Moy Mell 6: Art Critic

"Moy Mell, 6: Art Critic"

orig. 11/18/2017

Zoro, Elly, Tracey Sketchit, Shota Aizawa, Sanji - PG-13

Original Concept, mixed fandoms

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He was always close to her, round the clock, every day and she wondered just how he did it. The others had time off, but he didn't like leaving her alone. Elly watched Zoro as she lazily sipped some coffee in the kitchen. They'd finished breakfast and Zoro and the newest member, Aizawa, were together in the sunny room. Shota was as inconspicuous as possible, on ghost security today. Sanji was sitting outside on the deck, smoking and blowing trails that drifted across the pool. But it was Zoro she was focused on as the big man cleaned the dishes in the sink. He swore as he almost dropped a soapy cup but caught it in midair. She chuckled softly.

The light, almost diffident tapping on the kitchen door startled Elly out of her reverie.

"Elly?" It was the young artist from the other day. He seemed upset, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to come in or not.

"Tracey, what's up? Yesterday was a lot of fun. I always love seeing all the sketches you come up with." And it had been more interesting because Zoro had sat with her, something that hadn't happened before. Tracey had, in fact, hid some of them that he was certain the bodyguard wouldn't want her to see. He'd managed to catch the exact moment Zoro had glanced over at her, and his expression had softened considerably, changing his harsh features for a moment. It was a split second, but the artist had keen eyes and had sketched it. It was a reason he felt he had to come directly to the mansion the next morning. He was nervous, shaking a little as he walked over to the patio doors near her.

"Um. About that."

The dishes rattled as Zoro finished up quickly. "Something's wrong." He strode over, wiping his hands on a towel. He tossed the cloth indifferently aside when they were dry and sat down on an empty stool.

Tracey sighed and ran a hand through his lanky black hair. "Yes..."

"Uh oh. That's not good." Elly set her mug carefully down. "Tell us what happened."

"I posted all the sketches -" stammering as he realized he hadn't, he took a breath and corrected himself. "Most of the sketches online, like I usually do. I got some bad messages." He brought out his phone from his red cargo shorts and held it up. "Look, I sent every single thing to your phone right before I walked in."

Zoro's own phone chimed and he swore, digging deep inside his haramaki. "You didn't have to come here, then." He swiped it open and began reading.

"Well, uh, that's the thing. I feel like this is my fault, and careful, some of those are images and..!"

"Holy shit!" Zoro almost fell off his seat. He held the phone in the air, away from Elly, when she tried to peek. "No, no way, little cat - trust me. You don't want to see."

"All that makes me do is wonder more!"

"They're -" The big man paused, his eye narrowing thoughtfully. "You didn't paint those, did you?"

"Gosh, no!" Tracey stumbled a little, his face burning in embarrassment. "N-no, there's no way, they're all different styles, it's not my work at all. Really. I wouldn't have sent them if I did them - someone sent them to me and, and." He froze, seeing Zoro's face had become deadly serious as he watched him flounder about. "Honest, Zoro! They're not mine. The person just says they are, and they sent them out to everywhere like the letter and stuff." He blurted this last out.

"Oh my crap," Elly husked, her eyes wide. "I just realized what they could be."

"Yep." Shota had crept closer to look at Zoro's phone when he held it away from Elly. "Nudes." He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "That one's pretty good," he murmured.

"Quit looking at it!" Zoro snatched the phone close to his body.

"I'm sorry," Tracey whimpered.

"S'not your fault, kid," Shota shrugged.

"Hey, I'm twenty one," Tracey grumbled. "I'm not that young. But yeah, I mean I guess not. If we hadn't done that sketching session though, it might not have happened."

"It's not your fault," Elly groaned. "Zoro? Are they really..?"

He blushed bright red. "How do I know?"

"No, silly," she sighed patiently. "I didn't mean are they real, because they can't be. I've never posed nude for anyone. Or been fully nude around anyone, for that matter. Unless doctors count... or my full cat form."

"These are definitely not you in cat form." Shota whistled softly through his teeth.

"Aizawa!" Zoro's face was mottled with anger. The man prudently shut up and stepped away from him. The raging man's hand was on the hilts of his swords, flexing as if he'd come seconds away from unsheathing them.

"Zoro," Elly soothed quietly, "Calm down. Sanji just heard and now we have to explain things to him."

"Great!" Zoro snarled so loudly they all jumped. "How can today get any worse?!"

"The hell's going on in here?" Sanji stepped forward and naturally edged closer to Elly than the other men. "Anyone bothering you, angel?"

"No," she said as serenely as she could manage. "The - what do we call them, harasser? Made some terrible accusations again."

"I'd call them stupid," Tracey ventured in awe, his eyes large and focused on the seething aura of rage that surrounded her main bodyguard. "Zoro's gonna kill them when he finds out who they are."

"You haven't caught them yet?" Sanji affected a tone of surprise as he turned to face him. Needling Zoro was his favorite pastime, and even in a serious situation he did what he could to infuriate the other man. He raised a curly eyebrow when Zoro completely ignored him, however. That usually didn't happen; a comeback was required. He was instead feverishly tapping on his phone, sending a message out to the other members of his team. "Anyone want to fill me in?"

"Someone sent nude drawings of Elly to the media," Shota said into the stillness of the room. Sanji blinked. A small trickle of blood ran down one of his nostrils, and he abruptly passed out.

"It's only Tuesday," Elly mourned.