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When Nami had gone to sleep the night before, she’d been alone and would have sworn the door and all the windows had been locked in her apartment.
But that clearly hadn’t been the case as there was a green haired man currently asleep on her sofa.
A green haired man she did not know.
A shirtless, green haired man, but a stranger nonetheless.
She choked down the scream to avoid waking him up but that didn’t stop her heart from leaping into her throat. Although he was snoring, she crept around him to take a look at the door that was still bolted with no signs of a break in. Actually, everything looked intact. Nothing had been moved or rummaged through and the only sign of disturbance was his haphazardly placed boots that had clearly been kicked off and shirt.
And it was only by following the strewn garments that she saw the cracked window. So maybe she hadn’t locked all the windows but that still didn’t explain why someone had broken in to do nothing but sleep.
Taking a deep breathe, she gave herself a mental pep talk. She could do this. All she had to do was creep around the (surprisingly buff) stranger on her sofa, go into the kitchen and get a frying pan. She could then wake him up, demand answers and if she didn’t like them, she could hit him.
She had this.
She was at the kitchen door when he stirred and she froze, only to watch him mumble something and go back to sleep. She darted into the kitchen, closing the door as quickly and quietly as she could before letting out the deep breath she didn’t know she was holding.
She could regroup in there before going outside.
“Hey, you got any bacon?” A cheerful voice behind her asked casually from the fridge.
She screamed bloody murder.
The black-haired man at the fridge looked puzzled at her reaction and after a moment, the kitchen door flew open to reveal the previously sleeping green haired man on the sofa. Whisps of sleep lingered on his face but he looked alert, gaze flicking around the kitchen to find the problem and then settled on her.
“Who’re you?” He gruffly asked, a slight rasp in his voice from just waking up.
“Who… who am I?!” She spluttered, disbelief lacing her tone and, she hoped, written all over her face. The nerve of this man, she should be asking both of them that.
“Is she with eyebrows?” Seemingly unimpressed with her response, he asked the fridge raider who just shrugged. “Did he finally manage to trick a woman into dating him? Or maybe he kidnapped her?”
Her temper thinned dangerously as the two men spoke between themselves like she wasn’t there and that they hadn’t broken into her home to have a conversation about it.
“I don’t know what you’re going on about or who this person is you’re talking about but this is my home!”
The newly introduced Luffy and Zoro sat on the sofa as she stood before them, wok in hand - because you could never be sure - even if they did appear to be idiots. Something she was becoming surer of the longer she spoke to them.
“So let me get this straight, you think this is your friend’s apartment?”
They both nodded, Zoro adding, “Yeah, he lives around here.”
Her eyes narrowed and her hands sat on her hips. “He’s your friend but you can’t remember what flat he lives in?”
“Zoro’s stupid,” Luffy laughed, “he climbed into the wrong flat.”
“Oi! You climbed in after me!”
“It seemed like fun,” Luffy shrugged, oozing nonchalance.
Her eyebrows almost flew off of her forehead. “You knew it was the wrong flat and still did it?!” Her voice hit a pitch that they both cringed at. She couldn’t believe the pair of them and she could feel herself getting wound up the more and more she thought about it. But when she looked at them, the fight bled out of her. They didn’t look phased in the slightest, they truly had to be the biggest idiots she’d ever met.
“You know what, I need coffee. Anyone want one?” She asked in defeat.
Luffy’s hand shot up, mouth opening until Zoro lowered his arm, already shaking his head at her.
“I’ll have one but don’t give any to Luffy, no matter how many times he says he can handle it.”
“I can handle it!” Luffy pouted.
She raised an eyebrow at that but when she looked across to Luffy, she could figure out why without an explanation. He was already fidgeting in his seat, almost fighting himself to keep still and just from knowing him for such a short time, he seemed like the hyperactive type. She imagined he’d be unbearable with caffeine in his system.
To save herself the headache and because she’d already given up, she offered, “You can have something to eat instead.”
Luffy cheered, springing to his feet to run into the kitchen shouting about bacon and she darted after him, trying to catch the collar of his top before he riffled through any more of her fridge.
It was easily turning into the weirdest morning she’d ever had.
She hadn’t bothered asking them any more questions about the break in, she figured it’d only wind her up and she didn’t want a headache - it was a Saturday after all, her weekend has only just started. Instead, she’d made breakfast with Zoro thankfully staying out of her way at the table, only getting up to retrieve his phone from the lounge, and Luffy hung off of her shoulder the entire time. He’d long forgotten about the coffee as soon as she’d retrieved the bacon from the fridge. He’d been glued to her side since even though she’d told him off twice.
When she’d dished up, she’d expected it to be awkward as she’d imagined the three of them eating in silence with stilted, polite small talk. If anything, it was the opposite. Luffy had enough energy to power a city and he showed it as he spoke, mouth full of food (despite both her and Zoro scolding him – he’d accidently spat some food at Zoro and from Zoro’s face, it wasn’t the first time), arms theatrically swinging around and it was so normal.
Unnervingly normal.
She nodded along as Luffy filled her in on the details of the previous night when Zoro’s phone started to ring. He took a look at the ID and grimaced, seemingly indecisive before swiping to answer it.
“What?” Zoro grunted, defensive already.
She’d only known him for a while and whilst he seemed quite abrupt and to the point, there was an edge she hadn’t heard as of yet.
“Where the hell are you?” Another man’s voice said through the speaker of his phone. How loud was the volume on his phone? Or the person on the other side?
Zoro paused, thinking over his words before settling on, “In a flat.”
How odd.
“Shame, I bet money you’d been mugged and were dead in a ditch.”
“Mugged? I’ve never been mugged, like I’d start now!”
“Yes you have! You keep getting mugged because you get lost and wander into dodgy parts of town.”
“Those were attempted and like they’d be able to, I’m not you.”
“What the hell is that meant to-”
There was a scuffle in the background, someone shouting their displeasure before a new voice spoke.
“It’s too early for this. Is Luffy with you?” This voice seemed more patient, even if there was a touch of exasperation.
“Yeah, he’s opposite me stuffing his face.”
And he was, his cheeks filled like a hamster. It was oddly endearing.
“Figures,” the voice muttered. “So you made it back to your place?”
“Uhhh, not quite,” he trailed off and moved the phone away from his mouth, nodding his head at Nami to get her attention. “Where are we?”
She rolled her eyes, both as his hopelessness and lack or manners. “6a.”
“6a,” he told them, moving the phone back to his mouth.
“6a? That’s not your flat.”
“I didn’t say we were at our flat.” Although she was invested (and amused) in this conversation, it was painful to listen to when no one explained themselves. “It’s in your building.”
“There’s not a 6a in the building…” he trailed off, thinking it over. “Wait a second, that’s the apartment building opposite! You idiots.”
“Oi, it was dark and they all look the same!”
“First you get separated from us and then you climb into a stranger’s apartment. What a lost cause.”
