Don't Take The Fall Alone

by printfogey

After leaving Thriller Bark, Usopp, Sanji and Zoro are all troubled for varied reasons. Usopp proves quite perceptive in some respects, less so in others. ZoroxSanjixUsopp, rated PG-13/T.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: As the summary indicates, this is a Zoro/Sanji/Usopp fic which takes place after Thriller Bark and before Sabaody. I'd rate it either PG or PG-13. All my thanks to my wonderful beta Tonko, who worked hard on this story and who came up with the title, too. But the responsibility for any remaining errors are mine alone. Nitpicks are very welcome, and so is feedback in general!

DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations of One Piece are owned by their creator, Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission. This fic may not be used for profit and should not be reposted elsewhere without the writer's approval.

-x-x-x-

It was a good way past noon. The sun had just slipped behind a large cloud, making the air in the crow's nest slightly cooler. Zoro got up, changed the iron weights to a larger pair, and started to pump.

The change in temperature was very small, and the feel of the air hadn't shifted. This hot, stuffy weather which had crept in last night still hung on, on this third day out from Thriller Bark. There were interruptions - sudden gusts of wind, a streak of cooler air, even some showers - but Nami kept frowning and shaking her head, and sure enough, in just a few minutes the humidity returned as if nothing had happened.

And ever since last night, there had also been an inexplicable scent of spices coming on the wind, not from any of their provisions and despite there being no land in sight. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant smell, but it wasn't completely pleasant either: it went back and forth between making him feel uneasy and not. Sometimes Zoro even wondered if he was the only one who could sense it. Most likely it was just some weird Grand Line thing.

He felt yet another burst of pain, sharp twinges here and here and there, coming from all over his body. Gritting his teeth, he kept pumping. That was the only way forward, wasn't it? Of course, Chopper kept scolding him, but that couldn't be helped. He didn't get it. Neither did Nami, Robin and even the cook, who all in different ways let him know they thought he should take it easier than usual, that he still needed to rest.

They didn't understand the vastness of Kuma's strength and abilities compared to his, to Luffy's, to all of them put together. The crew had been exhausted after fighting Moria and his underlings for a full day and night, but Zoro knew that no matter how fit and well-rested he and the others had been, the outcome would have been the same against Bartholomew Kuma. Just like none of them had stood a chance against Admiral Aokiji either. The New World had too many people with that kind of strength, and the gap between Zoro's own power and that level was much too vast.

If it had been a closer gap, still significant but within reach, if not this week then the next one; then he might have listened to Chopper's pleas and allowed himself to take it easier.

But that wasn't the case, and he didn't dare to do that now. Not as long as he still felt stuck on the same level of skill and strength; if only he could get a sense he'd made some real progress and become stronger since his fight against Ryoma, that again could change things, but no. Worse, right now he felt actively weaker than he'd done before Thriller Bark, and that was even discounting the fatigue and ache from his wounds. No, his focus was off, his rhythm sucked, his meditations failed. The whole of him felt out of balance.

He'd see flashes of images, during training, some from real memories – Luffy lying pale, unconscious and utterly helpless on Thriller Bark; Usopp all smashed up and bloody outside the Franky House – others just from nightmarish never-happened mental pictures of his crewmates lying lost, broken, dying… Those images should have spurred him on, if anything, echoing the frenzied thoughts that drove him to train harder, but now they made him freeze uselessly instead, making him lose his step and rhythm.

And then there were the other kinds of images, and the feelings that came with them…

He'd been annoyed with himself back when those had first started to appear, a good while back – even more when he realised they didn't just involve the sniper but the cook as well. But it hadn't really been worth calling a problem, he'd judged. It had only happened now and then, occasionally, easy to smooth down inside and hide well – things like seeing the occasional flash of a cheeky grin from Sanji, or the way the back of his head looked in certain lights; or suddenly getting a dry mouth from the completely ordinary look of Usopp's bare shoulder and the back of his elbow (Usopp's shoulders were almost always bare, so why the hell?); or when, during a relieved post-battle moment, he got the urge to ruffle Usopp's hair and kiss him on the neck; or a couple of times when he'd been fighting with Sanji and he felt a sudden urge to pin the cook to the wall, let go of his swords and instead let his hands do some entirely new things with him…

The thought that he could approach either of them and sound them out on how they might feel towards him in return, and, if they were amenable, actually try to do something about these attractions… that didn't seem like a real alternative. And not just because it was clear as day how crazy Sanji was about girls, or because Usopp was… not too young exactly but too unsure of himself and maybe too easily convinced into going along with something he might not be that into. Rather, it simply hadn't seemed like the correct thing for him to pursue. Too much of a distraction, too liable to cause trouble with those two, maybe spreading to the rest of the crew… no. Just making the attempt would mean having to admit more than he wanted to to himself, and being far too indulgent. No, far better to focus on more important matters.

But now, those other kinds of images and the feelings they evoked were more insistent than ever, more frequent and more intense. There was a new flavour to them that seemed at one with his off-kilter state and even with that faint but pervasive scent of spices. Disquieting.

The way the weather persisted, the way Chopper would not only scold him but look at him with large accusing eyes that made him feel like a heel for a moment; even much smaller things like the extra layer of concern underneath Nami's nagging, or the tiny amount of wind on the sea - not completely becalmed, but such a weak, futile breeze it wasn't much better - the way the cook would just a bit too obviously, if you were used to reading him, hold back much more than usual in their fights - it all kept bothering him, kept feeling like part of his lack of true balance, and with the palpable sense of being stalled, not advancing at all no matter how hard he trained. He was worse off than the ship, that way; Sunny still moved a tiny bit, at least.

And the way that Usopp and the cook kept looking at him when they didn't think he noticed, that bothered him, too. Sanji was one thing and bad enough, but why Usopp? He couldn't know the real truth - the cook wouldn't have blabbed about that, and Usopp wouldn't have been able to hide his reaction to it either, Zoro felt sure. Maybe it was just his worrywart ways.

Just now, Zoro had for the second time today seen him talk to Sanji in a low voice, both of them looking serious, occasionally shooting glances in his direction. Zoro was intensely annoyed to find how much a small thing like that kept bothering him. It really shouldn't. But it did.

-x-x-

Usopp would have liked to be able to say that he didn't really know what the problem was. But the truth was, he did know when it came down to it - it was a bit too obvious to ignore. Although he couldn't really have said why it troubled him, or why now when it hadn't before.

He jumped down the last bit from the rigging to the lawn deck, then made the A-OK sign to Brook over by the main mast, and to Robin standing serenely way over by the tangerine trees. The three of them had just raised an extra sail on Nami's orders, hoping to capture what they could of what little wind there was. The weather sure wasn't very helpful lately.

It was good to keep busy. Usopp walked up the starboard staircase towards the second deck, aiming for the third deck where his Mini-Factory was. He heard the sound of insults and scuffling and looked up to see Zoro and Sanji over by the port side, also on second deck, in one of their usual dumb arguments from the look of things.

Usopp stilled. His hands felt clammy. He scowled in the direction of the pair of them, trying to look tough and disapproving, then swallowed tightly. He didn't like the colour of Zoro's face, still too damn pale. He didn't like the way Sanji seemed to try hard not to show any worry, only to let some of it slip on his face anyway. He wasn't putting his usual heat into his fighting, Usopp thought, and he fancied he saw an unhappiness in the cook's body language that was more than the usual temporary flare-up. Much like Zoro looked more troubled than his usual exasperation. The air felt thick with undercurrents around the two of them these days. You could feel like a third wheel so very easily.

