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Bell-mère first saw him across the hall on her way back from the training ground.
He was a gangly boy with shaggy blonde hair and sharp, reddish eyes. He had a brooding, almost creepy aura around him, making him look important, as if whatever he was doing was of utmost significance.
Bell-mère looked at the burning mess of a Fleet Admiral uniform bunched up in his arms, at the stressful twist of his hands, and the trembling of his lips, which signaled that tears were soon to follow. She felt her own mouth quirking up.
Life as a Marine had been terribly boring lately.
---
It had been ten years since then. They were no longer rookies wiping floors with heads held low, but veterans with experiences and deaths under their belts. Rosinante would come and go for long stretches of time, working on whatever secret mission he had. Bell-mère had her own agenda, training day and night, making waves wherever she went. After all, one day, she intended to defeat the infamous pirate Shiki, carving out a place for herself in the history books.
In all their time knowing each other, they had one big fight where Rosinante called her dream cheap, and she responded with her fists.
It wasn’t her dream, not really. More of an immediate goal that had kept her going.
Later on, they had lain on the ground, blinking up at the ceiling fan, with this mutual fear that one day they might die without leaving any worthy legacies behind.
Kids who came from nothing leave behind nothing.
Bell-mère laughed until tears streamed down her face, and Rosinante hugged her tight, shaking all over. He had always been a sympathetic crier.
“Tell me about your next mission,” he whispered when they had finished embarrassing themselves.
“Pirate sightings at Oykot Kingdom,” she swiped at her eyes. “Nothing big. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Rosinante smiled, his eyes shining with hope, “Who knows, maybe this time it will be different."
---
The first time they meet, a tangerine tree is burning.
Nami sees the smoke from a mile away and rushes forward, her heart beating out of her chest. When she reaches her house, a tall man is standing in the garden, right beside the burning leaves. Nami stomps and shouts with all her might, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
The man honest to God jumps and falls over in a heap of hearts and feathers. “Oh! Little miss, I’m here for—”
“You are not here for anything!” she rages. “If you don’t fix this right now, I’m not gonna be responsible for my actions!”
“Honestly, how about you just stop smoking? This is humiliating,” another shrill voice comes near them, overlapping with her shouts.
Nami turns around to see a shorter boy holding a hose, busy putting out the fire.
They look at each other, both small faces contorted into identical rage to then glare at the man sitting on the ground.
“Roci!” a voice like wind chimes rises up, making all three of them turn to look at the source. Nami feels relief coursing through her at the sight of her mother’s blazing hair.
She rushes over then jabs a finger at this Roci guy, “Mom! He came out of nowhere, not even introducing himself before damaging our properties. Let’s charge him!”
Roci stutters, affronted, “You didn’t give me a chance to say my name!”
She’s about to give him a piece of her mind when her mom steps up and hugs this stranger tightly. They then proceed to squeeze the living daylight out of each other.
“Do you know about this?” she addresses the boy who is coming up to stand beside her.
“No,” he frowns, then seems to decide he doesn’t care, “I’m Law. What’s your name?”
“Nami,” she would shake his hand, but he just touched their ancient garden hose. No need to be too friendly anyways.
By the time Nojiko comes home, Bell-mère has just finished making tea for their guests.
“Kids, this is my oldest friend, Rosinante,” she claps on her daughters’ shoulders proudly, “Roci, this is Nojiko and Nami, the little rascals I called to tell you about. Next time, be careful not to break your own Den Den Mushi.”
“Nice to meet you two. Bell-mère, this is Law, my adorable charge.”
They grin at each other, and it feels like no time has passed at all.
---
For the next few months, Rosinante comes and goes, and Nami quickly becomes closer with Law. He isn’t like the foolish village boys who fall all over themselves to please her, but he does fall from time to time for a different reason.
“Amber Lead,” he says one sunny day, before proceeding to talk about his hometown and why he is traveling with his Cora-san now.
He expresses his fear that one day, he will lose Cora-san too.
After admittedly the most depressing story time she has ever been through, Nami bumps her shoulder against his and grins when he finally turns to look up at her. “My mom has a tattoo of Roci’s name on her ankle. She says it’s to feel like he’s always there, following her around no matter where she goes. Maybe you can do that?”
Law shoots her a look of pure awe, which makes her feel like the queen of the whole world, “That’s genius. I’ll think about it.”
She doesn’t know it now, but only half a year later, he will follow her advice almost religiously, while she will go against it to imprint Arlong’s symbol on her arm.
