Stolen // One Piece

chapter thirty-one

Nami knew that giving Luffy the help he needed was going to be difficult. She knew that he was going to kick and scream and bite and scratch at anything he could reach because he was in pain. She knew he was going to howl and wail and whine. She was prepared for these things.

However, she wasn't prepared for the emotional turmoil that it was going to bring when she looked into his eyes, and heard him beg for her to stop.

She wasn't prepared for the look of sheer desperation in his beautiful, terrified brown eyes. She wasn't ready for the look of recognition and betrayal as his eyes met her. She wasn't ready for him to look at her and beg for the torture to end. She wasn't ready for him to cry or for him to scream for her to make Bluejam stop hurting him. She wasn't ready for Chopper to grunt and shove a piece of bark in Luffy's mouth as he ordered Zoro to pin the boy's arms above his head.

She wasn't ready for the moment his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and his body stopped moving. She wasn't ready for Chopper screaming for all Straw-Hat members to come down into the med-bay and help him stop the bleeding. Nami wasn't ready for how cold his skin was under her fingertips, or how silent and still the room was when Chopper was listening for a heartbeat. She wasn't ready for the buckets of murky red-grey water to be sloshed over to one side and spill over as the boat rocked.

But even after all of that, she still managed to collect her thoughts and clean herself off. She managed to breathe and calmly help Chopper stitch and bandage every wound on Luffy's body, and she helped him clean the blood off of everything.

She sat and helped and did as much as she could for Luffy and Chopper, and when she was no longer needed by them, she paced the deck and did errands for everyone else whenever she could. They stopped her from letting her mind wander back to the image of his cold body in the medical bay.

She cleaned when there were no errands to run and nothing to help with. And, when the moment arrived that she had nothing else to do, and she should have been at peace, she chased the images and negative thoughts away with the expensive wine that rested under the counter in the aquarium.

She had downed three whole bottles out of the four (unknowingly, of course, as they cost more than they should have, and she had zoned out) when Zoro found her, and as she reached for the last, he put a bottle of stronger sake in her hand. She looked at him with wide, sad eyes as he sat down beside her.

"Luffy'll pull through," he said, uncorking his second bottle of the bitter liquid and knocking it back. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and leaned back on the couch. Nami stared at him in silence. "I've only known him two days longer than you, but I know him better than I know myself. He'll be fine, Nami," he added, closing his eye and leaning back.

"Aren't you worried about his mental state?" she asked, opening her bottle (while she didn't care for the burning sensation it left in her throat, the buzz it gave her was rather nice). Zoro's body twitched, but it was only for a split second, and Nami wouldn't have caught  it if it weren't for the shaky breath he released.

"...Partially," he replied slowly, eyeing her. She nodded as she finished the bottle's contents, and set it on the table.

They stared at the table for a long moment in silence.

"You kissed him," Zoro said suddenly, interrupting the silence. Nami looked over at him with wide eyes. His own were slanted in accusation. "Our captain. You kissed our captain." Nami bristled and rolled her eyes.

"So what? I was saying goodbye," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Okay, but, I mean," he turned towards her, and crossed his own arms, "you kissed him. You didn't just say goodbye. You pressed your lips against his."

Nami, again, rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Zoro. At least I'm not emotionally constipated and I have actual communication skills, unlike a certain swordsman I know," she retorted, tossing a stray lock of hair over her shoulder.

"I'm the emotionally constipated one? Have you looked in a mirror? Nami, you yell at him for stupid shit because you have no clue how to express affection. You're scared of it. Don't even try to tell me I'm wrong. I've seen it since day one, you have feelings for him and you suck at explaining them so you compensate and hurt his ego."

She looked at him, eyes full of hurt as her mouth hung slightly open in a small "o". He sighed.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just think it's dumb that you deny the fact that you like our captain." Nami looked down at her lap.

"I just don't want to ruin our crew's dynamic," she replied softly.

Another long moment passed, before she spoke.

"You didn't... tell anyone, right? That I, you know, kissed him?" Zoro looked over at her, and chuckled softly.

"What are you, twelve? I don't see the point in gossiping among the others about the business of our captain and his navigator. If you wanted to say something about... whatever that kiss was, that's your job. Not mine," he replied, standing from his seat and waking to the door leading to the kitchen. "And Nami," he added, turning to look at her over his shoulder, "please, just... I don't know, be careful with him? He's... been through a lot. I know he's a lot to handle, but just... try to be patient?" He looked at her for another moment and nodded once before stepping out of the room, leaving her alone to process.