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i. "You're not honestly going to wear that hat, are you?" Sanji asks, after a moment of silence dedicated to the awed conclusion that, yes, yes he was. It was still early in the afternoon and everyone was going to be chilling on the law deck. It was one of those truly peaceful days at sea and a good time if any to take a break from being pirates. And everyone was dressing casually it seemed. It wasn't really planned—not that such things ever were—but it looked like the entire Mugiwara crew was in on it anyway. Sanji was even forsaking his suit today, going for something less constricting. After he'd pulled the fleece sweater over his head, he turned around—half-hoping to catch of glimpse of Usopp before he's finished changing—and was kind of left speechless as that shitty long-nose put that bulbous thing on his head.
"Wha-what's wrong with it?" Usopp asks indignantly.
'He needs to ask?' "It looks like a zombified squid," Sanji says bluntly.
"Yeah," Usopp affirms. "Isn't it cool looking?" he says wearing that bright smile that always makes Sanji's heart flutter.
Everyone else has already vacated the men's quarters, unintentionally leaving the two of them alone. Sanji could still remember the look on Luffy's face as Franky confiscated that bizarre banana gun hat from him, saying something about how it was too weird looking for him...only to later put it on his own head instead—perverse fashion statement. Sanji sometimes wondered where these strange clothes came from that only magically seem to appear in their lockers. It was like none of the men on this ship have any sense of style.
Sanji sighs and shake his head, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette.
"What? Isn't it?" Usopp asks again.
Sanji can't keep himself from smirking, striking a match as he does and lighting the cig he already placed between his lips. "Yeah, I guess it is your style," he says moving towards the exit leading out to the open lawn deck.
"Wait," Usopp yelps, and as Sanji turns back around to face him, Usopp throws a white and purple candy-cane striped tie around his neck and starts tying it. Sanji stares down at the sniper, puzzled and doesn't know what to say for a moment. He decides to simply wait until Usopp's finished whatever he's up to. In the meantime, Usopp's face is scrunched up in concentration as he works at the silk fabric, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth.
'Mellorine! Uso-Swan is so adorable when he's focused,' Sanji sings in his own head. It was expressions like this that made the ship's sniper so loveable that Sanji wanted to hold him down and kiss him.
"There," Usopp finally says, stepping back and patting the tie where it's hung against Sanji's chest. "Now that's more your style."
Sanji looks down at the interesting tie and then up at Usopp wearing a rather mischievous smile that makes a pleasant shiver run down the marksman's back. "Wha-!" he starts before Sanji's lips find his and cut off any further comment. The two of them stand there kissing, until Usopp finally breaks them apart, throwing his head back so he can breathe. Sanji laughs, the sound making Usopp's already lighthead feel lighter. He looks up at the cook, a dazed look in his eyes. "What was that for?"
"That," Sanji says, leaning forward only the tiniest bit needed so that they're noses could touch, "is my style."
ii. Sanji’s head is throbbing. Throbbing like their navigator just used her lovely fist to stop a fight between himself and that shitty marimo. That’s the first thing he’s aware of as he starts to regain consciousness. As he groggily opens his eyes, all he sees is a massive swarming blur of pink. As everything comes into focus with enough time and patience, he realizes it’s cherry blossoms, all in full bloom and raining down slowly down from above. It only takes a moment longer for him to finally take notice of the gigantuous cherry tree behind him, probably what he’d bashed his head against in the fall. ‘The fall...’
He sits up, rubbing the sore spot on the back his head before returning the cowboy hat that’s dangling around his neck by a cord to its perch. The last thing he remembers is watching floating islands hovering all around them and then that Shiki bastard dropped their ship out of the sky like a rock, using the Sunny to send everyone flying in different directions.
‘Everyone... Wait! Where’s Usopp!!?’
Sanji only had a few seconds of unbridled panic as he came to terms with the fact that he had no fucking clue where his boyfriend was—bound to get himself into trouble the way that the cook knows him—before he hears said sniper’s unmistakable voice coming from somewhere above him. Sanji stares up, his eyes darting around and searching the branches of the larger than life tree until he spots that rather obnoxious orange jumpsuit on one of the lower bows. Sanji’s heart gives a quick sigh of relief, before he realizes that Usopp’s voice is ringing with fear. 'Shit!'