Right now though, the sun is shining, birds are roaming free, and they both laugh under the shadow of her mom’s tangerine trees.
---
Nami can’t sleep, so she pulls out the tiny Den Den Mushi Cora-san gave her a month ago to call Law.
There’s a quiet click, and an even quieter voice following through, “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh, how do you know… never mind. You sound horrible.”
She giggles quietly, but stops when the sound of Law’s laugh sounds like the gurgling noise of a drunk sailor down at the dingiest bar, “Are you al…” no. “Where are you? What are you doing?”
He snickers again, like he’s gone mad, “Cora-san died. His own brother killed him.”
Nami feels like she’s not built to handle all this sorrows, “Arlong killed my mom.”
She knows she should ask if he wants company, if maybe she can help him, if maybe he can help her.
But he’s as familiar as her reflection in the mirror, and suddenly she understands that, just like her, he has come to a decision on what to do next.
After today, the villagers will really forsake her. Nojiko will never look at her the same again. After today, she might be irredeemable.
Law’s not here, so he won’t know what she’s about to do next. He won’t be disgusted, or worse, disappointed. She wants to keep him in her life, but the pain seizes her tiny heart tightly like mom’s embrace in front of Arlong, and she doesn’t know how to ask for this little help from him.
Law takes a deep breath, “Whatever happens, keep in touch, will you?”
And it’s like a window breaking, the shards raining, but the moonlight can finally shine through, illuminating the house like an imitation of those days that blazed golden.
She nods vigorously, unable to say anything. Despite not seeing it, Law understands all the same.
---
She almost finishes counting the berries she got this week when the Den Den Mushi rings.
It’s been almost eight years, and every month they would take turns calling each other to check in, the how-do-you-dos and the have-you-been-sleeping-wells.
She breathes deeply, then connects the line, “My my, calling me at this time of the day? Have you just woken up?”
“Screw you,” a beat. “I haven’t slept for three days.” There it is.
She tuts at him, and he clicks his tongue at her. He sounds more animated, ever since he got all the Amber Lead out of his system. Law’s slowly becoming a formidable doctor like his parents. Despite everything, she feels her thin-lipped smile burning into a real one, teeth and all.
“Well, as always, your life sounds deeply terrible. I’m over here counting money while you’re over there counting sheep. What have you been up to?”
Law growls at her, “Stop it. I’ll have you know I have been traveling all over, taking names, kicking ass. It’s busy work, you lazy woman.”
They keep going back and forth like that for a while, the routine as familiar as the pen she holds and the maps she draws under watch.
When did we start lying to each other? If Nami can hear the frenzied grief always choking Law up, then Law can surely feel the bone-deep exhaustion coloring her every word.
“Stay safe out there,” she whispers.
“You too, okay?” he mumbles back.
That, at least, has always been genuine.
---
“Heart Pirates? What, you just go around taking hearts from your enemies?” Nami teases him, ignoring the lump in her throat whenever she thinks about Cora-san, and by extension, Bell-mère.
She has come across Law’s bounty poster in Baratie, and immediately feels the need to call him right away.
“You are the height of humor,” Law drones on, sounding a bit pleased, “We have a submarine. I can finally go pick you up now, if you need me to.”
Nami is currently traveling with a mismatched band of weirdos: a stretchy one, a long-nosed guy, and a sword-maniac. There’s something incredible about them, making her breathe more freely, even just for a minute.
But then she remembers Arlong, and knows that this too won’t last.
“No, I have something else planned,” she pushes a confident smile into her voice, the snail on the other side is no doubt wearing the same forced expression.
Law doesn’t say anything for a while, but then, “I’m here, if you ever need me.”
It’s been years, and Nami won’t start crying now.
---
So much can happen in a month. The most important part now is that she has her own crew, with people that’s already precious to her like her own dream.
Nami looks up at the tangerine trees, then down at her tattoo, which has finally felt like it belongs to her and Bell-mère.
Out in the sunnier part of the deck, Luffy is fishing with Usopp. Zoro is napping. Sanji's busy cooking in the galley and guarding the fridge from their captain’s grabby hands. Brook's playing a little melody for Chopper, while Franky's adding his personal touch to the radio.
She’s so content with everything that she lets down her guard when the Den Den Mushi rings and just picks it up right away, “Yeah—”
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?”
Nami winces when Robin peers curiously at her from the next seat, and even Zoro opens his bleary eyes to glare at the snail.
“Alright alright, what are you mad about?”
