In lies there are some truths

Usopp has always been observant, his greatest source of pride being his excellent eyesight. When he saw odd behavior between two Nakama, one with green hair and the other with curly eyebrows, he began to look more closely for signs of a possible budding relationship.

He had the experience to be able to discern truth from lies.

So all that remained was to uncover the truth.

But...

Was his vision really that good, or was he always seeing through a tunnel?

Notes:

A translation of En las mentiras a veces hay verdades by Taniecilla

The name Sanji also means three o'clock, and it's also the time for afternoon snacks. Whenever there's this symbol *, it refers to the time.

I find Usopp to be one of the most underrated and underappreciated characters in One Piece. He's always been like the common man's perspective in a fantasy world.

I've always found it interesting to know, from the common man's perspective, what Usopp thinks about his best friends being modified humans, legendary swordsmen, strange fruit users, and/or monsters in every sense of the word.

This work is a tribute to the great character Usopp is and some love for my favorite, Sanji.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Usopp had always felt inferior, he didn't understand why, but it seemed like everyone else shone brightly except him. Everyone had something to be proud of, something to live for each day, and he… he still hadn't found his purpose.

Since he was old enough to understand, he had tried time after time to make his mom proud of him, she was the only who was capable of see him as her biggest treasure and she told him so, day after day. But he didn’t seem to understand.

She, who shone as the sun with every smile she gave to him, told him how important he was.

“Usopp baby, you are definitely your father’s son” she told him on his 5^th birthday, while she was cooking his favorite food, fried fish.

She looked at him with such devotion, that he understood that it was a good thing.

If I’m like dad, that means I’m important, at least to mommy.

When she fell ill exactly a year later, it was the day everything changed for him. Fate had decreed that he would be born on April 1st; his existence itself was a joke, and now it was playing the cruelest joke of all.

Why her, God? He asked himself daily, every time he had to do the dishes by himself. He learnt the hard way how to sweep, clean, cook, sew, fix things, buy groceries and to fend for himself.

He understood that maybe, he was special, he had to. To care for the person that matters for him the most.

It has been a year since his mother fainted while she cooked him, his favorite food.

It was his 7^th birthday.

When he cooked his mom fried fish for the first time she smiled. And told him the thing she always reminds him at every chance she got:

“You are like your father, baby. That’s why I know you’ll be fine”

His mom could only eat some small bites that day, maybe fried fish wasn’t the best idea. While Usopp ate leftovers with his eyes full of tears he thought: Dad is achieving great things for us, mom will be happy if she hears he’s coming.

That’s when he started announcing his arrival every day. He was taken aback of how everybody believed him the first thirty times, was more taken aback when his mom believed him every single time. She looked at him with sparkly eyes, unlike everybody else looked at him with distrust.

Usopp would tell her the most outlandish and fantastical stories while feeding her spoonfuls of stew, while she looked at him with the most loving eyes.

Years later he understood, while talking to Nami at the Merry’s kitchen, that he inherited his mother’s lies. Not because she lied like him, but because she believed in everything he said, … Or maybe she wanted to believe… she wanted to believe that fairytales may come true.

His mother lied to herself not to suffer the heartbreak of being left to rot by her husband, which wasn’t her husband per se, cuz they never got really married, another lie. She lied to herself; by believing he would come back to her and her son, who was the spitting image of him.

“Mom didn’t look at me; she was looking for dad. She convinced herself if I was there, maybe dad was present in some way. She didn’t miss telling me so”

“Usopp…” Nami looked at him with compassionate eyes.

Usopp couldn’t look back, he was used to being minimized, not to be pitied.

“I can’t hate him because I don’t know him. I don’t have a real opinion about him, other that mom stories. Was she lying to me too? Mom used to tell me that dad was the best, Nami. The sharpshooter of the redhead pirates, the great Yasopp”

“Yasopp?” Nami let the teacup fall on the saucer. Yasopp, Usopp “Oh…” Understanding softened her features.

“Yup”

“Usopp, you are not your father”

“It’s more than obvious, I can’t even hold a candle to him”

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Your father is a piece of shit” A voice from the supply room echoed in the kitchen.

“Sanji-kun!”

He didn’t know Sanji was there, although he must have suspected. Sanji was glued to his kitchen one way or another.

“Since when you were here?” Usopp asked.

“Who do you thing served you tea?” He explained, turning his back to them, placing the teapot, a cup, and a bowl full of sugar cubes on a round tray.

“I thought you left” Nami added, crossing her arms.

"I went to get more tea from the stash."

Piece of shit. It’s the first time somebody talked about his father like that, his mom was full of praises for him, and for Usopp, he was his role model. He frowned.

"Don't you think I've forgotten what you said about my father," Usopp said, mimicking Nami's posture.

Sanji took a few steps closer and sat down next to Nami, somewhat embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Nami-san, Usopp. But it’s the truth”

“If you insult my father, you are insulting my mother who loved him. And a won’t allow you any of that” he said bluntly, forcefully placing his teacup on the saucer.

Sanji took a long drag on his cigarette and spoke a little more calmly.

"I think I projected my feelings onto you, I'm sorry."

Usopp deflated and took a gulp “Er- it’s ok, I didn’t mean to insult you”

“Usopp, I get what Sanji-kun it’s trying to say, it’s just that he doesn’t know how to talk like a regular person” She said, side eyed him; while he was stirring, awkwardly “He’s not insulting your mother’s love. But what he means is that your father isn’t worthy of that love.”

“What kind of piece of shit is capable of abandoning his lady” Sanji muttered, pouring himself a cup of tea.

“He said he would come back, he didn’t know mom would get sick,” Usopp defended. Maybe he was lying to himself, but it was his truth “I was the one who decided to go and meet him as a pirate. I’d like to see him face to face and talk to him about her.”

Sanji drank a sip of his cup.

“Nami-san is right, I don’t blame your mom for harboring any hope, or for choosing the wrong man. Hell, I’m the least qualified to tell someone to stop loving somebody else, I’m not the best example of a man either, but… fuck, Usopp. I’m so angry for you, man”

Usopp grimaced to hold back tears, and Nami placed a hand on his.

“What I think is that true or lie, it’s different for each person” Nami added, solemnly

“Pardon?”

“What I meant is that, your mom believed your father would come back, even though it didn’t happen, but it was what she believed. Who am I to tell her it’s not true? Every story you told her was true for her because, it was you the one told them, because you believed in them from the bottom of your heart”

"Nami…" Usopp had to bite his lower lip to keep from crying again.

"Mom wasn't my biological mother, but the truth is, in everything that mattered, she was my mother. If anyone dares to tell me I'm lying, I'll break their face."

“That shitty geezer was my father too”

“Don’t copy me, Sanji-kun” Nami laughed.

“It’s not like that, Nami-san” Sanji blushed and shrugged “Is that I’ve been denying that old man as my father for the longest time. To me, being a father is just putting the seed; and I refused to believe that he was in the same category. That geezer is more of a father than the one who created me”

Created? Usopp asked himself, he glanced at Nami, who looked back just as confused as him.

“Sa…” Usopp started.

"One question, Usopp," Sanji interrupted. "Do you think your mother's love was real?" he asked. He knew what he was getting at.

Usopp lowered his head and remembered his mom. He felt ashamed because he hardly thought about her anymore; he was so absorbed in the adventure that he was slowly starting to forget his home. Was this what his father felt? Was he more in love with the adventure than his wife, who waited for him at home?

His mother’s eyes, dark and deep. Her pale and sickly face, her lips thin and brittle. Her hair wavy and fragile. The complete opposite of him, of his father.

He couldn't remember a time when she wasn't sick, when she wasn't looking at him from a bed in a room that reeked of antiseptic.

His mother's eyes, dark and loving. Filled with so much love that they made him believe the lie that he was valuable, that he was important, and that he would accomplish anything he set his mind to.

Her, who waited anxiously for him every day to hear a new story, because from the helplessness of being bedridden, the only thing she could do is to believe. Believe in her son and his stories.

Usopp felt a hand on each shoulder. He looked up, but couldn’t see beyond the tears streaming down his face.

“No…” He answered with a lump in his throat “Mom loved dad, she loved me and believed in me. Even if I wasn’t worth it”

“Hey, hey, Usopp. If you insult yourself, you are insulting your mother who loves you. Don’t you think?” Sanji smiled from his left, as he stroked his shoulder.

Nami laughed from his right. Usopp wiped away his tears as he laughed.

Love, in the present tense. His mother's love was with him in that moment. Although his father's shadow was always with him, his mother was also present. Kaya's love surrounded him with the Merry, always present and constant.

Just as the kitchen belonged to Sanji. In one way or another, each member of the crew had taken ownership of parts of the Merry. Each and every one of them were like a limb, necessary and essential, so that the gear of their ship worked. When Usopp thought about Merry he saw Kaya, but now he also saw his nakamas.

“Guys, aren’t we sentimental today? You are making me blush” Usopp said as he patted his friends’ shoulders “We’re not drinking alcohol; we shouldn’t be so nostalgic”

Both of them smiled, Nami leaning on the table and crossing her legs and Sanji exhaling smoke and putting out the cigarette.

“The only one who gets sentimental when drinking alcohol, it’s you” Sanji sneered.

Nami glanced at the log pose and finished her tea.

“I think we need to sleep, we will arrive at Cactus Island tomorrow”

“Yeah, yeah” Usopp got up and started to clear the teacups.

“Don’t, let me do it” Sanji said, nonchalantly.

“Ok pals, thanks for the peptalk” Usopp said goodbye.

As he headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth, he thought about his two friends. They acted different than usual that night. Nami was calmer and more patient, Sanji didn’t bend over backwards for Nami nor he talked with him harshly.

Sometimes, when the hustle and bustle of the day wasn’t enough to raise the walls of the heart, the true self emerged only rarely, in front of people who are chosen to trust.

They trust in me, and I trust them. They love me, and so do I.

Mom, even if they abandon me and leave me aside. I’d never stop believing in them, just like you never stopped believing in me.

Usopp has always been observant, he had nothing to offer so he watched the light others gave off, hoping that something good would rub off on him.

He noticed how his neighbors looked at him every time he left the house. They were polite in front of him, but it was obvious that he was the talk of the town. A renowned pirates’ son turned into the town’s liar. And then, his mom withering away with each passing day.

The only ones who did not look at him with disdain were his disciples Ninjin, Piiman y Tamanegi, he watched them grow every day and noticed the way they started to look for their own path.

One day, they would leave him behind and that was ok, he didn’t want it any other way.

At the end of the hill, on the outskirts of Syrup Town lived Kaya. Whom he observed every day, his heart sank with fear when he saw her paler than usual, coughing a little harder than the day before. So, as a coping mechanism he lied. He lied and told stories; it was the only thing he could do to avoid falling apart.

He prayed the same thing wouldn’t happen to her as to his mother. Having such a good eyesight allowed him to know when her time finally came. Her bony fingers caressed his face, and her eyes shed one last tear before fading.

Without Kaya, he would be completely alone. He couldn’t help her, just as he couldn’t save his mother. So, he did what he did best: lie, lie to her, and lie to himself. He wanted her to see him as a brave warrior. If Kaya saw him as the bravest, maybe he would believe it himself.

Luffy was the third light in his life. Sometimes he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. That someone so incredible would consider him his nakama. But he knew it was true, because Luffy didn’t lie.

He was honest, straightforward, and confident in his convictions. Everything Usopp wasn’t

Zoro came into his life unassuming, carefree, and indifferent to the looks of others. He wanted to be that way, not caring what others thought of him, but couldn't. Zoro could afford to be that way because he was strong, with a great physique and a handsome face.

Usopp was straight, don't take it the wrong way, but he couldn't escape the truth, no matter how much it pained him, Zoro was more attractive than him, and the worst part was that he gave zero shits. Which made him even more mysterious and attractive, if possible.

He even felt a pang of jealousy when he talked to Kaya, but it seemed like she only felt gratitude toward him and the others.

Nami would have been his great love if his heart weren't already taken. They clicked from the start and were on the same wavelength most of the time.

