Chapter 1: Crossing the Line
AN: So I found the Nissin noodle commercials called One Piece Hungry Days on youtube. Especially with the one that featured Nami because those of us that are Arlong fans, we finally had the chance to see what he looked like as a human. Seeing that made me want to finish an old story that I had started back in 2008 that was around Arlong and Nami as a couple. So the story takes place after Nami and her friends have all graduated High School and yes, Arlong in this story is his human version. As a human, he will be OOC from the Arlong we all know. Also, Belle-mere and FIsher Tiger are not dead so you will see them later on. Tiger will also have a human version. I do not own One Piece! That will always belong to Eiichiro Oda!
Today was the day! Today would be the day Nami told would finally tell the arrogant jerk she worked for, for the last two years that she was quitting. Arlong had it coming and she was determined to walk out that door with her head high. Since the day he hired her as a part-time dishwasher for Arlong Park, he had never respected her nor treated in a fairway. He had made her life a living hell never giving a damn when she even apologized for being late. Well no more! She was so done with him and his damn attitude.
Arlong Park, the name of the restaurant Arlong owned, wouldn't open until the evening which made it nice and quiet as well as creepy inside. Arlong's idea of decor reflected a part of his personality. Yes, it had the oceanic theme but what creeped Nami out was the different species of sharks. The replica heads were mounted at certain places along the walls. From the nightmarish great white to the long nose sawtooth, every one of them with jaws opens giving the ready to strike appearance along with a red sun that was painted on the underside of their mouths. For Nami, it was enough to give anyone nightmares.
From the dining room, it was past the kitchen to the rear entrance where Arlong's had his office. The office was 7'-5 x 6'-10 but it looked smaller with the desk in there. The desk was positioned so Arlong a good view of the back door and loading dock. Nothing or no one could get in or out without him knowing. She knew she had been seen cause of the slight movement of his eyes as he glanced up from the computer monitor to the clock that hung on the wall.
"You don't start until five o'clock," Arlong said in usual his nasty arrogant tone as he leaned back in the office chair his arms resting on the armrests. "Unless you're here from some other reason."
Arlong had long, black hair with a widow's peak reaching down to his shoulders under a brown ushanka. When Nami looked at him what came to her mind was a shark. From his angular jaw to his nose which was not as long as her friend Usopps was, but it was what he did that literally screamed a saw shark. Arlong had three nose rings piercings going down both sides and as if that wasn't enough, his teeth were filed down so they were pointed and sharp. His attire was composed of fashionable, light clothes that reflected his rich status as well as his background as a thug. He wore a short-sleeved, unbuttoned yellow cabana shirt decorated by many black lightning-like spots (the standard uniform for the food servers) over a white tank top though he usually wore a purple T-shirt. He wore Bermuda shorts that were green and a purple sash around the waist and simple sandals. A golden chain bracelet was around his left wrist and two golden bracelets around each ankle, with straw-like decorations hanging from them.
'You can do this, no backing down.' Nami thought as she took a small breath summoning the courage needed. "I quit," she said.
"What?!" Arlong's thin fierce light blue eyes were dark with anger. "What did you just say to me?"
"I said I quit!" Nami repeated.
"The hell you are! You are not walking out on me!"
Did he just seriously say that? Nami could not believe that he said something that outrageous. "Out on you?!Hello?! You are acting like this is a relationship which it isn't!"
It was a mistake on Arlong's part. A honest one, but he was too proud to admit that especially in front of Nami. "Well if it was," he said angrily. "Putting up with you wouldn't be worth the headache."
"Do you know what you are?" Nami said. "You are the biggest arrogant jerk I have ever met!"
Now Arlong was a hot head and Nami's insult just pissed him beyond anything. The chair he was sitting crashed on the floor as he came out of it so fast that he knocked it over as he slammed both hands down onto the desk that everything on it shook. "Arrogant jerk?! Who do the hell do you think you are talking to, Nami?!"
What he was expecting was to see the girl cower as usual bowing as she apologized for upsetting him only that wasn't happening. Nami did not cower she stood firm and unyielding and her warm chocolate brown eyes showed a fierce fire of pure defiance. This certainly was not the girl who he bullied and harassed for the last two years. Oh no, this was a young woman who had the damn guts and fire to actually challenge his authority and seeing this got Arlong's attention in one hell of a way. She boldly matched his intimidation act by slamming her hands down on the desk. What happened next was beyond was something neither would have done and who made the move first is still a mystery, but their little fierce argument turned into a kiss that Arlong did not want to end.
Her lips were so soft and so warm against his. The tenderness of that kiss sent shivers up and down Arlong's spine that it was pure bliss. Tenderly he cupped both hands around the girl's face bringing her closer kissing her with a sudden hungry desire. How long this went on neither one knew but it came to an end when Nami broke their kiss. "I'm sorry," she said just before she ran out.
