Some real quick notes. Ignore if you want:
solderini – WOO! Another Usopp fan! I love that boy; it's great to hear from others who love him too! Thank you for the review, you make me very proud
Destiny Waterborn – yeah, you're right, Usopp does tend to stay as a background character, doesn't he? It's too bad, too, since he's such a great guy. Thanks for the review!
MangoPirate – I am SO GLAD you mentioned Kaya! I was focusing so much on trying to get Usopp's interactions passable with the crew that I would have managed to forget to include Kaya or any of Usopp's past. Which would have been pretty stupid in this story. So THANK YOU because you were able to get me kicked back into thinking of Usopp in relation to what we know of him, and it was a great help with finishing this little story. Thank you!
Animefreakperson - laugh don't worry, I love Chopper too. I just didn't include him because I was trying to keep this fic in a vague area in the series, so people fairly new to the anime could also read it. I know when I was starting out, before I had seen any eps with Chopper in them, I tried very hard not to read any fics with him in it. I guess I was going for that, but no worries! I love that little reindeer and I will definitely have him in other fics, and will probably also have a Chopper-centric fic as well Thank you for the review!
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Title: Won't You Come Home? part 2 – empty glass Author: karaleyn
Spoilers/Warnings: there's a bit of swearing in this chapter I think, though it's all mild. I was trying to keep this in a vague part of the series so anyone could read it, but in the end I guess I managed to set it after the Arlong arc, and after Loguetown/Roguetown as well. There are just a few references to anything in those areas, and I didn't really put any spoilers in except for mentioning what species Arlong is and vaguely referring to the general feeling Nami would have when hearing his name. The only real spoilers, I suppose, are from Usopp's past. So if you haven't seen/read through when Usopp joins the crew, just know that there are several spoilers for that part of the anime/manga. Oh, this also turned sappier than I was expecting it to
Pairings: none.
Random: the title for this story, by the way, came from a combination of a song by Jem and one by Garbage.
Comments/constructive criticisms welcome!
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"And the mermaids live in Under Blue?" Luffy asked quickly, not willing to let Usopp slow down on this fascinating story.
"Of course they do, Luffy!" Usopp laughed merrily, "Where else would they live?"
Luffy considered this for a moment, then grinned hugely, his eyes closed happily, his scar a second tiny smile on his face. "Guess nowhere, Usopp!" He paused, then added, "Unless they were lost."
"Luffy, this is mermaids we're talkin' about, not Zoro," Usopp teased, then laughed when Luffy burst out laughing.
"That's true, isn't it?" Luffy managed between chortles.
Across the deck, Zoro opened one eye and leveled the two with a Look. "Like you're any better at navigating, Luffy," he grumbled.
"'Course I'm not, Zoro," Luffy cheerfully agreed while he laughed, "that's why we have Nami!"
Nami heard her name and called across the ship, "If any of you are causing trouble I want no part in it! I'm working on a new map!"
"Nami-san is so diligent with her work!" Sanji cried joyfully, flinging himself out of the kitchen with a large glass of a refreshing-looking blue beverage somehow balanced on his flailing tray.
Luffy saw the glass and yelled loudly, "I want a drink too, Sanji!"
"For you, Nami-swaan!" Sanji was preening to Nami, and in the same movement glared across the ship at Luffy and yelled, "Then go make it yourself, asshole!"
Nami was soothingly thanking Sanji for the drink which distracted him enough that Luffy was forgotten for the moment. Turning back to face Usopp, Luffy sulked rather dramatically and said loudly back to Sanji, "But I don't know how to make a drink... That's why we have you." The chef didn't answer and Luffy was considering his options. Before he got very far, though, Usopp cleared his throat loudly.
"A-hem! I was telling a story here?"
Immediately, Luffy perked up. He could get food and a drink later! Right after Usopp was done with the story about the flying singing fish-people!
"So... Is a mermaid married to Arlong?" he asked abruptly, and Usopp stopped, startled. Nami was, luckily, distracted enough that she didn't hear the name.
