Well Color Me Embarrassed
Sep. 15th, 2006 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dethorats#25
Title: Ashes
Rating: PG
Pairing: ZoSopp, UsoSan
Word Count: 568
Curiosity killed the cat. His mother used to say that to him, varying degrees of exasperation in her voice as she picked pinecones out of his hair, wiped chili powder off his face, or rescued him from tree limbs. And one day it would probably be the death of the Great Captain Usopp. He liked finding things out, knowing for himself, too much for his own good. At least the Great Captain Usopp would probably perish facing off against colossal carnivorous clams or an entire fleet of fire eating natives or something interesting like that. Go down in a blaze of glory that would be remembered and spoken about for years to come. As for Usopp, sniper of the Straw Hat pirates, curiosity was doing its darnedest to kill him too. Or at least make him feel like he wanted to die.
He could still taste the nicotine and soy sauce on his tongue, the hint of an unknown spicy flavor lingered at the corner of his mouth. Usopp swallowed down the urge to spit over the side and went below deck to change his shirt instead. Smelling like smoke was one thing, but smelling exactly like the cook’s cigarettes was another matter entirely, a scent that shouldn’t have been clinging to him and following him around like an olfactive scarlet letter. For a brief second, long enough for Sanji’s lips to ghost across his one final time, he’d felt someone watching, the sensation of eyes burning into the back of his head. But when he’d whipped around, stuttering some garbled nonsense excuse for an apology at the blond, no one had been on deck.
Life, the sniper decided with an unhappy shake of his head, had been a hell of a lot easier when his heart hadn’t felt like it was splintering into a thousand little pieces. And when his hormones had only tormented him with a single slender, curvy figure at night, when he hadn’t been sailing with a ship full of devil’s fruit users and teenage boys who were all the more scary because they were merely human. A part of him wished he could turn back time, rewind the clock to the moment when he had first looked upon his nakama with more than simple friendship. He wasn’t Luffy. Complications were part and parcel of the whole Great Captain Usopp package, bundled in next to the curiosity. Now, as he pulled on a new shirt and changed his bandanna too, he wasn’t sure if he’d made his life more or less difficult. He had his damn answer, the same one his patchwork heart had been telling him. For once, though, his stupid head had urged him past caution and cowardice, ‘just to be sure.’
Dinner, which he went to with ducked head and quaking knees, answered all of his questions. Zoro wouldn’t meet his quick, hesitant glances and spent the entire night glaring at the cook with something deeper than their usual antagonism would entail. Sanji had added mushrooms to every dish, which Usopp found to be a tad spiteful although he couldn’t really fault him, and he choked them down with glass after glass of water. Luffy stole freely off of his plate and for once the sharpshooter was grateful. Everything tasted like smoke, ashes, an ending, to him anyway and he left without bothering to see what new horror dessert would hold.
#26
Title: Starlight
Rating: PG
Pairing: ZoSopp
Word Count: 647
More than anything he wanted to take the cook’s head off, blacken that blue eye that had looked, split the lips that had touched. But one look at the spread on the galley table and he’d known. He hadn’t been able to stay and watch but there was no disguising the worry etched on Usopp’s face nor the thinly veiled hurt behind Sanji’s overly gracious and sparkling demeanor. At least that much was in his favor. Zoro pushed back his end of the bench, dragging a protesting Luffy away from the table until he remembered he could stretch, and made for the sink as soon as the door closed behind the sharpshooter. Regardless of how he felt, there were still dishes to be done and the last thing he needed was the witch cleaving his head off with her sharp tongue.
Beyond a few thrown elbows, he and the cook were both too drained to really fight and Zoro was almost on the verge of offering to share a bottle of the hard stuff with the blond when Sanji spun around to face him, a dark scowl stretched across his face.
“Stop being a jackass and get out there. You won, okay? And this is the only time you’ll ever hear me say that.”
“I didn’t even know there was a competition,” Zoro muttered under his breath, but he threw down the dishtowel and stalked out of the kitchen all the same.
It was true. He hadn’t known. If Usopp had been unhappy or simply curious or whatever the hell went on in that wild imagination of his, he should have said something. Now Zoro was torn, stuck in a position that confused him and made him long for the days when all he cared about were his swords and his dream. And he really wanted a drink too, but dartboard brow would probably kick him out until whatever the heck needed resolving was out of the way.
