AN: Hello! This story is an RP turned story between me and Confession68. I'm a person of few words, so I'll leave it at that. This is just the prologue, that wasn't in the original RP, but I felt it was needed for the story in order to set some things up and explain a few things. I hope you enjoy.


All I Want

-Prologue-

They waited in the conference room for what seemed liked hours, when really the clock had merely ticked fifteen times. Meetings with the company were lame and always took forever. Luffy sat at the head of the table opposite the double doors. He leaned back in the leather chair, his straw hat over covering his face as he dozed with his legs propped up on the table. Chopper and Usopp sat next to each other tapping out beats on the table with pencils. Zoro had retreated to a corner, sitting on the floor, one leg bent up, with his arms wrapped around while he, too, dozed. Brook thumbed through a copy of Rolling Stone he'd heisted from the lobby and Sanji, on the other hand, sat patiently. Waiting for whatever news the record company was going to break to them. They had only signed with the company a few months ago and the transition had been awkward and difficult. And already they'd managed to chase away two managers, because of some of their more colorful eccentricities.

Now, they sat in the conference room, seventeen minutes after nine am, Luffy's soft snores the only sound in the room, waiting for something they weren't really sure about. All Sanji knew is that he'd gotten the call at seven thirty, while in the middle of breakfast, and was told to be at the office at nine. Thus began the process of waking up the rest of the band. Everyone seemed to wake up well enough, though reluctantly, because the night before they had partied a bit too hard. Luckily enough for Sanji, Luffy had just passed out completely dressed and therefore, the cook did not have to dress him, like the last time. With Usopp's help, they dragged him into the van and glad the front man woke up long enough to walk himself into the office building, but promptly collapsed into a chair and fell back asleep. Sanji looked back up at the clock on the wall as it ticked to twenty six after and sighed. Not a moment later, a large man in a grey wool suit opened the door and walked in. Those awake, perked, switching their eyes to the door and the large man.

"Good morning gentlemen," Arlong said through a fake smile, "sorry to have dragged you out of bed so early, but I have someone I'd like to you meet; your new manager, Miss LaBelle. I'll leave you to get acquainted; don't let them bother you, Miss Labelle." And he was gone, the door closing behind him leaving the orange haired woman standing just inside the door with a stack of papers under one arm and a briefcase in the other. She wore a tight fitting knee-length black skirt suit. She set her briefcase on the table and dropped the stack of papers next to it. She shrugged out of the suit jacket and laid it over the back of a chair. Her tight fitted, wine colored silk blouse, accentuated her curves and her voluptuous breasts.

After it was set down, she looked over at one in particular, who was still asleep. Smiling to herself though the smile held no mirth, she walked over and shoved his legs off the table harshly to make him wake up.

Luffy grunted in his sleep, undisturbed, merely lifting his sandal clad feet back onto the table. The others, sans sleeping Zoro, looked at her and blinked a mix of worry for Luffy and awe passing over their features.

Frowning now, she pursed her lips slightly, but then she suddenly smirked. Walking around beside him, she then climbed into the chair next to him, lifted his hat, and said into his ear, "Wake up."

Luffy's face scrunched up as he stirred, but not waking just yet... until music began to play and he subconsciously shoved his hand into his pocket to retrieve the phone. He pushed the answer button and lifted the device to his ear. "'Ello? Ye... sup, mate? Ye got room?"

Narrowing her eyes, she then smirked before taking his phone and saying to the person on the other end, "He'll call you back," hanging up the phone, and tossing it into his lap, "Hi, it's nice of you to finally join us." She said, losing her smile before going back to her things on the table.

"Oi, oi! Dat was impor'ant... is takin me weeks ta git 'im ta fit me in, who da 'ell," he looked up at her for the first time and stared, his eyes slowly blinking taking on his usual neutral expression. He made a confused face tilting his head to the side and crossed his arms. "Uh... yo? Ye ar?"

