OOC: Log! Lucci and Usopp!

[warriorothesea]

Who: Lucci and Usopp
What: Snow sculptures and EXTREME PUNCHING ACTION! :O Also, some Talk.
Where: the lawn deck of the Thousand Sunny
When: Tonight, I suppose!
Rating: PG

Usopp patted another handful of snow onto his unfinished sculpture. There was something really satisfying about doing this, especially since he'd had to miss most of the fun last time with his injuries. The snow that was falling thickly onto Sunny's deck was perfect for it, too; huge soft flakes that were wet enough to stick and pack nicely. He'd had plenty of fun with Luffy and Chopper earlier, flinging snowballs and making a more traditional snowman, but when the other two had elected to go in for the evening, Usopp stayed, wanting to enjoy the snow on his own for a while longer. It was nice like this too: quiet and peaceful. He smoothed the snow into shape, the image of a ram's head growing more clear as he continued to work.

Normally, Lucci couldn't stand the cold, but something about the stillness and quiet brought on by a fresh snowfall compelled him to go out on deck regardless. Of course, the snow had been mostly ruined by the crew running around in it earlier, but there were still drifts of it piled up on the lawn deck when Lucci walked out. And Usopp was making a snowman. It took Lucci a second to remember that they weren't exactly on speaking terms - every time he was reminded, it depressed him all over again. Still...he stood there in the snow for awhile, watching and hoping that maybe Usopp would say something.

Usopp was totally involved in his sculpture, and didn't even notice he was being watched. He bent for another double handful of snow, packing it onto the side to make the curled horn bigger. He began to shape it, regretting that he'd probably have to go in soon, since his gloves were soaked, and the light was fading. He wanted to at least finish this first, though. He used an index finger to draw in some details on the face, and took a step back to make sure everything was even.

It occurred to Lucci that Usopp was too intent on his sculpture to notice him. He knew he should just go away now and leave Usopp alone, but... "It looks fine from over here," he said, taking a few steps forward to bring himself into Usopp's line of sight.

The voice startled him doubly; first because he'd thought he was alone, and then again when his brain realized a split-second later who it belonged to. Usopp froze, not looking up to the place where he knew now that Lucci must be standing. "...no one asked you," he muttered under his breath.

...One of the downsides to superhuman hearing was being able to hear every whispered deragatory comment directed at oneself. Lucci paused, then shrugged minutely. He didn't know what else to say. He looked at the snow sculpture instead of Usopp; something about it seemed...familiar. "It reminds me of something," he said. "What is it?"

Usopp toyed for a moment with the idea of just ignoring him and hoping he'd take the hint and go away. Still, the fact that Lucci was even still trying to talk to him right now seemed like proof that he wasn't very good at taking hints. Usopp heaved a heavy sigh and went back to working. He couldn't walk away until it was finished, so he just needed to finish quickly, and then he'd be free to go hide out in his Factory again. "It's the figurehead from Merry," he answered, still not looking at Lucci. He felt anger welling up inside of himself again; in addition to everything else, that fact that Lucci apparently didn't even remember Merry struck him as completely unforgivable right now.

"Ah," Lucci said. Of course; now he remembered. He'd only seen the ship once, and briefly, but...suddenly it stuck out in his mind as clearly as the day it had happened: Kaku sending the broken ship to its grave, and how devastated and furious Usopp had been. Out of all the things that happened that day, it hadn't seemed important to remember, but now he couldn't believe that he'd forgotten. "...Right. I..." But there was nothing to say that would make up for that. "I'm...sorry. I remember now."

For the first time, Usopp looked up at Lucci, and it was to glare at him. "...did you want something, or what?"

That was the first time Lucci could recall Usopp looking at him in what felt like forever. "I just..." What did he want? Why was he even here? "...No, nothing. ...It's a good sculpture."

For a moment, Usopp felt a twinge of guilt about the way he was acting, but he stubbornly pushed it down. It was easy, the way anger rushed in to cover it again. And really, how dare Lucci? It was like he was doing this on purpose. He probably was. After all, he was supposed to have a perfect memory or something, wasn't he? So there was no way he could have really forgotten. Usopp dropped his hands to his sides, clenching them into fists. Maybe he'd never really intended to actually punch Lucci, but right now if he really had a free shot, it seemed like a shame to waste it...

