CH 8
"I am so sorry!" Sabo whispered. "But it's safer to not have Luffy and Ace sitting at one table during a meal."
"What are you talking about?" Nami asked in confusion, looking between the blond and his two brothers who were laughing about something not far away.
"They have a weird habit of fighting over food, or better: they have the tendency of staling each others food, causing a mess in the process." he explained, looking a bit exhausted. "That's why Makino and I agreed on placing you two at a table with Mihawk's kids and Ace, Vivi, my partner and me at the table next to it. I hope that will work. Again, I am sorry that you can't sit at the same table as Vivi."
"That's fine." Nami waved it of. She felt something like pity for Sabo, an emotion very unusual for her."I already told Ace, that as long as there is booze, everything will be fine."
"Thank you... Oh God!" suddenly, Sabo ran into his brothers' direction. Nami, who had been facing them with her back turned around, her eyes widening at the sight of Ace lying on the ground.
"What's wrong?" she asked as everybody, even Luffy, stood there calmly and acted as everything was normal. Well, except Sabo who was checking Ace's head.
"He didn't hit it." he looked up from where he was crouching.
Nami cracked an eyebrow.
"Ace falls asleep randomly due to some neurotic conditions I don't get." A cute girl with brown hair, Nami hadn't noticed before explained. "I'm Koala by the way, Sabo's girlfriend."
"Nami. Nice to meet you." the ginger introduced herself, still eying Ace warily.
"We should go. The new-led pair is already inside." Sabo muttered, throwing one of Ace's arms over his shoulder. "Just go, I will manage and he should wake up any moment anyway."
The girls made their way into the restaurant together with Luffy, who was looking at everything around him curiously. But not as curiously as when they finally entered the dining room and the boy saw all the food that was already on the tables; all kinds of snacks and cakes.
And to Nami's delight a lot of alcohol.
"I know where we are seated." Sabo called from behind them, followed by an awake Ace, before the waiter, a stressed looking boy with "Penguin" written on his cap, could open his mouth. "Just please take care of him." he motioned at a person coming after them, a man Nami recognized from the news as Vice Admiral Monkey D Garp.
"Just follow me." Sabo led the way to two almost empty tables. Only a single pink-haired woman in a black and pink dress was sitting at one of them, looking rather annoyed.
"Nice to see you, Rona." Ace greeted her, smiling brightly. "This is Vivi, and this two are Nami and Koala." he introduced the girls to each other.
"Where have you left your brother?" Sabo asked, looking around.
"Where have you left yours?" Perona posed the question herself, making everyone look around hectically. Somehow, Luffy managed to already get scolded by Garp.
"Do they know each other?" Nami looked at Vivi in confusion.
"Oh god! I forgot to tell you!" the bluenette exclaimed. "It's their grandfather!"
Nami shook her head and sat down, looking around with interest.
"So who's the guy sitting next to the groom? Are they holding hands?" Nami looked at Perona, who has been watching her the whole time.
"That's Ben." she explained. "It's quite a complicated story. Dad has explained it to me so I know, but most people don't get it at all."
"So what's it about?" Nami questioned, sipping from her wine.
"It seems that Makino, the bride, Shanks, the groom, and Ben are having a relationship." Perona made a triangle with her fingers. "Apparently they are all happy with it since it has lasted for over ten years now."
"Really? But the bride looks so young!" Nami blurred out. This was way more interesting than expected. She had heard about polyamorous people before but seeing a working relationship that went for so long was a first.
"She's in her early thirties." the woman explained. "But Luffy can tell you more since he was there when they met. Shanks lost his arm while saving him and Makino, Benn and him grew closer during that time."
"Crazy..." the ginger whispered. "But why do they marry now? And why Makino and Shanks? What about Benn?"
"Apparently Makino is pregnant, that's why they are getting married. Legal reasons and stuff. Benn is fine with that, since he is repulsed by sex as far as I know and that makes Shanks the father so they decided to sort this out." Perona shrugged, still watching Nami.
"And why do you know all of this? Or is it something most know?" the ginger decided to ask a last question.
"My dad is Shanks' best friend and he comes and cries his heart out every time something happens. It's just so not cute. I am so glad I moved out..." the pink-haired woman stopped talking for a moment. "Now I remember! You have been the gal who was arguing with Zoro and the cook!"
Nami shot her a confused look but than it struck her. "You are his sister, aren't you?"
"Exactly!" Perona grinned, happy that she finally figured out why Nami looked so familiar. "So how exactly did you meet Zoro and what is your relationship?"
"That's none of your business!" Zoro hissed from behind Nami, causing her to jump a little as she hadn't expected it.
