Chapter Text
Romance Dawn
One could rightfully call the captain of the Strawhats many things… impulsive, reckless, cocky, naïve, obnoxious… But the name he got called most often was also the most unwarranted when it came to matters of importance: idiot. Luffy never felt the need to explain himself. Because of that, sometimes his decisions looked impulsive. In truth, he was so in tune with his ambitions, the strengths and weaknesses of his crew, and the needs of the world around him, that he didn’t have to ponder and discuss. It was hard to say where impulsiveness ended and instinct began with Monkey D. Luffy. All Nami knew was that her unwavering faith in him was founded and reliable. For as often as she hit him and called him an idiot, she secretly believed he was a genius in his own right. She marveled at him, maybe because she could never quite put her finger on what to call that special quality he possessed. If she could name it, perhaps she could learn to wield it herself, and then the ever-present space he occupied in her mind would shrink to a more reasonable size.
…
Five Finger Discount
The Strawhats were anchored at a bustling port somewhere between Alabasta and Skypiea. They’d been laying low, at least low compared to usual, in the area for three days while the log pose reset. The plan was to leave that afternoon. Over the breakfast table, Nami sighed. “There’s so many cute clothing stores here. I wish we’d looted Vivi’s castle at least a little, we’re so broke already!” She pouted.
“We couldn’t do that to Vivi or her kingdom!” Usopp reminded her, skin crawling at the thought.
Nami rolled her eyes, “I know that! I just don’t have anything cute to wear lately!”
Indeed, many of her best outfits had taken a beating, either in battle, or through the natural wear and tear that occurred on the sea. She frowned at the stain on her light blue shirt, acquired weeks ago when she’d attempted to block Luffy from stealing rice balls off her plate. The resulting injury was soy sauce on her shirt, and then a series of red welts to her captain’s head. Luffy noticed her frown, and guiltily averted his eyes.
“You always look adorable Nami-Swan!” Sanji reassured her, elbow propping up his head on the table as he gazed at the navigator with hearts in his eyes. Zoro scoffed, but wisely stayed out of it.
“Perhaps we could try a second-hand stop before we depart?” Robin suggested.
“I already checked,” Nami slumped, "nothing in my size.” The navigator sighed, resigning herself to lowering her standards for a while. Luffy continued to stuff food into his mouth, but his eyes were more distant as he considered something.
…
The crew was tying down cargo in preparation to depart. Nami wordlessly considered the winds, determining their headway. She turned to Luffy, “Permission to depart, Captain?”
“Not yet!” He declared with a smile. “Sanji, Usopp, prepare the sails. Robin and Chopper, release the mooring. Zoro, stand guard. We’ll be right back!” He wrapped an arm around Nami’s waist and sling-shotted them into the shopping center.
“What are you doing?!” She screeched.
A wide grin on his face, he dragged her by the hand into a fancy boutique. It stood out in his mind because it was near the food vendors, and he’d noticed her eyeing the outfits in the window. “Do you like this store, Nami?” He asked.
She was still confused and straightening her hair from their flight. “Well, yes, but we can’t afford anything here”, she lamented as she touched the fabric of a fabulous mini skirt that was exactly her style.
He chuckled mischievously and handed her a sack. “Start shopping Nami, be quick about it”, he ordered and let her hand slip out of his grasp as he made his way up to the counter. His intentions sunk in as she stared down at the large canvas bag in her hands. Her eyes widened and her heart swelled. She hadn’t considered much petty theft since joining the Strawhat crew. She’d thought them above it, and besides, they had enough trouble to run from without the local police getting involved. But now a familiar adrenaline spiked in Nami’s veins. A wide grin stretched over her face as she began quickly sorting through tags for her size, starting with the mini skirt.
An electrified giggle poured out of her throat at the sound of Luffy yelling on top of the counter. “LISTEN UP! MY NAME IS MONEY D. LUFFY! AND ONE DAY, I WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!” The clerk’s jaw hung open, a bead of sweat running down his face. “BUT TODAY, I'M ROBBING THIS STORE SO MY NAVIGATOR CAN HAVE CUTE STUFF TO WEAR!”
The clerk began to protest, and Luffy knocked him out with one punch. Customers screamed as they fled from the store. The authorities would arrive soon, and Nami raced to stuff the sack. Luffy turned to meet her eyes, smiling wide with his hands on his hips. Nami smiled back, her excitement evident, and pointed at the accessory rack, "Grab one of everything pretty!”
Luffy launched into action. He wasn’t really sure what Nami would like, so he just grabbed everything shiny and girly until his cargo pockets were bursting. Then he returned to the door, and spotted a group of men in uniform running towards them from down the street. “Time to go!” He yelled over his shoulder.
