One Piece: 100 Theme Challenge

Theme: 41 - Teamwork

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Nami

Rating: PG 13 (Contains alcohol, some sexual themes, etc.)

**Timeline: After One Piece: Movie Z**


If there was anything Roronoa Zoro had learned over the course of his life's journey - and, more specifically, the last two years - it was that a change of scenery was always nice. Or, perhaps, it more so that he had learned to do some things with a bit of spontaneity. So, instead of taking his typical mug of ale to his napping spot on deck or sit lamely at the dining room table, he decided that a late night stroll into the Aquarium Bar might just be spontaneous enough.

That, and there wasn't else much change in scenery when one was on a boat.

Though not the most solid reason (and he needed one, in case a shitty cook happened to find him there) the swordsman had truly yet to explore the ship since the entire nakama's return and without his role as night watch, this was as good a time as any to find some 'spontaneity' on the Mugiwara's ship.

With no one in the kitchen, he had to grab himself a pint first. Zoro simply strolled over into the pantry and uncorked a barrel, filling up a mug as if it was as natural as can be. He did have some trouble returning the scene to its previous state - his fight with the aforementioned cork won't be describe, to preserve his manhood - but that did not take away the good, old taste of his long time inebriating friend.

A sigh of satisfaction drifted past his lips as he made his way out of the kitchen and...well, since no one was around, he took the slide to the lawn deck.

...Damn, that was ridiculously fun.

Looking across the way, he acknowledged that part of his decision to take to his newfound spontaneity may have to do with the fact that he was so accustomed to watching over the crew at night even when it wasn't his task. With Brook taking his turn in rotation, it felt like Zoro was on vacation from a job he didn't want a break from. Then again, he hadn't wanted the trip to Kuraigana Island when Kuma first sent him away... Now that had been spontaneity!

So on that note, he trudged into the Aquarium Bar...it really was too upscale for his taste. He could immediately recognize the design qualities some of his more mature nakama would enjoy, simply because he thought them to be extremely excessive. Nevertheless, he had brought himself here; perhaps Roronoa Zoro could have an extravagant side too?

Taking a seat on the red leather sofa, immediately hypnotized by the fish swimming in the tank. The lights remaining off actually suited him well, for it presented a great thinking space. Usually it was his mind that kept him awake, past the time that his body gave out, seeing as how it pushed himself physically each and everyday. He would surely fall asleep here if he wasn't too careful not to be caught.

But of course, he was Roronoa Zoro. His senses were high-wired, finely tuned, and he-

"Ah!" a soft-sounding gasp actually startled the man. He could feel how his now longer-than-before hair swung with the swift krank of his neck. Who was it? The moon dripping into the tank wasn't strong enough to illuminate much past where he was sitting, but the nakama was carrying a small oil lantern, "Zoro?"

Oh, it was Nami.

"Eh?" he tried to play it cool.

"Why don't you have the lights on in here?" She questioned, but did not make an attempt to turn them on herself. Even without an answer, she approached him with her lantern, and he found himself enchanted again, from water to flame.

Zoro watched her place the lantern on the round table nearby before coming to sit on the couch, just a few cushions away from him. "There's light in here." he defended before taking another swig of his ale.

Vaguely, he could make her out; in between the mixture of the natural and man-made lighting in the room was her tangerine hair. It was signatory to the navigator, and it would seem hers grew out longer too. Much longer than his, clearly. A lot of her had grown and changed...from two years ago, to their encounter with Z and his crew, and now back to twenty year-old Nami.

She rested her arm on the back of the couch like he had, but crossed her legs and turned to face him, and because it was her left arm he could also see her tattoo in a darker definition. She intended to stay if she was cozying into the couch in such a way.

"What are you doing here now?" Zoro asked as calmly as can be. He'd rather ask the question to her before she posed it against him, in all honesty.

Nami stretched a bit before finally nestling into place, "I've been working on some maps of Dock Island and Secon Island, and I thought I deserved a break."

