A/N: This was written by request for my precious Amie-chan (as I do not usually write this genre/pairing)! Set directly after Robin has joined the strawhats's crew, after the Alabasta Arc. Plot will be slowly devloped. Thanks a bunch for the PM's and favs. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story! ^_^
WARNING: This is yuri. Meaning girlxgirl. If you don't like it, DO NOT READ IT. The rest of you, enjoy! It will start off slow and pick up in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece anything. That genius belongs to the wonderful Eiichiro Oda. ^_^
It was a smorgasbord of the very worst kind of scenarios to have nightmares from, as if every single worst possible combination had been smushed together and spread out on display. She could not wake or sleep in those strange moments and so Nami tossed and turned until she was so twisted and tangled in the sheets that she couldn't move.
Panic set in for real when her eyes finally flew open in the darkness and she struggled to free her hands. A squeak of surprise edged out of her mouth and she tried to press her lips together in an effort to quell the frustration and instead, a whimper came free.
By the time she was able to sufficiently calm herself, hot, angry tears were streaming down her face and her nose was beginning to feel rather stuffy. Taking a few careful gulps of air, Nami swabbed her face with the sweat-soaked sheets and then pushed the damp mass away from her.
Breathing was simultaneously easy and difficult in the few seconds that followed until Nami finally squeezed her eyes shut and began counting beri in the back of her mind. It was a good trick and within minutes, she was breathing normally again.
Relief flooded through her as she gathered the strength to sit up and gingerly swing her legs over the edge of the bed. She tested her weight on her feet, contemplating a bathroom visit or a breath of fresh air.
Damp hair clung thickly to her forehead and when she finally stood up, Nami decided to head to the bathroom. Her stomach was beginning to feel queasy in the once peaceful rocking of the Going Merry.
The queasiness grew worse and Nami found herself running to the bathroom, not caring if anyone saw or heard her as long as she didn't expel whatever contents her stomach still held before an audience.
She was lucky.
In the privacy of the bathroom, she heaved and gasped, until the stomach acid burned her throat. There was nothing to come up, she'd hardly eaten all that she normally would have that day. Sanji had been occupied with making a special two-day dessert for them and he had apologized for a temporary lack of snacks.
Nami had waved it off. She was now missing Vivi more than ever and the thought of happily eating cake without the blue-haired girl, left her feeling rotten and empty. The strong-willed princess had been an excellent friend amidst the gaggle of men on the strangely extraordinary pirate ship.
She was caring, quiet and worried far too much for her own good, but she had been the closest thing to a friend since her adoped sister, Nojiko. A hitch caught in her breath and Nami rinsed her face and splashed twice with the icy water.
It helped to jerk her back to her present case and she soon stumbled back towards the girl's bedroom quarters, silently wishing whoever was on watch wouldn't see her. Her jaw settled into a crooked line as she realized the green-haired swordsman was the one on nightduty.
She moved even quieter.
Robin heard the door open and shut. She'd gone perfectly still the moment Nami's sobs had filled the room. Relief had registered when the redhead had left and Robin had taken that moment to sit up in the darkness.
She lit the lamp, quickly, checking about the room and then sliding out from the warmth beneath her own covers to check the navigator's bed. As far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong on the outside.
Her lips pursed together in thought as she retreated to her own bed and turned the lamp out. Whatever was bothering Nami wasn't something that she could help, at least, not with what little she knew of the younger woman. It had taken a bag of stolen jewels to start their relationship and they'd yet to have had a decent conversation between themselves.
Quite frankly, Robin was a bit relieved as she didn't quite know how to deal with the usual feminine quirks of gossip, secret-swapping and trading romance stories. Her life had nothing to compare to those common experiences, yet, something about the tenderness behind the redhead's fierce temper hinted at something else. Something deeper.
Robin had tucked that detail away for later thought. She'd seen a few other things that the rest of the crew had not seemed to latch onto. As the famous Miss All-Sunday, she'd seen both halves of the navigator—battle-mode and nakama-mode—it was a strangely fitting twist to the girl's personality.
The door opened again and Robin stilled beneath the covers once more, her musings cut short. She'd have to puzzle out the rest another time. She listened as Nami straightened the sheets on her bed and then climbed in once more.
She listened for the breaths to even out and lapse into sleep, but the sleep came for her long before Robin realized that Nami was still wide awake—for another sleepless night.
Nami wrapped herself in the newly cooled sheet, ignoring the faint patches of dampness that had faded to a sudden coolness. Her eyes wandered the darkened interior of the women's cabin and then settled on the stiff, sleeping figure of Robin.
She bit her lip and pulled the sheets up to her chin.
She'd had nightmares like this before. Vivi had been there for them, for her.
The blue-haired princess had immediately woken at the sound of her flailing about on the bed and shook her awake and away from the terror. With a glass of water and a warm hug, the princess had then all but forced her to join her on the other bed, careful to let her pick which side and careful to give her a fresh sheet. When Nami had curled up facing the wall, Vivi had spread her blanket over both of them and then hugged her tight from behind, humming softly until Nami had managed to fall asleep again.
Vivi…I miss you… Nami rolled over and buried her face in the thick pillow.
~*~*~Thanks for reading!~*~*~
