Authors' Notes:
Darth: There was a distinct lack of sexy times in the opening here.
Con: Hmm, yeah... We, again, didn't stick to traditions... Oh well. O.o If anyone complains, I can drop kick them. o.o
Darth: Or we can go with my ideas.
Con: No. o.o
Darth: It's what the readers want.
Con: Too damned bad. It ain't what they're gettin'. *Picks nose* -_-
Darth: Bah. Fine, just enjoy the chapter.
Charmed
Chapter 15: He Blushes
Luffy's eyes narrowed at the man. At Nami's exclamation, he froze and stared down at her. Then he just looked back at the man and said, "That's right, two doubles for our friends, and a single for me and my... wife."
The man frowned deeply then and snorted. "Fine..." he muttered before slamming down two keys on one side, and slammed even harder a third key. "Lucky bastard... Have fun then..." he almost sneered before huffing and turning away.
Nami was breathing heavily as she snatched up that single key and bolted up the stairs. After unlocking the door, which took a few tries, she ran into the room and slammed the door shut, holding it that way for awhile before slowly backing into the room. She was tired of being afraid of her ability. She couldn't trust anyone or how they would react. People seemed to react differently to her, which was probably varied by their personalities or the situation, for instance, them fighting over her. Some were a lot nicer and kinder, and others were very touchy or pushy. She didn't like this at all... Going to the bed, she curled up and wished for a split second that she had Luffy's cloak as she buried her head in her knees.
"Oi, Na-chan!" Gen called with a soft frown before turning to frown even deeper at Luffy. "What happened to our Na-chan!? You said it was your fault! What did you do to her!?"
Luffy looked away from Gen and headed out to the cart, but then he said, "We got into an argument. That's all I can tell you. You'll have to wait until she's ready to tell you. We need to get Zoro to his room."
"Got into an argument!? That's not telling me much at all! You're always arguing!" Gen bellowed, but followed him out to get Zoro anyways.
"Well, this time she left on her own. Maybe that tells you something, maybe it doesn't, but it's all I'm saying," Luffy said as he lifted Zoro's top half and left Gen to get his legs.
After Luffy had helped bring Zoro in, he asked Robin which room Nami had gone into, and followed her inside. She was laying curled up on the bed. He decided not to say anything, and instead he took off his robe. He laid it on his side of the bed, and went to the bathroom to wash off. Opening her eyes and seeing the cloak, she flushed, looking sheepish as she slowly reached out and pulled the cloak completely over her and curled up tighter.
After washing off, Luffy came back into the room and looked at Nami. He stood in silence at her having pulled his robe over her, and the memories flooded him. Finally, he sat down on his side of the bed, leaning against the head board and said, "So... husband?"
She stirred a bit under the cloak, and then she muttered, "Shut up..." but then she replied much more quietly, "I didn't want him touching me anymore. Don't like the ones, who touch."
"I understand," he said and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, she giggled from under the cloak, but no other sound came out.
He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "You... okay?"
She giggled again and said, "I found my wine."
"Oi, I confiscated that!" he said, but could not help it, as he laughed.
She giggled a bit more and opened it to take a drink. "And I got it back without having to stick my hands in there while you were wearing it too."
"Stupid magic, activating when it wasn't supposed to..." Of course, it did so, because she had magical ability. He then looked over at her again and asked, "Can I have a sip at least?"
She hummed under the cloak with a smile, but then the bottle suddenly immerged from under the cloak.
He blinked at this, but smiled and said, "Thanks." He reached for the bottle, took a sip and handed it back to her underneath his robe. "Mmmh... s'good. Should have drunk it myself earlier."
She snorted from under the cloak, though she blushed, looking at the rim of the bottle before taking another drink from it, and then she said, "Nojiko and Gen-san'r gonna want answers..."
"I told Gen-ossan that we got into an argument and you left on your own," Luffy said and closed his eyes again, "but that's all they know..."
She didn't reply from under the cloak as she stared into the dark, but then she finally said, quietly, "I'll... talk to them later."
"They'll understand... They're your family," he said, but went silent for a few moments, and then he said, "Of course, they may just want to kill me after they find out, but that doesn't change much."
"No, I guess not," she muttered from under the cloak, nuzzling the lining a bit, but flushed when she realized she'd been doing it, especially because it smelled like him. "J-Just... not now."
"Yeah, you don't have to tell them anything 'til you're ready." He smiled and slid down until he was laying in the bed.
