inbox for golden peacock

[cartographie]

@nami

▶ TEXT

▶ AUDIO

▶ VIDEO

▶ ACTION

Comments

[cartographie]

[ A part of her will always be somewhat wild, the feral traces of the upbringing she’d had to give herself while coming up under Arlong’s thumb as his prisoner and mapmaker, cobbling together her best estimations of how she ought to act and treat others with the odds stacked against her. She knows where she belongs now. Luffy’s made sure of that, and, on a deeper level, Sanji’s done the same. She belongs with her crew until the One Piece is found, and her map is finished. But after the months they’ve spent here, just the two of them, Nami has begun to realize that she’ll belong to Sanji for much longer. Beyond the practical side of things, the comforting knowledge that at a higher rank he’ll be less vulnerable to the resort and all its nonsense, his kitchen thrills her because she knows how wonderful he’ll feel working in it. It makes her happy because it will make him happy, and selflessness is kind of a new concept for her. Thanks to Sanji’s constant presence, however, Nami likes to think she’s learning her way around all these newfound intricacies of the heart fairly well.

That experience has left her warmed, rather than unsettled and uncertain, when he confirms that word, ‘our,’ before capturing her face between his palms and stooping to plant a kiss on her lips. Nami follows the gesture with a breathless chuckle as her eyes round in curiosity, a look that’s hidden against his shoulder as Sanji wraps his arms around her and dusts kisses to her temple and the top of her head. ]

I don’t think I’m going to want company for a while. [ Contentment warms through her, a feeling that’s wholly different from the smug delight of receiving gifts. Getting a room of their own in his space is a present of a different kind, one she’s only just begun to learn how to take without getting flustered.

Still, it doesn’t prepare her for what’s waiting. Sanji takes the lead once again, steering her down the hallway and into a room situated to the side of what looks to be a pretty direct path to this mysterious bedroom they’ll be sharing.

It’s over for her after Nami steps inside. Her heart stops as her gaze sweeps the room, understanding beginning to dawn even before he speaks up, confirming the suspicions already sprouting in her imagination—thoughts so fragile and delicate she’s almost afraid to think them until he turns them into the kind of certainties that make her chest feel like it’s on the verge of bursting. ]

Oh– [ Dropping his hand to cover her mouth and stop herself from sputtering in shock, Nami turns away too hastily to write it off as just having a look around the space, her eyes brightening with tears as everything sinks in.

This is for her.

Like his kitchen is to him, this space is for the part of herself that she’s only begun to let blossom since her time with Arlong finally came to an end. From her first sketches in the resort to now, every picture she draws feels like the sweetest rebellion imaginable—a real and concrete way to prove that her life is her own again, that there’s nobody coming to discover what she’s doing and grab her hair or twist her arms to punish her for wasting time. She likes to draw because she can. For the first time in a long time, that piece of herself can be reclaimed, and Nami has spent over a year reaching for it with both hands—that Sanji supports her enough to carve out a space for her within his own suite just for her drawing is moving in a way she can’t explain.

Nami’s shoulders are tense as she does everything she can not to cry. It’s a losing battle, and tears spill past her eyes just as soon as she thinks she’s composed enough to dare a look back in his direction, only to lose it at the sight of him. ]

Why? Why would you— [ She doesn’t really need to ask when because he’s Sanji is all the answer she could need. ] You’re really something else, you know that? [ She adds almost weakly, before sniffling. ]