A/N: Well this story's been lying on my computer for god alone knows how long, so I decided to finally upload it. XD;; Gosh this is like the longest I've ever written and it probably doesn't make sense. I had planned dividing it into chapters, but then it would lose it's touch, so now it's a very looooooong oneshot -^^- So then I won't hold you here any longer, go ahead and read the story.

Oh and I decided to rate it M just in case. Maybe doesn't need to be but just decided to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda does.

At the hours of darkness, the Thousands Sunny was hushed and tranquil, as it peacefully glided across the Grand Line towards its next destination. The said ship's inhabitants were slumbering quietly in their respective bed's save for one person. That one person was Nico Robin, who was sitting out on the deck reading one of her many books, as she kept watch for any threat that could be prowling about. She kept her ears and eyes wide open for any kind of usual sound. But even though she kept a meticulous watch for any danger from the outside world, she missed the restrained sobs that belonged to the ship's navigator, from the women's quarter.

Maroon orbs snapped open and stared up at the ceiling through the darkness. A tangerine haired woman, in her late teens, jerked up from the bed and clutched her chest. Nami panted hard as she sat completely blanked out for a few minutes. Her mind was still trying to comprehend the situation at hand. Her eyes widened at every passing moment as she began remembering bits and pieces of her broken memory, deciphering the reason that led to this circumstance. Nami whimpered as she finally remembered and her eyes began to tear up, as she felt the pain and sorrow that she endured in her dream.

Nami clutched her head with one hand and her chest with the other. The tears flowed out of her eyes unrestrained, but she tried to make as little noise as possible. She moved her hand from her head to her lips, trying to muffle out the sound of her out cry, as a new set of sobs hacked through her entire body. The bed creaked under the pressure of her whimpers and sobs that shook her body.

"N-no….n-no….p-p-please d-d-don't d-do th-this….pl-please…..pl-please….i…I c-can't….i-I'm so-sorry….p-pl-please….please d-don't leave m-me alone…c-come b-back…n-no please….n-no….", Nami wheezed out inaudibly to no one in particular. She couldn't her tears from flowing or the thoughts that entered her mind. She gasped out as pain and sorrow tore through her heart. She continued to plead to the shadowy ghosts of her dreams.

Nami knew that there way no way she could sleep peacefully, not just today, but very single night henceforth. The condition that her treasured nakama were in hurt more than any wound she had received in her whole existence. But she just couldn't explain the feeling that she got when she saw the state her nakama were in. She was left dumbfounded and overwhelmed with desires to kill herself, rather than see her captain or her nakama hurt themselves to that extent or see them in the state they were. An imaginary knife had been run through her heart and now her heart was weeping tears of blood. The knife had run in too deep, leaving a profound gash on her very core.

Her cries finally came to a stop at the crack of dawn and the nightmare slowly subsiding into her subconscious for the time being, intent on returning to haunt her later. But the pain and sorrow were still lingering and Nami could do nothing other than pick up the tiny pieces of her shattered soul. Even though her cries had stopped, she could not sleep a wink because once she closed her eyes, the horrifying faces of her nakama etched themselves onto her eyelids. This would send her heart into a disconcerted and disturbed state once again, her mind on the brink of insanity.

By the time every other person on the ship was wide awake, Nami had rushed forward to occupy the bathroom to clear her mind of the negative thoughts. In the bathroom, she let her clothes pool around her feet as she walked towards the shower head. The shower was turned on at full blast and the bathroom instantly fogged up due to the steam from the hot water. Nami walked under the shower and let out a sigh as the water calmed her frantic nerves. She placed her palms on the wall in front of her and leaned against them to support her body and let out another long sigh.

'What's wrong with you Nami? How could you let something like a nightmare affect you? And besides I'm sure my nakama would never do something like that to me. It's just not possible. I mean Luffy would never…. Right?? He would never do something like that?? Or even Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Brook, right??', Nami bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying out loud and panicking everyone. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes all over again.

'I can't look at them. At least not the way I am right now. I'm pretty sure that I'll breakdown in front of them if I stay for too long. I guess… I guess I'm going to have to make up an excuse to stay away from them until I sort my thoughts. Everything will be fine. I'm sure I'll get over th-', but her musings were cut short by a loud banging on the bathroom door.

"Oi, Nami!! How long do you plan on occupying the bathroom. Hurry up. We also got to go. HURRY!!!", came Usopp's booming voice from behind the door. But before she could reply, there was a loud crash on the other side of the door and Nami could only guess the cause of it: Sanji.

"You shitty long-nosed moron. Let Nami-san have her bath in peace so that her beauty becomes even more overwhelming. Don't disturb her.", Sanji said after kicking Usopp away from the door and then added after turning towards door in his usual love struck mode, "Don't worry, Nami-san. You can take as much as time you want."

"Deluded bastard."

"What was that, shitty green-moss head?"

"You heard me. Or are you deaf as well as deluded, mosquito repellent incense."

"Why you…. You wanna fight me, asshole?"

There was another loud crash and this time Nami was sure that it was Zoro and Sanji fighting again, some silly disagreement. She could hear them bickering over the loud noises, Usopp's tall tales impressing the gullible Chopper and Franky's tears of joy at Usopp's bravery, Brook cracking skull jokes, and Robin's chuckles at the noisy scene. Nami sighed, shaking her head at the commotion happening outside. She wasn't surprised. It happened everyday. Nami frowned softly and thought to herself, 'Something or rather someone is missing.' Her eyes widened and she groaned in pain quietly, nails clawing at her chest, just above her left breast, leaving prominent dark red lines in their wake.

'Why? Why do you have such a big impact on me? Why does my heart twist in immeasurable pain whenever I think of you? Why do your actions affect me the most? Is it just because you're the captain or because you saved me countless number of times and yet you looked at me in such a manner in my dream. Why?', Nami silently reflected. "Why Luffy? Why did you and everybody else have to go and die on me and leave me all alone? Why?"

"Ah, Nami. Hurry up. I need to pee.", Luffy's whiny voice came from the other side of the door. Nami grit her teeth and bit her lip harder as the pain increased ten times more after just hearing his voice and caused her heart to hammer faster against her rib cage, a scene from her nightmare flashing before her eyes. She shakily turned off the shower, dried herself and began dressing with trembling hands. Once she finished dressing, she draped the towel over her head, hiding her face from their eyes. She took in several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself but was failing miserably.

Being part of a pirate crew, Nami had learnt how to cover up her emotions very well. She could even fool Robin and Zoro to an extent. Nami covered up her real feelings by putting up a façade of her usual attitude and walked towards the door. She clutched the handle so tightly that her knuckles turned white, took in another deep breath and prayed that none of the other crew members would be able to break through her front. At least not Robin, Zoro or Sanji. The others she didn't have to worry about. They wouldn't be able to, even if they bet their life on it. 'Okay Nami, get a grip.'

Nami swung the door open and stepped out into the sunlight. Everybody turned their heads towards her and stared at her silently for a few moments before the bombardment of noises started. As usual, everybody started off together, at least everybody, with Sanji being the loudest in the beginning.

"Nami-san, your beauty could put a princess to shame with those rosy cheeks. Ah!! I've fallen even more deeply in love with you."

"Stupid cook.", and they started all over again.

"Oi Nami, you're lucky you came out at the right time or I, Captain Usopp, would have had to break down the door with my bare hands using my mighty Usopp strength."

"Really Usopp!! You're so awesome. You are so brave and strong."

"It's a super good morning today."

"Ohohohoho…. Isn't Captain Usopp the mightiest of the mighty….. Oohohohoh."

"Yohohohoho…. Let me see your panties Nami. But wait, I don't have eyes to see with. Skull joke….. Yohohohoho."

"Ah!! Finally. Now I can go pee.", Luffy said, as he passed her with his ever present grin plastered to his face. As he walked pass Nami, their shoulders unintentionally brushed. Nami clutched the towel on her head tightly as her body froze in its place for a few moments before regaining composure. Nami carefully looked up to see if anybody noticed her slight slip and let out a breath of relief when she realized that nobody had noticed the exchange. But she didn't know that there was a person who noticed her odd behavior towards her captain but chose not to speak anything about it.

Nami walked towards her room but stopped mid-way to address Sanji, "Sanji-kun, could you inform me when it's lunch time? I'm not in a mood to have breakfast today. Please Sanji-kun.", she coaxed Sanji into agreeing using a whiny voice on seeing the frown appear on his face at the mention of skipping breakfast.

Sanji's eyes immediately turned into hearts, as he looked in her direction and answered, "Yes, Nami-san. Your wish shall be my command. I shall prepare a special lunch for you with all my love poured into it and a special breakfast for Robin-chwan."

"Thank you Sanji-kun. I shall be in the Aquarium room for the time being, working on my maps."

"Yes, your highness.", Sanji purred out before he glided towards the kitchen in his love state to prepare breakfast.

