Zoro sat at the campfire, surrounded by the normal quiet murmurs of the other Strawhat Pirates. It had felt like an eternity, but they had, at long last, made it to Alabasta. Nami, whom had been dreadfully ill, was now returned to her old self, thanks to Chopper's skill and medicinal expertise. Zoro found that he didn't really care for the heat, especially after adjusting to the cold of Drum Kingdom, but that was the least of his concerns now.

The Strawhat Pirates had taken on another temporary member shortly after coming to Alabasta. Fire-Fist Ace, otherwise known as Portgas D. Ace, had appeared in search of Luffy. As surprising as it was that Luffy had an older brother, what was even more surprising was how fundamentally different the brothers were.

And now, as everyone huddled around the fire for warmth, Zoro watched Ace with a bitterness even he didn't fully comprehend.

The devil fruit user was spinning tales of his more humorous exploits, and subsequently causing Nami and Vivi to burst out in fits of laughter.

The swordsman would never admit it, but a small part of him was jealous of Ace. He was strong, with remarkably handsome features, perfectly sculpted muscles from intense physical training, and he was even possessed of the same charisma as Luffy that drew others to him. And as if that weren't enough for one man, Ace also had devil fruit powers, which only made him all the more impressive and interesting. Compared to him, Zoro probably seemed rather bland. Perhaps even a bit boring. It was no wonder Nami leaned toward Ace with wide eyes as she listened raptly to his story….

Zoro turned to stare out into the dark desert landscape of Alabasta, the after image of the campfire burned into his retinas as he listened to Nami laugh again. It put a knot in his gut to think that she and Ace had grown so close in such a short amount of time.

"-and then, after they'd all surrendered, their captain jumped up with a knife and took a hostage!" Ace said, grinning ear to ear.

Nami and Vivi gasped, looking horrified.

"What'd you do, then?" Vivi whispered.

The devil fruit user bit back a laugh as he stammered, "Well… the captain- the hostage he took- it was actually a member of his own crew, a cabin boy that he'd never seen before in his life. Needless to say I threw the captain overboard, and after that, the rest of his crew was quite cooperative! Turns out they all hated their captain, and were glad to be rid of him!"

Everyone smiled, Nami shook with laughter as Vivi bit her lip.

"Did the captain survive?" the princess asked.

"I would hope so," Ace giggled, "we had just set sail, so we weren't even completely out of port! He could've just swam back to town!"

"Don't be such a killjoy," Nami elbowed the princess, causing her to wince.

Even when she was being raucous, Nami looked absolutely amazing. Her hair was even more impressive in the light of the fire, and the flames seemed to dance in her dark eyes.

"Hey, Zoro? You ok?" Luffy asked.

Zoro looked away from the navigator as all eyes turned to him.

"I'm a little tired," he said.

"That's an understatement," Usopp piped up, "this whole crossing the desert thing is getting old really fast! I miss not having sand in my pants all the time."

Everyone froze, turning to Vivi, who showed no emotion. He may not have meant to, but Usopp had just insulted Vivi's home country.

"It does take some getting used to," Vivi admitted, "but the oasis cities are cultural hubs that are pretty clean. Once we're there, you'll notice that the sand doesn't seem to get everywhere."

"I suppose that's something to look forward too," Usopp sighed.

Everyone smiled. Even when someone blatantly insulted Vivi's home country, she managed to maintain her composure and positive outlook. Even if she weren't a princess, such temperament was admirable. Zoro only wished he had her strength of character.

"Hey, Zoro," called an unfamiliar voice.

He looked up, only to find Ace was watching him. The Whitebeard Pirate had a strange look in his eye, caught halfway between mirth and understanding. It only served to make Zoro dislike the guy even more.

"Would you care to help me gather more wood for the fire?" Ace asked, gesturing at the dwindling pile, "we'll need some more to keep it going through the night."

