Author's Note: Not the most exciting chapter to come back to, but here it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, feedback of any kind is always welcome. Leave questions, concerns, or comments in a review, or even suggestions, if you have them! Any pairings you'd like to see? Situations you'd want to happen? Anything goes~

Chapter rating: T- implied nudity

Disclaimer: I have no claim to this beautiful world of pirates... only guilty of encouraging obsession a little.

Bath Time

Luffy may have been the captain, but it was Nami that ran the ship. And she ran a tight ship indeed. The bath was prepared in less time than it took Vivian to comprehend what was happening. Though, to be fair, the girl didn't exactly understand what it meant to be taken care of by the women of the StrawHat Pirates. She had no way of knowing how very… involved they were.

She watched the activity from her hiding spot at the corner of the deck, sitting curled up on the ground. Still… covered in her blanket. Nami, from what the femme understood, appeared to like bossing around the long-nosed one best. However, she took more gratification from pushing around the green-haired one. The crew dynamics were interesting to say the least. The navigator would have them all believe she was at the top of this funny little food chain, but she almost always deferred to Robin's quiet murmuring. The sun was slowly dragging its way into the sky, as if drowsy from its night away from the horizon. The ship was starting to bustle, but was still missing a few of its inhabitants. Sanji, Luffy, and Franky were nowhere to be seen, but the noises emanating from the kitchen hinted at what they might have been doing.

It wasn't long until Nami collected Vivian from her hiding place, ushering her into the bathing room, Robin shutting the door behind them. The humidity was almost stifling, the mist dancing through the air around them like charmed snakes. The orange-haired pirate watched the stranger-woman with curious eyes, seeing her wide eyes, her slackening grip. She grinned.

"Not bad, huh? Like our own personal paradise in the middle of the Grand Line."

Nami took pride in her crew's ship, and she often considered this room the crown jewel. The solemn nod Vivian offered as her answer was gratifying, Robin chuckling from the door. Vivian shyly let the flimsy shelter of her blanket slide to the floor, tiptoeing closer to the large bath as the women looked on. Nami took a deep breath, not sure she was capable of even imagining what this must have felt like for the former-slave. The very air itself was cleansing, and if Vivian's reverence was anything to go by, she hadn't seen something like this in ages. Her smile curled almost feloniously over her lips. She couldn't wait to get the girl clean.

She was at the edge of the tub, fingertips running through the hot water. Too hot, really, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. The touch of this liquid differed so greatly from the storm. It wasn't freezing, for one. But the very energy itself was… domestic. Welcoming. She forgot to jump when Nami clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you out of those clothes and reintroduce you to hair-care, okay?"

It was hard to read the range of expressions passing over Vivian's face. Longing. Hesitation. Mortification. And -very faintly- curiosity.

Both women turned their heads to the sound of Robin's footsteps, smile on her face. "I think she only likes you for your hair, Vivian-san."

"Not true! I'm just very enthusiastic about feminine hygiene, that's all. It's a shame to see a girl in such a sorry state." She didn't quite notice Vivian's wince, the girl shying away from her fingers. Robin was at her other side in an instant, long-fingered hands freezing her in place. The pads of the older woman's digits slid against her cheek briefly before going beyond, the tips of her nails moving against her skin. They split the dark mass of hair, traveling only a few inches before the tresses became too tangled to continue.

Vivian's eyes were wide, the girl appearing to be holding her breath under Robin's curious analysis. "See? This won't do at all!" Nami's voice seemed to break whatever spell the female pirate cast over the girl, Vivian blinking quickly, dropping her gaze and fiddling with her fingers.

The navigator took Vivian's non-aversion to Robin as permission to move forward and plunge her own fingers into the small femme's hair. Vivian sat there sheepishly as Nami huffed and tutted, pawing through the tangled masses, simply mourning the state of it all. She was cautiously optimistic as she worked her way down to the tattered ends. "I don't know… maybe it'll work itself out in the water? I'd hate to have to cut such pretty hair."

