A/N: I do not apologize for the bad language. They're pirates and I have a potty mouth, so it feels the most natural to me :) Also, reviewer welitchiaaaaaa rightfully called me out for ignoring that Law was still with the Mugiwaras on the Going Luffy, so I updated it to fix this. Thank you!
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At dinner, Zoro catches Nami pulling at her dress and rubbing her wrists. She barely touches her food, and while yes, he agrees it's nowhere near their cook's caliber, it's not bad. They're all spent after the events on Dressrosa, but she should be joining in the festive atmosphere. Indeed, her mood grows worse as the night starts to settle in, and Chopper isn't here to shake her from her thoughts. Robin's too gloomy and straightforward, Usopp's too afraid of her, Luffy's too distracted… Franky might be some help, but Zoro is already resigning himself to stepping in. Well, he'll only do it his way or he won't bother, although he has a feeling she'll take to it pretty readily. He spies the Heart Pirates captain watching her throughout the meal, but the looks aren't hostile and they aren't particularly heated… Well, he's not part of their crew, alliance or not, so it's not his business.
When Nami doesn't attempt to wheedle Nose-ring out of whatever treasure might be on his ship after he shows them his wall of Stawhats, Zoro stops holding out for her despondency to pass on its own.
He grabs a wrist and drags her from the room. "I've had enough of this."
Nami tries to dig her heels in and rip her arm away, but her crewmate doesn't budge. "Excuse you, let go of me!" A grunt is her only response from the swordsman as Zoro marches them both around the ship, finding his way to the training room by sense of smell only - following the scent of sweat and blood, naturally, although the latter is faint. (The ship may be a quasi-replica of the Merry but that wouldn't help him anyway). Luffy whoops and follows after them, Usopp hot on his heels, while Robin's eyes glow brightly with amusement. From his seat on the couch on the deck, Law's eyes follow the crew, clearly debating whether to supervise the ruckus or enjoy his time Strawhat-free. In the end, he's too curious about what's going on with Nami to stay put.
Zoro leads her (and the rest of the circus) through a door, finally releases his grip, and quietly assesses the room. She doesn't wait to let him know she's unimpressed.
"What are we doing here?" She asks, not losing her footing when Luffy crashes into her from behind and pushes him away with little more than a huff. The room also serves as a storage room and the canon deck, as it did on the Merry, but it's more spacious.
Zoro lifts the seats of some benches set against a wall, rummaging through their contents. "You're more tense than Chopper seeing blood."
Nami's face lights up a blazing red, the heat of which makes Luffy and Usopp back away. Law is glad to be at the far side of the group. She opens her mouth-wider than humanly possible, with teeth grown into demon fangs-when she has to throw her hands up to catch a wooden practice sword instead. She blinks. That's right, her climatact is on the Sunny.
"I'll give you ten minutes to hit me," Zoro says, holding his own practice sword in front of him, feet set squarely to anchor him. Usopp gasps and Luffy guffaws, moving to get his own sword and join in.
Zoro shakes his head. "Not right now, Luffy."
"Zoro, what the hell? That's not fair!"
Nami considers the offer while Zoro bickers with their captain. She doesn't like the feel of the sword as much as a staff, but it's better than nothing since the idea of pounding away her anger and frustration (and that old helplessness that turns her insides to acid and clogs up her throat) is so appealing. She grins, letting her emotions unfurl and suffuse her body; this might be fun.
With a shout she charges at both Luffy and Zoro. Unfortunately, by this time Zoro has his hands smushed against Luffy's face, trying to hold him back, while Luffy has his arms stretched out and behind the swordsman to get at the bench where the practice swords are held. Nami whacks them both in one tenacious swing.
From the floor, Luffy glares his full petulant-child scowl. "NAMI!" Zoro just shakes his head and smirks, standing at the ready once more to face his restless crewmate. Nami needs no further invitation. Roaring once more, she brings the wooden sword down on Zoro with both hands, a mixture of form and passion, and they dance around the room, Zoro defending as Nami attacks. Law does everyone a favor and uses his Room to get Luffy out of the way.
Zoro watches her face, brown eyes narrowed and chin held high, and he wonders who she's fighting. Sweat quickly gathers at the edges of her hair and down her neck, but she's too absorbed to more than flick it out of her eyes. Her hits reverberate through his weapon and he is quietly impressed by her strength and the adept way she moves with the sword. She has little technique but a good sense for the fight and how to move, most likely from her years of experience with the staff. She clearly likes to keep her distance but he doesn't press her.
For her part, Nami has given herself over to the fever of battle. She thinks of Doflamingo's taunting words, his pointed questions about Arlong, bringing up her past in a situation all too similar to it. And then having the nerve to say he wouldn't be like Arlong, while actively comparing himself to the fishman. Nami snorts, flicking her wrists for a cross body upper swing, nearly catching Zoro's hip (not that either of them really notice). She feels her body heating up, her movements instinctual as her mind works faster, teasing out the knots of her encounter with the warlord.
Give her a Devil Fruit? When did she ask for that? Her teeth clench and her next few hits make her arms ache up to her shoulders. Zoro opens his mouth to say something but she kicks him low at the knee to shut him up.
