One Piece:
No One Else
Theme: Breaking the Rules - #50
Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Nami
Rating: T (Sexual Implications)
Timeline: Post-Timeskip; Pre-Punk Hazard
"Is that so?" huffed Nami as she began to wiggle herself free from his grasps, scrambling beneath their cocoon of blankets in order to burst out of their once peaceful, temporarily blissful, post-coital euphoria.
Zoro couldn't fight the eye roll that possessed him, watching her wiggle her naked bottom up and away. "Nami," he groaned while reaching for her leg. Missing quite lamely, he pretended he attempted no such thing and moved to sit with his arms atop his knees, "don't do this."
Her chocolate hues seared him while peeking through the plain white night dress she was in the process of tossing over her head. The swordsman jumped – his leg twitched, as if demanding he run for his life, knowing all too well what was on the other side of those hateful eyes – but he would never give her the pleasure of knowing that. Instead, he sat there against the bench of the Crow's Nest and stared back, looking as pensive as he could muster at such a late hour.
Another secret he'd take to the grave: she had managed to wear him out. Him. The demon pirate hunter. The first mate of the Straw Hats.
This witch of his was more powerful than he gave her credit for.
"I didn't make you do anything for Valentine's Day," his enchantress barked while tugging her horribly crumpled panties back up her legs, her back facing him, "because you have the emotional maturity of…of…Luffy."
"Oi!" Zoro resented that strongly. After all, hadn't they been together for longer than everyone guessed they would be? The stupid love cook had given then two hours, while Franky had been more than generous with applying the two week rule to their long-time-coming affair; Nami was supposed to have the most faith in them surpassing any and all expectations, yet in her rage, she had compared him to their captain, who had spent his time in the presence of a mermaid princess telling her to shut up and nicknamed her after her inability to stop her tears. No matter how enraged she may be, she had to know he was much more mature than that!
Nevertheless, she went on, "Which is fine, because I knew what I was getting myself into."
"Getting into what!?" He didn't understand her implication.
"So when you admit you don't even know what Valentine's Day is, I tell you. But what do you do? You turn around and say that!?" Fully clothed, fuming mad, Nami was still just as lovely in her miserable state of aggression as she was when she was saucy or brave. This damned navigator of the Mugiwara crew was all too alluring, much too fierce an opponent for him from time to time.
Now, being such an instance.
Which is why, in moments such as these, he'd give her the pleasure of victory and casually bow-out.
"Who cares what I said? If I'm so stupid, you should have expected that and just gone to sleep." That was how he chose to attempt pacifying his harpy: by offending her intelligence.
Both of them crossed their arms, one behind his head, and the other under her chest. A stare down commenced however bored the swordsman was with their little game. In all honesty, he was wrestling with his pride and stamina in the hopes of managing another round with her either later tonight or early in the morning in order to feel more accomplished than he currently did.
That was unlikely to happen when Nami retreated without another word and made her way to the ladder leading to the lawn deck.
After she threw the closest object – his haramaki – at his head, of course.
Sighing beneath the thick fabric, Zoro rested his eyes and took in the darkness so eagerly forced upon him. He listened to her climb down as best as he could until her sounds completely disappeared and made him feel as alone as the night was capable of. The singularity was comforting, as many would imagine, for the three swords-carrying swordsman, who more than savoured his training or his resting. Individual tasks were merely where he performed best and working with others was a learnt skill that too had been thrusted upon him over the last few years of his life.
Somehow, in the last day or so, after being caught by Robin and Franky on an afternoon stroll around the gardens and groves, Zoro had gone from a man stealing kisses from the woman of his choosing to a confirmed partner of none other than the navigator, Nami, his mortal enemy from time to time. Now here he was, laying nude and yet bundled in the blankets they had acquired for their nightly endeavours, without the troublesome woman who had left him to his own devices after making some uninspired comment about a day he had only learned of moments before she stormed off.
A holiday of gift-giving for couples? Of course it was his damned luck that he would be made to go public with Nami in such proximity to the ridiculous romantic holiday. Since he was alone, Zoro let out the painful sound he had been holding in ever since those warning bells first went off in his head when she brought up such a sensitive topic.
Sensitive, as in, they hadn't even set their own parameters as a pair before being forced to endure such a pointless celebration.
