Hey everyone! So a quick heads up - this story begins on the Sunny before Thriller Bark. Right now, I intend to make it a long, 2-part one-shot. I feel like there just isn't enough fiction out there exploring Nami and Usopp's relationship, so I decided to take the wheel for a bit. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.


Liar

Part 1


The thing that screwed with Nami's head the most about the whole situation was that Usopp really was a great liar.

When Luffy bugged him to play, Usopp would roll his eyes and shove the captain away, insisting he needed space to finish a project he was working on - but he would always end up grinning when Luffy would groan and complain and finally tear him away from whatever important work he was doing.

Then there were the times when Usopp would sit around while Zoro exercised, cleaning out his bag that he kept his projectiles and gadgets in, because other random items would often find their way into that bag - items that would pointedly not help during a fight, like a paper crane he'd made the night before, and half of a sandwich still wrapped up for later, and a small warrior-giant figurine he'd spotted in the last town - and so the satchel needed regular re-organizing because those sorts of things could get in the way during crucial moments. Usopp would sit there, the contents of his bag spread out all around him as Zoro lifted huge weights, and the sniper would tell stories of how he used to lift houses as part of his own casual workout routine, but he didn't anymore because he grew so big and muscular that he became too intimidating for regular folks to look at. And he didn't want people like Zoro to feel bad by comparison, of course. Sometimes, the stoic look Zoro constantly sported would crack, and Nami, watching the two, would see the swordsman chuckle a little.

More than once, in the evenings, Nami found Chopper asleep in Usopp's lap out on the lawn while the sharpshooter sketched in his notebook, working around the doctor's furry head and stiff antlers. Sometimes Robin would wander up, and Nami could see them exchange words, and Usopp would hand over his drawing pad for Robin to examine. He'd smile at whatever criticisms or admiration she gave him. Sometimes she'd take up a spot next to him, reading while he continued on with his artistic endeavors, and the two would idly chat until the sun went down. Nami never got close enough to hear what they said to each other.

Franky and Usopp could often be seen testing new weapons together, laughing and shouting at their success or failure. Nami had been surprised at how quickly the two had warmed up to each other - but they did share a passion for building and creating, and they spent a lot of time together in their workshops playing inventor. Nami could remember when Usopp first showed Franky the dials he'd scored from Sky Island. Grinning like a crazy person, Usopp had prompted Franky to try to hit him with a single devastating attack.

"Are you super sure, Longnose-bro?"

Usopp had hurriedly nodded, even egging him on. Franky unleashed a Strong Right straight at Usopp's chest, but the impact dial absorbed it, of course, leaving Usopp smiling madly, unharmed. Franky, looking confused, raised an eyebrow as Usopp pressed the dial against the cyborg's chest and activated the attack, sending Franky flying. Usopp was cackling, shaking out his arm from the pain of the recoil as Franky dug himself out of the wall.

"We're even now, for that time at the Franky House," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Franky wasn't even angry. And it seemed Usopp knew he wouldn't be. The half-metal man clapped the sniper on the back, nearly knocking him over, and the two laughed and teased each other while they fixed the hole in the wall together.

Even around Sanji, Usopp was natural as ever. He kept up with his usual sneaking into the galley and getting kicked out promptly after, and helping with the dishes and whatever other chores beckoned - because Sanji always volunteered for anything Nami might suggest needed to be done, and sometimes Usopp would assist him in the load of chores the cook insisted on doing for his dear Nami-swan. She could spot the two laughing together sometimes before she got close enough for Sanji to notice her. As soon as he did, he assumed his regular position as devoted worshipper. And Usopp would smile through the whole thing.

It made sense that the sniper could keep up such a perfect front, just like it made sense that Nami was, for the most part, able to do the same. Lying and acting were huge and necessary parts of Nami's daily life before she joined the crew. If she wasn't good at bullshitting, she probably would've been dead years ago. And likewise, Usopp, having made fibbing a part of who he was at such an early age, really could lie rather well at this point. Clearly, there were times when he was blatantly obvious in his skewing of the truth, but… well, Nami thought that was probably the point. He lied about being a shitty liar, so that when the time came that he really had something to hide, it was impossible to detect.

