A/N: Welcome, One Piece fans, to A Fire of Orange and Red. This is my fanfic shipping Nami x Luffy. I love the two together and honestly wish for them to become a canonical couple. I have read my fair share of fics myself, and decided I wanted to create my own. Rated M for mature scenes in future chapters. Please leave a review of what you think, I'd gladly appreciate it. I'll try to be active here, but I can't promise next day updates like Amazon, lol. Anyway, thank you all and enjoy the first chapter. I will include warnings for each chapter detailing what mature content, if any, will be in the chapter. Do not worry, I won't be going over the top (except for the steamy parts, pervs.) If you are uncomfortable at any time, merely just skip the section, or this fanfic may not be for you.

Here is some context for the setting. We are at Thriller Bark, after Kuma has attacked and Zoro did..well, nothing. However, a slight change here is that Luffy is still in a little bit of pain even after..nothing. (just for plot convenience) but don't worry it's minuscule compared to what was there before. Also, I've also had Franky give every crew member their own room in the Sunny via sacrificing some storage space. That way everyone can have their personal things in their own room instead of taking up storage and the dorm rooms could be used as living areas, storage, etc.

Also, I'm just going to get my interpretation of Luffy out of the way now so that there isn't any confusion moving forward. Here's the thing with Luffy. I think that deep down, there is a part of him that is attracted to females, as we've seen through very rare instances of him getting nose bleeds, especially in Alabasta. I think he is aware of what love and affection is, but he never chooses to act or really talk about it at all because he has no reason to. Like, for example, Boa is infatuated with him, right? Well, I think deep down he inevitably finds her attractive, but since there's really no benefit to him being horny or marrying her or anything like that, he just chooses to not act or do anything, which is why her Devil fruit doesn't work on him.

Anyway, all of this is to say that I think he knows that love exists and that he will be able to respond to Nami's advances and vice versa. Is he going to be some Rizz God? Certainly not at first, but if you're going to try and write Luffy to a tee in a romantic setting it's near impossible. I feel like this is a realistic small freedom I can take.

Thank you, and please leave a review, this is my first time putting something I've made out in a public place and I'd like to know how I did. (please don't roast me too bad lol)

This Chapter contains descriptions of Injuries/Gore and traumatic flashbacks.

Chapter 1: Liberation.

It started around 2 months ago for Nami.

The warm feeling in her chest she got when she thought of her tenacious, stubborn, rubber brained Shenchou.

At least, that's what she thought. Only a month prior to those 2 months was the first time she ran into that rubber boy, as he flew down from seemingly the heavens with his own lifeboat, the two of them locking eyes as they both escaped Alvida's ship. She didn't know then, but definitely knows now; them locking eyes that day, that meeting was destiny. Soon after, she ran into him again at Orange Town, and before she knew it, she was the navigator of a pirate crew.

Nami slowly and silently stepped back onto the Thousand Sunny from Thriller Bark, the island the Straw Hats had been basically imprisoned on for the past 20 hours. She winced in pain as she gripped the bandage on her head, pain still lingering from that bastard Kuma's attack. Couldn't they just be left alone for two seconds? Everything after that was a blur..she remembered being under some rubble…Zoro standing up to face him..along with a battered Sanji. A giant, red bubble just above Luffy's body… she shook her head. She'd figure it all out later. Everything was getting loaded back onto the ship, but uncharacteristically, with complete silence due to events that had happened that night and continued morning, such as the Straw Hats meeting a literal skeleton, defeating Moria, and regaining their shadows. And then what had happened after…Nami slowly looked behind her to see her Captain's and Vice Captain's utterly battered bodies. Luffy, absolutely exhausted for being active and fighting without rest for basically 13 hours, and the 7 hours of exploring before, looked like shit. His body was covered in bruises, small little cuts, wear and tear, and more. She could imagine his soreness and lingering pain, despite whatever Zoro had done. Of course, she had no idea that Zoro had taken his pain away, but that didn't mean Luffy's body was not sore and healthy.

Speaking of Zoro, his body was even worse. He looked like he had just gotten shredded by Mihawk all over again. His scar was open and seeping blood, along with pretty much the rest of his entire chest and head. Of course, Chopper had bandaged him up, to the best of his ability, but the bandages were already seeping red. She stared at the two silently as her emotions slowly got the better of her, tears welling up in her eyes. These two had already done so much for her individually, Luffy especially… She looked around, seeing the rest of the crew. Sanji could barely stand, but since he was the strongest man awake, and of course being the gentlemen he was, helped load things onto the ship. Robin was tired too, but she didn't look too hurt apart from Kuma's late attack. Chopper and Usopp lay down together, exhausted from tending to Luffy and Zoro. Brook, the weird skeleton that had helped them, and subsequently, let into the crew by the idiot captain, wasn't at the ship, most likely still on the island, and Franky was probably within the ship, making sure everything was stocked properly.

Everyone was injured and hurt, but Nami just knew Luffy would want to have a party, no matter how hurt he was. A smile crept onto her face as she thought of her captain's joyous attitude, slowly sitting down between the two bodies, and gently resting her hands on both of their chests with her back to the Sunny's railing. Her right hand, however, was placed over Luffy's heart, and she soon felt her captain's heartbeat. She smiled once again, as she thought back to what Luffy had done for her…


Nami just stood in the middle of Koboyashi Village, her eyes widened in shock and in terror as the people who she grew up with, and that she tried so desperately to protect, just ran beside her to go fight Arlong, the fishman who had terrorized her town and her life. She tried to stop them, but they just wouldn't listen. She..she already lost her money..now she was going to lose everyone she loved…

She slowly fell to her knees as tears welled up on her face. She tried, so hard, but in vein, to keep herself composed and optimistic, but soon the flood gates opened, and then she bawled her eyes out. Her town, her loved ones, her entire life was ruined and destroyed…all because of HIM. Her sadness quickly grew to anger, to resentment, to HATRED. She picked up her dagger and began to stab her own left shoulder in pure rage, the same shoulder that carried that Arlong tat..no, that Branding.

"ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG!…Arlong!..Ar-"

Before she could cut any deeper, a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She indeed stopped, her facade and emotional state continuing to deteriorate as tears streamed down her face like a river, snot building up in her nose as she broke down in sadness. Slowly, she looked up to see the man who had come for her, who had stopped her from doing something rash. And there he was. The one who just wouldn't leave her alone.

"L…Luffy…" she breathed, looking at the young boy's face, which was hidden behind the shadow of his hat, pulled down. His body language represented that of anger, of determination. Nami gave him a soft look, but stood up, and gave one last desperate attempt to push him away.

"What are you doing here? I told you to leave. You have no business here." She said coldly, though her voice quickly picked up in volume as her emotions continued to cascade like the natural disaster she was named after. "IDIOT! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY LIFE ANYMORE!!" She screamed. Yeah, that's it. He was such an idiot, he would never understand. She didn't need him or want him in her life. She didn't need him...she didn't…right?

Nami's lip slowly quivered as her angered face softened. She knew, deep down in her heart, that what she had just said was the stupidest lie she had ever told. Images of all he had done for her, even then to that moment in the short time they had been friends. Orange Town..The Baratie..and his refusal to leave her. Despite everything she had done to him, taking the Merry, continually refusing to say anything to him, even now as she disregarded his intervention and screamed at him to leave, he was steadfast, stubborn. He was ready to help her. His face and resolve covered by that straw hat. Just like the idiot captain he was. Her lip quivered as she finally decided that just this once, she'd ask that question. She fell to her knees once again, and asked quietly, but yet with a desperate tone:

"L-Luffy…help me…" she said, so quiet it was almost carried away by the wind. Luffy's face tightened, his frown exaggerated on the visible half of his face. Without a word, Nami's mouth opened in a silent gasp as he took off his hat, and placed it upon her head. This time she did let out an audible gasp, thinking back to only a couple weeks earlier in Orange Town, when his prized straw hat was torn open by Buggy.

"HOW DARE YOU TEAR MY TREASURE!!" He had shouted. Another memory of the small crew of 4 playing on the Merry, talking about treasure, before they met Sanji.

"Treasure? This is my only treasure." He had said, gesturing to his Straw Hat.

"Why's that?" Usopp had asked.

"Well, someone I really look up to gave it to me when I was young. He inspired me to be a pirate, so I have to keep this hat safe to bring it back to him. I don't want to let him down." He had said then, with his usual giddy smile.

Tears welled up in her eyes again. Had he really trusted her with his one and only treasure? After all the pushing and shoving away she had tried to do? After stealing the Merry? Her hand brushed his wrist as she collapsed, one hand holding the hat and the other on the ground, shaking from the now stinging pain from her earlier outburst. However, she forced herself to look up, seeing Luffy now walking down the street, before he suddenly stopped and stretched out upwards, head and arms straight up, as if he was shouting to the heavens themselves:

"OF COURSE I WILL!!" He proclaimed at the top of his lungs, his words echoing throughout the empty town. Only then did those tears begin to flow down her soft face again. Despite all that she had done, Luffy..was still there for her.

It only felt like moments later, she was standing beside the very townspeople who had gone to fight the fishman, watching the straw hat crew beat their oppressors. She watched in awe as Sanji won his battle against Kuroobi, and Zoro had beaten the octopus swordsman, Hatchan. How in the world did he beat a person that could wield 6 swords at once? It absolutely baffled her. Not to mention Usopp actually fought this time, and ended up beating that creepy fish man, what was his name again? She didn't remember and she didn't care. But of course, the one who caught her attention the most was Luffy, who was fighting Arlong himself within his complex, Arlong Park. She watched as the two dueled, at least, as much as she could through the small windows. However, eventually they found their way into her old room. She watched Luffy stop, and give the room a look. Normally, the Straw Hat Captain would have just disregarded his surroundings, let alone actually interpret them, but Nami watched as Luffy, for the first time since she had met him, instantly understood. His eyes had turned back to the shark, in a fiery gaze of anger and protection.

"This..this room…this is where you kept her!" He realized, as Arlong didn't know how to respond, only looking back in anger at the young boy who dare threatened his reign, blood slowly rolling down his face and arms from their battle. However, Luffy continued, his anger bubbling over, veins appearing on his face. He too was covered in Injuries and blood, but he didn't care.

"You..you kept her here..imprisoned her..made her face her own family..as the enemy! You even made her steal..as a young girl..and then you took it all away!! This..this room..has caused her so much suffering…" He said now, his head now dipping down towards the ground. Nami's eyes could only widen at this show of protection from him. Did he really understand, just from looking at that room? However, his next words all but confirmed it, as luffy's head sprung back up to look straight at Arlong, with a death glare that mimicked one of his Mentor's. "She can't go because this room is here…" He then breathed in, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "THEN ILL MAKE SURE TO ERASE EVERY TRACE OF IT!!" He screamed, and soon the young girl saw one of his legs shoot through the ceiling of the building, loosening up the flagpole as his leg stretched to the heavens, like an axe. Fitting, for the attack name.

