Chapter Text
“Hey there beautiful, can I buy you a drink?”
Nami has heard this question countless times, always from men. Sometimes she would entertain it to see if the guy was drunk enough to steal from easily.
It was from a woman though. Nami immediately turned around and saw…..
Usopp?
Wait...is that…Usopp?
There’s no way it’s not. Nami would recognize that long nose anywhere.
“You’re so beautiful!” She shrieked with excitement. “Look at you!” Nami gave her a squeezing hug.“Your hair! those muscles!” She was absolutely beaming with joy.
“You’re so pretty!” Nami grabs her arm and leads her out of the bar. “It’s so nice to finally have another girl on the crew!”
This wasn’t a surprise to Nami at all. Usopp had confided in her before about being confused about her gender.
“Are you gonna buy a new wardrobe now?” Nami said as the two of them were walking to the fashion district of Sabaody.
“I mean, I’ll probably buy some new stuff, but not as much as you.” she teased.
“Hello ladies, is there anything I can do to help you two?” The clerk at the counter asked as they entered.
“Oh, no thank you,” Nami replied.
Usopp felt this wave of gender euphoria when she got recognized as a girl. It’s been happening to her all day and she still gets this twinge of excitement every time.
As Nami went off to look at the stuff she wanted, Usopp wandered around the store. All of this stuff wasn’t her style. She still enjoyed wearing a basic shirt and overalls. She does however, take an interest in one of the tops she sees on a mannequin.
“Can I try this on?” She asked the store clerk.
“Why of course,” she replied.
The store clerk got the top off the mannequin and Usopp entered the dressing room. It was a basic white top, nothing too fancy, but she felt really cute in it.
“Usopp, are you in there?” Nami knocked on the door.
“Yeah, just gimme a sec!” She replied as she was changing. It felt so nice to finally look in the mirror and see a body she didn’t hate.
“Well, what do you think?” Usopp asked.
“That looks so cute on you.” Nami said as she put her arm around her. “You should buy it.”
She dug around in her pockets. “I don’t have any money on me.”
“Just this once, I’ll give you the money with no interest.”
“Really?”
“You’re not joking?”
“Not at all, she replied.“Just this once though, alright?”
Usopp went back into the dressing room and changed back into the top she was wearing earlier. She brings it to the counter and adds her singular top to the mountain of clothes that Nami had.
The two of them left with tons of bags. Nami decided to be oh so nice and helped Usopp carry them until they found a bubble machine to carry their things.
“How do you think the crew is going to react?” Usopp asked nervously as the two of them got closer to Sunny.
“C’mon, you know they won’t care.”
“But what if they hate me?!” “What if they call me disgusting!?”
“What if Luffy doesn’t want me in the crew anymore?!”
She said in a panic.
“Have more faith in the crew, we all love you, you know that.”
“I guess you’re right.” Usopp shrugged.
The two of them got closer and noticed a green head of hair in a sea of people going in the opposite direction from where they were supposed to be heading.
“Is that Zoro over there?” Nami asked.
“Uhhhhh Nami, I think I suddenly got a case of “I can’t meet my other crew mates again” disease.”
“It’ll be fine, I promise you.”
“HEY ZORO!” Nami yelled.
“OVER HERE!” she started to wave her arms to get his attention.
Zoro waved back and walked over to them.
“Hey Nami!”.
“Are you?.”
“Usopp?”
“Yeah it’s me,” she nodded.
“You’re a chick now?”
“Yup” she replied awkwardly.
“Woah, you got muscles now too?!” Zoro noticed.
“That I do!” She stood proudly and crossed her arms.
“Just be careful now, you know how the cook is.”
Oh yeah, the cook.
The stupid, sexy, handsome cook she had a crush on. She was hoping that being away from him for two years would make her crush on him fade away.
Unfortunately it didn’t.
Her heart started beating faster as the three of them got closer to Sunny.
They had been through so much together and were going to experience so much more. Luffy is one of the most loyal people she’s ever met.
But there’s still that sheer, unbridled fear of coming out.
Anxiety is such a bitch.
“C’mon, Sniper Queen, brave warrior of the sea,” Zoro patted her on the back.
“You can do it.”
“I’m here for you,” Nami hugged her from the side.
The three of them walked through the groves until they got to Sunny. Usopp decided to walk behind Zoro so she could avoid the crew for an extra second.
“Hey! It’s you guys!” Franky shouted.
“It’s so nice to finally see you all again,” Robin added.
“Is that you, Usopp?” Franky asked.
“Yeah, it's for sure me,” she said nervously.
“But look at you! You look so cool now!” She shouted. She wanted to get the attention off of her but she was also genuinely amazed by upgrades Franky made for himself.
“Look at you!” Franky exclaimed.“You changed too!”
“You look so much happier now,” Robin said. “Are you going to choose a new name?”
“No, you all can still call me Usopp,” she replied.
“UUUUUSOPPPPPPP!”
She heard a voice yell from behind. It was none other than her captain’s. She turned around to see Luffy run toward her.
“Woah, you’re a girl now?” Luffy asked.
“Yeah, I am,” she said nervously.
“WAIT, IS THAT FRANKY?!” Luffy got distracted. He immediately ran over there to go look at him. “OH MY GOD!” he yelled when he saw his new cyborg body.
“SO COOL!”
“I know, isn’t it awesome!” Usopp proclaimed. She was again happy that the attention was being directed towards someone else and not her.
“You look good too, Usopp,” Luffy said. “Wait a minute, did you go see Iva?”
“Ivankov?! You know them!?”
“Iva’s my friend!” Luffy said cheerfully. “They saved my life in Marineford.” She missed seeing that smile. It felt so nice to finally see it again after two years.
“I saw them turn a guy into a girl and the girl looked really happy afterwards.”