More than romantic love, what he felt for her was filial love. She had doe brown eyes like his mother and his beautiful Kaya, which inspired instant trust in him.

She always carried a mischievous and evasive attitude, like him.

He could see that she was hiding something, and he didn't know what it was until much later. This made his affection for her grow more. She also had to lie to survive. When she abandoned them, he didn't blame her because he knew she was acting out of fear, the fear of losing everything.

Unlike him, she was brave and strong. Not like Luffy and Zoro, but no less impressive.

Sanji was a lost cause from the beginning, was his first observation.

A fool with girls and an asshole with men. What qualities did Luffy see in him? He'd only cause them trouble from now on.

His cooking was the best he'd ever had, it was true, but he didn't think it was worth it, seeing how unpleasant he was the rest of the time. Perhaps for Luffy, he was a middle ground between Zoro and Nami, someone very capable in his profession while also being incredibly strong in battle.

Usopp was straight, he'd already said so, but he could recognize that Sanji rivaled Zoro not only in strength, but in attractiveness. He didn't think he'd find someone who shone as brightly as Zoro, but here he was, but at least Zoro wasn't so annoying about it.

The time Sanji told him about his dream, the All Blue, was the only time he doubted his sexuality, a smile so dazzling it reminded him of his captain. He understood Luffy a little that day, why he had chosen him.

He was someone with dreams like his. He too had to stand up to adults and defend the fact that what he believed in, wasn't a lie. That's why he respected him.

The convo he had with Nami and Sanji put them in a different light.

Nami wasn't the stingy, selfish, and superficial girl she appeared to be at first glance. She liked valuable things, but that's because she could never afford to have possessions. Eating was sometimes a luxury for her and her sister.

All the money she saved was so that the Merry and they could live comfortably; after all, she was a very generous girl.

Sanji wasn't the ridiculous, prissy jerk he appeared to be half the time. In reality, he never spoke his mind, so when he said he didn't care about Usopp, it was because he wanted the best for him.

He had already grown accustomed to his new life of five-star meals every day, but he hadn't noticed that the tea he brought out of the storeroom was everyone's favorite. Sanji always offered to do the dishes, pretending it wasn't a problem, even though he had spent hours cooking for everyone.

"I'm just going with you for Nami-san."

"I don't care about you."

Yeah... right.

As for Luffy and Zoro, they were simple people, but that didn't make them easy to understand.

Luffy had a knack for reading people; he knew their worth before they knew it themselves, and he reminded them of it every day in case they forgot. He spoke with the truth. With him, even the most absurd lie would become reality.

Usopp would like to live until the day he'd as good as Luffy believed he was.

Zoro was even simpler than Luffy. He wasn't that heartless moss—as Sanji called him—who loved no one and cut down anything in his path. He lived day by day, it was true, though he never lost sight of his goal. If each training session brought him even a millimeter closer to his goal, he would do it without fail. Usopp knew that Luffy didn't recruit him for the strength he could offer, but for his devotion and love for his family.

Love and Zoro in one sentence? People are going to think I'm lying again.

But regarding his friends, he didn't lie. It was like saying Luffy wouldn't be King of the Pirates, or that Nami wouldn't draw a map of the world, or that Zoro wouldn't be the greatest swordsman in the world, or that The All Blue didn't exist and Sanji wouldn't find it. Or saying that he, the great Captain Usopp, wouldn't be a...

Maybe Usopp had to lie to himself every day. But maybe with his nakamas, that lie would become reality.

The adventures multiplied with the arrival of Vivi and Karoo to the crew. Usopp's keen observation, which never lied, told her she was a necessary addition to them. She provided the grounding force they needed. Diplomatic, focused, but at the same time insecure. She was a teenager like them, but with much more responsibility on her slender shoulders.

The weight of responsibility was exactly what they needed.

She made them understand that her intervention could save entire countries, that the great Captain Usopp was essential to a nation's victory or defeat.

When Nami fell ill, Vivi used her gift of gab to help her nakama. Usopp thought, what would have come of us if you weren't here?

They met a mutant reindeer who wasn't what he seemed. He was incredible with his transformations and medical knowledge, yes, all that was great and everything, but that wasn't what Usopp saw. He saw in little Chopper a friend with whom he could share stories and anecdotes. Chopper viewed him with the same admiration as the three subordinates from his homeland, and for Usopp, it was the most important thing. He knew that having someone's admiration was a great responsibility; he wasn't going to let him down.

He had to learn the hard way what it was like to live without Vivi, because she had to assume her responsibility and be the princess her kingdom needed.

With one less nakama, they met Robin.

His first glance convinced him she was a terrifying woman. A piercing gaze and a sly smile, as beautiful as she was lethal. Obviously, Sanji would be a fool for her, but he didn't expect Nami to fall for her too. Maybe they really were as greedy and easily infatuated as everyone thought. But then Luffy changed his mind; it always happened.

Robin wasn't what she seemed either. Now that he looked closely, he noticed she was a very competent scholar, knowledgeable about everything and sharing it with them whenever the occasion called for it. In battle, she was a formidable fighter, and not only that, she was a calming presence and a mediator for the others.

She was an adult among so many children, like a mother to them, to him. He wasn't going to tell her that, obviously, lest she thought it was weird.

III

Now to the heart of the matter.

As he improved Nami’s Clima Tact in the dining room, Sanji served him his favorite tea with crackers.

“You're very kind, Sanji-kun. You'd make a great housewife,” he said, batting his eyelashes seductively.

Sanji bit down hard on his cigarette and hit him on the head with his tea tray.

“Shut up, don't talk to me like Nami-san. Next time, you serve your own tea.”

Sanji turned around and returned to the kitchen counter. Usopp noticed that he was preparing rice balls stuffed with sea king meat. Usopp grinned.

“Sanjiii...*”

“What do you want?” he replied, gritting his teeth as he continued to make the rice balls.

“It's three o'clock.”

(The name Sanji also means three o'clock and is also the time for afternoon snack. Whenever this symbol * appears, it refers to the time.)

Usopp knew it wasn't lunchtime and that Zoro had been training non-stop since noon, because, obviously, he was the most observant. That meal was also Zoro's favorite. His smile became more and more evident, and he hoped it would be as effective as Robin's.

“Isn't it time you gave Zoro-kun his afternoon snack?”

Sanji didn't turn around, but Usopp noticed that his ears were red.

“Usopp”

“Hmm?”

“You have ten seconds.”

His sense of self-preservation made him gather his things in five and leave immediately.

It all started here, when Sanji handed Zoro the rice balls without warning or offering, throwing them at him like a dog and Zoro catching them midair. He only responded with a grunt.

Luffy came propelled from the bow of the Merry.

“Sanji! What about me?!” he begged with teary eyes.

“Me too,” Chopper joined in, giving him puppy-dog eyes as well.

“In the kitchen.”

Sanji looked annoyed, but only his face. He let Luffy curl up on his chest and rest his head on his shoulder, and allowed Chopper to hug his leg. Just like that, he led them to the kitchen.

Usopp headed to the tangerine grove to continue his work, where Nami was sunbathing next to Robin. Nami was reading the newspaper and Robin was reading an archaeology book.

Both already had their cups of tea and cookies on a small round table. He wondered when Sanji had brought them tea, but he had long since come to terms with the fact that it was kind of a superpower.

Sanji was very prone to blushing, as he and Nami were the palest, so it was more noticeable. Had he ever blushed with Zoro? It was unheard of, yet he had just seen it.

This was what made Usopp start to observe one particular nakama more closely. The dynamics of his crew were clear; they worked so well because they were predictable, familiar. But when romantic love began to intervene, the dynamics began to shirt. If two of his nakama started a relationship, he was sure that everything would change. Or wouldn’t it?

Were they all so in sync that a relationship was the most logical step, the inevitable, unchangeable outcome, like fulfilling their own dreams?

He had been observing this behavior from the beginning, but he refused to believe it.

Sanji liked women, didn't he?

Then why?

At Arlong Park, it was understandable. He himself had said that he had joined the crew for Nami, so it was logical that he would go and help her. But with Sanji, you couldn't believe anything he said, only what he did.

What he did next was jump into the water so that Zoro's injuries wouldn't get worse and to save Luffy. How strange... he rejected men, yet he risked his life for them.

In Little Garden, he got into a competition with Zoro to see who could catch the biggest dinosaur, with the occasional innuendo about who had the biggest one.

How strange.

They were the perfect parallel to Dorry and Broggy, who, to anyone with eyes, were more than friends, they were like soul mates.

Usopp chuckled. Soulmates. That's what the two of them were. They completed and complemented each other. Zoro was heavier, pointier, and sharper, while Sanji was leaner, blunt, and graceful.

They were nothing alike, they didn't share the same values, they didn't get along, and yet...

Usopp rubbed his eyes and continued thinking.

On Drum Island, he risked his life for Nami and Luffy by preventing them from falling into an avalanche. Later, he protected Dr. Kureha even though his back hadn't fully healed. That was fine; apparently, he helped everyone regardless of gender and age.

But then in Alabasta, Sanji saved them from Crocodile's cage and became friends with Bon Clay after returning Usopp's goggles. Something so insignificant to others, but very important to him.

Bon Clay was everyone's friend, so he didn't hold it against him. Certainly, Sanji didn't discriminate in helping anyone, big or small, he did it because it was in his nature.

Robin was a great addition, and Sanji adored her immediately, while Zoro distrusted her right away. A fight broke out between them over how the other treated Robin, whether they were too naive or too rude. To anyone else, it was a love triangle, but what if?

What if the prize wasn't Robin, but mutual jealousy?

Usopp bit his nails, they tasted like gunpowder.

It could be said that he liked Conis, the girl from Sky Island, he quickly forgot about Robin. He was very gallant with her, and she seemed to like his advances, but Usopp was watching her closely. That attitude was an act, a girl who felt uncomfortable inside and was hiding something. Sanji hadn't noticed that Conis wasn't taking him seriously and was just being nice. Zoro didn't hesitate to let him know, so obviously, they fought again.

Hmm?

Apparently, what Conis was hiding was more than just rejection; it was a story of hundreds of years old, with a rich and once prosperous culture.

It could be said that Sanji liked Usopp too because he protected him and Nami from Enel. By this time, this was typical of Sanji; he was always in the right place at the right time, where he was the most needed.

At the victory banquet, Usopp noticed that Zoro and Sanji were missing. It wasn't unusual for the two to be absent, since Sanji often had to bring Zoro back from wherever he'd gotten lost. This time, Usopp had a mission, so he waited for one of them to return.

When Sanji appeared beside him, Usopp was already quite drunk and had danced for about two hours straight. The blond looked normal to the average eye, but not to Captain Usopp, who, although drunk, could see clearly.

His hair was disheveled, his lips were cut, and there was an almost imperceptible mark between his bandages. Usopp learned that day that, just as easily as he blushed, he was easily left with marks like bumps, bruises, or hickeys.

“Weren't you looking for Zoro, Sanji-kun?” Usopp asked him as he nudged him with his shoulder, using the smarmy tone that Sanji detested the most.

“What? Oh, yeah, I couldn't find him,” he replied, trying to sound disinterested, as he took a drag on his cigarette.

“Well, Zoro hasn't come back from the bathroom. Do you think he needed help, huh, Sanji-kun?”

Sanji grimaced in disgust.

“You know you're a fucking annoying drunk, Usopp. If you're so worried, go help him pee if you want.”

“You know I can't. I have a disease called ‘Ican'touchanyonebutKaya.’”

Sanji's annoyed expression softened to a more welcoming one.

“Hey, Usopp.”

“Hmm?”

“How do you know you love Kaya?”

Usopp was taken aback by this. Could it have something to do with their current situation?

"Hmm, I've never really thought about it... it's just something I've always felt. I've never known what it's like not to love her. I just feel it, like eating and breathing, it's an experience I live every day. I don't ask myself, “Why do I have to eat?” or “Why do we breathe?” Well, I guess because if I don't, I'll die. The same goes for Kaya. I can't imagine an Usopp who’s alive and doesn't love Kaya.”

Sanji tilted his head thoughtfully and took a long drag on his cigarette.