Arlong, however, wasn't going to just see his empire crumble down. The shark let out a deep growl of hatred as he clutched his bent, razor-like nose and shifted it back into place. "Don't get cocky..you damn human." He hissed, now standing back up, his eyes bloodshot with rage as he locked on to his target. "Arlong Park will never be brought down by you inferior beings!!" He shouted, now readying himself for his attack. He then jumped into the air and spun at rapid speed, like a torpedo, his sharp shark teeth out and ready to clamp. "SHARK TOOTH DRILL!!!" The fishman shouted, rocketing towards the boy. Luffy looked at him with a frantic look in his eyes. If that hit he knew he would be toast. However, after thinking about Nami, Nojiko, and even that old man..he didn't care. "GUM-GUM BATTLE AXE!!!" He bellowed in response, as Arlong connected straight into Luffy's torso, his teeth sinking deep into his flesh, sprouting even more blood. Luffy winced and hissed in pain, but soon, brought the axe down. His leg shot back down with speed and force, and soon struck the fishman square in the chest, knocking all of the air out of Arlong's lungs, forcing him to cough up an absurd amount of blood. "Im..Impossible.." he breathed.

"HHHRRAAAGGHHH!!" Luffy screamed like a primal animal, following through with his attack, as his foot pushed Arlong down through all of the floors of Arlong Park down to his own dining room table. Smoke and dust billowed out of the complex from all sides, especially from the bottom, alerting everyone that Luffy had indeed hit Arlong down to the bottom. Luffy then retracted his leg, panting heavily as he gripped his now bitten torso."Thump..Thump..CRASH." Went the sharp flagpole that carried the Arlong Pirates' Jolly Roger, finally crashing to the ground and splitting into a thousand pieces.

Everyone's jaws were collectively dropped. They had just witnessed two powerful forces collide with their most strongest attacks, and then a complete obliteration of the interior of Arlong Park, dust and smoke filling the area. Soon, however, the complex itself began to shake and collapse, cutting through the silence of the witnesses. Nami instantly got worried for Luffy's safety, extending her hand instinctively, but it was already too late. The top floor collapsed in on itself, and Arlong Park crashed down onto the ones who occupied it, creating another vast plume of smoke and dust. However, as the dust settled, the sun finally peaked through the clouds to reveal a mountain of wood and rubble that was once Arlong Park. Nami's eyes darted around, looking for Luffy, looking for that red cardigan, his raven hair, those powerful onyx eyes. She silently prayed for his safety, she didn't want to lose him now. Feeling of intense worry, and yet, warmth invaded her mind and soul when she thought of him now. And soon, her prayers were answered, as slowly, the rubber boy lifted himself from the top of the rubble, head down, fists clenched, panting just as before. Nami instantly smiled, calling to him. "Lu-"

"NAAMIII!!!" He bellowed to the heavens, everyone instantly turning their gaze to him as he lifted his head up, his gaze now on Nami. The young girl couldn't help but feel warmth explode into her very being as she made eye contact. His gaze..it was so powerful. So determined, so protective..so..free. His face cut by the battle, but yet, softened by the words he was about to proclaim:

"YOU ARE MY NAKAMA!!!" He announced, his powerful voice echoing throughout the flat, lush lands of the Conomi. Nami stopped, her eyes widening in awe and wonder, almost shuddering from his voice alone. But soon, a smile came to her face, and tears came to her eyes, as the emotions hit her like a Tsunami. He had saved her. He had freed her. He has given her purpose. Arlong was gone. Everyone was safe. Her, Nojiko, Genzo, everyone..they could live again. And for that, she knew she was eternally grateful to him. But yet, for someone who hated pirates, she couldn't help but get a warm feeling in her chest for the first time as she looked at her captain.

"Y..Yeah.."


...Nami, now out of her little daydream flashback couldn't help but sniffle, as she felt her Captain's slow and calm heartbeat, recalling the events at Coboyashi Village, where he had given her freedom, given her purpose. She shifted closer to him, now somewhat hugging his unconscious body. Tears came to her eyes again as she held his head in her lap, gently running her hands down the sides of Luffy's face and hair, feeling how smooth and, surprisingly soft, his rubber skin was.

"Do I really...love this rubber idiot?.." She thought, still softly caressing his skin and face. Her mind waged a war against itself, one side proclaiming she did and the other side proclaiming she didn't. Even if she did, would he even understand? Does he even know what love is? What it entails? Her face contorted, as her breathing slowed. So many thoughts ran through her mind at the same time it felt like there was TV static blaring in her ears at full volume. She then finally realized she had been holding her breath for almost a minute, and thus, raised her head up, gasping loudly for air. What the hell had just happened? A panic attack? She had no idea, but yet, seeing him again, safe and happy in her lap, calmed her right down again, completely forgetting what she was waging a mental war about. He was always so carefree and happy... she softly smiled, as another memory flashed through her head, another moment where he had shown tremendous amount of care for her. It wasn't that long after Arlong, too...


Cold. Very cold. That's what it was like outside on the Going Merry's deck. The Straw Hats had just reached a winter island, Drum island to be exact. Their navigator had fallen under a pretty intense fever. ViVi had done all that she could, which Nami appreciated, but it was no use. The pirate crew were lucky they happened to come upon this village. When they approached, however, they were soon ambushed by the townsfolk, as they had a strict no pirates policy. Luffy pleaded to their leader, Dalton, to let them onto the island in order to get some care for Nami. Reluctantly, the large man had agreed, wanting to do the right thing. Everyone had bundled up to go into the island, except for the captain and vice captain, predictably.

"You know, I really don't get how you can just stand out here in shorts, Luffy." Usopp remarked as he climbed over the ship's deck to jump down the snow below. "Why's that, Usopp?" Luffy said in pure ignorance, carrying Nami in his arms, the orange haired beauty all covered up like a blanketed puppy. Usopp narrowed his eyes, as if questioning if he really needed to answer this question. "Because it's cold, Luffy." He answered bluntly. The rubber man blinked for a few moments, then, as if a switch had been turned on, he instantly started shivering. "W-W-Wow! It r-r-really is cold!!" He remarked, instantly just now choosing to feel the intense cold all over his body. Usopp then comedically karate chopped his head with his teeth turning to fangs. "YOU'RE JUST NOW NOTICING!?"