Didn't loyalty account for romance anymore? Not that he was an expert.
Weren't his invitations for her to join him on night watch mean anything? Even if all they did was have sex.
Wasn't them doing it a sign that they were romantic!? What else did she want from him!?
Besides, as she knew, all of his money was squandered by that imaginary debt of hers. He had an allowance just like the rest of the nakama, however, she never forgot her claims to pinning him down for over three hundred – millions? Billions? He couldn't even remember anymore – infinite beris. Those threats of hers meant nothing unless it led to them tangled up in their night watch sheets while toying with her words in an imaginative sense. But now, it would seem he was finally reaching the end of that tether – seeing the end of the road where their money 'woes' were to be playful forever.
How could she expect anything of him, when he had no money to buy her anything for this stupid Valentine's Day!?
Her anger was unfounded, more so than ever! Sure, there were times where he would explode in a rage – having shared a few sparring matches with her, she should be aware that he shared that tendency with her – but he never expected anything from anyone to compensate him for his feelings. For such foolish things as gifts, too…
Sighing deeply, Zoro tugged down his haramaki to stare up at the ceiling, his musky scent washing over him, reminding him that he had trained while wearing it, not while writhing with his supposed girlfriend. Looking down at the empty spot where she had once been laying, the swordsman appeared as troubled as he felt to know that this was the first night he would be sleeping alone since they had been discovered.
If only he could discover a way to get into Nami's good graces again.
By the time noon rolled around and lunch had been made, Nami had unwillingly cooled. It wasn't by choice, of that she was certain; after admitting that she knew he wasn't the type to celebrate romance such as she, it was unfair of her to snap at him for such an off-handed remark. But something had possessed her in a way she had never felt before and the explosion that followed had made her feel as if she had been the one brought down to Luffy's level, or worse, that she had sunk lower than their wonderful, juvenile captain.
She sighed with defeat as she made her way into the dining room, bidding her morning pleasantries to all who were present. At first, the swordsman was absent from the table, and it worried Nami that perhaps she had pushed him too far with her flimsy feelings. But after she had taken her seat along the back wall, it was none other than the swordsman who came strolling in to the kitchen. "Sanji, what's to eat?" he winced while stretching his arms.
As the chef snapped and yipped, none shared Nami's hyperawareness that Zoro moved to sit at her side. Their argument from the night before had not been reiterated to any of their nakama – she had even remained silent and refused to share it with Robin, after returning to the Women's Quarters an hour past midnight – so it must have appeared oh so natural. Given that everyone knew of their status, perhaps Zoro was simply keeping up appearances so as to avoid question and teases about their tussled relationship.
Though annoyed for the suspicion of his reason, she was also appreciative of avoiding any ramifications one silly fight between them could cause.
"Nami-san, my sweet!" cheered the blond, swirling chef as he delivered to her a beautiful fruit salad stylized in a wide margarita glass, the scent of the medley overcoming her senses, "I made you something special! A decadent fruit salad with a swirl of whipped cream, and wafer sticks of chocolate, all to celebrate a belated" – he glared at his green-haired adversary – "Valentine's Day. I hope you taste my love for you in every bite!"
"Shitty Cook." Seethed Zoro on her left. Whether feeling as though his territory was being imposed or if he was genuinely jealous, Nami couldn't help but savour the way his aura was burning up next to her.
It was best she ate her fruit salad quickly, so the unromantic, threatened swordsman wouldn't see that most of the fruits – melons, apples, kiwi, and so forth – had been cut out in the shape of hearts in commemoration.
"Cook-san, am I to go hungry then?" teased Robin from the opposite side of the table.
Ever so grateful for the distraction, Nami eyed her dear friend with a grateful gleam in her eyes. Indeed, the cook did frolic and shower the other lady with his attention the moment she feigned neglect, leaving the orange-haired woman to enjoy her wonderfully, specially prepared parfait. What truly captivated her was how delicious the whole thing smelt; though her supposed boyfriend might keel over at its sweetness, she couldn't help but adore the way the fruits wafted around her. Why, she would even go as far as to say she felt fresh just by being given such a treat.
Snacking away as the men griped and moaned about a fruit salad of their own, Nami conversed as she typically would and rather enjoyed their midday conversation. With Franky and Brook absent for different reasons, it was almost surreal to see the crew as they were post-Alabasta, but dressed as they were two years after being separated. She couldn't help but think that the man at her side was both more insufferable yet equally enjoyable at the same time.
