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When Nami's hand began to cramp from long hours of cartography at her desk, she decided it was time for some fresh air. The orange-haired navigator dropped her quill into its pot, and stood up to push open her door.

She stepped into the tropical sunshine bathing the Sunny Go, and breathed deeply. Her shoulder-length hair whipped around her with the salty seabreeze-she had to lift a hand to see after stepping from a dark room to the bright daylight. Breathing a gasp, she grinned at the enormity of the azure horizon touching the foaming indigo waves of the Blue. It was truly a beautiful day to be at sea.

Suddenly, a certain sniper's victorious crowing broke through the bliss. "BAHAHAHA~! Read em and weep-Full House!"

"Damnit!" Someone slammed thier huge fists on wood, while the captain childishly whined, "D'aww...he always wins!"

The chef's growl suddenly appeared. "That's because...HE CHEATS!"

There was the sound of someone getting his chest slammed with a kick from Sanji.

"D'oohf!" Usopp spat, the obvious recipient of the attack. The thump of someone falling out of thier chair onto thier butt thundered from the main deck below. "Oi, Sanji! Don't be such a sore loser! I...It can't be helped if I was the best gambler in all of Syrup Village-"

"SHUT IT, YOU CHEATING CARD SHARK! SHOW ME WHERE YOU'RE HIDING THOSE CARDS!"

Nami felt a vien in her neck pulsating. Well, there went her moment of peace.

Having her good mood from such tranquil summer weather utterly stomped on, the navigator decided to walk to the railing of the Sunny Go and see what all the hubub was about. And possibly induce some pain on some certain male crewmates if it could make her feel better again. She peeked over, to see directly below her Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Franky, and Luffy locked in a battle of wit and luck. Poker, it seemed.

The three that were not either being pummeled into the deck or attacking crewmembers were sitting in the shade of the mainmast, on empty cola barrels around a makeshift table from a large salt barrel and a plain piece of board. Bills of Berris were stacked in a small pile at the center, and cards were either clutched in the players' hands, or sitting on the table in defeat at Usopp's hand of three aces and a duo of fives.

Zoro watched with his usual boredom at the sight of Sanji abusing Usopp. He didn't seem to care if he wasn't the one avenging the loss of his money from a cheater-instead, he was slowly falling asleep from where he sat. Franky and Luffy ignored the two, as the cyborg returned to teaching the rubber man how to play the card game. Nami was just as unenthusiastic at the possibility of Usopp cheating. He was a liar, after all.

Sanji, however, seemed not as understanding. With every kick of his foot, he shouted a word-"YOU. CHEATING. LONG-NOSE. THIEF. b*****d-GIMME MY MONEY BACK!"

Ofcourse, Usopp was crumbled on the ground, crying from every orifice of his head over his 'punishment'. "Ahhh! Sorry, sorry-I wasn't cheating though!"

"Liar!" Sanji aimed one last kick at Usopp's back. He then growled, and bit on his cigarette as he sighed smoke to calm his temper. The sniveling coward got up when Sanji suddenly turned his attention away to the orange-haired beauty above. "N...NAMI-SWAN~!"

Nami rolled her eyes at the cook's sudden mood change. His eyes lit into a pair of hearts, and with his feet whipping around into a 'love tornado', he met her at the bottom of the stairs and followed her saying, "Nami-SWAAN~! Are you maybe feeling peckish? Perhaps thirsty? I could fix an excellent blended drink for you-say the word, and I will throw myself to the ground for your pleasure! I am a slave to your beauty...!"

The navigator ignored her enthusiastic admirer. She was too busy with her eyes being locked on Luffy's. A blush began to creep across her face, and she desperately tried to keep it from her nakama's eyes.

She didn't know how it had began, but for the past few weeks, Nami had begun to feel things towards her captain. Things very out of character-a crush, she guessed it could be called. It was out of character because, while Nami was sure she had been under the influence of hormonic feelings to the opposite sex before, never had she thought that she'd feel them so strongly. Nor for someone like Luffy.

