Seated in a comfortable butterfly position near the mast of the caravel he called home, accompanied by a smattering of small tools in the after-dinner twilight, Usopp was tinkering with his goggles to fix the mechanism that let them move. They'd become just a bit sticky as of late, and he'd like them to be ready for whenever the ship reached Little Garden. While the tan young man was focused on this, however, another body approached casually and stood behind him for a mere second, observing with a slight air of impatience, before a knee came forward and bumped the back of his curly-haired head, seeking attention.
"Oi."
Blinking, Usopp touched the back of his head by reflex as he turned and looked up, recognizing the gruff face before him rather easily.
"Oh, Zoro. What's up?"
Unimpressed, an expression of confused irritation crossed the green-haired arrival's face. "Mm? I wonder."
Now Usopp was confused, his brow creasing slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's been two days," Zoro informed, maintaining his disgruntle, "When are you planning to take responsibility already?"
"Mm?" Anther blink as Usopp turned to cast his gaze away in thought. "Two days..." All of a sudden he tensed, jaw hanging open as a choked note of exclamation gurgled in his throat. Turning back, he returned, "H-Hold on, you don't mean..!"
"It was your confession," Zoro pressed, glad to see the long-nosed sniper seemed to have remembered, but still annoyed at the inaction, "How come you have time to do stuff like this instead of following through with me? Or was it really that fleeting a fancy for you?"
"W-Wait a minute..!" Usopp stammered, hurrying to cram his few trinkets into his nearby satchel, but leaving that on the ground as he stood to face the other man properly, "Of course it wasn't fleeting for me! A-Actually, that was something I'd been meaning to do since we crossed into the Grand Line. I'd made a deal with myself that if I survived I'd do it, but we just got a little busy with all that's happened, and...but I did it! I just thought...nothing had come of it. Didn't you pass it off as nothing? I thought things were being left as they are."
Zoro's head went back, even more perplexed. "When did I say that?!"
Usopp found himself blinking blankly once again. "Didn't you..?"
…
Two days prior, Usopp stood in the bright, sunny ocean air, on the back-most deck of the Going Merry, chest proudly puffed as he looked out over the wooden railing. Posing dramatically, he imagined an equally dramatic stage spotlight as he announced his latest practice speech to the ocean.
"You were so cool helping me protect my village when we first met. You understood me so well even though we'd just met. It meant so much when you were the one telling me to get onboard with you guys. And since then...I mean it's only been made clearer. You're so brave and handsome. You're the perfect warrior. I want to be protected by such strong, capable hands until I can be your equal. Let's grow strong together, as boyfriends! Sparkle sparkle."
Finishing with his chin cradled confidently in the crook of his forefinger and thumb, he nodded to himself in affirmation as he pictured how impressed with this latest version of reasoning Zoro would be. Who wouldn't fall for such words, narrated visual effects and all? Still, he muttered a few notes that might make it better under his breath, like not repeating "met," prepared to take another stab at it.
Behind him, unheard, a certain green-haired swordsman was climbing the steps to the rear dock, seeking one of his favorite napping spots and absently scratching his ear that suddenly burned as he overheard Usopp launching into a flowery speech.
Blinking blearily, lips slanted, he processed it once it was done for a moment, before saying simply, "Okay." No way that hadn't been about him, right? The words were too much for his tastes, but it wasn't like he minded the sentiment behind them.
In an instant, Usopp threw his arms overhead and belted out a lengthy scream, mortified. Twisting around, a million beads of sweat ran off his body as he gripped the railing and his heart like his life depended on it. "Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-!" When the hell had he gotten there?!
Closing his eyes, a vein in his forehead twitching, Zoro grit his teeth and simply moved to a more central position on the deck, flopping down to lean against the boards supporting the tangerine grove structure above. "So noisy..."
Flustered beyond imagination, Usopp was now only thinking the worst. "Uh! Um! What you heard just now—wait, how much did you hear?! Well anyway, it's not about you! Or well, i-i-it's...a show! I'm writing a sketch, so I'm not embarrassed at all! It's a great scene a-about a great longing love between a great hero and a pining, innocent maiden..!"
Flatly, Zoro watched the other flounder through the obvious pile of lies, only offering once it was over, "So what, you didn't mean it? I guess I take it back, then."
"H-Huh?!" Stick straight, Usopp put the pieces together a little too late that Zoro's presence had been announced with...acceptance? Was that right? Looking down, forefingers coming up to twiddle around each other sheepishly, the tan man muttered, "W-Well, let's not be hasty or anything...I mean if you thought it sounded like a good confession and wanted to accept it...i-it was only version sixteen, but it was still pretty decent, I thought." Now his two fingertips pressed each other meekly as he gave them a small, hopeful smile. "Did you really like it?"
