Somewhere and sometime in the New World the Strawhats are doing what they do best… partying. Luffy and Nami have already been in a relationship for a few months. Enjoy.

Save the Last Dance

Wild party music swirled up to the clear night sky as many of the island's villagers poured into the center square. A bandstand had been built there for the annual festival. In the center of the dancing crowd a young man sporting a long sleeve red shirt commanded most of the attention as he swung around what looked like a stuffed plushie.

"Ah, Luffy, stop! I'm getting dizzy!" Chopper yelled, surprising many of the onlookers that a plushie could speak.

Luffy laughed gleefully as he set his crewmate on the ground and watched as the furry reindeer zoan continue to spin a few more turns before righting himself. The raven haired pirate captain had already moved on to the next empty pair of hands nearby before Chopper could teeter off toward the outskirts of the dancers. The person these hands were attached to happened to be the woman that had given them the tour of the festival grounds when the crew docked earlier. Like always, Luffy had made fast friends with the girl and her family.

Lining the back of the dance area were the party tables. Two were laden down with every different kind of drink imaginable and the others were crowded with food. Beyond that, picnic tables had been lit up with colorful paper lanterns. Family and friends sat together, ate, and talked. At a long table near the dance floor there was a group of seven gathered around.

With their gluttonous captain preoccupied on the dance floor, for once choosing fun over food, the rest of the Strawhat crew enjoyed their meal without scrambling to eat. Zoro and Nami had big mugs of rum in front of them but didn't look impaired in the least. Chopper had wandered overand was pretty much recouped from the Luffy-go-Round he just left.

"Hey, Chopper, where's Luffy?" Ussop asked when he noticed his smaller nakama. The sniper had a wide grin spread across his face, and a red tint to his cheeks, suggesting he'd had one too many encounters with a sake bottle.

The reindeer turned and motioned back to the center of the dancing. Luffy had taken to twirling the girl around in wide arcs while gripping her hands tightly. He was laughing like a maniac the entire time. Every few spins she would fall against his chest, leaning heavily and suggestively, into Luffy's strong arms.

Ussop squealed, mostly because he was sitting beside Nami, who could explode any second. The sight of the brazen, and possibly drunken, flirting would no doubt set the navigator off. He now totally regretted drawing attention to the captain. After all, the relationship between Nami and Luffy had been made more than clear to the whole crew by this point.

Zoro smirked as he looked between the orange haired navigator, sitting across from him, and the captain on the dance floor. If he knew Nami's temper, and he did, this wouldn't stand for long. Robin merely grinned behind her wine glass. As always, it seemed she had a one up on the rest of the crew.

After watching the pair for a few moments Nami gave a careless shrug and continued to eat her dinner without incident. It seemed she could care less that another woman was practically throwing herself at Luffy.

The crew looked around at each other in confusion. Had the two lovers been fighting without their knowledge? If so, how did they hide it so well? There had been no previous indication. A few minutes later Nami left the table to get a new drink. She disappeared into the crowd just as Luffy plopped down at the table, breathless from laughing, and each hand holding two plates stacked with food. The crew looked on uncomfortably as the captain started stuffing his face, which was normal for him.

Sanji chewed the end of his cigarette in agitation. He'd somehow finally convinced himself to leave the lover's quarrels to themselves after his third breakdown. However, he couldn't just sit by quietly as the crappy captain broke Nami-san's heart.

"What do you think you're doing, idiot gomu?" The blonde growled but Luffy only stared blankly at him. "You can't go around flirting with other women right in front of Nami-san. What kind of man are you?" Zoro tapped Sanji's shoulder, interrupting the chef's rant, and pointed toward the dance floor. It seemed Nami's long absence from the table was explained. She was dancing in the arms of a handsome blue haired villager.

Everyone turned to Luffy, expecting at least some whining about Nami not paying attention to him. Instead, they got one of his big smiles, as he shrugged carelessly. "Ash lonth ash shefs habbing fum." Luffy nearly choked on the food in his mouth. A hard slap on the back from Zoro had his airway clear and able to talk freely. "As long as she's having fun," he repeated in English.

The crew stared back and forth between their rubber captain and the handsome stranger with his arms around Nami. Luffy was known, if not infamous, for his selfish nature. When it came to his food and more recently, his girl, the Strawhat captain wasn't one to share. So, seeing him casually pass off the scene going on before their eyes was a shock.

"Luffy, are you and Nami still together?" Chopper asked innocently.

The captain's eyes widened but then he burst out laughing. "Why would you ask something like that, Chopper? It's obvious, right?" They all exchanged glances but said nothing. Instead, everyone hastily separated and left the young captain on his own.

Throughout the festival evening Luffy and Nami seemed to have a great time... separately.

Zoro met Nami at the liquor table, a blonde, muscle-bound sucker hanging on her every word. Chopper and Franky saw Luffy at one of the buffet tables, helping himself to his fifth plate of food. Ussop spotted his orange haired crewmate back on the dance floor, the blonde hunk of meat stumbling in circles, decidedly drunker than last seen. Sanji and Robin watched, each with differing reactions, as the straw hat wearing captain entertained the flirty girl from earlier and a group of her friends.

As was usual, the Strawhats all met back at the table they had 'claimed' at the start of the night. The party was nearing its end and all of them looked steadier on their feet than the drunk and/or worn out villagers.

Nami weaved her way through the lingering crowd and joined her nakama. She had a big grin on her face and all Zoro had to ask was, "How much?" Nami stuck her tongue out at him but answered proudly. "Those guys were only too happy to part with their beri, 150,000." Then she looked around and noticed that the group was one member short. In the background the live band on stage called for the last dance of the evening. Nami frowned and looked into the passing faces of the crowd, searching for one person inparticular.

A tap on the shoulder made the navigator spin around to see the missing captain. He grinned and silently held out a hand for her to grab. A bright smile lit up Nami's features as she placed her hand in his. Neither looked back to see their nakama's shocked expression as Luffy led the smiling Nami onto the dance floor to join a few remaining couples. The two held each other close, clearly as much in love as ever, and moved flawlessly to the softly played music.

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Review please =)