"Hey. Morons." Sanji said, next to jump down from the Merry to join them as they walked up the hill to Dalton's town. Luffy, interestingly, had gone back to his normal state, now completely forgetting or disregarding the cold, causing Usopp to just stare in disbelief.

"Shut up. All the noise will disturb My Nami Swaaannn~~" He said, instantly fawning over Nami's peaceful sleeping form, though soon her teeth would gently grit together before she hit Sanji on the head herself. "I can still hear you, you know?" She said weakly, but undeniably with a stern tone, before once again falling asleep in her captain's arms. Sanji growled, jealous. "Why do you get hold Nami Swan!? Knowing you, you'll drop her, you rubber idiot!" He accused, pointing straight at him, until it was Usopp that now hit him on the head. "Shush, Sanji, or she might hit all of us next!" He said quietly with a very nervous tone.

"All of you! Do you want to be left behind?" Called a voice. The three then stopped their conversation to see Zoro, of ALL people, way ahead of them up the hill and ridiculing them about getting lost. Sanji instantly growled and ran up the hill. "Oh, like you're the one to talk about getting left behind! We're always the ones having to find you, you damn marimo!" He yelled, to which zoro equally growled back, gripping his katanas. "Wanna repeat that, shitty cook?" He replied with a hateful tone. Meanwhile, Luffy just laughed as the two men just yelled and argued. "Man, there's never a boring day with you guys!" He said happily before continuing up the hill. Usopp just sighed, rubbing some sweat, of all things, off of his head. "God, I'm gonna die with these idiots aren't I.." he said softly to himself.

The briefing was then given once they reached the top. Drum Island had been under rule of pretty much a tyrant, Wapol, and he had taken all of the doctors away. Luckily, Wapol was not here right now, he was out pirating, hence why the townsfolk hated pirates here. However, there was one last doctor, Dr Kureha, but she lived at the top of the tallest mountain on the island, and her prices were steep. Luffy didn't seem to care though, and soon began his ascent to the mountain, with Sanji accompanying him, not wanting anything to happen to Nami. Unfortunately, the two has run into some...killer rabbit thingies, and by the end of it, Luffy was carrying Nami AND Sanji. However, he soon realized he couldn't carry the both of them in his arms, so he gently shook Nami awake.

"Huh? Hmm?" She said quietly, opening her eyes to see her captain. "Hey, Nami, Sanji got hurt so I have to carry him too. I'm gonna put you on my back. Can you put your arms around my neck? Don't worry, since I'm rubber, I'll be able to breathe." He said rather quickly. Nami was too tired to understand every word, so she just nodded. She let out a small Yelp as she felt herself get shifted around, soon feeling herself upon Luffy's back, laying against his cardigan, his hair tickling her own. She slowly pulled her hoodie over her head so she wouldn't be cold, and then wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs weakly around his torso. She slightly blushed, feeling a little embarrassed and hot being so close and intimate with him, but his smile soon calmed her down.

"Alright, hang on, okay? I'm gonna get you both some help." He said, before picking up an unconscious Sanji in his arms, making a small groan under their combined weight. And so, the Straw Hat captain began his journey to Drum Mountain. However, when he finally reached it, he didn't see a ladder or elevator anywhere, thinking there would be one despite Drum Mountain being literally a Mountain. He sighed, but then soon though of an idea. He tied Sanji's coat around the cook's body, making sure it was secure before biting down as hard as he could onto the back of his coat, carrying him by his teeth. He then began to physically climb the mountain with his bare hands and feet, in freezing cold, carrying almost 300 pounds of combined weight on his back and teeth.

Some time later, Nami weakly shook awake, only seeing white and red. She looked around, just seeing clouds and the downpour of white snow all around her. "What...?" She thought to herself, before she finally looked straight ahead, finding the familiarity of Luffy's Straw Hat and red cardigan. It took her a bit to see what was really happening. Sanji was hanging from his teeth...he was climbing something..white and rocky..was he climbing the mountain!? She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Luffy was climbing a damn mountain with nothing but a cardigan and shorts on, with his bare hands and feet, and carrying two people. Speaking of his limbs, as she ran her half lidded eyes over his straining body, she then finally saw his hands and silently gasped. They were mangled. Blood had obviously come off, chunks of skin were missing, and his nails were frozen over. Same went for his feet. She was about to say something, but then saw his head was starting to literally turn blue. He was going to freeze to death if he kept going! But she couldn't do anything..she was powerless. She gently called out to him, but her voice was drowned out by the wind.

"Lu..." she said, but her temperature was leading her to sleep, and she soon saw black.

"Hah!" She panted, shooting up in a soft bed. She was panting and sweating a little bit, but she was inside. Warm. Comfortable. She looked up to see a cool, refreshing towel on her head.

"What?.." she wondered, gently taking the towel off. She felt much better than before. Obviously not normal, but nowhere near as weak as before. She began to study her surroundings. It looked like she was in..a castle? She was extremely confused but as her eyes went around the room, her thoughts once again landed on her rubber captain. Had he taken her here? Was this the top of the mountain he was climbing? Had he really...climbed that? By himself? Nami slightly worried for her captain's safety, but just the thought that he would go to such extreme lengths for her health made a feeling a warmth explode throughout her entire body, a feeling different from a fever. She soon blushed at this. Why was she feeling like this? She shook her head, she would have plenty of time to think of that later. Right now, she needed to find out where exactly she was. As she continued to scan the room, her eyes eventually landed on..a reindeer? She saw a small little creature with horns and hooves wearing a pink hat, looking straight at her. Interestingly though, he had his hands on the door and his body completely out, like he was hiding the opposite way. She didn't say anything at first, she didn't even react in fear or shock, she just plainly said to the little reindeer:

"...Isn't that backwards?..."