"My name is Nami Labelle, since you were too busy sleeping to have heard the introduction," she said, turning to frown at him, then her cheeks flushed a bit now that she could see his face. However, keeping her frown, she then looked back down at her things, picking up a piece of paper, "I'm your new manager."

"Ah..." he scrunched up his nose, "well les 'ope ye stick 'roun longer den de las bloke... I fink he on'y las'id 'bout a week... shishishi." He rubbed his hand over his stomach and looked at the others, wondering where Zoro was. "Oi, Zoro, git yer ass o'er 'ere… wes got a new manger... come meet 'er!"

Zoro stirred and looked up, "'er?" He cocked an eyebrow before climbing to his feet to drop into an empty chair next to Luffy. "Yo," he greeted simply with a small wave.

"Nice'a meet ye, Nami," Chopper was standing on his chair, holding out his hand to the woman. "I's Chopp'a."

Smiling brightly to the smaller young man and his utter cuteness, Nami then tilted her head into the smile, beaming at him, "Hello, Chopper! It's nice to meet you!" Then she turned to smile at Zoro, "It's nice to meet you too." Then she turned to Luffy next, "I'm a lot more tolerant and tougher than I seem, I'm sure I'll be just fine."

"Hello, mademoiselle, Nami. It's an absolute pleasure to meet such a lovely and beautiful woman." Sanji said in a silky smooth voice and smile.

Flushing a bit, she then smiled at Sanji, "It's also a pleasure to meet you, Sanji." She said, losing some of her smile before looking down at the paper she was holding, "You guys are looking pretty pathetic right now. Your debut didn't sell much, nor did it get much of a fan base. That's very bad."

Luffy's eyebrow twitched, "wha'dya mean? Pa'fetic?"

Chopper sat back in his chair and drooped looking completely miserable. Zoro crossed his arms and sent her, not quite a glare, but not friendly either.

"Well, quite honestly, I've seen a lot better. So, we need to figure out what you guys are doing wrong, and I have a few ideas." She said, thumbing the papers.

"Oi," his frown was deep as his hands balled into first and he stood he voice was deep and his accent almost made it impossible to understand him, "dere noddin 'ron wit wha' we doin... an we dun need eny yer ideas..."

"Of course you don't, and that's why your sales are below average and you barely sell tickets to your tours." She said stepping up to him, not intimated by him as she frowned back. However, her heart was pounding in her chest at how close she'd gotten to him.

He gritted his teeth and glared down at her. He had nothing to say, because he knew she was right... and he hated himself for it. His body relaxed and his face calmed before he brushed past her and walked right out of the door.

"Oi, Luffy!" Sanji called, getting up quickly to go after him.

Frowning deeper, but softly, Nami turned to watch him leave, but then she sighed, dropping the papers back down onto the folder.

"Luffy!" Sanji, called outside of the door as he caught his arm, "Where the hell are you going!?" His question coming out in a strong French accent since he was a little upset by his rudeness to the young woman.

Luffy paused and turned his glare up at Sanji, "'ome... got shit ta do. Finks we werfless... den I's gonna fuckin show 'er..." he pulled his arm free and continued out down the hall. "See ye at 'ome."

"She never said we were worthless!" He called after him, but then just growled, waving him off. Then he went back inside to apologize.

*_*_*

He was still panting heavily from the show, but even more so now that the adrenaline was fueled by anger. It hadn't even been his fault, ok, maybe a little. The place had faulty wiring and just because they had a lot of equipment and member on the small stage. Too many things went wrong. The manager of the club slammed the door shut as he left. Threatening to never hire them again and wanting compensation for the blown sound system. Luffy's fists were balled tight, one around a beer bottle that was sure to give out to the pressure. The others looked just as dismal and after being yelled at by the club owner, they were certain to get yelled at again.

Nami came in a few moments later, not looking too happy, "What the hell was that!? I just got chewed out by the manager, threatening to sue for what happened to his sound system! You have any idea how badly I'm going to get it from Arlong about this!? Why weren't you guys being careful!? And then everything was just awful! This is really pathetic! And you!" She said, frowning deeply at Luffy, "Was that really necessary!? It's like you're trying too hard and making everything worse, which is even more pathetic! We are going to have to sit down and talk about this seriously!"