"Uhhh," Usopp mentally backpedaled, in the space between breaths swiftly creating a new thread of the tapestry of his current embellishment, "no! No, no, of course not. This is a different kind of merperson, these mermaids. They're singing, you know. Different than the mermen—they're, uh, a special breed. You know, the..." He paused briefly for a second, trying to figure out where to go with this. It hadn't occurred to him when he began this story that mermaid could be associated with merman, which was linked to some rather unpleasant memories for some of the crew. Before he had a chance to weave his next web, Zoro abruptly shifted to a more comfortable position and spoke up.
"Think of it like, there's you, and there's Buggy. Both human, completely different people." He yawned widely, grumblingly wishing for some alcohol of some sort. The damn Love Cook had hidden it all the other night—probably to seduce Nami, the dork. Zoro was rather displeased with the whole situation and had decided his best course of action was... to sleep.
"So," Luffy said slowly, considering this new information. He blinked, then grinned widely and slammed one fist into the other palm. "Oh! The mermaids wear makeup! They have red noses?"
Usopp stopped for a moment, then hunched forward and rubbed his forehead. Somehow, telling his patented stories on this ship was a lot harder than he was used to it being... "Uhhh..." he said helplessly.
"Yes, Luffy," Zoro said dryly, sounding amused, "they all have red noses and they sing gospel songs."
Luffy frowned thoughtfully. "I don't remember Buggy singing gospel..."
Zoro started laughing as Usopp waved his hands and said loudly, "That's not the point! The point—"
"So you controlled Under Blue for a day after the singing mermaid was crying and then what? What kinda adventures were they going on?" Luffy was back into the story full swing despite his momentary lapse of attention.
Usopp blinked, a little startled that Luffy remembered the earlier detail about the 'natives' engaging in 'explorations,' but he quickly recovered. "Right! So they were trying to dig their way to the ground—"Zoro was down to chuckles in the background. "But I thought they were in the sky," Luffy protested, getting confused.
"Maybe it's sky ground," Zoro answered, now over his fit of laughter. He shifted again, stretching his neck casually back and forth as he tried to get the kinks out.
"What's sky ground made of?" Luffy asked immediately, intrigued.
Zoro shrugged. "Dead lightning bugs?"
"What?" Luffy yelped, and Usopp sighed loudly.
"That makes no sense, Zoro! Stop distracting my audience!"
"I was a little tired there, Usopp. Missed what you said. What makes no sense?" he deadpanned, looking sidelong at Usopp.
Usopp leaned back and let out a breath. He turned to Luffy to continue, his mouth already open for the next words when he registered Luffy's super shiny eyes.
"Dead lightning bugs? Amazing!" he looked up at the sky, staring at the mellow clouds floating by. "And I always thought they looked like marshmallows!"
Zoro snorted, amused. "You would," he muttered under his breath, flopping back and closing his eyes decidedly on the day as he prepared himself to sleep. ...Again.
Luffy paused, scrutinizing the puffy clouds, then turning his keen eye on Usopp. "Hey," he said, full of new inspiration. "Is your hair made of dead lightning bugs? It looks a lot like the clouds, only darker..."
"Hey," Usopp said, looking put out as he whapped Luffy lightly on the chest with the back of his hand. Zoro, meanwhile, was laughing again, even though his eyes were closed and he otherwise looked like he would be asleep. "What's so funny?" a voice suddenly drawled at their side and Usopp peered up into the sparkling sun to see Sanji hovering over them, a tray filled with four tall beverages that, while less lovingly prepared and gorgeously presented than the one Nami received, still looked rather refreshing and tasty.
"Nothing," Usopp said immediately, still a little taken aback at the idea of his hair being made of dead lightning bugs just because they resembled the clouds. Damn that Zoro for putting weird ideas in peoples' heads! Especially people like Luffy who would make even stranger connections! His hair didn't really look like dead lightning bugs in the sky, did it? No one ever said that to him before. In fact, he was fairly certain Kaya really liked it....
As the other three began bantering—something that, a small part of Usopp's mind noted, seemed to revolve around Luffy laughing a lot and making random observations while Sanji and Zoro had yet another miniature spat—Usopp stared down at the tall glass that had somehow made it into his hands. He stared into the blue drink until his eyes unfocused and the color bled and blended to something resembling grey. This new color reminded him of Kaya's eyes, which made him think of her, which made him think of the way she laughed when he sat in the tree telling her stories of his youth as a Great Warrior of the Sea. He thought of his village, and the villagers, of his Usopp Pirate Crew and what they all must be doing now. Did they miss him? He missed them all, even the villagers who ran him out of town that one day when they thought he had gone too far, betraying Kaya and 'Kurahadol.' He missed Kaya's sunny expression as she threw open the huge windows, her frail body leaning out as the light curtains danced around her in the soft wind. He missed sneaking onto the grounds, and the pride that came with knowing he could out-sneak and outrun anyone in the entire island. He missed the Usopp Pirate Crew, echoing words back to him and all the 'training' they went through. He missed running down that winding country road to skid to a stop in the middle of the village, screaming about pirates.