"Really?" this surprised him, "Even though the volcano on Secon Island blew up?"

"So what? It's still an island. We were there, so I charted it." The navigator (extraordinaire) stuck her tongue out at him, and for some reason, the way she behaved relaxed him again. He dove back into his drink.

"Now that I think about it," he heard Nami sing and eyed her over the rim of his mug. She had a gleam in her eye that he could see in the soft light, hinting at a thought in her mind that had been drawn forth based off what he had just said, "You were pretty good at dealing with me when I was turned into a kid."

What on Earth did she mean by that? "Huh?"

"I guess I just expected the demon swordsman to not be good with kids. You were so much more patient with me when I was eight than when I'm twenty."

'Maybe because you were too busy being short to give me any big problems.' He could not help but think to himself, but chose not to test either of their patience by bringing it up. Instead, he grunted.

Then, the room fell into silence. Comfortably, they sat, watching the multitude of fish swim by in the tank. An odd occurrence, it was; it had been too long a while since the first mate and the navigator were within arms length of each other, let alone, well, alone. Before his trials on Kuraigana Island - before he was forced to see beyond his body, and focus on his inner strength too - he might have opted for a spontaneous nap to alleviate the possibility of having to entertain awkward conversation.

But hell, he was already in the Aquarium Bar; he wasn't drunk yet, but some unusual shit was happening tonight regardless, so why stop now?

It was oddly soothing, in a way he couldn't have imagined. Maybe it came from the silent conversation they all had had; no Mugiwara needed to discuss where they had been, because it didn't matter. They had all returned to one another, stronger.

With Zoro and Nami, they had been the original two members who had joined Luffy around the same time. They had been through their own adventures together and now they had come home after their first one apart since they became Mugiwara. What a foreign sensation that was.

There was indeed a sense of respect for one another that had developed as well. He had seen her fight in that kid-body when they were on Secon Island; Nami had always been a strong child - or so they had been told by her sister, Nojiko - but it was a different experience to see her current level of power inside the being of an eight year old, when there were times where he had witnessed her cower in fear at eighteen.

Maybe part of that respect came from another powerful young girl he once knew... Maybe he had been more attached to Nami at that age because the last time he was around a female so small was with his childhood friend, Kuina. Unintentionally, his free hand rested on the Wadou Ichimonji. No, Kuina had been older than eight when he had last seen her, but maybe since he was older now and considered her a childhood friend, his memory related her to that age and size... Seeing Nami's spirit when she thought she wouldn't get to return to being twenty reminded him of Kuina's will power, hadn't it?

Ah, a nostalgia kick. It had been a long time since he had experienced one of those. Zoro couldn't help but smile to himself as he tried to put those memories back into place, seeing as how they had felt like so long ago...

Perhaps he had been silent for too long? Or maybe, Nami was reflecting on things the way he was too. Maybe they both needed the silence. He would never protest to that. Hm, it would seem that it would take time again to get back into the same rhythm as the crew, but with her especially.

"Mm," she hummed suddenly, and if she had made the sound to gain his attention, she achieved her goal quite quick, "I bet you'd be good with kids of your own, huh?"

For every sword he had, there was a second of pause. Three, two, one, "Huh!?"

"You were so much like a stern papa! Loving, but firm. Like when you raised your leg when I was trying to free you from the vines, when they were bombing the ship? Or when you called me to help take us to where Z was? You showed what a kind papa you can be. So cute!" Reflecting on such things made Nami giggle, but there was a hidden undertone to her words.

'Since we've both been back, we don't seem as close anymore.'

He had heard her loud and clear, even if the thought hadn't bluntly crossed his mind. Nevertheless, he tsked at her accusations. "Stupid," he mumbled lazily. 'Old' Zoro would have yelled and fought with her to shut her mouth; 'New' Zoro couldn't discount the thoughts he had been having just before she had asked her question. Even more so if they were both feeling the same thing about their odd separation.

"Hey, hey, I have a question."