And that was dumb, he knew, shaking his head at himself as he went on, reaching the Mini-Factory where he sat himself down. Whatever was going on, he was pretty sure, had way more to do with Zoro's injuries and be tied to some kind of warrior-ish thing. Not - probably not - connected to the vibes Usopp thought he'd sensed from the two of them at other times, when they'd been fighting so hotly he couldn't help wondering if they wouldn't like to switch to making out instead. But maybe that part was only his very active imagination…

He had to admit that there wasn't anything uncommon about Zoro being really banged up after a battle, not about him pushing himself harder than Chopper liked. Though it wasn't usually as bad as it had been on Thriller Bark - the only other time he'd come so close to dying was after Mihawk. (The fact that Luffy had bounced back so very quickly this time around was also strange, but simply inexplicable.) And the weird looks that Sanji kept shooting Zoro were new, too. Still, Usopp wasn't sure he'd even have picked up on that, if he hadn't already been hyper attentive towards those two in particular.

When had it all started? Not as far as back in East Blue, he was sure. Back then, they had just been his new comrades, the two of them; along with Luffy and Nami, of course. Nami with her level head and secret chains that held her back until she and Luffy and the rest smashed them open, with her amazing inner strength and guiding hand, indispensable for their journey. Luffy above all, Luffy himself who ran into your life and shook things up and opened up ways you hadn't dared take, not caring about who you used to be or how strong you weren't but only about what you wanted to do with your life and if you were willing to stake your life on going where they were going. Usopp hadn't paid any more attention, back then, to the swordsman and the cook.

But that had been big enough at the time, strange and wondrous enough: to be comrades with Zoro, the already-famous bounty hunter who probably would have scared Usopp more if he'd had the time for it before they'd already fought and won a battle together – Zoro, who followed his dream no matter how strong his opponent and never backed away even if it meant his death, who was often quiet, often sarcastic, oddly reliable and whose great open laugh had been more common, back then, than it was now.

And same for Sanji, the lanky coarse-mouthed cook with a sceptical eye and a cool and cocky manner in the face of danger, held back from his dream by duty only until Luffy happened (but not by fear, never fear when it came to them); who could get irate or swoon for ladies at the drop of a hat only to fall back into cool, tough mode the next moment.

They were bewildering and fascinating and endlessly impressive, even if he also enjoyed learning about how much they could both be frustrating dorks. Like Luffy, they tugged at him but seemed far too advanced for him to ever have a hope of catching up, not just in outer strength but in courage and attitude too.

So when did it start to change? Was it back in Alabasta, or even before that? At some point on the way the fascinated admiration (not at all unmixed with envy) had started to turn to more, as other kinds of thoughts started to appear in his mind as he watched them, other reasons for looking just a bit longer and a little more often than warranted.

Especially when Zoro's shirt was torn, or he made that particular little dismissive/grumpy turn with his head; or when Sanji was leaning back at ease towards the railing with a relaxed grin; or his long, steady hands when preparing food with such speed and pinpoint skill… but at first it hadn't been easy to tell those impulses apart from just admiration. There were moments when his overheated teenaged mind would have inappropriate thoughts of just about everyone of his crewmates except for the reindeer, after all.

It wasn't until the two of them had started to turn up in dreams and in those fantasies halfway between wakefulness and sleep that Usopp realised he had started to single them out, without ever wanting or meaning to. He'd sighed, at the time, thinking of it as a minor affliction that would hopefully soon pass, and that he needed to be careful about hiding. (Very careful; they would certainly be upset and offended, if they knew, it only stood to reason. Besides, it would be mortifying.)

Water 7 hadn't helped with making any of that clearer. Looking back now he could see that those types of feelings hadn't gone away completely even then - they'd only been buried for a while, underneath a huge cave-in of anger, self-hatred and despair. He'd torn up his friendship with Luffy and his allegiance to the crew in one fell swoop, all the better to tear himself down too – too frightened he'd only mess up again and get thrown aside for it, if he stayed, and too upset about Merry to think clearly.

And when those particular feelings had come back, bit by bit as he picked up the remains of himself, and picked up a mask to help him stand up again, it was hard to separate them out from the general loneliness.

There had been a moment on Enies Lobby, when they'd been standing together on the stolen Marine escort ship - the one that would get blown up soon afterwards - watching the situation, waiting for Luffy to win, unsure of what the next step would be but awaiting it together - when he'd felt a new sense of connection to Sanji and Zoro in particular (though Franky had stood with them as well). He'd been in disguise and not-of-the-crew, but it was… like he could understand them better, like he felt closer to getting their outlook on life. And there had been a longing in it, too much of it. Later he'd gone back to doubting himself again and whether anything of that connection was mutual. But right then, it had meant something.

And now those feelings and their yearnings were back with a vengeance, muddling everything up.

He sighed, putting his projects on the workbench aside for a moment and looking up at the sky, stretching his hands over his head and adjusting his bandanna. Perverted fantasies were one thing, honest concern for his crewmates very much another, but this… well, it was more than just the former, but it wasn't only the latter, either; and his awareness of that fact unnerved him and made him unsure of what he should do. He couldn't really trust that his motivations were pure. Reason told him that since he felt all muddled like that, it would be smartest to leave well enough alone and not try to intervene. Whatever it was about would blow over soon. He should be fine with Sanji and Zoro having secrets and being serious and quiet for their own damn unknown reasons, but…

I don't like it. I just don't like it.

Then again, when had he ever been able to keep his nose out of other people's business?

-x-x-

"Look. I don't have to know, all right?"

Zoro looked up from the grass. He was doing push-ups on the lawn deck with weights on his back. Usopp was leaning at the nearest railing, watching him with a frown.

"Know what?" he asked.

"I don't have to know whatever it is that you know and Sanji knows and Sanji won't tell me," said Usopp. He held up a hand as to stop Zoro from interrupting, although Zoro wasn't trying to. "It's fine." He drummed his fingers on the railing and didn't look at Zoro. "But I can still tell he's worried about you," he went on in a lower voice.

Zoro scowled. Man, why did Usopp pick this time to be so observant? "No, you're wrong," he said roughly. "He's just being annoying like usual. And…" – He'd wanted to say and there's nothing to tell but the words choke in his throat. "And that's all there is to it," he finished.

Usopp crossed his arms and harrumphed, looking down at the boards of the deck. Zoro removed the weights on his back and switched to doing handstand push-ups.

"I actually do know how to keep a secret, you know," Usopp said. "I know I talk a lot, but I've done that for others before."

Zoro hummed non-committedly. He privately considered that Usopp was more likely to resolve to keep quiet but then wind up letting it all out in some moment of emotional stress. But even if he was wrong about that, Zoro still didn't want him to know the full truth of what had happened between him and Kuma.

His balance wobbled, and he flipped to his feet, wiping sweat away with a towel as he straightened up. He sighed. It wouldn't be half as bad as Luffy knowing, of course - but Usopp would get all tearful and grateful and huggy, overcome with mushiness. Zoro didn't want that. He couldn't see how that particular truth would do the sniper any good in the long run, either.

"There isn't anything to tell," he said, getting the words out firmly now. He met Usopp's eyes steadily. "Don't make a fuss. It's dumb."