He missed... his mom. He missed her soft smile, her hand on his head as her fingers comforted him through his thick hair. He missed the weight of her voice, her gaze, her laughter.
...And he missed his father, even if he pretty much only knew him through stories. Stories his mother told him, and, later, Luffy. Usopp glanced at the crew at the thought, his gaze lingering for a moment on his captain. In truth, though he called himself Captain Usopp, though this was Kaya's ship they sailed the seas on, though he had repeatedly introduced himself to strangers as a leader feared by many with hundreds of thousands of men at his ready—in the end, he was Sharpshooter Usopp, and Luffy was Captain Luffy. And it seemed right that way, really. In the end, that seemed the only way.
Just like his father. Usopp was proud, actually, to be holding the same position his father was holding, somewhere out in those wide, choppy waves, rocking on a boat halfway across the world just like he was gently moving on the Going Merry now. Somewhere on the sea, his father was practicing his bravery and aim; somewhere, he was talking to his crewmates and laughing and slapping them on the shoulders and—
And—and here Usopp was, talking and joking with his crewmates. Here Usopp was, drinking a beverage—okay, granted, his father was probably drinking some sort of alcohol but Usopp was underaged, damnit!—and who knew how much their actions were being mimicked right at that moment? Slightly hesitantly, experimentally, Usopp lifted the glass to his lips and started to sip. He imagined his father doing the same thing, only with ale or something in a huge mug, but he couldn't get the image of Zoro downing a freaking tankard of ale in one gulp, and it occurred to him that his father would probably be doing the same. None of this sipping stuff! That wasn't how Warriors of the Sea drank their ale! So Usopp threw his head back and took a huge gulp of the tingling, refreshing drink. He closed his eyes and took another gulp, not bothering to catch his breath or set the glass down. He just took gulp after gulp, eyes squeezed shut on the images he knew would be playing before his eyes, his imagination taking over instead. Now, it was not Zoro and Sanji arguing, but two crewmates from Shanks' crew. Now, it was not Luffy sitting across from him, but Shanks. Now, Usopp was not sitting there alone, but his father was beside him, his arm around Usopp's shoulders as they both drank as quickly as they could, seeing if father or son was the quicker drinker of the family. Usopp gulped faster, noting somewhere in the periphery of his attention that he was running quite low on beverage in his glass, but he ignored it. He was winning. He was winning against his father—or at least, he was catching up. The crew cheered for Yasopp cheerfully, and for a moment Usopp almost faltered, but then he heard his own name being yelled twice as loudly by Luffy, by Zoro and Sanji and Nami who all added their own remarks and asides as they waited with pure belief in him. They didn't need to cheer him on the way Yasopp needed his crew; Usopp knew that, in the end, his crew trusted him. They trusted him. They believed in his abilities, they believed in him. They knew he would do everything he had to, and he would win, and if he didn't, they wouldn't hate him for it. They may not even tease him. Someone else would just take up the slack and they would continue, just as they had since the haphazard crew had been assembled.
Usopp read a story once about a man that patched together a new creation called Frankenstein. He actually didn't really remember much of the story; maybe he got it wrong. But he felt like this crew was a creation like that—some Frankenstein 'creature' lurching across the seas, somehow stronger and more complete for all its stitches and patchwork.
And that was what was strange about it all, in the end. Though Usopp had spent his life spinning story after story of adventures on the high seas and dangerous escapes back to life, here he was, living those fairy tales. Those dreams within the lies. And he had a family here to take care of him, to worry about him when it anything turned serious, to tease him back to humility from any arrogance he may ever have developed. Here, he had home. A true home that went with him everywhere they went; a home that was defined largely in the mind and spirit and secondly by physical location.