Robin hummed. "I agree."

"Me too, Nami-swan."

Vivian wasn't the only one who jumped at Sanji's interjection, Nami struggling to detangle herself from the girl's hair.

"Sanji! What do you think you are doing?"

The blonde head peeking from behind the bathroom door wore an expression that was the picture of innocence. Feigned innocence, mostly, but no ill-will. "Breakfast is ready, and I wanted you to know before those savages out there destroyed all the food I made for you." He smiled at the shivering Vivian, putting all his charm into the gesture. "Good-morning Vivian."

He looked extremely gratified when he received a small head nod back, even if the honey-coloured eyes kept their gaze fixed on the floor.

Before Nami's questing gaze could find something to grab and throw at the shameless cook, a loudly grumbling stomach and a blushing raven had a smiling Robin getting to her feet. "I'm coming, Sanji. I'll procure some food for us. It appears we're having breakfast in the bathhouse today."

"Could you swing by Chopper's room, too?" Nami placated herself by sifting through Vivian's hair again, the girl still frozen by Sanji's presence. "We're going to need more bandages."

The female agreed, ushering Sanji out as she went. Nami turned toward Vivian, grinning. "Alrighty then. Time to get you in the tub. There's a girl under all the dirt somewhere, I just know it."

The girl in question kept looking at the door, apparently distrusting its ability to stay closed. "Don't worry~ Sanji's gone and none of the other dumb men on this ship will bother us while we're in here. Robin'll be back soon. For now it's just us girls."

When Vivian didn't move, Nami cocked her head. "Did you need help with your bandages?" Her fingers moved forward to assist, but was surprised when the female flinched away. And here she thought the girl was only frightened of men. She frowned. Just what had those terrible people done to her on Sugar Town? She watched as Vivian misinterpreted her furrowed brow, scrambling to speak.

"I- um. No. I'm okay. Thank-you. It's just that, if you could maybe… turn around?"

Nami blinked, quite flummoxed by the request. Was she self-conscious? Or shy? She was unaccustomed to meeting resistance on this sort of front, though her bathing partners had consisted mostly of Robin and Vivi for the past couple years. Perhaps, as someone with confidence enough to flash sneaky male onlookers, she wouldn't be able to understand such aversion to eyes upon her body. So, with a shrug, she turned around. "Whatever you like."

With her back turned, of course, Vivian wouldn't be able to see the grin that passed over Nami's lips.

She hadn't been wearing much in the first place, and at the first sounds of splashing water, it didn't take much effort to wiggle out of her clothes and settling in the tub before Vivian had a chance to protest. In fact, she didn't seem like she completely comprehended what happened, slowly sinking further into the tub until the hot water lapped at her chin. "Wh- wha-?"

"Oh, relax. I'm just going to help with your hair. Plus, I haven't had a bath since that storm and you can bet your last beri I wanna wash every last bit of that island off me."

For a long, awkward while, Vivian simply stared at Nami as she pawed through her various soaps and scrubs, grabbing a couple and squirting them into a soft cloth. When Nami began her cleansing routine, she tried not to spook the now moving Vivian, the young woman scooting closer to the bottles that she had abandoned. When she expressed interest in one particular bottle, an orange one, the navigator was quiet with her interjection.

"That one make you smell like mikan trees. Not for your hair though. Use the red one when you're done with that. Or the blue one, if you prefer."

Vivian nodded, pulling it closer to her, although her eyes kept slipping back to Nami, timid expression in her eyes. It didn't take long for the orange-haired woman to notice. "What is it, Vivian?"

"Well… what does the red one smell like?"

lllllllllllllll-lllllllllllllll

Robin walked in unnoticed by the bathing girls, food-laden tray in one hand and medical bag in the other. Her eyes trailed along the line of discarded clothing, shaking her head at the two young girls. Their little guest was sitting against the far end on the bath, her back turned to the pirate woman she bathed with, Nami sitting a couple feet away, finger tangled with Vivian's long wet hair, chatting away.

