~The 18th Night~

.o0o.

There was nothing more satisfying to Nami than a job well done. She just couldn't top the feeling of seeing hours of hard work paid off in the form of an impeccably drawn map. The physical evidence of her time spent working towards her dream was a truly glorious sight! She glanced up at the clock above her desk. Five to midnight, perfect! Just in time for the night watch with Luffy!

The two of them would be keeping watch over the ship for the first 4 hours of the night to be replaced by Usopp and Brook. Though something told Nami there wouldn't be much watching going on tonight…

She straightened up in her chair, her spine letting out a series of sharp, satisfying pops.

"Oof," she mumbled, rubbing her back, "Need to stop leaning forward so much… gonna get back problems."

Reclining in her seat Nami held up her map to get a good look at it. It was of Dock Island. The place that had served as their temporary base of operations while fighting Z and his New Marines. She wanted to try a new drawing method for her maps, one which was apparently faster once fully practised. Nami wasn't fully convinced by it.

She could see merit in the idea, however. Her usual technique involved her drawing a quick sketch of all the major landmarks and features of the island in pencil first. They were usually the trickier bits to chart so getting them right first was imperative. Some time was lost doing it this way, but it resulted in a higher quality of map. Thankfully, Nami was a master by this point, so it took her about 10 minutes to do at most.

But that was the thing... Those 10 minutes would inevitably become harder to come by as they got further into the New World. Hell, they hadn't been here more than 3 hours when Z showed up and promptly wrecked the Sunny. So efficiency in time management was key. If Nami could cut out that time off her map making, then that was 10 minutes spent getting ready for anything ahead.

So this new technique cut out that first step entirely. Instead she was to plot every major coordinate on the graph paper to give the general shape of the island and its landmarks, so that when it came to adding the details there would be no chance of accidentally making something bigger than it needed to be. A nice idea. Trades a slightly awkward start in finding where coordinates would go on a black sheet for getting straight into the nitty gritty of the map.

It just didn't look right to her eyes though…

Of course Nami took the time to review the method in full before beginning, a trial this may have been but damn if she wasn't going to try and get it right the first go, but after that it went really well. She would even go as far to say it went flawlessly. So what was wrong with it?

She held it up the last map she had managed to complete, Fishman Island. Now that was a fun map to draw. Nami compared the major differences of the drawings, maybe she could see what the problem was.

"Hmm," she held the sheets side by side, the Library light behind her shining directly on them, giving the clearest possible view.

There were obvious differences given the technique. The line work on the Fishman Island was thicker and less scratchy than the Dock Island. Both characteristics of her regular drawing method. Not what was bugging her however…

Maybe it was the ink that she has used? Nami did buy a small pot of quick drying ink before they left Dock Island for the express of drawing this map. Just to make sure she didn't smug a perfectly good line. "Made with the hardiest ingredients in the New World!" the clerk had boasted. Nami scoffed at him then, and she scoffed now. What a load of bumf.

Regardless, that wasn't it either. The new ink dried to a lighter shade of black than her normal stuff, but it was still perfectly visible and consistent. That old clerk may have tried to oversell it trying to swindle her, but he still sold a good product. So what was it?

Nami sigh, setting the paper down. This was going nowhere annoyingly fast. She removed her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes till she was seeing spots. It was best she just leave it for now, she was getting sleepy.

There probably wouldn't be much watching going on tonight, because Nami would be out like a light!

But really, she was tired. Not enough sleep these last couple days. She rolled up the maps to take with her. She would ask Robin for a second opinion provided she wasn't already asleep. Flicking the lights off, Nami left the library to get ready for the night shift.

The only light available on deck was that which shone from the windows of the kitchen, where it sounded like a rather lively game of jenga was happening. A game in which Luffy was actually good at. It was hilarious watching him beat literally every single member of the crew when they first bought the blocks, though Sanji and Franky definitely gave him a run for his money. Turns out her boy's obscene luck was pretty useful after all.

"Idiots." Nami muttered fondly hearing a large cheer, presumably marking someone crashing unceremoniously out of the game.

