Of Straw and Steel

Summary: Zoro was always warned of the dangers of falling for the Captain's daughter. He just never imagined the dangers that came with falling for the Captain herself. Oneshot series on people's reaction to the Captain and First Mate's relationship.

Warnings: Fem!Luffy, A bit of swearing, Smut in the future, pregnant!Luffy later on.

Nami felt guilty.

It was a feelings she wasn't very accustomed to. After so many years are stealing, swindling and manipulating so many people around her, she had long since shaken off any feelings of shame. She did what she had to do, after all. To save her village by buying it back, she had to do so many things. Many of which lowered her, to her disgust, to the level of pirates.

And then that smiling girl had gone and fallen from the sky. Nami should have known, feeling the first of the guilt bubbling in her stomach as she took off, leaving straw hat girl in the dust. It was that sense of guilt that brought her looping around to make sure the girl was okay. The feeling at vanished, or at least resided, as she saw the three unconscious men and the girl brushing off her hat.

Of course she had to be a pirate.

Nami didn't feel guilt again until after Luffy was in the cage, staring at the table of food with her cheeks puffed out in disappointment. Nami had ignored her, ignored the guilt bubbling as she distracted herself with treasure and tangerines and a Cocoyashi village free of Arlong's reign. But before she knew it, a match had been shoved into her hands and the cannonball was loaded and aimed at the cage, the helpless girl.

Nami didn't know what she would have done if the swordsman hadn't appeared when he did. There was no way she could have handled them alone and he just strode in, blocking the on coming blades in a single swift movement. Then the knife, cutting through his shirt and flesh and organs.

Despite the pain he must have been in, he dealt with it. For her. She should have known from the minute she saw him that he would be the type. A stubborn idiot, just like his captain. Really, it didn't surprise her.

What did surprise her was the way in which he looked at his captain. Eyes softening, even through the pain, a smirk coming to his lips. Confidence, she realized. He had confidence in her, even though she was behind bars and practically helpless and surely had no chance in hell of getting out of this...

And then they made it. Risking his own life with such an injury, he carried her out of there, like some type of knock off knight. The entire time, the look never once left his eyes, and Nami saw something she had never before seen in a pirate. Multiple things, really. The loyalty and dedication wasn't really new, but to this level, paired with the complete faith and fondness and love.

She wondered if the straw hat captain saw it too, or even understood it.

Then, in all the action that soon followed, Nami had been too distracted, too lost in the chaos, to think about about the look in the swordsman's eyes or the guilt that continued to plague her.

In fact, it wasn't until hours later, after fighting and fleeing and counting her looted treasure twice over, that the guilt began to bubble up inside her again. With it, her thoughts turned from her treasure to the two pirates that were surely freezing in the evening air. She scowled, rising to her feet unsteadily in the cabin, grabbing a blanket and slung it over her shoulder. The least she could do, after everything today, was offer Luffy at least some protection from the cold. Perhaps it would ease the guilt.

Silently, she made her way for the door, slipping it open.

Immediately, the chilly night breeze nipped at her face, the cold biting into skin. She pulled her own blanket, wrapped around her, tighter, and stepped out. The door closed softly behind her.

"I don't trust her."

She recognized the voice as Zoro's almost immediately and stepped back against the door if only out of habit. The next voice to join was, predictably, Luffy's.

"I like her," the girl said, and Nami imagined her nodding along to her own words. "She's the best navigator so I don't want anyone else. So she'll be our navigator."

The words might've warmed her heart if they didn't make the guilt situation worse. She tried to assure herself, it wasn't her fault no matter what the idiot said. Luffy, just needed to figure out who was trustworthy and who wasn't. She expected the swordsman to argue accordingly, but to her surprise...

"Nothing's gonna change your mind, huh?"

Her jaw dropped at the instant change of tone he took with the captain. Nami's thoughts instantly flicked back to the look in his eyes as he dragged that cage across the town, the sound he had made as the cannonball made contact with her rubber body. Then she fought back a laugh. Captain's orders or not, this guy was whipped. And Luffy, the oblivious moron, probably didn't notice half of it.

"Nope!" Came the captain's carefree answer, laughter in her voice. Nami seemed to regain her bearings at the sound, stepping out from behind the captain to face the small boat attached. What she saw caused her to take a double take.

"Just go back to sleep, dumb ass."

Zoro's back was to her, leaning against the edge of the boat. Despite the coldness of the night, his shirt had been discarded somewhere within the boat. This wasn't what surprised her. The moronic swordsman could catch a death for all she cared. It was the captain's position that prompted the small smile to spread across her face.

The rubbery girl was in Zoro's lap, her chest against his bare one and her head tucked beneath his chin. Absentmindedly, she traced her fingers across his chest with a small smile on her face. Neither of them seemed to notice Nami's presence immediately and she found herself frozen as Luffy pulled back from her comfortable position. There was a small frown on her face.

"Zoro got hurt though... are you really okay to stay up?" There was concern in her voice, a tone Nami had learnt was seemingly rare. Luffy's eyes reflected the uncharacteristic worry, her fingers running across Zoro's chest lightly. Though she could not see them, she imagined Zoro's eyes softening like his voice.

"I'm fine," he assured her, catching her wrist in his grasp and bringing her hand to his lips. It was oddly gentle of the swordsman, but Luffy just smiled and pulled her hand out of his grasp. At first, Nami thought she was about to watch a rejection, then Luffy ducked down and began to kiss Zoro deeply.

Apparently, the girl was no where near as clueless and oblivious as she had previously thought.

The kiss didn't last long, and Luffy broke away. Fearing she had been caught in the action, Nami slunk further back into the shadows. Luffy didn't even pay her any heed, but shifted in the swordsman's lap. She ducked down, and Nami felt her face flame. Watching them kiss was one thing, but his... She shouldn't be seeing... this!

Just as she was about to turn around, Luffy pressed her lips against the wound in Zoro's side. She was gentle, and the man didn't make a sound. She shifted after kissing the bandaged area, slipping back into her previous position with her head tucked into his shoulder. "There," she murmured, her voice muffled by Zoro's neck, "I kissed it better."

Zoro laughed, running his hand through her hair idly. "Go back to sleep, Luffy."

This time, she did as he said, her eyes drooping shut as he spoke. A few moments passed, filled with the sound of the water lapping against the boat, before her soft snores joined in the night. Nami snapped out of it with the sound, taking a step back and planning to go back to the cabin, pretend she hadn't witnesses such an intimate moment.

"Oi, witch."

Nami jumped, before grabbing onto the cabin for support as she nearly toppled into the water. Had he known she was there the whole time? Forcing herself to calm down, she stepped forward again.

"I was just bringing Luffy a blanket, but you guys owe me for this!" She said quickly, before he could get a word in edgewise. She threw the blanket at them and then storming off, slamming the door of the cabin behind her. She collapsed onto the small bed, trying to calm her erratic heart as all the pieces suddenly fell together.

After seeing what she did, the love and affection and utter trust between the two, Nami felt her heart warm. Although Zoro was obviously special, Nami could sense that Luffy cared deeply for anyone she considered a friend. In another life, a different reality, she wouldn't have minded sailing under Luffy.

Perhaps, just maybe, after she paid off Cocoyashi village, she would get a chance to sail with them in this life.

I don't usually do AN's but if you guys want to see anyone besides the crews' and Luffy's families' reactions, lemme know and I'll work it in.