Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Sanji and Nami
Requested By: Lee03na (Ao3)
Nami's hands tightened around the balustrade as she spotted the familiar silhouette of sails and a wooden bow upon the horizon, and the tears dripped from her eyes as the frightened breath she had been holding slipped from her mouth. Behind them, the murderous Big Mom on her blazing fiery familiar had halted right in the middle of whatever deadly attack she was going to unleash, and was currently sniffing the air while drool pooled into her mouth; even farther than that lie her entire armada. For hours, they had been embroiled in a feverish game of cat-and-mouse, and only a few short minutes ago Nami had been convinced that their desperate effort had been for naught. As that ship sailed upon the horizon, however, hope burst once more in Nami's heart.
"Everyone!" She gasped as the shadowy ship rapidly came into focus. "It's a ship, and it has a cake on board! It's Sanji!" Cheers erupted from the bedraggled crew, while the unconscious Carrot still snoozed on, tired from her exertion from the night before. Their shrieks of delight traveled across the swirling sea, and Nami thought that among the din she could hear the wayward cook calling her name.
Nami glanced up as the rushing of flames roared overhead just in time to see the cackling Emperor scream overhead like a meteor plummeting to Earth, rocketing toward Bege's ship, which had already whipped around to sail full-speed to the southwest. Nami's heart momentarily sunk, as she was afraid that Sanji would be trapped on the likely doomed vessel, until her expert eyes spotted a rapidly approaching object skimming just above the roiling waves heading right for them. By the time she had rapidly descended the steps down to the main deck, Sanji and Pudding had already landed on the wooden deck on a flying carpet.
"Yo! I'm back!" Sanji announced with a smug grin, a cigarette already clenched between his teeth. Nami should have been prideful, should have let him know how utterly stupid he was for subjecting them to this entire ordeal, but the moment she heard his voice such notions flew to the back of her mind. All she could think about was how glad she was to see him, how utterly elated she was that he was finally home. Along with Brook, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck like she never wanted to let him go again.
Maybe part of her didn't.
"Sanji! I'm so glad you're all right! I thought we weren't going to make it for a moment; thank you!" she exclaimed happily. The tears came to her eyes without her knowing, and when she pulled back to look up at him they were spilling over her cheeks while her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably. She had her fingers curled into the fabric of the fancy tuxedo shirt that he was still wearing, subconsciously convincing herself that he was really here and was not a figment of her imagination. He's back. He's really home. Sanji gawked at her for a moment, in utter shock that she would ever display such affection for him, before all the blood rushed to his face and steam practically blasted from his ears.
"Namiiiiiiii!" he squealed, and before she could even react he had shoved Brook to the side to wrap her into a tight embrace, burying his face into her tangerine hair. Nami froze, still stiffly clutching onto the soft fabric of his tuxedo jacket, while her mind struggled to comprehend the complex emotions writhing inside of her; part of her wanted to act as she normally did, to brusquely refute him, but part of her wanted to melt into him, letting him hold her for the rest of time, to keep her safe like he had always promised… Her eyes began to drift shut slightly, her fingers curling further into the jacket, while her mind began to drift into a fog of some unknown feeling. Sanji… You came back to me… Don't leave again, she began to beg. Sanji… I…
Then, it was like a switch flipped in her head and she realized what exactly was happening. With pink cheeks, she jerked out of his grasp and placed a few good feet between herself and the lascivious man. What just happened to me?
After the love-struck cook finally came to his senses, the captainless crew exchanged information about their respective experiences. Sanji explained that Bege had agreed to sail the cake farther away and draw off both Big Mom and the massive fleet to give the Straw Hats a chance to retrieve Luffy, who was currently trapped on Cacao island still embroiled in his fight with Dogtooth. They were currently three hours away from Cacao Island with a time of arrival at 1 a.m., but they had no idea when or where Luffy was going to emerge from the mirror world. Most likely, Big Mom's army had laid a trap for him, and he would walk right out of one intense battle to land in another. Nami bit down nervously on her bottom lip as she wrapped her arms around herself to stave off the chill traveling up from her spine. Even as powerful as Luffy is… There's no way he can fight off an entire army after just getting out of an intense battle like that! Worse, they had not escaped the entire fleet, as a smaller one was still in active pursuit of the Thousand Sunny.
"There's no time. I'm going to have to go to Cacao Island and get him," Sanji frowned deeply. Nami felt a scream of opposition rising in her throat and intense fear clench her heart in its cold, sharp claws. No! He just escaped…! Though she wanted nothing more than to plead for him to stay, that there must be some other way, but she knew deep down that there was not. Instead, she just clamped down on her bottom lip to keep her objections from escaping; they rang around in her head like a dismal symphony. I want you to stay… Please don't go, Sanji… What if you don't come back? As she stared at him with a trembling mouth and tears threatening to appear in her eyes once more, unconsciously committing his form to memory, he turned his back to her to walk toward the magic carpet. Had his shoulders always been that broad? That back so strong? Sanji! Don't go! Her fingers twitched with the need to grab the hem of his jacket like the weak little girl she was and beg him to stay. She wasn't sure what had come over her, why seeing him leave now frightened her so, but she could not think about anything else. Sanji…!