“Loving is like breathing and eating... Yeah, it makes sense. If we don't love, what's the point of living?"

“Is that why you throw yourself to your death at the tip of a hat?”

Usopp's reflections over the last few days only led him to conclude without a doubt that Sanji had sacrificed himself for others more times than he could count.

“Who wants to die, idiot? I'm just weighing up the best option at the moment. If I hadn't done anything, you guys would have died."

“Sanji*”

“What do you want?”

“It's three o'clock in the morning**”

“So what?” He replied, biting the filter annoyed.

“I think I'm going to sleep now”

“I'll take you to the Merry. Come on” Sanji got up and helped Usopp up too. He was so drunk he couldn't even walk.

He carried him piggyback until they ran into Zoro on the way, who looked at them, puzzled. Zoro glanced down at Sanji's neck, where a red mark was still visible between the bandages, and blushed to his ears.

It wasn't as noticeable as Sanji's, but Zoro usually blushed quite deeply. It was the first time he'd seen him like this, and it happened with Sanji, of all people.

Hmm?

When they reached the men's quarters, Usopp waited for Sanji to return with a glass of water, which he made him drink carefully. He smiled like a child when Sanji tucked him in up to his neck.

"Aren't you going to give me my goodnight kiss?”

“Shut up and go to sleep, corkhead.”

“Hey! My head isn't green, I'm not Zoro,” Usopp retorted with the fluency of a drunkard.

“Of course not, your head isn't empty like his, it's full of lies and love poems.”

You keep talking about Zoro, Sanji-kun.

“Sanji?”

“What do you want?”

“Don't die, OK? Surviving is cool and all that, but if you weren't here, it wouldn't be worth it.” His lips pursed as he held back tears. The alcohol made him more sentimental than usual.

Sanji looked away, until his golden hair covered his eyes.

“You're an idiot. Obviously, I won't die, even if they kill me. I don't want to make Nami-san and Robin-chan sad.”

Usopp went to sleep that day dreaming of Kaya and his mother. And that he was introducing them to his three new nakama: Chopper, Robin, and Sanji.

Usopp's observations led him to the Davy Back Fight, his suspicions becoming clearer and clearer as he watched Zoro and Sanji fight together, side by side, as a single entity against Foxy's pirates. They won in less than ten seconds, without exchanging a single word, as if they knew what the other was going to do.

To say that Water Seven was a bump in the road would be an understatement. Usopp didn't have much to say about his nakama, other than that they would no longer be nakama from then on.

It was the hardest decision of his life and his most difficult fight. If someone had told him before arriving at Water Seven that they would lose Merry and he would leave the crew, he would have insulted them for telling such a huge lie, but no, his nightmares came true in the most insulting way possible.

It wasn't enough that they stole their money and left him half dead, his own captain, his best friend, would discard Merry like any piece of wood, his home, Kaya's gift, and a piece of himself. He hadn't intended to escalate the fight to the level it did, but hearing him speak of his nakama as if it were nothing broke his heart into a thousand pieces. He couldn't stay on a crew that abandoned a nakama when they were no longer useful, so he left.

He recovered Merry with sweat and tears and thought his adventure was over. But then he heard voices similar to those of Sanji and Chopper warning him about a certain Aqua Laguna, and he set out to repair the ship. He learned of Robin's departure, so he made a decision.

He drew courage from the depths of his being and became Sogeking.

He boarded the sea train and reunited with Franky.

Now, his first observation of Franky was that he was a bastard, an abuser who took advantage weaklings like himself. But then he took the time to explain the inevitable fate of the Merry and spoke to him as an equal.

He told him about his life and shared his vision that Merry was more than just a ship.

“More than anyone, I know how you feel, Usopp, but if you love her, you must know when to let her go.”

The fights with CP9 weren't easy, observed the great Sogeking, from Sniper Island. With the help of the Straw Hats, they made it out alive. If it weren't for Sanji sending Jabra flying, he wouldn't have made it, and Zoro's knowing smile showed him that he agreed.

The few times Zoro smiled, it was for the most unexpected things.

“We all have things we can and cannot do. I will do what you cannot, and you will do what I cannot” Those were the words Sanji dedicated to Sogeking.

He would never forget how understood and supported he felt at that moment.

At Ennies Lobby, he finally understood that more than important, it was necessary for him to be there. No one but him could save Robin.

Usopp, you are important, you are necessary, you are invaluable.

He repeated those words in his mind a few times as he fired projectiles from miles away. He sang the song of the Great Sogeking to cheer himself up, but he didn't need it. He was the Great Sogeking of the Sniper Island.

In the end, everyone emerged victorious, as expected. Luffy just needed a little encouragement, but he knew he would win. Merry made her last voyage with everyone before saying goodbye forever. Sogeking found this situation somewhat depressing, he had to admit.

Usopp returned to them with his heart on his sleeve, exclaiming apologies from the bottom of his heart, which were accepted with open arms.

They narrowly escaped Luffy's grandfather, if it weren't for the intervention of Zoro and Sanji, who, always together, counterattacked the navy's attack.

They arrived at Thriller Bark, and a damn skeleton appeared that nearly made his heart leap out of his chest. Brook's first observation was that it was a fucking living skeleton and that Usopp would faint if he kept talking to him.

He didn't have time to be scared of Brook because a Cerberus, zombies, depressed ghosts, and a giant man made of shadows appeared.

If it weren't for the Corpse Knight and the bravery of the great Captain Usopp, they wouldn't have won. Oh, and Luffy and the others too. In the end, everyone came out alive except Brook, who was already dead.

Usopp noticed that Brook had a lot to say and even more that he kept to himself. He could swear he saw sadness in those empty eye sockets when he told his story, and all the fear he felt for him drained away like spilled milk. He was a skeleton man, full of melancholy and regrets, but with a desire to live much greater than his own, even though he was flesh and blood.

He had to keep living no matter what. He promised Kaya, his mother, and himself that he would fulfill his dream and would not stop until he achieved it. Zoro was still unconscious, while Luffy was strangely unharmed. Sanji stayed by his side, chain-smoking, seemingly lost in thought. Something had happened between them, but the cook refused to speak. He simply arrived with Zoro on the verge of death, begging Chopper to save his life. He had never seen him so worried.

Their journey to Fish-Man Island was interrupted by several factors, the main one being that seven-meter-tall cyborg who attacked them mercilessly and relentlessly. Usopp noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sanji had left Nami with Franky and was heading towards where he and Zoro were.

Sanji seemed to be orbiting around Zoro these last few days. Was it because of Thriller Bark? It didn't matter, because Sanji crawled to Kuma's feet to keep him from approaching them.

Is this why you sacrifice so much, Sanji? This fear I'm feeling is like no other. If any of you die, I couldn't go on living, so I can't give up.

“I can't give up,” Usopp thought before disappearing.

Two years passed, and Usopp appeared in front of a surprised Nami. He recognized that he had gained muscle mass and felt on top of the world. Maybe this time he could compete with Sanji and Zoro to see who was the most handsome member of the crew.

She was even more beautiful than the last time he saw her; he didn't know that was possible. As soon as she saw him, she hugged him tightly, and if his heart hadn't already been taken by someone else, she would have had a nosebleed.

Sanji wasn't so lucky. Usopp doubted he'd make it to Fish-Man Island alive. Adding Robin's beauty and the sighting of the pirate empress, it was unlikely the perverted cook would survive. Had the lack of women affected him that much? Or was there someone else he missed?

Usopp didn't miss the fact that Zoro and Sanji were together before they reached the Sunny, with Luffy, but still. Perhaps there had been a private reunion before they all met up. Usopp asked Sanji indirectly, and Sanji simply excused himself by saying he had to guide Zoro back to the ship in case he got lost, a fact Zoro confirmed by admitting he'd boarded the wrong ship.

Two years had apparently passed in vain. The two were hopeless. Only now, it was even more infuriating that they'd returned looking far cooler than before. One with more facial hair, the other with a new scar.

It wasn't fair. What did they eat that made them come back more attractive than before?

The mermaids were the most beautiful women Usopp had laid his eyes on, not counting Kaya, of course. Well, and The Pirate Empress, and his two nakamas.

But aside from them, they were indeed the most beautiful; they were ethereal beings, otherworldly. It was no wonder Sanji was so happy to see them; he'd always said it was his dream to meet them. A stupid dream, but, in the end, he was happy for him.

Seeing Sanji and Zoro fighting alongside Luffy against hundreds of enemies awakened an irrepressible nostalgia in Usopp; this was how it should be. Every day he thanked Kuma for making them wait before coming to the New World; with the three of them, the enemies seemed like child's play. He was sure they felt the same way.

The victory celebration brought a new wave of nostalgia to a tipsy Usopp. He walked through the castle corridors missing two people from the last toast.

“Hah.”

Usopp froze in place, never expecting to hear his nakama speak with that intonation. He only sounded like that when he whined and complained when things didn't go his way.

“Fuck...” The male voice gasped.

He covered his mouth with both hands to stifle the moan that threatened to escape and began to tiptoe away, quickly sobering up.

A guttural groan cleared all his doubts and he ran out of there toward the banquet.

He ran into Zoro two hours later but couldn't look him in the face.

“What's wrong, Usopp? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“No, nothing. Sometimes you hear voices in the hallways,” Usopp blurted out, looking at Zoro, who reacted with confusion.

“Well, it's always around these banquets,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“Do you know what I'm talking about?” Usopp asked.

"If you're blushing so much, it's because you know," Zoro scratched his neck, looking around.

"Oh yeah, yeah. From Sky Island," he blurted out without thinking, slapping his forehead. Damn it, drinking to forget what I'd heard wasn't a good idea; I have no filter when I speak.

Zoro blushed for the second time since he'd known him.

“It's better if no one knows about this... it's too embarrassing, OK?”

“Why is it embarrassing, Zoro-kun? If it's love, there's no reason to be embarrassed.” Usopp nudged him with a knowing smile. He didn't have Sanji to tease, so Zoro would have to do.

Zoro laughed.

“That idiot, I don't think so. He's just horny." He received a bottle of booze from a mermaid and took a long swig.

“I don't think so. He asked me about love on Sky Island.” Zoro looked at him curiously. “He asked me how I knew I loved Kaya.”

“And what did you tell him?”

Usopp gave him a summary of his previous explanation, to which Zoro replied with an ambiguous grunt.

“What do you think, Zoro-kun?”

"Hmm? Nothing, it's just that there were two surprises today. Hearing you give advice to Swirly Eyebrows about love and him taking falling in love seriously. I thought they were just empty words." Zoro took another drink and stared into space.

Usopp hadn't expected to hear Zoro so thoughtful, but it seemed his words had resonated with him too. In the end, neither of them had changed at all.

They left Fish-Man Island for the new world. As they climbed, Sanji stood next to Nami, hands in his pockets, smoking, and staring at the surface.

“Huh? Sanji, are you cured?”

“Ah, yes. I had my fix, so I'm better now.”

“Fix of what?”

“Oh.”

“I see.” Usopp smiled to himself.

Usopp's observations in the New World didn't yield much progress. At Punk Hazard, he saw how Nami sent Zoro to join Sanji and Brook, as if she knew they had to go together wherever they were going, even if it was just to fight.

He also learned how much he depended on Sanji, when he saw Nami in his body, he was so disappointed that she scolded him.

Dressrosa was the greatest demonstration of his observation so far. God Usopp had been born, and of course, everyone wanted him dead.

Perhaps his power was too much for this world, he barely made it out alive so he couldn't observe anything about Zoro or Sanji.

Only that Sanji had left with a girl named Viola, things had happened between them, he didn't know what kind of magic Sanji had used to make her their ally. This ally turned out to be Princess Flamenco of the Dressrosa kingdom. Zoro didn't seem bothered by this information; he just crossed his arms and muttered, "Stupid cook”, as he always did.

After arriving at Zou, Usopp counted three times that Zoro mentioned Sanji. He said things like, “Don't worry, Swirly Eyebrows is with them. Haven't you seen the cook?”

When they learned about Sanji's departure, Zoro was understandably upset. Nami was the most distraught, and she broke the bad news to them, heartbroken. Later, she told them what had happened during their time apart.

