The Sniper and the Captain

The First Fight


"God-ya?"

Usopp looked up from the beaker in his hand, a frown playing on his lips. He turned around to see a mildly amused Law raising an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, did you ask me something?"

"Would you like to get dinner with me?"

"Ah," Usopp returned to his beaker, adding a drop of blood to the concoction and watching it congeal. He frowned, cursing under his breath, as he put the beaker down. He reached up, pulling carelessly at the pencil tangled in his hair, before messily jotting down his findings in his journal. "Sure. Just let Sanji know you're staying."

"God-ya," Law exclaimed, frustrated.

"What!?" Usopp whirled around to face the man.

"Would you like to get dinner? Off the ship. Just the two of us."

"Oh!" Usopp's eyes widened in understanding. "You're asking me on a date."

At Law's nod, Usopp frowned a bit, cocking his head to the side. "Do we do that?"

Law shrugged, "Why not?"

"Because we've never done it before? Isn't this just sex?" Usopp scoffed, a small, nervous laugh bubbling.

"Fine," Law snapped. "Never mind."

"No, no, no, I want to go!" Usopp spoke quickly, holding out his hands. "I just don't understand what it would mean."

"It would mean we get dinner, God-ya."

"Oh… okay then."

That awkward little conversation is what led to Usopp and Law sitting at a small, intimate table in a dark corner of a relatively busy establishment, a small candle flickering between them.

Usopp hid his burning face behind the menu, studying the foreign words scrawled across the page in neat print.

Law had ordered them wine, to which the waitress looked at Usopp dubiously until he handed her his fake ID with a sigh, which stated his real age. He didn't use it to get into places he was too young for, not anymore, but having a fake ID with an alias was useful to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. Luffy brought enough attention to the crew for the lot of them.

Law grabbed the card from Usopp's hands before he could return it to his wallet, eyebrows raised. "A fake ID?"

Usopp rolled his eyes and said, "Usopp isn't even my first name. Do you really think I would go around with an ID plastered with my real name?"

Law held the card between his fore and middle fingers and asked, "What is your first name?"

Usopp chuckled, plucking the card from Law's fingers and putting it back in his wallet. "Not on your life."

"I'm sure I could get it out of you," Law said, his voice dropping an octave.

Usopp felt his cheeks flush and pulled the menu up in front of his face. "My own father doesn't know my full name due to safety concerns with the Marines finding our letters to him. Sex with you is good, but it's not so good that I'd risk the safety my parents worked so hard to achieve for me."

Law's eyes softened. "Of course not." Law tapped the menu in Usopp's hands. "While you were hiding behind that menu, did you choose what you are going to eat?"

Usopp stuck out his tongue and placed the menu in the table's corner by his elbow. "Chicken Marsala; I haven't had that in so long."

"Italian?"

"A bastardization," Usopp admitted with a grin. "A variation of traditional Italian scaloppine dishes." He turned to the waiter, a sweet smile on his face. "Ah, thank you so much, Miss!"

Law was amused to see the waitress's cheeks flush and her flustered response to Usopp's attention as he ordered his food. He had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing when he ordered his own food. She whisked away from them, but from the corner of his eye, he could see her sneaking peeks at them from behind the door leading to the kitchens.

"You've seemed to have enchanted the poor girl," Law commented when Usopp went for a sip of his wine.

Usopp coughed, spilling some of his Chardonnay over his hand. "What are you talking about?" He wiped the mess off his hand and the table before looking up at Law incredulously. "I didn't do anything!"

Law motioned towards the kitchens and said, "She's been peeking out of the door every minute or so and sighing when she stares at you."

"Maybe she's looking at you," Usopp said with a sharp point of his finger.

Law rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his own wine. "Don't be obtuse."

"Oi, oi, did you just invite me to dinner to insult me?" Usopp leaned back, crossed his legs, and took a sip from his wine. "I can get that back on the Sunny."

"Are you cold?" Law asked, concerned when Usopp shivered after taking another sip of his wine.

Usopp waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's just the wine."

Law shrugged out of his coat and handed it to Usopp. Usopp took it gratefully, sliding his arms in. He had to shove the sleeves up to free his hands. He brushed his face against the collar, breathing in Law's scent, a small smile crossing his face. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Silence fell across the table.

Usopp looked down at his lap with a frown, his fingers playing with a loose strand of thread on Law's coat.

"How is your research going?"

"Oh," Usopp said, his eyes widening. He frowned and said, "Okay, I guess. I'm struggling with it a bit."

Law matched his frown and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong per se. It just isn't advancing as quickly as I had hoped." When the waitress arrived, Usopp leaned back and gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Miss."

Law nodded his thanks when she placed his plate in front of him. "You put too much pressure on yourself."

Usopp shoved a piece of penne in his mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully. "Hm, how so?"

"You've just had a breakthrough, did you not?"

Usopp shrugged, "I barely did anything. I just revised my mother's notes until something worked. It's not like it works well. Anyone with a devil fruit will still need to be rescued from the water.

"It gives them time," Law pointed out.

"That's not what it's supposed to do, though," Usopp said bitterly, stabbing at a piece of penne viciously. "If I wasn't so stupid—"

"None of that," Law said sharply. "What you are working on is very difficult, and it's something the Marines would literally kill to get at this stage." Law shook his head, "Do you have any idea how revolutionary what you figured out is? You are literally giving Devil Fruit users their ability to float back. Just what you have would save so many lives."