Nami entered her room and released her breath; she didn't know she was holding, as soon as she shut the door behind her. She leaned back against the closed door for support and closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking deep calming breaths before she walked forward to fetch her things and walked out of the room to proceed to the destination given to Sanji. On the way, she noticed Luffy playing with Chopper and couldn't help the loving smile that formed on her lips as she looked at them. She stood there for a couple of minutes more, just starring at the two of them but mainly at her captain without realizing it. She took her leave when Usopp joined them in their fun. Before leaving she looked at Luffy one last time with a loving yet painful smile set on her lips and tears in her eyes.

"Why Luffy? Why do you affect me the most? Why?", she quietly whispered out.

Had she waited for a few seconds more, she would have seen Luffy look in her direction with confused, questioning and worried eyes although he had an expressionless face. He had noticed the smile she had given him with tears in her eyes and the slight movement of her lips. The only movement he caught was 'Why' 'Luffy' 'affect' and 'the most' and it had torn his heart to pieces to see his precious and strong willed navigator standing there like a broken porcelain doll with a heart wrenching expression adoring her face. He had wanted to run after her, gather her in his arms and clutch her tightly to his chest, without a single thought of letting go.

But he had stayed behind and let her walk away. He knew that, at that moment, if he went after her, he would make the matter only worse. He had sensed her reaction earlier when their shoulders had brushed. He had turned around to see her clutch her towel tightly and her body freeze. His own eyes had widened at the reaction to a simple brush of shoulders. He had frowned, but had let the matter subside earlier, however now he was worried about his navigator. He knew that she could very well take care of herself, but there was a nagging feeling in his heart that was telling him that there was something troubling her.

Luffy looked up one last time in the direction Nami went before turning towards Chopper and Usopp again, with her thoughts clouding his mind. He may not have been a genius, but he was sure of one thing among all the other; he was in love with his spirited navigator. He had realized that just recently that he, Monkey D. Luffy was in love with Nami. For sure.

-----

Nami entered the room and sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. She raised her hand to touch her wet cheek and wiped the wet trail, leaving no traces that she had cried. She sat herself on the floor and spread her materials about so that she could start working on her maps of all the recent islands they had been to. Of late there had been more and more island visits that had kept them busy, which gave her no time to leisurely sit back and draw her maps. And with so many island visits gone by, she would really have to pick up her pace while drawing her precious maps.

She sorted out her thoughts while drawing her maps. She thought about all the numerous dangerous situations they had been in and not once had they not come out alive. She smiled slightly at that thought and assured herself that the future wouldn't be any different. With determination she began working on her maps with more vigor than before. But before she knew it, Nami fell asleep on the floor, with her mapping equipment spread about her frame. She was peacefully sleeping, until the tranquility was broken.

-----

Nami couldn't help but stare wide eyed at all the gold and exquisite jewelry all around her. She screamed with joy at the wonderful sight as her eyes turned to beli's. She leaped into the mountain of treasure and cuddled among the shimmering artifacts and gems. She wanted every single coin, gem and artifact present there. Money was all that she could think about looking at vast fortune before her eyes. But before she could gather some of the treasure for herself, voices could be heard from the distance.

"Namiiiiiiiiiiiii………Is that treasure……WOHOO……there's so much……I wonder how much meat I can buy with all this treasure?", definitely her captain, Nami thought as Luffy was sighted with drool running down his chin as he imagined having his own meat castle.

"My fair maiden, your beauty glows more brilliantly than these jewels. Please accept my love that I bestow upon you.", Sanji glided towards Nami's mountain of treasure with hearts as eyes.

"TREASURE!!", four different voices screamed out as their bodies landed on the gold mountain with a thud. Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brook laughed like maniacs as they bounced off the gold.

A whistle echoed from one end of the room. Nami tilted her head towards the noise and saw Zoro and Robin coming towards the rest of the group, who were happily rolling in the gold.

But all of a sudden, the excitement from the room disappeared and everything around Nami became cold and distant. They all stared at her with an expressionless face and blank eyes. Luffy came forward with a serious expression and looked at Nami dead in the eye before his treasured straw-hat shadowed his eyes as he asked her a question. "What's more important to you Nami? We, your nakama or this treasure?"

Nami was caught off guard by this question and the seriousness in her captain's voice. Her mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out. She stared wide eyed at captain and then at the other members of her crew and flinched at the cold and harsh gaze they were regarding her with. She bit her lip as she turned once more towards her captain and hesitated, "Luffy I-"

But before she could answer, she was cut off mid sentence as she was suddenly engulfed in blinding darkness. Nami sat stunned for a few second before she reached her hand forward as if searching. "Guys, where are you? I can't see anything. It's too dark in here. Please help me. LUFFY!!! WHERE ARE YOU?" Nami cried out in a panicked voice as she continued to walk forward blindly, calling out to her friends, with her arms stretched out in front of her. She finally noticed a light and sprinted towards it with all her might.

As soon as she reached the opening, she was not prepared to see the sight presented before her. The walls around her were bathed in dark red by her nakama's blood. Their mangled and bloodied bodies lay before her very eyes. Nami's eyes widened beyond limits as she choked on her own saliva. She fell to her knees and let out a loud wail of pure anguish and horror. Her whole body shook with dread but she still crawled forward on all fours towards their fallen bodies. She kept calling out their names' in hope that they would hear her and get up.

"Zoro…Robin…Sanji-kun…Usopp…Franky…Brook. Answer me. Please answer me. ANSWER ME!! ZORO, ROBIN, SANJI-KUN, USOPP, FRANKY, BROOK!! YOU CAN'T BE DEAD.", Nami called out to them and fell to the floor bawling her heart out. "You just can't go die and leave me all alone. Please. I beg you. Please just wake up. Don't leave me all alone. Get up.", she added in a whisper. Her eyes swept across the room and lingered on every fallen body on the floor.

Franky's limbs had been ripped apart from his body, his torso split open. Spark flew out of all the broken circuits. His shades lay besides his head in a crumpled heap, while his head was twisted in an odd manner with his mouth wide open and blood dripping out, into the red pool mixed with oil, accumulated beneath his body and his life-less eyes staring up at her. On the other hand, there was nothing left of their musician. There were only a few bone pieces along with his clothes and walking stick lying on the floor.

Sanji was flat on his back with his dead eyes frozen wide in shock. His legs were twisted at odd angles beneath his body, as if every bone in his leg had been crushed. There was blood oozing out of his legs due to the intensive damage done to them. His face and arms were too bathed in blood, though Nami couldn't decipher whether the blood was his or not. Usopp was in a similar shape as Sanji. His whole body lay limp in his own pool of blood, oozing out of the gash in his head. There weren't even any bones left to support his body. They all had been turned to dust. Nami turned her gaze away from them, since she couldn't bear to look at their crushed bodies any longer. She turned her eyes towards the only other female member of the Straw Hat Pirates and their swordsman.

Nami could have thrown up at the sight of the last two bodies lying there. Robin's neck had been twisted at an anomalous angle, which Nami guessed had caused her death, along with the abnormally large hole gapping up at her from the centre of Robin's chest, inches away from her heart. Zoro conversely had been craved out by his own three swords. There were three deep gashes running along his whole upper body, while two of his bloodied swords had been wedged into his fore arms and the third, his most precious sword; The Wadō Ichimonji, right into the centre of his chest just like Robin.

Suddenly there was a pair of footsteps coming towards Nami from behind. She turned her head to the back and gave a loud gasp at the sight before her. Her captain, Monkey D. Luffy, one of the strongest pirates she had ever known, was standing before her with his prized straw-hat or at least whatever was left of it, on his head and a bloodied bundle in his arm, defeated. Utterly defeated. Luffy lifted his head up at the sound of her gasp and croaked out with blood dripping from his lips.

"N-Na…mi…"

The said girl's heart clenched painfully at the sight of her beloved captain and shakily run towards him to catch him when he began to fall forward. She gently set him down on the floor. The bundle in Luffy's arms stirred a bit before a swollen and bruised head looked up and spoke in Nami's general direction as his swollen head blocked his eye view.

"N-Nami…Is t-that y-you?"

"C-Ch-Chopper!! Oh my god. What happened here? Why is……why is everyone……everyone……", Nami just could not bring herself to say that four lettered word.

"W-Where were y-you N-Nami? Why were y-you n-not there?"

"Hah?!", Nami blinked down at the little reindeer in her arms owlishly for a few moments trying to understand what he meant, then looked at him with painful and saddened eyes. "I don't know Chopper. I just don't know."

"N-Na…mi…", Luffy called out to her again.

Nami turned her head towards him with tearful eyes and bit her lip hard trying to numb the pain in her heart with bodily pain. She caressed his face gently trying not to cause him pain by hurting his injuries. A soft smile came to Luffy's lip at her small gesture as he stared up at her with an unreadable expression. She slightly brushed away his hair from his eyes, while trying to give him a watery smile of her own. Luffy suddenly grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers into her before bringing their joint hand towards his lips and gave her knuckles a soft brush. Nami's eyes widened at first then softened into a loving gaze as she stared down at him and stroked his hand.