Zoro repeated over and over that they should let him resolve his issues, bitterly saying that if that fool was going to leave them for a woman, they should leave him. While Nami angrily insisted that this was not the case, that they had been blackmailed and that Sanji had done what he always did, sacrificing himself for them.

“Usopp, Zoro wasn't there, none of you were. You didn't see what I saw.” Nami had sat down next to Usopp at the farewell banquet and was pouting, which promised more tears.

"What?" “Usopp asked, handing Nami a plate of fruit, which she refused. “Come on, Nami, eat some. Sanji wouldn’t have wanted you to stop eating because of him.”

Nami accepted the plate and wiped away a single tear that had fallen.

“Sanji-kun smiled at me and said he'd be back.”

“See? That means he'll come back.”

“That smile is the same one Bell-mère gave me.” Usopp stopped eating and looked at her, perplexed. “Before she died, she told me she loved me before they shot her in front of my eyes. And she smiled at me just like that. It almost seems like an identical replica.

>> “Damn, they even smoked proudly before pointing a shotgun at someone, only to resign themselves to death in the end. That's the word, resignation. She knew what awaited her, but it seemed like she would leave without regrets.”

“Listen, Nami, Sanji told me a few years ago that he wouldn't die, even if he died. Because he didn't want to see you sad.” He didn’t mention the part about Robin for some reason. “He won't die before coming back to us, I'm sure Luffy knows this. Luffy is going to reunite us with him, let's trust him. Do you remember about Robin?”

“But that time it was Sanji who went to rescue her.”

“We'll be Sanji's Sanji, Nami.”

Nami laughed as she rarely did, like a sweet and innocent girl. It reminded him of the conversation the three of them had years ago. Where they both encouraged him and entered his heart forever.

“It's about time we repay him for what he always does for us.”

“I'm going to go look for him with Luffy, I'm going to talk to Brook and Chopper. You talk to Zoro. He's more unbearable than usual.”

“I think I know the reason.”

Nami looked at him, confused.

Usopp recounted all his observations, from the beginning of their journey and the reasons that led him to believe there was a relationship between Zoro and Sanji. Nami crossed her arms at the end.

"That explains a lot," she said, placing a hand on her chin. "Explain Sanji-kun's interactions with girls."

“Nami, I'm talking about Zoro.”

“I know, but I can't give you my opinion if I don't see the whole picture.”

Usopp put both plates aside and began.

"Let's take away his interactions with you and Vivi. We know he was popular at the Baratie, then he left with some girls at Arlong Park, at Whisky Peak they manipulated you with pleasures, you with alcohol and Sanji with women. He got along well with Conis on Sky Island, and after the banquet, he returned as if he'd been with someone."

“Then when Foxy's pirates wanted to recruit him, manipulating him with women...” Nami continued with an annoyed expression. “Don't remind me.”

"Then there was the Robin incident, and then your thing on Thriller Bark."

“Wait, what's mine?” Nami shifted in her seat.

“Didn't you know?” Usopp asked. He then recounted Sanji's fight with the invisible man and how he let himself be stabbed rather than let them hurt Nami.

Nami placed her hand on her chin again.

“He never told me that.”

“Maybe he didn't want to take credit for anything. Besides, in that same fight, he admitted that he wanted the invisibility fruit so he could spy on girls.”

Nami rolled her eyes.

“He always does amazing things, only to ruin them. Typical of Sanji-kun.”

"There wasn't much going on with the girls. We met Camie, then we went our separate ways. Then happened what you know, happened; after two years, He couldn't look women in the face. Especially you.”

“I was too angry to notice that I had more effect on him than the others.”

“I understand, but don't worry, he got over it soon after.”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“Well, that part was because at the banquet he left with someone else again”

“Yes, you say it's with Zoro because of the conversation you and he had afterwards.”

“Don't you think it was him? Zoro sounded very cryptic when we talked.”

Nami hummed “Are you sure it was them?”

“I only heard Sanji's voice.”

"And wasn't he using the bathroom or something?"

“Nami,” Usopp said with unusual seriousness, “I wish it were for any other reason, but I assure you that I'm not happy to tell you that I heard my nakama moaning. That ghost still haunts me.”

Nami laughed heartily. "More than Perona's?”

“Much more. I didn't think I'd ever hear anything more terrifying than that. Then he said he was cured of his nosebleed disease because he got his fix.”

Nami laughed again.

“Do you think they injected him?”

“Hahaha, Nami, I thought so, but you said it.”

“Then that nightmare happened in Punk Hazard.”

“Then there was Viola.”

“Who?”

Usopp proceeded to tell her about Sanji's experience with Viola, as told by an innocent Momonosuke. Kisses, courtship, betrayals, and redemptions. In the end, unrequited love.

“He said he had abandoned her to go rescue you and the others. Screaming Nami-swaaan to the sky,” Usopp explained, mimicking Sanji's intonation at the end.

“How melodramatic,” Nami said with a smile.

“What's your opinion, Nami?”

"I'm still not entirely sure, by the way. I promise to confirm it when I see Sanji-kun again. You go talk to Zoro in the meantime." Nami got up and went to talk to Brook and Chopper.

Usopp sat down next to Zoro, who was grumbling in a distant corner.

“Are you going to come and bother me too?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Usopp said with feigned innocence.

“They've already decided they're going after him, so it doesn't matter what I say.”

“And who are we talking about, Zoro-kun?”

Zoro looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“I give up,” he said, taking a long ass swig.

Usopp noticed that his nakamas had different mannerisms when thinking. Sanji took long drags on his cigarette, Nami placed her hand on her chin, and Zoro took long swigs of his drink. Luffy and Chopper didn't think too much, so he didn't know their mannerisms.

“I'm not going to talk about anyone in particular, but they asked me to tell you not to worry anymore, that she herself is going to Big Mom's territory tomorrow.”

“I know... And who said I'm worried!”

“Sorry, Zoro-kun.” Usopp covered his mouth to hide a smile. “Do you really think Sanji will find love now that he's getting married?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow.

“Weren't you going to stop the wedding?”

Aha.

“We never said that, only that we were going to bring him back. Who knows, maybe he'll come back married to his new wife.”

“Tch, it's about time. Let's see if that cures his perversion. And what are you looking at, cork nose?”

"But Zoro-kun, corks aren't straight, they're curved like a spiral. You know what else is shaped like a spiral?”

“I'm going to kick you, Usopp.”

"Kick you?" Usopp burst out laughing before moving out of Zoro's sword range.

“You even talk the same.”

“You have ten seconds, Usopp.”

Usopp needed more than ten seconds to escape because he was doubled over with laughter. Zoro didn't need to kick him because he crashed into the floor himself. Until his nose was as close to a cork as it could be, at which point Zoro laughed for the first time since Dressrosa.

The first time he saw Sanji in Wano Country, he seemed happier than usual. It almost seemed as if he hadn't gone through hell in Big Mom's territory. Usopp wondered if he and Zoro had reunited or something before opening his soba stand.

As Usopp opened his toad ointment stand, he thought about everything they had been through together and understood his nakama much better. Usopp was observant; he never forgot that Sanji referred to his biological father as the person who created him. That's why he didn't want to refer to Zeff as his father, because for Sanji, the concept of fatherhood was distorted.

At least Usopp knew he was born out of his parents' love, whereas Sanji was created as an experiment, a defective one, he clarified bitterly. He almost preferred to have an absent father than the tormentor his nakama had to deal with.

“You're perfect just the way you are, Usopp,” he said in the middle of the conversation, out of the blue.

“Aww, Sanji-kun, do you like me? You know I already have someone.”

“Shut up, Usopp, I'm serious. You were born that way because of your parents' genetic lottery. Your mom begged for a miracle, and you came out.”

Usopp couldn't respond with a joke because he felt like crying.

“But you were literally born perfect. Your father...” Sanji shot him a fierce look, to which Usopp quickly corrected himself. “Your progenitor worked hard to make you the perfect human. You can't change how you were born, but you can be grateful for what you have. Look on the bright side; cigarettes don't give you any side effects. I always thought you were made to order because of how good you look, and it turns out it's true.”

“Careful, you're going to make me think you like me,” he replied bitterly as he lit another cigarette.

Usopp wasn't stupid; he knew Sanji wasn't normal from the moment he met him. All he did was feed himself well, train for two hours a day, and he kept up with his two strongest nakama, who possessed a Devil Fruit and legendary swords, respectively. In the two years they were apart, he awakened Haki without a Pirate King-level master like Rayleigh and Mihawk, and learned a CP9 technique on his own.

Usopp only dreamed of reaching that level, being just a sniper without Haki.

“Look on the bright side, your mother loved you too. Don't you think her love was real?”

Sanji stared at him, perplexed, two crystal-blue eyes in a blond head, thinking all sorts of things. He must be thinking the same thing he had at that moment. Who would have thought that two people as different as they were could have so much in common?

“Yes,” he replied with a melancholy look.

With his long wig and half-open yukata, he looked more delicate than usual, more vulnerable.

"Change that face, or I'll fall in love with you. You look like a geisha."

Sanji frowned immediately and went back to being his usual self.

"Well, like you said, we have to look on the bright side. My father thought it best that we resembled our mother. In that respect, I hit the jackpot. I don't have to see that piece of shit when I look in the mirror."

“Did your mom have curly eyebrows?”

“Of course not, but everything else she did” Sanji waved his hand in front of his face as he explained.

“Even the beard?”

“Shut your damn mouth, obviously I inherited that from that piece of shit”

“So, your mom was a beauty then”

“Of course she was, the only good thing he had, and he abandoned her to die when she was no longer useful to him.”

“Is that why you were so angry with my father? You said you projected your feelings onto me.”

Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke and replied.

“Parents who abandon their children are the biggest pieces of shit that have ever walked the earth.”

“Is that why you helped Kin’nemon?”

“Who knows.” He shrugged.

“If we ever meet my father again... Will you call him a piece of shit for me? And will you kick him like you kicked Franky on the Marine Train?”

Sanji smiled at him with the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“If that's what you want.”

“Actually, no.”

“I know, you're too good for that.”

“Sanji*.”

“Hmm?”

“It's three o'clock**, I have to go open my stall. And you should continue your sales.”

“Yes, yes.” Sanji got up irritably and stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his sandal.

“Don't go seducing so many geishas, Sanji-kun,” Usopp warned him as he walked away. “You don't want a certain someone to get jealous.”

The last thing Usopp saw was a confused expression on Sanji's face. As if to say, “How much do you know?”

Near the soba stand, having finished his shift, Usopp found Nami walking down the street. She wore a beautiful blue scarf around her neck, which partially obscured her kunoichi outfit.

“Hey, Nami.”

Nami looked at him, somewhat surprised.

“I thought you were with Shinobu.”

“Y-yeah, we split up a while ago,” she replied nervously.

"It's been a while since we talked. I was heading to Sanji's soba stand for dinner. I've been craving his food; it's been ages since I've had it."

"Sanji-kun went to our meeting place."

“Oh, really? How do you know?”

“I just saw him, silly. Let's go together.”

Usopp and Nami started walking together.

"Hey, what's up?" Usopp began.

"What do you mean?"

“Since we split up, have you talked to Sanji about my theory regarding his relationship with Zoro?”

“Oh, that. We can talk about it at length after dinner. I'm starving”

“Sanji didn't give you any food? It's sacrilegious for him not to feed you.”

Nami rubbed her stomach.

“I'm hungry again. It's been a long time since we've eaten his food.”

“You're right.”

They continued walking side by side. Since they weren't going to talk about Whole Cake Island, Usopp looked for other topics of conversation.

“What's with that scarf? I've never seen you wear one before.”

“Yeah, I bought it today.”

“It doesn't really match your costume. Aren't you hot?”

“Hey, isn't that an Okiya?” Nami said, changing the subject.

“Now that you mention it, I think so. There was a geisha parade a while ago, by the way. Sanji was so excited.”

“Really?” Nami inquired.

“We met Komurasaki, the most beautiful geisha in the country. God, she was an otherworldly beauty.”