“Are you happier now?” He asked.
“Yeah,” she nodded.
“I am.”
“Huh?”
“What’s that?” Luffy pointed to the sky. Usopp turned around and it started getting closer. It was one of those damn flying fish riders.
“Yohohoho” they heard a familiar laugh. Brook dropped down from the sky.
“It’s so amazing to finally see you all again after two long years.”
“Oh my, Usopp!”
“I didn’t expect you to come back as a gorgeous lady!” He said excitedly.
“Your beauty would be blinding me…if I had eyes!”
“May I s-“
“NO!”
Nami bonked him on the head with her stick before Usopp could even react.
“Where’s Chopper and Sanji?” Luffy asked.
“Sanji is out getting groceries, he has to get a lot of them because of you.” Nami poked Luffy in the chest with her finger.
Usopp could feel someone from behind her tugging the fabric of her overalls.
“Usopp!” Chopper said excitedly. “I missed you!”
”Are you a girl now?”
“Yeah,” she replied.
“I actually read about this in one of my medical textbooks!” he exclaimed.
“You’re transgender, right?”
“Yup,” she nodded.
“Where’s the cook?” Zoro asked. “Did he get lost or something?”
“You’re one to talk!” Nami yelled.
Robin couldn't help but giggle.
She could hear the sound of someone walking up the plank.
“SANJI!” Chopper yelled excitedly and ran over to him.
“Hey Chopper!” He said with a smile on his face. He arrived with bags and bags of food.
That cute smile that Usopp was so attracted to.
“Let me put all this food away first, alright.”
“I can help you,” Robin said.
“Oh don’t worry my dear, I can handle it all,” Sanji said.
“Please I insist,” she said.
“I can help too, Sanji!” Chopper added.
“Well, if you insist my love.” He opened the door for her.
The three of them went into the kitchen and shut the door behind them.
“Oh thank god.” She thought to herself. She could avoid him for a little while longer. She went to hide behind Zoro.
“This isn’t very brave of you, Miss Warrior of the Sea,” Zoro said.
“Shut up and let me hide for at least 5 more minutes!”
5 minutes later, there he was. Her face was the first one she saw when he came down the staircase. Hiding behind Zoro ended up being useless after all.
“Fuck, he got hotter,”
Usopp thought to herself.
“Usopp- I-uhhhhh -wha- huh?”
He immediately ran away and locked himself in the bathroom.
Usopp wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so bad. This felt like a stab to the heart. This was her worst fear coming true.
“SANJI!” Nami immediately ran after him. She was banging on the bathroom door with her first.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” She said angrily.
“Our captain is a rubber man, our shipwright is a cyborg, we have a talking reindeer and skeleton, but you’re shocked about Usopp being a girl!?” She said with venom.
“She’s happier now, I can’t believe you’d do this to your own crew mate.”
“Nami,” he said pathetically.
He opened the door. There was blood running down his nose.
She gasped.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, MAN?!” He heard Franky yelling as he approached. He too was also shocked when he turned the corner and was met by a bloody Sanji.
“She’s gorgeous, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said dramatically.
“You say that to all the girls,” Nami rolled her eyes.
“I even had a crush on her when she was a man” he got a cigarette out of the carton and lit it.
“Huh?!”
“Holy shit,” Franky replied.
He heard more angry footsteps coming down the hall.
“What is y-“
“I like her, alright?!”
Sanji said defensively and looked at Zoro, who he knew was there to yell at him. “I don’t care that she’s a girl now, I just…..” he was stumbling over his words.
“Fuck.”
He said with a fistfull of hair in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
“I’m such a fucking idiot” Sanji said.
“Well…..you’re not wrong about that,” Zoro let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms. Normally Sanji would snap back with another insult but he said nothing. He knew he fucked up.
There was long awkward silence between all of them. That was, until they could hear Luffy yell from outside.
“THE NAVY IS HERE!”
Everyone ran out and onto the deck. Sanji did so too and wiped the blood off of his face.
He ran out the door and there she was.
She had her goggles on, but he could still see that her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
“SPECIAL ATTACK: VINE STAR”
She had her eye set on the lone soldier who made the terrible decision to try and capture the Straw Hats without any assistance. She drew back her slingshot and fired. The soldier’s entire body from the head down was now wrapped tightly with vines, making him completely unable to move. They threw him overboard
“That was so cool!” Luffy exclaimed.
“Thanks Captain!” Usopp stood proudly.
“That was amazing Usopp!” Chopper said excitedly.
Usopp showed her new special attack bombs to Chopper and Luffy. The three of them were having fun and laughing it up just like old times.
Sanji swore that his heart was going burst. Now that he could finally get a better look at her, he got to really admire just how gorgeous she is. Her hair, her smile, her voice, her laugh, fuck Sanji was down bad and he hadn’t even talked to her yet.
He was going to start dinner, but he needed a cigarette. He dug around in his pocket for his lighter and realized it wasn't in there. It probably fell out of his pocket when he ran outside. He looked out onto the deck and saw his gold lighter shining in the grass.
———
Taking that marine down in one shot almost made her forget about everything that happened.
“I’m gonna go to my workshop, I’ll be right back out in a second!”
That was a fucking lie. She was going to cry alone.
Sanji decided to bite the bullet and go get his lighter.
Usopp’s eyes were blurry from all of the tears in them. She just wanted to have a moment alone. She wasn’t watching where she was running and slipped on the lighter.
Thank god, Sanji the gentleman was there to catch her before she fell to the ground. He was holding her in his arms. He should have put her down, but it felt like the world froze at that moment. As if they were the only two people in the world.
“Usopp,” Sanji said softly.
“I’m so sorry.”
A drop of blood trickled down his nose.
