I'm a Billy Joel fan, and listening to this song, it just seemed so perfect for Luffy and Nami that I had to write it.
I do not own One Piece or the song 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' by Billy Joel.
Leave A Tender Moment Alone
Luffy breathed a sigh of relief as Nami passed his hiding spot without seeing him. He'd done it again. This time, she'd probably have killed him if she'd found him. Good thing she didn't know about this hiding spot.
Earlier that afternoon
She was so beautiful, standing at the rail with the wind running its fingers through her hair, just as he longed to. As he approached, she turned her wide smile towards him, that smile that since Arlong's defeat had been easy and free, and his steps faltered as once again he realised how much he loved his navigator.
"Hey, Luffy!" she greeted him, motioning to the rail beside her. It was rare to find her in so good a mood, and Luffy felt like he was bathing in sunshine.
He leaned on the rail next to her, and eyed her sideways. He loved seeing her so happy, so content with the world…
"Oi, Luffy! What are you looking at?" she asked, a faint trace of irritation colouring her tone.
"N-nothing!" he stammered, and looked away. How was he to tell her he loved her?
"Oh, my beautiful Nami, light of my life! How I adore you, sweet blossom-"
"Enough, Sanji!" Nami sighed, glaring down at the blond chef so passionately declaring his love for her on bended knee while proffering a tray of snacks. "Thank you for the snacks, though."
"Ah, my Nami is so gorgeous when she's annoyed with me!" Sanji cooed, and practically skipped back to the kitchen to continue with dinner preparations.
OK, that's how not to do it, Luffy thought, seeing the slight frown on Nami's face. Suddenly, an ice cold feeling gripped his heart. What if Nami is in love with Sanji, and is only 'playing hard to get', like he said girls do sometimes? She would never love me then…
"Luffy? Are you OK? You look like someone died," Nami said, noticing the sad look on her normally happy captain's face.
Luffy shook himself mentally. "I'm fine, Nami."
"If you say so…" she said, leaning on the rail again.
The silence between them began to stretch too long, and Luffy began to feel awkward. "Hey, Nami…" he began.
"Yeah?"
I can't tell her, he thought, staring down at her upturned face. I can't…
"You should eat more. You're too thin."
"WHAT?"
Present
He'd really annoyed her this time. He might have to miss dinner if she didn't calm down by then. His stomach rumbled at the thought. He sighed. I guess I'll have to take the beating then, he groaned to himself.
He extricated himself from his hiding spot, and headed for the galley, where Sanji was serving up dinner. He took a few blows from Nami, but with the pain dulled by his rubber body and the delicious food, he didn't mind too much.
That evening
Nami went up on deck after dinner, and Luffy decided to follow her. Maybe this is my chance to tell her… he thought.
"Hey Nami, I'm sorry about what I said before," he said, coming to stand beside her. "I didn't mean it. I think you're perfect the way you are."
"L-Luffy," she said in wonder, her teeth chattering from cold. When did he become so sweet? she thought.
"Nami! Are you cold?" he asked in surprise. He touched her arm, and found it icy. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her to his chest.
Nami looked up at him in surprise. He seemed happy enough, and it was making her warmer.
"You know, Nami, I actually meant to say something else before," Luffy admitted, "but I couldn't make myself do it."
Nami's mouth dropped in surprise, but before she could say anything, Luffy had started again. "I… I l-lo… I love… I love jokes, don't you? Here's one. Why did the fish blush? Because the seaweed! You know, I never actually got that one; I mean, what did the seaweed do? Nami? Nami?"
During this speech, Nami had pushed herself out of Luffy's arms and run to her cabin below, struggling not to cry. And I actually thought he was going to say something IMPORTANT… she thought bitterly.
Back up on deck, Luffy stared after her, his heart heavy. Why can't I say it? he thought angrily. This is the best feeling I've ever had, but I can't share with the one person who could make it even better… or destroy it completely. Is that why I'm scared?
He sighed.
