Complementary Circumstances
a collection of One Piece Drabbles
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#1 Mask
Another battle.
Yet another fierce fight. Naturally, the swordsman had been among the first to join the bloodshed; considering it his prime duty as first mate of the Strawhat Pirates to always be at the front lines of any conflict, putting the advancement of their crew far above his own well-being. So it was hardly surprising that he usually ended up badly wounded, at times even more severely than the captain himself. The stubborn man was a constant worry of their young doctor; and he had not chosen to break with this habit just now.
While the other members of the crew had joined for a celebratory banquet, the green haired man was located in sick bay, a flustered Chopper having condemned him to bed rest - certainly only after making sure that the bandages were so tightly bound that the thought of getting up would be strangled in the process of its birth. Slightly annoyed at Chopper's worry, yet not intending to upset him even further, Zoro stretched his worn-out muscles - as far as the bandages allowed him to - and brought his arms behind his head. If he had to be stuck in that small room, he might at least make the most of it and take a quiet nap. But he should not be granted his little wish, for only a few moments later, small footsteps approached from the outside and eventually, the door was pushed open.
"And there I was sure I'd find you snoring away." The redhead navigator commented with a sly smirk and made her way over to the bed, silver spoon clinking against the ceramic bowl filled with hot, steaming soup. She balanced the hot dish carefully and gently placed it on the bedside table.
Zoro raised an eyebrow, eyeing the woman before him incredulously.
"How much?" he asked bluntly.
"Idiot!" she huffed, trying to appear offended by what he had suggested. Yet they both knew he love for money far too well to truly take it to heart. So instead of gracing him with a reply, she simply pushed the bowl closer to him and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Too tired to second guess her yet again, hr simply took the dish into his calloused hands and began emptying it. And Nami simply sat at his side, watching until he had finished. A strained silence crept over the small, stuffy room. Nami couldn't help letting her eyes wander across his upper body strew with old scars as well as freshly obtained gashes, deep crevices, their blood already staining the fresh bandages.
"Geez, you're such an idiot " she commented, shaking her head.
"Excuse me?!" he barked, his temper flaring instantly at the insult. Had he not been so restricted, he would certainly have jumped straight up.
"Why do you always have to be so dumb and jump right at any battle?" she elaborated "Look at yourself! Your body is just barely holding together! Idiot "
Her eyes were laden with a plethora of emotions : pride, anger, fury, accusation. But among those insults was something of quite a different nature. And he understood.
'Why do you always have to make me worry like that'
He averted his gaze from her, veiled his expression with a haughty mask and, with a snort, rested back against the wall.
"Hmpf. Measly guys like those could never kill me."
'So don't worry'
"You're such a jerk sometimes." she scowled, "Even your luck will run out one day."
'Don't tell me not to worry when you keep returning in even worse shape each time. One day you might not make it out at all..."
Again, Zoro snorted, the haughty grin never once leaving his face.
"Right, and I'm sure you'll be there to rub it in my face; you'd even find of a way of charging me for dying."
'So don't worry, I won't die. After all I have to pay you back. And since you know I'm broke, that won't be any time soon'
She returned his scowl in reaction to his - all too familiar - insult.
"And that just cost you another 10.000 Beri", and with a grin, she added: "With interest, of course."
'Just to make sure you don't stand a chance of walking the plank anytime soon'
"Money-grubbing witch..." Zoro spat in her direction with the pretense of a deadly glare.
"Directionally-disable mosshead!" she retorted, at the same time planting a thumping punch on top of his head - which, of course, to Zoro's skull felt like nothing more than the bounce of a soft pillow.
With that, she grabbed the empty dish, turned on her heel and made her way out of the small room.
Staring up at the wooden ceiling, Zoro absent-mindedly rubber the location of her previous smack, almost enjoying the slightly tinkling sensation her small knuckles had left behind. A small smirk played around his lips.
"You worry too much, woman."
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a/n: I am in a sort of 'One Piece' and especially ZoNa mood - once again - so I thought I'd just write this out. I've always found the interactions of Zoro and Nami quite interesting. While they usually seem to be some of the more mature members of the crew, they just can't keep from quarreling. So I'm sure that, by now, they've come to some sort of silent understanding. Of course that's what any ZoNa Shipper would like to believe! But be it romantically or not, those two are Nakama, and the only thing keeping them from showing the concern they must feel for each other - even if only as that - is the felt need to keep up their tough fronts. So I thought: why not try and look behind those?
Please tell me what you think!
Oh, also, this is supposed to turn into a collection of drabbles and oneshots, so if there's anything you'd particularly like to see, just let me know!
Complementary (adj.): completing, forming a complement. combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize each other's qualities.
Complementary Contrast (n.): in art theory, the combination of two colors which cancel out each other's hue; colors which are opposite of each other on the color wheel. (Coincidentally, red and green)