Work Text:
Nami had never been in a palace before. There were so many rooms, hallways and stairs she was sure she could spend a full week inside, and still, there’d be some places that she wouldn’t get to see. It was strange now, being in Vivi’s home. She’d known she was a princess pretty early on, so it wasn’t like she didn’t know she lived in a castle, but it had never really sunk in to her what being a princess really meant. Nami looked at Vivi, and she saw the same blue-haired girl who had spent multiple days trapped inside a whale. But now, seeing her so at home, surrounded by these tall white walls full of riches and with servants whose only job was to cater to the princess’s every need, made her feel like she didn’t know who Vivi was anymore.
“This is the room I’ve had them prepare for you all.” Vivi opened the door to find a big room with at least twenty king-size beds in it.
When Nami walked in, she saw Luffy and all the others already soundly asleep, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s the least I could do,” Vivi said. “You can stay as long as you want.”
“This… this is great. Thank you,” Nami said as she touched the sheet’s fabric. It was so soft, she had never felt anything like it.
“There are some pyjamas there for you. I think you’ll be comfortable.”
She noticed the large baskets full of food right in the corner of the room.
“Those are for Luffy. In case he wakes up snacky in the middle of the night.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” Nami said, impressed.
“Yeah, I mean, you’re the heroes of Alabasta. This is the bare minimum.”
Back on the Merry, there was very limited space, so the Strawhats had to share the main and only bedroom. Nami was lucky cause she argued that being the navigator and the only woman on the ship, she needed privacy, so she took the captain’s study and got herself a bed. Obviously, when Vivi joined the crew, Nami wasn’t going to let her sleep with all the boys, so they had to share the room.
But now, with a room that quite literally fit fifteen beds, Nami could sleep for one hour in each one, and there would still be at least five more beds unused, so there was no need to sleep together anymore. This realisation had made Nami sad. The fact that they didn’t have an excuse to spend the night together anymore seemed like the first step to saying goodbye.
“Where are you going to sleep?” Nami asked her.
“My room’s down the hall to the left. It’s the one with the pink flower painted on it.”
“Cool.” Nami wanted so badly to ask her to stay, but she couldn’t. Looking back, Vivi had probably been counting the days to get her own space back. This was a princess who grew up having an entire castle wing for herself. The fact that she had been happy to share that tiny space with her back in the Merry seemed almost unfathomable now.
“But I don’t have to,” Vivi said. “I’d like to sleep with you guys, if that’s cool with you.”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s—It’s your home, you can do whatever you want.”
“Okay,” Vivi said. “What bed do you prefer?”
“This one’s good.” Nami sat down on the bed next to Sanji’s. She could feel the air was tense between them. Like, they both want something neither of them had the guts to say.
“Cool,” Vivi said, sitting down on the bed next to hers.
“Man, these beds sure are big,” Nami said, lightly running her hands through the mattress.
“Yup.”
They stayed there in silence for a whole minute, sitting on the beds opposed to one another as if they weren’t both exhausted from saving a kingdom earlier in the day.
“I bet you won’t miss the Merry’s bed.” Nami broke the silence.
“I don’t know. It had its good things.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Like, I know it wasn’t much, but it was nice, and I–” Vivi nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. “I liked sharing the bed with you.”
Nami raised her eyebrows. “Oh.”
Vivi looked at her like she was trying to tell her something, but in the end, she seemed to give up. “Anyway, we should probably go to sleep. I’m basically dead.”
“Yeah, me too.”
After both of them put on their respective pyjamas, Nami went to pull back the sheets.
“I liked sleeping with you, too,” She said, suddenly. “So much, I think it’s going to be weird sleeping alone.”
“It doesn’t have to, though.” Vivi blurred out.
“What?”
“Nothing, forget it. I—I didn’t say anything.” Vivi said as she quickly turned her back on her.
“No, no, wait. I—I’d like to sleep with you too.”
Vivi was still facing away from her. “You don’t have to say it just because I told you. I basically took over your room in the Merry, too. I don’t want to impose myself again and—"
Nami reached her shoulder. “Please.”
Vivi slowly turned around, which made her realise how close they were to one another. The moon partly illuminated Vivi’s face, and the only thing she could think about was how beautiful she looked. This was the blue-haired girl she’d always known. Her Vivi.
Carefully, Nami moved a strand of hair from her face, gently grazing her cheek with her fingertips. The touch was gentle, but Vivi completely melted at the gesture. Nami couldn’t help but slowly lean in, leaving just enough room for Vivi to back out, if she chose to. But instead, the latter leaned in, making their lips collide. The kiss was gentle, Nami being too afraid to move too much and ruin the moment.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” she said in between breaths.
Vivi chuckled. “Me too.”