Title: Postcards from Italy
Genre: Romance
Character Focus: Nami
Couple: LuNa (Luffy X Nami)
Side Couples: Nojiko X Ace, One sided Vivi X Ace and SaVi (Sanji X Vivi)
Rating: T
Warnings: OOC
Inspiration: N/A
POV: Nami
World: AU
Summary: All hopeless romantics lead to Italy...When the opportunity to visit Italy presents itself; Nami is quick to board a plane in order to pursue her dream of drawing maps of the world. While in the beautiful country of romance she meets Luffy, an aspiring young writer in search of turning his life around. As romance blossoms between the two and her time in Italy grows short Nami finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, between returning to America to continue map making or staying in Italy with a man she barely knows, but has come to love. /LuNa/
Postcards from Italy: Chapter 1
An Opportunity Presents Itself
When I took this job, I didn't think there would be any hard decisions to make. I thought everything was going to be easy, simple. I would have memories that I could stick in a scrapbook and forget. Then, when I opened the book once again they would come flooding back to me, as if it was only yesterday. Pictures that would capture each individual moment, the little things, and they would cause me to cry when I remembered them. I wasn't supposed to make memories that I never wanted to forget. I wasn't supposed to choose.
Having two loves is never easy, eventually one must be forgotten in order to make room for the other. One must be left behind in order to find a balance. Yet how was I supposed to live without both of them? How was I supposed to choose?
But eventually everybody has to make a choice, no matter how heartbreaking it may be.
xXx
"Nami I want you to go to Venice, Italy and map out the city. We haven't had anybody out there in a few years and I'm sure the layout has changed considerably since the last time we mapped the area."
I blinked. Once. Twice. Seriously?
"You're kidding."
Mr. Garp glanced at me over the top of his paperwork. His expression was calculating, yet amused as he observed my shock. I was positive my mouth had opened and closed like a fish out of water, not to mention the saucer eyes. Pure Kodak moment. Nice Nami, real nice.
"Why so shocked, child?" Mr. Garp's eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled and placed his paperwork off to the side. "It it truly such a preposterous idea that I would send you to Italy?"
Honestly? No, it wasn't. I had been working under Garp for a number of years and had grown close to him during that time. I considered him a grandfather, for he had always been a kind old man, and though stern at times, I found working under him to be quite pleasurable. A vast improvement compared to my last boss.
"N-no, it's just so sudden. I wasn't expecting it."
A quite chuckle vibrated from Mr. Garp's throat as he grabbed a cigar from his desk drawer and lit it with the lighter he pulled from his coat pocket. "Your work is brilliant, Nami. I couldn't choose anyone more suited for the job than yourself. You don't give yourself enough credit."
"But sir-"
"I've seen your best and worst, child. And your worst," he gave an encouraging wink, "is the best of a number of my other employees."
"Thank you, sir."
A smoke ring appeared above our heads as Mr. Garp blew a breath threw his nose."Now child, you best be off. You're flight leaves first thing tomorrow."
I stood from my chair with wobbly knees, my exit oozing with the grace of a rusted robot. I'd never been more excited.
xXx
"You son of a bitch!"
I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at Vivi like a five year old, which ultimately earned me a pillow to the face. Normally getting a pillow thrown at me would have sparked irritation but I was too excited and instead a fit of giggles left my throat as I watched Vivi's jaw draw to the floor.
"Italy? Seriously? You're leaving me for Italy?!" Another laugh left my lips as I threw the pillow back at my best friend, who caught it effortlessly and squished it to her chest. Vivi let out a frustrated squeal. "My best friend is dumping me for an old, stuffy country! How will I survive? Who's going to share cheesecake with me every Sunday? Who's going to make me get up in the morning for work on time? Who's going to make sure I don't date scumbags?!"
"You know I don't do half of those things to begin with." I quipped as I shoved a number of different blouses into my suitcase. Behind me, I heard Vivi gasp with mock horror.
"But what if you did?! Who would save me from making bad choices? That's right, nobody! I would be as lost and confused as a child, a child that some creep would take advantage of with candy. Candy that you know I wouldn't turn down!"
"Oh come on, dearie, you know me better than that," Vivi glared at me from over the top of my pillow, one of her eyebrows raised as she waited for me to finish. "I'd let you take the candy."
"Son of a bitch!"
Damn I was going to miss her.
A silence fell over the room as I finished shoving the last of my belongings into my suitcase. Vivi huffed from behind her pillow, twirling a stray lock of blue hair around her fingers. She wore the look she always got when she was thinking about something important, a look where her eyes squinted to almost slits and her bottom lip jutted out so it looked like she was pouting. And perhaps this time she was doing just that.
I pained me to leave her, it really did. She was my best friend and had been there for everything, through the bad breakups, my mother's horrid death, my first tattoo, Nojiko's surprise engagement and then wedding. I honestly couldn't remember a time she wasn't at my side.
A loud thump echoed through the room, causing me to jump with surprise. Vivi had formed her small hand into a fist and had slammed it into the top of the bedside table that was beside her. Must have hurt too because she instantly clutched said appendage to her chest. She nursed her bruised hand for a moment before she turned her gaze back to me, after deeming her hand alright, and said, "I'm going with you."
I actually dropped my hairdryer.