“Oi!”
“I hope they hit you with a frying pan,” the original voice said into the speaker.
“It was close,” Nami muttered, spooning granola into her mouth and returning the glare Zoro gave her.
“She’s so cool! She made us breakfast and it’s so good!” Luffy cheered, loud enough it carried through to the speaker.
There was a scuffle in the background, like they were fighting over the phone again.
“She!? As in a woman? You’re still there?!” The voice screeched. Finally, someone reasonably outraged too. “You broke into a woman’s house during the night and then had the gall to get her make you breakfast in the morning?! Just you wait until I see you, you don’t even know the meaning of pain.”
“Pft, I’d like to see you try.”
“Pass me over to her, you two idiots won’t apologise and that’s the least she deserves.”
Nami cocked an eyebrow at that and at Zoro’s outstretched hand.
“If I don’t hand the phone over to you, he’ll just keep calling or worse, he’ll come here. Believe me, you don’t want that.”
She tentatively took the phone. “Hello?”
“Good morning and don’t listen to a word that uncouth says, I’m far more pleasant than he is. I’m Sanji.”
“Well, you haven’t broken into my apartment in the middle of the night or rummaged through my fridge, so you’re doing better than they are.”
“I’m so sorry…?”
“Nami.”
“I’m so sorry, Nami. They have no shame and I’ll make them pay for this.”
She hummed, a slow grin spreading over her face. “That’s kind of you but they’re paying for their breakfast, so nothing to worry about there.”
Zoro choked on his food, painfully swallowing before speaking, “You never mentioned paying anything? You can’t just make up whatever bill you want on the spot!”
“I didn’t, Luffy agreed to it and said you would be more than happy.”
“Luffy!”
“What? She said the breakfast would be good and I was so hungry Zoro!” Luffy pleaded, eyes glassy and large and he folded instantly, grumbling into his eggs.
“Nami, don’t let Luffy give you any IOU notes, he’s not good for them.”
“Duly noted, thank you Sanji,” she purred and could visualise him melting on the other end. She had him pegged already.
“I’m not paying. I didn’t agree to it,” Zoro stated, staring her down and meeting her flat gaze unflinching.
She frowned, before plastering a hurt look on her face. “That’s such a shame. Luffy vouched for you, he said you were an honourable and decent person. Are you saying you’re not?”
“Oh, she got him good,” the second voice tittered into the speaker and Sanji hummed in agreement.
He grit his teeth, irritation palpable but said nothing, turning back to his food.
“I truly am sorry for them but maybe its fate that brought us together~” Sanji crooned and she’d been right. He was a softy, perhaps only with women based on the way he spoke to Zoro and Luffy.
Zoro snatched the phone from her as the voice started sputtering nonsense on the other end. “And that’s enough of that. See what I mean?” He said to her.
He pressed the phone back to his ear and asked, “We good now? What else do you want? We’ll meet you as soon as we’re done here.”
“She sounds pretty, is she pretty?”
Nami smiled, amused and interested to see what he would say.
He didn’t, instead he said, “Don’t be such a creep.” Although, if her eyes weren’t failing her, there was a quick appreciative look thrown her way.
“Ask her if she’s single-”
He hung up promptly, pocketing the phone. “It’s for the best, it was only going to get worse and it’s too early for that.”
Luffy laughed opposite. “Sanji’s hilarious and you should taste his cooking! He’s a professional chef!”
“Well, I probably won’t because this was a one-time thing. Now you know it’s not your friends flat, there’s no reason to come back here.”
“But how will we pay you your money?”
She bit her lip until a lightbulb went off over her head. He almost had her there but alas. “I’ll give you my number, you can transfer the money.”
Luffy
This cat looks like you.
[Picture of an orange cat]
Nami
This is not why I gave you my number.
Nami
Have you sent the money yet?
Luffy
Not yet!
Nami
Any idea when?
Luffy
As soon as I have it :)
Luffy
Now look at this…
Luffy’s typing…
Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance and something told her she wouldn’t be getting that money. At this point, it was less about the money but trying to soothe the sour taste in her mouth. She always got the better of people and yet in this situation, not only had she fed two strangers for free apparently but also given out her number.
Maybe if she just ignored him, he’d give up.
It just got worse.
She could count the number of times she’d chased them out of her apartment on her hand already. Already. They even greeted her causally in the morning now, like they belonged there!
They’d given her a false illusion of peace at the start of the first weekend, she hadn’t seen hide or hair of them Friday evening into Saturday morning, only for that to be shattered when she woke up to them on her sofa Sunday morning. They’d looked cosy, spread out across the pillows and she’d taken great satisfaction in smacking her spatula against the pan. Zoro had grumbled, scrubbing the sleep out of his eyes but Luffy shook it off quickly following her into the kitchen and filling her in on his week any without prompting.
Each time she chased them out of her apartment with a threat not to come back, they appeared the following weekend. They were brazen about it too, not an ounce of remorse as they greeted her in the morning and she’d never met such persistent people. Well, Luffy was persistent, she was pretty sure Zoro was either roped in or getting lost.
One weekend, she was sure, so sure, that she’d locked the window. She’d checked it multiple times through the evening and even wiggled it just to make sure the lock was strong and that it wouldn’t budge. It was the only window that led to the fire escape, so she wasn’t concerned about the other ones, unless they somehow managed to scale a building, but that sounded too skilled, even for them.
And yet the following morning, despite her efforts, there they were.
“Do you not have better things to do?”
“Nope, we wanted to see you!”
She was not flattered, she was not flattered, she was-
“How did you even get in?”
“Through the window,” Zoro chimed in like it was obvious.
Nami frowned. “It was locked.”
“Nope, opened right up,” Luffy said but she didn’t like the look on his face, guilt was written all over it and he wouldn’t look her in the eyes anymore.
She narrowed her eyes before turning to walk towards the window and low and behold, it wasn’t locked.
Anymore.
“Did you break the lock on my window?” She asked in horror.
“Luffy broke it!” Zoro replied automatically, finger pointed at Luffy beside him.
“I did not!”
“Liar! You’re both paying for this.”
“What? I didn’t break it, Luffy clearly did.”
“You were with him and said nothing!”
“It was Zoro’s idea to come here this time,” Luffy confessed, taking him down with him.
The outrage on Zoro’s face was only half funny.
They continued back and forth and whilst they would be replacing the lock, she couldn’t honestly say she was that angry.
Damn it.
It was the fifth week in a row and they were so far past déjà vu now as she stood before them whilst they were sprawled across the sofa, loudly snoring.
After waking them, she didn’t bother to lecture them. She wasn’t surprised anymore.
“I’m not getting rid of you, am I?”
“No and the more you fight it, the more determined he is,” Zoro informed her gravely.
Luffy cheerfully smiled.
He was a menace.