She'd probably have to call Luffy away if they didn't wind up soon. Those boys - assuming it was all the boys - would play till the crack of dawn if left unchecked.

Nami made it to her shared room with Robin, slightly surprised to see light beneath the door, marking her roommate as still awake. Normally she'd be in bed for about an hour now.

Entering the room, Robin, dressing in a fluffy, pink dressing gown, was perched on the edge of her bed brushing her damp hair and humming a light tune to herself.

"You're in a good mood." Nami said, kicking off her sandals.

"Good evening to you too." Robin replied blithely, "Is that a problem?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure the last time I caught you humming you'd buried a cadaver under the floorboards."

"I had to drown out it's heartbeat somehow. It was driving me mad."

"But did you have to sound so cheerful?" Nami threw her rolled up maps onto her own bed, and went looking for a good sweater.

"No, but I worked hard to get it. It isn't easy sneaking a body out of a morgue, you know." Robin's brush broke through a knot with an unnervingly loud snap.

"You are absolutely horrifying, I hope you know that." Nami deadpanned her friend. It's what she got for trying to make a morbid joke. Robin just smiled enigmatically.

Nami pulled out a thick, blue woolen jumper from her dresser, and pulled it on, "Okay, but really, what's got you in a good mood."

"Nothing in particular really." The archaeologist said noncommittally, "It's just been a nice, peaceful day is all. Everything feels back to normal."

"I suppose so…" Nami could see her point, one could argue that they hadn't had a normal day as a crew since before Sabaody. A day where they all just hung out and did their own thing was nice reprieve from the chaos that had been the New World thus far. But she wasn't entirely sold.

"You sure it wasn't because you spent time with a certain someone today?" Nami prodded slyly. She had no idea if Robin did have anything going on with anyone else on the ship, but judging from the minuscule yet undeniable, twitch in her shoulders, Nami had hit the nail on the head.

"What do you mean?" Robin said coolly. Her expression was just too even to be believable.

"I dunno…" Nami began looking at her nails, looking at the older woman getting changed from the corner of her eye, "Maybe there's someone on this crew who you particularly like spending time with?"

Robin buttoned up her ghoul-pattern pajama top, her shoulders looking particularly tight, "I like spending time with everyone on the crew…" she sounded genuinely confused.

God this woman was good…

"Oh come off it Robin!" Nami exclaimed, "You know you can tell me! I'm literally screwing the captain of this ship. Whoever you like can't be worse than that, can it? Unless it's Brook… it's not Brook is it?" Now she had worried herself. It couldn't be Brook…

The length of time Robin held a straight face was admirable, but slowly her facade began to crack. First it was a twitch of her lips. Then her shoulders began to shake, followed by a grin and a giggle. Before…

"DERESHISHISHISHI!" Robin howled, doubling over "DERESHISHISHISHISHIII!"

Nami was struck dumb.

She had never heard Robin laugh like this… ever. It was hard enough to get her to laugh beyond a light chuckle or giggle at the best of times. Everyone just assumed her humour was too dark to find anything else funny. Not that it really mattered. Robin showed her joy differently to everyone else, primarily but just being as near to people as comfortable. But this? This was something different entirely…

Robin continued to laugh for a solid minute before it was quelled into giggles.

"What was that?" Nami breathed. She felt like she'd been shaken to her core.

"So-sorry," Robin apologised, "I really wasn't expecting that."

"No kidding. I've never heard you laugh like that before." Nami regained control of her senses a bit.

"Ah, well," she sounded unsure, like she was trying to find the right words. A rarity for the accomplished bookworm, "Last time I laughed like that I had been shot… So I don't exactly associated it with humour."

"Was it really that bad?" Nami asked, incredulously, " I know the idea of being with Brook is bad, but that bad?"

"No, it wasn't that bad," Robin conceded, "That's the first time I've ever laughed like that because I found something funny. I don't know what came over me."

"Well, make sure you do it more often. That was adorable."

"You think so?"

"Definitely." Nami affirmed, "But back on topic, who is it?"

"I can assure you there is nothing romantic going on if that's what you are getting at." The archaeologist assured.