Usopp breathed out heavily through his nose, shaking his head. "You don't get it. No one ever does." He picked up his knife and aggressively cut his chicken into pieces. He threw the utensils down, wincing as the ding of the silverware on ceramic plates rang through his ears. "I feel so useless."

"Oh, so this is why you don't drink much," Law quipped, pulling Usopp's wine glass away from him. "You become stupid."

"Excuse you?" Usopp asked, outraged. "Who are you calling stupid, Trafalgar?"

"Stupid, blind," shrugged Law. "It doesn't really make a difference. The result is the same."

Usopp growled, "Wow." He bit his tongue and looked down at his food, pushing it around his plate.

Law took a deep drink from his wine and said, "They wish you would see yourself the way they see you. We all do."

Usopp looked up at Law in shock, his eyebrows knit. "What are you talking about?"

"How invaluable you are," Law cocked his head to the side to look Usopp in the eye. "Do you think they would be so protective of you if you weren't so precious to them?"

"They're like that with everyone," Usopp tiredly dismissed.

"I do wonder about that," Law said lightly, taking a bite of his food. "But, even if that is the case, have you ever considered how precious you are to me?"

Usopp huffed out a laugh, "Right. I guess having regular sex is important."

"That's not what I meant."

"What?"

"This wasn't quite how I wanted this to come out," Law admitted. He put down his utensils and cleared his throat.

Usopp lifted his eyes to Law's, narrowing them as he studied the man's face. "What are you talking about, Law?"

"I'm in love with you."

Usopp froze, his throat working hard against the tightness in his throat. Tears welled in his eyes as he shut them. He drew a shuddering breath and rose from his seat, tossing enough beri on the table to cover the cost of his meal and fleeing the restaurant.

Law, alarmed, stood up from his chair and called out the sniper's name.

"Shit," Law said as he hurried out of the restaurant, throwing down more beri to cover his half of the meal. "Where are you, God-ya?"

His haki activated, allowing him to locate Usopp quickly. The issue? Usopp was evading Law, using his own haki as a guide.

"And he thinks he's stupid," Law muttered to himself. He leaned back against a tree and shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. He would just have to wait Usopp out. Otherwise, they'd be playing a game of cat and mouse all evening.

Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, he saw Usopp stomping towards him from a dark alley several stores down.

"You're such an asshole," Usopp growled when he was in front of him.

Law stared down at him, keeping his expression neutral.

"Why would you play with my feelings that way?" Usopp pulled at his hair, running his fingers roughly through the strands. Some time between him leaving Law at the restaurant and then, he had pulled his hair out of its binding, leaving it to flow down his back in waves.

"I don't understand."

"Why would you say you are in love with me when you aren't?"

"I am in love with you."

Usopp scoffed, "Please, no one could ever love me."

"You are exhausting."

"Oh, fuck you." Usopp spit. "You're the one playing with my feelings."

"God-ya, Usopp…" Law had never been at such a loss for words before. Was he an asshole? Of course! He boasted about the level of assholery he achieves daily. But for Usopp to think that he was messing with his feelings. "I want to end our 'friends with benefits arrangement'."

Usopp rolled his eyes, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "That much is obvious. It was only a matter of time before someone like you would get bored with me. That doesn't mean you had to be so cruel—"

Law growled, grabbing and shaking Usopp by the shoulders. "You aren't listening to me, Usopp. I want to end our 'friends with benefits' because I love you. I want a real relationship with you."

Usopp's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"Don't make me say it again," Law growled.

Usopp turned his face toward the ground as his lip began to wobble. "I… I…" He lifted his head, revealing the tears that clung to his eyelashes. He grabbed Law's shirt and pulled him down, pressing his lips firmly to the doctor's.

He pulled away, wiping his wet face with the sleeve of Law's coat. "All right," Usopp nodded, a small smile on his face. "Let's do that then."

~o0o~

The next morning saw Usopp and the Strawhats eating breakfast outside on the deck, the weather some of the best they had experienced since entering the Grand Line.

A News Coo flew by, and Usopp absentmindedly handed him the beri and took the paper, allowing the bird to take some of his food and drink before flying off.

Usopp, more into writing up his laboratory notes, placed the paper by his elbow for later.

"Eh?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Oi! Usopp, you're on the front page of the paper?"

Usopp didn't bother to look up from his notes, "Yeah?"

Luffy burst into hysterical laughter, "It's a picture of you kissing Law!"

"WHAT!?" Usopp stood up and reached over to grab the paper from Luffy's hands just before Nami and Sanji could do the same.

"Oh, no," Usopp's stomach twisted as he looked down at the front-page photo. It was taken of him and Law last night after their fight, and while they weren't kissing as Luffy had claimed, it was obvious what was happening. He drew his eyes from the picture up to the caption. "This is so bad."


Author's Note

So, this was very unexpected. I hadn't had it written yet other than 2 sentences and at 3am this morning (it's 8 am now) I just sat down and wrote out this thing, and then drew the newspaper picture on top of it. Not at all bad for 5 hours work.

Let me know what you guys think!

All my love,

Chandlure