Nami's Angry Face

The man reached over, and clamped his hand over the top of her head, lifting her high into the air. He smiled, and said, "You? What a pathetic little thing you are. Why you?"

"What?" Nami gritted her teeth, attempting to pry off his powerful grip.

"Tell me why!"

"What are you talking about?" She kicked his chest, and stomach, and knees, and everywhere else she could reach, but the man didn't budge. His hold tightened however, and she screamed, arching her back as pain shot through her head and neck while his fingers dug in.

!#$&()+

Nami sucked air in hard, almost choking on it before she sat up, clutching at her neck, and staring ahead at the wall. Covering her eyes, she took deep breaths to calm herself before she jumped at the touch on her shoulder. She stared at the drowsy looking Luffy, and then lied down beside him to hug his long frame. He didn't appear to be conscious entirely, but he seemed to sense her distress, and so he yanked her closer, laying his head atop of hers with a snore.

Blinking away errant tears, Nami smiled into his neck. After a moment, she said, not sure if he was awake at all or even if he needed to hear it, though she knew she needed to say something to feel better, "I remembered a part of this dream, but I don't remember the face. Maybe the voice, but … no, it's already faded."

Luffy's arms engulfed her then, and she turned her eyes up to see him staring back. He said, "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."

"Oh, okay," he patted her lower back, and then his hand slid up to sink fingers through the strands of her silky hair. He played idly with her hair a while, making her face glow bright, but then he was smiling, and he said, "The sun's coming up. I'm going to wake up Sanji."

She grinned back, and nodded, "I'll stay here a bit longer then. Don't get too noisy."

"Right," he said, and he pulled aside the covers to hop over her, leaving the room to jog around the staircase.

Smiling at the sounds of a door crashing open, Nami fluffed her hair, and stretched in the bed with a long drawn out yawn. When Luffy and Sanji's short-lived fight over breakfast was over, she climbed out of her bed finally to brush her hair, and then stripped away her nightgown to get dressed.

!#$&()+

Nami's lips pursed and she bent down to pick up Luffy's hat, wondering where the boy had gone to – and what he was doing that made him forget even his beloved straw hat. Smiling warmly in spite of his carelessness, she put it on her head for safekeeping, and went to sit with Robin.

The older woman gave Nami one of her friendly grins from over her book cover. She shut it, marking her place with a dark violet feather that Chopper had found, and given to her. After a while of the two sitting in companionable silence, she said, "The captain left with the rest of the boys for the mountains. He thinks that they'll find a yeti or some other monster up there."

"He probably will," Nami said, facing the mountain range of the island.

"We'll eat well tonight, I think."

She stared at Robin before she started to laugh softly, and said, "He would bring it down for us to eat, wouldn't he? Or invite it to dinner."

"Mm-hmm," she said.

Relaxing back against the chair, she kept her hand and fingers against the lay of the straw. It wasn't a very comfortable hat, she realized. The straw stuck out in random places, and poked at her scalp to make it scratchy and irritable, but she didn't mind.

"Nami-chan," she looked at her companion, and realized that Robin was gazing at the straw hat. "It feels like we haven't spoken in a while."

Feeling a blush come over her cheeks, she averted her eyes back to the mountains, and just pretended to admire the scenery – though she was sure that they both knew that she was searching for Luffy's figure. She said, "If it's about the birds and the bees, I know all about that, thank you."

"Oh," Robin kept smiling, "maybe I should speak with the captain about it then. I've watched him sneak out of our room one too many times, and he worries me so."

"What? You …?" She forced out a laugh before she shook her head, "Nothing happens. He just comes in whenever he feels like it."

That was when Robin appeared a little bemused, "Oh? I just wasn't sure how far your little kisses had gone."

"Just that far," Nami said, forcing her blush to look at least just pink instead of the blazing red she was sure it had turned. Recalling his lips on hers as his rough fingers inched down always sent her into a titter. "That's all I should let him do anyway. Besides, I think he knows way too much about me for his own good."

"Why do you think he knows more than he lets on?" Robin's jovial expression returned full-force, and she said, "He's such a good boy, I mean."

"Well, you haven't seen him sometimes," she said, pressing down a bit more on the hat, and wondered if Luffy minded the itchy straw at all. "I'll just turn around sometimes, and he's watching me with his big smile. Or … once he had his hands on my hips …" Pausing with a fierce blush, Nami glanced at Robin before she relaxed slightly, knowing that it was just the two women onboard.

"The captain was being forward with you, hm?" The older woman said, encouraging her to continue.