"But... I shouldn't be worrying them," she replied quietly with a soft frown.
"Well, it is your choice, and best you do it whenever you're comfortable with it," he said and turned his head to look at the lump that was Nami under his cloak. "But they do deserve to know, and Gen-ossan is getting more worried, not knowing what happened."
She sighed underneath it and said, "I know. I know they're worried. I should... talk to them later. I will talk to them later." How was it that she could talk to him so comfortably like this? So trusting...
Both were content to remain silent after she had spoken, but after a while, Luffy said, "Feel like getting some dinner?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she said, but she still didn't budge from under the cloak, and then she said, "Mm... Luffy?"
"Yeah?" He looked behind him, having sat up and was now sitting on the edge of the bed.
"If... I... you know... freak out again... and say something... like... Y-You'll just... play along with it, r-right? I just got scared, and... first thing I could think of is... men usually leave a married woman alone. I-It... didn't mean anything or anything."
Luffy's heart panged, when she said it didn't mean anything. Nonetheless... "Don't worry, I won't get any expectations from posing as your husband... Except, of course, for getting a good night's sleep. Actually," he thought about it, "could I get something out of my robe?"
"Oh," she flushed darkly, "right ..." she said, finally coming out from under it and handing it back to him, without looking at him.
Luffy reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two rings. "Here," he said and handed a diamond one to Nami, "this way, it'll be more believable when you tell people I'm your husband." He slipped his ring onto his right ring finger.
Her blush deepened as she took the ring from him and looked up at him, but then she quickly looked down at it. "R-Right, thanks. That's-That's more helpful," she said before slipping it onto her left finger, though it seemed to go in slow motion and heavy, her heart pounding furiously.
"So," he held his right hand out to her, "ready... honey?" He grinned, a little bit mocking, but entirely good natured.
She pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing brightly, but then she blinked and said, "Um... Luffy... your ring."
"Huh?" He blinked and looked down at it. "What about it?"
"I-It's on the wrong hand. D-Don't you know... about... You know?" she asked, blinking at him with a flush.
"Wrong hand?" he asked and tilted his head. "Well... I've never really been interested... in stuff like this... so I never found out... I guess..." He took the ring off and put it on his left hand. He held it up for Nami to look at. "How's that?"
"B-Better," she replied, looking away from him with a deeper flush. "Anyways... let's go eat," she said and then stood to leave.
"Yeah," he replied and followed her down to the eating area, where the rest of their group was starting to all congregate.
Once they went to sit down, Gen immediately spied the rings. "What is this!?" he almost bellowed, grabbing Nami's hand to point out to her the ring.
Frowning deeply with a flush, Nami yanked her hand back and put it in her lap securely. "I-It's just a guise. S-So... they don't... bother me as long as they think I'm taken," she said, staring down at the ring in her lap.
"Where did you get it from?" Nojiko asked Nami, looking over the table at the ring.
"Um... L-Luffy... had them," she replied, but then frowned in confusion. Why did he have them? She thought, looking over at him to give the answer.
"So," Nojiko said, looking at Luffy, "where did you get them from?"
"Dragon horde," Luffy said, looking to see if the food was arriving.
"D-Dragon... what?" Nami asked, quirking a brow in confusion.
"Dragon horde," he repeated and looked at her. "You know, where dragon's keep their treasure? They love gold and sparkly things."
Gen, Vivi and Nami just gaped at him in amazement, but only Nami could speak up. "You've actually fought a dragon?" Nami asked, blinking at him.
"Of course not," Luffy said and rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember me trying to convince you to help me take one on? It was Gramps that beat the Dragon..." Luffy said and shuddered. "He let me and Ace pick stuff from the treasure. Then he gave me those two rings and said something about waiting to find the right person to give one of them to... but I don't really know much about it or what he really meant."
Gen snorted loudly with a deep frown, and Nami flushed a bit more, lowering her head. "Oh," she muttered and cleared her throat.
Luffy looked around the table and asked, "Why?"
Gen didn't bother to reply as he looked away, but then he muttered, "I agree with Na-chan... The boy's an idiot..."
Nami lowered her head further, embarrassed beyond words, though she wasn't sure why.
"Yeah," Nojiko said, staring at Luffy.
"Geez, every one's being rude," Luffy said and pouted.
Nami closed her eyes, a strange feeling hitting the bottom of her gut. She didn't like this... Why? "Where's the damn food?" she suddenly growled in her unknown annoyance as she lifted her head with a deep frown on her face.
