The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 20: Trouble Calls

"C'mon, open up!"

Nami has taken offense by me 'borrowing' her clothes. And, fair, but it's not like it was my fault, right? Though I probably could've gotten away with the stealing, if I had returned the dress with less holes and rips in it.

"It's my room too, hey!" I knock again, to no avail. Nami's voice answers back from the other side, "Thieves are not welcome here!"

Can't miss the irony.

Time to deploy the heavy ammunition.

"Okay. I get it. I wanted to do this face to face but whatever. I'll just slide a little something for you under the door."

Turning back, I chirp, "Hope you like it," before leaving.

I expected Nami to be upset when found the ragged dress on the floor this morning. I tried to fix it, but there was no way it would return to it's original glory. I couldn't really pay her the astronomical sum she immediately demanded back when she saw it, so I guess now I'm banned from my own room.

Angry Nami can be a force to be reckoned with, and I do feel a bit bad for what happened to her clothes, even if the events of last night still occupy most of my mind, so I spent half day crafting my redemption.

As I'm walking away, I hear the crack of the door opening and someone hugging me from behind.

"It's exactly how I wanted it! I told you you could sell these." Nami wavers the painting I have been working on for her, a portrait of her using her weapon. I've been polishing my skills a lot lately, and I must say I did manage to make it as captivating and dangerous as she had requested.

"Do you forgive me now?"

She nods, giving me peace of mind.

"Though you do owe me 200.000 berries for that dress."

I think I heard the tumble of my jaw crashing to the floor, "There is no way it costs that much."

"300.000"

"Are you out of your m-" Before she opens her mouth I'm already certain the price is about to go up, "Okay, okay. Can I come in now?"

"Sure," the redhead leaves the door for me and follows behind.

"I'll miss my small spoon now that you have your own room."

With an exorbitant amount of cola bottles on the table, I managed to convince Franky to add a studio to the Sunny. He finished the project today, and has just given me the keys, so to speak. There is no such thing as a locked door on this ship, except perhaps for the fridge.

"I'm still sleeping here."

Nami smiles widely, "When you are not staying with Zoro, you mean?" She giggles, knowing full well I'll get all shy on the topic, "I want details later".

"Nami! No way I'm talking about that." I still haven't recovered from the walk of shame earlier, that is, everyone seeing me go down the crow's nest ladder.

"You can't keep it away from me! Aren't we friends?"

"I'm already mortified enough, thank you," I chuckle, my cheeks red. I still can't get used to any of this.

"Ohh, maybe it's too dirty to tell. I will imagine the worst if you don't share..."

I cannot describe how much I want to end this conversation.

Leaving Nami's teasing at the door, I head back to my brand new workplace, my little heaven. There still lingers the perfume of sawdust and paint, and most of my canvases are already inside, as well as new furniture. There is a small bed couch against one of the walls, and Franky added a minibar too, giving me all the commodities I need. It's perfect.