That day, Nami would have said that the night over Coco Village was the clearest she had seen in a long time. The party was going strong, and everyone seemed happy… free, in one word. And most importantly, she felt that the scales of her life had finally tipped in her favor. She had her sister next to her again, and she had people she could even call "family," even if they had barely been sailing together for half a month. Looking at them, she felt safe and happy.

On the other hand, she knew that she had to make some changes before joining the Straw Hat crew. She wasn't sure if Luffy would accept her, but she knew for sure that someone else would be more unforgiving than him.

That's why, taking advantage of the fact that the other guys were mingling with the villagers, including Sanji, who was still serving drinks and food to everyone, Nami approached the stoic green-haired figure sitting on the stairs that led to one of the nearest porches. He had a beer in his hand and had started to drink just as she arrived, which made him stop, lower the bottle, and glare at her with his usual caution, something just denied by the tiny and interested sparkle in his dark eyes when he did.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

Zoro put the bottle down completely.

"Hi," he answered.

Nami shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Can I sit down or are you waiting for someone?" she asked politely, but with a bit of irony.

Of course, she knew he was not waiting for anyone. If Zoro liked something, it was solitude. Anyway, she was quite happy when he simply nodded and signaled to his side with his chin.

"Please."

The red-haired girl let out a quiet sigh before following his direction and sitting next to him. They sat in silence for a full, uncomfortable minute, just taking sips from time to time. Nami decided to go a little step further.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt?"

Zoro shrugged his shoulders but quickly denied it.

"Nah, it's just a graze," he assured her.

Nami suppressed a shiver.

"It didn't look like it at the Baratie, of course," she reminded him softly.

Zoro then looked at her with intent, and Nami lowered her head self-consciously. For some reason, she sensed what he was going to say even before the words slipped out of his lips:

"There's a lot of things that weren't what they seemed in the Baratie."

Nami felt guilty and stung inside.

"Are you still mad at me or are you just treating me as you do the rest of the world?" she counterattacked, defensive.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do."

After that tense exchange, where he did not even look at her, Zoro pursed his lips, his gaze hard as steel.

"What do you want me to say? That I was hurt that you left and I got angry?" he responded in a monotone voice, as if he were indifferent. "Yeah, I did. Happy?"

No, of course, I am not happy at all.

In fact, what enraged Nami the most was that she already knew him better than that. Frankly, even if he was right in part, the walls between them still hurt. Nami clenched her fists, her anger surging through her veins. She wanted to shake him and tell him off. She wanted him to be the other Zoro she liked more than she was willing to admit.

"Well, it hurt me that you almost got yourself killed out of pride, you idiot," she hissed back. "So we're even."

"Beating that guy is my dream, Nami," he insisted, this time in a tougher voice. "That's what I want."

She looked at him coldly.

"Yeah, you and Luffy love to brag about how essential your dreams are," she teased him, then took a big gulp of her beer.

Zoro seemed to scoff very softly, almost in a condescending way that made Nami want to slap him.

"You wouldn't understand," he said flatly.

Nami swallowed, feeling the fear and anxiety she'd felt when he was fighting to recover from his injuries. She'd spent endless days and nights watching over him and talking to him. Even that moment of weakness before she left, when she told him that...

"So what?" she replied, not revealing even a hint of what was crossing her mind. "You're telling me that dream is worth dying for?"

Zoro seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. His dark eyes met hers for a brief instant, and then he relaxed just a little. Nami was surprised by that and even felt a strange shiver run down her spine when he spoke again.

"I promised someone... a long time ago."

"You mean the friend you had?"

She couldn't help herself, but it didn't seem to matter to Zoro. He just nodded, looking between the beer in his hand and the dust next to his feet.

"Sometimes on the boat, when you had a high fever because of... you know," she added, feeling insecure. His feline eyes came back in her direction, careful but interested, no trace of anger this time. "You'd get delirious and… talk about her."

Nami regretted it for an instant when she saw the alarm showing on his face. However, he didn't answer as defensively as she expected. Instead, he seemed to think about what to say, even licking his lips in a nervous way that the former thief had never seen—at least on him.

"She was the best in my class," the swordsman explained. "She used to beat me until someone told her she couldn't do it anymore. We promised one of us would be the best swordsman in the world."

"So you have competition," she sneered.

However, his expression froze her in place.

"No. She died when I was twelve," he whispered hoarsely.

Nami swallowed, cursing herself for letting the joke slip.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she finally replied when she had recovered from the surprise.

Zoro nodded again, absent-minded.

"That's why I have to go get it."

Nami sighed, not knowing how to get out of the situation. Maybe that was why she decided to come out with some soft support:

"Well, that just confirms my theory."

Zoro looked at her sideways, his eyebrow raised.

"What theory?"

Nami bit her lower lip and turned the beer bottle between her fingers.

"If it's your dream and you promised her... Then you don't get anything by getting yourself killed right away, do you?"

Zoro looked at her as if weighing her words. Then, to her relief, he laughed. It was a short and quiet laugh, but it showed what he was thinking.

"What about you?" he asked, putting the focus back on her. "What are you going to do now?"

Nami thought for a moment, less uncomfortably than she thought.

"It feels good to be free," she admitted, then stared at him intently, "and I might have a few things in mind that might work."

Zoro smiled at her caustically.

"Does it have to do with what Luffy might say?" he asked.

Nami couldn't help but smile even wider.

"Not only him," she noticed.

The green-haired swordsman held her gaze for several seconds, his eyes dark against the blue. It was as if time stood still.

"It depends," he said finally, though the twinkle in his eyes showed that the answer was more important than he cared to admit, the shadow of a half-smile tipping his lips. "Does that mean you can have friends now?"

In this case, Nami almost laughed as she nodded eagerly.

"I think so, yes," she confirmed, feeling happier than ever.

Zoro smiled even wider and held the bottle out to her for a toast.

"Welcome back," he said.

She smiled and took a drink.

"For the future," she said.

For the Straw Hat Pirates.