Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece...

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II. -Meat tastes best-

(Also known as The Reason why Sanji's heart-shaped eye was never the same again XD)

-by Alena S. Anigor

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They were sailing peacefully down the endless blue of the Grand Line, an occasional breeze wafting by, rolling clouds slowly over the perfectly blue sky.

It was such a beautiful day and nobody could resist the warmth of the sun – Zoro was napping on the deck, his bandana covering and shielding his eyes from blocking away pleasant dreams, his swords glistening on the midday sun.

Robin was, as usually relaxing in her chair with one of her books in her lap, Sanji towering over her with hearts flying around him, trying to fulfill her every wish and demand.

Usopp and Chopper were sitting in the nest above them all; both sprawled around the wooden pole, sighing with content every time a breeze flew by and caressed their faces.

Luffy was sitting on the railing nonchalantly, swaying to and fro casually while Nami was standing next to him, observing the map in her hands.

The Log Pose was set forward which meant they were on a good course, the ship breaking the waves in front of them steadily and making the water foam. She took her eyes off the map occasionally to glance forward and keep the sea in check and to look at her captain whose face was donning a huge grin, anticipation of their next adventure already rushing through his body like adrenaline.

She sighed heavily and shook her head dismally, praying for the weather to stay nice and for every living human being, monster and what else not inhabited the Grand Line, to keep away from them as long as possible.

Her wish, unfortunately, was not to be granted.

Usopp and Chopper were too busy enjoying themselves in the nest to hear anything; Sanji was too distracted by Robin, who was too immersed in her book about Poneglyphs to notice anything. Zoro was quite useless since he was drooling and dreaming about defeating Hawkeye to even care about the huge shadow underneath the Going Merry.

When the front of the ship started to rise slowly and made Nami blink in confusion about the suddenly strange feeling that the ground was slipping under her feet, it was already too late. Luffy only managed to utter one, puzzled "Huh?" before the catastrophe occurred.

A giant swordfish made its way up underneath, making Usopp and Chopper scream in fright. They hugged the pole tightly to stay onboard, their eyes wide and their screams of horror deafened by the noise of the water lifting and the ship's wood creaking ominously.

Robin shut her book with a thud, her chair slipping to the side slowly as the ship continued to fall backwards, the cocktail on the small table next to her falling down to the deck, the glass shattering.

Sanji just lifted his eyebrow at the potential dinner, Zoro snapping out of his dreamland when he rolled all the way down to the cabins and hit his head against the wooden doors. He blinked groggily and glared at the cause of his sore head, his eyes narrowing threateningly and his fingers already on one of his swords.

As the ship started to rock violently, for the swordfish had managed to bump into it with one of its flippers, Luffy hopped off the railing and was already ready to punch the fish and get credit for catching them all a dinner, when water splashed the entire ship, the waves crashing over the deck mercilessly and making the navigator scream.

Her hair, her clothes, and most important – her map, were already drenched and she glared daggers at the swordfish that started to swim away from then nonchalantly. She growled at the sea monster, clutching the half-torn map in her hand.

"Zoro, Sanji!" She yelled and the two turned around to look at her glowering face, "What are you waiting for? Get that damn fish!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji exclaimed happily with hearts all around him, while Zoro mumbled something incoherent and then looked at Luffy whose face was now blank, his arm half-raised in the air to perform one of his attacks, but the swordfish had already disappeared beneath the surface. He shrugged after a while and then looked at his navigator who was fuming and practically ablaze with fury next to him.

"You idiots! Now you let it get away!"

With that, she stepped forward, ready to march down to the deck and throw a canon ball after the damned creature, but she didn't get far when her shoe slipped on the slippery floor and with a gasp, she let out a yell, for the second time that day, losing the ground beneath her feet.

In a desperate attempt to grab onto something, she flailed her arms forward, the remains of the map falling out of her hand when her fingers grasped something soft and tugged sharply.

Luffy only managed to yelp when Nami grabbed the front of his shirt roughly and pulled him forward.

"Nami-san!" Sanji exclaimed, hearts twinkling in his eye and all around him. "Look out!"

And like in some movie, when the scene is being played in slow motion, the others watched in wonder their navigator falling to the ground, landing quite unceremoniously on her butt, with their captain with her, landing on top of her, his lips mashed firmly against hers.

Waves crashed against the ship as the sea calmed down, but the atmosphere on the ship was anything but.

Dead silence followed in which Usopp and Chopper were staring in sheer amazement at the two, Chopper blushing slightly at the somewhat romantic scene. Robin just smiled discreetly and turned her head to look at the swordsman who was trying so hard not to start laughing at the sight.