Robin smiled knowingly and pointed at the waitress, who was just arriving with their meals.
"'Bout time," Nami muttered as the plates were set down, and she began to eat. Gen frowned at her deeply, wondering why she'd gotten upset all of a sudden.
Luffy started eating, already having let the insults slide off him like he was used to. Lifting her eyes up to him, Nami felt the dropping feeling again. She swallowed hard, and was beginning to think the feeling was guilt. How did he really feel about being insulted?
Once he'd finished his food, Luffy glanced over at Nami's and asked, "You going to finish that?"
She pushed it towards him without looking at him or saying anything. She didn't give him a hard time, nor did she tease him.
Luffy blinked to this. She wasn't acting like herself. "You all right?" he asked her and tilted his head.
"I'm fine," she muttered, but didn't say anything else, nor did she look up. Frowning slightly, he then just decided to let it go. He did not want to push her, after all.
After dinner was finished, Luffy leaned back in his chair and asked, "How much longer is it going to take to reach Mariejoie?"
"Probably a day and a half worth of travel," Robin replied and calmly sipped her coffee.
"Ah," Luffy said and looked at Vivi. "How soon are you meant to be there?"
"We... might be a little behind, but we should at least arrive on the same day I was expected," Vivi said, offering him a smile.
"That's good," Luffy said and smiled. "So, what are you meant to do when we get there anyway?"
"Some diplomatic conference," Vivi said with a sigh. "It's all important to my father and I."
"Oh?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Do you have any idea why that man tried to kidnap you?" Robin asked Vivi.
Vivi's face fell, and then she said, "Most likely, because he didn't want me to negotiate with them. It would mean he would lose a lot of money."
"Money?" Luffy asked and frowned, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. That sounded a little too familiar... He even began to sweat a bit. "You know him?"
"S-Somewhat," she replied, frowning deeper. "H-He has always been... a very greedy man; always caring about money above all else. He doesn't care about others at all. It's always about the money. Doesn't care about who he hurts, as long as he gets his hands on it," she said very quietly, her face saddening, and suddenly, Gen turned to glare at Luffy, and Nami managed to lower her head further.
Luffy looked away from everyone else, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Sanji scoffed as he also looked over to Luffy. "Sounds familiar," he muttered and glared to the mage.
"Mm, anyway, if the negotiations go in our favor. Croc would lose shares... and money," Vivi continued with a sigh, but then she suddenly beamed and looked up at Luffy, "but, because of you, he can't stop us now! Thank you, Luffy-san!"
"Oh... uhm... you're welcome," he said and chuckled nervously. It felt like he didn't deserve the praise, as he glanced over at Nami.
She still had her head lowered, and after a moment, she just stood up. "I'm... tired," she said before turning and heading upstairs. She headed straight for the bathroom then to soak in the tub and help herself relax. It had been a long day.
Luffy followed after her, not really feeling like being around the others. Most of them hated him as it was, and Robin and Zoro wanted to stay out of it. When he got into the room, he didn't see Nami, and figured she was in the bathroom or somewhere. He pulled off his robe and shirt, it was starting to get a little warm, and laid down on the bed, closing his eyes.
After soaking in the hot water for awhile, she wrapped herself in a towel before stepping out into the room with a sigh. She headed for her bag to grab her nightdress and just dropped her towel to pull it on. Luffy looked up, when he heard Nami come out of the bathroom, then suddenly dropped her towel, and just stared, his jaw practically unhinged. He quickly laid back down on the bed, his eyes shut tightly. Unfortunately his face was bright red, and Mini-Luffy wanted to stand at attention.
After she dressed, and when she turned around, she gasped loudly with a cry as her hands flew to her mouth. "Ooh! L-Luffy... y-you...!"
"Sleeping!" he insisted. "I didn't see anything!"
"S-Sleeping!?" she hissed, but then scowled back at him. "You can't sleep!" she shrieked, but then she stopped, took a breath, and then just climbed into the bed without saying a word. It wasn't his fault. He had no idea she was going to walk out like that, and she had no idea he was there.
When nothing happened, he opened an eye to glance at her. "Umm..."
"L-Let's just... go to sleep," she muttered in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Oh... sure..." he said and rolled over, his back to her. "Sorry..."
"D-Don't worry about it," she muttered, scooting over, but before she pressed her chest to his back, she wrapped her arm around him, blinking a bit before finally moving all the way over to press herself against his back.
