Usopp regretted some of his inner fantasies. After spending his entire life trying to prove he was just as masculine as his father, he was apprehensive about telling them to anyone. Moonlight dances, ferris wheels, romantic candlelight dinners; the ambience alone was enough to make even the most romantic of men vomit. So he kept them to himself, spilling any overdramatic date sequences in doodles or on a canvas, that way he could always play it off as artistic vision.
Sanji's fantasies always involved clichés. He had no shame in excitedly revealing every detail of every action. The cuisine, the roses, candles, music; Sanji's dreams were everything romance novels strived to create. The chef had always believed that a date should be filled with everything a woman could dream of and he always had aimed to please the ladies. Of course, he'd never expected he'd be dating a man.
Usopp refused to call it dating. What he did with Sanji wasn't exactly a date, it was more like sitting in silence while they did their own thing, but it worked. The two never even considered any romance, Usopp had never heard any flowery words from Sanji; at least, not directed at him. Sanji knew how to charm a woman, but knew enough about Usopp to know that the same things weren't going to work on him.
They were at a stand off. Sanji was stumped as to how he would muster up any sort of romantic actions for Usopp, and Usopp refused to open up that part of himself to the chef. When they finally had a romantic evening, it was by accident.
After Luffy's insistence, the Going Merry docked at an island famous for their elaborate festivals. When Usopp had described the festivals' theatrics, the decision was made immediately; Luffy had to see all these things for himself. So when they split up Usopp ended up walking with Sanji as per usual.
He wished he could say it wasn't awkward.
Usopp couldn't get himself to look Sanji in the eye, and every question the chef asked flustered him so much more than usual. Sanji was equally as uncomfortable. Although he had no trouble acting normally, the fact that Usopp was so nervous was making Sanji nervous, and he was constantly walking on eggshells when he talked to him.
It wasn't until the two had stumbled upon a carnival in the middle of the village, lights glowing off the houses, streamers, banners, flags, that they allowed themselves any sort of enjoyment from the company. Sanji had turned to conveniently see Usopp's eyes glow at the sight of the lights and colors. That's when an idea struck him.
Usopp nearly shot himself across the square when Sanji grabbed his arm, the touch was sudden and unexpected, but he was willing to go along with it when Sanji pulled him towards the Ferris wheel.
Sitting at the very top, Usopp almost expected Sanji to be one of those people who loved to swing the seat, just to see the terrified look on the sniper's face, but Sanji stared coolly out over the horizon; Usopp had to admit that he liked this a lot.
Sanji always liked the view from atop ferris wheels; it was a mere coincidence that Usopp happened to like them too. Sanji turned to see Usopp bending over the rail to see the millions of people that were crowding into the fair. He took a break to say something when the chair lurched slightly, nearly sending Usopp over the edge. Sanji instinctively grabbed the straps of Usopp's overalls and yanked him backwards. Usopp looked panicked, clutching his heart in an attempt to slow down his own breathing. Sanji was frantic. In an attempt to calm Usopp down, Sanji moved his hand to Usopp's back, moving it up and down to show the sniper that everything was okay, he was safe.
The two figured this had to be their worst time together.
Usopp's eyebrows shot up when he heard a soft chuckle next to him. Sanji, finding the whole evening to be a complete disaster, couldn't help but laugh at the strange series of events. Sanji's giggles soon turned to a hearty laughter, and Usopp, finally finding the humor in their situation, couldn't help but laugh too. They both wiped tears from their eyes, calming themselves down long enough to hear shouts from the square below them.
In a matter of seconds, lights filled the skies: fireworks. Sanji found this to be the perfect opportunity do so something right, there would be romance whether Usopp liked it or not. Sanji forcibly took Usopp face and pushed his lips against the other boy's. Usopp's strangled squeak wasn't exactly the response Sanji had expected, but he didn't pull away.
The one thing Sanji had never told anyone was how romantic he found fireworks; he always felt that they made a great backdrop for a perfect night. Every date Usopp had played out in his mind had ended almost exactly as his night had gone, albeit without the awkwardness and unpleasant events. When Sanji finally pulled away, Usopp's dazed expression made him momentarily panic.
The sniper smiled wide, "I've always loved fireworks."
Sanji couldn't express how relieved he was, that finally something had gone right that night. He would have guessed that fireworks would be the common ground that brought them together in the end.