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"I-I think I need to lie down," Nami murmured, swaying and then stumbling.
Vivi caught her just as she collapsed, body going limp in her arms. She could feel Nami’s thin shoulders trembling, and the heat radiating off her skin.
Slowly, carefully, as though she was made of glass, Vivi half-guided and half-carried Nami to her bed, arms wrapped delicately around her waist. Nami, always the stubborn one, always independent to a fault, let herself be helped without complaint.
That was a bad sign.
--–
"Nami," Vivi whispered softly, laying her hand on the bedsheets. "Can I get you anything?"
Moonlight filtered through the ship’s windows, casting Nami’s flushed skin in shining silver.
"No," she replied weakly, her voice hoarse. "I’m fine."
Vivi nudged the chair beside her bed closer and sat in it, leaning down to adjust the cloth on Nami’s forehead. "Do you want some water?"
Nami only shook her head.
"Are you sure? You should be drinking more than you are. I know it’s hard, but–"
"It’s okay, Vivi," she said, eyes falling shut. "I don’t need anything."
Vivi faltered, her hand lingering above Nami’s forehead. "Okay."
She cursed herself for not knowing more. She should know, she should at least know enough to roughly diagnose her, to know what might help, but she hadn’t even a vague idea. In the dim light, she could make out the titles on the spines of the books lining the bookshelf beside her, but as she scanned them she found nothing helpful, nothing that sounded even remotely like a medical book.
Diseases on the Grand Line were just as mysterious as the creatures and weather patterns within it; dangerous, unpredictable, nearly impossible to identify or cure. The wrong treatment could kill her, lack of treatment could kill her, even the right treatment could kill her if it was administered wrong. Vivi didn’t dare to try anything– she’d only end up hurting more than she helped.
She was entirely helpless, unable to do anything but stay by her side.
Vivi brushed a lock of Nami’s hair away from her sticky forehead, her fingertips burning with the heat of Nami’s face. Her skin glowed everywhere Vivi could see with a sheen of sweat, beads collecting at her temples.
Nami’s eyelashes fluttered. This close, Vivi could see that they weren’t brown like her own; they were lighter and tinted orange, not as brightly as her hair but enough to softly color them auburn. The smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose bridge stood out against her reddened skin.
Nami opened her eyes and blinked blearily, and Vivi hurriedly turned her gaze to the bedsheets, pretending she hadn’t been staring at her. Nami’s hand snaked out from under the covers to adjust the damp towel on her forehead, pushing it above her brows.
"I should switch that out," Vivi murmured to herself, gently lifting it from Nami– their knuckles brushed against each other as she did, and she acted as though she didn’t notice– and discarded it in the bowl of water on the bedside table. A dry towel lay beside it, which she dipped in the water and wrung out until drops had stopped falling from it.
"Don’t worry about it," Nami said, waving it away when Vivi tried to bring it to her face.
"Nami, please. You’re so pale." Nami looked like she wanted to fire back a sarcastic remark, but as she inhaled her breath caught in her chest and she coughed, tremors racking her body.
"Come on. Drink some water, okay?"
Nami relented and half-sat up– Vivi reached to help her, but she waved her away– elevating herself far enough above the pillow that Vivi could lift a glass of water to her lips. She only took a sip, but it was better than nothing. Better than her stubborn refusal of earlier.
But, again, her willingness to accept help only heightened Vivi’s concern. Nami wasn’t exactly known for her tendency to rely on others, Vivi could tell, despite how shortly she'd known her.
Vivi set the glass down and laid the back of her hand on Nami’s forehead, almost recoiling at the heat of her skin. She was burning up– worse than before, hotter even than the sands of Alabasta. Hotter than she had ever felt someone’s skin be, even in heatstroke, even in the fieriest desert mornings. If her fever stayed this high much longer, she’d be at risk of permanent damage. Her cheeks were flushed dark pink, contrasting against the pale white of her skin everywhere else, sticky with sweat. The covers were pulled up to her chest; despite her flush, tiny tremors racked her shoulders, shivers rattling her teeth.
Nami’s hand lifted and wrapped around Vivi’s wrist. "I’ll be okay," she said. "I feel better already." The words were empty, and she knew they were.
"Don’t–" Vivi swallowed hard past the tightness in her throat. "Don’t die on me, alright?"
"Wouldn’t do something like that," Nami said. She trailed off into a weak cough.
"You have to get me to Alabasta," Vivi insisted.
"I know."
"And you will. You– you will, right?" Vivi’s voice trembled, and cracked on the last word.
Nami was silent for a moment too long. Her head lolled to the side, hair splayed out in a fiery halo on the pillow. Her pupils were glazed over with the distant haze of fever and delirium, but she met Vivi's gaze, eyes crinkling at the corners with a faint smile. "I will,” she said, though the words rang hollow. She intertwined her fingers with Vivi’s, squeezing her as tightly as her limited strength would allow. "I will, Vivi."
Vivi squeezed her back, Nami’s palm warm and clammy against her own.
"Luffy was–" Nami started to say, and choked on a rising cough, her free hand clutching at her chest. "–Luffy helped me," she continued. Vivi could feel her hand trembling. "When I couldn't save myself, he saved me."
"What happened?" Vivi asked tentatively. She knew there was history between her crewmates, history she wasn't privy to, but the nature of it was still a mystery to her.
"A fishman killed my mom. Arlong– he would've killed me and my sister, but my mom died in our place."
"My mom died too, when I was younger," Vivi said, hardly above a whisper.
"He kept my village captive," Nami said, a dazed, faraway look in her eyes. "I worked for him, tried to– tried to save everyone, but I couldn't. Until Luffy came, he–" her voice cracked and grew raspy. "Even after I tried to leave the crew, he beat Arlong. Saved me– saved my entire village." Nami broke into another bout of painful-sounding coughs, tears beading at the corners of her eyes.
Vivi rubbed her thumb softly across the back of Nami's hand. "That sounds amazing."
"Wish you'd been there to see it, Vivi." Nami's gaze turned to the ceiling, unfocused. "So I know he's gonna help you. Even if you don't want him to. It's just what he does."
"I want your help too," Vivi insisted.
"He saved Usopp," Nami said, as though she hadn't heard Vivi. "And Sanji, too– saved him from the restaurant. And–"
"Nami," Vivi said, tightening her grip on Nami's hand until Nami finally looked at her, the feverish haze on her face dispelling for a moment. "I want your help, too. I want you there with me. I want–" She choked up, the concern she held for both her country and for Nami coalescing all at once. "I want to save you."
"Save me?" Nami exhaled sharply in something that sounded like a giggle. "Prioritize your people first. You're their princess, not mine."
Vivi's other hand traced the tendons standing out against the back of Nami's trembling hand, and as her gaze traveled along her arm, both her eyes and fingers landed on her tattoo. Her fingertip lined its curves, vibrant blue against Nami's freckled skin; beneath the ink, she could feel the ridges of barely-healed scars.
"I can be both, can't I? I don't have to belong to just one."
Nami's eyes fell shut, the conversation exhausting her. "Yeah," she said, a touch of wistfulness to her voice, or something like it. "Yeah, I guess you don't have to pick."
"Both, then." Vivi bowed her head, and feather-light, brushed her lips to Nami's knuckles. The gesture hung between them for a long moment, in silence.
"Vivi," Nami finally said, her breathing ragged. "Will you stay with me?"
"I won't leave the room til morning," Vivi responded, but Nami's question remained unanswered, and her fingers tightened around Vivi’s, like she was holding onto something futile.