Malcolm sat alone in his row boat. The sun had long set on him, throwing a pink and orange glow over Bilgewater, the moon replacing it on a midnight blue canvas, accompanied by an explosion of stars. The temperature had dropped, but Graves barely seemed to notice; his body was numb, and had been since the moment he had the news broken to him. Nami was leaving.

The date that he had planned had taken him a week. He was so excited to see Nami and he wanted it to be perfect. She had been away for almost a month, fighting for the League, and he planned to propose to her when she returned.

Nami had called the night before to make sure Graves would still meet her at the docks when she got back.

"Of course I am!" he cried, barely containing the excitement in his voice. "I haven't seen you in almost a month!"

Graves had planned for something romantic; he bought a nice bottle of wine, and a very expensive champagne for her. He packed them both in a basket, along with some strawberries and other small snacks for them to eat while they talked.

He had also hidden a small ring box under a cloth, with the ring he had hoped to present Nami. It wasn't an expensive ring, nor was it very impressive – a small, deep blue gemstone embedded in a silver band. It wasn't much but Graves had designed it himself and was very proud of the outcome.

Graves left his rifle at home; there was no need for it. Almost sprinting he made his way to the docks and waited for the ship. He spotted Nami on deck and waved at her, a wide grin spreading across his lips. She smiled and waved back but with much less enthusiasm. Graves barely noticed, and if he had he would have contributed it to tiredness or fatigue. He was itching to talk to Nami, to touch her and hold her, like it was the first time seeing her.

The ship docked, and a sea of passengers flowed off deck. Nami didn't wait for the crowd, and threw herself over the side, splashing into the water. She surfaced as Graves approached her.

"Hey, you," he smiled. "How you been?" Graves was eager to get out onto the water with her.

"Hey," she replied. She smiled back, but not the bright, happy smile Graves had fallen in love with. This smile was sad, almost as though she had a bad thought on her mind that she couldn't shake.

Graves motioned for her to follow him further down the docks to his rowboat. He hopped in and gently pushed himself away from the dock. Nami swam up behind him, and helped push the boat further out to sea, stopping it only after they had left the harbour and were far out enough to avoid being seen by anyone else.

Nami swan around to the side of the boat and hoisted herself up, crossing her arms on the edge of the boat and resting her head on them. She looked at Graves solemnly with her big, yellow eyes and met his. They were full of sadness, and filled Graves with confusion. She was here, with him, finally, after being gone for so long – surely she should be happy?

"Nami?" Graves asked, concerned. She had never acted liket his around him before, and it scared him a little. "Nami, what's wrong?"

Nami tore her eyes away from Graves' and looked away. Graves moved forwards and brought her face gently back towards his.

"Nami..?"

She sighed. "Malcolm, I can't."

Graves stared at her, shock and confusion on his face.

"I can't be with you anymore," she said. "I mean, you know how it is, with work and everything. And I barely have time to see my old friends or even my family now. You know how it is, Malcolm, I-I just can't do this, it's stressing me out."

Graves had no response, and just kept staring, his eyes watering.

Not knowing what to do with himself he just looked at the floor of the boat, his eye catching the edge of the ring box he had in the basket.

"I'm sorry, Malcolm," Nami said. "I really don't know what else to tell you, I just can't deal with the traveling and being away from everyone for so long."

Nami was avoiding looking into his eyes, or anywhere near his face for that matter; she didn't want to look at him.

"I- I don't understand," he whispered, finally. He lifted his eyes to look at her.

Nami stared at the water for what felt like an age, thinking of something to say that wouldn't hurt Graves more than she already had.

"Nami, I…" Graves paused. "I love you."

"I'm sorry, Malcolm" she whispered, lifting her head to look at him, her sad eyes brimming with tears. She moved closer to him, pulled his head gently towards her and planted a soft kiss on his forehead before turning and swimming away.

Graves was left to sit on his own, the light of the day fading on him. He took the ring box out from under the cloth and opened it, looking at the ring through the tears forming in his eyes. He sat the open box beside him and reached for the wine, drinking the whole thing before throwing the empty bottle into the water with a devastated cry. Graves rowed himself back to shore, rather slowly, the night sky reflecting on the water.

Docking his boat, Graves climbed out slowly, grabbing his basket, and heading back to his house. He walked up to the heavy, oak door and pushed it open, having forgotten to lock it in his excitement. He walked through his living room, past his kitchen, throwing the basket in the general direction of a counter top, not caring where it landed.

Walking into his bedroom, Graves threw the days clothes onto the floor, leaving his strong, muscled frame in only his underwear. He crawled into bed and pulled a pillow towards him, holding it tight against his body.

Allowing his tears to finally shed, Graves clutched the pillow between his arms in an attempt to replicate some form of human contact, the pain of the breakup washing over him. His body trembled as he sobbed, shaking with each heaving breath. When his eyes ran dry and fatigue washed over his body, Graves succumbed to sleep, letting the day fade from his memory, along with every bad feeling and bad memory.