~The 10th Night~

.o0o.

So sky islands were a thing. Nami banged her forehead on her desk with a thud. A completely logical, and reasonable thing that any sane person from one of the blues would absolutely be able to predict being a thing. Thud. Fucking Grand Line and it's bullshit geography. There were a completely unknown amount of these things around the world. Thud. When Nami took on her dream to chart the world, sky islands weren't even on the list of things she considered, thus their existence made achieving her dream that much harder. Thud.

Sure, Nami knew making a world map wouldn't be easy, otherwise it would have done already, but with the introduction of the sky islands, it just got so much harder. Of course, when she was up in Skypiea it never even occurred to her. The fact it existed at all was a pretty massive thing. Nami was understandably distracted by it all. From the angel people, to the nut job with a god complex, to the absolute metric fuck ton of gold that she basically had been given dibs on. Nami eyed the pile of gold that tumbled out from her over stuffed treasure chest.

Very distracted indeed.

However, now that she was back on the blue seas, Nami realised her conundrum. How many other sky islands were there? How did you get to them? Skypiea had the knock-up Stream, but from the way Cricket talked about it, it was almost completely unique. It did explain why no one ever thought it existed before. So how was Nami to map the world if she couldn't even access parts of it!?

The obvious answer was simply; 'don't bother'. No one would notice if she didn't include the mythical islands that only a handful of people even knew about, so why go to the effort? Especially if she couldn't even get to them. Nami frantically ran her hands through her hair, with a frustrated groan.

Because she wasn't a damned cop-out, that's why!

When decided she wanted to map the whole world, she meant all of it. Not some of it. Not most of it. Not nine tenths of it. She wanted ALL of it. Nami wasn't about to let some stupid, mythical islands stop her achieving her dream. Luffy would ashamed of her if she did! Well… he wouldn't, but it was the principle of the matter! She wouldn't give up!

Nami picked up her notebook of reference points for Skypiea and flicked through its pages. Due to countless hours of practice she could memorize geographical features to be recorded later. A pretty useful skill. Despite only being there for two days, Nami got more than a good enough look at the island, Upper Yard and all. Now all those points were written down and waiting to be drawn into a chart. It was a process Nami had literally mastered.

Though, if one were to judge her cartography skills by the amount of crumpled up rolls of paper littered over the woman's quarters, they'd think she was a novice.

A fresh page lay on her desk, staring up at her innocently, it knew not of Nami's current plight, it was but a bystander. Yet, to Nami, it mocked her. It's crisp whiteness taunted her. Images of all her failed attempts clouded her minds eye. Simple, amateur mistakes caused by uncontrolled daydreaming and a want to doodle. It was infuriating. Nami glared hatefully at the paper, willing it to combust.

It was horrible. Once dinner had finished, Nami went to set about her passion as she had done everyday possible since becoming a full fledged member of the crew. Filled with a bright, burning determination, fuelled by the discovery of Skypiea. Only to end up daydreaming and scribbling in the middle of the page. Nami wanted to scream! But everyone was upstairs playing games, and in a rare sign of openness, Robin had even joined in. She didn't want to ruin that for them. So she settled for throwing her notebook onto the table before dropping her head into her arms to stifle her groan of frustration.

"I see you're still up, Miss Navigator. Everything going well?"

Speak of the devil. Nami didn't even look up to see Robin descend the stairs, she could already see the amused smirk on the woman's face. So like the grown adult she was, Nami flipped Robin off. Robin just chuckled.

A rustle from behind her told Nami that Robin had picked up one of the crumbled charts. She buried her face further into her arms.

"My, what happened here?" Robin said, her voice full of mirth, "You're usually so professional with your work."

Nami lifter her head and shot the archaeologist a glare, "Shouldn't you be playing games with the children?"

Robin didn't even look up from the paper, "We just finished." she said casually, "Has the Captain always been so bad at card games?"

"Yeah, why? What were you playing playing?"

"Poker."

Nami almost choked on nothing, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. You played poker… with Luffy."

"Mhm."

"How bad was it?"

"It took five rounds before he realised he wasn't supposed to call out every card he was given."

Nami laughed at that, her previous sour mood lifting. What a dork.

