Dancing

"Dancing"

orig. 12/18/2007

Elly x Zoro (pre-time skip)

Innuendo, PG-13

Anime/Manga: ONE PIECE

.

.

.

The crew glanced around. The entire town was lit up with brightly colored lanterns and streamers were everywhere.

"This is gonna be great!" Luffy crowed gleefully. He grabbed at a passerby and asked what was going on. "Is it a party?!"

"It's the annual Dance Festival," the dark-skinned woman said. "People come from all the neighboring boroughs to compete!" She waved to a large Inn that seemed to be gathering people in groups of ten and twenty. "That's where the contest takes place."

"Contest? Is there a prize?" Nami frowned, tucking a strand of orange hair back. This sounded ridiculous, but if there was any chance of money involved she was interested.

"There is, little lady." The woman smiled broadly. "You'd better go inside if you wanna see what it is this year." Naturally, a scramble for the door ensued. Robin managed to thank the woman before following the others. Luffy, Chopper and Sanji were following Nami, who was firmly striding right towards the Inn. Zoro and Elly were holding back towards the end of their little party. As soon as they entered Nami looked disgusted.

"This isn't worth it," she muttered. Couples were dressed in outlandish outfits on the dance floor. One man was wearing a flamenco suit, the woman he was with dressed almost entirely in feathers. Nami wrinkled her nose. "The prize is probably some silly little thing. I doubt such a small town could offer anything meaningful."

"It's been described as 'making love on the dance floor'", the announcer suddenly boomed from the side of the floor, "The feeling, the passion for your dance partner is one of the qualifying points for a successful win!"

"What?!" Her eyes widened. "Some of these places have such ridiculous..."

"...the winner will get the combined contest prize of a gold statuette and 50,000 beli!" Chopper squealed and jumped into Usopp's arms.

"Her eyes are money signs again," he whimpered fearfully.

"Great."

"Sanjikun - you'll dance with me, won't you?"

"Of course, Nami-swaannn!" Sanji appeared so happy he didn't have a leg to stand on. Zoro shook his head, disgusted as the cook all but fell to the ground at her feet in glee.

"Stupid." The swordsman sat at a table and called loudly for ale. That, at least, he understood. Let the damn fool idiot make an ass of himself. The red-haired wench would pull her clothes off for the judges and he'd freak out at the same time, probably causing them to lose anyway. It didn't matter, they had plenty for food and drink. That was all he cared about. A small sound to his left caused him to frown and stare at the stupid cat. She was in her usual spot by his side (it didn't even surprise him anymore, he just accepted it). But she looked upset.

"C'mon! We have to get ready!" Nami yanked her willing slave down behind the stage where they had set up some partitions for dressing rooms. The judges nodded to them as they ran behind and Nami winked at the guys.

"Are they gonna dance? I didn't know Sanji could dance!" Luffy was talking with his mouth full of breadsticks. He swallowed mightily then turned to Chopper, who was shrugging.

"Ladies like to a lot," the little reindeer said. He paused, then began laughing hysterically as Usopp rose from under the table with two bread sticks crammed in his lower lip like walrus tusks.

"That explains it," Elly muttered sourly. Robin raised an eyebrow at her as she slid into her seat but said nothing. They watched the dancers as the first few couples came out to perform. The dances were amazing. The males led the females along, sometimes almost appearing to kiss them but never quite so close. It was intense and most of the crew had blushes across their cheeks by the first set. Luffy was keeping busy by eating everything in sight and of course didn't notice anything else.

"There they are!" Chopper shouted excitedly.

"Here we have the last contestants, folks! Give them a warm welcome and wish them luck!" Zoro jumped a little when he felt an elbow hit his side. Elly muttered an apology that was barely intelligible. She appeared to be very interested in the contents of her drink, swirling it with the little stirrer it came with. The swordsman scratched his head, frowning harder. He glanced up and saw Robin watching him calmly. When the dark-haired woman caught his eye she nodded and pointed at the dance floor, then Elly. The big man stuck his lower lip out in an even harder frown and she shook her head, laid a hand over her heart.