"...Fine," muttered Usopp. "Fine, I just…" Then he burst out, "There's something weird going on! And not a good kind of weird! I don't like it!"

"Well, don't blame me!" snapped Zoro. "I'm just doing what I always do! Blame the weather or the shit-cook for working himself up over nothing, I don't have anything to do with it!" He threw the towel away. His pulse was beating angrily in his temple. This was stupid, why couldn't he keep his cool?

Usopp stared at him with surprise, then rallied. "Aha!" he hissed, keeping his voice down this time around. "So you do admit something is weird, at least!"

Zoro drew a hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a moment. A dizziness came over him, and his forehead felt hot. The wounds ached more than usual.

He wanted to say: it's fine. He wanted to say: quit worrying. He wanted to turn and walk away from there, a picture of perfect health, steady mind and clear thoughts. And he'd do that, in a moment, he only needed to regain his balance first…

Eyes open again, he was painfully aware of his gaze straying to Usopp's arms, re-crossed over his chest, and to the area around his collarbone. Those arms and shoulders were still fairly scrawny, but more toned and muscled now than when he'd first joined them. And right now, it wasn't Sanji his body most wanted to pin against the nearest wall, tree or mast and use his mouth and hands to make him stop talking…

"Are you okay, Zoro? You kinda… seem a little pale right now." Usopp's eyes were wide, honestly concerned. "And you're trembling," he added in a lower tone.

"Yeah. Sure. Fine." His throat was dry, but Zoro could manage that much. "It's nothing."

-x-

Usopp had retreated after that, looking pretty sceptical but not pressing the matter any more right then. After a short, uneasy nap, Zoro got up on his feet again and rubbed his eyes; still aching and tired and just a shade short of feverish but at least not as dizzy. He was just about to start climbing up to the crow's nest for more training, when he heard Nami shout at him from the bridge.

"Oh, perfect!" she cried out. "Hey, Zoro - catch!" She threw a clay flask down at him; he caught it in time, feeling the smell of rum and hearing the slosh of liquid inside it.

"What the-? You could have smashed it!" exclaimed Zoro at this cavalier treatment of the good drink. He heard a snigger behind him and turned his head, shooting a glare at Sanji who was standing on the steps up to the second deck.

"Like you wouldn't catch it," said Nami, waving that aside. "Anyway, Franky needed some of that rum for some weapons stuff or other, I don't know, but he's done now and there's plenty left. Can you two go put it back into the bar? Way in the back, it's got a box of its own, you'll see. Sanji, go with him and make sure he doesn't drink too much of the inventory in there."

"Hey!" Sheesh, it wasn't like Zoro was some kind of Luffy-like monster for booze; the bar didn't have a lock on it like the fridge did, after all. On the other hand, he noted that she hadn't said he couldn't have anything at all.

"Of course!" carolled Sanji cheerfully. "Anything you want, Nami-baby! Then I can check the state of the fish tank, too!"

"Oh, and there's a bottle of medicinal alcohol on the top shelf of the cabinet, way over to the left!" Nami added. "Can you bring that one out for Chopper? He's said he needs it, but he's stuck mixing herbs right now."

"Fine," said Zoro. He carried the flask carefully on his way to the bar/aquarium/observatory. Once there, he found the box she'd meant in one corner, fastened to the floor and with plenty of wood shavings inside to cushion the flask against impact.

"Hey," said Sanji, who stood looking at the fish tank pensively, "Usopp said something weird earlier today."

"What." Zoro made his tone as flat and uninviting as possible, not even putting any real questioning tone into it.

"Well, he seemed to think… he'd somehow gotten the impression…" Sanji paused, looking for a moment longer at the fish in the tank, then out the window and the lacklustre sea, the low skies above it. A flock of birds passed in the distance.

"...Ah, never mind. Doesn't shitty matter." He put his hands in his pockets, and started to walk towards the door.

"The hell-!" exclaimed Zoro, really annoyed by now. "Lousy cook, you can't just-" He stopped; Sanji had stopped walking as well and was looking at him with a 'wanna make something of it?' expression. Zoro might have ordinarily liked the opportunity, but right now there were other things to focus on. "He was talking to me just now, too," he went on in a calmer tone. "But I didn't get why he was so worked up. Started out making sense and then…not so much." He frowned.

Sanji blew out some smoke. "Yeah?" he drawled. "Maybe because your shitty brain couldn't grasp it."

"You're the one with nothing but mush between the ears, love-cook! ...Anyway. Said he didn't mind it if we're keeping something secret from him." He crossed his arms, letting that sink in.

Sanji nodded. "Uh-huh. He's been…" he scratched the back of his head, "...on at me a bit like he suspects something weird was going on with you. Back over there."

"Mmhm," was all Zoro had to answer to that. The silence stretched out for some very long seconds. He half wanted to add, 'Don't tell him', but he knew that was superfluous. Instead he opened the drinks cabinet and looked at the bottles for the one Chopper wanted, noting they didn't have much booze left right now, sadly. "Where the hell is that thing…" he muttered under his breath.

"She said left, you're over at the far right," said Sanji. He walked over to the opposite side of the cabinet and picked up a small bottle with a bright yellow label on it.

"Anyway," said Zoro, grabbing a small flask of gin for himself, "about Usopp. Then he acted like… I don't know what's going on with him, I don't get it. So." He turned and looked straight at Sanji. "What the hell did you mean, just now?"

Sanji looked away and laughed a little, not sounding very happy. He cleared his throat. "Just a shitty notion… Nothing that would make you happy to hear about."

"What?" Zoro's pulse started to beat faster. "You…" He felt dizzy again, a bad feeling about this now. He felt a sudden fear this would take him to unfamiliar waters that were at the same time all too familiar, from dreams and suppressed desires.

Sanji's posture and movements were now all sharp, angular, unflowing. But there was a flash of hard challenge in his eyes as he finally looked back, warning Zoro off. "Don't. Give it a rest, Mosshead," he all but snarled.

Zoro felt a flood of relief. The hostility seemed sharper than usual, but this was still safer ground. Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly back off when Sanji put it like that. "You're the one who brings stuff up without explaining" he growled. "Half-baked wishy-washy candy-ass shitty eyebrow…"

"Oh yeah? Watch what you're saying, you overgrown piece of lawn-"

The door opened, and they both froze as Usopp of all people poked his head in. "Nami was wondering why it took you guys so long," he said. "Uh." He looked from one to the other. Why? Zoro had to wonder. There was nothing unusual with this particular situation, was there? "Did I interrupt something?" asked Usopp.

"Nah. I'm done here," said Sanji shortly. "Talk to the algae man if you like." He waved towards Zoro. "I'm leaving."

"Hey, wait! I didn't mean it like that. Actually, since – since you're both here–" Usopp started to say, clearing his throat; but Sanji was already moving past him to the door, not looking at him. "Sanji!" Usopp protested.

"Look," the cook snapped, rounding on him and including Zoro in his glare, "I've had it up to here with both of you! Both that shit-for-brains mossy lunatic and you, o Master of Negative Ghosts!" Usopp gaped at him; Zoro felt taken aback too. "Just – just go be idiots somewhere else, I need to get started on dinner!" Sanji finished, then strode out.

"What the… What's that supposed to mean?" Usopp turned towards Zoro, who could only shake his head.

