A pale hand touched his own, the contrasts in their skin tone distracting him as that pale hand dragged up his arm, following the contours of muscles under flesh. He shivered; fear of the unknown caused his limbs to tremble. Uncertainty shook in his hands as they reciprocated the touch, moving gently across soft skin.

"I missed you," she whispered against his lips.

He answered her with those lips – soft and sweet, but eager.

She wasn't fragile; she could raise a hurricane if she was determined enough. She was as strong as the forces of nature, but his touch was as careful as if she were made of glass. To him she was a dream, happy but fleeting, and if he wasn't careful, he might wake from it too soon.

She was soft. His fingers threaded through soft orange locks, longer now than he remembered. They brushed over her body, over skin kept softer than royalty's. Wherever she had been the last two years, it had been somewhere nice.

He felt embarrassed when her hands caressed across his chest, feeling the skin there before moving on to explore further. His own flesh was dry and weathered from exposure to the elements. The monstrous jungle he'd been trapped and trained in was not altogether kind to him, and he had new scars and marks where none had been before.

Nami didn't seem to notice, or perhaps she didn't care. Her fingers explored his body as if she had never seen it before, and he fell victim to her touch just as he always had. He let her explore her way down his chest and across his stomach. She teased at the muscles that were not there before, causing them to twitch under those pale fingers. She giggled, seemingly pleased by the reaction, and her hands moved to the waistband of his overalls.

He shivered again, but not out of fear.

Her hand on his length ripped a moan from his lips. Those curious, clever fingers worked over him a few times, building heat and tension in his body with every movement. If she kept going like this, it would be then end of him.

He flipped them, using newfound strength to tip her body onto the mattress. She didn't break, as fragile as she seemed to him. Instead, she laughed as orange waves splashed across the blankets.

He quickly slipped the straps off his shoulders and pushed the fabric of his overalls away. They were inconvenient and annoying to him in that moment. She followed his lead, the scant bit of fabric that made up her top being cast away before he could blink. They worked together to get her jeans off, him pulling and her pushing until they were out of the way.

Had she always been so beautiful? There was no tale he could tell that would do her beauty justice. Words would always fall short of her allure. He could never do her justice.

Those hands were on her again; dark, weathered hands that had no business mapping such angelic features, and yet she offered herself to them willingly. They traveled over mounds and peaks, explored crevices and tender folds. Soft, full lips that had the ability to shout curses and call out threats were shaping around sounds that spilled from her, unbidden.

She moved against his fingers, her body twisting in the sheets. She demanded more. She was always the one giving orders; orders that even the strongest men on their crew were powerless to ignore. If even those monsters couldn't deny her, what could Usopp do but oblige?

He moved into her, slowly, carefully, although the steady, strong hands gripping at his back proved her strength. He couldn't break her. She wouldn't be broken. Assured of that, he moved.

He silenced her cries with hungry lips; those hungry lips that craved more of her taste. Her mouth, her neck, her breasts, he sought more of her. It had been two long years since he'd seen her last, since he'd been able to sample such a flavor. He almost regretted that their reunion had been so rushed, but he supposed they would have plenty of time later.

They'd never be separate again if he had anything to do with it. He was stronger now. He would keep her with him.

"Usopp," she whimpered.

It was her turn to shiver now. With every thrust of his hips into hers, that shiver grew. She rocked back into him, driving him deeper, bringing herself closer to that blissful edge. Her back arched, and her breath came in quick, desperate pants, as if it were both the first and the last time she could breathe.

His hands encouraged her. His hips moved faster, but his hands pinpointed every sensitive spot on her body. When she finally tipped over the edge, she did so wrapped around him, her hands pressing him closer and his name being repeated by her tongue.

He grunted with his own release, tripped over the edge by hers, and shuddered one final time as his body finally came to rest over hers. They laid together, tangled limbs and radiant heat, relishing in one another's presence.

She shifted slightly, and Usopp took the hint and rolled off her. She sat up, running a hand through her tousled red hair. Her slim fingers quickly untangled a knot hidden among the locks. She sighed with contentment and made to push off the bed.

Usopp caught her wrist, the darkness of his skin contrasting the pale glow of hers as his fingers twined around her.

"Don't leave," he murmured.

He knew she wouldn't go far and that he could find her easily if he looked, but years apart had made this all feel like a dream. If she walked away, he might wake again to find nothing but that deadly jungle surrounding him.

She smiled, brushing her free hand through his messy curls. Goosebumps erupted on his arms as her nails gently scratched his scalp.

"Okay," she agreed, crawling back towards him. She curled against him, filling a space that had been void for him for too long. He kept her close, breathing her in, ingraining her in every part of him.

Her presence eased all of his fears, and he slept better than he had in years.


A/N: This was written as practice for more showing than telling. Feedback is much appreciated.