Nami came back to after reminiscing once again, just softly smiling as she continued to slowly and gently rub the sides of Luffy's face, now also taking the opportunity to rub his ears as she traced her soft fingers up and down his temples and cheeks. Luffy slowly smiled in his sleep and seemed to lean into her touch, which only made her smile more, that heat returning to her body. Without him..she didn't know what she'd be doing now. She'd probably still be with Arlong, and everyone she knew would have been dead or she would've still been stealing to get their freedom. Ever since then, every time she's by his side, she's felt..whole. Complete. Maybe that's because he was her savior...or maybe it was something else entirely. Her pondering was soon interrupted by Chopper, the reindeer doctor walking over with new bandages to re-examine the two. He looked at Nami's face, and somehow, knew what she was thinking about.

"Thinking about Drum, huh? How he had climbed that mountain?" He said, going to Zoro's side before starting to reapply some bandages and re-cleaning his various wounds.

"I still don't know how he did it, even if he is rubber. He was out in blizzard conditions, carrying the combined weight of you and Sanji..and he scaled a multi thousand foot mountain with his bare hands and feet, and wearing summer clothes no less!" He said, finishing up on Zoro, with now clean, white bandages instead of blood stained ones from before, and then he came over to luffy, putting his hooves on the boy.

"He keeps putting himself into way too dangerous situations. But hey, that's our captain for you." He finished with a weak smile. Dealing with Luffy was exhausting, it seemed like a miracle he survived every thing the crew had done up to this point.

Nami could only softly smile, her eyes still staring into Luffy's closed ones, her hands still rubbing his face and ears. Sure, he was a stubborn, simple-minded, tenacious, glutton, rubber brained moron, but he was their captain. Their savior. Nami wouldn't trade him for anyone else. Chopper silently took note of Nami's behavior. Of course, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions, but it was quite interesting Nami would be holding him so..lovingly.


Eventually, everyone got settled in for the night. The ship was stocked, dinner was eaten, things were prepared. But without the captain, Nami made the executive decision that they would not be sailing until Luffy woke up, to which the crew agreed. Everyone felt like..well, pretty shitty, so everyone kinda just went to bed. However, Nami just couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned on her bed in her room. Yep, In her own room. Franky had given the crew their own private rooms instead of the dorms they had before due to constant complaining of having no privacy. So, he sacrificed some storage space to make each crew member their own small space, with obviously Luffy having the biggest individual room because it was the captains quarters. But that's beside the point. (I need to find SOME way for them to have privacy, don't I?)

Nami couldn't sleep. Or rather, she was sleeping, but was having a pretty brutal nightmare. She awoke with a gasp, slightly panting to herself.

"What the hell?"

She blinked a couple of times, looking at her hands. It was like she just vividly remembered the nightmare she was happening...but at the same time, it was all but a haze to her. She looked to her right, expecting a black-haired archaeologist to be by her side, but ever since the crew had gotten their own rooms, there would be no Robin to console her this night.

(this is where it gets a bit graphic and dark so if you don't wanna read, skip this part, you'll see another section with parenthesis telling you you're good to go)

Then, came a screech. A screech she knew all too well. She looked behind her, and instead of the comfort of her newly decorated wall, she saw Gecko Moria, in his demented zombie like shadow form, towering over her bed. Her eyes widened, and her heart slowed. She immediately turned to run away, but only came to see her friends were on the ground, bloodied and beaten. Luffy was still. Zoro was cut open and soaked in blood. Sanji was bent in a way he wasn't supposed to bend. Chopper, Usopp, Franky, Robin..even Brook. She then looked down, not to see her bed, but her shadow being dragged from her, before Moria bit the shadow off of her himself using his sharp teeth, instead of using his scissors.

"KISHISHISHI!!" He laughed, those with how high pitched his laugh was, it was more like a screech of a bat, one they Nami found terrifying.

"Finally! All of the Straw Hat shadows...these will certainly make my zombie army much stronger!" He said in victory, before noticing Nami staring straight at him. Nami blinked as they made eye contact, her heart rate exploding in terror. Wasn't this a dream? Why could he...see her? Her eyes widened as he leaned down to sneer at her with his zombified face and sharp teeth.

"Oh, so you survived, Straw Hat girl? How lucky for you. Nami, was it? I think I'll let you live. You can remember the sight in front of you, and that will serve as a memory that you weren't ready." He said, those last three words sounding much more loud and powerful in her ears, echoing throughout her head, almost disorienting her. That shame phrase began to repeat in her head as she stumbled back, trying to run away from the graveyard from her dead friends, but as she turned around, she would now be back in her orchard, and she saw...Bell-mere. The red haired mother of Nami smiled and approached her. However, Nami's eyes only widened in terror, the sight of her mother leaving her petrified.

Bell-Mere was walking to her...but the wound she got from Arlong's gun was still in her head. Blood was trickling out of her mouth. Nami started to tear up, her lips quivering, knees shaking, back tingling, all of her hairs seemed to stand up in pure terror, and her body unable to respond as her adoptive mother put her Ice cold hand on her right shoulder.

"You weren't ready, Nami." Was all that she said.

Once again, that phrase pounded through her head, over and over and over, even louder now, making her stumble back and almost fall. She slammed her eyes shut, not wanting to see that gruesome sight any longer, tears now fiercely rolling down her face as she sobbed. However, the ringing and pounding in her ears was so loud she couldn't even hear herself cry. Until, finally, everything abruptly stopped, being extremely quiet. She was now in a black void, and as she opened her eyes, there was no longer and ice cold human hand on her shoulder...but rather a warm, wet, webbed one.

"Shahaha.." a deep voice laughed softly, causing her heart to almost stop, paralyzing her in fear once again. Slowly, a face leaned down, a blue face, with razor sharp teeth, and a razor sharp nose.

"You weren't ready, Nami. How's about you come back home with me?" He said.

One final time, that phrase pounded through her head, even louder now. She couldn't hear herself think. She couldn't hear herself scream. She didn't know what to do. She fell to her knees in despair and let out the loudest cry in her life.