Another glance reveals that Usopp’s not quite alone on the branch. Sanji has to blink several times before he can actually trust his eyes and believe that there is indeed a giant sloth hanging from the limb and crawling towards Usopp with unnatural speed. A giant moss coated sloth is one thing. The obvious spear it has held between its teeth—looking remarkably like a certain moss-hair growing swordsman—is another.
Without another thought—not a second more wasted—Sanji jumps up to the branch from the tree’s base and sent the rather overgrown mammal flying with a Deuxième Hachis.
“Usopp,” he says landing near him easily on the branch and standing before him.
Usopp’s still shaking, but he looks truly thankful to see Sanji. He’d gone into a panic when he woke up, thinking that he’d lost everybody and was stranded. Then hearing shuffling and thinking for a moment that he wasn’t alone, he’d seen that-that sloth thing coming at him and moving too fast to be normal. He didn’t have time to pull Kabuto out. Usopp was pretty sure that he was a goner; that the crew would eventually find bits and feces of him scattered everywhere.
Sanji kneels down next to him, reaching out a hand. Usopp takes it, trying to keep his hands from shaking at the same time. The moment Usopp’s fingers are fastened with his, Sanji pulls the other man into a tight embrace, practically squeezing the air out of him and effectively managing killing his trembling.
“San-ji...pl-ease,” Usopp wheezes helplessly, trying to beg Sanji to stop crushing him like he's trying to merge their beings.
“I... thought I lost you,” Sanji says so quietly that Usopp almost misses it.
“Well, I’m right here,” he says, as Sanji’s hold on him loosened a bit. With granted mobility, Usopp returns the embrace, appreciating Sanji's close—but not crushingly close—presences.
“Yeah, at least you’re safe—” Sanji says thoughtfully... and it’s like his words triggered some strange reaction in his own head, because Sanji suddenly stiffened in Usopp’s arms.
“Sanji?” Usopp asks curiously. Sanji releases Usopp, pushing him away quickly, but not all to forcefully, and jumps down from the tree. Usopp looks after him, still confused. “Sanji?” he calls as he starts to climb down the immense trunk of the tree, trying hard not to fall...and somewhat failing when he loses his grip on the bark only five feet away from the ground. Falling on his ass, he jumps back to his feet in time to hear Sanji shout Nami’s name at the top of his lung out over the edge of the floating island they’re standing on.
“Quiet down,” he hisses at him. If there are giant spear wielding sloths here, there was no telling what other—?!
iii. “I can’t believe you. You notice there aren’t any women before you notice that they have feathers growing on their arms,” Usopp mutters all too loudly as he and Sanji walk through the small village.
“And the people on Skypiea had wings on their backs. I’ve kind of become immune to this type of weird shit,” he says nonchalantly. “’Side, it’s more strange to have a village supported by only older women and children.”
‘Yeah, but you only notice that the ladies were missing,’ Usopp muses to himself. He continues to walk rigidly, with his arms folded tightly over his chest.
‘He’s pouting,’ Sanji smirks. “What’s wrong with you?” he asks, making his voice sound arrogant on purpose.
“Nothing,” Usopp says bitterly.
“Really?” Sanji asks sarcastically, pulling out a fresh cigarette. Luckily they’re still dry after their little fall into that lake.
“You’re always so worried about women. It’s just..it’s just that you lose your head over them and almost got us killed earlier...” Usopp grudgingly admits in a low voice, his lips slightly puckered.
Sanji would be swooning for Usopp right now if he wasn’t so exhausted. ‘Uso-swan’s jealous of Nami-san and Robin-chan!’
Sanji’s stride changes slightly, allowing him to walk closer to Usopp. He loops an arm around the sniper’s waist and though Usopp struggles against his touch, he doesn’t push Sanji away all together. Sanji leaned in closer until his mouth was adjacent to Usopp’s ear. “It’s because you’re here that I’m worried about them,” he says smoothly, his breath tickling.
“What?” Usopp asks, pulling away so he can meet Sanji’s visible eye, a hand reaching up to shield his reddening ear.
“If I were with Nami-san and Robin-chan right now, I would be looking for you just as hard,” he says wearing that confident smile that makes Usopp both love and hate him at the same time. It’s a very complicated emotion. Still, he guesses what Sanji’s saying makes sense.
