Nami left the clothing store holding the door long enough for a kind-faced old lady to pass through. She smiled hearing a faint thank you and made sure she was all the way in before going about her way.

In her bag were a pair of brand new navy blue socks she scored on sale. As she absentmindedly calculated the amount of money she saved in her mind, her eyes caught sight of her boyfriend disappearing behind a corner.

They were not walking home together today since Luffy mentioned that he had somewhere to go right after school. He didn't say where- it may have been private but Nami's feet moved on their own.

Following him was out of the question. If his engagement was a private matter, all she had to do was respect that.

Being one step behind him, she stretched out a finger and tapped his shoulder on the right.

"Hey."

"Hi... Were you following me?"

His eyes gaped in wonder.

"No. I saw you from across the street."

"Okay."

"Where are you heading to anyway?"

Luffy watched the busy road. The red light disappeared and cars zoomed by beside them in an array of colours.

"For a haircut. I was supposed to be there 15 minutes ago."

"Can I come?"

"Sure."

Luffy beamed matching his pace with hers. Didn't think that she'd be interested in something as dull as him getting his hair cut but he was glad for the company.

He snickered to himself.

"What's so funny, Luffy?"

Together, they reached the end of the sidewalk to stand with a handful of pedestrians. Anyone who would have known Luffy well and happened to pass by and see him at that moment could tell off the bat that he was standing a bit taller.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"A friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

Needless to say, Nami was in for a surprise.

The door to the barber's squeaked cleanly closed and Luffy felt a force tug against his hand. Nami's shoes were nailed to the floor. She refused to budge.

The air reeked of cola and hairspray but the star of the show was the eccentric man most likely in his mid-forties thrusting his hips forward to loud disco music.

He did a spin and at the very end of the song, he threw heavy arms in the air with a resounding "Supeer!" .

The tape repeated and so began his profane dance routine all over again. All this time, he was unaware that he had an audience.

Luffy held his belly and keeled over with laughter bursting forth from his lungs. Nami on the other hand had her mouth hanging open getting a proper eyeful of the guy's fully bare hairy legs.

Regaining her senses she grabbed a firm hold of Luffy's arm. He wiped liquid from his eyes and looked at her with cocked brows.

"Let's go."

"Why?"

"I think you have the wrong place."

As far as she was concerned, they must have walked into some kind of strip club. The guy had zero shame.

"I don't. He's my barber."

"You're not serious."

"I am. He's really funny, huh?"

"He's a pervert!"

At this point, the music died. What the orange-haired sis said last had the barber idly rubbing the back of his head. A flattered grin grazed his face.

"Oi, oi. You think I'm a pervert?"

"That's right. What kind of adult walks about in high daylight wearing speedos with no pants much less? You're the biggest pervert I know!"

"You're making me blush!"

Nami stepped forward making sure to keep her distance. Mouth dipping in a scowl. His lack of awareness was baffling.

"That's not a compliment!"

"Good to see that you've finally made it, Luffy."

Nami was ignored and it grinded her gears. His name tag had the name 'Franky' written on it and he switched into professional mode and prepared the chair, draping a black starry cape over his large tattooed forearms beckoning to his client to come so he can start.

"You're not cutting his hair like that."

"Like what?"

Franky was puzzled.

"Put on your pants first."

Franky lowered his sunglasses and exhaled, slowly shaking his head from side to side.

"Look here, girlie-"

"Don't call me that!"

"I don't own any pants and its by choice. Wearing pants doesn't make you a man."

"That's not true!"

Nami had to tell herself that maybe somewhere along his life, he must have lost his mind.

'Shishishishi' "Franky's always like that, Nami."

"What about when he has to go outside in the cold?"

"Nothing comes in the way of my style, sis."

"Unbelieveable..."

Luffy stood side her and the arm he placed along her shoulder made her head snap down to look at the floor, fighting a stubborn heat growing on her cheeks.

"Anyway Franky, this is Nami. My girlfriend. She was following me."

"I was not!"

"Oh. Right." 'Shishishishi'

"Your girlfriend?"

His disbelieving tone earned him a glare from Nami but her face blanked to confusion seeing tears meandering down his face which he covered and she flinched when he sobbed loud like a rushing ambulance. She nor Luffy knew what to do.

Franky snipped away at the new growth. This was Luffy's second visit. Apart from being his newfound barber, they were also very good friends. Despite the large age difference, the chemistry was definitely there.

"Franky is also an inventor, Nami. He can fix and build anything. Even a robot."

Franky's vision flooded at the praise.

Nami hummed in response flipping through an album of some of his hairstyles on his clients. He even cut women's hair.

"I may have underestimated you, Franky."

'Shishishishi' "Franky's awesome!"

