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Nami is used to a certain kind of behavior from her crewmates, behavior that hasn’t changed too much during their time together. All that to say she’s genuinely, and pleasantly surprised to see that Sanji and Zoro aren’t trying to kill each other upon her return from port, and are instead sitting, practically on top of one another, just talking.
“You really think it’s time?” Sanji asks, almost too low to hear.
“We’ve kept it too long, they deserve to know.” Zoro replies the same way.
Nami clears her throat, sending the men scrambling away from one another, faces red like they’d just been caught in a scandal. Interesting.
“What’s this about deserving to know?” She asks, hoping for new blackmail material. To Nami’s surprise, both of them somehow turn more red at her question.
“We’ll tell you later, when everyone’s here.” Sanji squeaks, pushing to his feet and all but retreating from the room, mumbling something about making dinner.
Nami watches him go with a critical eye, then turns back to Zoro whose eye is shifting anywhere but her face. “So- what was that?” She asks, her tone teasing and light.
The swordsman looks like he’s about to jump out of his skin when addressed, jumping up to join in Sanji’s fleeing, he grumbles about helping the cook and pushes past her. Interesting.
Instead of moving to the galley to watch whatever those two have going on, Nami moves to the deck just in time to catch Usopp coming up the gangplank. She catches him before he can make it to the galley, pulling him aside to talk.
“Is something wrong?” Usopp asks with a confused glance toward the galley door.
Nami shushes him, pulling him further from the door, “Sanji and Zoro are acting weird.”
Usopp’s eyes narrow, “Weird how? Should we be concerned or-?”
“I’m not concerned, I'm confused! I caught them talking to each other earlier, they’re planning to tell us something once everyone’s back.”
“Something?”
Nami runs her hands over her face with a groan, “I don’t know! Zoro said something about us deserving to know, so it’s something big.” She pauses, thinking for a moment, “Oh my God, do you think they finally got together?!”
“That’s not a bad idea, but what if it’s something worse?”
“If it was worse they definitely would’ve told us before now, or at least Sanji would’ve.”
“So, you think they’re just going to tell us they’re together?”
“And you don’t? Come on Usopp, you’ve seen how they are, it’s only a matter of time and we both know it.”
Usopp groans, “Well I don’t think that’s what it is.” He says with all the confidence of a man who hasn’t seen what Nami has.
Seeing an opportunity, Nami grins. She’s fairly confident in what the outcome of the discussion will be, so much so she’s willing to bet money on it.
“Say Usopp, what do you say to a little wager?” Her smile widens with Usopp’s groan.
“Fine, but I’ve only got a hundred to spare.”
Her eyes light up at the thought, “Works for me.” She says quickly, sticking a hand out to seal the deal as Robin, Franky, and Chopper return from shore.
Robin doesn't question them outright, only regarding them with a questioning look as she and Chopper pass on their way to the library to put their purchases away. Franky lingers on the deck, balancing giant crates held on his shoulders.
“What’cha got, Franky?” Nami asks, leaning over the railing, completely ignoring the way Usopp splutters behind her.
Franky’s usual wide grin somehow grows even wider upon being addressed, “Cook-bro had me stock up on cola and the works.” He says, setting down the crates for Nami to come look.
She does just that, nearly tripping over her feet on the stairs down to the lower deck. Peering into the crates she sees an abundance of cola like Franky said, and a ton of alcohol, multiple bottles of different varieties.
“Uh Franky, did he really say he needs all this? It seems excessive, even for us.” Ussop says, peering over Nami’s shoulder.
“Dunno man, he said we were celebrating something, I didn’t question it, just got what he asked.” Franky says with a shrug, passing Nami a sheet of paper decorated with Sanji’s loopy handwriting.
Nami leans over to share the list with Usopp. Checking the list with the crates in front of her she finds everything there, and then some.
“Franky, this is double what Sanji asked for.”
