Nami waved goodbye to her mum outside the airport. Her bags were stationed just at her side. Once Bellemere was out of sight, she exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.
She could have driven herself of course, but there was nowhere in hell she was going to pay for parking for the duration of her trip. She rather grow wings and that in itself was impossible.
Most importantly, she made it first. Both she and Luffy had a plan and knowing Luffy, he was going to be late. That was namely one of the reasons she came as early as she did. Check-in was at 5:00 am. It was now 4:30.
People were going in and out and Nami sought out a bench she could sit on and wait. However, 5 seconds didn't pass till she saw Luffy's dad's car driving up to her. When Luffy and her eyes met, her heart skipped a beat and Nami briefly closed her eyes in hopes to remember her diary entry the night before word-for-word since she made sure to burn it in her memory once and for all.
She had to stone herself.
"Dear diary..." she began.
Dear Diary,It is the night before our trip; and the week though hard, was worth it. I am officially over my best friend. I am officially over Luffy. Honestly. Totally. Completely.With that said, things from now on will be different.1) No more excessive contact. Hugs should not last more than 5 seconds... scratch that- make that 10.2) No kissing.The sooner I bring myself to follow these rules, the sooner I can move on. This trip will be an exciting venture between friends- cause that is what Luffy and I are. We're friends. Nothing more. Nothing less.
"You made it here first, Nami? No fair!"
Nami stuck her tongue out at him and turned to greet Dragon. It had been so long and she was glad to see him. The feelings were mutual.
The car door slammed shut and Luffy nodded at his dad before the black jeep drove away leaving them alone.
Nami took some time to face him. Her lips pressed together to hold back a smile but the imaginary stitches were torn away and soon she was skinning teeth.
When she turned her eyes were immediately on his choice of luggage. He had only a duffle bag and a carry-on. She, in contrast, had two pieces of luggage that needed checking in and one carry-on.
"Is that... Is that all you packed?"
"Yeah."
"Can I see?"
"Sure," Luffy said. He was a little too excited for his own good. "My dad taught me how to fold my clothes super tight so they can take up less room. See?"
Sure enough, the clothing they shopped for were tightly wrapped and stacked surprisingly neat on top of each other. The small suitcase he had wheeled beside him was filled to the brim with snacks.
"Luffy..."
"What? If the plane crashes and we end up in the middle of nowhere, I'll have us covered."
"... How considerate."
Nami could not help but be sceptical. Her two large suitcases in comparison to his duffle bag had her questioning him like a certified criminal.
"How many pairs of pants did you pack?"
"Jeans. One long and one short."
"Two jeans for an entire week?"
"My dad said I don't have to wash them."
"...Right."
The third which was dark long trousers (which she picked out) was what he had on and Nami guessed that he can at least wear those to upcoming dinners. All should be well.
On close inspection, Luffy packed only half of the things they bought but his selections were some of her favourite pieces so she forgave him.
"Good job."
Luffy grinned proud of his ingenious packing skills.
"And shoes?"
She wondered if he had them under the many snacks but boy was she wrong.
"They're on my feet."
Luffy toes wiggled in his rope sandals. He wore those bad boys everywhere. Nami decided that those too were okay.
Luffy had questions of his own. More important ones.
"Did you pack snacks?"
Luffy eyed both suitcases in hunger. His expectations, however, were a tad too high.
"Yup. In my carry-on."
Nami presented her backpack full of granola bars and beef jerky- Luffy's favourite. She took one and handed it to him which was graciously accepted.
"In these," Nami patted both 360 wheeled cases with pride. "... contain 20 changes of clothing, 6 pairs of shoes, jewellery, books and- wanna see?"
At once, Luffy turned down her invitation and Nami rolled her eyes and took a bite of his offered beef jerky. She watched him take another bite after her and she felt super proud of herself for her lack of hesitation and the lack of heat that had the pesky habit of settling in her cheeks.
"You're so boring, Luffy..." Nami muttered and teased but Luffy thought nothing much of it. She really needed to upgrade her arsenal of insults.
Nami tried again.
"Baka," she said in a quiet voice and cringed at her originality.
She met his eyes as he crumpled the wrapper and pushed it in his pocket.
Nami blinked.
"Ne..." he said, "Aren't you cold?"
She donned a crop top and baggy pants. Didn't know much about airport fashion but the quick internet search she made stated that she had to at least be comfortable.
"Only a little.".
"You've never been to an airport before and although it isn't so bad at first, it gets super cold on the plane."
"Does it?"
"Yeah."
Nami left out the part she forgot her only jacket in her mum's backseat. She only remembered when Luffy brought it up.
"I'll lend you mine."
Nami perked up. If she had a tail, it would be wagging uncontrollably.
"You sure?"
"Mm."
The jacket was long-off and held out for her to dive in.
"If you insist."
Nami turned and filled her arms in the sleeves and turned around so Luffy could fit it well on her shoulders and zip it all the way up. His lingering warmth did wonders. No longer could the cold tease her of her carelessness. Luffy had her covered.
He, fortunately, had on a long sleeve shirt so she didn't have the luxury of feeling sorry for him. All this time she grinned to herself and failed to notice Luffy still standing close.
Seconds later, her face was pressed to his chest. He had her locked in a firm hold.
"Luffy?"
Nami lifted her arms to hug his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. Then she began her count down.
"We have to go check-in," she said but Luffy's response had Nami losing count and countenance altogether.
"I missed you," he said and chills she never felt before ran all over her in places she would never have imagined.
Nami said nothing. Her face darkened in happiness.
