Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: Prompt # 18 – Midnight

ZoNa Holiday 2024 event is currently happening at zonamievents in Tumblr! We have different themes/prompts for every day of December. Kindly check it and you can share any of your ZoNa works so we can all enjoy them!

I missed ZoNa fluff and ZoNa teasing! I've been busy lately since holidays are coming and there are obligatory parties to attend. But I managed to finish one! I do have another for a previous prompt but I wasn't able to post it in time. Might do it in the next days. Anyway. Enjoy!

Summary: "Guess we have to open it and celebrate Christmas early."

A Taste of Christmas

Twelve o'Clock

"Zoro."

The green-haired man lifted his head up almost immediately. Brown eyes stared at him from the opening of the crow's nest. He fought the urge to grimace at the fleeting guilty feeling that flashed inside him at the thought she had caught him in the middle of dozing off.

Almost dozing off. Almost being the keyword here.

"What?" He all but snarled at her, a futile attempt to save face. Her mischievous grin tells it all.

"Are you sleeping?" Nami asked teasingly from the nest's entrance where she was perched at. Her grin turned catty and he was reminded of the moniker attached to her name in her wanted poster. "And right in the middle of your watch?!"

He huffed. "You caught me resting my eyes." It was a blatant denial. But there is no way in hell that he would let her lord this over him.

Her mouth moved to form an exaggerated 'oh' before she pushed herself up and entered the crow's nest.

She was bundled up in thick winter clothes from head to toe. A deep green bobble hat was on her head coupled with a thick, deep green winter scarf around her neck that he was positively sure belongs to him.

He didn't bother asking her about it. He knew it was good as gone. Nami had indeed taken the liberty of using some of his winter ensemble recently. Granted that she was the one who bought them (since she usually does the clothes shopping for him and Luffy), but still…

Zoro decided it was not worth bringing it up. Because in a strange twist of fate, he's pretty sure she'll find a reason to charge him for giving it back to him. Like a finder's fee or whatever the hell reason she could think of.

Nami approached him and he noticed that the small puffs of her breath were visible in the night air. It was colder tonight than the previous night. It had been constantly snowing on the island where they are currently moored. It hadn't been persistent but it was enough to make the temperature drop much lower and even blanketed the whole island in thick, fluffy whiteness much to his other crewmates' delight.

"Usopp said you'll take over the whole watch tonight?" The navigator inquired while rubbing both of her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm. Her voice trembled slightly and Zoro can sense how the chill was able to seep down to her very bones making her shiver.

"Yeah… what about it?"

"Damn it. Didn't Franky install a heater here or something?" She complained, looking around the room before she plopped down beside him, brashly shoving her body beside his in an effort to get warmer.

Zoro raised an eyebrow as her body suddenly settled beside him, almost him toppling to the floor. It wasn't like he was unprepared for it. But Nami placed all her weight on him the moment she decided to sit beside him.

"Hey!"

"S-sorry!"

"You're not exactly that light!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I mean don't put all your weight on me like that all of a sudden!"

"But it so cold Zoro!"

"Troublesome woman!" Zoro muttered even as he adjusted their position so Nami was now pressed against his side and tucked snugly under his arm. "Why did you even went up here in the first place knowing it's cold?!"

She hummed appreciatively at the gesture and snuggled closer to him. Zoro refused to look at her face knowing what he'll see on it.

That blasted cheeky grin that he had actually come to like.

"I went to check on you." Nami said almost breathlessly. She shuddered again and Zoro let out a sigh before drawing her closer to him as his hand rubbed at her arm up and down in a soothing manner.

"You don't need to do that."

"I went here to see if you are sleeping on your watch and you are." Nami whispered, tilting her head up at him so she can look at his face. Her breath ghosted at his jaw and Zoro fought the urge to quiver from its coldness or from… something else.

"I am not sleeping!"

"I beg to differ." Nami said with a sniff.

"You're gonna catch a cold here." Zoro said matter-of-factly.

"Uuh… I don't wanna get sick!"

"Then just go back down to your room." He suggested when she sniffled again.

Nami rolled her eyes. He did have a point and Zoro knew he got this round.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed. The cold was making it harder for her to quarrel and be obstinate with him. "I actually went up to give you this." She pulled out a bottle of sake from inside her winter jacket. "Since you're on watch the whole night tonight, thought you could use some company."

The grin on his face was unrivaled. He took the bottle from her almost immediately.

"Consider it an early Christmas present."

His expression faltered and he narrowed his eye at her at that. "Really? And how much is this present gonna cost me?"

Nami shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much."

"Uh-huh…" he intoned still not believing that this favor doesn't come with a price.

The orange-haired woman pouted at his reaction. Then she snickered.

Zoro knows her too well.

"It's midnight already and technically that means it's Christmas eve," Nami explained in a mock serious tone. "So that means you've got errands to do later just like the rest of us in preparation for our party!"

Zoro cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Which means no sleeping all day to escape your chores!"

"I knew this sake favor was too good to be true!"

"You bet your ass," Nami nodded approvingly at his remark. Her gloved finger bopped his nose lightly. "So that means when I wake you up to go to the market and shop, you will wake up and go to the market and shop with me!"

The swordsman stared incredulously at her. "Need I remind you that I'm covering the entire night watch?" He drawled not really amused where this was all going. "That means I'll be up until morning."

"Oh please," Nami rolled her brown orbs exaggeratedly to emphasize that she's not buying his excuse. "We both know you'll be sleeping once you get enough sake in your system and had a few good reps of your training."

That pulled out a laugh from him. He smirked at how she accurate her assumption was. That was what he was actually planning to do from midnight onwards—get some winter training done while on night watch with some alcohol on the side.

Nami knows him too well.

"Alright," he agreed easily that it earned a look of astonishment from Nami.

"Alright?" The mapmaker repeated as if she hadn't heard it correctly.

Zoro smirked. "Alright. Consider that your Christmas gift."

"Zoro!"

He chuckled at her pouting expression. She knew he was just pulling her leg. Hell will break loose if Nami didn't get a present from him. She made sure that he has one for her.

And Zoro knows there are just some things he just have to give in for the sake of sanity.

Nami was shaking her head as she pushed away from his embrace. He looked at her questioningly.

"I'm gonna freeze my ass off here Zoro if I stay anymore," she complained petulantly. "It's really cold. I don't know how you can stay here!"

"It's a state of mind."

"Yeah, yeah." She agreed with a nod. "All in the mind." She blew at her bangs exasperatedly. "Just don't try any winter night swimming or any of that weird training shit you usually come up with ok?"

"No promises."

She glared at him. "Or I'll be taking that sake with me." She threatened in sickly sweet tone.

"Fine!" Zoro grumbled as he pushed the bottle away and out of her reach.

"Good! I'm going down now. I can't feel my face anymore." Nami said as she pushed herself on her knees to stand up.

She hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and pressing her lips against his.

"Good night Zoro," she murmured, a small smile gracing her lips.

Zoro was looking at her intensely. "You are cold," he muttered lowly before he leaned closer and captured her lips with his.

If this was his way of warming her up, then she had no complaints.

The green-haired man was smiling easily when he pulled away; thumb brushing against her cold cheek. His brows furrowed slightly before saying, "You taste like hot chocolate."

Nami laughed. She knew he didn't like sweets and all. But she did have a hot chocolate drink with marshmallows on top care of the blond cook before climbing up the crow's nest.

"My bad," she murmured. "Well in my defense, the sake wasn't opened yet."

Zoro laughed at that.

"Guess we have to open it and celebrate Christmas early."

– The End –

R and R please.