His lips slowly moved to form words, but Nami could not hear him. She softly frowned at him and then realized that the pressure on her lap was suddenly decreasing. Her eyes widened yet again as she looked down, only to find Chopper slowly fading away into nothing. She panicked and tightened her grip on Luffy's hand as she stared down at him, only to find him staring up at her with the same soft smile that matched his expression and his lips moving. She then twisted her head behind her to see her other nakama too fading away into nothingness.

"ROBIN…ZORO…SANJI-KUN…USOPP…FRANKY…BROOK!!"

Her chest tightened with pain and horror when she felt the Luffy's hold on her hand loosen. She snapped her head back to his face only to find him smiling at her as he too was fading slowly. Nami desperately clutched his hand with both her hands and called out to him with tears dripping from her eyes.

"NO LUFFY!!! No please, not you too. Please don't go, don't leave me alone. I won't be able to live on my own. Don't. Please don't do this. I can't live without you guys. I can't live without YOU. So don't leave. I'm sorry for not being there when I was most needed. I'm really sorry, so please don't leave me alone and go. Luffy please don't go. Luffy I………I lo-"

Before Nami could complete her sentence, she was plunged into a world of absolute darkness.

-----

Nami suddenly jerked awake from her nightmare and looked about with panicked eyes as if still searching for her nakama, then turned to her hands. Her face contorted in pain while she whimpered softly and fresh tears stung her eyes. Her hands clamped against her eyes, trying to stop the on coming flow of tears but failed as they passed through her finger and fell on her legs, soaking her jeans. She cried out as she remembered her dream again. But the only difference this time was that, she could actually see the true horror of the damage her nakama had suffered, while earlier she had just seen their faces with lots of blood dripping in the background. And another huge change was Luffy clutching her hand in his. Before his rubber body was lying mangled among the others.

Nami looked down at her hand and cradled it to her chest remembering her captains face as he looked at her. Her heart warmed considerably as she thought about her captain's face. The erratic beating of her heart at the warmth he showed wouldn't stop. She smiled warmly at the memory through her tears. That smile of his gave her hope. It made her soar with unbounded happiness. He made her tears stop, giving her confidence in her nakama and herself.

'That's right Nami. Luffy would never let something like that befall our nakama. And even I have changed. I would never let that horrid nightmare come true. We're family and family stick together. Through thick and thin. All those times with Arlong, Crocodile, Enel, Moria, he came back. He went against Admiral Aokiji and the world government lapdogs, CP9, for Robin too. And besides I would NEVER let anything take Luffy away from me. I just love him way too mu- Whoa… slow down… wait a minute…WHAT!! In love with Luffy?? Since when? How? It just can't be possible. Or can it?'

Nami eyes suddenly widened in realization as she remembered the words she was going to say to Luffy in her dream. She smiled a soft smile that matched the soft and loving expression. She laughed as true joy and happiness filled her heart for the first time in months. Her heart soared with such happiness that it just possibly could not be explained. She was in love with Monkey D. Luffy. The future pirate king.

"I'm in love with that rubbery idiot!!", Nami exclaimed with pure ecstasy.

Tears of happiness and sadness bunched at her eyelashes. Luffy had managed to save her again by just holding her hand and smiling that smile of his. And she was sure that he would a countless number of times more and so would she. She was not going to let a nightmare bring her or her family down.

Now all she had to do was to tell him. Nami sighed loudly at that thought. 'That's going to be difficult. I mean this is Luffy we are talking about here. Does he even know the meaning of lo-', her thoughts were cut off by soft sounds of scrambling coming from the direction of the stairs.

Nami tilted her head to look behind her to see Chopper looking at her from the corner, trying to hide from her in his unusual manner. She raised a slender eyebrow at him before giggling with mirth at the cute little reindeer and asking, "Chopper, isn't it the other way round?" The said reindeer's eyes widened for a bit, then shifted himself slowly the other way to hide and peek at her from behind. Nami giggled again at his behavior and added, "Why are you hiding? Are you scared of me? I'm not going to beat you up or eat you, you know."

"Really!! But I thought Nami didn't like to be disturbed when she was drawing her maps. So I was being cautious. You would have been angry at me otherwise."

"Ah Chopper… Don't worry, I'm not angry nor am I going to hit you. And anyways you didn't disturb me. So what is it? What did you some down here for?"

"AH!! Yes. Well I came to call you for lunch. Sanji said that he finished preparing your special lunch."

"Oh really. Okay then. Lets go eat Doctor."

Chopper's jaw dropped at Nami's sudden attitude but couldn't help but smile at her when she held out her hand for him to take as she walked towards him. The little reindeer giggled cutely and walked up the stairs with his hand held in hers. Nami just had to smile warmly at him as they ascended the stairs together. Her smile faltered for second, remembering the Chopper from her dream, but regained her composure quickly with a little shake of her head. She hardened her heart and set her lips in a hard line. She decided she was going to become strong. For her sake as well as theirs. Chopper noticed her shaking her head from the corner of his eye and asked her with a soft frown,

"Is something wrong Nami?"

Nami looked down at him to give him another warm smile. "No, nothings wrong. I was just thinking of something. Say Chopper, have you ever eaten one of my oranges before?"

Chopper looked at her with a scared expression to give a shaky reply, "N-No, I haven't. I-I swear N-Nami. I-I haven't touched them." But to his surprise, she only chuckled at his response which confused him to no end.

"Well then do you want to try one?" He just blinked up at her with a dumfounded expression.

"R-Really!! C-Can I?"

"Of course. I just asked you didn't I. Well then it's decided. We'll eat some after lunch okay?"

The little reindeer laughed loudly and bobbed his head up and down with excitement. He just couldn't wait to eat one or maybe more of Nami's precious oranges. "Yes. Ah Nami, can we call Usopp too? He always wanted to eat one of your oranges but was scared that you would beat him up if he was discovered. So can we? Can we?" He looked up at her with hopeful eyes and asked an innocent voice, Nami just did not have the heart to say no.

"Well I don't see why not."

"YAY!! You're the best Nami."

Both giggled together and walked the rest of the way to the dinning room, hand in hand, aimlessly talking about stuff. It looked like an older sister was talking to her little brother. Once they entered the dinning room, everyone turned to them except for Luffy, who was busy stuffing his face with food. Nami and Chopper just laughed at their curious expressions and sat down for lunch. Usopp was the first to break the silence.

"What's so funny both of you?"

The said two just glanced at each other and shrugged casually.

"It's a se-c-ret.", Nami answered him with a wink while Usopp just looked away pouting. She mentally cringed looking at them but she had hope now which made her smile.

"AH, Nami-san is so cute when she's coy. Here's your special lunch I promised, Nami-swan." Sanji glided towards her in his love state and hearts in his eyes to place her plate in front of her.

"Thank you for the food Sanji-kun."

Sanji almost fainted with happiness at the smile she gave him. "It's my pleasure, mademoiselle."

Luffy looked up from his plate to pause for a second and glared heatedly at Sanji, but quickly turned his head down to stuff food into his mouth. If looks could kill, Sanji would already be a hundred, no million, feet under. His eyes shifted from right to left to see if anybody had noticed him, but it seemed that he was in the clear. 'Damn, that was close. I really need to have more control over myself. I mean this is Sanji we are talking about. He's always been like that towards Nami and Robin. It's nothing new. He calls them cute and beautiful every time. And it's not like it's false.'

He paused his eating again before resuming with more vigor. He peeked at Nami from the corner of his eyes to see her happily talking to Chopper and Usopp. He couldn't help but feel annoyed again. 'I'm so screwed. She's just talking to them. You need to get a grip over yourself, Luffy. If I keep acting this way, everyone will know my feelings for her. I cannot let that happen. Just think she's not there in the room. She's not here. Not here. Not…..here…..' He groaned inwardly and cursed. 'Dammit.'

Luffy peeked up at her from the brim of his hat again, all the while stuffing his face. He stopped mid bite, leaving his lips partly open as his eyes widened in shock and surprise looking at her. She was looking at him wide-eyed. Her eyes traveled to his throat when he gulped and then back up to his face. Nami bit her lip and watched him with slightly hooded eyes. Luffy licked his lips slowly and observed her eyes follow the trail his tongue took. It was taking a lot of self control on his part to stop himself from kissing her, hard. He watched as her glazed eyes continued to wander over his face. He knew something had happened to her. He gripped the table, hard, trying to suppress the torrent of feelings coursing through his body at that moment.

