"The best proof of love is trust." -Unknown
Dragon cleared his throat in the microphone achieving everyone's attention.
"A pleasant goodnight to all our fellow friends and family. As all of you may know, my son, Monkey D. Luffy, is engaged. It is indeed phenomenal. Those of you who really know my son know exactly what I mean... Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my son and his fiancee, Nami."
He turned around and was annoyed to only find Nami standing behind him by herself.
"Where is that bastard?"
Nami pointed to the food table with an amused expression on her face. She did try to stop him but he kept on complaining about how hungry he was.
"Monkey D. Luffy, get back up here!"growled Dragon. Some in the audience laughed. Luffy was always one entertaining lad and it was always a sight to see how he gets on Dragon's nerves. Dragon pinched the bridge of his nose and also had his eyes closed grumbling about his bottomless-pit of a son.
Luffy gulped and in the blink of an eye, he was back right at Nami's side. The last thing he wanted was to get on his dad's bad side. Dragon could be scary when he's angry.
Nami glanced at Luffy and noticed that he was bored. She hooked arms with him and gave him a nod when he acknowledged her. Luffy fixed his gaze on her as if he was seeing her for the first time that night.
"You look nice, Nami," he whispered.
"Thanks Luffy. You don't look too shabby yourself."
Luffy was looking very handsome. He was adorned in a black 3-piece suit with a mustard coloured dress shirt all accented by a red tie. His hair was as spiky as the day they met but she decided that she fancied it.
Dragon turned to the entranced couple.
"Marriage isn't about fun and games, Luffy. It's not always easy but it can be compared to being on an adventure. Marriage is much more than having a relationship. Think of it as an important partnership."
Luffy nodded with determination and Nami stared fondly at him.
"A toast to the newly engaged couple!" Dragon rose his glass and so did the others in the attendance. Then there was a round of applause with a few shouts of celebration.
"Now," a queer looking guy, named Ivankov with purple hair and abstract looking make up walked up to the small stage, "Wve dance! Brook! Music please!"
"Yes sir!" Brook chimed back in response.
Nami couldn't take her eyes off the queer. His fashion sense was deplorable. All of a sudden he turned around and winked at her. She gripped onto Luffy's arm and shivered. Whoever that guy was was giving her the creeps.
"Don't mind Iva-chan. He's one of my dad's super weird friends but he's hilarious!" he laughed. He stopped to address Nami earnestly since something felt a bit off to him.
"Nami," she turned to him and Luffy put his warm hand on her forehead and brought it back to his, "Are you feeling okay? You're heating up."
"Oh- That's what I have been trying to tell you earlier. I have a little fever but I'm okay. You don't have to-"
She was suddenly pulled off the makeshift stage and into the small crowd of people.
"Chopper!"
Chopper was idling with Usopp listening to his unbelievable story about how he stole the hearts of 500 maidens in a period of only 5 days. The two turned when they saw Luffy approach and Chopper quickly hid behind Usopp.
"Hey, Chopper. Take a look at Nami for me. She's not feeling well.
"Luffy..."
"Nami, Chopper's the best doctor I know and he'll make you all better in a jiffy." he assured her with a smile. Nami turned to Chopper. He was a cute, young teen of only 16 years with short brown hair.
"You bastard! That doesn't make me happy at all!" Chopper all but shouted with an evident grin on his face. He was shy but was never good when receiving compliments even though he loved them.
Nami didn't really get around to introducing herself to Luffy's friends as yet since she was late and couldn't dare to prolong the engagement party.
"Nami, these are two of my best buds, Chopper and U-"
"Usopp the Great! Nice to finally meet you," Usopp interrupted. He held out his hand and she shook it.
Chopper hesitantly walked up to her, "Tell me what's wrong. I have some herbs on me that can help with almost anything."
After finding out that it was just a slight fever, Chopper advised Nami to sit in one of the chairs as he checked her temperature with a thermometer he also had on hand. He observed that it was only a bit higher than normal and went over to the kitchen to mix a few herbs into a medicine. He returned shortly after with a steaming mug and handed it over to her.
"Thanks, Doctor Chopper," she said giving him an appreciative look and even ruffled his hair causing the young doctor to feel extremely embarrassed.
