Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
Author's note: OMG it seems like forever since I last posted…got to be my longest stint without posting. Sorry, but sometimes life takes over…like having to buy a new car cause mine died or people's birthdays, etc, etc. You catch the drift. Nevertheless I hope you are all well and haven't given up on me yet!
Well, where were we? Hmm, oh yeah, Zoro practically asks Nami out and Luffy interrupts…let's move forward then to the beach
First Impressions
Chapter 11
The raven haired female member of the infamous straw hat crew sat watching her team mates from the comfort of her deck chair. A chair that the blonde cook was kind enough to arrange, along with beach towels, sun cream, tables and drinks, a fine setting for all the females present. Yet she seemed to be the only one enjoying it at that moment.
Their lively captain, doctor, sniper, navigator, cook, swordsman and musician were playing a game of volley ball with Camie, Hachi and Princess Shirahoshi, with Franky acting as referee. They had split into two teams; Team Zoro and Team Luffy. Team Zoro consisted of Brook, Usopp, Hachi and Camie. Luffy's team included Sanji, Nami, Chopper and the mermaid princess.
Well you could call the sport they were playing volleyball, but it was the straw hat version of it. Sure there was a net and a ball, with the aim of reaching a touch down on the opponent's side, but when players started to become that little bit competitive you could guarantee there would be some trouble.
Robin smiled as she watched the commotion before her. Franky used his arm to shoot out balls to play with repeatedly. The first was hit too hard by Luffy and became a star on the horizon. The second was cut in half by Zoro who was scolded by the cook for using a weapon and not his hands. In retaliation Zoro aimed the next ball at the cook with accuracy. The speed in which the ball travelled caused Sanji to instinctively kick it away from his face, flattening it. "Humph, you were saying?" the swordsman teased with a grin, resulting in an aggravated cook.
Hachi's arms came in handy for Zoro's team and resulted in a number of points, that is until Nami managed to kick Luffy into gear and force him to use Gatling gun to meet the octopus fair and square. Their points slowly began to match one another. Usopp managed to get a few successful shots in and jumped for joy, but was soon hit square on in the face and knocked out flat. Zoro stared at his team mate and met the brilliant smile of the red head as she stuck her tongue out in achievement. He gritted his teeth. One thing was for sure, he didn't like to lose.
It was definitely an entertaining match to say the least. The giant princess was scolded by her own captain for being too big and cried, to then be scolded for crying. Camie seemed to be a little scared at the speed the object flew at times and hid behind some of her team mates. Chopper ended up having to call time out at one point as Sanji started to have a nose bleed as he noticed the movement of the female's chests as they jumped and hit the ball. Brook managed to successfully score some points and somehow ended up with Nami's foot in his face when he tried to feign a stumble.
"Are they always so energetic?" The little star fish asked the archaeologist.
Robin smiled and looked at him, "Yes they are"
"You must never get bored" he said, almost to himself.
"It is always very entertaining to watch them" she agreed, turning her attention to them once more. Usopp and Hachi were pulling an irritated Zoro away from Sanji, their captain standing picking his nose as Nami scolded the pair and hit Luffy, protesting that he should control his team mates better.
"They make me feel exhausted just watching them" Pappagg spoke up with a sigh.
"Really? They make me feel alive" Robin replied. She did not see the expression on the little man's face as he glanced her way a little surprised by her statement.
They watched as the ball flew into the ocean and Chopper ran out to get it, sinking quickly. An irritated swordsman followed and dragged him back out of the sea, "When will you remember you can't swim?" he grumbled. His concern was valid considering it was not the first time Chopper tried to jump in the ocean to help out. He may have meant well but his actions just caused more trouble and twice the number of people to save.
"Let's have a swimming contest!" Luffy shouted out spontaneously.
"What about the game?" Zoro asked confused. Yet anyone who knew the captain would understand how he soon lost interest in something he was not winning.
"You can't swim either you idiot" Nami snapped at her captain.
"Um, why don't we build sand castles instead?" Camie asked, coming up with a relatively sensible idea.
Luffy didn't look 100% convinced.
"What will the prize be?" Franky asked.
"Umm I'm not sure"
"Ooh I know how about the winner gets a huge chunk of meat!" Luffy shouted.
"Moron, you are only thinking of yourself" Zoro snapped, "If anything it should be a keg of sake"
"Idiot, you are just as bad as he is" Nami chided. "It should be Beli off course" her eyes glistened.