Their eye contact, if you could call it that, was broken when Usopp jerked Nami's shoulder that forced her to turn her head away from him and look towards Usopp and Chopper muttering about something excited. She joined in their conversation and nodded at their long nosed companion with a smile. Both snickered quietly and turned back to the food. Two pairs of eyes widened to see their food missing from their plate and they knew exactly who did it. Usopp and Chopper snapped their heads towards their captain and complained,

"Luffy, you ate all my food. AGAIN."

"My food. And there was so much left too. Luffy, that's not fair."

"Bwut, I wash hungwy."

"You're always hungry."

Luffy ignored them and turned towards Sanji, "Sanjwi….morsh."

Sanji looked at his captain only to shake his head and answer, "Yeah… Yeah… I know."

"Sanji, we want more too."

Luffy groaned again and whacked himself mentally. 'Shit… she's going to kill me one day. It's amazing how nobody noticed what just happened. Ah well, doesn't matter what they saw or not anyways. But she sure is acting weird since morning. First she acts as if she'll be cursed if I come near her, then that smile of hers and now. She's so confusing. I wonder what's up with her. I'll ask her later on.' With his mind set, he concentrated on eating.

"Hah… I'm full.", Luffy exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Obviously, you eat more than half of what curly brows makes.", scoffed Zoro.

"What… you-"

"Cook-san, can I have some coffee made for me soon?"

"-Of course, Robin-chwan. Anything for you."

Brook burped loudly patting his stomach. "Excuse me." He sat picking at his teeth for a minute or two, when he suddenly farted. "Again, excuse me." Everyone turned to stare at him with blank expressions. Everything was quiet for a few moments before everyone went into a frenzy and started yelling at Brook.

"Yuck, that was disgusting Brook."

"Ewww, Brook."

"That was supa disgusting"

"YOU SHITTY SKELETON… I OUGHT TO POUND SOME MANNERS INTO THAT BONNY HEAD OF YOURS. NAMI-SAN AND ROBIN-CHAN ARE STILL EATING. GET OUT."

"Yohohohohoho…… Bonny head!! Good one."

"THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER."

Brook bounded out the door with a furious Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and Franky at his heels. He easily evaded the attacks thrown at him from the four, Sanji being the most vicious. Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Robin laughed loudly at the scene. Zoro slapped his hand on the table to support himself when he almost lost him balance laughing. Luffy was rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach, laughing heartily. Robin and Nami supported each other, laughing jovially at the antics of their skeletal nakama.

"What are you getting so worked up over, perverted cook? It's not like he barfed all over you.", Zoro gasped out between his laughs.

Everyone suddenly went quiet. The laughter stopped and so did the chasing. Luffy, Nami, Zoro and Robin looked on with amused expressions as Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and Franky's faces changed in a matter of seconds from enraged, surprised realization, to well……pure horror. Their faces had frozen, eyes enlarged, mouth hanging open. The four observers tried holding their laughter looking at the four horror-stricken bodies, but burst out laughing at the odd twinkle in Brook's hollow eyes. The musician took a step forward; his ex-chasers took two steps back. He finally had them backed against the wall, his twinkling holes staring at them.

"W-W-Wait a minute, Brook.", Usopp stuttered out, waving his arms about in front of him.

"A-Are you r-really going to…..", Chopper trailed off in shock. He suddenly ran and clung to Luffy with such speed nobody knew that he possessed. "Eeep…. Help!!"

"You wouldn't dare.", Sanji threatened the mocking skeleton.

"Yo..ho..ho..ho..ho"

"Uhh…. I think he does dare."

"THEN THINK OF A WAY TO STOP HIM, YOU FREAKIN' METAL JUNKIE."

"Oh would you look at that….. Long nose fainted. Better get the little doctor to check him.", Franky picked up the 'pretending-to-be-dead' Usopp and ran to safety.

"Shit.", Sanji cursed under his breath.

Another roar of laughter erupted from the audience watching from the sidelines. Luffy was kneeling over, his head touching the floor, clutching tightly at his stomach with one hand and slapping the floor with the other, laughing as loudly as the giants from Elbaf. Zoro had fallen of his seat in the middle and was lying on his back, pounding on the floorboards next to him with his fist, laughing just as loud. Robin had used her devil fruit's ability to help support her, Nami and Chopper as wave after wave of joyful laughter spread throughout their body at the sneaky escape of their shipwright and sniper, leaving their poor cook to his wet and smelly doom.

Sanji was too panicked to do anything against the approaching Brook. His back was frozen solid against the wall and eyes enlarged beyond belief. Brook advanced towards Sanji with a maniacal look and sinister laughter. He was almost at his destination when a loud cry halted his process to torture.

"STOP"

Everybody turned their heads towards the source of the outcry, including Sanji and Brook, only to find Nami standing upright in a panicked state. Sanji's heart cried tears of joy at the thought of his precious Nami-san standing up for him. His eyes turned to hearts as he entered his love mode.

"Oh Nami-swan, I knew you would never al-"

"Big trouble guys. There's a storm coming. We need to get out of its path. C'mon everyone, get up, we've got some work to do. HURRY UP. Franky, Chopper, both of you…..", with the orders screamed out by the orange-haired navigator, Thousand Sunny went into an uproar. Everybody scurried about, making sure they followed Nami's orders to get them out of harms way, for the next hour or so.

Finally Luffy, Chopper and Brook sunk to the ground with a tired sigh, Zoro and Robin headed up to the crow's nest for their respective training and reading time, Sanji headed for the kitchen to make everybody a snack after all the hard work put in, Franky and Usopp checked for any damage done to the ship and Nami proceeded towards her orange trees with a basket in hand.

Luffy closed his eyes with a sigh and fell back to relax on the grassy deck. He lazily opened his eyes and stared up at the vast blue sky with a blank expression. He happily lounged on Sunny's deck, the sun hitting his tanned skin, dark eyes twinkling with an unknown look in them, a smirk set upon his lips and thoughts of a certain crew member in mind. He tilted his head towards the voice of his navigator when she spoke or rather called out with her head craned upwards.

"ZORO… ROBIN…"

Robin peeked out from the window. "Yes Nami-chan?"

"Can you both keep a look out? I think we should be at an island soon, around early evening."

"Sure Nami-chan, but I'm afraid swordsman-san is…well…he's sleeping…but I'll let you know when I see anything. I'm guessing we're heading towards a summer island…"

"Yes, it's a summer island. Thank you, Robin. Oh and whack that idiot awake. Tell him to also keep a look out."

"No that's quite alright. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, if you need me, I'll be in the aquarium room."

Robin nodded her head once and headed back inside to keep a look out while reading on of her many books. Luffy continued to watch Nami throughout the conversation with a smirk, not his usual grin, but a smirk on his face. She turned in his direction but looked at Chopper and called out to him,

"Chopper, can you help me with this basket of oranges?"

"Sure Nami.", Chopper replied with a smile on his face.

"Thank you.", Nami said with a smile of her own as she handed her basket to him.

But before she could follow him towards their destination, her eyes landed on her captain's sprawled form, or to be more precise; his face. She took a step back in shock with a gasp looking at the smoldering look in his eyes and the smirk on his lips. Luffy's smirk widened at the reaction he received from her. He watched her take another step, but this time in his direction with the same glazed eyes as before. He continued observe her with blazing eyes as her lips parted and she panted slightly. Nothing mattered to him anymore other that the orange haired goddess standing before him, watching him. His instinct almost took a feral turn at that moment but was saved by Chopper voice.

"Nami, is something wrong? Hurry up."

Luffy was disappointed as well as glad when Nami snapped out of her trance, turned around on her heels and headed towards Chopper. He turned his gaze back to the sky, his smirk softening into a smile as he watched the clouds drift. He was unusually quiet rather than his hyper self. He was still confused about Nami's behavior. During the storm she had much less spared a glance in his direction, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. But again she had gone and done the same thing she had during lunch. She was driving the poor rubber boy crazy. He sighed in frustration, jumped to his feet and headed towards his favorite place atop Sunny's figurehead.

-----

Nami couldn't walk straight after the encounter with Luffy on the deck. Her body has acted on its own accord as it had during lunch; her mind had completely shut down looking into his dark eyes. Her heart was still beating erratically against her chest. The smirk he had given her had sent pulse racing, making her body feel hot. She cupped her heated cheeks hoping to reduce their temperature a bit. He was driving her insane with his actions. Earlier on, during lunch, when he had licked his lips, she had felt like replacing his tongue with her lips. And now, she could have just pounced on him, kissing the living daylights out of him, the way he was lounging as if inviting her. She had never felt such desperate hunger or desire for anyone before and it was driving her crazy.

Her body felt extremely hot at that moment, walking towards the aquarium. Her breaths came out in small pants, chest heaved up and down slowly. Nami whimpered quietly then moaned low in her throat thinking about her captain again. She stopped to catch her breath. Who would have thought that Luffy would have such an effect on her. Chopper turned to look at Nami's flushed face and glazed eyes and became worried for his friends well being.

"Nami, are you not felling well? You look flustered and you're panting."

