Later that evening after dinner, the Mugiwara crew had all retreated to their perspective rooms. Usopp and Franky both mentioned they had projects they needed to start on in their workrooms. Brook, Chopper, and Robin could be found in the aquarium room, chatting amongst themselves while enjoying a hot cup of tea before bed. It was Nami's turn to keep watch that night, so she sat on the bench of the crow's nest, reading a book that Robin lent her to pass the time. And Zoro? Well, he was probably lost on the ship somewhere. Only Luffy and Sanji had remained in the kitchen. Sanji stood scrubbing away at the dirty dishes from dinner, whilst Luffy sat at the bar.
Luffy was a fumbling wreck. He rested his chin on the counter, over his folded arms and then came the incessant tapping, his fingers simultaneously drumming against the cool, white surface. He then sat up and began shifting back and forth in his seat as he stared into the depths of nothingness which followed by him crossing both his arms over his chest, his complexion visibly turning red as he looked down with a raised brow and eyes scrunched tight from his intense thinking.
Sanji peered up and caught sight of his dimwitted captain then let out an exasperated sigh, feeling an immense case of déjà vu.
"Is there something I can help you with, Luffy?"
"...I think Nami is mad at me."
"What did you do now, you blockhead?" he asked with a scowl.
"Nothing!"
"Then?"
Luffy proceeded to tell Sanji about the earlier events back on the island. He told him about their conversation regarding their past adventures. How she looked sad at some point during their exchange, so he initiated the tickle fight to cheer her up. He told him about how Nami sat on top of him and got "suuuper"close to his face before they were interrupted. He finally told Sanji about how distant she was on their way back to the Sunny.
The blonde groaned and facepalmed after hearing Luffy's elaboration.
For the love of Oda..
"Well, you got one thing right. You sure did nothing." replied Sanji while pulling out his lighter.
Luffy tilted his head and frowned at Sanji's remark. "So you think she's mad then?"
He took a quick drag from his lit cigarette and blew out a long trail of smoke. "I don't think Nami-San is mad."
"Ahhhh, that's a relief!" Exclaimed the captain as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, a huge smile plastered on his face.
"I do think she feels embarrassed though. Probably even mortified."
"Eh?" He blinked. "Why would she?"
Sanji deadpanned.
"Because she was going to kiss you, you dumbass."
Luffy merely sat there with large owl-like eyes, taking a moment to process what Sanji had told him. The gears in his head started turning and then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He slammed the palms of his hands on the counter and gawked at the love-cook.
"EHHH? Nami was going to kiss me??"
Sanji glared at the raven-haired boy in front of him.
"..I always knew you were dense, Luffy. But I didn't know you were actually just flat out brainless." he muttered.
"What should I do, Sanji??"
"Easy. Go kiss her."
Forgive him Nami-San...
Luffy thrusted his fists in the air and nodded in determination. "Yosh!" He leaped out of his seat and began marching out of the kitchen.
"Hold it, Luffy!"
He suddenly came to a halt and glanced behind him over his shoulder to look at Sanji.
"Don't just go and kiss her smack on the mouth, especially if she isn't alone. Make sure the moment is right. Understand?"
Luffy nodded deeply and gave the love-cook a thumbs up as he flashed him a stupid grin before exiting the dining room.
That moron... at least I still have Robin-Chwaaaan!
_________
After his conversation with Sanji, Luffy made his way out to the deck and ascended up the rope ladder leading to the crows nest. There was a cool, brisk breeze and the black to navy gradient in the sky served as the backdrop to a glowing full moon. On a normal night, Luffy would have ventured onto the Sunny's figurehead to admire the breathtaking view, however, tonight he took little notice of it. There was only one thing that occupied his mind, and that was his orange-haired navigator.
He climbed into the room and immediately spotted her on the long bench. She was lying face up on her back, her left arm was dangling out to the side and her right arm held her book closely to her. As he approached her, he could hear her soft breathing and saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He made a mental note to tease her later for falling asleep while on watch duty.
Luffy carefully took a seat next to her and crossed his arms over his chest, chuckling softly as he looked down at her. She made a small noise and slipped the tip of her tongue out to wet her plump lips, the same lips that almost made their way onto Luffy's not long ago. As Luffy watched her, he became aware of a tightening feeling in his chest and he suddenly found it very hard to breathe.
