
"When I was fourteen . . ." Realization lit up on Sanji's face. "Oh. I see your point."
Nami crossed her legs in the seat. "See?"
Sanji sat down on the couch. "Just because I was going through puberty and I'm a dumbass for not realizing that sooner doesn't mean I'm a good singer. Even before that happened, if I sang too much I'd go into a coughing fit . . ." Sanji paused again and pressed a hand to his face. "That was probably from the cigarettes, wasn't it?"
"And I know it's annoying for you sometimes, but I bet your extra sensitive hearing might make you more aware of things like pitch," said Nami. "Sanji-kun, they don't have any other options and this means a lot to them. Besides, getting up on stage in front of a crowd is probably good for your confidence, and we both know that's been lacking as of late."
The cook still seemed a little nervous, looking at his lap like he'd find an answer there. Nami put a hand on his shoulder, and Sanji looked up to smile a little. "Well . . . worst that would happen is they'd tell me no, right?" he asked. Nami nodded, but Sanji still seemed nervous. "I still don't know about this, Nami-san."
"I think it would be good for you," she said. "You told me you're unhappy with the way you've handled the other men in your life so hanging out with Braeburn and his buddies might help you there. If you want to get along better with Zoro and the other Straw Hats, you need to learn how to get along with other guys first." Nami started to rub his shoulders.
"What if I am good? Won't Luffy be mad he's had someone who could sing since East Blue?"
"Even if he did get mad, and I really don't think he would, just make him a pot roast and he'll remember the reason he wanted you in his crew. And that's assuming it even got that far, which I doubt it would - this is LUFFY we're talking about, and besides, everyone is going to be more focused on us being ALIVE than anything else," she said. Nami rested her head on his shoulder. "It's a paying job, too - the money would bring you closer to that chef's knife set you want so bad."
"Really!?" Sanji asked excitedly. "And the wooden cutting board? Oh, and the spice grinder!" He lit up. "Wait, we'd need to get pots and soil to grow our own spices first. Oh! Cruets! Or an apple corer - they must have those here, right? A waffle iron! A sandwich press? No, maybe some pie dishes . . . it's Apple Island, I should be making apple pies. And apple crisp. And apple dumplings. And-"
Nami laughed. "Anything you want."
"Okay. I'll go to the audition."
Nami had never heard Sanji sing before - at least, not as a soloist. If he practiced before the audition it wasn't around her (and it was entirely possible he didn't, considering it was less than twenty-four hours since she'd convinced him to try out and part of that time had been spent sleeping and working), so the audition was the first time she was actually hearing if the twins were right.
Sanji's voice was smooth and even, demonstrating an impressive range and very little difficulty navigating from one end to the other. He kept his eyes closed the whole time, probably to keep his nerves down, and she could see beads of sweat dripping down his brow. He didn't force any vibration or march around like she had, focused on the task at hand.
Braeburn, Darryl, and Jimmy were exchanging looks and nods - they were impressed.
By the time he finished, Sanji looked even more nervous than before. He swallowed, waiting for their evaluation. They started to clap politely, and Sanji smiled a little. "You were just a little, teeny bit pitchy at the start of the second verse, but that was very good for someone who's never had any training," said Jimmy.
"Really?" Sanji asked in disbelief. "That good?"
Braeburn nodded. "You have a good range of octaves, too - you don't have the range of, say, an opera singer but definitely one or two more than the average dude. That's very good - it broadens the number of songs we can try without having to readjust what key we're playing in." He got up from the piano, looking to Jimmy and Darryl. The two nodded, and Braeburn held out his hand. "If you want the position, it's yours."
Sanji stared at Braeburn for several moments, eyes wide and his jaw slack. Nami bit her bottom lip - even with her encouragement, she guessed that he didn't think he'd be good enough to join and was trying to process it all. She covered her lips with her mouth, her stomach tying itself in knots. Was he going to be okay? Maybe this wasn't a good idea. She shuffled from foot to foot.
The cook finally composed himself and took Braeburn's hand. "Okay. I accept."