“Off the top of my head, your marriage and Enies Lobby.”
Understandable, since she almost got forced into marrying a zombie and then her own captain declared war on the World Government. Back then, she was too worried about Robin to properly panic over the implication of that.
She still feels compelled to point something out though, “It’s not my real wedding.”
“I know. I paid that almost-to-be-husband of yours a friendly little visit. But what you and that crew of yours did in Enies Lobby was way too risky. It’s like there was no plan involved at all.”
There was, in fact, no plan whatsoever. But she wisely side-steps that bomb.
There’s an ominous bang on the other end of the line, and Nami whistles, “What was that?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m recruiting an engineer to deal with it,” he signs, “Talk to you later. Stay safe. This isn’t over.”
Then he hangs up.
Robin tilts her head to the side, both eyebrows raised, “Now, who was that?”
And maybe Robin has rubbed off a bit on Nami, because she feels like keeping this friendship a secret. She also knows from the bottom of her heart that out in the ocean, one of these days, her crew will cross paths with Law’s. Introductions can be saved until then.
It’s absolutely more fun that way.
“When the time comes, I will tell you,” she winks, and Robin laughs behind her hand.
---
Upon hearing about Ace’s upcoming execution, Nami knows that she won’t be able to make it in time.
She takes out her Den Den Mushi, almost drops it, then shakily waits for the line to connect.
“I’m here. What’s wrong?” Law asks, slightly alarmed. Today is not their set time to call each other.
“I need help. I need you in Marineford. There’s someone incredibly important to me there and I don’t know what to do,” she can feel hysteria creeping in. The snail whimpers a bit under her white-knuckled grip.
For a long moment, the line is silent. Nami’s about to scream at him before he speaks up again, a bit out of breath, like he has just yelled at someone, “I have told my crew to set sail. I will go there as fast as I can.”
The beginning of a storm is coming together in Marineford.
---
Two years later, they finally meet on Punk Hazard.
Law’s shocked and immediately pleased when he sees her, and Nami forgets her surroundings for a moment to give him a tight hug.
She then turns to her gaping crewmates, and proudly declares, “Everyone, meet my oldest friend, Trafalgar Law.”
Much, much later, when she sees Law forming an alliance with Luffy, both captains having the same manic gleam in their eyes, does she feel like this must be what Bell-mère meant when she mentioned ‘destiny.’
For the next few days, Nami has a blast introducing Law to her ship and crewmates more closely, even though the distrust from both sides is still strong. Robin and Law get on like a house on fire, while when it comes to Luffy, Law just wants to set everything on fire.
It’s such a shame that today is one of her rare bad days.
Nami jerks out of her sleep with a gasp, her hands clenching tightly around her ankles, tracing the phantom feel of shackles. These nightmares are few and far between now that she’s surrounded by her most trusted friends, but she still wishes they would disappear forever.
She stumbles out onto the deck to sit underneath one of her mom’s tangerine trees and looks up at the full moon.
She thinks about that one night many years ago, when she had been extra fussy, Bell-mère took her out into the garden to have an impromptu midnight picnic. They sat there on the grass, drinking cold lemonade, surrounded by the muted color of tangerines, all the while enjoying the stretches of stars and moonlight.
“Last month, I spent a few minutes like this with Roci,” Bell-mère said, apropos of nothing.
Nami burrowed deeper into her side.
“We sat here, just like this, tracing the stars. It always makes me feel younger than I actually am,” she laughed, the sound enveloping Nami like a protective charm. “We talked a bit about our goals back during our Marine days, and we discovered that our dreams have changed since then, which is a damn good thing. That little boy has changed Roci in ways I could never have predicted.”
“What’s your and Cora-san’s dream?”
Bell-mère looked down at her then, eyes shining with unshed tears, smile lighting up the sky like a lightning bolt, and kept her secret.
She wonders what Bell-mère talked about that day with Cora-san. She wonders what Bell-mère would think of her now, if she’s living the life her mom wanted for her.
The night breeze turns colder, and Nami is shivering until a long black cloak is carefully draped over her.
“We’re days away from Dressrosa. Don’t get sick now.”
Law sits down, then leans in when she rests her head on his shoulder. She snickers a bit, thinking about her crew’s baffled looks whenever the aloof and distant Law seeks her out, and amusement turns into fond exasperation whenever Sanji shrieks upon seeing them huddling close together.
Luffy tends to look at them with an unreadable expression though. She will have to investigate that soon.