Zoro nodded, grabbing a burning stick from the fire and holding it like a torch. Ace held out a hand, and fire burned in his palm, almost like that of a blowtorch, giving them both a steady, wind resistant light source.

The swordsman raised an eyebrow as Ace passed him, leading the way into the dark dunes surrounding their little campsite.

They walked in silence for a time, keeping a relatively straight path. Everyone now and again, they saw a piece of driftwood in the sand and went to retrieve it. They would then continue on their path, as walking in a straight line would help keep them from getting lost after they'd lost sight of the camp.

When Zoro returned with a sizeable log tucked under his elbow, Ace gave a low whistle.

"I suppose that should about do it," he grinned.

Zoro frowned, "Yeah, I guess so."

They turned around, heading back the way they came, but Zoro could practically sense Ace's mind at work as he tried for cast around for a conversation topic. It was something the swordsman was quite used to whenever he was around other people. His silence made them uncomfortable, so they always felt the need to fill that silence with small talk.

"So… you and Nami, huh?"

Zoro missed a step and very nearly face planted in the sand. He dropped his driftwood log and managed to catch himself before turning to stare at Ace, who smiled at him knowingly.

"How did you-"

"Oh, come on, man! I may be Luffy's big brother, but I'm not nearly as blind as he is. I've seen the way you look at Nami. I've seen the way you look at me, too. You've got a mean stink eye."

Zoro ground his teeth as he stooped to pick up the log he'd dropped. If he didn't pick his response carefully, things could get out of hand quickly. Ace didn't really seem like a gossip, but he had a story for every occasion, and it wouldn't take much to start the rumor mill turning.

"It's complicated," Zoro muttered, "and at any rate, I'm sorry if I caused you offense. It's not that I don't trust you, but Nami is…"

He paused. What was Nami to Zoro? What exactly did she mean to him? It was so hard to find a way to describe her when he had no idea how she felt about him. She wasn't exactly the easiest person to read.

"Well, you'll get no competition from me," Ace said, clapping Zoro on the shoulder and making him jump. "I'm a bit too tied up in my responsibilities to go chasing after women at the moment."

The swordsman felt as though a great darkness had been lifted from his mind and body, like venom from a wound. Suddenly, Ace seemed like a much more respectable guy.

Fire-Fist Ace grinned. He was not so unfamiliar with the situation. In fact, he'd encountered it with his crewmates every once in a while when they made port. A sailor would fall in love with the woman of his dreams, and then he'd have to make a hard choice. Either stay on that island, with that woman, for the rest of his days, or return to the sea. In the end, everyone on Ace's crew had stayed on, but they had always been changed men, staring out over the waters as if they could still see that island, and the women they had left behind.

The way Zoro looked reminded Ace of these men. It was as though he were staring at Nami from across a vast sea.

Ace pouted and scratched at the corner of his lip before throwing his arm over Zoro's shoulder, "If I could give you a little advice, though… there seems to be a bit of a timing issue between the two of you."

Zoro looked uneasy at the prospect of being so buddy-buddy with Ace, but he let it slide. He often found that his own ideals regarding personal space were not shared by everyone. Besides, any advice from a guy like Ace was probably worth its weight in gold.

"A... timing issue?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah. I mean, she looks at you, then she turns away, but then you look at her… it just seems like you guys keep missing each other. Trust me, man. Keep a sharp eye on her, you'll notice how her eyes are drawn to you, I'm sure of it."

Zoro felt as though his heart had been filled with helium. A smile crossed his face as he considered Ace's words… Nami had been watching him?! For a moment, Zoro felt as though he might be lifted off the ground as he and Ace continued their march back to camp.

"Thanks," Zoro said finally.

"Not a problem. A friend of Luffy's is a friend of mine. He may be a bit… oblivious, but my kid brother knows a good person from a bad one. He has ever since he was little."