She wasn't ready. They weren't ready.


(You're good to go. Read from here.)

Finally, mercifully, Nami shot up in bed, her heart beating at a million miles per hour. She didn't even know what was happening, she couldn't even trust that she woke up. She had a nightmare within a nightmare.

The orange hair navigator continued to pant wildly, her heart not slowing down for a second. She began to quickly, almost frantically, look over her room. Her things were where they were. Her walls were walls. She looked behind her, paranoid, but only saw her newly decorated wall. However, Nami couldn't calm down. No way. She looked down, her heart still pounding in her chest. Her bed was wet and almost sticky with her sweat. Her clothes; a tank top and some Jean shorts - luffy idiotically called them Jhorts - were a little hot too. She couldn't believe how much she had sweated in just a couple of hours.

"What..the hell..was that?" She said to herself, her voice weak and shaky, still thrown for a loop after the events she had just experienced. Outside, she could hear faint noises of a storm rocking Thriller Bark, and the Sunny by extension. Good thing they loaded everything up before bed.

Images of her nightmare flashed through her head, and she decided she couldn't stand being in this room for one second longer. She frantically got out of bed, almost like a crazed animal, and went to her door, going out into the hall and closing her door behind her, almost as if she thought a demon would drag her back in. She continued to pant wildly, taking in her surroundings. She looked to her right to see the door that lead out onto deck, rain hitting the door from outside. She looked to her left, and saw the various doors of her crew mates. She needed someone to talk to. Badly. Quickly, she ran through the choices in her head.

Frustratingly, the first one that came to her mind was her Captain. She slightly blushed at this, and her breathing started to calm for a few seconds, but she dismissed him for now, thinking he would still be asleep.

Zoro - while she was sure he would help her out, he was injured. She didn't want to open his wounds.

Robin - on watch.

Usopp - Again, while she was sure he would try his best, he would probably get terrified if he told her what she saw.

Franky - no. She still needed to warm up to him, and his body was cold to the touch. Plus he was sort of a perv.

Chopper - while he definitely could console her, she was afraid she would treat him too much like a stuffed animal. She could ask him to transform, but she didn't want to waste one of precious rumble balls for 10 minutes of comfort from his human sized form.

Sanji - no. For obvious reasons.

Brook - not in the ship. Plus, he's a skeleton, and she didn't want to deal with anymore freaky sights tonight.

So, once again, almost as if fate had willed it so, she settled on Luffy. She had no idea if he would even be awake, but she knew that he always calmed her down, and that he would always be there for her. She knew he would be able to listen, and to console her. If nothing else, Luffy was a great listener, just one of the things she lov-uh, appreciated about him. Yeah, appreciated. That's the word.

Her mind now set, and her breathing slightly slowed, Nami made her way down the hall towards to very end of said hall. The last room was the captain's quarters, Luffy's room. It had to be on the end since it was the biggest. She finally came to his door, seeing his light was off. She silently whined to herself, but there was no way she was going back to her room tonight. So, like the cat thief she was, she quietly opened the door and snuck inside.


Luffy's room was big. Nami was quite jealous the first time she saw his room. Luffy had a king sized bed, which made him look small at times. Two bedside tables, one on each side. He also had a dresser, cabinets, etc, on the right side of his bed, plus a seperate chair to sit on on the left side. His bed was facing the back of the ship, and Franky had even installed large windows so he could see the waves as The Sunny traveled. He knew how much he loved to sit on the figurehead and watch the Sunny go, so he thought he would also love to see the waves from his own bed. Of course though, Luffy's room was dark this time of night, and all Nami could see through the window was the pitch black clouds, the gate of Thriller Bark, and the rain pouring down.

She took a deep breath, her heart still pounding in her chest, as she advanced through his room, taking her time to quietly shut his door, before even more quietly making her way towards his bed. Maybe, she could just climb into bed and fall asle-

"Nami?"

"AAAGHHHH!!" She screamed in terror, the sudden voice in the dark making her almost faint as she jumped back, stumbling over Luffy's sitting chair and falling over.

"Woah, Woah, Woah! Are you okay?" The voice said, getting out of bed to come to her aid.

Nami struggled to get up, before she finally realized Luffy was the one talking. She graciously felt his arms come to her sides, helping her up. She looked to him, seeing concern grace over his soft facial features. His hat was off, but he had just the most adorable face. He had a couple bandages, and his raven hair was extremely messy, but he looked..cute. Nami almost blushed as she was helped up, as Luffy let go once he got her back up, but stayed by her side.

"Are you okay, Nami? I didn't mean to scare you like that, my bad." He said, before flashing his signature smile and a giggle.

Nami didn't say a word. She stood there for a couple seconds. Even through just picking her up, her heart had slowed tremendously by just being in his presence. She couldn't believe how much wonders he was already doing for her, and they hadn't even properly talked about the issue yet. But, inevitably, the way he scared her caused anger to cross her features, as she violently brought her fist upon the top of his head.

"IDIOT! DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!!" She yelled, bonking his head hard with her fist, her teeth turning sharp and her eyes shooting daggers into the top of his head. "In fact.."

BONK

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU UP AT THIS HOUR!?" She said after yet another hit to his head, causing a red lump to comedically form where she had hit him.

"OOWW!! What was that for!?" Luffy exclaimed, tears in his eyes as he softly rubbed his now steaming head from how red it was from her fists.

"Answer me, stupid!" She replied, not bothering to answer his question.

"I was up because I feel fine. I woke up like 10 minutes ago and I haven't felt tired since, so I just laid here and watched the waves." He said, turning away from her and pouting. "You happy, Meanie?"

Nami thought about his answer, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. He had been asleep since probably 10 o clock this morning, and it was midnight right now, if not past it. He's probably gotten plenty of sleep. She was about to congratulate him for actually saying something smart for once, until she finally realized what he had called her.

