dethorats ([personal profile] dethorats) wrote2007-04-17 06:29 am

ZoSopp Challenge Number 39

Prompt: A First Time For Everything
Rating: G
Pairing: Zoro/Usopp
Word Count: 923



Usopp was a relatively light sleeper, not quite as jumpy as Sanji but definitely the second-most easy to awake of the boys. It came from living alone most likely and from his comparatively nervous nature. As such, the ship’s sniper was hard to sneak up on when he was snoozing. This complicated pranks for Luffy and Chopper and, for Zoro, ended up making him rather frustrated. For the ship’s swordsman was certainly the heaviest sleeper on board. Oh there were certain actions that would have him awake and alert faster than one could blink. For example, touching his swords was a guaranteed trick to making him jump to his feet with a loud bellow. But other than that and a few other things, Zoro slept very soundly. And he slept easily too, dropping off sometimes even before he himself was ready.

Usually this situation, where he slept whenever and however he chose while Usopp did the same albeit much more lightly, would not have brought Zoro any grief. However he had been possessed recently with an idea, an action, one that was made very complicated by his sleeping habits and that of his long-nosed partner’s. Like many things that went wrong in the swordsman’s life, this problem directly caused by the bastard chef and the greedy witch who was the ship’s navigator. Usopp had developed a habit of sitting or lying next to him wherever he happened to be napping and running his long, clever fingers through the short green spikes on his head. It was soothing and comforting and, in the stupid comments from the crap cook and that damn woman, absolutely loving and adorable.

Now Roronoa Zoro wasn’t one for loving and adorable. He was a man, damn it! A manly man who didn’t go in for most of that romantic moony sappy stuff that had the stupid cook fluttering around anything with breasts like a retarded butterfly. But he DID occasionally like to remind Usopp just why he was worth keeping around. The long-nosed boy was not entirely without other options after all, and while Zoro didn’t believe that loud-mouthed artist was about to leave him, it couldn’t hurt to bind the sniper as closely to him as he could. That was only good planning, forewarned being forearmed, preventative measures and other such military-sounding terms. On the basis of those stupid remarks and because of just how nice he found Usopp’s touch to be, Zoro had determined to return the favor. Besides, the younger pirate had gorgeous, if difficult to manage, hair when he wasn’t hiding it beneath outrageously colored bandannas and the swordsman was anxious to feel it to his heart’s content without the questions or comments the action might provoke.

There was one problem with this plan. Well, one besides the obvious possibility of getting caught. It was one thing for the wench and the idiot love chef to make syrupy remarks about Usopp’s behavior. But he wouldn’t stand for it and he wasn’t about to get busted and be teased. Even a harmless remark from Luffy or Chopper would be enough to set everyone else off and Zoro wasn’t interested in taking on that risk. That left him with very little opportunity. Anywhere on deck was largely out and so were the sleeping quarters. About the only time he was likely to have a chance was after he and Usopp had done the deed but that had its own inherent set of difficulties. Namely that Zoro could barely manage to keep his eyes open as soon as they’d finished and gotten comfortable. How in the world was he supposed to stay awake after such vigorous activity?

The solution came to him after a long succession of failures, Usopp having begun to grow suspicious of all the action they’d been getting when the swordsman was usually content to have a go every week or so as long as they snuggled together – although Zoro never called it snuggling because that was weak. He got the sharpshooter drunk. Oh, not drunk enough that the other boy couldn’t act but just tipsy enough for his brain to be feeling a little fuzzy and his limbs a bit numb. And then the swordsman had offered himself up with a few well-placed words of challenge and Usopp had taken the bait. That, in and of itself, had been rather good and Zoro mentally filed the idea away. Usually the sniper was too gentle for him but get him tipsy and riled up and then blam! Instant awesome. But that was beside the point.

What really mattered was that, tired out and still a bit drunk, Usopp crawled up his chest and flopped down with a happy sigh in the crook of Zoro’s shoulder. And before the swordsman could even do so much as turn his head to drop a quick kiss on the tip of the sniper’s nose, the younger boy was snoring. Zoro was nearly giddy with glee as the soft, nasal sounds filled his ears. He’d finally succeeded in staying awake longer than the sharpshooter. His fingers were light and careful as he lowered them into the slightly sweaty mass of black curls, digging through them until he could feel Usopp’s scalp. Zoro managed to card through the silky maze of tangles three times before a happy sigh escaped from the liar instead of a snore. It made the swordsman smile and he repeated his actions another four complete times before sleep claimed him, his hand still resting in Usopp’s hair.

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