"So you admit there is something!" It was a 'gotcha' moment if Nami ever had one.

"If you're that set on it, then yes, something did happen." Robin sat on the edge of her bed again, looking put out.

"What was it? Was it good, bad, or wh-"

"Chopper called me 'mum'"

Nami's jaw dropped, "No way."

She had a mental list of things to expect. It was mostly weird things Nami thought might happen due to the average brain cell count on the Strawhat Pirates being about 10. With her and Robin really bringing the number up. Everything from Zoro forgetting to get dressed in the morning, to Luffy getting himself tied up in the sails. This was not on the list.

"It was completely on accident, mind." Robin said, twiddling her thumbs. In terms of showing nerves, it was the equivalent of her rolling on the ground panicking.

This time it was Nami's turn to be overcome with a fit of the giggles. She doubled over, hand over mouth, trying her best not to over do it too much. Yet she couldn't help it! This was too cute! That laugh of Robin's was nothing on this!

"H-hey! Don't laugh!" her roommate exclaimed, going pink round the ears, "This is serious!"

"Awk, but Robin, you'll make such a good mum to him! Hehehe!" Nami teased gleefully, "It's so sweet, he thinks of you like a mum! It had you humming! Ahahaha!"

Robin was now pink from head to toe. What a fun evening this was.

"You're missing the point, Nami…" Robin mumbled, "It has me scared."

The navigator's jaw clamped shut. Her friend looked genuinely worried in a way Nami hadn't seen in such a long time. The idea of Chopper calling Robin 'mum', even if by mistake, was such a wholesome idea, Nami literally couldn't see anything wrong with it. The older woman dotted on him so much it was easy to imagine. Besides it wasn't unique for the crew to see each other as family. Nami herself thought of Usopp and Zoro as brothers for example.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just…" Robin began, "It's fine if it was a mistake. Similar to calling a teacher 'mum' or 'dad', everyone has done it once, and it does make me happy because of how sweet of a thought it is… but…" she trailed off.

Nami had long since moved to sit beside her friend, a hand resting on her lower back. Robin, normally the composed one, looked shaken. It had her on edge as well.

"What if he does think of me as a mother?"

"What's wrong with that?" Nami asked, encouragingly, "You're already such a caring figure to him. You carry sweets in you bag in case he gets hungry for goodness sake!"

Robin didn't look convinced, "It's not that. Doesn't he already have a mother? Doctorine?"

"You mean Doctor Kureha? Yeah, he does, but it isn't like you're gonna replace her or anything. Having a parental figure for him out here, can only do Chopper good, yeah?" She tried to placate her friend's nerves.

It was well known among the crew that Robin had intimacy issues that came tied with feelings of inadequacy. Look what happened when the crew started calling her 'friend'. They wound up storming Enies Lobby and declaring war on the world. So it made sense she'd freak out at being called 'mum' out of the blue.

"I suppose so," she shrugged, "But what if I'm not any good? I didn't exactly have good motherly figures in my life."

"A fair point," Nami conceded, "So then what have you been doing up till this point? To potentially make him see you as a mother."

Robin hesitated, averting her gaze to anywhere but Nami.

"That wasn't rhetorical."

"I treated him like I wish was treated." she uttered softly. Her hand where gripped tightly on her lap.

Nami gave her a sympathetic smile, rubbing soft, calming circles on her back, "And you've done magnificently, Robin, but I think you've you've forgotten one crucial detail…"

"And what might that be?" Robin looked at her with an eyebrow quirked.

"You said it yourself," Nami grinned, "It was totally on accident. A slip of the tongue, and even then, you'll have been doing such a fine job regardless."

Robin sat still as a statue for a moment, taking in her words. Clearly she had forgotten that little detail. Caught up in her own insecurities as she was. Finally she closed her eyes and took a deep, soothing breath.

"You're right." She said, finally. Her voice sounding a little shaky, "I got too far ahead of myself, and panicked. I just never thought of being a mom in any way before. Sorry for dumping all of that on you like I did."

"No need to apologise," Nami smiled softly, "It's what friends are for."

