Author's Notes:

Finally, posted a new chapter! Struggled quite a bit writing Chapter 2. This particular plot point wasn't supposed to be used until around Chapter 4 or 5 (I've already planned all plot points for each chapter), but I just wasn't too happy with what I've originally written for the Chapter 2 so I had to scratch it and start a new one (Maybe in the future, I could still use it as a one-shot?)

Thankfully, once I used this plot point, it was so easy and enjoyable to write so I was able to finish this in a day, it's longer too! As I mentioned before, I just started watching OP and I'm still at the Marineford arc, so I had to do some research regarding "haki", so apologies if I may get my info incorrect lol!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter and appreciate any feedback/comment you send my way for that extra inspo! 3


Chapter 2: Midnight Cravings

Luffy's insatiable hunger has always been a source of stress and frustration for Nami.

While the daunting and seemingly impossible task of keeping their captain stuffed and satisfied fell solely on their blonde, curly-eyebrowed cook, Nami still had her fair share of challenges when coping with Luffy's never-ending demands of food.

To outsiders, the orange-haired beauty was famously known as the Straw Hat Navigator, Cat Thief, Weather Witch, even Ginger Goddess to a few adoring fans. But to the Straw Hat crew, Nami also acted as the unstated but very much-needed commander of the Thousand Sunny, handling seafaring responsibilities that their captain deemed too boring such as day-to-day operations, inventory, logistics and finance management.

Nami would have been totally okay with this (she relished being in control and ordering people, after all) if she didn't have to deal with the constant headache that comes with budgeting and feeding a captain with an appetite of thirty people. Thankfully, Nami was just as good with handling money as Luffy was with inhaling meat, so they've been able to get by without resorting to using Chopper as emergency food—at least for now.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Nami yawned, stretching her arms and arching her back. She eyed her newly drawn map with a small smile, satisfied with her progress. For the past few weeks, Nami hasn't had the time to draw her maps; the unpredictable weather, constant run-in with the marines, and trouble with enemy pirates wouldn't allow her to do so.

So when things finally calmed a bit and it was smooth sailing towards the next course, Nami took the opportunity and resorted to working on her maps in the evening, away from all the noise and commotion caused by her usually rambunctious crewmates. She glanced at the clock, surprised it was almost midnight and she had been working for hours.

Nami grabbed the lantern on her surveying desk and departed the library. Once outside the deck, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to savor the cool salty sea breeze caressing her face after being cooped up in the library. She strolled across the deck on her way to the women's quarters when she vaguely noticed a familiar figure sitting over at Sunny's figurehead in the dark. "Luffy?"

Wind tousling his black hair, he turned to her with a smile and a wave. "Hey, Nami! Did you finish your map?"

Curious, Nami made her way toward Luffy, leaning against the railing near the figurehead with the lantern still in her hand. "Not yet. Why are you up so late?"

By this time, he had already leapt off of the figurehead and sat at the railing beside the navigator.

"Got hungry and tried to open the fridge shishishi!" he said with a sheepish grin. Of course, she thought—shaking her head and rolling her eyes at him. "You never learn your lesson, do you? Sanji-kun will kill you if you leave so much as a dent on that fridge. It cost us a fortune to replace the old fridge when you attempted to open that one."

Luffy put up his hands like a caught bandit. "I didn't use haki this time, I swear! Don't tell Sanji!" As Nami narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, Luffy's stomach grumbled loudly to prove his innocence.

Nami could only sigh, shaking her head. Oh, the things she has to deal with.

With the orange glow of the lantern between them, she leaned her head close to him. "Alright, I won't tell him… as long as you don't tell anyone what we're about to do."

Luffy could only tilt his head at her in curiosity as Nami grabbed his wrist with a wry smile. "Come on!"

He became increasingly puzzled as Nami led him to her mikan grove. Before he could say anything, Nami simply gestured toward the mikan trees with a jerk of her head, "Pick one."