And of course, there were occurrences where Nami couldn't really figure out which part of Usopp was a lie and which part was real. Like the time when the Sunny had been attacked by two different ships at once, and cannonballs were all-of-the-sudden raining down upon the Straw Hat crew from multiple directions. While their opponents didn't pose much threat, there were many of them, which proved to be distracting - so distracting that Nami didn't notice a cannonball flying straight towards the spot where she stood as she manipulated the weather around her with the brilliant weapon he'd made.

Despite shaking knees and stammering excuses and frightened screams and pleas, Usopp the coward often did very brave things. Like when he grabbed her wrist, yanking her backwards so hard that she left the ground, and she was thrown to the deck several feet away just before the cannonball crashed down, exploding and splintering wood on impact. Usopp took the brunt of the attack, getting knocked off his feet by the sheer force and proximity of it.

He rolled, propping himself up on his hands and knees, choking and sucking air back into his lungs after having it all knocked out of him. Nami stared at him, her mind leaving the battle entirely for a moment as he quickly recovered and picked himself up, running over to grab her hand and pull her along as more cannonballs whistled through the air towards them. As they ran, Nami glanced over and saw bits of shrapnel stuck in his face and neck and arms, and he was bleeding. There was panic in his wide eyes, but his jaw was set and determined.

Nami knew that he considered himself to be a coward. But maybe he wasn't at all, sometimes. Nami wondered how much Usopp lied to himself.

Once, after a different battle that proved less of a hassle for the crew, the navigator noticed Sanji and Zoro and Luffy all crowded around the sharpshooter down on the lawn. As she squinted her eyes at them from the upper deck, trying to figure out what all the commotion was, Robin slipped her hand around Nami's arm.

"Let's go get a better look, eh, Miss Navigator?" she'd asked with a fluid smile. Nami had grinned back, and the two girls discreetly moved closer, staying out of sight behind the foremast. She could hear what they were all saying now.

"Oi, I bet you don't even know how to use one of these," Sanji was teasing Usopp as he slipped the toe of his shoe under a rifle that'd been dropped and left behind by the enemy. He flipped it up into the air, catching it with ease. Of course they'd encountered guns before, but they never kept any on the ship - the only person who used guns was Franky, who housed them in his own body. As far as Nami knew - and she made it her business to know what went on in that ship - there weren't any guns on the Sunny, even in the weapons and ammunition room. If they obtained any, they just sold them when they went into town. Well. Nami sold them. There wasn't any point in having them on the ship when all the fighters other than her and Usopp were freaks of nature!

"O-of course I know how!" Usopp had stammered, shoving his hands in his pockets and rolling his eyes. The small smiles from the others told Nami that they didn't really believe him - not Zoro or Sanji, at least.

"So why don't you ever use one?" Zoro asked, scratching the inside of his ear.

"Oh, because, you know," the sniper had chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "guns are just… so passé."

Zoro snorted and Sanji chuckled, shaking his head. The blonde handed off the rifle to Usopp as he walked past him, getting to work on clearing off the rest of the ship, mentioning that he'd be starting on dinner soon. Usopp was left holding the rifle, looking very uncomfortable.

"You know," Luffy said, his voice a bit lower. Nami and Robin had to strain to hear him while still remaining unnoticed. "Your dad uses guns."

Luffy and Zoro looked at Usopp, who nodded silently, looking down at the weapon in his hands. "I know."

Nami chose that time to step in and started ordering them all to get back to work so they could continue on with their lives. Usopp had hurried off with everyone else, but Nami saw him taking the long rifle with him.

Months passed and the crew had no shortage of adventure. And on that particular day, they didn't even need to go looking for it - they were suddenly surrounded by it. Well. Luffy called it adventure. Usopp called it imminent death, among other things. That particular day was what really started everything.