After that, the texting had picked up. It was like the final wall had been torn down and there was no point pretending anymore that they weren’t in her life. Some might say they were friends but she was sticking with begrudging acquaintances for as long as she could.
What had started with Luffy occasionally texting her, had snowballed into her waking up one morning before work to ‘You’ve been added to a group’.
A group which consisted of Luffy and Zoro. Zoro hadn’t even text her before now and to the best of her knowledge, she hadn’t given him her number and yet there he was.
Nami
Why am I here?
Luffy
Zoro owes you money too, right?
Luffy
Anyway
Zoro’s typing…
Luffy’s typing…
She never knew peace again.
They’d put a tracking device on her, there was no other explanation.
She had never seen them at her local supermarket before (even if she hadn’t known them back then, who could miss that tornado?) and yet, there they were. She’d turned down the aisle, ready to pick up some pasta for a meal later in the week and Zoro and Luffy were standing down the other end. It was like Luffy could sense her, because the moment she’d decided to just walk away, pasta be damned, his head had swivelled towards her. Like a honing device.
“Nami!” Luffy called in greeting, making it impossible for her to slope away into the background quietly.
“I’m starting to think you’re stalking me.”
Luffy laughed like she’d made a joke and Zoro grunted his hello to her.
Seeing as she was already caught and there was no escape, she went to get her pasta. Luffy trailed after her whilst Zoro appeared to be comparing rices.
“What are you doing for dinner?” Luffy asked.
“Something quick, probably a stir fry,” she replied without much thought, she had marking to do and a bottle of wine that paired with it beautifully. It might be sad to be doing that on a Friday night, but it was a ritual at this point and it meant she could enjoy the rest of her weekend guilt free.
Luffy grinned. “Hey Zoro, you want stir fry for dinner?”
Before she could bite out that it wasn’t an invitation, Zoro had shrugged out a “sure” after having not listened to their exchange. Luffy whooped, asking if she’d bought any spring rolls and, bewildered at the sudden change in her plans, she shook her head. Luffy turned, running down the aisle in search for spring rolls and Zoro came over, taking the basket from her hands and putting it in their trolley.
Huh, maybe he had been listening.
She should be arguing with them and on reflection later on, she’d plead her case that she was still stunned but for now she couldn’t help but focus on- “Why do you even have a trolley?”
He had some rice, meat and a case of beers. It was pitiful.
“Luffy likes to get in.”
Something Luffy then demonstrated for her not even ten minutes later, spring rolls in hand like a baton and urging her to get in with him. When no one was around, Zoro would then run them down the aisle and Luffy made exaggerated car sounds which caused her to ugly snort. It encouraged him to do it even louder and it might have been the most fun she’d ever had shopping.
And later on, after a loud, messy (and enjoyable) dinner, a stark contrast to her quiet evenings, when the dishes had been washed up, she couldn’t recall how it’d happened. Them or the evening, she wasn’t sure. But there they were, all three of them squashed together on her sofa with some action movie Zoro had wanted to watch. School marking was a distant thought and the last time she’d looked, it’d been close to midnight.
She’d woken up the next morning with the sun glaring through the window, Luffy’s head a dead weight on her lap and Zoro’s arm around her shoulders. They were both snoring and somehow, she couldn’t imagine liking the silence anymore.
They were her friends. At this point, they might even be her best friends with all the time they spent together. She knew that, they knew that and they knew that she knew that. Maybe her resistance had just been stubbornness that was coming from finally being bested by someone and then actually liking them. She knew she could have kicked them out, blocked their number, called the police and if she had, they would have left well enough alone.
Yet she hadn’t, nor was going to.
Which was why, when she’d received a text from Luffy saying they were going to the pub and that she could meet Usopp and Sanji, she’d asked what time. Her lesson planning could wait another day.
“Nami, over here!” Luffy called, hand waving frantically like she’d actually be able to miss him, voice carrying over the murmur in the pub. It was surprisingly packed for a place where there were bars over the window.
Luffy hadn’t mentioned Zoro was coming but just from knowing them and how they came together like a package deal, she wasn’t surprised as she sat in the empty space next to him in the booth. She was surprised, however, when he slid a glass of wine towards her. It was one of her favourites.
“Believe me, you’ll need it,” Zoro supplied in lieu of a greeting.
Before she could ask what he was talking about, there was a loud clatter and a smooth voice talking over the hum of the pub.
“Oh beautiful angel sent from above, I’ll count my blessings that you were brought to me.” The man before her was on one knee in a dramatic display with blond shaggy hair and an unlit cigarette hung from the corner of his lips.
Based on the way he spoke and the sound of his voice-
“You must be Sanji,” she purred, winking at him.
He cupped his hands over his heart, like he’d been shot and he might just be the most ridiculous man she’d ever met. She laughed, amused nevertheless. He would be fun to be around.
“It’s music to my ears that you remember me and you’re even more gorgeous than I could have imagined.”
“Pathetic,” Zoro sneered from over his beer.
Sanji deflated immediately, rounding on Zoro and that was her opportunity to introduce herself to Usopp.
They’d settled down when Zoro and Sanji had been separated, although, based on the vicious looks on their faces, they might be trying to kick one another under the table. Usopp looked like he’d been caught in the crossfire as his eyes watered and she glared at them both to stop it.
They were a funny group, loud with laughter and banter thrown around which no one was safe from. She hadn’t been too concerned after already knowing Luffy and Zoro but it was still nice that there had been no ice to break. She’d slotted in quickly and it felt like she’d always been a part of their group.
They chatted back and forth and it was only when Sanji asked what she did for work, that she realised she had no idea what Luffy and Zoro did. In all honesty, they spoke about everything and anything but nothing factual. She’d already known about Sanji’s job but as for the others, Usopp worked at a mechanic shop, Luffy was a part time firefighter and Zoro worked at a gym. It made a lot of sense to her. How Luffy was all energy, surprisingly strong for his wiry frame and Zoro was a wall of muscle.
It was nice getting to know Luffy’s and Zoro’s other friends instead of just hearing about them from their group text or stories. Although she’d hit it off with Sanji quickly (to the surprise of no one), she also liked Usopp. Whilst he had a penchant for telling tall tales, he was at least outraged at the other’s antics with her and was easy to get along with. He was as normal as someone could be in a group like this, which was why, when he went up to get the next round, she offered to help. She wouldn’t mind stretching her legs either.
“How did you guys meet?” She asked conversationally after the drinks had been ordered and they were waiting.
“I met Luffy at the zoo of all places, we were both in the beetle section.” Usopp shook his head as he continued, “I met Zoro shortly after when I helped Luffy find him. He’d wondered off and had made it all the way to the elephant section! Between Luffy’s small attention span and Zoro’s lack of direction, I don’t know how they function as a couple.”
She stilled. “They’re together?”
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, they didn’t mention it?”
Why hadn’t they told her? It’s not like it was important but… “No, they didn’t.”
