Zoro had pried himself of being a man possessing some decent common sense. Being smart played a great deal in your survival when you were a bounty hunter just as much did your instinct, and this trait of him was the second best aspect he had; his swordsmanship skill being on the top, in his opinion.

So he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he not only had decided to become a pirate under the command of the breathing rubber band that was Luffy (his captain now, and that could only augur some interesting times), but he was absolutely baffled at how he was unable to find any sort of remorse or doubt about this decision.

It was a scary notion, but watching the straw hat girl fight with her fists and flaunting her Devil Fruit's power with such skill and ease, it made him realize that he hadn't felt this compelled to admire and respect a woman this strong after Kuina.

It was just so easy to follow her lead at such unwavering confidence and even when he had accepted to join her with the condition that she wouldn't get in his way to fulfil his dream (with the explicit 'I'll kill you' warning), she still had smiled and welcomed him.

"Of course the Pirate King needs to have the greatest swordsman as part of her crew! Shishishishi!"

The acknowledgement in the little detail that she was stating a 'when' and not some 'if's' on her sentence had him feeling weightless, genuine confidence in her voice on the day that he WILL achieve such dream with him at her side as her first mate, finally made everything click with more clarity.

And Zoro could only think about how ready he was to follow the dark-haired girl to the end of the world, his trusty swords finally strapped on his side where they rightfully belonged.

One big seatback on this sad starting two-men crew was that neither Luffy nor Zoro knew enough about navigation to get them somewhere or any land at all to finally restock their rations (the green-haired man not expecting the voracious appetite of his captain considering her petite figure), and so, the swordsman decided to follow the girl's example at letting the current take lead. Not the brightest plan but they didn't have many options at this point.

The swordsman could hardly believe that one single bird landed them in such mess with the Buggy Pirates, his past injuries back at Shells Town having new companions thanks to the most annoying Devil Fruit in possession of the red nosed man in his effort to rescue his very gullible Captain, that seemed yet unbothered by being trapped in a cage and having a cannon being pointed at her.

Seems like death wasn't even enough to get any rise out of her (and Zoro still found a bit funny that his captain's straw hat was the only no-no she kept as a boundary to anyone).

But now they had a bigger boat thanks to the ginger witch that had accepted to join them as a 'business partner', her navigations skills impressive and on point that he couldn't complain at the new addition, even if he didn't trust her unlike the rubber girl.

Keeping a close eye on her will have to do until then, since he could already imagine that Luffy will hardly hear his concerns on regards of the thief. After all, it was almost the same as how she had recruited him into joining her pirate crew.

Nami had been absolutely clear about her position in the ship. It was a temporary alliance with two strong individuals so she could finally collect all the Berries she needed to finally reach her goal.

It could have been easy as a breeze if it weren't for the slow bubbling guilt crawling in her stomach every time she thought about the incident with Buggy and his stupid crew. Even if she was a thief, there has always been a clear line that she had never dared to walk through, already aware that if she ever crossed it then she wouldn't be any different from the very pirates she hated so much.

And even with the incident still fresh, the dark-eyed girl had laughed the whole thing off and insisted the auburn navigator to join her, trying to appeal at her sense of adventure.

Nami wasn't sure if the curvy girl was just dumb or simply too easygoing, but whichever the case, this was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. The stronger the people she surrounded herself with, the more treasures she could loot to be closer to fulfil her mission.

And so, as best as she could, the young girl did her best to keep this new found feelings at bay until their paths had to split inevitably.

The navigator didn't expected to see a very shirtless Luffy stretching her arms in the cabin that Nami had nailed to death into Zoro's head that it was going to be exclusively the women sleeping quarters until they found a bigger and better ship.

And with reflexes she didn't knew to possess, the ginger-haired girl threw one of the pillows at the rubber girl right on her prominent chest to save them both some decency.

"Cover yourself idiot! What were you thinking?!"

The pout on Luffy would have been quite cute had Nami not been blinded by the embarrassment and annoyance.

"What is it to you? Aren't we girls?"

"That's not the point, you should have at least some sense of shame!" She shouted, mostly to save some face at the still clueless female.

"Why the hell should I need that?"

At that response, Nami just couldn't find it in herself to keep arguing about something that should be just common sense. It was obvious that Luffy was beyond being normal, so she just sat in the bed that they both will be sharing and just let the silence take over.

It was then that the auburn-haired teen realized something.

"Um… Luffy, since when haven't you brushed your hair?" She asked, the change in topic keeping at bay the still present guilt that suddenly just bolted awake at the big doe-eyes of the girl. This close, Nami could see how clumsily chopped and tousled her hair looked, only her straw hat doing a half-assed job in hiding all that mess of black hair.

The fact that the young girl had to look at the ceiling while holding her chin in her hand in a thoughtful manner was enough answer.

"Come here, you walking disaster"

The straw hat captain smiled excitedly and, while still holding the pillow against her chest as a cover, sat down crisscrossed with her back to Nami.

With unsure hands the red-haired teen took off the hat of the pirate girl, leaving it at her side on the bed and got to work. She wanted to detangle first with her hands the knots she managed to find in Luffy's hair, careful to avoid pulling too hard until the brush had to come next. It was a relaxing moment were even Nami found herself falling into the charm of the whole ordeal, forgetting easily that the teen in front of her was a pirate in the making.

Right now, they were just two girls enjoying the night brushing their hair just as she often did with her sister back at Cocoyashi Village, Bell-Mere a few steps away in her room pretending to be snoring comfortably only to catch them awake when they were supposed to be sleeping.

She realized the dangerous ground that her mind was taking her into, so she shook her head lightly in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay once again. She couldn't stray from her real purpose in this ship, no matter the warmth that accompanied the presence of Luffy.

"You never brush your hair or something?" She asked with light concern, noticing how even with the brush being used, the brown-eyed navigator kept finding knots and even some bits of splinters in the girl's hair.

"I usually use only my fingers after a fight." Was her only cheerful response, making Nami grimace at the idea of what the captain considered basic hygiene. She'll have to at least correct that before leaving, she couldn't let the girl go around acting like a wild animal when she obviously had a pretty face to show off.

"But…" Luffy continued, her sight now far away in the ceiling and her ever present smile still on her lips. "Makino and Dadan would often force me to stay still so they could cut my hair and brush it when it was too long and had twigs stuck on it. I loved when Makino brushed my hair the most thought, because she always did it in a way that felt so nice!"

Nami didn't know who those people are, but if they were able to get someone like Luffy to stay still for more than 3 minutes, then she could only admire them for such titanic success. She still had to hold with a death grip the head of the dark-haired girl to keep her still and put when she was fighting a particular stubborn knot.

It was so odd finding herself talking about something as ordinary as brushing hair with a pirate that had proven to be able to smack into unconsciousness enemies double her size, painting her in a more humble light that Nami never had the chance to genuinely seen on her many trips. Luffy was simply the embodiment of an oddity that she couldn't decipher; and a part of her, the one that still felt the clutch of guilt, wanted for brief moments for the young teen to forgive her at the inevitable good-bye that will come.

Thank you for reading!