~Chapter Twenty-Six~

"Just don't give up, I'm working it out. Please don't give in, I won't let you down. It messes me up, need a second to breathe. Just keep coming around… hey." ~Adam Lambert

When Nami leaned down to take her turn, he had enough sake in him to not immediately look away when the action pushed her breasts up. Fuzzy memories flashed through his mind and a slight blush stole over his face. Oh yeah. His recollections were definitely not lacking when it came to her rack.

She flickered her eyes up to his just as she jammed the stick forward to take the shot and his heart stopped, everything in the room narrowing down to that one heated glance. Fuck what Zoro said about starting it over from scratch. If she was gonna look at him like that, he couldn't not think about jumping her.

The clapping of balls drew his attention back to the game and suddenly, it was over. His jaw dropped as the bar erupted around them, Tikka and Nami whooping and hollering as he studied the table, confused about how the girls won. He wasn't even drunk!

"Fuck you, Zoro! You made us lose!" Luffy shouted at him.

"No way! The girls cheated!" Zoro retorted just as Tikka sauntered up to him and laid the hottest kiss Luffy had ever seen on the swordsman. Zoro looked stunned for a moment before he swept the hawkeyed female up and beelined for the door. It was painfully obvious they were about to find a dark corner somewhere.

Yuck. He switched his gaze back to the pool table, eyes darting back and forth when he heard Nami mutter something. He glanced up and his whole body tensed instantly, fire snapping through him.

Across the table, a beastly man had her pinned against the wood, caged by his arms. She was leaning back away from the guy, a disgusted expression on her face. Time slowed down. He watched as she shoved at the guy and brought her knee up to hit him where it hurt and then tried to duck around him. She spat "creep" in his face and still, the man leaned down and attempted to kiss her.

He didn't know what suddenly came over him, but his temper soared through the ceiling. He wasn't sure he could boil it down to one feeling; possessiveness, protectiveness, jealousy, he didn't know, but this guy was so going down for bothering her. Sanji's words echoed through his mind Nami is a damned QUEEN. You treat her with respect or I'll beat your face in.

He jumped over the pool table and reeled his shoulder back, decking the guy as hard as he could. The man went careening back off his feet, crashing into some tables before settling into the wall, leaving a decent dent in the building.

"What the…" Nami murmured in confusion.

Luffy was on his feet, using his body to block her from view, his chest heaving, his expression black as he tried to check whatever just came over him, "Don't TOUCH my Nami!" he growled, hands in fists by his sides.

The man, obviously drunk and limber, peeled himself out of the wall and sat up, "What're you gonna do about it, runt?" he chuckled, wiping his hand across his bleeding forehead.

"I'll kick your ass is what! Stay away from her, got it?" Luffy replied fiercely.

"I'll grind you into a pulp!" this guy didn't take a hint, but apparently, some of his buddies did because they came forward and grabbed the man's arms to keep him from coming after Luffy.

"Leave the Straw Hat alone," one of them said, "You don't wanna get involved with him, dude. Lay off his woman."

"Ya! Lay off my woman!" Luffy repeated after them as they dragged their buddy away.

She went stock still, and stared at the back of Luffy's head. He was declaring to a tavern full of people that she was his. It took her a full 30 seconds to react at all, she was so stunned. Then her heart started thumping in her chest, and even more butterflies went loose on her intestines.

Happiness soared in her, and she could barely believe it. A part of her was terrified to ruin their perfect friendship with a failed romance, but a greater part of her so desperately wanted to try anyways.

So to reward him for his chivalrous attitude, Nami tugged at his shirt until she'd stepped around him and traded places, essentially pinning him to the pool table now. She hesitated, a shy blush creeping up her features all of a sudden, but she muscled through it and walked one hand up his chest and around his neck to tug his head down while her other hand slid up under his shirt to splay over his taunt abs, sending a shiver of excitement through her.

Licking her lips, she stood on her toes a little and kissed him in a slow, smoldering kiss as her fingers curled against his stomach and her heart started running a marathon in her chest.

He was still thrumming from fury, his eyes watching as the beefy man was ushered out of the bar when Nami poked out from around him and successfully crowded him back against the pool table. His hands went behind him to brace against the lip of the wood as his brain made a serious effort to play catch up.

