#opfwex

“Ah damn, ran out of paint.” Franky stood from the makeshift workbench. “I’ll grab more from the storehouse.”

“Sure thing,” Usopp said, still fiddling with something… complicated. Zoro had overheard him mention it was something for Nami. “I’m running low on steel tubes so bring back any you find.”

Franky made a noise of agreement and ran off not long after.

Zoro subtly looked around. 

Chopper was talking with those squirrel and goat Minks, Robin was with Chopper, and Brook was still being chased by those dog Minks. He could hear Luffy’s distant laughter and Nami shrieking at him. The Heart Pirates were off doing who knows what and the other Minks were busy with rebuilding.

It was as close to private as he was going to get without tipping anyone off. Without tipping a certain someone off.

Zoro pushed off the tree he was leaning against and walked up behind Usopp. He leaned down a bit, cheek brushing lightly against Usopp’s. “Garchu,” he said.

Usopp startled. “What?” He turned his face up, putting more pressure into the touch. “Oh, Zoro! Trying out Mink culture, huh?” He threw an arm around Zoro’s neck and dragged him down closer before Zoro could answer, practically crushing their faces together. He rubbed his cheek against Zoro’s, chin hair scratching pleasantly against Zoro’s skin. “Garchu to you too!”

There was an ominous explosion from the direction Franky left in. Luffy and Nami’s voices followed. Usopp sighed heavily. He said something before he patted Zoro’s shoulder and ran off. Not that Zoro heard a word of it.

He watched Usopp leave, frozen in place where he had pulled Zoro down.

He put a hand to his cheek. “Garchu to you too…” he said, trying to bring back the feeling of Usopp’s lips—just the corner, but still much more than he’d expected—shifting and moving with the shape of his words, brushing against his cheek. 

He felt his blush with his fingertips before realizing he was completely flushed.

God, Usopp was going to be the death of him.

—

The distant sounds of sizzling bacon greeted Usopp as he shuffled his way closer to the table.

“Morning,” Usopp said around a yawn. He accepted the cup of coffee Robin pushed towards him, the feel of the warm steam making him slump down into his chair. “Is there any—?” A plate of sugar cubes was passed to him. “Ah, thank you.”

Usopp shivered from a cool breeze blowing past. He huddled over his coffee, sighing pleasantly at the steam warming the underside of his jaw. Looking around, he noted that the others present looked completely unaffected. Usopp pulled the sleeves of his wool sweater over his hands and tried not to grumble over open shirts and short-as-hell rompers. Monsters, the lot of them.

His eyes drifted, and he spotted Zoro further down the table, one arm behind his head and one tucked in his robe. His eye was closed and he breathed deeply, his chest slowly rising and falling in an even rhythm. Usopp’s gaze drew to his own handiwork, the reminder of Zoro’s first reckoning with his goal.

The diagonal scar was faded now, just an uneven line of lighter skin right across vital organs. It was jagged, marked by now-invisible holes too far from the edges, and Usopp could still remember the first time Chopper had seen Zoro without his shirt off. The way he’d shrieked and dragged Usopp and Zoro to Merry’s galley to learn how to sew a proper medical stitch. 

The scar wasn’t perfect, but it was like a painter’s first brushstroke. Or the beginnings of a sketch when trying to come up with an idea. Usopp always found it best to draw some simple lines or shapes before sketching out a drawing. He could trace the scar with his finger, take his time to go over it lightly again and again and again. He couldn’t risk leaving marks on the page, of course. 

And once he'd finished warming up, he could go over it with his brush. A long, slow, trail of his tongue along the—

“FUCK!” Usopp jerked his head back, rubbing at the burning feeling on the underside of his chin and neck. He closed his eyes and hissed through his teeth. 

“You alright?” Zoro said, voice right next to Usopp’s ear.

Usopp jumped, his knee banging into and shaking the whole table. “O-Oh yeah, I’m f—” Scalding hot coffee tipped over the edge directly onto his lap. Usopp screamed.

—

“Garchu.” Zoro rubbed his cheek to Usopp’s before settling down next to him. “How’s Nami’s Climatact going?”

Usopp shushed him. “Not so loud, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

Zoro leaned forward, his face still pressed to Usopp’s as he looked over his shoulder. “Looks pretty good so far. Nice of you to upgrade it for free.”

“You kidding? I’m getting her to pay this time.”

Zoro huffed a laugh. “Right.”

“I am!” He pointed the end of his screwdriver at Zoro, only inches from his nose. “Mark my words, I’m gonna get every berri I’m owed.”

“If the famed God Usopp says so, then it must be true.”

“Ugh,” Usopp dropped his head in his hands. Zoro almost thought he’d upset him when he noticed the wobbly smile peeking out through his fingers. “Did you really have to say that?”

“Yes.”

Usopp groaned. “Just let me finish this and we can hang out, okay?”

“Sure.”

It was rather rhythmic, the way Usopp worked. Screwing, adjusting, gluing, readjusting. Zoro found himself captivated, watching his scarred hands move in such precise and practiced motions. 

Warm skin brushed against warm skin.

Abruptly, the hands stopped. 

“Y-You’re too close.” The whisper was almost inaudible. Zoro likely wouldn’t have heard it if he didn’t have his chin hooked over Usopp’s shoulder.

“Didn’t mind before.”

“That was just a friendly greeting! This is—I’m practically in your l-lap!” 

Zoro made a confused noise before looking further down and—ah, yes those were certainly his arms wrapped around Usopp’s waist. Shit.

“It’s…” Think Zoro, think; just make something up, anything. “A greeting for best friends.” 

All at once, Usopp relaxed. “I didn’t know they had one like that.” He laughed. “Maybe I should do that to Luffy—”

“Do not do this with anyone else.”

Zoro froze. The words had come from his mouth without pause, without hesitation. While it was true he would rather eat razors and poison for every meal than for Usopp to get handsy with anyone else, he hadn’t expected to voice it aloud.

Usopp was quiet. His breaths were coming in short and his body trembled.

Fuck.

Zoro pulled away and Usopp made a sort of strangled noise. “I’m not going to kill you,” he started, going for reassuring. “It was just… a joke.” Belatedly, he added a laugh. It sounded stilted.

Usopp nodded and went back to his work. All without giving Zoro a second glance.

Great work moron, Zoro thought to himself. He’s terrified.

“So,” Zoro started. Stopped. “What have you… been up to today?”

“Just—” Usopp cleared his throat, dispelling the sudden higher pitch. “Just working on Nami’s Climatact.” 

“The whole day?”

“Well yeah, we’ve gotta get it done before they head out to pick up Sanji.” Usopp held up a semi-translucent marble up to the fading sunlight, his trembling fading slowly as he spoke. “It’s been a lot of trial and error to try and mix Weatheria technology with my pop greens, but I think she’ll appreciate it.”

Zoro’s brows furrowed. “Franky isn’t here.”

“He’s taking a break since we’ve kinda been at it nonstop. I think he went to hang out with Robin if you’re looking for—woah!” Usopp flailed as Zoro picked him up under his armpits. “Um, Zoro. What are you doing?”

Zoro started to walk. “You’re taking a break.”

“As nice as it is for you to worry about me, no, I am not taking a break!” Usopp started struggling in his arms. “They could leave tomorrow morning for all I know and we already gutted the old Climatact! I can’t just leave Nami unprepared!”

Zoro stopped for a moment. Well, this is inconvenient. 

He tossed Usopp in the air, which led to screaming, and then caught him in his arms, which led to stuttering. 

Better. Zoro resumed walking.

“Y-You can’t just carry me like a princess! It’s embarrassing!” Usopp wiggled in his arms. “Let me down, I need to work—”

“An important part of training is rest,” Zoro said firmly. “You can’t just work yourself to the bone like this.”

“Oh you goddamn hypocrite—”

Zoro stopped. “Usopp,” he said, staring into Usopp’s hardly blinking, bloodshot eyes. The fact that he hadn’t managed to pull himself out of Zoro’s loose grip spoke louder than any protest. “You’re exhausted. Take a nap and come back well rested.”

Usopp opened his mouth, his brows furrowed with defiance, and suddenly Zoro didn’t give a shit about shame or pride or anything else.