Luffy's grip on the bottle tightened. He gritted his teeth tightly. His entire body trembled with anger, but he still didn't know what to say. The tension in the room was thicker than molasses and everyone was quiet watching Nami and Luffy. "Git ou'," he said slowly, deliberately so she'd understand his voice, filled with venom.

Not at all intimidated, she just crossed her arms, ignoring the warning in his voice, "No, I'm not done yet." She said, narrowing her eyes at him, and daring him to do something about her disobeying his command, "You haven't improved at all over the last three months, and actually, you're getting worse. Not to mention, you haven't listened to a single suggestion I offered you. You've rejected them all! If you would just listen to me, you might actually improve a little bit, and that's saying a lot from where I'm standing ..."

The bottle shattered, spilling the rest of its frothy contents and his blood onto the floor. Chopper shrieked at the noise and looked torn between helping him clean it and staying out of the fight. Luffy kept his glare on her and stepped up a little closer to her. "I dun need eny o' yer 'elp. Jus git de fuck ou'!"

Gasping lightly and even jumping a little at the bottle breaking, she did then feel a little fear, but she wasn't going to back down. Panting a little heavier, she just continued to glare back at him, baring her teeth slightly.

"Oi, Luffy! Calm down!" Sanji yelled, stepping up in between them, not caring if he got hit. He'd be damned if he let him treat the girl like that.

"Like hell you don't ... and is this why you're doing so fantastic right now?" She asked quietly, her voice quivering a bit as she felt tears stinging her eyes. Quickly wiping them away, she then just turned and ran from the room.

"Ah, cheri!" Sanji called, turning and quickly running after her, but stopped at the door to scowl at Luffy and say, "What the fuck is your problem!?" before turning and leaving.

Luffy said nothing and moved to pick up his case for his electric guitar as well as the case for his acoustic. He pushed out of the room and left. Chopper burst into tears not liking that things were so bad for them right now and everyone was always tense and fighting. Usopp placed his hand on the drummer's back to try and comfort him. "We's gotta fix dis shit..."

"Cheri!" Sanji called, catching her hand before she went too far. Sighing, she then turned to look up at him, but she had forced her tears away.

"I'm fine. Just angry."

"I understand ... I apologize for making things so complicated here." He said, frowning down at her.

"No ... it's ... it's okay. Maybe I was a little too harsh ..." She said, looking away from him.

"Ah, but we really screwed up, right?" He asked, scratching the back of his head as his frown softened.

Shrugging, she kept her gaze to the side, "He's not listening to me ... and you all just do what he says ..."

Looking down, Sanji drooped a bit, not being able to deny that, "I'm sorry ..."

"He ... He doesn't ... really have the wrong idea ... He just ... goes about those ideas a bit wrong ... If he would just ... listen to me ..." She whispered softly as she drooped completely.

Looking back up at her, Sanji just stared at her, feeling a little guilty that they had treated her so unkindly. She really did seem like she wanted to help them. But that's the way it always was, and that's why all of their managers ended up leaving.

Luffy paused in the hallway, having heard some of their conversation. He frowned deeply. He couldn't even come up with a reason why he was refusing to listen to her. He just... call it a pride thing. He needed to try harder. Their whole sound needed to change. He needed to get his head out of his ass and stop the shit. If he was really as serious about this as he let on... then he would make this band better. He would fix it. Maybe even listening to her long enough to see what her ideas were, if she thought they were so great. He sighed deeply... things were going to change and he wasn't coming out of the studio until he wrote an entire new album that was worth something.

*_*_*

After they got back, Nami had indeed been scolded by Arlong, and he'd even gone so far as to call her incompetent. She was not incompetent-He was just stubborn. Now she sat in the conference room, waiting for Luffy and the others to show up. She really needed to keep her temper in check and just try talking to them. She sat in a chair at the end up the table with her legs crossed as she read over the latest report. It was horrible...

