Updated: 10/20/16
Chapter 7: Night Out
By the time Liara stirred from her doze, Robin was knocking on the door to announce dinner. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. The nap had lasted only a couple hours, but it was still enough to give her plenty of energy. Glancing across the room, she noticed that Nami also seemed to be just waking up. Both girls yawned in unison and stretched.
"Sleep well?" Nami asked with a fatigued smile. Funny how she could seem so threatening and demanding, yet appear innocent and childlike after only arising from a nap.
Liara nodded and returned the smile. "I did, actually. I guess I'm not used to walking around so much," she finished with a quiet laugh.
Nami grinned. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it after being with us for a while. I go shopping at every opportunity I get, but you gotta be smart about it. There are some morons out there who try to charge a ridiculous amount for simple products, but I luckily have the sex appeal and charm to change their mind." Somehow, Liara didn't doubt it.
They both headed upstairs to join everybody else for dinner. Sanji greeted them in a lovey-dovey manner as he usually did, and served them and Robin first, much to the irritation of Luffy and Usopp.
After dinner, Nami stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Okay guys, I found this interesting-looking bar while in town earlier called The Sea Witch. Anyone interested in going tonight?"
Zoro leaned back in his chair and placed his hands lazily behind his green head. "I'm in, but this better not be some shitty dump."
"How dare you disrespect Nami like that! Eat your words, shit-head!" Sanji yelled as he lunged forward with a kick to Zoro's head.
Zoro smirked and intercepted the kick in an instant as he yanked his swords out. "Try and do something, dumbass!"
Luffy clapped his hands and laughed while everybody else rolled their eyes. Nami smacked both the chef and the swordsman on their heads, causing them to fall over. "Shut-up you idiots!" she growled out before turning around and forcing a sweet smile. "Anybody else interested?"
Brook stood and adjusted the hat on his head. "I shall like to go. After all, some girls might just show me their pan-"
"No way you perv!" Nami snapped as she landed a kick onto Brook's face. Liara glanced nervously at the three men sprawled out on the floor before looking back up at the fuming Navigator. Boy, Nami could be scary.
Luffy raised his hand up and gave a Cheshire-like grin. "Oh! I wanna go!"
"Fine." She looked over at the Sniper and Doctor. "Are you two going?"
Chopper declined by saying he had some new medical books he wanted to study, but Usopp stated that he wished to go as well.
Robin smiled and tilted her head forward. "I shall also like to go." Nami nodded in approval before looking at Liara. "Wanna come along?"
It took Liara a moment to think it over. She hadn't been to a bar before, as she'd never seen a reason to go. Now that she was with some friends, however, the idea was new and appealing. "I'd love to," she replied with a smile.
"I'm staying here. Somebody needs to watch the ship, and I'd much rather drink Cola anyways," Franky announced as he crossed his massive arms over his chest. And with that, everybody left to get ready.
[][][]
The eight pirates departed the Sunny chatting excitedly. Nami, Brook, Robin, and Liara had changed their clothes, though it had taken a suggestion on Nami's part for Liara to even consider the concept.
"You might catch a man's attention," Nami had recommended after emerging from the women's bathroom in a mini coral skirt, tall jet-black heels, and ruffled ivory shirt. It was a notion that Liara had never really given much thought to, as the thought of "catching a man's attention" wasn't something she really focused on. After seeing how Robin and Nami looked so eye-catching with an alteration of clothes and some makeup, Liara decided that trying to look elegant for a night would probably help make the evening more lively. Her hair had been swept up into a bun by Nami, and her eyes, eyelashes, cheeks, and lips were now gently coated with the appropriate amount of makeup. On top of that, she was wearing an azure, sleeveless top with a pair of ebony jeans and dark blue high heels. Needless to say, she looked much older and was absolutely astounded by what she saw being reflected back at her at the makeup table's mirror.
"Wow! You look great!" Nami had complimented, obviously proud of her work.
Robin smiled and nodded. "Very nice, Miss Liara. Quite lovely." Feeling rather humbled from all the compliments, Liara thanked them and hurriedly vacated the room, leaving behind the soft sounds of laughter.
