Summary: She was always the bridesmaid but never the bride…

Note: I've come upon this idea after me and my cousins had been teasing our Uncle for always being present in every wedding of his friends, posing as best man and groomsmen. As you can already grasp, setting is in an alternate universe and that the characters are somehow ooc. Nevertheless, I will still try to stick to their usual character if it applies to the situation.

Pairing: ZoroxNami

Standard disclaimer applies.

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A beautiful woman with orange locks was patiently waiting for her friend's arrival while counting her fingers. She wondered how her female friends could find themselves some men to settle down with while she could not even find one. Not that no one ever tried wooing her. In fact, a lot did. Only, things never worked out fine for them. One from her previous relationship had even ended up married with her friend which she found somehow ironic given all the circumstances.

Again, she counted her fingers. How many times had she been a bridesmaid in a wedding anyway? Ever since she was a teen, she had been one already, starting when her sister, Nojiko married. That was her first time walking down the aisle as a bridesmaid and that was where she dreamed she'd wed someday. Obviously, until now, it never happened and Nami resigned herself thinking perhaps she wasn't meant to be.

When Conis married, she was among those selected few who attended the ceremony since they decided to keep it simple and as much as possible, private. Nevertheless, she still was a bridesmaid. Not that she cared at the very least.

They were twenty three when Caimie went and fell in love with her now husband. Seeing the pattern, Nami almost declined the invitation but then again, she does not have the heart to say no to her sweet friend and deny her the only thing she could offer. So, that would probably her third time.

The fourth one followed when she was twenty six and by then, she had broken up with her boyfriend. She would learn later that he was in love with Kaya. And so, being Kaya's friend, she never held it against her. Besides, in her subconscious, she always felt that Sanji fell in love with Kaya's gentle nature but never acted on it since they were still a couple and he does not want to hurt her. However, six months after, Sanji had taken the courage to break it off with her, telling her that he had always loved Kaya. While that stung, Nami understood and she began to wonder if she never gave much for their relationship to work well. When she asked Sanji about it, he assured her that she gave her best but they aren't just cut out for each other. And being a good friend, Nami assured Kaya that she will participate in her wedding ceremony and would even be one of her bridesmaid if she ever allowed it. Of course, Kaya had always wanted it.

Nami sighed. Perhaps her longest relationship was with Sanji and ever since their break-up, she never lasted in one relationship for even a month, something that had worried, Vivi. Nami had then concluded that perhaps, the gods had come to hate her for everything.

Her friends had all been well settling down she realized as time passed by. A year later after Kaya's wedding, Robin came back from her dig abroad and announced that she is to wed one guy named Franky. He had been Robin's companion in most of her digs and along the way, they fell in love. Again, Nami was asked to be part of the entourage.

That time, Vivi had joked. "Nami, by all the gods, are you trying to set a record for being the bridesmaid for life?" she had asked and Nami laughed it off. Though Vivi belonged to the same circle of friends, she only attended a few weddings. That should be understandable considering how Vivi, like Robin, spent most of her time abroad, working her ass out to even further her father's business empire which is quite big already.

That was five weddings already. There were others from colleagues, from high school friends who happened to meet her in the crossroads of life and Nami could not count anymore. It's the five wedding she was able to hold memories of considering how those who were wed then were precious to her.

And now, at twenty nine, Vivi – the only one besides her being single – had called over the phone a few days ago, announcing her return and settling down for good with a husband to boot. Nami is yet to meet the lucky guy though. If anything, Vivi aside from Robin is the closest to her on all accounts. And because of that, she intended to find out who she's going to marry. Not that she does not trust Vivi's judgment. She always does. Though there was one time that Vivi was wrong. That was when she believed Kohza is meant for her. It turned out, Kohza treats Vivi more like a sister than a lover and thus ended up with one of Vivi's employee, Rasa. She knew her friend – once Vivi loves someone, she will give her all to make the relationship works, something Nami envied from her. But that's Vivi.

She glanced at her watch. It's a good thing she took a day off today and Vivi timed it for her arrival. It's been two years since she last saw Vivi after she spent most of her time abroad. They communicated through phone, through net etc, but there's still nothing better than to have a friend around.