Her stomach knotted in a way she didn’t know what to do with
She tried to ignore the sting; it was silly. And it was silly. They were friends, best friends, and it hurt they hadn’t said anything. That was why. And so what if she’d maybe found them attractive, it didn’t matter. Friends could appreciate good looks; it didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t like she had a crush on them or anything and even if she did, she wouldn’t do anything. They were best friends and it was hardly like she could be with both of them, nor was she interested in any childish love triangle. That was for teenage novels only.
She looked back over at them at the table and now it made sense. How they were always together and it was her fault for assuming they lived together as friends.They were casual but it was there, Zoro currently had his arm around the back of Luffy’s chair with Luffy leaning into him.
She felt like a fool.
“Are you okay?” Usopp looked at her, concern over his face and she’d been quiet for a moment too long.
Their drinks had been made and were waiting for them on the bar.
“Yeah, I’m fine-” she grabbed two drinks “-let’s go.”
They returned back to the table and she pushed that piece of information from Usopp to the back of her mind. She would think about it later. Maybe. For now, she didn’t want to dampen her evening.
It was long forgotten by the time she went to the toilet and on her way, she noticed the bar was getting livelier the longer they were there for. There were groups of people smattered around; some were having drinking contests, others playing darts or snooker and one group of men close to the bar were playing poker.
On her way back, someone at a table she was close to called out, “Oi, girlie, you want to play?”
And when she looked, there was no mistaking it was her they were speaking to. “What are you playing?”
“Poker,” the man replied simply.
She just couldn’t help herself. She bit down her smile. “Oh, I don’t know how to play, I don’t want to slow you down,” she said shyly, feigning innocence.
He took the bait beautifully and she didn’t miss the way his gaze looked her up and down. “Take a seat, we’ll show you.”
She sat daintily and watched in mock wonder as the red-haired man dealt the cards with speed, throwing in a few tricks as he did. He smirked arrogantly at her and introduced himself as Kidd. The man next to him with long blonde hair was Killer and he went around the table introducing each person at the table. She wondered if she’d made the right move sitting with them with names like theirs but it was too little too late now.
Kidd dished the cards out and, true to his word, he explained the rules. It was rough around the edges and something told her he wouldn’t be doing it again but that was fine, she’d followed along easily enough. It wasn’t hard when you already knew the rules.
Kidd’s eye flicked behind her and his grin curled. “Got your boyfriend to protect you?”
She looked over her shoulder to see who he was talking about and it seemed that Zoro had moved over to the bar behind their table. She had no idea when or why but he was nursing a new beer with his back to them. He did look over his shoulder to give Kidd a look though.
She ignored the sting at the reminder of his relationship status and instead, she sent Zoro a wink when he looked at her, before turning back to Kidd. Eyes lidded, she leaned forward, drawing attention to her cleavage. “I can look after myself just fine.”
Kidd barked a laugh, not even being subtle in the way he looked at her cleavage. “‘Course you can. We’ll do a practise round to show you we don’t bite.” His smile turned nasty. “Well, not in cards anyway.”
She snorted, which only seemed to egg him on.
They played a practise round with no money involved and she asked the obvious questions, nodding along as they explained. After that, they still went easy on her, letting her win a few times and she threw a few rounds, just to build the façade and feed their egos.
Kidd had made his interest in her perfectly clear, sometimes painfully so, but she’d played it coy, teasing him without saying too much. All the while, Zoro stayed sat at the bar quietly, occasionally observing. She hadn’t had a moment to ask why he was there or what the others were up to.
“Right, I’ve had enough coddling. I’m a big girl and can take a loss, let’s go,” she demanded, ready to clean up and get back to her friends.
Kidd gave her an appraising look, although Killer seemed cautious, even with his fringe covering his eyes. He didn’t say anything though.
The cards were reshuffled and distributed.
She kept up the façade of concentration, furrowing her eyebrows at each new card before purposefully trying to smooth her eyebrows to seem collected. They went around the table a few times; the pot being raised and members of the group folding out but she stayed steady.
Fate was on her side when it was just her and Kidd facing off against one another and she had to do her utmost to keep it from her face.
She bit her lip, like she was thinking about it, before announcing, “All in.”
He leaned forward, intrigued and smirked. “Ballsy, I like it. You sure though?” She gave him a fierce look and he held his hands up. “Well, if you lose but you ask nicely, I might just let you off the hook, dollface.”
“I think I’ll be okay, I’m a big girl after all.” She winked at him, finally allowing her smile to grow as she placed her hand down on the table. “Royal flush.”
He looked stunned, as did his friends around the table. His cards fell to the table to show an impressive hand, just not as impressive as hers and it was the moment she’d been waiting for. When arrogance turned into disbelief. His eyes flickered back to her, taking in her smug expression and she watched the moment the penny dropped for him.
“You played us!” His tone now accusing and caustic and all the heads at the table swivelled to her. It was a 180 from his previous mood and apparently, his attraction to her wouldn’t be enough to get her off the hook. She was already thinking about how to make a hasty retreat - cash in hand of course.
Behind her, Zoro was already on his feet and maybe now she understood why he’d moved to the bar. Whilst she’d faced worse on her own (something she was struggling to recall when looking at the group of angry men before her), it was nice to have someone to back her up.
Or people to back her up. Plural.
Luffy came barrelling in, breaking the tension along with it. “Jaggy, you met Nami,” he said, oblivious and swinging an arm around her shoulders. The childish name was misplaced against someone like Kidd.
Kidd was eyeing the three of them; from Luffy’s arm around her shoulder, Zoro at her elbow and Nami sandwiched between them. Like he was trying to work them out. Instead of addressing that, he settled on growling, “Strawhat.”
“Seems Nami’s rather good at cards,” Sanji interjected, strolling over to them. “She got the best of you.”
Luffy cackled, only adding to Kidd’s bad temper and taunted, “She got you good!”
“No hard feelings, right boys?” She teased, winking and picking up as much of the cash as she could. It she knew anything about men and their egos, it didn’t take much to bruise them.
“Don’t antagonise them,” Usopp loudly whispered, the last to be drawn over to the commotion.
“Well, it’s been fun but I think I’m going to call it an early night.” She fake yawned, the cash now gone from the table.
“I don’t think so,” Kidd disagreed, low and sharp.
They were at a stalemate and from what her quick eye could work out, they were outnumbered by Kidd’s friends.
“Well, if you ask nicely, I might let you off the hook,” Nami cheeked, ignoring his thunderous expression and feeling comfortable surrounded by her friends, even if the odds may not be in her favour.
Even Zoro couldn’t help but guffaw at that and it was probably the proudest she’d ever seen him look.
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect for Kidd and his severely frayed nerves. All it had taken for the atmosphere to crack was for a heavily tattooed bar goer nearby who had been watching to heckle Kidd and then the first beer bottle was thrown. Before she knew it, a bar fight had erupted and it probably hadn’t helped when Luffy had decided to flip the table amidst the chaos.
