The one On Nami's list - Part 2

Along his way back to the ship, Zoro had conjured up some rather creative ways to make Usopp pay for what he had done to him in the store. However, being entirely preoccupied in murderous thoughts, the swordsman was not prepared for the armful of Luffy he got upon boarding the Thousand Sunny.

Apparently their childish captain had been trying out some sort of slingshot device all day (with his own rubbery body of course) and Zoro's return had just made the perfect target. With a jovial howl, the rubber boy landed on his first mate, nearly knocking the wind out of him as they both fell sprawled on the lawn deck in a tangled mess.

"Oh my." From the lawn chair area Robin's amused voice sang.

Zoro, with his back pressed against the grassy surface at the moment , felt the temperature in his cheeks rise sharply as he realized in horror what damage Luffy had done to his...dignity.

They fell. Out of his haramaki; scattered on the lawn deck.

Oh the luck of his.

He was busy contemplating whether to kill his captain or Usopp (or himself) first when Luffy bounced back on his feet, his eyes widening in wonderment: "What are these, Zoro?"

"Interesting..."Robin breathed.

"Are they snacks?" Luffy could barely contain his excitement and was already drooling a river from his mouth, "This one says overnight...hmm, I do get hungry at night - oh what is this?!" His hand grabbed a smaller pink pack as he tossed the bigger one over his shoulder," For lunch time? " He took a guess which earned a soft chuckle from Robin:

"I wouldn't recommend having that for lunch, Captain."

It was the archaeologist's voice that urged Zoro into action. He sprung up and snatched the item from Luffy's hand right before the boy tore open the package. "Give it back, you idiot!"

After hurriedly gathering his purchase and restocking them back into his haramaki, Zoro sent an unfriendly glare to the older woman's direction. "I'd like to speak to your roommate -in private." He stressed the last two words - cuz you know, it's Robin.

"She should be resting in her bed now. She's not feeling well." Robin informed him, a mischievous glint flashing in her blue eyes as she added, "Good luck~"

Well that ship's sailed, ain't it? Zoro snorted at the unhelpful wish before turning on his heels. Ignoring Luffy's whiny complaint to Robin about what a bad nakama he was for not wanting to "share his snacks", the swordsman made a bee line for the women's cabin.

He just wanted to get this over with.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Okay, just get in there, give her the stuff and get out. Simple as that. Zoro encouraged himself inwardly before opening the door.

The girls' bedroom was nothing like their unsavory man cave . Zoro was no expert but he could definitely detect the subtle citrus scent in the air. There was a duvet-covered, Nami-shaped bulge on one of the beds. He gingerly approached the nightstand on its side, ready to unload his haramaki.

He managed to get the job done as soundlessly as he could. Conversation (or even eye contact, in his case) was really unnecessary in situations like this. He was actually pleased with the fact that Nami was asleep which allowed him to spare the awkwardness.

However, just as he was about to leave the room, a feeble whimper stopped him in his track.

Damn. Zoro cursed inwardly. He thought she was asleep. Why can't she be asleep?

Letting out a small sigh he turned around. A curt "Oi" was his attempt to address his presence.

The duvet bulge moved with another whimper and the top of her orange head popped out of the fabric. Then her disheveled long wavy locks, and finally - her pale face.

"Zoro?" the navigator seemed a little surprised to see him.

The swordsman frowned. Was she...crying? From where he stood, her eyes definitely looked redder than usual, and her voice sounded a bit cracking.

"Are you okay, woman?"

"Uh - huh." She gave a quick answer, biting on her bottom lip. Zoro's frown deepened. She didn't look okay.

"You don't look okay."

There he said it.

"It's...it's just..." her lips quivered as tears began to gather in her bloodshot brown eyes. "...Beth is dying!"

"...HA?!"

Zoro wasn't expecting this. At all. What was she talking about? And - Who the hell is Beth?!

He stared at her blankly. She sniffled loudly in an effort to repress the tears, and rubbed a hand over her face before gesturing to a book halfway tucked under her pillowcase.