"No. Too flowery." These blunt words stabbed through Usopp like a knife, petrifying him all over again. However, after an absent yawn, Zoro carried on, "But it's not like I mind being liked. Actually, of anyone, you're probably the only one I'd accept it from." No one from his past really counted to be considered, and the other people in his life at the moment were an infuriating captain whose ass he had to save from brazen idiocy far too often, a conniving bitch thief who acted like she was the captain whenever she pleased, a perverted cook who indulged that behavior and worked Zoro's every last nerve...also there was some princess they were escorting at the moment. In this wacky found family, Usopp was the most sane, and Zoro had seen enough of his mettle to know he was reliable and respectable, if not also guilty of indulging idiocy sometimes. Mostly he was just cute. That's what mattered most in these sorts of situations, right?
"Ah. I see..." Having heard he was such a special exception, Usopp found another small smile and the courage to lift his head. However, in the next second, he was aghast again to find Zoro's head tipped to the side, eyes closed, and a quiet snoring emanating from his nose. "You fell asleep?!"
…
In the present, Usopp insisted, "Who falls asleep in the middle of being confessed to?! Of course that would be interpreted as one-sided interest!"
Twitching in embarrassment to have this pointed out as an accusation, the swordsman defended, "I'd come up there for a nap! It's not my fault you wanted to rehearse your lame speech up there!"
Usopp's shoulders tensed. "Hey, I bared my soul in that speech!"
Another twitch, Zoro not having meant to sound so abrasive. Blushing in a mix of emotions, he pressed, "That's not what I meant! A-Anyway, you really meant your words, in that case? Right?"
Pausing, Usopp felt a nervous pit forming in his gut. Being overheard was one thing, but being asked for clarification directly like this was different. Zoro's eyes were so intense, as they always were, but his tinted face was so adorable. "D-Did I, ah, well...I said I did, didn't I..?"
"Say it properly." Half-hearted affirmations were meaningless.
Fidgeting his hands behind his back and rubbing the back of one ankle with the opposite toe, Usopp found his eyes darting shyly away. "Ah, do I have to, though..? You already said you meant to accept, so it's pointless, yeah?"
Zoro's brow sterned as he stared. "You haven't even tried to talk to me about this when you weren't sure about the outcome. If you can't even take responsibility for that, you really must not have believed in your words. I won't accept some meaningless declaration. I can't respect that. If you're serious, you'll show me your feelings are worth my attention." Accepting feelings was one thing, but approval as a partner was quite another. At least the speech he'd overheard had held passion.
Usopp's plump lips thinned. He felt the truth Zoro spoke pierce through that nervous ball in his gut. It was shameful. He'd been doing all that practice in the first place so he could get the words just right when he actually confessed face to face. It was an accident he'd been heard ahead of schedule. And he did want to say the words! He did want to own his feelings! Flustering as the moment was here, however, he couldn't lift his gaze. His fists came to form before him as he trembled, though, this scene nothing like any of the ones he'd imagined as he hushed with determination, "B-But I do l-like Zoro..."
"Really?" Zoro's head tilted doubtfully, though a light flutter rippled through his gut. In a way, he was hopeful Usopp would show him that steadfast boldness that had inspired him to first carry the paralyzed sniper on his back, back when his home had been almost wiped out. That admirable spirit that kept Zoro's attention then and since.
Usopp's fists firmed, steadying him. "Really. Yes! Definitely!"
Another, stronger ripple passed through Zoro's insides, growing to a full-on flurry when Usopp lifted his head, gaze full of determination as he spoke unprompted, voice clear and brimming with conviction.
"I like you! I really like you, so let me show you why you should like me back!"
In Zoro's mind, he was thinking the other just had. He let his lips slant upward into a satisfied beam. "Hn. Don't worry. You're already the least troublesome person to hear this sort of thing from. I'm fine with it."
"Hah?" Usopp's posture relaxed, not sure how he felt about the wording, but glad that this seemed like enough. "Really? You want to be my b-boyfriend with just that?"
"Mm? Sure." It hardly seemed like an unreasonable request if Usopp was serious about it, and it was one Zoro figured he could fulfill simply enough. He might not have 'reasons' to list out like Usopp had been doing with his practice speeches, but he liked the other. That seemed like all the reason needed.