Nami chuckled a bit before replying, "Don't worry Chopper. I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Let's go, Usopp must already be waiting."

Just as the words left her mouth, Usopp called out to them, "Oi… Nami… Chopper… what took you so long? I've been waiting. Nami are we really going to eat some of your oranges?"

"Yes we are Usopp. Now come here already. Oh and can you get my mapping equipment lying there? I left it there before I went for lunch."

"Sure thing Nami.", Usopp came towards them with a wide grin on his face and Nami's maps tucked under his arms. He handed over her stuff, sat cross-legged in front of her and grinned. She laughed at the anticipation in their eyes, watching her peel one of the many oranges she bought along with her. When she finally had several of them peeled and set on a plate, she handed the plate holding the goodies over to them. Their eyes shined in delight, tasting the delicious fruit nurtured by the ferocious navigator. Nami snickered at the stars that surrounded the two boys sitting in front of her.

"Oooooo…… so tasty…", Chopper cooed out in a childish voice.

"Mmmmm…… if I knew these tasted this good earlier, I doubt you would have any left.", Usopp hummed out with his eyes closed.

"And I would have killed you next day.", Nami mock-threatened him.

"Can I have more?", Chopper looked up at Nami with hope shinning in his eyes. Both, Usopp and Chopper, jumped in joy at the nod of affirmation. Nami truly felt happy looking at the joy just simple fruits gave them. She began peeling some more for them to nibble on. But her hands slowed the progress when she remembered her nightmare again; Usopp's lifeless body and the life draining from Chopper's eyes. Her eyes shadowed as her vision blurred with unshed tears.

"Ish shomthing ong Nami?", Usopp questioned with his mouth full of oranges.

Nami wondered how many time had she been asked that question, but smiled nonetheless, shaking her head at him. "No, nothings wrong. It's just…it's just the juice. I squirted some in my eyes. That's all. Nothing to worry about."

"Heh… what a silly thing to do.", Usopp ducked, avoiding the numerous orange peels heading his way.

"Hehehehe… silly Nami.", Chopper added with a laugh.

They continued to eat the oranges, laughing at small thing when suddenly they heard a crash from above which made Nami halt her ministration and turn her head towards the noise. Suddenly a red and blue blur flew past them and etched itself on the wall opposite the staircase, resulting in another crash. Three pairs of eyes widened at the sight before them. Luffy had tumbled down the staircase and managed to get his head stuck into the wall. Usopp and Chopper, after overcoming the initial shock, rushed towards their captain's aid. After successfully pulling his head out, Chopper proceeded to check for injuries.

"Shishishishi… I'm fine Chopper. Don't worry about it.", Luffy assured the little reindeer with a huge grin.

"You idiot. What were you thinking?", Usopp scolded Luffy with a frown. Luffy dug his nose with his pinky and pointed at Nami with the other hand.

"Robin told me to tell Nami that the island is in sight. So I came down as fast as possible… and well I guess I crashed into the wall.", Luffy explained with a shrug of his shoulders. His eyes widened at the orange in Nami's hand, then turned towards the other two before looking back at her and asked with a cute pout, "How come I don't get to eat Nami's oranges? Namiiiiiiii…… even I wanna eat."

Nami snapped out of her stupor to look at Luffy pouting down at her. Her eyes widened further looking at his cute face, heart skipping a beat. "Hah… ummm okay… errr… I guess I forgot to tell you after what happened abo…. I mean…. the storm....", She quickly ducked her head to avoid looking at him, afraid he might see her blush. She looked down at her hands and added after a pause, "Here, have this one. It's already peeled."

Luffy mentally frowned at her for trying to avoid his eyes but accepted the orange she offered. His mouth watered at the sight of the fruit and quickly gobbled it up. "Mmmmm…… Tasty…", he moaned out at the taste. He inwardly smirked when he saw her shudder slightly.

"Isn't it? I had loads of Nami's oranges.", said Chopper to his reaction.

"Really? I want more. Nami, more.", asked Luffy in a whiny voice.

"Alright, after that can we head upwards?"

"Yup!!"

Nami handed him the remaining oranges with a wide smile on her face. She looked up at his face after gathering enough courage only to burst out laughing at the look on his face. He was drooling at the small orange pile in his hands, eyes twinkling with innocent and pure joy. Luffy joined in her laughter and their joy was soon shared by the other two members in the room. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper proceeded towards the stairs connecting to the deck.

"Luffy, wait a minute.", Nami exclaimed with slight panic.

Luffy turned around to stare at her and asked, "What is it Nami?"

"Umm… I don't think it's a good idea taking those oranges up. Sanji-kun might burst with fury looking at them in your hand. You know how he gets.", Nami said with a heavy sigh.

Luffy looked at her with a blank expression, which made her nervous for some reason then sighed when he laughed. "You're right." He looked down at the oranges in his hands and gobbled them up within a blink of an eye. Nami's jaw dropped at the sight of her oranges being gobbled, no swallowed, in a matter of seconds. Anger bubbled in her blood at the antics of her captain.

"LUFFY!! YOU IDIOT. THAT'S WHY I DON'T GIVE YOU ANY. YOU JUST GOBBLE THEM UP WITHOUT EVEN TASTING THEM!!", Nami screamed after him while chasing him all the way to the deck.

"But Nami, didn't I already say it earlier that it was tasty? And I'm sure all your oranges are tasty.", whined Luffy.

Nami smiled softly but continued to chase him. "DOESN'T MATTER. YOU'RE STILL A PIG!!"

"Che, some thing's never change.", Usopp said with a shake of his head as him and Chopper calmly walked up the stairs.

"You're right.", Chopped sighed. "I better go and check on Luffy. I'm sure Nami must have beaten him up by now."

True on his word, Chopper found a twitching Luffy with the daylights beaten out of him. With a shake of his head, he began to check for any serious injuries. Nami walked past them with a huff, but secretly smiled at the sound of his voice.

"That hurt, Nami." Luffy jumped to his feet to dust himself. He turned to Chopper with a smile, "It's okay. I'm fine Chopper."

"Hmph… you deserved it. Oh and Franky, there's a hole below, curtsey of our dear captain."

"I'll fix it.", said Franky with a nod.

"NAMI-SWAAAAAAAAAAAN…… WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? EVERYTHING SEEMED SO DULL WITH NAMI-SAN!", Sanji cried out while running towards her. Nami sighed. She opened her mouth to answer him, but before she could, Zoro's annoyed voice rang out.

"SHUT UP YOU FOOL! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE."

"That bastard. Cutting of Nami-san so rudely.", Sanji seethed out as he marched to where Zoro was sleeping, kicking him awake. Nami sighed again while walking past them to head towards Robin.

"Ah, Nami-chan. I see captain-san successfully managed to call you." She pointed to the approaching island with a smile. "I think they're quite……well, loud."

Nami's eyes widened at the amount of neon lights that shimmered through the evening sky. "WOW…" She turned to Robin with a wicked glint in her eyes and said, "I think it's time to have some fun."

"My, my Nami-chan. I'd say you're up to something naughty.", Robin accused with a chuckle. The two ladies laughed together, began making plans for the night, but were cruelly interrupted by the loud voices in the background. Anger began to bubble inside Nami again, which increased by the passing second. Chopper and Usopp, sensing her fury, looked at her in fear before running for cover, dragging a laughing Luffy with them. Franky and Brook had the right mind to stay clear of the furious navigators path.

"I think swordsman-san and cook-san are in trouble.", said Robin with an amused smile.

The two failed to notice the approaching danger until the last moment. Nami hit them on the head, hard, with her perfect clima tact that rendered them unconscious. Zoro was the first to recover, his hard-headedness coming into use.

"What the hell was that for you crazy woman!!", Zoro exclaimed with a scowl, rubbing the sore spot on his head, which earned him another hit from the clima tact.

"Call me that again and there will be hell to pay." She glared at the remaining boys which earned her five nods.

"Yes ma'am!!"

"So what were you saying earlier Nami-chan?", Robin questioned the furious navigator with a small giggle.

Nami looked at her owlishly before answering, "Oh yeah, before those two dorks interrupted me, I was going to say that…… that…… LET'S PARTY TONIGHT!!"

"W-Who are you a-and w-what have you done with our Nami? L-Luffy's the one who's always s-screaming for a party.", Usopp questioned with shaky legs.

Nami narrowed her eyes at the boy cowering behind the laughing Luffy. "I'm in a good mood, long nose. So I suggest you don't tick me off or you would be getting only half of what the others are getting for expenditure. Get that or do you still want to argue?"

"N-No, I-I mean y-yes I understand. You're the best Nami in the whole world."

"Good. Franky, Brook, can you both please wake those two sleeping beauties up. We have some parting to do.", She cried out with joy.

"SUPER!!"

"Yohohohoho……party!! So many ladies."