"What, really?!" Luffy couldn't believe his own ears. While he tried his luck with the fridge from time to time knowing the risk of earning Sanji's ire, Luffy never dared taking a mikan from the mikan trees knowing he could face Nami's wrath.

"Yes, really. Now go get one before I change my mind."

Luffy hollered a thank you in delight and dashed from tree to tree, eyeing each mikan to spot the best one. Nami chuckled in amusement at his excitement. She was normally adamant in having no one but her touch her mikans (save for the time she split one with Robin to garnish their cocktails) so she herself was surprised she relented and broke her own rule, for Luffy of all people.

Maybe she was just being smart, trying to stave off the captain's hunger (if only for a little while) to avoid the destruction of yet another fridge. It'll surely save her the headache and the cost to buy a new one, so really, it was for her and everyone else's sake.

Or maybe it was the way he protected and saved all those children in the last island they've been to— how Luffy continuously does something so heroic and admirable despite the selfish, greedy, and possessive nature of pirates, and how he probably deserves a small reward for it such as eating citrus fruits.

Whatever the reason, Nami no longer had time to mull it over as Luffy walked up to her with the biggest smile on his face, throwing the big, juicy mikan mid-air and catching it coolly with his hand. "This one!"

"Good choice."

They walked back to the deck and Nami turned towards the women's quarters again, waving her hand to bid him goodbye. "Well, enjoy the mikan. Goodnight Lu—" Before she could finish her sentence, Luffy had already grabbed her hand, leading her back towards the figurehead. He momentarily let go of her hand and jumped on the figurehead with ease, then turned and offered his hand to her with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, "Come on, Nami!"

He's offering to share his special seat with her.

Much like how Nami doesn't let anyone pick her mikans, Luffy doesn't let anyone sit in his designated seat. This realization caused a strange warmth to spread through Nami's heart.

Touched, she grabbed his hand and sat down beside him, their shoulders rubbing against each other. The faint scent of smoked meat from his clothes wafted in her nose as he pulled her close to him by the waist, making sure she doesn't fall over. Any closer and he'd hear her heart beating wildly against her chest.

Convincing herself she was just nervous with the thought of falling overboard, Nami grabbed the mikan from his hand and cleared her throat. "Here, hold the lantern. I'll peel it for you."

He takes the lantern with his other hand and peers at her with a soft smile. "Thanks. Let's share it, okay?"

Nami gaped at him for a second and teasingly gave him a smirk as she teared into the skin. "Since when do you share?" He closed his eyes, feeling the breeze on his face and chuckling lightly at her retort. He opened one eye and threw her a coy grin, "Since when do you?"

She huffed and went quiet as the cheerful captain continued to chuckle. Resisting the urge to throw a punch to his head, she continued to tear at the skin, glancing at him with an indignant look. "I'd rather sacrifice a mikan or two than spend another berry buying a new fridge because you were so hungry."

It was his turn to grumble, looking toward the sea and muttering under his breath, "It was one time… and it was only a little bit of haki."

Nami rolled her eyes, tearing a piece of flesh from the mikan. She looked down and realized he wouldn't be able to eat with his hands occupied—one hand was holding the lantern and the other was placed on her waist to keep her from sliding off the figurehead. She sighed and brought the mikan to his lips, "Here."

He gladly took the mikan from her fingers with a bite, humming in satisfaction.

Trying to ignore the fact that this little scene between them probably looked intimate and romantic to any outsider peering in, Nami took another flesh and popped it into her mouth, quickly making conversation, "So, which haki was it that did the trick?"

Luffy snickered, taking another mikan flesh from Nami's fingers with a playful look. "Take a guess!"

Nami chewed the mikan slowly in her mouth as she took a moment to think. "Hmm. The fridge didn't have any scorch marks so it definitely wasn't Red Hawk. The damage was concentrated to the handle and hinges so haki-infused gomu-gomu attacks are out of the question. With the crushed marks on the door handle and cracks on the hinges indicating it was brutally forced open, I'd say it was your standard Armament Haki… Hardening on the hand, perhaps?"