"Don't ask me. Looks like the pervert eyebrow is even more screwy than usual."

"I guess - guess I'd better ask Nami if she needs any more help," mumbled Usopp and was out of there quickly.

-x-

Out on the first deck again, he ran into Chopper, already clutching the flask of medicinal alcohol Sanji had picked out. The reindeer brightened as he saw Zoro, then changed to a sterner look and called out, "Don't move, I've got something for you!" He zoomed up to the bridge and was back in half a minute, carrying another, smaller bottle. "It's medicine! Take two spoons right now," he ordered, "then two before going to bed."

"Do I really need to? I told you, I'm fine now."

"No, you're not! But since you insist on taking off your bandages and moving around and training too much, you can at the very least take some medicine to help you! It's the least you can do!" Chopper crossed his tiny arms over his chest and fixed his eyes on Zoro firmly.

"Fine, fine," muttered Zoro. "Stop nagging, I'll do it. Only, seems a bit of a waste of medicine when I don't really need it."

"Here's a spoon for you," said Chopper helpfully. "And don't worry about that! This potion is easy to make more of. I got new herbs from the Rollerblade Pirates that will last a while!" He paused while Zoro put the offered spoon in one pocket resignedly, the medicine in another together with the gin. "Zoro," Chopper added in a lower, serious tone that made Zoro look at him more closely. "I'm only one person, okay? And there's way too much I don't know about yet about treating people. I know I need to get stronger, but… right now this is all I can do." He held his forepaws tightly, as if they were fists.

"Huh. Never seen a doctor as good as you," Zoro said, meaning it. "But if you think you need to get stronger, I know you can. We all do."

"You- you shitty idiot! That doesn't make me relieved at all to hear that or anything!" But as Zoro walked away, feeling just a little better himself, Chopper called out, "Hey! This doesn't mean you're off the hook! You still need to take it easier!"

Chopper was right, thought Zoro as he started to climb up the mast. Not about that last bit, maybe, but it was true they all needed to be stronger, not just him. And also smarter, more skillful, better informed… but Zoro was a warrior first and foremost, and he'd always think of it in terms of strength. That was what he was good at, after all.

The cook should know it too, so what had he meant by bringing up those unpleasant 'negative ghosts' of Moria's minion? Usopp had proved immune to them, which had been very convenient and lucky. But that was just another kind of strength, and one you had to respect, too, being able to overcome those crushing emotions. If Sanji was going to disrespect that by feeling sorry for Usopp over it, that would make Zoro disappointed in the idiot. He hoped it wasn't like that.

He wiped the sweat from his brow after a bout of weightlifting, the bitter taste of the medicine in his mouth. Still felt weird, out of pace, off-kilter… but now he felt he could sense the balance he looked for really was somewhere out there. If he could just shift himself into the right angle, his mind in the best direction, he'd find it.

That damn spicy scent grew stronger again. He suddenly remembered a dream from the night before, one where his dream-self had come across Usopp and Sanji in a rowboat, first placidly playing cards and then slowly but also pretty damn casually starting to kiss. He'd intended to call out to them at first, but then hid behind a convenient large bronze statue. There wasn't much else he could recall from that dream, apart from the sense he got when watching them, half horny and half wistful.

In this persistently buzzing state of mind and body, he climbed down for food as the dinner call sounded. At the table, he guarded his food the best he could, not hesitating to spear Luffy's hand with a fork in the process but secretly content with that boundless energy. Luffy, at least, didn't seem to be worried about him. He trusted Zoro to be strong and to be well on the way to get even stronger, and that, when it came down to it, meant more than anything else. All the same, Zoro made sure not to look too long at the cook or the sniper while eating, only giving them studied neutral looks when he had to.

But today happened to be his turn doing the washing up. He cleared the table quickly and filled the sink with hot water and soap, starting to do the dishes at a quick pace. The rest of the crew had cleared out by now.

Sanji was sitting down by the table with a pen and piece of paper in hand, smoking as he wrote. Probably just planning tomorrow's menu or something boring like that. He made no effort to break the silence, but didn't leave the room either.

Finally, at a point where he was nearly finished, Zoro cleared his throat.

"Look," he said without turning his head, keeping his voice low, "if he comes to you again… you can tell him something."

"Uh? Oh." A pause, just long enough for Sanji to inhale deeply on his cigarette. "You sure?" The tone was calm, almost nonchalant on the surface.

"Yeah. Not all of it… but some. If you want to," Zoro allowed. He went over to the table and wiped it down with a dishcloth, not looking up at the cook. It was a concession. Maybe an unwise one, but… it wasn't as if Usopp was Luffy. Zoro still wasn't sure why Sanji seemed to feel so backed into a corner by all of this, but maybe opening up this one narrow path could be of some help. To Zoro as well? He doubted it.

The air suddenly felt far too thick. He quickly retreated, walking all the way up to the helm this time to do some chin-ups on Sunny's figurehead - as far away from the galley as possible.

-x-x-

The night passed and the next morning came by without much of anything happening, at first. And then a storm broke out.

It came so quickly that even Nami barely had the time to see it. "All hands on deck!" she roared, and they all jumped from various floors, rooms and corners all over the boat, running for their orders, quickly dispersed. Usopp, who'd been fishing with Luffy and Brook, now scurried with everyone bolting doors and hatches, tying down anything loose that couldn't just be thrown inside, turning the sails for the best possible angle when the storm would hit - and within minutes, just barely prepared, Sunny hit the storm head-on, the huge waves tossing her about as easily as if she'd been a tiny rowboat, all the sails flapping like mad, the ship tipping low and water breaking through over the railing. They'd all been through storms like this before by now, but that didn't make it easy exactly, not in Usopp's opinion. There was a huge rip in the mainsail and Franky had to climb up and sew a makeshift repair right there in the midst of the storm, Robin being ready to catch him if he fell.

And as good as Sunny was built, there was no ship on this world that could be entirely free from leaks, and even Adam's wood would creak under this kind of pressure, while some of the lesser wood - like one of the barrels containing fresh water - broke from it. Usopp ran with the others back and forth, making quick fix repairs, carrying rope and tools, doing his best to look out for new dangers, though the storm made it hard to see. Right in the middle of it all a trio of seakings suddenly turned up and picked this moment to attack them. Luffy and Zoro and Sanji made short work of them, but it was still an extra fright, slowing them down and being bad for Usopp's poor heart as well. The hours dragged on, until he was more exhausted than terrified.

Finally, it all died down, turning into a steady breeze that should only be to the good - in the right direction, too, Nami asserted. The skies were still overcast, but now the air felt peaceful, and the need for emergency work was over. The crew drifted off back to various corners of the ship for rest, recreation, or non-emergency duties.

Usopp realised he was still on his feet and not quite as super-tired as he'd thought at first. He looked around the ship thoughtfully. Then he made a decision and went for the crow's nest.

Zoro was there, but asleep or looking like it at least, sitting crosslegged and leaning against the foremast, hands behind his head. That was good, Usopp liked to see him rest more. He made himself comfortable and looked out through the window at the sea, feeling just a little nervous underneath the relief and exhaustion.

His eyes perked up to hear someone approaching on the ladder. Moments later, Sanji's head looked out through the hatch in the floor. "Huh. You're here, too," said Sanji, not unkindly.