The Sunny had already been boarded by a very large number of very large men before Nami knew what was happening. They looked like barbarians. Luffy and Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of it all, down on the lawn, punching and kicking and slashing so fast that Nami's eyes could hardly keep up. She could hear Franky and Chopper shouting and attacking from across the ship on the other upper deck. Robin was a little ways away, and Nami had to take a moment, even amidst the chaos, to appreciate Robin's fighting style; she walked about so casually, her face calm as arms grew out of all her assailants, grabbing them and twisting them around, cracking their bones, smacking the shit out of them. Nami couldn't help but laugh, and it came out sounding a bit hysterical - Robin was strolling around this intense fight and bitch-slapping everyone into submission.

"Nami!"

The navigator, feeling stupid for having lost herself (in the middle of a fight, even!), snapped her attention back to what was actually going on in front of her. And at that very moment, right in front of her, one of the huge men happened to be coming straight for her with an axe. She dodged, tripping up a bit, being caught by surprise. She heard a 'clang!' and turned to see he'd dropped his axe. A cloud of smoke hung around her attacker's head, as Usopp had just fired and landed another perfect hit with his slingshot. He ran towards Nami, but as he was passing the giant bald man that'd been attacking her, the hulking beast reached out and grabbed the sniper - he was so big that his hand could fit around Usopp's entire torso with his arms pinned at his sides.

"Usopp!" Nami had screamed, rushing forward. The enraged attacker grabbed Usopp's slingshot from his hand and tossed it behind his back, squeezing the sharpshooter in his crushing grip. Nami pointed her Clima-Tact upwards and unleashed a jolt of electricity - her storm cloud had finally gotten dense enough for a deadly attack. Lightning shot down and struck the man that'd grabbed Usopp, and their enemy cried out and dropped the sniper. Unfortunately, Usopp couldn't avoid Nami's attack when he was in the clutches of the man who had to at least be a half-giant. Both bodies crumpled to the ground, smoke rising from their flesh. Nami cursed and ran to her crew mate.

He was groaning, but that meant he was conscious, which was good enough for her. His already tan skin was much darker now. She started pulling him to his feet, and the two of them both yelped in horror when they saw their gargantuan bald enemy starting to get up. Usopp, suddenly finding his energy renewed, grabbed Nami's hand and ran with her as fast as their feet would carry them, shoving the door that lead below deck open with his shoulder. They could hear the pounding footsteps of their enemy behind them, screams of rage following them as they descended three floors to the basement level of the ship. Nami dropped her Clima-Tact when she banged it against a door frame, and it started to roll away. She stopped to chase it, but Usopp yanked her along, yelling at her to leave it. They ran down the hall to the Soldier Dock System.

"Down here!" Usopp shouted, running to the far path, sprinting down that hallway, approaching the ladder to the energy room. He flew up the ladder, turned and grabbed her arm, and pulled her up the rest of the way. As soon as they were both in the energy room, he shoved her towards the stairs, ran to a storage box, and started heaving it over to where the ladder ended, making it much harder for a giant man of their enemy's size to get through.

Once down the stairs, Nami stumbled over to the far side of the Usopp Factory, trying to catch her breath in the darkened room. Usopp was only a few seconds behind her, bounding down the stairs two at a time, keeping his momentum as he ran over to his huge junk box, digging through it immediately. Nami could hear the crash of the enemy as he destroyed the obstacle Usopp had put in his way. The sniper kept digging frantically. The stairs rumbled as their attacker ran down them.

The floor vibrated as the beast appeared, jumping down the last three stairs, and from the other side of the room, Nami saw Usopp spin around to face the huge man that had them cornered. The sharpshooter took on a steady stance with his feet spread should-width apart. And in his arms was the rifle from what seemed like so long ago.

The massive attacker started running towards Usopp with long, bounding steps. The sniper lifted the gun and in one fluid motion, he pressed the stock against his shoulder, cocked the hammer, lowered his head, closed one eye and looked through the sights of the gun, aligned them, and pulled the trigger. She could see his finger curl around the trigger, pulling it back almost slowly, smoothly. His body rocked back just a bit with the recoil, but he remained incredibly stable on his feet. It all happened in a split-second.

Part of the monstrous bald man's brain exploded out the back of his head.

Silence filled the room.