Nami glanced at Luffy who simply stared at her, dumbstruck in awe. "That's amazing. You're a master at haki, Nami!" She threw another mikan in his direction which Luffy caught easily between his teeth. Nami snorted at him in amusement, "Says the guy who actually mastered all three forms of haki."

Luffy shrugged nonchalantly, chewing. "It's no big deal." He then nudged her shoulder gently with an earnest grin, "If you had training, I'm pretty sure you'd learn haki too."

She let out a breathy laugh at that. Yeah, right.

Still, she humored his remark, "Well that's an idea. I could probably use haki to knock some sense into your head."

Luffy laughed, and Nami felt her stomach tighten a little bit as the lantern's light caught the sparkle in his eyes, making her swallow the mikan in her mouth whole. As the laughter died from his lips, he looked thoughtful as he quietly chewed. He threw a serious glance at her and shook his head, "It's a bad idea, anyway."

Casting his eyes up at the night sky adorned with stars, he missed the glare she threw at him.

Nami felt offended at that. Why would it be a bad idea for her to learn? Because she was one of the weakest members of the crew?

She never really wanted to learn haki at all but his comment rubbed her the wrong way. She resisted the urge to push him off the figurehead and just scowled in his direction, "Why? Because I'm too weak to get it?"

He looked back at her with wide eyes, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about, Nami? It's a bad idea because you're too strong."

Nami paused mid-way from taking a bite of the tangerine in her hand, surprised at his reply. Seeing her pause, Luffy leaned in close to her face and took the tangerine from her fingers with a bite, snickering with his signature "Shishishi!"

"Hey!" she griped, annoyed at his sneaky thievery. Suddenly, she was aware of how dangerously close their faces are. Even as he successfully stole the tangerine from her hands, he didn't pull back. If it weren't for his hand keeping her in place, she might've actually fallen over, unable to handle the close proximity between them.

Luffy gazed at her intently for a few seconds before a roguish grin broke out of his face. "You're already too smart, Nami. If you get too strong too, I'm worried you might kill us all."

Oh my god. This cheeky bastard.

"Idiot." she muttered, trying so hard to glare at him but the small smile tugging on her lips betrayed her. "Maybe try behaving more so I wouldn't have to learn and Conqueror Haki your ass." He chuckled and threw a playful look at her, "Well that's no fun!"

She straightened her back and gave him a mischievous smirk. "Alright. You want fun? Let's test that Observation Haki of yours then. Catch!"

Without warning, Nami flung a piece of tangerine far out towards the sea. It took a second for Luffy to register what she did and instinctively stretch his neck and head out to catch the tangerine just in time.

When his head snapped back, he shot her a glare while trying to talk with the tangerine still in his mouth, "Tdths nhrg fjkr, Nfmi! (That's not fair, Nami!)" but she was already laughing. It didn't take long for him to join in her laughter as well.

As she observed the laughing black-haired captain beside her, she then knew the reason why breaking her no-eating-my-mikans rule wasn't so bad.

Despite his staggering billion berry bounty, terrifying strength and unmatched power, he still acted so normal and casual around other people like it was nothing. It was a comfort for Nami to know that despite being one of the most powerful pirates across the sea, she could still share a mikan, talk, and laugh with this not-so-normal 19-year-old boy under the beautiful night sky.

With the waves gently rocking the ship and the breeze lulling them, Nami felt herself get a bit sleepy. "So aside from breaking the fridge, do you ever use your haki for other stupid reasons?" she mumbled with a yawn, unconsciously leaning her head against his shoulder.

Luffy chuckled at her question. As he looked over at his navigator, her eyes had already closed as she peacefully drifted into slumber on his shoulder. Nami missed the way he stared at her softly, tucking a loose strand of her orange hair behind her ear with a mischievous smile as he leaned in and whispered to her, as though sharing a secret only they could know: "Maybe."