"Yeah. I figured someone should be lookout, you know? Just in case, maybe those seakings have friends, or something," babbled Usopp, then nodded in Zoro's direction. "And he's asleep, anyway."

Sanji smiled wryly. "I kinda had the same thought." He paused halfway up through the hatch, but didn't turn around to walk back down. He'd changed into one of his few tight T-shirts that Usopp had always thought fit him rather well.

"Oh, come on!" said Usopp. "You can stay for a while, too. At least a little bit. Look at the sun shining down through the clouds over there! You see it much better from up here."

"...All right, fine." Sanji climbed up the last of the way, closed the hatch and walked over to the window. "Shitty air turned better, too," he observed.

Usopp nodded. "But there's still a bit of low pressure left." The oppressive feeling had mostly left the air with the storm, but not entirely.

Both of them turned to look at Zoro. "I'm not sure he's really asleep," Usopp felt compelled to whisper. "Maybe he's meditating."

"Mm." Sanji looked at Zoro steadily for a few long seconds, then shrugged and turned back to Usopp. He too sat down on the bench circling the room. A silence stretched out.

"Sorry about yesterday," said Sanji.

"What? Oh. Er." Usopp shrugged uncomfortably. "It's fine," he mumbled.

"Nah, I shouldn't have blown up like that. No shitty use to it." Sanji blew out smoke and looked out to sea, the muscles of his shoulderblades very visible in his tight T-shirt. Sanji's head moved in a small gesture, a little resigned, a little… Usopp couldn't quite parse it. Good-natured? Self-mocking? But whatever it was, it was very Sanji. He suddenly felt intensely wistful, and felt a need to keep his arms close to his body so they wouldn't do something stupid.

He glanced at Zoro again. Even if he wasn't truly asleep, at least he was resting, for now.

"You know," Usopp heard himself say, his voice a little hoarse, "I didn't even notice anything was off at first. Chopper's been scolding him, but he always does, and Zoro never listens… But the way you've been acting. That's been different."

Sanji put out the butt of his cigarette on the floor, then took out a new one and lit it. "Man, and here I thought I'd been discreet like hell." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Look, Usopp. If you really do want to know more about the Mosshead situation…"

"I don't!" replied Usopp immediately. "I don't need to know, I told him that already!"

"Well, that's good, because I'm not going to tell you. Not all of it." Sanji held his cigarette high, looking straight at Usopp. The sound of the wind and the waves far below were louder in the small pause.

"Anyway," the cook continued, drawing in smoke deeply and slowly breathing out, "there's not much to say. When it comes right down to it, he's just a shitty bastard who takes on way too much on himself." He added, in a lower voice, "He really could have died there…"

Without opening his eyes, Zoro said, "If I can't even protect my captain, what good am I?"

Sanji looked at Usopp and nodded towards Zoro as if to say, 'See?'

Usopp opened his mouth, but the words died on his tongue. He closed it again and swallowed, feeling dizzy and oddly ashamed. His fingers felt hot – and dry now, too dry – and now the air up here in the crow's nest felt even more stuffy and oppressive than in the becalmed weather outside.

He tried again, and now the words came, but without having thought them over, tumbling out quickly, voice a little too thin and shrill. "I guess – I guess if you're not very strong, then it's your duty to at least allow yourself to be rescued and protected by someone who's offering… no matter how many times… it's ungrateful not to… Isn't it?" He didn't know how to go on, and couldn't look directly at either of them. From the corner of his eye he could see that Zoro had sat up straight again and was looking in his direction. Usopp stared at the small unlit lantern hanging on a hook on the mast, an everyday thought making him wonder if it would be time to light it soon, since the sky was darkening.

"Usopp…" said Sanji.

"But you know," Usopp burst out, "it's hard to be grateful all the time! Yes, I know!" He turned his head towards Sanji, but only met Sanji's patient eyes for a second. "I know I need to keep in mind what I can do, I know that! There are things only I can do! Sure! But you guys…" He stopped, breathing out heavily, trying to find the right way to say this, then gave up and just let go. "…You guys can be really frustrating, okay? You're – so strong –" he put his hand up high above his head as if to indicate a height – and, well, Luffy is one thing, Luffy is just Luffy and that's different, but you two are almost as strong and you're just as brave and… and it just scares me, okay?" His voice broke at the end. Cheeks warm now, Usopp half wished he was at the other end of the ship, but if he didn't say this now, when would he? In a hoarser voice, he went on, "I get scared that someday you'll try so hard to protect the rest of us you're not going to be around anymore."

Silence. He stared down at his hands, at the floor underneath, let a finger follow the grain of the Adam wood of the nearest board.

"None of us know what will happen in the future," said Sanji eventually, voice held low. "But–"

"You don't have to be grateful," Zoro broke in. "It doesn't matter. You don't have to be annoyed, either, like that idiot cook gets when someone's stealing his thunder."

"Hey!"

"Shut up. Anyway, that's just…" Zoro trailed off for a moment. Usopp glanced at him. The swordsman was watching the sky and the seas through the nearest window with a faraway look on his face.

"…Look, it just doesn't matter that much what we think or what we feel when it comes to that type of thing." Now he turned and met Usopp's and then Sanji's look calmly. "The important thing is just to stay alive, and keep going."

Usopp opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it again, then finally looked over at Sanji beseechingly, gesturing helplessly at Zoro. Sanji breathed out a short laugh, burying his chin in his hand and making a kind of apologetic shrug.

"I know, I know," he said. "In his defence – and I can't believe I'm the one saying it – he really didn't have that much choice, back there. Well, he could have listened to me instead," he muttered under his breath.

Usopp looked at Sanji for a moment longer, but when nothing more was forthcoming, he breathed out slowly, a sense of relief seeping through him, even if it was still weird to hear that kind of thing about staying alive and keep going from Zoro, of all people. "Just remember that goes for you, too," he muttered in the swordsman's direction. "Don't think I won't hold you to that."

He got up on unsteady legs. "Yeah. Um. Guess I should get going," he said, taking a step towards the hatch in the floor, but only one step. If not now, when? "Anyway," he mumbled, quickly before he could stop himself, "I just think the two of you should kiss."

Dead silence.

Then two different "What?" at the same time, a strained, choked one from Sanji and a louder from Zoro.

"That's just crazy - what the hell, why would you think that?" exclaimed Zoro.

"So that was what you were trying to hint at earlier," said Sanji. "Where did you… Why do you want to…"

"And why him of all people? The most annoying one possible?" Zoro broke in.

"Well," Usopp tried, "it's just - look, you guys… I just, it just seems like you'd enjoy it-"

"Why? What do you mean by that?" said Zoro sharply. "Got better taste than that-" He was up on his feet now.

"Wrong, Longnose." Sanji stood up too, maintaining a clear distance to Zoro. "I'm a manly man who loves the ladies!"

"All right, fine, so maybe I've been reading you wrong, and you've never thought of it before-" Usopp took a step back against the combined glares of the other two, while trying to also keep close to his escape route, the hatch - "but, but – even if it's like that, why not try and consider it now?"

They both just stared at him. "Huh?" said Sanji, his voice squeaking.

