Title: Discovery
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 550
Pairing: ZoSan, Chopper has a little crush on Usopp
Notes: I have no idea why Usopp's bag ended up containing a mix of 'WTF?' and 'this is so getting used for sex', but it did. BluePard is the official maker of crack excuses. And yes, Sanji really does think Nami and Robin have no clue about the gay. Silly boy.
Chopper did feel guilty for what he'd said. Sort of. But really, Sanji had brought it upon himself when he'd questioned Chopper's claim of 'it's a reindeer thing'. Chopper had been forced to explain how certain things were just instinct, and therefore uncontrollable. Like what Sanji himself had been doing with Zoro moments before. And if Sanji still though he was being poorly influenced by Usopp, then they could always bring the matter to Robin and Nami, maybe see if one of them had a book on the topic… Sanji had fled the hold, horrified.
And now, he seemed convinced that Chopper needed convinced not to mention anything to the girls about late night activities in the crows nest. And while it was true that Chopper couldn't say much of anything to Robin or Nami or anyone with his mouth full, not everyone onboard had a rubber stomach. So, after the sixth tray of cream puffs, Chopper found himself in the storage room, hoping the spontaneous explosions from Usopp's workbench would do something to keep the chef at bay.
Chopper always found watching Usopp work to be intriguing. Things would start out so quiet in the beginning, just the sound of a pencil scratching over paper as Usopp made notes or sketched out his next invention. Once things moved out of planning and into the preparation stage, the noise increased proportionally with the number of tools the project required. When the actual assembly started was Chopper's favorite part. Usopp, it seemed, had a habit of thinking out loud when he became truly engrossed in what he was doing, spouting off random 'I need to redo the calculations, the angle is off' or 'Steady now. Careful, careful', and never noticing whether he was still alone or not. Luffy had discovered that this was the only time he could rummage through Usopp' bag without getting scolded.
And if Luffy, with his complete lack of stealth, could get away with his poking around, then it would be no problem for Chopper to take a little look. Not that he'd ever think of doing it if it weren't for a good cause.
Once he was sure that Usopp wasn't working with anything that looked likely to explode without provocation, Chopper reached forward and snagged the strap of Usopp's bag, pulling it back toward him and settling into the relative cover provided by the shadows before undoing the clasp and reaching inside.
Twenty minutes later, Chopper was trying very, very hard to think logically. He was sure there was a perfectly good reason Usopp carried around a surplus of pink feather boas. And that whip would probably be a very useful weapon. But, he started drawing blanks at the spiked collar. And the plastic palm tree. And how on earth did the coat rack fit in there anyhow? And not one of the twenty three phone snail books had been concealing porn, and surely the Great Captain Usopp had to have porn. And what on earth was tha…
"Gah!" Chopper dropped the bag and ran, tripping over a stuffed purple pig, then righting himself and dashing past Usopp.
"Hmmm… Oh? Chopper? Hey, what are you…" The door slammed shut behind Chopper's retreating back, cutting off the question. Usopp shrugged and turned back to his workbench.