He tried. He really did. He managed to avoid saying anything stupid, but… He slapped his forehead. What made him think that being able to put his entire foot in his mouth would impress Nami? He'd just gotten so tense, that when it came to trying to tell her, he'd completely flipped and done something stupid, as usual.
"Stupid, stupid…" he muttered, staring up at the sky from his perch in the crow's nest.
"What's stupid?" he heard her voice ask. He was so startled he fell over backwards, hitting his head on the mast.
"Ow!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head.
"Luffy! Are you all right?" Nami asked, finishing her climb up the ropes to the crow's nest, then started struggling not to laugh at the sight of her captain in such a ridiculous position, with his head against the mast and his feet in the air.
"Ha ha, of course I am!" he exclaimed, flipping himself into a sitting position and grinning widely at her. His grin faltered for a moment as he remembered his problem, then he forced it to return. "What's up, Nami?"
"Is something wrong, Luffy?" she asked, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "You've been acting weird lately, even for you. What's going on?"
Luffy felt like something was trying to break out of his chest. This is the right moment! his mind was screaming. Tell her how you feel!
"Nami, I…" he began, and stopped. There was a massive lump in his throat, and he couldn't get any words past it. "I…"
"Yes?" she asked, leaning a little closer. "What is it, Luffy?"
"Can you move please? I need to go down," Luffy said quickly. Pretending not to see her look of disappointment, he brushed past her and scrambled down the rope ladder. As soon as his feet touched the deck, Luffy fled below, cursing himself as a coward and a fool.
OK, this time I will do it, Luffy told himself as he stood in front of Nami's door, hand raised to knock. I just need to open my mouth and tell her. Gulping, he let his knuckles fall against the door.
"Come in!" she called. Taking a deep breath, and telling himself firmly that he could do it, Luffy opened the door and went in.
Nami was sitting at her desk, head bent over her latest map. "Just leave it on the table, Sanji, and I'll have some later," she said absently.
"Um, Nami, it's not Sanji," Luffy said awkwardly. "It's me."
"Oh!" she said, raising her head. Then she frowned. "Are you ready to talk yet?"
"Yes," he said seriously, and kneeling next to her desk, he caught one of her hands in his own.
"L-Luffy…" she breathed, her heart beating faster. "What… what are you doing?"
"Something I should have done a long time ago," he told her, gazing up at her. Incredibly, his head was completely clear, and he knew he was ready to say it. "Nami, I…"
"Wait, Luffy!" she exclaimed, snatching her hand back. "I… um, I have to… go on watch now! Yes, that's it! I have to relieve Usopp on watch!" Laughing in a very loud and not-so-convincing way, Nami got to her feet and hurried out of the door, a blush beginning to colour her cheeks, leaving a devastated Luffy staring after her.
"What did I do wrong?" he asked aloud.
"Nothing," Sanji told him, leaning back on his chair. After being so forcibly rejected, Luffy had moped his way into the kitchen and sat staring dejectedly at the table. When Sanji entered and found his captain looking so unusually miserable, he'd asked what was wrong, and Luffy had told him the whole story.
"Then why did she run away?" Luffy asked, close to tears. "I went to the crow's nest to talk to her, but Zolo was there instead, and he said that Nami didn't even have the watch today!"
"She ran because she was scared, Luffy," Sanji sighed. He took a deep breath of smoke and let it out again. "Girls can get upset real easy, and you being serious is enough to upset anyone. I mean," he added hastily as Luffy's eyes filled with tears, "love can scare women as much as it scared you."
Luffy blinked. "Nami was as scared as me?" he said in wonder. "And that's why she left?"
"Probably," Sanji answered. "What you need to do is set the right atmosphere, so she's ready to hear it. Then she won't get scared." Maybe, he added to himself, looking at the now cheerful Luffy. Though how anyone, especially someone as beautiful as Nami, could like this guy… If I was a girl, nothing would make me ready to hear that from him
"So, I just need to wait until it's raining, then ask her!" Luffy exclaimed.