Luffy slammed the door open and took a seat at the end of the table opposite from her, "I's gonna lisin... fer tin minu's... so ye be'er makit quick." He leaned back and lifted his legs to rest on the table and leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling. Zoro trudged in behind him and took a seat near him. Chopper looked horrible as he climbed into the seat next to Zoro. Usopp sat across from Zoro and kept his eyes on the table. This was going to be an awkward and uncomfortable ten minutes.

However, every time he opened his mouth or even just his presences always made her temper flare, but also her body heat, "Ten minutes, huh? I'm so sorry that I'm such a waste of your precious time ..."

"Luffy, shut up, you shitty ingrate! We'll listen for as long as she needs to talk. Things haven't been going great, and you know it! Least we can do is what we should have done in the beginning; listen to her!" Sanji said, plopping down on the opposite side and glared at Luffy.

Bending his arms up behind his head, Luffy leaned further in the chair, "I's lis'nin..." He kept his eyes on the ceiling and said nothing more.

Taking a deep breath while closing her eyes, she tried hard to make herself calm before she started talking and expressing all of her ideas to them. It definitely took longer than ten minutes, and she was glad that Luffy sat through the whole thing.

Staring at the ceiling, despite his bored appearance, he thought over what she had to say and couldn't stop the ideas flooding into his head. He pulled a small notebook and a pen from his pocket and flipped it open to and started to scribble incoherently notes and lyrics into it in his messy scrawl. He said nothing but just continued to write. Zoro curiously leaned over to look, but couldn't read it if he tried.

Frowning a bit, she then paused her explanation as she watched him. His bored expression had been enough, but now he was scribbling away in a notebook. Had he really been listening to her, or did he not care at all? "Were you listening at all?" She finally asked, looking down at the table, cursing herself as she felt close to tears. He was truly frustrating her, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to kill him or ravish him. There was something extremely appealing and attractive about him that she'd felt the moment she'd set eyes on him. However, he was a complete ass, and she couldn't understand why she felt that way.

Frowning as well, Sanji looked over at Luffy, and then sighed, shaking his head a bit.

He still didn't say anything and instead sat back to look over what he'd written. He flipped through the pages and the first smile in months spread across his lips. He chuckled to himself and his face glowed with glee, that is, until he remembered where he was. His face fell and he switched his bored expression back to her, "ye done?"

Clenching her teeth hard, she began to breathe deeply in her anger and frustration before slamming her hands down onto the table, tears coming to her eyes again. That was it ... He hated her. She was trying so hard, but he hated her ... and for some reason ... it hurt. It hurt a lot, "Am I done ...?" She seethed quietly before saying it much louder, "Am I done!?" Then she shook her head at him, "Have you ... any idea ...?" She started, but then shook her head harder as she smiled mirthlessly, "You know ... I don't blame those other managers for ditching a stubborn, pompous ass like you ... but I'm not going to quit! I'm not going to fail ... I've worked ... too hard ..." Her throat started to close during the last part of her words as her tears threatened to overflow, "And I'm not going to lose my job because of your pompous ass ..." Then she began to gather up her things quickly before storming out.

"Ah, cheri, wait ...!" But she slammed the door behind her. Grinding his teeth, Sanji then looked back at him, "Are you done yet!? Why the fuck are you being such an asshole to her! She's really trying hard, but you keep throwing it back in her face!" He said before standing and leaving the room as well.

Luffy scratched the back of his head, "I jus writ free songs from 'er ideas..." he seemed unfazed by her storming out and then Sanji's storming out; unfazed or uncaring. He looked to Zoro, who was staring at him as if he was crazy, "wha? Les git back ta de studio... I's wanna try em ou'."

Zoro continued to stare at him, "ye purposely tryin te git 'er mad at ye?"

