Anniversary
By Dixxy Mouri

Nami was looking at the calendar in a kind of awe one night in the kitchen after dinner. She traced her finger along the days, mouthed something to herself, and then her eyes lit up like stars. She squealed with delight, clapping her hands and grinning. Sanji looked up from the dishes with a grin as his excited girlfriend bounced towards him (which wasn't terribly like her, so something was up and, whatever it was, it was good) to give him a hug. "Yes, Nami-swan?" he asked, continuing to wash a sauce pan.

"Our three month anniversary coincides with one of Robin's watch nights," Nami said cheerily before her voice dipped into a more suggestive tone. "That means we get the room to ourselves, and you know what that means." Sanji dropped the pan in the sink as a smile grew across his face. He spun around to kiss her, and Nami giggled.

Although the relationship was going as well as could be expected between two pirates, any kind of anniversary celebrations they'd tried to have hadn't gone so well. Their first month anniversary had been broken up by yet another one of the crew's misadventures, and the second month anniversary was during a particularly difficult storm that left everyone too tired to so much as lift a finger after it was all said and done. "We should do something special," Nami said, looking up and smiling as she ran her hands over his arms. He kissed her lips. "Have anything in mind?"

"I'll make your favorite dinner," Sanji said in a low voice. "We can keep Robin and the Idiot Brigade occupied with something else for dinner so we can have the deck to ourselves." He started to whisper in her ear. "Maybe do something a little romantic in the bedroom later."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Well unless we get attacked or stuck in another storm I knew THAT was in the plans," she said. Sanji gave her a low growl. "Knock it off. But you know . . . I could wear something special for you." She traced a finger under her chin. "I bought something I think you'll like on the last island. Maybe I could wear it for you."

"Oh?" Sanji said. He grinned mischievously. "I think I might have something special for you, too."

Nami looked at him wide eyed and laughed. "Really, Sanji-kun?" she said.

"Yeah, really," he said, nodding. "I've got an idea."

Nami looked at herself in the mirror of the women's bathroom and spun around. She and Robin had, for giggles, gone into the lingerie shop on the last island they'd docked at. It had been filled with lots of frilly, lacy, and skimpy pieces of underwear, bras, and negligees that were clearly not meant to be worn for longer than ten minutes (unless the wearer worked in a certain kind of gentleman's club, to put it politely). Robin had picked out a long, black, sheer robe and a violet pair of panties and matching bra – she wasn't involved at the time but told her that this was "just in case" she became involved.

The navigator, on the other hand, had been involved with Sanji for what was at the time two and a half month,s and although the cook didn't seem to care her that underwear and bras didn't always match and were getting a bit old and tired (he was more interested in what was under them), Nami did. So she'd found this in the shop and purchased it, unsure of when, exactly, she'd use it.

The piece in question was a royal blue negligee. Its straps were braided blue cord and the bust was decorated with pale pink embroidered flowers. Bellow the bust there was a sheer blue fabric split at her cleavage, making the tiny blue panties look like they were surrounded by curtains. Nami picked it out because blue was Sanji's favorite color, and she hoped he would appreciate the gesture.

Speaking of whom, Sanji was alone in her room getting whatever his surprise was ready. She wasn't sure what he'd have – what on the Grand Line could it be? Nami looked at the closed bathroom door and knocked. "Sanji-kun? Are you ready yet?" She slipped her feet into a pair of blue heels and checked herself over – should she throw on a little makeup?

"Almost, Nami-swan! I'm just putting on the finishing touches!"

Nami shrugged. She reapplied some lipstick and double checked everything else. She didn't wear makeup often – most of the time it was a waste of effort – but she wanted tonight to go well and every little detail counted. She brushed out the skirt of her outfit and checked herself over again. "Are you ready now?"

"I'm all yours, my little tangerine!"

Nami shut the light off the in the bathroom and slowly opened the door. She felt butterflies in her stomach, but tried to confidently strut into her bedroom. This was so unlike them. Normally when they had a night to themselves there was none of this dolling themselves up or over the top romance. When they did get to spend the night together, Nami rarely got to wake up with Sanji by her side – he was either gone or mostly dressed by the time she did. Granted, he had to be up to make breakfast for the rest of the crew, but it would have been nice once in a while. Maybe she could convince him to stay a little longer in the morning.

"So Sanji-kun, I was – what?"

The room was beautiful, and there was no question he'd put effort into it. Sanji had placed candles around the room and a low glow filled the room. There were flower petals all over the floor and her bed, and there was a good bottle of wine with two empty glasses on a little tray table next to the bed. It was very, very romantic and very unlike what they usually got to do.

What floored Nami was Sanji himself.

On the one hand, the single, long stem rose in his teeth was probably something she should have expected, or at least not been surprised with. It was a very Sanji thing to do – silly but romantic, and very, very earnest. Granted, the flower and the petals were probably fake – there weren't any rose bushes on the ship and if he'd gotten any at the last island they would have been long dead by now.

What made her stop in her tracks and drop her jaw was what Sanji was WEARING.

The Groggy Ring ball.

NOTHING but the Groggy Ring ball.

Sanji kept grinning. "I knew you liked it, so I decided to wear it again for you."

Nami stared at him for several moments, then burst out laughing. "Sanji-kun!"

Sanji sat up and moved into a prowling position. "Oh, so you don't take me seriously, my dear?" he said. Nami continued to giggle wildly, almost losing her footing. "You think my very sexy hat is silly, do you?" The navigator braced herself against the wall, holding a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe he'd done that.

Somehow, she managed to recompose herself enough to speak. "The sexiest, Sanji-kun," she said between giggles. She strutted over to her bed, plucking the rose from his mouth. He sat up and kissed her. She continued to laugh, staring what was on his head. "Why in the world did you keep that stupid thing?"

"You said it looked good on me," he said. "It was the first time you complemented me."

"You know I was just trying to get you and Zoro to stop fighting and get your asses in gear."

"I know."

"So why are you wearing it?"

Sanji gently kissed her lips. "Because I love to see you smile."

Author's Notes

The next short story (yes, these are all pretty much going to be one-shots) I've decided to post from the 30 One Piece challenge, this one in response to "hat".

Not much else to say on this one. Hope you enjoyed this one, too!

-Dixxy