"By that point he had already lost on round three. He just didn't realise, and nobody told him to see how long it'd take for him to figure it out." Robin had put the paper down and was now sitting on the sofa, leaning forward, chin resting on the palm of her hand.

Luffy was an idiot. What else was new.

"Aww, I'm sorry I missed it."

"You would have. It was quite profitable." Robin said, reaching down her shirt to pull out a sizable wad of beris.

Wait, how did any of them have money? Nami was sure she'd run all of them into at least ten years of debt.

"Money? When did they get money to bet with?" Nami's eyes narrowed. She counted the money on the ship at least twice a day. Once to see if it was all accounted for, and twice for personal pleasure.

Robin reclined back into the sofa, counting her winnings, looking the very definition of casual, "Apparently, they had been spiriting away any spare change they could find for quite some time now. Even the Captain had a couple hundred beris saved up."

Luffy? Sneaking… anything? That wasn't right. Like someone had divided by zero.

"But how did he-"

"Do it?" Robin intercepted, "According to him, you never ask."

That… son of a bitch. It was a law of nature that Luffy couldn't lie. Any time words left that rubbery gob of his it was only ever the truth as he perceived it. There was no way around it. Nami realised early on to not both shaking Luffy down for debt money, and just take a small amount from whatever loot they got. He was captain of the ship after all. Apparently, he'd figured that out, then decided to take advantage of that fact by just keeping any money he found, and so long as she never asked, he was in the clear.

Nami didn't know whether to be proud of him, or pissed at being shirked out of money.

Both was good.

"Damn him." Nami muttered.

Money counted, Robin replaced it back in her shirt and leaned forward once more, "It seems our Captain is a bit trickier than originally thought." she chucked again.

Nami liked Robin. She thought of the woman as a good friend, or older sister figure, if a little detached. So why was it that every time she laughed it seemed so creepy? Like 'someone walking over her grave' creepy.

Robin gestured once more to the crumpled paper, spread out on the coffee table in front of her, "So, would you like to explain this." She rested her chin back on her hand, with a soft smile. It was the look Robin had when she had already figured something out, but wanted to see it explained anyway.

Her smug aura mocked Nami.

Feeling her eye twitch, Nami took a deep breath, preparing for the rant to come,

"It keeps happening!" She complained, "I have no control over it! Like, I settle down, start drawing, then as I get into it, my mind wanders and then I end up doing that." she waved her hand in the offending paper's direction, "It's happened too many times, it's driving me up the wall."

Robin nodded along as Nami spoke, looking around at all the other balls of paper littered on the floor, "I see." she said when Nami finished, "I think you might be overreacting a little."

"Oh?" Nami said, skeptically. She felt pretty justified.

"Well, for one, there's only three pieces of paper, including this one in front of me."

Only three? Nami blinked. She could have sworn it was more like… fifteen. She craned her neck around to try and count. One, two… three. Definitely three.

"Okay, so maybe it's not so bad on that front." Nami admitted, wanting to brush over it a fast as possible, "What time is it now?"

"About 11pm."

God, Nami used to go to bed at this time, "I've been here since dinner, and this is all I have done. I'm not used to being this unproductive!" she complained.

"You shouldn't worry, Miss Navigator, everybody has days when they don't feel like working. Best not to force it, lest you burn yourself out." Robin explained in a tone that was probably meant to be comforting, but came across more, amused than anything else. It was sound advice nonetheless.

"However," Robin began, her smile becoming ominous, "I was asking more about the contents of your 'drawings'."

"Oh." Was all Nami could say.

"I must say, Miss Navigator," Robin said as she picked up the sheet, "When I imagined the art you might produce, I never imagined it would involve so many stick figures holding hands, or little hearts for that matter."

Nami felt her ears burn with every word that came out of the woman's mouth. The desire for the bottom of the ship open up and let her drown was becoming stronger and stronger. Still, Nami kept her head high, determined to let her embarrassment show as little as possible.

Then, as if to try and make the situation worse, Robin leaned over and picked up another piece, and unfolded it. Her eyes lit up like it was christmas day.

"Miss Navigator!" Robin gasped, her voice full of mock scandal, "I didn't know you had such strong feelings for the Captain!"

