Shade of the Tangerine Trees
Nami and Aries Nakamaship Oneshot
Aries sat on the cross beam that held the main sail for the Going Merry. Her feet dangled in the open air as she rested her back against the outside of the crow's nest. Below her on the deck, Usopp was experimenting with bullets for his slingshot, Zoro was napping against the railing, and Luffy was sitting on Merry's figurehead. Sanji was in the kitchen preparing lunch and Nami was reading a book in a lawn chair in the shade of her beloved tangerine trees.
The blonde girl smiled and turned her head back towards the open sea, watching the afternoon sun sparkle over the small waves. The wind tousled her loose curls, splaying them across her face. Aries sputtered, spitting the hair from her mouth, and tried to brush the strands back behind her spiral horns. Unfortunately, another gust of wind stirred up more hair and she chastised herself for not putting her hair up in its usual ponytail. Her curls were now wrapped painfully around her horns and her fingers were creating knots instead of doing anything helpful.
Her movements became jerky and panicked as the light strands covered her eyes. She felt herself falling backwards and quickly hooked her legs around the wood of the beam. Her body hung upside down from the beam, her hair finally falling away from her eyes only to tangle even more around her rough horns. She groaned as she heard the laughter coming from Usopp and Luffy once they realized that she wasn't hurt.
Nami raised an eyebrow at her before calling out, "I thought you were a sheep, not a bat." Aries sucked in her left cheek, pouting, and crossed her arms.
"Ha ha, very funny."
Nami smiled and motioned for her to sit in the chair beside her. Curious, the girl swung her body towards the upper deck so she could grab a hold of the beam before she realized her legs' death grip. Then she swung again towards where Nami was waiting and let go. She flipped her body just in time to land gracefully on the white banister, her bare toes curling around the wood for more balance.
The navigator shook her head and gently took ahold of her new friend's hand, tugging her off the banister. She led her to the pair of chairs before putting her hands on Aries' shoulders and pushing down. The blonde sat on the wooden deck on the side of the chair, confused.
"Sit. Stay. I'll be right back," the older girl said as she walked down the steps and into the storage room that lead to the girls' quarters. A few minutes later, Nami was back with a brush and several bobby pins. She set her things on the little side table, then she said directly behind the blonde. "How in the world did you manage to get it this tangled?" she asked as she started brushing at the knots.
Again, Aries pouted. "It's the wind's fault."
The other girl chuckled and the pair fell into a comfortable silence. Aries closed her eyes, the feeling of her being brushed gently was calming enough to make her drowsy. After a few minutes, the bristles of the brush disappeared and was replaced by the feeling of fingernails dragging soothingly across her scalp. She sighed happily, leaning her head back against Nami's knees. She could feel her hair being tugged and twisted, but she kept her eyes closed.
"There!" The navigator exclaimed proudly as she slid a few more bobby pins into place. When Aries opened her eyes, she was greeted with her own reflection in Nami's handheld mirror. Two braids wrapped around her head like a headband and the rest of her light blonde curls were pulled up into a messy bun at the base of her neck. A few stray curls were left loose to frame her face.
She smiled wide and looked up at her companion, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "Thank you so much!"
Nami smiled back, gently tugging on a stray curl. "It's no big deal." She paused as if choosing her words carefully before continuing, "We're friends now, Aries, so it's okay to ask for help when you need it."
Aries stared up at her, mouth agape, for a few seconds. Her vision blurred as a couple of tears slipped down her rosy cheeks. She watched the young woman begin to fret and laughed. Nami gave her a confused stare as her laughter grew louder. The sheep girl's laughter died down after a minute or two, and she tilted her head towards the sky, her lips pulled into a large grin.
"Friends, huh? I've never had friends before," she spoke quietly as if talking to the sky above them.
Nami settled her hands on her hips, joining her in watching the sky. "Well you have five of them now, so get used to it."
The pair shared their moment in silence until Sanji delivered refreshing drinks and snacks, bringing them back to reality.