His body tensed as she leaned into him and walked her hand up his chest before curling around his neck. He knew only milliseconds before she was gonna do it that she was planning on laying a scorching kiss on him and the awareness of the action tingled through him. The whole tavern disappeared around them and it all came down to the flicker of her eyes to his mouth, her tongue darting out to smooth over her lips and then…

He must've met her in the middle somewhere as he leaned down to kiss her back, one hand coming up behind the small of her back to pull her into flush into him. It was gloriously satisfying… he forgot basic body functions like how to breathe when she nibbled at his lip and slipped her hand under his shirt to drag her nails over his stomach. It brought back vivid, startling memories of their one night stand and in that moment, he would not have been abject to taking her upstairs and having a repeat that he'd actually remember…

It was over as soon as it started and she gave him a saucy wink and sauntered away to join Robin and Chopper at the card table, leaving Luffy utterly paralyzed and limp against the wooden billiard table. The tavern erupted into wolf-whistles and cat-calls as the men congratulated him on "winning the girl" and "staking claim". A slow smile spread over his face, a goofy grin accompanied by a fierce flush. They had no idea how hard he worked for that one 15-second encounter.

"Next round's on me!" he hollered, pumping his fists into the air and the roar of approval was deafening. As everyone seemed focused on the bartender, he took that moment to slip out of the bar, feeling like the heat of the place was going to end him.

The cool night air was a relief on his fevered skin and he leaned against the side of the building in the alleyway. Zoro and Tikka – thankfully – were not in this particular one and he was alone. That stupid grin had yet to fade from his face as his mind kept replaying the shenanigans from a few seconds before. Nami kissed him. He could only assume that meant that she wasn't upset with him over his lack of memory anymore. Did that mean she was willing to give this fire between them a try too?

Too jittery to not act out, he did a crazy little fist pump dance, stamping his feet into the ground. Man! This was so awesome!

Nami couldn't help herself as she glanced over her shoulder to see the silly grin on Luffy's face before he announced that the nest round of drinks was on him. Her stomach did a funny flip to see that he was just as flushed and flustered as she was.

He turned towards the bar, and she quickly looked away lest she be caught oogling him. She was staring at her cards in her hand without seeing them when Robin chuckled, and suddenly a hand bloomed out of her wrist and waved in front of her face.

Nami blinked, looked up, and found Robin and Chopper staring at her with these sly, knowing stares. A hot blush flared over her cheeks and she looked down at her cards. "Whose turn is it?"

"Are you sure playing cards is what you want to do right now?" Chopper asked in a teasing voice, leaning on the table from where he was standing on the chair to be level with their eyes.

"Indeed, our captain is currently taking a breather outside of the tavern... if you hurry, you'll be able to catch him," Robin said smoothly, but her eyes had that same teasing glimmer to them as Chopper's had.

Nami's mouth popped open in surprise, and she was prepared to tell them that nothing was happening between her and Luffy – a knee-jerk reaction, one she'd been relying on for the past few weeks, but she snapped it closed.

She supposed there was no more denying it, especially since she'd laid that kiss on him in front of everyone.

So, squaring her shoulder in determination, Nami slapped her cards down on the table, said, "You both owe be ten beris for kicking your butts," then hurried for the door. Behind her, she could hear chuckles from Robin and Chopper.

The cool night air was a relief on her hot face. She glanced around, and couldn't see Luffy. Frowning slightly, she headed towards the side of the building, peeked around the corner, and found her captain doing a victory dance.

He stopped suddenly when he spotted her, his face dropping into a somewhat neutral expression. But he gave himself away by pursing his lips together and glancing away from her. She linked her fingers behind her back and leaned her shoulders against the wall, rocking forward on her heels.

He wondered if she saw him doing the victory dance. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain it. He'd been convinced for a couple of days there that they were never going to be on speaking terms ever again beyond the captain and the navigator. He was elated now that things were on their way back to normal.

"Will you walk me back to the ship? I don't want those guys giving me a hard time again." she asked and a slow grin spread over his face.

"Ya, I can do that," he told her pushing off the wall and approaching her. She looked so alluring standing there. Or maybe he was just super aware of her right now. He threw one arm out against the wall by her head, trapping her in the alley with his body and his other hand started for her hip but his gaze dropped to her bikini and was instantly attracted to the folly roger there, stitched white with a straw hat on the skull. His grin got even bigger and a small chuckle escaped him. He reached out to trace the design with the tip of his finger.

"I like this," he commented, a smile in his voice as well as his face, "Everyone knows your part of my crew," he tipped his head in and gave her a swift kiss on the cheek before stepping back from her and grabbing her hand to walk back with her to the ship.

"So, here's what I'm thinking," he started, swinging her arm gently, a physical outlet that betrayed his excitement, "When we get to Redgrove, this is how I'm gonna kick this Watcher guy's ass…"

A/N:

Final Thought from Luffy: YOSHA!

One Piece belongs to Shonen Jump and Eichiiro Oda. We thank them for their genius and giving us characters to torture. The script is ours.

Credits:

Luffy: Jesachi

Nami: Goldensomething

Sub-characters: Combined Effort

Copyright 2011-2013