Zoro's eyes followed her movement and read the spine of the book: Little Women

His confusion didn't lessen a bit. Little women? Was it some sort of sci-fi novel in which women were of smaller sizes?

No it couldn't be. It would be absurd to cry over something like that - even for Nami.

"Ano.." He took a step closer to her bed, his hand scratching the back of his green head as he attempted some sort of consolation," This Beth person...is she famous?"

"No...No~she's not~!" Now she was basically weeping. "She never got the acknowledgement she deserved for what she's done for her family...and now she's dying~~!" her voice even sounded a little angry by the end.

Zoro felt helpless. Thanks to the over-sharing lady from the store he knew some tummy aches were to be expected but how come she forgot to mention mood swings? Now one of his female comrades was crying over the upcoming death of some made-up character from a book and he had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation.

It was all that list's fault. Damn that stupid list, and this stupid book, and whatever stupid thing that was responsible for her current overly sentimental behavior - oh right,hormones. Damn those stupid hormones.

A weepy whiny Nami was the worst kind of Nami. He'd rather she yell, or hit. At least he'd know how to react.

"She's such a good kid...so pure and angelic..." still drowning in her sorrowfulness,Nami bit back another sob, " Why'd all the good things have to come to an end..."

Zoro had considered leaving - honestly for a dozen times since he had stepped in the room. Pep-talk wasn't exactly his strong suit and he would gladly let the cook take over the task if it were some other time-but not now.

Not after she said something like "Why'd all the good things have to come to an end".

With another defeated sigh the swordsman found himself a not-entirely-inappropriate spot on her bed and sat down. Ignoring her incredulous stare, he said: "It's not always like that."

"...huh?" now it was Nami's turn to be confused.

"When you said all good things would come to an end, ya know...it's not always like that. It doesn't have to be." He managed to pull a poker face as he elaborated, " Like...we've known each other for quite a while now. And...we get along...sorta. I don't know about you but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not going anywhere."

His words were met with wide-eyed silence. If her cheeks seemed a little redder than before it must be his imagination.

"We...as in 'you and I'?" She raised a tentative eyebrow.

"No, we as in 'all of us'." His answer came a little too quickly.

"Oh." She said, releasing a small sigh - whether it was out of relief or disappointment he wouldn't dare to ask.

"Anyway," He cleared his throat: " I'm not saying what we have going on is...good. But...it's not ...all bad, right?"

"It's not." She agreed cutting him off. Her lips curved up into a soft smile as she reached out a hand to touch his across the sheets, "It's not bad at all, Zoro. Even with you."

"...good." It took him a little longer than he'd thought to retreat his hand. But he did. Standing up, he cautiously averted her eyes. "So, your ...uh 'lady stuff' is on the nightstand. I'm outta here."

"WHAT?!" With a sharp intake of breath, Nami's smile abruptly turned into a scowl. "I'm going to kill Usopp..." She whispered murderously.

"Not if I kill him first." Zoro didn't have to look to know that Nami must be super red-faced now. Well she had a good reason to be and he sure shared her embarrassment. Giving a slight shrug to disguise his self-consciousness, he turned to exit the door. He was glad that he had survived yet another awkward moment with the navigator until her voice rang from behind -

"Wait, Zoro, would you be a dear and go tell Sanji-kun to make me a cup of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows? The cramp's killing me!"

"Why would I? " He retorted instinctively without looking over his shoulder.

"Well, you know, to keep the good things coming - as you promised."

The teasing tone in her voice was not lost to the swordsman's ears. Damn, he knew he sucked at pep-talks.

Closing the door behind him, he carefully pushed the little conversation he'd just had with the navigator to the back of his mind and put up a stoic face before heading to the kitchen - most likely, to inform a certain blonde to make the hot drink she wanted.

-The End-

Author's Note:

Well, I figured if my lovely hubby fmdevil can whip up something for White Day so can I. :)

Again this was a VERY belated update. Hope you still enjoy it.

R & R pwease? :3

Love,

Minami