The navigator had decided, after a long time of trying to fight these blushing feelings of a more niave girl, that they were only natural-after all, she couldn't count the numerous times her lithe and monstrously strong captain had come to her aid to wisk her from danger. Not only had she been saved from the 'god' Enel at Skypiea, and carried up a steep mountainside in Drum Island to the lone doctor that could cure her illness, there had also been the liberation of her village from that merman Arlong, all by said rubberman. She owed him so much, yet he asked for nothing. He didn't complain when she hit him to hide her feelings, or abused him tremendously. Luffy even encouraged her to fight on her own, helping her prove to herself that she was much stronger than she believed.

So yes, Nami thought it was quite possible that she would develop feelings for him. The problem was, he did not seem to have any feelings for her. Or for any female, for that matter.

No one seemed to notice the navigator pouting a bit from this fact about her air-headed captain, except for the other female of the Sunny Go; the raven-haired beauty was sitting nearby in a lawnchair to soak in the sun and a good book. The sound of Robin clearing her throat made Nami look up. She blanched at the older woman's knowing smirk, and tried to wordlessly demand with her eyes locked on hers, "Stop looking at me like that, Robin! I don't want anyone else to know!"

Yet no one had noticed Nami's dazing off. Usopp went back to his seat, rubbing his light injuries while Luffy laughed at him. "Damnit, Sanji, that really hurt like hell...and shut up Luffy!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy, still grinning, suddenly spotted Nami. "Oi! Nami-come over here! Play with us!"

Usopp's face fell a little. He waved his hand and tried to quietly get Luffy's attention. "Um...just a minute..."

Franky looked up and grinned. "Ow~! Suuper idea, Strawhat-bro. Oi, girlie-can you play? Pull up a barrel."

Nami felt her lips spread into an evil smirk at the prospect of gambling. Usopp noticed, and hissed into a strained whisper, "Hey, hey! We don't really want her to gamble with us! Bad idea-"

The navigator's smirk widened. She answered them: "I would, but you guys couldn't possibly afford it-I'd play you all under the table."

The other three seemed to realize this about one thier most greediest crewmates. And with that, the four at the table instantly spoke in one voice, "Nevermind then."

Nami shrugged, and began walking closer to them to watch the game. Sanji trailed closely at her heels.

"Ooo! Nami-I had no idea you were such a good gambler! Learning new things about you...makes my heart burst with admiration...!" With that, the lovesick chef began his ballad of 'mellorine~! mellorine~!', orbiting the unamused navigator as she mused on her own thoughts.

She grinned a little to herself, for before her hunting of pirate heads for thier bounties, gambling had been her main income in East Blue. The navigator could easily boast that when the gods made her, not only had they gifted her with good looks, a brilliant mind, and a strong alcohol tolerance, they had also thrown in a bonus of having a way with whatever she sat down infront of at a gambling table. Unlike with Usopp, she needed no tricks-luck was always on her side when it came to games of chance. Yet gambling had only gotten her so far-to pay for Arlong's steep price for her village, she had had to revert to gambling her life with pirates, and the danger of trying to turn them in for bounties.

Sanji's face infront of Nami made her shake out of her thoughts. He clasped her hand, and fervently breathed, "Nami-swan! My lady luck...I would be honored if your prescence was beside me while I trounced these bastards for all they have. My goddess of fate-my Queen of Hearts~!"

Nami opened her mouth, about to politely decline 'Sanji-kun' and make an excuse to return to her room. If she wasn't playing, she saw no reason to linger outside from her unfinished maps. Yet Zoro suddenly spoke up before she could, his voice sardonic: "Pfft. More like the Queen of Clubs..."

At that, the firey orange-haired girl felt her fists tighten. She glowered at him.

Yet Sanji beat her to the punch-er, kick. Literally.

Zoro barely missed the chef's dangerous dart of his foot, having to leap from his barrel and stand on his two feet, wide-awake. "What the hell, dart-brow?"

The chef growled, his bad temper returning at disrespect being spouted at Nami. "Shut up, marimo-you should learn to keep your mouth shut."

The green-haired swordsman sneered and put his hand on Shuusui's hilt. "Like hell. s**t cook."

"What was that?"

Instantly, the chef and the first mate began a brawl in the middle of the grassy deck, shoe soles versus sword. The rest of the pirates ignored this daily occurence of the Mugiwara crew, returning to the poker table.

Usopp picked up the cards that had fell to the ground when Sanji had attacked him. He muttered something under his breath, and smirked. Nami didn't catch it and looked at him, just as the cyborg next to the sniper began snickering.

