Title- Patience
Author- kawaiichiisaikitsune (pirate-kiari)
Rating- T
Pairings- LuffyxNami, NojikoxOC (may be more later on)
Summary- 'Balls weren't really what everyone said them to be. At least, to this young girl they weren't.' A story about a royal family, a farmer boy, a series of balls/dances, and everything in between. AU, LuNa
No one said yes or no to the idea, so Kiari-san decided to go with it. She had an idea for part of it anyways, but not much. So sorry if it's short.
Disclaimer- No own. No own.
Patience
-Epilogue-
Monkey D Luffy raced through the village, following a sprinting green-haired prince. He had urged him that it was important that he come to the castle, saying that Nami wanted him immediately. That easily convinced him to rush.
The two of them reached the large building quickly enough, entering without regard toward the man who's job it was to open the doors. The child led the other toward a specific room where the orange-haired princess was standing just outside the doorway, waiting for them. "Luffy!" she cried when she noticed them, hurrying over to the scarred farmer.
"I'm here. What happened?" he asked, looking about him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong," she replied, taking his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers, enclosing the rest of his hand with her other and bringing them up to her chin. She was smiling. "The baby is finally coming. Nojiko is giving birth!"
Since the defeat of Arlong, around eight months had passed. The blue-haired queen's stomach grew with the growth of her child within and the whole castle was rather excited for the soon-to-be heir or heiress. Early that morning her "water" broke and the doctor was rushed to the castle as soon after she was starting to go into labor. Niwa and Nami's excitement just heightened at the news. Nojiko was in her sixth hour of labor when the princess decided she wanted the farmer with her and sent the prince off to fetch him.
"Come on!" Nami chimed, dragging the other into the room by his hand. They stood at one side of the bed the queen was laying on, the king standing by the other, saying encouraging words into her ear and gripping her hand as she huffed and puffed. The doctor was at the end of the bed at her feet, giving somewhat encouraging words of his own. A nurse was rushing about the room, seemingly getting things prepared.
A lot had happened within those eight months.
The artist frequently visited Luffy and vise versa throughout that time. They grew a stronger bond and got to better know and trust each other. Their friendship was probably one of the strongest in the country and true. It was only about two months ago did their actual romantic relationship begin, though it'd been growing ever since the beginning.
Nami sighed from exhaustion, sitting against the trunk of an orange tree and wiping her brow. Luffy was still running about the farm in the smoldering heat, finishing his countless chores that the other had tried to help him with. It was a kind offer from her, but not exactly something she could do, especially in such heat. She ended up actually making things slightly more difficult, but he didn't seem to mind in the least.
The princess wiped her grimy hands on her summer dress, not caring as the dirt merely smeared and stained the thin white material. Her shoes were missing and her hair was pulled back in two messy ponytails at either ear. She felt as though she was covered in mud, though only her hands and feet, and now dress, were dirty.
"Luffy," she whined exasperatedly, fanning herself with her hand. It didn't really help her cool down, though. "Can we go in now?"
"Nope," he answered simply, grinning. He walked over to the woman, basking her in his shadow, much to her pleasure. "Here," he handed her a round orange fruit with a broadening grin as she took the offered item with a returning smile.
"Thank you."
The scarred farmer returned to his chores as the artist watched him go, smiling lightly to herself. As she peeled the thick skin off the citrus fruit, she let her thoughts wander off on their own little tangents. Most involved the farmer with the straw hat and the cute little scar under his eye. She reminisced on how her skin would tingle delightfully every time he touched her and how her heart seemed to give an extra leap every time he was near or just in sight and how she could remember all the little things he did, like pucker his lips when he thought deeply about something or pick his nose when he wasn't interested in something.
Was that what love was like? When you liked a person enough that their good and bad aspects blurred and they all seemed to make them even more lovable? And even if they didn't blur, you wouldn't change any of their bad aspects anyways because it made them them? She wondered if that was it. If so, then she could honestly say that she was actually in love with one Monkey D Luffy. But one thing was bugging her. Did he still feel the same way towards her after all the time between his confession and her true realization? She wasn't sure.
Hours later found Nami sitting on the barn roof with the straw hat clad boy, watching as the sun was just beginning to set into the horizon. The sky was set in an array of rainbow colors as the giant star slowly sunk into the earth. The reds and oranges and blues dominated the evening sky like watercolor paints seeping into each other and to every corner of a sheet of paper. It made a beautiful sight.
"Hey, Luffy," the orange-haired princess started slowly, quietly, "I think I've finally figured everything out..."
"Huh?" he tore his eyes away from the changing sky to look at her, head tilted slightly in confusion.
"First, you said something to me a long time ago and I wanted to know..." she hesitated to blush, not looking at him, "If you still... Well... love me..."