Zoro threw his arm around Ace's shoulders, the driftwood log still safely cradled in the crook of his other arm. As they went, Ace clenched his fist and extinguished the flames burning in his palm. Dead ahead, just over a large dune, the flickering light of a fire could be seen.

"Almost back to camp," Ace said.

"Just over this dune," Zoro sighed.

Together, they took the first step onto their last obstacle before returning to camp. Or so they thought.

The dune began to shudder and shake. Sand began to shift and slide downhill. Zoro dragged Ace back as a terrifying form was revealed beneath the sand.

Eight limbs. A stinger. Two pincers, and foaming mandibles that could grind a man to mincemeat in a matter of moments. It was a massive black scorpion, with a gleaming carapace that was likely as hard as iron. The scorpion hissed and clicked its pincers as it pulled itself from the dune and began to advance on Zoro and Ace, who were still retreating so as to not get buried by the sand.

"It's huge," Zoro noted.

"Yeah, that's good sized," Ace said, pulling down the brim of his hat as he grinned.

The scorpion took a few careful steps forward. The way it moved made Zoro's skin crawl, but he paid it no mind as he grasped the handle of the Wado Ichimanji and pulled it free of its clasp. Without even thinking about it, a battle plan was formed between Ace and Zoro. They shared a sideways glance and an imperceptible nod before leaping into action. If they let it get bored, there was a chance the thing might turn around and head for the camp and the other Strawhat Pirates, so it was up to them to keep it occupied and finish it quickly. Zoro took a step back as Ace charged the scorpion. It sought to catch him in its pincers, but he transformed into a plume of flame before rematerializing just out of harm's way, but well within sight of the scorpion.

Zoro ducked low and flanked the creature as Ace kept it distracted. With light steps the bounty hunter kicked off from the sand, leaping onto what he could only surmise to be the giant scorpion's knee. From there, he alighted upon the creature's back. With a quick glance, he ascertained that Ace was still alive, but between the pincers, mandibles, and stinger, the Whitebeard Pirate was having a tough time of keeping it occupied, as the scorpion quickly realized it had no chance of striking the devil fruit user.

The Wado Ichimanji gleamed in the moonlight as Zoro raised it, and then brought it down in a violent slash. The scorpion's tail was severed at the base, and collapsed into the sand as the creature screamed and scuttled about frantically.

Ace noticed its erratic movements and lunged forward before the monster could throw off Zoro. With a triumphant cry, he thrust his arm into the scorpion's mandibles, effectively roasting it from the inside as his limb became an inferno. Zoro grinned at Ace, but a movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. As the creature slowly burned, it prepared to catch Ace unawares with its pincers.

"Look out!"

Ace turned, but it was no use. The pincers were only seconds away from slicing him in two. Zoro raised the Wado Ichimanji, and brought the blade down right behind the scorpion's eyes, where he surmised its brain would be. The creature froze, twitching, and its massive pincers fell into the sand with such a heavy thud that it made the face of the dune shift once again. The monster's legs buckled, and it toppled onto its side, throwing Zoro free as Ace was pushed back by the shifting sands.

When Zoro awoke, everything was dark. He heard no sound, and his body was wrapped in a cool, dry material. After spending all day in to sun, it was a pleasant change of pace. Then he remembered his trip with Ace to gather firewood, and the gargantuan scorpion that had waylaid them.

He sat upright, retching as he tried to get the sand out of his mouth and throat. After the scorpion had died, he'd been tossed into the shifting dune and buried. It couldn't have been for long, though. He was still very much alive. The swordsman looked around. The moon hadn't moved at all, so he'd probably only been out for a few minutes. The scorpion was almost halfway buried, but Ace was nowhere to be found.

"Ace?" Zoro called. His throat was still dry and a few grains of sand coated his tongue, but the lack of response sent him into a panic. That last Zoro had seen of him, the Whitebeard Pirate was being overcome by the shifting sands.