The only one who was shocked to the bone was Sanji, his heart-shaped eye cracking with shock and horror for seeing his beloved Nami-san kissing...kissing none other than Luffy.

The cigarette fell out of his mouth when he finally recovered and screamed, breaking the silence on the deck.

"What the hell are you doing!"

As for the two protagonists of the romantic scene, they were still on the floor, the dark-haired boy staring at the wide-eyed girl in wonder, his lips still on hers and his hands resting by her sides.

Nami didn't know when her brain stopped functioning properly...she tried to guess it was after the initial contact happened, but right now, she was only capable of blushing profusely and staring at the face of her captain, her heart racing madly in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe...which wasn't far from the truth since her lips were sealed by his for more than 10 seconds already.

"Luffy, get the hell off of Nami-san!"

She heard footsteps approaching from below and jerked, snapping out of her stupor, blinking twice and breaking the contact, the action creating a soft, kissing sound. Luffy was still staring at her in some kind of daze, his eyes slightly clouded with something she's never seen before; even after she backed away and Sanji trotted up and grabbed Luffy by the hem of his shirt.

The captain landed a few feet away from her, letting out a pained sound when he fell flat on his face.

"Nami-san!" Sanji exclaimed worriedly, lifting her up quickly and leaning in to observe her pink cheeks and a startled expression. "Nami-san, are you all right? Talk to me, say something!"

"Uhhh..." Was the first articulated thing she managed to choke out, staring at the bewildered look on the chef's face. After a few moments, she nodded quickly and looked away, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were burning and her heart was still beating like wild. When she glanced at Zoro and Robin she gulped when she noticed a small, meaningful smile on the archeologist's face and quickly turned her head back when she could see the smug look on Zoro's face, his smirk making her feel like her face would blow.

"Y-yes, Sanji-kun, I'm fine! It was just...just an accident, don't worry!" She said, her voice cheerful and light again although she was grimacing and twitching on the inside, wanting nothing more than to run away from them all and never show herself in front of them again...Especially in front of Luffy.

She shuddered slightly when she remembered that gleam in his eyes and quickly turned around, determined to walk back (run) to her cabin to make a new map (hide).

"I have to make a new map," she exclaimed and walked away, stepping quickly into her cabin and closing the doors behind her a little too loudly for her liking.

Once inside, she exhaled deeply and leaned into the wood of her doors, staring at the floor intently, her hand resting over her chest where her heart still refused to calm down.

She grimaced when she heard Usopp, cheerfully congratulating Luffy outside; followed by a loud pat on the back by Zoro who said something to him she couldn't hear but had definitely made the cook yell:

"WHAT? Are you out of your mind!"

She covered her ears and ran to her desk, her hands quickly grabbing a piece of paper from the corner, her mind set on making a new map. She would not listen to the jerks outside, she would force her hands to make a new map and...

"Why are my hands shaking?" She asked herself and then let out a frustrated growl when she wasn't even capable of drawing a straight line across the paper. "Damn it!"

She let the pencil drop down and leaned down until her forehead was pressed against the cool, smooth surface of the paper.

"Why me?" She asked herself again in a whiny voice, covering her tangerine tresses with her hands. Her body shivered again and her cheeks blushed involuntarily when the image of his glazed eyes and the feel of his lips on hers came to her mind. They were so surprisingly soft...

"Argh!" She screamed and started to shake her head, wanting nothing more than to see that damn swordfish dead, Zoro and Usopp strangled, and Luffy on the bottom of the sea. "This is all your fault, you idiot!"

A knock on the door made her straighten up immediately, Sanji's questioning voice coming from outside.

"Nami-san, are you all right?"

She resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead. "Yes, yes I'm fine!" She replied quickly, berating herself inwardly for talking to herself out loud. "I just have, uh...troubles with this map, that's all!"

"Oh...okay," Sanji's cheerful voice that was reserved only for her returned, although she couldn't see his troubled expression, "If I can get you anything, just ask!"

She sighed in relief and relaxed in her chair. "I will, thank you!"

Silence ensued again after that as everyone seemed to have resumed what they've been doing before the spectacle occurred.

She growled and forced her mind to concentrate on making a copy of the previous map, although her thoughts still wandered occasionally and she had to constantly draw and erase the wrong lines and curves on the paper, cursing the straw hat boy every time she made a mistake because of him.

"I hate you, Luffy," She muttered when she finally finished the map and grimaced in pain for spending over 3 hours hunched over her desk.

When she looked outside through the small round window of her cabin, it was already dark, and her eyes widened when she glanced at the clock and saw what time it was.

