Notes: Similar notes to my past work, I'm only working with the knowledge of the Manga and a dozen anime episodes, for now. But my love for these two is so strong that I have to put it into words!
PS: English is not my first language so I apologise in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes.
PPS: Reviews make my day!
"Good morning, Luffy!" Nami greeted her Captain enthusiastically while entering the kitchen of the Sunny. "I didn't expect to see you here! I thought you had gone into town with the rest of the crew." She paced towards the coffee pot and grabbed a cup along the way while holding back a yawn. She had stayed up until late last night while completing a map of the region. She lost track of time so she let herself sleep for a while longer while planning to meet her crewmates on the island for lunch. But she was still a morning person, so a while longer ended up being only half an hour more than usual.
She stopped with the cup in her hand and stared at the coffee pot, which was empty. "Strange…" the only times the coffee pot had been empty since she joined the Straw Hats was when they still hadn't found a cook. And none of them could make a good cup of coffee to save their lives.
"Hey, Nami. I was going to eat something first. But there's no breakfast! Sanji didn't prepare anything!" There was a loud rumbling coming from Luffy's stomach. "I'm starving! I need meat!"
Nami stored the cup back in its place and looked around. "Where's everyone?"
"They already left. They said that there were probably some coffee shops open in town, but Sanji said he was going to make my Luffy's special and now that's all I really want to eat." Sanji's signature breakfast dish did delight their Captain. It was practically a meat buffet and Luffy wanted that breakfast at least twice a week. Luffy's arms were laid upon the table while his mouth hung open, his eyes watery and saddened.
"So he left without making breakfast?" Now that didn't seem like something their cook would do.
"I don't know, Nami! I'm so hungry! I'm going to die!" Nami rolled her eyes at Luffy who was starting to look like a dried raisin.
"Why don't we go into town, eat something there and try to find Sanji to see what happened? I bet that he didn't have all the ingredients to prepare your special, Luffy! That's why he left."
Luffy perked up and his skin went back to normal while he agreed with the navigator. They made their way out of the kitchen when: "Atchoo!" a loud sneeze was heard everywhere. Nami and Luffy eyed each other.
"There's someone else on the Sunny?" She asked quizzically.
"Atchoo!"
This time they both headed towards the sound. "Sanji-Kun!"
"Sanji! I thought you forgot about our breakfast!"
Sanji grinned somewhat painfully at Nami while he leaned on the doorframe of the man's quarters. "Goob Borging, Nabi-San." He was wobbling, clearly dizzy. His hair was frizzled and messy and his shirt was buttoned all wrong. He wasn't even wearing a tie.
"Sanji-Kun, you're clearly sick. You can't go to the kitchen like that." Nami stepped forward and placed her palm on his head which made the cook tip backwards and almost fall. "You're burning up!"
"Nabi-San, that's just your fiery beautifulness reflecting on me!" Nasaled, teary eyed, runny nosed, burning up Sanji was still the notorious flirt. Nami sighed while hiding a small smile.
"Luffy please go into town and get Chopper. I'll take care of Sanji-Kun until he arrives."
"But…" the Captain eyed the cook and then side-eyed the kitchen. "My meaty special…"
"Do you think that Sanji-Kun is in any condition to make you breakfast!? The only reason he is standing upwards right now is because he's leaning on me! And that is the only reason why you don't have two lumps on your head right now, Luffy!" Sanji was blissfully leaning against Nami's chest, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. His smile was wide, but he was so hot from the fever and dizzy that that was the only reason Nami hadn't punched him in the face. "Now go get Chopper!"
Luffy kept mumbling about meat and how today was his special breakfast day, but he went ahead and left the Sunny. Nami sighed and eyed Sanji who was still leaning on her. "Now, let's get you to bed, mister."
Sanji perked up and stood upright with a wide smile and loving gaze. "Nabi-San! How I prayed for those words! Let's go!", He turned while pointing at his bed, but, as soon as his head left the safety of Nami's bosom, he got lightheaded and fell face first on the wooden floor.
"Oh, dear, this is going to be a rough morning." Nami helped him get up while he mumbled something she couldn't quite make out except for the words 'bed', 'goddess' and 'love'.