"So – hear me out!" Usopp held up a hand to stop them from interrupting him. He closed his eyes for a moment, already feeling sweaty. Why had he thought the air was getting better? Right now it felt more oppressive than ever. "It might not be so bad, okay?" He looked up again, meeting Sanji's baffled eyes for a moment. "Sanji! So, he's a bit of an idiot, I know"– he pointed at Zoro, "but he's pretty hot, right? I mean, for a guy? And, well, you wouldn't have to hold back with him and he sure needs someone to help him relax, I think you could help with that." His cheeks were really burning by now, and his legs were practically spaghetti, but he pressed on because it was too late not to.

Now he looked straight at Zoro – was Zoro blushing? Well, this was an embarrassing subject, but maybe he was just red in the face from anger – "And Zoro–" he waved in Sanji's direction – "I know Sanji's a girl-crazy blockhead but he's really good-looking and flexible as hell, and, and, well, don't you think it would be more fun to reduce tension in that way instead of just through fighting? At least for variety!" he added, a little helplessly. He wiped his face.

Sanji and Zoro took a further step away from each other. Zoro looked kind of troubled. Sanji opened his mouth.

"Wait, wait! Not yet, don't say anything, let me finish first!" Usopp waved wildly, inching closer to the hatch. "See, the thing is…" His mouth was dry. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. "Okay. So. I just figured, right now you two have been going around the ship looking grim and gloomy and having secrets and not being happy at all. I can tell. So, if you've got to have secrets together, why not pick something that makes you happy instead? If it's like that, I wouldn't mind!" That wasn't really true, that last bit. But it sounded good, and sometimes that was as close as you could get. Man, he was trembling. Not in the best of state to climb down the rigging in a hurry, but it couldn't be helped… in a moment he knew he'd be done here. "So. So, I just think things will be happier that way," he added.

"You do." That was Sanji, in a very flat voice.

"Ye-yeah! And I bet the others would feel the same way! It would mean better vibes for the whole ship." He drew himself up, crossing his arms. "In – in the name of crew harmony, you ought to at the very least consider it!" As opposed to him, Usopp, who should try to avoid considering the mental picture of Sanji and Zoro together right now, he realised. His face felt hot all over and his mind full of perverted images. A cold shower seemed like an excellent idea. (Somewhere in his chest there were also some sulky melancholy I-feel-excluded parts which he was resolutely ignoring.)

"But he only likes girls." Zoro's voice in the wide silence sounded very open but a little strange, not quite like himself: Zoro himself looked surprised and then embarrassed afterwards.

Usopp didn't know how to answer. He'd already made his plea the best he could.

Sanji picked up a cigarette that had fallen to the floor and re-lit it. His movements were not quite calm, and his cheeks were very pink. "All right," he said gruffly. "That's very, um. Thoughtful of you, I'll say that. But there's a shitty angle you keep forgetting in all this."

"What do you mean?" asked Zoro. But Usopp wasn't sticking around to find out. His resources had run dry, he had no more arguments, and he didn't feel like getting yelled at or kicked in the head. He'd already started to climb the ladder down again when Sanji replied.

"I mean that – Hey, stop him!" There was a weird tone in his voice. More urgent than angry, even… desperate? Usopp kept going down the ladder, hit the yardarm, and then hastily started to climb down the rigging. The lawn deck was way too far away from up here.

He didn't hear what Zoro replied, but he'd only been climbing a couple of steps on the port side of the rigging when a movement and a creaking sound alerted him. Looking up, he saw Sanji's slim shape swing itself through the hatch and then jump down to the yardarm without even bothering with the ladder. Man, some people.

"I have stuff to do!" he shouted upwards, furiously climbing and managing to put a tiny distance between them: Sanji stood on the yardarm for a moment and seemed to decide what to do. Meanwhile, Zoro had appeared and was climbing down the ladder too.

"Hey! Longnose, you can't just drop stuff like that and then run away!" shouted Sanji.

Why on earth not? thought Usopp. I'm good at it.

He focused on moving down as quickly as possible, but Sanji was moving down fast now too, easily catching up. The rigging swayed and squeaked, the faint breeze not helping much.

"Quit it, Sanji!" Usopp knew he sounded like a panicked kid at this point, but he couldn't think of anything better. He half expected Sanji to kick him in the head – sure, he'd fall down, but he'd live; he'd taken much worse knocks than that. Usopp actually felt more afraid of whatever Sanji was going to say, and he wasn't even sure why that was.

"All right, calm down!" Sanji was almost at level with him now, and made one hand free to put it up placatingly. "I'm not going to kick you!"

Usopp glared up at him. "What's the big hurry?"

"He's got a point," shouted Zoro from above them. He was also approaching down the same side of the rigging. Good thing the ropes were so sturdy.

"You shut up," Sanji shouted back. Now he was at level with Usopp, and kept pace with him climbing down as quickly as the swaying rigging allowed. He continued towards Usopp, "I'm not going to talk your head off either, unlike what you just tried up there. Look, there's just one thing–" It was the way he swallowed and looked off to the side that made Usopp pause, finally. "I mean–uh–"

He leaned forward, somehow able to balance with his hands free; he put one hand over Usopp's hand holding onto the rigging, the other reaching up behind Usopp's head, and then he kissed him. First just a brief peck on Usopp's lips, then he took a deeper breath and kissed him more firmly, and longer. A gust of wind blew in from starboard, and the sail billowed around them, while the rigging swayed madly underneath.

"Wh-what?" gaped Usopp, tottering, completely off-balance. Sanji evidently tried to steady him but he didn't seem to be too stable either, overreaching himself and all but falling backwards. Usopp had a sudden mental picture of the two of them tumbling over towards the deck, too distracted to fall right and breaking their necks. He'd almost entirely lost his footing now –

A strong hand grabbed his upper arm and held him tight, pressing him in towards the railing. He glanced up. Zoro had caught up with them and was bent down, holding himself up with one hand only plus one foot crooked into the rigging, balancing easily despite the weight of his swords. "Great job with that ambush, cook," the swordsman said sarcastically, changing his grip to the top of Usopp's overall instead but with one foot giving him support, as well. "Excellent place for it too. Moron."

Usopp's racing pulse drowned out whatever Sanji was muttering in reply. His thoughts had ground to a halt. For a long moment, the three of them seemed to hang there as if frozen in time: Zoro grabbing him so he wouldn't fall, Sanji, half-teetering himself but still grasping Usopp's hand on the rope, the rigging creaking and swaying as Usopp tried to scramble to firmer footing.

"…What?" he squawked again once his feet had found better purchase. "Sanji?"

Sanji had regained his own balance and now removed his hand from Usopp's, starting to climb down. His face was very pink. "I told you it was just this one thing," he said roughly.

"I think the dumbass is trying to say that he likes you," said Zoro dryly.

"M-Me?" But what about Zoro? He felt like his brain was melting. This was not in his script! He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was like he'd lost all the air he needed to speak with.

"Don't bug me, Mosshead," Sanji piped up from below. "So do you, I bet."

Wait, what? But now Zoro was warning him, "Letting you go now," and Usopp nodded, grabbing hold of the rigging with his other hand too. He braced for the swaying as Zoro shifted his balance, then started to climb down again, a good deal slower than before, mind still in utter disorder. Finally he reached the deck and had grass underneath his feet.

-x-x-

In a hard fight, when Zoro had to struggle for his life and often find a new way to survive and then win the battle, he was used to taking each hit he couldn't block or dodge as it came, toughing it out until the new insight came, the strategy leaping into the light of day in the nick of time.

