blacktaiyou said: Okay I'll try to find yomething you'd like: UsoNa - falling in love with a painting/statue you made

Rated K
1,143 words

Silky red hair that fell in waves; full, pink lips; eyes the color of the finest mahogany wood. These were the fine details that Usopp had poured so much of his time into. Days, weeks, he wasn't even sure how long the painting had taken him to complete, but he knew from the moment he applied the last brush stroke that it was the most beautiful work of art he had ever created.

She was the most beautiful work of art he'd ever created.

"Whoa, Usopp," Sanji commented, having stumbled across her completed visage. He sounded breathless, enamored the way he always was when he came across a beautiful woman. "She's perfect."

"Nami," Usopp said. "That's what I'm naming her."

"Nami-swan," Sanji cooed to the canvas. "She's going to do well in Robin's exhibition. I bet she raises lots of money."

Usopp's heart sank. That was right; Usopp had painted her to contribute to Robin's fundraising exhibition. She had asked him specifically to come up with something beautiful for her. By this time tomorrow, Nami would be packed up and shipped home with some art collector, someone who would hang her among a mess of other paintings and forget about her. They would never appreciate her beauty the way she deserved. She would be just another piece to them, when she deserved to be revered.

"Usopp?" Sanji called him back from his thoughts.

"Right, Robin's exhibition." Usopp cleared his throat, hoping to hide his train of thought.

"Aren't you excited? She's a masterpiece!" Sanji said, gesturing to the painting with much gusto.

"Yeah." Usopp swallowed. "She is."

That night he sat across from her, staring into her shining eyes. Her rosy cheeks smattered with the faintest of freckles seemed to glow even in the dim light. He allowed himself to feel a little proud of what he had done. She was his greatest achievement to date, and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to surpass her.

She looked so vivid, so alive. He could almost hear her voice.

So you're going to sell me, huh? I better end up with someone rich. She was snarky, confident.

Then, softer, and honest the way she could only be with him: I really don't want to go.

"I don't want you to go either,"he murmured, resting his chin in his hand and leaning so that his knee supported his elbow. "But I promised Robin."

He sighed, standing up from his chair. It wouldn't do him any good to mope here. The longer he stared at her, the more he would miss her when the inevitable happened. He needed to step away now, try to forget her.

"Goodbye, Nami," he mumbled, flicking off the light of his studio and leaving her behind in the dark.

"Usopp," Robin greeted him with a warm smile. "I'm sorry I'm late, I got your call about the piece for the gallery exhibition?"

Usopp felt his stomach sink. Some foolish part of him had hoped something would happen to his message to Robin. That the satellite that conveyed the signal would suddenly crash and burn and lose the message before it had the chance to be delivered.

But that wasn't how technology worked, and here was Robin, ready to pick Nami up and send her on her way to her new life.

"Yeah," Usopp said. His voice was dry, emotionless, but his body sagged with the weight of his emotions. "Right this way."

Robin followed him to the studio. Every step felt like treading over thick tar, his feel sticking and reluctant to move. He had to do this, it was a promise and he knew that, but his very being seemed to rebel the whole idea.

"Here she is."

Usopp turned her canvas so she faced the room. Nami gazed at Robin with rich, reddish-brown eyes and smiled with such serenity she might have been an angel. But she was just Nami, his finest work.

Robin's eyes roved the canvas, raking in every detail. She worked with art often enough to be somewhat of a pro at detecting quality. Usopp could see the interest sparkling in Robin's eyes, her love for the girl in the painting forming just as surely as Usopp's had. But it was not the same. To Robin, Nami was an investment. To Usopp, she was perfection.

"She's beautiful," Robin said, her words genuine and firm. It was a fact, and a true one.

Robin's eyes searched Usopp. He could feel them on him, and fought to keep his face straight and free of emotion. His eyes never moved in Nami's direction, not even once. He was afraid of what he would see there, of the disappointment she must feel for him. It was easier this way, to pretend she didn't exist until she was actually gone.

Robin smiled knowingly.

"She's beautiful," she said again. "But I'm not sure she'll be good enough for the exhibition."

"What?!" Usopp cried in disbelief.

"Yes." Robin moved about the room, observing the other paintings Usopp had hanging around. Some of them were still unfinished pieces. Some were finished, but didn't hold a candle to Nami's perfection.

"What about him?" Robin asked. She had stopped in front a painting of a boy. He was around Usopp's age, but his oversized, radiant smile made him look much younger.

"Him?" Usopp asked. His voice was trembling, and he cleared his throat. "But his smile is too big and his scar, I couldn't make it look real."

"Maybe," Robin said, turning to look at the boy again. "But he gives me warmth." She looked back to Usopp. "I want him, would that be okay?"

Usopp's felt his heart swell. His hands felt numb, his mouth dry. He couldn't believe his ears.

"You want him… instead of Nami?" he asked. He didn't dare to hope, he didn't dare to think it could be possible.

"Nami…" Robin glanced down at the girl in the painting. "She's beautiful, but I don't think she's meant for this exhibition," she said. "I'll take the boy instead."

"Yes!" Usopp's mouth shouted the word before his brain had time to process it. "Yes, you can take him."

Robin smiled. "Perfect."

Usopp did not leave Nami in his studio. She was not for sale, not for auction, not for anyone else but himself. He would not make the same mistake twice. He had been given a second chance and he would not waste it.

He framed her in an ornate, golden frame, and hung her on a wall in his living room. She was clearly visible from anywhere a person stood in the room, and she was the only painting on the wall.

Her eyes glittered at him. Her serene smile looked warmer, more genuine, happy.

Ahh. He could almost hear her sigh. This is what I wanted. Thank you.