"It's a herbal tea that will help tame your fever. It'll make you sleepy afterwards so make sure that you get an adequate amount of rest." Soon he and Usopp wandered off somewhere to probably cause some kind of mischief.
Nami sipped on the tea while she sat comfortably in her chair. As the music played, a few pairs were dancing around the large ballroom. The majority of the persons present that evening were only mostly friends of her parents and the Monkey D. Family.
The atmosphere was joyous and she found herself swaying to the melodious beat with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face.
'Shishishishi'
She opened her eyes and was flustered to see Luffy sitting opposite her with his chin in his palm looking at her with hooded eyes and a small upturn of his lips.
"You must really like this music, Nami," he stood up, walked over and held out a hand towards her.
"Wanna dance?"
Without hesitation, Nami abandoned the empty cup, placed her hand in his and they walked over to spot on the dance floor. It was getting late and the guests were already taking their leave stopping to say their congrats and best wishes to both families.
Luffy stood in front of Nami and began the awkward charade on where he should put his hands. Nami snorted.
"Do you even know how to dance, Luffy?"
"No, not really. I took dance classes years ago but I hated them."
She shook her head obviously amused and reached for both of his hands and placed them on her petite waist then she lifted her hands to rest on his shoulders. She didn't fail to notice the hint of red painted on Luffy's cheeks.
"You okay?"
"... Yeah."
The music was a unique combination of the piano and the flute. The symphony of both instruments complimented each other at a leisure pace, calmly setting an optimum atmosphere that can only be described as beautiful.
Luffy began to step slowly from side to side watching his feet since he was trying his hardest not to mess up and accidentally step on Nami.
"Luffy?"
"Mm?" he looked back up at her and gazed into her dazzling hazel eyes, almost captivated.
"We finally get to see each other, huh?
"Yeah," he gulped.
"It's strange how it feels like I've known you forever even though tonight's the second time we meet in person. With you right now, it feels like the happiest I've ever been... Thank you."
Luffy looked at her in awe. She looked so cute the way she smiled up at him and decided to himself that he too liked this strange mystery feeling. Just seeing her happy simply made him happy in return. Monkey D. Luffy was already a happy man but it was a special new kind of happiness he was feeling with Nami. It was an unusual feeling. One that he wanted to treasure. In response, he smiled widely at her.
All of a sudden, he felt Nami move her hands and she crisscrossed them around his neck bringing herself closer to his chest where she rested her head then he heard her give off a contented sigh. She felt Luffy stiffen up at first but began to loosen up soon after as he held her protectively against him.
"Tomorrow is the day, huh? We'll officially be married."
"Mm."
While they swayed to the music, Nami quickly eased herself to face Luffy, with pink tinged cheeks finding it hard to maintain eye contact.
"Luffy... even though we're going to be married, let's please take things slow," she mumbled only for him to hear.
"Huh?"
She resumed hugging him again, expertly hiding her flustered face on his chest. Luffy laughed at this.
"You're so cute, Nami."
"Shut up, you idiot," she muttered in a small, timid voice.
The ballroom was nearly empty now but without their knowing, they had a few spectators. Bellemere and Genzo were sitting on one of the couches sipping on some small drinks as they silently watched the pair with small smiles.
"Well aren't those two the cutest?" Bellemere snickered as she took out her phone to take a secret picture. She'll definitely tease Nami about this later.
Robin, Sanji, Franky, Usopp and Chopper also looked at the happy dancing couple from the doorway. They could be compared to an anchored boat swaying gracefully against merciful waves.
"Captain-san sure looks happy," Robin commented.
"Yeah," Sanji muttered with a smirk slowly growing on his face. Even though he was madly jealous of Luffy, it was nice to see him actually acknowledge the magical experience of having a romantic interest in a lady.
Franky was still crying sputtering out how happy he was for Luffy and denying the fact that he was crying. On the other hand, Usopp was telling Chopper a story about how he once made the most beautiful woman in the whole universe fall in love with him with his awesome dancing skills. Chopper of course listened with stars in his eyes. Usopp was basically the coolest person he knew besides Luffy. Soon after, they all turned and left to go to their respective homes.
"This is nice," Nami whispered before she yawned.
"Nami-"
"Shhh..." He felt her nestle against him some more and as the music came to an end, he noticed that she had gone limp in his arms.