A critical blow had been struck! Nami felt her determination crumple like an empty beer can, and she cringed hard.

"I've got a crush on Luffy, what of it." She admitted through clenched teeth.

Robin giggled, "Is he aware of this?"

"No!" Nami snapped quickly, "And I'll kill anyone who tells him!"

"How scary." Robin said not looking very intimidated, "How long have you felt like this, if you don't mind me asking?" She looked like she was having a lot of fun.

"A couple months, just after we got on to the Grand Line." Nami replied with a reluctant sigh. As embarrassing as it may have been to talk about, Nami did want to talk about it. She and Vivi only spoke of it occasionally, but never for long. Robin was now a fixture of the crew, and had proven herself a friend time and again, so was the best option, "It's just a stupid crush. It'll fade."

"I see," Robin said, now looking focused and intent, "Have you ever fancied anyone before?"

"Hah! I've never had the chance." Nami said. She shifted her position so she was now straddling her chair to face Robin, "The only people I got near past the age of ten were people I was trying to rob, and the bastards holding my village hostage. Not much time to get close to anyone."

Robin gave her a sympathetic look, "Understandable. If I remember correctly, Luffy saved you from that didn't he?"

This was starting to feel a little like a therapy session. Nami expected Robin to pull out a notebook and pen at any moment.

"He did. Dumbass doesn't even know about any of the background." Nami said with a sigh, "As far as he was concerned, I was his friend and navigator, and Arlong was making me upset, along with keeping me from joining this crew. The biggest part though, was that he respected it was my problem. Luffy didn't do anything until I asked him for help." The memory of Luffy placing his treasure on her head was one Nami held near and dear to her heart.

"It is certainly one of his more admirable traits." Robin agreed, "What else is there that makes you like him?"

"I dunno, lots of things," Nami began, "The fact I'm completely comfortable with him, is one. It's not that I'm not comfortable around the other guys, it's just with Luffy, there's no need for a social bubble, if that makes sense," Robin nodded to show she understood, "I never feel the need to put any space between us."

"He's my best friend, and I can talk to him about just about anything. Sure, there's some things I don't talk about, but if they ever came up, or I felt the need, I could, and he'd listen. Vice versa as well, really. He's just such a solid figure in my life. Like, no matter how bad things may look, knowing he's with me, gives me the strength to overcome, as selfish as that sounds." Nami lay her arms over the top of the chair, and rested her chin on top of them, "I could probably go on for ages about stuff I like about him, but I think you get the point."

By the time she finished, Robin was looking at her with an unreadable expression. Blank, yet intense. Her eyes looked like they were trying to pierce Nami's soul. They held each other's gaze for minutes, with passing second growing more, and more awkward for Nami. Finally Robin blinked, and gave her a genuine smile.

"Well, Miss Navigator," she said, awfully cheery, "I think I've figured it out."

Nami raised an eyebrow at her, "Figured what out?"

"Not so much figured out - as I always had an idea - more come to my conclusion."

"Just spit it out already."

"You're in love."

Nami's brain stalled. Gears grinded in her mind, desperately trying to kick start it.

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you again, could you repeat that?" Nami said with a polite laugh. She had to have misheard her. There's no way that's what she said. It couldn't be.

"I said you're in love." Robin said, speaking very clearly, leaving no room for interpretation, "With the Captain."

Was she joking? Robin rarely told jokes. Any time she did it was always something gross, horrifying, or grossly horrifying. This could just be her twisted sense of humour.

"You're serious?" Nami asked.

Robin nodded, her smile not even twitching, "Deadly."

"On what grounds?" Nami was going to need a peer reviewed journal on this.

"Everything you've just told me, everything I've observed the past couple weeks, and how you've been acting very out of character tonight." The archaeologist stated calmly without missing a beat.

"I have not been out of character!"

Robin looked down at the paper on the table, "That so, Miss Navigator. Then I assume you normally draw little hearts with 'L+N' written in them?"

Okay, so maybe she was a little out of character. That didn't mean anything!

"That still doesn't prove anything!" Nami shot back.