“Well yeah,” Franky snorts, “Figured if it was a celebration we’d need a lot more, even if it’s just us.”
Nami groans, she hates to admit that he has a point, most of this will probably be going to Luffy and Zoro. “Right.” she pinches the bridge of her nose, “Where’s the last three? It’s getting late, and I’m sure dinner’s almost ready.”
Just as she says this, Nami hears the combined cackling of Brook and Luffy in the distance. Before they have time to react, Luffy crashes onto the deck, Brook and Jinbe right behind him.
“ Please tell me they didn’t do something stupid.” Nami pleads, leaning dramatically against Jinbe’s arm, smiling at the deep rumbling laugh he lets out.
“Rest assured, everyone made it back intact. Well, as intact as Brook can be.”
“Good! I’m not sure what we’re doing tonight, but we’re celebrating something, I’m expecting a fuck ton of food, we might need to head back into town for supplies before we leave.”
Jinbe nods just as Sanji shouts out the galley door that dinner’s ready and they’re eating on the lawn tonight. The suggestion is met with cheers that grow louder when everyone sees what their chef has prepared for the night.
Sanji has seriously outdone himself again, standing proudly behind an array of everyone’s favorite food. From onigiri for Zoro to a veritable mountain of meat for Luffy. Whatever they’re meant to be celebrating tonight, it means a lot to Sanji. Nami feels all the better about her odds for her bet with Usopp.
As always, Sanji makes sure everyone else has what they need before he settles down next to Zoro. Normally that would surprise Nami, Sanji willingly, happily, sitting next to Zoro; but she knows what she saw earlier, tonight is big for them.
Halfway through dinner, Sanji gets everyone’s attention by clearing his throat, “Alright everyone. I’m sure you’re wondering what we’re celebrating tonight?” His question is met with the half-drunken cheers of his crew.
He looks sheepish for a moment before continuing, “Well, I’m sure a few of you have figured it out, but Zoro and I have been in a relationship for a while now.”
The confession is met with louder cheers than before, Nami turns to Usopp with a wide smile, but they aren’t done.
Zoro quickly takes over when he recognizes Sanji becoming flustered with the attention, “That’s not it, we’re uh, engaged?”
That gets everyone’s attention, they crowd the couple, asking all kinds of questions that are either shouted or equally shouted over. After a good few minutes Zoro easily gets them all to back off and back into their seats.
“Fuckers acting like we’re dying.” He scoffs, rolling his eye as he plops back down next to Sanji.
“Bro, this is a big deal! How could you keep this from us?!” Franky wails, his voice warbled with sobs.
“We didn't know how you’d react.” Sanji murmurs, drawing everyone’s attention. “We know how to explain it, I know I didn’t want to. Zoro agreed he wouldn’t tell anyone until I was ready too.” He says, leaning further into Zoro’s shoulder.
Robin hums, “While that’s sweet, I can’t help but wonder how long you’ve kept this from us.” She asks, turning all attention back towards the couple.
Nami watches as Sanji shrinks further into himself under the scrutinizing stares, she shoots him a small smile that seems to help him regain some semblance of composure.
“I don’t actually remember when it started. I- uh, stopped trying to pinpoint it after a while.” He smiles sheepishly, taking Zoro’s hand in his, “But it worked out in the end, that’s what matters.”
The scene is broken by a loud woop from Luffy, who slings himself around Sanji and Zoro’s shoulders. “Well that’s all the more reason to celebrate!” He shouts, bringing the lighthearted mood of the party back in an instant.
The party lasts long into the night, most of the crew drinking far more than they should in way of celebration, leading to many drunken shenanigans that are quickly forgotten under the wave of alcohol and lost to the night. Everyone miraculously makes it to bed unharmed, largely thanks to Chopper.
Nami wakes in the morning with the worst hangover of her life, only recalling part of the night. Well, the only part that mattered at least. She shuffles her way toward the kitchen, wincing as the light hits her eyes.