Usopp ejected the empty bullet casing and lowered the rifle to the ground. He took a few steps back, curling his lips inwards, his eyes wide as he stared at the corpse in front of them. Nami's mouth hung open. Without a word, she made her way over to the dead body and looked down at it. Usopp had hit the man right between his eyes. Of course he did. Blood and maybe some other, more solid-looking things were seeping out of the gaping hole in the back of their attacker's head. Nami gagged.

She turned back to Usopp, who looked like he might be sick as well. It made sense to her now. It made so much sense, the way Usopp had behaved when the crew had found the leftover rifle on the ship months ago. She understood now why he didn't use guns.

"C'mon," she said, breaking the silence between them. The very muffled booms and shouts of battle above deck crept back into their ears. "We should get rid of this."

Usopp nodded mutely.

The navigator and the sniper started grunting and pushing and pulling and shoving the body out of the Usopp Factory. It must've weighed four times as much as they did put together. They worked to haul it up the stairs and into the energy room, with Nami in front holding the man's ankles and Usopp in the back supporting his shoulders. The dead man's blood spilled onto the sniper as he and Nami barely managed to transport it into the energy room. They were trying to hurry so nobody would notice their absence and come looking for them once the fight was over. Huffing and panting, they dragged the body to the ladder.

And then, their struggling came to a sudden end as several phantom arms and hands grew out of the walls and ladder and floor, lowering the corpse down the ladder and rolling it along the narrow hallway and into Channel 1. The door to the channel opened and the body washed out to sea. As Usopp and Nami climbed down the ladder, they saw Robin standing by the controls of the Docking System, showing no signs of wear from the fight, which had apparently ended by now. Usopp avoided her eyes.

As they approached her, Usopp spoke to the floor, covered in their former enemy's blood, his voice cracking, "Robin, I didn't… I just…"

"You think you have to explain yourself to me, of all people?"

Nami looked over at Robin, who had put her hand on Usopp's back, giving it a couple light pats. It made sense, Nami thought. Robin had been struggling to survive by herself for twenty years. Of course she'd been in situations where she had to make difficult decisions in order to keep living.

Robin gave them a gentle smile and turned to go help the others with whatever they might need. Usopp kicked off his boots and lowered himself into the water of Channel 3, bobbing next to the Shark Submerge, washing off the blood that'd gotten on him. Nami watched the water around him turn red for a few seconds before the blood, rinsing right off in the cold salty ocean, dissipated, returning the water to its normal blue. Nami helped him back onto the dock, and then they ran and quickly gathered some supplies and went back down to the Usopp Factory to clean the mess they'd made before anyone saw it.

Usopp remained totally silent throughout their scrubbing and mopping. He took care of the majority of the gory mess. Nami thought he looked like he wasn't even there, like he was moving on autopilot and Captain Usopp had checked out. But when most of it had been cleaned, and he and Nami were on their hands and knees giving the floor of the energy room a final scrub to try to lift the stain from the wood completely, she looked over and saw tears falling from his eyes. He wasn't shaking or sobbing - he had a hard look on his face, obstinate, and yet tears were streaming down his cheeks, falling to the floor, mixing in the with soap and water and blood.

"Usopp."

He kept scrubbing like he hadn't even heard her.

"Usopp!"

Jolted, he looked up, obviously having been torn from whatever thoughts he was lost in.

"If you hadn't done it, the crew would've been scrubbing you and me off this floor right now."

He nodded, wiping off his face, embarrassed. She didn't say anything further and neither did he. Both of them had trouble finishing their dinner that night.

Usopp was no coward, Nami had decided.

Days passed and things appeared to return to normal. Robin seemed to have kept the incident to herself, to Nami's relief. The rest of the crew was apparently totally oblivious to the fact that a fairly traumatic event had taken place below deck a few days prior. Sanji and Zoro fought constantly, Franky fixed the damage in the ship, Luffy whined for meat and created trouble, and Chopper mixed medicine - all per usual. And somehow, Usopp acted like his normal self for the most part. His smiles seemed genuine, his laughter and shouts were enthusiastic, and he gobbled down food almost as fast as Luffy, defending it from the captain's sneaky hands with gusto. If Nami hadn't been looking for it, she would've never noticed anything.

That was the first time she realized that Usopp was a great liar after all.