She stood, and stretched. The clock on the wall read half past midnight. Looks like she was the one going to be late to watch, not Luffy.

"It beg the question, I think." Robin piped up after a moment, sounding genuinely curious.

"What does?" Nami asked, picking her maps off the bed. She'd totally forgot to ask Robin about then. Best do it now before she leav-

"Will you and Luffy ever have kids?"

…

Her and Luffy… having kids…?

…

Nami felt her brain begin to sizzle. A picture of a little, brown eyed baby with curly black hair burned itself into her imagination…

"NOPE. NOT AT ALL. NEVER." Nami said, louder than necessary, steam pouring from her ears "I WON'T BE TAKING ANY MORE QUESTIONS THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOODBYE."

She prompted marched out of the room slamming the door firmly behind her. The sound of Robin's giggles emanating from the room. At least someone found it funny.

Nami stomped her way across the deck towards the kitchen. Her having kids. Talk about unexpected. It was literally the last thing on her mind at literally any point of anything, and then stupid Robin had to go and bring it up. Now she was all flustered. Over what? Nothing!

The lights were still on in the kitchen when Nami entered. She was greeted by the sight of Luffy, Sanji, Franky, Usopp and Brook leaning eagerly over a wonky tower of jenga bricks. Sanji was halfway through pulling a brick out of the bottom layer. Usopp was wiping the cook's brow with a dish cloth in a vain effort to keep the sweat out of his eyes. The other three where all on their haunches, daring the bricks to fall with varying levels of intensity.

Franky was kneeling on the ground, his tiny robot hands scribbling away on a comically small notebook. Brook was beside him, face inches away from the brick was pulling out. And Luffy? He was on the table, on his elbows and knees sweating profusely as the brick moved.

Every single head whipped around to watch her march in. Nami didn't even want to acknowledge what was likely the tensest game of jenga ever played, so she walked right past it to where the spare duvet was kept. The silence was deafening. She must have had a pretty fierce on her face. Good. She wasn't for talking much right now.

She grabbed the duvet under arm and turned to leave. Luffy had sat up to peak over the jenga tower to get a good look at her. Nami grabbed his wrist on the way past.

"We're going on watch now." She declared.

Luffy waved goodbye to the others as she dragged him towards the crows nest.

The climb up the ladder was quiet, although judging by the occasional 'hum' and 'hah' by Luffy, Nami guessed he wasn't intent on it staying that way. That was fine, she just needed to get her head on straight first.

The crow's nest, for lack of a better word, fucking stank. Nami loved Zoro, she really did, but if he was gonna use it as a gym then the least he could do was open a damned window. Or fumigate it. It really didn't help that he refused to shower after work outs either, so all the stink just sat and festered.

She made a mental note to strong arm Usopp into helping her deep clean the place in the coming weeks.

Barely had she thrown the duvet and maps down, and begun opening windows had Luffy asked started speaking,

"Nami, what's wrong?" he asked, "You look all pink on and flustered."

"Nothing major." she answered honestly, pushing open the last window, "I just got caught for a loop is all."

"But you aren't a loop?"

Idiot.

"It's a metaphor, Luffy, I means I got taken by surprise."

"Ahh, makes sense," he nodded, "How'd that happen."

"It was Robin," Nami replied, opening the last window, "She asked if the two of us would ever have kids."

To nobody's surprise Luffy pulled a face like someone rubbed shit under his nose.

"No thanks." He plopped himself down on the folded up duvet like it was a bean bag, "Kids are cool, but we got stuff to do, y'know."

"Too right." she agreed dropping down beside him. The blanket was incredibly comfy and she was more than ready to sleep cuddled into Luffy's side like this, but with all the windows open it was gonna get cold soon, so they'd have to get under it at some point.

"What made her ask that though? Is she thinkin' of kids?"

"Pfft!" Nami snorted, "God no. Chopper accidentally called her 'mum' earlier and it made her panic."

"Shishishi! That's hilarious! She's okay though, right?" Luffy laughed.

"Oh yeah, she's fine. I talked her through it, so she's right as rain." she assured her boyfriend with a wave.