Lucci stared at the snow sculpture, unwilling to look at Usopp anymore. This was hopeless. For at least the third time, Lucci considering turning around and walking away and leaving Usopp alone. Instead, he sighed. "I told you you could hit me. Are you going to, or not?"

Usopp's glare intensified. Anyway you looked at it, Lucci was making fun of him right now. He obviously didn't care if Usopp actually did hit him, because it's not like he'd even be able to really hurt him at all. That pissed Usopp off even more. Okay, fine then. If that's how it was gonna be, he might as well just go for it. "...fine. Maybe I will. ...i-if you're scared now, it's too late to change your mind." He took a moment to mentally prepare himself, flexing the fingers of both hands before clenching them back into fists at his sides.

There was something pathetically endearing about the way Usopp would try to make himself seem more threatening, and Lucci hated himself for thinking that way about a good friend - or someone who used to be a good friend, at least. "...It'll hurt more if you hit me in the face," he said. He wasn't exactly sure why he chose to point that out. "As opposed to most other places, I mean."

"Don't tell me how to hit you," Usopp said in a voice as close to a snarl as he could manage--not all that close, as it happened. Now he was being condescended to. "...take this!" With that, he took a running start, trying to cover the distance between them as quickly as possible, and swung his left arm as he neared Lucci, half-expecting him to just duck out of the way before his fist could connect. He was half-surprised then, when it did in fact make contact: his fist to Lucci's jaw. "Ahh-!!" He reeled back as the shock of the impact shot up his arm, clutching it with a wince and dropping to his knees in the snow. "O-ouch," he said, panting a little.

Lucci went stumbling back, more from shock than pain, although - yes, that definitely hurt. It hadn't been half bad for a beginner; sloppy form, wasted energy on the wind-up, but there was something to be said for anger to fuel a punch. And without Tekkai, every human jaw was more or less the same, meaning that regardless of Lucci's abnormal tolerance for pain, that was going to bruise. Still, the whole situation was so absurd that as Lucci stood in the snow with his hand to his face, he almost wanted to laugh. But he restrained himself, especially upon seeing Usopp on his knees with his already injured arm clearly in pain.

Usopp bent, curling into himself slightly, and struggled to get his breathing even. Okay, he'd expected that to hurt at least a little, but it hurt a lot more than he'd mentally prepared himself for. His chest was even beginning to throb a bit, and he was afraid that he'd really overdone it. Not that he was going to let Lucci see that. There were limits to everything, and that was one of them. He could downplay that part of it, though. He just...needed a moment.

Part of Lucci wanted to say something, or try to help Usopp up, or even get Chopper, or something - it was really the least he could to at this point to try to help in any way he could. But he didn't want to be any more condescending than he probably already had. So he deigned to let Usopp keep his dignity and prodded experimentally at the place he'd been hit. "...Ow."

Usopp looked up at Lucci with a smirk. "I bet you weren't expecting me to use my left hand, huh?" he said, a little smugly. Slowly, he began to get to his feet, wincing again as he leaned forward to get his balance. He planted his right hand in the snow to help to that end, and began to stand, moving purposely more quickly now to prove that it hadn't been a big deal. His foot skidded beneath him, however, and he lost his balance, pitching forward to his knees again. Usopp made a frustrated noise of defeat, expecting to hear Lucci start laughing at how pathetic he was any moment now.

Lucci looked away for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. "...No, I really wasn't. It caught me off guard." He hesitated. "...Would you like some help up? It's slippery."

Usopp mulled that offer over for a moment. On the one hand, it was humiliating, plain and simple. On the other... Scowling deeply, he gave a curt nod.

It was oddly relieving to see that Usopp wasn't going to shoot the offer down, even though it was with obvious reluctance that he accepted it. Lucci bent down and offerred his hand, figuring that that would offer a little more dignity than grabbing Usopp by the coat and picking him up.

Usopp held up his left arm, his right hand still poised in the snow as he began to get his feet under him again. He felt Lucci carefully take his elbow, not tugging him up but supporting him as he got his balance. Well, it was now or never... With both his feet on the ground again, he pistoned his knees, swinging his right arm this time as he began to stand, hoping to add some extra force with the momentum as his fist connected squarely with the center of Lucci's face.

