The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 15: Open Book

Cards are shuffled fast before skilled hands deal three to each player. Laidback chatter keeps the galley of the friendly pirate ship alive.

The redhead lightly nudges the woman next to her, "Have you seen them?"

Giving a glance towards where Nami was referencing, the archaeologist smiles knowingly, "I can't believe they haven't come clean yet."

"The tension between those two is obvious," Frankly nods in agreement.

"I give them 3 days," the navigator scoffs, "Do you have eights?"

"I don't know. She's always dodging him," Usopp detaches the cards from his chest slightly, glancing at his numbers as he speaks, "Though after that time at Thriller Bark... -Damn. Here." He turns over the two cards marked as eight.

"There's no way she's not into him too -Got a six?" Nami swoops a little on the table, peeking at the cyborg's cards to her right, "Did you see that Zoro doesn't have that bandana he always wore on his arm anymore? Guess who's sleeping hugged to a black cloth suspiciously similar to-"

A scolding nudge from Robin cuts her off, "Nami..." the archaeologist's tone says it all; some things stay between girls.

"No shit!" Usopp exclaims, happy to win at least one round, "Go fish!"

Franky sips his drink before taking his turn, "Give them time," he says, relaxing his elbows on the table, "Trust me, those two will end up together."

"You seem awfully confident, Franky. Anything to share?" Robin takes over the card deck again, taking all the cards from the table while keeping an eye on her blue haired friend.

"She obviously hasn't been coming to hurt her hands in the workshop for leisure; that woman has less carpentry skills than a legless yagara bull." Franky smirks at his own joke, "If you ask me, she was avoiding the swordman because something happened on the island." His hypothesis ends with the sound of the sherbet sucking the bottoms of the coke bottle and a gasp of satisfaction, "Super refreshing."

The cook, who had remained silent for most of the evening, seems to flare up at Franky's testimony, "If that marimo did anything to her..."

A swift corrective, however, brings him back to his place, "Shut up! They'll hear you," Nami whispers-shouts. Immediately, all the players turn their heads towards the end of the table, sighing in relief when they notice that the lovebirds are too engrossed in their own little world to hear that only metres away they are the topic of conversation.

The redhead warns the cook in a low voice, mimicking the slitting of a throat, "If you interfere with that, I'll get your ass."

Robin chuckles under her breath, still watching the pair, "They're cute."

Usopp, though, has his attention on Nami, "Is it because you want to see them happy or because of the bet?" he says, already with a sly grin, expecting the obvious answer.

"Can't they be both?" Nami shrugs, "Have a two?"

"I'm sorry, Nami-chan, but no. Off to fish." Sanji seems to be back to his calm nature, though quietly, Robin hears him groan when Iris's laughter is heard in the distance. "That bastard doesn't deserve such a fine woman." he mutters towards no one in particular.

Robin chuckles, "I think Iris' personality is quite complementary to that of the swordman, actually."

"You mean complementary as in the fact she's a ray of sunshine while he's... well, Zoro?" Nami interjects.

"Or that she actually thinks before acting?" Frankly remarks, chuckling.

"My poor Iris fell for the second most idiotic man onboard," Nami laughs. "It's a miracle if Zoro even realises what's happening."