A/N: This was posted under a different name a while ago, but I was notified it was taken down for some reason (i think either the name or summary was deemed 'unfriendly' to all users-tho it was in M section, it's not MEANT for all users). Either way, here it is, back again with a more friendly name and summary.
Nami covertly looked over at the man she'd had feelings for since the first day they'd started sailing together. She took in his dour attitude and sighed. Would he ever smile again like he had the day he'd come back to the ship with the news that had broken her heart? She winced as she remembered the news he'd delivered to the entire crew that cool, brisk morning…he was getting married.
It had come as a shock to them all, especially her. None of them had been aware he'd even had a thing for the woman he'd brought onto the ship that day. She'd been tall, dark haired, and blue eyed…everything Nami herself was not. She'd dressed conservatively and spoken softly and was ever so polite…to everyone but him.
Nami just didn't understand it. The woman was downright hateful to him and he just took it. It was such a un-Zoro like thing to do, to sit there and take a woman's verbal and sometimes physical abuse. She shook her head and leaned back into her hammock. It was only hours before the wedding and the entire crew was in an uproar.
Robin and Franky were running around, making sure the decorations were all set. Sanji was keeping Luffy from the cake, Brooks was plunking on the piano, trying to refresh his memory of songs appropriate for a wedding, and Chopper was on his way back to the ship with the priest. And Zoro…well, he was sitting on the steps just below her in his formal wear, frowning like someone had just stolen one of his precious swords.
Curious, Nami leaned over the side of her hammock and called out to him. "What's with the frown, Zoro? I thought you were happy to be getting married?" she noticed him jump and then it was like night and day switched places, because Zoro lit up.
"Oh, Nami…didn't know you were there. Yeah just a little nervous. I don't really have anything to accomplish anymore now that I've beaten my biggest rivals. I was trying to think of what I was going to do after I'm a married man." Though she could tell he was trying to hide it, she could see the hint of sadness in his eyes. She cocked her head to the side and gave him a concerned look.
"Hey…you okay? You look like you're not into this whole getting married thing anymore." Secretly hoping he'd confide in her, she carefully made her way from her hammock to his side, sitting just a few steps from his feet. She noticed him shrug.
"No, it's just-" He never got to finish as yells were heard.
"ZORO!" Nami cringed as she looked over at the green haired swordsman. She noticed the suppressed pain on his face and a small trickle of anger went through her. She turned her glare to the source of her crewmate's pain and saw the beautiful yet scowling young woman that would soon be Zoro's wife.
"You look radiant, Veronica." Zoro stood and walked over to the young woman, only to have her step back from him angrily. Nami noticed the woman glare at her before turning that same glare on Zoro.
"Who is she?" the dark haired woman asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. Nami shivered at the veiled hostility. This woman was deceptively dangerous. Nami put on a bright smile and waved slightly.
"I'm the navigator of this ship. I've been sailing with Luffy and the others for a few years. I must say, when Zoro came to us and told us he was getting married, we were all pretty shocked. He didn't strike us as the settling down type. You sure have changed him." She noticed the woman's lingering glare and then the woman crossed her arms over her chest, her smile as fake as the extensions in her hair.
"It's a start." She said in that fake sweet voice that made Nami want to rip her hair out by the roots. Nami's smile froze and she laughed haltingly. The potential catfight was interrupted by a loud wail and then the sound of gunfire.
Nami whirled around and spotted Chopper headed towards them in his running form. The poor little reindeer looked terrified, and she understood why when a mob of what looked to be trappers appeared behind him, guns in their hands. Nami's eyes widened and she called the crew out to defend their doctor.
Nami grabbed her bo-staff and headed down the ramp to help Chopper. Before she was out of sight, she turned back to Zoro, who looked like he wanted to take up arms to defend his friend, but was hesitating. Anger swept through her then and she spoke before she thought. "ZORO?!" she noticed the green haired man blanch and then look at the woman that would be his wife. Something seemed to pass from her to him and Nami watched him close his eyes and clench his fists.
With a hissed curse, Nami turned away from the two and ran out to help her crewmate. Luffy, Sanji and even Usopp helped to save Chopper, but now Nami found herself in a place she'd never been…the red light district. She was about to turn around when a woman smoking at the corner called out to her.
"Hey, you're from that swordsman's crew, ain'tcha?" Nami arched a brow and nodded reluctantly. The woman nodded and took another drag from her cigarette. "Vera got her claws in him good, she did." The woman's smile told Nami there was something going on that they didn't know about. Curious, Nami stepped closer to the woman.
"Vera? You mean Veronica?" the woman laughed and shrugged.