Zoro stood, pulled the Wado Ichimanji from the sand next to him, and staggered to the front of the scorpion, where he dropped to his knees and started digging furiously.

"Dammit, Ace! Don't die on me!"

"Huh?"

Zoro heard a voice and turned around. Sitting up from his impromptu burial site, with sand still pouring from the brim of his hat, was Ace. The man spat out a globule of spit and dirt before rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

"Yeah, what'd I miss? Five more minutes…" Ace laid back down in the sand, snoring.

"This is not the time to sleep!" Zoro shouted.

Eventually, Zoro managed to wake Ace from his nap. With each of them dragging the scorpion by a claw, they pulled it free of the dune, secured its tail to its carcass, and made for the campsite, talking quietly as they both reveled in their newfound friendship.


"I'm telling you guys, I heard something! It was in the same direction as Zoro and Ace went to gather firewood!" Usopp insisted.

"They'll be fine," Luffy picked his nose in a nonchalant manner.

Vivi, who despised this behavior, came up behind Luffy and flicked him in the ear before crossing her arms and gazing out into the darkness surrounding them.

"I'm worried about them," she confessed, "they've been gone for a while."

Nami sat by the fire, trying to ignore the worrisome feeling in her gut that told her something was wrong. Zoro was the strongest man she knew, and Ace… well, he was no slouch, either. But that still didn't explain why her cat burglar instincts were going haywire. The impending sense of doom made her twiddle her thumbs anxiously.

'Something's happened,' she thought to herself.

She had heard what Usopp was talking about as well, like distant shouting distorted by the wind. It sent a chill down her spine as she stared into the fire. Even as she tried not to think about it, her mind twisted itself into visions that played out behind her eyes. She saw Zoro and Ace, surrounded by Baroque Works agents, desert monsters, and all manner of enemies. She saw them fight, but no matter how many enemies they defeated, another stepped forward to take their place, until they both fell.

Nami took a deep breath and patted her cheeks to pull herself from the fantasy. She looked around, but no one aside from Vivi and Usopp seemed very worried.

"Uh, guys? What the hell is that?" Sanji pointed with his chin at the top of a dune, where an enormous shadow had risen. Even from so far away, it managed to blot out the stars in the night sky.

Nami froze, hoping against hope that she was just seeing things. That was when the shadow crested the dune, and began to works its way down towards the camp at a steady, unhurried pace.

Luffy, who was usually unable to focus on any one thing at a time, was on his feet, staring intently at the hulking figure. He and Sanji put themselves between the shadow and the campfire as Vivi, Chopper, and Usopp all retreated to a safe distance.

All three of them huddled around Nami, their teeth chattering as they watched the shadow. Nami scowled. With those three clutching onto her for dear life, there was no way for her to escape if a fight broke out. She would just end up dead with them!

An odd noise made Nami jump, and she held onto Usopp, Vivi, and Chopper as tightly as they held onto her. The low rumble that she had assumed to be the creature growling changed, replaced instead by two quiet voices, and the sound of something large and heavy being dragged through the sand. Nami lifted her head as one of those voices set her heart beating even faster that it had been before.

"Relax," Zoro said, "it's just us."

He and Ace stepped into the light of the fire, each of them grasping a claw of a giant scorpion. Three jaws hit the sand with a dull thud as Vivi, Usopp, and Chopper tried to process the size of the beast.

"Dammit, Zoro!" Nami shrieked, kicking her way through the sand as she yelled at the man, "why the hell did you have to scare us like that?!"

Zoro blinked, "Like what?"

Nami growled and bit back an insult, but it was no good. Zoro just watched her with those dark eyes of his, looking quite unperturbed. In an effort to draw a rise from the unshakable swordsman, Nami grabbed his ear and dragged it down to that he stood about level with her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'LIKE WHAT?!' I'M TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO CALL TO US WHEN YOU DRAGGED A GIANT SCORPION INTO CAMP! AND THAT WAS AFTER YOU'D BEEN GONE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!"