"LADIES!! Did you say ladies?" Seemed like there was no need to wake Sanji up. He was already bounding up and down with heart in his eyes.

Luffy laughed loudly. "Seems like Brook did his job. Your turn Franky."

"Party!! Wouldn't that mean lots of drinks? Unlimited drinks?", Franky asked loudly with fake surprise.

"I'm up. Where are the unlimited drinks?", Zoro drowsily mumbled out, which caused a roar of laughter to erupt from the others.

"Nice one Franky!", Usopp gasped out between his laughs.

"Alright everyone. Time to dock. Nami lead the way.", Luffy mock-ordered with his silly grin in place.

"Aye Aye captain."

After docking they found out that the island was called 'Neon Island'. The nightlife was very prominent there, with many bars, gambling areas and also dancing. The straw-hat pirates looked on with awe at the many shimmering neon lights of the island. Everyone except Robin and Zoro, cheered loudly at the thought of partying the night away. They were pirates after all, partying and having fun was one of the main things that pirates did.

Nami handed out the money, more than she usually does, surprising everyone, with strict instructions. "Okay listen, this money is just for buying clothes and whatever extra you want with it. Zoro, you are NOT carrying the swords with you tonight, so keep that in mind when you're shopping. Sanji-kun, you're in charge of buying clothes that suit you'll. Usopp, I trust you would get something good. Franky, get some pants, you are not going out like that. Brook, well, guys help him out. And Luffy, you're not and I mean not wearing the same outfit. Buy something different, even if it's slightly different. Now scram, you six are going out together for shopping. Chopper's coming with Robin and me. Meet us back here in 3 hours. Don't complain."

Zoro, Sanji and Luffy opened their mouths but quickly shut them after the stern command. Zoro and Sanji glared at each other heatedly. Luffy pouted but followed the rest nonetheless. With his hands crossed behind his head, he jumped onto the shore and headed towards the city. Once in the city, the boys looked about with stars shining in their eyes, well there were exceptions.

"So where do we look for clothes? This place is huge.", said Usopp, looking about.

"Hmm…… let's ask about.", Sanji replied smoothly. "Ah, let's ask them.", pointing towards a bunch of girls walking by.

Sanji walked over to them and asked in a smooth voice, "Ladies, we are new here, so we don't know much about this place. Can you please tell us the way to the shopping area? We need the best clothes."

The girls, wide-eyed at the approach of the blond, stuttered out together with a blush. Sanji smiled at the blushing girls which made them blush even more. Zoro annoyed at waiting for them to talk, walked up to Sanji and said, "Hurry up or Luffy might ru- LUFFY!!"

The shocked girls jumped at Zoro's deep voice and looked at Sanji. One of the girls came forward and gave him the directions. Sanji thanked her and walked towards the group missing Luffy and Usopp. Sanji frowned and turned towards the other three to ask, "Where is he?"

But before they could answer, Usopp called from within the crowd, walking towards them, dragging Luffy by his collar. "GUYS!"

Luffy, carrying two bags full of meat with him, was happily nibbling on the juicy flesh. Once they reached, Sanji burst out on him. "You idiot. How many times have we told you not to run off like that. How much did you spend? Please tell me you have money left……"

"Don't worry about it Sanji. I stopped him before he could spend all his money on meat.", Usopp explained to the fuming cook, trying to calm him.

"Let's just go already.", Zoro headed forward towards where he thought was their destination.

"WAIT…… it's this way.", Sanji pointed to the direction opposite to where Zoro was headed.

"Okay.", He headed in another direction again.

"IT'S THIS WAY!", screamed Sanji, Usopp and Franky together, with a vein pooping out of their forehead. Luffy and Brook followed after them laughing at the grumbling swordsman's back.

Luffy admired the city as he watched the people hustling about, munching his meat. His body came to a halt, eyes widening when he glanced into a shop's window and thought he saw Nami with Robin and Chopper, posing in front of the mirror. Looking at the outfit she was wearing made Luffy's jaw drop, heat building up in his body. The white porcelain skin, long legs, sexy curves were tempting him to no end. He growled low in his throat and licked his lips. He was debating with himself whether he should continue onwards or head into the shop to kiss those delicious lips belonging to his navigator.

He finally shook his head and headed towards the others, when Franky called out to him. The picture of her still played in his head, over and over again, torturing him. Luffy gave his head a firm shake once they reached the shop. The memory slipped back into his subconscious.

The shop to which Sanji had received directions for was huge. There were many sections to choose from for the boys. Luffy bounded in with Usopp and Brook at his heels, which Sanji, Zoro and Franky walked in more calmly. They stared with twinkling eyes at the number of clothes. Sanji walked to the racks and began rummaging through for the right outfit. With a shrug of his shoulder, Zoro joined him with Franky and the others not too far behind.

By the time they had finished shopping for themselves, only an hour and half was left to spare. Usopp looked at his companions to ask, "Now what? We still have time to spare."

Just as the words left his lips, Luffy's stomach growled with hunger. He scratched the back of his head with a grin. "Shishishishi…… I'm hungry."

"I guess even I'm hungry. How about we go eat. We do have some money left.", said Franky looking through his wallet.

"Fine. Let's eat then head back.", Sanji said in a defeated voice.

The boys headed into the nearest café to eat before they headed back. On their way back, they met up Nami, Robin and Chopper, who were also going back. All were in good spirits and were anxious for the night to start.

Luffy glanced at Nami from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but remember her from earlier. He felt hot again, god he couldn't explain how much he loved her, how much he wanted to hold her and kiss her, the desire to claim her. But then a thought struck him, 'Wait… what if she also feels the same? I mean the way she has been behaving since afternoon. But what about morning? Hmmm… I guess I'm just going to have to make sure. You're in for the same torture I'm going through, Nami.' With his mind set he proceeded towards the ship to change into his new clothes just like everybody else.

Nami shivered as her captain passed by her to walk towards the men's quarters. She watched his retreating back with a soft frown. 'I wonder……is he doing this on purpose? Does he know I love him, crave him? God… he's driving me crazy with those looks of his. That's it!! He's going to have the ride of his life today. You're mine tonight, Monkey D. Luffy!!'

Nami dropped her bags in her room and headed towards the bathroom first to freshen up before changing. But as soon as she entered, she had not expected her captain to already be there. 'I thought he was going to the men's quarter? Why is he here?' Puzzled she asked him the question on her mind.

"Oh, because I had to pee. What about you?", Luffy answered with a laugh. 'And to cool off.', he added to himself.

Nami replied with a grin, "Just wanted to freshen up a bit."

She proceeded to wash her face, when suddenly Luffy spoke up again. 'It's now or never.' With a deep breath he asked her the question he had in his mind since morning.

"Nami, what happened to you this morning?"

She stilled her movements for a few seconds before resuming again. 'So he noticed.' After she finished washing up, Nami turned to him with sad eyes and answered quietly,

"I had a horrible nightmare, Luffy. Everyone was dead and I was left all alone. Even you. I could do nothing for any of you. My family was gone again. That time when our shoulder's brushed, I saw your lifeless eyes staring at me. I couldn't handle looking at you, which is why I stayed away in the morning. I needed time to sort out my thoughts. It was just horrible."

Luffy's eyes widened after every passing sentence. After she finally stopped, he did something he had never done before; he enveloped her in a warm hug, burying his head in her hair. Nami's eyes widened at first then relaxed into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his torso, tucking her head into his neck. She continued talking, enjoying the feeling of being hugged by him.

"And then I realized what a stupid fear it was. We have been through so many dangerous situations and come out alive every time, so there was no need to worry. Everyone would survive one way or another. I'm not going to cry about such things and I'm going to try my best to not let them happen. And looking at everyone's happy faces gave me confidence to fight for the future. For our future."

Luffy smiled hearing the words fall from her lips, tightening his arms around her frame. So he had nothing to worry about, she had it under control. She sunk in deeper into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her smile, her warm breath tickling him.

"Luffy?"

"Hmm?", he hummed out quietly.

However, before she could ask, Chopper called out for her. "Nami, where are you?"

Nami lifted her head from his shoulder and answered, "In here Chopper."

Luffy released her just as Chopper entered in a panicked state. Chopper stared at Luffy in confusion before turning to Nami, "Nami, I can't wear this on my own. Help me."

She laughed and crouched down to look at him. "Sure. Let's go. Robin'll help too ."

Chopper nodded and headed towards out with Nami at his heels. She turned around to smile cutely at her captain and received a wide grin in response.

Luffy watched her leave with a smile. He chuckled quietly before heading to change himself. He was sure he was going to have fun tonight.

-----

After the boys finished getting ready, they headed out to the deck to wait for the three missing people. They however, didn't have to wait long as the door to the women's quarter opened to reveal their missing comrades. Franky, Brook and Usopp's jaws dropped to the floor, Sanji's eyes turned to hearts, Zoro whistled and Luffy, well Luffy was too stunned to do anything.