The thought of her crew makes Nami think of Law’s crew, and she gets an uneasy feeling that has been present ever since they met on Punk Hazard.
Law has always spoken highly of the Heart Pirates, voice turning extra soft and awed anytime he mentioned Bepo, Shachi and Penguin, as if he’s surprised there are people willing to follow him to the end of the world.
But that’s the problem. They aren’t following him now.
Nami thinks about what Law said to Luffy before stepping onto the Thousand Sunny. He talked about taking down Doflamingo to ruin many important operations for Kaidou, so that they can take down the Emperor together.
Law's sense of vengeance rivals Nami's, and his obsession is even greater. Given the events surrounding Cora-san, Nami realizes that Law sees Doflamingo not as a means to an end, but as the main objective of his entire plan.
And if he left behind his own crew, that means the path he’s walking is so dangerous that he might not come back from it at all.
“I know what your real intention is.”
He tenses up, but Nami refuses to let him go. She has a duty not just to protect him but her crew as well.
“We leave miracles in our wake, and Luffy always takes care of his own. You are important to me, and that means you are important to everyone here as well.”
“Nami…”
“Tell them, or I will.”
Law is a statue beside her, lost in his own head. After many years of friendship, Nami still doesn’t know how to shake him out of his brooding, except letting him ride it out. She wishes Luffy was awake. Her captain miraculously always grounds Law, despite being chaos incarnate.
Law exhales sharply, “Fine.”
She feels like this will change everything.
---
After Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, Wano, and just about everything that went wrong and then right, Nami finally has the chance to ask the million berries question.
She finds Law sitting by the alleyway furthest from the Wano party, nursing a drink of his own. While it’s more deserted, even the shadows are muted here, with bubbles of light and lanterns flying above everyone’s heads. Nami feels dizzy with happiness, while Law just looks tired.
“Is Doflamingo dead?” she drops down next to him.
“No.”
“Shame.”
He barks a laugh, “Your captain wants it to be that way. I’m sure in a few years I will finally feel grateful for it.”
Law reaches out, and Nami grabs back. He’s trembling all over with rage, with years of pain and fervent wishes finally answered, just not in the way he wants.
But maybe it’s what he needs. Nami trusts Luffy’s judgment above all else.
“Doesn’t mean it feels good,” she solemnly nods, “If it truly pains you in the long run, I would strike him down with lightning, everyone else be damned.”
“If you ever change your mind and want Arlong dead, let me know,” he swears back.
---
Having gone through so much together, both the Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates decide to sail a bit longer together. This is wonderful news, not because Nami isn’t ready to part ways yet, but because she has found a wildly fun pastime activity.
Law is down bad for Luffy, and judging from the way Luffy keeps looking at him, Nami’s willing to bet all her berries that her captain has fallen hard too. But Luffy hasn’t been able to pinpoint the difference between whatever it is he’s feeling and friendship yet. He needs a push.
Which is why Nami’s having so much fun clinging onto her oldest friend every time Luffy so much as turns Law’s way.
“What are you up to?” Law asks, startled when she clings to him for the third time today.
“I’m pushing someone’s buttons. Don’t deny me this,” she grins wickedly.
Law always lets Nami have her fun, just that this time he doesn’t know she’s targeting the object of his affection.
He smiles fondly down at her, and Nami internally agrees that she’s not ready to say goodbye either.
For the next few days, she wears Law’s old jacket everywhere. It’s dull, it’s boring, and it’s rough on her delicate skin. It makes Luffy zero in on her every time she walks by.
At mealtimes, whenever Law gives Luffy some of his food, Nami would ask him to give her some as well. Every time that happens, Luffy’s eyebrows twitch.
In the morning, she wakes up early just to sit outside watching the sun rising with Law, huddling close for warmth. Luffy downright pouts at the sight.
“You’re like a demon,” Zoro tells her, impressed as all hell.
Nami winks at him before gracefully tripping and pouring water from the jug she’s holding all over Law. She smirks as she watches Luffy’s eyes move from the glinting gold on Law’s ears, to the droplets trailing down his sharp collarbone, and finally to the way the white tank top clings snugly to his pecs, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“You.” Law growls behind her, and Nami whips around to look at him. He looks incensed.
“Hey now…”
She shrieks as he swaps her nose with one of Usopp’s ears. Sanji comes to her rescue, raising his flaming leg against Kikoku. Zoro pulls up just because he wants in on the fight as well.
Robin outright laughs at them, patting consolingly at Usopp’s back as he wails all over the floor.