"Yep." She whipped her head back around to look at him, finding him staring out at the painted canvas before them. She was surprised at how quickly he answered. He didn't even seem to have given it any real thought.
"A-are you sure?" she asked, not knowing what to think. After so long...?
"Yep," he replied yet again, grinning toothily at her; "Never stopped."
"Oh." Her face burned a flushing red, making her look like a ripe tomato. Her speech was hesitant, but her voice managed to work, "Well... I think... I think I can finally return it." He cocked his head to one side, obviously confused. She couldn't help but smile, "I think I really love you, Luffy."
A small blush danced upon his cheeks, but he smiled broadly none-the-less.
The two leaned towards each other, their lips touching, then meshing. They seemed molded for each other as they shared their first actual passion-filled, romantic kiss, seated on the roof of a barn to the backdrop of a beautiful sunset.
Their relationship definitely grew since then and they became even closer than before. Two months later they officially became engaged, the pure silver bands around their left hand ring finger as proof.
"I can see the crown of its head. Push!" the doctor said. Nojiko's family gave encouraging words as she did as instructed. What was actually less than a full minute felt like an hour, but the baby was born. "It's a girl!"
Niwa brushed away a couple blue strands of hair matted to her forehead with perspiration, kissing her temple. He was so proud of her. She'd just given birth to the most beautiful baby girl he'd ever seen in his life. She was wrapped in a soft blanket, cleaned and officially dubbed healthy. Her emerald eyes were closed and her hair was but a thin layer of teal fuzz atop her head. In the eyes of her family, she was beautiful.
"Have you thought of a name for her yet?" the doctor asked, wiping his hands on a towel.
"Not quite," Nojiko replied slowly, looking up at her husband. He smiled rather sheepishly toward the old man.
"Coming up with a suitable name was a lot harder than expected," he admitted.
"Why don't you just name her Bellemel then?"
Luffy blinked as everyone in the room turned to stare at him. He stared back, not understanding what was seemingly surprising about his suggestion. Silence seemed to reign the room for some long seconds, only blinks and looks exchanged between them. Eventually the silence was disrupted as Nami grinned broadly, hugging the scarred farmer around the waist, "I can't believe you remembered, Luffy!"
He returned her smile tenfold, hugging back.
"That's actually not a bad idea," the king smirked, looking to the wrapped newborn.
"Bellemel could be too much though," the queen admitted slowly, smiling sadly. She received a peck to the cheek.
"Then why not just Belle. I think it rather suits her."
"It does."
"Welcome to the world, Belle Kororo," the doctor hummed around his own grin.
II
"Princess Nami, you've received a parcel," a messenger spoke up as he entered the lounge where both the princess and her fiancé sat curled upon a velvet couch. Luffy seemed rather bored and fidgety, but content enough to just let the other rest in his lap and silently read her book. They both turned their attention to the newcomer as he entered the room, waving the parcel in his hand.
"Oh! Bring it over here, please," she instructed, taking the thin letter from the man as he handed it to her, "Thank you."
As he left, she sat up straight in the farmer's lap and settled her open book on the armrest of the couch before taking a better look at the parcel. She began opening the thing a second later, seeming rather excited about what it held inside. It was a very fancy cream-colored card, decorated with intricate lace and tiny, exquisite diamonds. On the front was a pair of golden colored church bells and the words "You're Invited..." engraved with real, paper thin gold lining. The card opened upward and on the inside were more words written in the same, thin golden script.
Luffy gazed curious at the invitation as the woman in his lap read over the words. He couldn't read well. After all, what use was reading for one expected to live and work on the farm all his life? "What's it say?" he asked after a minute, curiosity twinkling in his eyes.
"I've... We've been invited to attend Vivi and Kohza's wedding in Alabasta in a month," Nami smiled, closing the card. He returned with a grin.
"That sounds fun."
"It should be. I haven't seen Vivi-chan in a long time," she mused aloud, setting away the invitation. She picked up her book again and settled back against the farmer, getting comfortable again, "We'll leave in a week."
-The End-
Possible sequel. Still thinking about it. Who knows, maybe you guys can convince her... XD
--Review Replies--
-Chapter Seventeen-
T.O.B., thanks for your review! Who knows, who knows. It's because Chopper's a reindeer. It's weird to mention a talking reindeer in an actual real world like story. XD
dbzgtfan2004, thanks for your review! Indeed, LuNa 4eva! XD
Alastair, thanks for your review! She did, she did. Yeah, Kiari-san knows that. She doesn't like to see really rushed relationships anyways. They just don't seem real. Y'know? C:
beamz, thanks for your review! Heehee, awesome. :D
Nuit Fleur, thanks for your review! Yay! XD
NefetariNami, thanks for your review! Who knows, who knows. She's still thinking... XD