"Nami!"

Said woman grinned broadly at the familiar voice and waved as she saw her friend walking towards her, pulling her trolley with her. Perhaps, what Nami always loved about Vivi aside from her gentle nature is the fact that despite being wealthy, Vivi is still simple. She carried herself with simplicity, with no air of arrogance and not even giving away her status in the society and that's why even their other friends felt comfortable around her. Why, Vivi is the only one who was born from the old money while most of the group belonged at the middle.

She kissed Vivi's cheek and smiled warmly. "Vivi. I missed you," she said as they hugged each other.

"Me too."

They placed her things at the car before they finally drove away. Nami turned to her friend and saw how Vivi beamed with excitement. "So…finally settling down eh?" she mused and Vivi chuckled a little.

"Aha."

"Tell me about him," she urged.

"Oh, he's an interesting man. He may look like an idiot at times but he's really intelligent. His name is Luffy and I'm sure you will like him," Vivi said, obviously fond with her fiancé. She turned to Nami. "He runs a servicing company with his best friend."

"What sort of service do they offer?" she asked with mild interest.

Vivi rubbed her chin. "Let's see…more of legal service. Luffy's business provides for investigation services, a private investigation company. He later merged with the law firm owned by his friend."

"Sound interesting," she concluded.

"Yep. How's your work?"

She smiled. "I've been promoted a couple of weeks ago. It pays to know I've finally achieved that rank," she answered while Vivi squealed in delight. Nami is an architect and despite having exceptional skills, she was often bypassed by the senior executives of the firm, being a newbie that she was eight years ago. Despite that, Nami had endured until year by year, she rose to one rank to another until recently when she became one of the most recognize architect to date. Vivi had always offered her a job and even offered her a start-up money to start a business of her own but Nami, despite how she loved money, can never take advantage of her friend's kindness.

"I'm happy for you," Vivi said.

"You should be. You weren't here when the group celebrated my promotion to junior ranks a two years ago," she said sulkily. "So you have to make up for it."

Her friend chuckled. "That's not a problem." Vivi let a few minutes pass before she cleared her throat and spoke. "Nami…"

"Hmm?"

"It sort of became a tradition that you attend all your friends' weddings and it would be selfish of me to ask but still, I want you there," Vivi said seriously as she looked ahead, Nami driving the car. "I'd like you to become my maid of honor."

Nami glanced at her and smiled a little. She will give anything to attend Vivi's wedding. She knew how important it is to Vivi. Because they both dreamed the same thing when they were younger. They both daydreamed about it when they were teens, often describing how they wanted their wedding to be. And they promised to be there when one of them decided to marry.

"I would be disappointed if you took me out of the list," she said. "I know it sort of became a pattern but just like the rest of the group, this is one wedding where I cannot decline the offer. And I will not."

"Thank you," Vivi spoke solemnly.

"So, where's the groom?"

"They'd follow ahead. They need to finish their case first."

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"Nah, Zoro," Luffy whined at his best friend who was busy reading the medical reports.

"Can't you whine later Luffy?" Zoro asked with exasperation, not bothering to give him a glance. It had always become a routine for Luffy to come whining at Zoro whenever he was bored and had nothing to do. Not that Zoro minded it. He liked having Luffy's company.

Luffy toyed with the papers in front of him. "I'd like you to be the best man and you can't decline and say no," he said after a minute. He had been telling this to Zoro a couple of times already ever since Luffy decided to ask for Vivi's hand in marriage. And countless times, even though they were the best o friends, Zoro declined for no apparent reason – just his dislike for crowds.

His sidekick and voluntary secretary often commented about that part of him. She often wondered how he maintained such good and high reputation despite his disgust for socializing.

"Can't I say no?" he asked with boredom.

"You can't say no," Luffy answered. "The only reason why I never left with Vivi is to make sure I drag you with me to Japan."

"Luffy, you can ask Usopp for it," he pointed out and finally raised his head and leaned on the swivel chair. He yawned.

