One Piece:
Something Sweet, and Almost Kind
Theme: #87 – Food / #2 – Fruit Cake
Rating: K (More holiday season fluff!)
Pairing: Roronoa Zoro X Nami
Timeline: Post-Time Skip
The snow blanketed the island made of glass, where every structure was crystalized in a frozen state of water, only to be graced with the gentle touch of snowflakes drifting down from the hefty grey clouds. The breeze was chilly but calm, the vibrancy of the city folk breathing life into what could be considered a frigid place. Though there was an overcast – one that Nami had warned the crew would be in place for the entire day – it did not give an impression of darkness. Instead, it seemed that the entire population of Beruna Island drew its energy from the frosty season and thrived upon winter's insistent nipping.
It was the exact sort of vibe that Nami loved shopping in, especially if she had to do so outdoors. Bundled up, she walked along the busy streets and breathed in deeply before turning to her shopping mate. She had hoped he would have cooled a bit since she had roped him into joining her, but it was hard to tell when he always wore such a disinterested face when dealing with everything and anything that did not relate to his swords or training. But it was because of those strong muscles of his that she had required his help, on this day of days.
"Do you like Christmas, Zoro?" Nami boldly asked in order to break the silence while they strolled. From the corner of her eye, she saw him look down at her and so she stared back at him. The toque he wore on his head hid his striking green hair similarly to that bandana of his that he wore when ready to fight; he managed to appear menacing even when casually window shopping with her during the holiday season.
Due to the scar over his left eye, he was forced to turn his head more to observe her. "Huh? Do I like it?" The swordsman repeated her while sounding as though he was at least considering her question.
"Mmhmm." Nodding, she awaited a proper response.
After a moment of contemplation, he looked back towards the shops' window displays and muttered, "What's not to like about Christmas?" In her eyes, that was a non-answer beyond anything else, but for once, she decided not to push him today. Maybe it was because of her good mood. Maybe it was because she figured she had stolen him away from his nap or training or whatever and had most likely summoned enough of his rage for one day. Maybe it was because she was naturally a generous, gracious soul. More than likely, it was a combination of all three.
However, she couldn't keep from rolling her eyes as she returned to overlooking the street. She had only asked him to carry a maximum of seven bags, and most were filled with holiday-themed clothing for the Mugiwara to wear during their celebration of the festive season. He was lucky she hadn't asked him to model the sweater she had chosen for the guys; at least he had a (reluctant) say in the design he'd be donning! Honestly, Nami could not understand for the life of her why Zoro behaved as if assisting her to do anything other than pilot the Sunny out of a treacherous storm was the most daunting task he had ever been requested to complete.
When had the first two recruited Mugiwara nakama started treating each other like they were more trouble than they were worth?
Or rather, when had it actually started to feel believable?
Having spent two years on Weatheria, Nami did her best to float above her problems. Her time away from her makeshift family had taught her to allow herself to meltdown only when it seemed truly necessary, and she had always believed that it was her boisterous outbursts that deterred the recluse swordsman from spending more of his time with her, especially as their nakama grew in size. Though she would never discuss with him it directly – it wasn't an issue worth addressing, in her eyes – it was impossible for her to lie to herself and ignore the obvious distance that had grown between them since she saw him stand his own against Bartholomew Kuma and disappear right before them.
Now, they were side by side. They had never shopped like this, not even when she had loaned him money in Logue Town. The day her debt with him began, whether she mentioned it much anymore or not, wasn't the tipping point for them; for the life of her, the navigator could not locate the starting point of when exactly they had started to acknowledge each other less and less. And so, she earnestly believed that there was no reason for her to feel guilty about hauling him off into this gorgeous town of permafrost for a day's worth of closeness that was so rare between them for too long a while.
It was then that she spied a small café from the corner of her eye, and Nami thought of the most perfect way to alleviate the phantom tension between them.
Hooking her arm around his, Nami beamed as she said, "Let's get something to eat."
'Surprise' did not appear to be a strong enough word to describe the swordsman's expression. "Eat? But we still have to get your gifts for—"
"Come on, let's go." Without a hint of concern for his protest, she gleefully tugged the bulky man towards the Silver Elk Café by way of haphazard jaywalking. There was some sputtering heard behind her but none of it mattered while she was on a mission. And, coincidentally, the idea of grabbing a snack during a shopping trip made her stomach growl with purpose.
