Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Sanji, Nami
Hello, everybody! Here is the story for SanNami Week's Day Six Prompt, "Home"! Enjoy~
Alternatum to Sunrise
Sanji's index finger tapped against the top of his hand in time with the gentle rocking of the ship, timing his insomnia in a relentlessly ticking clock. He had gone to bed hours ago, but not a wink of sleep had been gifted to him. It was not altogether surprising, considering the sheer amount of adrenaline that had soared through his veins over the last forty-eight hours. He probably wouldn't sleep for several days following the Straw Hats' dramatic and eventful clash with the Emperor Big Mom to recover the kidnapped cook. His arms and legs still twitched occasionally with the innate need to be active in some way, though the fighting and running was now far from over. With a weary sigh, Sanji threw the sheets off of him to quietly climb out of the hanging wooden box that served as his bunk, because sleep was apparently going to evade him tonight.
His footfalls were light and sure as he carefully padded over to the exit of the boys' bedroom; everyone was still recovering from their injuries and required their rest, after all, and more importantly he did not want to suffer through an interrogation of what exactly he was doing awake in the wee hours of the morning. The Thousand Sunny groaned in greeting as he traveled her winding halls until he reached the door leading to the main deck. The bottom of the metal door brushed over the tufted green grass that grew evenly over the surface of the deck as he opened it, and the cool night air instantly jumped in to also give its salutations in the form of swirling whispers. It played with Sanji's tousled blonde hair with eager little fingers, plucking up the light strands like bird's feathers while he walked outside into night's theater, hands automatically sliding into his pajama pants pockets. The performance was in full swing, with the symphony of the sloshing waves and murmuring salt-spray wind illuminated by the lighting of the Milky Way galaxy stretching in all its majesty against the curtains of black, all composed by the brilliant moon. Sanji breathed in deep, and the way the salt particles tickled the inner membranes of his nose to deliver the tang of the endless sea brought peace of mind that he was home.
The soft embrace of the grassy blades brushing over his bare feet; the gentle moaning of the wooden structure as she shifted endlessly in the onslaught of the rolling waves; the muted pungency of tangerines floating down from Nami's well-tended grove; the painted Jolly Roger flapping serenely in the fluttering wind- all these indicators and more delved into Sanji's senses, pervading him with gentle tranquility. He had to fight the urge to pop a cigarette into his mouth and light it, as he had left the box of them and his lighter on the beside table in the room. Though he had been infinitely more stressed, Sanji actually hadn't smoked that much on Whole Cake island- only on the few instances he so desperately longed for some semblance of home, in the form of tarry fumes filling up his lungs. It was funny, how the subconscious began associating things together like that.
Sanji's attention was captured by the opening of the steel door behind him. He tossed a glance back to see a very startled Nami hanging halfway out of the door, blinking in shock. His mouth curled up into a light smirk.
"Oh, don't mind me." Her eyes flickered about for a moment as she debated returning to her bedroom, but she settled for slipping out of the doorway to join Sanji for an unscheduled early morning rendezvous. A matching set of pastel yellow pajama shorts and tank top adorned with little illustrations of a waddling duckling hugged her body as she leaned back against the door, hands behind her back resting against its surface as she eyed him curiously. Evidently Nami had slept very restlessly, as her orange hair was crimped and curled and tousled much more than Sanji would imagine. "What're you doing up so early?" She didn't look like she wanted to initiate awkward conversation, so Sanji elected to do the job. A haze of pink dusted across her cheeks like a comet trail.
"Ah… I usually don't sleep well before or after big battles… I always wake up in the middle of the night. Stargazing usually helps me calm down," she answered self-consciously. The way she was wriggling her shoulders dressed in those impossibly cute pajamas made Sanji's heart start skipping beats. She really was the most adorable thing, when she wasn't beating one of them over the head and screeching at them for their idiocy. They were deserved scoldings, obviously, and when Nami was angry, Sanji thought she had all the radiance of a war goddess… But he very much like this timid, shy side of her as well. Her eyes, which had been focused on him, flickered up to behold the collection of celestial objects glimmering above their heads. Sanji's heart clenched at the small smile that instantly alit her moonlit face. "They're just comforting somehow… Is that weird?" she whined while looking back at him bashfully.