Luffy blinked, when he felt her arm wrap around him, but then she hesitated. As he felt his consciousness fade, he muttered, "Thank you... for helping me, despite everything that's happened."
"You're welcome," she replied back softly, and then she whispered, "Good night, Luffy ..."
"Good night... Nami," he murmured and fell asleep.
x x x x
Nami blinked, finding herself standing in a beautiful garden. Circling around, she found herself smiling brightly, feeling happy. For what reason, she wasn't sure, but then her smile faded, when she spotted Luffy, standing some distance away and smiling at her. It was the way he was smiling, that made her feel so warm... and safe. She found herself smiling back. Then her body launched forward as she laughed, and she threw herself into his arms, watching as he laughed. A glint caught her eyes, and she looked down at what had sparkled. It was a diamond ring - the same one Luffy'd given her to wear. She felt so happy. Then he cupped her cheek, much like he'd done the night she'd been assaulted. She had felt safe then. Then he leaned down, his lips so close to hers, and her heart leapt into her chest. However, she felt something else, something holding her back from connecting with him.
Suddenly, she was blinking her eyes open, still feeling warm and safe, and she sleepily looked up to see Luffy's face so close to hers, from where she lay slightly over his chest. Luffy sighed in his sleep, his arms tightening around Nami's waist, and a small, content smile formed on his sleeping face. His breath brushed across her face, so warm, making her shiver and goose bumps to form across her skin. His smile... was almost like her dream, or maybe she was still dreaming. That was it. She was still dreaming. Though, unbeknownst to her, she was definitely still in a sleepy daze. So, if it was a dream, whatever happened in the dream, just stayed with her, right? She leaned forward a bit, so close to his lips...
Nojiko walked over to her sister's room. Earlier, Vivi had expressed a desire to leave as soon as possible. So, Nojiko was going to wake Nami and Luffy. She came to the door and knocked.
Nami gasped at the knock on the door, shooting straight up, her face burning bright red, though her hand was still resting on his chest. She was awake!? What had she been thinking!? It hadn't been a dream at all! "Uh... wha-what?"
"Are you awake in there?" Nojiko called through the door.
"Um... yes," Nami said, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake up fully. Then she looked down at Luffy, placing her hand back on his chest to hold herself up. "Wha-What's going on?" she asked her sister, flushing even darker.
Nojiko opened the door, paused and cocked an eyebrow at their positions, though she noted the mage was still out cold. She also could not help noting, that both were still wearing their rings. They hadn't removed them to sleep. "Vivi wanted to leave as soon as possible. Everyone else is getting breakfast, and then we plan on leaving."
"Oh, right. Okay," Nami said, turning to shake Luffy. "Luffy, wake up." Luffy groaned in his sleep, his arms coming out to wrap around her and bring her down to hold, still out cold. Nojiko smirked in amusement, especially to her sister's reaction. "Lu-Lu-Lu-Luffy! W-Wake up, I said! Let go!" she said and pushed against his chest, her entire face burning a bright red.
"Huh.. .wha?" Luffy's eyes blinked open, and then he looked over to her, so close to him. "Oh... Hey, Nami..."
Nojiko chuckled and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"D-Don't hey, me! Let go!" she said, finally pushing away, and he let her go. She straightened herself out and said, "Vivi wants to get an early start. We have to go," she said, climbing out of the bed to grab her clothes to get dressed.
"Oh, okay," he sat up and stretched with a yawn. He then grabbed his shirt and robe and pulled them on, heading to the door. He paused at the door and turned to look at Nami. "How did you sleep last night?"
"F-Fine," she replied, fighting a major blush and trying not to think about her dream or anything else thereafter. After all, it was just a stupid dream. It wasn't really like that, and it wasn't what she wanted at all... Then she headed into the bathroom to change.
"Oh," he said and shrugged, not really sure why he'd asked the question. "I'll see you downstairs then."
"Right," she called from inside the bathroom, her hands still on the doorknob. Biting her lip, she then quickly changed before heading down. She was wearing one of her dresses, instead of the leather pants. She wasn't sure why, but... she wanted to feel normal today. It was a pretty maroon red with black lining and gold trim. She'd braided her hair a little differently, smaller braids on either side of her head before her longer braid flowed down her back to match the dress. She ignored the stares as she sat down, keeping silent.
Luffy looked over at Nami, tilting his head, and then he asked, "You did your hair differently today?"
