Stepping out on to the Sunny's deck was both frightening and exciting for the ship's navigator. Being cooped up in her room for more than a week had a full effect on the poor girl. Nami took in a large breath of fresh air and moments later, let it out. She looked around and noticed everyone was doing their own thing, unaware that she was even outside yet.
Brook was sipping tea at a table with Robin, who as usual, had her nose deep in a book, Chopper sitting at her feet. Usopp and Luffy were fishing on the side of the ship, hoping to reel in a big fish for Sanji to cook that night most likely. Zoro was sat up against the wall of the Sunny, napping obviously. Franky was sitting on the deck, tinkering with a gadget. Nami noticed he had frown lines on his face, which indicated he was either very focused, or very upset it wasn't working for him. Looking around, Nami noticed Sanji and Law were missing.
'Sanji's probably fixing lunch, but that doesn't explain where Law went...' Nami thought, taking a step forward, making her presence known by clearing her throat.
Everyone turned their heads toward her, complete shock on their face.
"NAMI!" Luffy and Usopp yelled, jumping off the railing, sprinting over to her. Nami paled. 'No No No!' She thought, bracing herself for the impact. But all that she heard was the sound of a loud thud. She peeked around her arms, and gasped.
There stood Zoro, both arms locked around the two boys as they wriggled to get free.
"Cut it out you two! Nami's still recovering. We have to be gentle with her!" The swordsman yelled, glaring down at the two.
"But, Zoro! I wanna hug Nami! We all missed her!" Luffy whined, struggling even harder in the green-haired man's grasp, which in turn, caused his grip to only tighten.
"Would you listen to me for one sec-!"
"It's okay Zoro."
Zoro turned to give Nami a confused look.
"He can hug me. Luffy, you have to be gentle though, understand?"
Luffy nodded eagerly, laughing.
Zoro sighed, letting go of Luffy, but keeping his grip on Usopp firm, only allowing one at a time. Luffy walked the few feet between he and Nami and, as gently as he could, pulled her into a hug. Wincing only slightly, Nami smiled, returning the embrace, her arms sore from the IV's Law had placed in her.
Everyone on the Sunny took in the warm sight with smiling faces. Moments went by that felt like hours, standing there, Nami was suddenly overcome with a rush of emotions. Hurt. Sadness. Happiness. Love. Her crew was everything to her. They were her family just as much as her sister, Nojiko. And so, she cried. Slight hiccups turning into full-blown wailing as she cried her heart out.
Hurt for what her captain's decision came down to.
Sadness for not being strong enough to stay with them.
Happiness for having these people who care for her.
Love for each and everyone of them for who they were, and what they have done for her, to make her who she is today.
Unknown to the others, a blonde-haired cook stood in the shadows of the doorway to the kitchen, bawlling his eyes out at the scene.
Up in the crow's nest, a pair of cold gray eyes stared down at the orange-haired navigator.
"Time for lunch!"
At Sanji's call for lunch, everyone began walking toward the dining hall, save for one green-haired swordsman and an orange-haired navigator.
"Aren't you coming for lunch, Zoro?" Nami questioned, turning to face him. All Zoro could do was stare at her. Nami blinked a couple of times, waving a hand in his face, which caused him to gently grab said hand in his own.
"Zoro?" Nami questioned, staring into his good eye.
"Nami. I'm no good at apologies. I've never been good with words. Hell, you're the last person I ever thought I'd say sorry to."
Nami just stared at Zoro, speechless.
"Nami." Zoro sighed, bowing his head, causing the navigtaor to gasp in surprise and cover her mouth with her hands.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you or Chopper." He stated, wincing at the memory.
Nami stood there, motionless, taking the whole scene in. Never had she thought that she and Zoro would be put in this kind of situation where he was admitting fault and apologizing. The whole thing had her head spinning.
"I never blamed you for what happened Zoro. It's not your job to protect me or Chopper."
"I don't want to hear that bullshit. You and I both know I fucked up." He argued, moving past her to join the rest of the crew.
Nami sighed, following after him.
Nami was relieved to see that the eating habits around here hadn't changed in the slightest. The sound of Luffy and Usopp fighting over Luffy's excessive meat consumption was music to her ears. Strange though, since she was the one that usually got annoyed first and would be the first to lash out at them for their lack of table manners, but now, she was just glad that they hadn't lost their appetite over the past events. Glancing to the right, she noticed that Robin was just sipping on some tea with a pastry that Sanji had lovingly made for her. Glancing down at her own plate, she noticed that he had placed plenty of vegetables on there. She just rasied an eyebrow and looked up at the lovesick cook.
