Title: The Smell of Success

Theme: #10 Cotton Candy

Claim: SanjixUsopp

Words: 1,013

Rating: T

Warnings: Language, boyxboy, a bit OOC. Set sometime after timeskip.

Disclaimer(s): I don't own One Piece.

Usopp decided that cotton candy and perfume should never, ever mix, especially when Nami ended up getting the disgusting mixture on him.

It was an accident of course. Nami was busy getting dressed and admiring the new bottle of perfume she'd bought on the last island. She was just about to spray some on her wrist when Luffy and Usopp barged into the women's cabin without warning. In her defense, Nami could easily argue that she was completely startled by their intrusion, but after they were both nearly soaked in her new perfume, Usopp was sure she was upset.

After the incident, he cried to Sanji as he made snacks and tried to cuddle up to him to feel better, but Sanji suddenly gagged and ran across the room holding his nose. He muttered something about Hell and dresses with frills, which surprised Usopp, but it ultimately put him in a bad mood and he stormed out of the kitchen.

He walked around the ship without a clue what to do. All of the men were avoiding him like the plague. Chopper nearly fainted at the intense smell, Franky chased him out of the workshop, and Brook made another skull joke. Zoro and Luffy were out of sight.

Usopp realized after sulking around the ship for a while that the smell was started to make him sick and headed to the bathhouse. Unfortunately he soon realized that even taking a bath was out of the question. Zoro was already inside scrubbing Luffy's skin until he was raw while the younger pirate complained about the smell. Zoro didn't seem to mind, at least that's what Usopp believed until he noticed the clothespin Zoro was using to clamp his nose shut.

So he ended up in his branch office, looking over schematics for a new invention while the girls tended to their flowers and trees.

"Ugh, Nami, why do you buy this crap?" Usopp asked, feeling his stomach flop as he caught another whiff of the cotton candy smell on his skin.

"It's not crap! It's perfume," Nami defended. "It smells nice and I wanted something different. And if you and Luffy hadn't come barging in my room in the first place, we wouldn't have this conversation."

"Hey, he ran in there!"

Robin looked up from her flowerbed and glanced over her shoulder, placing the watering can she had on the ground. "As much as I hate to disagree with our navigator, I have to side with Usopp and Luffy in this case. You really shouldn't have sprayed the boys with more than half of your perfume," she said to Nami. "And in Usopp's case, it seems Sanji cannot get close to him."

"Eh?"

Usopp groaned as he fell backwards, his head falling off the edge of the raised bench. His hat fell to the deck and he sighed, wishing he could somehow chase Luffy and Zoro out of the bathhouse because he could only imagine what they were doing. He didn't realize Nami was so close by until she leaned in and nearly hit him in the face with her hair. "What's Sanji doing?"

"I tried to cuddle with him and he ran away," Usopp muttered. He was only "open" about his and Sanji's relationship with Nami; He always considered her his greatest friend. "Not that I'd ever get into wearing girl perfume, but he used to go crazy whenever you or Robin used it. Why would he change with me?"

Nami pushed Usopp to sit up and sat next to him. "Don't worry about it; I have a feeling he just doesn't like it. All of the guys hate it, so it's only natural that he wouldn't enjoy it either," she said. "Plus, it's starting to give me a headache and it's my perfume. I don't care if Luffy and Zoro are in there; You need to wash it off!"

Robin approached the two and glanced at the Observation room. "Sanji will be working on dinner soon, but I feel like he would like to see you before he starts," she said, her eyes fixed on Usopp. "Perhaps you should go look for him?"

Confused, Usopp nodded and thanked the girls for listening, and putting up with the smell, before dropping down into the kitchen. Sanji was just about to carry a tray with fruity drinks up to the girls when he looked up. No gagging so far.

"Does it bother you?" Usopp asked suddenly.

Sanji stared at him for a moment before putting the tray on the countertop. Usopp watched him as he walked forward cautiously, Sanji's face stern as his single eye locked on the sniper. When he was just a few feet away, he covered his nose and made a noise of disgust, but it wasn't a gag. "Still haven't had the chance to bathe?" he asked, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Luffy and Zoro are in there," Usopp frowned. "I don't want to think of what they could be doing."

The older man snorted. "It can't be any worse than anything we've done," he chuckled. His statement made Usopp's face turn red. "Anyway, I'm gonna go give Nami-swan and Robin-chwan their drinks. If you do get the two idiots out of the bathhouse, let me know before I start dinner. The cotton candy smell is such a cockblock and I can't promise I won't jump you the moment you're clean."

"S-Sanji!" Usopp stammered. He felt his legs wobble underneath him and suddenly wished Sanji wasn't so sickened by the perfume so he could lean against him. He silently nodded and ran back up to the latter, turning back to Sanji as he grabbed the pegs. "If I wait in there, will you help me get rid of the smell?" He shifted his weight to one side, making Sanji's eyes widen. Sanji plugged his nose as Usopp smirked at him, shaking his head up and down and nearly dropping the tray of drinks. Usopp grinned and ran up the latter, finally finding something good in the whole situation.