The Sneaky Cat-Burglar Nami

Chapter 12

Later that night, Nami could still feel the warmth of Luffy's lips lingering on her forehead. With her heart still racing from the memory, she tossed and turned.

"I can't sleep." she thought to herself, "My heart...it just won't calm down...", Nami lay her hand on her chest, as her mind delved deeper into her current predicament, "I promised myself that I'd be okay loving him from a distance but...If that idiot keeps making me feel this way, it makes me crave for more...and the greedier I get, the harder it is to control myself...", she let out a heavy sigh, "I really don't want this to affect the crew."

Nami tried to take deep breaths as she stared at her bedroom ceiling, however, it didn't do much help in calming her down. Accepting that she wasn't going to be falling asleep anytime soon she decided to brew herself a cup of tea to help calm herself down.

Approaching the kitchen, she noticed that the lights were on, and she could hear movement inside. As Nami entered, she saw Sanji busy behind the counter.

"Sanji-kun." She called softly, closing the door behind her.

"Nami-swan!" He responded, his eyes turning into hearts.

"What are you up to? Are you having trouble sleeping as well?" Nami asked, taking a seat on one of the bar stools.

"Ah, no, I'm baking some bread for breakfast later"

Nami leaned on the kitchen counter to take a closer peek through the oven's glass, seeing the dough inside slowly rising, a touch of light brown on its surface, "Oh that looks yummy." she commented, "Smells so good too!" she added, taking a deep whiff of the scent of freshly baked bread.

"I baked it with love just for you and Robin-chwan." Sanji exclaimed enthusiastically.

Nami let out a giggle

"Now, is there anything I can offer you this fine evening? Would the lady like some tea?" Sanji offered.

"Yes, please"

There was a comfortable silence between them while Sanji kept himself busy brewing the tea.

"Here you go, madameoiselle" Sanji said, placing the cup of tea in front of Nami.

"Thank you."

Sanji positioned himself behind the counter in front of Nami, lighting up a cigarette as he watched her take a sip.

"So, does the lovely lady care to share what's troubling her?" Sanji inquired, blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Huh? Ah, it's nothing. I just couldn't sleep." Nami responded, faking a laugh, waving her hand in front of her.

"Nami-san...I think I've known you long enough to know when you're worried about something."

Nami hesitated to open up at first but decided otherwise. She put down her cup gently, and let out a sigh.

"Ne, Sanji-kun." Nami voiced softly, "What do you think of dating amongst the crew?"

"Na-Nami-swan..." Sanji muttered in disbelief, "YOU'RE FINALLY ASKING ME OUT!!! I DO! I DO! I DO!" he exclaimed, hearts floating above his head as his body wiggled like a piece of paper.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!!!!" Nami yelled and stood up, punching Sanji in the head. "GEEZ~!" she exasperated, seating back down on her chair.

Sanji gave a quick message on the fresh bump on his head, taking a slow draw from his cigarette and deeply blowing out the smoke before he spoke up again.

"This is about Luffy, right?" Sanji said as a matter of fact.

"How...?" Nami looked up at him, startled.

"My lovely Nami-san, you haven't been as discreet as you think these past days...I've seen the way you look at him." Sanji interjected.

Nami looked down, fidgeting at her cup. Her expression despondent. Sanji observed her for a while, until he let out a sigh.

"If you're worried about the crew, don't."

"What? I can't do that. What if...this ruins our dynamic?" Nami voiced.

"Nami-san, we have gone through so much together. Our crew isn't fragile enough to allow your relationship with Luffy to come in between us." Sanji stated.

"But...what if...in the end, it doesn't work out between me and Luffy...then things get so awkward that it affects the crew as well..." Nami added, her voice starting to sound shaky. She took a deep breath before she continued, "What if...Luffy ends up hating me for some reason...or what if he starts thinking I'm just a distraction to him achieving his dream?" Nami clenched her fist, desperately trying to hold back tears.

Sanji inhaled through his cigarette once more, and blew out the smoke.

"What if it does work out?" He said sternly, "Nami-san...We're pirates. Every day we put our lives at risk. Just being out here on the Grandline anything can happen...Death, as you know it, has knocked on our doors many times. Hate to remind you but we did lose Luffy for a moment, had his heart not restarted the way it did."

Nami's eyes grew wide, as she felt a pang in her chest, recalling the moment when Ulti told her that their Captain was dead.

"We don't have room for what if's and what not's.", Sanji continued, "As long as we're not stepping on anyone else's feet, we take what we want. We do what we want. We love who we want." Sanji paused to take another whiff from his cigarette, his lips curling up at the corner, forming a confident smirk, "And besides, Nami-san...do you really think Luffy would allow any of what you just said to happen?...That's not the type of guy he is...you know pretty well he would never allow anything bad to happen to the crew, he would never hate you nor would he ever think of you as a distraction."

Realization dawned on Nami, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Nami-san..." Sanji called out softly.

Nami looked up at him, staring directly at his serious, and unwavering eyes.

"Just follow your heart." He said gently, a small smile on his lips. "Don't worry about the crew. I can say with all confidence that we're all going to be happy for you and for our idiot of a captain."

Nami slowly drew out a smile, "Thank you, Sanji-kun."

Feeling smug, he replied, "Anything for the lovely lady.", as he reached out to take Nami's now empty cup of tea, and walked over to the sink.

"But...I'm not even sure if Luffy feels the same way..." Nami suddenly burst out saying, "Heck, I'm not even sure the idiot knows any concept of romantic love."

Sanji washed the remaining suds away from the tea cup, there was a soft *squeak* as he turned the faucet off, then he reached for the kitchen towel hanging above the sink, wiping the now clean tea cup with it. Deciding that the said item was dry, he returned it to the cupboard. Completing his task, he then faced Nami, leaning on the sink behind him, as he inhaled from his cigarette.

"Nami-san, you're not hard to fall in love with." Sanji stated, exhaling a puff of smoke, "In fact, all this time, that dumbass he-" he continued, a small smile gracing his lips but his next few words were muffled by the sound of the kitchen timer going off, "has always loved you."

"Eh? Sorry, I didn't catch that, Sanji-kun" Nami remarked.

"Ah, it was nothing, my beautiful Nami-swan." Sanji claimed.

Nami let out a yawn, "I think I'm going to bed now", she stated, as she stood up from the bar stool, "Thanks again, Sanji-kun. Good night!", Nami flashed him a gentle smile before she walked away.

"Good night, Nami-san." Sanji responded back, a genuine, warmhearted smile gracing his lips, the last of his thoughts being "That lucky rubber bastard...but from the bottom of my heart, I wish happiness for you both."