Original Characters © Eiichiro Oda. Cover Art & Creative Story © shipfiend.

"In The Night" – Piano Dreamers

"Go to bed," Nami laughed as her drunk crew members stumbled to their barracks and she sat on the deck, legs crossed. She nursed her beer as the wind twirled her locks into massive knots. Though they were in pigtails, she knew it would take her hours to comb through them. Her hair had grown so long since the last time she tied it up like this. The last time was when Zoro had fallen asleep on her couch yet again and she smiled to herself at the domesticity of it all. It saddened her to think that this much time had passed.

A chill went up her spine as the memory clouded her sight briefly. She wiped a cuffed sleeve across her face and sniffed.

"You crying?" Nami groaned as his question laid over the winds in the cool salty air.

She flushed and wiped with both hands now, her white button-down top crinkling against her skin. "No. Why aren't you in bed?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said as he plopped himself by her side. She shifted away as she snorted.

"You? Couldn't sleep? You can fall asleep while eating…I've seen you do it, too." Ace watched her talk and Nami found herself drifting again. "You're just like-"

She stopped herself abruptly and fisted the beer in her hand. "Like who?" He implored, but she wasn't budging.

She took a sip and chuckled, "You probably fell asleep while they did that tattoo, too. That's why it's misspelled."

Nami threw him a knowing look and Ace smiled, scratching his chin with a finger. "You're right…but at least I caught it."

"Should have just left it."

"And have my name misspelled? No, thanks."

"Hmmm…could have just gotten it removed."

"Ironically, I had money for the tat…just not the removal."

Nami stopped as she felt the ghost pain in her shoulder crawl down her arm. She anxiously went to grip it but felt another hand reach it first. It was warm, too warm. Nami looked over as he had closed the space between them, but he did nothing more than leave his hand over her scar and she let him. It felt okay, to be touched, even if it was not who she wanted. Just for a moment. Just one night.

"You didn't have money for a removal?" He posed, and she watched his mouth form the words but could not bring herself to answer. "I mean…a proper one. It's a nasty scar you got." She furrowed her brows and he quickly released his grip. Hands up in defense. "Look, I'm not here to try anything…just felt like you…needed a touch. Is all."

It was the first time he seemed to mumble, unsure of himself almost. Nami found it comforting, calming to know that she was not as open of a book as he made her seem. It felt rude almost, to let anyone else inside her head. Zoro must have changed her then. Before him, she could hold a bare faced lie and grin. But now, it hurt to pretend as much as she did. She was impersonal, dictatorial, abrasive…a horrible temper when she was under stress. But Zoro calmed her, in a way his uniquely silent personality only could. Ace, he liked to talk, but she felt he was like Zoro in some ways. Not all. Just some.

She turned her attention back to the clouds. "You know…" her voice was heavy and wet, "I wanted to draw a map of the world when I was younger. I-I didn't care to learn about it in books…there were just so many places to explore, visit, experience." Ace leaned back, his arms propping up his typically half-nude body as the wind died down. "To think…now, I'm on a ship…going anywhere. But for the first time in my life…I want to be back home. Back with my sister…my friend…my…home."

Ace smirked and Nami glanced over to see the saddened expression. "I didn't have much of anything growing up. I was hated for a good part of my life…for no reason besides having a dad who didn't even know me. But I had brothers. Idiots, actually. Stupid kids…all of us. We…we all have places we don't want to go back to you…and well, you don't go out to sea or join a gang or become an outcast…because you're happy."

Nami felt him heave a heavy sigh, "My father brought on this new world, and I hated him for it. It was what killed my brothers. What made life hard for so many people…and still…I remember my little brother crying so hard for Sabo…and then we grew up. We went out on our own paths. Me to Whitebeard. Him to his stupidity…and then he died…and for the life of me, I wondered why…I wasn't happy just playing pretend pirates with them."