"Meanie? Who are you calling Meanie?"

"I'm calling you a meanie, meanie."

"You're the one that scared me!" She said, finally sighing in defeat. Luffy was definitely a character; that's for sure. They both finally calmed down, sort of just awkwardly standing by each others side, until finally Luffy spoke up.

"Soooo...what are you doing in here? Something bothering you?" He asked, now walking back over to his bed and taking a seat.

Nami tensed up a little at Luffy mentioning something "wrong". He noticed this, narrowing his eyes, but decided to see what Nami had to say. The orange-haired girl sighed once again.

"I don't know, Luffy. I really don't." She said, before making her way over to his bed and sitting right next to him without a care in the world, despite her heart rate accelerating once again, although this time, for a different reason.

Luffy's brows furrowed at her answer. She didn't know why she was in his room? What a silly response. He smirked, and let out a little laugh.

"Well, obviously something happened. Go on, you can tell me, Nami. I'm your captain, you know I'll be here for you." He said, even putting a hand on her shoulder for support.

However, while his intentions were undoubtedly pure and kind-hearted, this acted as a trigger for Nami. As soon as she felt a hand on her shoulder, her eyes instantly widened. Her heart stopped, her back turning cold and a shiver going down her spine. Images of Bell-Mere and Arlong ran through her head. She started to pant, almost in a crazed state as she pushed his hand off of her, moving away from him like he was the plague.

"No, No! Don't touch my shoulder! Not my shoulder..not again.." she said, now visibly shaking after recalling what had happened. Her eyes still wide, tears forming within them. Her legs were tucked into her arms, almost like a ball.

This obviously made Luffy very worried. He stared at his navigator with concern. What happened? She never acted like this. She had never treated him like this. Even on the worst days, when he annoyed her the very most, she still accepted his hugs at the very least. She hadn't treated him like this or acted like this since...

A serious look came across Luffy's face. The rubber captain gave Nami a gaze, before calling out to her.

"Nami, what happened?"

Nami was too busy staring at the floor, trying to calm her breathing, trying to slow down, trying to get that stupid fishman out of her-

"Nami." He repeated, his voice sounding now a little deeper and more authoritative. Instantly, her body seemed to respond, almost like she was meant to. She instantly stopped, and looked towards him. His aura..it felt so intense. She knew he would never threaten anybody in his crew..especially her..but the look he had on his eyes, the way that his face and his soft, raven hair looked..he was not fooling around. He looked ready to protect.

"Tell me. What happened?" He said, scooting closer to her, almost as of expecting what was to come. He was always so good at reading people.

Nami looked to her captain. A million thoughts ran through her mind. Images of all he had done for her. Her dreams of freedom as a child, Arlong's reign, her nightmare, images of him climbing the mountain, smiling at her every single day, standing above Arlong Park.

It all came crashing down on the orange haired navigator.

Instantly, she began to tear up and sob, shuffling towards her captain before throwing herself into his arms. Her face hit his hard chest, instantly nuzzling against it, before moving her face up into the crook of his neck. Her hands traversed their way up his bandaged front up onto his shoulders, clutching them like she was holding on for dear life. She could do nothing but just sob as the images of her dream and that god awful phrase filled her head over and over. She pressed her face against his neck, her mouth and tears against his collarbone as her orange hair brushed against his chin. Eventually, her hands slid down from his shoulders to wrap around his back.

Luffy responded in kind. He didn't say a word as he happily accepted her into the tight embrace she desperately needed. His facial features softened as she nuzzled her way up to his neck. His arms gently moved around her back, pulling her even more flush against him, until finally her legs were in his lap, allowing the both of them to be even more comfortable. Nami continued to sob for a little while as she held Luffy tighter and tighter, holding onto his back. Luffy closed his eyes, gently rocking her, as his hands began to slowly rub her back, working wonders against her spine as they ran over the tank top she was wearing. This helped her calm down, sending warm shocks down her spine in reaction to his touch. He was so..gentle and loving. As the tears slowed, she let out almost a groan in pleasure from his touch before finally, she pulled her arms out from behind his back and pushed on his shoulders to allow her to sit up properly. She was now straddling his lap, but was totally unaware of their position. All she cared about was talking to Luffy. Her hands slowly ran down his chest once again, before finally finding his own. He took her hands into his, and soon, their fingers were intertwined. His face remained steadfast, neutral, and ready to listen; just as a captain and a friend should be.

"There was..this dream. This horrible...horrible dream." She started, fighting through tears. And so, she told her captain about what had happened. Moria, Bell-Mere, and finally, Arlong. As she went, Luffy consoled her at every turn, squeezing and rubbing her hands, hugging her when she needed to, and everything else he felt was necessary. Nami felt so relieved to have someone to just lean on. It felt like the weight of the world had been removed from her shoulder as all of her fears and all of her suffering was taken away by her captain.

"..and now I'm here.." she finished, sniffling as more tears formed in her eyes. However, Luffy acted first, taking his hands away from hers to gently cup her head. She softly gasped, but soon felt his thumbs gently rub her tears away. She leaned into his touch, her own hands sliding up his arms. She could stay like this forever. His touch, his warmth, the feeling of safety and love she got while in his arms - it was intoxicating.

Luffy reconnected their hands together, gently squeezing them. It had been probably 90 minutes since she had come into his room, and she felt worlds better.

"That bastard fishman..I swear, I'll beat him up 1,000 times more before I even let him within 100 feet of you." He said in anger, his gaze once again mirroring his serious look from before. "I'll never forgive what he did to you. What he did to your family and friends." He said

"But it's okay, Luffy, you took care of him..he'll never hurt anyone ever again..thank you so much for that.." she said, her hands gently squeezing his once again.