He just wanted Usopp to rest.

“Please,” he asked, voice soft. 

And that must’ve been the right choice, because Usopp just deflated in his arms. “Only because you’re asking so nicely,” he mumbled. “Now put me down so I can lead us back to the house.”

—

Again and again, Zoro sought him out. Every morning, afternoon, and night. Hell, sometimes he’d walk off to the toilet or something and come back a few minutes later, quick to give another of those soft little cheek nuzzles that sent Usopp’s heart all a flutter. The resting butterflies in his gut quickly flittering around their cage each time, almost as if his very core was shaken with each press of skin. 

It was simultaneously absolute heaven and the worst kind of hell.

“Franky, just go ahead and strangle me.”

“Eh?” Franky looked up from his welding. “I’m not strangling you so you don’t have to deal with Zoro.”

With a monotone voice, Usopp said, “Ah, as expected of someone not even worth 100 million—”

“SHUT UP!” Franky said, waving his wrench at him. “And anyway what’s the problem? He’s the one coming to you. If you like ‘em, accept ‘em. If you don’t, then don’t!”

“But it’s not that simple,” Usopp whined. “And I don’t want to take advantage of him!”

Franky stared at him blankly for a moment. He then picked up Usopp by the back of his shirt and started to carry him away. “Wh—Franky! Lemme go, I gotta finish—!”

“Hey there, Nami-sis!” Franky loudly spoke over him. “Brought you a present.” Franky plopped him on the bench next to Nami. 

“Franky,” Usopp whined.

She raised a brow as she took a sip of her tea. Franky whispered something in her ear and she lit up, berri signs in her eyes. “Oh? I will happily take that deal. And distract him for the rest of the evening.” She made a shooing motion. “Now go get back to what you were doing.”

“Deal? Franky, what did you—” Franky gave a brief thanks before jogging off. “No, wait! Don’t leave me with her!”

“I’m hurt, Usopp. Do you really hate me that much?”

“Try saying that without that smug look on your face.”

The smug look continued. “So, Zoro troubles again?”

Usopp gave a long, drawn out groan. “He’s just being friendly and I’m being the worst about it.”

“What, flustered?”

Usopp put his head in his hands. “Enjoying it.”

“Well, obviously.” She paused for a moment. He peeked between his fingers to see her staring at him with a deadpan stare. “That’s it?”

“It’s a very serious problem!”

Nami put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re very sweet. And so very stupid.”

“Hey!”

“He chooses to do it everyday and you just admitted you enjoy it. Why not just leave it be?” 

“Look, he’s not the one being a stupid horndog about it! That’s all me!” Usopp let his head fall to the table. “You know, he showed me a different form of Garchu and all I could think about was how much I wanted him to rail me? And then he growled in my ear and I started trembling, Nami. Trembling!” he hissed. “I almost lost my mind and asked him to fuck me right then and there!”

Usopp whined. “And then he said he wouldn’t kill me, so he knows, Nami, he knows that I’m in love with him and he was trying to tell me to forget it and move on.”

Nami hummed. “What do you mean, new form of Garchu?”

Usopp felt his cheeks warm. “That part’s not important.” Nami raised a brow. “Okay, so it’s a little important, but not really because it’s a totally normal and platonic part of Mink culture and I twisted it up!”

“So? You’re a pirate, you can do what you want.”

“Nami,” he whined. “I told you to stop saying that!”

“I’ll stop saying it when it stops working.” He whined again, giving his best pout. She rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face. “Alright, alright. C’mere.” She threw an arm over him and tugged him into a side hug. Usopp sighed and relaxed into the embrace, leaning his head against her shoulder. 

Nami rested her cheek on his hair. “He’d be lucky to have you, you know?”

Usopp didn’t answer.

—

Zoro had fallen into a bit of a routine. 

Wake up, find and rub cheeks with Usopp, get breakfast, train, rub cheeks with Usopp, lunch, train, cheeks with Usopp, nap, Usopp, dinner, Usopp, bath, Usopp Usopp Usopp—

At times, he would forgo napping for a while just to stick around and watch Usopp work. And work Usopp did. Zoro didn’t know the first thing about mechanics and inventing things, but Usopp looked completely in his element. He worked with a sort of grace that Zoro had come to love over their time as crewmates. 

There wasn’t a single hint of his usual worries plaguing his features, not a tremble to his hands, his sharp eyes laser focused on the tools and materials set out before him. Loud, unexpected sounds did nothing to startle him. It was as if nothing could distract him from his work.

Zoro loved seeing him like that. He also hated it.

He put a hand over Usopp’s, covering the complicated piece of metal and screws. “Usopp, did you go to sleep last night?”

Usopp blinked a couple times. He pulled his goggles off and rubbed at his eyes. “No, but it’s fine. I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on it when I’m done Zo—RO!”

Zoro didn’t bother letting him finish his excuses. Usopp squirmed where he was thrown over Zoro’s shoulder, but hardly put any effort in it. 

Zoro tightened his grip.

“Hey, hey! I know what you’re thinking! Don’t compare my normal people muscles to your freakish level of strength!” Usopp slapped the back of Zoro’s shoulder for emphasis. “This thing is like a brick wall! I couldn’t get out of this even if I wasn’t tired to hell and back!”

Zoro narrowed his eyes. “So you are tired.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t, but—”

“Then we’re taking a nap,” Zoro said, nodding. “No arguing, you’re not getting out of this until you’ve slept half a day.”

“HALF—” Usopp cleared his throat. “Zoro, dear friend, be reasonable about this. Franky can only work on so much on his own, I need to be there to—wait, did you say we?” 

“Yeah, we. How else am I supposed to make sure you actually get any shut-eye?”

“But—!”

“Just give it up, Usopp.” Zoro patted the small of his back. “I’m not letting you go until you’re good and well rested.”

There was a long silence. Zoro peered over his shoulder to see Usopp covering his face in his hands. A growing warmth spread out from under Zoro’s arm and Usopp’s skin started to take on a red undertone.

“...Fine, alright? I’ll take a nap,” Usopp mumbled. Good. “Also turn around, you’re going the wrong way.” Fuck.

—

After a long and very nerve-wracking trip around the forest, they finally reached their sleeping quarters. Usopp had the time to think and rethink and overthink everything Zoro said and he, hopefully, came to the right conclusion.

Zoro was just being his typical Zoro self, trying to look out for Usopp and make sure he took care of himself, and Usopp’s silly little crush blew pretty much everything he said out of proportion.

Of course Zoro wasn’t going to actually sleep cuddled up to him! That’d be absurd considering all the space and extra beds in the room. He probably just meant he’d pick a wall or a corner to nap against and act like a guard dog in case anyone came to disturb them—or in case Usopp tried to escape. 

He sighed as Zoro passed through the entryway, the door closing behind him. It was really all so simple, why hadn’t he thought of it before? It was such a nice thing for his friend to do and, really, Usopp should thank him by at least trying to rest for a while before attempting any escapes. A couple minutes of laying down didn’t seem so bad, if it was for Zoro—

Zoro unceremoniously dropped him atop the covers. Usopp was about to complain when Zoro dropped himself atop Usopp.

Oh god.

Oh god.

Had he lost it? Somehow got knocked out along the way and already dreaming? Yeah. Yeah. That was it. Good things like this just didn’t happen to Usopp out of the blue. He should just accept that it was a dream and just skip to enjoying it.

Usopp put his arms around Zoro, holding his head to his chest with a content sigh. “This is a lot better than I’ve imagined it before.”

Zoro made a noise of surprise. “You’ve imagined this before?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t? It’s a dream come true to get smothered in your big burly arms.”

A hint of red painted Zoro’s cheeks. He grinned, smug. “You think my arms are burly?”

“Obviously. You should know that by now.”

Zoro made a noise, but it was muffled when Usopp pressed him further into his pecs. “Wait wait, before you say ‘I want to ruin you’ or anything like that let me just get this off my chest. Real Zoro is so damn frustrating!”

“Uso—” 

“Nope! I love dreams about stuff that’ll never happen, but I need to talk about this again.” Usopp took a big breath. “You are the hottest guy ever and I love that we’re friends, but sometimes I look at you and wish I was brave enough to grab your face and kiss you senseless.