There was no moon that night but the sky overhead glittered all the brighter for the absent silver light. Zoro didn’t notice, having stomped over to the hatch in a manner that would be called petulant were it used to describe another man. He hesitated, hand on the cold iron ring, and then straightened and made for the small grove of mikan trees instead. His instincts were right, for he found the sharpshooter sitting against one of the planters. The younger pirate’s knees were tucked up beneath his chin, clever fingers worrying something as he stared out at the black ocean. Zoro sat down next to him without a word and waited.
The Great Captain Usopp didn’t apologize. Especially not when there was nothing to apologize for. They were pirates, young ones at that, and he hadn’t sworn any ridiculous vows or even let that dreaded “L” word come close to slipping off his tongue. The Great Captain Usopp was his own man and he was free to do as he pleased. Silence stretched out as Usopp argued with himself and Zoro tried to make sense of his own thoughts. It shouldn’t have mattered so much, something as small as a kiss from a cook. And yet it loomed over them, which probably meant something, and finally the sniper cleared his throat and opened his mouth to stammer out a reason, an excuse, a lie, maybe even an apology. Zoro beat him to it, yawning and throwing an arm across Usopp’s shoulders in a move rather poorly disguised as a stretch.
“Stars are nice tonight,” he said, pulling the sharpshooter closer and petting awkwardly down his arm when Usopp went stiff and still. “Can see a lot more without the moon in the way.”
“Ah,” was the reply, not outright agreement but not denial either, and Usopp didn’t resist when Zoro tilted his face up to meet his own.
Title: Ashes
Rating: PG
Pairing: ZoSopp, UsoSan
Word Count: 568
Curiosity killed the cat. His mother used to say that to him, varying degrees of exasperation in her voice as she picked pinecones out of his hair, wiped chili powder off his face, or rescued him from tree limbs. And one day it would probably be the death of the Great Captain Usopp. He liked finding things out, knowing for himself, too much for his own good. At least the Great Captain Usopp would probably perish facing off against colossal carnivorous clams or an entire fleet of fire eating natives or something interesting like that. Go down in a blaze of glory that would be remembered and spoken about for years to come. As for Usopp, sniper of the Straw Hat pirates, curiosity was doing its darnedest to kill him too. Or at least make him feel like he wanted to die.
He could still taste the nicotine and soy sauce on his tongue, the hint of an unknown spicy flavor lingered at the corner of his mouth. Usopp swallowed down the urge to spit over the side and went below deck to change his shirt instead. Smelling like smoke was one thing, but smelling exactly like the cook’s cigarettes was another matter entirely, a scent that shouldn’t have been clinging to him and following him around like an olfactive scarlet letter. For a brief second, long enough for Sanji’s lips to ghost across his one final time, he’d felt someone watching, the sensation of eyes burning into the back of his head. But when he’d whipped around, stuttering some garbled nonsense excuse for an apology at the blond, no one had been on deck.
Life, the sniper decided with an unhappy shake of his head, had been a hell of a lot easier when his heart hadn’t felt like it was splintering into a thousand little pieces. And when his hormones had only tormented him with a single slender, curvy figure at night, when he hadn’t been sailing with a ship full of devil’s fruit users and teenage boys who were all the more scary because they were merely human. A part of him wished he could turn back time, rewind the clock to the moment when he had first looked upon his nakama with more than simple friendship. He wasn’t Luffy. Complications were part and parcel of the whole Great Captain Usopp package, bundled in next to the curiosity. Now, as he pulled on a new shirt and changed his bandanna too, he wasn’t sure if he’d made his life more or less difficult. He had his damn answer, the same one his patchwork heart had been telling him. For once, though, his stupid head had urged him past caution and cowardice, ‘just to be sure.’
Dinner, which he went to with ducked head and quaking knees, answered all of his questions. Zoro wouldn’t meet his quick, hesitant glances and spent the entire night glaring at the cook with something deeper than their usual antagonism would entail. Sanji had added mushrooms to every dish, which Usopp found to be a tad spiteful although he couldn’t really fault him, and he choked them down with glass after glass of water. Luffy stole freely off of his plate and for once the sharpshooter was grateful. Everything tasted like smoke, ashes, an ending, to him anyway and he left without bothering to see what new horror dessert would hold.