"But it's not him I'm worried about. It's what they said."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I mean..what if we aren't ready? I mean, we struggled badly against just Moria and his forces...if we didn't have Brook, or you didn't get your shadow boost, we probably would have been done for..plus..Kuma just let us go, I think.." she said in worry, looking away from him.

"It's okay, Nami! It doesn't matter who the opponent is, I'll always beat them." Luffy said with determination.

"But can you really, Luffy?" She questioned

"I believe in you, but look at you. You've almost died, twice, to 2 warlords, and then a 3rd one spared our lives. And it's not like the grand line is going to get any easier." She said, before sighing once again.

"I just really don't want to lose any of you...especially you, Luffy.." she finished, sheepishly looking back up to him.

Luffy met her gaze with his signature smile.

"Shishishishi! Nami, how many times do I have to tell you.." he said, before running his hands back up to her face, gently cupping her chin. Her eyes widened to his touch, once again gently leaning into his hands.

"..you will always be a part of this crew. You will always be my number one navigator. You will always be my nakama." He said, flashing a grin. "You won't lose us. Everyone here has each other's backs. We're all good friends with each other. And plus, even if we do get lost..."

He then tugged her chin down to look at him directly, their eyes mere inches from each other.

"..that's what we have you for, right?...to guide us the way, like you always have."

Nami couldn't help tearing up as a smile graced her face. She so badly wanted to kiss him right then and there. His lips were right there. He was so kissable, everything. Did he have ANY IDEA how HOT he was right now!?!? Alas, she couldn't work up the courage. However, this did not stop the red hot blush to burn her cheeks from Luffy's antics, even though his hands had long since left her face.

"Thank you, Luffy...that means a lot to me.."

"Heh! No problem, Nami, just doing what friends would do..hey, are you sure you're not sick? Your cheeks are really red right now, do you want me to get chopper??"

Nami's cheeks burned a little brighter.

"N-No! I'll be fine.."

"Suit yourself. As long as you feel better."

He said, then gently got untangled from her before scooting back to his original spot on his bed. Nami sat there for a moment, blushing to herself as she just stared at her captain. He always had to surprise her. Sure, he was childish, goofy, stubborn, a huge glutton, never listened to really any logic, loud, and annoying..but he was their captain. Her Captain. He always knew what to say. He always knew when people were lying or not. He always knew how to put smiles on people's face's. He always knew how to make every single day entertaining. There was no way Nami would trade him in for any other captain in the world.

She didn't feel like going to her bed anymore.

Now feeling tired, of all things, she rubbed her eyes and crawled over to his right side, beginning to prepare the pillows on that side.

"Uh..what are you doing, Nami?"

"Sleeping here. That a problem?"

Luffy blushed a little bit at this concept. Nami sleeping with him in the same bed? Didn't Ace mention about sleeping with people would make people have babies?How would anyone react if they found out? Luffy had no idea, However, he looked away; trying to play it cool.

"Yeah that's fine, go ahead I don't mind."

Nami smiled in victory, and so, she got her side of the bed ready, slithering underneath his blankets to get herself comfy and warm. However, her pillows quickly became too uncomfortable, and soon, as luffy would relax onto his back, he would feel a head on his collarbone once again. Smiling, he looked down to see bright orange hair, now exaggerated by the trickles of moonlight that were starting to make it through his cabin windows. Nami smiled as she laid upon her captain. She was on her side, her head was snugly right in the crook of his neck/top of his chest. Her left arm had hooked underneath his left shoulder to bury itself under his back. Her right arm laid upon his chest, and her legs pressed against his. Luffy stared for a bit at his peaceful, eyes closed navigator..before finally yawning. It seems he was getting tired again. And soon, the two found themselves in a much more intimate position. He was facing her; on his side. Legs were tangled and hooked together, arms were wrapped around each others backs. Her face was comfortably placed right on his chest. Nami let out a purr of approval, pressing herself even firmer against her captain, a smile upon her face. Luffy responded in kind, his hands wrapping around the top and bottom of her back respectively as he pulled her even closer to him, a smile upon his face as well. It had been a looong time since they had even attempted cuddling, since the last time they had tried that was back when they were a crew of 3 and needed warmth throughout the night!

"Thank you so much for tonight, Luffy...goodnight." She said, closing her eyes and sighing in satisfaction as her limbs continued to gently and softy constrict against her heavenly captain, her hands traversing from his back to around his neck, her fingers now gently gripping the back of his raven lock, providing some great pleasure for him. He closed his eyes and let out a groan of approval.

"Of course, Nami..you're welcome." He responded, before doing the same. It want long until the rubber man had once again succumbed to sleep. However, Nami was still awake. She slowly opened her eyes and gently raised her head to look at Luffy's features. Her arms were still wrapped around her neck, in fact her hands were still stroking and clutching his soft raven locks, drawing imaginary longitude and latitude lines on his neck and head. She smiled, before taking one of her hands to brush the bangs out of his peaceful face.

"If only you knew everything about how I feel.." she said softly, leaning down and giving his nose an affectionate smooch.

"Goodnight, Captain." She finished, once again returning to her spot, burying herself in his warm, safe arms and chest as she drifted off to sleep. In this safe haven, there was no way Arlong would ever get to her.

A/N: Okay, that's the end of the first chapter! To be completely honest with y'all I wrote the snuggling part at like 2 am so I'm sorry if that's not narrated the best, I was very tired and I wanted to get this out lol. I am a fairly experienced writer (as you can tell by the word count) but I still have things I need to get better at, and I need to be better in how I add detail.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the 1st Chapter of A Fire of Orange and Red. I don't know when the next chapter will be. I'm usually pretty motivated but it depends how much I write in any given sitting. If this gets a bunch of positive feedback, I'll try and continue sooner.

Please leave a review! I really wanna know what y'all think and what I did wrong/right and what I can do to improve. And as always, hope you enjoyed.

Thank you and see you soon.