"Breathe." Luffy said softly, almost like a command.
I opened my mouth and nothing escaped or entered. I was frozen in time as my eyes refused to break from Luffy's gaze. I could feel the blood rushing to my head. Holy shit. He just said that in front of everybody. Holy shit.
"Breathe." He said again. I could feel the pressure building in my head and chest. My ears started ringing and I started to feel light headed form the lack of oxygen.
"Misaki." My eyes focused on the man in front of me. "Breathe. You gotta breathe."
I gasped in some air and held it, making him laugh.
"You gotta let the air out, M'!"
I let the air rush out of my lungs and shook my head, grinning ear to ear.
"Don't you dare say you don't believe in soulmates!" He said, nuzzling his nose against mine and chuckling. "Cause you're mine."
Yep. Can't breathe again.
"Oh my GOD LUFFY SHE IS GONNA PASS OUT! STOP TALKING!" Chopper screamed, throwing his hooves in the air.
"Hehehee, you're so funny, Misaki." Luffy said, plopping a kiss on my cheek. Chopper was right. I totally felt like I was gonna pass out. Why am I like this???
"Oi! Breathe!!!" Zoro said, popping me on top of my head with one of his scabbards.
I took another breath and everybody laughed at me. I blushed and sheepishly looked at everybody. "Either everybody needs to leave us or we need to go somewhere else." I muttered, locking eyes with Luffy.
Luffy's eyebrows hiked up and he took a sharp breath in before looking at the crew. "Bye."
He swept me up and I laughed as Nami screamed "Not in the girl's room you little shits!"
"Don't tell me what to do, Nami!" He said before jumping up to the crow's nest anyways, swinging me onto his back so he could grab the ladder. My heart was in my throat but I laughed all the same.
When we got into the crow's nest, I was happy to see the cot was still up here, leaning against the wall. Definitely better than the floor.
I got off his back and immediately got shoved against the wall. Also better than the floor. Our lips met and ferociously moved against each other. His hands collected the fabric at the bottom of my shirt and he quickly pulled it off. Suddenly, Luffy froze, his lips pulling away from mine as he looked down, a gasp catching in his throat.
"What?" I muttered, still panting.
"Your... your stomach." He said, barely audible.
"Oh..." I looked down. I had forgotten how bad it looked, wincing at the black and purple clouds around my torso. "It's ok."
"No it's not! Misaki that looks awful!" He said, dropping to his knees so that he could be eye level with it. He brought his hands up to it, gently placing them over it and pressing down. "Chopper saw this?"
"It's just bruised! It just needs to heal, Lu."
______________________
Misaki bit her lip and averted her eyes. It didn't just look like bruises to him. And from the way she reacted, he wasn't sure if she ever told Chopper about it.
This is my fault.
"Really, Luffy. I'm ok."
He looked up at her. Her hands came down to grab his and he flinched away. I did this.
"Luffy." She said, sliding down against the wall to get eye level with him.
"Misaki." He reached back out and pressed his hand firmly against her ribcage, making her wince. "That shouldn't hurt if you're ok. I barely touched you." He said, pursing his lips. I'm the reason she got hurt like this.
"Well it hurt cause it's a bruise." She said, cupping his face in her hands. "Luffy look at me."
"I..." He looked into her soft eyes. Even now, they were so vibrant and full of life. "I did this."
"What?" She said, tilting her head. "Actually a sea king did this."
"No, but it's my fault." He said, his lip forming into a pout. "I let go of you. I said that horrible thing to you."
"Luffy, it's o—."
"I didn't even say sorry. I was so happy you were alive. I forgot to say sorry."
"You don't have to." She said, squeezing his face a little. "You didn't do this."
"You aren't a burden."
"I know."
"No. You think you are. You're not! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I let you go! I'm sorry you got washed to sea! I'm so sorry!" Luffy was shaking and babbling now. "You almost died! Your vivre card almost disappeared forever! I'm so sorry!"
"Luffy!!!" She snapped, making him stop. "Tell me I'm your soulmate again!"
He blinked. Wondering why she wanted that in this moment. His lip quivered as tears started rolling down his cheeks. His heart picked up its pace as he watched her steady eyes.
"You're my one and only soulmate."
Misaki closed her eyes, happily soaking in his words. All the tension and worry in her face vanished into thin air. It was replaced with this overwhelmingly light and wonderful aura as she took a deep breath in. Luffy took in a breath too.
"My one and only...." She muttered, trailing off as she let the words sink in. She breathed out a long sigh and Luffy did the same. She left her eyes closed and brought their heads together, making Luffy's breath catch. "Love."
She opened up her eyes and smiled so sweetly at him, he felt like he might melt into the ground.
"If we never got together. I would never know what love is. Because you are my one and only love." She said, making Luffy's heart flutter. She then kissed him. She kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheeks. Everything but his lips.
Luffy couldn't breathe anymore. He sat there with the old stale air in his lungs as she kissed him so softly, it felt like a whisper. Her hands left his face and she kissed him on the cheek, barely brushing past his lips as she moved to his chin and grasped his hands, bringing them up to her face. She kissed his hands and looked up into his eyes, making him gulp.
"Breathe, Luffy." She said, her hands cupping his face again as she pulled him forward to kiss his nose. "Breathe."
He took a breath in as she shimmied a little closer to him, winding her fingers through his hair and taking a breath in with him. Her brilliant blue eyes bore into him as she let the air escape through her mouth. He followed suit, watching her intently as she worked to calm and ground him. Somehow, he felt like this was so much more intimate than what they had planned.
Her lips hovered dangerously close to his, giving him goosebumps as he breathed in unison with her. She teased him slightly, dipping closer and then further away a few times before finally breathing just a millimeter from his lips. "Kiss me."
Luffy closed the distance between them, joining their lips as he felt the blood rush to his head. He took a deep breath as his hands reached to find her face, gently holding it as he leaned into her. Her hands trailed down to his chest as they kissed, refusing to break away from this bond.
When they broke away, Luffy's tears had all but dried up. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest, he thought it might rip out and run away.
"Quit being sorry." She said, making him sigh. "Everything happens for a reason. I'm not upset."
"Ok." He said quietly, making her smile.
She reached out and pulled him into her chest, making him breath again. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her chest, surely making her blush.
"So sooooofft." He joked, making her giggle.
"You're such a dork."