Note: Oops, my hand slipped.

Chapter 10: Backfired Plans

Given that Christmas had spilled past uncelebrated, her friends were determined to celebrate New Years. What her friends had forgotten to mention was that they decided the location without her, and they had forgotten to tell her they were having it at her place until twenty minutes before they arrived. As much as she wanted to protest, she should have seen it coming; it was typical of them to pull a stunt like this. Still, she couldn't shake the lingering fear that something was going to go horribly wrong, as it always did.

"And why are you here?" She turned her incredulous stare to the man lounging on her couch.

"Your friends invited me."

Of course they did.

Nami sighed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She was going to kill the lot of them before this night ended.

"Trafalguy! Come play with us."

Law shook his head as an irate sigh past his lips. "No."

"But Trafalguy!" Luffy whined from his spot on the floor. "You never play with us."

"Later."

Luffy wasn't pleased with the answer, but before he could say anything, Nami interjected. "I actually need his help with something, so he can join you later."

As she turned on her heels, Law let out another sigh before following her into the spare bedroom. "Did you really need my help?"

"I figured I'd save you from Luffy's nagging for once, but I did need a little help."

He raised a brow. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes, and he couldn't help but have a bad feeling about her plea for help. She was plotting something.

"Let's just say I'm thinking of something along the lines of payback for the bar incident." There was a devious smirk her lips. She crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side as she gauged his expression.

"The bar incident?"

"I did tell you the printed the pictures off and slid them under my door, right?" She hummed and plopped down into the desk chair. "And I know they sent them to your friends as well."

She was right. Shachi and Penguin refused to let the matter rest. One of them had even gone as far as changing his laptop background to it, though he had yet to figure out exactly who the culprit was.

"And how exactly do you expect to do that?"

"A little alcohol and a bottle might just do the trick."

"And how exactly does this involve me?"

"Someone's got to convince Shachi and them, and if you play, there's a good possibility Luffy will, which means the others will inevitably join in as well. That and someone needs to be sober enough to take the pictures."

"Unless you plan on letting me use your phone, I don't think I can."

She knit her brows. "Why's that?"

"Shattered my screen the other night. I went to reach for it when Shachi called me but it fell off the table."

"I guess you can use mine then," she said as she pulled it from her bra and handed it to him. "The password is zero seven nineteen."

He typed the code in, and began sweeping through the screens, and Nami passed it off as nothing more than him trying to locate the camera until his face twisted in amusement and he glanced up at her. "Is there any particular reason why I'm in your contacts as 'Surgeon of Death'?"

"Hey! I said you could use it to take pictures! I never said you could go through my contacts!"

He chuckled. "You have a very interesting sense of humor, Nami-ya. I wonder who Mosshead and Dartboard Brow could be."

"Just stop going through my contacts already." She grumbled.

He shrugged and slipped the phone into his pocket.

"Oi, Nami!" Zoro appeared in the doorway moments later. His brows drew together as soon as he realized she wasn't alone, but the look was gone as soon as it appeared. "The stupid love cook is looking for you."

His gaze lingered on Law for a few seconds longer before he turned to leave. "And I advise you two to be careful about being together, alone, in the same room. That damn Dart Brow will have a fit if he catches you."

"Considering that nothing's going on, I don't see why it would be a problem."

Zoro snorted. "You're a man and you're with her. That's all the reason that idiot needs."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Come on, the last thing I need is Sanji starting a fight in the middle of my house."

As soon as she left the room, the cook in question was standing in the hallway. "Nami-swaan! What kind of drink do you want?"

"Maybe a Strawberry Daiquiri? It's been a while since I had one."

He nodded enthusiastically and skipped off to make the drink. Just as she grabbed an empty bottle from the coffee table, Luffy bounded up to her. "Nami! Can Trafalguy play now?"

"If he wants to. I was thinking it couldn't hurt to play a game of spin the bottle? We haven't played since high school."

In the kitchen, Sanji nearly dropped the glass in his hand. She didn't need to see his face to know he was down for the game.

"Alright! Everyone's playing! No exceptions."

There was much protest from the group, but they had all learned the lesson years ago; when Luffy decided on something, there was no escaping it. After a few groans and choice curses, all of them, including Law, much to everyone's surprise, had settled in a wide circle on the floor of her living room.

"So who wants to go first?"

Naturally, it was Luffy who took the bottle first. He spun it without a care while the others watched it intently. As it begun to slow, the anticipation was evident on their faces, each one silently praying it wouldn't land on them. Then it came to a stop. Silence settled over the group, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Law stiffen.

It had landed on him.