Luffy stood and moved for the door, "I's no werfless… an I no' pafe'ic..." he opened the door and left the room, still thumbing through the pages of the book. He paused and added a few notes to the page and continued on. This was going to be good.

*_*_*

A year had passed, and the band's fame was world wide. Nami smiled at the article in the newspaper in the music section. They had made the main article event. They were right now celebrating their album making #1 on the billboard and at the same time, having a house warming party. Their good friend Franky had just finished construction on their house/studio. However, she was out in the main hall listening to the music just on the other side. Even if she had been with them for over a year, she felt like a complete outsider still. So ... maybe he had listened to her after all, and now maybe finally he would accept her.

Chopper was beside himself with glee. They had so much money now, that he could finally afford the drum setup he really wanted. He'd spent hours setting it up and trying out different layouts until he was finally satisfied. Now he sat behind the set and played with Zoro, who was trying out the new bass, he'd just spent an obscene amount of money. Brook was behind his new grand piano, while Usopp fiddled with the new synthesizer. Everything was finally right. It had taken them a long time. Five years since they started and now, people finally new their name. The Strawhat's logo was emblazed on one of the walls in the lounge where the party was in full force.

Elsewhere, Luffy just wanted to be alone. He was in the garage sitting on the new bike he'd just purchased. It was worth every pound he'd spent on it. He sighed looking into his bottle, before finishing the contents.

Stepping out into the main hall, Sanji then frowned at Nami sitting there all by herself instead of mingling with everyone inside. Plastering a smile on his face, he then approached her and said, "Why are you sitting out here all by yourself, cheri?"

"Hmm? Oh, Sanji." She said, looking up at him and smiling, but there was something hidden behind her eyes, "I just ... wanted some peace and quiet—well, it's still noisy, but not as much." She said, chuckling. However, she would never admit it was because she didn't exactly feel welcome or like she fit in with them.

"Ah, it is much quieter." He said, sitting down in the chair beside her, "Things are looking up."

"Yes, they are ... You've all come a long way." She said, setting the paper down.

"Mmm ..." Sanji hummed, smiling wider, and then he looked over at her. She really was beautiful, and when her temper wasn't being provoked, she was also very pleasant company.

***

Luffy swung his leg over the bike; he'd take a test drive later. He turned and headed for the door into the main entryway. His eyes fell on Nami and he froze staring at her alone in the hallway. He stepped through the door and closed it behind him before walking toward her, down the hall on his way to the stairs. He said nothing to her and tried really hard not to acknowledge her in the least.

Nami sat in the hall, once again alone. Sanji had insisted she join them, but she refused. However, when the door suddenly opened, she looked up to see Luffy walking in. She felt her heart racing and tried hard not to fidget. If he would just say anything to her, tell her she did a good job, anything ... she would be happy. However, he didn't acknowledge her at all and just kept going. Swallowing her tears, disappointment and hurt, she just looked back down at the paper, trying to play it off as if it didn't matter.

After passing her a few steps he paused, but didn't turn to her right away. He looked over his shoulder at her staring down at the paper. Wondering why she wasn't joining the others at the party. He turned to her fully and just watched her for a moment.

Lifting her eyes, but not her head, she could hear that he'd stopped walking, and her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest. However, she wasn't going to give in and turn to look at him. Closing her eyes and swallowing hard, she then said, trying to sound like she didn't care at all, "You need something?"

"Fanks, luv," he said quietly before turning away.

Thinking her heart just stopped, her eyes widened completely as she stared ahead of her, "You're welcome ..." She finally managed to say, surprised she'd sounded so calm.

He walked to the stars, stopping at the bottom of the stairs when she spoke and looked over his shoulder at her. She wasn't looking at him and her voice sounded kind of... arrogant. He half expected her to say "I told you so." He frowned deeply and gritted his teeth before turning and hurrying up the stairs.


AN: Thanks for reading. Drop a review if you liked what you read, drop one if you didn't. It's kind of confusing, I know, but as the story progresses things will make more sense.

Cheers!