AN: One thing that always bugged me was that in the beginning, you see them see each other through a curtain of bubbles. Nami has a pretty good memory, so wouldn't she remember that? Maybe it's just me, but it always kinda bugged me. You really have to wonder what Eiichiro Oda was thinking, though, since he put that scene only in the anime and not the manga.
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this belong to Eiichiro Oda… If it belonged to me, Nami would be falling in love with Luffy right about now…
Chapter 1: Finding it Out
Nami opened the door and sighed happily as she felt the gentle breeze on her face. It was another great day, and they'd had nothing but great weather ever since the Skypiea and escaping-the-stronghold incidents. Nami suspected that it had something to do with the new god, but kept that to herself.
She went over to the ship's railing and sat down on it. She had been daydreaming a lot more recently, and somehow her captain's face would pop up at least once… usually after Arlong's face appeared.
She was still so grateful, but didn't know how to repay him, so acted normally as to not attract attention… Although, the orange-haired navigator suspected that the archaeologist already knew. Sometimes when she looked at Robin, Robin would have that all-knowing look, and would smile before taking a sip of her coffee.
Suddenly, Nami was knocked out of her daydreams, as well as off the ship, when Usopp and Chopper accidentally bumped into her during their game with Luffy. Luckily, she hooked her foot on the underside of the railing and pulled herself up easily.
Normally, Nami would yell and mangle them until they were unrecognizable, which is why the trio was surprised when she wandered off in a daze.
"You think she's sick?" Usopp whispered to Chopper.
The tiny reindeer shook his head. "I would have noticed when I bumped into her. She probably just has a lot on her mind. We should leave Nami-" He was about to say 'alone' but was too late. Luffy was already bounding off towards Nami.
Chopper shook his head and sighed. "He's in for a world of hurt…" He muttered.
~0~
Nami had strolled to the back of the ship, and was so out of it that she didn't know Luffy was inches away and staring at her intensely. She finally discovered her observer when she looked down at the water and saw the reflection.
"Oh… Hi Luffy," Nami said absently.
Luffy continued to stare until she began to feel uncomfortable.
"…What?" She asked, stepping away a little to regain some personal space.
"…Is there something wrong?" He finally asked.
Nami looked at him, confused, and shook her head. The relief was visible in Luffy's face and he finally directed his gaze elsewhere.
"Good. It was just… You were acting kind of weird… all spaced out," He said, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"It's nothing really! I've just been having some dreams lately, that's all!" She reassured, smiling. Luffy glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"What kind of dreams?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.
Nami hesitated, but just looking at his face made her give in. "Dreams of Arlong and the… things I had to go through. Nightmares, really. But there is this one…" She trailed off, shuddering. Luffy waited until she spoke up again. "I'm in this… tube-like thing full of this strange liquid and I hear voices all around. One says 'Are you sure we should be experimenting on her?' And then I would hear Arlong's laugh… I-I think that nightmare might have been real. I think they might have… experimented on me," She finished in a hushed tone, trembling a little.
Luffy's eyes widened, and he clenched his fists.
"He… did… what?" He said through gritted teeth. Nami looked over at him and started to panic.
"Calm down Luffy! It's alright…"
"Alright? ALRIGHT?" He roared.
Luffy was now fully facing her, and some voice in the back of her head noted how fortunate it was that the wind had increased so the rest of the crew couldn't hear them.
"He experimented on you, and hurt you, my navigator! How is that alright?" He shouted.
"L-Luffy! Calm down!" This was bad, this was bad! She hadn't expected him to react like this! She knew he was protective of all of his nakama, but… Oh heck, she should've known, there was no way around it. Desperately, she placed her hands on his cheeks, staring straight into his eyes. "Luffy! It's alright. I'm alright. I'm right here, I'm alright. Arlong can't get me anymore. You took care of him, remember? Even if he came back, you would protect me, wouldn't you?"
He shut his mouth and vigorously nodded his head, causing her to retract her hands. "Of course! I won't let that bastard anywhere near you!"
She smiled warmly. "Then everything's alright."
He seemed to calm down a bit at that and returned the smile, but looked out to the sea and muttered angrily a few seconds later, "I won't let that bastard fish anywhere near you… Hurting my Nami, traumatizing my Nami, experimenting on my Nami… Calling my Nami a tool… If he ever shows his face around here again, he'll regret it, I swear."
Nami's eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. She… She hadn't misheard him, right? He definitely kept saying 'my Nami,' right? Could he…? Luffy noticed her sudden silence and glanced at her quizzically.
"…'My Nami'?" Nami echoed.
The raven-haired captain thought about what was so strange, and blushed when he realized it. "Uhhhh… I-I meant to say our! Really, I did! I just, uh, used the wrong word!" He stuttered.
He knew that Nami wouldn't believe him, no matter how much he hoped she would, but he avoided eye contact and kept his mouth shut. "Why… did you say 'my'?" She whispered, completely ignoring his last statement.
He blushed until his face was redder than his vest. "Erm…well you see… I was just-" He rambled on for a while, hoping that they would be interrupted. No such luck. Luffy sighed and knew that God was saying it was time to tell her.
"I said that because… I like you," Luffy admitted, looking her straight in the eyes. Nami blushed, and suddenly seemed very interested with her shoes.
"…Why?" He looked surprised.
"Why? It's hard not to. You're kind and sweet, even if you do sometimes shout and hit us, and you care about your nakama. And… I don't want anything to happen to you," He stated.
Nami glanced up at him and back down at her shoes when she saw his famous million beli smile.
"…" Nami remained silent just long enough to make Luffy worried and bend down to see what was wrong.
In a flash, Nami took his hat, pecked him on the cheek, and was walking on the rail a few yards away from him, wearing his straw-hat.
Luffy was frozen where he stood, but slowly brought up a hand to touch his cheek. Nami looked back at him and grinned. "I like you too." Luffy's eyes widened and he stretched one of his arms to pull himself to where she was.
"…You do?" Luffy asked, his mouth starting to curve upward. Nami nodded.
He easily lifted her off the railing down to him, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Since when?"
She shrugged. "I don't really know. You've intrigued me ever since I met you." Her eyebrows furrowed. "No, wait. It was before that… at Alvida's ship, as I was escaping, a ship fell down and I saw someone… Was that you?" She asked, realization dawning on her face. A look of surprise crossed his face.
"That was you? I thought you looked familiar when I met you…" He trailed off, not really sure where to go from there.
Nami smiled warmly at him, and Luffy couldn't take it any longer. He moved his face closer to hers, not really sure what he was doing, just going by instinct… They were just a few centimeters apart, when that interruption he had been hoping for earlier arrived.
"SEA MONSTER!" Usopp shouted as a giant, green-scaled behemoth rushed out of the water to meet them.
Luffy stretched his arms to grab the horns on the monster's head, and shot out of there, leaving Nami alone on the back of the ship. Nami frowned. "Damn. So close…" She muttered before pulling out her Clima Tact and joining the battle as well.
Well, I ended up taking OrpheumZero's advice and revising the chapters. I also have to catch up with the story 'cuz my computer crashed and I lost all the progress I made on the epilogue… I know, it sucks. Anyways, bear with me for a bit longer.
