onepieceyaoi100 | Have another one...

Title: Principles of living
Rating: PG
Words: 300
Pairing: Usopp/Luffy
Topic: Hedonism

Usopp guessed his live had always been about two things. Happiness and the avoidance of pain.

Running through the village, yelling about pirates arriving and hiding from angry villagers.
Grinning hopefully at the smiling face of his sick mother, he glowed at the amusement he could see in her eyes.

Naturally, both didn't always work out, but he tried his best reaching for them.

Water dripping from his long nose as he watched the coffin being lowered into the dry ground.
Throwing his arms enthusiastically into the sky while telling stories of his heroism he beamed at the laughter erupting from Kaja's frail form. His teeth clenching at the loneliness still lingering behind her smile.

Then, he met them. His nakama. Unlike before, he started to step into the line of fire for them, accepting the pain as a minor problem. Knowing he only could do that because he now had the courage he'd always wanted.

Leaving his village to go with them, traveling around the world, seeing things he'd never thought he'd see, he slowly started to become more similar to the hero he'd always dreamed about.

Still, those principles never changed. They changed form sometimes, but they always stayed with him.

But then everything was thrown upside down again, as his greatest pleasure -

Swapping at arms trying to steal his food, being pulled along for mad adventures, feeling light and warm every time he got a laugh or a smile or even just a glance.
Trying not to think about wanting the unreachable.
Guild building at the thought of his assumed princess, but his heart wasn't with her like that, maybe never had been.
His stomach dropped at the sight of disappointed, angry eyes that were supposed to be laughing, dammit!

- turned into his worst pain.

______

I think this one should be a bit better.
And since I had to cut it so much and didn't want to just delete it here's the longer version.