Arlong reached down righting his chair and fell back into it looking at the ceiling. He was in deep shit. Hell, they both were. They had crossed a line and there was no going back, no do-over. It had happened. Really happened. He and Nami had kissed and he loved every second of it. No matter how he had enjoyed it, Arlong knew this could come back and bite him right in the ass. 'Damn it, I can lose everything,' he thought bitterly.
It was then his cell rang and glancing at the caller's ID, did Arlong sigh. "Big Brother, I really screwed up this time," he said the moment he answered.
"Arlong, what did you do and start at the beginning."
~~.~~.~~
When Nami arrived home she was thankful that neither her adoptive mother, Belle-mere or her adopted sister, Nojiko was there or they would see how upset she was. She hurried to her room, shutting the door and fell back onto the bed staring at the ceiling. She replayed everything that happened especially the one thing that never should have happened.
'What did I do?' she thought. 'I went there to tell that jerk that I quit and what did I do? I kissed Arlong! I kissed him and I enjoyed it'. Tears welled up as she felt ashamed of her actions.
Her cell phone which laid on the bed stand began to vibrated and she picked it up. She didn't recognize the number but there was an odd chance that one of her friends probably Luffy got a new cell, forgot to tell her and was calling.
"Hello?" she said.
"Nami."
The voice on the other end was the last person she thought would ever call and her eyes widen with shock and surprise. "A-arlong?"
"Don't hang up. Please.'' He sounded so different. As if he was a different person at that moment. "I want to talk."
"Talk?" Nami said. "There is nothing to-,"
"Nothing? You know that is not true," Arlong said. "What about us?"
"Us? Arlong, what happened was a mistake."
The silence that followed seemed like an eternity. "Do you believe that?" he asked her.
"What?"
"Can you honestly say that?"
"Y-yes," she said with slight hesitation.
"Prove it," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"You say it to me," Arlong said. "Tonight."
Nami heard the end call beep and all she could do was stare at her phone.
~~.~~.~~
Arlong laid his phone down on the desk and closed his eyes. 'I hope Big Brother is right about this,' he thought.
~~Flashback~~
"Big Brother, I really screwed up this," Arlong said the moment he answered the call.
"Arlong, what did you do and start at the beginning?"
"The girl that I have as a part-time dishwasher comes in here and has the nerve to me she is quitting," he said still slightly aggravated.
"I wonder why."
"Tiger, do you want me to continue or what?"
"Calm down Arlong," Tiger said. "So she tells you that she is leaving."
"Yeah and I tell her that is not happening. Well, we had an argument and...we kissed."
"Wait wait. You two kissed?"
Arlong groaned, "That is what I just said."
"So you kiss her or she kisses you?"
"Does it god damn matter? It doesn't matter if Nami kissed me or if I kissed her first," Arlong was losing his patience with his big brother. "What matters is I can get in serious trouble and if that happens, I will lose everything."
"Arlong, take a deep breath and relax."
"Relax?! You want me to relax? Have you been paying attention to what I've said at all?"
"She likes you."
"What?" Arlong was not sure he had just heard Tiger right. Nami liking him? No, his big brother had to be wrong. There was no way that girl liked him not on that level. "Nami...no, she doesn't like me."
"Are you sure?"
"She called me an arrogant jerk!"
Laughter erupted on the other end and Arlong glared at the cell phone held in his hand debating whether he should just hang up. No, he couldn't do that. No matter how mad Tiger made him at times, he could never hate him. Slowly the laughter died down. "I already like her," Tiger said with a good hearty chuckle. "She got you painted right on the money."
"You know you are a damn ass at times," Arlong grumbled. "Still I do not believe she likes in any way."
"Well that is your fault," Tiger said. "You always had problems when it comes to women."
Not my problem and why should I give care?"
"Right there, that attitude of yours. Arlong, I get you always had to be this tough guy when you were a kid growing up on the streets." Tiger's tone took a serious note. "You're not that scared kid anymore and maybe it's time you changed some or you're going to spend the rest of your life miserable and alone. You don't even speak to that half-sister of yours."
"Shyarly and I don't agree on certain things you know that," he said. "And you're trying to distract me as usual."
"How are you about this girl, Nami?"
"What?"
"You heard me, smart ass. How do you feel towards her?"
Arlong was silent as confusion clouded his thoughts at that moment. How Did he feel? He never cared about Nami and he treated her like she was nothing. Yet the moment he replayed that kiss, he felt strange. He felt a tingle like a small electric shock go through him as he pictured her clearly in his mind. The fire he saw in her eyes the way she looked at that moment. So defiant. So beautiful. He felt a tightening in his chest as his breath seemed to be caught in his throat. He realized right there and then that he had actual feelings for her, feelings that were so strange and alien to him. "I-," he found it hard to talk as the words seemed to be stuck.
"You're in love," Tiger said.