"Hey, are you asleep?" he asked as he turned his head to check. He paused when he heard light snores coming from her. He almost burst out laughing but stopped himself. Something was telling him that if he did, she would most likely pound him for waking her up.
He bent down and hooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her up in his arms. She was heavier than he expected but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. He looked around and saw her dad sitting by himself (Bellemere had gone to the restroom) and walked over to sit down inches away from him. He balanced Nami in a way that she would be comfortable on his lap; her head resting on his shoulder and her feet laid straight on the couch. She was still snoring quietly much to Luffy's amusement.
"How is she doing? You know, she had a fever just before coming here but she insisted on seeing you. It was our fault that she was late. We apologize."
"That's okay. I'm just glad that she's here. I was afraid that she wasn't going to show up but I'm happy that she did. Coming here despite not feeling well just shows how tough Nami could really be... She's doing fine, by the way." Luffy stared at her warmly as he spoke.
Genzo observed the way he looked at his daughter and realized just how much he cared about her. He cleared his throat causing Luffy to look over to him.
"I believe that you have already realized that Nami is loveliest when she smiles. It's the kind of smile that you want to capture and bottle up forever."
Luffy nodded in agreement.
"She's a tough one who knows what she wants and will try her hardest to get it. Trust her, love her and whatever you do, don't take her smile away because if you do, you'll have to go through me," he cracked his knuckles, "And I won't forgive you."
"I promised her that I'll take care of her... Thanks for entrusting Nami to me." Luffy said with confidence. Genzo may be his dad's good friend but he was not allowing himself to be intimidated.
"Don't bother with him, Luffy. He has a daughter complex."Genzo turned irritably at his returning wife. "By the looks of it, you are already doing a good job. Our daughter can be a stubborn at times; nevertheless, please take care of her." Bellemere winked at him and reached to grab a hold of her husband's arm.
"We'll be going to our car now. When Nami wakes up, tell her to meet us there. Don't be too long now. Good Luck!" She proceeded to drag Genzo behind her giving the two young adults some more time before they had to say good-bye. It was getting awfully late.
Luffy watched them leave and redirected his gaze downwards after he felt movement. Nami was stirring a bit and thinking that she was waking up he called out to her and shook her a little. A hand instantly shot up and pinched his cheek.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow!"
"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Nami argued blinking awake.
"But Nami!"
As her vision focused her eyes widened when she realized that she was sitting quite comfortably in Luffy's lap. She took a look around only to see that they were the only ones left in the room and the music was long over.
"Where's everybody?"
"Your folks are waiting for you in the car. It's getting kind of late."
"Oh..." Nami stared down grievously at her hands on her lap.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just that... I'm upset that we don't have more time to spend with each other tonight. It's my fault. I was careless, got this dumb fever and to top it off, I fell asleep. I'm sorry..." Luffy furrowed his eyebrows then exhaled. He rested his head against hers and spoke to her reassuringly.
"Don't apologize. Coming to see me tonight even though you're not feeling your best meant a lot to me. You looked so cool running towards me that I thought that I was seeing things. But here you are." 'Shishishi'
Without warning, Nami hugged his neck. Luffy rubbed her back gently.
"I'll see you again tomorrow Nami and a whole lot afterwards so don't be stupid." The hold around his neck tightened. Nami was obviously trying to choke him off.
"Say that again and I'll kill you." She released his neck and he had a fit of coughing and laughing saying that he was kidding. Next thing, he felt something warm and soft on his cheek. Nami was kissing him; together with the way her hair tickled his face caused him to feel all tingly inside.
"See you tomorrow Luffy." She eased herself off of his lap and started towards the exit. Luffy watched her go and abandoned the couch to catch up with her. Nami soon acknowledged that he had laced his fingers through hers.
"I'll walk you," he suggested nervously.
"I have a better idea," she hit his arm playfully and said,"Tag! You're it!" before turning on her heel and started running. Luffy stared in astonishment at her fleeting back, chuckled to himself and gave chase.
"That wasn't fair, Nami!" Nami laughed in return picking up speed sensing that he was catching up to her. It was their final night before they were due to be married and she decided that they might as well have fun.
The best kind of love is a love born from genuine friendship. Those two will become conscious that it isn't just love that builds a successful relationship- It's trust.
To be continued...