Sanji

"She's gotta be in that one.", said Sanji as he continued sprinting through the streets. He had headed South just like Chopper had told him, but the past nine or ten, he didn't know at this point, buildings had been devoid of the feisty navigator he was searching for. Idiot! How could you leave Nami-swan in the care of a brute like Marimo and Usopp, who can't even defend himself let alone a beautiful girl like Nami? You let yourself be enticed by the sweet perfume and skimpy tribal outfits of the glorious Kuja, oh the lovely Maiden Island. Full to the brim with gorgeous lady pirates, those long legs, their ample bosoms barley contained, soft hair...stop it Sanji, get a hold of yourself! The cook blanched as he felt a warm drop hit his lips knowing full well what it was. You're pathetic. No wonder Robin-chwan fell for a neanderthal swordsman instead of a gentleman like you, and why Nami-swan... Sanji's eyes looked down at his hand, still smeared with the blood he had wiped away after his lecherous mind had wandered too far for him to control, incriminating him to everyone who happened to glance his way. The evidence clear to see on his hand, showing exactly why no woman would fall for him, why he'd never have a serious relationship, why he'd never feel that special love that some people, more worthy than him, searched their entire lives for and never found. He'd never have what Zoro and countless others had because he was weak. Why Nami-swan won't ever take me seriously...she deserves better anyway. Sanji was approaching the final building in the Southern part of Amazon Lily, unless the lady pirates had some secret buildings in the surrounding forest for keeping prisoners, but that was unlikely since their security was already so tight. They had managed to snuff out three Straw Hats, one of the deadliest pirate crews on the Grand Line with minimal effort, they didn't need secret buildings to control their captives.

"I'm coming Nami-swan!", yelled the chef, his hand coming up once again to wipe incriminating drops of liquid off his face, but not the red ones from last time. These were clear and salty, leaking from his eyes against his will, these were tears shed for the future he knew he'd never have. He was still a Straw Hat though, he would give his all to protect his friends, he would save her, and things would go back to normal. That was all he could hope for, that would have to be enough.

Nami

"Come on you stupid lock, just open already.", said the navigator through gritted teeth. She had been working on the restraints binding her to the hospital bed for over a hour with little to show for her effort. "I bet that idiot swordsman broke out only to get lost again. Doesn't he know he needs to come and help me?!", yelled Nami, her patience completely exhausted at this point. She paused in her escape attempts to catch her breath as she tried to reach out with her thoughts to her nakama, hoping that somehow one of them would burst through the door and whisk her to safety. It could only have been a couple hours since they brought her here and she was already losing her mind being alone. You really are pathetic Nami, you can't even manage to get out of some handcuffs on your own. It's not like it would do any good anyway, that healer said I wouldn't be able to walk on my own for at least a week, let alone run from the crazy ladies that tied me to a bed in the first place after they notice I'm missing. Maybe that Marguerite girl has found Luffy and is bringing him here, or maybe Robin's noticed we haven't shown up and is blooming eyes everywhere to track us down. She'd probably go to Zoro first since their together though., thought the redhead dejectedly.Nami tried to wiggle her way into a more comfortable position, her arms had been aching since they had first cuffed her to the bed, but after a hour of trying to pick the lock with a bobby pin her muscles felt like they were on fire. "Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!

She repeated it like a mantra, it wouldn't help her escape, it wouldn't fix any of her problems, the real ones, or the ones she had formed in her head after spending hours with nothing but her confusing feelings as company, but she did it anyway. "Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!" She continued yelling, at nothing and everything simultaneously as tears spilled down her cheeks. She was surprised no one had come to reprimand her for being too loud, not that she cared at this point. She couldn't escape, she was helpless, she was alone, and she hated it.

"Nami-swan!"

Nami froze, she recognized that voice. Sanji? Why is he here? Did he come to rescue me? Did Marguerite tell him I was here, or did Robin see me and I just didn't notice the petals?

"Nami-swan! Can you hear me? Nami-swan, it's me, Sanji! You're prince is here, my love!"

"Sanji-kun, I'm in here!", yelled the navigator, her voice scratchy from all the yelling she had done only moments before hearing the chef's call.

"Nami-swan? Hang on, I'm coming!" The chef followed the sound of the redhead's voice, taking the next right turn and seeing a group of Kuja gathered outside a single room, worried looks on their faces. That's it. "Let me in there, that's my friend!", called the chef as he approached the group of what he could only assume were healers. Based on what he had seen of the building so far, room after room with glass windows and numbers on every door, this had to be some kind of hospital. "I'm a Straw Hat Pirate, Black-Leg Sanji! That's our navigator in there." Sanji stopped outside the door, waiting anxiously to see the ladies reactions to his presence. Please, just let me get Nami-swan and leave. Please, believe me. Please, don't want to fight.

"You're Black-Leg Sanji, one of the Straw Hat Pirates?", asked a wrinkly old woman with glasses much to big for her face.

"Yes, Ma'am. I arrived here earlier with the rest of my crew and our captain, Straw Hat Luffy. It appears there has been a misunderstanding though, and your warriors have taken some of our crew prisoner.", replied the chef. He held the old woman gaze, withering slightly under her intense scrutiny while her younger subordinates stayed silent, simply watching the exchange.

"Good. Get that noisy girl out of her.", said the healer abruptly, turning on her heel and heading down to the opposite end of the hallway than Sanji had entered. "Good thing you showed up when you did, I thought we were gonna have to sedate that one what with all the yelling and banging around she was doing.", said the old lady over here shoulder. "Come along girls, we have work to do. You know the Snake Princess doesn't like slacking."

