Fever
This is a fanfiction for Teruul's fanfiction, Race for One Piece (if you haven't read it, go do it now! It's the best ever! s/8717182/1/Race-for-One-Piece = enter fanfiction. net and a slash before the story id). The pairing here is Roa/Lance, who I think are so meant to be together! Enjoy!
The night was drifting by in silence. No enemy ship were anywhere to be sighted as Atlas was gently rocked by the calm waves, the silent splashes a very soothing sound. Not even the fish in the sea dared approach the ocean surface and disturb the peace, let alone the one awake person on the ship.
A few days after leaving Kanran-sha Island, Lance had woken up in the early morning, feeling cold and sluggish. The shipwright had attempted to silently sneak up on deck, but before he could even reach the end of the bunks, he'd been caught by Atalaya, whose sensitive ears had instantly caught his movements.
"Everything alright, Lance?" she asked, her voice a bit sleep-drunk as she slid down from her loft and trotted up to him. "Morning's not here for a few more hours."
"I'm fine, simply in the need of a nip of fresh air," Lance said and straightened up in a try to mask his state, but Atalaya didn't buy his words for one second.
"You sure you're okay?" she mumbled and raised a hand to his forehead, her sleep-deprived eyes widening when she felt his skin burning underneath her fingers. "You have a high fever," she hissed.
After quickly glancing over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't woken anyone else, Atalaya ignored Lance's meek protests and tugged him with her up on deck and into the infirmary, where she almost threw him down onto the bed. "You'll rest here," she said firmly and crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for him to get comfortable.
"Captain, I am perfectly fine," Lance said, but his words weren't very convincing because his lungs decided to trigger a coughing attack at that exact moment. He brought a hand to his mouth and tried to stifle the coughs, but with no suck luck.
"That doesn't sound like fine to me. Come on, get under the blankets already!"
The shipwright finally obliged, realizing that nothing he said now would make Atalaya ease up on him. He shivered as the chilly unused sheets hugged him, and he blew out a shaky breath as he let his muscles relax.
"Good," Atalaya said and moved to the other side of the room to fill up a bucked of cold water. She dipped a white towel into the bucket and wrung it out before folding it and placing it on Lance's forehead. "I'll keep watch until morning, so go back to sleep."
"I couldn't possibly sleep if I knew you were awake," the shipwright mumbled, his eyelids already dropping. With the soaked towel feeling like heaven against his heated skin, there wasn't much standing between him and the blissful land of sleep. "I'd feel much too... guilty for..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence before he fell asleep.
Almost one whole day had passed since that, and Lance's fever was still not going down. Atalaya had assigned each of the Saber Pirates to take turns watching him for a few hours at the time. Ruule had cooked up a nutritious meal and with the carefree smile on his lips, he'd practically forced the food down a reluctant Lance's throat.
After that, Kitsune had been scolded for not letting Lance rest properly as the swordsman had decided to try out the different tools in the infirmary. He'd piled them all on a tray out of boredom, and finally the tray had slid off the table and onto the floor with an ear-shattering crash. Atalaya had stomped into the room and placed Kitsune in a chair, warning him to not move from it unless to refresh the towel on Lance's forehead.
Atalaya had saved the nightshift for Roa, since she figured it would be easiest for him if the shipwright was asleep. The moon stood high in the sky as the archer stood outside the infirmary, slowly inhaling lungfuls of air to ensure his nerves wouldn't break. He'd promised the captain to not bother Lance, especially if the shipwright would be awake.
Roa sighed before pushing down the handle and soundlessly opening the door to move inside. The first thing he noticed was the decorated hat hung over the bedframe, the longest of the peacock feathers sweeping against the floor as a cool night breeze flowed into the room. Roa quickly shut the door behind him and as he placed his gazed on the shipwright, he saw the towel had slipped off Lance's forehead as the shipwright had turned in his sleep.
Roa moved over to the bed and picked it up from the pillow, letting it splash down into the bucket to refresh. He took a seat in the chair next to the bed while he waited, and his eyebrows knitted together as his eyes scanned over Lance's face.
The shipwright's face was flushed from the fever, a dust of red stretching over his cheeks and nose, and his lips were parted as he had to breathe through his mouth. Roa sighed as his glance moved to Lance's neck and collarbones. The shipwright had buttoned up several buttons of his dress shirt, exposing his slightly reddened chest as much as the blanket permitted.
"Crap..." Roa huffed as he felt his own cheeks begin heating up, and he distracted himself by properly soaking the towel and wringing it out. He carefully placed the towel against Lance's forehead, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the shipwright's eyes had opened, the dark orbs staring up at him from underneath heavy eyelids.
Roa instantly jumped up to his feet and moved backwards until his back bumped into the infirmary desk. He groaned at his own reaction and inhaled deeply before crossing his arms, the usual scowl on his face as he returned Lance's stare. "Go back to sleep," he said snappishly.
Lance, seemingly a little dizzy from the fever, blinked a few times before he realized who had spoken. "You... why are you here?" he sighed, his raspy voice barely above a whisper.
"Atalaya's making me watch you, pretty boy," Roa said and strode back to the chair, where he sat down and stared up into the ceiling. "Go to sleep and stop bothering me."
"Who exactly is bothering whom?" Lance said weakly, a hand appearing from underneath the blankets to cover his mouth as he coughed. "Your presence alone is disturbing my sleep."
