ZoSopp Challenge 59
Aug. 6th, 2009 06:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dethoratsPrompt: Babysitting
Rating: G
Pairing: Zoro + Usopp
Word Count: 719
Usually it was Usopp who got stuck with the babysitting job, having to watch Zoro while he healed and make sure that the stubborn swordsman didn’t push himself too far too fast. It was a thankless job, made difficult by Zoro’s unexpected sneakiness and Usopp’s inability to resist rarely seen puppy-dog eyes. But this time it was Zoro’s turn and the swordsman was getting a first-hand taste of just how annoying and frustrating the job could be.
It wasn’t even like Usopp was in any real danger of hurting himself. It was all that damn woman’s fault, the same one who had interfered with him all the way back in Shabaody Park. She’d managed to turn the sniper into a four-year-old – something about her ability being affected by range – and it would be at least a few hours before Usopp was back to his normal age of seventeen. The rest of the Straw Hats, once the confusion had been sorted out, had tagged up with her crew to handle the rogue marines and they’d left Zoro behind because Usopp had clung to his leg and just would NOT let go, even crying when Zoro had begun to pry his fingers loose. So Zoro was stuck on the Sunny and missing out on all the fun and he couldn’t even train because a certain child kept getting in the way and his big brown eyes had shimmered with tears at the slightest hint of gruffness in the swordsman’s voice.
Zoro had had to put aside his own interests and plans and dropped down to his knees so that he and Usopp were on the same level. “What do you want?” he’d asked, exasperation and a touch of confusion clear in his tone. And Usopp had grinned, smile going from ear to ear, and held out a tiny hand for Zoro to take.
They settled in the aquarium bar, Usopp tugging on him until Zoro sat down cross-legged on the floor. Then the child had gone to a drawer and rummaged until he came back with paper and a fistful of markers and crayons and pens and dropped them all into Zoro’s lap. “Draw me a picture,” he’d demanded and Zoro had gaped and finally managed to ask, “Of what?”
“Oh, anything,” he had said, nonchalant as only a child can be and Zoro frowned and picked up a pen and a piece of paper. “But it has to be super and fun and big and cool and pretty and awesome, ok?” And then he’d gone off to press his nose and cheek to the glass to stare at the fish while Zoro scowled and felt useless. But finally he got an idea, and he lay down on his stomach and had just put pen to paper when Usopp piped up again. “Tell me a story?”
And for half a second he was stymied but it was still Usopp Zoro was dealing with and, even at four, he was sure the sniper was still an excellent teller of tales. So Zoro finally learned one trick of babysitting – misdirection. “Why don’t you tell ME a story instead while I draw your picture? I know you know a good one.”
Sure enough Usopp did. And while there might have been more crazy animals and less scary monsters to overcome, Usopp was still the hero. His high voice fell into a familiar cadence and his heels thumped from time to time against the cabinets under the bench and Zoro listened absently while he concentrated on his drawing.
They stopped once, for lunch, and Zoro gleefully raided Sanji’s cookie jar, secure in the knowledge that the cook wouldn’t begrudge a four-year-old the treat, and they stuffed themselves and went back to the aquarium bar so they could both finish. And Zoro handed over his picture and Usopp loved it and they played hide-and-go-seek until Usopp finally fell asleep and when he woke up he was seventeen again and Zoro was back on deck lifting weights.
A few weeks later Zoro came across Usopp’s sketchbook up in the crow’s nest. There was a casual portrait of the crew all together on Sunny’s deck, executed with the sniper’s usual skill. And, tucked in behind it, the swordsman found his own stick figure rendering of the same thing.
Rating: G
Pairing: Zoro + Usopp
Word Count: 719
Usually it was Usopp who got stuck with the babysitting job, having to watch Zoro while he healed and make sure that the stubborn swordsman didn’t push himself too far too fast. It was a thankless job, made difficult by Zoro’s unexpected sneakiness and Usopp’s inability to resist rarely seen puppy-dog eyes. But this time it was Zoro’s turn and the swordsman was getting a first-hand taste of just how annoying and frustrating the job could be.
