Chapter 8:
Feeling the heat, Nami had stationed herself in the kitchen. With Sanji busy playing with the others, she helped herself to a cold glass of her favorite orange juice. She sat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter, she propped her head on her arm laying on the counter.
"What am I doing?" She thought "Zoro's right. If I don't get my head on straight and not control myself, I might as well be telling everyone I love Luffy." She let out a deep sigh, staring into the glass as she swirled the ice around slowly with her finger.
With the weather being so hot, Nami suddenly felt exhausted and slowly, with the sound of the ice clanking softly in the glass, she lulled herself to sleep.
*
Nami was standing by the railing of the Sunny along the lawn deck.
Her hair waving softly behind her as she savored the cool, fresh, ocean breeze that consistently and gently brushed past her.
The sky was a beautiful combination of shades of orange and yellow as the sun set on the horizon.
"It's so pretty, huh" a gentle voice said, as footsteps approached from behind her.
"Luffy"Nami said, turning her head to the raven-haired man, now standing beside her. His gaze fixed on the picturesque view of the sunset.
"Seeing this every day. I never get tired of it." He said softly "It signals the end of an adventure but at the same time it gives you a feeling of excitement and anticipation that a new one awaits." With the idea of a new adventure, Luffy's face lit up, his smile beaming.
Nami's eyes grew wide, the moment she saw that smile, she felt a wave of emotion envelope her, and she could only think of one thing.
In the brief moment of silence between them, Luffy turned his gaze towards her, the smile on his face slowly replaced by an expression of surprise as his eyes grew wide.
"I love you, Luffy." She said softly.
He kept his gaze on Nami's eyes as she slowly reached out, and gently cupped his cheek. She slowly inched closer to him until her lips gently met his.
*
Nami jolted awake. Her heart beating quick, and her breathing heavy, her face flushed red.
"A dream?" She thought, turning her head from side-to-side as she scanned her surroundings. "Ah, I fell asleep in the kitchen." she realized, the ice long gone on her now warm orange juice on the kitchen counter.
She paused for a moment to calm herself. Then slowly she remembered her dream. She lifted her fingers gently to her lips "It felt so real" she whispered.
After a few moments she smacked herself in the head, telling herself to pull it together.
"I think I'm going to go and continue drawing my maps" she decided, to get her mind off things. She stood up, gulped down the remnants of her orange juice, placing the now empty glass in the sink, and left the kitchen to go to her personal office space.
Back on the lawn deck, the others had already finished playing volleyball, and Usopp and Franky were putting away the net.
"Oi Luffy! What took you so long? Did you get me my cola?" Franky asked, as he rolled up the net.
Luffy had just come back from the kitchen to get some refreshments for the guys, his face flushed.
"Oi! Luffy! What's wrong? Your face is red" Franky prodded.
Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper turned their heads towards Luffy.
"You okay, Luffy?" Chopper asked.
"Y-yeah!" He answered, scratching the back of his head. Then all of a sudden he went quiet as if in deep thought.
"Hey guys." He said softly.
"Huh?" Said the other four simultaneously, waiting for him to continue.
"I think I just realized that my new favorite flavor is orange."
"HA!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON ABOUT, LUFFY!?" Sanji said, dumbfounded.
Only to be replied with Luffy's "Shishishishi~", while the rest just shrugged their shoulders at each other. Having no idea what their Captain was talking about.