Sanji, the absolute saint he is, already has breakfast ready when she stumbles in. She mumbles gratefully as he slides her a plate of pancakes, orange syrup, and a glass of water. Nami groans gratefully, thanking him as he walks back towards the stove to finish another batch of pancakes.
Despite everything, it almost doesn’t feel like anything has changed. That is until Zoro strides in and wraps himself around Sanji’s back, his head resting on the cook’s shoulder. To his credit, Sanji doesn’t bat an eye at this, simply turning his head to place a chaste kiss on the swordsman’s cheek.
Nami doesn’t hide her staring, openly gaping at the scene before her, how could she have missed this? Had they always been this obvious? She almost feels bad for doubting them.
Catching her staring, Zoro sends her a wry grin before whispering something in Sanji’s ear that immediately makes him turn bright red. He quickly pushes Zoro away, who laughs it off with a bright smile.
“Sorry about that.” Sanji murmurs, returning to the stack of pancakes he’s been building.
Nami waves him off, “Don’t, it’s cute, I’m just wondering how I missed this.” She says, gesturing between them with her fork.
Somehow, Sanji turns even more red, “Ah, well, I suppose we were just good at hiding it.” He looks wistfully towards Zoro, who is now wolfing down a large stack of pancakes.
They hid it extremely well, given she’s never the look of pure adoration on Sanji’s face before, at least not directed at Zoro. It’s sweet, anyone can see that.
“So- who proposed?” She asks, a teasing lilt to her tone.
“I did,” Sanji says with a small smile. “Well, it was more of a question than an actual proposal.”
“Curly didn’t get rings.” Zoro chimes in with a shit eating grin that Sanji smacks him for.
Nami raises a brow at that. Sanji, romantic and loving Sanji, didn’t get rings before he proposed?
Noticing her confusion Sanji sighs, “I asked the brute once I got him alone in Wano- well after I apologized profusely for why I was gone so long.”
Nami winces, Whole Cake is still a sore subject, she knows why Sanji doesn’t like talking about it. Hell, she doesn’t like thinking about it either. She steals a glance at Sanji, finding him hunched over the stove, she chooses not to comment as the rest of the crew files in.
They don’t bring it up again, not for a while anyway. Things change in subtle ways, the ship is quieter than it’s been in a while, now that Sanji and Zoro don’t fight every day. As odd as it is, it’s preferable to listening to the screaming every day.
Eventually, about a month later, Sanji catches Nami as she’s about to turn in for the night.
“Do you need something?” She asks, grinning when he jumps.
“Ah, yes, would you mind helping me with something- personal?”
A million things run through Nami’s mind before Sanji continues.
“It’s nothing bad!” He clarifies quickly, putting a good portion of her worry to rest. “We’re going to port at the next island soon, right?”
“We are, what did you need my help with?”
“Ah! Yes, right,” He reaches into his pocket, Nami assumes it’s for a cigarette, but he pulls out something else that’s equally familiar.
“That’s-” one of Zoro’s earrings, She’s never seen any of them out of his ear, but it’s just that recognizable.
“Yeah, I know.” He breathes, “I guess he felt bad about not having rings, so he gave me this.” He holds the earring delicately, as though it’s the most precious thing in the world. To him, it probably is.
“So, what did you need help with?” Nami asks, wrenching her eyes away from the earring, focusing instead on the fond look Sanji’s wearing.
“Well, I don’t want it to just sit in my pocket, it’s too special for that. I’d like to wear it.”
Finally, Nami understands what he needs help with, “...So you want your ear pierced?” He nods, “Of course I’ll help!” She says, snorting when he sags in relief.
“Thank you, Nami.” He whispers, cradling the earring to his chest.
Stunned by the open rawness, Nami quickly changes the subject back to their plans, “Once we’re done with your piercing, how about we go find something for Zoro? It won’t be as sentimental, but I’m sure he’d appreciate something to fill the hole in his ear.”
