popkin16

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USOPP.
Oh, and...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WATANUKI. I'm going to have to write a belated birthday present for him. So there will be 'Holic fic, sometime soonish!!

One Piece
Title: A Hard Days Work
Genre: Romance
Characters/Pairing: Usopp, SanZo
Rating: Safe For Work.
Word Count: 974
Summary: Usopp draws and notices something about two of his crew members.
Notes: Where would I be without

anyjen ? Seriously, she is my Beta Goddess (and she somehow got roped into becoming that...sorry about that!)

Usopp was a master at many things. A master of martial arts, of stealth, of lying and of...just about everything. The skill that he took most pride in, despite his boasting and stories, was his drawing abilities. He could draw anything and everything, and the picture always came out nicely. The sharpshooter wasn't sure how that happened; he had no formal training -- not that he needed any! -- but his hand always moved the pencil or brush in such a way that the picture turned out...perfect.

Today, his subject was Zoro. The swordsman was sleeping like he usually was, his muscled body stretched out by the railing, soaking up the sun. The tips of his short green hair moved in the breeze, and his sweaty chest rose and fell softly as he breathed. It was one of the rare instances where the man wasn't wrapped up in bandages from some fight or other, and Usopp wanted to take advantage of this peaceful moment of one of his nakama sleeping in the sun. He was feeling very sentimental towards them all after their reunion. It seemed everyone felt the same; this state of awareness hung about the air. Members of the Straw-hat crew would periodically check around for their nakama, making sure they were all still there.

Zoro was no exception. It was odd to see the normally stoic man watching the others interact with a warmth Usopp hadn't known was possible. It wasn't that the man was cold, exactly; he just wasn't the touchy-feely type.

A little darker shade there, more curve to the line of the lips. Lighten up the eyes a bit, and don't forget the eyelashes -- Zoro's eyelashes, now there's an odd thought -- there. He was done. The sharpshooter critically compared the drawing to the real thing, and nodded in satisfaction. Zoro had been more of a reference this time around; the image -- specifically, the expression -- that Usopp had wanted to capture was rare and fleeting. He’d had to do it by memory alone, but he wanted the swordsman around to make sure he got the proportions and the basic features right.

A shadow fell over his sketchpad, and Usopp felt his heart jump into his throat. He jumped, his hands going up into the air, ready to do martial arts and kick the butt of the person looming over him. Usopp quickly dropped his hands, lest Sanji think he was challenging him or something. Though Usopp was sure he could defeat Sanji in a fight, it wasn't, uh, nice for nakama to argue. Even if Zoro and Sanji did. Often.

"S-sanji! You shouldn't sneak up on me. I was about to show you my expert brawling moves -- what are you doing?" Usopp squeaked (in a manly way) as the cook reached toward him... and took the sketchpad from the liar's hands. The blond man stared at the picture with the sort of expression he had while he was cooking: total concentration, utterly focused, and deep in some sort of trance-state. This went on long enough for Usopp to begin to wonder just what the cook was up to. That sort of look outside the kitchen was unprecedented, and...

Sanji flipped the book over so the picture of Zoro was facing Usopp. "What is this?"

"A picture of Zoro?"

The cook raised an eyebrow. "I can see that. When did you see him...looking like this?"

"During the party for our reunion. He was leaning against the wall, and he looked..." Usopp shrugged, at a loss of words, "like that."

The cook returned to staring at the picture. The sharpshooter couldn't blame him. It was rare for Zoro to look so happy, so content and gentle and warm. There was a softness to his features that the two men had never seen before. It was one of Usopp's greatest works yet, though personally he thought his picture of Luffy was better. The sharpshooter's cheeks flushed red, and he quickly shoved that thought away. Now wasn't the time to be thinking that.

Despite the oddity of Zoro looking so emotional, that was no reason for Sanji to keep staring like that. Suspicion slowly formed in Usopp's mind as he watched one corner of the cook's lips tilt up in a smile. Now he was the one that looked soft and warm and -- ahhh, so that was it. Sanji was looking at that picture like Usopp sometimes looked at --

"Um, Sanji?" Usopp said quickly, his cheeks getting warmer. He repeated himself twice before reaching up and pulling on the cook's shirt. When he had the other man's reluctant attention, the sharpshooter let him go and shoved his hands into his overall pockets. "You can have the picture, if you want." He carefully avoided looking into the other man's eyes, trying to appear as nonjudgmental as possible.

Sanji was quiet, and Usopp's nerves drew tighter. He began to sweat as he waited for the cook to respond. The sharpshooter's imagination went into overdrive, imagining the blond kicking him off the ship, or showing the picture to Zoro (who wasn't aware he'd been the subject of one of Usopp's drawings), or any other numerous, horrible, death-inducing things. He opened his mouth to apologize, to beg for leniency, or to threaten to unleash the fury of his eight thousand followers in his defense, when the cook finally spoke.

"Thank you, Usopp."

And then the cook was gone, quickly making his way down into the men's bunk. Probably to hide the picture, Usopp thought dazedly.

Sanji made no mention of the picture later on at dinner, and the sharpshooter finally felt safe enough to relax. He mentally patted himself on the back for drawing such an excellent picture that even a man of taste like their cook wanted it.

And Usopp watched Zoro sneak glances at the cook -- who discreetly glanced back -- and smiled.

Just in case you missed it, I posted a Zoro/Sanji FST here.