"I don't think so. I think lots of people find ease that way," he answered with a reassuring smile.
"What're you doing out here, Sanji?"
"I couldn't sleep either. It was so hellacious out there for so long that my body still hasn't calmed down," he replied with an experimental flex of his hand. His nerves were still humming with vigor, like a live wire. "I figured a small walk would burn off some of this excess energy." He tossed a glance over the small landscape of their trust ship, sighing wistfully. "I think I still need to convince myself that I'm really home…"
"Well, then, welcome home." He looked back at her with raised eyebrows at the peculiar remark. Smiling, she detached herself from the door to scamper over to him, stopping to stare up at him in almost childlike affection. "You said you need to be convinced that you're home, right? Well, surely me telling you 'welcome home' will help!" she laughed while making that cute little face where she poked out the tip of her tongue. He always melted on sight at that roguish little gesture, and this instance was no exception; his body visibly slumped as he just looked at her with the purest fondness. God, how he loved her….
The record scratched in Sanji's conscious mind. He did love Nami; he had known that for a very long time, only he had never bothered to act on those feelings because the anvil that was his neurotic family had always been looming overhead. Now, however, all of that was out in the open… There was no longer any reason to fear that his Vinsmoke name would come back to bite it in the ass, since it already had and tore a nice big chunk out of it to boot, but he had escaped alive with the healing wound… So, then, what was stopping him now? Absolutely nothing, that's what.
Simpering impishly, he pulled his hand from his pocket to cup one of her cheeks, relishing the heat that blazed over her skin at his light caress. "S-Sanji?" She was gawking at him in a mixture of confusion and anxiety, but the fact that she did not immediately recoil at his touch spurred Sanji to continue.
"I'm home, Nami-swan." The purr rumbled in his chest like far-off thunder. Her lips parted as she inhaled sharply when he stepped a little closer to her, just barely hovering in front of her lightly quivering form. Her gaze dropped to the hand holding her cheek as the blush on her face deepened, but Sanji made no further movements, waiting for her reaction. After a few seconds, she placed a mildly trembling hand over his own, her slender fingers curling around his palm to clutch it tightly.
"Are you gonna kiss me or what?" He couldn't help but release a snorting chuckle at her bluntness and the intensity sparkling in those warm brown eyes of hers. Hell, though, he definitely wasn't going to refuse. He watched Nami's eyes drift shut as his face descended over her own to gently, softly, but zealously envelop her mouth with his own. He had to suppress a satisfied groan, because he never would've imagined how impossibly soft those lips of hers were, like buoyant clouds sheathed in the finest silk on the Grand Line… As he rolled his mouth rhythmically over hers, he felt her fingers gradually tightening around his hand, like it was the only thing grounded her into the moment. Sanji could definitely understand the sentiment; he felt like a honeyed fog was drifting through his body, making him light and airy enough to float away at the slightest breeze. It was amazing, the things she could do to him, simply by existing in his vicinity.
"Nami," he murmured softly as he pulled away from her, but only just, making sure to press his forehead affectionately against hers. Her blush had dwindled into a persistent flush of baby pink, spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. That hand had never left his for a second, and her other was now grazing the back of his neck to play with his tousled locks of blonde hair.
"Don't leave again." So demanding and stern, she was, he thought with another rumbling chuckle.
"Never," he affirmed her while circling his free arm loosely around her hips. "My home is here, after all." In that moment, he wasn't sure if he was referring to the ship, or simply to her… Most likely the latter, because to him, the ship wasn't home without her. Nami seemed to realize this too and flushed again, smiling in embarrassment and joy.
They continued to hold each other like that, simply enjoying the idea of being one another's home, long after the sun had begun to peek curiously over the horizon…