Everyone else remained silent and just looked between them. Gen was a bit surprised the boy had even noticed how she wore her hair before, to note she was wearing it differently now. Sanji, on the other hand, glared at the rubber mage. He had been about to compliment her on her new hairstyle as well as the dress, but the idiot had beat him to it.
"Yeah," she replied with a shrug. "Dress was pretty... so... just decided to do something different," she replied quietly.
"Oh... it looks nice," he said, mater of fact and then turned back to his food. He had not intended it to be a flattering compliment, but instead was just being honest with her.
Why did this bother her? Her head lowered to his indifference, but she refused to show more as she began to eat, lifting her chin into the air forcedly. Gen was frowning very deeply at the two. Something had suddenly changed about Nami. He had to wonder if it had something to do with her sudden fear yesterday.
Robin was very interested in how things were changing between the two. It was almost as if fate was conspiring to form feelings between the two of them. Had the young woman been fishing for a compliment from him unconsciously? Well, she had received one, but not quite how she would have liked. The poor mage was obliviously, and amusingly, so was the orange haired young woman.
After Nami finished eating, feeling a little more courage with the ring on her finger, she grabbed an apple and walked outside, not saying a word to anyone. Smiling when she saw Merry in the stable and feeling safe with the horse, she cooed her greeting to him, "Good morning, Merry." She held her hand out to feed him the apple. "Did you sleep well? You know, I had a weird dream," she said, losing her smile, and then she sighed. Closing her eyes, she just pressed her forehead against Merry's.
Merry chewed the apple, nuzzling his forehead against Nami's. Luffy paused, having come to check on Merry. He was his horse after all, but something about the way Nami was speaking told him to wait.
"It bothered me a bit," she whispered, petting him softly and keeping her eyes closed, "but at the same time... it was kind of nice. Maybe... I don't know..." But then she scoffed to herself. "You don't need to hear this," she whispered softly, opening her eyes slowly to stare down at Merry sadly. "Did you like your apple, Merry?"
Merry nodded with a snort. Luffy decided he didn't want her thinking he was eavesdropping on her, even though he was, and left.
She smiled then and said, "That's good ..." After awhile of staying with Merry, she finally went back to get her things, thinking the others should be done eating by now.
Luffy had gathered up his things and was looking out the window in the room. A dream... that was kind of nice, maybe not? It didn't make sense. Her confusion compounded his own confusion, and left him trying to figure out what she meant to him. He couldn't deny he cared about her well being, but whether it extended beyond that, he couldn't say.
Nami climbed the stairs rather slowly and entered the room to grab her things, ignoring the fact that Luffy was in there. Luffy looked over at Nami, when she opened the door, and then looked back out the window, not saying anything. After she'd gotten it all in her bag, she lifted it up... and left the room, all without saying a word. Luffy grabbed his own bag and followed after her to where the rest of the group was getting the horses ready.
Nami gave Merry a kiss on his head, whispered something, and then climbed into the back of the cart with Vivi, who frowned at her deeply, but softly. Then Vivi looked over at Luffy. Luffy blinked, feeling somewhat hurt by Nami's action, but climbed onto Merry without saying a word about it.
Though, Merry gave a neigh and paced in place. He was definitely hurt that Nami wasn't riding with him, and her whispered apology did nothing to quell is feelings.
"Well," Luffy finally started, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "let's see if we can't get the rest of the way today."
"Right," Gen muttered with a deep frown as he eyed Luffy.
Nami smoothed out her skirt, but said nothing at all, and the journey there was pure silence, which Gen was beginning to miss the bickering a bit. The silence held a coldness to it... an eeriness. He didn't like it.
Nojiko frowned at her sister. Something was off. The atmosphere didn't feel right. Not at all.
Sanji, glad that Luffy wasn't bothering Nami, glanced over at her. Why, if she couldn't stand the mage, and only ever fought with him, could he see underlying confusion and sadness in this silence?
x x x x
Mariejoie was the biggest city Nami had ever seen. And it also made her the most nervous she'd ever been. There were men everywhere. She curled up a bit within herself, half wishing she was sitting atop Merry at that moment. Maybe if she didn't look at anyone, they wouldn't notice her.
"Good to be home," Luffy said and grinned. As if sensing Nami's tension, he glanced back at Nami and said, "Don't worry. Most of the men here are mages."