Nami felt the hot tears run down her face and sniffled yet again. "You think that makes a difference…you're alive now, aren't you? You found a place to be happy, right?" She turned to look at him, a deep scowl on her face though it was marred with tears. "Don't take your life so lightly…living should be for the ones who want to live."

Ace furrowed his brows. "Are you living? You've got a scarred arm from what I can only imagine is a branding…I wear mine proudly, but you…you fought against something that was much bigger than you."

Nami let out a sarcastic laugh as she shrugged. "As I've gotten on this boat…I've realized that the world only gets bigger and bigger. What I once thought of as the worst thing in my life…it isn't. But…"

She dug her nails into the wood as she snorted. He leaned in closer. "But what?"

Nami looked at him, brown eyes wide to the world, moonlight illuminated in them. "I've also learned that the happiest things in my life…they keep changing. I've found new things…new people…new dreams that make me smile. New…happiests."

He smirked and looked back at the horizon. "Tell me it's a brother or a sister…"

"Sister…one whom I love very, very much. One I need to save, get back to. Protect. Then a man who is very much like my brother…my best friend. And then…"

Ace watched her wipe herself up and smirked, "Damn it. And here I thought I'd get lucky."

Nami rolled her eyes as she straightened herself. "No, what was lucky was getting off that island when we did. If you didn't have your damn pride, maybe we could refuel without an entire army coming after us. We barely made it out of there."

He wiped at his own face. "Yeah, well, my father was shitty…but my old man…he's someone I'd proudly live for."

"Yeah, yeah…just don't yell at me if you have every bounty hunter waiting for you at Banaro." She walked past him toward the cabins, but he called for her.

"If you want…I'll give you a new tat, free of charge."

Nami scoffed, "As if I want that old man's mark on my body." She turned to smile at him as he gave her one back.

"Pick one of your own then…consider it a farewell gift. I'll be going in a few days, right? I should leave you something to remember me by."

He ended with a joke as if that stopped them both from feeling a little hesitant at the eventual goodbye. As frustrating as Ace was, he had grown on her. Maybe it was just because he talked like Usopp but carried himself like Zoro.

"Yeah, Ace. You can make it my birthday present, too…" And with that, she left as Ace sat in the darkness, a gentle smile left on his lips.

They had all crowed by the screens and suddenly fell into a hush as Zoro approached them. Perona motioned for Usopp to shut it off, but it that woman who spoke first.

"Mr. Bushido," the annoying moniker she had for him after he wielded a particularly long kitchen knife towards her when she first graced their presence. "Have you seen the news?"

Zoro's eyebrows perked up, fully expecting some news, any news after the months of nothing. However, the weariness of his friends told him otherwise. Yet, he could not care less as he looked at the blurry still. Orange hair that looked longer. Tanner body. But he knew those legs anywhere. He cursed as he wished the video to be clearer, and suddenly the image moved.

Usopp cursed as it seemed like it was not what he wanted to happen, and Sanji quickly tried to flick the screen off. It did not help as Robin stepped aside to let him get a better view. She was still there, running across what could only appear to be a pier or port of some kind. Nami was being chased after or being chased out, and Zoro found himself gravitating towards the flickering lights as if he could jump into the screen and pull her to him. But it was not him who pulled her forward.

The man's back was wide, his tattoo so crystal clear compared to her pixelated face. Black hair under an obnoxiously orange hat. Shorts unable to hide the muscular build, tall frame. She was in his arms and then they were both out of view. If Zoro was holding his breath, he could not tell but he did feel a bit lightheaded. Then the image played again, seemingly on a loop. Because it was. Replaying his thoughts as if it would change the outcome, but no. She still stumbled into the man's arms. They still ran away, together.

Perona was the first to attempt a hand towards him, but he pulled away because she apparently radiated poison from her palms. "Who is he?" he said as evenly as he could pull together.

It was that woman who responded, her voice finding some violent muscle in Zoro's temple. "Ace D. Portagas, also known as Fire Fist Ace. He's a Commander for the Whitebeard Family. Run by the international criminal, Edward Newgate."

