Usopp yawned as he lazily painted the cut-out of a pirate ship. While working as a techie for the school play was fun, there was a ton of work to do. Everybody else had gone home already except for the theater director who was asleep in her office but Usopp was determined to finish up the final touches on the pirate ship prop.
Usopp was deep in concentration when he heard the sound of footsteps from the auditorium. The noise startled him and he dropped his paintbrush and let out an unmanly squeak. Nobody else was supposed to be here so Usopp's mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion. It must be a monster out to kill him. Usopp slowly crept towards the stage, his whole body shivering. Suddenly a figure appeared on stage and Usopp jumped and covered his mouth. All his fear left him though when he recognised who it was. It was Sanji, an upperclass student who was infamous for being the sharpest dressed guy in the school. While Usopp didn't know him personally, he may have gazed at the lanky man from afar. He wasn't hard to look at with his brilliant blond hair and legs that went on for miles.
However, Usopp noticed as the man walked across the stage, he wasn't dressed nearly as well as he normally was. Instead of one of his many collared shirts or even one of the suits he would pull out on occasion, he was instead wearing some form fitting leggings and a tank top. Usopp crept closer as he watched Sanji place a boombox on the far side of the stage. Sanji fiddled with it for a moment before backing away and facing the empty seats of the auditorium. As the classical music began playing softly from the boombox, Usopp noticed that Sanji wasn't even wearing his fancy dress shoes. In fact… were those… ballet shoes?
Usopp's eyes widened as he watched Sanji spring into motion. Sanji moved with a grace that Usopp had never witnessed before as he leaped and pirouetted across the stage like someone who had done this a thousand times before. Usopp fell into a trance as he watched Sanji dance, completely taken away with the blonde man's skill and precision. All too soon, Sanji stopped, looking out at the empty seats, as if regarding an imaginary audience. His breathing was slightly labored but he looked elated. In fact, Sanji looked happier than Usopp has ever seen him. Unconsciously, Usopp's hands came together in applause.
"Wow Sanji!" Usopp exclaimed, too taken away by the moment to feel shy talking to the man he had a slight crush on. "I had no idea you were a dancer. That was awesome!"
Sanji's smile suddenly dropped from his face and he turned to Usopp in shock. His blissful expression quickly became one of fear as he backed away from Usopp.
"Y-you… you can't tell anybody about this!" Sanji yelled, his fear turning into anger. "You hear me! Shitty long nose!"
"But why not?" Usopp asked. "You're really talented you know. Why keep that a secret?"
"Because… because I said so!" Sanji screamed. It was only then that Usopp noticed a small trail of moisture coming from Sanji's visible eye.
"Sanji, I…" Usopp started, but Sanji had already turned tail and ran. "Wait!" Usopp sprinted after him as Sanji dashed off the stage and down the aisle. He chased him until Sanji ran out the entrance door. Usopp followed him out but as he looked around he found that he was long gone. Usopp sighed and shoved his hands into his overall pockets. Why had Sanji reacted like that? Perhaps it was due to the fact that dancing ballet didn't really fit Sanji's gentleman persona. Still, a talent that great needed to be seen, right? Usopp walked dejectedly back into the auditorium. As he neared the stage though, he noticed that Sanji's boombox was still playing. The dancer must have forgotten it in his mad dash. Usopp walked up to it and shut it off. Sanji would need this back. Usopp rubbed his chin in thought. Perhaps when he gave this back to him, he could ask Sanji to explain his reasons not to tell anybody. Usopp picked up the boombox, along with his backpack and left the eerily silent theater.
A/N Sorry about the lackluster ending. I just loved the idea of Sanji being a ballet dancer but I wanted to submit something for the OP Shadow Ship event on Tumblr so I didn't have the time to flesh this out. I might do a part two if I get a good response or if I feel inspired to write it.