"That's good, I'm glad." He grinned brightly at her.

Nami smiled back. She snuggled into Luffy's side, pulling her arms out of their sleeves to keep them warm. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Ah, now this was relaxing. The smell was even dissipating.

Still, one little thing was still sitting on her mind. The definitive answer to Robin's question, in the long term at least. Just to know where they both stood on the matter.

"Would you ever wants kids, Luffy?" Nami asked softly.

"Hmm, probably." he shrugged after a moment, "Not for a long time. What about you?"

"Same. Not until I finish my map at the very least."

Their conversation lulled. They lay together, purely enjoying enjoying each other's presence. Nami could barely remember the last time they had been able to lay together like this. It was probably after leaving Strong World. Okay, maybe there was that one morning on Fishman Island, but that didn't count considering they were both naked, and it quickly devolved into another round of the previous night's activities.

Definitely didn't count.

It was good though…

"The New World really is amazing, huh?"

Luffy's words pulled Nami out of her thoughts. He was thinking about their, the crew's adventure. It made sense. They had barely been here a week and the Second Half of the Grand Line was living up to its reputation.

"It really is," Nami yawned softly, fighting off the sleep that was slowly encroaching on her mind, "Z and his New Marines were a tough nut to crack."

"Oh yeah, he was super strong." she could hear the grin in his voice.

It was a trait that she really admired in Luffy. His ability to look back at anything and always remember the fun he had. Sometimes it was a cool locale. Others, like now, it was because of a good fight. He rarely ever thought of any adventure poorly once all was said and done.

Nami was a little envious of it.

The Battle with the New Marines wasn't that tough, no more than the New Fishman Pirates at least. There certainly were a lot of 'New' things going about she thought derisively. It wasn't what Nami would call 'enjoyable' either. Something about being on a time limit to stop an absolute nutter from blowing up the world put her on edge.

Gyoncorde Plaza was almost… laid back by comparison to fighting the New Marines. The entire crew was itching for a fight. A chance to show off how strong they were. It just so happened that Hody Jones and his group of xenophobic, Arlong worshipping assholes where the perfect punching bags. The stakes weren't as high, that was for sure.

Then again, you don't really go higher than 'Madman with a death wish willing to blow a hole in the earth itself killing everyone to settle a grudge'. Especially not when they were the only ones around to stop it.

On Fishman Island, they had 2 major goals; protect Princess Shirahoshi, and King Neptune, and defeat the New Fishman Pirates without seeming overly aggressive. The rest was entirely on the people of the island.

On Piriodo, they had a set time to beat the shit out of Z and his lackeys, and disable the Dyna stones before the world went 'POP' in a cloud of volcanic ash and pyroclastic flow.

A small, but distinct difference in the urgency required Nami thought.

And here Luffy was enjoying the memories of a good fight.

"To think we're gonna meet entire crews with people as strong as Z…" she mumbled, feeling a little sour. She was confident in her abilities. She had trained hard, and thoroughly. She even planned to pick up her sparring with Luffy as soon as possible, but it would be a cold day in hell before she looked forward to fighting a monster like that!

"I know! I'm so excited!" Luffy's laugh almost sounded like a giggle. As fearless as ever, "I still have so many cool new moves to show off!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Her lovable boyfriend was many things, captain, future king, funny, handsome, and so on. But generally creative was not one of those things. Yet when it came to his Devil Fruit ability, his ingenuity was unparalleled. The only person that came close was Chopper.

"I invented a new Gear." he whispered conspiratorially, as if he was afraid the wind would give away his secret.

"Gear Fourth?" Nami took a logical stab at guessing it's name.

"Uh huh," Luffy confirmed, "I have different versions of it, depending on what I need."

Now that was interesting. Nami propped herself up giving him her full attention. Both Gear Second and Third, as powerful as they were, were very one note, and didn't cover nearly all the bases a brawler like Luffy needed, given their immense drawbacks. Even if he had circumnavigated said drawbacks during the 2 years away.

Have a Gear that held inherent versatility would be an invaluable boon for sure.