It was when Usopp turned away, thinking nobody could see his face, that his smiles would crack and fade. It was when Luffy was bugging him to entertain him, and Usopp was pushing the rubber boy away, exclaiming that he had work to do - Nami could see real anger and frustration in the sniper's eyes when the captain's head was turned. It was when she was procrastinating on her map making, sitting in the observation room with a view of both upper decks that she saw Usopp crouched down at the back of the boat - her side of the boat - repairing part of the railing that Luffy had destroyed earlier that day. An easy fix for him at this point. She spied on him, watching through the glass windows that encircled the room.

Usopp was hammering, and hammering, and then he accidentally hammered so hard that he re-broke the particular part he was working on and nearly fell into the ocean. Dropping the hammer, he sat back, elbows on bent knees, and he ran his hands through his mess of black curls, yanking back on them. She saw his shoulders shaking. His head dipped down, his fingers clenched in fists around his hair.

Another day went by and Usopp had watch that night. Being on watch was much more tolerable now that they were on the Sunny, and the crow's nest was nicer than some peoples' homes. But it was cold that night, and as Nami snuck up into the crow's nest, she spotted the sniper on the other side of the room, wrapped in blankets, staring out the window. There were a couple bottles on the ground next to the bench where he was cocooned.

"Are you up here drinking?"

Usopp jumped, glaring over at her as she walked out of the shadows. He apparently hadn't heard her come in. And he didn't answer her question.

"You scared the hell out of me."

Nami approached and sat next to him, picking up both of the bottles and smelling them. If she had any doubts for any reason that Usopp was drinking liquor, she no longer had them now. One of the bottles was almost empty. The other was still full.

"Since when do you drink? By yourself? In the middle of the night?" she asked, setting the bottles back on the floor.

His head fell back against the glass window, and he looked at the ceiling. "I don't know," he muttered, shaking his head slowly. "Since I killed that guy."

"Usopp…" she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself in the cold. "You know that… you know that you had no choice. You probably saved both our lives."

He rubbed his eyes and then rolled his head to the side so that he was looking at her. "I know. I know we didn't have much choice - I didn't have my Kabuto or my slingshot or anything, and you didn't have your Clima-Tact, and we're both weak as shit. And I wasn't even planning on doing what I did - I actually forgot about the rifle until we were in the Soldier Dock System. I thought maybe we could escape with the White Horse or the Shark Submerge or something, but he was right behind us and… I know I'm not… I'm not some … But I can't get that image out of my head. So, I thought I'd be cliche` about it and try drinking."

He reached down and picked up the bottle that he'd almost finished. "And it turns out," he said, taking a swig and offering the bottle to her, "that it works as well as they say."

Nami shook her head to the offer, opting instead to lean down and grab the bottle that was still full, opening it. She clinked it against his. She knew Usopp was going to have a tough time over what happened. And she really didn't know how to comfort him. This was beyond her. So instead, she did all she really could do - she decided that at least he wouldn't have to drink alone that night.

They shared several long gulps together, and he rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. He let the bottle, which he'd just emptied, slip through his fingers and clank onto the floor. Nami was shivering now, and he opened up his blanket, extending a silent invitation for her to get warmer next to him. Scooting closer, the bottle of liquor still gripped in her hand, she cozied up to the warm body, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, draping his blanket across her. He gently pulled the bottle of alcohol from her, lifting it to his lips once more. She watched him with sad eyes.

"Please don't make some sort of habit out of this. I get it right now. But just… please don't create more problems for yourself. I can't stand seeing you like this."

"I won't," he said with certainty. "I won't," he repeated.

She pulled her knees to her chest, and he passed the alcohol back over to her. She craned her neck back and the liquor burned down her throat. It warmed her stomach. By the taste and smell of it, she discerned that they were drinking rum. Like true pirates. Minutes of silence crept by, and the two of them huddled together, trading shots in the dark room. Moonlight spilled in through the windows.

"Apparently my dad was a pretty heavy drinker," Usopp said as he leaned his head back again. His adam's apple poked out against his throat, bobbing as he spoke. "Luffy told me."

Nami, looking over at him, said nothing.

"Isn't it fucked up that Luffy knows my own father better than I do? I don't even remember what he looks like. But Luffy does."