Hell will freeze over - no, Luffy will swim in the ocean - before she ever uses her talents for someone else again. She imagines who she'd be if Doflamingo had his way as her body elbows Zoro in the chest to gain some distance when she'd moved in too close. An impeccably dressed, sexy as fuck woman who takes no shit, that's for sure, but not someone who smiles. Not someone who has the power to help others or fulfill her own dream. She's been that person before. That closed off, miserable person working under the thumb of a tyrant.
Okay, Doflamingo isn't Arlong (and he certainly desires her for more than her weather and map-making skills) but it all boils down to the same thing: not being free. Luffy gave her freedom. Luffy gave her space and safety to open her heart, to explore who she is, who she could have been if Bellmere had lived to raise her with love.
She can't go back. Thwack-lunge-cross-thwack! No amount of gold or treasure could lure her. Her feet shift in small, nimble steps as her body looks for the best way to inflict damage on her opponent. Her chest and her limbs swell with rage and sorrow for the girl she used to be. Resentment and righteousness flood her veins to think that anyone would have the audacity to try to steal her freedom or decide her future.
She'll never live like that again.
With a crack and an abrupt release of tension, her practice sword breaks against Zoro's. Usopp screams and Luffy giggles from where Law has a hand clamped on the back of his shirt, but Zoro is smiling wider than she's seen in years. She takes a moment for her gasping breaths to slow before grinning back. Robin and Franky clap from the doorway and, behind them, Bartolomeo pants and squeals his excitement and awe to witness the Strawhats goofing off in real life.
Nami shakes out her arms, enjoying the hard pulse of her blood through her body. She'll never admit it, but Zoro had the right idea. Hmm, maybe she'll take a little off his interest in appreciation.
She stretches her arms high over her head, her muscles warm from head to toe, and throws her head forward. Zoro jolts as if to catch her, but she simply scoops up her hair, then rights herself and ties a ponytail.
After another deep breath, she sighs, swiping away sweat from her face and under her chin. She goes to smooth her clothes and frowns. Everyone seems to watch in slow motion as she reaches behind her, pulls down the zipper of her dress, and begins to peel her arms out of the sleeves.
"Nami, what the fuck are you doing?" Zoro shouts, jumping between her and the door with his face as red as if it were cooked. He tries to cover her without touching, his hands held in front of him stretched out in the air, with his face turned away. In a blink, she stands there in nothing but panties, her dress a sweaty pool of fabric on the floor.
With one hand on her hip and no attempt made to conceal her bare chest, she stretches out her other arm. "Zoro, give me your shirt."
Zoro has his eye squeezed shut and his face still cast to the side. "What? Just put your damn clothes back on, you crazy woman!" Law cranes his neck to look around the swordsman, but Robin blooms some arms from his shoulders to pull back his head. "I don't think so, Law-kun," she whispers from a disembodied mouth.
Nami steps up to Zoro and starts to unbutton his shirt herself, which immediately prompts him to smack her hands away and stumble to the floor in his haste to put distance between himself and his naked nakama. Fuck him if he accidentally touches something he doesn't mean to! He feels himself nearly faint at the thought.
Nami stomps her foot as Zoro scrambles to his feet. "Zoro! Now!"
"Okay, okay! Fuck!"
Zoro unbuttons his shirt-see, this is why he doesn't dress up, a shirt doesn't need all these fucking buttons!-and rips it off in record time, thrusting it out behind him to give it to the navigator. He misses the affectionate gaze in her eyes when she collects the article. His modesty is one of her favorite traits; it's so endearing (and easy to tease).
Nami fishes the end of her ponytail out from the collar of the dress shirt after buttoning it up. She smirks at Zoro and steps close to him again, patting his shoulder and, she can't help herself, giving him a peck on his cheek.
"Thanks Zoro," she says as he opens his eye and turns to look at her. "For everything."
She walks out of the room, past a collapsed Usopp and Bartolomeo each in a small pool of blood from their noses, Luffy with his jaw still stretched to the floor, and Robin and Franky cackling and wiping tears from their eyes. By this time, Robin has relinquished Law, who is still holding onto Luffy's shirt but said captain can't look away from the navigator even if Corazon himself were to appear. The shirt falls mid-thigh, exposing long, shapely legs, and he knows there's only panties beneath that thin layer of cotton. She's even wearing heels. New fantasy unlocked.
"Nami, what about this thing?" Zoro points to her discarded garment and ruins the moment in Law's head as he's reminded there are other people around and he should probably not get too excited.
Nami glowers at it. "Toss it overboard, burn it, I don't care."
Zoro glares at her this time and grumbles as he picks up the dress and balls it up. "Always making me deal with her shit."
On deck, Nami smiles. Until she steps in gum, that is.
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Hope you liked it : ) As I said one AO3, part of me wants to keep the ZoNa flowing and write a smut scene after this, but I'm not sure it'll happen. I have one more drabble/scene in mind and hopefully I can make it happen. Please review if you get a chance! Thank you for reading ❤❤