Somehow, he heard her.
He stopped a few steps away from the flying carpet, and Nami could see his shoulders hunch slightly as he pondered something; then, he whirled around to walk back over to her, giving a sidelong glance to Jinbe and the others. "I almost forgot. Make sure you guys take care of Nami, okay?" Though Nami would normally purse her lips and disregard his flirtatiousness, when his gaze flickered back to settle on her, the heat dwelling within his gaze made her mind melt into butter. Her heart began to flutter in her chest like a baby bird on its first clumsy flight. She was utterly helpless as he stopped in front of her, his head cocked to the side slightly as he regarded her with a soft smile. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to her," he whispered, every word accelerating the feverish pace of her heartbeat. Despite her best efforts, her desperate pleas forced themselves past the barrier of her quivering lips, and she timidly reached forward to gently clutch the hem of his tuxedo jacket.
"Is there no other way?" she asked quietly, softly, where only he could hear her weakness. He didn't answer her, only slipped his hand around hers and trailed his thumb across the top of hers that was just barely trembling; then, with a sudden movement, he snatched her by the wrist and jerked her roughly by the arm so that she lost her balance and fell into him. Before she could even think about reacting, he had placed his index finger underneath her chin to tilt her face upwards, and as her startled eyes locked with his she saw that heat had burst into the intense flame of desire. Its warmth crossed the few centimeters between them, burning her cheeks and seeping into her entire body to wrap its flickering hands around her feeble heart, warming her in a way she never knew possible. Utterly helpless to its intensity, she could do nothing as his lips swept down to cover her own. At the moment their mouths met, Nami felt something burst inside of her, like a dam that had borne the weight of floodwaters finally giving way to spill the writhing waves across the land; it was so powerful that it made her knees weak and she had to clutch onto him to keep herself from being swept away by the fire and water. She was unable to stop herself from moving her lips in sync with his, dancing along to the melody of the natural forces roiling inside of her. It lasted mere seconds, but to Nami she was trapped in the maelstrom for an eternity. When their lips finally parted, she unconsciously ran her tongue across the surface of her bottom lip, tasting the sweetness left behind by his. This action did not go unnoticed by the flirtatious cook, as a satisfied grin appeared on his face, one that Nami realized once she finally came to her senses.
"Take care of her!" Sanji insisted to the completely floored crew members before whirling on his feet to stride back over to the flying carpet as if nothing had happened. Pudding was fuming, all three of her eyes wide as she spat acidic insults to him, then hunched over and shot the carpet off the boat at unnecessary speed. It was then that the crew managed to voice their confused screams and run around Nami in circles or shake her vigorously, but the navigator was watching it all through a foggy window, too entranced in the dream-like state of budding love.
Sanji kissed me. He had always acted so nonchalant, and she had written off his proclamations of love as hopeless flirting. After all, he acted that way with every female that fell across his path. He kissed me. As much as she wanted to write this off as such, she could not; she could feel that love for her now, true love- that immense wave of fire that kissed the very depth of her soul and awoken something that she had not known had been sleeping within her. The flames of his passion had breathed flickering embers inside of her, nurturing her empty hearth into a gently burning candle of affection. Sanji loves me.
Do I… Do I love Sanji?
Even nearly three hours later, Sanji was still grinning. Nami had such a cute look on her face! He thought with a devilish snicker, then peered around the corner once more with a small frown. An entire army of Big Mom's soldiers had gathered around what he had surmised to be the only remaining mirror within the kingdom, waiting to ensnare Luffy within their trap when he came stumbling out of his harrowing fight. It should be soon, now… If he isn't able to escape them immediately, we'll be screwed…! He exhaled deeply and leaned back, tapping his foot slightly. He then smiled suddenly. "Pudding… We'll have to say goodbye soon," he remarked and turned around to continue, then recoiled slightly in shock. "Why are you sitting all the way over there?!" She was perched on a box, biting down on her lip as she stared intently at the cobblestone alleyway path. He smiled slightly in bemusement and leaned back against the slightly cold stone wall. "You know, we met under pretty strange circumstances," he remarked as he thought back on the strange roller coaster that had been their relationship. "We have to part ways soon, so I thought that I should thank you for everything you've done, Pudding," he beamed and held out a hand for her. Pudding, at his prompting, stood up to look at him with a red face and a stressed expression, before she whipped around and screamed, "Shut up!" He could only chuckle. Typical Pudding… Can't express her emotions at all. As she hid her face, he smirked slightly. "I get it. We are enemies, after all. Though, with the wedding being a trap and a big show, I'm still glad that my fiancé was you, Pudding." He meant that, too. Though he felt no romantic attraction to her- his heart did truly belong to Nami, after all- he wanted the best for her. It was then that she began to completely break down into ugly tears, startling him enough to jump up from his crouching position and run over to her. "Hey! Don't cry! I wasn't trying to make fun of you or anything!" Abruptly, she dried her tears and looked at him with a determined expression.