#26
Title: Starlight
Rating: PG
Pairing: ZoSopp
Word Count: 647
More than anything he wanted to take the cook’s head off, blacken that blue eye that had looked, split the lips that had touched. But one look at the spread on the galley table and he’d known. He hadn’t been able to stay and watch but there was no disguising the worry etched on Usopp’s face nor the thinly veiled hurt behind Sanji’s overly gracious and sparkling demeanor. At least that much was in his favor. Zoro pushed back his end of the bench, dragging a protesting Luffy away from the table until he remembered he could stretch, and made for the sink as soon as the door closed behind the sharpshooter. Regardless of how he felt, there were still dishes to be done and the last thing he needed was the witch cleaving his head off with her sharp tongue.
Beyond a few thrown elbows, he and the cook were both too drained to really fight and Zoro was almost on the verge of offering to share a bottle of the hard stuff with the blond when Sanji spun around to face him, a dark scowl stretched across his face.
“Stop being a jackass and get out there. You won, okay? And this is the only time you’ll ever hear me say that.”
“I didn’t even know there was a competition,” Zoro muttered under his breath, but he threw down the dishtowel and stalked out of the kitchen all the same.
It was true. He hadn’t known. If Usopp had been unhappy or simply curious or whatever the hell went on in that wild imagination of his, he should have said something. Now Zoro was torn, stuck in a position that confused him and made him long for the days when all he cared about were his swords and his dream. And he really wanted a drink too, but dartboard brow would probably kick him out until whatever the heck needed resolving was out of the way.
There was no moon that night but the sky overhead glittered all the brighter for the absent silver light. Zoro didn’t notice, having stomped over to the hatch in a manner that would be called petulant were it used to describe another man. He hesitated, hand on the cold iron ring, and then straightened and made for the small grove of mikan trees instead. His instincts were right, for he found the sharpshooter sitting against one of the planters. The younger pirate’s knees were tucked up beneath his chin, clever fingers worrying something as he stared out at the black ocean. Zoro sat down next to him without a word and waited.
The Great Captain Usopp didn’t apologize. Especially not when there was nothing to apologize for. They were pirates, young ones at that, and he hadn’t sworn any ridiculous vows or even let that dreaded “L” word come close to slipping off his tongue. The Great Captain Usopp was his own man and he was free to do as he pleased. Silence stretched out as Usopp argued with himself and Zoro tried to make sense of his own thoughts. It shouldn’t have mattered so much, something as small as a kiss from a cook. And yet it loomed over them, which probably meant something, and finally the sniper cleared his throat and opened his mouth to stammer out a reason, an excuse, a lie, maybe even an apology. Zoro beat him to it, yawning and throwing an arm across Usopp’s shoulders in a move rather poorly disguised as a stretch.
“Stars are nice tonight,” he said, pulling the sharpshooter closer and petting awkwardly down his arm when Usopp went stiff and still. “Can see a lot more without the moon in the way.”
“Ah,” was the reply, not outright agreement but not denial either, and Usopp didn’t resist when Zoro tilted his face up to meet his own.
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Date: 2006-09-16 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-09-17 10:16 am (UTC)And on a different but almost-as-serious note, the way you're able to write so many moods and situations for this couple is amazing! And it all works in it's own way. They strike me as one couple that is more independantly themselves because of the way I don't see them utterly needing each other, rather they end up together because of more subtle things. Which makes them particularly cute, but also particularly prone to angst and random... things.
...I don't think that made any sense. @_@
My point was going to be that you keep opening my eyes to yet new reasons and situations in which these two might be together. The introduction of Sanji was unexpected and sad and yet very enjoyable. Especially after the current arc (OMG THE MOMENT WHERE BOTH SANJI AND ZORO THOUGHT USOPP HAD DIED AS THAT BUILDING BROKE AND FELL OFF THE CLIFF KILLED ME!) the thought of Zoro and Sanji interacting in some way regarding desire for Usopp has been something I've wanted to see. Pretty much, excellent job. ♥