“That- yeah I’d like that.” Sanji says, his voice thick with unshed tears.
After that Nami urges him to go to bed, all but shoving him into the men’s room with the quiet promise they’ll get his ear pierced when they dock the next day.
Just as she promised, Nami drags Sanji off as soon as they dock, searching the streets for a piercing shop. Once she finds one, she unceremoniously shoves Sanji through the door without a second thought.
“What can I do for you?” A woman asks as they enter, her smile looking pained, like she’d rather be anywhere else.
Sanji smiles, “We’re not here for much.” He says softly, retrieving the earring from his pocket, “I just need a piercing for this.”
Scrutinizing the earring, the woman’s smile turns genuine, “I haven’t seen anything this nice in a while.” She says, gently taking the small piece of jewelry, “Where’d you get something like this?”
“It’s from my fiancé.” Sanji says, his smile genuine and bright. “I don’t want to lose it, this is the best solution.”
The woman laughs, and leads them further into the building, claiming that one piercing is easy, and she’ll have them out of there in no time. True to her promise, they’re back on the street in ten minutes, Zoro’s earring having found its new place in Sanji’s ear.
“How’s it feel?” Nami asks once they’re away from the shop, on their renewed search for a jewelry shop.
“Weird, it’s got more weight to it than I expected.” He says, visibly trying to keep himself from touching it.
Nami smiles to herself, knowing he’ll be complaining more about it tomorrow, for now, she refocuses on the nice looking shop she’s just spotted.
“Come on!” She says, ignoring Sanji’s squeak as she drags him to the shop.
It seems empty as they enter, but thankfully it’s as nice as it appeared outside. They split up, both planting themselves in front of different earring displays. All of the earrings in the display Nami chose are garish and way too big for Zoro, though it would be funny seeing him in one of them.
She turns around, seeing Sanji in a similar predicament, she moves on to another display of much smaller earrings. There, she spots a handful that’d definitely both suit Zoro and represent Sanji at the same time.
“Hey,” Nami calls softly, “Come over here, there’s some pretty ones in here.” She says, leaving out the fact that she knows they’ll be getting something in this display.
Sanji does as he’s asked, and lets out a small, strangled gasp when he takes a closer look. “That one.” He points to a small, silver cuff that’s inlaid with three tiny blue stones.
“Ah that one!” The shop owner cheers, startling both pirates with his presence, “Had that one for a while, most go for something more flashy.” He waves his hand toward everything else in the store, inlaid with far more stones than is warranted.
“It’s perfect.” Sanji breathes, the tiniest smile on his face. Nami knows they’re not leaving this shop without that cuff.
With some haggling she gets the price down to a respectable amount for how small it is. Triumphant, they return to the streets, giddy and eager to get back to the Sunny.
When they arrive they’re met with a barrage of questions, all of where they went and what’s for lunch. Sanji ignores everyone in favor of finding Zoro. Nami watches as he climbs the ladder, probably trying to figure out what to say.
“What was that?” Usopp whispers despite Sanji being well out of earshot.
“Sanji just needs some time alone with Zoro.” Nami says, refusing to elaborate further.
Later, when they’re gathered for lunch, Nami notices the cuff Sanji picked out on Zoro’s ear. She knows better than to point it out, it’s personal like Sanji said, but it’s still nice to see.
Fights come and go, those change too of course. Sanji and Zoro work together as a well-oiled machine, easily taking out any and all enemies that come their way. Few of them notice the earrings, those that do rarely realize what they mean. Regardless, rumors spread.
Alternate versions of their bounty posters come out, some remaining what they’d been previously, others are changed to boast ‘Roronoa Sanji’ and ‘Vinsmoke Zoro’. It’s odd to see just how much it upsets both pirates.
It comes to a head after dinner one night.
“I don’t want that name associated with you.” Sanji snarls as he scrubs the same plate he’s had for the last ten minutes. Something in his tone makes Nami pause what she’s been charting at the table.