It wasn’t even like Usopp was in any real danger of hurting himself. It was all that damn woman’s fault, the same one who had interfered with him all the way back in Shabaody Park. She’d managed to turn the sniper into a four-year-old – something about her ability being affected by range – and it would be at least a few hours before Usopp was back to his normal age of seventeen. The rest of the Straw Hats, once the confusion had been sorted out, had tagged up with her crew to handle the rogue marines and they’d left Zoro behind because Usopp had clung to his leg and just would NOT let go, even crying when Zoro had begun to pry his fingers loose. So Zoro was stuck on the Sunny and missing out on all the fun and he couldn’t even train because a certain child kept getting in the way and his big brown eyes had shimmered with tears at the slightest hint of gruffness in the swordsman’s voice.
Zoro had had to put aside his own interests and plans and dropped down to his knees so that he and Usopp were on the same level. “What do you want?” he’d asked, exasperation and a touch of confusion clear in his tone. And Usopp had grinned, smile going from ear to ear, and held out a tiny hand for Zoro to take.
They settled in the aquarium bar, Usopp tugging on him until Zoro sat down cross-legged on the floor. Then the child had gone to a drawer and rummaged until he came back with paper and a fistful of markers and crayons and pens and dropped them all into Zoro’s lap. “Draw me a picture,” he’d demanded and Zoro had gaped and finally managed to ask, “Of what?”
“Oh, anything,” he had said, nonchalant as only a child can be and Zoro frowned and picked up a pen and a piece of paper. “But it has to be super and fun and big and cool and pretty and awesome, ok?” And then he’d gone off to press his nose and cheek to the glass to stare at the fish while Zoro scowled and felt useless. But finally he got an idea, and he lay down on his stomach and had just put pen to paper when Usopp piped up again. “Tell me a story?”
And for half a second he was stymied but it was still Usopp Zoro was dealing with and, even at four, he was sure the sniper was still an excellent teller of tales. So Zoro finally learned one trick of babysitting – misdirection. “Why don’t you tell ME a story instead while I draw your picture? I know you know a good one.”
Sure enough Usopp did. And while there might have been more crazy animals and less scary monsters to overcome, Usopp was still the hero. His high voice fell into a familiar cadence and his heels thumped from time to time against the cabinets under the bench and Zoro listened absently while he concentrated on his drawing.
They stopped once, for lunch, and Zoro gleefully raided Sanji’s cookie jar, secure in the knowledge that the cook wouldn’t begrudge a four-year-old the treat, and they stuffed themselves and went back to the aquarium bar so they could both finish. And Zoro handed over his picture and Usopp loved it and they played hide-and-go-seek until Usopp finally fell asleep and when he woke up he was seventeen again and Zoro was back on deck lifting weights.
A few weeks later Zoro came across Usopp’s sketchbook up in the crow’s nest. There was a casual portrait of the crew all together on Sunny’s deck, executed with the sniper’s usual skill. And, tucked in behind it, the swordsman found his own stick figure rendering of the same thing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2009-08-06 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-08-06 03:55 pm (UTC)(Post the subway one soon, yes?)
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Date: 2009-08-07 08:21 am (UTC)(also, accurate icon use is accurate!)
As for the other one, I'll try!
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Date: 2009-08-06 06:08 pm (UTC)I enjoyed it so much, I decided to just go ahead and read it twice since you posted it twice. However, I'd also love to read that School time AU. ;)
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Date: 2009-08-07 08:21 am (UTC)And I'm glad it was adorable. Zoro with kids really IS irresistible and the animators seem to agree.
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Date: 2009-08-11 01:53 pm (UTC)And he's probably a pretty good bet for protection AND caregiving without Sanji's need for making people wash their hands and eat vegetables. Or at least that's my theory.
Hm, now that you say it, there's something to that... and yet I have always tended to see Sanji as more maternal. But you may well be right. Or they might be good with different types of children, or with the same child in different situations. (For instance, I could see Sanji be good at hands-on comforting, despite his own rough upbringing. While Zoro seems more likely to trust and encourage a kid's own strength, and give them necessary space to do their own thing.)
And Usopp would make a great playmate and never talk down to any kid.