The navigator's hand found the sniper's, and she entwined her fingers with his. He enclosed his grip around hers.

"Fucking Luffy…" Usopp mumbled, slouching down even more than he already was. It was almost like he was melting towards the floor. His back was flush with the seat of the bench, legs sprawled out in front of them. "Fucking Luffy and Zoro and Sanji and all those assholes. How do they do it? How does Robin, like, casually break peoples' backs? How does Zoro slice people open and just…"

"Because he's fucking Zoro," Nami said, squeezing his hand tighter. "Because Robin's probably seen a lot worse than we did the other night more times than we can count."

"I'm never going to be on their level. I'm never going to get that strong, even if I work my whole life, I'll never be like them."

"That's not true. You're Captain Usopp, brave warrior of the s-"

"Don't start that shit right now, Nami," he groaned, closing his eyes. She fell silent. When she said nothing further, he frowned, eyes still closed. His voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry. I'm drunk. I'm sorry."

She pulled their linked hands into her lap, rubbing his with her thumb. "It's okay." Another minute of silence passed and Nami sipped at the bottle. "I want to help you, Usopp. I just… don't know how."

He held out his free hand, silently asking for the rum back. She handed it over. After a hearty swig, he set the bottle off to the side, took a deep breath, and looked up at her. "Will you kiss me?"

Nami's heart jumped into her throat, and her stomach did a triple backflip. Her mouth fell open and she stared down at him, hardly able to respond. She dropped the hand that she'd been holding in her lap. "What? Why? What?"

"Because I'm drunk and miserable and I want to think about something else and you're so beautiful and I've wanted to kiss you pretty much as soon as I met you but you scare the hell out of me but you're so gorgeous and perfect, Nami, God, I'm sorry," he rambled, squeezing his eyes shut, furrowing his eyebrows.

Nami didn't know what it was. Maybe it was because this was the most honest she had ever seen Usopp. Maybe it was because he looked so pathetic, crumbled in on himself, spilling his guts to her in the middle of the night. Maybe it was because she was a little drunk now too. Whatever it was, it was enough, because she found herself leaning down, bringing her face close to the sharpshooter's. She stopped inches from his nose, and she grabbed his jaw in her hand. He slowly opened his eyes and found her so close to him, and the two stared at each other for about three seconds before she tilted her head and pressed her lips against his. His eyes fluttered shut again.

His lips, which were so soft and big and felt wonderful, captured her.

One hand found the back of her head, and he ran his fingers through her hair while the other hand located her shoulder, palm sliding along her skin up to her neck. She could hear him inhaling a deep breath through his nose, and he breathed against her lips as he kissed her over and over, and she couldn't wrap her mind around how this was Usopp and, wow, how she was - unexpectedly - enjoying him like this so much. Without consciously thinking about it, she opened her mouth, and then Usopp's tongue found hers, and they swirled together between full and soft lips. They could taste the alcohol on each other.

Nami pulled away, suddenly feeling like she needed to catch her breath. Her face was hot and her heart had started jumping around her ribcage. He never opened his eyes. Instead, he slowly slid down the bench the rest of the way until he was sprawled on the floor. The blanket remained with Nami on the bench. His chest rose as he inhaled slowly, filling his lungs to capacity. And then he exhaled, breathing, "Oh, my God."

She chuckled a little - she couldn't help it. He looked like such a pathetic mess down on the floor, and - damn it - his lips would never look the same to her again, and the whole thing was just too surreal. She pinched herself hard just to make sure it was all really happening.

Upon hearing her giggle, Usopp looked up at her with half-lidded eyes. He smiled a bit at her and her cheeks, which, even in that dark room, he could tell were bright red. He extended his arm, reaching out to her. "Come here," he said, so quietly.

She grabbed the bottle of rum and went to him, sitting down across his lap, straddling him. He grinned up at her, sloppy and drunk, and Nami felt like it was the first time he'd really smiled and meant it in the past several days. She threw her head back and took a few consecutive gulps, gasping for air and wiping her mouth when she was finished, scrunching up her nose and making a face at the nasty flavor.

"You're the most beautiful woman in the entire world."

