#3 Skills
Accompanied by the soft rustling of her overly large, white shirt, Nami shifted her weight to let her body come to a rest on her side, supporting her head with her left hand while the right one lazily traced the swordsman's marred chest.
Since they had started traveling as members of the Strawhat Pirates many years ago, there had been a sort of electricity between them. In the beginning, this tension had often unloaded itself in spontaneous fights and heated arguments. Yet over time, before any one of them had realized it, their chemistry had evolved and the electric energy had found a way of being released in other, more passionate ways as well. Effortlessly, they had developed a deep trust - their arguments still present but now merely a spice in their daily interactions.
Needless to say, the years had brought other changes with them, both minor and major; and one was currently at the very fingertips of the redheaded young woman.
Unhurriedly, she ran her finger along the many smaller and larger scars that had come to adorn Zoro's chest over the course of all those years. It was a habit she had developed quite a while ago. Somehow, seeing the proof of so many battles fought - and, needless to say, won - often calmed her surfacing worries, particularly whenever he returned from another battlefield, barely alive, barely holding together. Luckily, the crew's doctor had also profited from the many years of his duty and honed his skills, saving companions that already seemed to be far gone. Not quite surprisingly, his most frequent patient was none other than the swordsman himself.
During their first years on board, Nami had often wondered if there even was a spot on the green-haired man's body which was not littered with scars. Now, however, she had gained some 'private insight' - as she termed it, smirking - and had to admit that she had been surprised at how pristine and, yes, vulnerable even, he would look when stripped off his strong front - among other things.
She smirked to herself at the thought, but still chose to continue her tactile exploration of his well-toned chest. True, they were reminders of his battles won, and he wore each and every one of them proudly. Yet surprisingly, none of the other men had gathered nearly as many as he had, not even their captain. While the swordsman's torso was slowly but surely assuming the appearance of a topological map, the others seemed almost untouched. But then again, he had always exhibited an unnatural urge to throw himself into battle.
"You know, Zoro..." she began lowly, her voice trailing off while her index finger came upon a rather thick specimen of scarred tissue.
The young man at her side, resting on his back with his arms behind his head, let out a low grunt, thus acknowledging her will to communicate. His eyes, however, remained closed.
"I sometimes wonder", she continued, never ceasing her actions, "how it is that you're always the one to take all the damage?"
At this, he cracked his eyes open and shot her a tired look.
"Are you trying to insult me?" his voice was raspy and longing for sleep after the previous physical exertion.
Nami controller the urge to roll her eyes - leave it to the swordsman to feel his manly pride questioned by a completely innocent remark, she thought to herself. Yet she chose to simply ignore it; she was curious for an answer and had learned through experience that reacting to his tempers would get her anything but that.
"I know you're a swordsman, and this crew's first mate - and you practically live for battle", she began trying to relay her train of thought to him, "but you're not the only fighter in this crew, still you throw yourself into almost any fight you can get your hands on. Not even Luffy as the captain could rival you in that."
He took her brief pause as an opportunity to let a small smirk creep onto his face, thus giving away the pride he took in his actions - and her recognition of those.
Nami only frowned.
"Doesn't that seem weird to you?"
He shrugged in reply and closed his eyes again.
"It's my skill", he added matter-of-factly, his voice slurry with the wish for sleep.
Nami eyebrows shot up instantly and she eyed him with disbelief.
"Your skill? Throwing yourself into battle?" she questioned incredulously. "What kind of a stupid skill is that?"
Once again, Zoro cracked his eyes open to deliver a sideways glare before he directed his eyes at the ceiling and began explaining his train of thought to the redhead by his side.
"Well, you draw your maps and keep the ship on course, that shitty cook makes sure we don't starve, Chopper keeps us from dying from stupid things; and I fight so you don't have to." and with another shrug - though certainly quite some pride as well - he added "It's what I'm good at."
With a bemused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, the navigator looked at the swordsman. True, his fighting strength and will were one of his biggest assets to the crew, but somehow she had never seen it in that light before. Yet no matter what the motivation, she was glad he filled that position with as much determination as he did. She certainly owed him her life - in many ways, and on many occasions. Still she was sure to never tell him that; in these regards, she preferred to follow the same principle that he adhered to: action speaks louder than words.
Her bemused smile transformed into a catlike grin as she shifted her body back further over his, her right leg draping over his, hand resting ever so lightly above his heart.
"Still, I know, as a matter of fact, that it is not the only thing you're good at..."
Her voice trailed off into a purr as Zoro's head turned back into her direction; the smirk on his face letting her know that she had fueled his pride and now had his full attention. With a dangerous glint in his eyes, a low rumble escaped his throat and he pulled her down towards himself. The second their hungry mouths met, the tiredness was eradicated instantly.
Oh yes, there were indeed other things he was good at; but some skills should rather not be shared with the whole crew.
a/n: Here you are, one shot number 3, 'Skills'. One night, while re-reading the original mangas (in Japanese! wohoo!^^'), it somewhat struck me that everyone on the ship has their own special skill to contribute to the crew - usually in addition to fighting; except for Zoro, who seems to be made for battle. Somehow I felt the need to put that in words. Also, this one shot is set a couple of years in the future, and Zoro and Nami have turned into an 'item'. I can only imagine how heated their relationship is^^ Still, it's an interesting idea and I will quite likely get back to it in future shots. Also: if you have ideas or scenes you would like to see written out, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
And, last but not least, thank you all so much for your kind reviews! They are dearly appreciated!