The Tale That Came True (One Piece, Usopp, #2)
Title: The Tale That Came True
Author: cuethe_pulse
Character: Usopp (Usopp/Kaya)
Fandom: One Piece
Theme: #2 - first love
Disclaimer: One Piece and its characters do not belong to me.
He’d already known that he would miss her when he went out to sea. He’d thought all about it before, had already spent his nights awake in bed, pining for her touch before he’d even left the island. He’d wanted to get it out of the way, and it had been a good idea - when Luffy had looked down at him, had called him “nakama”, he had been too overwhelmed to think twice about missing anyone.
But then, after that, after sailing for a few days and nights, after drinking grog and letting his throat go sore from singing loudly (and quite badly), he started to miss her again. The thoughts of her drifted into his head slowly, lazily, like molasses, starting with the tinkling sound of her laughter and ending with the warmth of her gaze. And it occurred to him one night, while occupying himself by watching the stars from the Crow’s Nest, that - maybe - she missed him too. At first, he smiled at the thought, and felt a happy fluttering inside his chest and stomach that made him squirm with delight. But then, he felt cold. Bone-numbingly cold.
She missed him. Perhaps, even pined for him, as he had done for her. And he knew how that felt, how it beat against the insides of the heart. It had been painful for him, and now he was making her feel that pain, too. He felt sick. He had never considered this. If he had, well, maybe he never would’ve left. He slumped down in the Crow’s Nest, feeling too heavy inside to stand.
He remembered once, when he had sat upon the tree outside the window, and she’d asked him whether or not he had ever fallen in love. He had no way of telling her - no proper way, anyhow - that she was, in fact, his first love. Instead, he’d replied, “Oh no, brave Captain Usopp hasn’t the time to fall in love. But I’ve certainly broken a few hearts in my time, if you know what I mean!” She had laughed then, as she always had, and he’d launched into a tale of a young maiden who wept for forty days and forty nights after the amazing long-nosed captain had bid her farewell.
He remembered that now, as he closed to eyes in an attempt to quell an onslaught of tears, and hated himself and hated that story. For once, one of his tales came true.
Author: cuethe_pulse
Character: Usopp (Usopp/Kaya)
Fandom: One Piece
Theme: #2 - first love
Disclaimer: One Piece and its characters do not belong to me.
He’d already known that he would miss her when he went out to sea. He’d thought all about it before, had already spent his nights awake in bed, pining for her touch before he’d even left the island. He’d wanted to get it out of the way, and it had been a good idea - when Luffy had looked down at him, had called him “nakama”, he had been too overwhelmed to think twice about missing anyone.
But then, after that, after sailing for a few days and nights, after drinking grog and letting his throat go sore from singing loudly (and quite badly), he started to miss her again. The thoughts of her drifted into his head slowly, lazily, like molasses, starting with the tinkling sound of her laughter and ending with the warmth of her gaze. And it occurred to him one night, while occupying himself by watching the stars from the Crow’s Nest, that - maybe - she missed him too. At first, he smiled at the thought, and felt a happy fluttering inside his chest and stomach that made him squirm with delight. But then, he felt cold. Bone-numbingly cold.
She missed him. Perhaps, even pined for him, as he had done for her. And he knew how that felt, how it beat against the insides of the heart. It had been painful for him, and now he was making her feel that pain, too. He felt sick. He had never considered this. If he had, well, maybe he never would’ve left. He slumped down in the Crow’s Nest, feeling too heavy inside to stand.
He remembered once, when he had sat upon the tree outside the window, and she’d asked him whether or not he had ever fallen in love. He had no way of telling her - no proper way, anyhow - that she was, in fact, his first love. Instead, he’d replied, “Oh no, brave Captain Usopp hasn’t the time to fall in love. But I’ve certainly broken a few hearts in my time, if you know what I mean!” She had laughed then, as she always had, and he’d launched into a tale of a young maiden who wept for forty days and forty nights after the amazing long-nosed captain had bid her farewell.
He remembered that now, as he closed to eyes in an attempt to quell an onslaught of tears, and hated himself and hated that story. For once, one of his tales came true.