She's cute.
Nami stirred slightly in her sleep and a soft whimper escaped her. She began to mutter incoherently.
"Ung.. Mmm.. l-luff. L-luffy.."
"Nami?" he whispered as he shifted slightly closer to her.
"H-hurt.. lufs hurt.. h-help."
Luffy's face wrinkled with worry and he felt his heart sink as he watched a small tear travel down the side of her cheek. He stood and scooped her up gently in his arms, being careful not to wake her.
She smells like tangerines...
Luffy skillfully climbed down the rope ladder with one arm, the other wrapped tightly around Nami multiple times to ensure she wouldn't fall and landed on the grassy deck with a soft 'thud'. He carried her towards the women's quarters and upon entering, Luffy was met with Robin's questioning glare, to which he responded to with a toothy grin.
"H-hmf.. no Luffy.. n-no.."
The raven-haired captain glanced down at her in his arms and watched as her lip began to quiver.
Is she dreaming that I'm hurt?
He made his way over to her bed and set her down, gently pulling the covers over her. After a moment, he crouched down beside her and removed his straw hat from his head to place it next to her on the pillow.
"I'm here, Nami." He whispered softly in her ear.
As Luffy pulled back, he caught sight of Robin staring and when she opened her mouth to speak, he immediately raised his finger to his lips as if signifying to the archeologist to remain quiet, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. Robin chuckled softly and saw him exit the room.
_________
It was spine-chillingly silent when suddenly, she heard bubbles popping around her, each 'pop' increasingly becoming louder and louder. She peeled her eyes open and took in her surroundings. She was back in Sabaody. A bright light took over her vision, blinding her, when she unexpectedly heard the sound of rapid wind flooding her ears. She was flying face up through the air at an alarming speed. Nami was immobilized and dread filled her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out; she could only shut her eyes dangerously tight as panic washed over her.
The sound of howling wind abruptly stopped and she slowly blinked her eyes open. She immediately recognized the room she had occupied for two years. She propped herself up with her elbow to see Haredas with his hands on his hips walking towards her.
"Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Musume-San."
"..Haredas-San? W-what am I doing here?" She threw the covers aside and sprung up. "I need to get back to Luffy."
"Your captain? That's impossible.." He exclaimed with wide eyes.
Losing her patience, Nami growled and thumped him over the head, a visible vein popping out the side of her temple. "What do you mean impossible?!" She roared.
"P-please calm down, Musume-San.." he rubbed the newly formed lump and stood to wipe himself off. "There's no need for you to go back to your captain."
She sighed exasperatedly and crossed her arms in front of her. "And why is that?"
"Because your captain is dead."
"W-what..?" She dropped her arms to her sides and looked at him with a horror-stricken expression.
Haredas stood in front of her and became robotic. He began to utter his claim over and over again.
"Your captain is dead. Your captain is dead. Your captain is dead. Your captain is dead."
Tears immediately flooded her eyes and she let out a choked sob. "L-Luffy's dead?"
She blinked and the room suddenly became engulfed in flames, everything around her started to melt. She turned to flee but came face to face with complete darkness that stretched out for miles. In a desperate panic, she scanned the room and finally saw a figure in the distance. He was laying on the ground motionless. She ran to him and as she approached, she could make out his raven hair and straw hat.
"Luffy!"
The scar on his chest was ripped open and he laid covered in his own blood. She could see his labored breathing, as his chest rose and fell quickly with rapid breaths. She ran to his side and placed her hand on his chest. When she brought it back up to inspect it, it was completely covered in the thick crimson liquid. She whipped her head dangerously back and forth, searching for her crew.
"Zoro!! Sanji-kun!! Luffy's hurt!" She began to wail uncontrollably as she noticed the life slowly draining from his eyes. "N-no.. no! Luffy!"
"Nami."
She heard a woman's voice call out to her. She recognized it instantly. Nami shot her head back over her shoulder and saw the rest of her crew gathered together. They were all looking at her with reassuring smiles.
"Chopper! Help, please! Luffy's hurt!"
