Nami sighed as she let her gaze wander across the ocean. She leaned against the railing, forearms resting upon it, a golden necklace dangling from her fingers while a soft breeze played with her short hair. She inhaled the salty scent of the sea that she came to love so much. For a moment she just enjoyed the calm of the night.
Her eyes dropped to the necklace in her hands. Thriller Bark. It had been five days since they left that creepy place that still gave her the chills. Five days since they set sail again, five days since Zoro woke up again.
Zoro. That guy seemed to be on her mind more often than not lately. Ever since he woke, he had been even more withdrawn and quiet than Nami had ever seen him in all their time together. He had been back to training almost immediately after they boarded the ship, ignoring Chopper's and everyone else's tries to convince him that his body needed a break.
Well everyone tried, except Sanji, who acted weird in his own way. She figured that, whatever happened to Zoro while everybody else was out cold, Sanji knew at least more than she did. That bugged her more than she would ever admit.
She shuddered lightly, still not fully realizing that they managed to defeat one Shichibukai and to survive another. Whatever Zoro's role was in these events, she was certain they owed him all their lives. Again. She felt like her heart was caught in an ice-cold grip when thinking about what could have happened to him. That he was up and alive in the crow's nest, nearly killing himself with his workout, didn't calm her fear for him one bit.
Nami shook her head gently to get rid of the thoughts about that green-haired idiot. She didn't even know why she was thinking about him right now. Maybe it was that necklace that swung gently at her fingers like a pendulum. It actually did remind her of Zoro's earrings somehow.
She didn't know what she should do with it. On one side, she really thought it was beautiful. On the other side, it reminded her of the events on Thriller Bark and her almost-wedding with this creepy invisible lion-man.
She was just glad that she was able to defeat him herself before he could consummate the marriage. Not that it would have counted in her eyes. But she really didn't want to kiss that freak.
Maybe she should just drop the necklace right here and now. She could watch it disappear into the ocean and she would be done with the subject. Then again… it looked quite valuable, maybe she should try and make some money out of it.
While she still pondered about what to do with that piece of jewelry, she didn't notice somebody approach her from behind.
"Oi, woman. Why are you still up at that time of the night?" Zoro's voice addressed her quietly. He came to a halt beside her at the railing and followed her gaze out to the ocean.
Nami startled. She hadn't expected to see him again today. And that he was obviously seeking to talk with her surprised her even more. He had avoided talking to her more than necessary ever since he came to on Thriller Bark, seeing her sitting by his bedside with a worried expression on her face, waiting for him to wake up. He had just given her an odd, intense look that she couldn't quite define before getting up, ignoring Chopper's pleas not to remove his bandages.
Nami hadn't known how much she had missed his voice right until this moment. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath before answering: "Couldn't sleep."
Zoro nodded. "I see" he replied calmly and in a way as if he knew that she was awake and out of bed to keep the bad dreams about Thriller Bark away, in which they didn't get off so lightly. In which Zoro didn't get off lightly. And maybe he did know.
Before Nami could find the words to say something, Zoro nodded towards the necklace that still hung from her fingers. "What's that?"
She followed his eyes and raised a hand to let the necklace dangle in front of his face to show it to him. "That? That's the necklace I was made to wear for my nearly-wedding with this zombie freak…"
Zoro narrowed his eyes to get a better look at it. "Oh yeah, I heard that that guy carried you off to marry you. Too bad we didn't get to see you in a wedding dress. I bet that would have been a nice view." He grinned at her.
Nami blinked. She felt like she should get angry at his statement because clearly there was no way in hell Roronoa Zoro was flirting with her. There just wasn't.
"Nah, I don't think it looked that great on me…" she answered taken by surprise, suddenly feeling self-conscious but Zoro only laughed. "You could probably wear a trash bag and still make it look good." He actually had the nerve to wink at her. Nami was sure her heart just stopped. What had gotten into her? And more importantly… what had gotten into Zoro all of a sudden?
Then, an angry expression darted over his face for just a second. "That psycho. I would have cut him into two pieces if he would have gotten through with his insane plans…" he mumbled under his breath.
Nami realized that he said these words more to himself than to her but she still felt her cheeks heat up. She was about to take her hand down but Zoro gripped it to hold her steady before he let his fingers trail over the back of hers, further down to take the three golden trinkets that were attached to the necklace with three turquoise pearls into his own hand.
When his skin touched hers, Nami felt like her whole body was on fire. She was sure her heart never beat so fast ever before in her life. She tried to mask the way she felt by talking. "I don't know what to do with it. I mean, I think it's beautiful. Then again it reminds me of Thriller Bark and everything that happened there…"
Zoro let go of the necklace to look at her. He shrugged. "Give it a new meaning then." When Nami didn't seem to understand what he meant he said: "Well, I think it suits you. And it suits your combat style."
"My… combat style…" she asked flatly. "Yes. Like my earrings. Three pieces for my three swords! It's a symbol." He grinned.
"You wear a three-piece earring because you fight with three swords?" Nami deadpanned. Zoro nodded enthusiastically. "And here I thought they would have some deep meaning…" She deliberately ignored his offended look and carried on. "… like loyalty, honesty and strength or whatever. But your explanation is so… basic." She was not convinced.
"Hey" he pouted "your weapon consists of three pieces, too. And these little balls look just like the balls you have on top of each part of your clima tact as well…"
"You mean the dials?" She scrutinized the necklace and came to realize that he was right. Her face lit up. "It's true… in a way the necklace does look like a symbol for my clima tact."
Smiling up at him sweetly she said: "Well, thank you Zoro. On second thought, your explanation doesn't seem so simple anymore. I actually quite like it. Looking at it like that… I think, I will keep the necklace."
"Yeah, whatever" Zoro replied, scratching the back of his neck, unsure of her sudden mood change. "Ok then. I'm going to call it a night. See ya in the morning." With that he turned to make his way to his room.
"Hey Zoro" Nami stopped him. "My necklace actually resembles your earrings. We'd totally be wearing matching jewelry." She grinned at him.
For a moment, the undefinable look was back on his face. "Whatever woman. As long as you don't charge me for it!" Grinning back at her, he left the deck and Nami was back on her own. She closed her hand around the necklace and pulled her fist up to press it against her heart, trying to calm down her raising heart.
She really did like his explanation of how the necklace could be a symbol for her combat style. Then again, she liked the thought of them wearing matching jewelry even more.