"Usopp does not want to. He said he's too much of a man to take away your rightful place," Luffy answered and Zoro wondered where that came from. He rolled his eyes.

"Rrrright," he said and yawned once more.

"Besides, you needed a break," Luffy continued.

"How about Ace or Sabo?"

"Much as they want to, they are not sure they can make it for the wedding. Sabo as you very well know is stationed in Middle East and was not given the permission to take a vacation just yet. Ace on the other hand is nowhere to be found, you know my brother's job. He'd only come around when one mission is over," he explained though Zoro already knew that, he just wanted to be out of the hook which is obviously not happening. "Come on, my wedding is incomplete if you're not around and what kind of best friend would abandon his friend in moments of crisis."

Zoro rolled a paper and threw it at Luffy, hitting Luffy's forehead. "That's not a crisis idiot. And don't go playing that guilt trip on me."

Luffy threw back the paper at him and the moss head deftly caught it with his right hand before throwing it at the waste basket. "I was hoping it might work," Luffy retorted with a grin.

Zoro sighed. What else can he say? Despite how many times he had tried refusing Luffy's whims before, in the end, he always nodded his assent and Luffy knew that. Luffy knew it so damn well. Seeing the defeated look in his eyes, Luffy grinned even more. "It's working, isn't it?"

Zoro smirked. "Keep dreaming."

"It does."

"No."

"Yes."

"It doesn't."

"It does."

Zoro facepalmed. "For God's sake, Luffy, go badger someone else," he growled while Luffy laughed heartily, knowing that in arguments like this, he always won. He stood up and went towards the door.

"I knew you'd give in," he smirked.

"Shaddap," Zoro answered though he too is smirking. "Now go away and don't come back whining about the same thing. I need to finish working up on my case so we can follow Vivi," he said.

Luffy shook his head. "Yeah, yeah," he said finally. Zoro sighed in relief as the door closed behind him. Luffy could really be so insistent if he wanted to and it still came as a surprise to him that Vivi can handle him well. He always thought no female can handle him given his weird personality. Just when he thought he was gonna have peace, the door opened once more and Luffy's head peeked in.

"Zoro?" he asked.

Zoro sighed in exasperation. "What?"

"I thought you don't believe in God? How come you uttered his name?" he asked innocently though his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"What the hell – Luffy!" he growled as Luffy closed the door and went off already. Zoro raked his hair though he could not help but grin afterwards. Who could even say no to that guy?

He was once again immersed in his papers when the door opened and he knew one aside from Luffy who has the courage to ever do that without knocking first. And he was right when he saw Perona holding a pile of papers, her brows arched.

"You're certainly…vigorous today," she commented and laid down the pile of papers.

"Get off my case, will you? It's enough that I have to deal with Luffy a little earlier than you," he said, wondering how two people always drove him mad.

Unfazed and used to his temper already, the pink-haired woman only shrugged. "I'm very generous today and I've gathered all the information you need, Luffy had been pestering me to get you to agree to his invitation so he needed all works to be done on time," she informed and studied him carefully. Despite their many differences, she is probably the only female he trusted. "You ought to take a break you know. You've been taking a lot of cases lately."

"I'm planning on taking one after this," he pointed out. She nodded and headed towards the door. He still wondered why she came and volunteered to work for him. Not that he complained about. He was able to accomplish a lot of his task with her help especially when it comes to paper work since him and Luffy are lazy on that area. "Hey Perona."

"Hm."

"I'd like you to contact Chopper for me. I need to get his definite statement on these bullet wounds."

She nodded and opened the door. "How about Usopp? Aren't you going to call for him as well?"

He shook his head. "That guy is probably being pestered by Luffy at the moment."

"Okay. No problem."

"Thanks."

When the door closed, Zoro yawned and stared at the stack of papers before groaning inwardly. seriously, he is so gonna suffer from migraine today. He glanced at the framed photo on his desk and the dark scowl which is usually there on his face vanished for a moment before it came back. He wondered if his foster father had been proud of what he was able to accomplish.

After all, Jiracule Mihawk had always wanted him to inherit the business and the profession.

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