Chapter 1: Dead Sea
Summary:
I know it’s short, I’m sorry brah 😔
Chapter Text
The hull of the ship groans as the pull of sea can concurrently be heard without aim. The gentle rocking of the ship fills her with a contentness that she indulged in more than she’d like to admit, as if she closes her eyes it almost feels like home, yet it’s too quiet to dream for long.
Sleep came easy to her when she was with them, she felt wholly tranquil—completely at peace. She felt like no matter what happened while she rested she’d still be safe at the end of it all— completely and utterly without harm, safe and tranquil.
She closed her eyes that burned with tire, then slowed her breathing and got into a more comfortable position, shifting to lay on her side.
Then silence, everything mix and muddled by the rambling of her mind was now stark, the loud crashing of waves, the light whistle of died out wind, and the sound of creaking.
Normally this would calm her nerves and soften her senses as it did on the sunny but as of right now it could do nothing but pile atop of her unease.
She suddenly groaned then rose from her sleeping position—she couldn’t sleep like this. The pit in her stomach wouldn’t go away, she couldn’t help but feel as if something bad was going to happen. She wanted to navigate the ship, she wanted to keep an eye on the sea to make sure nothing went awry.
Nervousness wracked her entire body, yet she sat in bed without making a move for the deck. He was right after all, she needed rest. She honestly hasn’t had a full night of rest in god knows when.
She couldn’t find ease, she didn’t trust him. Of course she knew he was trustworthy, she trusted him to a degree, if luffy trusted him so did she yet as she’s stuck in this little room she has an ineffable trepidation.
She let out a sigh, reaching her fingertips on the bandages upon her midsection, caressing them softly. “Go rest, you look like you’re ready to kneel over and die.” she had remembered him saying, his voice the same as always was— dry, stale, and lined with underlying exhaustion. She scoffed at this memory and fell backwards onto the mattress, he was right because of course he was, he was none other than the all mighty surgeon of death after all. She let out a groan, thinking about him was starting to irritate her again.
She ran hands over her face, that damn pit in her stomach still refused to cease.
Crashing of waves, unease of a woman, behest of a man, destination calling upon one’s name, complaining told to one’s self, boots upon metal—a dead night.
Chapter Text
She wakes up to three quick raps on the door, well the thing is that she doesn’t. Hours upon hours of not resting can do that to somebody, your body gives in to the pull of sleep—like a sailor does a siren song. Even if she didn’t want to fall asleep as if her life depended there’s nothing to stop a processing tide.
Three more raps, louder this time—the noise reverberating in his eardrums.
Nothing still.
He wasn’t going to enter her room, last time he did that, which was in fact only two days, she went completely hysterical. He felt a growing discomfort weighing down his chest then irritation at that feeling, his face scrunching in aversion to it.
Three more raps, at this point he was practically banging on the door. The growing suffocation of his suppressed exasperation was beginning to get to him. “Just how much of a deep sleeper was she…” he mumbled.
He sighed deeply, his patience was thin and they had things to do, he decided she would just have to suck it up and deal with him being in her space if this was the usual with her.
He threw open the door, his boots sounding against metal as he walked into the room. She was completely asleep, her body sprawled out and her blanket covered only half her body, the rest of it hanging off the bed onto the floor.
He stares, just stares. With all that banging on the door he did she didn’t look anything but serene. He mumbled something derided under his breath then walked the rest of the distance close to her bed.
“Nami!” He called out, leaning slightly forward.
He let out another sigh.
He then made a move to stand right by her bed, she would surely chew his head off for this but he most honestly couldn't care less.
“Nami!” He bellowed whilst shaking her shoulders.
She bolted up in disarray “what is it? What’s wrong?” Nami blurted out groggily, her eyes darting around the room.
Once her eyes landed on Law her face shifted into displeasure, the second she began to start her berating he spoke with dry sarcasm “Are you always this hard to rouse or is this new?”
Nami didn’t stop herself from glowering at him “I didn’t have much sleep last night.”
Law made a displeased face “I thought I told you to rest.”
Nami swung her legs over the bed, crossing them. “it’s not my fault i couldn’t fall asleep, need I remind you’re the one who pushed me to bed. If I can’t sleep I can’t sleep .” She bit back, her annoyance with him growing.
“You can’t be ready to fall over at every turn because you refuse to sleep. You’re hindering everything with the actions you pick— I don’t have time to take care of you.”
Nami blinked at him, her mouth parted like she might respond— yet nothing came. For a moment, the weight of his words just hung there in the stale morning air between them. She thought everything he said previous to this, he was right and that’s what she was so annoyed at, that everything he said, every point that he made was completely orthodox—she hated that he was completely right. She scoffed, low and bitter.
“Oh, don’t worry,” she said, standing from the bed, her voice sharper than before. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
Her bare feet hit the floor with a dull thud, the piercing cold of the metal stinging her bare feet, the sensation causing her more annoyance—she will never get used to that.
Her steps echoed as she walked over to her belongings sitting on a lone chair in front of a desk littered with maps and notes.