He blinked.

What?

Sanji and Nami finished to much applause and not a few wolf whistles. Elly sighed and looked back on the dance floor. They had gotten the highest score yet - the women judges weren't impressed by Nami's shameless flaunting but the men had given high scores. The announcer looked up with a big smile on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the score for this team is nine...  nine, nine and a half, seven and eight!"  He read the cards the judges held up loudly. Zoro was staring hard at the pale woman at his side. He got up just as Sanji was escorting Nami back to her seat and stomped over in his usual fashion to the judging booth. Most of them appeared surprised but they all nodded, albeit uncertainly.

"We have another entry," the announcer called out in his resounding voice. "This is unheard of, but someone who wasn't even on the original list wants to challenge the last team! The judges have agreed to allow them to dance." He pointed at the Strawhats' table.

"Eh?" Sanji's teeth clamped down hard on his cigarette, staring around angrily. "What the f-"

"It's from the same party! Everyone, let's give them a big hand as our lead fetches his partner!" The others were all looking around, confused but the purple-haired woman was frozen in her seat, staring at Zoro in horror. She hung her head, biting her lip as he began walking back to them.

"What's going on?" Luffy wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Why'd Zoro go over there?"

"Zoro?!" The big man had reached the table again. He extended his arm to Elly, his face stern.

"Stupid cat."

"What?" Elly's face turned bright red.

"Get up." The swordsman glanced down at himself and ripped his shirt off with one hand, leaving his chest bare. He quickly untied his bandanna from around his left arm, snapping it into place over his green hair and hooding those dangerous dark eyes. He gestured again, impatiently this time.

"Zoro? You have to be kidding me," Nami scoffed. "There's no way he can dance."

"We'll see," Robin smiled. She was watching as Elly got up, dazed and confused-looking, to stand before him. He bent forward and slipped the top of her gown off. Everyone gasped: she was usually covered in more concealing garments. No one but the swordsman had realized the top was a jacket that came off, exposing her shoulders all the way around. It was cut modestly low but revealing enough to freak Sanji out; the cook immediately went into a paroxysm of happiness. This was stopped short when he saw the big man snap her possessively to his side.

"Shit," Nami hissed.

"What are you doing?" Elly gasped. They had reached the dance floor and he ran a hand along her shoulders. She shivered, her eyes wide.

"Winning," he told her curtly and snapped his fingers at the musicians. The music started slowly and he let her go only to beckon commandingly, drawing her into the circle of his arms more by his eyes than anything else. She swayed and fell at the last moment but he caught her low to the ground. Zoro pulled her up against him and slid a hand up her leg. She raised it instinctively, curling it around his side and letting herself be held backwards, limp and completely in thrall by the big man's caress.

The music seemed to be as breathless as the audience, low and light, a gentle foreplay and not the actual act itself. Zoro wooed and won her in those moments, murmuring in her ear to 'trust him, dammit'. As the music sped up his actions became more selfish, greedy for her and her alone. His hands clutched, pulled, kneaded. Her movements were only slightly less demanding but more pleading: her hands slipped around his neck, smoothed his hair, touched his cheek and chest wonderingly. Sensual music filled the floor as he loomed over her with stalking movements, legs around hers, matching her completely. Almost indistinguishable from actual lovemaking, the couple bared everything they felt for each other on the dance floor. Since it had been held in for so long the result was an electrifying dance that blew everything anyone in that town had ever seen away.

Nami banged her head on the table, groaning. Usopp was covering Chopper's eyes with his hands. Sanji just gaped. The only one that appeared unsurprised was Robin. The older woman smiled knowingly as the crew around her gasped for air and uttered shocked noises. Zoro had slowly been dancing Elly to the ground with the beat and she threw her head back, eyes closed as he held her an inch above the dance floor. The music ended and he leaned forward to bite the side of her neck passionately. He growled low - a sound meant for her ears alone.