Against his better judgement, he decided to bite. "What?"

"Do you think your son will want to be a swordsman just like his papa?" She sounded so cheeky when asking him this! Where was all of this coming from, anyway? Because of what Ain had done to her? He was glad he cut her down, then!

"I don't know; he could be whatever he wants to be."

"Even an okama?"

Zoro spewed his precious ale all over his lap. He heard Nami laugh wholeheartedly, but it took all his might to not imagine a smaller, baby version of himself...dressed as an oka- "Hey! Stop saying stupid things!"

"I'm sorry!" Nami waved him off as if she didn't truly mean her words, and he felt she didn't either. Though her laughter grated on his nerves, he waited out her amusement.

...How long had she been in the Aquarium Bar? Shouldn't her self-given 'break' be over by now?

"I-I think he would be."

"Who?"

"Your son!" Nami clarified as she finally winded down enough to carry on with their conversation, "I think he'd want to be strong just like his papa, and work really hard to impress you. You'd be his role model and his sensei!"

What nonsense was she spewing? A son of his, that he would train, idolizing him? Mihawk was his role model, and until he beat him, it wasn't his job to be the role model of anyone. He didn't like to teach either...but maybe it was different with a parent? Zoro wouldn't know, personally. Koshiro-sensei was like that for him, he supposed. If he thought of it that way, it made sense.

"I'm not a role model." He said it in a way that implied that she knew that.

"No?" She surprised him with a question, not an outright answer. The two of them paused, eyes meeting in the shadows, as if it was a secret admittance of admiration. Another silent conversation; for a pair who used to argue constantly, they seemed to be speaking in a wordless code as of late.

"I bet you would train him, and when he got too excited, you would call him a bastard and tell him to focus on his sword."

"Who calls a kid a bastard for that!?"

"You would, so you can toughen him up."

"Really?" So he replied, but he chuckled at both her mockingly deep voice and the idea of him doing such a thing. Maybe he was too scary for that sort of thing...not that he had thought about it, outside these stupid questions.

"What if you had a daughter?" That question caught him off balance. As if her constant inquisition hadn't tossed him about, it was as if she had geared the conversation towards learning about his past. No, not even Luffy knew about Kuina. Not that his captain would care, and he liked it that way, as such a story would never be a need-to-know piece of information. However, it would seem this question of hers needed an answer, "Would you let her become a swordswoman?"

A pause, "...It's not about me letting her."

"Is that a no?"

"Hey, Nami, why are you asking me so many-"

"Are you going to be one of those dads who makes his daughter into the perfect house wife-"

"It's not a matter of me letting her!" He couldn't help it; Zoro raised his voice to drown out the very theme of her words, "If she has the will to be a swordswoman, then she can be...Are you saying your kid has to be a girl or you won't let it be a navigator?"

"No."

"No!?"

"I'll be so rich for making my map of the world, my kids will just sail the world with me." And she said it so confidently too.

With that, Zoro deflated. Wasn't it once the other way around? He used to be the relaxed one, her the serious, strict, stick-up-her-ass little girl who forgot how to take a joke. Those two years apart really had changed them; in this situation, it felt as though they had switched just enough to make him feel...ridiculous. In a foolhardy sort of way.

Here she was, trying to communicate with him with words and end this distance between them after those two years, and what was he doing? Nami knew how to be spontaneous, proven by this conversation alone! Maybe he could give it a try too.

"Yeah? Well," Leaning back with a gruff sigh, Zoro crossed his arms behind his head, his ale sitting between them, "With that attitude, your kid would just be a bad influence on mine."

"Oh ho! Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's too bad for you then, huh? Since I bet your kid will be coming to mine for money to buy their swords." retaliated Nami with a fact that was ever present in the history of Zoro and Nami.

He grimaced deeply before bucking up and facing her, "Oh yeah? My kid is going to have to protect yours all the time, for having its mother's mouth, and always getting into trouble!" He knew it when he saw it; he had made his way under her skin now. Good! Let her get angry. After all, she started it!