"Sanji-Kun, I'll make you tea and bring you some cold medicine while we wait for Chopper. Just stay here and rest, please." Nami tried to lay Sanji on the bed but he kept trying to pull her with him. "You have to let me go, Sanji-Kun." She said sternly.
"Nabi-San, stay with meeeee. I'm so cold, please keep me warm." His eyes were pleading and his nasaled speaking reminded Nami so much of a little child that she chuckled. She remembered being sick and pleading to Bellemere to not leave her alone. And she didn't. So how could she be the one to do that to Sanji?
"Sanji-Kun, I'll be right back, okay?" He kept grabbing her arm and whining. "I'll just go into the kitchen. I won't be long!" Lies could work, she thought. "When I come back, then I'll lay down with you, what do you say?"
She might have broken something in his head with those words because his eyes almost went out of their socket and the drooling started. She sighed and managed to slip away swiftly but tried to be hasty because she didn't think that Sanji would remain on his bed for long without her there.
"Okay, okay, the kettle is boiling. Lemon zest on the cup, honey and ginger at the ready. That should kick some cold's butt. Now the medicine." Nami quickly searched Chopper's cabinets and found a flask labelled 'cold medicine' so she really couldn't go wrong there. Also, Chopper had the medicine labelled with instructions on how to administer it so everything would be fine. The kettle should be boiling right about now so Nami grabbed the flask and turned quickly around, only to be startled half to death by an almost naked Sanji.
"For Heaven's sake, Sanji-Kun!" She jumped so high that the flask slipped from her slim fingers and shattered into tiny pieces on the floor, scattering its contents everywhere. "Oh, no! Why are you here, Sanji-Kun?" She whined, exasperation written all over her face. "And why are you only in your underwear, pray tell?"
"Nabi-San, I was so hot and sweaty in my bed (That's the fever, idiot!) that I had to take off all of my clothes. But now I'm so cold and shivering and you weren't there to help meeeeeee."
Nami took a very long deep breath and pressed the bridge of her nose, trying to regain composure. She didn't want to lose her calm with Sanji, he wasn't at fault. He had a fever so high that he probably didn't even know what he was doing.
"It's okay Sanji-Kun. It's my fault for thinking I could leave you alone, anyway. I'll clean this up in a bit, let's go get more medicine." She grabbed his hand (damn, he was really burning up) to steady him and steered him out of the mess's way. She sat him down on the infirmary's bed and covered his back with a warm blanket, making sure he could see her from where he was.
"Nabi-San, don't go away. I need youuuu." Poor thing was really clogged up. He couldn't even get her name right. Nami nodded and said soothing words to him in a soft voice, something she remembered Bellemere doing to her and Nojiko when they were sick. She felt a lump in her throat and tried to clear it before her eyes got teary. She hadn't really thought about her mother in a long time but today Sanji was bringing back all of these fond, but somewhat painful memories. Would she resent him or be grateful for this?
Nami didn't have time to think about it because she quickly realised that Chopper didn't have any more cold medicine in store, at least not on the cabinets that he didn't have locked up. She sighed and then cursed because she heard the loud whistle of the kettle going on in the kitchen. "Sanji-Kun, can you stay here while I go and get your tea?" He whined something intelligible but let Nami lay him down on the infirmary bed. She laid a tentative hand on his forehead and gasped. He was hotter than before."I'll be right back!"
"Sure, my love, I will wait for you until the end of all times." He babbled delusionally while he closed his eyes tiredly.
Nami hurried to the kitchen to turn off the kettle, she left it on the stove because for right now, she had to turn down Sanji's fever. She then grabbed some kitchen towels and filled a container with cold water, dunking them on it. Next she ran back to him while mentally asking herself where could Luffy and Chopper be and why were they taking so long?
"I'm here, Sanji-Kun." When there was no response, she started to worry. But when she approached, she saw that he was asleep. She took the opportunity to take away the blanket which wasn't helping with the fever, and then placed some wet towels on his forehead, neck and then on his belly and under his arms. Just like Bellemere used to do. She blushed when she let her hand linger on his abs. Since he was always in a suit she rarely saw his body but damn. It was a healthy body. She turned her face away because she felt so hot she considered using a towel on her own head.