Enjoying herself so much so, the navigator failed to notice the sour note in her lunch: her parfait was finished off all too quickly, and Sanji quickly came to take her dish away if only to replace it with a platter of lemon and herb poultry. On a bed of risotto and dressed with a side salad, it was the perfect plate of a lovely lunch…yet Nami wanted another serving of her perfectly presented parfait. However, it seemed the scent was meant to linger, so she endured her craving and gratefully dug in to her meal.
"So Nami, Zoro, how's the romance going?" boldly asked Usopp who was, luckily, for his own sake, sitting all the way down at the other end of the table.
The unmistakeable sound of Zoro choking was kept Nami from freezing up. "Why are you asking?" countered the navigator as she tried to steer the conversation away from the oncoming storm, slowly, carefully, methodically.
The sniper shrugged before pointing his fork their way, spitting out, "I just wanted to know if the flame was still burning bright. You know, since Franky's deadline just passed and all."
"Well, he's still in one piece, so that has to mean something." Luffy offered as he observed his first mate. Even though it was his point, he seemed to be doing a once over of his friend to guarantee that he wasn't being kept together by what Nami imagined her boyfriend would refer to as 'witch magic'.
"Believe me," Nami waved them off, playing down her rising anger at their insinuations, "if anyone was going to last this long, it had to be Zoro; I need someone sturdy, right, Luffy?" And the captain joined her in a fit of laughter, knowing full well that if anyone needed a partner who equal parts strong and enduring, it was none other than Roronoa Zoro.
If she had spared him a glance, she would find the very man in question smirking to himself.
"B-But Nami-san, I can be—"
"Oh, by the way," Nami went on while sucking on her finger that had pinched a few grains of risotto off of her lips, "We should be arriving at Luffy's crazy destination in a matter of hours."
"Yosh! I can't wait to see what the log pose was going crazy over!" And the captain of the crew laughed at the menacing danger that was he had deemed unavoidable. Thankfully, he paid no attention to Usopp and his apparent cowardice, or he might have become annoyed by it eons ago.
The marksman sighed at his side, "Of course you can't."
Evidently, Nami's distraction scheme went off without a hitch. The crew began to theorize what could be causing such abnormal behaviour in the needle of the navigator's trusty tool – mixed reactions were given when Robin gave her typically morbid theories – as they finished their main course. When there was nothing left to pick at on their plates, many of the crew vacated to lawn deck to partake in any leisure activity possible before their next adventure began.
"Okay Sanji, I'm ready to start." Nami declared, referring to her assigned dish duty for the afternoon. If she had sleeves, she would have rolled them up to further show her determination.
Lacking in such a display must be the only downfall to her lovely bikinis.
"Hai, Nami-swan! Do you want any help?" Sanji generously offered his time as he had already taken it upon himself to bring all of the dishes, cutlery and cups to the counter for her.
Smiling at his kindness, she still shook her head, stating, "No I want to do this on my own. I was working all morning on my maps and I could use a different distraction."
"Ah, is that so? Do you mean…a distraction from that marimo? IS HE—"
"Oh, you know what you could do for me?" Nami's eyes lit up and her smile was wide, clapping her hands as he exclaimed her instructions to dramatize enthusiasm, "Can you ask Franky to do a check up on the Mini Merry, my waiver, all those guys down there? I have a feeling we may be needing them; who knows where Luffy is leading us now."
As if he had been called in by his sergeant, Sanji stood tall and saluted, "Yes, Nami-san!" he shouted with instilled respect before performing a cross between a march and a skip out the kitchen door. Watching him go felt as if some of her weariness was leaving with him, for as much as she adored the chef and all that he did for her, sometimes his fawning energy was too much to bare.
Washing the dishes, however, was indeed a welcomed distraction. Thinking on her behaviour last night in the Crow's Nest while in her private drawing quarters was unpleasant – it was her personal space in which she could work, relax, and dreading her upcoming apology to the swordsman was the type of work she didn't find all too relaxing – but scrubbing clean the dirty dishes from a nice enough lunch was much more welcomed. Being in such a large room on her own also felt much less stifling.