Looking up at him then, her fear was there, but when he said this, she looked around at all the men, who didn't seem to notice them at all. The others were slightly surprised, that he spoke up about it. It was as if, he just knew or sensed her thoughts. Or maybe it was just that he cared enough and just knew.
Luffy smiled and said, "There's a lot of guilds in the city, especially in the city proper. Most craftsmen and other professions live outside the city, in smaller suburbs." He pointed out some outlying villages spread around the plains the city was built on. "Law enforcement is completely made up of mages, with a few swordsmen and martial artists, who are all equipped with magic repellant gear. It's perfectly safe here. And the best wizard scholars live here. We'll be able to figure out what exactly your power is."
"Oh, okay," she said, relaxing considerably as she began to look around her and take in the sights, the others doing the same.
"So," Luffy said, turning to Vivi, "where is it you needed to go?"
"There," Vivi said and pointed to the biggest place that was the most visible in the entire city - the palace.
Luffy whistled and then said, "Never been there before." He led the group through the city, every once in a while calling out a greeting to someone he knew.
Nami, feeling better, started to smile as she looked around at everything, and then she said, "I would like to... explore everything here."
"We could do that," Luffy said with a nod, "when we go see some scholars later."
"Yeah, all right," she said, smiling at everything her eyes laid upon.
They managed to make their way to the palace. When they approached, the guards stopped them. After all, it was a pretty ragtag looking group that they made up.
Vivi made her way off and approached them with a smile. "I am princess Vivi. I've come for the negotiations for my father, King Cobra."
"Of course," the guards stood aside, letting their group pass through the gates.
Smiling and bowing slightly, Vivi entered back into the cart, and then they all went inside. "Thank you so much for helping me get here," she said, smiling at them brightly.
"Of course, my lady... It was our pleasure to have escorted such a lovely and most kind woman such as yourself to safety. Your kindness and warm smile was enough to make it all worth it in the end, and we do hope that things go well for you and your father at the negotiations," Sanji said and bowed deeply atop his horse, which was no easy feat.
Luffy blinked at the man, but then turned to look at Vivi. "Yeah, what he said," he said and pointed at Sanji.
Staring at Sanji's handsome face and listening to his graceful words, Vivi's cheeks flushed a pretty pink before she smiled and bowed to him. "Thank you so much, Sanji-san," she replied in a soft voice, wondering why it was that the blonde man had hardly spoken at all during the journey, "I am so honored to have met all of you."
"Ah, my princess," Sanji said, taking her hand into his, "the honor is ours," and he gently kissed the back of her hand, never removing his eyes from hers.
The flush ripened in color to a full blown blush as she gaped at him, her breath hitching a bit before she smiled shyly and lowered her eyes. He was very handsome indeed, and so flattering.
Robin smiled. Well, watching these people certainly was entertaining.
"Got ourselves a lover boy, do we?" Zoro said and scoffed, his eyes closed with his hands behind his head. "He magically quirked his curly brow, and suddenly he can talk to women then?"
Nami smiled then, finding it weird that the sullen and usually quiet man was speaking.
Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "Shut it, moss head."
Luffy hadn't even been able to follow any of what Sanji had said. "What'd he say?" he whispered to Nami. "None of it made any sense."
Nami turned to him and smiled, while shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. It's not even important."
Vivi pouted then, her cheeks still flushed, and said, "I-It was... very flattering!" Like she'd said... not important...
"I... see..." Luffy said and shrugged. "So, now what are we meant to do?"
"Just... take me to the entrance there," Vivi said, pointing to the main doors. "Hopefully, Pell and Igaram will come soon to be able to pay you."
"That's good," Luffy said with a nod. "Hope the peace thingies go well."
"Of course they will," Sanji said and scowled to Luffy, "if it's Lady Vivi representing her father."
Vivi flushed again and turned to smile at Sanji. "Thank you, Sanji-san, and Luffy-san," she said, turning to also smile at Luffy, "I hope so as well."
They took her to the entrance, and once there, Luffy said, "So, since they're not here yet, we'll come by later, once they do, to pick up the fee."
"Yes, of course," Vivi said, smiling at him as she exited the cart, and a few guards came to escort her inside. "Thank you again!" she said, waving them farewell.
"Farewell, sweetest maiden," Sanji twirled, on his horse. Quite dexterous, that man.
"Ah, yeah," Luffy said and waved goodbye. "So," he turned to Nami, "to the guild now, and we can go find some scholars, while we wait to get paid?"
"I'd like to look around first, if that's all right?" she said, turning to offer him a smile.