"Are you serious?!" I bellowed, slightly irritated with her last minute plans. "How on earth are you going to manage that? Where will you stay? Do you have a passport?" I knew she didn't. "And how will you come up with the money on such short notice?"
There were a number of reasons I could have listed on why she shouldn't go, which was longer than the reasons why she should, but this was Vivi, once she made up her mind there was no changing it. We were alike in that way. Our stubbornness often caused us clash over the years, this incident just one of the many examples, but it's also one of the reasons our friendship has lasted as long as it has. Both of us were too stubborn to let the other go.
Vivi only smiled, watching me flail around in a panic had always amused her, before she crawled over to me so she could flick me on the forehead (which usually hurt might I add) before she laughed until she was crying. At the time I didn't know what she found so amusing, but it wasn't important.
"You amuse me, Nami, you really do." She said once she had recovered, "I've made up my mind though and you know very well that there's no changing it. I have a passport, idiot. I got one when my father decided to travel overseas for a family vacation last year, and as for the money, I've been saving up for something as exciting as this."
I sighed; there really was no point in arguing with this devil of a woman. "Where will you stay?"
"You're staying with Nojiko and that yummy Italian husband of hers, aren't you? I'll just stay there with you. Free rent and all."
I cringed. If I had to describe my brother-in-law in any way it diffidently wasn't yummy, obnoxious and crazy, not to mention fire prone, suited him much better. However, as stupid as I knew he could be he couldn't have been a complete lunatic if Nojiko fell in love with him. She had always been sensible about one thing: men.
The relationship my sister had with her husband was, in a word, fascinating to me. The origins of how they met are still mostly a mystery to me; the only thing I knew for sure was that she met him while studying a summer abroad in Paris. Imagine my surprise when she came home not just with a strange man, but had announced he was her fiancée not two seconds after she had walked in the door.I was pretty irate to say the least. Our mother, Bellemere, nearly had a heart attack and kicked her out of the house for two months. Needless to say she came around after that and eventually let Nojiko return to the house after a very lengthy explanation and interrogation of the husband to be. Sometimes I think being in the marines for twenty plus years went to our mother's head.
"Please," I groaned, "Never call him yummy again. I think I'll retch if you do."
Vivi exploded into a fit of giggled, "Oh but he isss!" She was practically wailing, "If Nojiko hadn't snatched him I certainly would have. I can feel my insides turn to goo every time he's within a twenty foot radius of me." Her lip turned down into a pout before she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. A nervous habit of hers.
"Please don't molest him in his sleep. I'd rather not have that conversation in the morning. Or in nine months."
Vive arched a perfect brow at me, "Tempting. But I'll behave."
"You better get packing then," The zipper on my suitcase slid shut, "We leave at five."
"In the morning?! Son of a bitch!"
I could only chuckle.
xXx
Worst. Flight. Ever.
After the first several hours of snoring and baby barf I'm quite surprised my seat mates didn't lose their heads. Honestly my ears were still ringing and there was enough spit up in my hair to fill a small tub. Okay that last part was a bit of an exaggeration.
Pulling the nest that was my hair up into a messy bun in an attempt to hide its un-cleanliness, I quickly forgot about my sorry appearance as Vivi appeared beside me, both of our bags in tow.
"I'm going to ignore the part where you look like shit and skip straight to the part about how Italian airport security guards are hot, especially when they pat you down, but they are hella dumb when it comes to English."
"I'm going to ignore that first part. For obvious reasons."
She snickered, "Okay that first part was made up. Seriously though, hella dumb."
"Do I want to know?" Vivi handed me carry on as a shouldered my purse, pulling it over my torso so it was nice and secure.
"Probably not. Let's just say it involves an old Italian lady, a similar looking bag, and a bit of a scuffle." She nudged me with her shoulder to lead the way, which I gladly did. I was so done with airports. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"Of course not." I quipped before pulling out my phone. Nojiko had called me, and so had Mr. Garp. My sister's message was short and quick, letting me know that she would be a few minutes late and where to meet her. Perfect. Garp's was an update reminder. Mandatory attention, obviously.
He picked up on the first ring. Mandatory indeed.
"Nami, darling. How's it going? Smoothly I hope."
"It's going." Vivi pressed her cheek against mine, forever curious. "Besides my annoying best friend," I jabbed her with my elbow. She yelped and stuck her tongue out at me. "And the mountain of baby spit in my hair I'd say it's a start."
"Splendid. However, I want you to remember this isn't a vacation, Nami. There are to be no distractions on this trip. You are there for a job. Understood?"
"Perfectly."
"Good. I'll be in touch." Dial tone.
"Persnickety old man," Vivi grumbled.
"Oh hush. Common, Nojiko's waiting for us by the east entrance."
xXx
Coming Soon: Chapter 2: Vineyards and Yummy Italian Husbands
xXx
Whooo chapter number 1 completed! Chapter 2 is on the way! Kinda. Anybody else notice my attention span can only be on one story for so long? Yes I'm a story hopper. I have multiples.
Honestly I have no control. Nami is probably waaaay OOC and I know for a fact that Vivi is. I made her that way on purpose. It almost seems to me like Nami and Vivi's personalities are flipped in this story. Hopefully they'll go back to normal as it progresses though. My mind just kinda wonders when I write, it spews what it wants.
Same old, same old. My editing sucks and I apologize for my mistakes.
Read, review,
Love always dearies,
ZiraUzu