Yet all she could do was laugh as she was carried out on Luffy’s shoulders, the others close behind as Kidd’s cussing faded into the distance.
Now that she’d been introduced to Sanji and Usopp and apparently passed with flying colours based on the way she was added to the group chat, she’d expected hers with Luffy and Zoro to die a death. Afterall, she was in the main group chat, why would a couple in a relationship want to have one with just her when they could speak to all of their friends in the same place.
Well, that was what she’d thought, anyway. It turned out that she was wrong and she wasn’t too upset about it. She liked Usopp and Sanji and the group chat with the five of them was fun but it wasn’t the same.
She was happy nothing had changed but she was also confused. It’d taken her a while to put her finger on it but she finally had.
Zoro and Luffy were a couple and nothing had changed.
The three of them lived in each other’s pockets and the amount of time they spent with each other had only increased as the time had passed and hurdles had been cleared. At the weekends, they had no need to break into her apartment anymore because more often than not, she would be with them. Whenever they were together, even if all five of them were hanging out, when she got up to leave, Luffy and Zoro would come with her. It was unspoken and at first, she’d thought they were just walking her home, but then they came in, settled on her sofa and before she knew it, the three of them had fallen asleep.
The only times they did break in was during a weekday and she didn’t even bother locking her window anymore. Once, she’d come back from the toilet to them on her sofa and all she’d done is scold them for changing the channel.
It was odd, because she had no idea how Luffy and Zoro spent any downtime together.
They were protective too, in their own ways. Briefly, she’d worried about going back to the bar because whilst Kidd may have shown interest in her, that didn’t mean anything after she’d hustled him. In a surprising twist, he wasn’t all that angry after he’d calmed down and if anything, he enjoyed the challenge she presented. Yet when he got that step too close or said something over the line, Luffy was there to wind Kidd up or Zoro was offering a drinking contest and diffuse the tension.
And she was in too deep.
Because she missed them when they weren’t around and she was jealous that they lived together. Not because she was jealous about wanting to be in a relationship herself or that she wanted to be with one of them, but because she wanted to be with both of them. She’d never felt that way before. Sure, she’d been in relationships and appreciated if someone else was attractive but she’d never wanted to be with more than one person at the same time.
And it wasn’t just in a friend way.
They were both attractive, in their own ways that apparently appealed to her. Luffy was high energy, with a megawatt smile and kind eyes. Along with his little scar and carefree attitude, he was a cute. And he made her feel young and special. They could talk for hours about everything and nothing. It could be deep, the way he’d cut through any insecurities with his blunt statements, and it could be light, when he suggested silly, random games at any hour of the day.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was Zoro. With his deep grumbling voice and attitude to match, anyone would think he was nothing but serious yet he surprised her to no end when he went along with Luffy’s silly games, ideas or chatter. He’d pretend he wasn’t listening until he’d regurgitate the information later like it was nothing and if you needed him, he was there without a question. Whilst Luffy was all wiry, Zoro was buff, from broad shoulders, scars littered over his body from his younger days and serious expression. He portrayed a macho persona but really, he was just as much of a dork, if not more than Luffy.
And the three of them just worked. No one was left out, they moved like magnets, pushing and pulling and balancing one another out.
They were best friends and she was screwed.
She had feelings for the both of them and she didn’t want anything to change.
So, she pushed everything down as tightly and as firmly as she could. She’d go along with the flow and try not to ruin anything.
Even if she did occasionally look at their lips when they spoke. She was only human.
She was doing the best she could.
It was a Friday evening and she was bored. Before Luffy and Zoro, she would’ve relished a quiet evening; maybe put on a face mask, opened a bottle of wine and done some lesson planning if she was behind. Now, her flat felt too big and her sofa too spacious. She found herself missing the noise, how Luffy couldn’t sit still unless engrossed, Zoro snoring when he fell asleep during a film and the three of them squashed on her too small sofa because no one would sit on the floor.
When her phone chimed, she did not scramble to see who it was and maybe hope that Luffy had called in sick and that him and Zoro would be coming over.
It wasn’t that, but it was close.
Zoro
What you up to?
Nami
Thinking about putting on a film. You?
Zoro
Want to hang out?
She snorted to herself as his lack of tact and his brisk way of texting, but she was also a bit surprised. Zoro hardly ever text first and they had never hung out without Luffy. Apart from when they drank together at the bar, they hadn’t really been alone with one another for extended periods of time. She wasn’t opposed to it at all but she wondered if it’d be awkward, even if she did like him.
Nami
Sure. Where are you? Will you manage making it to mine?
Zoro
Yes I will!
No he wouldn’t but it’d be entertaining at least.
Nami
Unless you want to break into another apartment and get arrested?
Nami
And no, I will not bail you out. You’re not good for the money
Zoro
Maybe I’ll make more friends. Worked with you, didn’t it?
Nami
You’re lucky you didn’t get a pan to the face
Nami
Besides, you need Luffy to pull that off, without him you look like a serial killer
Zoro
You got any beer?
She imagined him grinding his teeth as he changed the subject.
Nami
Two bottles enough? I’m drinking wine tonight
Zoro
How big?
Nami
The ‘decent’ size, according to you
Zoro
I’ll be there in 10
Nami
Use Google maps like I showed you!
Zoro
I’m not a child! I knew of Google maps before you!
Like hell he did. If he did, he wouldn’t get lost half as much.
It was closer to thirty minutes when he arrived but she spared him any teasing, his red face told her enough. She opted to greet him, stepping aside to let him in and he grunted his hello. He moved into the kitchen with such ease she couldn’t help but shake her head at.
She settled on the sofa and whilst she waited for him to come back, she flicked through her planner, selecting a reality programme she’d recorded.
“I thought you said you were putting a film on?” Zoro asked, the kitchen door closing behind him and he settled onto the sofa next to her.
She shrugged. “I said I was thinking about it but I need to catch up before the final.”
“This is such trash; how can you stand to watch it?”
“And that’s what makes it so good! Besides, you have free beer so shush.”
“Oh, so it is free?”
“This time if you keep quiet.”
They descended into silence, Zoro nursing his beer, reluctantly watching the screen and she’d forgotten about the wine. She watched with rapt attention as one of the roommates confronted the other. An argument broke out between the two women and of course, one of the men attempted to diffuse the situation, only to be turned on when it was clear he’d known all along.
From the corner of her eye, she watched as Zoro slowly leaned in, going from casually bored to casually (at least attempting to be) interested.
He’d even stopped drinking the beer, eyebrows furrowing as he watched them go back and forth.
Then the bomb hit.
“Why did he kiss her!?” He exclaimed in disbelief.
She had to bite down on her ‘told you so’, it’d only make him defensive and she wanted to store it away to use later.
“Right? Him and that other girl entered the villa together and he threw it all away to kiss her and she’s already ruined two other relationships!”
