Updated: 10/28/16

Chapter 16: Stars

Liara thought things were changing in a good way, as she felt like she was finally starting to open up in a way she'd never been able to prior to her joining the crew.

When she dined with her friends, the whole atmosphere was always amiable, and she had even started to partake in conversations, whether it be with just laughter or a few words of her own. She wasn't as much of a talker as Luffy, but it was a start. She felt herself bonding with all the crew members, and had come to recognize that she would never encounter such loyal friends at any other point in her existence. Within four days, Liara had constructed her own routine, just like the other Straw Hats.

In the morning, she would wake up, change into clean clothes, and then join her nakama for breakfast. Once breakfast was completed, she would consistently accompany Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp on deck to either fish, play games, or just study how the Shapshooter and Doctor worked. She frequently sought out Franky to assist in projects by either sketching a diagram or offering ideas. She often spent a decent amount of time sitting with the cyborg and drinking Cola while they had deep conversations. Turns out, he was quite humorous, and had been through much more than she could've ever guessed.

After lunch, she would aid Sanji in cleaning up and preparing for dinner. The blonde chef had protested at first, but after she requested that he teach her some recipes, he was only all too thrilled to have her around his work area. She rather enjoyed studying how he created such delicacies. The way his hands gracefully moved around was almost magical, and the results were just as great. He made his profession look flawless.

About an hour before dinner started, Liara attempt to create an enticing art piece. Her favorite spot was on the second deck of the ship, nestled comfortably in front of Nami's tangerine trees. The view was exceptional, and the fruity smell was alluring. Sanji often brought her up a lemonade or iced tea, along with some fruit or another healthy snack. He would stand behind her for a minute to analyze and praise her drawing, which caused her to be overjoyed because she knew he meant every word.

If Nami had a rare dull moment, she would sit with the Artist for a little bit and either visit with her or work on maps besides the brunette. She was even charitable enough to grant Liara the privilege to eat some of the tangerines, which tasted fresh and scrumptious. "Don't tell Luffy though, or he'll eat all of it!" Nami cautioned with a roll of her eyes.

Liara smiled and promised.

Then dinner arrived, which proved to be even more lively than breakfast and lunch. Luffy persisted in trying to abduct food, Sanji and Zoro insulted each other, and everybody else just kind of did their own thing. A couple times Liara had given in to Luffy and allowed him a piece of meat off her plate, and he would continue to swipe her food until she playfully swatted his hand, causing him to steal from somebody else. Dinner would end, and Brook and Liara would help Sanji clean the table. She often insisted on helping him wash dishes, but Sanji would always shake his head and tell her that he and Brook could manage it. She followed up with an apologetic smile to Brook, who only shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

While waiting for the Musician to finish, Liara would ascend up to the crow's nest and settle next to the Swordsman. The first time she'd stumbled up there when he was in the middle of working out she'd apologized and attempted to climb back down before he stopped her and offered to teach her meditation so she could ease off some stress. She had never meditated before, so the first night she'd undertaken the task had proved that she'd needed to grow accustomed to it still. By the third night, she felt entirely relaxed, and began to understand why Zoro appreciated it so much. She'd sit with him until Brook called up to her, and then she would thank him for the company before departing. Zoro would open his good eye, give a polite smile, and then close his eye again to resume the leisure activity. She briskly descended down the ladder, and then she and Brook would grab their swords and do some training.

[][][]

"Miss Liara, you have improved quite a bit!" Brook complimented as he promptly spun around and clashed his sword against hers. "However, I do insist that you bend your elbows a little bit more and keep them closer to your body. Extend your sword, not your arms."

Liara intently listened to Brook's advice, and did just as he suggested. She pulled her elbows closer towards her upper body and bent them, but unfortunately she continued to stretch arms forward as well, causing Brook to pull away and shake his head. "No, you must remember to relax and just leave your arms at your side. Now try again."

She took a deep breath, grateful for the fact that he was being so patient with her. She loosened her grip on the handle, and brought her arms back to her side. Brook watched her progress carefully, mentally noting when she was preparing to strike. When she finally did, and was once again met with Brook's sword, she felt pleased by the fact that this time her elbows hadn't bent as much while she'd struck out at her opponent.

"Well done!' Brook exclaimed, feeling quite a bit of pride over his student's success. The smile that lit up her face was more than rewarding enough for him.

[Romeo X Juliet-Oath]

Just to make sure she had the movement down, Brook suggested that they practice a few more times. Every time, Liara proportioned her arms and elbows correctly while still being able to extend the sword for an effective strike. Soon, she was doing it so easily that it almost seemed like she had been using a sword her entire life. The way she quickly learned sword fighting techniques was remarkable, and he was quite impressed.

Eventually, Brook decided that they'd had enough practice, and him and Liara exchanged bows to officially end the training.

Liara sheathed her sword and began shaking her hands and arms. "Hey Brook, do you know a way to loosen your arms?" she asked as she bent and unbent her elbows to try and relieve herself of stiff muscles.

"Ah, I believe I can assist you with that. Here, let me show you." He stood behind her and placed his hands over her wrists. "We need to stretch our arms up carefully to relieve all tension in our,well, your muscles." He gradually straightened out her arms, and began to extend them up. Once they were fully raised, she felt Brook's thumb gently touch the palm of her hand. He hunched over a little more so that his face was closer to the side of her head.

"Now, we're going to bend your arms and lower them back down," Brook whispered into her ear, sending a pleasant chill up her spine. Her heart was pounding, and judging by the heat she felt her face had to have been an bright shade of crimson. They lowered her arms down, and repeated the whole process once again. She savored the moment, and tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment she felt when he lowered her hands back to her side and let go, though it seemed unwillingly by the way he softly dragged his finger tips across the back of her wrist.