"So how does it work?" Nami queried, and eyebrow cocked. Luffy clearly wanted to rave about his new found abilities, and she was more than willing. Besides, it would be useful to know.

"Well, you know how Gear Third works?" he asked, getting her nod as confirmation, "It's like that only with my muscles instead of my bones!"

He said that like it was the most amazing and awe inspiring revelation in the world, but it sounded rather grotesque.

Nami considered the idea for a minute. It certainly was unique, but its application wasn't immediately apparent to her. Gear Second to advantage of basic biology to give Luffy a small boost in strength enabling to throw faster punches and utilise Shave, which in turn made him hit harder through simple physics. Force = Mass x Acceleration and all that. Gear Third was incredibly simple. If Gear Second - and Shave by extent - Increased Acceleration to produce more Force, then Gear Third increased Mass by a monumental degree. Both being back up by Luffy's already ungodly strength.

So how did Gear Fourth match up? It did neither of those things. If anything, on paper, it would do the opposite. Inflated muscles would hinder movement, just look at any major body builder, and it didn't have solid bone behind it to increase strength like Gear Third so…

"But wouldn't that be incredibly awkward for you?" Nami was genuinely confused, "You'd be really squishy and it would be hard to move around, wouldn't it?"

Luffy's grin just widened. It was cute seeing how much he enjoyed talking about fighting related stuff. He tapped his nose with his free hand knowingly. Apparently she had missed a trick.

The arm he had over her shoulders lifted up into her view, and without a word turned coal black.

Oh right. Haki.

Nami face-palmed with an exasperated groan, "Ah fuck. I totally forgot about Haki."

"Shishishi, it's fine," Luffy placated as he rubbed her shoulder with his blackened hand. It felt rather odd. His skin still had the texture and warmth of flesh, but there was no give in it whatsoever.

"Well go on then," Nami groused good naturedly, "Tell us how this new Gear of yours works and how great it is, since you're so eager."

"Sure!" Luffy exclaimed, like a child showing off a new toy, "Basically I inflate the muscles all across my body and coat most of it in Armament Haki. It does make my body real squishy, but the haki help cushion hits so I barely feel any of it! It's super nifty!"

He lifted his blackened arm from over Nami's shoulders and bit into his forearm. The he started to blow. The phrase 'rippling muscles' was one that got thrown around a lot when it came to particularly buff people, Zoro and Sanji were perfect examples of that, but what Luffy was doing now was the literal manifestation of that phrase. Every sinew wobbled and warped as air was pumped into it, expanding his entire arm. She right in thinking it looked rather grotesque.

Luffy offered his arm to her, wanting Nami to see his words in action.

Freeing an arm from under her jumper she pressed her palm against his forearm. It felt springy. The skin itself, like before when he rubbed her shoulder, had absolutely not give in it whatsoever. It may as well be rock. But the air and muscle underneath it displaced easily, resisting the force she was exerting on it like some kind of springboard.

"Cool, huh?" Luffy offered seeing the fascinated look on her face.

"Yeah, it is." Nami agreed, poking away at his arm, "How'd you figure this out?"

His arm deflated with the sound of a punctured balloon, "It took a lot of practicing, that's for sure!" He laughed merrily, placing his arm back over her shoulders pulling Nami into his side, "I worked it out after I got the hang of Armament , and then it was just a crap of practice to make it usable."

Nami gave a low whistle, "Go you. That's impressive Luffy." she praised. If he wanted to be King, then this was the kind of creativity and determination he would need to get to the top, "What about you're mobility? How'd you get around that?"

"I can fly." He stated plainly.

"Pardon?" Nami had to have misheard him.

"I can fly." Luffy repeated as if it was self explanatory.

"Sorry babe, but you're gonna have to elaborate on that one. How the hell do you fly." Flinging himself massive distances was one thing, but flying?

"Well, you know how if you hold onto a balloon with one hand, and poke it with a finger, then when you let go it goes flying?"

"I do." It was trick Nojiko showed her when they were kids at a festival back home.

"That's how I do it." Luffy concluded with a nod. Seemingly happy that his explanation covered everything.