“What would you have done if you’d been stranded with someone else, like say Zoro?” he asks, still curious whether Sanji would have been looking for him as much as he would Nami or Robin.
Sanji’s face makes an amusing grimace at the suggestion of Zoro. ‘Anyone but fucking Zoro.’ “I would have been looking for you, too, of course.”
“Yeah, of course,” Usopp mutters, rolling his eyes and picking up the pace so that he’s walking further ahead of their ship’s cook.
“No really!” Sanji presses, speeding up so he’s right on his heels.
iv. Usopp is just as beat as everyone else. Running away from everything that Sanji’d summoned with his incessant shouting and calling out for Robin and Nami has been more draining then anything he’s experienced in a while. ‘Well, at least Nami was safe now,’ he guesses. ‘That’s kind of a relief, especially after watching that jerk take off with her and drop the Sunny out of the sky like that. Though, she certainly doesn’t look any worse for wear.’
He watches as Nami relents to their captain’s orders and walks into the small villagers’ house. Everyone seems to be taking advantage of the moment and catching some sleep while they can. Usopp’s all but ready to join them. He walks over to a fence post and collapses somewhere close to it. Sleep, sleep is nice, even if it is on plain earth with nothing really comfortable about it. He doesn’t have to worry about anything attacking him in his sleep for now, so he’s fine with it.
On the edge of sleep and ready to completely nod off, Usopp feels something jostle behind him. He lazily rolls his head to look over his shoulder and witnesses Sanji moving in and huddling against his back, shifting thoughtfully like he’s trying not to disturb him. When he notices that Usopp’s watching him, Sanji smiles sleepily. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Hmm, not really,” Usopp hums. He turns his head back and tries to get back to sleep. While Sanji’s presence behind him is reassuring and cozy, he hopes the cooks’s too tired to make that comment about not being attacked in his sleep untrue. ‘Heh, maybe later, when this is all over.’
As sleep starts to tug his mind away from awakeland again, Usopp’s at least aware enough to notice Sanji lifting his head slightly, finding soft fabric replacing the lumpy dry soil when it was returned to a semi-solid surface again, warmth rising from inside it. Usopp smiles as his eyelids finally close completely. Sanji’s such a hopeless romantic, he ruminates. Usopp snuggles the arm under his head and silently appreciates it for all it’s worth.
v. Sanji can’t seem to calm his nerves. They need to be rescuing Nami-san—she needs them right now—and here they all are playing shitty dress up. Even though the radiant Robin-chwan was the one that suggested that they follow the appropriate dress code of that bastard, Shiki’s, get together, that doesn’t mean they really have all this time to waste. He slides his arms into the sleeves and starts fighting with the buttons.
Usopp glances over his shoulder as he pulls his jacket on. Sanji’s looking really frustrated; his shoulders look tense enough to snap. He’s the one that usually likes dressing up all snazzy and he’s having far too much trouble with the buttons of his shirt.
“Sa-Sanji, it’s going to be alright,” he says from the other side of the room, trying to sound comforting.
Finished with the shitty buttons, Sanii starts angrily stuffing the tails of his shirt into the waistband of his pants. “How the Hell do you know that?—” he says, snapping as he whirled around...but cuts off as his eyes fall on Usopp, watching as the sniper tightens his own tie.
“Because you, and, uh, me, and everybody are here and we’re going to save her,” he says, his legs shaking slightly with fresh memories of their latest loss handed to them by that freak. His nose is still kind of tender where that rock bashed him in the face. Trying to hold himself together, he looks back over at Sanji. “Wha-What’s wrong?” he asks, puzzled by the funny look Sanji’s giving him.
Sanji can’t remember ever seeing Usopp in a three piece suit before. With his hair combed back, he looks so... so..Goddamn sexy!! The bastard’s been holding out on him. Yes, his beloved Nami-swan is in danger and nothing could be more important than her safe return to the crew, but Sanji can’t help but stand there absorbing the sexy way the black and white stripes hug Usopp’s slender frame. He looks away, hands covering his face to keep from getting blood on his clothes—shitty nose bleeds—but oh, Uso-swan!!