She presumed everyone was having dinner since she could hear plates clattering from the other cabin, but when she stepped outside, her breath hitched and she stopped dead in her tracks upon spotting Luffy sitting in the same spot he had been sitting that afternoon. He turned around and looked at her and she suppressed the urge to turn back and lock herself in her cabin.

"Hey," he said simply and smiled warmly at her, making her cheeks heat up and her heart jump happily in her ribcage again. She took a deep breath and leaned back, the doors supporting her weight.

"Hey," She said somewhat awkwardly, looking away when she couldn't look at his face anymore.

She almost flinched when he hopped off the railing and approached her, making her turn her head to look at him, her eyes widening slightly.

He was still smiling at her and she was starting to feel uncomfortable, various thoughts and scenarios playing in her head.

He wouldn't really...he couldn't possibly...Wait...

"Luffy," She squeaked when he leaned down to look into her eyes, their noses touching. Her body tensed visibly. "Wha-what are you doing?"

She wanted to back away, she wanted to run away...she wanted to slap him and throw him to that damn swordfish for dinner. She should've backed away, she should've run away and she should've slapped him but she was glued to the spot and was only able to stare at him in utter shock and bewilderment when his lips touched hers again and made her jump, electricity running through her body.

This time, his eyes closed slowly, hers still wide as saucers, staring at his face, at his nose, at the scar under his eye in astonishment.

Her body relaxed instinctively when his lips moved over hers, making her eyes flutter and close, her arms limp by her sides.

When she parted her lips slightly to allow him access to her mouth, he gladly seized the opportunity, making her let out a soft moan when his tongue started caressing the insides of her mouth.

Her instincts and emotions took over and her arms lifted to snake around his neck, fingers brushing against the rubbery texture of his skin and tangling in the mass of his unruly hair. Vaguely, she wondered when and where did he learn how to kiss, but she dismissed that thought as his hands rested on her waist.

And just when she was starting to lean into him, he broke the kiss as suddenly as he had started it and backed away, licking his lips slowly and making her stare at him with misty eyes, her lips burning on the cool, night air.

His face was a mixture of confusion and wonder when he frowned suddenly and made her blink at him in puzzlement.

"Uh...Luffy?"

He was looking at her like that, with a frown on his face and she was starting to wonder just why he was frowning like that. Was she such a bad kisser or something? She knew she enjoyed it...and then she instantly blushed at the realization. She didn't really start to develop feeli-

"Aha!" He broke the uneasy silence between them and made her jump slightly, removing his hands from her waist and pulling back from her. She merely blinked at the sudden change in his demeanor. "Now I know why I liked it!"

He grinned triumphantly. She gaped at him in utter confusion.

"What?"

"Now I know why I liked it!" He repeated and pointed a finger at her, making her ogle at him. "You were having meat for lunch, weren't you?"

Crickets chirping, realization dawning, mouth agape, eyes wide, fists clenched, head lowered.

"Am I right?"

Silence around them. Then, the sounds of deep breathing, knuckles cracking and teeth gritting.

And when she finally raised her head and looked at him, he craned his neck and frowned in confusion after seeing a murderous expression on her face.

"Uh, I'm wrong?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Echoed through the ship and made one, happy crew in the cabin beneath freeze amidst dinner and exchange awkward glances.

"Uh...should we do something?" Chopper asked timidly, earning a few snickers in return.

"Nah!" Chorused back and the dinner was resumed.

Outside, Luffy screamed when Nami, with a single punch, sent him flying across the deck, over the railing and into the sea, his fall creating a loud splash for everyone to hear.

"AND I HOPE THAT SWORDFISH FINDS YOU AND TEARS YOUR STUPID RUBBER BRAIN IN PIECES!"

With that, she turned on her heel, yanked the doors to her cabin open and stormed inside, shutting the doors behind her violently.

When Robin, realizing the situation Nami was in and what kind of effect would that have on the captain, still got out soon after that and managed to fish him out of the sea, the boy was sporting a large bruise under his eye and wheezing heavily from the onslaught of water to his lungs.

"Thanks...Robin..." He managed to splutter on which the historian only nodded.

"You made her pretty mad, Captain," she said in a humorous tone after that, making the boy look up at her and shake his head.

"Yeah," he breathed and then scratched his head when the rest of the crew got out to see what was going on, "I just don't get it why! I thought I finally guessed something..." He ventured, watching Zoro, Usopp and Sanji cackle at him while Chopper was already in his doc mode, rummaging through his medicine bag in a search of some antiseptic and band-aids.

Robin just smiled sympathetically at him and patted him on the back.

"You've still got a lot to learn, Captain."