Sanji motioned for Robin to stop, but that did not stop Zoro from turning a heated gaze onto her. Even if he had to look up at her dark eyes. "Where the hell was this? And when?"

Brook cleared his throat, "It looks like…it was maybe 2 weeks ago. Apparently, Miss Nami has taken to a habit of blowing up ships. The papers wouldn't print anything about it, because it looked like it was tied to the crime families in some way-"

"Then why the hell aren't we going there?" Zoro shouted, his eye flicking to the screen just in time to see her against him again.

Franky was the one who clearly could not read the room and instead shouted in his exuberant way. "We would if we could, bro. But it isn't like there are GPS coordinates. This file is some top-secret military shit and unless we got some Shichibukai-"

Zoro had turned swiftly which made Sanji call after him, "Where the hell are you going? Don't you want to try to find Nami?"

"The hell you think I'm doing? Unlike you idiots, I'm going to do more than watch a stupid video."

"And what exactly is your plan?" Perona inquired with arms folded over her chest.

He stopped and turned, glaring at each one of them. "You said she was blowing up ships that belonged to crime families? Well, there are only two people I know of that are Shichibukai or as close to it as possible. I'm gonna fucking ask them."

Before Perona could object, Zoro was gone and the rest of them released a sigh. Usopp swiveled in his chair to frown at Robin. "Why the hell did you do that?"

She was unfazed. "You asked for answers…and I gave them."

"Yes, but…"

"But what? She's alive, apparently safe. Would you have preferred to see her obituary? Perhaps an image of her gruesome death?"

Usopp shot up, "What? No! I'm just saying…he…he didn't need to see that."

Robin smiled her frozen sweet grin and tilted her head. "Don't ask questions that you are not prepared to get answers for."

She left the room as the rest of them began to feel one heaviness lift as another deceased. Nami was alive, but…what was she doing? And for who?

Usopp looked back at the video and clenched his fists. If there was any time to be brave, it was now.

A/N: Um, The Weeknd just likes capitalizing conjunctions when you shouldn't, huh? Welp, now I had to add "Weeknd" to my dictionary, so I could stop seeing the red squiggly. *sigh*

So, I really did not know which song I wanted to use for this but then I looked through my recently listened and this song stuck out. At first, I was good with it…but then as I delved more into the meaning and the themes of the song, of childhood abuse became clear, the chapter became clearer and clearer. BUT then I listened to an instrumental version and liked that much better. Not that the lyrics weren't still important, but I still wanted it to encompass a feeling more than an explanation. If that makes any sense:P

Nami's outfit is One Piece Movie 9 – Strong World. Very revealing fanservice outfit, but it looked cute in my head.

So, in all honesty, I did not want this to play out like some "he's roid raging jealous" type thing. I think Zoro is a bit above that. However, I am sure seeing Nami for the first time in forever…in the arms of another man could…perturb him, to ask for help from people he damn well knows aren't easy to work with. So, here we are.

But what about Robin? To be fair, when Robin first joined the crew, Zoro did call her "that woman" – and I think that was him testing his boundaries and seeing if she was true to her word. Whereas when Nami left, it was more like a betrayal, with Robin, he was on guard. One of my favorite things about Robin is her humorless dark humor. She is like Law in that way, and I'm here for these deadpan death jokes.

I am also 1000% convinced that Franky cannot read a room for his life and one of my favorite things is when couples work off each other…which is why when Robin says something like, "Go die" with a smile – he takes that and is just like, "Oh, geez. Isn't my wife the sweetest wonderful little jelly bean ever?" Yeah, I'm here for it. Also, Franky calling Zoro "bro" and Zoro hating it – ugh, game, set, match. I'm here for it, too.

Alright, kiddos, hopefully, this is still moving along and the pace is picking up. Ugh, I'm a little weary of this fire and thunder that I'm about to rain down on all yo heads…but…I'm here for it;P

XoXo shipfiend