Liara gaped around in absolute awe at all the luminescent signs and lights that brought the city to life. She stood next to Brook, who hadn't said anything, but was impressed by the transformation she had gone through. Of course, he found her land the other ladies ovely even without having the makeup on, but now there was more of a womanly side that really made her stick out. He made sure not to focus on her too long in case she caught him staring and felt uncomfortable. Besides, he should be trying to spot other girls wearing skirts in case a breeze blew by and revealed some underwear.
The walk to the Sea Witch wasn't excessive, but Liara's heels were already aching from the unfamiliar shoes. "How Nami can wear these things all day is beyond me," she mentally complained to herself, admiring the younger woman's refinement and posterity.
The moment the entrance doors were opened Liara's ears were immediately brimming with rambunctious music and talking. She shuffled closer to Nami so she didn't get lost as the group filed in. People were on the dance floor laughing and sashaying around, or sitting at the bar or small tables eating and drinking with friends. She bit her lip in an attempt to not laugh as she saw an older intoxicated woman with unruly hair doing the chicken dance in the center of the dance floor while everyone around her stared or laughed in amusement.
Eventually the group arrived at a circular table that had a booth-type spread around it. Liara was compressed in between Brook and Usopp.
A young woman with lengthy scarlet hair and a diminutive black dress came up to the table and held out a note pad. "Hi, welcome to the Sea Witch. Can I get you all started off with a drink or snack?"
"Onion rings, please," Usopp piped up; it was something he'd been craving for a long time. The server briskly scribbled the order down and looked back up expectantly. Everybody else put their orders in except for Liara, who wasn't really feeling particularly ravenous but wanted to try drinking.
"Nami, what do you recommend?" she asked looking across the table without an idea in mind.
Nami pondered about it for a second before glimpsing at their server. "Get her a Smashed Seagull," the Navigator coherently voiced so she could be heard over the music. Satisfied with the order, the server nodded in confirmation and left, while Liara slightly raised a brow.
"What is a Smashed Seagull?" she asked in curiosity, not finding the name appealing at all.
Nami slyly grinned and propped her elbows on the table. "It's like Vodka, but doesn't taste as strong and has more of a fruity flavor to it."
Liara bobbed her head, pleased that the drink would at least have some flavor in it, but was anxiously wondering what it would exactly taste like. She didn't have to wait long to find out, as their server returned in only a matter of minutes with the drinks balanced perfectly on a silver tray. Much to Sanji's pleasure, Nami reached into her cleavage and pulled out a few beris, which was handed over to the rather disgusted server, though she accepted it anyways and trudged away.
Liara stared at her drink for a moment, taking in the bright green color that shone through the glass. She finally took a sip of it, and immediately a fruity sensation assaulted her taste buds. "Wow, this is really good!" she exclaimed before taking another sip. In no time at all she consumed all of it and was practically begging for another one while Robin leisurely drank her Bloody Mary and smiled.
"Hey, don't drink those so fast," Usopp cautioned as he picked up an onion ring that had been delivered only a moment after the drinks arrived.
"Oh Usopp, relax. Let her have fun." Nami said. "She probably hasn't gone out drinking before." And with that, another Smashed Seagull was ordered, which Liara happily accepted. "I'll just have a few more of these," she thought to herself. "After all, I don't see how I can get drunk just from these small glasses."
[][][]
"Your nose is soooo long!" Liara proclaimed with a snort as she leaned into Usopp. The Sniper sighed and continued to munch on the large basket of cheese fries that he was sharing with Luffy, despite how arduous it was to get a bite when the rubber man was stuffing almost all of them into his face at once.
Robin had left to go back to the ship, and Zoro and Nami were surrounded by an abundant group of people at the counter as they engaged in another drinking contest. Even though it was around midnight, the place was still packed and bustling. Eventually a man sauntered across the narrow stage that was set up towards the back of the dance floor, his long auburn hair placed tied neatly into a ponytail and a small goatee donning his chin. The music ended and the man stepped up to the microphone. "Goooood evening ladies and gentlemen! How are you all doing tonight?"
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd. "Wooooo!" Liara bellowed as she attempted to kneel on the seat, only to fall into Usopp again in a mass of giggles as Brook snickered at Usopp's pleading glance.
"Tonight we're inviting anyone from the audience to come up here and sing a bit for us. Whaddya say? Ya'll up for some karaoke?" The crowd cheered again, clapping and holding shot glasses up in the air.