"Yes, Ma'am.", chorused the younger girls together, hurrying after their mentor. Sanji watched to make sure they were truly gone before throwing open the door to Nami's room and rushing to her side.

"Nami-swan, I'm here to rescu-...Why are you crying?" He had tried to put up his usual facade and play the part of the love-struck fool he was, shove down his moment of self-pity at his own stupid choices to be the Sanji Nami knew, the one she would never be willing to commit to. But that changed when he took in her disheveled state. Her hair was mused and frizzy, probably from thrashing against her restraints for so long while he was busy having random women he wouldn't see again after they left here feel him up. Her eyes were bloodshot, the same red that marred her normally porcelain cheeks and her wrists that he could tell had been rubbed raw in some areas from the cuffs binding them.

"Oh you know, being chained to a bed with a bum leg for a couple hours by yourself starts to take its toll on your emotions. Don't worry Sanji-kun, I'm fine now, just get these cuffs off and we can go.", assured Nami. She wished she had been able to wipe her eyes before he came, but her current situation wouldn't even allow that.

"Right, Nami-swan." The chef walked over to her bed, taking the bobby pin she had been using and began attempting to pick the lock. It took him a good ten minutes to get the freaking thing to click, announcing that he had successfully freed the navigator, who if the roles had been reversed could of done it in under a minute, her years of thieving shining through. He helped her slid her wounded wrists gently out of the metal before putting an arm around her waist and under her knees to carry her and heading for the exit. They hadn't spoken throughout her rescue except for that awkward greeting, but he had questions and wanted answers. "Why did that healer say you had been yelling and banging around?"

Nami didn't know how to answer him, she couldn't say that being held captive had sent her emotional turmoil over the edge causing her to have a small outburst. He'd want to know what was bothering her, and then she'd have to tell him. She wasn't ready to face that yet. "I told you, being held prisoner and not being able to do a thing about it because of my leg just wore me down. I got angry and might of started yelling and getting upset, but that's all over now, you're here and we're gonna go find the others and leave this hellhole of an island."

"It's okay, Nami-swan. You don't have to lie, it's alright if you don't want to tell me.", responded the cook gently, throwing the navigator for a loop.

"Wh-what are y-"

"I've seen you cry before and it was only after you had completely lost hope and things looked like the end. I know you're not so weak as to get spooked from being alone for a couple hours, so you must be trying to cover something up that you're not ready to admit. I just want you to know that you don't have to pretend, it's okay if you don't want to talk about, I understand."

"You got all that just from those two sentences.", asked Nami, trying to play off a nonchalance she didn't feel. He got all that, and I barely said a word.

"And the years we've spent together before that.", answered Sanji seriously.

"Yeah, we've been together for quite awhile now, hehe, all thanks to that idiot of a captain.", laughed Nami. "Thanks for coming and getting me."

"We're nakama, Nami-swan, you never have to thank me for coming to your rescue. I'll always be there when you need me, I'm just sorry I kept you waiting for so long."

"Stop looking so guilty, Sanji-kun, you didn't know any of us had been captured. You can't blame yourself for not stopping something you didn't even know was going on."

"I should have been there.", shot back the chef harshly, his anger seeping out. "I shouldn't have ran off like some horny teenager when you needed me to protect you."

"You're here now, that's what matters."

"But I sh-" Sanji froze as he felt a warm pressure against his cheek. He looked down to see Nami smirking up at him, her face much closer than it had been when they had been talking before.

"Now that you've shut up, like I said, I'm just happy you're here now. Now can we stop this whole awkward self-pity thing and go back to normal?", asked Nami.

Sanji's mind was still clouded over by the fact that his Nami-swan's lips had touched his face, that she had tried to comfort him with the soft sweetness of her kiss. "Nami-swan..."

"Hey, don't pass out right now, I still need you to get me back to the others so I can pummel that rubber-brained idiot and directionless swordsman."

"Yes, Nami-swan!", yelled the chef, his legs pumping even faster as he carried them through the streets of Amazon Lily, back towards the palace where their friends were waiting.

Nami smiled up at him, this was the Sanji she knew, the knight in shining armor that always came to rescue her, the one she had fallen for. She froze as the blonde's exposed eye locked with own, and watched an internal conflict play across his face before he leaned down pressing his lips to her forehead. "Thank you Nami.", whispered the chef, never slowing his pace.

"Idiot, we're nakama, so you don't have to thank me.", responded the blushing navigator, still caught off guard by the cook's tenderness with her. Their eyes locked again, a level of understanding passing between them that hadn't been there before today. They would go back to the palace, find Luffy and the others, set sail in Sunny, and continue on their adventures. Things would go back to normal, and they were okay with that. They knew they had the other there whenever they needed them, and they would be by each other's side for years to come as members of the Straw Hat Pirates. They didn't have a relationship out of some fairy tale where a knight and princess were star-crossed lovers, or even the undeniable love that Zoro and Robin had developed for each other after years of going closer. They were nakama, they cared for each other, maybe more than they would admit at the moment, but that was enough. Things would go back to normal for now, but that was more than they could of hoped for.

A/N: Hope you guys like this next to last chapter! I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for any OOCness. This is the first time I've even written Sanji and Nami for so long by themselves and with only the other around, so I hope I didn't screw up their characters too much. :) See you next update, and thanks to LegendaryOrigin who consistently reviews this story, you're the best (and still my number one)!