"Longnose-bro," he admonished slyly. "She'll kill you for saying that."

The navigator frowned. "Saying...what?"

Usopp grinned innocently at her, preparing to say a lie. Yet at Robin's intervention from across the deck, his face fell.

"I believed Nagahana-kun said...'She's more like the Queen of Spades'."

Between Usopp's leg, on the side of the barrel, a disembodied ear vanished in a furl of flower petals. Usopp's face froze as he sputtered, "R...Robin...!"

He was, however, interupted by the swift punch Nami drove across the back of his head. He hit the table with his forehead as a steaming lump grew. The pulsation in the navigator's neck was returning.

Meanwhile, Franky was laughing his a** off at Robin's sadistic betrayal. He was punished as well. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head. The shipwright complained childishly, "Oi! Nee-chan, I didn't say anything-"

"SHUDDAP! Smart asses-!" For good measure, she punched them twice. It felt good to finally relieve her pent up frustrations, yet she didn't find thier jokes funny in the least. Robin, having never looked up from her book, couldn't help smiling when the two abused members of her nakama formally apologized to Nami and rubbed thier wounds with sore expressions.

Next to them, Luffy was scratching his head. "Ahh...I don't get it. 'Queen of Clubs'? 'Queen of Spades'?"

Usopp turned and sighed exasperatedly at his captain of the same age. "Luffy, you're so slow."

The monkey-eared boy cocked his head. "Hm?"

Luckily, the older member of the crew turned with patience to explain to him, "Ya see, she's the queen of spades because she's a gold digger-she steals from anyone who lets her, and tricks people out of thier money."

Usopp finished, rubbing the back of his head at the still present lump. "Yea, and she's the 'club' because she keeps knocking the crap outta us."

At that, Usopp got punched again. Much harder this time. "Shut up-you deserve it!"

Nami growled at the consistent insults at her perhaps overly domineering personality. She didn't know why, but right now it was starting to hit a nerve inside her. She turned, and looked to Robin for help, at least some sort of rescue for her growing temper. Yet it was easy to see that the archaeoligist was much too busy trying to stifle her laughter. No-not her too!

"Hmm...no, I don't think so. Nami's more like...like this card."

Nami turned to see the card Luffy was indicating. The Queen of Diamonds. She suddenly felt even worst, fearing and hating the assumed opinion of her captain: was he saying she was greedy or something? "Wh...why?" she cried. Yet she didn't really wait for an answer.

Luffy, instead of fearing for his life as the girl winded up for a punch at his face, grinned at her, so wide she hesitated.

He said, "Diamonds are really pretty, right? Then Nami, you have to be the Queen of them!"

In an instant, the Sunny Go became very quiet. Even Zoro and Sanji had stopped fighting, to share the same slack-jawed as their fellow crewmates. Each held the same thought, circled around Luffy:

Had...Had Luffy just given a girl a compliment?

'A witty one as well', pondered some. 'And to Nami no less!' Franky scratched his head at this, while Robin felt that knowing smirk creep back onto her lips.

Obviously, no one was more surprised than Nami. She stared at Luffy, making his grin widened. As if he had never acted out of character, he laughed. "Shishishi!"

It was contagious. Nami could feel herself smiling as well-it was an accomplished, competitive smirk.

In the silence, she grabbed the cards on the table and shuffled them into a neat deck. Then, the navigator snapped them down in front of the still pondering cyborg: "Deal em. I'm playing."

Franky snapped himself out of his musing, and looked at Nami glowering evilly at him. He nodded, cut the deck, then began dealing as the other three players slowly returned to thier seats. Robin went back to her book, still smiling, and Nami acted as if nothing had happened.

But something had happened.

Nami grabbed a nearby barrel and took a seat next to her captain. As she did, she took a wistful glance at him. He noticed, and broke into a smile, keeping it there until a half-noticing shipwright drew his attention back to his cards: "Okay, you see the hand that you got right now? You wanna trash those two-you wanna get a 10..."

Nami picked up her cards and fanned them out with her fingers. The players at the table muttered amongst themselves, but she didn't notice. Her heart felt light for some reason. A breeze blew through her hair, and she couldn't help but think to herself: 'The winds are finally changing.'

She hoped she could bet on what was surfacing from this moment on a poker table-because things on this ship had just gotten a lot more interesting.