"I guess you don't want my help either." Said a voice from behind.
Nami nearly leapt out of her skin and threw something at her surprise conversationalist, until she realized it was none other than the plague upon her thoughts: Roronoa Zoro. Heaving and wheezing at the kitchen sink, she had half a mind to grab hold of anything in reach and whirl it at his idiotic green head!
"ZORO! You scared me half to death!"
At first he blinked at her with a curious arch in his brow, but it was no sooner replaced by one of his (secretly labelled) sassy grins, "Only half? Damn."
"Rrgh, what the hell are you doing here still? I thought you left!"
"I don't remember leaving."
"Well, seize the moment!" She was doing her best to reign herself in, warning him of her oncoming rage.
Instead of laughing at her expense, he stood slowly from his seat at the table and approached her with what appeared to be purpose in his steps. With his typical pose of resting his arm upon his swords, he appeared oh so calm as he said, "That's a no then."
"A no for what?" She stood strong in her own signature stance, with her hands on her hips and her lines reading strongly.
Zoro stared her down lazily, with a flicker of something hidden deep in that one good eye of his. "I said I'd help you clean." Reiterating himself, he did become somewhat impatient.
Her suspicion, on the other hand, was obvious and at maximum capacity. Even in the fragrance of fruits she adored in the nearby fruits basket did nothing to soothe her as they had at the beginning of their meal. "Why would you want to do that?" She scrutinized, tilting her head, her gentle waves falling over her shoulder like a honeyed river.
Her beauty was lost on him. A deep frown that almost touched his chin was her only answer and it almost made her laugh. How on Earth could she make him so miserable, over the tiniest thing? It had only been a jest, but perhaps her requirement of a rough-and-tough mate wasn't an off-handed remark after all. If she meant it, then they were both to expect rough waters in their future.
"Fine, fine," Nami caved, waving at him before returning to the kitchen sink, "If you're going to help, you can dry the dishes, okay? Here." Grateful of their poses in the kitchen, she was able to fulfill her wish and tossed the wash cloth at his face. A smile was on her lips as she turned on the taps, grabbed the sponge and became to scrub.
For some reason, she couldn't help but admit that, even though he was the person she had the most to think about, having Zoro at her side was actually much more necessary to her sense of comfort than mauling over her words and actions alone. It was something she couldn't explain – something she would never have been willing to admit to herself before, either – but having him near felt more affirming than having him stationed somewhere random on the Thousand Sunny.
That, and it was interesting to have to work together on such a daily task as cleaning dishes. Nami avoided any futuristic visions of the two as she handed him his first dish to dry, the fruity scent of the soap rushing past as she offered up the lunch plate. He took it, another breeze swept by, and she returning to her scrubbing—
Looking at the colour of the soap, she noticed it was blue… What sort of fruit had a blue colour? One that would be made into a soap, too?
Perhaps it wasn't the soap she was smelling then, but the fruits basket on the counter. Nami shrugged away her misplacement of the scent's origin and applied a much more forceful pace to her cleaning of—
Looking straight at the fruits basket, she couldn't help but notice it was empty.
Where on Earth… The finished parfaits could not carry on such a potent fragrance so long after consumption, could they? Did she perhaps squirt some of the juice on her bikini top, or her jeans?
"Something wrong?" questioned the dish dryer at her side, observing her inspecting glances over her outfit and most likely thought of her as vain or insane.
"Ah, no," she spoke softly, still so uncertain from where this fruity smell was coming from, "here."
Nami handed yet another sparkling plate off to the swordsman who was more than ready to receive it. But then, another slight – ever so slight, only noticed by those who truly adored the perfume of a ripened fruit – whiff floated past her senses. It was starting to nag at her! Where could this scrumptious, tangy, beautiful scent be coming from—
Her nose led her to Roronoa Zoro.
"Oi, what are you doing now?" His question sounding slightly strained, the trained eyes of the navigator scaled his deep green coat and over the rough edges of his face, meeting the sight of one steely eye. That flicker she had previously noticed was there once again, fueling her insatiable curiosity.
She needed to know what this was about right now.