Lucci would later be embarrassed to realize that, at the time of impact, he'd fallen flat on his ass in the snow, and then, as if to add insult to injury, slipped and landed on his back. He was sure it was quite comical to watch, but at the moment all he was concerned about was the fact that Usopp had just punched him in the nose. Hard. And...well, it hurt. A lot, actually, although how much of that could be contributed to blind shock, Lucci wasn't really sure. He wasn't in the habit of letting people hit him in the face. For a moment, all he could do was lie there and blink stupidly, trying to remember to breathe.

"Ha!" Usopp crowed in triumph, meanwhile shaking out his right hand--it turned out punching people hurt a lot; Luffy always made it look so easy, but then again, his fists were made of rubber. And, really, he'd never in his wildest dreams expected that to work that well. In fact, looking down on this man who up until a few days ago he'd considered one of his better friends, Usopp felt a surge of sudden guilt. He felt a little sick to his stomach, and took a shaky step backward, as if moving further away would lessen that. He felt anger again, this time directed more at himself than at Lucci. "...I bet you weren't expecting that either. Well. That's what it felt like. What you did to me. Only worse." As if that excused it. As if that made it okay. And now he wanted to apologize, feeling like he'd crossed a line, but his pride wouldn't let him back down.

It was cold, lying in the snow. Lucci didn't care. He lifted his hand to his face, gently feeling the area he'd been hit. That would probably result in a black eye. In a strange, backward part of his brain, Lucci was almost proud of Usopp; that had been such a sneaky, underhanded move, and a pretty good punch, as well. After a moment, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "...In that case," he said, looking up at Usopp with a blank expression and maybe a little lingering surprise, "I feel justified in being as sorry as I am."

Usopp paused, unsure what to say or do in response to that. It seemed like Lucci wasn't even mad. Usopp wished he were; that would make everything easier, though probably a lot more dangerous for him. He took another small step backward, scrubbing his right hand over his face and making a face when he belatedly realized his hand was covered in wet glove. His left shoulder was throbbing mildly, and he just didn't want to deal with any of this anymore. He had to admit that hitting Lucci had been immensely satisfying when he'd done it, but now that was over, and what did it solve? Absolutely nothing, that's what. And now he felt a little awful, to boot. He realized he still hadn't actually made any kind of response, and decided that maybe that was just fine. He was half-afraid if he opened his mouth, he'd just apologize anyway, and he refused to, more out of stubbornness than anything else at this point.

Another moment passed in silence, and then Lucci pushed himself up out of the snow, dusting himself off perfunctorily and idly touching his bruising jaw again as he looked over at Usopp. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself at a loss for words. Instead he just looked back at the snow sculpture and frowned, wishing that there were anything he could do to make this situation better.

It seemed like Lucci was in much the same boat as he was, Usopp noted as he saw the other man look about to say something and then close his mouth with no words at all. The uncomfortable silence stretched out for a long moment, before Usopp felt compelled to fill it. "...you did say I could hit you," he muttered, preemptively reminding Lucci, in the event he had any protest or complaint. It was just as much to remind himself, though; he had no reason to apologize, so he should just stop thinking about doing it. Even if it might make him feel a little better.

"I know," Lucci said, remaining relatively calm given the circumstances. What he really wanted to do was hit something - not Usopp, though. He wasn't angry at Usopp. Because Lucci deserved this; he knew he did. He deserved the punching and the avoidance and the fact that Usopp basically hated him now. "Usopp..." he sighed. "I'm not going to apologize again because it would sound meaningless if I did. But...you know that I am. Right?"

Usopp paused a moment, then slowly nodded. He might have doubted Lucci's sincerity at first, but seeing him right now--for the first time, he believed he really did mean it. That he was as sorry as he claimed he was. And for a moment he almost wanted to say that it was okay, and that he forgave him, but he just couldn't. He knew it wouldn't be true. Fine, so Lucci was really sorry. The fact remained that he'd done it in the first place, and Usopp couldn't let that go yet. Maybe partly because George had betrayed him too, but while that hurt him more than he could say, he couldn't stay angry at her; maybe that anger needed to find focus somewhere else, and Lucci was the most appropriate target. "...yeah. I know," he said, his voice sounding flat and hollow to his ears.

"...Okay," Lucci said. It sounded weak. He just wanted Usopp to believe him, really, but now that he did...well, in all honesty, it didn't help that much. If anything, it almost made him feel worse to know that Usopp believed him and it didn't seem to change anything. He sighed. "I don't know what else to do, Usopp. I know I don't deserve your trust anymore, and I hate that, but I brought it on myself. I just..." It felt utterly pathetic to be saying this. Lucci couldn't quite bring himself to look at Usopp. "...I miss you. I still think of you as my best friend, even if you don't."

