It was so late in the night when Nami finally untangled herself from Sanji and his private storage of wine. She didn't know he had squirreled away so many bottles! She wondered how and where he managed to do so. How long had he been doing so? He even had a bottle from Cocoyashi village! Sanji explained he had a bottle from as many places as he could get whenever they got a new crew mate. He showed Nami a bottle from Alabasta, explaining he was open it again when the crew went back there to visit Vivi. Most of the bottles Sanji wouldn't let Nami drink because they were for that crew member. Nami would have felt bad for having so much of it, but Sanji kept offering it and it was REALLY good!
The barest traces of light almost made it through the windows when Nami heard a thump above the girl's cabin. She startled and tried to clear the sleep haze. There was no way she had gotten enough sleep to rid herself of the alcohol. Nami grabbed her ClimaTact and a jacket and stomped outside. She tried not to slam the door because Robin was still asleep.

'I'm going to smack Zoro over the head and electrocute him with his swords! I'm so sick of this early morning practice! He -' Nami paused and all anger left her when she got to the top and didn't see anyone. Her head tilted as she wandered farther toward the front of the ship. 'I know I heard something…' Did a fish jump up and hit the wall near her bed? No...Nami placed it actually on the deck. 'Luffy?'

Having wandered all the way to the stern, Nami barely spotted Luffy standing against part of the lion's "mane". She stood there for a few moments watching him. This was the stillest that Nami had ever seen Luffy for so long. It seemed like he was barely breathing. She wondered if he was asleep, but the hat brim was blocking his face. Nami slowly edged forward, not wanting to startle him. She got as close as possible without climbing onto the lion. "Luffy?"

Luffy turned and met her eyes before smiling. "Yo, Nami. Why are you up?"

Nami accepted help up and managed to balance on the lion. Nami regretted wearing heeled shoes as the space had a steep curve and with the motion of the ship, standing was tricky. The staff originally meant to be as a weapon quickly became a walking stick. "I heard a noise and thought Zoro was up."

"Naw. Zoro is up in the crow's nest."

Nami snorted. "Why am I not surprised?" Why she thought Luffy was going to say that Zoro was still asleep she didn't know. Name stared at the hint of sun and appreciated the colors for a bit before deciding that sitting wouldn't get her booted off the boat. "Why are YOU up Luffy? Breakfast isn't for a while and may be late today."

"Why's that?"

Nami resettled as Luffy plopped down. "Sanji-kun and I were up late having a few drinks."

"What?! I didn't know you guys were having a party! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because we weren't partying."

"Then why were you up late drinking?"

Nami broke her gaze from Luffy's and stared at the sunrise. Complicated explanations often got the best of Luffy, but she didn't want to rehash yesterday's emotional turmoil and possibly remind Luffy of Ace. "Sanji-kun and I were remembering Bellemere."

"Who's that?"

A hand slapped Nami's forehead with a sigh. "Why am I not surprised...?" She mumbled, mostly to herself. "Bellemere is my mother. Arlong killed her ten years ago. I heard you even visited her grave after you defeated Arlong!"

Luffy hummed for a minute, scratching his head. Finally, his head shook with resolution. "Nope. Don't remember."

'Again...why am I not surprised?'

"Is THAT why you left dinner with that alcohol last night?"

Nami gave Luffy a surprised look. "EH? You actually noticed that?!"

Luffy huffed and crossed his arms in annoyance. "Of course I did! I was gonna stop you, but you were crying and Brook went after you soon anyway."

"Eh?" Nami blinked; totally at a loss for words. "Crying? No...I don't remember that..."

Luffy leaned in and nodded. "Yes you were! I could tell! So, you were crying over your mom?"

Nami tried to answer, but only stuttering came out. How could he tell what was going on with her emotionally but he couldn't even remember much at Cocoyashi? Nami finally looked to the sunrise with a snort. Luffy was Luffy and trying to explain him or figure him out was impossible. His memory was really selective, but his instincts were often times amazing. It was that charisma and interaction that made everyone keep coming back to be around him.

"It's okay if you cry." Nami was shocked back to her surroundings when she noted Luffy's arm move. He tugged the brim of his hat down, hiding his eyes. "Ace kept telling me not to cry and now I hate crybabies, but...you can cry. I don't mind."

Nami could only smile softly. Her heart warmed at his words.

"Nami! You're MY friend!"

Nami paused and stared at the sun for a bit. "I don't mind either." She mumbled, face turning a little pink.

"Eh?"

At length, Nami met Luffy's gaze. "If YOU cry... It's okay. I don't mind." Luffy didn't say or do anything as Nami expected him to. Her eyes darted across his face, trying to gain insight to his poker face. She thought he would bat her off with his usual grin, but Luffy's mouth only tipped the barest of degrees before he stared at the sunrise.

Luffy was silent for an agonizingly long time. Nami lost view of his face with the hat brim covering his features again. Her eyes dipped when one of his hands rose and almost idly scratched the "X" scar on his chest. Nami watched for maybe a minute. "Luffy? Is your chest ok?"

As if caught doing something wrong, Luffy's hand jerked away and dropped to his lap as he grinned. "Yea...it just itches."

Nami blinked and stared at the scar. Luffy's actions had reddened it significantly and made it look a little worse. "Itches?" Maybe because of the cold? Perhaps of what she had said?

Nami didn't want to push the issue. She knew that her words had sunk in by Luffy's reaction and that he had taken them to heart. That was all she could do: offer her support and then wait for him to take her up on it. She surmised that Luffy probably wouldn't continue the issue. She sat on the lion's head with him for a while in total silence, save for the waves slapping against the ship. The chill finally got to Nami and she stood to get on warmer clothes. "I'm heading inside." Nami turned and stared at the deck. "Thanks Luffy."

"You're welcome." Nami went to step around the mane when Luffy's hand lightly snatched a pant leg.

"Thanks Nami." He mumbled.

Nami looked back to Luffy, but his gaze was facing the sun. She lightly untangled his fingers and ruffled his hat a bit. "You're welcome." She quietly echoed, heading to the deck.