"Huh." Usopp took another moment, processing just how easily Zoro was accepting him when he managed to ask in a straightforward manner. He supposed that made sense. Zoro preferred things to be straightforward. Perhaps Usopp had been the one overthinking this. And in the end...it had been a yes! The tan teen's lips spread again, a flurry of light forming in his gut. Awkwardly, he gave a short chuckle. "Then...I'm happy!"
"Yeah." In a way, Zoro was too. Seeing Usopp happy was infectious, and news of such a simple acceptance seemed to make him glow in this moment. The swordsman found himself smiling back just a bit, somehow glad his words had managed to cause Usopp happiness, even if he wasn't good at being soft. He was certainly glad he'd made Usopp clear up his intentions.
In the moment of relaxed silence, Zoro gathered what little knowledge he had about relationships, and decided he should offer, tilting his head slightly, "So...you wanna screw, right?"
Usopp reacted like he'd been smashed with his own five ton hammer prototype. "What the hell?!" What was that all of a sudden?!
"It's normal for couples, isn't it?" Zoro blinked. What was with that over the top reaction? It wasn't so out of line to say, was it?
"What kind of relationships have you been seeing?!" Usopp shot back, still flabbergasted, the back of his hand coming to smack against Zoro's shoulder. Flip-flopping to an airy bliss, he turned and clasped his own cheeks, musing, "Ahh, but it makes me so happy to hear Zoro say 'couple' so casuallyyy~..." Snapping back to aghast, he twisted back and snapped, "But seriously dude, that's messed up to say now!"
Confused, Zoro simply asked, "That's a 'no', then?"
Torn and beyond confused, Usopp spiraled as he loosely wobbled in place. "I-It's not like the idea isn't...but right after confessing is...I mean fantasy is one thing, but...ah, my heart's going to give out if you just...don't you have a tactful bone in your body..?" The marksman knew Zoro was thick-headed and not very soft, and often times his cluelessness could be adorable, but to hear something like that out of nowhere truly was a shock to the system.
Realizing there might have, in fact, been a bit too much bluntness in the direction he'd taken, Zoro's cheeks did tint in a modicum of shameful embarrassment and he glanced away. It's not like he meant to be tactless, but he really had no idea how one was supposed to handle these sorts of situations. What else could he offer that was couple exclusive? He wanted Usopp to keep being happy about the development, not get spooked away.
Rubbing the top of his head, he grumbled, "Sorry, I don't normally think about this stuff on my own. I'm glad you're happy about it, but I don't know what else to say about...being your boyfriend. What does that even mean?" His hand lifted and clawed in perplex. If not the notion of 'we have sex now', what was that kind of relationship change even for?
Letting out a breath, Usopp found a small smile returning to his lips. Some of that endearment found him to see Zoro struggle with the idea of a relationship now. And after all that posturing he'd done challenging a half-baked confession. It seemed like his warrior-minded pride could understand wanting a firm declaration, but that same core lifestyle wasn't equipped to handle the more emotion-driven side of it.
Stepping closer, Usopp reached for that hand and lowered it, enveloping it in both of his palms as he shifted to lean into the crook of Zoro's neck and shoulder. His heart picked up its pace and his face flushed as he closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the other radiate into him.
"Well, for now, how about this much..?"
Zoro felt his face burn brighter to see himself nestled against so snugly. Normally physical contact meant very little to him, but for some reason, knowing Usopp was calling himself his boyfriend made it different. The fact that it was even Usopp was different. Usopp was someone he'd found magnetic from the start, inspiring him into being the first to volunteer support in protecting the sniper's home village, and to openly declare him as a crewmate. Even on the first island they visited together after that, he'd had no trouble accepting Usopp continuing to rely on him by clinging to his back as they traversed the wilderness, nor had he had thoughts about casually stealing the long-nosed teen's cup so he could share it. From there, Zoro had only continued to be glad how comfortable Usopp was around him, the first timid person who had never been afraid to touch a 'scary monster' of a bounty hunter like him. Touch from Usopp was the most frequent, too. It had become part of Zoro's routine to expect it, and to almost look forward to those tiny signals that made him feel normal, even if Usopp still liked to make jokes about Zoro's face looking scary, and even if Zoro still liked to be frightening in a battle scenario. All along, had Zoro been growing fond of the other in the same way Usopp had been? He didn't have any experience in romantic attraction himself to make a comparison, but as he watched that cozy smiling young man making himself at home against him, Zoro had to feel like it was a correct assessment.