"Well when they have to run away together, mine is going to have to take yours by the hand, since he or she will just get lost with her papa's sense of direction!"

Ooh, below the belt.

For the first time in a long time, Zoro began to sputter. Just because she was the navigator, she had to say that!? "Well...your kid...can't...my kid won't carry yours on its back anywhere! It'll be too skinny to even make a good exercise!"

Once more, Zoro earned himself the unmistakable chirp of that Nami laughter. How absurd, his cheeks were reddening!? Ruefully, he tsked again and tossed his eyes off of her rattling frame. Out of all the insults he had shot at the crew over the course of their journeys, for some reason, he wish he had saved one of his best ones to use in this situation instead. "Stop it, already."

"H-Hey Zoro," Nami cooed, but he refused to look at her. As if he would want her pity now. Screw spontaneity. Hell, he might never come here again-and now she was stealing his ale!?

"HEY! I spit in that!"

She chugged back a hardy sip regardless, leaning forward to stare him down as she enjoyed his choice of beer. Putting back down, she licked her lips before muttering her approval of his choice. Then, with her left eye - the same in which his scar was on - she winked at him. "It sounds like our kids will be a lot of trouble."

Swiftly mauling over the digs they made at one another, and the most prominent memories he had of his interactions with Nami...she was right. No wonder he had never thought about kids before; his would be a hellion for certain. And indefinitely, he was proud of just the thought of that.

When he nodded at her with that grin of his, Nami smiled back and stood, indicating that she had tormented him enough to finally leave him in peace. With her being so close, he could make that she had gotten taller too, that her whole body had changed, everything but her face when she smiled. That was her Nami signature.

"Well, well," she sounded heavy with burden as she left, "Instead of fighting over whose kid does what, maybe it would be better if our kids were the same person, huh? So they wouldn't have to have all those problem. I'd have to be nicer to the father of my children, though... But I guess it's better that way; it'd be scary if there were more people who had the directional sense as you."

"H-HEY!"

"Good night, Zoro."

...Conversational spontaneity was NOT the same as being sent away for two years. In that department, Zoro once again recognized that he had a lot more to learn. At least, the discomforting frown and light trace of a blush would lead one to believe so. Thankfully, he was alone in the Aquarium Bar now, just as he originally intended. Although, maybe that wasn't what he wanted anymore. Talking about kids though...?

One day down the road, maybe he'd give that remark more thought.

Wouldn't it be a riot if he spontaneously asked her to live up to those words when the journey of their captain's was all said and done? How quickly that frown turned itself back into that Roronoa grin. That would be the perfect comeback to the words they exchanged tonight.

And on that note, Roronoa Zoro passed out peacefully.


Hellooo faitherful readers!

Did you miss me? I'm so sorry for being away for...two, three years? T^T Please don't be too too mad! I promise I thought of you lots!

I think that the war, 2Y Time Skip, and then the Fishmen Island Arcs...so much was going on, and there was no ZoNa to fuel my love, you know? I was distracted by Ace and the main story and it seems like Oda-sensei is trying to fool the world by keeping them apart all the time so when he puts them together in the end everyone will be so surprised! ...That's my explanation, and I'm sticking to it. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I may NOT be finishing the 100 Themes Challenge. :( I will, however, be completing My Soul Duty. I wanted to post this as a prelude and to let all of my followers know that I'm active again, to give my readers something to do while I review aaall 17 chapters of MSD, refresh my memory as to what I wanted to do with the plot...did you know I never decided on an ending? I have everything BUT that! We'll see where this new me, new OP will take us~

Also, I just want to take a moment to say that I hope Oda-sensei is doing better :( I hope he is healing and beating this sickness of his like Luffy beat up...well, all of his enemies. :P

Thank you to everyone who has stayed with my stories, and read them faithfully! ZORO x NAMI is still my OTP, and I hope my stories make you love them too~ See you for the wrap-up of MY SOUL DUTY, coming soon~!