"Zoroooo!" Luffy sprung at the man, making him go back a few steps, allowing Nami to get a look. She had to admit that he looked really hot in the suit he was wearing.
"You are late! That's not cute!" Perona pouted, glaring at her brother.
"I got lost. This place is hell to find!" he hissed, trying to free himself for Luffy's tight embrace.
"It isn't!" she argued back.
"Shut up and sit down!" Ace commanded from the table next to them. "Ben is going to deliver a speech!"
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"A drinking contest? Are you serious?" A tall, really handsome man in maybe his forties sat down at the table where Nami and Zoro were arguing in mid of a drinking contest.
"You did that with Shanks when you were younger, too!" Zoro emptied another bottle demonstratively.
"I was forced to..." the man said, sounding resigned. "By the way, my name is Draculle Mihawk, nice to meet you." he greeted Nami, despite looking quite disapproving at her own bottle.
"Nami Mikan." she replied. "Why didn't you tell me that your father is this hot?" she hissed at Perona while the two men argued again.
"Hot? Isn't he a bit too old for you?" the girl rose an eyebrow. "That's so not cute!"
"You know, you can tell if somebody is esthetically pleasant and looks really bangable even if you wouldn't want to have sex with him." Nami explained with a grin. Perona seemed so innocent, it was refreshing. Especially as Nami herself wasn't too keen to have sex in the near future, even with Zoro of all people sitting next to her.
"Are ya giving up?" the green-haired man rose another bottle as his father stood up and made a way to another table, obviously giving up on his son's drinking habits.
"You can bet that I don't!" Nami sneered. "But what's up with you three not looking like each other at all?"
"We are adopted." Zoro shrugged. "It seems that one day he felt like getting a family so he did. Picked the two weirdest and least similar kids he could. End of story. Not that I complain. Our old man is the biggest weirdo alive but he did a pretty good job raising us."
"I am a bit unsure if-"
"No, no mother. There never was one and he never showed interest in anybody." Perona interrupted Nami's following question. "How about you?"
"I'm adopted too. My mother found my sister and me on a battlefield after a war and took us home. There was a man but they never had anything more serious in front of us." Nami downed the bottle in one go. Usually she went slower but talking about this made it necessary.
"Holy shit!" Zoro whispered out of nowhere. Nami turned around to look what had surprised him so much.
Some of Shanks' crew as the others had called them were holding up a barrel and Shanks was letting the beer flow directly into his mouth. Nami looked instinctively for Makino just to find her in a corner together with Ben and Garp, discussing something heatedly.
"It's a wonder that gramps can stand Ben." Sabo appeared behind Nami. "He would kill Shanks if he was allowed to, but somehow he can be civil around Ben. I don't get his logic. It's probably the same with me and the two others. I am just so happy that Luffy fell asleep after you gave him that cognac."
"I fear what will happen when he wakes up." Nami muttered.
"Well, it can't be worse than a drunk Shanks being chased by an even drunker gramps." the blond shrugged, cringing at the sight of his grandfather opening a bottle of rum.
"Talking about families, what is the case with yours?" Perona asked out of a sudden, bringing the topic back on the table. "We know each other for a long time now, but I never heard that story."
A sad smile appeared on Sabo's face. "Luffy is Garp's biological grandchild, Ace and I are kinda adopted but we are like real brothers and nobody can convince us otherwise. That's everything you need to know. But now, if you excuse me, I have to look for Ace and Vivi. I don't want her to be stuck somewhere because that moron fell asleep out of the sudden."
"What happened?" Nami was genuinely concerned.
"Just a little fight." Sabo whispered, before making his way to the exit, letting the ginger with her thoughts, a lot of ale and two very weird siblings she couldn't decide what to think about.
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"I am sorry." both Nami and the waiter she had noticed earlier said in union after they bumped into each other.
The ginger rubbed one of her eyes, grimacing when she noticed that her eye make-up rubbed down on her arm, and stopped in tracks just to turn around slowly.
Behind the smaller waiter, there was another person she has already seen before.
"Aren't you that guy from the party some weeks ago?" She asked, making him look up from the notes he was taking.
He didn't reply for a while, but than there was something like realization showing on his face, at least on the part one could see. "You are that chick who was with Kid that night, right?"
"Exactly!" she laughed. "Oh god, this evening is weird."
"Indeed. I have never dreamed of meeting somebody as the boss of R.E.D industries, the national navy hero or the world's number one swordsman in person. Especially not on a single evening." he shook his head.
"R.E.D?" Nami's mouth fell open. "Are you serious? I thought he never showed himself in society?!"
"It's the groom?" Killer replied, looking at her doubtfully. "But who the hell are you?"
"Just a person with the weirdest luck." Nami muttered. "By the way: where the fuck are the toilets?"
