Steel Heart

Ch 82 - First Date

"Nana, wake up," Sanji murmured as he leaned over the bed and planted a soft kiss on the side of the mechanic's forehead. He wished he could let her sleep a little longer but he had no other choice. He had barely slept himself as he spent the entire night willing his body to behave. He spent all night appreciating the irony that Nana was so concerned with his self control around women and yet oblivious to the fact that he needed to show even more control around her.

There was one point during the night where she rolled over to his side of the bed, tucked her head right beneath his chin, and curled her leg over his. Her arm draped across his bare chest with her hand softly touching the side of his neck. He could feel her breath on his skin and smell the soap from her bath. It was severe torture to him and to make matters worse, she had let out a soft, gentle sigh of content.

He was fully aware that Nana was used to sleeping in a swinging hammock by herself so where the hell did she get this habit of cuddling up to people? Then a terrifying thought came to him. Was she doing this just because it was him? Was she naturally drawn to him like he was to her?

That thought alone made Sanji want to cover her body with his and show her the sacred act of love. However, his chivalry overpowered his passion. This was definitely not the right time for that. He had half a mind to just grab the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs that she had tucked away somewhere and shackle himself into a corner. If he was honest, he was debating whether he should just keep it near the bedside from now on.

Even in the morning, with him trying to wake her up, he found her close to irresistible. Her brow furrowed slightly and her lips were pouted. Her cheeks were stained pink from the warmth of her blanket. She turned to her side, away from him, and bringing her arm out from under the blanket. He just wanted to kiss all the exposed parts of her but if he did, he would drop the tray of food he was holding.

"I'm sorry, Nana, but you have to wake up," Sanji said a little bit more loudly this time and ignoring the feeling of regret for ruining such a magnificent moment, "We're about to call Doflamingo."

That did the trick. Nana's eyes flew open and she stared up at the cook. "Doflamingo?" she gasped and then her mouth snapped shut when she realized that Sanji was probably close enough to smell her morning breath.

Her face reddened and she sat up on the bed, creating some distance between them. Sanji kept the loving smile on his face as he set the tray down on her lap. It had a cup of hot tea and a plate of his special crepes. "Eat up, my love, and then we can join the others upstairs," he said.

"Shit...How long have I been sleeping?" she asked as she rubbed her crusted eyes. She was suddenly very much aware what a monster she must look like in the morning.

"10 hours," Sanji said and he hurried to explain when Nana looked at him in surprise, "Chopper said you would be sleeping longer and deeper than usual, remember?"

Nana sighed and picked up the mug of tea. "That's right," she said slowly, "So I guess I'm not fully healed yet."

"Ah," Sanji said, "So promise me that no matter what happens when we get to Dressrosa, you'll take it easy and not do anything impulsive?"

Nana blinked back at him. "Really? You're not going to make me promise to stick by your side?"

Sanji smiled at her. "If you could do that, then you would've made that promise to me a long time ago," he said, "But I know you, Nana. Asking you to stay in one place is like trying to hold onto a tornado."

"Love is a hurricane, right?" Nana said dryly as she took a sip of her tea and then she nodded at him, "Okay. I'll promise to take it easy and be extra careful in Dressrosa."