It's What We Do

By: Mokona-Midoki

Disclaimer: And now, dear readers, a lesson in sarcasm. MUHAHAHAHA YES! YES! EVERYTHING IS ALL MINE!!! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (For anyone who did not get my joke, One Piece does not belong to me.)

"Oi Nami, you don't look to good."

The orange-haired navigator extraordinaire looked over at the speaker. "What are you talking about, Zoro?"

"I'm saying you look like crap." The green-haired swordsman commented.

She glared. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

He ignored her and continued lifting the ridiculously large weight he held easily in one hand.

"Well?" She snapped.

"It means you look like you're about to fall over."

She rolled her eyes. "I feel perfectly fine, Zoro. I don't need you of all people to tell me how to take care of myself."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time you got sick. You almost died that time, remember? I can guard the ship fine. Just go and lie down or something."

"I'm FINE! Get it through that thick head of yours!" She put her face in her hands. "Why oh WHY did I have to get stuck on the ship with YOU of all people?!"

"Cause you got the short straw." He told her.

"I KNOW THAT!!!"

Earlier that day the Strawhat Pirates had pulled their ship into a new island full of thick forests, and unknown dangers. Seeing as how they all wanted to go and explore, they had come up with a simple solution. Whoever drew the short straw had to stay behind. And so it was that Nami and Zoro were stuck on the ship while everybody else got to explore.

She sighed. "Ugh. I can't take this anymore. When are they coming back?!"

"They'll probably end up lost and won't get back until tomorrow."

"THEY AREN'T YOU!!!!"

"Whatever." They continued in silence for a few minutes more, Zoro switching the weight from his left arm to his right arm, and Nami sitting against the railing, dejectedly resigned to her fate.

Finally, she could take no more. "I'm going to go get something to read." She stood up, took two steps forward, and fell.

Zoro looked over. When he saw what had happened, he dropped his weight, and went to where she was.

"Oi! Oi Nami! Hey! You okay?" He put a large hand to her forehead. "Hey! You're buring up! I told you you were sick."

"I'm not sick…" She mumbled.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever. C'mon, let's get you inside." Hoisting her up, he draped one of her arms around his neck and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. Opening up the door of the cabin he led her inside.

A few minutes later he had her on her bed with a blanket pulled up to her chin.

"You want anything else?" He asked her.

She glared at him from under the blanket. "I told you I'm fine."

"And that's why you can't walk straight." He disappeared from the room for a minute. "Don't move. It'll just get worse."

A minute later he came back in holding a small bottle.

Nami eyed it suspiciously. "What's that?"

He smirked. "Don't worry. I got it from Chopper's medicines. It says that it's for fevers. You probably got sick from being out in that storm yesterday."

"What about the rest of you?"

"As far as Luffy, and them go, they say idiots can't catch colds."

"Oi, oi, that includes you Zoro."

Largely ignoring the last remark she made, he went over to the bar and came back with a glass of water and the bottle which was full of red pills.

"The instructions say you should take two."

"Really, I'll be fine."

He sighed in frustration. "Just take it Nami. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"I'm not being stubborn."

"Yeah, you are. Take the medicine, and go to bed."

He waited until she had swallowed both pills, and then turned around.

"I'll be back on deck. Yell if you want anything." He left muttering to himself. "Honestly, women."

--

"Oi, Nami!"

It was late in the evening. The adventurers had yet to return, so Zoro had come to face reality. They were without a cook. Nami was sick so she couldn't cook. Zoro didn't know how to cook.

Nami's eyes opened slightly. "What is it?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, why do you want to know?"

"Cause I can't cook."

She sat up a bit. "Aren't the others back yet?"

"No. They're still out there somewhere."

She sighed. "So heat up some leftovers."

"Uh…"

She glared, awake now. "You can heat up food, can't you Zoro?"

"I never said I couldn't!"

Nami smirked. Zoro hated it when people thought he couldn't do something. To antagonize him was usually the quickest way to get him to do something. "Well then go do it!"

"Fine!" He left, closing the door behind him, and came out onto the deck. Going down to the lower cabin, he opened the door, and entered the kitchen. Walking over to the fridge, he opened it and looked inside.

It was well organized, and neat. Searching for the previous day's leftovers, he finally found it and pulled out the large plate of fried rice. Okay. He had found the food. Now came the hard part. He looked over at the stove. If the idiot love-cook could do it, so could he! All he had to do was heat it up, right? Putting the plate directly on the burner, he lit a fire in the stove, and sat back waiting.