No that couldn't be right. There was no way he had fallen in love with a girl like her and yet he longed to taste her lips again. To touch her...NO! He quickly dismissed the untold fantasies and images that filled his head. This did not feel right to him. Yet it was there and he couldn't deny that very truth that he wanted to hide from. Big Brother was right. He had at that very moment fallen hard for the orange-haired beauty who dared to challenge him, called him an arrogant jerk and then to kiss with such tenderness that he hungered for it. "What should I do?"
"Talk to her." Tiger told him.
~~End Flashback~~
He opened his eyes looking at the clock which read four o'clock. 'An hour before she gets here.' Taking a few moments to gather his thoughts Arlong heard his staff coming in. Kuroobi and Chew being loud as usual.
"So did you even watch the game?"
"Dude, it was a snooze fest," Chew said. "Feel asleep like during the third inning."
"Of course you would!"
"Quiet out there," Arlong snapped feeling the need to get back to his old self. "I was enjoying the quiet until you two came in."
"Damn you're moody today," Kurrobi shot back before he stood in the doorway. "Just to give ya a heads up looks like we got a nice thunder boomer coming in. You want us to check on the generator?"
"You do your jobs," Arlong said getting up from the chair. "I'll make sure we're ready in case of anything. No way I'm losing any business if some stupid power outage happens."
"Looks like the boss man is determined to be the badass as usual," Chew said.
"And who has the bragging rights for being the best around here?" Arlong said with a smirk. "Now get your asses moving cause we will have customers soon."
~~.~~.~~
The storm hit just before Nami was even reached the door to Arlong Park and though she carried her umbrella she still got caught in a torrent of rain. It was the usual crowd of customers with a few new ones. 'That'll make Arlong happy.' she thought as she shook the raindrops off the umbrella.
"At least you're not running late. For once."
Nami did not dare look at Arlong though the remark was not as nasty as usual. It was better to avoid any eye contact for the moment and she just nodded. She just wanted to get the shift over with and then go home. "May I please go get my apron?"
Arlong had been standing just right that he had blocked her path and he moved aside so she could pass. "We're still going to have that little talk before you leave though," he whispered near her ear.
Nami said nothing but hurried to the kitchen as fast she could go. Arlong sighed mentally this was going to be a long and rough night for both of them. The storm that was raging outside had passed by just before the restaurant closed for the night and Nami planned to get out as fast as possible except that didn't go as she had hoped for. He was at the main entrance hands in the pockets of his shorts looking up at the night sky. What she found strange was that the man looked actually peaceful and calm before he looked in her direction. No getting away on this and he was making sure.
"Fine," she said bitterly pulling a chair out from the table near the door. "We'll talk."
"Why did you do it?" he asked.
Nami blinked as she stared at him. This was not Arlong she knew. No way this was him. "Do what?"
"The kiss," he said. "Why did you do it?"
She really didn't have an answer to that when she herself had no reason why she did it. Was it at that time a mere heat of the moment? They were arguing and then they were sharing that kiss. It was something so innocent that it should have never had happened. Nami held her head down staring at her folded hands that rested on her legs. "I don't have an answer."
"So you had no real reason did you?"
"No."
"So it was as you said, a mistake."
"Yes."
She gave a startled jump when she felt his fingers curl under her chin lifting her head up so she was staring into his face. "Say it," Arlong said. "Say it to my face that what happened was a mistake. Say it and I won't stop you from leaving."
She could do that and once she did, she could leave here for good. "It was a-," she wanted to say the word, but she couldn't. It wouldn't come out no matter how much she wanted to say, 'it was a mistake'. Why couldn't she say it? Why? Just say it! Say it and you're free of him! Tears of frustration well up in her eyes streaming down her face. "I-I can't! I can't say it!" She was ashamed of herself because that one moment had now cost her the one chance to be rid of him.
To see the girl like this. To see the tears flowing because she couldn't say it was enough to humble Arlong. The girl had done the impossible and she didn't even realize she had done it. What he was feeling was so frightening and confusing at the same time. His body was moving without him even realizing it as he brushes the tears away. He needed her. He truly needed her. Not to possess or own but to want her in a way he never believed possible. He had fallen in love with the girl. "No more tears," he said his tone gentle.
"I couldn't say it," she said with a sob.
"I know."
"I couldn't say it because...I enjoyed it."
Her confession floored him. She actually enjoyed it? "You what?" he said.
She looked at him and those beautiful brown eyes were full of shame. "I enjoyed kissing you," she said.
To hear her say it was music to his ears and he saw no reason to deny her something she enjoyed. "Nami," he asked. "Would you object if I wish to kiss you?"
"No."
He stood guiding her from the chair before he leaned forward to kiss her a passion that he never knew let alone believed existed. Yes, they crossed a line and they certainly had no desire to go back.
Well, Arlong and Nami have indeed crossed a serious line.