It wasn't like that, now. Sitting up in the crow's nest with the other two, listening and talking to them, he'd felt as if he was now moving towards where he needed to be, the new kind of rhythm and balance he had to find, but slowly, with care, like a broad, calm river… And then Usopp had upset all that by that completely unexpected attempt at intervention. Match-making, even. It had been so weird, listening to his arguments and growing both more mortified and more hot under the collar, yet all the while knowing it was wrong, it was askew, it left out something very essential… like Sanji had pointed out, an angle that was missing. And Usopp couldn't see it at all.

Sanji getting in a panic at Usopp's leaving was stupid, no doubt about it. They were on a ship. Where could he go? They could always catch up with him later.

But… tomorrow, or this night even, there could be a new storm, an enemy ship, land, more seakings; any kind of danger and battles, and there could be trouble, kidnappings and getting caught up in other people's business, making plans, fighting hard and celebrating. You never knew what would happen. And maybe they'd just keep postponing having any kind of talk about this, doing anything about it. And they'd just be stuck in the same damn spot for who knew how long. Yes, the cook was dumb about it, but Zoro could understand the impulse. Needing to act right now, before it would be too late.

He finished the climb down the rigging after the other two, leaping down onto the grass of the lawn deck. The wind was really picking up in the sails. His hands felt warm, his palms itching. Something was growing inside him, like a wave that had rolled many sea miles before it came to be as big as it should be.

Set things right. Find the rhythm again. He raised his head and turned to look at the other two. Surely he could do it.

-x-x-

Finally down on deck again, Usopp walked on unsteady legs to the nearest wall, reaching out an arm for support. He was now right next to the steps leading up to the helm deck. The steps were tempting him to sit down and catch his breath, but he felt somehow that he should be on his feet right now, maybe for an easier escape if need be.

His hair seemed to go every which way, the bandana all but undone, and his pulse was still racing. Sanji likes me? It didn't seem real. He was half inclined to believe it was just a prank. Or temporary insanity on Sanji's part. Or a hallucination, on his.

Sanji cleared his throat. Usopp jumped and glanced quickly at him, calming down slightly when he saw Sanji's face was a deep pink: it felt good to not be the only one affected. Sanji's hair was messy, too, and his shirt rumpled. Usopp had a stray thought that he'd like to make grassy stains appear on that shirt and felt his own blush return at full force.

"That… was probably not the best place for that, yeah," Sanji acknowledged. "Sorry."

"You're telling me!" Usopp burst out. "I thought I'd get a heart attack and fall down and die!" He undid his bandanna entirely, mostly to have something to do with his hands, dragging them through his hair over and over.

Sanji made an apologetic gesture. "I just couldn't keep listening to you and let you think…" he muttered, then trailed off, moodily lighting another cigarette. Zoro, meanwhile, had walked over to the foremast and put his swords there, propped up neatly against the bench around the mast.

Usopp took a deep breath. "Look," he said. "There's just – I just need to get one thing clear, first." He looked at Sanji and then Zoro, then belatedly thought to look around him, too, but no other crewmates were in sight. He knew a bunch were asleep, and Franky was probably at the helm… Robin could be at large, but, well, with Robin you just had to accept the chance that she could find out any of your secrets anyway.

Even so, he took a step closer to the other two, lowering his voice as he went on: "Just tell me this - do you guys like each other, or not?"

He waited.

Sanji and Zoro shared a quick glance, then both looked away again. Finally, Sanji sighed and held up a hand. "Fine. There are times when the shithead is somewhat tolerable. Yeah, okay. He's got his moments," he conceded.

"Ha! I knew it!" Usopp exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

"And you too," added Sanji, cheeks still pink. "Don't look so damn pleased, it's not like I'm happy about it. You're both shitty guys and you smell."

"I don't smell as much as he does!" protested Usopp.

"Eh, who cares?" said Zoro, crossing his arms over his chest and clearly at peace with his smelliness.

"Um. What about you, Zoro?" asked Usopp nervously.

Zoro worked out a kink in his neck, closing his eyes for a moment. "Mm... He's a pain in the ass and I guess I must have shit taste, because… you weren't wrong before. About that part of it." Usopp brightened at this vindication. Yes! He had been right, dammit! Not just once, but twice.

"You just forgot something else," added Zoro, voice dropping low as he closed the gap between them.

Usopp widened his eyes and almost took a step back, but then willed himself to stand still. His heart beat very fast; he kept watching Zoro, fascinated, practically mesmerised. The swordsman looked unusually careful as he put both his hands on each side of Usopp's face, the height difference meaning he looked down, slightly. Moving his fingers in slow circles at Usopp's temples, then down along the jawline, he breathed in and out; he seemed to slow himself down, but it seemed more consciously contained than languid. (In this way, he was very different from the Zoro of certain daydreams and nightly fantasies, who had always seemed in a passionate hurry.) Up this close, Usopp found he didn't mind the smelliness at all. Zoro smelled of iron and sweat and the sea, but there was also some kind of spicy underscent in it.

Zoro's hands moved to Usopp's shoulderblades, then underneath the straps of his overalls, exploring but not yet undoing them. Then slowly, so very slowly, his breathing as controlled as his hands, he put his lips on Usopp's left cheek, his right cheek, only barely touching them; he brought one finger up to slowly stroke him on the chin, and then down at his collarbone. Usopp reached out and hesitantly put his own hands on Zoro's sides, moving and pressing in, feeling the muscles underneath his back. He closed his eyes as Zoro let out a low but gratifying kind of rumble, like that (Usopp imagined) of a great cat purring. Then finally Zoro put his lips on his – but to Usopp's dismay, it was only for a short time, and very lightly at that.

He heard the sound of a smack and opened his eyes. Sanji was now right next to them, glaring at Zoro.

"Oi, get on with it!" he exclaimed. Are you going to take the whole shitty week?"

Zoro didn't turn his head but sent a green glare in return in Sanji's direction. "I know what I'm doing, cook," he said in a near-growl.

"Um. I think he's got a point," said Usopp quickly. He moved his hands to Zoro's shoulders, got up on his toes to reduce the height difference, and leaned in for a brave if somewhat sloppy Captain Usopp kiss. Zoro tasted much like he smelled, of training and swords and a little bit of the crab sandwich Sanji had made a few hours ago; he made a muffled sound of surprise but then breathed out and hummed in a pleased tone.

Usopp broke it off and heard a low laugh from Sanji. "Good job! That'll teach him. Let me just cut in a bit…" He tugged one of Usopp's hands away from Zoro, and Usopp let go altogether and took half a step back, curious where this was going. Zoro blinked, then assumed an impassive expression.

Then Sanji took him by the hand and said, "All right then," starting to lead them across the deck, gesturing for Usopp to follow. A little unsure, but intrigued, Usopp caught up and took Zoro's other hand. Zoro gave a sceptical snort but allowed himself to be led for the moment.

It was weird to hold hands like this – boy-girl couples did that, and girls who were friends, but grown men didn't, right? Usopp had figured it was a little too girly, or too childish. But this – this was rather nice, he thought.

It turned out to only be a short walk: Sanji stopped right by the wall opposite, in the long shade of one of the trees and next to the portside steps leading towards the stern. The spot on lawn deck that was the most obscured from view of the rest of the ship, Usopp realised. Now, as the sun was close to setting, they wouldn't be that easily seen, at least not in detail.

