Shikari Shiro - Hang In There

An LxN One-shot by Aoikami Sarah

 

            Everyone was asleep except Sanji whose head nodded forward every minute or so. He sat in a chair at Nami’s bedside. To his left on a small table, a cup of very strong coffee rested half empty and growing cold. He was beginning to think caffeine no longer worked for him as exhaustion dragged him down. He’d been awake for at least 30 hours since Vivi told them Nami’s condition was serious. Only a few days after leaving Little Garden, whatever sickness Nami contracted raged through her system and shot her temperature through the roof. His head bowed again, but this time he couldn’t lift it back up again.
            “Oo... Ee...” Nami groaned and Sanji gasped in alarm.
            “What? Where? Who? I’m awake!” he cried and slapped his own face.
            “Oo... Ee...”
            Sanji blinked and stared at her. “Nami-san? It’s ok. I’m here,” he said and took the now warm towel from her forehead.
            “Roo... Ee...” she muttered more clearly.
            “Do you want some water? You should drink something,” he advised, rinsing the towel out in a shallow pan.
            “Lu... Ffy...”
            Sanji stopped wringing the towel and tensed his shoulders. So that was it. “He’s asleep. I’m here. It’s ok,” he soothed, placing the fresh towel on her sweating forehead.
            “Luffy... Luffy...”
            He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t conscious. She would never call out for that idiot like that if she was awake, but the plea was coming from her unconscious mind. Sanji stood. “I’m gonna go have a smoke,” he said and quietly left the room.

            A few minutes later the door opened.
            “But Sanji~!” Luffy complained. “I was having a dream about a mountain of meat!”
            “I don’t care if you were dreaming about the whereabouts of All Blue!” he shouted and gave his captain a swift kick in the rear that sent him sprawling into the room. “It’s your turn to watch her. I’m going to bed!” Sanji growled, turned and closed the door behind him as he went.

            “Mou~,” Luffy whined, rubbing his sore rump. “It was such a nice dream...”
            “Luffy...” Nami moaned, breaking him from his selfish thoughts. Her eyes were closed tightly. He straightened up and stood in front of the bed, watching her twist in discomfort. He pulled the chair up, turned it around and sat down. “Luffy...” she called again.
            Luffy reached over and slid his hand under the covers, finding hers and grasping it tightly. “I’m here, Nami. Hang in there,” he said clearly.
            Immediately, her body relaxed. Her face was red from exertion and the fever. Her breathing was still labored and came in shallow breaths. Luffy squeezed her hand and repeated ‘I’m here’ a few times.
            Slowly, her eyes fluttered open a little and searched him out. “Luffy...” she said, relieved.
            He grinned softly.
            “I’m so hot...” she tried to pushed the covers down with her free hand.

He pushed them back. “Vivi said not to let you get cold, even if you feel hot, because it’ll make you sicker,” he explained.
            She tried to take a deep breath. “Luffy, I’m so sorry...”
            “For what?” he asked.
            “I won’t be able to take you to find One Piece...” she said, running out of breath toward the end of the sentence so that ‘one piece’ was said at a whisper. “I’m going to die.”
            “You’re not going to die.” He stated. Nami muttered something in protest and he raised his voice. “I won’t let you die!”

Nami’s lip trembled slightly and she turned her head toward him. “Luffy…”

“Vivi said we can follow the Logue Pose and get to the next island to find you a doctor. We’re going there right now fast as we can. We’ll land and find the best doctor ever and he’ll make you better.” He stared at a loose thread coming off of the comforter his navigator was wrapped in. “I can’t do anything to help you right now. It hurts. I want to help. I would do anything to make you better.”

“You’ve done so much for me already… I feel the same way…” she whispered, fighting to keep her eyes open and her thoughts together. “You saved me from Arlong. You brought me here… The only thing I can do for you is navigate your dream…”

Luffy looked into her half-lidded eyes and gave her a toothy grin. “Everything will be ok. You need rest. Sleep,” he commanded.

“Ok…” she whispered and let her eyes close.

 

Just outside the door, Sanji closed his eyes. A small smile hung on his lips. “Ok, Luffy. You win this round,” he said quietly to himself and went on to bed.

 

Luffy relaxed in the chair, turned around so that he could lean against the back. His arm remained half under the covers, holding Nami’s hand. He watched her sleep. He noticed her breathing calm a little and sighed. “Nami?” he whispered very quietly. Satisfied that she was still asleep, he looked left and right as if checking to see if anyone was looking. “I swear I won’t let you go. I…” He swallowed and gathered his courage. “I love you.”

The sound of the Going Merry creaking on the waves filled the silence. Luffy exhaled and relaxed his shoulders. He was startled to feel Nami squeeze his hand. He stared at her as a small smile curled her lips.

Until Sanji relieved him late that morning, Luffy didn’t sleep and his hand didn’t let go of hers.

 

END
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