“I bet fifty percent of it is makeup. I'm going to buy some makeup at this Okiya. Go ahead, Usopp.”

“Ah, Nami, don't worry. I bet Sanji would say something like you don't need makeup to look out of this world.”

"And who cares about that idiot's opinion?!" Nami yelled at him before entering the Okiya. "Don't follow me!" She said before slamming the door in his face.

When he saw Nami again, she was no longer wearing her scarf. She also wasn't wearing any makeup. But Usopp noticed that she had bought a small drawstring bag hanging from her hand, with a pattern of half-oranges on a navy blue background.

They both ate without talking much. Nami remained pensive and took small bites.

He decided not to bring up the subject of Whole Cake Island.

But the topic of Whole Cake Island came up when he saw Sanji's transformation into Soba Mask, and he and Franky were suuuuper excited. The one who didn't expect so much excitement was Torao, who explained that he was from the North Blue and that, in the north, everyone knew about Germa 66.

Sanji wiped the floor with Page One before retreating with the others. As they escaped, Torao ordered them not to let themselves be captured, to which Usopp replied that he shouldn't give them orders, that he wasn't their captain, and that if they were captured, he would talk.

Usopp knew that he would rather give his life than betray his friends, but he also knew that his nakamas would protect him.

“Don't fuck with me, in that case I'll protect you,” Sanji shouted.

“Yay,” Usopp celebrated.

“What a great friendship,” Torao said.

The news of Komurasaki's death was devastating for Sanji; she was a beautiful woman, and her passing was a terrible loss. They met Mr. Yasu, and for the first time, someone called him attractive.

It had been a long time since he'd met someone with good taste.

Sanji's grief for the geisha did not last long. Upon hearing that Nami and the others were going to the hot springs, he and his ridiculous suit disappeared. After all, it was his dream, no matter how stupid it seemed to him. It was also to be expected that he would return beaten up.

The next time he would see Sanji and Zoro together would be at the execution of Otoko's father, the girl they met at the soba stand. They worked together as if they had never been apart and looked at each other with the love that Nami would look at Absalom.

They all escaped, but not without heartbreak. They learned the fate of those who consumed the Smile Fruits and lamented their inability to help them. Mr. Yasu was a liar like Usopp, he lied to his daughter and his people, but he was still one of the most honorable men he had ever met. Usopp learned that not all lies were bad.

He wept that night, remembering little Otoko crying as she tried to heal her dead father with the toad ointment, he himself had sold her. He felt at his lowest point in his life. A liar like him didn't deserve to live, while a hero like Mr. Yasu was dead.

He hoped to redeem himself in the raid on Onigashima, so he could face Luffy when he got out of prison.

The raid would take place in two days, and he was still depressed. Zoro and Sanji had been training for several days. That day, Zoro took Momo to train with his new weapon, while Sanji asked Momo to introduce him to his sister.

They were all having dinner together that night, and there were mixed feelings hanging on the air. Many were excited, others nervous, others impatient, others indifferent.

Usopp didn't know how to feel. Nami wasn't eating much today. What was wrong with her? Did she no longer like Sanji's cooking?

“Hey, Nami, are you still mad?” Usopp asked. They hadn't talked much since they had been apart for so long and so much had happened in such a short time.

“Hmm, no, I think I was just hungry.”

“But you're not eating.”

“This is my second helping.”

“You're prettier than that geisha anyway.”

Nami didn't understand Usopp's joke at first, but then she smiled.

“Thanks, Usopp, although I didn't ask for your opinion.”

“Do you want to talk? We haven't talked in a long time, and I have a lot to tell you.”

Nami glanced toward the makeshift kitchen, saw something that made her angry, and then looked back at Usopp.

"Yes, sure."

“Weren't you angry?”

“I'm not angry with you.”

“Is it Sanji? You know how stupid he can be sometimes. But I didn't expect the beautiful Komurasaki to still be alive and be Momo's sister either. Anyway, Sanji doesn't stand a chance, she's fascinated with Zoro.”

“Poor thing,” Nami smiled, taking a bite of duck à l'orange.

“You mean, poor Sanji.”

“Nothing would ever happen between them.” Nami took another bite.

“Are you talking about the love triangle between him, Zoro, and Hiyori? Who do you think likes Sanji more, Zoro or Hiyori?”

“Are you saying that whenever a woman is involved, there's always going to be a love triangle?"

“Yes, I think so. No matter how many women come along, I think Sanji will always choose the same person.”

Usopp was almost certain that there was more than friendship between them. If the most beautiful woman in Wano Country couldn't separate them, no one could.

“Yes, I've noticed that.”

Nami started covering her bento box.

“Aren't you going to finish your meal?”

“No, I'm going to talk to Sanji-kun. I'm going to ask him to save it for later.”

“Really? Didn't you say you were hungry?”

“I'll eat later.”

“I don't think you want to bother Sanji later. He'll want to spend time alone with Zoro.”

“We'll talk about that later, Usopp. I already have the answer.”

“Really?” Usopp asked excitedly.

“First, let me talk to Sanji-kun. I'll ask him about his plans for tonight,” Nami said, winking at him.

“You're so smart, Nami!”

She stood up and headed toward the makeshift kitchen. She said a few words to Sanji that made him go from abject misery to utter disgust. He looked up at Usopp when Nami pointed at him and then smiled from ear to ear, nodding like an obedient dog.

And to think he was going to be born as an emotionless machine. Usopp couldn't believe in a world where Sanji was alive and didn't express his emotions openly.

Perhaps he believed that his existence was not a miracle like Usopp's, but he did not realize how fortunate he was. Of all the Vinsmokes, he was the one chosen to be human. Perhaps his origins were miserable, and he didn't envy him at all; perhaps his feelings were seen as a curse, but his heart emerged unscathed in the end, and he was fortunate enough, like Usopp, to carry his mother's love wherever he went, because he was free to be whoever he wanted to be, to love whomever he wanted, and to dream big.

Perhaps his mother saw Yasopp every time she saw Usopp and had a way of remembering him until her last days. But Sanji was luckier than him; he could see his mother every time he looked in the mirror. Usopp had gradually forgotten his mother's face, but Sanji didn't have to.

Nami and Usopp exchanged notes until well past midnight. Nami told him about her misadventure on Whole Cake Island, which made Usopp cry a few times. Sanji had given him a summary of his past, but it was obvious that he had skipped the most painful parts so as not to reopen his trauma.

Nami filled in many gaps and more. She talked about her feelings of abandonment and betrayal, and Usopp tried to defend Sanji. Nami acknowledged that she had already forgiven him and that they had talked about it at length. Usopp told her about his conversation with Zoro in Zou and with Sanji on the day he found Nami in a scarf.

“Hey Nami, if Sanji confided all his life to you, is it okay for you to tell me?”

“Well, he tells you everything, you're like his best friend. You heard him moan,” Nami laughed.

Usopp blushed.

“He tells me everything except about his secret family and his possible relationship with Zoro.”

“Well, there are things we prefer not to touch on because they're very sensitive topics.”

“Well, you know everything about me.”

“You don't have a secret family or a hidden relationship.”

“Hey, don't you think Zoro is his best friend? Has he talked to him about his family?”

“Nah, they're like soul mates.”

Usopp laughed. They thought alike.

“I can't imagine Sanji-kun opening his heart to just anyone. Look how hard it was for him to open up to Luffy, to me.” Nami deflated and looked at the ground.

“Or maybe they do everything but talk,” Usopp tried to cheer her up.

“Maybe feelings are better conveyed that way.”

“What's Sanji's schedule for today?”

“I don't know, he said he'd be busy early in the morning. He'd leave my food warm at a certain time.”

“Do you think...?” Usopp smiled behind his hand.

“The answer is clear.” Nami shrugged and smiled mischievously too.

“We'd better go to ‘sleep,’” Usopp said, emphasizing the last word with his fingers. He planned to test his theory once and for all.

“Sanji*”

“Where?”

“No, it's already three in the morning**. It's time for Sanji-kun to leave my food.” With that, Nami got up to leave.

“Are you taking your bag?” It was the same bag she had bought at Okiya, and Usopp had noticed that she had been carrying it around a lot since then. “Are you going to put on makeup at this hour?”

“I don't need makeup, silly,” Nami stuck her tongue out at him. “I bought something important that I don't want to lose.”

“Gold bars?”

“Better than that.” Nami left quietly and headed for the dining hut.

Sanji*. Usopp remembered who he inherited the habit of saying Sanji's name at three o'clock from. Nami used to lie down to sunbathe, draw maps, calculate budgets, read the newspaper, grow her tangerines, or drink in the company of a nakama in the light of the aquarium, and every day without fail she would say the magic word: Sanji*. Usopp checked his watch and sure enough, it was three o'clock**, and as if by magic, the aforementioned appeared to bring a snack to his beloved Nami-san and Robin-chan.

He hadn't noticed that dynamic between the two of them. Maybe Nami was so sad because she wouldn't have her three o'clock** snack anymore.

Usopp waited an hour before searching for the furthest hut. It was difficult to follow Sanji's trail. He was very stealthy when he wanted to be. He carried a tiny candle and walked through alleys until he heard what he already knew he would hear.

“Mmm”

The hairs on the back of Usopp's neck stood on end, but he endured for the sake of his mission. He just needed to get closer and hear the other voice to know who was Sanji’s partner. A dim light came from one of the huts at the foot of a mountain, the one closest to the sea. He blew out the candle and tiptoed, guided by the moonlight.

A few meters away, he tried to see through the window and was greeted by a mane of golden hair. The loose wig cascaded down his bare back, his white skin beaded with sweat. He couldn't see much, only what the almost extinguished candle showed him. The upper half of his body was leaning on a wooden table, like the ones they used to eat together.

“Oh God, that feels good...” Sanji moaned, trembling like a leaf.

His voice grew increasingly desperate, repeating a litany of curses and gritting his teeth when he couldn't get the words out.

Usopp had never been with anyone, a fact known to his crewmates. He and Luffy were the only confirmed virgins, and neither of them were ashamed or interested in it.

What he knew about sex he had learned from Robin, Brook, and Franky; they were the only ones he could go to without feeling like he'd die of embarrassment. He had told them it was something beautiful, magical, and intimate, between two people who were attracted to each other.

“Whatever meaning you want to give it, Usopp. You are the one to do so,” said Robin as she drank a glass of red wine.

They were at the aquarium drinking together. Usopp rarely had all three of his older nakama at the same time. Robin continued.

“There are people who do it for sport or out of necessity, there are those who wait for the right person, there are those who do it with anyone, and there are those who never want to do it.”

“How complicated...” Usopp said.

“Certainly,” added Brook, sipping a cup of his favorite tea.

“Gender expression, like sexuality, is as unique as each person. No one is better than anyone else, as long as no one gets hurt,” Robin continued.

“Sex is great, Usopp. But you know what's even better? Doing it with the person you love,” said Franky with a smile.

“You think so?”

“When you experience it, you'll know,” said Brook. Usopp could have sworn he winked at him.

Usopp hadn't expected his first sexual experience to be his nakama being devoured by another person. Robin was right, it was too intimate of an experience to be shared with just anyone.

“Ah, fuck! Fuck! Fuuuck!” Sanji shouted as he arched his back, his voice broken from use.

Usopp turned around and ran back to camp. He was too embarrassed to see where he was going, almost falling countless times before reaching his hut, his heart pounding.

Sleep never came; he couldn't stop thinking about what he'd seen and heard. He couldn't stop thinking about when he saw Sanji serving his ration the next day as if nothing had happened, or when he saw Zoro eating with Franky, Brook, and Robin—his sex advisors, of all people.

“Are you okay?” Nami asked him.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm nervous about tomorrow's raid."

Nami put her hand on her chin.

“Don't be. Believe”

Usopp forgot his early morning vision when he heard his most cowardly friend speak to him as Luffy himself would have spoken to him.

“Really, Nami?”

“Something tells me everything is going to be okay.” Nami turned her head and looked toward the horizon, where the sea met the sky.

The only good thing Usopp got out of his nighttime investigation was that he forgot to feel depressed about Mr. Yasu's death.