Robin made her way over to Nami and crouched down to place a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Nami, Luffy's fine. Look."
She stared at Robin in disbelief and blinked the tears out of her eyes. She turned her head and glanced back down at Luffy. He was looking back up at her with a warm smile and the scar on his chest was back to normal. He brought his hand up to her cheek and softly cupped it, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears.
"..Luffy?"
"I'm here, Nami."
He lowered his hand and took his straw hat off, propping himself up on his elbow to place it upon her head. Nami gripped the brim of his hat and smiled widely at him as her surroundings slowly became familiar, she noticed that she was back on the Thousand Sunny.
Nami's eyes snapped open and darted around the room.
It was just another nightmare.
She let out a relieved sigh and sat up in her bed to brush aside her bangs that were now plastered against her forehead with sweat.
Wait... how did I end up in my bed?
Nami looked around the room and noticed that Robin was not in bed. She glanced up at the wall clock and realized that it was now well past breakfast time. Suddenly the door knob turned and Robin entered the room, she gave Nami a small smile upon seeing that she was now awake.
"Good morning, Nami."
"Good morning, Robin. Do you know how I ended up in my bed?"
Robin let out a soft chuckle and merely pointed to a spot next to Nami. The navigator turned her head to look down at what Robin was pointing at and there it laid in all its glory on her pillow; his infamous straw hat. She smiled to herself and picked up the hat, placing it on her lap. As she carefully ran her finger over the spots that were now frayed due to the constant wear, she felt her stomach flutter.
Luffy...
_________
Luffy sat on the figurehead of the Thousand Sunny with his arms crossed in front of him against his chest. He gazed out into the ocean and took in how the sun was beating down on the surface of the water, creating a beautiful array of shimmering specks across the horizon. He thought back to how eager he was to kiss her the night before, and the disappointment he felt upon seeing she was already asleep. A small smile suddenly began to form across his features as he felt Nami approaching with his Haki.
Speaking of her.
The orange-haired navigator decided earlier to return the straw hat to its rightful owner and thank him for carrying her to bed. She scanned the lawn deck below her and it didn't take long for her eyes to find him sitting in his usual seat atop the figurehead of the Sunny. As she steadily made her way down the stairs, she became well aware of the eyes that gazed intensely at her from above. She climbed up the small set of steps that led up to the figurehead and carefully gripped onto the piece of wood that made up the mane. Nami made her way carefully to him and could see that Luffy was already staring her down with a huge grin as he eyed the hat that sat on her head.
"How are you feeling, Nami?"
She sat in front of him on the figurehead and proceeded to remove the hat from her head and placed it on top of his.
"Good. I'm happy."
'Shishishi' "I like happy Nami."
Nami found herself smiling with him and took in his childish demeanor. She felt so giddy and pondered away at the thought of how much she cared for the idiot captain before her. Luffy was the only person who could elicit such feelings from her, and suddenly, she realized that she would never be able to love someone as much as she loved him. She found it incredibly difficult to imagine her life without him in it and she felt immensely grateful that Luffy was safe and sound before her.
And here I thought I possibly couldn't fall even more in love with him..
"And I like happy Luffy." She chuckled softly and realized how childish she sounded. "Thank you for bringing me to my bed last night."
"You're welcome." he said with a warm smile. "What did you dream about last night?"
She flinched at his question.
I guess the cat's out of the bag...
"Not much." she responded vaguely.
She was receptive to tell him about the nightmares that sometimes plagued her at night. She figured the question was coming after he brought her into her room and saw his hat carefully placed beside her. Robin often mentioned how she would wake up in the middle of the night whimpering Luffy's name and she was hoping he would never have the chance to become aware of it. Nami knew he was already going through a difficult time after the loss of his brother, and she would feel racked with guilt if he took the blame for this too.
"Nami, please talk to me." his brows furrowed and concern took over him.
She felt a tug at her heart upon seeing his worry. Nami knew she couldn't lie to him, and she didn't want to, but she found it incredibly difficult to speak her mind. She would tell herself time and time again that Luffy was strong, in fact, he was the strongest person she knew. In their short time together, he had accomplished so much, so quickly. But she was scared. Scared to lose him, scared to see him fall at the hands of his enemies, scared to wake up one day and learn he was gone; and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she knew she could have somehow helped him.