Sanji moaned softly and Nami returned her gaze back to him. He was shivering slightly and his lips were trembling. She felt worried and powerless, but there was really nothing that she could do to make him more comfortable. Without medicine, this was the only way she could think of to lower his body temperature. Also, she knew that if he was feverish, it was because the fever was fighting the infection and it had to run its course. She knew this because of her mother.
"Mom… Thank you for taking such good care of us…" she felt like she hadn't thanked her mother enough. She hadn't told her that she had loved her enough. She hadn't hugged or kissed her enough. And she had avoided those feelings almost all of her life, but today they were an itch waiting to be scratched. If it weren't for her mother, she would've been powerless to help Sanji. Thanks to her, she knew basic care. So she felt thankful, yes, but she felt mostly empty, something she hadn't felt in a while. Bellemere's death had left a hole inside her and today that hole was a chasm.
She lowered her head and sobbed softly, letting herself cry, letting her weakness come forward, even if just for a minute. There wasn't anyone there to witness, anyway. But she still felt a void so large that it was taking up all of the space around her. So she grabbed Sanji's hand. She needed to feel the softness of the human touch. She had to let herself be touched, even though he was asleep, it was a surety that she wasn't alone and that the void, that giant chasm inside of her could be, no, would be filled with love from her Nakama. If only she would let them.
"Why are you crying, Nabi-San?" She didn't know how long it had been, really. Could have been mere minutes, could have been an hour. She felt soothed by the warmth of his hand. She felt safe and loved. But the tears had kept flowing freely. And time had passed, clearly, because when he talked and she opened her eyes, she didn't see the ghost of the fever in Sanji's eyes. She just saw worry and curiosity too.
"Oh, you're awake!" She quickly dabbed her eyes with the palm of her hands and then felt his forehead. "Hmm, seems colder. Wait." She leaned forward and placed her lips very softly on his forehead. Sanji blushed furiously and had to close his eyes tight because Nami's chest was almost pressed against his nose, which was in danger of leaking something more than snot. He did feel cooler. And that was another one of Bellemere's tricks. Her lips trembled when she backed them away from him. And she had to bite back an involuntary sob.
"What's wrong, Nabi-San?" Sanji tried to get up but Nami pushed him down with both her hands on his chest.
"Stay! You need to rest." She started to remove the towels from his body, to wet them again and to place them back on the same spots. "I'm fine, really. Just reliving some memories. It's okay." She placed the last towel on his forehead and sighed. "I'm going to get you tea and clean up the mess I made with the medicine. Please wait here this time."
"But… Nabi-San. I don't want to be aloneeee." Nami completely ignored him and left the room.
When she came back, he was half standing on the bed and already had a cigarette on his lips. "Where the hell did you get that? You don't even have your pants on!" Nami snatched the cigarette from his mouth while he protested and threw it in the trash after putting it out. "Here, drink this. At least this won't kill you."
"Nabi-San! It has a straw? Thank you!" He was sincerely delighted.
"Yes, Sanji-Kun, you were behaving so much like a child that I thought you deserved one." She chuckled while he was left speechless and then she started to clean up the mess.
Nami started to hum a sort of a lullaby, it seemed. Sanji drank almost all of his tea without another word and then laid back down. He really wasn't feeling alright. Nami finished cleaning up all the broken glass and scattered liquid while her lips formed gentle words to her song.
"Nabi-San. Can you sing me that song, please. It sounds beautiful." Sanji had his eyes closed and Nami could tell that the shivering was back. She walked slowly towards him and felt his forehead. The fever was climbing back up. Chopper, where are you? She couldn't help but feel worried.
"Sure, Sanji-Kun." She took some time to let herself breathe and dissolve the lump that had, once again, formed in her throat while she sat next to his bed.
"I've always been taught to be brave and strong, to see the hope when all feels wrong. I've always been taught not to be afraid. And look the price, the price I paid."
