Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Sanji and Nami

Requested by: fangirlingwithnoregrets (Tumblr)

Nami's kimono swept around her feet as she stole out of the alliance hideaway, where the remainder of her crew members and samurai were currently settling in to sleep for the night; they would depart at dawn for their respective assignments, continuing to march forward towards their plan to overthrow the Shogun Orochi. That was the plan, at least, but it seems there was a wrench thrown in its gears at every turn- their identities and alliance had more or less been discovered by Orochi and his goons, Law's crewmates had been captured and he had stormed off to the Flower Capital and that could really go one way or another, and Luffy had also landed himself in prison and was probably up to no good. It was enough to give Nami a raging headache, and so while the high-energy bunch was inside fervently discussing the pending revolution, Nami had decided to sneak outside for some much-needed silence and isolation. She walked a short way down the grassy hill before she found a nice-sized rock that would comfortably bear her weight, and she eased herself down on its flat surface before tilting her head up to gaze up at the starry sky above.

Many a night she had done this, when her emotions ran high; they certainly were now, with everything that was happening. Nami had always been the one in the crew to be rattled by their uncanny ability to attract troublesome situations at every possible turn; it wasn't so much as severe anxiety as it was a quiet worry, a What if this happens?, What can go wrong next?, What if this time it doesn't work out? Nami of course had the utmost faith in her captain and crewmates, as they had always pulled through despite the most dire of circumstances, but in the dark of night when she was alone with her thoughts, the darkness seemed to creep into her very soul, corrupting that optimism into bitter, fearful unease. Arguably they were in their most crucial and dangerous situation ever. Entire nations had been dependent upon them before, such as in Alabasta or Dressrosa, but this was the first time that an Emperor was concerned, and from what she had seen at the bathhouse, several of the others from the Worst Generation as well. On top of that, they were constantly being scattered across the islands like cherry blossom petals in the breeze. With a deep sigh, Nami leaned forward to lean her cheeks in her hands, her hazel eyes still staring at the starry night sky above to derive some sort of comfort from the glittering lights. It was hard to find.

I want to have faith, but… It's just hard sometimes.

Nami glanced over her shoulder as she heard the crunch of boots against the soft grass, and she grimaced slightly when she saw Sanji strolling down the hill, his face illuminated by the soft orange glow of his lit cigarette. She tossed her head primly with an exaggerated huff.

"I'm still angry at you, you know." She didn't even have to look at him to see him deflate in defeat; the high-pitched, distressed tone of his voice was enough.

"Nami-swan, it wasn't like that, really!" he whined, stopping short of her rocky perch as if to ask permission to sit beside her. Nami wasn't angry, not really; she was quite used to his shenanigans, and knew that he had been chased into the bathhouse by Basil Hawkins and X Drake after his cover was blown in the streets of the Flower Capital. Without turning back to him, she slid over to the right side of the smooth stone and patted the empty space behind her. Perhaps sensing her melancholy mood, Sanji did not squeal with delight and wiggle to her side with hearts pumping in his eyes, but casually walked over and eased himself onto the stone while taking a drag from his cigarette. As he blew out the smoke, it swirled in front of his face in wisps before drifting upwards toward the canvas of night above their heads. "You wanna talk about it, or are you going to pretend like you're not worried and make me drag it out of you?"

Nami puffed out her cheeks at his brusque accusation. It was unlike Sanji to be so serious and forward, and it almost made her want to be coy, combative, and do exactly that. However, Nami knew when she was caught, and she turned her head to the side slightly, her eyes fixed on the gently swaying grass that was dyed silver by the light of moon and stars.

"A lot could go wrong."

"Yup. That's true," he shrugged, and she looked at him with a dour expression, because that wasn't what she wanted to hear. He wasn't looking at her, but out at the rolling hills and the collections of burning lanterns in the distance that was the Flower Capital. "But we'll get through it like we always do, because that's just how it goes." Nami frowned slightly; she had expected something more profound, more uplifting, but he had just uttered those words as if saying them alone would be true. Even more confounding was that Nami was comforted by that; as if by playing it off as nothing, Sanji had erased the idea that there was a problem at all, like the worst-case scenario was still just a simple obstacle to overcome. "We've gotten this far, Nami. We can't stop until the end." It was then that he turned to smile softly at her, and that kind smile seemed so different than all the ones she had received before; it brought a blush to her cheeks and a heat to her skin, and, flustered, she had to drop her gaze to the cluster of little wildflowers rustling against the hem of her kimono because his gentle eyes were still somehow too intense for her.