"That what she calling herself now? Guess her real name isn't sophisticated enough for the life she plans on having after she marries that poor sap." Nami could feel frustration and anger building. Impatient, she turned to leave when the woman laughed. "Poor guy ain't even got a clue the brat she's hauling ain't his. She'll lie her way onto that ship and take you out one by one if you let her." Nami turned to say something to the woman, but to her surprise, the woman was gone.
What the woman had said went through her mind over and over like a broken record. Her eyes widened as she realized the truth of the situation. Veronica, or whatever her name was, was claiming the child she carried was Zoro's. With a gasp, Nami took off back to the ship, hoping she'd make it in time to save Zoro from the most horrible mistake of his life.
As she ran, she thought of all the times she'd intentionally started a fight with him, just so she could figure out somehow to make him deeper in debt with her. It was her way of making sure he'd always be around her and the crew. It was her way of making sure he'd never leave. But she'd never tell him that. Closing her eyes, she felt tears leak out as she ran with all her might back to the ship.
Before she could make it, however, she was cut off by a band of rough looking men. She noticed they circled her and she gritted her teeth. "I don't have time for you and your buddies, mister, so why don't you do the smart thing and just go have yourselves a drink." The man smirked and shook his head.
"We can't do that, little lady. You see, we have orders to make sure that you're 'taken care of' properly so that Vera can get the money she owes some very important people in this town." Nami's eyes widened. Veronica had sent these men after her? Nami bit her lip as she counted how many men were between her and the ship. She cursed under her breath…this didn't look good.
Nami was breathing heavy and she couldn't stand very well on her own anymore. She'd fought them off the best she could, but there were too many of them and not enough of her. She had no way to signal her comrades and no way to contact the ship. She grit her teeth as the man from before surfaced from the sea of faces and smiled at her.
"Ready to play nice, little lady?" she hissed and pressed back against the wall. This was it, this was where she'd fall, and Zoro would never know her feelings for him. She closed her eyes and tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she prepared herself for the end. However, the whoosh of a breeze and the sudden sounds of pain from the men around her had her eyes snapping open. She gasped as she noticed two swords and green hair.
Before she could thank him, she was in his arms and they were on the run. She looked up at him and noticed the dread in his eyes. Her smile fell as she realized that he was dreading going back to the ship. It was then she remembered what the woman had told her and realized that Zoro, being the type of man he was, thought that he was doing the right thing by marrying this woman whom he thought was carrying his child. Which meant he'd obviously slept with her before, meaning she was most likely just like that woman she'd seen on the street. Indignation went through her, but she stifled it, reminding herself that she'd never given him any hint of her interest and he most likely thought she'd lay him out for even propositioning her.
"Zoro, I-" Again, their conversation was cut off by a screech.
"ZORO!" Nami looked up and found the once beautiful looking Veronica was looking down at them darkly. Shock rang through Nami as she realized they were already back to the docks. She looked around and noticed that it looked like they'd been through a war…and most of the fallen had sword slashes in their clothes. Nami looked up at Zoro and noticed he was looking down at the dock.
"Get away from her this instant!" the dark haired little woman demanded, her face twisting into a mask of something awful. Nami could feel Zoro's body shaking as he gently put her down and stepped away from her. Suddenly, things started flashing behind Nami's eyes. Images of the fun, laughter and happiness the crew had shared in the past. Images of the danger, trials, and opponents they'd faced. And more specifically, the times she and Zoro had spent together.
First in her mind was the incident in the desert where Zoro had carried her on his back because she was hurt. They'd argued and fought horribly, but in the end, they'd grown closer together because of it. Second in her mind was the incident where Zoro and Luffy had lost their shadows to that crazy Frankenstein monster man. She'd been terrified that Zoro was going to die, but they'd managed to save him before he turned into a pile of dust.
These and many more memories came and went until she was shaking visibly. Finally, she just screamed out in frustration, cutting off Veronica's tirade. "SHUT UP!" she could feel the tears falling down her face. She opened her large chocolate eyes and leveled the other woman with the most malevolent look ever to grace the Grand Line.
"Shut UP you filthy whore! I have listened to you degrade, insult and emasculate Zoro for the last time! I don't care who you think you are, where you came from, or who you've fucked, but if you think I'll let some dirty hooker like you marry my Zoro, you have another thing coming." She then clenched her fists, the entire crew staring at her in shock, as well as Zoro and Veronica.
"ZORO! Are you going to let her talk to me that way?" the woman asked in a stern voice. It was then that Nami turned away from the woman.
"Yes, he is. You want to know why he's going to let me talk to you like the whore you are? Because he doesn't love you. He never has, and he never will. You're using the child you carry to manipulate him." She heard the entire crew gasp and looked up to see the shock on Zoro's face. She smiled sadly and shook her head. "You weren't going to tell him the child wasn't his, were you…Vera?" she looked up to see even more shock on Zoro's face. She then turned and noticed the shock and anger on the dark haired woman's face.
