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Sometimes Sanji wondered how he’d ever survived night watches without Luffy by his side. As beautiful as the sparkling ocean could be, it would always pale in comparison to the sight of Luffy lying next to him.
That night, just like every night, he volunteered for first watch. He wondered if the rest of the crew had caught on, if they knew about him and their captain. He wasn’t ashamed of their relationship, he just wasn’t going out of his way to make a big announcement out of it.
And that night, just like every night, Luffy joined him. They didn’t like sitting in the same place all the time. Of course, Luffy’s favorite seat was the sheep-shaped bow, but they couldn’t both fit up there (they knew because they had tried and failed many times) so they had to find somewhere else to sit.
Tonight, Sanji decided not to tell Luffy the place he’d chosen and let him figure it out himself. After what he assumed was somewhere between twenty minutes and twenty hours, he was far too cold to play the waiting game anymore, especially after he watched Luffy enter and exit the kitchen about ten times.
He walked around and leaned over the railing to look down at a clearly defeated Luffy lying on the deck, “Hey captain, what’s got you so down? Haven’t gone and given up on me, have you?”
Luffy beamed up at him and sprung up, “Sanji!” He stretched to grab the railing and kissed Sanji on the cheek before pulling himself up and standing next to him. “Where were you?”
Sanji points behind him while walking around, “Back here. Under Nami’s tangerines.” Luffy readjusted the blanket on his shoulders and took Sanji’s hand while they walked back around. He smiled at his slight flinch at the sudden contact and chose where they’d sit; just under the trees, but far enough out that they could still see the night sky above them. Luffy pulled him down, laid the blanket across them and took his hat off.
He didn’t do that often, other than serious fights it was rare for any of the crew to see Luffy with that stupid straw hat off. There was a level of vulnerability that came with having it off, Sanji suspected. Getting to see more of Luffy, even if it were just the top of his head, felt like a privilege that was earned. Whenever they were like this, in their uninterrupted moments of peaceful solitude, Luffy took his hat off.
Not out of preparation for violence, or sadness, or anything of the sort. He took it off because being with Sanji let him be vulnerable.
When the two of them got comfortable, he laid the hat on his stomach—never letting it get too far away from him. Sanji rested his chin on his shoulder and made himself comfortable in the creek of his neck.
“This is nice,” Sanji sighed into his neck. They didn’t have time for things like this during the day. He was too busy basically being the crew’s 24/7 housemaid, and Luffy was too busy with his own responsibilities (which mostly consisted of playing with Usopp).
Luffy nodded and brought around the arm Sanji had been lying on to run the hand through his hair. With his other hand, he pointed to the starry sky. “Hey, Nami was talking about something to do with the stars…” He started mumbling to himself, probably trying to remember what she’d said, “Consolations?”
Sanji laughed, “You mean constellations?”
“That’s what I said?” Sanji rolled his eyes. Luffy continued, “Anyways, she told me about one, it was about love.” His hand relaxed in Sanji’s hair. “I don’t remember what she said, but it made me think of you.”
It was silly to get teary-eyed over something so simple, whatever story Nami had told him he probably hadn’t even properly understood, but to hear those words, to have him say that he associated Sanji with love… It was nice to hear.
He hummed into his shoulder, hoping his fondness would come through in the noise. “That’s–… I don’t know shit about stars honestly, I’ve never been into learning about them.” Sanji turned his head towards the sky, “I mean, who decided what constellations were where? Anybody could make their own if they wanted to.”
Luffy gasped at that, “Really? I want one then!” He started tracing a pattern into the air and Sanji just laughed. Heartily, fondly.
It was sweet to watch. Sure, Luffy wasn’t always the brightest. But he didn’t care, not right now anyway. No matter what, Luffy would always be his captain and he’d always be the first person he’d ever felt true feelings of love for.
He took the hand Luffy had wrapped around him in his and pressed a kiss into his shoulder. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Luffy turned his head and frowned, “Hey! I didn’t even do anything!”
“You didn’t have to.” Sanji closed his eyes and laid his head back into the crease of Luffy’s shoulder. Luffy pouted at him for a moment, before sliding into a more relaxed, genuine smile.
He kissed his forehead and turned back to the sky, “I’ll name my first one after you, Sanji.”