"But…" The words did not leave her lips, but the rebuttal hung loudly in the air. She thought of every struggle they had overturned thus far, every impossible mountain leveled by the might of their friendship, every miserable situation they had gleaned hope from and come out on top. Nami's inner demon continued to prowl within her, its fangs dripping with fear, its claws scratching anxiety deep into her tissue. It had always lived within her, rearing its ugly head in the deep of night when Nami could not keep it at bay; it had been with her since the day that Bellamere had been murdered and she had been enslaved by Arlong. The root of her fear had shifted over time, but it continued to feed on her insecurities and worrisome thoughts, nourished by the tumult of her life, but it had grown remarkably after Sanji had been taken by Big Mom; many nights of late she had laid awake in its clutches, helpless to its growls and whispers of doom. As Nami struggled in its clutches now, before she knew it, tears had begun to stream from her eyes; they glistened like rivers of diamond on her face, glittering with the bright moonlight. Her fear now was her greatest fear yet, and she had only realized it after that day on Zou. "I'm afraid to lose you, Sanji," she whispered.

The wall she had built around her heart crumbled into sand and was carried away by the ever-present breeze, like Sanji's smoke. She couldn't force the sarcasm or indifference; she could not merely laugh at his obvious affections and sweet words; she could not put up a bold, brave front and play off her fears. Sitting beside her, trembling with fright as she silently wept, Nami had so easily been reduced down to her purest, rawest feelings. She wasn't sure when she had fallen for him, but his constant presence and devotion had chipped away at her little by little like a persistent river carving through a canyon; she was also unsure of why she had ignored it, kept up the status quo rather than embracing her feelings and returning the love and care he had given her over the last few years. Again, it was probably that beast, sowing its seeds of threat, uttering, "Something will go wrong, he'll be snatched from you sooner or later." Nami was tired of being afraid, and right now, she just wanted the comfort of the one who truly loved and understood her. Sanji was still reeling in her whisper, and she scooched closer to him, her shaking hands curling into his striped-pattern kimono. She bowed her head, her tears dripping down to splash into her lap. "I'm so scared, Sanji, and I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Oh, Nami," he sighed, and without hesitation wrapped her in his strong arms and propped his chin on her head as he pulled her into him. Nami buried her face into his chest, inhaling his aroma of smoke and savory and sweet foods; it filled her every being, driving back that snapping beast of hers just a little. "No one's going anywhere, especially not me." He rhythmically rubbed circles into her back, and with every rotation Nami felt the fear melting from her body like snow under the brilliance of the sun. She laid her cheek against him, feeling comfort in his heart gently beating. His hand then slid underneath her chin to tilt her head upwards, and Nami allowed it, gazing miserably up into those eyes that still shone so gently yet powerfully. His thumb swept across her cheek in just the lightest of touches, catching her still-falling tears and wiping them away.

"Promise?"

"On my heart and soul," he affirmed with a small smile, "and I'll give any of those losers a personal ass-kicking if they think of doing otherwise, too." His little joke brought a chuckle out of her. While her mood had lightened considerably in just a moment, Sanji was still quite serious. "I love you, Nami." He said it so often, but Nami knew that it was no casual remark or flirtatious exclaim this time; desire and passion were a burning flame in the dark of his black irises, a beacon against the shadows that kept Nami in their thrall. Nami wanted so desperately to grasp it, to bask in its warmth for every night hence, letting its comfort and hope fill her up forever.

"I love you too, Sanji." She was shocked at how easily the confession slipped from her lips, but thus far, the wily cook had so effortlessly pulled everything else out of her that it really wasn't shocking at all. His smile morphed into a loving smirk, and as his face descended over hers, Nami did not pull away. Her eyes fluttered closed as his mouth softly swept over hers, enveloping her into a tender yet passionate kiss. His hands continued to cup her cheek with his thumb tracing patterns over her skin, while Nami's crept up his chest, up to his shoulders with her nails digging slightly into the woven fabric of his kimono. Sanji's other hand slid around her waist to the small of her back, pressing her forward so that not a centimeter of space was between their middles. He tilted his head as he drove the kiss deeper, and Nami happily obliged, letting the heat of his love drive that negative monster inside of her into a cage once and for all. Nami locked it inside the back of her mind and tossed away the key, filling herself only with the sun that was Sanji, her love, her knight, her anchor in the waves of the uncertain sea before them. They kissed there for a long while, their only spectators the moon and stars who bathed them in their white glow and made them shine like spectral bodies on Earth.

Nami's tears had ceased by the time Sanji pulled back, but his thumb continued to move across her cheek. He gazed warmly down at her, his face still quite close to hers, and tilted his head with a smile while his eyes remained captured by her warm brown ones.

"I know there's a lot of fighting ahead of us, Nami, but I promise I'll come back to you," he murmured before pulling her head slightly to press a long kiss into her tangerine hair. Nami nestled her head into his neck, not wishing to be free of his embrace anytime soon.

"I promise, too."

I promise… On my heart and soul, that both belong to you, now and forever.