Naked Trust

She had realized long before the others that Vivi probably wouldn't follow them out onto the Grand Line.

It had occurred to her – not during their rides through the desert or even while they had been on Little Garden or on Drum Island, but within the first week of traveling from Whiskey Peak.

!#$&()+

Vivi smiled beautifully after she placed her rook, and she said, "Check mate."

With a pout, Nami sighed, and looked down at the shirt that had distracted most of her gaming. Luffy had decided that he was going to be a yoyo for the day – or whatever he had thought – and hung from the gaff of the sail to bounce his rubber body up and down. One time on his way down, his shirt had caught onto one of Zoro's swords, and he – and Zoro – had both gone up while nearly tearing Luffy's red shirt in half.

Unperturbed, Luffy had only given it to Nami, and then ran off in glee, bare-chested and laughing as he joined Usopp in fishing.

So – she supposed – she hadn't actually been distracted by the shirt.

She realized that she should have been more annoyed by the fact than happy, but she took every chance to watch him half-naked that she could. The princess sipped a drink that Sanji had given to her, and Nami stared at it before remembering that she had one of her own, taking a sip before she returned to work on Luffy's shirt.

After a moment, she tugged a bit on the string, and smiled at the weave before she said, "So, did you want to try another round?"

"Are you sure? You've lost the last three games."

Blinking, Nami looked up at her, and said, "What? Have we really played three games already?"

"Already?" Vivi frowned gently, not angry, but concerned, "Nami-san, your ice melted hours ago, and it's still your first glass."

With a blank stare for the other girl, she glanced at her drink before she sipped it again, noting that the beverage was slightly warm. She said, "It's fine. I'm just … The shirt's just distracting me."

"For three chess games?" She tilted her chin up as if to look over the table and into Nami's lap where the shirt was, "Are you almost done?"

"I …" she looked at the shirt, and then bit her lip when she saw that she had only gotten that first weaving done, and she had a good while yet before she could stitch up the back where the most obvious tear was. Nami said, "Maybe I should just finish it right now before we have another game."

Nodding, Vivi giggled, and said, "That's fine. You look like it's really bothersome."

"Oh," she said, "not at all."

"Really? Do you sew their clothes a lot?"

"Just Luffy's," she said, and then she blinked in surprise at her own answer.

Vivi only smiled though, "Mmm, yes, I can't see him being able to sew anything by himself. It's nice that he has a friend like you."

After a short pause, Nami smiled, and ducked her head to continue sewing, sometimes looking up at him from under her lashes. While Luffy started reeling up a fish, she said, "Yeah. He's so foolish sometimes. Usopp sews his own rips and tears just fine, and Zoro … can sew too, I guess." She grinned up at Vivi, and said, "Which only means that he refuses to ask for help, and he keeps repeating the same stitches that never hold for long. Sanji doesn't really rip his clothes too much, but I suppose he can do it himself – at least, he's never asked me."

"But Luffy-san asks you all the time?"

Sighing, she waved his shirt at her a bit as she said, "Let's just say this isn't the first, tenth, or fiftieth time he thought he was a yo-yo." Nami smiled fondly however, and looped both needle and thread through the cloth.

"He must trust you."

"I guess he does," she said, her little smile growing bit by bit.

Lowering her head, Vivi played with the hem of her skirt before she glanced up at the older girl, and said, "How do you handle that trust?"

"One stitch at a time," she said. "You have to be extremely patient with Luffy … He's a bigger handful than he seems."

"I can imagine," Vivi laughed.

Reaching out, Nami patted her shoulder, and said, "Ah, no, I'm serious. He always does something to surprise the hell out of you. You've got such nice hair too. I wouldn't want to see any gray hair in it."

"Well, it wouldn't be very noticeable in my hair," she said, touching it in its ponytail. She grinned impishly at Nami, and said, "Your hair is rather bright though."

"What, there isn't any gray in it already?"

The two laughed amongst themselves, and it seemed to have attracted company for when Nami bent over his shirt again, she found that something was in her sun. She looked up only to stop short at a slender midsection and obvious ridges of muscle before she smiled up at the rounder face of her captain, pleased by the view he was giving her despite being in the way of finishing his shirt.

"Oi, Nami, is it done yet?" He asked, and she bit her tongue then, realizing she might disappoint him.

"No," she said anyway, "now shoo, or I'll never finish it. You're distracting me."

Luffy only smiled, and, sitting beside their table, said, "I'll just wait here then. I'll be quiet." He scratched his cheek, and said with a chagrined smile, "It's starting to get cold out."

Realizing that her little fun needed to end, she nodded, and said, "All right, but don't make a peep, or I'll start charging for this."

He said, "I'm surprised you haven't charged me yet."

Nami raised an eyebrow at him.

Luffy shut his mouth, and then covered it with a hand for good measure, smiling at her as if it might soften the blow.

It did.

Giggling, Vivi tilted her head, and said, "The cold might pass soon. This is the Grand Line, so it shouldn't stay for too long anyway." She looked up at the navigator, and said, "Oh, are we still on course?"