Nami emerged from behind the wracks, the bag over her shoulder full to bursting. She struggled somewhat under the weight of it, and he wordlessly grabbed it from her. They ran, hand in hand, back to the dock, yelling and whooping as the ship came into view. “SET SAIL!” Nami yelled to the crew, their pursuers close on their heels. This time, when he rocketed them back onto the ship, she laughed the whole way, turning around to stick her tongue out at the police.
Once they were far from land and the sails were full of wind, Nami performed an exuberant fashion show for Robin, Sanji, and Chopper, twirling and posing as they cheered. Luffy sat further away with Zoro and Usopp. He had a contented smile on his face as he watched from afar.
“You really shouldn’t indulge her like that. She’s already greedy enough”, Zoro advised with a smirk.
Luffy just shrugged, “Shishishi, who cares? It was fun!” He declared, his eyes locked on Nami as she struck cover photo poses in a little denim mini skirt with lace details around the bottom edge. Sanji rolled around on the deck, professing his love as Robin and Chopper cheered. “She looks so happy now!” He pointed out with a wide grin. Zoro rolled his eyes and Usopp caught it with a knowing grin.
She skipped over to him, joy radiating from her every pore. “You grabbed some scarves, right Luffy?” She asked.
The Strawhat Captain hummed as he fished around in his pockets, producing a few silky lengths of fabric. She bent over, her eyes examining the options he held before snatching one and skipping back to the others to ask their opinions on how it should be tied. Luffy continued to smile as he absorbed her happiness through his eyes. Usopp shot an exasperated look towards Zoro, and the swordsman just shook his head and smirked.
…
Bloody Merry
It was a hot and cloudless day on the sea. The Merry sailed smoothly through the current and the smell of ripe tangerines mingled with the salty ocean spray. They were on course to their next island, no one was chasing them or threatening their lives at the moment, and the weather was perfect. It should’ve been a perfect day, except for the fact that through their joint adventuring and growing sisterhood, Nami and Robin had… synced up.
Both women lounged on the deck in swimwear, letting the sun act as heating pads, as they attempted to refrain from taking out their foul moods on the rest of the crew. Nami already chewed off Zoro’s head at breakfast for making a “shark week” joke, and now she was trying to re-center herself. Even Robin joined in on admonishing him, despite her usual composure. The swordsman was wisely giving them space now, choosing to train on the far side of the deck. Luffy did not get the memo.
He sat on the railing with his fishing rod right by the two women, loudly smack talking Usopp about how many more fish he was going to catch. Usopp nervously glanced over at them, noticing as Nami’s face grew more annoyed. “You might wanna move down here with me, buddy!” The sniper warned.
“No way! This is my lucky spot!” Luffy called back with a laugh.
Nami took a deep breath, trying to compose herself… and then thought better of it. “Luffy! Don’t you ever shut up!?” She whined.
He turned around to examine her face, contemplating, and then his rod jerked in his hands. “OOH! I got one!” The captain yelled, her complaint forgotten. “Chopper, get the net!” He yelled with excitement.
He reeled and fought the fish, laughing and admonishing Usopp all the while. “Get ready!” He yelled. At the same time that he gave a strong yank, the fish jumped. It flew over the railing, soaring in an ark over Luffy and Chopper's heads, just to land in Nami’s lap with a loud ‘SLAP’.
Nami gasped and dropped the drink that Sanji delivered only a minute ago. “LUFFYYYYYYY!!!” She screamed.
“Oh, hey! You caught it!” He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck as he approached to reclaim his prize.
Nami snarled and bared her teeth. “YOU SLAPPED ME WITH A FISH!” She began to stand up, and that’s when Luffy knew he was in trouble.
“I didn’t mean to! I swear!” He cried and took a step back.
Nami wrapped both her hands around the fish’s tail and swung it like a baseball bat at her captain’s head. It made a ‘SMACK’ sound so satisfying that Nami decided she wanted to hear it again.
Luffy lay on the deck, rubbing his new welt, when the shadow of his Navigator’s round hips blocked out the sun. She smiled down at him devilishly, and the expression, so predatory but attractive, confused him enough that he started to smile back before she hit him again.
Luffy yelled and tried to crawl away backwards between the legs on either side of his hips. Nami growled and sank to the floor, pinning him and brandishing the fish once more. “STAY STILL, IDIOT! YOU OWE ME THIS!”
Across the deck, Usopp and Zoro laughed at their Captain’s misfortune, placing bets on how much she would add to his debt. Sanji joined them from the kitchen, the noise drawing him out. He lit a cigarette as he observed the scene. “That lucky bastard”, he said, sighing out smoke as Nami clamped her legs tighter around Luffy’s hips.