"What are you talking about? Of course it's his child!" Nami shook her head and glared.
"You have more debts to the people in this town than Zoro has to me, and that's saying something. You needed a fast track to cash and the quickest way off this island. You were going to use Zoro to repay your debt and then take off, most likely leaving him with a kid that ain't even his." Nami noticed the anger in Veronica's face and knew she'd hit the nail on the head. She then shook her head.
"What you don't know is that every bit of the money Zoro makes goes towards paying off the debt he owes me." Nami then clenched her fists, tears pricking her eyes. "I have been very careful to make sure that Zoro stays on this ship, and I'll be damned if I let a harlot like you take him from this crew." She then turned away from them all and pointed towards the red light district.
"When I left the ship to help Chopper, I ended up getting pushed back onto the red light district. I came across a woman that told me that 'Veronica' here is really named Vera and that she was going to take every last beli we had and then split. She also told me that the reason Zoro was marrying Vera was because of the baby that Vera carries. But, because of her job, there's no telling who the child's father is. So Vera picked out one she thought would be easy to manipulate…a man with honor and integrity, even if he has a foul mouth sometimes."
Nami smiled and a tear fell down her cheek, but she figured no one would see since her back was to them. "When I was making my way back to the ship, a group of men stopped me. They surrounded me and threatened my life and…other things." She winced when she remembered the sick remarks the leader had made about her appearance. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Zoro shift, but she dared not look at him.
"What they said, when I told them to move, was that they were ordered to take care of me so that Vera could get the money she owes the people of this town. He's the one that told me you owed a lot of powerful people a lot of money." Name then looked at her hand and her lip quivered. She took a deep breath and continued. "The only way you could have paid back the amount of debt you owed was to turn Zoro in and collect on his bounty. Isn't that right, Vera? You were going to collect the bounties on our heads one by one, starting with Zoro."
Nami then turned to face the woman that was trying to rip their crew apart. The look on the woman's face was not only ugly, but also downright evil. She exuded an aura of absolute hatred. "Seems Gibralter has a big mouth. He should have done more than talk with it. You know, he's the one that breaks in the girls in this town. You were right about one part, I was going to collect the rewards worth taking. But you, little miss navigator, were going to take my place here as Gibralter's favorite whore." That once elegant, polite voice was now twisted with hatred and venom.
"It's his child, you know. And he'd have just let me take off with it and never see it again. He cares nothing for me or any of the other girls he gets pregnant. And because he never pays, we don't have the money to pay for anything ourselves, so our debt gets bigger and bigger. We borrow money from what seem to be honest town folk, but they're all in Gibralter's pocket. He owns us…every one of us. He turned his own wife, Trixy, into a whore. She was the most popular around until I was stranded on his hell rock." Nami felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman, but the fact that she'd planned to turn her friends, and more importantly Zoro, over to the Marines didn't soften her enough to feel sad for the woman.
"There are plenty of people on this island that make decent lives without selling their bodies, or each other." Nami said in a stern tone. And it was all it took for the other woman to snap. She launched herself at Nami, anger and hatred in her face.
"I should have taken care of you myself!" Nami closed her eyes, knowing there was no way she could react fast enough to avoid the knife that was in Vera's hand. A grunt and weight against her had her gasping and staring into the dark eyes of Zoro. She stared him in the eyes for a second before he winced and she looked down and found a red spot on his formal wear. Her eyes widened as she realized he'd taken the blade for her. Tears came to her eyes as he smirked and suddenly stumbled. She caught him and helped him down to the planks of the dock. Suddenly, hundreds of hands popped up, taking Vera prisoner.
Chopper was immediately brought out to help and Zoro was taken onto the ship. Nami stared up after them, still sitting on the dock. She looked down and noticed a bloodstain on the dock. Anger filled her eyes and she turned those angry chocolate eyes on the one responsible. Cold blue eyes regarded her. Nami stood and walked over to her as the arms held her captive. Suddenly, an evil smile appeared on her face.
"Did you know, that on this island, when you are pregnant with someone's child…it's an automatic marriage. There's no need for a ceremony." There was shock and fear on Vera's face then. "Oh, Gibralter didn't tell you? It's a safety measure taken by the women of this island to ensure they're never abused by men. But then again an outsider like you, who was more concerned with living well than living smart, wouldn't know anything about it since you never researched it." Nami then headed back up onto the ship. She looked down at Vera with serious eyes.
"If you ever come near Zoro again, child or not, I'll kill you Vera." Nami then walked towards the sick bay. She took a deep breath as the ship sailed out of port, intent on getting as far from this rock as possible.
