Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Sanji and Nami
Requested by: YonaWon (Ao3)
Nami breathed in deeply as she stood with her hands resting against the smooth railing of the Thousand Sunny, her eyes closed as the salty aroma of the endless sea filled her nose. It's over… We're free… she thought blissfully, so overcome with relief that a few tears slipped from her eyes and went rolling down her cheeks. We're safe. At least, they were for the moment. Luffy's brazen siege of her kingdom in the attempt to recover Sanji had slighted her immensely, and she was an Emperor- she was not going to take that bold challenge go unanswered. Most likely, she was already in pursuit, and would follow them all the way to Wano where another Emperor was waiting. They had barely managed to escape from one Emperor; Nami could not imagine facing off against two, and rumor of Luffy's reckless actions had already spread, so who knew if the others would rise up to quash the force that was rapidly growing. Luffy was the force on the seas to be reckoned with. His bounty had been increased to a whopping 150 billion Berries, and as a result of his daring escape and association with the Germa 66, Sanji's had increased as well. The Straw Hats would soon find that they had more enemies than friends.
Still, she thought as she glanced over her shoulder down to the deck of the ship, where Luffy, covered in thick bandages, was dozing in the sunlight. I have faith in my captain, as goofy and unassuming as he is. Somehow, he had brought them through the raid of Whole Cake Island relatively unharmed- that fact spoke volumes. Though the days before them were uncertain, Nami believed that the darkness would pass.
Nami's gaze flicked across the large deck of the ship as movement flashed in her peripheral vision, and a blush immediately rose to her cheeks when she noticed that it was the suave cook they had nearly killed themselves to rescue- the man that had finally proclaimed his love to her, a love that Nami had gladly accepted and reciprocated. However, the entire idea was still new to her, and every time that she saw him she thought of the passionate kisses, once in the hallway and again in Bege's castle fortress, and that sent her heart to beating furiously in her chest. "I told you once, there is only one woman who holds my heart, and that is you," his voice echoed in her head, making her blush further. As she gazed at him with emotions bubbling up inside of her, Sanji glanced up as he strode across the deck, and his expression melted into a smile when he saw her. Wherever he was heading, he abandoned the endeavor and lightly hopped up the steps to join her on the upper deck, while Nami, embarrassed for him to see her blushing, turned her face back to the sparkling sea.
"What're you thinking about?" he asked her as he slid up beside her, his hands resting casually in his pants pockets. With the chaos of the previous days, the small notion that was the familiarity of his posture was almost comforting.
"I'm just relieved," she answered honestly as she glanced down at her hands that were clutching the wooden banister. "We went through so much, and for a little while there, in the back of my mind, I was afraid that we really weren't going to make it… But we did. We escaped Big Mom. We got you back," she smiled and looked up at him happily. He's safe… Without thinking, she pressed up against him, their arms brushing gently together; though it had been an unconscious action, the corners of Sanji's mouth tugged up into a smirk, and then the next thing she knew he had slipped his arm around her waist. "Sanji, wait," she gasped and hurriedly whipped around to look back down at the deck, where her captain was still softly snoring. "The rest of the crew doesn't know about us yet!" she fretted and tried to worm her way out of his grasp, but as she turned to the side, his hands migrated to her hips and pulled her body up against his. Her face turned bright red as their bodies met, but Sanji was all-smiles, grinning like an idiot at her obvious mortification. "Sanjiiiiii!" she whined, but not too loudly so as not to attract attention.
"Why do I have to hide it?" he asked her with a suddenly serious expression. "I love you, Nami. I want everyone to know it." Naturally, this made her feel slightly guilty, but she still could not handle the stress of the entire crew becoming aware of their recent romantic involvement. He leaned forward to kiss her, but she pressed her hand against his mouth, which he did not appreciate. His dark eyes narrowed with a mixture of disappointment and irritation, and he reached up to pry her slim fingers from his mouth.
"That's the second time you've done this to me," he whined loudly, then looked down at her hand, which he was still gently holding. Then, with a smug smirk, he pulled his hand to his mouth and softly kissed her knuckles, once, twice, a third time. As nice as it felt, she could not fully enjoy it, as she kept frantically glancing around at the various entrances onto the deck and to where Luffy still lay dozing lest one of the crew members stumble across them embroiled in the romantic gesture. Sanji didn't take lightly to that, either, and stopped affectionately smooching her hand to glance up at her crossly.
"Can't we just go in my room to do this?" she complained with another furtive look over the ship, attempting to pull her arm back. Sanji's grip held steady.
"No. Why are you acting like this? Are you embarrassed of me?" he asked, and when she looked back at him, his face had turned from irritated to extremely sad. Nami immediately felt guilty for the way that she had been acting. Why am I so embarrassed? I put my life on the line to save him from Big Mom and all her murderous followers… This is a man I know and love. I shouldn't be embarrassed of him, and I shouldn't be embarrassed of him showing that he loves me, and me showing that I love him… she thought, a smile spreading slowly across her lips.
"No. Of course I'm not, Sanji," she sighed and reached up with her free hand to gently cup his cheek. "I'm sorry. It's just so natural for you, but for me… This is all new. I just get so into my head," she explained and looked down at their joined hands. "… Let's tell them," she decided abruptly, and even Sanji seemed surprised at her sudden boldness.
"Are you sure?" he blinked with an unsure look. "I don't want to force you into anything, Nami. If you're really that uncomfortable, I don't mind hiding it for a while," he frowned. He's so sweet and considerate, she thought with a small giggle before she adjusted her fingers so that their hands were entwined.
