Nami is uncomfortable. This is not, of course, a singular experience, especially since she had joined up with Luffy, but the reason for her discomfort was. He was simply too nice, and after a series of very subtle mind games, she had determined it wasn't to gain anything, that was simply Luffy's personality. And people like that were dangerous. Nami was starting to have second thoughts about stealing all his money, and that was inexcusable.

Her sister, her village, they needed that money to get out from under Arlong's disgusting thumb. She might be stuck there forever, but they, at least, were unsullied. They deserved freedom, and they couldn't get it if Nami couldn't steal from this stupid boy. So she devises a plan. She would make him hate her so it would be easier to separate from him. After all, Luffy wasn't the type of person to leave someone adrift simply because he didn't like them and Zoro, well, Zoro would follow Luffy's lead, of this Nami was sure.

At the next island Nami demands that Luffy fetch her nail polish, with his own money, because she wasn't going to lend him hers. Of course, it would all even out in the end, because she was planning on stealing all the money, but Luffy doesn't know that. To her complete lack of surprise, Luffy does as bid, happily at that. He chatters as he returns to the stony silence of the boats where Nami sits alone, watching Zoro run through his katas on the beach a short distance away. Luffy shows Nami the three colors he'd gotten, orange, green, and red, exclaiming how happy he was that Nami expressed interest in something, and extolling how nice the people here were, simply giving him the nail polish. Nami suspects it might have something to do with the gash he hasn't wrapped on his forehead from his recent fight with a bear, but she keeps it to herself.

Instead, she takes the nail polish and puts her plan in action. "I can't be expected to partake in this bonding experience by myself, can I?" Nami asks pointedly. Luffy blinks, but sits obligingly across from her. Zoro stops his katas to stare at them, eyebrows furrowed in what appears to be confusion. Nami shakes the red bottle and quickly paints his nails with the effortless experience that comes from hours spent painting and repainting her own with shaking hands to steady them enough to draw maps. As she finishes she blows gently on his fingernails and watches in satisfaction as he frowns unhappily at his fingernails.

"They feel heavy." Luffy whines, shaking his hands uncomfortably. Zoro cocks his head to the side, furrowing his eyebrows more and appearing to concentrate just as hard on the boat as he does on his exercises. Nami feels uncomfortable, but refuses to show it, instead coolly raising an eyebrow in response to both boys.

"It's supposed to. There's extra weight on your fingernails now." Nami says blankly, already shaking the orange bottle. "Now you have to do mine. It's the rules." She explains with a beatific smile. Luffy frowns a little harder, but takes the bottle without whining, and studies it severely. Finally he nods, and unscrews the top. His tongue sticks out a little as he reaches for Nami's hands, and Nami hates herself for finding it endearing. He turns out to be passable at painting fingernails, but frowns throughout the entire process. Nami gives herself a mental congratulatory pat on the back, and crushes the twinge of sorrow that comes with the knowledge she's fostered resentment in Luffy.

"I'm not as good as you." Luffy whines and Nami blinks in response. That was not what she was expecting him to say. Zoro finally walks up to the boat, and shoves in beside Luffy, who is demanding that she teach him how to better paint nails.

"Do mine." Zoro grunts, holding out his hand, and Nami blinks again, but shakily obliges, opening the bottle of green. He grunts again when Nami takes the brush away for the last time and nods seriously. Luffy coos over Zoro's hands and Nami is confused. She had thought for sure he would be angry with her demands, and certainly he had to feel anger that his nails were painted. Arlong would've locked her in her room for a month if she'd have suggested something so 'girly' to him. But then…

"Now we're bonded. Friends forever." Luffy laughs, holding up his hands and admiring the way the light glints off the red. Nami can feel the tears welling up in her eyes. It seems her plan backfired, drastically. She should've known. After all, no one could accuse Luffy of being anything like Arlong.