"You're right. It doesn't." Robin said with a shrug, "It's just a conclusion that I've drawn based on what I've observed. Whether it's right or not, is something for you to figure out. However, I think that you already know the answer, and just don't want to admit it." the look she gave Nami was pointed enough to pierce a hole in the Navigator's side.

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of Nami's sails. Were she not already seated, she would probably have had to drop into one after that blow. It felt as if her mind was running a mile a minute, this entire conversation replaying over and over again, yet she was unable to process any of it. She was in love with Luffy? That idiot? The same one that couldn't even spell the word 'eye'? There was no way. So what if he was kind, fun to be around, and genuinely cared for her as a person. He was her captain! Basically her boss! He was just so… so Luffy.

A small traitorous voice in the back of her whispered; 'What's so wrong with that?'

While Nami sat lost in her own thoughts, Robin stood up with a stretch. A quick application of her powers and she handed herself a fresh towel and a set of pajamas, before heading for the stairs.

"I'm going to take a bath." She said without looking back at the navigator, "I convinced the boys to go to bed early, so the Captain is probably waiting for you, whenever you're ready."

Nami barely nodded to acknowledge the older woman as she stared off into the middle distance. Her mind was playing every instance she'd spent with Luffy since joining the crew. Picking out any and all moments that could be construed as 'romantic' in anyway. The night before Reverse Mountain, the night they made that one bet, definitely the night they were joined by Vivi, and the night after Drum in the snow all immediately came to mind. Each and every one began to fill Nami with a deep, chilling fear. Now, all of a sudden, every memory was being tainted with the lens of romance.

Just a day or so ago, she had helped Luffy defeat Enel. Nami wasn't so modest as to reduce her role in securing the win, but it was Luffy's fight, yet he'd insisted on calling it 'their fight', going so far as to look upset when she corrected him. During that fight she had almost lost it. Facing down such a powerful logia user, with an ability like mantra was really intimidating for her, but Luffy knew how to help. He handed her his hat again, saying; "You're a friend of the future pirate king. Stop worrying so much". As soon as she caught the hat, Nami found it in herself to toughen up, and face down the lunatic. It strong moment, that Nami was now finding new meaning in.

What if she was in love with Luffy?

The idea of it sent a shiver down her spine. What if it was more than a crush? The mere thought of the rubber man always made her smile. Nami wanted nothing more than to just see Luffy and have him pull her into a hug. If it was love… why was it scaring her?

Nami took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm. Yes, this was freaking her out, but it shouldn't be anything she couldn't handle. She needed to think this through. What was so scary about being in love with Luffy? Nami adjusted herself so she was facing back at her desk. Elbows rested on top of it, with fingers steepled.

It had to be because when she thought it just a simple crush, it was silly, childish, and temporary. Now, if was love then it carried so much more weight. How did she deal with it moving forward? Go with it, or try to fight it back? It also begged the question; did Luffy, in any way, feel the same? Nami snorted to herself. Would he even know what she was on about? Then, if so, where did they go from there? They could pursue a relationship together, but they'd also have to take into consideration the rest of the crew. Sanji alone would be a whole can of worms, let alone everyone else. It was one of the main drawbacks of living on such a small ship. So much space was shared, privacy was never a given.

The biggest concern for Nami, and probably the one that scared her the most; what if it doesn't work out? Just because she likes him, and Luffy, hypothetically, likes her back, doesn't mean their relationship would work. It could be anything from an inability to compromise, to simply falling out of love. They could even end up resenting each other. It could ruin their professional relationship as captain and navigator on top of it all. It made Nami's stomach roll into knots. She couldn't bare the thought of Luffy holding any animosity for her, or vice versa. She lose her best friend.

That's what scared her most.

Nami dropped her forehead on to her steepled fingers. What should she do? She couldn't risk it. Too much was at stake. She'd just have to continue like nothing had changed. It was the simplest way to go forward. What about tonight? Luffy was waiting on her. Nami wanted to go out and meet him, but she was emotionally exhausted after this revelation. She doubted that she'd be able to hold a conversation for any period of time. A not so insignificant part of her wanted nothing more than to just call a rain check and crawl into bed.