It seemed impossible. To Usopp, who believed nothing was impossible, this crew did. How had they gathered together—this mish-mash of personalities and feats, of talents and knowledge, to become a family across the gaps?
It was impossible . But it was real.
Real.
If he opened his eyes, if he dropped his hand to his side, he would see the others, he would feel the deck beneath his glass-chilled fingers. He would feel the warm sun against his skin as it hovered indifferently above those clouds, be they made of marshmallows, dead lightning bugs, or, hell, even Usopp's freaking hair. It was real, and it existed, and it wouldn't fade like his stories faded the moment he lost the breath to continue their tale. And none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for a number of strange occurrences and seeming coincidences that led Nami, Zoro and Luffy to become his friends and family, with Sanji tagging along behind not too long after.
It was insane, really.
Insane, and Usopp found himself wondering briefly how Kaya would react to him telling the tale of how he became a true pirate, a true Warrior like his father. He imagined her laughing as he relayed anecdotes, and looking suitably enthralled at all the dangerous pivots of the story. But this time, the words had more weight behind them. And this time, he realized his laughter would have been far richer as he explained the events.
Because this time, it was the truth. The Truth. And that made it far more important than any story he would ever have to tell anyone. Though this knowledge would hardly make him stop.
"Usopp!"
Usopp blinked his eyes open, realizing his head was still cocked back with the glass at his lips though the liquid was long gone. He tilted his head back down and looked at Luffy, who was staring openly at him, and Sanji, who had remained standing but was quizzically eyeing Usopp. Zoro appeared to be asleep again, though Usopp doubted he actually was.
"Yeah?" Usopp asked back, rather dumbly.
"...You were saying about the mermaids?" Luffy said after a moment, possibly unsure of what else to say. Though, knowing Luffy, that didn't seem right—the boy was amazing at saying exactly what he thought the moment he thought it. A talent, really.
Usopp smiled, rather fondly. "Yeah..." He paused, looking back down at the glass. The very empty glass.
Zoro said something to Luffy but Usopp wasn't listening. He stared at the condensation on the glass and tried to decide if he wanted to continue the story with Luffy, or if he'd rather take this moment of bliss and squirrel it away in his mind where he could pull it out and examine it all on his own with just his chemistry set to absentmindedly interact with him. He had yet to decide when Sanji dropped to a rather elegant sprawl to his side and looked sidelong at the apparently extremely interesting glass held in Usopp's loose grip. In the background, Luffy was saying something back to Zoro and the two began to banter back and forth, with Nami only half- irritatedly yelling something about how loud it always seemed on the ship.
Sanji smiled at Usopp, bringing his current cigarette to his lips and dragging in a breath. He rested his arm over his knee, the cigarette dangling from his fingers, his other knee bent with his leg against the deck as he leaned on his other hand. He stared at the blue sky, blue like precious gems standing out beautifully against a gorgeous woman's skin, and exhaled slowly. "You really drank that down fast, huh?" he said conversationally, and somehow Usopp knew they weren't talking about the drink.
Usopp smiled with one side of his mouth, feeling amused yet solemn at the same time. "Not that fast," he replied, thinking that it certainly took him awhile to realize some of this stuff.
Sanji let out a soft half-laugh and answered, "Fast enough."
There was companionable silence that was interrupted by a sudden loud crash as Luffy realized that with Sanji out of the kitchen, the food was fair game. And, in the midst of his gomu gomu no rocketo, he managed to catch Zoro, sending the resting swordsman flying several feet to crash back down to the deck. Zoro jumped up, yelling furiously at Luffy who was laughing and apologizing with a blithely unapologetic tone and body language. Nami was yelling again about the noise level and Zoro was loudly protesting the frequent interruptions of his naps via flying through the air and slamming into something hard. All the noise seemed in the distance, however, as Usopp stared at the glass contemplatively.
Sanji took another calm drag of his cigarette before shoving himself to his feet, looking down at Usopp. "So," he said, holding his hand out for the empty glass, "what'd you think?"
Usopp smiled at the glass, and it was a soft, wondrous expression. He looked back up at Sanji and held the glass up for it to be taken with the others back to the kitchen to get washed.
"It was delicious, Sanji. Thank you."
Sanji grinned, immensely pleased and almost boyish for the fact. "That's exactly what I like to hear."
The End