"Sanji… I have one last request of you." Sanji was just relieved that she had stopped crying, and though he should have been keeping an eye out for his captain, he momentarily forgot the notion in lieu of humoring her request. Pudding scampered over to him, gazing up at him with those pretty eyes of hers, before she fell against him and clutched tightly onto his shirt. He raised his eyebrows slightly, quite surprised at her sudden display of affection. He was even more floored when she stood up on her tip-toes to firmly but lovingly press her lips against his. It was not like the way he had kissed Nami- the feeling was not quite strong enough- but strong enough that the words she could not speak were heard by him. It was her final goodbye, her gratitude, that she could not voice. As SanjI lay in a daze, having not expected such a thing from her, she jerkily pulled back and released him to hurry back down the alleyway. By the time he had blinked himself back into reality, she had vanished around the corner.
"Pudding?" he called as loudly as he dare with the nearby soldiers, but he could not chase after her. He stared at the darkness with complicated feelings, thinking about what she had told him in the sad, final kiss.
Thank you for everything… And love her well. She didn't need to say it aloud for him to know. She knew he loved Nami, not her, and she had come to terms with that. Her last request had been for him to give her the love she could never have. It was a noble thing.
I will, Pudding. I hope you find someone to love you, too. With that settled, he returned to his post waiting for his captain. All he had to do was rescue Luffy and return to the Thousand Sunny- return to Nami, at last.
Nami sat at her desk, hunched over slightly as she pored over her navigational charts ensuring that they were on the quickest, most efficient route to Wano. The sun was beginning to rise, golden light pouring in through the gap of her slightly open door along with the fresh, salty sea breeze. Nami often worked with the door open, as the scent of the ocean helped her concentrate. Though she once may have been loathe to admit it, she was born to be a pirate; she simply loved the sea, the ocean waves and the swirling currents and the salt dancing on the wind.
They had successfully escaped Big Mom's clutches with Pekoms as the only casualty. Their captain, though severely beaten, had been safely brought back by Sanji and was currently in the care of their spastic doctor. Jinbe had separated from them to aid his crew in ensuring their escape from the gigantic murderous Emperor. Now, they were sailing the open ocean heading towards Wano, where the great rendezvous would occur.
With a small yawn, Nami set down her pen and leaned back to stretch her arms above her head to quell her complaining back muscles, lowering a hand to rub her eyes. Somehow, her fingers drifted down to her lips, tracing across the soft surface where Sanji had kissed her. Even now, hours later, she could feel the ghost of his mouth against hers, the whispers of his love speaking to her trembling heart. The corner of her mouth twitched and she hurriedly lowered her hand, staring unseeing at the charts spread out across the wooden surface of her desk. Sanji had been on the ship for quite a while now, but she had been unable to bring herself to face him. That little fire smoldered inside of her, but she was unsettled by it. Nami knew nothing of love, and the intensity of emotion she had felt in that moment almost frightened her; even more, she was admittedly terrified at the possibility that it had all been one-sided on her part, that it had been yet another groundless flirtation and Sanji didn't care that deeply for her at all. The thought of that was almost unbearable.
It took Nami a few moments to notice that she felt the sea breeze more strongly than normal, and when she turned, she stiffened when she found that the door had been pushed all the way open, and Sanji was standing in the threshold. All of her thoughts ceased and she gawked dumbly at him.
"Have you been up all night?" he asked. He was still dressed in his cloak and tuxedo. Nami noticed for the first time how attractive he was in such an outfit, and as the blush began to rise to her cheeks, she hastily averted her gaze to her navigational charts.
"I've just been going over my charts. It's important that we get to Wano as quickly as possible," she answered. Sanji did not answer. She heard the door click shut and the fall of his boots across the wooden floor, but she could not bring herself to look up; she could bring herself to do nothing but stare at the charts, her heart ramming against her ribcage. He stopped beside her, close enough for her to feel his body heat, or maybe it was just herself heating up as the little fire flickered brighter inside of her. She tilted her head up slightly of her own volition as his hand slid under her chin to turn her toward him, and she gazed up at him with widened eyes as he traced his thumb across the bags that had formed beneath them.