Sanji turns back to the sniper, ready to jump the gullible idiot right then and there, even with some of the crew still in the room, but is taken aback as he see that idiot cover his gloriousness up with this hulking oriental armor chest plates that he’d never seen before. ‘Where did he get that—Wait, that’s not the right question!’
“Usopp, what the Hell are you doing!?” he barks.
Usopp flinches. “I-I’m putting on armor. These guys have got guns and stuff. We-we’re walking right in the front gate, right? I-I don’t want to be turned into Swiss cheese!” ‘I’m not super human like you!’ he wants to add. He works the last clamp on the side of the bulky armor shut. Sanji feels his heart sink as Usopp puts that ridiculous beetle horned helmet on his head.
Feeling prepared, Usopp faces Sanji wearing a more confident smile then he had moments earlier. “What do you think?” he says holding his arms out to showcase his new protective shell.
Sanji’s expression turns sour. He looks away entirely and shrugs his own jacket on. “I’m not talking to you until that shitty armor’s off,” he says harshly.
“What?” Usopp whines. “Sanji, what’d I do?”
“You know what you did,” Sanji half growls as he walks out of the room.
“What? No, wait Sanji! I don’t!” Usopp shouts, calling after the cook. The rest of the crew—those who still remained in the room—snickered and Brook does one his usual “Yohohoho” laugh.
vi. Truly lost in the moment, Sanji nearly misses what Usopp says between gasping breaths. He smirks as he adjusts the sniper in his lap, which makes Usopp shudders and a long grudging moan escapes his already parted lips.
“What was that,” he asks, as he dips his head in to lick at Usopp’s collar bone giving the dark skin stretched over it a tender nip.
Usopp twitches and groans resistingly as he tries to catch his breath so he can speak again. “I said you didn’t catch me earlier.”
Sanji glances up at Usopp’s face and he sees a heated look that Usopp’s trying to give him even as the lewd nature of the situation keeps him from pulling it off. Sanji tries not to smile and instead focus his energy on pleasuring his lover. Usopp fights not to be totally swept away as Sanji changes the positions, getting out of the chair that they started this in and lying Usopp on the clothed surface of the galley’s table. With the new stance, it’s easier for Sanji to move. He starts rocking his hips and Usopp wants to stop fighting his natural instinct to work together with Sanji’s movements, but he’s still a little dejected by what happened earlier. “Why didn’t you catch me?” His words turn into a moan as his body starts moving on its own. He’s lost the losing battle.
Sanji kisses Usopp to give his own fogged over mind a moment to figure out what the idiot’s talking about when they’re already so busy with something more important. ‘Didn’t catch him... Hmm, auh... Um, when-when was that?... Oh, yeah,’ he smirks again. ‘that...’ He holds the kiss for a few seconds longer, because he’s not in a hurry to break it just yet. When he does, Usopp pants and reaches back up for him. Sanji’s all too eager to return the affection. He loves it when Usopp gets clingy like this. It’s much better than that resistant lover act that he has whenever Sanji wants to get closer to him in public. It’s moments like this when he knows that Usopp’s truly comfortable with him. He nuzzles his forehead against Usopp’s shoulder, smiling to himself where the sniper can’t see.
“I didn’t catch you earlier because I thought your armor would protect you,” he says easily, still moving against Usopp’s body.
“Aahhh,” Usopp yelps as Sanji successfully finds the sensitive bundle of nerves inside of him. “Wha-what?” he asks dazedly. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything,” Sanji says feigning irritation. “You covered yourself up with that shitty armor.” He takes advantage of Usopp’s distracted brain to snake his hand between and caress his lover’s lonesome members. Usopp mews softly, resisting making another loud noise again.
“What?” Usopp tries not to gasp this time.
Honestly, a little irked that Usopp really doesn’t understand why he was mad earlier—or more fairly upset with himself that maybe he was taking it a little too far earlier—Sanji sighs. This is neither the time nor place to explain Sanji’s new secret desire to get Usopp back into that suit so he can eventually take it off of him all over again. He’ll just have to find out some way to take care of that later. He leans in, stealing another kiss.
“You’re just too damn sexy for your own good,” he mutters. Usopp smiles, starting to laugh before he cuts himself off with another moan.