"Stop saying that kinda stuff, I can't handle hearing it coming out of your mouth, Usopp," she said, smacking him on the chest. He caught her wrist in his hand.

"No. Because you are beautiful and I can finally tell you and maybe we'll die tomorrow, you never know, so I'm gonna say it now, while I can."

She laughed and shook her head, and when he tugged at her wrist a little, pulling her closer to him, she obliged, laying down across his body. His body, which was so warm and firm and alive and different from hers. It felt good, to be pressed together like that. And then he kissed her once more, and she was lost all over again.

He wrapped his arms around her back, and she could feel his heart beating against her chest and she was glad that she wasn't the only one in danger of a heart attack. The rest of the world faded away, and there was only Usopp and his perfect lips and his nose against her cheek and his thighs pressing up into her, and all the horrible things that happened days ago were furthest from her mind.

The sharpshooter rolled on top of her, moving so that his legs were on either side of hers now, and he was hunched over, kissing down her neck, and Nami's hand found his coarse hair and fingers enclosed around curls.

She loved every second of it, and she couldn't help but feel like she was dreaming still. Like this just couldn't be happening, there was no way. She hadn't snuck up to the crow's nest expecting anything like this. She'd expected… well, she knew he wasn't okay. She knew he was hurting. And she'd thought he would be emotional and scared and … not drunk. Not Usopp. He didn't seem like the kid they'd found in Syrup Village. This wasn't the screaming and crying coward she'd known. He wasn't acting like a child. Now she didn't know what to think of him.

She could feel the hot air from his breath against her neck, and he pushed himself forward, moving so that his face hovered over hers, and he kissed her again, his hand resting gently over her throat. She drank it in - the feeling of their lips cushioning together, warm and wet, licking at each other. Her knees started to bend, and then she found herself pushing her legs upwards, between his.

"Nami," he whispered, pulling away from her. She reached out, grabbing the front of his overalls, keeping him from running away. But he didn't run. He was Usopp, but he wasn't running away in terror. It was doing Nami's head in and she couldn't get enough of this new person she'd just met.

His hand went to hers, holding it over his chest so that she could feel his heart ramming against her palm. "I…" he said, looking around the dark room. He sat back on his heels, and their pelvises pressed together, though he kept the majority of his weight off her, seeming to be a bit wobbly. "I have to stop."

"What?!" she said, and she realized she was pouting indignantly.

"You're … this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. In my entire life. But the room is spinning and if I don't go to sleep really soon, I'm going to throw up."

Looking annoyed, she dragged her hand down his chest, over his overalls, past his stomach, and let it rest at his crotch. She didn't want it to be over. She felt like she'd just discovered a new book that she loved and she wanted to read more than just the first chapter.

Usopp's eyes flicked from where her hand remained back up to her face again. "You're an incredible bitch."

She erupted into laughter, feeling light-headed and incandescent. He fell off her, crumbling onto the floor next to her, groaning and holding his head. "I'm sorry. I've never even… I've never done any of this before. And I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna throw up."

Snorting, she sat up and stretched, a chill running up her spine and making her shiver. "Go throw up then," she said, her hands in her lap now. "You're a big coward after all," she told him, though she was smiling, hoping he wouldn't take her teasing too seriously. The truth was, she'd never done any of this either. It was as new to her as it was Usopp. But she sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that. Not right now, anyway.

"No'm not," he protested, slurring a bit, laying on his side, his eyes closed. "Well. Okay, I am, you're right, but it's … it's all catching up with me now and I have to go throw up. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Excuse me."

And with that, he started hauling himself to his feet, and Nami stood up to help him. He wavered into a standing position, and she put her hands on his waist to steady him. He was only a couple inches taller than her. He was caught in her eyes for a second before he cleared his throat and turned and headed for the ladder.

She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself, padding over to watch his progress, smiling fondly. She couldn't help it. She was happy.

He did manage to get down part of the ladder before he fell the rest of the way to the lawn. She chuckled down at him, her head poking out over the porthole leading into the crow's nest. Usopp laid on the ground and groaned for a full thirty seconds before he remembered exactly why he was making the journey in the first place. Stumbling over to the railing, he dispelled a good portion of the alcohol that'd been in his stomach into the ocean.