Zoro chuckled, “Too bad he wouldn’t know what to do with it,” and they all laughed their agreement.
Luffy did know what to do with it. Or at least, kind of. He just wasn’t sure if she would allow it, and didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. His fingers itched to grab her hips, sure that it would make getting slapped around with a fish worth it. But instead, he tried to cover his face from her merciless attack.
Finally, the effort it took to swing a twenty pound fish got the most of her, and she panted as she let the thing slump to the ground. Unthinkingly, she sat back in her exhaustion, planting her butt right on top of him.
Her eyes widened in surprise and her breath left her. Luffy’s hard cock twitched beneath her. Her face reddened. The rubber man stayed still as he observed her reaction, wondering if he was supposed to grab her hips now, or if that would cause her to hit him with the fish again.
She didn’t immediately pull away, to Luffy’s astonishment. She stayed a few seconds too long, mentally noting the size of the thing that pressed up against her. Without thinking, she ground her hips. Then she immediately realized what she was doing and disguised the movement into standing up.
Luffy had seen the shift in her face. For just a second, her pupils were completely blown out, her mouth slightly open, her breath shallow. He suppressed his groan as she stood, walking away without looking back. Luffy slumped, letting his head smack against the deck, wondering what just happened.
“Damn, she didn’t charge him a single berry!" Usopp complained.
“Lucky bastard indeed”, Zoro agreed with a raised eyebrow
…
Foxy
As the Going Merry sailed away, having just dismissed the Foxy Pirate members they won in the Davy Back fight, Luffy sighed in satisfaction and went to the men’s quarters to change. Most of the crew was celebrating their victory and the return of Chopper and Robin. Nami counted to ten and followed her captain.
He’d just removed his burnt and shredded up vest when he heard the door open. Nami stepped in and closed it behind her. Her eyes narrowed at him as she approached. He let the garment fall to the floor, forgotten. She didn’t look happy, but the novelty of having her in his room was enough to keep him from flinching away from her gaze.
“Why did you have to put us through that?!” She hissed at him. He didn’t respond, just stared at her with his wide eyes, so she went on. “Don’t you ever think?! We could’ve lost Chopper and Robin! They could’ve taken me!”
A mild expression of remorse did cross his face at that. But he kind of wanted her to hit him, for her to move closer, to have an excuse to touch her. Luffy shrugged, “It just sounded like it would be fun”.
She growled and stocked forward, her fists clenched. “I can’t believe you, you asshole!” She stood right in front of him as she whisper-yelled, apparently not wanting the rest of the crew to get involved. “Are you saying you would’ve just let them take me?! For that sake of pirate pride or whatever?!” He was waiting for her to swing, but she didn’t. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, and Luffy realized she’d really been scared.
Tentatively, he reached up and wiped the tear away with the back of his hand. “No”, he said, voice serious. She looked into his eyes, confused. “I wouldn’t have let that happen”, he said. And then he pulled her against him. He pressed her face into his shoulder and let her cry. He had no shirt to curl her fingers around, so she held on tight to his back, finding some comfort in the hard muscle there.
After a moment, she sniffled and leaned back to look at him again. “What would you have done?” She asked, “What would you have done if he tried to take me?”
She needed to know, Luffy realized, to feel safe again. Without meaning to, he reached up and stroked a lock of hair away for her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. Her skin was so soft. He didn’t need to think long about his answer. She’d been kidnapped more than once, and it always sparked the same instinct deep inside his gut. “If anyone tries to take you away from me, Nami, I’ll make them regret it. I promise.” He said it simply, resolutely.
Nami’s breath caught as she searched his face for any hint of deception. As usual, she found none. Their faces were close enough that either of them could lean forward slightly, and then they would be kissing. Both wanted it, but neither were sure that it should happen.
The decision was made by Chopper. “Come on, guys!” He yelled through the door. “Snacks and drinks are ready!”
Luffy sighed and ran his hand down her back, appreciating the soft curve, before pulling away. Then he smiled. “Come on”, he said, “Don’t wanna miss the fun”. And Nami heard the underlying thing: don’t want anyone to wonder why we’re missing.
…
Later on in their celebrations, Luffy was able to get Nami to hit him. All it took was a little rib about Foxy not picking her first to steal. Several drinks in, her fists weren’t quite as precise. He was able to catch them long enough to “lose his balance” (definitely an accident), and pull her on top of him. She flushed and her pupils dilated. He let her wrists go then, so that she could maintain her dignity under the guise of beating him up. The only difference from usual was that they both smiled as they argued and struggled.
…