Sanji and Usopp were at Usopp's house on the upper porch, lying on the rope hammock. Usopp was stretched out, one leg hanging off to lazily rock them, while Sanji was curled up, his head resting on Usopp's chest. It was early May and the weather was beautiful.
"Sanji?"
"Mm," Sanji mumbled.
"I was wondering . . ." Usopp stared up at the roof. "Have you ever . . . dated anyone before?"
Sanji lifted his head and gave Usopp a look. "Why're you asking that now?" he muttered.
"Sorry, I just—" Usopp averted his eyes. "You always seem so confident when we do stuff, and I'm just this bumbling guy going along with it . . ."
Sanji grinned. "You're fine. Don't worry. And yeah, I've had partners before."
"Partners?" Usopp exclaimed. "As in more than one?"
"Yes, that's what the plural is," Sanji said sarcastically. "I dated a couple girls in junior high, but neither of those relationships lasted long."
"Why?"
"Well . . ." Sanji looked up. "The first girl, Vivi, realized she was gay about a month in, so we broke up. We were still friends, though. And the second girl, Perona, decided she was tired of me . . . or something, and I got dumped."
". . . Oh," Usopp said, shifting as he gently pushed the hammock again.
"And I guess you haven't dated anyone before now," Sanji said. "Let's just not worry about the past, alright?"
"Okay," Usopp murmured.
Sanji laid his head back on Usopp's chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was as steady as the seconds on a clock. The soothing rhythms of the heartbeat and the gentle rocking of the hammock, not to mention the warmth of Usopp himself, was more than enough to lull Sanji to sleep.
"Sanji?" Usopp whispered, only to find his boyfriend breathing with the deep, even pattern of a sleeper.
Usopp smiled and laid an arm around Sanji's torso as he kept up the gentle rocking, back and forth, back and forth.