Romance Dawn (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

LUFFY FINALLY agreed with Nami to get off the ship and start searching for the others, even if she had mentioned that the possibility of them winding up in the same island was tiny. He didn't take the contradicting statements of his navigator lightly; he brought up every single one of them and she either jabbed him with the Clima Tact or smack him on the back of his head. Nevertheless, they were both tired of bickering every now and then.

"I really thought that he got away with you," he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

She turned to him and winked. "I have my ways. And he owes me 100 000 Beris for calling me 'milady'."

"W-What?" Luffy didn't know why but something fluttered inside his chest.

Nami then remained silent. She felt uncomfortable, being in the middle of nowhere with him and, not to mention, the insecurity she always had been feeling for the Queen of Hearts. She breathed deep. I have to tell him.

"Luffy...?"

"Yea?"

"What if I told you that..."

"...that?"

"...that I—"

Luffy yapped and his finger was pointing at a village. More importantly, though, he was pointing at a certain young man whose freckles were undeniably suiting himself greatly. Luffy, without a second thought, stretched an arm and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him around. The boy with a strawhat widely smiled.

"ACE!!!!!"

That Ace's eyes widened at the sight of him and smiled back, though his smile vanished right away when Luffy flung himself towards him. "H-Hey!"

Luffy laughed and called Nami, obliging her to hurry up. She noticed that the man whom Luffy had collided himself with looked similar to him but looked more mature than her captain.

"What are you doing here?" Luffy asked happily, the smile on his face still not fading away.

"Just a detour," his brother replied. "anyhow...enough about me."

Ace whistled and winked at Luffy. "Making progress, aren't we, lil bro?"

"B-Bro?!" Nami blinked. For second, she felt hotter than usual though she didn't know if it was from the surprise or the fact that Luffy's brother was teasing him.

"Oh where are my manners..." Ace cleared his throat and bent over, gently holding Nami's hand to place a soft kiss on the back. "the name is Portgas D Ace, milady."

"A-Are you sure you're his brother? Y-You're way too polite to be one," she breathed. "anyway, m-my name is Nami."

Luffy pouted. "You're just insulting me, now."

She chuckled and Ace abruptly glanced at her. "You mean...this Nami?" He brought a wanted poster from his backpack and showed it to them, earning a firm nod from the navigator. Apparently, the bounty also gained her the epithet 'Cat Burglar'.

"Yes..." she exhaustedly replied, nervously smiling.

"And I thought our crybaby little brother won't have a destined maiden for him,"

Ace looked past them as the two turned their heads to see a blonde one wearing a long black jacket with a buckle on the left sleeve, a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loosen light-blue pants with black boots. He also had a pair of brown gloves and a top hat with goggles over the band. Nami pointed out that the three of them each wore a hat.

"Is that you, Luffy?!" the blonde one gasped, his eyes going over to Nami by then. "Y-You're the queen's ghost navigator, aren't you?"

Luffy spoke abruptly. "She's my navigator, not hers. Tell him, Nami."