Of all the things that she had made sure to keep an eye on – other than Luffy – was the log pose, but she looked at it just to reassure her, and then nodded, "We're fine."

"It's nice," Vivi said a few minutes later, leaning back in her chair while the two either waited quietly or sewed a torn, red shirt into a presentable, red shirt.

"What is?"

"You're all so friendly with each other, and you trust each other so readily." She seemed to think that she sounded ridiculous for then she blushed, and looked away, "I mean … It just reminds me of how Arabasta used to be. The people never questioned the king because he put so much effort into ruling, and the people were always so happy. I can't wait for everything to return to how it was."

Nami glanced at Luffy, but he was just picking his nose, and wasn't looking at either of them. She said then, "You must love your country."

"I do," she said then, smiling warmly when Nami finished the next weave. "I want to regain the people's trust again, and give back the faith in my father that they lost because of Crocodile." Realizing that Vivi was clenching fists into her skirt, Nami put a hand on her wrist, and she calmed slightly. Vivi said, "He doesn't realize how resilient my people are though. I can help them pull through this without having to resort to bloodshed. I will."

Twitching, Luffy lowered his head, and adjusted his hat to sit it further down on his head so that the brim covered more of his face – which Nami always disliked. Waiting only a few moments to see if he would respond to that, Nami then said, "I hope that's the case … Ah!" She stuck her thumb into her mouth immediately, pouting at the shirt and then the needle which had stabbed her.

Vivi looked up, frowning in concern, "Oh, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, taking her thumb out of her mouth, and then she blinked when Luffy stood to take her wrist, turning it so that he could see her thumb. The needle had first stabbed into the flesh of her thumb, and, in her shock, she had then torn it out at a different angle, coming through her skin rather harshly. He cocked his head to the side before he released her wrist to walk down to the storage room. Nami stared after him, willing away slightly warm cheeks, "Okay …?"

"Nami-san, is Luffy-san all right?"

"I think so," she said at last, sticking her thumb into her mouth again.

Blinking, she watched as he soon came out with a band-aid in hand, and then gently tugged on her wrist to make her mouth release her thumb, making a soft popping sound. It took all of her will either to not explode on him or turn into a puddle. She did giggle a bit as he carefully wrapped the band-aid around her thumb, his tongue caught between his teeth in concentration before he grinned, and nodded as he finished.

Luffy sat back down, and she avoided the conspiratorial smile that Vivi gave her.

"Well," Vivi said, winking at the mortified Nami, "I think I'll go ask Sanji-san for more drinks. Would you two like any?"

"No," she said, and he shook his head, not looking at either of them, and still staring off into the ocean. As Nami slowly began to realize that Vivi was not coming back from the kitchen, she swallowed hard, and wondered what her captain had been thinking when he had treated her thumb.

Completing the last stitch, she tapped Luffy's bare shoulder, and handed it over to him. Grinning, Luffy said, "Thanks, Nami."

She smiled, and held her bandaged thumb up to her chest, "Thank you."

His smile slowly faded, and he looked at the shirt in his hands for a moment, stroking the fabric as he inspected the stitches. After he put it on, he stood to face her, and said, "Do you believe her?"

"Hm? Believe her about what?"

He tilted his head just slightly, pushing his hat up so that he could look into her eyes like he sometimes did, and he said, "It's a war over there, right?"

"Yes," she said after a moment of inspecting his face – so oddly calm, but handsome.

"Why's she think there won't be any blood? She expects so much out of herself that she doesn't realize that she should just trust her people … she should trust us."

"Doesn't that make her a good leader, though? The more pressure you put on yourself, the more you'll put out."

Frowning, he scratched his nose, looking out over the waves that were disappearing into the night. He said, "I can't rely on believing in myself – my will, yes, but not my faith in myself." Luffy glanced up at her before he continued, and said, "But I have faith in you, and Usopp, and Zoro, and Sanji. I trust Vivi and Karoo too. You're my friends, and my crew. If I can't put my trust in all of you – there's no way that I could ever have faith in myself. Vivi has it backwards."

When he took her hand, she breathed a little faster, and had a sudden thought. She said, "Your hearts are in the right place though. She'll see in time."

He grinned, "Yeah. She loves her country."

Nami's smile softened, and she said, "Yes, and I …" Her words caught in her throat, and so she swallowed them hard, not certain what had come over her at that instant. Luffy stared at her, either not comprehending or not surprised. Whispering, she said instead, "I think she'll be fine …"

After he left her to her sun-warmed beverage, and a lost chess game, Nami sat down slowly, unable to tear her eyes away. Her mind feebly refused the notion, but it persisted, having the same unyielding appeal as her captain.

And I love you.

!#$&()+

THE END

!#$&()+

And then there were none! Not really. I still have quite a few unfinished one-shots sitting here and there that need spruced up. Also, I forgot about a certain character from One Piece for TWWOO, so …! A bit of a writing spark returned to me for that story. I'll try to get it uploaded tomorrow, for those of you who have been waiting so patiently.

!#$&()+