Usopp's addition to the crew changes little, Nami still insists on nightly nail painting rituals, in the hopes that maybe Ussop will hate it enough to turn the crew against her. Or at least, that's what she's telling herself. But, because the universe is conspiring against her, Ussop just tears up and declares that he, of course, won thousands, nay, millions of nail painting contests back home. Then he holds out his hands for Luffy to paint in yellow. She's disappointed that she can tell Luffy is getting much better at painting nails. As is Zoro for that matter, he frowns severely as he bends over Nami's hands, painting each line with precision and care, as much care as he uses with his swords. Nami isn't touched, and she isn't falling a little in love with this crew. If she insists long enough, maybe it'll become true. A girl can dream, right?

She has serious hopes for the pirate hunters pitching a fit, but in the end Zoro just looked at them, and they were sitting patiently, albeit hesitantly, with their hands out. Luffy attacks Johnny's fingernails with the red he'd claimed and did his worst paint job to date. Nami laughs so hard she cries, and then fixes Luffy's crappy job, because even she isn't cruel enough to leave someone with nail polish like that. The pirate hunters, she tries not to notice, do not warrant new colors of nail polish. She refuses to attribute any meaning to this. But if she's honest, something she can rarely afford to be these days, they don't really feel like part of Luffy's claimed crew, no matter how hard they are trying to fit in.

The cook who she likes on the basis he's giving her free, high quality food, laughs a little when he sees Zoro's fingernails. Nami smiles blankly when he immediately turns around to compliment the paint job on her fingernails, mentally revising her opinion of him. His face when Zoro belligerently explains he painted Nami's nails is worth everything she's gone through on this trip though. It gets even better when Luffy slingshots himself through the doors and declares again that their fingernails are a symbol of their bond. She knows she has to leave soon, but she's starting to really dread the moment she splits.

She cries when she steals Ussop's ship, against all her efforts. She cries the first night as she's sailing home too, because despite what she tells herself, she misses her nightly nail painting circle. She stays purposefully away from the stern, next to Luffy's favorite perch, where the circles took place, and tells herself firmly that it is for the best. When she arrives home, she takes the effort to smile just a bit too bright when Hachi compliments her nails. Arlong, of course, notices, but she thanks the world for cutting her a break when he doesn't mention it. But she doesn't appreciate the passive-aggressive nail kit he's left on her dresser in the morning. She doesn't say anything though, because she isn't stupid.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't expecting someone to show up to Arlong's Park, Luffy seemed just the right amount of stupidly optimistic to attempt something like that. What she isn't expecting is Zoro. Zoro, who shows up, beats down several of Arlong's men and proudly shows off his nail polish. It's chipping in places, and one of the nails has lost all nail polish, but the thought's there, and Nami wants to scream. She doesn't though, she merely flashes her blank nails back, and proceeds to 'kill' him effectively enough to fool Arlong, at least as far as he cares to look. She doesn't allow herself to cry as she returns to her room, and she doesn't look at the orange nail polish on her dresser. As perfectly fitting a diversion as that was, Nami can't afford to have any connections to people who are just going to end up dead.

Oddly enough, they don't die, and Ussop and Luffy both still have a passable amount of nail polish still left on their nails. It's touching, but not as much as Luffy's gesture is. He destroys her room and exits with one bottle of orange nail polish, which he solemnly presents to her when it's clear Arlong is not getting back up. She hesitates, hand shaking, but finally manages to grasp it, choking back tears. Luffy smiles at her when she does, uncharacteristically soft, and laughs rancorously as she throws her arms around him.

The nail polish tradition resumes that night, expanding to include Sanji, though he has to have his toes painted as he is a cook. Nami chooses a dark blue and smiles without hiding anything. Bonded forever indeed.

There might be more to this, I don't know. I just really wanted a stupid story with nailpolish and happiness. The One Piece fandom is a beautiful place full of smiles and crack, so I figured this was the correct universe to base the story in. :p