mikangirl | [Voice/Action]

[Nami's had quite enough of sleeping. It's kind of disconcerting to be told it's now September, and it doesn't help that she's spent the time since Ling's rude wake-up call still sleeping most of her day away. So tired, all the time. Prone to falling asleep mid-shower, and that is annoying, to say the least.

Oh, well. A week has gone past and she can finally get through most of the day with no problems, so Nami takes advantage of the fact that there is no Chopper to tell her otherwise (and no Katara or Law at the house at the time) to sneak up to the orchard and see how it's fared in her near-two-month absence.

...huh. Been hot lately, she sees. And a lot less mikan up here than she was expecting. Nothing too alarming, and the place seems okay otherwise, pinwheels and all. Someone even fixed her cottage door, lookit that.

Welp. Observant villagers might see the low-lying rainclouds to the northeast of the village, a tiny little storm that barely covers an acre. It's too hot today anyway, may as well take advantage of the fact that she can cheat.]

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Thanks, whoever fixed my door. Did you take some of the fruit as payment or should I blame someone else for that?

[Tell her what she's missed, Luceti.]

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[Her first kneejerk reaction is one of hurt. And a deeper, more resentful upset that her words are getting flung back in her face. But she glances down at her knees with a tightening of her jaw, because Katara's not done speaking past those first three words, and she curls her fingers into the pants of her jeans and is quiet for a long moment after Katara is done.]

You think I don't know that? [It's a soft reproach, deliberately mimicking Katara's from earlier. But if there was any sting meant there, it's lost in the deep unhappiness of Nami's frown.]

Nobody will ever be there for you all the time. We're all at the beck of call of this place and a bunch of jerks who think it's funny to make us fall in love at the drop of a hat. But... we all do our best to be there for each other, right? There's times...

[She breaks off, because that's a larger subject.]

Maybe I can't be. And I know you won't hold that against me, ever. But I'm here now. And as much as I can be. If I'm here, I'll never turn you away.

You do your best with what you've got, Katara.

I know you do. [Her voice was quiet.] And I know you'd want to, if you could. But you have other responsibilities and hurts which don't include me, Nami. Even when you're here...

[Did you meet my son? Did you even know I had one? Two, actually, and a daughter. Apparently I name her after my mother. Did you know that? Because we didn't see each other that whole time, did we.]

...it's just different. And sometimes venting doesn't do anything other than make things worse.

[...hah. First time Nami's been made to feel guilty over a mallynapping. She doesn't think Katara is being fair. From you're not here to venting doesn't help? So what does that mean, exactly? She's trying not to jump to the worst conclusion.]

That last part was aimed at you, actually. [She's quiet.] Friends are there for each other as much as they can be, but none of us is perfect.

If you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine. But I can't even try to be there for you unless I know what's going on.

Maybe not. [She's quiet too.] But how much is too much, Nami? I see how much you're already carrying. I see how the friends you've made here have been hurt [Noel. Ragna. Miyabi.] and how much that weighs on you. How can I just come up to you and add to more of that?

[Ah.

She smiles faintly.]

I appreciate that.

But I'd rather you did just that, because I would much rather do what I can to help my friends then just stand by and watch them hurt. If we're all hurting at the same time, well... that's just the way things are, you know? [Her smile takes on a small wry quirk.] At least we can do that together.

[That touches her heart.]

Yeah.

[She pauses to think about that for a moment.]

How about we make a deal? If we ask each other what's going on, that means we're able to hear more, no matter what else has happened. And if they're our own secrets, then we'll share. Deal?

[Heh. Her smile grows a little wider. A little warmer, and she stretches out before shifting to face Katara, one hand propping up her cheek.]

Deal.

[Katara relaxes a little. It's not easy for her, keeping pains close and closed off from her friends.]

Okay.

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