"Alrighttttt! So, who would like to come up here first?" the man asked as he scanned around the room. Hands shot up into the air, some involuntarily by pushy friends.
A few people eventually were chosen to sing; some were decent and others were terrible.
"Ahhh! Booooo!" Liara and Luffy crowed obnoxiously with their arms linked and thumbs down. They were now sitting next to each other as Usopp had decided to get up and go see who was winning the contest between Zoro and Nami. [Mostly to get away from Liara constantly falling into him and making fun of his nose.] Brook 's hands kept flying up to the side of his head in an attempt to block out the unprofessional singing, until he remembered that he had no ears and would lower them back down.
Finally, Brook had had enough, and raised his hand up high. "No way! Is that the Soul King!?" the announcer broadcasted into the mic, causing all heads to immediately look to where he was gesturing. Excited screaming and shouting echoed throughout the club as Brook stood up and made his way onto the stage, with Liara and Luffy loudly cheering for him.
"Yohohoho! It's so wonderful to see you all, though I have no eyes!"A lot of the audience members laughed at this, including Liara, who had attempted to stand up to get a better look but only ended up toppling onto the table, much to Luffy's amusement.
A guitar was handed to Brook by the announcer, and the song automatically begun. The whole room went silent for a moment as Brook strummed a few notes, which suddenly grew faster and louder. The song was one he'd sang quite often while on tour, so most of the people in the crowd were singing along. It was unfamiliar to Liara, so she just listened while Luffy raised his hands up in the air and quickly waved them around.
Once the song was over, everybody erupted into applause. "That was awesome!" Liara called out as Brook struggled to make his way back to the table through the thick crowd.
"Ahahahaha thank you, Miss Liara! I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Brook cheerfully responded after finally sitting down. He looked at the bar and saw Zoro and Nami surrounded by shot glasses, barely tipsy, and each with a concentrated expression on their face. Knowing them, it could go on all night.
"I'm gonna go see if Usopp wants to walk around," Luffy announced before standing up and taking off. Brook waved his Captain off while Liara attempted to do the same, only to fall once again. This time, however, she fell right against Brook's chest, catching him completely off-guard. She look up at him and giggled, her face flushed from all the alcohol.
"I'm sorry, sirrr. I think I'm a little drunk," she slurred out before covering her mouth and cackling like she'd just told the best joke.
Brook sighed and patted her on the back, realizing what Usopp had to go through. At least they now knew that she had a low alcohol tolerance level.
"Eeeek! It's Brook!" Confused as to who was calling his name, Brook twisted his head and saw two women that looked like they were in their mid-twenties giggling and standing next to the table. Feeling flattered by the sudden attention, he bowed his head respectfully. "Ah,hello ladies!" he greeted. "Did you enjoy my performance?"
"Of course we did! We love you Brook!" one of the girls exclaimed, her long, black hair straightened down her back, while her friend's hair was a blonde bob. The blonde frowned slightly when she saw Liara leaning against him and laughing. "Oh...is that your girlfriend?"
Brook glanced down at his drunken crew mate, feeling embarrassed and wondering who in their right mind would even think a skeleton could have a girlfriend. "Ah, no she's-"
"Why? Are you jealousss?" Brook's eye socket's widened in shock at Liara's interruption; he had definitely not expected to hear something like that. She drunkenly leaned past his chest and waved a pointed finger around. "He and I are good buddies! We sing to each other at night!" Regardless of the fact that she was clearly not thinking straight due to the alcohol, he felt heat building up over his cheeks, thankful for once that he didn't have skin.
The two girls huffed in disappointment before walking away, but not before glaring at the brunette. Brook shook his head, knowing full-well that those girls were just stuck up and wanted to get attention. Probably a good thing they were leaving.
"They were nice, weren't they?" Liara asked with a smirk before leaning back against Brook, who was trying to gently get her off before anybody else got the wrong idea. "I'm...sleepy," she whispered with a small laugh, and suddenly passed out against him.
The skeleton once again sighed, realizing that Liara had definitely had too much to drink and should probably just go to bed. "Liara? Are you alright?" He poked her arm gently, but wasn't given a response. Great, now he had to get her out of here.