"He was testing me, I think. Without saying anything, he asked me how far he could push." She let out a long sigh before she shrugged, "But I just wish he'd …" She shook her head, realizing what she sounded like she was going to say, but wasn't certain if that was what she wanted. "I can be forward too, you know, but next to him, everything I do seems like I'm playing like a shy little girl. That has to frustrate him a little bit, right?"

Robin only smiled, "I didn't know he was so passionate about you."

She said, the blush only intensifying from Robin's words, "Half the time, it seems like he's about to ravish me, and then he'll turn around completely and go shout for food from Sanji, or go bug Zoro."

The archaeologist remained silent until it appeared that Nami would say no more. Robin said gently, every word almost swallowed by the waves of the beach, but Nami heard them much clearer than she heard anything else. It was just how Robin spoke. "When someone cares deeply for another, it must be difficult to withhold all of that affection." She elaborated when she gave her a confused expression, "Maybe he thinks he'll hurt you."

Sitting up straighter, Nami adjusted the hat to sit at more of an angle on her head, still not lifting her hand from it. She said, "If that's the case, I'm kicking his ass. He knows better than to think I'm some porcelain doll."

"Perhaps you should relax with the captain while I distract the other boys. He could take you yeti-hunting with him." Robin laughed at the look on her face, and said, "Or make an excuse to walk on the beach with him. Just be away with him for a while to talk about it."

"Nami!" Blinking in shock, she looked up over the railing to see Luffy running across the beach. She smiled, and he grinned, stretching his arm out to catch the railing, and flinging himself onto the deck in front of her. Putting his hands on his waist, he snickered, and said, "You found my hat!"

Leaning down, he tilted up the hat slightly so he could kiss her cheek and not get poked in the eye by the brim. She said then, tapping his nose, "Luffy, do you want to go fish on the beach with me?"

His face – already bright, loving, and warm – lit up in even more excitement, and he said, "Sure!"

"Right now? Alone?"

"Okay," he said, obviously not giving any thought to the others trailing down the beach after him.

Usopp said, "Oi, Luffy, you're not giving up on Bigfoot, are you? We're going to prove he exists, remember?" Chopper jumped up and down joyously, waving his hooves in the air to catch his attention.

"It's going to be" – Franky shot his arms up to make his star shield – "super!"

"Aah!" He turned, shouting over the railing, and dropping his fist onto it in revelation, "That's right! I need to find the hairy men in the mountain!"

Nami clenched a fist, punching the back of his head, and sent her captain over the side. She stood up to look into the water after him, and shook the same fist at his struggling form, "What the hell are you going to do with hairy men!?"

"Luffy!" Zoro broke into a run, and dove into the water after the flailing rubber anchor, soon pulling him onto the beach.

"Oi, Nami," Luffy said once he was laid onto the sand. "What was that for?"

"I just want to spend some time with you, but you want to run off after hairy, smelly beasts instead of go fishing with your girlfriend. That's what!"

He pushed himself to wobbly feet, "Nami, we can go fishing all the time."

She stamped a foot, pointing at him accusingly before she just wearily dropped her hand, and took his hat off, laying it on the table, "Forget that I said anything then. We can talk about it later."

"I-" he began to say, but cut himself off when she started to walk away. Grabbing the rail again, he climbed onto Sunny, and followed her, "Nami! Talk to me about what? I want to go fishing with you, but-" His voice was muffled to a stop when she slammed the door into his face since he had trailed after her on the ship. However, he continued to talk through the door – though the sound was partially muted. "Nami, you can come hunt hairy guys with us too."

Her brows wrinkled, and she glared at the door, "Just forget about it. Go get your hairy men, and have a blast without me. I'm sure you'd have more fun with those guys anyway."

"No, I won't," he said. "It's not the same without you."

"Nice try, Luffy, but I'm not falling for some little cliché like that."

There was a long pause on the other side of the door before he said, "What's a cliché?"

She bit her lip and attempted not to smile, "Never mind. I just don't want you to feel obligated to be with me. It won't be the same if I guilt you into doing it. Besides, talking to me would cut back on your fun."

"Nami," he said, "come walk with me."

Sighing, she sat at her desk, resting her forehead on the hard wood, "No, not right now. Go do your hairy man thing."

When she didn't hear anything for a while, she sighed, thinking that he had left, and sat up only to jump in alarm at the sight of him in the open doorway. Luffy held out his hand, and she noticed that he wasn't wearing his straw hat, "Yes, right now."

Hesitating, her lips turned down while she stared at his offered hand before she stood, ignoring it completely, "Fine."

Luffy grabbed her hand anyway, and pulled hard, causing her to lurch after him, her breath catching. On the deck of the ship, he grabbed his hat in passing to put it on before he lifted Nami into his arms, and leapt onto the beach. Waving to the crew after he put her down, he said, "We'll go tomorrow. Oi, Sanji! We'll be back before dinner!"

