Polar Planes [Luffy x Nami]

Bonus Chapter - Original Universe

*After Wano

The water was cold. Luffy opened his mouth to speak, and it flooded in unforgivingly, invading his throat. It was dark. His vision was blurring.

Something that looked like bright fabric was floating around near him.

His chest was contracting in painful aches. There was no air. It hurt everywhere. The feeling was familiar, but he couldn't even remember how he got there.

The last thing he recalled was a dream. It was a very long, pleasant dream, but he just couldn't remember what happened in it.

The bright fabric fluttered around him, refracting the small rays of sunlight leaking through the ocean's surface.

Suddenly, Luffy felt something warm and soft on his lips. Air. He breathed in once and his chest expanded. The pain ceased. He couldn't bring himself to panic. Somehow, he just knew he was going to be okay.

So he closed his eyes.

⤧

He woke up to the feeling of a hoof on his cheek. His mouth opened on its own, and he coughed until he could feel all the water gushing out. He opened his eyes to find Chopper staring at him.

The doctor's eyes were wide and glossy with tears. "Phew. You're alive."

"This one was a close call," Zoro said.

Luffy sat up. "My hat!"

"Relax; it's safe inside," Sanji assured.

Everyone was crowded around him, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Normally, if he almost drowned, only a couple of his crewmates would help him expel the water from his lungs.

A gust of icy wind blew by and he shivered. The fact that he was soaking wet amplified the cold tenfold.

"Man, you weren't waking up for a good ten minutes," Usopp said. "Chopper had to try all of his forms to see which one gave you CPR the best."

"Not Monster Point, though," Robin added. "If he tried that, he would have probably crushed your chest before you got the chance to come back to life."

Usopp shivered. "Enough of that, Robin..."

"You really fucked up this time, Luffy," Sanji chided. "How could you fall asleep when you were sitting on the Sunny's head? That's a recipe for disaster."

Luffy opened his mouth to speak but ended up coughing more. "Sorry, guys."

Zoro shook his head, then pointed to the women's quarters. "If anything, you should apologize to your navigator."

"For once, I agree with Mosshead," Sanji said. "Nami-san saved your ass and now she's suffering because of it!"

Chopper nodded grimly. "Her hypothermia could have killed her if we pulled her out a second later."

"Really?" Luffy pushed to his feet, ignoring how weak his limbs felt. "Thanks, everyone!"

He walked to Nami's room. It was a familiar sight - he often came over whenever he was bored to watch her make maps on her desk. Though, it was never for too long, because he'd get bored of that and ask too many questions. Then she'd get annoyed and kick him out.

This time, she was huddled near the fireplace with a thick blanket on, rocking back and forth. Her hair was damp. His straw hat was resting next to her.

Another breeze swept in through the door. He accidentally slammed the door shut, too hasty to keep the warmth in the room. Without his shirt on, Luffy would freeze to death anytime soon.