No. She wouldn't let this affect her any more than it already had. Luffy was waiting for her. She wasn't going to let him down. Nami stood from her chair sharply enough to knock it over, and marched upstairs to the top deck. As soon as she made it to the door leading outside, Nami saw him.

Luffy was sitting cross-legged on the deck, rolling what looked to be a bottle of sake from side to side. His eyes followed it back and forth lazily. He looked incredibly bored. How long had he been sitting out there? Nami pulled the door open to greet him.

Before she could even get a word out Luffy's head shot up immediately, and he broke out into the widest grin as soon as he spotted her.

"Nami! What took you so long?" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet, bottle in hand.

Nami gave a mock huff and folded her arms under her chest, "What, do you want me to follow you around every second of the day?"

"Shishishi! I don't think that'd be so bad." He said without missing a beat.

Damn him. Damn his ability to say the most direct thing possibly.

"You okay?" Luffy asked, his brow creasing slightly, in concern, "You look, super pale. You're not getting sick again, are you?"

Of course he'd notice something was up.

"No, I'm fine." Nami insisted, waving it off, "I've just been working myself really hard today is all."

The crease deepened, "If you say so." Luffy said, not sounding too convinced.

"Where'd you get that?" Nami asked nodding towards the sake bottle, wanting to change the topic, "It doesn't look like anything we've got in the alcohol rack." It was un-opened for one.

"It's Zoro's." Luffy said, giving the bottle a little shake, "I found his secret stash, so I stole some."

Damn. Not even she'd managed to find Zoro's spare alcohol. Not that she'd drink of it, she couldn't get drunk after all. Good on Luffy for finding it.

"So, that's you're plan, eh Captain?" Nami said with a teasing smile as she walked towards him, "You're gonna get me drunk and have your way with me?"

"No, I just thought it'd be fun." Luffy said simply, "We've not shared a drink with just a the two of us before."

Nami couldn't tell if he didn't get it, or had just cleverly avoided it. That was a little worrying.

They went over and sat down side by side against Merry's mast. Luffy pulled out a pair of red sake cups from his pocket. He looked at them intently for a moment, like they meant something to him, before placing them down gently. Nami watched fascinated as he uncorked the bottle of sake and began to pour. The uncharacteristic care and attention he gave while doing so was something Nami never thought she'd see from her Captain. It was almost like a ritual for him.

With the drinks poured, Luffy re-corked the bottle and set it to the side. He picked up his cup and motioned for her to do the same. Nami complied. She had no idea what was going through his head with this, or why he was doing it, but it must be something special for him. Luffy was looking her intently, not saying a word. Even though she didn't know the meaning behind this, a small part of Nami hoped it was just for her.

They clinked their cups together in some unspoken toast and drank. The delightful burn of the alcohol warmed her throat against the cool, night air. Good to know Zoro was an alcoholic with good taste.

"...-orever." Luffy whispered to himself. It was so quiet Nami missed most of it. His face was somber.

"Did you say something, Luffy?" Nami asked, tilting her head slightly. She wasn't expecting much of an answer.

Luffy just blinked at her, then grinned, "Oh, I was just hoping we'd be able to do this for a long time!"

Heat bloomed in Nami's chest, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol. A small hope took root inside of her, that maybe Luffy did feel the same for her, as she did for him. Maybe, she was a little in love with him...

Nami giggled at him, "You're being sappy, Luffy! Of course we will! No one could stop us if they tried." She reached across him and grabbed the bottle, "Come on, I wanna finished before the night is out."

The smile on Luffy's face was worth a hundred million beris. It was one of pure joy and delight. Nami wanted nothing more than to steal it away, just for herself. She'd brought this out of him and it made her happy to see it.

Maybe someday, she would get to keep it all for herself. But, that day was still a way off. Should it ever come, however, Nami thought, it would be so worth it.

.o0o.

~It's as easy as you make it~

(Note: I really had fun writing this 'cause we're getting to the chapters I've planned from the beginning! The ones that made me want to write this fic in the first place! Also, can you tell I'm a massive Robin fangirl?

Sorry if Nami is too OOC, I don't have much info on the girl's side of a crush, other than from what my sisters were like with theirs.

Next chapter is Water 7!)