𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕕 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

chapter 23

Nami fell into a fitful rest and Luffy couldn't deny the fact that he was also soothed by her presence. But more than anything, what she'd said to him now kept him awake more than his nightmare. Her guilt was intense, and it angered him, not her. Just the fact that Methias had gotten into her head as much as he had.

None of this was her fault, and as far as he was concerned, Nami was the only reason he'd made it. If it weren't for her, Luffy was convinced he would have kicked the bucket. Because more than finding the One Piece, or making it back to his crew, he'd wanted to make it back to her.

He'd wanted to tell her what Orcus had made him realise, that he was in love with her. And the fact that Methias had soured that, made Nami doubt herself. It made him all the more enraged.

If he ever saw that bastard again, Luffy wasn't sure he would be able to stop, he'd kill him. Most times he'd imagined a fight between the two of them, it had ended in Methias' crumpled body lying on the floor before him. Of all of his enemies, Methias was the most pathetic, and somehow he had angered Luffy more than any other.

In not a single one of those scenarios he'd conjured, did he ever feel a sliver of guilt. He'd go before the world as a murderer, vilify himself for all to see if it meant that Methias would be dead. If it meant that the man who had laid his hands on Nami would be dead, he would stop at nothing.

He wasn't surprised by this revelation, nor was he shocked by the immensity of his hate. Methias had done something that couldn't be taken back, and it would be too late when he finally comprehended that. Luffy's eyes slowly closed, lulled to sleep by the woman at his side.

~~~

Nami slept in late, for the first time in weeks she woke up without feeling like her eyes were going to fall out of her head. The feeling of contentment was all the more heightened by the feeling of Luffy's arms tightening around her. She managed to move back slightly and catch a glimpse of his face, his eyebrows pressed into a hard line as he slept.

Nami pressed her lips to the underside of his jaw, gentle and inviting. After about three similar kisses, Luffy's eyes shot open, slightly wild but otherwise abated as he took her in. Luffy felt a tingle in his skin under his jaw and he smiled, something giddy and childish in it as he kissed her.

"Mornin," he mumbled against her lips, his forehead pressing to hers as she hummed.

"Morning Captain, sleep well?" She goaded, pressing her lips to his again in an effortless kiss.

"Mmn," was his only answer as he became quickly obsessed from wringing another kiss out of Nami who was seemingly un-annoyable after sleeping so well. She obliged before rolling out of bed, much to Luffy's chagrin, but he was more pliable with the idea of breakfast in the back of his mind. He wondered out pressing a kiss to Nami's temple as she sat before a vanity, lazily combing her hair through her fingers.

Robin was already gone, and Nami couldn't bring herself to care about whether she'd seen them or not. Being discovered was low on her long list of priorities at the moment, because when Luffy made his way back from breakfast, they would talk. She was both earth shatteringly nervous and extremely relieved that she'd be able to get everything out in the air.

Luffy would never turn away from her, of that she was sure, now all she needed to do was open up and tell him everything. To the most minute of details, even if they seemed insignificant, whether self-deprecating or just downright disturbed, Luffy was now the man who she should be telling everything. She had been mostly open with the crew, but this felt far more intimate, because it was. Luffy and her were lovers now, and she didn't want to keep things from the person she loved.