Nami inhaled the scent of coffee and spices, letting the distinctive smells warm her more so than any fire could. A waitress greeted them and she immediately took up the charge of requesting their table and guiding her nakama to their table. Even their chairs were made of ice, but there was an elegance in their carving that impressed her in an obvious way. "Wow, this place is amazing. It must be so difficult to create furniture out of ice."
The waitress smiled amicably and answered, "It's something that a lot of people on this island strive to be good at. Since we are mostly a tourist city, we need to look our best." She giggled gently and placed down their menus, then left them to scour their options of food and drink to order. Zoro had just finished putting the bags down underneath the table when Nami caught him sizing up the technical work in the table, the extended back to his chair, and even the lovely chandelier hanging above their heads. His thumb seemed to be judging the smoothness of the edges to his seat to determine its actual worthiness of praise.
"This island is so interesting," Nami spoke aloud what she assumed they were both thinking, "Who knew you could make an entire city out of ice? And make it look so pretty, too."
Zoro nodded, "Their craftsmanship is good. They must be using some strong power tools to make stuff like this." In reference, he pointed to the thin, weaving lines laced into the solid legs of their table.
"Would you be able to make on of these?" Nami questioned while leaning over her menu. She was surprised to find herself loosening her scarf and unzipping her coat inside such a frigid-looking place.
"Me? Nothing this fancy," Zoro replied while picking up his menu as well, ready to review his options, "Franky might, considering all of the different machines he's got running in that workshop of his."
"Hm, maybe I'll ask him to make something for Robin and me to put in our room."
"Wouldn't it melt?"
"That's for Franky to figure out." Was the cheery reply she gave the swordsman before thanking the waitress for returning with complimentary cups of tea.
Ever disciplined – one might call it – Zoro showed no emotion in response to her reasoning. Instead, the waitress filled in their silence with her notepad and pen at the ready. "Do you know what you would like to order yet?"
Having barely glanced over the different set meals before her, Nami had not fully determined what it was she was craving. Given that she was in no rush to return to the Sunny, she was about to turn the woman away for the time being, until a casual baritone stopped her. "I'll have the yakitori." Zoro stated and removed his woolly toque in one foul swoop. Then, he leaned back into his frozen chair and stared down his indecisive nakama.
"Ah, let's make that a plate to share. One order of set two, please. But can we have it all at once, please?" Nami swiftly gave her order and collected the two menus for her scribbling waitress. The woman nodded, recounted their orders for confirmation, then took the menus graciously before walking away. She dare not give him the chance to question her before explaining, "Your lunch was a set that comes with Christmas fruit cake. You won't mind if I steal your dessert do you?"
Zoro tried with all his mite not to appear shocked to learn that he had ordered so much food – especially something as frivolous as a dessert – but she caught the dance that his brows did. Clearing his throat, the swordsman replied with great aloofness, "As long as it doesn't come with hot chocolate, that's fine. You're paying, anyway, since you hold all of my money."
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad" – yes, she glossed over the remark concerning her treasury status for the Mugiwara – "and you washed it down with food right after. I really thought you wouldn't hate it so much if it was spicy."
If he wore his mental age on his sleeve, Nami imagined that the formidable Zoro would have stuck his tongue out at her for even suggesting such a thing. "That just made it worse! It confuses the hell out of me how people could even drink that."
"Hey, hot chocolate to Chopper is what beer is to you and me." Clarified the redhead as she pointed back and forth between herself and the green-haired man.
"I thought it was milk." Zoro requested clarification, his expression indicating that he genuinely thought their reindeer companion was impartial to dairy.
Shrugging, Nami explained, "You can make it with milk."
The swordsman tsked at her and mumbled, "It tasted like it was made with poison."
Sometimes, she found the immaturity of her nakama to be tiresome, frustrating and disruptive. There were days where she wished that she had the Sew Sew Fruit as her power, just so she could force them to be quiet and allow her some peace. The man before her had always been a special case though, given that he was the least talkative and still managed to distress her. Nevertheless, every now and again, she secretly found the childish ways of the younger Mugiwara to be entertaining, to the say the least, and allowed herself to laugh at the foolishness she was expected to endure from being a member of their nakama.
A moment such as this was a perfect example.
"You know," she sputtered through the rumbling of her giggles, "no one will think you're any less manly if you like sweets."
"I don't hate all sweets," Zoro pointed out. He crossed his arms and appeared to be growing stubborn in the face of her small fit, "but I do hate chocolate."