"Wait, you were worried about me?" Zoro asked, still cringing as Nami yelled at him and yanked on his ear. Her face turned a nasty shade of magenta as hot flashes coursed through her limbs.

"NO! I was- I mean we were all worried-"

"I wasn't," Luffy chimed in.

"Shut it!" Nami conked Luffy over the head without releasing her grip on Zoro.

She turned her attentions back to the man she had firmly in her grasp, seething as she decided how best to phrase her disdain for his inconsideration.

"Hey, go easy on him," Ace said, "he saved my life out there! That scorpion was about to rip me a new one when Zoro stepped in. You're lucky to have a guy like him around to lean on."

Nami blushed, her eyes locked onto Zoro's face as she contemplated Ace's words. "Hmph. I guess you're right."

She released Zoro, who rubbed his ear and locked eyes with Ace. The devil fruit user gave Zoro a wink and two thumbs up behind Nami's back before going over to take a seat by the campfire.

"Wow! Did you really save Ace from that scorpion?!" Luffy asked, pushing himself between Nami and Zoro.

"Well, not really-"

"He's being modest," Ace called, "that guy is a world class swordsman, Luffy. You'd best keep that in mind, or else I might decide to try and recruit him for the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"No way!" Luffy shouted, dashing off to pick a fight with his brother over Zoro's allegiance.

Nami crossed her arms, trying to look angry, but something about her expression wasn't quite right. Every time she pursed her lips and frowned at Zoro, she couldn't help but feel glad for his safe return.

"Can I sit down, or do you have another lecture for me?" Zoro asked, still massaging his ear.

She scowled before heaving a sigh and holding her forehead.

"I'm just glad you got back ok."

"Yeah, me too," he replied quietly.

Zoro studied Nami uneasily. It was weird to think that a random encounter with that giant scorpion could've possibly cost him life, and in addition, his time with Nami. His brow furrowed as he realized just how fleeting life was, and for a moment, he was tempted to grab Nami by the hand and lead her away from the camp fire so that he could tell her how he felt.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Nami snipped.

Zoro grinned to himself. Now wasn't the time to be acting like a lovesick fool.

"No reason," he said, sweeping past the red haired woman to join the others at the campfire.

The navigator looked after him, stunned by how easily he shrugged off her rage. And what was that little smile of his about? Did he think he was being cute or something? Because he definitely wasn't!

Nami cleared her throat and readjusted her robe, suddenly very conscious of her appearance. She stomped back towards the camp fire, her nose in the air and a pout on her face as she decided to go without speaking to Zoro for the rest of the evening. In her heart, though, she knew it wouldn't last. Sooner or later, he'd draw a rise out of her, and get her to laugh as some stupid joke, or muse over a complicated riddle, as he always did. Somehow, that dashing swordsman always managed to make her feel better. As she sat back down with her friends, she chanced a glance at him, only to find that he was watching her as well.

Zoro grinned as she fumed and looked away pointedly with loud "HMPH!"

'I guess Ace was right,' he thought, taking the water skin that the Whitebeard Pirate handed him.


Author's Note:

Well, I guess the truth is out. I'm not one of those writers that can crank out a chapter a day. At least, not on my work schedule. Anyway, this chapter was a bit slow in the telling. I've been watching One Piece, and there sadly just isn't much material out there for Zoro and Nami in the Alabasta Arc. I finally decided to post it when I realized that Ace would be an excellent contender in a love triangle situation. He's a lot like Zoro, but a bit more cool and aloof. Also, he can turn into fire. Badass. Regardless, it's a slow chapter, and there itsn't as much lovey dovey stuff as I'd like.

MUSIC:

The Unforgiven III- Metallica (easy One Piece association)

SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK- Joji (papa franku is back at it again)

french- verzache

She's A Rebel- Green Day

Nearly Witches- Panic! At The Disco

Expect more! Just... not right away. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story so far!