And so their debate went on. Yet despite their differences their handy work came into fruition. Sanji made a model of a mermaid, although there were quite a large couple of mounds of sand in one area. Luffy made a poor attempt at a pirate ship. Chopper tried to do a tree. Camie succeeded in making a beautiful castle along with Nami. Usopp's was artistic and well designed, with a moat and everything, but when Luffy saw it he got jealous and 'accidentally' destroyed it in am obvious way, causing Usopp and him to argue. They were soon distracted though when Franky decided to show off with his robotic sized sand sculpture, gaining most of their attention.
"What are you doing?" Sanji asked the swordsman as he watched the musician.
"Yoohohoo, I'm buried alive" Brook sung as his head popped out of the ground. Sanji tutted and kicked sand over the idiots face before turning and tripping over his cane and landing head first in the navigators lap.
"Nami-san my sweet angel, to think you would care enough to help break my fall" he swooned as his eyes slowly opened and glanced upon her beautifully red hot radiant features. His admiring gaze was met abruptly with a punch to the head.
"Idiot serves you right" Zoro muttered from behind him, resulting in yet another small fight between the two of them.
Eventually the captain decided to give up on that game too, as he was also no good at it. Instead he ordered Sanji to make them some food, with the help of Hachi. One by one the group started to go their separate ways.
….
Robin looked up from the book in her hand as a shadow cast over her. She was met by the large figure of their shipwright who held a small umbrella in his hands. "You shouldn't read in direct sunlight" he said, making an excuse just to sit next to her. He planted the umbrella in the ground so it shaded them both.
"Thank you" she nodded with a smile, lifting her shades up and onto her forehead. She looked around them and noticed that Luffy, Chopper and Usopp had taken to paddling in the sea with their blow up rings again, along with the two mermaids. Luffy used the princess as a mode of transport at one point, and coaxed Nami into creating some bubbles to put over his head so he could breathe under the water again.
"Anything interesting?" Franky asked, nodding to the dark haired woman's book and breaking her concentration. He was trying to make small talk; she couldn't help but feel he was a little too cute when he was so considerate.
She lifted the book up and placed a marker on the page she was on. "It is about the tales of the late pirate king and all the places he supposedly visited on his way to triumph"
"Supposedly?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, it was clear he was actually listening and she respected him for it.
"Well they are tales by other people so I can't be certain how much of it is true" she explained.
"But some of it is true, right?"
"Well his journey to skypiea is not mentioned as no one seemed to believe the tale was true and have marked it as myth, but his visit to Fishman Island is definitely in these records."
Franky nodded in understanding, "It's nice to watch you read" he said, secretly admiring the look of concentration and intelligence she wore when stuck in a book. "I do wonder where you store all the knowledge though" he added, trying to show his admiration in his own way.
"I guess I have a good memory" she replied with a hint of a nod.
There was silence for a moment and it felt a little awkward but yet more comfortable than usual too.
Franky took the opportunity to scan the woman sitting next to him. Like Nami she was in a bikini and her pale skin was on show for the world to see. Well she had more of a tan than the red head. Nami's hair colour meant she tended to burn faster than Robin. Looking at the bottle of lotion on the table next to them he couldn't help but have a sudden desire to fulfil a dream, "You know you should put some sunscreen on your skin. We wouldn't want your fair body to get burned" his hint was led by a huge mischievous grin. It was infectious.
"Hmm I guess you are right, would you mind?" she asked, returning his flirtatious look with a calm and collected grin of her own.
Franky whizzed out a bottle of sunscreen that he just happened to have lying around and placed a small dab into his large masculine hands. He started to rub it along her back and shoulders, she was surprisingly tense. He couldn't help but feel good about himself though as the knots in her shoulders slowly became loose. Robin picked up her book again and continued to read as he worked his magic. Although she did not make a sound in appreciation he knew she was enjoying it as her head tilted to one side and back again in response to his touch.
Slowly lowering his hands to the base of her back, she leant forward slightly to allow him some room. Her back arched a little like a cat rubbing its body against a wall. He soon realised that his sunscreen application had quickly turned into a back massage and he wondered if he should stop. Despite his reluctance to he didn't want to keep taking advantage of the situation and decided enough was enough.
"Aren't you missing something?" Robin's voice spoke up as he began to move away from her. She did not raise her head from her book and he could not tell what it was she was thinking at that time. He couldn't help but like that mysteriousness about her. He studied her for a second and noticed the subtle move of her body as she crossed her legs, her long silky soft legs.
Smiling to himself he sat down at the end of her chair and put more cream in his hands. Gently lifting one of her legs by the ankle he slowly began to massage the cream into her feet and up her calves, eventually reaching the length of her thigh. She may not have looked at him at that moment but he watched her like she was his prey. The small twinge in her leg muscles in response to his touch and the hint of pink rosiness in her cheeks as he slid his hands up her legs soon gave him confidence that she was enjoying what he was doing. Their gaze eventually caught one another and it seemed for a second as though the earth stood still. He towered over her and slowly leant in.