“I wish I could take you by the hand and show off every plant in my garden, go over every single fact and detail about them. I wish I could rail you like you’ve never been railed before and make you putty in my arms. I wish I could curl up in your lap whenever you’re asleep on deck and use you as a big comfy pillow. 

“But most of all,”—he sighed, loosening his arms as he started to lose steam—“I wish you were really here so I could fall asleep in your arms, breathe the air you breathe, and wake up so tangled together I don’t know where you end and I begin.”

Zoro stayed silent. Usopp let himself bask in utter relief. “Ah, that was nice. Okay, we can get back to…”

Something pinched his chest. It was kind of uncomfortable and getting sharper, like little rocks pushing into his skin—

Usopp shrieked. “Did you bite me?!”

“Only a little,” Zoro said, licking over the shallow mark.

“You can’t just do that without a warning—!” Usopp paused. Gears turned in his head. 

Zoro lifted his head, a smirk on his pink-tinged face. “So if I give you a heads up, I can do it again?”

Usopp sputtered. “I—you—this is real?!”

“I don’t know, does this feel real?”

At once too slow and too fast, Zoro pushed himself up and kissed him.

Not a peck or just lips, no, Zoro was pressing him down into the mattress, licking all over Usopp’s lips, almost demanding entrance. 

No, not demanding, that wasn’t quite right. The insistent, crushing affection made him dizzy, almost as if trying to convince him of something. 

As if desperate to—

Usopp suddenly moaned, loud and open, and Zoro pulled back, eye wide. 

“Did I—?”

“It’s real.” Usopp cut him off. “It’s so very real and—holy crap.”

He cupped one of Zoro’s cheeks. “You really—you really want this? Want me?”

Zoro raised a brow, pointedly looked down at Usopp’s mouth. 

“Humour me,” Usopp said. Zoro stared, and in a quieter voice, Usopp added, “Please?”

Zoro’s eye softened. “Yes. I want you, Usopp.”

Usopp’s lips stretched into a wobbly smile. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he said, “You know, I’m pretty high strung.”

His eyes fluttered closed as Zoro kissed below each lid. “I’ve noticed.”

“And I need a lot of reassurance.”

A few kisses down the side of his nose. “You do.”

“And I’m a pretty big coward.”

Zoro kissed his lips again, less pressured, less desperate. All the same warmth and conviction.

“Not when it counts.”

And what was Usopp to do except meet his expectations?

It was the work of a few seconds to slip his hand around Zoro’s back, slow and unhurried, and quickly flip their positions.

Surprise and a darker blush painted Zoro’s face. Usopp took a breath to steady himself. To prepare. With a steady voice he said, “Yeah, not when it counts.”

Usopp's eyes were drawn to the bob of Zoro’s throat as he swallowed. “I’m supposed to—”

“Zoro.” Usopp cupped his cheek. “There’s no one here. It’s just us.”

He dragged a hand down Zoro’s chest, fingers brushing lightly over his collarbone, his sternum, his scar. Zoro shivered as he closed his eye. 

Usopp gently pressed against Zoro’s abs, pressing him further into the mattress. “Let me take care of you.”

A breath. A single nod.

“Good boy.”

—

The best sleep of his life—no, the best night of his life. Zoro didn’t know if he’d ever felt so relaxed and content before. The ache in his backside pulsed with each shift in his seat, a welcome reminder of how well he was cared for last night. He sipped his coffee quietly, a pleasant emptiness and buzzing in his mind.

His partner walked by the table moments later, evidence of Zoro’s handiwork peeking out of the rumpled green button-up and trailing all the way up his neck and down each arm.

“Usopp, did you get attacked by a bear or something?” Luffy asked.

“Or something,” Usopp mumbled, slipping into the spot beside him. Zoro slid him a mug and a stack of pancakes. Their fingers touched and stayed a moment before Usopp pulled away for a drink. 

“New boyfriend?”

Usopp spat out his coffee all over his plate. Nami smiled a smug grin as Usopp coughed and hacked. She held out a hand and several groans resounded around the table. Zoro watched with a mild curiousity as Robin, Franky, and Brook each handed Nami a handful of bills.

“You bet on us getting together?!” Usopp shrieked.

“Eh? You weren’t already?” Luffy and Chopper asked.

“No! We—”

Nami loudly cleared her throat and held her hand a little higher. 

A blue sheen covered their table. A pouch of money floated through the air to land in Nami's hand. “Thank you for the business.”

Usopp whined and pulled his cap down over his face, turning his face into Zoro’s shoulder. “Even Traffy?”

Zoro patted the top of his head. A grin spread across his face as he made a realization. “Hey, Usopp.” Usopp looked up with a confused hum. Zoro pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips. “Garchu.” 

Zoro ignored the hollers and the fufufu’s and yohoho’s, enjoying the red undertone that bloomed across Usopp’s skin and the higher pitched, “Zoro, you can’t just do that in front of everybody!” as he hid his flushed face in Zoro’s shoulder once more.

Across the table, Nami grimaced. “Ugh, yeah I deserve that.”

“Soulmarks: a way of finding your perfect romantic match. Depending on where it’s placed, the meaning changes—”

“So?” Usopp said, colouring the mane of his fish-lion drawing.

“So,”—Ms. Okra ripped the paper away and he made a noise of protest—“yours is very important, Usopp.”

Usopp sighed, slumping forward on the table. Ms. Okra kept talking about more dumb soulmate facts while Usopp tried to remember her real name. She always bragged that she got the nickname ‘Ms. Okra’ because she sold the best okra in the village, but Usopp’s heard the other adults make fun of her hairdo plenty of times to know the truth.

“Are you even listening?!”

Usopp groaned. “Who cares about soulmates?”

“This is serious, Usopp,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “You have to make sure to find yours soon—”

“Because you don’t wanna come up the hill anymore?”

Ms. Okra stuttered, “Well—I—”

“I didn’t ask you to babysit me,” he grumbled, rolling his broken crayon across the table. “I was doing just fine before the mayor made you guys check up on me. I’m 7 and a half; I’m basically an adult!”

Ms. Okra rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying, you could stand to make a few friends. There are some nice boys and girls who visit on passing ships sometimes—”

Usopp blew raspberries. “You just wanna get rid o’ me. Prolly to steal all the legendary gold I’ve got hidden away.” He grinned. “Did I ever tell you? I went to a famous island made of cheese and—”

“Son of a pirate, indeed,” she whispered, rubbing the bridge of her nose. It sounded like any other curse she’d yelled at him from her shop window.

Usopp gripped his crayon tightly. “He’s gonna come back.” He glared at her. “And he’s not gonna be happy when I tell him what you said.”

“Oh please, if that coward was going to come back, he would’ve done it before Banchina—”

Usopp snatched his drawing and ran out the door. 

“Usopp! Usopp, get back here; we haven’t finished the lesson!” Ms. Okra shouted. “What would your mother say?!”

His mom would be proud of him for sticking up for himself and his dad. And she wouldn’t be so pushy about soulmates. Her mark was in the same spot as Usopp’s, after all, and look what happened.

Usopp spent the night holed up in a cave by the beach, his fish-lion crushed to his chest. The breeze whistled a lonely tune through the stone and sand. He buried his face in his knees and tried to ignore it.

—

Vinsmokes aren’t supposed to get soulmarks, his father sneered.

It’s like an ugly tattoo, his brothers jeered.

Make sure no one sees it, Reiju warned.

“Sanji,” his mother said, a warm look in her eyes, “it’s beautiful.”

“Really?” he asked, curled up next to her in bed. “Everyone else hates it.”

“Really, baby.” She tucked a stray hair behind his ear. “Don’t worry about everyone else; how does it make you feel?”

“Hmm.” Sanji traced each line of his mark with his finger. He smiled. “It makes me feel really warm and good! Like when I eat soup!”

His mom pressed a kiss to his temple and he giggled. “Then, mon chouchou, that’s all that matters.”