Nami's breath caught when a sob took control of her body and Sanji squeezed her hand softly. This was a lullaby that her mother used to sing to them when they were feeling sad, or hurt, or simply angry. It somehow made them feel both safe and strong but also loved and understood. Nami hadn't sung this song in forever, maybe not once after Arlong, but the words still felt natural on her lips and she still knew it by heart.
She inhaled deeply from her nose to regain control. Sanji's eyes were closed and strained at the eyebrows. Maybe he was in pain? Nami's hand reached, hesitated, and then softly caressed his forehead, just in between his brows that were scrunched up in pain. She felt him stiffen a moment, but then he relaxed, almost instantly.
"I'm barely afloat. My sails are set and I'm coming home. I'm barely afloat. My sails are set… and I'm coming-..."
Her voice faltered and she sobbed once more. The day was turning out more emotional than she had anticipated. Her mother, her sister, Arlong and his atrocities… everything kept playing in the back of her mind but she had to be strong and brave because Sanji was sick and she was the only one there to help.
"We're your home now, Nabi-San." His voice was tired and every word came out with a shiver and a tremor. But his soft words made Nami sob even harder. She let her head rest against his chest just to feel warmth. She so desperately needed warmth. "I'm your home now." His hand was soft on her hair and his words were soft on her heart.
A minute passed in silence and Nami calmed down. She lifted her head and started to change the towels, once again. The rest of his tea was now cold on the table next to the bed. But he was still burning up. "Thank you, Sanji-Kun. You do feel like home to me." Her words were a mere whisper. She felt strange saying those words because she never considered them, but she knew they were indeed true. She knew deep in her heart that if Sanji left them, for some reason, she might crumble to tiny pieces, because he was now such a big piece of her life. He was there to wish her good morning and he was always there to wish her good night. And in the in betweens, he was always there to see if she needed anything. And she had been taking him for granted all this time. He was part of her, she knew that now.
And that knowledge made her weak in the knees.
"You know, my mother used to sing to me." His voice came in short waves like he needed to catch his breath with each word. Nami combed his hair with her hand while listening, worry written all over her face. His hand, in turn, searched hers and held her. "She was the one that was sick, really. But I was so little that she was the one that had to comfort me." Sanji had never really talked about his past before meeting Zeff. She didn't even know he had met his mother. She was curious, but she didn't want to pry. He never poked around her past either. Could his mother have also died? Did they have that in common?
Nami thought Sanji was going to say more, but she realised he was asleep again. Her heart tightened and her stomach kept fluttering. He was burning up and she didn't know what else to do. She had half a mind to go outside and start screaming for her crew but would they hear her? Suddenly, the hand that Sanji had kept on top of hers started spasming. Nami's eyes widened. "Sanji-Kun?" And then his whole body started spasming. "Oh no, oh no, oh no. What should I do?!" Nami started panicking but then remembered to turn him to the side so he wouldn't choke. But that was all she knew she had to do when someone was convulsing. She had no further knowledge on the matter.
She felt so desperate she wanted to scream and cry in agony. "Sanji-Kun. Stay with me, come on!" Her eyes were misty, she was trembling everywhere. Fear was gripping her tightly, taking a hold on her heart like it was a rope that kept squeezing. If something happened to him… if he… it was even too painful to consider any option.
"I'm here, Nami! Step aside!"
She almost collapsed on the floor with relief. Chopper's voice filled her with hope. She had the right mind to get out of his way, but then she felt frozen, her throat gasping for air, her eyes burning and watering and in her mind she could only perceive life without Sanji and it was so bleak and full of sorrow that she felt engulfed in despair.
She literally couldn't breathe.
Then she felt Robin's soothing arms around her, guiding her away from the infirmary to a chair outside. She felt Robin's hand soothing her hair softly. "Nami-chan, it's okay. Chopper's here now. Sanji will be fine. It's okay. Keep breathing." She kept trying to soothe Nami who was clearly having a panic attack. Brook appeared shortly with a glass of water in his hand.
"Here, Nami-San, drink this."
Time seemed to pass both slow and fast for Nami. She noted people around her trying to help and to keep her calm, but her mind was fixated on Sanji.
After a while she noted that they were sailing somewhere. They were supposed to spend the night on this island, what had happened?
