Oranges and Lemons
Nami had never believed in the concept of love at first sight. Still didn't really. There was a difference between love and mere attraction after all, and considering that the woman who'd caught her eye was wearing an ensemble that was almost the exact colour of the Beri she valued so much…well who could blame her for being interested?
Granted, she'd only spotted Miss Valentine for a second, sent flying from a rather vicious backhand courtesy of Luffy, whilst she'd been running forward to pound some sense into her idiot captain and his dumb-as-a-rock first mate, but that one look had been more than enough to light a spark of interest.
Blood gushing from the forehead whilst in midair may not have been the sexiest look on a woman, but damn if that sly wink she was sure the airborne villain had sent her way as she soared past didn't make her heart race.
Further introspection had allowed her to think about Miss Valentine a little more, take in what she looked like, what she was wearing, the few sneaky facial expressions she'd caught glimpses of here and there whilst hiding on the rooftops of Whiskey Peak. She couldn't deny that her attention had been grabbed rather successfully.
Still though, it definitely hadn't been love at first sight. Probably not on second sight either. She'd had the problem of being encased in wax and watching her friends getting beaten into pulps all around her to worry about, though she'd still taken the time to notice the somewhat alluring looks being sent her way from time to time by a certain Baroque Works Agent.
It'd been a shame to have to knock her out of course, though considering she'd been about to crush Usopp into a pile of bones and blood, she didn't regret it all that much. Plus, it gave her the added opportunity of being able to slip a note into the pocket of the jacket she'd been wearing. A simple little note telling her to wait by where the Going Merry was docked and to give some sort of a sign if there was something she was interested in.
It had been a rather unique sign, dragging her off behind a tree while the rest of the crew was distracted and claiming her lips almost all at once in a fiery kiss that ended much sooner than she'd liked.
"I take it that means you're interested then?" Nami had panted out after a few moments of silence. The mischievous grin on the face of Miss Valentine was all the answer she'd needed.
Getting a small boat had been easy; the ship Mr. 3 had arrived on had plenty of small lifeboats and a decent enough amount of supplies to last until the next port town. Nami wouldn't abandon her crew, not after all they'd done for her, but she'd learned never to let go of a good thing, so she'd shown Miss Valentine the way the log pose to Alabasta pointed and told her not to be too far behind them, just enough so that no one else would notice her.
Of course, being sidetracked by a deadly disease and having to detour to Drum Island hadn't been part of the plan, but it was just one of those things that couldn't be helped, so she hadn't minded too much when Valentine had found her, during their first night in Yuba and had pulled her outside, whispering quietly that she was late before locking their lips together.
She was gone as quickly as she'd arrived and Nami was left with an almost wistful feeling, how she imagined she often left her victims of thievery feeling after she vanished with something precious.
She didn't know if she'd call it love or not, but that was how it continued, chance meetings at various towns along their adventure. She was never sure how much of it was luck and how much of it was fate, but she made sure to point the now former Agent along the present course that the Strawhats were taking whenever she could. It was really up to Miss Valentine whether she chose to follow closely or not, but each kiss seemed to lave an unspoken promise behind, we'll meet again.
She was always careful to hide it from the rest of the crew of course, she doubted any of them would appreciate that she was seeing a former enemy behind their backs, even ignoring the fact that they were all undoubtedly miles stronger than she was now. But she wasn't going to start worrying about concepts like friend and enemy herself, not when she had something like this. Lust, love or whatever it was.
Despite her secrecy however, she'd still been wary of Robin after she joined the Strawhats. Even though the archaeologist had a firm place in their crew, Nami was always aware that she was a former Baroque Works Agent, and sometimes the little knowing glances Robin would send her way made Nami really wonder about how much Robin had known and still knew about the agents working under her.
She couldn't say exactly when it had turned from a simple, likeminded attraction into love, or even if this was what Miss Valentine had felt all along for her, but she doubted the happiness she felt upon seeing the other girl for the first time in weeks or even months was characteristic of a simple fling. Neither was the notion of getting Miss Valentine a gift for the next time they met. The idea of actually wanting to spend her hard earned Beri on something other than what was absolutely essential for the crew was more than a little scary, so she was doubly surprised and more than a little grateful when she discovered Valentine waiting for her at the next island, a large bouquet of flowers in her arms and an arrogant smirk on her face.
After months of avoiding the issue, the question of love finally did come up. In the middle of a canal on Water Seven after the Bull they had been riding decided to fling them both into the water without warning. They'd both come up laughing, Miss Valentine's hat bobbing along in the water behind them and Nami's hair slicked back out of her eyes.
She'd been thinking that she'd have to think of something good to tell the others when she got back to the hotel, when she heard the words come spilling out of Valentine's mouth.
She'd had to stop then, to take in the situation. It hadn't seemed real.
"What?"
"Don't ignore me like that," was the reply, "you know I don't like it, but I'll repeat it once…I really do love you, you know."
Even though it should have been huge, a mind blowing revelation, Nami was surprised to find that it wasn't. She had no problem accepting it verbally, because it had slowly become something unspoken between them since that first night at Whiskey Peak, even if neither had admitted it until now.
"I love you too," she'd replied finally, delighting in the way Miss Valentine's face lit up as she said it.
"Then what do you say we find that Bull and pay him back for this? He owes me for a new hat at the very least."
Nami had smiled and agreed. It was hardly conventional, but convention was much more dull than what she had right here.
-oOOo-
A.N. This is my first fic for One Piece, so I'm hoping it came out alright (though since it is a crack!pairing, it might be hard to tell?) reviews are appreciated, I'd love to know how I did.