She nonchalantly turned around, and gazed up at him. He seemed to be intently looking at her, just like he had on the night of the fireworks.

Upon realizing he'd been staring, Brook uttered an apology and focused his attention up to avoid any awkwardness that might follow. Liara followed his gaze and noticed that some of the stars were starting to peek through. The sun was nearly below the horizon, signaling the end to another day.

[+]

The sound of heavy footsteps was heard as Franky walked on deck, wiping grease off his hands from whatever he had been making. He came to a stop once his eyes landed on Brook and Liara, and waved his robotic hand around.

"Skull-bro, Liara-sis, we're planning to drink a little later on tonight. You in?"

Liara twiddled her fingers in embarrassment as she recalled the way she'd acted the last time she drank. "That sounds fun, but I think I should lay off drinking for a while. I'll probably stop in later though."

"I too shall pass. I think I'll play some music though, as it can be so relaxing to the ears, though I have no ears! Yo-ho-ho-ho!" Franky laughed loudly as Liara giggled along. Eventually the cyborg waved his hand off to indicate he understood and walked over to lower the anchor. Once the weight had been lowered into the watery depths below, he displayed a thumbs up and ventured back inside to join the others.

[Treasure Planet: Silver Comforts Jim [Starting at 0:39]

Night had once again arrived, and the Grand Line was harmonious and tranquil, minus the thundering laughter and conversations that flooded out of Sunny's dining room. Brook and Liara were the only ones not drinking or partaking in the festivities, as they instead were laying out on the grass and regarding the stars.

"That one kinda looks like a jellyfish." Liara pointed at a cluster of stars. "See the head and tentacles?"

"Ah! There's one that looks like a whale, just like Laboon! Yo-ho-ho-ho!"

The two of them lay like that for a while, enjoying each others company while basking in the night air. Eventually, Liara rolled onto her stomach, propped herself up on an elbow and curiously looked over at him. "Brook, what was your life like when you were alive?"

Brook said nothing at first, just continued focusing on the stars as he sorted through memories that had occurred decades ago. Finally, he switched himself into a sitting position and draped an arm over a bent-up leg. "Well, I was a soldier. I learned most of my sword fighting techniques through battles." He pondered on what else he had been like. "I've always loved music, ever since I was a young boy. Even when I grew older and was fighting, I would hum or sing, which is how I got my nickname Humming Brook." He paused. "I already told you about the Rumblar Pirates and Laboon, so I'm not exactly sure what else I can really say about myself."

Liara bit her lower lip, contemplating on where she could ask the one question she'd been dying to know the answer to for awhile. "I'm sorry for seeming so nosy, but would you mind telling me what color eyes you had?"

Honestly, he was absolutely flabbergasted that not a single person had asked him that question throughout the entirety of his skeletal life. "I don't know if I should tell you or not," he teased. "I can't simply give away my darkest secret."

She decided to play along by pouting and looking disappointed. "Not even me? I thought we were friends."

He chuckled. "Well, I suppose it's alright to tell you. You will have the honor of being the only living person who knows."

She gaped at him. "Really? Well now I'm even more curious!"

He displayed a skeletal grin. "Ready?"

"Yes!"

"The color of my eyes were..." It took all of his self control to not laugh at how anxious and excited she looked. "...purple."

Her face lit up at the revelation, which shocked him because he had half-expected her to laugh. "Violet? Really? How beautiful! I bet you swept so many women off their feet!"

Brook was quite flattered, but he shook his head. "On the contrary, I was mocked quite often. I have never been in love, nor has anybody been in love with me." He seemed quite embarrassed. "I was called "sissy-eyes" and other names that make me seem more feminine. They were my mother's eyes, and I liked them quite a lot when I was a child. When I became older though, a lot of men would belittle me, and I ended up becoming very sensitive about it. That's why, if you were to look at my wanted poster from when I was alive, you'll notice that I'm wearing black shades. The Rumblar Pirates were like family to me, and in fact liked how unique my eyes were. I still continued wearing the shades though, so I didn't feel as degraded."

Liara sympathetically eyed him. "Oh Brook, that's awful." She touched his arm and sincerely smiled. "Those people were foolish. I bet your eyes were stunning."

She just kept amazing him with compliments and her gracious attitude. He looked Liara right in the eyes and leaned forward so that their faces were only inches apart. "Your eyes are by far the most beautiful I've ever seen; mine would pale in comparison." It was corny, and he knew it, but it was also the truth. He could stare at her sapphire orbs all day and not get tired of them. When he looked into them, he saw home.

"Th-thank you," Liara whispered, not really sure what else to say after such a compliment. Her cheeks darkened for what had to be the third time that day as she bashfully turned away.

Booming laughter from the kitchen drew the two out of yet another moment. They exchanged smiles over their crew-mates' obnoxious behavior, and decided to stand up and brush the grass off their legs.

"I suppose I'll go join them for a bit before I go to sleep. Are you going in as well?" she asked.

Brook shook his skull. "I think I'll stay out a bit longer and do some playing. Enjoy yourself."

Liara bobbed her head in understanding, and started to stroll away. She paused in her steps, and hesitantly turned around. "Brook, you're a wonderful person. I hope you get to experience falling in love someday," she encouragingly smiled before she turned on her heel and advanced towards the kitchen, leaving him desolate with his thoughts. He popped open his violin and leisurely pulled out his instrument, watching her every move with wonderment.

"Oh Liara," he whispered to himself as he drew up his violin, realization clamping over him and shaking his bones to the very core. "I think I already am."

[+]