"No, Sanji, you're right. Why should I hide the fact that I love you?" she smiled brightly, and she laughed again as a goofy grin slowly spread across his face. She gasped as he suddenly sprung forward to steal a quick, passionate kiss from her, before whirling about to pull her down the steps onto the main deck of the ship. Despite her conviction only a few moments ago, his suddenness threw her off guard, and she internally panicked as he bustled her down onto the deck and slammed his foot down loudly onto the wooden planks right in front of Luffy's face.
"Get up, Luffy, you've slept enough! I have an announcement!" Sanji shouted. Luffy merely groaned with a flutter of his eyelids, slowly lifting his head as a dribble of drool flowed from his mouth.
"Nggh? Is it dinnertime yet?" the pirate captain mumbled sleepily as he gazed sleepily up at the cook, who just snorted and crossed his arms.
"No, it is not dinnertime. I have something to tell everyone," he reiterated. Perhaps part of his plan, the ruckus attracted the rest of the Straw Hat crew that had made the journey to Whole Cake island from the bowels of the Thousand Sunny.
"An announcement? What is it?" Carrot quipped as she scurried out of the lower desks, her nose twitching as her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Chopper tottered out after her, his little reindeer hooves clicking against the wood as he walked.
"What's all this about?" Brooke asked as he strode out onto the deck with his long, bony legs. Nami just hid behind Sanji, her face bright pink as she stressed; Sanji, on the other hand, was calm as he cleared his thought dramatically before pulling Nami out into the spotlight, throwing his arm around her shoulders and grinning dramatically.
"Nami is my girlfriend~" he crowed proudly. He was practically radiating happiness as he stood with his arm around her, while she was blushing from head to toe, her gaze trained on the wood grains beneath her feet. This is so embarrassing! Did he have to make such a show of it? She thought in mortification and peered out of the corners of her eyes at him. He looked positively ecstatic, though, to be able to show her off, that she took a deep breath to quiet her doubts and lifted her head to smile just as happily.
"Really? That's the big announcement? I thought you were announcing dinner!" Luffy whined as he flopped onto his back and held his belly in protest. "Meat! I want meat!" So much for that, Nami sighed to herself. Luffy's insatiable appetite never ceased to amaze. Thankfully, the rest of them were more excited about the recent development.
"Wow! I'm so excited for you, Nami!" Carrot cried as she darted forward to clutch her hands, her eyes literally sparkling as she stared at the girl with a mixture of excitement and pride.
"Oh, how wonderful! I shall sing a song~" Brooke cried and whipped out a violin (from where, Nami really wasn't sure), drawing the bow across the strings as he sang some love song or another while Sanji very grumpily told him to knock it off. Chopper was running around in a circle squealing with glee.
"I think I'm gonna die of happiness! Someone get a doctor! Wait- I am the doctor!" he shrieked and froze when he came to that realization. As they all reacted positively, Nami began to feel a lot more at ease. I'm… Sanji's girlfriend. Hearing herself say it made her surprisingly giddy, and bold; with a bright smile, she wound her arms around Sanji's, gazing up at him with all the love that she felt in that moment. Noticing her stare, he looked down, and as their eyes met she could see that her love was reciprocated completely. The man I know and love, she thought, and without any shame at all she stood up on her tip-toes to lightly press her lips to his. Though he was obviously surprised at first, he soon relaxed into it and gladly returned her affectionate action.
"Grooooooooss!" Luffy whined, utterly destroying the loving atmosphere between them. Both she and Sanji shot him irritated glares, but the immature captain just pouted as he looked up at them. "I don't care! Make me food!" he cried and lunged forward to grab onto Sanji's leg, like a young child throwing a tantrum. "I'm huuuuuuunnnngryyyyy!"
"Get off!" Sanji cried back as he tried to shake him off, but if their long adventure had proven anything, is was two things: Luffy could not be dissuaded when he set to his mind to something, and his stomach was almost as much of a force to be reckoned with as he was himself. After a few minutes of unsuccessfully trying to pry the hungry man off of him, Sanji finally relented with a deep sigh and a roll of his eyes. "Fine, fine! I'll cook you some food! Geez, you're such a pain!" he complained, and at the promise off food the rubber man finally relinquished his hold on Sanji's leg.
"I'll join you!" Nami cried as he began to walk off toward the kitchen, and since he was already falling into that acute sense of focus that he had when cooking, he just waved a hand in acknowledgement. The rest of the crew began to chatter about some ridiculous thing or another as Nami walked briskly after the long-legged man, following him into his beloved kitchen. As soon as she closed the door behind her, however, Sanjo dropped his act and cornered her against the door with a sudden and passionate kiss. Nami was helpless as he pulled her into his arms and stole her breath away; she just allowed it to happen, obediently moving her mouth against his as he pushed the kiss deeper. After a few minutes of hot, heavy kissing, he retreated, but only slightly.
"Sorry. I just had to finish what you started," he teased with a smug smirk, his face close enough that his lips brushed against hers with every word. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, so fiercely that she couldn't focus on trying to speak. She just stared dumbly at him with a face flushed from emotion and exertion. Sanji leaned forward to lightly kiss her on the nose, and the simple touch stirred her from her stupor. However, before she could react, he chuckled lightly and pulled away from her to walk into the heart of the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves as he prepared to get right to work. "So, are you gonna stand there and look pretty or are you going to help me? Not that I mind you standing there and looking pretty," he winked at her with a cheeky grin. Nami rolled her eyes and bounced across the kitchen to join him, and soon the kitchen became filled with the aroma of lovely-smelling food as well as elated laughter.
I love him so much… I hope things can stay like this for a long, long time…