His eyes roamed all over Nami, while his breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat. He knew that Robin must have looked good too, but at that moment he had his eyes set only on his navigator.

Nami was wearing a strapless, dark red, short top with random designs drawn in black, which showed a lot of her flat stomach along with a pair of low-rise black shorts, showing off her smooth, long legs. The shorts also had belts and chains hanging from the waist. A thin chain with a skull in her neck and a similar chain on her wrist. In short, she looked down right sexy.

She gave a catty grin seeing the look on Luffy's face as she let her own eyes roam over his body. It seemed they almost matched. He was also wearing a dark red shirt, first three buttons left open showing his hard chest with the sleeves folded up to his elbows. A pair of blue three-fourths were hanging off his hips in a taunting manner, sporting numerous chains hanging from the sides. The only accessory he wore was a black band on his wrist. Nami licked her lips looking him over with a wicked twinkle in her eyes. 'Mmmmmm……doesn't he look yummy……I can't wait……' she thought as she let her eyes wander over to his face.

Luffy smirked at her when she looked into his eyes, receiving a smirk from her in return. So this is how they were going to play, huh?! Well he was ready.

Sanji glided over to the two ladies smoothly. "You look gorgeous, Nami-san, Robin-chan."

Both ladies giggled at the compliment. "Thank you, Cook-san. You look good as well."

"Yeah. As a matter of fact everybody looks good.", Nami added looking over everybody else.

Her brows dipped softy into a frown when she looked at Luffy again. "Luffy, what happened to your straw hat?"

He answered her with an innocent grin that completely countered his earlier bad boy smirk. "I left it behind. Thought something might happen to it if I took it along."

That made her brow ease out and a smile to form on her lips. Turning towards her crew, she pointed towards the city with excitement. "C'mon, we're having a party tonight."

Luffy pumped his hand into the air with enthusiasm. "HELL YEAH!!"

The other joined him with equal cries of elation. With that they headed towards the main square of the Neon Island, where the main party was happening. On their way there, many guys wolf-whistled at the girls while the boys were ogled at by numerous girls, who were all ignored by the straw-hats except for Sanji. He relished the attention he was receiving.

The first thing that caught their attention was the loud music blaring from the middle of the island, while the loud chatter of the numerous people was the second. They looked about in wonder at the sight before them. The square was dimly lit, at one side was the bar and opposite to it was the eating area. Sitting booths, which were filled with people, were present on the other sides. People were dancing in the middle on the huge dance floor.

Luffy pointed to one of the booths at the corner and bounded in the direction, with Usopp, Chopper and Brook at his heels, while the other walked a bit more calmly. They plopped down on the soft cushions with a sigh, and placed their orders when a waiter arrived at their table. When the drinks arrived, Nami and Zoro decided to have a drinking match.

Sanji placed a mug each in front of them, filled up to the brim. Zoro smirked, Nami grinned cattily, and the rest looked on when they grabbed the handle. But before they could, Luffy interrupted them. "Sanji give me one too."

Sanji raised his eyebrows at him. "You sure captain?"

"Who do you take me for? I'm a pirate after all.", Luffy answered casually with a grin. Sanji grinned down at him and placed a mug in front of him. He looked up to see Nami looking at him in disbelief and Zoro with a challenging expression. Luffy's grin widened when Usopp and Franky hollered loudly. Robin looked on with amusement, Chopped had stars shining in his eyes as did Brook. It had been a while since he had seen a chugging competition. Usopp, Franky, Brook and Sanji decided to countdown.

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"GO!"

Three glasses were quickly lifted up to three different pairs of lips at the same time. They chugged their drinks as fast as they could before they slammed their mugs on the table simultaneously, with a loud bang. Luffy and Zoro looked at each other heatedly, turned to Sanji and shouted over the music.

"ANOTHER ONE. FILL IT UP!"

"Are you sure you can handle it, captain?", Zoro question smugly.

Luffy snorted. "Can you, katana-boy?"

Nami smirked at them. "But can you both hold it?"

"Can you?", they grinned at her smugly.

"SANJI, FILL MINE UP TOO. Oooooo……you both are so going down.", she seethed out in a low voice.

Robin chuckled and helped Sanji pour more into their mugs. She turned towards Brook and Franky and said, "I think we're going to need many more bottles. Don't you?" They grinned and headed towards the bar to get more, many more bottles.

By the time they arrived with the drinks, the three contenders were already chugging down the last refill. Nami glowered at them heatedly, "Hurry up! Or are you going to refill them up the next centaury?"

Franky turned to Usopp after handing over the bottles to Sanji, and asked, "They still haven't reached a conclusion?"

Usopp shook his head, his eyes never leaving his three crewmates, "Nope. Still going strong."

The count down began again for the, oh never mind. Brook, Franky, Usopp and Chopper happily danced about the table, cheering them on. Sanji and Robin laughed at the scene.

Three mugs came down with consecutive bangs. Luffy looked at Nami and Zoro with a smug grin. "HAH!! I WIN."

Zoro groaned, leaning back against the booth, tilting his backward to lean against it. Nami slumped forward, supporting her head with her hands, elbows leaning against the table. They stayed like that panting for a while before tuning towards the smug rubber boy. Nami narrowed her eyes, craning her head upwards a bit to look at him.

"What's that face for?"

"Nothing. You both lost.", he answered, stating the obvious.

"Lost? We didn't lose. We're just not made out of rubber unlike someone else."

"Sore loser", he muttered quietly.

Nami's eyebrows twitched. "What was that?"

"I said sore loser. Just admit you lost.", he answered with a glare.

She slapped her hands on the table, leaning towards him. "No, I didn't"

"Yes, you did", leaning forwards as well.

"NO.'T"

".DID"

"Ummm……excuse me!?"

"WHAT!" Both turned their heated glares at the intruder.

"Oh!", the girl shrank back with slight fear. Everybody blinked at her with confusion.

Sanji's eyes widened with realization. "Oh, it's you, mademoiselle. Can I help you with something?"

She looked at Sanji with a slight blush, stuttering out a reply. "Um, I wanted…I mean we…yeah we…wanted to know…umm…if…if you all w-would join us f-for a d-d-dance…"

He looked at her in surprise before turning to his nakama with questioning eyes. Nami had turned back towards Luffy but answered nonetheless. "I don't see why not. You guys go ahead. I have things to settle with rubber boy here." Luffy bared his teeth at her, listening to her.

"Are you sure Nami-san?", when she waved her hand at him. With a sad sigh, he turned towards Robin, "Robin-chan, you want to join us?"

Robin shook her head. "No, I'm fine here." Sanji nodded sadly.

Usopp hesitated in answering, "But Ka-"

"It's just a dance Usopp! Not like you're cheating on her. Besides she doesn't have to know.", Nami cut him sharply, her eyes still set on Luffy.

"Okay, count me in."

"Me too." Franky answered striking his star pose. Zoro shrugged, Sanji counted him in.

"Yohohohoho…alright."

Chopped smiled while answering, "I'll stay back to keep Robin company." This earned him a smile from the historian.

Sanji didn't bother asking Luffy, seeing as he was engaged. He turned back to the girl, the same one who had given him directions, with a smile and nodded.

The girl was stunned looking at the group. Earlier on when she and her friends were approached by Sanji, she would never have thought that there would be girls in their group. Especially that beautiful and…well…sexy. Nor had she imagined in her wildest dreams for the boys to look that good. Not that they weren't cute, but now they looked down right edible. She was slightly, okay greatly disappointed that the raven-haired boy was not coming along.

"Oh, I'm Riva. It's nice to meet you.", she introduced herself with a small blush.

"It's a pleasure, Riva-chan. Shall we?", nodding she led them to where her friends were waiting for them. The remaining straw-hats watched them head into the dancing crowd.

Nami fell back onto the couch, no longer interested in arguing with Luffy. It takes too much out of her to make her captain listen. She looked up at his form, towering above, with an unreadable expression on his face. He too fell back, spreading his hands behind him with a sigh. She turned her heads towards Robin when she spoke,

"I think I'll get something to drink."

"I'll come too. I'm thirsty.", Chopper spoke up.

She nodded her head at him then turned towards the other two, "Do you both want anything?"

Nami shook her head, then turned towards Luffy. He answered without lifting his head up, "I'm okay." Robin smiled and left, Chopper in tow.

Both sat in comfortable silence for a while, looking at theirs friends dance to the fast music. Nami giggled quietly. Though Sanji was infatuated with women, he had never come across a woman who had actually showed that kind of interest in him and frankly looking at him flush darkly at a girl latched against his body, grinding her hips to his, was unexpected and hilarious. Luffy looked up and turned to the direction her eyes were looking in. He burst out laughing looking at Sanji.

"Who would have thought, the great love-cook reduced to that because of a single girl.", Luffy said, emphasizing a few choice words, making Nami giggle more.

"You know what.", she said after a few moment of laughter, "I feel like dancing now."