"...and then the Marines came out of nowhere and we had to run. Not me! I was the first to stay behind and face them-..." She could make out Usopp in the background faintly and her mind registered that they had a run in with the Marines and that was why it took them a while to get back. But it was only when Chopper came out of the infirmary that Nami regained some sort of consciousness.
"Chopper! How is he? Is he alright? I did all I could. But when he started convulsing I froze and I didn't know what to do and maybe something happened to him because of me and-..." Chopper hugged her legs with a smile on his face.
"Nami calm down. He's fine. He will be alright. Now he just needs to rest. You did everything right! In fact, he is stable because of everything you did."
Nami fell down and hugged herself. She really didn't have any more tears to shed. She felt broken. But now she felt that she could be repaired. He was alright. He would be fine. She didn't need to perceive life without him ever again. She couldn't have someone so important to her be taken away from her in a blink of an eye again. She wouldn't make it.
"Do you want to see him? Luffy and Zoro are there now. He's still asleep, though."
Nami smiled and finally hugged Chopper. "It's fine. I'll see him later. Knowing he's alright it's enough, for now." She got up and breathed in deeply. Next she faced Robin, Brook and Usopp since Franky was steering the ship. "Thank you for being here for me, guys. It was really helpful."
"Really? It didn't feel like we were helping at all…" Usopp scratched his head while looking at his crewmates who smiled.
"I'll be cleaning the kitchen since I really made a mess of things… Oh and I'll make chicken noodle soup for Sanji-Kun, when he wakes up."
Nami left her crewmates and headed towards the kitchen, a haste in her steps. She felt somewhat ashamed. She wasn't one to overreact like this. But today her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and her heart a box full of emotions that had been buried deep, it seemed.
He was fine.
The relief was like a wave crashing all around her.
He was fine.
She kept repeating that mantra in her head over and over again while she cleaned the mess she had made when she was making tea and while she searched the cookbooks for a chicken noodle soup recipe. She knew how to make it, but she just wanted to refresh her knowledge on the matter. After all, the soup was for their cook. It was for Sanji. She couldn't, wouldn't mess it up.
After what had seemed like hours, the soup was done. The crew had come and gone to eat some snacks and chat with her. Robin had come twice to see if Nami was alright. Zoro had stayed in silence with her while drinking a whole bottle of Sake, before leaving for his nap. Luffy stayed the most, almost eating everything that was in the pantry before leaving her to finish the soup.
Nami sighed after she tasted the soup. It had a wonderful flavour. And she felt so tired. She sat on the chair near the table and rested her head on her forearms. She would just close her eyes for a second. Then she would go see how Sanji was doing. Just a minute or two, maybe five.
Nami opened her eyes slowly. Her back was killing her and all of her fingers on the right hand were numb. She had fallen asleep at the table in the kitchen. Not a very good position to be sleeping in. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. The moonlight was slippin in through the windows. It was nighttime already? Suddenly a plate of soup appeared in front of her.
"Eat, Nami-San. You haven't eaten all day, or so I'm told." He sounded so much better. His nose wasn't nasaled any more and clearly his fever was now gone. Chopper truly had some wonderful medicine. She looked at him in awe, feeling her eyes prickle.
"Sanji-Kun, shouldn't you be in bed?" Her voice was strained and raw. Not only from crying, but mostly because of the stress that her emotions endured during the day.
He grinned a lopsided grin and Nami could still perceive a small wrinkle of his brows, a tiny show of pain through his happy mask.
"Chopper told me to stay in bed but he fell asleep a while ago. Robin-Chan took my pack of cigarettes away because Chopper said that they weren't helping with my lungs. So I needed another pack." He showed her an unopened pack of cigarettes that was resting on his pocket. "Also, and more importantly, Robin-Chan mentioned that you were making me some soup and you know that I had to taste it right away."
Nami didn't know what she wanted to do first: smack him in the head, throw away the pack of cigarettes or hug this wonderful man. So she did nothing.
"The soup was wonderful, Nami-San. I'm so happy you didn't let Luffy have any or he would've eaten the whole pot. Please, try some. You look exhausted." His hand reached, a spoon in his hand. Her stomach growled softly at the thought of food and she blushed while she grabbed the spoon. Her fingers lingered on his a while longer than necessary, really, but she was still craving some kind of warmth.