Pappagg had just about had enough, coughing hard he broke the sexual tension between the pair of straw hats and announced to them pretty loudly to "get a room".
"Why do you need a room?" Luffy asked, making an appearance with the other young members in tow.
The embarrassed expression of the star fish did not go un-noticed by Usopp but when he looked at Franky and Robin no one could have guessed the designers comment was aimed at them. Robin stuck her head in her book, returning her sunglasses to her nose and Franky looked a little hacked off.
…
In the meantime, as the others went to do their own thing after their games Zoro purposely held back and grabbed Nami by the wrist as she went to head back up the beach and join Robin for what he could only assume was an excuse to sun bathe.
Nami looked down at the hand that pulled her back and slowly looked up at its owner. His intense gaze made her energetic mood suddenly leave her body only to be replaced by a stomach full of nerves. When they were all playing games together it was easy to forget things and just get hooked on the moment, but when they were alone it was completely different and they both knew it.
"We need to talk Nami"
His voice was determined and a little harsh. She knew instantly what he was talking about and felt her knees wobble a little. Why the hell was she suddenly losing her nerve? When surrounded by their friends it came natural to her to flirt and shout and take control, but moments like this made her realise how weak she could be. She recalled their passionate kiss earlier that morning and how she had longed for more, longed for his touch and the sudden urge to pull him in close. Their recollections on the events of Thriller bark brought it to her mind how important he was to her. How important they all were. The realisation scared her a little. She didn't want to lose the friendship they had, yet she knew they had already started to cross a barrier. The question now was, do they continue to cross it and risk everything or do they pretend like nothing happened.
Zoro's grip tightened around her wrist as frustration at her hesitance and silence threatened to consume him. What the hell was wrong with her? Isn't this what she wanted? When she had kissed him back the night before and made a move on him that morning he had been hopeful and pretty certain she wanted this as much as he did, but her attitude now made him worry. He gritted his teeth when her eyes met his and immediately lowered, avoiding him. He let go of her arm, his heart wrenching in his throat.
The loss of his touch almost snapped Nami out of her daze as he brushed past her and continued to walk away. Don't go! She screamed in her head, reaching out to him and retracting her hand. She realised he has misread her and that if she didn't act there and then it could be ruined for good. After all, Zoro wasn't the type to give second chances.
"I'm scared!" she spoke up, forcing the words out in what sounded like a plea. He stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. She bit her bottom lip, "I…us…what if…the others…" It was no good; she couldn't get the words out. She screamed at herself for being so weak around him, so unable to put her heart on her sleeve at that very moment.
"Do you think I don't understand?" his voice caught her off guard. She half expected him to keep walking but he turned around to face her. "I feel the same way…this is a first for me to you know, and god knows how the others would react." He frowned at the thought of Sanji down his throat all the time, more than usual. "But I am willing to risk it all and take my time to get to know you better…seriously Nami, sometimes you need to just leave things to luck". A small cocky grin spread across his face and knocked any doubts from her mind.
"I think I prefer science and reason to luck" she teased, growing her composure once more. She stepped around him and paused as she reached his side. She looked up the beach and noticed the closeness of the cyborg with her close female companion as Zoro glanced down at their Captain being rescued by Usopp and prevented from drowning. "We will be heading out later on the Sunny once it is ready to set sail. After that we won't have a lot of free time for a while." She paused to judge his reaction, he stayed still, with arms crossed and clearly concentrating. She turned and tilted her head to one side as she whispered in his ear, "Meet me in Mini Merry's docking station at midnight and I will give you my answer." She placed a hand ln his arm and felt him go stiff, "even better, I will show you".
Grinning wildly she turned and walked away from him. Zoro's heart beat fast in his chest and unknown to him his ears went pink and a small blush appeared on his face. His negative thoughts were now full of a sudden excitement far different to the feeling he had before a battle. For the first time in a long time the great pirate hunter became nervous.
"Oh and Zoro?"
He turned to meet the smiling figure of the woman looking down at him.
"Don't be late" she teased. He felt irritation replace his excitement.
….
A/N: Well it is a shorter chapter than usual but hopefully it will be enough to suffice for now. Please forgive me for any errors as I am tired and can't be bothered to check this more than once!
I am sorry for being such a bad author and holding a stick in front of you all, dangling the treat at one end. Please forgive me and review. ;)
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