VII

The ten straw hats reunited after many hardships. With his new nakama Jimbei, Usopp suddenly felt brave.

The first observation of Jimbei was from Fishman Island. Unlike the others, it was a positive observation. He was the one who was there for Luffy after Ace's death, he became his pillar and mentor and he was completely grateful to him.

When he officially returned as a member of his crew, he couldn't be happier. He was still the gentle and trustworthy soul he had known and having him by his side gave him the same peace of mind as having Zoro or Sanji.

Before their reunion, everyone had gone off on their own and made their own individual mess but now that they were together, it seemed like the battle had started again. Each one was dressed for the occasion and Usopp hoped he looked as great as he felt. Sanji adjusted the cuffs of his suit at his side.

“Is that a duck?” Usopp asked.

He was wearing golden ducks with blue gemstone eyes, floating on waves that ended in spirals, like the seas of Wano.

“Is that supposed to be you?”

“Oh, yeah. I guess so.”

“It’s because you have a duck's head?” asked a grinning Zoro.

“Of course not, moss head! It's because I can move on land, sea, and sky.”

"What a fucking beast to show off," Zoro mocked.

“I'm going to shove that damn sword up your...”

Sanji was interrupted by a blow from Nami's Clima Tact.

“Focus, Sanji-kun. It's time.”

“Excuse me, Nami-san.”

“Are you ready?” Luffy asked.

Everyone responded enthusiastically and looked around. Usopp couldn't afford to worry about his nakama; he had to trust them blindly. He knew that they trusted him blindly, that The Country of Wano depended on them.

The battle resumed.

Usopp didn't remember seeing his nakamas in battle, apart from his friend Nami. But he could hear Sanji calling for help. He was calling Robin using what appeared to be animal transmitters. That gave him an idea. He looked at little Tama and smiled.

“He's fighting a woman,” sighed Nami beside him.

“How do you know?”

“It's obvious,” she shrugged.

She was right, typical Sanji. Usopp was aware that asking for help could seem cowardly, something a soldier could not afford to do on the battlefield. But he also knew that for Sanji, asking for help was unthinkable until a few months ago.

Rather than mocking him, Usopp felt proud of his nakama. Sanji had finally followed his own advice and allowed Robin to do what he couldn't do, while he would do what others couldn't.

Hours later it appeared flying like a furious comet and took down Queen, a fifty-foot bionic dinosaur. Who was going to murder him, Nami and little Tama. Usopp hadn't seen him so angry in a long time, but it was obvious to him that they were going to hurt his nakama and an innocent girl. So, it was almost expected that the one who appeared would be Sanji.

The battle ended and many things changed. Usopp didn't find out what happened to his companions until he heard the story from Chopper and Torao. Apparently, Zoro was seriously injured on the roof, where they were fighting Kaido together, and was left in Sanji's care, who carried him on his shoulder like a literal cross to bear. Chopper supplied the swordsman with a drug that allowed him to continue fighting, in exchange for feeling the side effects of battle with twice the intensity.

Chopper, excited, told him that his nakamas excelled against Kaido's commanders, felling their enemies and gaining more power in return. He told him that Queen broke a giant sword on Sanji's neck and that he straightened his bones by himself. Ouch, that was not good.

Chopper was innocent about the meaning of this, but Usopp knew. He knew that Sanji didn't want to be like his family, and whether he liked it or not, he had more of them than what he was willing to accept.

When he wanted to talk to Sanji about it, he told him not to worry, that everything had been resolved, but he wasn't very convinced. Sanji told him that he had destroyed the suit, to which Usopp asked him

“What about your dream of invisibility? What happened to that?”

“I don't need it” he replied somewhat shyly, scratching his neck. “It was stupid anyway.”

“Of course it was stupid, that's why Nami hit you. But it was your dream, man.”

“I've already fulfilled my dreams, Usopp. There's only one left." Sanji smiled at him, the kind of radiant smile he showed when he felt most free.

He left, ending the conversation.

Usopp thought he would be more worried, but he had dealt with his problems in a more mature way than expected. Zoro's influence had certainly been positive.

Nami appeared shortly after, hand in hand with Tama. He wanted to talk to her, but then the news came that Luffy and Zoro had awakened. Perhaps Sanji had sensed this and that was why he had left.

The fight between those two didn't take long to come. What he didn't expect was for Zoro to abandon Hiyori to go tell Sanji that he had returned from hell for him. He wanted to share his excitement with Nami, but she was talking to Yamato and Kiku.

Usopp was getting changed in a room. It was his last day in the Country of Wano, and he had already prepared the surprise they were going to give Momo. All that was left was to go back and help Franky with the supplies. Someone knocked on the door.

“Hey, Zoro, what's up?”

Zoro seemed nervous.

“I wanted to know if you could take me to the Sunny.”

“Can't you go by yourself?”

He knew he couldn't, that Zoro would get lost everywhere before reaching his destination, but he also knew that Zoro would never admit it.

“I don't know how to get there.”

“What did you say?”

Zoro blushed to his ears.

“I can't get there. I've been walking for six hours. I can't go with that idiot, and I don't want to hear any more ghosts, so I need you.”

Usopp was confused. But he didn't know what to ask him. He gathered his belongings. They left together and walked while he thought about what to say.

“Hey, Zoro.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you mention that idiot?”

Zoro didn't look him in the face.

“He had his food stand on this street, so I was hoping to go with him.”

“There's no other reason? Eh, Zoro-kun?”

Zoro narrowed his gaze.

“Of course not, idiot.”

“Doesn't it have anything to do with ‘I came from hell for you’?”

“Ah... that. Never mind.”

Usopp smiled and tried to hide it behind his hand, but he was too excited.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, stop bothering me.”

The way back was a test of Zoro's patience with Usopp. When they arrived at the Sunny, Usopp saw Nami, still wearing clothes from the Country of Wano, coming out of her room.

He noticed that she was wearing a beautiful floral ornament in her hair. It was a chain of warm-colored flowers with bells hanging from them, that jingled every time the sea breeze blew.

“What's that, Nami?”

“Oh, this.” She turned her head from side to side, making the bells ring and laughing like a little girl.

“It's beautiful. Where did you buy it?”

Nami placed a hand on her hair tied in a high bun and smiled.

“A gift.”

“Really? Who?”

“An admirer.”

Nami couldn't stop smiling.

“How's your investigation going, Usopp?”

Oh. Back to that nightmare. He had forgotten what he saw that night.

“I didn't do it,” he lied. “I realized that if I spied on them, I would be going too far.”

“Oh,” said Nami. “That's too bad. I was curious. I guess the truth will eventually come out.” Nami shrugged and left.

In the men's room, he found Sanji putting on clothes that were not from the country of Wano. There were clearly wounds all over his back. Like cuts or scratches. Usopp's blood ran cold.

“Hey, Sanji”.

“Huh?”

“What happened to you? Did you fight Zoro?”

“Oh, this” He looked at his back. “There was a fight, and I lost.”

“Against what? A tiger?”

“A tigress.” He smiled. The fact that he accepted the explanation of a tiger made it even more suspicious.

“How do you know it's female?”

“Because they attack to kill.” He smiled from ear to ear.

He put on a blue T-shirt with an octopus design and the word Tako on it and walked out carefree.

They are becoming more and more obvious, Zoro and Sanji.

Leaving the country of Wano meant only one thing. More adventures and mysteries awaited them.

Nami wore her hair ornament for several days and received compliments from all her nakama, even Luffy. On the third day, she put it away because she said a storm was coming.

VIII

A storm was indeed brewing when they arrived at Egghead.

Usopp didn't observe much interaction between Zoro and Sanji; it was normal for them to fight as soon as they exchanged words and there was no time to investigate anyway. He didn't want to find himself in such an embarrassing situation again.

He only noticed that they both did what they knew how to do. Zoro defended his nakama by fighting Rob Lucci, and Sanji saved whoever he could: Nami, Bonnie, Kuma, Nami again, Vegapunk's satellites, and above all, Nami.

He was too excited to be reunited with his masters Dorry and Broggy to think about anyone else. He couldn't wait to tell them about his adventures, and he also wanted to learn from them.

They talked about their exploits in Egghead, Nami tried to comfort Sanji, who blamed himself for Dr. Vegapunk's death, and he cheered up just a little. His countenance changed when Lilith woke up and told them that the Doctor was still alive. With this good news, the banquet began.

In the midst of the drunkenness, he forgot what usually happened if he went wandering where he wasn't wanted. Anyway, Sanji was drinking with him and Nami.

Zoro grumbled with his drinking buddies in a corner. He seemed annoyed with Sanji. The situation was unsustainable. There wasn't much to do but be honest. Nami said that the truth would eventually come out, but they would reach the end of the adventure and never confess their feelings.

“Hey, Sanji*”
“If you pull that three o’clock bullshit again, I’ll break your face in.”
“Huh? You hurt my feelings, Sanji-kun.”

“Stop talking like Nami-san, you idiot!”
“You talk like her too; you said you’d break my face in.”
“Oh yeah? Well, you’re not allowed to do it.”
“I haven’t given you permission either, Sanji-kun.” Nami smiled innocently, fluttering her eyelashes.
“B-but, Nami-san”
“I just need you and Zoro to come with me.”
"What?" Sanji asked.
"You heard me," Usopp said, emboldened; there was no turning back. “Hey, Nami. Help me convince Zoro.”
“Okay, but I’m going with you.”
“I needed your support anyway.”

Usopp sat his three friends on a giant’s chair, a little away from the music. Zoro seemed to know what was coming, and more than annoyed, he was resigned. Sanji and Nami were more impatient than anything.
Usopp stood up and looked around. He cleared his throat.

"I gathered you here because I wanted to tell you something. Something that's been gnawing at me for a long time. I couldn't help but notice that, almost from the beginning," Usopp winked at Sanji, who answered with an indecipherable grimace, "something very important has been cooking. Something that would change the dynamics of our group. But, looking back, it seemed inevitable, as if an invisible thread tied the destinies of two people who, no matter how much they wanted it, would end up together..."

Zoro took a swig before interrupting.
“Can you get to the point? I don't feel like being here.”
“Well, Zoro-kun, since you brought it up. I would like to tell you that I already know the truth. I would like to say it out loud for those whose mouths don’t speak the words, but whose hearts scream from the rooftops…”
"Love poems, indeed," Sanji murmured, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"The unspoken words of your hearts have reached these ears, and now I will say them. You," he pointed at Sanji, who was left with half a cigarette in his hand. "And you, you're in love." He pointed at Zoro, who dropped his bottle, reflexively grabbing it with his other hand.

Silence fell over them like a funeral pall; the music was louder than ever.

Nami burst out laughing.

"What the fuck, Usopp?!" Sanji exclaimed, getting up from his seat.

Zoro didn't move a hair; he looked like a wax statue of Mr. 3.

Sanji grabbed Usopp by the shirt.

"I don't understand shit. What makes you think that moss-head and I are in love? Don't you know I don't like gorillas?"

Zoro woke up as if he'd been in a trance and grabbed Sanji by the tie.

"Who are you calling a gorilla?! You plover legs!"

"Plover?! Who are you calling a plover, you stinky seaweed?!" Sanji pushed him.

"Spiral insecticide eyebrows."

"Koala shit hair."

"Abandoned chimney breath."

Sanji looked at Nami in panic.

"I don't have bad breath, do I, Nami-san?" Nami didn't answer because she couldn't breathe from laughing so much.

"Guys, guys," Usopp touched both of their shoulders. "This is what I'm saying. This," he pointed at them both alternately, "is more than friendship. Everyone who sees you thinks you are brothers, and more than once I've thought your fights are like some weird foreplay.”

They both looked at each other, then grimaced with disgusted expressions, and let go as if they were on fire.

"You misunderstood, Usopp.”

"Yes, this is the opposite of foreplay. I wouldn't mess with the moss-head even if he begged me to.”

"Who would beg you, bag of bones?"

"Then don't play along with me, muscle-brain. Usopp will still think I'm flirting with you." Sanji turned to look at Usopp. "Look, Usopp, you know that if I'm interested in someone, I don't talk to them like that. I court them in a different way.”

"Has that courtship ever worked?"