Feeling a strain in his chest, unsure how to handle the sudden onslaught of soft emotions forming and flurrying around inside him, Zoro bit his lips and fought to subdue them. All he could think to do was reach to caress the back of Usopp's head and pull him in closer. Ah, his naturally-permed hair was so soft and springy, like a cloud. Damn it, was Usopp always this cute? Zoro didn't think about how cute things were. He couldn't handle thinking a person was cute. But all he wanted to do now was hold this person and never let him go. To keep him happy.
"How about...this too?" Unable to help it, Zoro needed another degree of outlet. All at once he was understanding why someone might want to do specific things with someone else, and he hoped this one wouldn't be too much to ask. Sliding his caressing hand to instead take Usopp's jawline, Zoro tipped it upward to face him more. Then he bowed forward, capturing the other's lips deeply in his.
"Mh..!" Usopp's shoulders tensed at the action, and he flushed deeply, but almost immediately he tilted into it and pushed back, falling against Zoro's chest and closing his eyes. This was more than acceptable. This was nigh a dream come true. He'd admired Zoro since the moment they met, drawn to him as a peak example of the bold sea warriors he'd always envisioned and hoped to become one day. The fact that Zoro had so easily accepted Usopp into his ranks, and even allowed him to be so close to him every day, despite projecting such a cold demeanor, had only caused him to fall harder for the green-haired teen. It was practically inevitable that Usopp's admiration had grown to such a level of attachment as it did. Even if he was a bit dim sometimes, Zoro was still incredibly reliable, and in his own way, soft. Usopp could tell that if he really needed help, Zoro actually cared for and didn't mind assisting him. Usopp might wheedle and beg a bit much, he was aware, and part of it might be a childish desire to simply have the other's attention, but Zoro tended to let him know he could handle things by ignoring him anyway. It was tough love, and something Usopp actually appreciated. In his own way, Zoro was helping him learn what he could handle, and toughen up. It was exactly what Usopp needed, and a big part of why he wanted to keep growing beside this man as his partner.
And sometimes, even if Zoro was clueless, he could get things right. This was one of those times. It might be intimidating to jump right into something like sex, especially when the mood hadn't been anywhere near that level, but this...
Lifting his hands, Usopp reached to press his palms against Zoro's sides. Taking his lips back for a brief moment, he informed, "This is perfect."
Smiling in relief, glad he hadn't somehow everstepped again, Zoro welcomed the other's shifting by sliding his own hands around the small of Usopp's back. Speaking as simply as ever, he agreed, "Yeah." Falling back a degree, he let his back lean against the mast, and Usopp let out an endeared giggle at such a basic response before pressing up on his toes to take the lead in kissing this time. He felt Zoro smile into it as he gripped tighter, and let out a pleasant sigh in response.
Overhead, the door to the galley opened, and a blonde man with a cigarette dangling from his lips wasted no time in spotting the two below. They were perfectly out in the open, after all.
"Ah. There you are, marimo. And long-nose, good."
Irked, Zoro turned his head to glare at the only member of this crew he could say he wholly despised, while Usopp tensed all over again and made a strange 'gyeeeee' noise that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed scream of embarrassment.
"What do you want, crap-cook?" Zoro asked snidely.
"Luffy's finally done eating, and wants to play cards," Sanji informed in just as bored a tone as he'd started with, "But it seems you'll be too busy raping our sniper to join, so I'll be more than happy to just invite the ladies..."
Zoro's hackles raised. "Oi! He came on to me, y'know!" He didn't appreciate Sanji always twisting things however he liked, even if he knew the cook did it on purpose to rile him. It still worked, damn it!
Feeling like the situation was only getting worse, and mortified because of Zoro's lack of awareness, Usopp's head tilted as he felt like his soul had left him.
Pinching his cigarette between his first two knuckles, Sanji removed it to blow a stream of smoke as he started meandering toward the stairs, planning to head towards the chambers to locate Vivi and Nami. "Is that so? Well, either find a better place to feel each other up, or get your gross queer asses back in the canteen. I don't care which." It was no secret any form of male contact triggered the blonde, even if he barely tolerated it when it didn't involve him.
Growling in distaste as he watched Sanji's back disappear through another door, Zoro bitterly muttered, "Bastard..." Then realizing something was amiss as Usopp suddenly sagged in his hold, he looked back to find the sharpshooter white as a sheet and foaming at the mouth. "Usopp..?" he blinked, "Oi, Usopp! What's the matter?! What happened?!"
It was great and all that Zoro wasn't ashamed of their new relationship, Usopp thought, but the guy really needed to work on his modesty.