Usopp blinked, completely blindsided by that. He hadn't realized--even before any of this happened, Lucci had never said-- "...your best friend?" he repeated, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Lucci opened his mouth, closed it, and looked even further to the left than he had been before, as though avoiding Usopp's gaze would somehow make him less chagrined. Lucci didn't think he would ever quite shake the way that talking about his feelings made him feel like a moron. "Yes," he said simply. It was true, after all - there were several people Lucci was close to, but excluding George, who was in sort of a different category at this point, he counted Usopp as his best friend.

"...oh." Usopp felt his chest squeeze painfully for an instant, and that sick-to-his-stomach feeling got stronger. He realized abruptly why the sensation felt so familiar: this was how he'd felt after he fought with Luffy. Only this time, it wasn't really his fault at all, was it? Then why did he still feel so awful? After all, he didn't have a reason to feel guilty...right?

"...I just hope that I haven't ruined that completely," Lucci said quietly. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down, at a loss.

Usopp sighed heavily, looking a bit pained. Not that it mattered; Lucci was pointedly not looking at him right now anyway. "...no, I don't think you have. I just--I need some...time. It's still--it hurts way too much right now." He balled his right hand into a fist again and thumped it against his leg, because he felt like he needed to hit something right now. "...I trusted you. You know that? I mean, I really trusted you! I defended you to Zoro and everything, and now I just--look like an idiot," he ended lamely. Well, it was true that he felt like an idiot, anyway. Maybe it was petty, but it was another reason he was pissed, and again he wasn't sure how much of that was directed at Lucci, and how much at himself.

"You're not an idiot," Lucci said. "You're just a good person. And I'm...it's not that I'm that good an actor. I was never acting. I never anticipated doing that to you, and...I spent so much time justifying it to myself and trying to convince myself that it wasn't my fault that I basically came to believe it. If I fooled anyone, it was myself. You just believed me because you trust me, which is perfectly reasonable, and...something I don't deserve." The last was spoken more quietly. He'd said it before, but it was still painful to admit.

Usopp tipped up his face, so that the continued snowflakes hit his exposed cheeks, melting almost instantly as they did. Once again, he didn't have a response. The natural thing to want to do was tell Lucci his last statement was wrong and try to reassure him, but to be perfectly honest, Usopp didn't exactly disagree with it right now. That was the main thing right now, the reason he couldn't just forgive and forget, the reason he was still angry in the first place. He'd trusted Lucci, and that had taken a lot of time and work on both their parts. To see the other man just...throw that away like he'd done had been a slap in the face. So Usopp just let the snow fall on him, and concentrated on the sensation of the initial pinprick of cold that quickly became cool water rolling down his face.

Lucci just wished Usopp would say something, but that was probably too much to ask for. He sighed heavily and looked up at the sky; it was still snowing, and Lucci was really beginning to feel the cold. He wanted to go back inside where it was warm and possibly just sleep for the next week or so until everything blew over. "...If you need time, I'll give you time. Would you prefer that I just didn't talk to you anymore?"

Those words sent a small rush of panic through him, and Usopp snapped his gaze back to Lucci. "N-no! I--" He wiped the melted snow from his face, trying to calm himself before continuing. "I mean...maybe I didn't want to talk to you at all before and...okay, maybe I'm still mad--" And hurt. "...but I believe you're actually sorry, and...that makes things a little better. I think. I guess I'm saying that I...don't want to just give up on being your friend. So maybe the first thing would be to...stop avoiding you so much." He held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong. I can't forgive you yet. But I think that's probably not going to change if we never talk to each other, so..." He gave a small shrug, and winced a little when his left arm throbbed a bit in response. He sighed again. "Maybe we should just. See how things go."

Lucci nodded just slightly too emphatically at that, and promptly stopped himself, because - well, he felt like everything he was doing was just making him look like an idiot. "Yes. Perhaps we should. That sounds like a good idea."

If Lucci's nod was a tad too quick and eager, Usopp didn't notice. He gave something suspiciously like a sign of relief and nodded in return. He felt a little better now; that sick-to-his-stomach feeling hadn't completely gone away, but it was noticeably diminished. "...I'm sorry for actually hitting you," he surprised himself by saying when he opened his mouth. "Or for the way I did it, I guess." Well. It was probably okay now. And he could get that off his conscience, at least. It was probably better that way.