He looked at her and then smiled. He was not about to turn that smile down. "Sure, we can do that. We might as well look for a place for everyone to stay while we do that as well."
"That sounds good. Let's do that," she said with her smile, turning to look at the town, while reaching up to tuck a stray strand behind her ear, which the wind had blown loose.
Luffy kept looking at her, and then he smiled. She looked so peaceful now... He liked it. For a good portion of the rest of the day Luffy played tour guide, showing them the sights, and at the same time, searching for an inn. Gen couldn't stop the deep frown he kept giving the two. What was going on? Nami was all smiles, yet it still seemed reserved - she seemed reserved, though her smile was relatively genuine, and he didn't understand at all. He also couldn't help to notice how her sudden change made the boy happy.
Luffy tried his best to make Nami laugh. Part of her was closed, he felt that instinctively, and he wanted her to open up more, because he knew, that soon, he wouldn't be able to be around her anymore, which made him sad. They then stopped to visit a magic store, which Nami had pointed out.
"Ooh, wow. What do these do?" Nami asked, staring in awe at some very pretty trinkets.
"Oh," he said, looking at the small trinkets. "They all have minor charms on them. A few are good luck charms, some make the wearer more noticeable, some less..." He trailed off staring at a certain trinket. "Well..." he finally said, "I can buy you one if you want."
She turned to blink at him blankly, though her cheeks were a bit flushed, and then she smiled, "Really?"
"Yeah," Luffy pointed to the one that he'd been looking at, "how about that one?"
Looking towards it, flushing a bit more, she then smiled wider and said, "It's very pretty." Then she bit her lip, looking a bit conflicted, but then she said, "All right... Thank you."
Gen frowned much more deeply. How could this have happened?
"You're welcome," Luffy said and flushed. "It's a protection charm. Might come in handy later on."
"Oh," she said, smiling a little wider, "yeah, I hope so." She reached out to take it as he handed it to her, the flush still present.
"So," Luffy said as he paid for the charm, "is there anywhere else you'd like to see?"
"W-Well, a magic book store... would be nice," she said, bringing the charm closer to her chest and looking down at it.
Robin perked to this. She was always open to finding new magic books.
"Ah, I know a good one. It's actually really close to the guild as well, so they've got some high quality wares," Luffy said and led them to the book store, which he'd visited several times before.
"All right," Nami said, following close after him.
They made it to the store, a large, impressive building, filled to the brim with books, all organized by type and style of magic.
"Oh, wow," Nami breathed, but then gasped when a group of books passed by them without anyone carrying them.
"Yeah..." Luffy said as he came up beside her, "they do that sometimes..." He kept an eye on the books as they passed them by.
"R-Right," Nami said before looking ahead again, then looking side to side, to make sure there were no more passerby books, and then headed further in.
Luffy followed her inside, looking around at several of the books himself. "So, is there anything in particular you're looking for?"
"I'd... like to read up a bit more on the different types magic; see if there's anything else I can learn besides just weather manipulation," Nami said, looking about.
"Weather manipulation?" Gen muttered, looking around at everything. It all looked like boring books to him.
Nojiko was moderately interested, but felt out of place in the bookstore. Whereas, Robin had already wandered off into the rare book section, Sanji was in the elemental section, and even Zoro had headed off towards the enchantments section.
"Well," Luffy started as he looked about, "there are several different kinds you can try. Elemental magic, body manipulation, regular manipulation, illusions, enchantments... curses..."
"Elemental... illusions... enchantments... curses," she repeated in a soft whisper as she ran her fingers over some spines, though she didn't feel anything like how she had with the weather manipulation books. "Those sound... interesting..."
"No luck finding anything?" he asked her.
"I don't feel anything, no," she replied quietly before turning to him. "Where are... illusions?"
"Uhmm..." Luffy looked around and then pointed down an aisle, "that way."
Turning to where he pointed, she then headed for the aisle and stared at the spines. After a moment, she lifted a hand and touched one of the spines, but then gasped, quickly moving her hand away. Her lips curved into a smile before reaching for the book.
"What'd you find?" Luffy asked, looking up from another book, that wasn't making any sense to him.
"It seems... I'm fitted for illusions as well," she said, flipping through the pages.
"That's cool," Luffy said with a smile. "I never managed to get the hang of those."
"This looks like it could be fun," she said, reading over some of the affects from using the magic and what they do.