Nami observed through the windows as Usopp, seeming to be more steady on his feet now, made his way to the boy's bathroom. And a couple minutes later, he returned, making it up the ladder to the crow's nest, apparently having a much easier time going up than going down. She was sitting on the bench, grinning in the dark as he appeared through the porthole in the floor, and he didn't even bother standing up - he crawled to the middle of the room and collapsed.

Rolling her eyes, Nami went over to him with the blanket, laying it across him. Still breathing heavily from the excursion, he looked up at her as he slowly kicked off his boots. "What, you're leaving now? Don't leave. I brushed my teeth even."

It didn't take much to convince her, though she acted like it did. "Fine. I guess. But only because you're a pathetic mess with a bunch of issues and I feel bad for you."

He snorted, and she laid herself on the floor next to him. He gathered her into his chest, blanket and arms wrapped around her, and as she laid there with her face tucked under his chin, she smiled to herself. It really wasn't that uncomfortable when he made himself into a body pillow for her.

"You saved our lives the other day," she said, kissing against his neck, pushing his hair away from her because it was tickling her cheeks.

"Maybe I did," he said, rubbing her arm a little, sounding very tired.

"You were very brave," she whispered.

There was no response. He was already sleeping. And she found that, in his embrace like that, she felt safe. It was strange, being that she and Usopp were easily the weakest on the ship. But when she was with him like this, she didn't have anything to fear. Thinking it a little profound, she drifted off to sleep soon after he did.

Four hours passed and the two did not move a muscle.

It must've been the sun appearing through the windows and heating up her face that woke her. The first thing she knew was that her shoulder hurt like hell. And that she was laying across someone. And that someone was still snoring away.

The blanket pooled in her lap as she sat up, and she looked down at Usopp, and the events that'd happened just a few hours ago were immediately fresh in her mind. But, surprisingly, she felt almost giddy over remembering the details. There was no regret or anxiety. Rather, she was … excited? The fact that she was so pleased was what worried her.

"Hey!" she said, prodding at the sniper. He groaned and rolled onto his side, reaching blindly for the blanket and pulling it up over his face. "Hey! Usopp!" she said a bit louder, shaking him now. He swatted her away, moving back onto his back, and his eyes fluttered open, squinting in the sun.

He looked up at her, confusion on his face, and he pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking around the room. She could see his face change as memories returned to him upon noticing the bottles of rum on the floor, and the fact that she sitting next to him.

"Oh," he said, his voice sounding hoarse. "Oh, that all really happened."

"Sure did," she supplied.

"Ah… Um. I'm sorry?"

She chortled a little and stretched, twisting her back and rolling her shoulders, getting a bit of relief from her popping joints. "You don't have to be sorry."

"Oh. So. I, uh…" he sat up with her, immediately grabbing his head as it quickly flooded with a throbbing pain. "Oh, my God."

"Your shift on watch is about over. I'm gonna get out of here before we find ourselves in a situation. Sanji's gonna start making breakfast before too long." She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"Oh, yeah… Sanji."

"Yeah, I don't wanna think about it right now. I'm going down to try to sleep a few more hours before the day really starts." She was already standing, picking up the bottles of rum for him.

Usopp was still trying to massage his aching skull. "Agreed. Er…" He frowned, rubbing his eyes hard. "Am I going to owe you an incredible sum of money or something?"

Nami threw her head back and laughed. "I haven't decided yet!"

"That's cute," he mumbled, pulling on his boots. He wanted to get out of there before Zoro showed up to work out.

"You look like shit," she informed him politely as he gathered the blanket in his arms and groaned his way into a standing position.

"Thanks, I feel like it."

"You should probably shower before anyone sees you today."

"Yeah," he agreed, and he let her start going down the ladder before him. "You wanna join me?"

She froze on the ladder and looked up at him, her mouth hanging open. He couldn't help but lose himself to a fit of giggling, shaking his head.

"I'm joking!" he said, smiling at her. And it felt good to see him smile like that. She returned the expression and lowered herself down to the lawn, followed closely by the sharpshooter.