Instinctively, Lucci touched his face again at the mention: yes, definitely starting to swell a little. "No need to apologize. It's not pleasant, but it won't kill me." He almost wanted to smirk, but refrained. "Besides, admittedly, I was a little impressed."

Usopp wasn't sure whether to be pleased or insulted by that statement, and he imagined the confusion showed on his face. "...it did kind of feel good," he admitted. Belatedly, he remembered the unfinished snow sculpture he'd been working on, and walked the few steps back to it, studying it as he did so. He went right to work on polishing the shape of the horns; it seemed about done otherwise.

The immediate transition from openly displaying the glimmer of sadism that existed within every human soul to sedately playing in the snow struck Lucci as baffling, to say the least, but in the grand scheme of things, was it really strange enough to comment on? Lucci shook his head slowly and decided to let it go. "I'm even more embarrassed about my attempt at a snowman after seeing this," he said simply.

Usopp rolled his eyes a little, not that Lucci would be able to see since he was facing away from him. It seemed a little too soon for that kind of casual chit-chat, but then again, he had just said they should try talking again, so it would be pretty poor form to tell Lucci he wasn't in the mood, wouldn't it? "That was just your first try," he began instead. "I've had more practice."

Lucci tilted his head, watching the last of the sculpture take shape. "I think you might just be good at making things. Everything I've seen you make has come out like..." He gestured at the sculpture, despite the fact that Usopp couldn't see it. "Well, like that."

His fingers were starting to feel a little numb now, and the light was fading fast, so Usopp hurried to finish while still doing a satisfactory job of it. He wanted to shrug off the compliment Lucci had just given him; he didn't want to be affected by it, but he couldn't help feeling a small swell of pride at his words anyway. "...naturally," he said, backing up a step to take another look. It was probably finished, he decided. Anyway, it was cold, and his shoulder hurt, and it didn't seem quite as important anymore. And Sanji had promised him hot chocolate. Hot chocolate sounded really good right about now. "Does it look done?" he asked Lucci, partly for confirmation, and party because he probably should say something to him.

"I think so," Lucci said. He still felt sort of guilty for forgetting. "...I'm sorry that I didn't remember at first. I try not to think about that incident anymore. But it looks just like her."

Usopp sighed heavily. A small part of him felt a burn of anger again; he didn't want to hear Lucci talking about Merry, it felt like he had no right, especially after forgetting. But the greater part of him was just tired. Sick of fighting and sick of being mad, and just...tired. "...thanks," he said, because it seemed like the safest thing to say.

Lucci didn't know if that had been the wrong thing to say or if Usopp was just in a bad mood all around, but he had the feeling that he should just stop talking. "...I think I'm going to go back in," he said at length. "It's getting colder."

"Yeah," Usopp said, nodding. "It is. I'm...gonna go in too." He made to move to actually leave yet, though, and the statement hung awkwardly in the air between them. Usopp thought about mentioning the hot chocolate, but then he realized that might sound like an invitation, and he really didn't think he wanted any company at all for a while, let alone Lucci.

Lucci nodded thoughtfully, as though Usopp had said something profound. He was buying time, but he had no idea what for. Finally, he gave up, sighed, and shrugged minutely. "I'll see you later, then." He turned to walk back into the ship, but paused at the last minutes. "And...thank you. For the talk."

"...talk, right." Usopp's eyes wandered back up to Lucci's face: the purplish beginnings of a bruise on his jaw, the dark skin beginning to fade in around the bridge of his nose. Some talk. Though...in a strange way, maybe they had settled some things. Or had begun to move in that direction, at least. When you got right down to it though, the actual punching part probably hadn't been necessary.

Lucci couldn't help but smirk, very slightly and mostly involuntarily. He schooled his face back into something more appropriately somber within seconds, though. It was strange to think that getting hit in the face by Usopp was perhaps a mark of how far the other man had come from cowering whenever Lucci walked into a room. "Well," he said finally, with a last shrug, "I'll talk to you later, then." With that, he turned and walked back into the ship.

Usopp reacted too slowly, raising his hand in an automatic gesture of farewell that Lucci couldn't even see as he was faced away. It felt lame anyway, and Usopp dropped his hand quickly, giving his snow sculpture one last appraising look before heading for the galley, and the promise of hot chocolate.