A fit of laughter broke out among them, and when Luffy leaned over, obviously not caring whether the other man was akward or not, they began laughing harder at Law's failed attempt to move away. With Nami holding him in place, the younger man managed to plant a sloppy kiss on his cheek, snickering at Law's obvious discomfort. He fell backwards, kicking his feet against the floor was Law reached up and rubbed his cheek with the sleeve of his coat.

Nami never wanted her phone in her hands anymore than at that moment.

"I hate you," he seethed quietly, his glare sending daggers in her direction.

"You agreed to play," she retorted before turning to Usopp. "You're turn."

He sighed in reluctance, but spun the bottle nonetheless. He was almost relieved when it landed on Robin, though that didn't stop the nervous glance he shot at Franky. The man in question laughed and nodded, as if signaling it was fine for him to proceed. She even leaned in, just for the amusement.

"Zoro's turn."

Unlike the others, Zoro regarded the bottle with nonchalance as he spun it.

"Get the camera read," Nami whispered. She was hoping it would land on the blond across from her. It would definitely serve for an interesting picture.

When the bottle stopped, none of them could contain their laughter. Even Law started chuckling at the utter discomfort on their faces, or in Zoro's case, the mixture between disgust and fury.

"I am n-"

"Yes you are, Zoro-ya." Law cut in, tossing him a sadistic grin. "If I had to sit through Luffy doing that, then you're not getting out of it either."

"There is no fucking wa-"

"Sanji!" Nami cried, looking dejected. "I thought we were supposed to having fun tonight! Are you really that upset with the game I chose?"

He was having mixed feelings then. Finally, after a moment, a strained sigh escaped his lips and he grimaced. "Only because of Nami-swan am I allowing this to happen."

"I ain't doing it."

"Then that'll be five hundred beli for every second of my time you waste, and I don't think you need anymore debt piling up."

A string of curses escaped his lips, but the threat was enough to get him to relent. He knew damn well she'd hold true to it.

"You know, prolonging it only makes it worse," Robin chuckled.

He tossed her a glare before sitting beside Sanji. He scrunched his face, disgusted with the situation before leaning forward. Just before his lips met his cheek, the blond's head turned and their lips met. He pulled back instantly, his face twisting with absolute discontempt, he glanced past the sputtering cook to see Robin smiling mischievously.

"My hand slipped," was all she said in defense, though it could hardly be heard over Luffy's roaring laughter.

"Oh? Tashigi, when did you get here?"

Zoro's head snapped towards the door, his brows rising into his hairline.

Tashigi had just come in, her hand still resting on the handle. "Maybe I should come back?" She turned abruptly, but before she could close the front door, Zoro was behind her. He cast an irate glare at the group before slamming it shut.

"Please tell me you got that," Nami whispered once the others had continued their laughing fit.

In response, Law turned the phone her way, the perfectly caught picture filling the screen. She smiled in response.

"Nami! It's your turn!" Luffy called. He sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes.

She spun the bottle. It seemed to turn for an eternity before it began to slow. Her eyes tracked its every movement, desperate yet curious to see where it landed. After a full minute in rotation, it stopped. Her eyes widened.

She hadn't thought about that possibility, which was rather careless of her. But she'd been so caught up in getting something to hold over their heads, she didn't realize she was putting herself in a position to give them more to hold over her head.

"Well that's certainly an interesting outcome," Law muttered. It was evident by his tone he was just as shocked as she was.

"You have to do it." Penguin piped up.

Law turned to glare at him, and Nami was certain that if Shachi hadn't been used to the looks, he probably would have wet his pants - Law was by no means amused.

"It's just a kiss," Franky laughed, and leaned back against the couch.

She fucked up.

"This is the last time I listen to you," Law hissed when she leaned towards his cheek.

"On the lips," Shachi interjected.

Nami grit her teeth. She was going to kill all of them after this.

"You act like I want to do this," she scoffed.

"You're wasting time!" Usopp teased.

She was definitely going to slaughter all of them.

She took a deep breath. The longer she hesitated, the harder going through with the result was becoming - she was making it more difficult than it needed to be.

In the end, it was Law who took the initiative.

Their lips touched for a fraction on a second, but it was enough to cause her to stiffen. Even after he'd pulled back, huffing with annoyance at the laughter that had broken out around them, she could still feel the pressure, and the urge to reach out and slap him was overwhelming, but she held back. She put herself in that position and she had to deal with the consequences.

She hadn't even realized that he'd already gone and spun the bottle, this time landing on Shachi, who was trying to scoot away.

"Boss! Come on! No!" He tried protesting, but Penguin had moved behind him, looping his arms under Shachi's to hold him still.

"Payback's a bitch," Law chuckled darkly.