“But—But what if they don’t like me, maman?” He sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m really bad at everything and I’m whiny and—”

His mom shushed him and pulled him closer. “Don’t listen to Judge and your brothers, okay? You are perfect just as you are. Your soulmate is going to love you.”

“Can you come with me when I meet them?” Sanji hastily added, “W-When you get better, I mean! And—And when I’m older and not as much of a baby!”

His mom took a sharp breath. She buried her face in his hair, the sheets rustling as she tugged him to her chest. “Of course, mon coeur,” she said, her voice sounding odd and muffled. “I’d love to be with you when you meet them.”

—

Usopp’s soulmark was a tiny little thing. Blue waves and a chef’s hat with a spiral pattern all inside a glass bottle. It was barely the size of his fingernail.

Mrs. Barb’s soulmark stretched across her whole back. A big green boar with curly white tusks and yellow flowers for eyes. Mrs. Barb’s tanktop couldn’t even cover it all.

“Rue!” Ms. Okra yelled, her voice easily louder than the sound of Mrs. Barb’s hammering. “You better not be fixing the display stand when I told you to rest!”

“Nope! No fixing here!” Ms. Okra stomped down the street as Mrs. Barb hastily put away her tools and kicked the box under the porch. She and Mrs. Barb whispered something to each other. Mrs. Barb said something that made Ms. Okra burst into laughter and smack her shoulder. Mrs. Barb put an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“Don’t get too close, Captain, or they might spot you.” Pepper pulled on the back of  Usopp’s shirt. “C’mon, let’s find Onion and Carrot, they’re still hiding!”

“R-Right! I was just trying to test my limits today.” He grinned. “Gotta practice my famous stealth techniques or I might get rusty!” 

“But I found you first…?” Pepper said, confused.

Usopp turned Pepper around and ushered him further down the alley towards the mouth of the forest. “Of course, of course, but that’s just because I was going easy on you, just wait until next time when I—”

—

“I almost had it!”

“Sure you did, kid!” Patty laughed around the cigarette in his mouth. “Maybe next time you’ll hit the target!” He laughed again, slapping the railing.

Sanji whirled on him. “Fuck off!”

“Hey! Watch your fucking language!”

“You need to bend your knees more,” Zeff called from the kitchen, his voice drifting out from the open door.

“You didn’t even see it!” Sanji yelled back.

“Didn’t have to. I could hear your dainty little steps from here.”

“They aren’t dainty.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Sanji scoffed. “Whatever.” He swiped Patty’s cigarette and ran back inside, giggling while the man chased after him.

“Give that back you brat!” Patty knocked into a rolling cart piled with dirty plates. Carne scrambled to catch them with a curse. 

“Patty!” Zeff shouted. “Quit fucking around and harassing the Eggplant. Either finish your shitty break or get to work!”

“Ugh, dad to the rescue.”

Sanji flushed. “He’s—I mean—he’s okay, but he’s still just a shitty geezer.” There was a smarting pain to his head and Sanji squatted down with a hiss. “What’d you kick me for?!”

“I may be a geezer, but I ain’t shitty.” There was another thud, followed by a deeper hiss. Louder, Zeff said, “And I ain’t your dad, Patty, so get to fucking work.”

“Aye aye, Owner Zeff,” he grumbled.

With the sound of running water, Sanji looked up. Patty was at the sink, washing dishes and sporting a lump on top of his head. He snickered quietly to himself and took a celebratory drag of his stolen prize.

“You gotta stop picking fights like that,” Carne said, frowning down at Sanji. “Also, quit smoking. It’s bad for you.”

“Everybody else does it!”

Carne took the cigarette from Sanji and held it out of reach. “Well, you’re not everybody else, are you?”

“Hey!”

“Sanji, let it go.”

“But Pére!” Sanji whined.

Silence.

Carne had a hand over his mouth. Patty’s shoulders were shaking.

“What?” Sanji said, shoulders rising. “Don’t laugh! You guys said it earlier!”

Before he realized, Zeff leaned down and scooped him into a hug. Sanji stiffened. “W-What the hell are you doing, shitty geezer?”

“Nothing special.” He paused a moment. Sanji grew more tense with each passing second. “Thank you, mon fils.”

Sanji gasped. “You—what—when—?!”

“I wanted to read books from the North, so I learned,” he said. It sounded like that time he told Sanji he’d grow watermelons in his stomach if he ate the seeds. Zeff gave him a hard pat on the back and went back to cooking like nothing had happened.

“When you meet your soulmate, you better bring her ‘round to meet all of us, okay?” Carne said, wiping his eyes. Patty was trying and failing to subtly wipe his nose on his sleeve. “You can’t just run off without telling us!”

“As if I could ever run off.” Sanji leaned back against the counter, trying for smug, but ending up with a wobbly smile. “You guys would never survive without me.”

—

“Alright Zoro, hit me!”

Zoro wound up and punched Luffy in the face. Luffy bounced all across the deck, knocking over anything that wasn’t tied down until he ended up tangled in the railing. 

“Wow, seven bounces; that’s a new record!” Usopp said. “I need to step up my game.” 

“Hey bastards, you’re disturbing Nami!” Sanji shouted, bursting out of the galley.

“Sanji! When’s lunch?” 

“We just had breakfast.”

“And?” 

“And if I let you eat whenever you wanted you’d clear out every speck of food we have!”

Luffy whined. “But lunch is so far away. A little snack wouldn’t hurt.”

“Listen here you shitty rubberman—” Sanji picked Luffy up by the front of his vest. Anything else he said after that was completely lost to Usopp as he got a good look at his wrist.

Now, Sanji had been sailing with them for a couple weeks at this point, and he didn’t particularly put any effort in hiding the obvious mark stretching along the width of his wrist. Usopp could’ve probably named the basic colours and shapes of it based on the glimpses he’d seen. So really, it was no surprise that there was a yellow-orange target with a brown eye in the centre, framed by a green slingshot. 

What surprised him was the fact that it was only now, after seeing the whole picture at once, did he recognize that slingshot.

Holy fuck, Sanji was his soulmate!

Holy fuck, Sanji was his soulmate.

Mr. if-I-don’t-flirt-with-every-woman-around-I’ll-die was Usopp’s soulmate. Dear god.

What was he supposed to do with that? It was proper etiquette to make the soulmate bond known once one person had figured it out, but…

“Radiant Nami, would you like a refill of your tea?” 

“I picked some flowers just for you, my love!” 

“You’re the only girl for me, Nami baby!”

Well, what did Ms. Okra know anyway? She was wrong about a lot of things and all that soulmark junk was stupid anyway. Usopp’s curiousity had been sated, Sanji could keep flirting with girls guilt-free—it was a win-win!

And besides, compared to Sanji’s, Usopp’s soulmark was—fuck, he felt like crying.

“At least have the decency to wait a couple hours before asking for a snack!” Sanji growled, shaking Luffy and unintentionally bringing Usopp out of his head. Luffy simply laughed.

Usopp took a breath. He clenched his fists tight before letting them fall limp. “Hey, Sanji, you mind letting us have Luffy back? We were kinda in the middle of something.” He carefully kept his gaze away from Sanji’s wrist.

“Sure just give me a second, I need to beat some sense into this shitty captain of ours.”

“Give it up,” Zoro said. “That’s impossible with your puny kicks.”

“Puny?!” Sanji let go of Luffy and jumped the railing, butting heads with Zoro. “I’ll show you puny you third-rate swordsman!”

The force of Sanji letting go sent Luffy snapping back through the railing and around the deck before eventually flying through the galley door. There was a crashing noise and Nami screeched, followed closely by Luffy’s apologies between laughter.

“Eight bounces,” Usopp mumbled to himself.

Zoro and Sanji were fighting, Sanji’s sleeves riding up as he twisted around. 

Usopp quietly made his way below deck to the boys’ dorm, wedged himself in one of the corners, and buried his head in his knees with a groan.

—

“How come you’re so…” Nami waved a hand.

“You just gestured to all of me, my dear.”

“I mean, you flirt with pretty much any lady you meet.”

Sanji nodded frantically. “Of course! I can’t just let a lady go about her day without complimenting her!”