After thinking for a few seconds, he decided that he would just have to carry her back to the ship. He managed to roll her onto the seat so he could stand up, and then carefully picked her up bridal style, making sure not to hit her head against the table while doing so. As he made his way out the door, he gave a nod to a slightly buzzed Nami, who responded with a wave to show she understood he was leaving before turning her attention back to an equally buzzed Zoro. He had barely exited the tavern when he tripped over something in the middle of the cobblestone street. His vision shifted down to the forms of Usopp and Luffy, who for some odd reason were laying in the middle of the road.
"Oh my! What are you two doing?"
"We just want to see if anybody will hit us while we're lying down. It makes star gazing even more challenging!" Luffy answered with a laugh, while Usopp grinned. He then blinked a couple times before quickly shooting up when he noticed Liara. "Ah! Is she sick?! Do we need Chopper?!"
"She's probably just drunk Luffy," Usopp pointed out, still sore about the whole nose thing.
"Indeed she is. Miss Liara seems to not be able to hold her liquor as well as Nami or Zoro," the skeleton clarified with a head shake.
Luffy burst out laughing and patted Brook on the arm before lying back down next to Usopp. "Liara is so fun! I'm glad she joined us!" He tucked his hands behind his head. "We'll let you know if somebody runs us over!"
"I agree. I'm glad she joined as well." The musician tightened his grip on the girl in his arms and gently shifted her around so he could support her better. "Well good luck with that," he encouraged as he continued walking towards the ship, navigating through the emptier streets and past closed shops. When he finally reached the Sunny-Go, he trudged up the ramp, trying to keep his steps light and quiet in case any of the crew was sleeping.
Franky was in the process of sketching a design by lantern light at one of the deck tables when he saw Brook emerging onto the vessel. He grew alarmed at Liara's limp body in the skeleton's arms. He instantaneously ceased what he was doing and bounded over.
"Yo! What happened to Liara-sis?"
"Yohohoho! It seems Miss Liara isn't as skilled at holding her liquor like Zoro and Nami."
Relief flooded the cyborg's face. "Yosh! Well good job taking care of her, bro! I'll leave ya to it then!"
As Franky returned back to his seat, Brook proceeded below deck to the women's room. Getting the door open was a slight challenge, but it finally managed to budge after a swift kick. Robin wasn't in the room, and Nami was, of course, still at the bar, which meant he would need to put her to bed all by himself. Luckily, a lamp had been left on so whoever was stumbling in at a late hour could at least make it to bed okay. The room now had three beds instead of two,which meant Franky had probably made one for Liara while everybody else had gone out. A talented shipwright, to be sure.
Brook slowly laid Liara down on one of the beds, not exactly sure who usually slept where. She stirred slightly as the lamp's bright light shone on her face. As she lay there with one hand over her stomach and the other sprawled out against the pillow, Brook found himself studying her facial features closely. She really was a pretty girl, and the peaceful look she had on her sleeping face brought a certain loveliness. Her lashes were thick, her cheeks flushed against creme-colored skin, and her lips were parted. The light shining on her face and shimmering in her hair gave her an innocent and angelic appearance.
It took a moment for Brook to realize that he was staring at her, and just how creepy it really seemed. Besides, what if Liara woke up and saw a skull looking down at her? The thought sure freaked him out, and he was already a skeleton! He stood up and reached down to her feet so he could remove her shoes. Once the heels had been slipped off, he lifted her legs up only a little so he could pull the blanket and sheets from under her and cover her up with them. He tucked her in, and even went as far as carefully pulling her bun apart so that her hair spread over her pillow and shoulders.
He had a strong desire to run a finger over her cheek, just to feel how soft her skin might be. He decided to ignore his curiosity though, as he didn't want to invade her personal space or do anything that might make her feel uncomfortable. After all, contrary to how he might act sometimes, he was a gentleman through and through, and that wasn't about to change.
He quickly stood up and reached over to turn the lamp off. Robin would probably find her way through the dark just fine, and Nami would be nowhere near as drunk as Liara, so no need for unnecessary light. When the glow had dispersed, he walked over to the open bedroom door and gripped the doorknob before he looked back at Liara's sleeping figure. He listened to her peaceful breathing, and wondered what she was dreaming of.
"Sweet dreams," he wshispered, and closed the door.