Ameliorate ✦ One Piece

61

Nami blinked slowly, her vision taking its time to clear and adjust to the light seeping from the windows, bright and hazy. The more she came to, the more she noticed the familiarity of her surroundings, the softness of her bed and the familiar creak of the ship. There was also the sound of water being poured somewhere in the room, making her try to look around only to then notice the heavy aches which had settled all over her body.

Still, she forced her head to turn towards the sound. Though her vision remained blurry and dizziness made it seem like everything was spinning, she could still make out Sanji's form, standing with his back turned to her as he tended to something on the small table pushed against the far wall.

"Sanji?"

He spun around at the sound of her voice, moving so fast that he'd nearly knocked the bowl off of the table. For a moment, he just stood there, looking at her and then his whole face did something complicated, showing emotions Nami didn't have time to process before he just as quickly covered them up.

"You're awake," he breathed out, sounding relieved. The words themselves were muffled and distant, unclear whether they were meant for her or merely said for his own benefit.

Though he was trying to hide them, Nami could still catch on to the oddities in his behaviour. It made her move again, head turning and scanning her bedroom. And as she turned to her other side, she only then noticed the second bed placed in the room, and the shape curled on it. Akira slept with her cheek pressed into the pillow, hair sprawled around her in messy tangles as she dozed away.

"What..." Nami's brows furrowed, voice coming out weakly as her confusion began to rise while she tried and failed to understand everything she was seeing and everything she was feeling. "Why..."

"You're okay." Sanji was quick to move, crossing the room and making his way to her bedside where he sunk into the chair that already sat there waiting—as if someone's been making regular use of it in that particular spot. "You're okay."

But Nami didn't feel okay. She felt terrible with her mouth dry and her bones and muscles aching all over. But before she could question it, Akira stirred beside her, easily woken up from her shallow sleep by the sound of their voices. She blinked a few times, as if she herself were trying and struggling to focus, before her eyes finally settled on Nami.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she said gently, the corner of her mouth moving up in the best attempt at a smile which she could muster. But it was as if the deep and tinted bags under her eyes formed a barrier, preventing the smile-like expression from reaching past them. And the eyes themselves remained unfocused in a way that had nothing to do with just waking up.

"You want some food?" Sanji had already reached for the bowl at her bedside, lifting it toward her. "I made you some fresh consommé." He kept talking while Nami turned back to him, the disoriented look never leaving her face while he rambled on. "I ran out of chicken stock, but it turns out that dinosaur is a very versatile ingredient."

"I'm not hungry," she said simply.

"Well..." He set the bowl back down, but didn't put it too far. "You need to eat something." He shifted in the chair, leaning forward onto his elbows, coaxing rather than pushing. "I've been trying, but..."

"Sanji, I'm fine," Nami tried to reassure him, but even she could hear the unsteady waver of her own voice, the weak croaks which it sounded like. I just passed out at dinner last night. I must've been more tired than I thought."

She meant the words to ease his worries or to make him stop hovering, but instead, they seemed to have a different effect as he went quiet. And then sighed a couple of moments later. His eyes moved away from her, across the bed and looking towards Akira, as if sharing some silent communication that Nami couldn't entirely read.