All of her hard work finally pays off one late evening, when she blearily walks into the galley to see Sanji puttering away on the stove and Luffy sulking by the counter.
Luffy takes one look at the jacket she’s wearing, and cracks his head down, whining pitifully, “Noooooo.”
“No what?”
“I want to be happy for Nami, but I can’t.”
Sanji quietly places a cup of tea in front of her, looking for the first time exasperated at her antics. She takes a sip then smiles at her captain.
“Luffy, why can’t you be happy for me?”
Luffy drops down across from her, mumbling at the table.
“I can’t hear you.”
“It's just... I want Torao by my side at all times too! I want Nami and Torao to be happy, but I can’t manage it and I don’t want to be a bad captain and a bad friend!” Luffy is vibrating in his seat, all limbs turning extra rubbery and flailing all over the place.
“I can’t imagine that it would make you a bad friend,” Nami points out, doing everything in her power to not burst out laughing, “You want everyone here to be happy and by your side too.”
“But I want to be the one to make Torao smile the most.” Luffy declares, then deflates, then bounces around again with all the unused energy and pent up emotions.
Nami looks behind her shoulders, “How about you say that to Torao’s face?”
Law is leaning against the doorway, as if his feet aren’t enough to support him upright. His eyes shine and he looks like the One Piece has just been dropped into his laps, something he should have had to work hard just to get a taste of.
Luffy stops moving to stare daggers into the wall, not making eye contact with anyone.
Nami is still laughing when Sanji hurriedly drags her out of the room.
It must have been hours later, the sun still hasn’t come up, when Law finds Nami working on one of her maps in the observation deck. He carefully side-steps all the papers and ship’s logs scattering about and drops down wearily on one of the armchairs.
Nami resolutely keeps working on her map and tamping down on her grin.
“So all that… has been for that,” he grunts at her, looking so indignant and exasperated it’s impossible to ignore.
She guffaws, “You should be thanking me! That talk sure took you a long time. What else have you two been doing in there?”
“Please stop talking,” Law swipes at his face, ears burning. He turns to look at her work.
“Is this the map of the whole world?”
Nami’s smile burns deep in her heart, “Not even halfway through. But I’m working on it. You still remember?”
She mentioned it only once, years and years ago. He raises his eyebrows, like she's being dumb, “Of course.”
“And you? What’s your dream now?”
Law frowns at his hands for a bit, then looks straight into her eyes, “My full name is Trafalgar D. Water Law.”
Her heart stutters, “Like Luffy.”
This is something even bigger than coincidences, than destinies. As a navigator, she knows when a storm is inevitable.
“I want to find out about the Will of D.”
Something crackles like lightning between them. Nami feels giddy, almost manic, and they smile at each other, teeth and all.
Outside the window, the first ray of sunlight appears, turning the world golden.
---
The moon is full tonight, making Rosinante unfathomably hungry. He wonders if it will taste like rice cake.
“The moon doesn’t taste good, Roci,” Bell-mère passes him a glass of wine before dropping down next to him. They haven’t been able to drink much, what with small kids running around them all day.
He briefly looks back at the house, where Nami and Law are snoring away.
“What’s on your mind?” she nudges him.
“Just,” he flounders, “Reminiscing, I guess. And worrying. It’s hard to take care of a kid. I don’t know how you manage with two.”
She laughs, and for a moment Rosinante is brought back to the first time they met, when she made fun of him for accidentally burning Sengoku’s uniform then proceeded to help him get rid of the evidence.
They have been through hell and back. Struggling every step of the way, going on long stretches of time without a comforting presence by their sides.
He thinks about how he grew up briefly privileged, then lonely, then truly never being free from so many strings attached. He thinks about how she grew up resented by her villagers, for making a mess of everything, all for that little confirmation that she exists after all.
He thinks of Law’s hands in his own, stabbing him while harboring so much hurt no small kid should bear, and wishes desperately that he will grow up to have the kind of life Rosinante never had.
He doesn’t know how to voice any of it out, but when he looks up, he sees the same dream sparkling bright in his dearest friend’s eyes.
“I raised a damn good person, and she will grow up to do whatever her heart desires too,” she declares, willing the world to bend to her words.
Rosinante reaches out his hand, and Bell-mère grabs back. They hold on tight, smiling widely, soaking in the realization, like they have just woken up from a long nightmare, feeling waves and waves of hope for the future.
They turn to look at Nami and Law inside the house again.
This shall be their mark on the world.