"Is everything alright, Nami-san?"
"Sanji. Everything on my plate is vegetables." She grumbled.
"But of course my sweet Nami-san! You need healthy foods to get your strength back!" Leaving it at that, he turned to retrieve more tea for Robin.
Nami quickly turned to her left and proceeded to dump half of her greens on to the unsuspecting sniper's plate. When said sniper turned to take a bite of his food, he got a mouthful of what did NOT taste like meat. He turned to see a naughty gleam in the navigator's eye. He quickly swallowed the nasty vegetables and motioned to protest, when a sharp heel was slammed down on his poor foot.
"Ow! Nami! What the hell!" Usopp whispered, bending down to rub his toe.
"A normal portion of vegetables is ok, but Sanji just loaded my plate up with the stuff! You're helping me by eating some of it, got it?" She hissed, the look in her eyes telling the sniper there was no room for a discussion in the matter.
Law just glanced to the left, and raised an eyebrow. She turned to look at him, a blush forming on her cheeks which got a smirk out of the dark-haired captain.
"Do you need to lie down, Nami-ya? Your face is absolutely flushed." He whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
"I'm perfectly fine!" She whispered back, turning back to her plate.
The Surgeon of Death said nothing more and returned to his own meal himself.
After lunch, Sanji began taking up all the dirty dishes, but not before scolding Luffy on trying to raid the fridge for some sort of dessert.
"Let me help you, Sanji-kun."
Sanji turned to stare at his precious orange-haired navigator.
"You needn't worry your pretty head Nami-swan! I'll be done in but a few minutes. Go on out to the deck and I'll prepare some tasty drinks for you and Robin!" He gushed, those infamous hearts popping out of his eyes.
"Well...if you insist, alright then." Nami smiled, leaving the kitchen.
Walking out on to the deck, Nami noticed that only Luffy and Chopper were outside. Everyone else had either gone back to their rooms or were on other parts of the ship, doing something to pass the time. She walked up to her mikan trees and sat in the hammock that was placed there and just let her mind drift on into a peaceful slumber.
When Nami awoke, she noticed that the sky was a pinkish orange in color. The sun was setting.
"How long was I asleep?" She wondered aloud, sitting up, groaning as she stretched, instantly regretting the action. Her hand quickly rose to her chest where the bandages were securely placed.
"Are you okay?"
Nami quickly turned her attention to the top of the stairs where the swordsman stood.
"When did you...?"
"I've been here for a little bit. It was getting noisy inside with Luffy antagonizing Usopp and Chopper."
That brought a smile to the navigator's face. Relief washed over the green haired man. Though he would never admit it, Nami was a soft spot for Zoro. The woman was loud and money hungry, but she was also very kind and never one to turn her back on those she considered her friends. Something the swordsman admired about her.
"You chest. Does it hurt?"
Nami put her hand back up to her chest and applied a little pressure, wincing as she did so.
"Mhm. Law gave me something to help with the pain, but when I stretch or bump it accidentally, it hurts."
Zoro just stared down at Nami, unsure of what to say.
Nami looked up at Zoro with a huge grin on her face.
"It's nothing compared to what you went through though."
Zoro's eyes widened in shock.
"Law said my cut wasn't anywhere near as deep as yours. My pain, compared to that of yours, when you think about it, is nothing in comparison."
At that moment, time seemed to stand still for Zoro. Before he could stop himself, his arms were around her, resulting in a startled gasp from the navigator.
"Z-Zoro?"
"How do you do it?"
"Wha?"
"How can you be so strong, when you're in so much pain."
Something wet hit Nami's neck, and Nami's eyes widened in the realization that just hit her.
Zoro was crying. On her shoulder.
"Zoro? Are you okay? What's wrong?!" Nami cried, moving to get a better look at the swordsman, wincing when his hold on her simply tightened.
"Just for a bit. Let me stay like this, just for awhile." Nami smiled, bringing her arms up to wrap around the green-haired man.
And BOOM. There it is. I had great difficulty with this chapter to be honest. There was a lot I wanted to do with it, but I feel that spacing it out would be best. Don't worry, I've got the next chapter rolling in the old noggin so it should be up fairly soon. As fast as my little fingers can type it haha. Please Review/Fav/Follow or whatever it is haha.