Whilst the people on the screen went in circles arguing, she filled him in on what had happened since the series had started. The fights, the couples that had come in together and since swapped and it might be the most questions he’d ever asked.
The scene changed and they both descended back into silence, only occasionally making remarks or jabs back and forth until the teaser for the next episode came up.
“Is there any more?”
“No, we have to wait until next week. I’ll record it for you.” She caught herself a moment later, realising how presumptuous that was. “Or I can give you the name of the programme,” she added, trying to save herself.
“If I’m not here next week, record it. Can’t watch it with Luffy, he hates them.”
“So did you half an hour ago.”
He gave an obligatory huff but didn’t argue. “He hates them more than me. Something about the dishonesty of them.”
She considered it and supposed it made sense; he was very straightforward.
Both of their phones lit up with a text at the same time, which meant it could only be one person.
Luffy
Work’s boring, what are you guys doing?
“He’ll be cranky when he finds out we’re hanging out without him.”
Whether it was childish or not, she couldn’t resist pulling her camera up and taking a selfie. She threw up a peace sign with her hand, Zoro in the background, having only just realised what she was doing at the last moment, with a raised eyebrow.
Nami
[Image of Nami and Zoro on her sofa]
His response was instant.
Luffy
That’s so unfair :((((((
Luffy
Who said you could hang out without me?
Luffy’s typing…
“See, told you.” Although he sounded more amused than anything.
“If only I could have been a fly on the wall when he got the picture.”
“He’s pouting, I’d put money on it.”
“If you have money to spare, you can pay me what you owe.” She didn’t have to look to know he was rolling his eye.
Nami
How much longer have you got of your shift?
Nami
You can come round too after
Luffy
Okay!!!
Luffy
I only have about 45 minutes left
“He’ll be unbearable for the people at the station now. They’ll probably let him go early.”
“Well, we still have some time and there’s another programme I’m watching that you’ll like.”
“Get it ready, I’ll grab the other beer,” he said, moving off the sofa.
“Get me the bottle of wine in there too!” She called just before the kitchen door closed.
True to Zoro’s words, thirty minutes later Luffy was enthusiastically knocking at her door, practically bursting through it when the door started to open and almost knocked Zoro off his feet. Zoro bit his head off until Luffy wrapped him up in a hug, squeezing him, which he then gave her before flopping down onto the sofa.
The TV was forgotten as Luffy loudly spoke over it, telling them about his shift and making them fill him in on what he’d missed.
In the morning, she stirred when she felt the sofa suddenly give and she cracked her eye to watch Zoro get up. He stretched, arms above his head and her eyes naturally dropped to the exposed skin of his abdomen, the start of his happy trail in view. He hadn’t noticed her as he leaned over to kiss the top of Luffy’s head goodbye and she couldn’t ignore the way her stomach twisted. It was the first time she’d seen either of them do something like that.
He caught her eye as he told her, “I have a PT session this morning but I’ll be done after. Let me know what you’re doing and I’ll come meet you.”
Luffy’s hands burned on her waist, his breath hot on her neck and she felt the urge to squirm away. It felt wrong. She felt guilty, even if he didn’t look bothered.
“Sure, I’ll let you know if Luffy’s still here.”
Zoro gave her a funny look but she couldn’t make it out, he wasn’t very expressive to begin with so it wasn’t an easy task. He schooled it quickly before nodding, leaving afterwards.
It was only five minutes later and Luffy was awake, beaming up at her. His smile was infectious and it was hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach seeing it up close.
“Can we make pancakes?” He asked, eyes practically twinkling and even if she didn’t want to, she wouldn’t be able to tell him no.
“You mean, can I make pancakes?” She corrected.
“I can make pancakes!” He argued.
“Yeah, if you want egg shells in them.”
“You’re just picky, Zoro eats them.”
“I’ve also seen Zoro eat food off of the floor.” Her stomach rumbled and she smiled down at him. “Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg,” she challenged, mirth in her tone.
Luffy laughed loudly, despite the way she dumped him on the floor in a heap and sprung up to chase after her. Her fingertips just grazed the door before her feet left the floor and he spun her, the walls blurring past her. She cackled, ugly wheezes coming out as she tried to fight her way free and he backed them into the kitchen to make sure she lost.
And later on, when Zoro was finished, he came back to her apartment, sweaty and stinking, still in his gym gear. She nagged him to shower before they met up with Usopp and Sanji, taking his old clothes to wash like his mother. It wasn’t until the following day that she realised he’d left them as she took them out of the dryer. For safekeeping, she put them in a spare draw and somehow, over time, the pile of clothes steadily grew until they had a draw each.
No one said anything about it.
Things settled for her after that. She just figured they were tactile people, which was surprising considering Zoro of all people but maybe it was just Luffy’s influence. An arm over the shoulder was common, a hug easily dished out (more from Luffy in all fairness) and she’d quickly got over waking up with Luffy’s breath on her neck. She’d done it more than enough to Zoro and no one had battered an eyelid.
They were her best friends and they were inseparable.
Which was why they were together having a movie night on Friday evening. It’d been a busy week; her students had been especially rowdy with the half term coming up and she was counting down the days.
Although it felt like she was with her class now as the two men before her frowned up at her in defiance.
“It’ll feel good,” she persuaded.
“But it’s so girly!” Luffy argued, arms crossed and looking at her warily.
“You won’t be saying that when you’re wrinkly at thirty. Don’t you want people to find you attractive?”
“They should like me for me.”
It was the genuineness of his sentence that caught her tongue. She should have known better to use that angle. It was more likely to work on Sanji than anyone else.
“Just trust me, you’ll like it,” she pleaded, bringing out her practised pouty face. She could see Zoro cracking but Luffy was the king of puppy faces. So, “I’ll let you use my bra so you can shoot water balloons at those kids.”
“Yes!” He crowed, folding in under a second.
She’d caught him a few weeks ago digging through her underwear draw and had been outraged until he’d told her why. Some of the neighbouring children opposite had taunted that he couldn’t hit them and he’d been begging ever since.
In all honesty, she didn’t know why she cared that much, she was still doing him a favour.
She hadn’t thought about how intimate it would be as she put the face mask on him. Like hell she was letting him dip his fingers in it and he’d probably use too much too. He looked up at her the whole time, staring at her face blankly, yet it was intimidating to be under the glare of it. It was over quickly and she laughed lightly at his green face looking back at her.
Unfortunately, Zoro looked apprehensive again and she pursed her lips before offering, “I’ll knock off some money.”
His eye narrowed. “How much?”
“A tenner.”
He huffed. “That’s barely anything.”
She shrugged. “It’s still something.” He should be grateful really.
“Fine.”
Zoro at least had the decency to close his eye as she put it on and his skin was soft considering she knew he didn’t look after it.
“Let me do you!” Luffy demanded, hand reaching out to the pot.