Luffy looked at the book suspiciously, and then he asked with a purse to his lips, "You're not going to use those to mess with me are you?"
She got a bit of a glint and sparkle in her eye as she turned to him. "Fufufu~!"
Luffy backed away with a deeper purse and said, "You wouldn't!"
She burst out laughing and said, "You're so stupid! I'm just having fun with you!"
"I dunno," he said and looked at her even more suspiciously. "You just might." But then he grinned.
She was still laughing, her cheeks cherry before she looked back down at the book, still smiling. He smiled at her, he was incredibly glad that she was happy now. Especially since, she was happy around him.
"I think I will get a few of these. The basics," she said, skimming the titles, while bringing the book she held to her chest.
"'Kay," Luffy said and nodded. "Which ones as well did you want?"
"Mmm, enchantments," she replied slowly and quietly. She looked around again and already holding about three books in her arms.
"Okay," he said as he looked at them. "Is that all, or did you want more?"
She looked over at him, and her cheeks flushed at how eager he was to get her whatever she wanted. "W-Well," she started on a thought, "I... I don't want to use to much of my money so... Just... enchantments," she said, looking away from him.
"Nah, don't worry about it," he insisted. "I've got these."
Turning to him, her cheeks flushed even darker, and then she lowered her gaze, her eyes softening a bit. "Oh... thanks..."
Man, she looked really cute, when she blushed like that. "You're... You're welcome," he said shyly.
Gen snorted softly from the other aisle. This was absolute nonsense...
"S-So... where... where is it?" she asked quietly, keeping her head down.
"Where is what?" He was too busy looking at her to register anything else.
"Um... the... the enchantments aisle," she replied, not being able to look at him.
"Oh," he quickly perked and flushed more, "this way," he said and took her hand, leading her further down the aisle.
Her cheeks flared to life further as she stared down at their hands. What was this feeling? It felt so light... and... pretty good. As she stared down at their hands, her fingers slowly curled around his.
Luffy swallowed hard, sort of surprised she allowed him to keep her hand, and he felt her fingers closing around his. Her hand felt... so small, like a little bird, her pulse, like its heart. His fingers also curled around hers as he led her to the enchantments section.
Once they made it there, she actually felt regretful releasing his hand, and thus did so slowly. Going over to the books, she looked over their spines and touched them lightly. Reaching up, she touched one and felt a powerful spark, which made her blink. "Oh!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand back quickly with a gasp. It was far stronger than the weather manipulation.
Luffy frowned at the book and asked, "Is your hand all right?"
"Y-Yes," she replied, reaching up to take the book. "The shock was... so strong. Stronger than even weather manipulations."
"Well," he said, "at least, now we know, that whatever ability you have over men, is most likely a type of enchantment."
"I see," she said, opening the book to skim through it a bit, "but why can't I control it," she said, frowning softly, "and how does it even work?"
"We'll have to figure that one out later, I'm afraid. It might take a while, but we just might get lucky and find someone who knows what it's about."
"Yeah, all right," she replied softly before grabbing of a few of the basics and turning to him with a smile. "I'm ready."
He smiled back at her and said, "Well, let's go pay for them then."
He led her to the front counter, where a small line of people were waiting. Among them, Robin, who was waiting along with Sanji, who was carrying a large pile of books, his and hers. Robin was reading one of them, while waiting in line. After Luffy'd taken her books to carry, which made her blush a little more, Nami then followed him to the front, seeing the others there with Gen and Nojiko waiting to the side. The line took a while to get through, but finally they were able to pay for the books.
"How much?" Luffy asked the cashier.
"That will be fifty-three gold pieces." Nami blinked at the cashier's reply. That was quite a bit for a few books.
Luffy dug out the money from his pockets and handed it to the cashier. "Here you go."
"Thank you very much. Enjoy your books, sir," she said, giving them a smile.
As they walked off, Nami muttered softly, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," he said and smiled at her. He could definitely get used to this, and that was definitely the best spent fifty-three gold pieces.
To Be Continued...
Authors' Notes:
Con: D'aww, that was so cute~! *^^* It seems they're finally coming together~! So fluffy~!
Darth: Yes. Absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong here.
Con: Never~! Love only grows! ... Right? O.o
Darth: That's not what life has taught me.
Con: This is true... *Rubs chin* ~.~ Naaah, we're just messing with you guys! :-D Or are we? ~.~ Hmm...
Darth: We totally are.
Con: Totally... Anyways, until next time! :-D
Darth: See ya.