Shachi tried to pull away as he leaned in, but Penguin's grip only tightened, and much to his dismay, Bepo had grabbed the back of his head so he couldn't turn it. Law kissed his cheek.

"Ew! You spit on me!" Shachi cried a moment later.

All of them were in hysterics moments later, and even Nami, who had been embarrassed beyond words not two seconds ago, couldn't hold back her laughter. Just when she'd thought she'd managed to stifle it, Law leaned back to reveal Shachi scrubbing his face harshly, muttered about how unsanity it was.

"I have half a mind to spit on you now," He grumbled as he finally dropped his arm. "That was gross."

"And yet you didn't put up too much of a fight," Penguin pointed out. "You could have easily gotten out of that."

"He'd chase me down!" The man retorted indignantly.

"No, they would have chased you down and I would have waited until you couldn't get away" Law shrugged, seizing his bottle from the table beside him.

"You are easily the most sadistic man I know."

Law chuckled at that. "You've known me for how many years and you're just now realizing this?"

He'd be lying if he claimed not to notice the change in her behavior.

She was making a special effort to avoid him after the game had ended, and he couldn't help but think she was being a bit unreasonable and childish even. And it was only serving to drag his mood down, though he couldn't help but wonder why he cared in the first place.

"She's just embarrassed," Robin chuckled, as if reading his thoughts. She'd taken the spot on the other end of the couch a few moments prior, a drink and a book in hand. "You might not believe this, but the amount of times Nami's been kissed is surprisingly low."

She was right; he didn't believe her, not entirely. While he was never one to focus or pay attention to physical appearances, he was not blind when it came to attractiveness, and Nami certainly was attractive. He found it hard to believe that a woman like her hadn't had much to do with romance.

"High school was a rough period for her, and even now, most guys tend to back off after the first date or so." The older woman sighed. "She wasn't exactly Miss Popular in school."

Law raised a brow at this, prompting her to continue.

"There were a lot of rumors going around, most of them focusing on her supposed sex life. Needless to say some of the nicknames that had sprouted out of them were more than degrading. Even now, it isn't uncommon for someone to refer to her as whore or slut, though I can assure you she's in fact, the opposite."

"I guess it's not easy being pretty," he mused and took a swig of his drink.

"I wouldn't say it has anything to do with being pretty," Robin hummed, "but more of the fact that she's a woman, with assets, and before the others came along, she was the only girl in a group of guys, and that set up never calls for good rumors. Sanji-san's constant fawning over her never did help matters either."

"I never would have pegged her as a slut, though I never would have guessed she was so inexperienced." He let his gaze fall on her. She was sitting in the chair across the room, watching the boys as they started a wrestling match. Her distress was obvious, but she made no move to stop them.

"It's just one of the things that accompanies being a woman. It doesn't matter who you are, now attractive you are, or how sexually active you are, in the long run, there's always going to be at least one point where you're called a slut."

Law snorted. "She hasn't had it easy, has she?"

Robin cast him an inquiring glance, "Did something happen between you two?"

He shrugged and downed the last of his beer. "She mentioned something about her mother a few nights ago, but she didn't go into details."

The woman chuckled. "I'm surprised she mentioned anything to begin with. Nami doesn't like to dwell on those kinds of things. She must trust you to an extent if she opened up about that."

"Is it that bad?"

A wistful smile spread her lips then and she sighed. "I'm one of her closest friends and I still don't know the whole story. Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy were the only ones involved with her before high school and I don't think even they know everything. But she's a strong woman. To deal with all of that and yet to be able to forgive afterwards..."

She stopped and shook her head. "It's not really my business to be talking about Nami's life, though. If you're really curious, you'll just have to wait for her to open up about it."

"You seem to be under the impression that I have an interest in her."

She smiled knowingly. "Well, I'm sure it was more than just Luffy's whining that brought you here tonight. That or you've just become more attached to us than you're willing to let on."

He almost laughed at that. "I feel like I should say the same to you. You don't strike me as the kind of person to hang around these idiots."

"I have my reasons," she replied.

"Oi! It's almost midnight!" Luffy hollered, holding up his phone. "Sanji! Meat!"

"People normally have a drink, Luffy," the blond chided, but made his way to the kitchen nonetheless.

Robin got up then, moving to settle on the floor next to Franky. She smirked at him when she caught him watching Nami again, but he chose to ignore the look. She was going to believe what she wanted to believe, whether he told her she was wrong or not.

Note: Depending on the feedback, I might add the conversation between Zoro and Tashigi in the next chapter.

Law's crew is nothing but dorks and you can't tell me otherwise.

Also Law Robin brotp and you can't stop me.