“Right.” Nami tapped the edge of her teacup. “Now, I don’t want to be rude, Sanji, but it really seems like you don’t care much about soulmates.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about.” He smiled. “It’s the opposite, actually. And a little silly, I suppose, but when I was a kid, I didn’t want to miss the chance that one of the customers might be my soulmate. Some only visited the restaurant a few times a year and others only came once while passing through on their travels.”

“So you… decided to flirt with every woman who visited?”

Sanji’s cheeks warmed. “Well, yes, in a sense.” 

Nami raised an eyebrow. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? You certainly don’t have any shame about it now.”

He coughed into his hand. “I… started doing it rather young. And I hadn’t really been able to discern which customers were with their soulmates or otherwise in relationships already.”

Nami laughed. “Aww, Sanji, that’s so cute. I wish I could’ve seen that.”

“Trust me you really, really don’t,” he said, refilling her tea.

She took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh. The galley was silent for a long moment.

“If…” Nami paused. “If you’re waiting for your soulmate, then does that mean you know who they are?”

Sanji shook his head. “Nope, I’m just as much in the dark about her as you are with yours.”

Nami touched a finger to the spot just under her ear, a light blue heart outlining a well-loved crown atop a sandcastle, a single peacock’s feather sticking out of it. Sanji had never seen that style of crown before—none of them had—but then, that wasn’t uncommon when it came to soulmates from different places.

“Sanji,” Nami said softly, her eyes drawn to the table. “You really don’t recognize it?”

Sanji tilted his head. “No, not at all.”

Nami sighed again, this one more tired than satisfied. “Maybe we should get your eyes checked before we cross the Red Line.”

Sanji made a noise of confusion, but Nami refused to elaborate. When she asked about lunch plans, it didn’t take long for him to forget all about it.

—

Bath times were… harrowing to say the least. The guys didn’t have to wash up at the same time, but Luffy—and now Chopper, too—needed a buddy so he didn’t slip under the water and drown. Zoro needed a little persuading sometimes, which was always easiest with company around, and Nami forbade Usopp and Luffy from taking baths on their own, on account of wasting all the hot water messing around. Ever at Nami’s beck and call, Sanji would join bath time to keep order, followed by Chopper who came more for the comradery than anything.  

It wasn’t too hard for Usopp to hide his mark before. It was far smaller than his hand so he could easily cover it with a well placed towel or carrying Luffy to the tub in a particular way. Before, it was out of embarrassment of the size, but ever since recognizing his own mark on Sanji’s wrist, things had become a lot more stressful.

“Alright you idiots,”—Sanji clapped his hands and everyone turned to him—“Nami dearest is still recovering so we’re gonna get this done in no time and leave her, and our precious Vivi, plenty of hot water to soak in.”

Usopp kept one hand on his towel, saluting Sanji with the other. “Aye aye, bath captain!” Chopper and Carue rushed to mimic him, determined looks on their faces.

“But guys, I’m the captain…” Luffy said, pouting.

“Yes, but Sanji’s the bath captain. That means he’s no fun—”

“Watch it, Longnose.”

“Don’t forget afraid of a little dirt,” Zoro piped up from across the room, already having washed himself off and sitting in the back of the tub.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Sanji said, brow raised. “You actually used your brain for once and insulted me when I won’t fight back. Maybe your head isn’t full of algae.” He smirked. “Though I guess it’s expected that you’re afraid of retaliation.”

“Who’s afraid?!” Zoro yelled, jumping to his feet. “You wanna go, Curly?”

Sanji wagged a finger. “Ah ah ah, what’s the rule?” 

He turned to Usopp and Luffy who both said, in a bored tone, “No fighting in the bath.”

“That’s right.” He started to unbutton his shirt as he added, “So finish up first and I’ll kick your ass later.”

Zoro sat himself back down, mumbling, “I’ll kick your ass later.”

If Sanji heard him, he didn’t show it, and man was Usopp glad for it. The days Sanji wasn’t just tearing out of his clothes as fast as possible to try and splash Zoro were always a treasure. Watching him leisurely expose the skin of his belly, a fine black happy trail dragging Usopp’s eyes down down down, just as he started to unbutton his pants—

“Usopp, hurry up!” He startled at Luffy’s voice, only just realizing he was still wearing his boxers. He quickly shoved them off and grabbed another towel for his waist before dumping a basin of water over Luffy’s head, clearing the suds all over him. Luffy gave a cheer and jumped into the bath, soaking Zoro completely. 

Ugh, what was Usopp doing? He couldn’t just check out Sanji like that! They were friends, crewmates! And Sanji didn’t even like guys, so it wasn’t like there was any chance. Besides, soulmarks didn’t really mean anything: you could be smitten lovers or barely acquaintences just like a relationship with any other person.

Yeah. Yeah! Usopp was probably just… going sea crazy. That’s a thing, right? Where being at sea so long makes you… fall in love with your best friend. Ugh.

“Sorry—I said I’m sorry, Zoro!” Luffy said as Zoro shook him back and forth. “I won’t do it again!”

“Won’t do it again my ass,” Regardless, Zoro let him slip from his grip and flop against the edge of the tub. 

“Usopp! Me too, me too!” Chopper said, covered in soap and holding out the basin. 

“Of course! The great Captain Usopp would never leave you hanging!” Usopp shifted in his stool. “Close your eyes and hold your breath.” Chopper did as instructed and Usopp poured the basin over him, slower than he did for Luffy. 

Chopper shook from head to toe, sending water flying everywhere. Usopp made a noise of surprise as he was soaked right back. “Thanks Usopp!” Chopper said, running for the bath. 

“Geez, give me a warning next time!” Usopp sighed, twirling some of his wet locks around his finger. “Man, I wasn’t even planning on washing my hair today.”

“No use complaining about it now.” Sanji said, pulling up a stool next to him. He held up Usopp’s shampoo bottle and shook it a little. “Want some help with it?”

“Please.”

—

Sanji laughed, the sound followed by a loud squirt of shampoo in his hand and a faint floral smell. Usopp turned his back to him and sighed happily at the first touch. They sat in relative silence—

“Chopper, do not turn into Walk Point—”

“Zoro, you don’t have to be jealous, we can take turns! You take the duck and—”

“I’m not gonna ride either of them!”

—as Sanji scrubbed shampoo into Usopp’s scalp. Usopp leaned back at bit more, his head tilting up. Like a cat wanting to be pet, Sanji thought fondly.

He took his time lathering up the suds and rubbing thoroughly at differents bits of sea salt and grit; he did the same for his own hair and he’d be damned if he didn’t do the same for his friend.

He combed his fingers through Usopp’s hair, taking his time to start from the ends and work his way up to the root, like Usopp taught him. Eventually, he ran his nails from the top of his scalp to the back of his nape in one smooth motion. Usopp had a full body tremble and sighed contentedly, the sound deep and satisfied. Something warm pooled in Sanji’s gut and he suddenly wanted to do anything to hear it again.

He repeated the motion, but Sanji only saw the curve of Usopp’s smile. A sight he held close to his heart, but not what he was hoping for. He ran his nails along the sides of his hair, scratching good and hard. Usopp huffed through his nose. Following the thread, Sanji put his fingers behind Usopp’s ear and scratched again; this time he had to rush to catch Usopp before he hit Sanji’s chest.

“Falling asleep?” Sanji asked with a laugh.

“Mmmno,” Usopp said, voice slow and drawn out. He tilted his ear towards Sanji and Sanji could see both his eyes were closed. “Keep going?”

Ah, maybe a dog would’ve been a better comparison. Sanji could almost imagine a little tail wagging against the floor. “‘Course. Can’t leave a job half done.” He grabbed a little more shampoo and got back to it, being sure to keep one hand right where Usopp wanted it.

To Sanji’s delight, Usopp sighed far deeper than before and pratically melted into his lap with hardly a thought; his arms lay limp over Sanji’s thighs and the back of his head pressed into Sanji’s stomach. The poor guy must’ve been tired from doing repairs on Merry earlier if all it took was a little head scratch or two to have him fighting sleep like that. Maybe Sanji should rinse off the shampoo and usher him off to bed—

Usopp sighed again, the sound closer to a pleased moan.