"But don't you think you would have a better chance of success if you just wore some pants?"

"Not happening, sis. This is my image. Any objections isn't my problem."

Luffy nodded along and Nami just waved him off and left her seat to have a look around the place.

It was unnecessarily big but well decorated. He shared the space with someone else who wasn't in for the day. On the back of the vacant barber chair was a bedazzled 'BON CLAY'.

Nami would never admit it but the self portraits on the wall of Franky sporting various elaborate hairstyles were her favourite.

She left soon after to visit a nearby convenient store which was the most perfect opportunity for Franky to begin his questioning after some casual small talk.

"So your girlfriend, huh?"

"Yup."

"Tell me about her."

Franky had put his scissors aside and flipped on the switch for the electric clipper, paying close attention to his raven canvas.

"You haven't seen it as yet but when Nami smiles, it's very cute."

Luffy picked his ear trying to get at a random itch.

"What else?"

Franky was trying his super best not to cry again.

"Nami's really funny too." She made him laugh. "Sanji and Zoro are afraid of her. She actually gets them to stop fighting all the time."

"Those monsters?"

"Yeah."

"And... I don't know how to describe it but she makes me feel...?"

Luffy thought of a word but couldn't find the best one.

"Special?"

"Yeah. That."

The corners of Luffy's mouth curled up.

"Nami's special to me too. She's like magic."

Now he was showing teeth.

That was enough to throw Franky over the edge and the tears were too fast to catch.

Nami happened to walk through the door then and Luffy's heart stopped as he watched her from the mirror walk in and reclaim her seat. She felt his stare and stared back, her head tilting little to the right.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Franky made a loud outburst and wailed; snot even started pouring out of his nose. Nami retracted.

"Get a hold of yourself, Franky!"

Nami had never seen a grown man cry as much as Franky did.

"I'm not crying!" He sobbed.

Nami rolled her eyes and sent Luffy a short smile sesh before checking her phone. What she failed to notice was his already heated face turn tomato red. If she didn't have his full attention before, she had it now.

Nami continued waving goodbye to probably the most interesting person she would ever meet in her life. Franky sure was one of a kind. She had to turn away quickly from the glass door to avoid seeing him cry again. She didn't know what the problem was. He was on a roll.

Luffy hadn't said much since she returned but she knew just the thing to make him feel better.

"Here," she said pushing a paper bag in his hand.

"What is it?"

"You're hungry, aren't you?"

She bought a cheese and ham sandwich complimented with a yummy spread of mayonnaise and decorated by fresh juicy tomatoes and lettuce. Inside the bag, Luffy found that she had left him half.

"Thanks Nami."

"No problem."

She continued her staring and Luffy didn't notice until he was preparing to chow down on his first bite.

"What?"

"Franky did a great job. Your haircut suits you. Makes you look very handsome."

Nami smiled yet again; not for him this time. It was more to herself. For the first time she caught him blush. She scored full marks on all 3 of her tests today but this was without a doubt her greatest achievement.

About 2 hours ago...

Just leaving the school premises, Luffy was stopped by Carrot, racing to meet him.

"Hi Luffy. Leaving already?"

"Yeah."

"Where's Nami? Aren't you two walking home together?"

"No. Not today. I'm getting my hair cut."

"Okay."

Carrot's eyes traced down to his arm. At practice she had grabbed onto it forgetting his request for less touching and he had winced away in pain. The skin under his sleeve was black and blue.

"Did you go to the nurse's office?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

Like the first time, he refused to say anything. This made Carrot very sad. She wanted to help in anyway she could.

She liked him. She liked him a whole lot. They had so much in common and he was the first guy who could keep up with her; who didn't get turned off by her abnormal appetite for food and fun. She thought that he was the only guy alive who understood her but all that changed when he told her that he had a girlfriend and that it was Nami.

She saw her hang out with his group of friends but she had no idea. Though it was hard, she knew that some things had to change. Afterall, she admired them both.

"Do you want me to come along to keep you company?".

She saw that he was alone which was an odd sight for one usually surrounded by friends. Not everyone knew of the extra activities his friends had to do after school. She was in this crowd.

Silence ensued. Carrot spoke without thinking and she deeply regretted her words. Behind her back, she pinched her arm but what she said couldn't be taken back.

"No. That's okay."

Her eyes widened. Apart from feeling blue from his rejection, a large part of her was relieved.

"Well I'll see you at practice tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah."

Carrot was just about to high-tail it out of there when Luffy said,

"I only like Nami."

His coach laughed nervously.

"Of course you do, silly. She's your girlfriend... But-" Her eyes already started to pinch with tears and her voice quaked. "We can still be friends, right?"

Luffy grinned. He could definitely live with that.

"Right."

To be continued...