"Hey," said Zoro, giving Sanji a very unamused look at the short distance. Sanji grinned at him and leaned closer.

"That's still long enough for you to go the wrong way and vanish," he said. He pushed Zoro against the wall; Usopp swallowed tightly and unconsciously clenched his hands. The scene seemed almost straight from one of his fantasies, except not quite as frenzied. Zoro was very clearly co-operating, but it was Sanji who took the lead right now, one hand on Zoro's right shoulder, the other going under his haramaki and then his shirt, kissing him on the side of his neck, one leg going in between Zoro's and starting to move.

His movements were long and flowing, looking way better than they'd been in Usopp's head; the whole thing struck Usopp as suddenly, intensely beautiful.

Is this normal, now? he wondered. Should it be normal? Or should it stay something strange and dreamlike, something set aside from the everyday world? In a way, it seemed easier to say and do things you never thought you'd be able to, if you kept pretending it wasn't truly real…

Sanji and Zoro had mostly been speaking the way they always did to each other, just now, only applied it to a very new situation. But Usopp wasn't sure he could do that.

He let slip a small moan of sheer appreciation as Zoro pushed back and tugged at Sanji's t-shirt, nudging it upwards. Man, those two looked good together. They were so well-matched; they fit so well, right now, with the case he'd tried his best to make up in the crow's nest. He felt a twinge of… something. Not quite jealousy.

But now I can join in, he thought with a sense of wonder and something like the feeling you got when setting out on an adventure but hadn't been terrified yet. They even want me to. I can touch them.

Yet, he hovered a little longer, enjoying the view, feeling himself growing hard. Waiting for a good cue, as it were.

"Erm," complained Sanji. "You're being lazy again, Mosshead."

Zoro had indeed gone back to that slow pace from earlier, and his breathing seemed to match, too. "Told you," he mumbled, then caught Usopp's look and included him, too. "I know what I'm doing. Going somewhere with this."

"Huh. You don't say." Sanji stepped back a tiny bit, letting Zoro have some space. He exchanged a puzzled glance with Usopp, who interpreted it as 'what are we to do with this shitty algae weirdo?' and felt oddly glad over it in a way he couldn't explain. Maybe just because it was both such a normal kind of Sanji look and still entirely new, in this situation.

He wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand - geez, he'd hardly done anything yet, why was he so worked up? - and bit his lip as he looked intently at Zoro. He also took half a step closer, putting himself as near to him as Sanji was.

Zoro sighed a little, and closed his arms over his now-bare chest, his shirt discarded on the grass. He still wore the haramaki. "Look," he said calmly, drawing a hand through his hair, "I don't think my wounds are as bad as all that, no matter what you guys and Chopper are thinking. But all right. I haven't really found my form again these past few days. Felt weird and all. Something missing."

Usopp felt a chill run down his back. He couldn't stop looking at the great scar across Zoro's chest, the one left by Mihawk; his eyes sought the smaller, fresher scars, much less visible as they had been sewn up professionally, but still so many of them this up close.

Zoro went on, "Still dumb of you two to get worried over it, but…" He shrugged. "So. Back up there just now" – he pointed with his thumb at the crow's nest – "I started to feel like I almost had it, and then seeing you two in the rigging…" He trailed off for a moment with a distant look, then shrugged again. "And it felt right."

Usopp frowned, trying to understand. It wasn't that easy to try to see things from Zoro's point of view. "I'm not sure I get it," he said, scratching the tip of his nose in thought, "but doesn't that just mean we can help you relax? Because, in that case…" he gave a small, tentative smile, "that was supposed to be the whole point, wasn't it?" He reached out one hand, and lightly trailed his fingers along a few faint scars on Zoro's right shoulder and upper arm.

Zoro breathed out, slowly, in a low sigh of appreciation that gave Usopp a much more pleasant kind of shiver. Then he nodded.

Sanji, meanwhile, had picked up the two discarded shirts from the grass, putting them on one of his lower arms like a waiter carrying napkins. "So you mean you need to move at a snail's pace to find your new rhythm, or some shit like that?" He dug out a cigarette and lit it. "… All right, fine. At least now you've explained it."

Then he looked over at Usopp and grinned. "Hey, Longnose, you should match," he said. He reached over and undid the nearest strap on Usopp's overalls.

Zoro mirrored his move without a word, undoing the other one; Usopp blinked, then flipped the straps off entirely, letting the top of his overall fall down over his sash. He felt self-conscious about his scrawniness, at least compared to those two; but right now, he'd feel more self-conscious about staying covered when they weren't.

He put one arm over Zoro's shoulder, leaning his head against Zoro's for a moment, sighing a little, and Zoro leaned back. Usopp felt mushy, but in a good way. Then he took Sanji's hand.

He wanted to tell Zoro: don't be too hard on Sanji for wanting a faster pace. Don't you know it's because you almost died? Thriller Bark had been terrible that way, not just with Zoro but with so much danger for everyone. And there were so many extremely strong people and completely unexpected threats out there…

So you wanted to grab hold of what happiness you could find for as long as you could hold it. And quickly.

He licked his lips, not yet quite able to say that in so many words. "Let's… let's go," he said, voice breaking a little. "The aquarium-and-bar should be empty now…. No, wait." It was the prettiest room on the ship, but it had big windows with no curtains, and even though night had almost come and nobody might see them, it would still make him nervous. "My workshop," he suggested instead. His legs felt far too weak right now for another climb up to the crow's nest.

Besides, the workshop also held that bottle of very special oil hidden in the back of one shelf. Franky had tossed it to him in an unexpected and somewhat embarrassing big-brotherly moment. "For when you want to have some fun. It's way more SUPER than anything you can find in shops!" he'd said, and Usopp had accepted it with a puzzled look for a moment before the belli dropped and he'd flushed like mad. He could already attest the stuff had proved to work very well for solo purposes - and he had a strong feeling the time had come to, um, expand its usage.

Zoro now cast him an assessing look, then nodded. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. "Let's." Sanji only hummed and nodded, his steps wide as they started to move.

Usopp looked at Sanji walking beside him – that windswept hair, unusually bare chest, singular eyebrow; that lithe frame and easy stance, a great warrior but a cook above all; that confident turn of the head, his cigarette… He blinked for a moment; did the dusk betray his eyes, or were those smoke-rings heartshaped? No, that was probably wrong… He looked at that face which would so often tried to hide its concern – Sanji would call him, Usopp, a big worrywart, but Usopp knew Sanji far outdid him in his ability to notice everyone's problems and take them on. You've earned a big reward, that's for sure…

And he looked at Zoro, the earrings and the hedgehog hair, the neat curve of his neck, his pretty shoulders; those scars and muscles and the way he was so unselfconscious about any of it, accepting his wounds neither to brag nor to complain… He already looked less tense to Usopp's eyes, a hint of softness in his expression and his movements. But I want to see if I can help smooth you out even more.

He wondered, as they reached the Usopp Factory de Luxe, Zoro pulling the door open, What do they see, when they look at me? It had to be something he couldn't see himself, for all his great imagination.

He lit the paraffin lantern hanging on a hook on the wall. It spread its warm light across the room.

Sanji stubbed out his cigarette. Zoro closed the door and latched it. And Usopp took a deep breath, tugged off his shoes, undid the sash around his waist – but slowly, very slowly – and let it fall to the floor. It had hardly even touched the floorboards when the other two were there, all around him.

-End-