No, that was a lie.
She was craving his warmth.
She lowered her eyes so as not to look at him because she didn't trust her emotions at the moment. She had made some realisations earlier regarding her feelings towards Sanji and she wasn't so sure she was ready to face them yet. She tentatively tried the soup. It was still warm. And it really was good. She was proud. She smiled softly.
"See, I told you it was wonderful, Nami-San. Maybe you should help me cook some meals, some time?" Did he sound hopeful? Or was she projecting her own feelings?
"How are you feeling, Sanji-Kun?" Safe grounds of conversation. Non-comitical. Something neutral that couldn't affect her feelings and cause some kind of reaction.
He groaned while stretching his arms above his head and frankly Nami didn't know why that should affect her, but apparently every move he made did things to her now. She gulped down the soup and pretended it was hot to hide away the blush that was tinging her cheeks. "I'm feeling better now. I'm really sore but Chopper says that's to be expected. After all, Pneumonia does make a number on you, it seems."
"Pneumonia?" She had heard him cough for a few days and she caught him grabbing his chest yesterday, but he had waved her off immediately and he didn't complain about anything else, to anyone. "Sanji-Kun, that's something that takes a few days to settle. You must've been feeling bad for a while, no?"
He grinned once more and now Nami wanted to punch him. "Yes, I was feeling really tired and had some chest pains and cough, but I thought that all the smoking was finally catching up to me. Turns out I can still smoke. It was just pneumonia."
Nami's chair screeched when she got up with fury making every limb tremble. "Don't even try to joke about this right now." Sanji was surprised by her reaction. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you sick, trembling, convulsing in front of me?" Her hands formed fists on top of the table and her lower lip was trembling. From fury or willingness to cry? Not one of them could tell. "I didn't know what to do, I had no idea if what I was doing was enough! And you have the audacity to joke about this? I thought you were going to die! I thought that I was going to lose you! And I cannot, I refuse to lose one more important person in my life! So don't you dare-... ".
The rest of her sentence fell helpless from her lips without a sliver of a sound. She gasped and sobbed against her will. But the tears were falling from her eyes steadily and she didn't have the strength to stop them anymore. Everything was so raw inside of her that it hurt physically.
Sanji was so confused. He looked at her helplessly and Nami could see that he wanted to hug her, since he had gotten up and his arms were inching towards her, but he definitely didn't know if a hug was what she wanted. So he stood, conflicted, not really understanding why she got so angry at him.
"You don't remember anything that happened, do you?" Her voice was a whisper. She slumped back down on the chair and heard him do the same.
"I… Barely." He sounded desperate. "Did I do something to hurt you, Nami-San? I remember you being with me and singing and I think I told you about my mother but…" Nami glanced over to him and almost felt sorry for losing her temper just now. He looked like a lost child. His eyes seemed to be searching for some sort of information that was being denied and his lips were frowning with confusion.
She let her hand reach for his from across the table. He took it, tentatively, he was shivering slightly and Nami wondered if his fever was rising again. "You didn't do anything wrong, Sanji-Kun. Except maybe ignore the symptoms of your illness, but that is something that I won't let you forget easily." She saw him gulp. "I, on the other hand, have been doing things wrong for quite some time."
She looked downwards and Sanji didn't know what to say. Nami let go of his hand and got up, a slight tremor on her hands, which she ignored. She had a weak resolve now and if she hesitated at all, she would lose it and flee, tail between her legs. So she took a deep breath and walked two steps to the other side of the table. Sanji's eyes never left her. She sat timidly on the table, right in front of him and felt herself tingle happily when he blushed slightly.
"I realised earlier something that maybe I should've realised sooner. That I need you." He silently observed her. "You told me earlier, maybe you don't remember, but you said that you were my home. And that is true. It's something that apparently doesn't mean much, but it is my whole world now. You are my home, Sanji-Kun. You are my everything." He opened his mouth but he was really at a loss of words. "When Bellemere died, something in me died alongside her. And I have been filling that missing space in me with goals and objectives since then. First it was Arlong and my debt, then it was the path to the grand line and my role as navigator, then we seemed to always be wrapped up in some kind of fight so I was always busy, and today… Today the hole that was left with Bellemere opened up so deep that it wound me more than I could think of."