Beside her, Zoro buries his face in his hands, “I know you don’t, but there’s not much I can do about it. We can’t stop the rumors.” His tone has the kind of exasperation one gets from repeat arguments.
Before Sanji can respond, Nami makes her presence known by clearing her throat. “There is something you can do, actually.”
“The fuck do you mean, witch?” Zoro growls, getting in her face.
“Don’t call her that!” Sanji screeches.
Nami chuckles, easily pushing Zoro back with a finger between his brows, “It’s easy, you just get married.”
Both men stare back at her, dumbstruck.
“Well Sanji, you’d rather take Zoro’s name, right?” He nods, “And Zoro wants you to take it.” Both nod. “So get married! Problem solved! I’m tired of you two yelling over something so simple.”
Startled, they both look away from her, thinking it over.
“How are we even supposed to do that? Nobody would agree to do it.” Zoro mutters, suddenly sulking.
“You can’t be that stupid, Luffy can do it.” Nami snorts, somehow making both men jump with the statement. “Did you really not know that?! How long have we been sailing and neither of you knew that?!”
Their eyes meet for the first time in the conversation, and suddenly Nami feels like she’s intruding. She silently gets up from her chair and makes for the galley door, taking her work with her.
“Think about it,” she says softly, halfway out the door.
The next week is a whirlwind of planning an impromptu wedding. Despite Zoro just wanting to get it out of the way, Sanji insists on having at least a little thought put into it.
Some things fell into place easily, such as attendance and catering, since it’d be better to keep it a small affair, catered only by Sanji. Other things were harder to plan.
Their careful yet fast progress is brought to a screeching halt when Zoro casually announces he doesn’t have anything to wear.
“I swear to absolutely everything I hold dear, if you show up to our wedding in dirty clothes I’ll kill you right then.” Sanji groans, earning a huff from his fiancé.
“‘S just clothes curly, you know I’ll never use somethin’ fancy again.”
“I know that! I’m using one of my nicer suits, one I’ve only worn once. It’ll be special, I don’t give a shit if you never wear it again, you’re going to look nice for me. Even if I have to stuff you in a suit myself.”
Nami doesn’t miss the glint in his eye when Sanji says this, so she takes the liberty to knock him upside the head for it.
“Do you really not have anything? You’ve worn some pretty nice clothes before, it can’t all be gone.” She says before he has the chance to react.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost it all in one way or another.” Sanji groans, “Do we have enough time to get him something?” He sends Nami a pleading look, practically begging her to help him.
She thinks of their schedule for a minute, their wedding is meant to be mere days away. They have time, maybe a day, if they rush.
“The second we dock at the next island, you take Zoro and figure something out.” She says, leaving no room for argument.
Of course Sanji tries to anyway, but she reassures him they’d stock up for their wedding at sea, so long as they have a list to go off it couldn’t be that hard to get everything.
That proves to be wishful thinking. The owner of the shop Sanji drags Zoro to recognizes them, and raises the alarm for the entire island. In the end the Strawhats flee, not wanting to deal with an unwanted fight.
As soon as they’re far enough away, Nami casts a wary glance at Sanji. He looks so tired, his hair is mussed like he’s run his fingers through it a million times. Taking pity, she urges him to take a bath, which he doesn’t fight, going without argument. Once he’s gone she corners Zoro in the kitchen as he’s attempting to steal a bottle of alcohol.
“Were you able to make off with anything presentable? Sanji looked like he was about to explode.” She says, somehow startling the swordsman.
Zoro sighs, “Nothing too fancy, just a shirt. Curly said I looked good in it though.”
“That’s better than nothing, you put it away right?”
He nods, plopping himself onto a chair at the table. “Sanji’d have my head if I let it wrinkle.”
