The Sneaky Cat-Burglar Nami

Chapter 13

The next morning, the Straw Hats woke up to a surprise. Sanji had gone out of his way to set up a picnic style breakfast on the lawn deck, perfect to compliment the cool and sunny morning.

On top of a red and white checkered mat lay a variety of food – a plate of sausages and hams, a selection of jams, butter, a bowl of fruit, and a basket of freshly baked bread.

"IT'S A PICNIC!" Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper exclaimed simultaneously with stars in their eyes making their way quickly to the picnic area.

"Good morning bastards..." Sanji greeted to the guys, "...and of course, A LOVELY MORNING TO THE EVER SO LOVELY LADIES!!!" He greeted excitedly to the girls, curtseying as Robin and Nami approached him.

"Good morning!" The rest of the crew responded cheerfully, as they each sat cross-legged, forming a circle around the food.

"These really look great, Sanji-kun!" Nami commented, taking a seat beside Luffy, and reaching out for a piece of bread from the basket.

"Thank you, my beautiful Nami-swan." Sanji responded with a wink.

It was the usual rowdy meal that the Straw Hats were used to, where everyone else - mostly the guys, would try to defend their food from the hands of their Captain; and as usual some form of kick from Sanji would end up on Luffy's face for causing so much chaos during meals, with Luffy ending up mumbling an incomprehensible apology such as an "I'm sho...I'm shorry" and a swollen up face.

Once the crew had finished their breakfast, they all decided to relax first on the lawn, relishing the taste of all the delicious food they just ate.

"Now that was a SUPEERRRRRRR delicious breakfast." Franky remarked.

"Yes, that was indeed of exquisite taste. Thank you, Sanji." Robin added.

"You're welcome, Robin-chwan" Sanji exclaimed happily.

A gentle breeze brushed past through the Sunny.

"Ahhh~ this feels so good." Nami commented, leaning back on her hands, her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh breeze.

"Yohohoho~" Brook interrupted softly, "I think this calls for some music."

He raised his violin to his chin, and started playing a mellow version of Bink's Sake.

The rest of the crew allowed themselves to be enveloped by the soft hum of Brook's violin, and relished in the cool, gentle breeze brushing past them. All of them with content, and happy smiles on their faces.

"Now, this is the life." Luffy whispered softly, "Good food, the perfect weather, countless adventures, the Thousand Sunny, even Going Merry; and most of all surrounded by the best crew...the best of friends one can ever have. I wouldn't trade this for anything else. Shishishi~", Luffy smiled, as he too leaned back on his hands.

But instead of his hand landing on the grass, it ended up on top of Nami's hand.

Nami was a little surprised, turning her head towards the direction of her and Luffy's touching hands. She looked from their hands to Luffy's face but Luffy didn't seem to notice, his head tilted upwards, a peaceful expression on his face.

"It looks like he didn't notice." Nami thought, facing forward, a tint of pink on her cheeks, then an idea popped into her head. "I wonder if he'd notice if I held his hand?" she checked on Luffy from the corner of her eye, he still held his previous position, gazing upward toward the sky but this time his eyes were closed.

Nami tried to adjust her position so that she could face her palm upward beneath Luffy's, she tried to close her hand on Luffy's but hesitated. She tried again but stopped midway once more.