Nami leaned in without hesitation and began to sniff her boytoy as if it was a typical ritual of theirs. By the twitch in his shoulder, the edging backwards of his body for a fraction of a foot, Zoro didn't view it in such an endearing way. That mattered little to the woman before him, who grabbed at the open collar of his clothes and tugged him closer. She took one deep breath and knew right away that not only was it him carrying the scent she couldn't resist, but that she knew where it came from.
That was one of her newest soap bottles from the bath, meant to smell much like a fruit punch.
"…Zoro?" She had to ask as she slowly pulled back, staring his scowl down from a few inches below him in height. To her surprise, the scowl didn't last long, and the explanation felt even shorter.
"Happy…Valentine's Day."
What…on Earth was he going on about? She wore the very same expression that he could not have seen that time he performed his caveman yell while swinging on vines in Skypiea, "Huh?"
The fierce Supernova appeared startled, "W-What do you mean, 'huh'!? I said, Happy Valentine's Day!" A glimpse into a younger Zoro was seen in his impudent behaviour, something she almost found herself stricken by.
"But…what makes this…a Valentine?" Gesturing to his apparently squeaky clean being – however glistening and glorious it may be – she couldn't comprehend how him using her soaps was meant to be a romantic present to commemorate them. Unless he was trying to turn her on by stealing from a well-renowned thief, such as herself... That soap had been pretty pricey! Using it without permission wasn't all that sexy!
"You…I bathed for you!" Zoro shouted, sounding offended at her lack of understanding. As if proper hygienic procedures were a thing he could only partake in if it was meant to be an act of spoiling her. But how was she supposed to see beyond his childlike mind, when his weekly bathing schedule allowed for one bath a week?
Then, it struck her: he had bathed four days ago.
He…bathed for her, with a soap of her liking, outside of his routine.
He really had bathed just for her as a belated Valentine.
"You bathed for me." Nami repeated her findings aloud, in an emotionless voice.
"Yes!" snapped Zoro, reaching the end of his patience with the exposure of his loving gesture. The blush creeping over the skin in his cheeks was really the only Valentine she'd ever need. However, she couldn't ignore the strangely gratifying feeling that was sweeping through her as the reality she faced finally sunk in.
Her lover was an absolute buffoon, just as she always knew he was.
Without another word, Nami happily attacked him with her kiss, her embrace, forcing him to hold her fast and preserve the moment. It took Zoro very little to find the urge to respond, to engage in their kiss with heated lips, fervent tongues, his grunts meeting her airy giggles.
"Stop that," he commanded gruffly, low was his voice as he focused more so on his enjoyment of the moment.
"I can't help it." Was how she chose to reply, not willing to emasculate him with her eviscerating opinions of his manliness and romantic side. Instead, she drew back to give him space, to take in his warmed body, smoldering face, his heavy breaths. It really was a sight to behold, knowing that this ex-bounty hunter, first mate Supernova was the man she chose to own. Out of all of the cruel things she had done in her life, Nami couldn't currently decide which of them was the one of them she had been the cruelest to when she had first pursued him lustfully.
That would most likely be the theme of all of their arguments until the end of time.
Pulling away from the embrace she had been yearning for since last night, the navigator led herself around her boytoy of a swordsman and, bringing her hair over her shoulder, began to untie her bikini straps in line of his sight. Without turning around, she could imagine how his gaze traced her spine, the sides of her body, the curves of her bosom as it peeked out. His desire felt as if it was demolishing the room with its energy, while empowering her.
"Hurry up, Zoro-baby! The sooner you finish washing those dishes," she hummed while bringing herself to the dining table. Hopping up onto the surface, she leaned back on the palms of her hands so that they were resting in the very same spot his lunch must have been, all the while facing him so he could see her curvaceous body. Then, licking her lips, she added, "the sooner you can get yourself dirty again."
Author's Notes:
Believe it or not, this was loosely inspired by an episode of That 70's Show, where Hyde shows his love to Jackie by shaving his beard off for her when he doesn't know what to say. I feel like his outward display of disinterest can relate to Zoro…and Jackie is a gaudier Nami. XD One of my guest reviewers asked me why there wasn't a Valentine's Day fanfic for these two, so I thought I'd give a belated one a shot~
This also clearly refers to Oda-sensei's bathing schedules for the Mugiwara in a SBS for vol. 67.
I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading~
P.S. That nickname for Zoro at the end was something I entertained in my earlier ZoNa works that I always felt was funny and flirty~