Sanji's mouth dropped open. "What? What are you talking about, Luffy?"
"You said she needs the right atmosphere, and atmosphere means weather!" Luffy said with a huge smile, pleased with his own logic. "So when it rains, it's different weather, and she'll be ready for me to tell her!"
Sanji put a hand to his head and sighed. "You really don't have any idea about anything, do you…" he muttered. "This is what I meant, Luffy."
He leaned across the table and began whispering to Luffy, who was soon grinning with excitement.
"Hey, Nami!" Luffy said cheerfully, bursting into Nami's room. "It's dinnertime!"
Nami glanced up from the map she was drawing, and blinked when she realised it was dark outside. Sanji had lit a lamp for her earlier when he brought her usual snack, and she had completely lost track of the time.
"I'm coming, Luffy," she sighed, and standing, stretched to get the kinks out of her back before following him up on deck.
"Come this way, Nami," Luffy said, grabbing her by the wrist and tugging her towards the tangerine grove on the upper deck.
"But what about dinner?" she asked, amazed. Since when would Luffy ignore the dinner call?
"You'll see," was his enigmatic answer.
He pulled her deeper into the grove, holding branches aside for her, until they came to the clearing in the centre, where Nami went when she wanted to escape. To her astonishment, there was a picnic blanket and an exotic meal laid out for two, complete with candles.
"I asked Sanji to help me, and he suggested a quiet dinner for us, though he was nearly crying when he said it," Luffy said, smiling. He led Nami to her place and seated her, then sat opposite her.
"Nami… I know I've been acting kinda weird lately," he began, staring at his crossed ankles. "You see, I've been trying to tell you something, but I had to figure out how. At first, I tried hiding it, then not talking about it, then just coming out and saying it… But none of it was right."
He looked up, and Nami nearly gasped at what she saw in his eyes. "I can't hide it anymore, and I don't want to. I love you, Nami," he said simply.
Nami stared at him, her mind suddenly blank. So that was the reason behind his strange behaviour! Sure, she'd suspected something of the sort after what he'd been saying, and had even had dreams about it, but the truth was quite a shock.
"Nami?" Luffy asked, looking worried. "Are you OK? Is this the wrong kind of atmosphere again? Sanji said it was right, but I knew I should have waited until it was raining…"
As Nami burst out laughing, the realisation hit her. She did love him! Because even though he was a fool, and never knew what to say, and did ridiculous things that could drive anybody up the wall five minutes after meeting him, he was honest, loyal, trustworthy… and he really cared for her. Hadn't he proved that, that day at Arlong Park, and a hundred times since?
"I… I think I love you too," she said, breathless from laughter.
And there, in the candlelight under the branches of Nami's beloved tangerine trees, captain and navigator shared a tender moment, and an even tenderer kiss.
Sorry, I'm not sure 'tenderer' is a proper word, but the computer said it was, and I'm too tired to argue with it.
Anyway, these are the words to the song...
Even though I'm in love
Sometimes I get so afraid
I'll say something so wrong
Just to have something to say
I know the moment isn't right
To tell the girl a comical line
To keep the conversation light
I guess I'm just frightened out of my mind
But if that's how I feel
Then it's the best feeling I've ever known
It's undeniably real
Leave a tender moment alone
Yes I know I'm in love
But just when I ought to relax
I put my foot in my mouth
'Cause I'm just avoiding the facts
If the girl gets too close
If I need some room to escape
When the moment arrives
I tell her it's all a mistake
But that's not how I feel
No, that's not the woman I know
She's undeniably real
So leave a tender moment alone
But it's not only me
Breaking down when the tension gets high
Just when I'm in a serious mood
She is suddenly quiet and shy
Leave a tender moment alone
Leave a tender moment
Leave it alone
Leave a tender moment alone
I know the moment isn't right
To hold my emotions inside
To change the attitude tonight
I've run out of places to hide
And if that's how I feel
Then it's the best feeling I've ever known
It's undeniably real
Leave a tender moment alone