In retrospect, he should have seen it coming.

The attraction had already been in the making months ago – something Sanji could now admit to since he was knee-deep in the result – and he had no doubts that his crew had noticed something happening under the radar, the subtle shift in attitude between him and the longnose liar, even that monkey of an idiot he called captain. So when nothing was said, when no one pulled either of them aside to ask what the hell was going on, Sanji counted his blessings and took it as a sign to keep his mouth shut.

Thus there was no official 'coming-out.' Neither he nor Usopp made any attempts to tell the others what had happened, what was happening; on the contrary, the both of them took pains to act as normal as possible in front of their nakama, the usual sniper and cook, which luckily came so very naturally no matter the circumstances. He'd felt a deep-boned sort of satisfaction in knowing that kicks to the head were still free game, no matter the apologetic kisses he stole once everyone stopped looking their way.

It had been strange at first…. No, if he were gonna be honest, it had been hard as shit at first. Sanji did not consider himself that way, never would, and he wasn't, thank you very fuckin' much. The first person who dared think otherwise would get a first-class ass-whoopin' all the way to the shitty moon. His affections towards the females of his crew had not dampened or lessened, he was also sure of. The thought of Nami-san's Happiness Punch still hurt in all the right ways, which his masculinity took great pride in.

Usopp was just… different. The exception. A simple explanation that just happened to make all the sense it needed to. Had been around at the exact moments when it had counted, been gone at the right ones, too, until he'd stolen something from the cook that ached when he wasn't close by, but burned hard whenever he laughed and shot Sanji a goofy smile that turned his insides into jelly.

It'd then been near impossible being around Usopp, even once he'd finally put a name to that burn and ache, that addiction making his desire for nicotine seem like a mild attraction in comparison. To put it bluntly, he had fuck-all idea on how to go about courting a guy, especially one who turned tail at the slightest whiff of danger. Going through three packs of cigarettes had done little to quell his nerves that first night, after realization came challenging his preferences. He'd been plenty sure any advances would be rejected out of fear, and wondered if that should considered such a bad thing. Usopp had his cute little Kaya-chan, right? He had Nami-san and Robin-chan and all the other women in the world. That's how it was supposed to be, the natural order of things. Because he was straight, damn it all, and Usopp was too.

Yet that hadn't been enough to deter him in the end, and he'd dragged a confused and blubbering sniper into the cover of a storage rooms to… get shit over with. After the first fumbled attempts at affection, a few shy touches and pets from an awkward but surprisingly willing partner – everything the cook had not been expecting for a reaction – it was he who had wimped out at the last second and almost shot himself through the door until Usopp, in a moment of bravery that still surprised upon recollection, had smoothed over the initial fear with a hug and some understanding words.

He'd been hasty in drawing out the guidelines for what they could and could not do, anyway.

No hugging in public. No kissing in public. No holding hands in public. Any type of affection was for the bedroom, when they could steal time alone. They'd continue sleeping in their own beds. Nami-san and Robin-chan still commanded his attention every second of the day, so he'd better get used to that. He had every right to let Usopp drown in the fish tank no matter what stupid bets Luffy came up with. If Usopp tried to sneak extra desserts or food at night and used the excuse "But I'm your boyfriend!", instead of getting the crap beat out of him as per usual, rest assured no one would find the body after he got done with him.

Nice, easy rules they both knew and followed on a day-to-day basis, but putting them out on the table made it seem like they could get somewhere with the goal in mind and regulations to back them up. Or at least ease him through the transition until he could stop lamenting over Usopp's lack of breasts.

And to his amazement, it had all become simple repetition and pattern after that first initial hurdle. Usopp would take his watch up in the crow's nest, Sanji would follow to bring him dinner, and they'd spend brief but precious moments alone. Or they'd sneak off to go shopping for Sunny, perhaps grabbing a bite to eat along the way. It looked perfectly normal to anyone not looking for a deeper meaning, and that's how it needed to be.

Because they were a crew, first and foremost, lives pledged to Luffy and to each other. To their pirate flag and to their dreams. Whatever feelings he had for Usopp came a dangerous close second, but second nonetheless; a fact Usopp readily understood and agreed to. There was always that chance an open relationship would fuck up crew dynamics, and while it seemed cheap not trusting their nakama, it couldn't be helped, no matter how much they both craved for something less restricting.

He'd become so used to their quiet arrangement that it didn't register at first, how Robin-chan would absentmindedly comment on Usopp's fondness for strawberries. And he did well in their last fight against Generic Shitface Pirate No. 234 so maybe a reward – cheesecake smothered in the fresh fruit – was in order. Didn't he agree?

Or that his lovely Nami-san now delegated Usopp and him the ones in charge of shopping for supplies, and never the babysitters for that captain of theirs. No no, he didn't need to worry! The favor was free of charge, so he better enjoy it.

How the shitty marimo merely gave them each a look in turn, grunted in what might've been amusement, and promptly went back to his nap as though nothing were different.

Or Brooke, sitting right outside the door to the kitchen when he and Usopp were alone, playing a suspiciously romantic-sounding ballad.

That Chopper had not-so-discreetly planted chocolate-favored condoms in their beds, and then had screeched an apology from his hiding spot in front of the door when Usopp promptly passed out into a comatose.

When Franky had waved him over and mentioned he could always give his bros a more, uh, private room, no problems. He'd add in a jumbo bed that vibrated for the hell of it, and it had his super seal of approval.

Past all the blushing and heated denials from the last two incidents, the pieces finally clicked together when Sanji had looked up from his cooking one day and took in the sight of Luffy smiling that all-knowing captain grin of his, and looking for all his innocence like a proud father who'd been waiting for his children to get it together. He'd seen that grin and realized then, under the weight of relief that nearly shattered his insides, how he'd already been given the thing he'd wanted as much as finding All Blue.

So he figured it was okay, after all, to give Usopp's shoulder a fond squeeze in plain sight of their crew's amused glances, or be a little more adamant that the sniper not die when they all went up against the newest big bad.

But he still wasn't allowed to steal from the kitchen.

A/N: A fic based off this discussion I had with someone on livejournal. After some thought, I decided a relationship between any crew members - not just Sanji and Usopp - would probably need the consent of the crew as a whole. Not necessarily a verbal one, but confirmation that they're okay with it. And thus I set to thinking how each crew member in this case would show their support from Sanji's POV. To be honest, I really like how this came out. XD R&R if you want.

And I swear I'm getting to my other two fics, rly. D: Just needed to get this out of my system.