She released a shaky breath and looked down at her hands in her lap as she began to recall her nightmares to him. "The dreams are pretty much always the same. I'm in Sabaody and im suddenly flying through the air. I wake up in Weatheria to Haredas-San telling me you're dead."
He kept his eyes on her and stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
"The room starts bursting into flames and when I try to run away, it's just pitch black. And eventually I find you laying on the ground and your scar looks like it's ripped open and you're just.. completely covered in blood." Her hands felt shaky and she began to fumble with her fingers. "I cry for help and usually no one is there to hear me... but this last time was different."
"Different how?" he asked.
"The crew is there to help and suddenly, you're okay and you reassure me that you're here."
Luffy reached out to place his hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "There's no way I'm gonna let what happened back on Sabaody happen again."
"I... I should have been there for you."
"It's not your fault, Nami. I know you tried. I know you all tried. Im the one that failed to protect you."
"Don't say that, Luffy!" She spat. "You also tried and we will never hold that against you. Kuma did us all a favor that day and there's no shred of doubt in our minds that you are more than capable of protecting us. We respect every decision you've ever made as our captain and if we had to go back and do it all over again, we wouldn't question a thing."
Luffy's smile threatened to leave his face as he beamed at the orange-haired girl before him. "Then it'll be okay, Nami. I'll never stop protecting you, and I know you guys will do the same. Plus, there's no way in hell I'd go down without a fight."
Nami laughed softly and nodded at him, a wave of relief washing over her. Luffy lifted a huge weight off her shoulders as he did quite often and she once again felt a great sense of indebtedness to him. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, just enjoying the sight of the other person in front of them with small grins when Nami saw his eyes shift.
"Nami?"
"Yes, Luffy?"
Why does he look so different?
"Can we try it?" He glanced back up at her and Nami was taken aback by they way he looked at her with such an intensity, it made her shiver.
"Try what?"
"Kissing." he said straightforwardly, his eyes glazed with want for the woman in front of him.
WHAT!
Nami's jaw slackened and it took her a moment to fully comprehend what Luffy was asking of her when she finally stuttered out a response.
"..W-what?" She said breathily.
"You were going to kiss me the other night, right? So maybe we can try it now... kissing."
Wait, what?!
Luffy was never one to hold back his desires and as a pirate, he took what he wanted without hesitation. Now, listening to the man in front of her asking her to engage in the act of kissing sent a chill down her spine.
She peered at him frozen in disbelief, her already widened eyes becoming even more enlarged and she swore the entire ship could hear her heart raging violently against her chest. She nodded slowly with parted lips, feeling a sudden rush of heat flood her cheeks and in that moment, there was nothing else. It was just her and the raven haired man that sat in front of her.
Luffy was immensely pleased with her response and he reached up with his right hand, slipping it around the nape of her neck as he slowly inched closer to her face. He had no idea what he was doing, his body merely moved on its own, instinct taking over, and when their noses touched, he became aware of the warm puffs of breath that tickled his lips.
A cough behind them suddenly jolted them out of their trance and Nami whipped her head back to see Zoro standing behind them and immediately held her head in her hands with a groan.
Great...
"Sorry to interrupt, Captain." he said as he tried to hold back the smirk that was now widely spread across his face. "But there's a ship approaching."
_____________
"Did you find him, Sabo-kun?" said a female's voice from the other line of the Den Den Mushi.
"I did indeed."
As the man approached the ship of the Mugiwara crew, he could see the raven-haired captain sitting on what seemed to be a giant sunflower. There was an orange-haired woman that sat across from him who he made out to be 'Cat-Burglar Nami' when he recalled their wanted posters. He saw them lean in, it seemed like they were about to kiss before they were interrupted.
You see that, Ace?! Our Otouto is in love!
To be continued
A/N: I know this isn't the way Luffy and Sabo reunite however since this is a fanfiction, let's say they do for the sake of the story. Thank you so much for the views and please continue to give me feedback! I may go back and edit the first few chapters because looking back now, it could have been a bit better but let me know what you guys think! :)