Stolen // One Piece

chapter thirty-five

Luffy was growing restless. Sure, he'd already caught up with two of his crew mates that morning, but now that the sun was out, and he'd been lying in that bed for over a week, he wanted to get up and greet the rest of his chosen family.

Well, most of them, anyway.

Luffy very vividly remembered Nami's lips against his. He remembered the warmth of her hands against his face, and the hint of tangerine that her mouth had left on his.

Luffy's stomach churned as he thought back on that moment.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the kiss (he certainly very much did enjoy it, thank you very much), it was the fact that Nami had kissed him because she had thought that she wasn't going to ever see him again, and then she saved him. Luffy's mind became a tangled mess of worried thoughts.

What if she had changed her mind about the kiss? Did she regret it? Did she feel the same way about him as he did her? What if she completely ignored that it happened? Would that mean that they would never bring it up again, and continue living the same way they had? What if she did bring it up? What if she brought it up only to tell him that it was a mistake? What if she truly did feel the same about him? Would he be able to trade his friendship with her for a romantic relationship? What if that ended? Could Luffy truly be willing to risk the dynamic and happiness of the crew for a relationship in which he was romantically involved?

The boy groaned and held his head in his hands. He wasn't sure how he would be able to handle heartbreak on top of all the... unpleasant things that had happened in the past few months. He sighed and narrowed his eyes at the wall.

Of course he would respect her wishes, if she did tell him that she wanted nothing more than to be his friend. He would try to make things less awkward between them, pretend that he was fine if it meant that his beloved navigator would stay with the crew. Her happiness meant more to him than his own, and if she was unhappy, well then he'd need to fix that. His crew meant more to him than the whole world.

As Luffy sighed again, the spunky little reindeer-doctor stepped back into the room with a pile of neatly-folded clothes.

"Ready to rejoin the world?" Chopper asked, with a smile wider than the ocean itself. "Your wounds are healing nicely, so you should be able to walk around and do things," the reindeer paused to set the clothes at the foot of the bed, "but knowing you, I most certainly need to tell you that you need to be careful, Luffy. No stretching, and you need to eat slower until you're fully healed." Luffy sighed and nodded his head. He was still too wrapped up in his own head to object, and he figured starting an argument with Chopper over his well-being would not be helpful at the moment. "Also," the reindeer began, sounding hesitant, "that means that there won't be any fights, for you until further notice." The older boy groaned dramatically at this, flopping backward into the pile of pillows on the bed.

"But what if—," he began, and Chopper held up his hand, promptly cutting him off.

"No. No 'but what if.' Doctor's orders are for you to do no fighting. None whatsoever. Clear?" Luffy groaned once more, but muttered an irritated, "crystal," in response. The doctor smiled, before softly patting his captain on the shoulder and leaving to give him privacy to dress.

Luffy decided against shrugging his vest on, and decided to instead wear only his shorts and his sandals. He told himself that it was so Chopper could see if Luffy accidentally reopened a closed wound, but perhaps a small bit of him just wanted a little pity from his family.

As he stood, his stomach grumbled rather loudly, and so he shuffled into the dining room, the smell of eggs and sausage wafting into his nostrils and automatically his face lit up into a smile. The satisfying sizzle that came from the pan let Luffy know that Sanji was also cooking bacon, a rare occurrence, and that Sanji was celebrating the boy's recovery. The young captain hopped into his seat at the table, watching his chef work. Though the blond didn't necessarily enjoy being watched while creating his masterpieces, he wanted to soak up his friend's energy and presence, and so he let Luffy stay, on the one condition that Luffy promised not to take any food.