She choked, eyes flitting to Zoro who looked unphased.
“Fine, but I’ll give you the amount.”
Her cheeks warmed as he put it on, despite the clumsy application and that he almost got some in her eye.
Half an hour later, she was ushering them into the bathroom to wash it off and Luffy wouldn’t stop touching his skin after she’d plied some moisturiser on the two of them.
“Oh, it’s so soft!”
“Right! It’s nice, isn’t it? And if you keep it up, your skin will always be soft and feel nice.”
Zoro had been quiet as he trailed after them.
“Zoro?” She prompted, looking over her shoulder.
“It’s fine,” he said with a shrug and that was his own seal of approval if she’d ever heard it. Especially as when he thought no one was looking, he rubbed his cheek.
They settled down after that and the way they piled onto her sofa was a routine. Zoro took an end, his arm stretching out on the back of the sofa and feet kicked out. Nami was in the middle this time, legs outstretched over Zoro’s lap and she leaned against Luffy, who was cross legged.
They didn’t do a movie night every Friday but when they did, they took it in turns to pick the film, just to avoid any arguing. And by that, she meant that if there wasn’t a system, she would be forced to sit through back-to-back action films because Zoro and Luffy wouldn’t pick anything else. But she’d seen both of them engrossed in her romcoms, regardless of what they may say.
“I gotta take a leak,” was Zoro’s eloquent way of asking them to pause the film and she moved her legs to let him up.
Luffy filled the silence whilst Zoro was in the toilet, telling her an old funny story with Usopp.
And she didn’t know what had caused the shift, but she watched it happen as time slowed down. One second, she was still telling him about what one of her students had done which he’d been laughing along to and then he was looking down at her warmly, eyes flicking across her features, unable to settle. She was aware of how close they were and how warm his arm was against her bare one. It was intimate, far too intimate for best friends and the once light atmosphere thickened.
Her voice trailed off when he leaned in, no hesitation as his lips met the corner of her mouth and she should be pulling away but she froze instead.
He lingered, lips surprisingly soft and pulled away easily, with no apprehension. Her rounded eyes met his and he looked back at her blankly. It infuriated her how he could do that. Zoro’s was calculated, practised over time whilst Luffy’s was so natural.
She was speechless but her heart was trying its hardest to climb up her throat.
She was saved from having to say anything when there was a creak behind her but that plummeted when she saw Zoro leaning against the doorframe frowning heavily.
Her stomach sunk; everything was ruined.
She should have pulled away. She should have made someone sit on the floor so they weren’t so close. She should have set tighter boundaries.
“Zoro, it’s not what it-”
“Damn it Luffy, we said we were going to wait!” He interrupted; gaze focused on Luffy beside her.
Her eyebrows flew up. What?!
“What?!”
They’d talked about this? What even was this?
“I didn’t want to wait anymore.” Luffy shrugged in response.
There was a pause until, “Yeah alright.” Zoro relented all too easily, moving back to his previous seat beside her on the sofa like nothing had happened.
“Wait, what? I don’t-” she cut herself off, looking between the two of them who returned her gaze with confusion. “You and him-? But I?” She finished flustered and her face was beat red, she could feel it.
Sick of feeling like a bobble head, she moved to sit on the coffee table opposite and face them both. Which may have been a mistake as they looked at her blankly and she was too embarrassed to be angry at their lack of explanation.
“But you’re both together?”
“Yeah,” Zoro affirmed, Luffy nodding the other side of her.
“What do you mean ‘yeah’? You’re together and Luffy kissed me, shouldn’t you be angry?”
Luffy pipped up then, “Well, I want to kiss Zoro and I want to kiss you.”
She choked on her spit at his blunt statement.
“Isn’t it the same for you?”
“Huh?”
“Do you want to kiss me and Zoro?” He asked, looking her dead in the eye, not an ounce of embarrassment.
Good grief, how did he do that?
“I mean, yeah, I suppose-”
“Zoro?” Luffy asked, cutting her off.
He shrugged. “That’s the basics, yeah.”
Luffy looked at her expectantly.
“But it’s not that simple!”
He pouted. “Why isn’t it?”
“…I-”
She was speechless.
She was flabbergasted.
And like a child prodigy from the films she’d watched, the equations pieced themselves together before her very eyes.
She had her lightbulb moment.
What they’d been doing all this time was never normal for just friends, even best friends. That was why it never sat right with her. Why, when in the dead of the night when it was just her thoughts and their snores, she wondered that if she ever dated someone, how the other person would ever be okay with the three of them.
“… We’ve been dating for ages, haven’t we?”
Luffy only laughed in return and Zoro replied, “Took you long enough.”
Nothing had changed.
Although it’d taken Nami a bit longer to wrap her head around it after getting together with them, nothing had changed. They still did their food shopping together, squeezed themselves on her too small sofa and lived in each other’s pockets. The only difference now was that when she looked at their lips, she could actually follow through and kiss them. And when they kissed, she didn’t get that tight feeling anymore, she felt warmth with the knowledge it was the three of them.
It was another Saturday when they’d gone out drinking, the five of them at the local pub and the addition of Nami to Luffy and Zoro’s relationship was common knowledge. Usopp hadn’t batted an eye and Sanji was as okay as he could be (“Blink twice if you’re being held against your will” “You’ll be the first to know, Sanji”). Apparently, Luffy and Zoro had made their intentions well known since the beginning, something Zoro grumbled about with pink stained cheeks. They turned bright red when Nami teasingly cooed and kissed his cheek.
After a night of laughing and maybe winding up Kidd with who could win at darts, the five of them left as the bar closed. It was a pleasant night, the cool chill just enough to make her shiver and Luffy insisted on holding and swinging their hands on the way back.
They said their goodbyes to Sanji and Usopp when they got to the apartment block and Nami wished they’d fix the elevator as she sluggishly climbed the stairs but she was soon in front of her flat. She could almost feel the warmth and the comfort of her sofa underneath her as she dug around for her keys.
Keys that she couldn’t find.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s wrong?” Luffy asked, trying to peer around her into her bag
No, no, no, this was not happening.
“Hold the bag,” she told Luffy, all but throwing the bag into his hands and he scrambled to catch it.
“Oi, what’s the hold up? I need to pee,” Zoro griped from behind them.
She ignored him, focusing on rummaging through her bag and why did she cram so much into this thing? When rummaging wasn’t working, she started pulling things out, shaking them at Zoro until he held them. Lipstick. Phone. Purse. Cookies. Tissues. Hairbands. Hair clip. Hand sanitiser. Mints. Crisps. Wet wipes. Perfume.
It was empty.
There were no keys in her bag.
With her head hung, she admitted, “I forgot my keys.”
“Oooooh, not so easy, is it?” Zoro taunted.
Luffy laughed, looking far too smug for his own good.
She levelled them with a glare. “If either of you two say another word, I’ll leave you for dead outside.”
“We’d just go to curly-cooks.”