"Shut up already and go photosynthesize somewhere else."

"Make me."

"I'm going to kick that ugly shit-face out of you."

"Try it and I'll pluck those shitty eyebrows."

"Guys, guys!" Nami appeared between the two, who were preparing to fight again. "If we keep this up, we'll never finish. Let's sit down again and wait for Usopp to explain how he came to such a terrible conclusion."

Reluctantly, the two men sat on opposite sides.

"Usopp, go on" Nami said.

Usopp began a long explanation, recounting all his observations. Their mutual understanding, on and off the battlefield, how they seemed to orbit each other, how each mentioned the other when they weren't around. How they refused to talk about Thriller Bark and now Onigashima.

"Onigashima has nothing to do with this" Sanji said, crossing his arms. "Besides, I told you I've already resolved it."

"If it's already resolved, why don't you want to tell me what Sanji asked you?" Usopp asked, looking at Zoro.

"I promised to keep it a secret; I don't spill my guts like others do."

"Is that a promise of love?"

"Of course not!" They shouted in unison. "Stop imitating me!"

"See? Aren’t you connected?"

"Go on, Usopp," Nami said, placing both hands on her chin. "This is very entertaining."

"I have to admit that we're all connected to some degree, but you two..."

Usopp continued, explaining the peace he felt watching them fight, how they had each other's backs, and how hard they worked to help each other's dreams come true.

He explained how worried Sanji was on the Sabaody Archipelago. How angry Zoro was when people told him about Viola, or when he found out that Sanji was going to marry another woman.

Finally, he explained the most obvious signs. How they disappeared at every banquet, when Sanji returned disheveled, and how Zoro blushed when he saw him. On Fishman Island, how he accidentally overheard Sanji and met a nervous and elusive Zoro and how he asked him to keep the secret.

How they both spoke to Usopp about love on two different occasions.

He mustered up all the courage he could to admit that he'd made a plan to spy on them, but when he saw Sanji so vulnerable, he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.

"I’m so sorry, Nami. I lied to you. It was a really stupid idea." Nami looked incredulous, and Sanji blushed up to his neck.

"Hey..." Zoro began.

"Hey, asshole. What did you see? You better answer me." Sanji clenched his fists. "How you answer will determine how many bumps you'll have."

"I swear I only saw you, I swear on my mother. As soon as I saw you, I knew I'd gone too far, I’m sorry." Usopp threw himself on his knees and begged for forgiveness.

Sanji deflated when he heard him swear on his mother. He was telling the truth.

"Get up, idiot. And finish already."

Usopp was determined to finish his explanation. He talked about how calm Sanji was, despite having awakened his brothers' enhancements, how he'd said he didn't need his suit since he'd fulfilled his dream. Finally, he talked about how Zoro had sought him out to return to the Sunny, and the marks he'd seen on Sanji's back.

"I told you how you fought a tiger and you didn't even deny it. You almost confirmed it to me."

"I told you it was a tigress."

"What difference does that make? Sanji..." Usopp stood up and looked at them. "I want you to understand that you're my family. It won't bother me that my nakamas are a couple. In fact, I'd celebrate it. You more than anyone deserve happiness, and who better than the person who understands you the most in this world."

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Usopp, I appreciate your intention, but..."

Usopp interrupted him; he'd had enough.

"Don't you trust me? I understand about your biological family, but don't you think I also want the best for you? I want you to be happy. I would have gone to Whole Cake for you if they'd let me. Hell, I would have said the same words you said to me in Ennies Lobby as long as you understood how important you were to me. Why don't you trust me?"

Usopp wiped his eyes. Sanji had stood up and was stroking his head.

"Usopp, listen..." Zoro stood up and touched his shoulder.

"Why, Sanji?" Usopp sobbed. "Zoro... I know I'm not that strong and I'm just getting in your way, but I want you to know that I watch you so much because I feel powerless. Every day I mentally beat myself up for not being of any use to you. I can't do anything but watch you shine, and I can't stand watching two of the most important people in my life, lie to themselves for no reason. So why?” He sobbed. “Why is it so hard to tell each other you love each other? Lies only hurt you, so why...?”

Usopp was covering his face with both hands at this point.

"Because I was scared," said a voice sitting in the distance. Usopp looked up and saw two brown orbs staring at him sincerely. Brown eyes he'd trusted since the first day they met.

"Nami-san..."

"Sit down," Nami ordered calmly.

Everyone obeyed.

Nami took a handkerchief out of the Okija bag she always carried with her and handed it to Usopp. He wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

"I didn't understand, Nami. What are you afraid of?"

"Saying the words."

"Words?"

"To say what my heart is screaming at me."

"I don't understand."

Zoro ran his hand over his face and spoke. "If you get rid of that stupid idea that Swirly-Eyebrows and I are together, you'll understand."

Usopp tilted his head, confused.

"You aren't? But how is that? You don't love each other, but are together?"

"No!" the two men denied.

"It's the other way around," Nami said. "They're not together, but they love each other."

"Stop talking nonsense, Nami," Zoro scolded.

"Don't talk to Nami-san like that. Besides, who loves that living plant? It's like saying I love oregano."

"But it's true. Everything you said about complicity and mutual understanding is true. You weren't wrong to believe that an invisible thread unites them," Nami affirmed.

Zoro and Sanji made similar grimaces of disgust and looked away. Zoro took a drink and Sanji lit a cigarette.

"They love each other, but..." Usopp began.

"No!" They denied again.

"Shut up," Nami intervened. "It's understandable to think that two people so close could be a couple, and I would have believed it if it weren't for..."

"If it weren't for..."

"That it was me who marked Sanji-kun's back," Nami admitted shyly.

Usopp felt his soul leave his body for half a second.

"What?!!!" Usopp shouted from the rooftops. "What do you mean, you? You got into a fight with Sanji again, and that's why he ended up like this?"

"They didn't fight," Zoro said.

"What?"

"Those marks aren't from fighting, you moron."

"Well, it's obvious. Sanji wouldn't lift a finger to Nami, obviously he'd lose."

"That's not what I mean," Zoro said, exasperated. "Fuck, it's easier to talk to a wall."

"Then why did you leave him like that, Nami?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Obviously you wouldn't know, Usopp, if you've never done it."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Usopp," Nami took Sanji's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Do you understand?"

Sanji blushed bright red.

"You're joking. You'd never even give Sanji the time of day."

"Hey, asshole, I thought you wanted the best for me," Sanji said, frowning.

"Is it easier for you to believe that Sanji would stop being straight than that he'd be with me?" Nami laughed. "I can't help you there."

"Listen, Sanji, this will be my last mention of the day I spied on you, okay? So, answer me something." He looked him in the eyes, as seriously as he could muster. "I saw you lying on a table and there was no one else in sight. How is that? I may not know much about sex, but doesn't it have to be at least two people doing it? The only explanation I could see is that there was someone behind you... Doing you? I don't know what sex between men is like, sorry.”

Usopp glanced at Zoro, whose mouth was open and his expression amused.

"There was someone under the table, genius," Sanji said, crossing his arms.

"How so?"

"Shit..." Sanji pinched his eyebrows. "Look, Usopp. I'll explain it to you because you're honestly ignorant on this subject. I was sitting in the chair, face on the table. I didn't have anything on. There was someone under the table doing very nice things to me, using the same device you use to pee."

They both looked at each other, blushing.

"And why were you moving like that?"

Sanji turned redder than before.

"You aren’t supposed to look pretty when you're..." He looked at Nami and stopped himself. "I'm not supposed to look good for an audience, idiot. It’s only that in the moment it feels like your soul has been ripped from your body, and you don't know what to do. Are you satisfied?

"I guess. Jeez, but don't get angry."

"Then don't make me angry."

"So Nami..."

"Me," Nami said, crossing her arms. Her gaze was cold.

Certainly, if anyone could forcefully rip Sanji's soul from his body, it would be Nami.

"Sanji isn't gay," Usopp said.

"No, moron," they answered simultaneously.

"What about the other times?"

"Let's see. What you heard at the banquets up until Fish-Man Island wasn't me," Nami said. "I admit that. I wasn't with Sanji-kun on either Sky Island or Fish-Man Island. I still considered Sanji-kun a lost cause with those stupid nosebleeds."

"It wasn't you, but... it was Zoro."

"It wasn't me, damn it!" Zoro shouted.

"So why did you always wander around? If you don't explain, I'll think you were looking for Sanji at every banquet. Why did you ask me to keep it a secret then?"

"Because it's embarrassing."

"What thing?"

"It's embarrassing to admit I got lost, okay? I couldn't find my way back to the banquet and I always ended up at that stupid perverted cook's place and his stupid escapades."

"You said it yourself, Usopp. They always end up orbiting where the other one is." Nami laughed, her hand over her mouth. "For better or worse."

"So, I had an audience this whole time," Sanji said, incredulous.

"Because you're so fucking loud! Why do you have to scream like you're being killed? I thought you were being killed the first time I heard you, so I went to help you, but I ended up seeing the whole thing," he said, blushing, making the same face he made on Sky Island.

"I can't help it. Maybe if you knew what it felt like, you'd understand me.”

"Shut up. Don't make me imagine that shit again, you'll make me throw up."

"Your face makes me throw up."

"Hey guys!"

"What?!" They answered in unison.

"Focus. So... by twists of fate, Zoro always ended up with Sanji, and that's why they got lost together. But that doesn't explain why you were looking for Sanji the day we left the Country of Wano"

"Well, since I was bound to run into him, it was easier to go looking for him. That day I did run into him, but he was also with Nami, marking his back. I escaped to the town, but I couldn't get there, I spent half a day wandering until I reached the street where the cook had his Soba stand. I thought they'd finished what they were doing by then, but I only felt you, Usopp.”

"Okay, I understand," Usopp touched the tip of his nose thoughtfully. "So, all those times were a coincidence. Okay, one last question. If it wasn't Nami and Zoro, who were with Sanji on Sky Island and Fish-Man Island?"

"Well..." Sanji took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled. "I can't say that, a gentleman forgets..."

"The one on Sky Island was Conis, I saw them." Zoro interrupted.

"Marimo, shut your mouth!"

"Stop beating around the bush, you've already tired me out."

"But she was uncomfortable with you, even Zoro told you so."

"Of course not. She was worried for her safety; you know Enel's story. I'd know if a girl was uncomfortable.”

“Of course you don't know, otherwise you wouldn't approach anyone within two meters.”

“Why don't you come closer so I can kick you in the ass, you grown-up piece of plankton?”

“You want a fight, shitty chef?”

They were about to get up and fight.

"Guys, focus!" Usopp yelled at them, and they turned their faces. "So, I misunderstood, she was nervous for other reasons and not because of Sanji's advances."

"When we liberated the island, she was very grateful," Sanji said.

"I could tell" Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Well, and on Fishman Island..."

"I can't say it... what I can say is that after two years of hell, I reached paradise."

"You said the mermaids were your All Blue."

"Yes, exactly. Dreams sometimes come true."

"I don't understand." Nami ran her hand over her face, and Zoro sighed.

"You don't need to know who it was. The important thing is that it wasn't Nami-san or the moss-head.

"So, Nami..."

"Wano," she replied sharply.

"Wait, Nami, you said you were going to talk to Sanji when you rescued him from Big Mom's clutches."

"Well, that's true. So, it was shortly before arriving to Wano.”

"What?"

"Oh, Usopp. Sanji-kun and I talked after leaving Whole Cake Island. We didn't talk about Zoro because it was nonsense to say they were together, but we did talk about other things.”

"And they did do other things," Zoro continued.

"It's none of your business, but," Nami said, "our secret started before we arrived in the Country of Wano"

"Well, I'm not convinced."

"Remember the day I came back from running into Sanji-kun?"

"Ah, the day you wore that scarf."

"I wore that scarf because it hid the marks Sanji-kun left on my neck. When I warned him not to," she glanced at Sanji, who was cowering beside her, like a wet puppy.

"I'm not convinced. You didn't have anything that night."

"I applied the makeup I bought at the Okija."

"You said you didn't have any makeup on."

"I didn't have any makeup on my face."