--

Nami sat in her bed, reading a book on navigation. All was quiet, a little too quiet. Some would consider silence to be a good thing. But it was never quiet on this ship. It was only quiet when something bad happened. Just as she was about to leave to investigate…BOOM!!!! Ah. There it was. All was right again. She went back to reading. Whatever Zoro was up to, she would find out soon enough.

It was then that said swordsman and first mate tottered into her room, covered in soot, yet carrying a plate of what appeared to be the previous night's fried rice, though she could be wrong…

"What happened to you?"

He coughed and glared at her. "I heated up the food, like you told me too. You want anything else?"

"Ah, no. I'm good."

He thrust the plate at her. "Then eat it. I almost got myself killed getting that for you." As she took it, he wiped his face with the equally sooty shirt. The result was that he just smeared more soot around.

Staring at him, Nami suddenly began to laugh.

"What?" Zoro coughed again.

She put her hand over her mouth. "Ahahahaha! No! It's nothing! I just-" She stopped as more laughter broke free. Finally after she could contain her laughter, she wiped her eyes and spoke. "It's just that…you look so ridiculous!" She started laughing again.

Zoro glared again. "Thanks Nami. Next time you're sick in bed I'll just sit back and watch."

She accepted the plate from him. "You know Zoro, I could have done it myself."

He shook his head. "Look, Nami. When someone is sick, they stay in bed where they should so they don't die. You keep them there until they're better. That's what nakama do for each other. Since none of the others are here, I've got to do it. Otherwise, I'd never hear the end of it." He crossed his arms. "Nakama take care of each other. So shut up, eat your food, lie back down, and let me help you!"

Nami stared at him for a moment, and felt her face heat up.

A frown appeared on the swordsman face and he leaned closer, causing Nami to back away. "Hey, your face is all red. You aren't getting sicker are you?"

"Ah, no no! I'm fine! Really, I just, um," She took a bite of the rice. It was half dry, but she ate it anyway. "This is really good!"

"Oh? You think so? After the plate blew up, I thought it would get ruined."

"The plate blew up?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I put it on the stove, and it blew up while it was heating."

Nami sighed. "Zoro, when you heat up food, you don't put ceramics on the stove. You put the food in a pot or skillet or something!"

"Oh? I didn't know that."

"Well now you do. Next time, don't do it, okay?"

He waved his hand. "Sure, I got it."

There was silence while Nami ate. When she was finished, she set the plate on the table and laid back.

"Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For taking care of me."

He looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged. "You're welcome."

She smiled.

--

"EEEEEEHHHHHHHH?!?!?! NAMI IS SICK?!?!?!"

Zoro uncovered his ears and glared at Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Sanji. It was the next morning, and the others had just arrived back.

"Yeah, she had a fever. She took some of Chopper's medicine, and slept for a while."

Sanji came forward. "If anything happened to Nami-san…"
Zoro stood. "Eh? You'll what? I'd like to see you try anything, Love-cook."

"OI! OI! ZORO! IS NAMI GOING TO DIE?!?!" Luffy yelled in a panic.

"NO! She just had a cold!"

Robin who had been quiet until then came forward. "So Nami is alright then?"

Zoro nodded. "From what I can tell, yeah."

"CHOPPER! CHOPPER! GO SAVE NAMI!!"

From her bed below, Nami grinned. It sounded like they were back.

--

The six of the seven Straw Hat Pirates crowded around Nami's bed, awaiting the doctor's verdict.

"Well Chopper?" Nami asked the small reindeer.

He smiled. "You only have a very slight fever, and your pulse is normal. One more night's rest, and you should be okay!"

"WHOO-HOO! NAMI'S OKAY!!! SHE'S NOT GONNA DIE!!!"

"SHE WASN'T GOING TO DIE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!" The rest of the crew, excluding Robin, yelled.

As the rest of the crew filed out, Robin took a seat beside Nami's bed.

"So, did our dear swordsman take care of you?" She asked smiling at the younger woman.

Nami looked away, slightly blushing.

"Yeah. He did."

Suddenly they heard Sanji's enraged voice. "OI!!! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY KITCHEN!!!!!"

Robin and Nami looked at each other and began to laugh.

The End

Footnotes: So this was an entirely experimental thing, to see if I could actually write a Zoro/Nami pairing. I think I did a decent job. I really do think that Zoro and Nami would be hilarious together. (Though I love Sanji/Nami. The way she manipulates him makes me laugh.)

Please read and review! I'd love to know what people think!

First Mate: From what I read online and in a magazine, Zoro's official post on the ship is first mate meaning he's in charge if Luffy is put out of commission. (Luffy can't die. I really do think that he's immortal or something.) This can explain his extreme loyalty to Luffy, even trading his own life for his captain's. (All the Straw Hat Pirates are very loyal to their captain, but I see Zoro as an extreme case.)