Well, this was benefitting both of them, really, so Sanji couldn’t just stop out of the blue. He had to be thorough in helping Usopp—he offered, afterall, and it’d be rude not to see it through. 

Usopp slid down a bit more, head turning to rest on Sanji’s thigh as Sanji scratched behind the other ear. His movement jostled the towel over his shoulder and it slipped to the ground.

Sanji noted it, absentmindedly, and glanced at the newly exposed part of Usopp’s chest without a second thought.

His hands stilled.

“Mmm? Why’d you stop?” Usopp asked. Sanji hardly heard him over the roaring in his ears. “Sanji?”

Blue waves. A chef’s hat. A distinct pattern of spirals. All encased in a small glass bottle.

There was a sharp inhale and suddenly the warmth across his thighs and stomach were gone.

Usopp stuttered some excuse as he left. Sanji was frozen, his eyes glued to the spot where his matching soulmark stared back at him.

His matching soulmark.

His matching soulmark.

And Usopp hadn’t said a word.

Alabasta came and went. It felt like they’d been there months, though it was nowhere near that long. Vivi and Carue stayed behind, a predictable if saddening outcome. Robin, a scary woman that could snap Usopp’s neck in his sleep, was allowed to join with hardly a thought as was typical with this crew. 

And, worst of all, now that the danger had passed and Vivi’s country was saved, they were left with plenty of down time as they sailed to the next island. 

Plenty of time for all those pesky feelings and thoughts to rear their ugly heads from the depths that Usopp shoved them in. Plenty of time for Sanji to—

Usopp frantically shook his head.

No—No, it was fine. Great, even! He needed the rest from all these dangerous adventures; they were terrible for his heart. That’s why he finished his breakfast in a flash and took over morning watch, afterall. He needed time to himself, away from the crazy monsters on the ship. He wasn’t running from anyone in particular, no, he just needed to… regroup! Yes, that was it. Usopp just needed to regroup. Refocus his strategy. Re-establish his plan.

Usopp stared at the empty notebook in his hand. A seagull cried in the distance.

Okay, so he never did have a plan for this, but how was he supposed to know that Sanji would ever find out?! Usopp had a system! A perfect system! A (mostly) Luffy-proof system!

And it was ruined! All because Sanji had to have magical fingers that made Usopp putty in his hands.

If Usopp weren’t avoiding—er, regrouping, he would give Sanji a piece of his mind for ruining his system. Stupid, beautiful, kindhearted Sanji. Always ruining his carefully concocted plans.

He pressed a hand to his chest, drawing circles in his overalls.

Stupid Sanji.

A cleared throat made Usopp jump, nearly sending his notebook flying out of the crow’s nest.

“Cook’s being insufferable,” Zoro said, taking a seat with his arms behind his head. 

“R-Really?” Usopp laughed, the sound strained. “Well, you’re more than welcome to hide up here with me! Ah, not that I’m hiding. Why would I be hiding? I’ve got nothing to hide, Zoro, what are you talking about? Ha ha ha.”

Zoro gave a deadpan stare. “Like peas in a pod.”

“Hey—”

He settled back against the mast, closing his eyes. “You two just need to talk about your soulmarks and you’ll be fine. ‘Course he’s too busy twisting himself in knots worrying about something new every five minutes.”

Usopp had a moment to feel surprised—to feel utterly shocked at the fact that Sanji was acting like Usopp himself usually did—before shouting, “Wait, did he tell—?!”

“Anyone with common sense could figure it out. Cook just doesn’t have any.”

Usopp sat back, breathing a big sigh of relief. He would’ve rather Zoro didn’t notice—nor anyone else, for that matter—but as long as Sanji stayed ignorant…

Ah, but that ship had sailed, hadn’t it?

Usopp slumped back against the wall. “The whole reason he’s being ‘insufferable’ is because he saw my mark.” He laughed, the sound a bitter, shaky thing. “I’m pretty sure he’d kill me if I tried to talk to him about how his precious woman-loving self was stuck with a man for a life partner.” His hands grabbed a fistful of his pants. “And even if he could get over being soulmates with a man, he’d still have to accept being stuck with someone like me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Usopp’s hands tightened their grip. “Usopp, you’ve got it twisted. You’re too good for him, not the other way around.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t like him.”

“Usopp.”

“It’s true!” He dragged his bandana down over his eyes and whined. “He’s probably kicking holes in the wall just thinking about it and I’m gonna be next!” Oh, how Usopp yearned for Sanji to get knocked out so hard that he forgot everything that happened a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t likely to happen before Usopp got murdered in the near future, but a man can dream.

“Then how about this: if you talk to him and he tries to kick you,”—Zoro flicked part of his sword out of its sheath—“I’ll kill him.”

Usopp slowly put his head in his hands. “Thanks, Zoro. That is so very helpful.”

“I mean it.”

“Yes, yes, you’re always willing to try and kill Sanji.”

“No, I mean,”—Usopp looked up, catching Zoro’s steady gaze—“you need to talk to him.”

A lie sat on the tip of his tongue. Easy and automatic. It was so very tempting, to complain of never before seen illnesses and fantastical wonders. Obstacles so bizarre and impossible to overcome that Zoro would have to let Usopp run away from it all as much as he’d like.

It was right there. Waiting for him.

Zoro still stared.

Usopp sighed, hanging his head. 

—

He didn’t have the time to dwell on it, what with saving Vivi’s country, saying farewell, and welcoming the lovely Miss Robin on their ship. Now that they were back to sailing the Grand Line, however, it all came back full force.

It had to have been Sanji’s mark. It had to be, right? Right. It had to. It had to.

But then, why hide it? Why not tell him from the start? They could’ve talked about it. Could’ve swapped discovery stories. Sanji would’ve showed off his own mark more clearly, let Usopp touch and hold and examine it as much as he wanted.

Did Usopp not… not want him? Think him inadequate somehow? 

Was he disgusted by the fact he was paired with a man? Of course he was, who was Sanji kidding; anyone would be disgusted by that. Men weren’t supposed to be with other men, weren’t supposed to be dainty, weren’t supposed to be homosexual.

Why did the world have to work this way? Why did Sanji have to work this way? To be so tempted by women and men at every turn. To be so disgusting as to infect even his soulmate with such a disgraceful thing. 

Was it just another failure written into his DNA? Something that would follow him for the rest of his life? It was already unbearable before, unacceptable, but now it was suffocating, filling up his lungs as if—

“Sanji, the pot.”

He jumped, cursing as he quickly pulled the smoking pot off the stove, then cursing again as his wrist bumped the burning metal. The pot dropped to the counter with a CLANG as Sanji shook his hand out, quickly moving to run it under cold water.

“Sorry—sorry Robin, dear,” he mumbled, the rushing water nearly drowning him out. He grimaced at the acrid smell filling the galley as he rubbed his wrist under the spray. “Did you want a refill?”

“No thank you, Mr. Cook.” Her eyes flicked once to the countertop, then back to him. “Something on your mind?”

He followed her gaze, a little embarrassed at his rookie mistake, when he noticed a cigarette teetering on the edge of the counter. 

Did he pull one from his box? 

He tapped his breast pocket and found it empty. 

On the edge of his vision, an arm sprouted from the wall, picking up the familiar cardboard from a spot behind the burnt pot. 

Huh. So he did.

He stared at the crushed little thing. 

Unlit and unusable. 

Unwanted and unloved.

A hand found his shoulder. “Mr. Cook?”

He swallowed heavily. “Not… not using my name, like earlier?”

“You didn’t answer the first few times I spoke.”

Sanji hung his head. “Ah, I see. I didn’t mean to ignore you, my dear, I was just…”

A silence fell over them. The hand vanished with the smell of fallen petals.

“Would you like help?”

Sanji stiffened. He should accept—it wouldn’t do to refuse a lady, but—

“With the pot, I mean.”

Sanji breathed a sigh of relief. “No need to worry, I can handle that myself. I had to do it a lot when I was younger. I’m used to it.”

With that, he grabbed a sponge and set himself upon the task. Pot first, spiraling thoughts later.

Pot first. Pot first. Pot first.

“Mr. Cook.”

Just put everything else in a little box like you always do—just shove it in there, ignore it, put it away.