"But why were you mad at him?"

"Because he's Sanji-kun."

"But Nami-san. You told me I should act like always, so no one would suspect. You said I should notice other women and..."

"Well, you were an excellent actor. We weren't anything anyway, so my anger was fake too."

"Are you sure? Those blows after the hot springs were real."

"You spied on me. I wasn't ready to show you my nakedness yet; I just used my body to distract them."

"But..."

"Hey, guys, I'm not interested in your couple’s quarrels. Let's just get this over with," Zoro cut them off. "So, Usopp, do you believe them now?"

"Let me think about it."

"Usopp," Nami began. "I'll make it clear to you: You were right, but at the same time completely wrong."

"Try to recall your observations, but now from Nami-san's point of view."

"Hmm," Usopp's mind filled with images of an exasperated, sulking, and disappointed Nami. "I can't imagine it, no matter how much I think about it. She always saw you as a hopeless idiot."

Zoro laughed out loud. Nami sighed, and Sanji scratched his head.

"Well, he's not lying," Zoro said.

"Well, I see you as a hopeless idiot," Sanji said. "And according to Usopp, we're madly in love."

"Let me help you, Usopp. Do you remember our conversation at Zou?" Nami said.

"Yeah, you talked about how Sanji made you think about your mother."

"Well, from then on, you can think about Sanji-kun and me."

Usopp remembered Nami's tear-streaked face, mourning the departure of her nakama, how she defended him tooth and nail from Zoro.

Their misadventures on Whole Cake Island, their fight, how they interrupted the wedding, their reconciliation, the escape plan.

Sanji's happy mood and Nami's sour mood. How she told him she hadn't eaten after seeing Sanji, when it was something unthinkable. Nami's confidence that the raid on Onigashima would go well, and then Sanji's calmness despite the news of the changes in his body. Sanji's desperation to protect Nami on Onigashima, in Egghead. Shit, ever since they met, there's always been more than one invisible thread between them.

The understanding must have been evident on Usopp's face because the three of them relaxed.

"Finally," Zoro said.

"But..." Usopp said.

"Oh no, Usopp," Nami said. "Now what?"

"There's something I'm not sure about."

"Just ask," Sanji said.

"If I believe the story that Sanji was with Nami all this time…"

"Since Wano..." Nami clarified.

"Before Wano..." Sanji continued.

"Silence, both of you. It means my best friend has been lying to me this whole time and has been entertaining herself at my expense."

Nami covered her mouth with both hands and looked at him in embarrassment.

"It's not that, Usopp."

"So, you haven't lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you, Usopp. I just dodged the truth. It has nothing to do with you. I was the one who didn't know what I wanted."

"Just tell me the truth. Are you dating?"

"No," Nami said, her lips pursed.

"But you do everything Robin told me couples do."

"No," Nami denied in a small voice ("Sort of," Sanji said at the same time).

"Fuck, it's so confusing. How long will you tell me the truth, Nami?"

She lowered her head and held back her tears.

"Usopp, calm down. Nami-san was dealing with her own..."

"Let her tell me then, Sanji," Usopp interrupted.

Nami clenched her fists and clutched the bag she was carrying.

"I told you I was scared. I'm still scared," Nami admitted, looking up, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's the truth. I couldn't admit anything because even to this day, I don't understand it myself. I can't explain to you that I don't know. What I do know is that when Sanji-kun left us, I felt a loss I hadn't experienced since my mother's death. Then I saw he was getting married to a beautiful girl, who was also a pastry chef, and I didn't know what to think.”

>> “We met again and talked. But I still didn't have my answer, so I proposed a physical relationship. I asked him to act like he always did and that I would look for him whenever I wanted... to resume our secret.”

Nami took a handkerchief out of her bag to wipe her tears, along with an orange box with a ribbon tied around it. From it, she took out the floral arrangement she'd been wearing since leaving the Country of Wano.

"Every time we met, I became more and more confused. Seeing him act like a fool around with other women told me he wouldn't change, that a physical relationship was all we could hope for, because otherwise, I would get hurt. But then…" She grabbed the ornament with both hands. "I started thinking about Sanji-kun when I saw those stupid blue-eyed ducks, and I knew I had to give them to him, that it was destiny for me to see them.”

>>"Then he gave me this ornament, so beautiful and perfect that I never wanted to take it off. Like you, Usopp, I've never been with anyone, but unlike you, I don't know what love is; none of us do. Just like you and your research, I've been doing my own research, trying to find an answer, but the truth is…"

She looked up and met Sanji's eyes. He gently took her small hand.

"I want to continue this, okay? Even if I don't end up loving you the way you deserve, and you don't know how to behave with women, I don't think I can stop. It's already too late. As long as we continue this adventure, I don't want us to ever be apart."

"Me neither," Sanji admitted with a wistful smile.

Usopp cleared his throat and gave her a guilty look.

"Forgive me, Nami. I shouldn't have pressured you into telling me this."

"It was about time I told the truth. It was going to come out sooner or later," Nami said, shrugging. "But you're still going to pay for making me cry."

"But Nami..."

"Can I go now?" Zoro chimed in, having not moved an inch for several minutes.

"Go away now, you're in my way," Sanji told him.

I wish I could have a day without having to see your horrible duck face, too."

Zoro stood up and left, but not before giving Sanji one last disgusted look. In return, he flipped him the bird.

"So..." Usopp began.

"The truth was much more complicated than expected," Nami said. "I hope what I told you stays between us."

"I promise."

"Listen, Usopp," Sanji inhaled from his cigarette and let out a long breath. "What you said about me being important to you. I feel the same way. You don't think you're strong, handsome, important, or whatever, but you are. All that stuff you do, paying attention to my feelings and wanting me to be happy... few people have ever done that for me, and you don't know how much it means."

>>"Especially because I thought I didn't deserve it, but now I know I do." I deserve the happiness I'm feeling, and I want to share it with you all: Nami-san, you, and everyone else… even that moss-headed idiot. Besides…”

Usopp perked up his ear and grinned from ear to ear.

"What did you say, Sanji-kun? I didn’t hear you"

Sanji bit down on the cigarette filter and clenched his fists. In the end, he reluctantly spat it out.

"That you're my best friend, you idiot."

Usopp laughed out loud. He was laughing so hard that even Nami joined in. Sanji looked at them, frowning until he noticed Nami's face and how she was hitting the ground with her hand while she laughed her head off. It reminded him of the first day he met her, on the Baratie, and how fascinated he'd been since that day. He smiled and looked at them fondly.

"You're my best friend too," Usopp replied.

"I thought I was your best friend," Nami said, wiping away her tears.

"You're my best female friend."

"And Luffy?"

"He's more than a friend; he’s, my captain. Besides, Sanji. I thought Zoro was your best friend."

"I think we agreed they're soulmates."

"But Nami-san. You're my soulmate."

"Of course not, Sanji-kun. I'm your better half," she said playfully, showing him her half-orange-patterned bag.

"So, I'm also your better half."

"I still don't consider you my better half, Sanji-kun. You're just a blue-eyed duck."

"But, Nami-san..."

"Sanji*"

"What?"

"It's three in the morning**," Usopp smiled. "Let's go back to the others."

Sanji was too happy to hit Usopp.

For the rest of the banquet, everyone drank nonstop, especially Nami, who couldn't even stand. Before anyone could offer to help her rest, Sanji gently lifted her in his arms.

She hid her face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. Sanji let Nami get comfortable, by wrapping her arms around his neck. Sanji embraced her closer and left without a word.

No one seemed to find this odd.

Usopp stumbled along, looking for the room assigned for the Straw Hats. Walking around drunk on a giant ship was no joke. He knew he'd run into Zoro sooner or later, who hadn't returned to the banquet since saying goodbye to his three nakamas. Since Sanji wasn't offering to look for him anymore, the great Captain Usopp took on that responsibility.

He was approaching the guest room and didn't find Zoro, but with his same bad luck.

"Ah, right there! Yes!"

Usopp stopped dead in his tracks, as memories of his last nightmare flooded back. The only difference was that it was a woman's voice, one he knew perfectly well.

"Ah, Sanji! Harder!"

Usopp ran faster than if he were running away from Ulti, Page One, and Kizaru combined. He didn't expect to hear anyone louder than Sanji, but Nami was even louder. As he turned into the first hallway on the right, he saw a mane of mint-green hair.

"Zorooooo!"

He leaped like a spider onto Zoro's head and neck, just as he'd seen Chopper do.

"What the hell? Usopp?" Zoro asked, confused.

"I believe you guys! I believe you, damn it!"

"What are you talking about? Let me go," Zoro said as he tried to get him off of him.

"I believe Nami and Sanji are together now!"

"That's what we've been trying to explain to you for like three hours."

Zoro managed to peel himself off Usopp and put him on the ground.

"Zoro!" Usopp shouted desperately, shaking him by the shoulders. "I was looking for you, but I found them." He let go of Zoro and grabbed his head with both hands. "I didn't want to inherit your bad luck, Zoro. How do I get rid of it? I don't want to listen to them, it's too embarrassing."

"Calm down," he grabbed Usopp's hands and made him look into his eyes. "You said yourself that you wanted your nakamas to be happy, so this is the price to pay.”

"But I don't want to listen to them, Zoro," Usopp lamented. "I just wanted to know the truth."

"Well, now that you made Nami tell you the truth, now she doesn't seem to want to stop making noise either."

"What are you talking about?"

"Since we're in this together, I'll tell you. The last time I saw them, she was scratching the back of swirly-brows and biting his shoulder as if..."

"As if..."

"As if staying quiet meant she didn't have to confess her stupid feelings or some shit like that. Now, she doesn't seem to care about that... and it's all thanks to you." He touched Usopp's shoulder and looked at him as if he were about to deliver bad news. "Thanks for that, now there are twice as many ghosts."

"But..."

"No, Usopp. It's the price of truth. Now you'll have to listen to them forever.”

"Nooooooo," he put his hands to his head. "Do you think they can break up?"

"Swirly-Brows loves Nami too much to let her go. So, you have to convince her."

"It's like you're telling me it's impossible."

"Apparently. You'll have to decide..."

"What?"

"What you'll wear on their wedding night."

"Fuck me! Why don't you go with them to their wedding night? You're their best friend.

"Of course not! All that worrying shit is your own doing" Zoro pointed at Usopp's chest "You'll be the best man."

"Nu-huh. You'll be the best man. And you'll be the one who listens to them when they conceive their children."

"Fuck off, of course not!"

"Of course you do! Sanji says he wants ten children!" Usopp said, showing him all ten fingers.

"That’s bullshit!" Zoro turned to leave.

"Zoro, it's the other way! You're walking towards them!"

At a prudent distance, a pair of lovers rested peacefully as God brought them into the world. Both marked with evidence of the night they spent together all over their bodies, like paths of rose petals.

The golden-haired man dozed, leaning against the generous chest of the fiery-haired woman, holding her like his most precious treasure. Their legs were intertwined as if they'd forgotten who each one was. Her face was buried in his hair as she caressed the back of his neck. His hair smelled of sea breeze, herbs, and a hint of smoke.

The shouts of their two nakamas, the one with green hair and the one with the long nose, interrupted their time alone.

"So noisy," Sanji muttered, rubbing his cheek against Nami's firm chest.

"Some people can't control the volume of their voices," Nami snapped, indignant.

As she scratched Sanji's scalp, Sanji purred and smiled, satiated and content.

They both sighed at the same time, satisfied. They hugged each other tighter than before.

Notes:

This work is a huge ass:
WHAT IF...
What if the headcannons most fans have about ZoSan were completely misinterpreted.
I find it funny that the only "normal" human being is the one from fans' point of view.

I also wanted to touch on the topic of love, as something important. It was understandable that the only love the Straw Hats knew was familial love. Due to their childhood traumas, it was to be expected that characters like Sanji and Nami wouldn't know what romantic love was. And that each would search for it in their own way: Sanji trying superficial encounters that didn't fulfill his need for real love, and Nami searching for an objective answer to a totally subjective concept, which also involved not exposing her own wounded heart.

Series this work belongs to:

Part 1 of Discovering what real love is Next Work →

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