“Does it fit?” She takes the way Zoro looks away as a massive ‘no’, and is about to write off the island as a loss when he says something under his breath. “What was that?” She teases, trying her best to keep the tone light.
“It fits, but not over my chest.” He whines, keeping his gaze anywhere but her face. “Sanji wanted to see if a bigger size fit better when the bastard recognized us and chased us away.”
Nami tries, and fails, to keep her laughter hidden. She doubles over wheezing, holding onto Zoro’s shoulder to keep from falling. “Oh my God. Of course you have that problem too.” She says once she catches her breath.
Despite Zoro’s look of utter confusion, he seems happy that she’s not reacting harshly.
“Come on.” Nami says, urging Zoro to his feet, “You can’t just say that and not show me.” He grumbles but does as she says.
It thankfully isn’t as bad as Nami initially thought. She watches silently as he strips off his normal green coat, replacing it with a nice, pale blue button-up. The shirt does fit, but like Zoro said, it sits awkwardly, and doesn’t quite close right over his chest.
“Open the first couple buttons, it looks like it’ll burst if you so much as breathe wrong.” Nami snorts, sticking with teasing for now.
Zoro does as he’s told, taking her advice in stride. The result looks nice enough, all things considered, it’ll have to do. Belatedly, Nami realizes that he’s shaking slightly.
“Not like you to be nervous, what’s on your mind?”
Zoro scoffs, “I’m not nervous.” He says defiantly, barely hiding the shake to his voice.
“Mhm, and I’m not a thief. Seriously, what’s wrong?”
“I just- want everything to go right, you saw how he was, looked like he was about to tear his hair out.” Zoro mumbles.
Nami smiles, a wild grin that proves to be infectious as it spreads to Zoro. “Look, we’ve got it figured out, It’ll be fine.” She punches him lightly in the shoulder.
He plays along, over reacting to the blow like he does with Chopper. “You think this’ll be alright?” He asks, drawing attention back to the shirt.
Nami feels her face soften before she can do anything about it, “You really love him, don’t you?”
Startled, Zoro attempts to hide his rapidly flushing face, “Unfortunately.” He murmurs, earning a loud snort from Nami.
“Oh, don’t let him hear you say that, he really does love you, you big lug.” She goes to punch him in the shoulder again, but this time he catches her by the wrist before her fist makes purchase. She huffs, “Go show Sanji, he’s in the bath.”
Zoro grins at that, his eye lighting up with a mischievous glint. He goes to leave- in the wrong direction, to which Nami turns him around. She leaves, quickly deciding she wants to be anywhere but the bathroom for the foreseeable future.
The wedding is held on the deck days later, once they have a revised plan and schedule for the event. They had to prep Luffy beforehand, rehearsing the same lines over and over again so he doesn’t mess anything up. Wishful thinking, really.
It starts as planned, as most things do, that is until Luffy inevitably forgets his lines. Nami slaps a hand over his face, letting the couple take over with vows before their captain can say something stupid.
Sanji starts first with a deep breath, “I thought of so many things to say, in so many ways, but now that I’m here, I can’t figure out how to say them.” He says with a small smile that shows his nerves. “What else can I say but that I love you, and will stick by your side until I die.”
“Sanji I-” Zoro cuts off with a choke, “I’m not good with words, not in the way you are. But you’ll always know I love you, I’ll do my best to make sure you never forget that. For as long as you’ll have me.”
Luffy wrestles Nami’s hand away just long enough to pronounce they’re married. Nami tries to fight him for it, but the couple takes that as a good enough sign to kiss and get it over with.
The display of affection is met with cheers from their assembled crew as they celebrate the first marriage amongst them. The party is more rowdy than the one held to announce their engagement.
Nami watches the newlyweds slink off halfway through the festivities, and doesn’t bother calling attention to it. They deserve a little time alone, what with the chaos that brought them here.
The new bounty posters come out two weeks later. As soon as he sees it, Nami’s sure that Sanji’s never looked happier.