Suddenly a hand appeared in front of her face. She looked up in surprise to find her captain scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. She looked back down at the hand and back up again in confusion. "What?!"

"We're going dancing.", Luffy looked down at her. When she made no sign of movement, he grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet, dragging her towards the dance floor. Nami continued to stare at him with surprise and confusion.

About half way to the floor, she grasped the situation and asked curiously, "You can dance?"

"Would I have asked you if I didn't?"

"But I thou-"

"You think too much."

Nami shook her head with a sigh and let herself be dragged. She wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but the thought of dancing, grinding to Luffy made her tingle with pleasure and excitement. She watched quietly as he led her away from their friends, to the other end.

Zoro had come out just in time to see them walk away, hand in hand. He raised his eyebrows looking at the couple. Boy, was he glad that Sanji was busy with that Riva chick, otherwise this whole place would have been wrecked. But then his eyes widened in horror as he remembered something very crucial. He looked about in panic, 'Coast clear. I'm outta here.' Just as he was about to sneak away from there, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head slowly to find a certain smiling historian.

"I believe I won the bet, meaning you owe me 50,000 beli. Isn't that right swordsman-san?"

"Shit."

-----

Nami bit her lip. She had to admit she was nervous. Sure she knew how to dance, but never had she thought she'd end up dancing with Luffy, the very object of her affection. She sneaked a glance in his direction. Her eyes widened at the sight of a flustered Luffy before her. 'He's blushing?! What the-'

Her thoughts were cut off when Luffy suddenly stopped. She looked up at him with slight confusion and gave a small nervous smile when he looked back, who smiled back at her. Though some of her nervousness ebbed away, she couldn't stop her heart from going into hyper mode. She was glad the music was loud or Luffy could have heard her.

He gently grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. She fell against his strong chest with a small gasp. He couldn't resist the smirk looking at her slight blush. He continued holding her hands and brought them up gently to wrap them around his neck. His own travelled along the length of her arms with feather light touches, her soft skin tingling his fingertips. They continued to descend downwards till they came to rest at her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. 'Aren't I glad it's a slow song.'

Luffy rubbed her back slowly, trying to make her relax. He leaned down towards her ear and spoke softly, "You're too tense. Relax Nami."

Nami released a small sigh, relaxing completely, loving Luffy's hands rubbing her back soothingly. She leaned forward and placed her head on his chest, both swaying lightly to the soft music. Her eyes closed of their own accord, her mind and body lost in the moment. Both leaned against each other, enjoying the warmth and company.

Suddenly, however, a fast paced song thundered across the dance floor, joining in with the loud cheers of the dancers. Nami closed her eyes and allowed the music to guide her body. Her hands travelled down Luffy's shoulders, pushing against his chest, separating her body from his. Her hands rose above her head while her hips moved with the rhythm. Keeping her eyes closed, a small smirk formed on her lips. Her hands descended down, brushing against her hair, face, neck and chest, coming to rest at her hips.

Luffy felt his breath hitch at the small performance she put up for him. His eyes followed the movement of her hands, his insides burning. He watched as her hands lifted again while she dipped low, sliding her hands against her thighs. His fingers twitched, breath coming out in small pants. Charcoal eyes travelled to her face, drinking in her appearance, watching burgundy eyes reveal themselves to his hungry gaze. His hands reached out and pulled her body back to his, crushing her against his heated body.

Nami out a small moan as her body made contact with his, heating at once at his groan. A shudder ran down her spines, feeling his hands on her bare stomach, her own gripping his shoulders. She felt both of his hands slid across her hips to her lower back, pulling her even closer to his body.

Luffy swayed his body to the music, guiding Nami's hips with his hands. Her hands rose and locked themselves around his neck, while their bodies swayed to the music. She let out a moan as Luffy pulled her closer, grinding himself against her. Her head fell forward, into the crook of his neck. His hands gripped her waist as her hot breath fanned out against his heated skin. She grinned against his skin as her tongue darted out of her lips and licked along his neck.

His eyes widened at the wet sensation as a purr escaped his lips. He heard her chuckle against him, while she continued her ministrations. With a deep growl, Luffy flipped her around so that her back was pressed against his front. She let out a hiss feeling his hands slip underneath her top, brushing her ribcage. Both continued to dance against each other, a light sheet of sweat forming on their bodies. He gently placed his chin on her shoulder as she leaned against him. They moved together in rhythm with the music. Closing her eyes slowly, Nami allowed the feel of his body to surround and intoxicate her.

Her arms rose and wrapped themselves around his neck, while his slid up and down her thighs. Luffy craned his neck and placed feather-light kisses against her neck, feeling her breathing become uneven. Nami bit her lip, eyes fluttering shut, feeling him smirking against her. She twisted her body to face his and looked his blazing pools. She slid down against his body and up again, without breaking eye contact. Her eyes settled on his lips, which parted, his breaths coming out in small huffs.

Annoyed, Luffy slid his knee in-between her legs and watched in satisfaction as her head rolled back, lips parting in a gasp. He pulled her against him, his hands slipping into her hair. Nami leaned forward, wrapping her hands around his waist. She felt his hot and uneven breath against her skin. His lips brushed lightly against her skin, whispering into her ears,

"Nami."

She almost moaned at the way he said her name. "What?"

As soon as the word left her lips, he grabbed her neck and crushed his lips against hers. Nami's eyes widened in surprise, but fluttered shut after the shock wore off. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. She parted her lips for him, his tongue slipping inside her mouth, caressing hers. She let out a small moan when he sucked on her tongue, exploring every corner of her mouth. He pulled back slowly, biting her lower lip.

Luffy looked into Nami's panting face, searching for his answer. She opened her eyes to look into his and smiled lovingly. After catching her breath, she purred out to him, "Say it Luffy."

Dark eyes widened at the order/request of his navigator, "Huh?"

'Always the idiot.' Nami's face broke out into a small smile. "Say it."

He averted his eyes. "I love you Nami."

Her face glowed with pure joy as she kissed him again, pouring all her love for him in the kiss. "I love you too Luffy."

He blinked owlishly before leaning forward, "Really?"

A sweet laugh escaped her lips, "Really really."

Luffy's face broke out into a grin, pulling her body closer, enveloping her with his arms. He buried his face in her silky hair, inhaling her scent. He couldn't believe it. She loved him. She loved him as much as he loved her. he pulled back and tilted her face upwards, "Nami, do you want to continue the dance?"

"Huh? What?" She blinked up owlishly at him before her eyes widened slightly. "Oh!"

"Do you?"

Nami bit her lip as her face turned red. She tried turning her head but Luffy had a firm grip on her chin. She shyly looked up into his hooded eyes and nodded. Luffy smirked at her reaction.

"You sure you can handle the dance?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and hissed out, "Why don't I show you?"

He leaned down and purred out in her ear, "Let's see then."

Nami matched his smirk, while Luffy laced their fingers together. He led them out of the crowd and both headed back to their seating area. Once they reached, Nami burst out laughing. Luffy too couldn't hold hid laughter.

"To think anything could scare our swordsman."

After watching the scene for a while, Luffy leaned down and whispered quietly in Nami's ears, who smiled up at him and nodded. With a smile of his own, Luffy leaned down and gently kissed her.

-----

Robin leaned down to stare into the sweating face of Zoro, who was trying to disappear into the couch. While the historian had a smile on her face, Zoro knew better. That woman was evil. Plain evil. The moss-haired man laughed nervously.

"Uhhh… you do know that Nami doesn't give money right… and I already owe her enough……So can we…"

She tilted her head to one side and asked, "Are you saying I should forget the bet?"

"Ummmm…" Before he could complete his sentence, a loud voice cut him off.

"MARIMO… what are you doing so close to Robin-chan?"

Zoro sighed. He was going to kill someone and that lucky person was the annoying cook. Oh if he had just got his swords along, chopping him would have been so much easier. "Get lost. Go dance with your girlfriend. And anyways, I don't want to be that close."

Instead of calming down, Sanji was furious, "How dare you say no to Robin-chan?"

Beside him, Zoro heard the female laugh. He looked up and shot her a hard glare which didn't affect her. it never affected her. he knew she was going to say something.

"Cook-san, how about you go enjoy your dance? I'm fine here and don't worry about him."

Sanji looked at her like a lost puppy, "If Robin-chan say's so."

Robin leaned down and quietly whispered to her companion, "I'll let you off if you do whatever I tell you to for 1 week. Deal?"

He cursed and grumbled out, "Deal." Scratch what he had said earlier, she wasn't just evil, she was evil incarnate and her along with the captain's woman were going to make his life a living hell.

"Hey isn't that Nami-san and Luffy walking back towards the ship, hand in hand?"

Fuck, he almost forgot about him. What a pain.

A/N: That sure was long wasn't it XD So what do you think? Good, bad? Do review. Flames are welcome.

-iCy