The pot clanged against the counter once more, wobbling back and forth as he registered a strong grip around his wrists, holding them in the air. There were arms sprouted from his elbows, holding each wrist with a tea towel. Belatedly, Sanji registered an itchy burning on his knuckles.

A new hand caught the pot handle. The sponge slipped from Sanji’s grasp with a plop.

“I believe it should cool off first, Mr. Cook,” Robin said. “We don’t want you harming your hands.”

The butter and garlic were a stark, crackling black on an otherwise pristine pot. A mar—a flaw so stark and obvious that anyone could see it despite its vain attempts to hide behind thin metal walls.

“You know, I’ve been told I’m quite good at keeping secrets.”

Patethically thin metal walls. The kind of cookware that ended up with several irreparable cracks and holes when used in a specific environment. 

One of them being polite conversation with a prying lady.

“I’m also skilled with a knife.”

The tension sapped from his body, leaving him nearly limp with relief. He made to refuse again, but paused as that same itchy heat prickled up his hand. 

Robin took up a cutting board.

—

“Okay, just go up and tell him. Just get it over with, get threatened, and then scream for Zoro when he tries to kill you,” Usopp whispered to himself, pacing back and forth in front of the galley door. “You stared down a guy who called himself a god; this is nothing! Just a few words, one mean look, and you’re gone! Outta there. Donezo. Nothing else required.”

He slowly turned his gaze to the door. A glimpse of blond hair had him ducking with a pounding heart.

“O-Or I could forget about all this, pretend it never happened, and hope Sanji eventually moves on from wanting to maim me.” He nodded to himself. “Yes, solid plan Captain Usopp. We’ll tell Zoro it was a valiant effort, but—”

“Tell Zoro what was a valiant effort?”

Usopp froze. Mechanically, he turned just enough to see Sanji’s face and check that the galley door was, indeed, open. “Oh. Hi, Sanji. I did not see you there. I was just doing Zoro a favour with my new dials.” He swiftly turned to leave. “I will stop bothering you now—”

A heavy hand clapped his shoulder. “Hold it.”

Usopp did his best not to squeak. The weight on his shoulder lightened with a sigh. “I’m not going to fillet you, just… come inside. We need to talk.”

Usopp laughed robotically. “Well, you see. Sanji. I really need to finish up that favour for Zoro. So. We will have to talk some other time.”

He was ready to make a break for it then, take advantage of Sanji’s loosening grip to pull out his patented Usopp Dash and cower in the boys’ dorm—hell, maybe even pay up a handful of berri to hide in the girls’ dorm—but then…

“Please?”

Even before seeing his matching mark, Usopp had never been able to turn down one of Sanji’s requests.

He followed Sanji inside, head hung and dragging his feet as if he were off to the gallows. He might as well be, with the fate that was awaiting him the moment he opened his mouth.

Sanji waited for him to close the door before whirling around and tightly gripping his shoulders. Usopp braced himself to get knee’d in the face. 

“I’m a burnt pot.”

A what? “A what?”

“A burnt pot.”

Usopp stared at Sanji. 

Sanji stared back.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The walls are thin, Usopp.”

“Are you worried someone’s gonna listen in on us?”

“No, I—” Sanji groaned, pulling away to drag a hand down his face. “Look, I’m like a crumpled cigarette.”

Usopp put the back of his hand to Sanji’s forehead. “It doesn’t feel like a fever.”

Sanji slapped his hand away, a scowl on his face. “Will you cut that shit out? I’m trying to be sincere here.”

“Are you?” The words slipped from his mouth without a thought, but Usopp already knew the answer. He saw it written in the deep bags under Sanji’s eyes, the empty mugs and fresh coffee stains on the tablecloth, the way his hands jittered. “Did you sleep at all—?”

“I’m sorry.”

Usopp blinked. “You’re… sorry?”

Sanji looked away. “I must’ve scared you off that time in the bath, right? I get it… and I’m sorry.”

Usopp furrowed his brow. He didn’t remember anything beside his overwhelming panic at the time. “Your face didn’t scare me off, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, it’s—” He made a noise of frustration. “I fucked you up.”

Usopp inched a foot backwards. “Did you kick me so hard I forgot about it?”

“I didn’t kicked you! God,”—Sanji ran a hand down his face—“don’t make me spell it out.”

“If you’re gonna keep talking nonsense, then yes, please spell out whatever you’re trying to say.”

Sanji whined. Honest to god whined. 

Usopp held up his hands. “If it’s that bad, you don’t have to tell me, in fact we can just pretend this never happened and—”

“I’m sorry I turned you gay.”

A slow, rolling anger started to well up inside Usopp. In a low, dangerous voice, he said, “Excuse me?”

“I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember,” Sanji quickly added. “Don’t know when it started, but I’d been doing pretty good ignoring it or at least making sure other people didn’t notice. Everything was going pretty great until you guys showed up at the Baratie. Then all of a sudden it got worse and—and I kept it quiet, no one noticed, but…”

Usopp didn’t want to try to parse what he was saying. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind, tear into him. He wanted to—

Sanji sniffled. He looked about ready to cry.

Usopp deflated with a sigh.

“I’ve never really cared about who I crushed on.” Usopp took a seat at the table, suddenly tired down to his bones. “Guys, girls, people who were neither. The outside never really mattered.” He put his cheek in his hand and circled the edge of an empty mug with the tip of his finger. “You didn’t ‘infect me’ or anything, I’ve been like this the whole time. Besides, weren’t you given the soulmate shtick too?”

“Shtick?”

“You know,”—Usopp waved a hand—“how they’re supposed to be really important to you or really similar or whatever. People love to say it’s all about romance, but it doesn’t have to be, if you don’t want that.”

“What if I do want it?” Sanji blurted.

“Bold words from someone who was just apologizing for ‘turning me gay’.”

“I’m serious, I…” He knelt at Usopp’s side. “Usopp, please look at me.”

He sighed, but obliged. “Don’t see how this is going… to…” Usopp trailed off, surprise filling him at the tear tracks staining Sanji’s cheeks, the hopeful look in his eye.

“When I woke up next to you in the galley the other day and saw burns matching mine—when I finally got to the top of that shitty flying ship and you were covered in new burns and that fucking ‘god’ ruined your escape, I…” He reached out a hand, pausing to leave it hovering between them. Usopp didn’t move. Sanji gently cradled his cheek.. “I was terrified. I thought I’d lose the chance to tell you before I’d figured things out.” 

His eyes pinched. “No. More than that, I was just terrified to lose you, Usopp. I’d live the rest of my life just being your friend if it meant I could still spend every day of it by your side.” He rubbed his thumb over Usopp’s cheek. Softly, tenderly. “But I want to be more than that, if you’ll let me.”

“You haven’t slept.” Usopp put his hand over Sanji’s own. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Sanji brought his free hand up to Usopp’s other cheek. “Usopp, I know it’ll be hard for you to trust me—hell, I wouldn’t trust me—but please, give me a chance.”

He was forcing himself. He had to be. He was so caught up with the idea of soulmates that he didn’t care who or what he was matched with. He just wanted to blindly follow whatever the universe and adults told him growing up. 

Usopp swallowed around the lump in his throat. “We have time.” Sanji’s brow furrowed and Usopp rushed to add, “Y-You don’t have to force yourself into this just because of a mark. Take your time and think it over.” 

“But… but we’re supposed to—”

There it is, Usopp thought as he plastered on a smile. “We’re already good friends, isn’t that enough?” It had to be enough. “And I’m not telling you to forget about it, just make sure that it’s what you really want.”

A pause. Not long, but long enough. “What about you?”

Usopp waved a hand, laughing like his heart wasn’t splitting in two. “I’ve never believed in all that soulmate stuff. Sure I was curious who had my mark, but that was it.” He shook his head with a sigh, forcing his voice steady. “Don’t know why everyone’s always so caught up on forcing it to be romantic.”

“I… I suppose it’s… possible to have a friend as a soulmate….”

“That settles it.” Usopp pushed himself up from the table and went for the door. “Good talk, Sanji! Let me know when you’ve got an answer.” Please please, let that be never. “I’m going to enjoy the sunshine while it’s still around. Oh, Luffy might barge in the moment I open the door though, he was complaining about being hungry earlier—”

—

“Wait.”