Thanking her waitress for the sudden delivery, Nami awaited their lunch to be set upon the table before considering continuing their conversation. She eyed the tower of yakitori skewers that rested before Zoro, then glanced over the luscious vanilla Christmas cake that had been placed right in front of her. Oh, how her stomach growled with excitement to eat something that looked so professionally made and so tasty. There was no doubt in her mind that Sanji could make something just as fancy – it felt almost sacrilegious to eat something made by any other human being, sometimes – but what he would not be able to create would be a relaxing atmosphere in which she could converse with the Mugiwara's first mate like they used to all those years ago.
Thinking of it like that, it felt like she was meeting up with an old friend for the first time in a while, almost like a…
"So you would try this cake if I offered it to you?" She could not help but tease him, especially when one of his many yakitori was already on its way to his wide, eager mouth.
Zoro did indeed freeze and examined the decadent fruit cake before him. He took his time in honestly considering his answer, then admitted reluctantly, "If it's not chocolate, than it is fine."
"Okay, here!" And without hesitation, Nami channeled the childish side of her own personality and offered him a small bite from the very end of the slice, where the cake was at its thinnest. She held up the fork to him and mouthed a mischievous 'ahhh' for him if only to egg on the proud man seated with her. He really took his life into his own hands when he didn't wrench his arm away from her, when she had led him into the café. Now, he was hers to play with.
Zoro growled. Not grunted, not hummed or hawed, but most assuredly growled at her for making him susceptible to her fiendish ways. A slight lift arose in the corners of her lips, however, she prevented herself from smiling so enthusiastically at his expense. For someone who had intended to sit down and relax with an old friend, she certainly wasn't treating him all that kindly. Or maybe, that was the point: they only needed time together to get back into the groove that was—no, is their friendship.
If nothing else, whether they were friend or foe, it was nice to know that she could still bend him over backwards to comply with her will.
Zoro craned his neck forward and devoured the bite of cake that she held out for him, like a ravenous animal that had been reluctant but in need of the food handed to him. So noisy, he actually garnered a few curious gazes from other customers in the café. All the while, Nami appeared oh so natural in awaiting for his review as she dug her fork into the cake for a bite of her own. His gulp was so noisy as he practically swallowed the bite whole before snapping back, "Happy?"
"Definitely! It's good to know you are still so good at listening to me." Nami was relentless in the way she pestered him. Now, her smile was full blown as she lifted a forkful of delicious Christmas cake into her mouth and intended to savour every single crumb and spoonful of cream, ever bite of the various fruits.
Zoro's back straightened and he nearly began to shout, "Oh yeah!? You think you're so—"
"Oh—OH, bleh!" cried the unsuspecting navigator as she spat out her bite of cake into her once clean napkin. She felt so distressed as she smacked the surface of the table on the hunt for her cup of tea, now collecting even more curious stares from the occupants of the Silver Elf Café. Her hot beverage had not chance of burning her mouth with how quickly she swallowed every sip, trying to wash down that disgusting flavour.
"What? What!?" Zoro panicked while trying to learn just what had caused the once playful navigator to lose her composure entirely.
With a rattling hand, Nami pointed to the surprise inside her slice of cake: a slice of orangette.
The swordsman across the table assessed the situation before him; he eyed the chocolate-dipped wedge of fruit, then his volatile nakama, then back to the decimated slice of cake. Finally, when comprehension overcame him, it was Roronoa Zoro's turn to wear the most evil, most satisfied grin on his face.
She had eaten her most hated food on the entire face of the planet, and now the first mate was laughing without restraint at the cruel twist of fate that the navigator was forced to endure.
Scowling, Nami allowed her aura to heat up and envelope her body in illusionary flames, the sort that she knew his honed senses could clearly see. But it mattered not; with literal just desserts served to the woman who had made him sample her hot chocolate just the day before, Roronoa Zoro looked anything but terrifying while he chuckled at the expense of the displeased Nami. And if it were not for the fact that they were in a public place, she would have been screaming at him at the top of her lungs, followed by a large slap to the back of his head!
Why on Earth had she wanted to get closer to this idiot anyway!?
Author's Notes:
I was actually forced to eat something that tasted bad just before writing this, even though I had this idea planned since yesterday… Yeah, I feel for both of them now! But since I made Zoro suffer, I figured it was only fair to share the…um, negativity? …Well, tomorrow's theme is festive! Let's see what these two will be up to then, ha ha!
Also, I was definitely referencing Japanese Christmas fruit cakes in this story! P
Beruna is a combination of berg and Kiruna, the place in Sweden that has the famous Ice Hotel! Did you learn something new today!?
Thanks so much for reading!