Nami brushed the hair back from his forehead, though there wasn't much on it. She looked at him worriedly. It had been two days since they'd sailed away from the woman Zoro had almost mistakenly married and he'd yet to wake up. She half wondered if the blade was poisoned, but Chopper had assured her it wasn't.
She sighed and put her head back down on the bed, waiting for him to stir. She traced his fingers with hers and smiled gently as she thought of how capable those hands were. They were tough, dangerous and yet incredibly gentle. She'd seen those hands kill and she'd seen those hands save. Right now, those hands were resting against a bed and she wished more and more that they'd show some sign of life.
She sighed again and closed her eyes, hoping he'd wake up soon so she could do what she'd told herself she was going to do. She'd bolstered her courage and she was finally going to tell him how she felt. She drifted between the world of dreams and reality for a while until she felt something running through her hair. As her eyes slowly opened, she noticed intense black ones looking back at her. She smiled and whispered a greeting to him.
He smirked and she just smiled back. "How are you feeling?" She asked in a gentle voice, so unlike her normal interactions with him. She noticed him shrug and she rolled her eyes, how typical of him.
"I won't be lifting weights anytime soon, but I'll live." He said in that deep, serious voice of his. But there was something in his eyes that had never been there before. There was a softness about him that she'd never seen before. Was this a result of his injury or was it just a byproduct of when he'd been engaged to Veronica and had thought he'd be a father soon?
Concern colored her face as she looked at him. "Are you alright?" she noticed him arch a brow and the look in his eyes said something she wouldn't like was following so she held up her hand. "I mean what with Vera and the baby not being yours and all. Are you okay?" she noticed him stall for a second and then he smiled sadly.
"I can't say as that I'm not disappointed a little, but I'm very much alright that the mother of my child isn't a woman like that." Nami arched a brow and regarded him.
"A woman like what?" she asked curiously. She was pretty sure he meant a whore, but she wasn't sure because of the look he kept giving her.
"One that can't accept me where I'm at. That wants to change me and control me. I can't be married to a woman that is going to try and make me stop sword fighting." Nami felt her heart clench. She, herself, wished he'd stop putting his life in such danger, but she'd never tell him that…especially after that. She then noticed him reach out and cup the side of her face.
"I need a woman that's willing to let me lay my swords down myself. I have to be the one to do it, or I'll always regret it." Nami smiled and put her hands on his and closed her eyes.
"This one is willing to let you have your time…" she whispered almost inaudibly. She heard him chuckle and then opened her eyes to see him smirking at her. She gasped when he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. When he pulled away, he looked smug.
"I know." Was all he said before he kissed her again. Nami moaned as fire consumed her body. When she felt him tugging on her, she didn't resist, just let him pull her on top of him on the bed. She felt his hands roaming her body and gasped when she felt his arousal bump her core. She stared down at him in shock and arousal as he stared up at her, his breathing ragged.
"Nami…" he breathed and then kissed her again. She moaned and kissed him back, allowing her own passion to mix with his. Before she knew it, they were both naked and he was lying on top of her, kissing her collarbone. She could feel his warmth, but also the scratch of the bandages. She pulled away and looked at his wound, concerned.
"Zoro, you need to let yourself heal, you're in no shape to-" she was cut off when he started easing into her. She gasped and arched off the bed, unable to continue when such sensations were filling her. She could feel him shaking with the effort and she whispered to him. Suddenly, he was lying on his back and she was straddling him. She continued to lower herself onto him, gasping for breath each time.
When he sat up and began kissing her breasts, she held him to her and moaned as he suckled her. She moaned over and over as they made love to one another, wanting to feel each other after having long denied their feelings. She opened her eyes as she felt him getting closer and closer and she touched his face, making him look up at her.
"Zoro…I want to give you the baby you wanted so badly…" her voice was low and desperate and it made him gasp. He then turned them so that he was on top and buried his face in her shoulder as he thrust into her. Their hips barely separated as he reached deeper into her until she was biting her lip to keep from screaming. He kissed her as her body jack-knifed in pleasure as they finally reached their peak together. Without pulling out, he snuggled up to her and the two of them fell asleep.
The next day, Zoro was able to go to the galley for breakfast, accompanied by Nami. The entire crew noticed the change between the two, especially Sanji, who threw a comical fit when Nami blushingly admitted that she and Zoro were now together. The others, however, were much more celebratory. It was Luffy that surprised her when he came up to her and hugged her. When he pulled away, there was a sparkle in his eyes. "Boguira isn't the only place that marriage is instant when you're pregnant, it's the whole of the Grand Line." Nami's jaw dropped and she stared at her captain in shock.