Usopp turned around, still wearing that fake ass smile. Fuck. 

He clenched his fist. “Usopp, if you—”

“Tell anyone I’ll meet the business end of your shoe? I know that much, Sanji.”

Sanji’s lips thinned. “You didn’t answer my question.”

He shrugged. Sanji saw the tremble in his shoulders. “You’ve gotta know what you want—what you really want—before asking me that, Sanji.”

What he wanted? He wanted to be with his soulmate. To—To finally find the soul he was meant to be with, the person who he could love and cherish and dote on as much as he’d like. To find his other half. 

“I know you like the idea of soulmates,” Usopp said. “I get it, I do. But do you like the idea of me?”

Sanji reared back, as if struck. “Usopp, you have my mark—”

“There, see?” His facade cracked at the edges. “You’re not in it for me. You only see your mark on my chest.”

That—no, Sanji wasn’t—he cared about Usopp. They were best friends! Crewmates! Sanji would do anything to see him safe and happy and well fed! What was wrong with exploring things further? With taking a chance at making good times even better? It had nothing to do with marks and soulmates and following a pre-determined destiny.

Sanji wanted to speak those words—or any number of others that would get Usopp to understand, to listen, to wait—but it all dried up on the tip of his tongue, insincere and insensitive.

Usopp’s shoulders sagged, his eyes falling downcast. “Just. Think about it, okay?”

Usopp was home. He was home he was home he was home!

He was snotty and gross and covered in still healing wounds, but none of that mattered because Luffy was beside him and the others were around him and their new ship just flew through the sky and he was home, he was home, he was really—

Sanji picked up Usopp and brought him to his chest in a crushing hug. Usopp did his best to hug back, his dwindling tears returning full force. Ugly sobs and mangled sorries tumbled from his lips one by one until Sanji pulled him back and kissed him, hard and insistent.

When Usopp calmed against him, when he started to kiss back, Sanji pulled away again. Usopp stared at him. Confused, hopeful, and tingly all over.

“I don’t need anymore time to think,” Sanji said. “I never did; I’ve known the answer all along. I was just scared of messing things up.” He pressed his forehead to Usopp’s, heedless of the long nose curving against his own. “But not anymore.”

Usopp hiccupped. “Y-You’re sure? You don’t mind?”

“Mind?” Sanji laughed, a wet sheen over his eye. “Usopp, being with you would be a gift, not a burden.”

A swell of emotion too big for Usopp’s skeptic heart welled up in his throat. His lips wobbled as he tried not to burst into tears for a third time today.

“Usopp,”—Sanji pulled back the slightest bit, a hand cupping Usopp’s cheek—“will you marry me?”

“Yes, I’ll—” He paused. “NO! What the hell?! Dating comes first!”

Sanji grinned. “If you say so!”

Somehow, Usopp felt as if he’d been tricked— 

Sanji pressed a giggling kiss to his lips, twirling him around in his arms.

—but he found he didn’t mind in the slightest.

—

Hours later, Sanji’s hands hovered above Usopp’s bare mark. “Can I…?”

Usopp looked away, his cheeks gaining a red undertone. “Go ahead.”

He pressed his naked side further into the aquarium lounge—aquarium lounge!—bench, Sanji sat in front of him with his hand hovering between them.

Sanji let his hand rest on Usopp’s chest. Usopp flinched, but didn’t move away.

Sanji stared at it. Circled the pad of his finger around the bottle’s edges. Pressed another finger to the hat. It was the definitive proof that no matter how he led his life, how he was raised, whatever hell he might’ve endured with the slightest change in events, he would’ve always stayed a chef at heart. 

He would’ve always been able to hold onto his dreams. His interests. Just like his mom wanted.

Fuck.

“Sanji?”

“Sorry,” Sanji hastily wiped the tears from his eyes. “Sorry, it’s just nice knowing I was always going to be a chef, no matter what happened to me.”

Usopp’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean—?”

“Another time,” he said. A particularly strong shiver jostled Sanji’s finger. “Are you cold?”

“N-No.” Usopp turned his face towards the aquarium glass.

Sanji continued tracing. Another shiver wracked Usopp. He leaned forward to whisper in his ear, low and husky, “Are you sure?”

Usopp’s breath hitched. Warmth pooled in Sanji’s gut with the sound. “Because if you were, I’d be happy to warm you up.” He let his hand slip down to cup Usopp’s pec, his thumb rubbing right over his mark. “Let me show you how much my love burns for you, Usopp.” 

The skin under his hands grew tense. Sanji paused, pulled back to see Usopp’s eyes screwed shut and his shoulders up to his ears.

Ah. Sanji pulled his hands away. He slowly nuzzled Usopp’s nose with his own. “Too much?” Usopp started to shake his head. “It’s alright, just please, be honest.”

Usopp deflated in his seat with a sigh. “A little, yeah.” He tugged on Sanji’s hands, pulling him down the couch and guiding him to lay on him. “H-How about this instead?”

Sanji rubbed his cheek against Usopp’s chest. “Works for me.”

“Sanji.”

“Kidding!” 

A fond smile grew on his lips. He wrapped a few of Usopp’s stray curls around his finger and hummed, pressing a soft kiss above Usopp’s heart.

Merry. Merry was all that mattered now. She and Usopp were going to sail the seas, all on their own. No one to tell them what to do, to try and get rid of them for being weak, to… slap their backs and call them great. Call them friends. Crewmates.

Usopp stuck a new plank on the hull, hammering it down hard enough to leave his arm shaking. 

They were gone. Usopp left. None of that mattered anymore.

Even if he had said some stupid things, he couldn’t go back. Couldn’t try to fix it. Not that he wanted to—not that he had said anything wrong.

He swung the hammer again, missing the plank entirely and hitting his thumb. He cursed, shaking out his hand before sticking it in his mouth.

Luffy… no, he wasn’t going to think about that bastard. What’s done is done and Usopp wouldn’t leave Merry behind, no matter what. But Sanji…

He clenched his fist. 

It was the truth. Usopp saw it written all over Sanji’s face then—hell, he’d seen it since the man first introduced himself, cuffs rolled up just enough to show off his wrists for all to see. 

It was the truth.

So why did it feel like it wasn’t?

— 

Stupid stupid stupid. Sanji ground his palm into his eye.

He should’ve stepped in sooner, should’ve pulled Usopp aside, should’ve— 

He mussed up his hair in frustration before turning over in bed. Luffy’s face smushed into Chopper’s hat greeted him. His arms were wrapped twice over around Chopper himself. Sanji’s discarded tie was gripped tight in one of his hands.

Sanji sighed under his breath. He slowly eased himself off the bed and snuck out of the room, tiptoeing around the mossball sleeping on the floor.

The hotel had an open window at the end of the hall. Sanji leaned against it, pulling out a cigarette. 

What right did he have to pull Usopp aside back then? What authority? He couldn’t even sincerely tell him that he loved him for him, not just some mark on his skin. How was he supposed to convince him to calm down and think things through when Sanji had yet to do the same?

Think, Sanji. Usopp might not be part of the crew right now—yes, right now, because he couldn’t bear to think of the alternative—but he could do this one thing. So that when Usopp returned, when not if, he would have a proper answer for him.

Think. Think.

He pressed his fingers to his temples and screwed his eyes shut. Did he like Usopp for Usopp? Was it just remnants of that conversation with his mother, with Zeff and the others, that made him want this so badly? 

He thought of Usopp, laughing loud and carefree. Thought of Usopp, in awe and shouting his praise for Sanji’s cooking. Thought of Usopp, conentrated with a single minded focus on his inventions. 

Thought of Usopp, utterly relaxed and laid out on his lap, eyes closed and sighing in pleasure.

Thought of Usopp, now. 

Hurt. Alone. Spiraling.

He took a shaky drag of his cigarette.

Was he eating enough? Getting balanced meals that would help along the healing process? Was he even tending to his wounds or was he so caught up in his anger he hadn’t bothered?

Sanji leaned his head on the window pane, staring out towards the shore.