"You'll just have to live with that." The archer emitted a frustrated growl when he saw Lance rolled his eyes before closing them. "Look, pretty boy, if you have a problem with the captain's orders, take it up with her," Roa said loudly. "I can't help it if Atalaya thinks you need a babysitter!"
"Could you please refrain from speaking?" Lance said, the strong disdain coating the polite word although his voice was hoarse and strained. "As previously instructed, I am attempting to search for that blissful sleep you spoke of."
The final strand of Roa's patience broke and he rose to his feet, his hands clenched into fists. "Well then," he grit out and made way for the door. "I'm not gonna waste my time here if this is what I get in return. Have a nice night, pretty boy."
He stomped past the bed, but before he reached the door, he halted as the hem of his shirt was grabbed. Irritation added to the fire already burning in his chest and he whirled around to give the shipwright a piece of his mind, but his words died in his throat at sight of Lance's expression. The towel had fallen off his forehead and down from the bed as he craned his neck so he could look straight at Roa, the flush on his face spreading to his ears. His brow was furrowed in what Roa could only interpret as hesitation or submission.
"What do you want?" the archer growled, but his voice was much softer and he found he was somehow incapable of moving away or untangling the shipwright's grip.
For a few seconds, Lance himself seemed unsure of what it was he wanted. Finally, he lowered his head as his neck began protesting. His voice was muffled as he spoke into the pillow, but Roa could still make out the words, "I'm cold."
All the previous rage died down as if someone had let a bucket of water splash down over the rage in Roa's chest. He stared down at Lance with wide eyes. The shipwright's eyes were now closed against the pillow, giving him an exposed and vulnerable look.
Many sour retorts flew over Roa's mind, but he ignored all of them and moved back to the bed, his hand going to carefully untangle Lance's grip on his shirt. Without a word, he sat down on the edge of the bed and poked the shipwright's shoulder. "Move over, pretty boy," he mumbled.
Lance obliged and made enough room for him to lay down. The archer sighed as he adjusted the blanket to completely cover the shipwright and scooted closer, carefully wrapping his arms around Lance's trembling shoulders. He hugged him closer still, and Lance hummed in content as he buried his face in the crook of Roa's neck.
"I'll kill you if I get sick tomorrow," the archer grumbled against his hair, but Lance was too exhausted to even scoff. They lay quiet, the shipwright's labored breathing the only disturbance in the silence.
After a few minutes, Roa furrowed his brow as he noticed Lance was moving his head around, turning it in different positions against his collarbones. "What're you doing?" he asked and pulled back enough to look at the shipwright's face.
It took Lance a few seconds to find the right words as he was very close to falling asleep. "Your heart," he breathed out, sighing as he finally found a good position against the archer's neck. "Your heart was being loud, beating so fast..."
Roa's eyes widened at the words, but there wasn't much else he could do to process his reaction. It seemed like Lance had fallen asleep right after speaking, so Roa groaned silently and hoped the shipwright wouldn't remember his own words the next morning.
"I blame you for that, you know," Roa mumbled and hesitated for a few seconds before softly pressing his lips against Lance's forehead. "Good night, pretty boy," he whispered when he pulled back and leaned against the pillow, falling asleep not many seconds later.
Early the next morning, before the sun even had gotten the chance to start rising, a loud exclaim and a thud sounded from inside the infirmary. Roa had been brutally pushed off the bed, his head banging against the bucket of water and causing it to splash all over him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted as he sat up straight to glare daggers at Lance, who was sitting on the bed, scooted up as far against the wall as possible.
"That would be my question, you charlatan!" the shipwright growled and looked around in the room. "Why did I wake up with your arms around my body? Why were you in my bed at all!?"
A frown settled on Roa's face as he grabbed hold of his braid and wrung it to get rid of the water. "You don't remember anything," he muttered, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. "Fine." He stood up and equipped his usual scowl as he stared down at Lance.
"I thought it'd be entertaining to watch you freak out like this," he said loudly. "Turns out I was right."
Lance quickly leaped off the bed and grabbed his hat, sending Roa a murderous glare as he shoved past him and stormed out of the infirmary, leaving the archer behind to curse at the lousy event.
The shipwright slammed the door behind him, but he didn't move away from the spot. Instead, he leaned his back against the door and blew out a shaky breath, chuckling silently as he felt his heart racing at high speed. He rested the back of his head to the door and raised a hand to slowly trace the spot on his forehead where he could still feel the archer's lips.
"Is it in your intentions to make my heart burst..?" he mumbled.
Lance stood completely still for a few seconds before shaking his head, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips as he pressed his hat down over his head to hide his blush from the world.
If that wasn't fluff, then I don't know what is.
Ahahahah, I'm probably the first one ever to write a fanfic for Race for One Piece, but I can't keep from shipping Roa/Lance! Since the first time they met, I've been hoping Teruul would be kind enough to put them together, but then I read she's not gonna include ANY romance in her story, so I took it as a personal quest to spread the Roa/Lance love! This isn't the first fanfic about them I've written, but it's the first one I'm secure with enough to upload here.
When I think of Roa and Lance's relationship, I don't think they would be obvious about it, not even towards each other. I think they really do like each other that way, but they wouldn't show it by kissing or hugging (while they're fully conscious and in perfect health). That's why I made Lance react the way he did when he woke up, and Roa didn't try to explain what had happened.
Hope you see this, Teruul, and tell me what you think!