She reached and her small hands cupped his face, making him gaze into her loving eyes. She felt him slightly warm, maybe it was time to take the medicine again.
"And I realised that you are exactly what I need. You are what I want. You fill me with warmth and care and love. And ultimately, you are the only one that can do that perfectly. I thought I was going to lose you today, Sanji-Kun. And my whole world shattered. I don't want to feel that way again. You are my home, truly. So let me be yours."
Sanji's eyes were misty, she could tell. His hands had been resting on her legs since she cupped his face and Nami knew she had to take the next step as he would be too scared to do it. She had come this far. She was committed to this. She was committed to him. She needed him.
Nami leaned down, her hands never leaving his face, too afraid that he would run away, knowing deep down that he never would.
She planted a small, chaste kiss on his lips. Just a peck, really, as she didn't know what his reaction would be. When she backed a little, her forehead against his, she could almost feel his brain working double time. And she was sure she was going to break it now. "I think I'm in love with you, Sanji-Kun."
She let the silence hang in the air for a bit, but when he didn't say or do anything, Nami started to worry. "I thought… You don't feel the same?" She blushed from embarrassment, had she read all of his actions wrong all of this time? She had fallen for his actions towards her, his affection, his care, his attention, but maybe he was like this with all the girls? She could swear that he behaved differently with her than other girls, but maybe it was all in her head? Oh, no. She let go of his face and started to get up but before she could, Sanji got on his feet, both hands on the table, one on each side of her legs, trapping her between him, his face mere inches from hers.
"Nami-San." His voice was rasp and that made her shiver. "I never thought that I would hear anything similar coming from you. I dreamt about it, sure, but it being reality was something that I could not phantom. Maybe I don't feel the same." Nami lowered her head and tried to swallow a lump that had suddenly formed on her throat. "I think I might feel more. I don't want to assume how deep your feelings for me run to compare, but I have fallen madly in love with you since you sat foot on the Baratie." His hand tipped her chin upwards so he could gaze shamelessly into her eyes. "I don't remember saying it to you, but it is the truth, you are home to me. More than any place that I dared called home. You are everything. My everything." His nose nuzzled hers with affection and she chuckled slightly, her nerves getting the best of her. "I love you more than words can describe, Nami-San. Now please, kiss me properly before I pass out."
Nami felt a heartfelt laugh escape her lips. Happiness. That's what the warmth in her chest was. She had felt happy since she joined the Straw Hats. She felt happy when she freed her village from Arlong's tyranny. But this happiness was different. It was special. It felt right. Complete. It was home.
Sanji leaned in and Nami closed her eyes when their lips met for the second time that night. But this time it felt like the whole world had stopped just to watch them share this intimacy. Everything was perfect. Nami scooted closer to Sanji's body as his arms wrapped tightly around her, one hand on the back of her neck, the other pulling her by the lower back so he could feel her between his legs. She gasped when their bodies met and he groaned into her mouth.
This was blissful. This was familiar. This felt perfect. Nami could stay like this forever and she wouldn't need anything else to sustain her.
"Oh goody, Sanji's up again! Please make my meat special for a midnight snack!"
"Oh, no, no, no! Sanji, you have to go back to bed! You're not fine yet!"
"Come on, eyebrows! That's where we eat!"
"Yo, ohoh! Young love at its best! Have you seen her panties yet?"
"This is super!"
"Oh, you guys want to hear how we escaped the Marines?"
"Finally, good for you Nami-Chan."
Well, she could always count on her Nakama to bring her back to reality.
THE END
End Notes: So, the lullaby. It's the song in the OPLA by Aurora. I'm so in love with this song. I think it fits, I hope you think the same.
Another thing, Sanji was speaking nasally practically the whole time, but I kept his nasal words only on Nami's name because it would be too difficult to read/write if I nasaled everything he was saying.
Thank you all in advance! I love you guys!