Nothing changes faster than the speed of love.
--Neil Peart

"There!  It's finished!"

Nami put her pen down and admired her latest map of the Grand Line.  Every island they'd visited, from Cocoyashi to the site of Enies Lobby to Little Garden to Alabasta, lay plotted in near-perfect accuracy.  From latitude to longitude, it was easily her best effort yet.  But, right in the middle of admiring her handiwork, Nami let out a huge, jaw-cracking yawn and stretched her arms out.

"Oh wow...how long was I working on this?" she asked herself.  She stared out the porthole to see a starry sky.  "Looks like it's time for bed."

She put on her pajamas and started to go to her room when she passed by Luffy's quarters.  As usual, the door was wide open, so she decided to take a look inside to see what the mess looked like tonight.  When she peered into his room tonight, however, she was struck silent.

"What the...?" Nami asked herself.

Usually, Luffy in slumberland had him sprawled across the entire bed, head hanging off one of the sides, legs dangling this way and that, covers strewn about, and snoring loud enough to wake the dead--except for Brook.  Tonight was different.  Tonight, for whatever reason, Luffy had decided to sleep normally--under the covers.

Nami stood puzzled in the doorway when she suddenly felt the urge to sleep along with him.  He looks so lonely, she thought to herself.  He could use some company every once in a while.

With her mind made up, Nami slowly climbed into the bed where Luffy lay sleeping, making her movements as gentle as possible.  This was the first time she did something like this, and with her background in thievery, it was a natural process for her.  She soon found herself under the covers laying to Luffy's right.  He was still fast asleep, thank God--the last thing Nami wanted to do was startle him awake.

She lay next to him for a half hour watching him sleep.  It was odd seeing Luffy so peaceful, so calm.  His chest rose and fell with each breath he took, a look of serene contentment spread across his face.  Considering all the beatings he'd taken and administered, this seemed almost unnatural.  But Luffy had never really been all that natural to begin with.  

She wrapped her arms around his upper chest and snuggled next to him, putting her head on his shoulder.  Luffy's soft, steady breathing was all she heard as she gently stroked his hair, half expecting him to wake up in shock.  He didn't, however, and Nami continued to run her fingers through his hair, glancing at his straw hat sitting on the end table.  She remembered how angry he'd gotten when Buggy stabbed through it, only to seemingly let it slide later after the three of them had beaten his crew.  She remembered it being placed on her head when Luffy, Usopp, Sanji and Zoro went off to fight Arlong's crew.  Sometimes it felt like she was his first mate instead of Zoro.

"It's my greatest treasure," Luffy had said about that hat.  But Nami had always had a feeling that his favorite treasure lay a bit closer than the top of his head.  She smiled as she put her mouth to his ear and whispered his name.  Talk to him.

"Hey, Luffy."  Well?  What else are you gonna say to him?

"Luffy, if you can hear me, I just want you to know something...something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."  She squeezed her arms tight around him, but not too tight, and began to pour her heart out.

"I love you so much.  Not just as my captain, but as my friend.  You've done so much for me--for us--that I'll never be able to repay you.  If it weren't for you..."  A few stray tears escaped Nami's eyes, but she gathered herself, wiped them away and continued.  "If it weren't for you, Cocoyashi and I would still be under Arlong's control.  And I'm sorry for stealing Merry-chan from you at Baratie...I needed to get home somehow."  She chuckled slightly, but her laugh quickly faded at the grimness of the memory.

"But despite that, despite everything that's happened, you're still loyal to us.  You've walked through hell for us and never asked why.  You've put your life on the line and taken enough stupid risks to kill an entire village, but you didn't care.  You're truly one of a kind, and I know you'll become King Of The Pirates someday.  And when you do, we'll be right there with you.  Don't ever stop, Monkey D. Luffy.  Don't ever stop."

"I won't, Nami."

Nami's eyes shot open in shock.  That sneaky moron--he was awake this whole time!  Her face flushed red as she abruptly broke her embrace of him.  "LUFFY!  I...I didn't--"

"It's okay, Nami.  There's nothing for you to be ashamed of."  He sat up and stretched, his hands touching the ceiling thanks to his Devil Fruit powers.  "How long were you there?"

"About an hour," Nami answered.  Luffy smiled and said, "That sounds about right."

"Wait...so you felt me slip into your bed?"

"Yep."  He lay back down, his body turned towards Nami.  "I really liked the way you ran your fingers through my hair.  Can you do that again?" he asked with a gentle pleading in his voice.

"Um...sure!"  Nami began to stroke his hair again, taking her time and weaving her hand through the strands atop his head.  "How does that feel, Luffy?"

"It feels great!" he exclaimed.  "But you know what's even greater?"

"What's that?"

"Everything you said."

Nami abruptly pulled her hand back.  "You heard that too?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Every word," he answered.  "It really made me feel good."

Nami grinned in faux cockiness and boasted, "Well, that was my intention."

"I have a question, though: Did you really mean it?"

"Mean what?" Nami asked, puzzled.

"Do you really love me?"

Nami recoiled in surprise.  He really DID hear everything.  

The look of total seriousness on Luffy's face suggested that she'd better tell him the truth.  Better late than never.  She ran her fingers through her hair, sat up straight, and replied, "Yes.  Yes, I do.  With every fiber of my being."

Luffy grinned his infectious toothy grin and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into an embrace.  As they rocked back and forth, Luffy felt a wetness on his shoulder.  He brought Nami's eyes to his to discover she had tears running down her face.

His face saddened as he asked, "Nami...why are you crying?"

"I...I don't know.  I guess...because I didn't know if you'd feel the same way about me."

Luffy touched his forehead to hers and whispered, "Nami...it's okay."

She sniffled and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely.  You know why?"

Nami shook her head.

"Because I do feel the same way about you."  Nami's eyes grew wide as she stared into Luffy's eyes, which were now welling up with tears of their own.  "I really do.  I love you, Nami."

Before she could respond, he pressed his lips to hers and began to kiss her.  Nami put her arms around him and accepted the kiss, running her hands up and down his back as their lips remained together for what seemed like an eternity.  They wound up on their sides, arms wrapped around each other and staring into each other's eyes, smiles spread across their faces.

Luffy broke the silence: "Oh, Sanji's gonna be mad."

"He'll just have to deal with it.  Right now though, it's just us."

"Yeah."  They closed their eyes and began to drift off to sleep.  Before they reached that point, Luffy whispered, "I love you, Nami.  You're my favorite treasure."

Nami whispered back, "I love you too, Luffy.  I wouldn't trade you for anything."

In all her years of treasure hunting, Nami had never had any reason to say those words.  But this was Luffy--her captain, her nakama, and now, her lover.  His value was more than any gold or jewels she would ever come across.  His straw hat may have been his greatest treasure, but for Nami, her greatest treasure lay there in her arms.  Her hunt was finally over.

THE END
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Neil Peart quote copyright 1993.

Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece.  I don't.