"…and it took forever to grow out mine. At least this time you will smell like mikan. It is my favourite fruit. We have a couple on board, actually."

Robin smiled at the sound of Vivian's quiet, but calm response.

"Yes, I saw them last night. Sort of. And the grass. It's a beautiful ship."

"Franky would appreciate you praising Sunny."

Nami grinned at the archaeologist over her shoulder offering a "He certainly would," and immediately after she gave Vivian a, "Stay still or it'll re-tangle!" when the girl jerked at the appearance of Robin's voice.

"Sorry."

"It's good you came when you did, Robin. I'm starving."

"The other have eaten all the prepared food, but our chef-san saved us some fruit and the last of the pastries."

"Ooo~ pastries!" She freed her fingers from Vivian's hair, sliding over to the other side of the tub, plucking a couple slices of banana, though she eyed the strawberry tarts appreciatively.

"Help yourself, Vivian-san," Robin encouraged, seating herself on the still-dry bench as she sorted through the bag Chopper had given her.

Where Nami leaned easily against the tub edge, naked breasts barely kept modest by the trembling water, Vivian kept her body submerged, barely allowing for her bare shoulders to surface. She must have dunked her head under at some point because every single bit of her was teeming with water. Robin wasn't sure how they would manage to wring all of it from her hair.

Speaking of hair… "I've been working out the knots in her hair as best I can, but… I don't think I'll be able to save the last foot or so. It just far too matted to make any progress."

While the pirate women talked of scissors and styling, Vivian decimated the food tray. When Nami removed herself from the tub, Vivian averted her eyes, nibbling on her strawberry tart and looking reluctant to leave the sanctuary of warm water. They tried coaxing her out, but the girl refused, ensconcing herself in soapy water and washcloths. Leaving her for the moment, they robed Nami in bath towels and went off in search of supplies. When they returned, they found Vivian dozing against the side of the tub.

"Vivian, you're going to pass out if you're in there too long."

To her credit, the raven-haired girl didn't jump away until she looked up and saw Nami standing over her, smile on face and dagger in hand. She leapt away with such speed the navigator herself jumped a bit in surprise.

"Woah! Hey! It's alright!" She passed a hand over her face. "Jeez, Vivian you scared me. We found a pair of scissors but that mess on the back end of your hair is going to be too much work for them." She frowned, hands moving to her hips. "Honestly, did you think we'd clean you up and feed you just to do away with you in my beautiful bathroom?"

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, and only then did Nami notice the tears in the small female's eyes. She sighed. This girl was far much more work than she thought, though she couldn't fathom what she had been put through as a plaything of the tenryuubito. The only way they could convince her to allow the knife near her was allowing her to stay in the tub. The two pirates made a note of her obvious love of baths, happy at least one thing on this ship could keep her at ease.

Nami mourned the snarled mess of hair in her hands, holding it in place as Robin gingerly ran the sharp blade through it, preserving as much length as possible. When they finally put the knife down and picked up the scissors to neaten the ends, Vivian released the breath she had apparently been holding.

"Come now, Vivian-san. It's time to start the day."

"We promise to look away!" Nami added, smirking. "For real this time."

"Until you get decent, of course. But we still need to bandage your wounds. Doctors orders"

Robin held up a towel for the girl, and Vivian used its cover to covertly exit the tub, though her hesitance was still very much apparent.

Nami was apparently terrible at keeping promises.

"What happened to your shoulders?"

Vivian glanced over at her, tugging the towel up over the decorated flesh. "They're scars."

The navigator blinked.

"Are you sure?"

Word Count: 2255
Muse Source: Blood Gulch Blues- Trocadero

"It's red vs red and blue vs blue,
It's I and against I and me against you.
Violets are blue, roses are red,
Living like this, we were already dead."