The New Boy (LuNa)

if only life didn't pick its favourites.

luffy didn't respond for quite some time. when he did, he pulled nami even closer.

'do you really wanna know? my life has been a bit of a shit show for quite some time.'

'just tell me.' she whined, her thin patience wearing through.

'ok, ok, but don't worry about me, ok?' he said, forfeiting. nami slipped her fingers into his hair and began to gently massage his scalp. she felt him shudder.

'well i guess i should start at the beginning. i come from a long run of only children, so there were never any aunties or uncles or cousins or anything. my mum was an orphan, so she had no family besides us. my dads parents split up quite early on and since then my grandmother was killed in a plane crash. that leaves me, my mother, my father, my granddad and my brother.'

'still more than i've got. it's just me, bell mere and nojiko.'

'yeah, well the plot thickens. my mother was murdered in a gang incident when I was 4.' nami froze, her eyes widening in shock. she didn't know how to respond. but he wasn't done yet.

'because of that, my dad became a raging alcoholic and got put in a mental institution after abusing me and my brother for 4 months. i think it was sabo that finally reported him. i only found out very recently that he hung himself very early on. they didn't tell me at the time, because i was 5.

'so, we stayed with grandpa, but he wasn't much better than dad. he got dementia though, and came here to stay in a retirement home here. he'll be dead in the next month, the nurses say. we were originally out on dawn island.' he explained. 'and then, after me an ace had been living alone for a heck of a long time, we got the news that our parents had left us a good chunk of money in their will. so, we came here. its just me and ace, so you can see....'

at this point the poor boy's voice began to break again. 'Why I'm so worried about him. he's all i have left. but he was coughing up so much blood, and he's been in a coma since we got him to the hospital.... he'd better wake up... o-or i'll k-kill him.'

the boy broke down into sobs and nami just lay there, shocked. this boy, who she had known for less than a week, who had seemed so happy and so strong and so carefree and had been lying, he actually had it so much worse than she could have imagined.

'luffy...' she whispered, unsure of what to say. after a short pause where he fought to control his breath, he responded.

'don't worry.' his voice was slightly hoarse, and he was still shaking with sobs. 'i did tell you not to worry.' at this, his voice began to grow quieter. 'but thank you. i really needed.... someone to talk to. thanks for being there.' and then he was silent.

nami stared at his now still form, shocked to say the least. she knew that what he had told her was nothing compared to the reality. the sleepless nights, the pain, the built up tension, she got all of that.

maybe that was why the two of them had gotten along so quickly. why, after 2 days, they both knew more about each other than anyone else. it was a bond she swore then and there to cherish forever.

nami slowly untangled herself from the sleeping boy, heading off to grab a blanket. half way across the lounge, she paused, thinking. then, she turned, back to the couch, struggled to pick the boy up and proceeded to haul him upstairs.

she eventually made it to her room, where she gently lowered the boy into her bed and tucked him in. the moment she left him, she saw his face darken. he began to twitch, whimpering every now and then.

nami panicked, unsure of what to do. eventually, she crawled in beside him and pulled him close. he stilled and emitted an audible sigh, making nami blush. she examined him. he was really too cute when he slept.

content, she listened to his breathing until her own began to slow. the pair slept peacefully side by side.

at 4pm, bell mere came home. she had her arms filled with shopping and so proceeded to bang on the door with her foot. she heard loud scrambling, and then footsteps on the stairs. finally, Nami stood before her, slightly out of breath.

'sorry.' she said. bell mere just grinned, shoving the bags into her arms and leaving to get more. when it was fully unloaded, the pair sat quietly at the bench. bell mere caught Nami's fleeting glances at the stairs and took it to mean she wanted to escape, but she had better ideas.

'so darlin.' she said, grinning. 'hows that boy of yours.'

nami flushed red. 'he's not 'my boy' mum, his name's luffy and he's new around here.'

'new kid huh? you two seem awfully close.'

'no! its not like that, we're just --' nami and bell mere both froze turning to the stairwell. Luffy came trotting down it, grinning. he waved casually to bell mere and then turned to nami.

'i'll be off now. thanks for having me over. I've got to catch the bus to the hospital, so i'm in a bit of a hurry, but --'

'stay a while.' bell mere interrupted, a wry smile playing on her face. 'we'll give you a ride.'

Luffy looked torn. in the end, it took him so long to decide that he would never have made the bus, so he decided to stay, not that it was much of a choice at that point.

'thanks heaps.' he said. 'i do have to go soon though...'

'why's that?' bell mere asked.

'well... my brother is sick.

'i see. i'm sorry to hear that. so, tell me about yourself. whats your name?'

nami glared at bell mere. luffy pulled up a chair beside nami, whose blush deepened slightly as his leg rested against hers.

'i'm luffy. nice to meecha.'

'i'm nami's mother, bell mere. we've already met, but it was only briefly.'

'yeah, i remember.'

nami looked confused. 'when was this? she asked.

bell mere smirked at her. 'yesterday.' she said suggestively.

nami was confused at first, but then she remembered the photo that nojiko had shown her.

crap, that picture! nami realised. of course, bell mere had taken it. the thought had completely slipped her mind. as nami panicked, she began to glow even more red. Luffy looked at her, concerned, but she shook her head.