Nami stared up at him, jaw hanging, "But tha-that doesn't explain anything!" she managed, "How do you generate enough power to get in the air! Let alone staying up!"

Franky once told her the physics of how Sunny was able to 'fly'. She stood by her position of calling what Sunny does as 'flight' as being a bit much. The numbers involved in getting a ship that size out of the water alone were colossal, and to get it to travel a full kilometer in the space of time that it did was straight up unfathomable to the human mind. Not to mention the air itself fight back against it.

Now Luffy was no sloop, even if he was blown up like an oversized balloon animal, but the amount of force he would have to produce, and the way he would have to produce it, surely it wasn't possible. Nami looked at her boyfriend. He was smiling at her like he was the happiest clam. She thought about all the crazy things he'd done before, from downing multiple Warlords to beating God in a game of fisticuffs. Hell, without his Devil Fruit, Gear Second and Third fell under impossible. If the Maxim could fly, why couldn't he?

It wasn't impossible. It was improbable, and if there was a way to do it then, Luffy would have it sussed no problem.

"You know what, I'll take your word for it, Luffy." Nami conceded with a shake of the head. She looked over at him with a wide smile, "But you're definitely gonna have to show me how it works some time."

"Why not now?" Luffy fought bravely to hide his disappointment.

Nami shuffled deeper into Luffy's side, wrapping her arms around herself under her jumper, "Because I'm comfy." And as if to prove her point she gave a wide, jaw cracking yawn.

She heard him chuckle before shifting himself into a more comfortable position. She closed her eyes and settled down proper. Zoro and Usopp would likely give them a bit of a bollocking for not being on watch when they came to take over, but in her addled state Nami couldn't bring herself to care.

It was the first night in the New World that could truly be called peaceful. Of course that could change on a whim, but for now she would milk it. Fingers crossed they wouldn't come across anyone like Z and his goons any time soon.

Nami drifted off to sleep.

…

"-y Nami, wake up." A voice broke through the dense silence that was sleep followed by a gentle rocking, "It's time to go, Usopp and Zoro are here."

Nami cracked her eyes open to the blinding light of the Waking World. Or the crows nest. Luffy slow came into focus, rocking her shoulders softly. As much as a pain as it was to wake up, there were worse things to see upon opening one's eyes.

"Mmmph, hey Luffy," she mumbled sleepily, "Is our shift over?"

Zoro was standing behind the captain, looking mightily unimpressed with his arms crossed his chest and stern expression, but when didn't he look like that?

"Go on." He grumbled, sounding like he had just gotten up himself, "Get to bed, me and Usopp got it from here."

Nami nodded, vaguely aware of Usopp crouching off to the side, pouring over her maps. She'd gather them in the morning. Right now they only served to annoy her. Luffy helped her to her feet, and quickly gathered up the duvet under one, stretched arm.

"Hey Nami," Usopp piped up, "You made a mistake on one of your maps."

"Hmm?" What do you mean?" Nami rubber her eye in some vain attempt to waken enough to make it to her bed.

The marksman help up the Dock Island map that had caused her grief and pointed to the conspicuously blank top corner, "You forgot the Key."

Nami stared at the map, gears clunking in her brain. She looked from the top corner of that map, to the corner of the Fishman Island map, laying bare for the world to see. The latter had a key. The former did not.

…

"MOTHERFUC-"

.o0o.

~Peace doesn't come Easy~

(Notes: Didn't plan on doing Film Z, but I thought about it, came up with some decent bits, namely the 'Robin being like a mum to Chopper' one, and the 'Nami and Luffy having kids' one, and the rest just sorta followed. Not the best I've come up with, but it was fun and fluffy.

I know I could have done more with the character moments in Film Z, given some LuNami moments could have been construed from it if looked at with one eye closed and the other almost shut. I prolly should have, but I was in a fluffy mood, and wanted to write something fun.

Thank you all so much for your kind words last time out! It warms my heart to know you all like my work so much! I want to improve to produce better works for you all going forward.

Next Chapter is Post-Punk Hazard! Promise!)