She missed him too. Ardently. Every thought before bed was of him and how she stoned herself to resist the urge to leap into his arms the moment she saw him after so long.
"It's only been a week, Luffy. We've gone longer than that."
"But we didn't call or anything."
"That's the whole idea of a break."
"I hate breaks."
"... Me too."
There was little chance for catching up. There were so many steps to checking in, Nami was just glad that neither of them forgot anything. Especially their passports.
Before the plane took flight and was moments before being in the air, Nami had a mini break down and grasped her armrest. When she said that she had never been on a plane before, she meant it. The whole process was strange and scary and half of her believed that they were going to someway, somehow fall right out of the sky.
Luffy calmed her down with a simple outstretch of his hand which she firmly grabbed hold. Without him there, she honestly did not know what she was going to do.
When she opened her eyes, she marvelled at the sight that met her outside the window. Luffy was to have the window seat but he gave it up just for her.
When the worst was over, Nami was convinced nothing bad could happen. Not when Luffy was here.
At length, Nami sensed something was wrong.
"You're quiet, Luffy."
She watched him flip through a magazine with this bored look on his face while he munched on the complimentary pretzels they got from the flight attendant.
The quiet was nice but not when with Luffy. Instead, weren't they supposed to be talking about their plans for when they land? Weren't they supposed to be catching up on the latest gossip since they last spoke?
Luffy was never this quiet unless something was bothering him, so she asked:
"Is everything okay, Luffy? You didn't forget anything, did you?"
The AC was blasting and Nami was glad for Luffy's jacket. Her hands, however, were freezing so she stuffed them in the jacket's front pocket.
"Are you cold?" she asked.
"I'm fine," was all that was said and Nami narrowed her eyes and stared.
"But not completely fine, right?"
Luffy nodded.
It was no surprise Nami knew. She was his best friend.
"Do you mind telling me?"
"I kind of do."
"Luffy..."
"Fine..."
"Well?"
"You didn't say you missed me back."
To that, Nami didn't say anything for a moment too long and Luffy turned dejected to face her. Her silence spoke volumes and it killed Luffy inside in more ways than one.
"Of course I missed you."
"Liar."
The accusation was taken in understanding. If only he knew how badly she struggled to sleep last night. (The only reason, it wasn't so obvious was because of concealer and 2 large cups of coffee.)
Nami missed him but the problem was that she missed him too much and didn't want it to show.
She was happy to be with him again. So happy she could cry tears of joy. She felt the tears begin to well up but she fanned them away. She was not going to cry. Not in this chapter (A/N: Thank God).
Nami discovered only then how much she had spoiled him and honestly, she had no intentions of stopping.
"So I'm a liar to you now, Luffy?"
Luffy nodded without hesitation and threw words back in her face.
"A big fat liar."
He had emphasized the word 'fat' and Nami was offended.
During their break, she had turned to sweets and cake. May have gained a pound or two but that was supposed to be her secret. Being called fat was unforgivable.
She pinched and tugged at his cheek.
"Take that back."
"Ow. No."
Nami dropped the assault and gave up.
"Geez," she said. She didn't have the energy for a round of childish banter. All she had for energy was caffeine and adrenaline and those wells were imminently running dry.
"If you really missed me, you would..."
He took care to choose his next words wisely but ended up saying nothing at all, turning away with a huff and a tight fold of arms.
"I would what, Luffy?"
"Nothing."
This time, Nami huffed along with him. Eventually, Luffy's stubbornness won her over. She removed the armrest that separated them and extended her arms over his shoulders and pulled him in for a bone-crushing hug. What transpired next melted his stiff shoulders and Nami could only laugh at herself because she should have known. The one on the cheek would have sufficed but she wanted to spoil him and gave him three.
Luffy was released more than 10 seconds later (30) and Nami stared at his chest.
"You don't get to say whether I missed you or not," she said, "That is for me to decide. With that being said- I missed you."
"How much?"
Nami glanced at her greedy friend and scoffed.
"A lot much. Like how a desert misses rain."
Luffy gulped and couldn't take his eyes off her. Not that her words weirded him out. What she said, filled him with worlds of happiness. He was glad he was not dreaming.
"That much huh?" 'Shishishishi'
He slowly got close and kissed her between the brows. Nami's eyes fluttered closed and she cheesed hard. As if her life depended on it.
In the end, she leaned on his shoulder, looped their arms and stifled a yawn. Her lack of sleep was catching up to her like a speeding bullet.
"I thought you didn't like being kissed anymore."
"Nonsense. I love kisses."
"And mine?"
It was obvious by now that someone wanted their ego stroked and Nami complied without reservation.
"Especially yours."
Luffy hummed with merriment. Then he tried once again to see how much he could milk her as if she hadn't given him more than enough.
"Like how a desert loves rain?"
What he got was a playful hit on his arm. He but laughed.
She, however, did not admit it. She did miss everything about him; his smiles, his smell, his laughter, his kisses, his touch...
Like how a desert misses rain.
To be continued...
Author's note
Here I was thinking I was being original till I found that the saying "I miss you like the desert misses rain," is a thing and I feel like a plagiarizing con artist.I, of course, tried to think of ways to change it but since Luffy is a simpleton (and I didn't want to spend a couple of days on a chapter that has already been written), I decided to have it stay.Of course, a desert without constant rainfall wouldn't make it a desert but little rainfall I know is gladly welcome even though most of the plants and animals have adapted so well without it. So don't come for me because of technicalities.
Thank you and thanks for reading. All the best for the coming new year.