“Yeah, because that’s worked so well for you in the past.”
Luffy slipped his arm around her shoulders all chummy as he told her like it was a secret, “Don’t worry, I know another way in.”
She was going to die tonight.
She looked up at the building and why did she live so many floors up? Why hadn’t she thought about this before she’d moved in? 1A had been available at the same time and whilst it would have made her life easier (especially right now), it wasn’t as big and she preferred the layout of her current flat. Damn her for having good taste.
She hadn’t even climbed the ladder yet but her life was already flashing before her eyes.
“Please can we just go to Sanji’s and Usopp’s?”
“You’ve never done this before?” Luffy cocked his head, ignoring her question. She’d already been denied and called a spoilsport once.
“No, I always remember my keys! I blame you two for this.”
“When don’t you,” Zoro grumbled from beside her, one arm behind his back.
“What did we do?” Luffy was stretching from the other side of her.
The cheek of them to be limbering up.
“You constantly get into trouble, it’s distracting.”
“We distract you, huh?”
Luffy waggled his eyebrows at her and that only made the warmth on her cheeks worse.
“How do you get the ladder down then?” She asked, looking at the ladder above them. It wasn’t down, it seemed like it was stuck halfway.
“You don’t,” Zoro replied, like that was a full answer.
“It’s stuck,” Luffy added, as if that was a better explanation.
She had too many questions but she focused on the most pressing. “So how do you reach it?”
She regretted everything. All her decision’s leading up to this but mainly forgetting her keys.
It turned out they’d already tried dislodging the ladder when they climbed in for the very first time, but it was well and truly stuck. So instead, Luffy would climb on Zoro’s shoulders which was enough of a boost to reach the ladder and then he’d hang so that Zoro could grab his hand.
They were idiots. Reckless idiots. And she had no idea why she was surprised anymore.
She was the idiot that was willingly in a relationship with the both of them.
Which was why she was currently stood on Zoro’s shoulders, him holding her ankles for stability and Luffy behind just in case she fell back. They may not care about their safety (she did it for the both of them) but at least they cared about hers.
“Can you reach?” Zoro called from below her.
Her fingers were skimming the metal of the first rung, just shy of it under her palm and in a moment of confidence, she jumped from his shoulders, ignoring his grunt as she did. She breathed a sigh of relief as her hands clamped around the metal.
“Now just pull yourself up,” Luffy shouted up.
Which was easier said than done. Good grief did she need to go to the gym, her arms and core burned as she heaved herself up just enough to reach the second rung, then the third and before she knew it, her feet were on the ladder.
“I’m coming up next,” Luffy called, clambering up Zoro and reaching the ladder with practised ease and she moved further up the ladder to make space.
She watched in sick fascination as he then hung from the ladder and Zoro leapt to catch his hand, heaving him up. How one of them hadn’t fallen was beyond her.
“Go ahead of Nami and I’ll stay behind her,” Zoro said to Luffy, nodding above her.
Except she had no idea how Luffy was meant to do that. She was ahead of him and like hell would she be doing anything other than gripping the ladder for dear life. That didn’t faze him though and if someone were to ask her to describe it later, it was like a monkey climbing a tree.
When it came to the hurdle of her on the ladder, he climbed around her, hands and feet on the very edge of the rungs. He came to a stop as he hovered over her.
“Fun, isn’t it?” He asked, craning to look at her, face splitting in glee.
“That’s not how I would describe this,” she said through gritted teeth.
He cackled and pressed a hurried kiss to her cheek before climbing over her.
It was only when he was above her, starting to climb up that the light bulb went off. “Wait, why doesn’t one of us climb up and then let the other two in through the front door?”
“That’s boring!” Luffy retaliated, not even looking back or slowing down.
“It’s basic safety!”
“You’re already half-way up the ladder now, no point turning back.” Zoro poked at her leg to get her moving again. “We wouldn’t let you fall anyway,” he tacked on, in a moment of kindness.
And really, it wasn’t that bad. The worst part was getting onto the ladder, after that it was just a case of following it up to her floor and then climbing in through the window.
Yet, when they were inside the safety of her apartment, it didn’t stop her from barking, “I’m getting a key cut for you two and one of us will carry it at all times. I am not doing that again.”
She felt like she’d run a marathon when she threw herself onto the sofa and Luffy had zero hesitation as he laid on top of her until she squealed that he would crush her. Zoro nudged her to make space and she sat up for him to sit before laying her head on his thigh.
And just like any other night, this is where they’d be sleeping if they stayed where they were for much longer. So she was not quite sure why she was breaking the pattern as she stood from the sofa and said, “Come on, no point messing our backs up anymore.”
Maybe it was because it was three in the morning, maybe the alcohol had finally caught up with her or maybe her near life threatening experience just a mere ten minutes ago.
“What?”
Her cheeks burned and she couldn’t look them in the eyes as she said, “You might as well sleep in my bed, we sleep out here anyway.” They stared at her and as the silence extended, she felt the urge to fidget.
“We’re together, aren’t we? Is it really that weird?” Her tone turning defensive and she felt like the blush would swallow her whole.
“Yes!” Luffy sprung to his feet, eyes bright and smile wide, his enthusiasm didn’t help either. “Let’s cuddle!”
He charged past her, barely pausing to hurriedly kiss her cheek as he rushed to her room.
All that was left in her lounge was her and Zoro and he looked far too smug for his own good. She narrowed her eyes at him, challenging him to say something and when he made a snide remark about cuddling, she vowed to do everything in her power to make sure she got him in the ribs at some point during the night.
Luffy had wasted no time, his top and shorts had been haphazardly thrown in his eagerness and he was under the sheets, looking at them expectantly.
“You’re not going to sleep until you’ve washed your face and brushed your teeth. I won’t kiss you until you have.”
And that did the trick.
“The same goes for you Zoro. I won’t let you sleep until you do,” she told him just as he peeled his top off and went to climb in bed.
She dug out spare toothbrushes and it was a domestic scene with the three of them in her bathroom, crowded around the sink. It made her feel fuzzy as she looked at the two of them. She then promptly kicked them out so she could change into her pyjamas and when she was done, they were both settled, waiting for her.
Zoro was half asleep when she came back, curled around Luffy and even Luffy looked tired as he blinked up at her, patting the space he’d made for her. The bed was a touch too small for the three of them and in the coming months, she’d need to look into that.
“G’night,” Zoro slurred at she clicked off the light and they returned the sentiment as Luffy cuddled up to her from behind.
“We can buy pyjamas for you tomorrow when we go food shopping,” Nami whispered drowsily, thinking about how it was the only thing missing from his allocated clothes draw. She wouldn’t bother with Zoro, he barely got himself dressed as it was.
“Only if they’re cool, nothing girly,” Luffy murmured.
She had no idea what the future held for the three of them, but right now, she couldn’t be happier that she hadn’t locked her windows.