LuNa if you squint at it long enough, but it wasn't really my intention xD

Sorry for the long delay. ^^ This is set the night right after they set off from (Orange Town?) where they fought Buggy's crew. I was re-watching the episodes before writing this and noticed this one line Nami said, "He fought that lion…just for the sake of that dog?" and I don't know, that just struck me sort of, haha xD

So, yeah. Here's Nami's. J

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It was the pitch-black midnight kind of dark, and she hadn't slept for even a second.

Sure, these guys didn't seem as intimidatingly nefarious as some of the characters she's had to pretend to cooperate with, but who knows what they could be planning right now? They could try to take the money she had with her and throw her over-board, or worse, shoot her or cut her up. (That swordsman was no joke, and he seemed loyal to the 'Captain' of the little vessel) She couldn't afford to sleep, not right now. Not yet.

You know they're not that bad. You saw what he did for that little dog.

Yes, but… she argued with herself, but every cell in her body was telling her that this time wouldn't be any different than her other con jobs, and that those she was planning to steal from were just as devious as those before. She couldn't have her happiness, and that was shown through everything that had happened to her, to Bellemere, to Cocoyashi. She couldn't be free. Not yet. Not yet…

"Are you still up?" the boy-captain's voice spoke from behind her, making her jump, and she scolded herself for carelessly letting him sneak up behind her. "You couldn't sleep?" There was a twinge of worry in his voice, but she ignored it as she kept her back to him.

"Haha, no, I just, ah…" she turned her head towards him, offering a fake smile, her eyes scrunched shut. She knew how readable they could be. "… I just woke up for a minute, that's all. Some jolt of the boat probably woke me. No problem here."

"Eh, really? Alright." He moved to sit next to her, and she moved a few inches away, her hands ready to jump to her guard at a moment's notice, hidden under the blanket she had draped loosely around her shoulders. He was calm in a way that seemed very approachable, and she dropped her guard slightly.

"You…you're not going back to sleep?" She asked, a bit of apprehensiveness still in her voice because otherwise, she would have to be constantly watching her back until he moved to go back to his makeshift bed. What could he be up to?

"Nah," He smiled gently, and her eyes widened slightly. "I kinda just want to watch the stars for a bit," he said in an innocent tone.

She glanced up for the first time all night, and her eyes grew with a hint of childish wonderment bubbling up through the steel guard she had placed up for years.

"The stars are reallyyyy bright over the sea, aren't they?" He chuckled happily. She the thick skin at her knees tightly. She wouldn't let herself be deceived by false youth or happiness. She had faked enough smiles and laughs to sneak into places and rob people blind and knew what it looked like. However, he was hard to read in many ways, and it threw her off- she couldn't tell if her own efforts of deception were coming off the way she wished or if his own happiness was to hide discovery of her deceit. She just couldn't be sure anymore.

"I guess so." She stated somewhat dismissively to fill the silence.

"You know," he smiled dazedly, "People watch over from us from the stars."

Her arms dropped to her sides, and she was taken aback slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Lots of people. People who left us. All sorts of people. Short ones, tall ones, old and even ugly ones," He leaned forward, folding his hands in his lap, his tone full of a certain story-teller like exaggeration that she couldn't quite place. "People we loved...love," He stated somewhat solemnly, catching her attention, and she frowned slightly. He shifted around slightly, turning towards her, starting to smile again.

"But, we just have to become stronger to make them proud, right?" The mood suddenly lightened considerably as he smiled widely and genuinely to the point that she could see his gums.

Nami scoffed a little, and he raised an eyebrow, making a childishly cute frown of confusion.

"Speak for yourself." She glanced upwards. "If that's what is expected of me, I'm letting down those here too." Her hair fell in front of her eyes, and her face grew dark, her tone cold. "I'm just a weak little thing… If it was that simple, I would have escaped this hell long ago." She grimaced, caught her slip and attempted to recover. "Not this place, that is! It's just some old bothersome thing, doesn't really matter." And her guard was up again as she waved her hand halfheartedly. She smiled with the corners of her mouth pulled tight. Her arms and shoulders were stiff.

He gave her a serious look, and a long silence grew as he stared at her intensely, seeming to wait for something. She laughed nervously, walking over to the little mat set out for her as if intending to go to sleep. She looked back at him, still smiling weakly.

"You should really go to bed...you know?" Another weak chuckle. She opened her eyes to look at him as the smile faded. He was still staring at her intently and nearly unblinkingly. She sat kneeling on the mat, and leaned gently against the wall, returning the stare.

She sighed. She understood that he could see right through that act.

"Fine, it's a problem." She ran a hand through her hair tiredly. "...but it's nothing I want to get you boys involved with, at all. I don't want anyone else getting involved or trying to helpunnecessarily, okay?" She said, stern and finally sincere with her words.

His shoulders and face relaxed, and she buried her forehead in one of her palms. She heard him shift, and she pulled her hand away slightly, looking up in his direction.

"Just remember, I don't have any problem fighting lions for the sake of a little dog." He smiled widely, pushing down on his knee to stand up. "If I decide the dog is worth far more than some lion, worth risking my life for, that's that." He stated mysteriously, walking over to the blankets he had abandoned.

He threw one more smile over his shoulder, his face holding something heartwarming in combination with the words he spoke, and a genuine smile bubbled up from somewhere in her chest.
"G'night!" He piped up from around the corner. Her smile widened with a hint of hope glimmering in her.

"Goodnight, Captain."

And she slept.