"Yeah, yeah," the cook said, flicking a lighter for a new cigarette. "Keep her safe."

"And happy," she thought she heard Luffy say, but the sand crunching beneath their feet as they ran along swallowed any whispers.

Nami squeezed his hand in hers, almost biting her lip in shame.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, he slowed them down to a walk so they could move through the brush more easily. As they walked down some kind of path that Zoro must have cut, he said, "We found some cool tracks up on the mountain, and Chopper said there was this great awful stink around 'em." He laughed, his grin turning to her, "Sanji said unless the hairy man can talk that he's not allowed to sit at the table."

"Are you going to show me the footsteps or something?" She said, frowning again.

"No," he said, "you said you wanted to talk, so I'm talking to you." Luffy cocked his head, "That's what you wanted, right?"

"Well, no, not exactly." She said, "I wanted to talk to you about … certain things – about our relationship, I mean."

He nodded, "Oh, okay."

Her lips pinched, scowling at his nonchalant attitude even over this, but then she laughed humorlessly with a small shake of her head, "I can't believe I'm going to talk about this, and with you of all people! Talking to Robin was easy enough though."

"Talk about what?"

Taking a deep breath, she stopped walking, which made him stop in turn for he was still clutching her hand, "I want you to … Luffy, we're not …" Groaning, she smacked her forehead, and closed her eyes in frustration, "Maybe I should find some kind of beginning so I can start from there." It struck her in a flash, and Nami beamed, grabbing his hands, and putting them on her hips, "There."

His fingers twitched on her skin, and she watched his chest rise in a deep inhalation of air. She saw that his eyes were focused intently on her slim waist, and Nami swelled with pride.

He said, "Ah, this kind of talking."

"Exactly," she said while her grin was firmly in place, and she tickled her fingertips up his arms to his shoulders. "Do you think you can handle a little talk?"

"Can you?"

Abruptly burning red, she said, "I'm fine!"

"You look so angry though," he pouted, and she blinked, something clicking into place inside of her mind.

Touching her hot cheek, she smiled, "You think I'm mad at you?"

His hands contracted once more as if unsure, and he said, "It's hard to tell sometimes. Your face gets red a lot around me though – when you're mad and when you like my kisses." Laughing, he took a hand off her waist to scratch his nose, "I've been playing it safe because you're really, really scary when you're angry at me. But I'm glad you're not-"

Nami punched him, "I'm not scary, you jerk! Your face is going to be scary once I'm through with you though!"

"See! See!" He blocked his head and face with an arm.

Hesitating in the slightest, Nami then sighed, and lowered her hand, saying, "All right, all right, I get it. You can't tell when I'm blushing from when I'm mad sometimes, so you don't go too far when you touch me." She smirked, crossing her arms, and said, "Well, I'm fine with you touching me, Luffy. Unless I say otherwise, go right ahead."

Standing with an abrupt smile, he grabbed her waist, and brought her against his body in one fluid motion, "So you like this?" When she blushed, he waited until she remembered herself, and Nami managed to nod. Reaching up, he pushed the brim of his hat up to let it lay across his back, leaning in to gently touch their foreheads together, "And this."

"Yes," she said, closing her eyes tightly as her lips parted, feeling his breath on her face. Her entire form warmed against his innocent touch, and she swallowed hard, wondering how hot she would actually become when his touch was anything but innocent.

Nami also began to wonder if he would see the opening in her flushed parted lips so he would kiss her, but jolted in pleased shock when she felt his mouth descend onto her neck.

!#$&()+

The moon was well into the water when they returned hand-in-hand, Nami still feeling higher than the White Sea, and gradually floating back down. Luffy, of course, was unaffected, and she almost glared at him for the almost smug little grin on his lips.

She kissed him instead.

Snickering, he said, "Do you think Sanji has dinner ready yet?"

"He better," she said. "I'm starving."

When he spotted the lights strung out on the ship, he cried out in joy, and released her hand to run across the beach. He said, "Deck party! Deck party!"

Beaming a sunny smile, she ran after him. Her mind still on their prior activities, Nami calculated the chances of Luffy coming to her room that night, and supposed that she would have to keep the door unlocked.

!#$&()+

THE END

!#$&()+

Would any of you believe me if I told you that I've had more than half of this written for almost three months? It's almost as old as A Log Pose to Nami! Also … no, they didn't go that far in their relationship – though I suppose you may think that they did – it really doesn't matter either way, I guess.

Also, I'm planning something or other … not sure what yet exactly since I don't have enough information from Oda, but until then, yes, that dream in the beginning needs to be there. It was not pointless.

!#$&()+