“I didn’t ask for your help, I’m fine on my own. I’m an adult, same as you, I know what I’m doing and the consequences that follow.” Nami said while pulling up her boots.
“You’re on my ship, hence now you're my problem. I have no choice but to see you’re not dying on me because of your own foolish decisions.” He said it like it was an unequivocal set rhetoric.
“I’m not your patient, traffy.” She retorted out with more bite then she intended, tightening her laces a little too tight simultaneously. “I don’t need your worrying, I’m alright as is so just leave it at that. You do yours and I’ll do mine, and that’s final.” She finished. Nami, no longer wishing to continue this conversation, made a move to leave, grabbing her oversized bomber jacket and walking out the door— “ then act like it damn it!” Law bellowed.
He pinched his brow, this whole situation felt so uncharacteristic of him, just what the hell was he thinking when he invited her on his ship? This woman was going to drive him mad.
He sighed, dragging a hand down his face.
“Fine, do what you want then.” He thought aloud, finally walking out of the room.
He reasoned there was no point to linger on rationality, he doesn’t know what his mind wanted anymore, besides he was stuck with her. Either way it's far too late to go back, They’re already there—the north blue.
Notes:
Nami may seem a little ooc to yall but it’s for the plot, the next chapter is gonna address it
Chapter 3: This feeling will pass - Take Care
Notes:
I’m very sorry for the long wait; I’ve been struggling with random bouts of depression (I might have bipolar disorder so yea.. 🥀) and haven’t found time to really write anything but I suppose a short chapter is still a chapter. I’ll work on writing a longer chapter next time but I hope this will suffice for now, lmao
Chapter Text
The fresh morning air blows on her as she looks through a pair of binoculars, dense fog obscuring her vision of up ahead.
Her brows were furrowed as she lowered the binoculars she held with grip which was more firm then needed.
“We should be arriving at the island up ahead in a few hours.” Law said walking on to the deck
“Mmm” Nami replied, acknowledging his words.
“It’s extremely foggy, keep an eye out.” Nami continued, handing the binoculars to him.
As she walks to the door her jacket flabs in the wind and her hair flows like the sails on an abandoned ship— stands of tangerine fluttering about without diction, just something pulled along by the wind.
Law said nothing about her early departure from the deck nor her clipped sentences; he just breathed in the fresh morning air and stared forward.
He let out a sigh whilst shaking his head—he can already tell this was going to be a shit show.
The door made a click as she shut it. she placed her back to the door staring down the long hallway. “That was awkward…”
Then a breath.
she pushed off the door, the soles of her shoes making sounds as she walked that echoed down the hall, the silence was thick and deafening— the type of silence that made a knot form in her stomach.
Water sloshes as she lifts one of her legs out of the tub, Droplets rolling up her calf to fall back into the bath, a little like how people return to the earth from which they came when they die— after all matter is never created but transformed, it’s all just an endless cycle—but I guess this is all too complexified a contrast for such a simple thing like a bath. It’s silly how the mind can be so dramatic.
She turns her leg in different no positions to see how the light hits her leg slick with water from each angle.
Her wound on her midsection stinged as she did this, the sensation a burning reminder of many things.
She dips it back in, the bathwater gently rippling, then drags her fingers through her wet hair—hearing only the sound of dripping water and her own breath.
The silence was loud—unbearable in all of its emptiness; This was something she wasn’t used to and quite frankly she’ll probably never get used to—it wasn’t the type of silence she’d be quick to take pleasure in as escape from the loudness of the Sunny. This silence was palpable and interminable—It was too weighty, too prolonged. It was something that followed her around in this ship no matter when or where akin to a shadow.
With such great stillness you begin to ruminate, and as time passes you critique every word you’ve said along with every action you took. With silence the mind will find ways to preoccupy itself, and what better way to do that but with mental warfare with oneself?
Nami rubbed her temples, all she wanted was peace of mind and yet she couldn’t help but think, “was I really in the right?”
She pulled the stopper, the drain making a sound as gravity pulls water through it
Better not to think.
Chapter 4: Update
Chapter Text
Hello everyone, I know that this is not a new chapter but I can explain I swearrrrr. I actually HAVE been working on a new chapter (only a little bit lowkey) but I came here to tell y’all that I will be sort of redoing this whole thing because I realized how shitty I did it before. I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go in at first but I finally figured it out (finally ho). But the goal for now is to come back with AT LEAST the addition of 5—10,000 words (don’t believe me yk I always lie about ts). For now and for reference I do have adhd without any meds so if you could please be patient with me my G I would appreciate that cause I got a lot going on, like I’m talking about I have to deal with all ts all while trying to survive school with my abundance of hobbies, hell nah just take me out already fam 😭. But fr tho why do I have so many bru, like wdym i draw, read, write (obv), play multiple instruments, and study various things like history, (especially that actually I fucking love history) science, and philosophy (my one and only true love fr ❤️🩹).
Anyways stay freaky, stay weird, and most importantly, stay corny— you were born on the cobb twin ❤️🩹✌️