"You should go to sleep." There was no way Nami could sleep now; as her doubts and fears writhed inside her like prowling beasts that she struggled to contain, their jaws dripping adrenaline that shot into her veins. He was looking at her like that again, that smoldering look that added flames to her newborn fire. Was she imagining it? She must be. After three years, all they had been through, why now would he suddenly be in love with her? It couldn't possibly be true. Yet, as he continues to slowly trace his thumb across her wearied face, that glimmer of hope fluttered inside of her, a delicate butterfly with wings of fragile glass. If it were not true it would shatter.
"What did it mean?" she sputtered suddenly. His eyebrows crept up his forehead as her expression morphed from a startled deer to a firm wolf. "The kiss… What did it mean?" He was acting like it never happened. Did that mean it meant nothing? Her little butterfly began to falter as the thoughts crept into her mind, but she still stared resolutely up at him, hoping, hoping, hoping.
"Oh. That." He tugged up on her face, bringing her effortlessly into a standing position so that their faces were centimeters apart. His lips curled into a smug smirk as his free hand settled on the small of her back, slowly bringing her body up against his. If he felt her rapid gasps of breath, her heart hammering in her chest, her body trembling like a leaf upon that whirling salt breeze, he said nothing. "If I tell you, will you go to sleep?"
"Yes!" She had no pride now to refuse any demands; she just had to know, know how he felt about her once and for all. His smirk widened, and he cocked his head to the side slightly.
"It means I love you, Nami." As if the words were not enough, he sought to prove it further; in moments, his mouth had found hers, and that little butterfly of hope dove into her flickering flame to ignite it into a bursting inferno. Her knees immediately failed at the surge of heat within her, but Sanji firmly held her aloft. Not that Nami could focus on that, though- she was too busy at the mercy of his sugary-sweet lips pouring over hers. Their mouths mixed together like swirling ocean currents, engaged in a perfect harmonic dance. All of her thoughts were swept away by the rapidly rising tide, leaving only that roaring flame of her desire. Her shaking hands curled into his tuxedo jacket, the only way to ground herself against the intense storm, and allowed him to take control.
The kiss rapidly deepened, stealing Nami's breath away and drawing a soft mmmmm from her. While his one hand still held her firmly by the small of her back, the other slid across her neck, over her shoulder, and into her tangerine hair to caress to salt-kissed waves, twirling his fingers around the orange strands. His lips pushed against hers with more insistence, begging for hers to part, and when she finally obliged him his tongue immediately jumped to entwine his hers. Nami's mind weakened against the pull of the tide, unable to cope with the strong sweetness bursting inside her mouth; it felt like pure honey being dripped across her tongue as it tangled with his. Her already weakened legs wobbled, barely able to hold her weight, and she dug her fingers into his shirt in a feeble effort to support herself. Sanji responded by reaching down to jerk her upwards, wrapping her legs around his middle while his head tilted backwards to continue kissing her passionately, their lips not breaking contact for a moment. He staggered slightly as she took the lead, her draconic fire bearing back against the tsunami of helplessness, and she released his clothes to cup his face as she kissed him back with all the force she could muster.
She knew now. She knew she loved him, too.
After a minute, Sanji carried her over to the bed and fell backwards onto it, bringing her down on top of him. Nami was not sure how much time actually passed, but at some point the wave receded and the fire sputtered out, and they broke apart. Their faces still close, they gazed into each others eyes as they breathed heavily. Nami's mind eventually returned to her, just as Sanji reached up to once again sweep his thumb over the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Will you sleep now?" he murmured breathily.
"Only if you stay with me," she answered and slumped off him to curl up at his side, settling within the crook of his arm with her head laying across her chest. She could feel his heartbeat, rapid within his broad, muscular chest, and it soothed her as the drowsiness finally claimed her. As her eyes drooped, Sanji gently ran his fingers through her hair, from the roots down to the curled ends.
"Of course."
"Did you love Pudding, Sanji?" She couldn't help but ask. Sanji may have proclaimed his undying love for her but that didn't make her forget his blatant flirtatiousness with other women. He snorted with laughter.
"Of course not. She's not a bad kisser, though. Not as good as you, naturally, but still not bad." She glanced up at him with an irritated expression, her cheeks puffed out, while he smirked smugly.
"Get out of my bed!" She wasn't really angry with him; though knowing he had kissed Pudding irked her, his reaction had been enough to appease any doubts she possessed. Still, she had to keep up her stubborn appearance. Sanji apparently saw through that façade and laughed heartily, wrapping her in a strong embrace and burying his face in her hair.
"Go to sleep!" Nami rolled her eyes but obediently snuggled into him, closing her eyes and listening to his breathing and gradually slowing heartbeat. Lulled by the sounds of the man she loved, Nami drifted off into a content sleep.