It began as a single clapping cheer someplace in the back, but what was slow rose to a tumultuous thunder of applause. The judges didn't even bother to give them score cards. They all looked at each other and nodded. The group stood in the direction of the panting couple and bowed as one.

"Zoro?"

"Told you," he husked. He lifted her in one arm, pressed against his side for support. The announcer had been pushed into the job of handing them the trophy by this time and he was so choked up he could barely speak. He simply handed the gold statue to Zoro and told them the local coin exchange would give them the money when they wanted it. The founder of the bank was right there in the audience so he would recognize them.

Elly didn't hear any of this. All she knew was that the swordsman had been pressed tightly against her and he was hard - all hard. His muscles were tight and firm, legs pulsed with energy and she had felt something else that made her face burn with heat and her brain seethe with crazy ideas. His body had touched hers back and forth again as he rocked her in the dance. She had felt an intermittent hardness against her lower belly, swathed in black silk... his pants. The purple locks on each side of her face tickled her cheeks but she left them to cover some of the wild blush she was sporting.

"...on the house," a plump little man was saying cheerfully, handing Zoro a key and smiling broadly. "All of it. We've covered the expense for everything inside the suite." The big man nodded to him and then pointed at the flight of stairs leading up the side of the room.

"Up those?"

"Those are the very best we have to offer in this establishment," the man agreed, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his florid face. "Go up and it should be the first door on your left." Zoro tossed the key up, moved the trophy about and caught it deftly inside the golden cup.

"Right."

"What?" Elly blinked. What were they talking about? "Zoro? Where are we going?" He picked her all the way up and started in the direction of the stairs,  grinning maliciously at Sanji before he turned around. Most of the crowd cheered and waved as they passed. Not a few men whistled softly.

"Up," was all he told her as he mounted the first step. It didn't take him long and soon they were at the door the man had told them about. He shifted her around for a bit then told her to hold "this damned thing" while he shoved the trophy at her. Elly grasped it tightly and he fished the key out and unlocked the door.

"Oh my god." It was a gorgeous honeymoon suite. Her eyes sparkled with emotion that Zoro didn't see because he was too busy taking in the stark reality of the bed in the center. He swung her around, grinning fiercely when she cried his name.

"Want to dance with you again," he rumbled against her neck. His hand gently squeezed her bottom and she gasped hoarsely.

"Here? What?"

"Here." He covered the ground between them and bed quickly, pressing her down onto the silk sheets and covering her mouth with his own. Elly's body responded all by itself, softly fitting to his hard curves and muscle. Zoro broke the kiss to sigh with pleasure.

"I thought you only did it..."

"Money?" He snorted. "Or to show off?" He bit her neck, like he had at the end of their dance before and growled passionately. "What does that feel like I want?"

"Do it again."

"Gladly." He rubbed his teeth against her pale skin teasingly. She hesitantly touched his bare chest and he hummed loudly with pleasure.

"Zoro! W- won't people hear us?"

"So what?" He bit harder and she gasped. "They saw us out there."

"Different..."

"Ha, it is." He licked her earlobe, whispered hoarsely into the soft pink shell. "It's better. I had to hold back out there." She choked and he laughed wickedly, reached up and pulled off his bandanna. His earrings jingled and she moved her head, touching them with her nose. Zoro arched his back, bringing his body into full contact with hers. There could be no confusion as to what pressed against her thigh now. The maddeningly soft-yet-hard heat rubbed on her exposed leg as he panted in her ear. He was right, she thought as his hands roamed her body. He had held back out there on the dance floor and maybe too long in general. Zoro was so eager he was a little clumsy and that made her feel he was serious. Her heart felt like it would break and she wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. It was a different broken feeling; it was as if her love was so great she couldn't take it anymore. Elly finally kissed him as hard as she could on the lips, her hands grasping the sides of his face. She felt his sideburns, the light stubble on his cheek, his strong jaw.

"Well?"

"What?" She choked a little.

"Can I?" He pressed her down again, harder this time but still gentle enough to not hurt her. She felt his arousal and shivered.

"Can you what, Zoro?" She asked softly.

"Can I have this dance?"