Sanji wasn't supposed to be on watch duty that night.

When he found out Nami was working late to finish her maps, he couldn't help but jump at the chance and volunteered to take over Franky's shift (who didn't even question in the slightest, just glad to get some good sleep that night).

Nami insisted no one disturb her in the library so he had to wait until she finished before he made his move.

His heart raced with the thought of possibly spending a romantic night under the stars with the gorgeous ginger.

Although this wasn't an ideal "date", Sanji would take what he could get, given they spent half the time on the ship with their cockblocking crewmates and the other half constantly on the move or on the run when on land.

No, his perfect date would be a candlelit dinner over lively conversations. Soon, he told himself. Soon, he'll get that chance. For now, he'll just have to settle on an after-hours encounter with his beautiful angel just to get things moving.

From the crow's nest, he peered at the deck below. It was an hour after dinner, and Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were once again causing a ruckus aboard the Sunny, the latter spurring his companions to chase him after stealing their food. The long nosed-sniper and reindeer soon grew tired and bid goodnight to Luffy, and retreated to the men's quarters to call it a night, leaving him on the deck alone.

Sanji observed him curiously. Luffy usually went to bed at the same time as Usopp and Chopper, so he wondered why Luffy stayed behind. The blonde cook watched as the captain stood still in the middle of the deck, closing his eyes in concentration. When he opened them, Sanji swore he could see something red flash in his eyes, but peering from the crow's nest, he wasn't too sure.

Was that… Observation Haki?

The next minute, Luffy quietly took his seat over at Sunny's figurehead, never moving an inch.

That's odd.

The cook thought he'd leave after a minute or two but it had already been hours, and he was still taking his sweet time at the figurehead. If Luffy doesn't leave soon, he'll ruin Sanji's chances of being alone with the fiery navigator under the moonlit sky. The blonde was just about to climb down from the crow's nest to tell the captain to go to bed, when Nami finally emerged from the library, her white dress billowing behind her as the glowing ember of the lantern illuminated her long orange locks. Sanji could've sworn an actual angel had descended down from the heavens to tempt him.

Soon, the navigator and the captain engaged in conversation, and Sanji prayed Luffy would finally leave, but he didn't. Instead, they ventured over at Nami's mikan grove and Sanji witnessed Luffy taking one of her mikans.

Why that little bast— Wait, was Nami smiling and nodding at his choice of mikan? Did she actually let him take a mikan?

Before Sanji knew it, the two were sitting awfully close on top of the figurehead, and he clenched his fist in anger as Luffy snaked a hand around his Nami's waist while she fed him mikans.

A shared meal, romantic lighting, intimate conversations...

This was Sanji's perfect date!

Shitty captain!

Sanji felt his Diable Jambe activate at the sight before him, just inches away from killing the rubber bastard. Although he couldn't hear their conversations, his flames began to dissipate as he watched the orange-haired girl laugh—the kind of laugh that reached up to her brown eyes and made her glow with ethereal radiance. It was a sight that not many are able to witness from the ordinarily frowning and stressed navigator, lest coax out of.

Sanji's eyes turned to the black-haired boy beside her. As though noticing the same thing Sanji did, Luffy was looking at her with such fondness as she effortlessly beamed under the moonlight. The blonde cook only sighed and lit the cigarette in his mouth, the flames completely vanishing. He took a long drag from his cigarette, shaking his head with a small smirk, "Lucky bastard."

The following night, the cook was not at all surprised when Nami had to work late again at the library and Luffy just so happened to be awake due to his midnight cravings the same night and sitting by the figurehead, contentedly waiting for something (or rather, someone). Instead, he whipped up a slice of mikan cake after dinner and placed it by the library entrance before heading to the men's quarters.

Sanji knows all about dates, and a perfect date calls for some dessert, after all.