Chapter Text
Usopp stops, shifting to adjust the weight on his back. Luffy groans, pressing his flushed face harder into Usopp’s neck. Usopp murmurs an apology before falling back into pace with Nami, who was squinting, trying to read a map in the darkness.
“How much longer?”
Nami bites her lip. “Two more days, if we keep this pace.”
Usopp’s response is cut off by luffy shifting, shivering, and Usopp has to hurry to grasp his thighs lest he fall off. Nami tucks her map away into the pockets of her shawl and leans in to caress Luffy’s face, running a hand through his sweat soaked hair, eyes drawn to his chapped lips.
“We should get him to drink a bit.”
Usopp nods, letting Nami take the canteen attached to his hip. Neither of them like how light it sounds when she shakes it. Uncapping it, she holds the mouth to Luffy’s lips, cupping the back of his head in order to help him along.
“C’mon Luffy, just a few sips, there we go.”
His eyes flutter open when she pulls the canteen away, glazed and fever bright. His face creases in pain and confusion, Nami smooths out the wrinkles with gentle presses of her thumb.
“Na’i.”
“Shhh Luffy, it’s me, go back to sleep.”
He does, leaning into her hand. They stay like that until his breathing slows and evens out.
Nami lets her eyes linger for a moment longer before straightening up and turning to Usopp.
“Hey, you’ve had him for a while now no? let’s switch. You should take a break.”
“It’s ok, I can go for a bit longer.” He lies, Nami knows he's lying. It’s been hours at this point, and even if his arms weren’t burning he’s fairly sure that the shaking of his knees is visible even in the darkness of the desert night. After this is done Usopp hopes to never have to trek through sand ever again.
But Nami isn’t daft, she had done the exact same thing earlier, when Luffy had been on her back. “Ok, but in a bit, alright?”
“Yeah, in a bit.”
———————-
The vast amount of rocks, although they made walking much more frustrating, served as decent shelter from the suns burning rays. So when the sky started to clear they put out their torch and found a suitably large rock to rest against until night fell again.
The idea had come to Usopp after the second day of walking. It had seven miserable, endlessly trudging through sand, relentless heat beating against their backs. They weren’t making enough progress, having to stop frequently for breaks, one of them carrying their supplies and the other securing Luffy to their back. It had taken them far too long to detect Luffy’s fever because of it, and had been in for a nasty shock when they changed his bandages that night only to be met with swollen skin and oozing pus.
They had been leaning against each other, trying to squeeze into a tiny area of shade when Usopp had groaned,
”God, we’re not going to get anywhere at this rate, why don’t we walk at night instead?”
It was such a simple solution. Nami could have kicked herself for not thinking about it sooner. Usopp had been right, they waited in their little shelter for the sky to darken before heading out again. They managed to cover far more ground without needing to stop nearly as often.
Nami sets Luffy on the ground, using one of their packs to pillow his head. She goes about sifting through their scarce medical equipment for the bandages while Usopp undoes his head covering and places it under Luffy’s leg, trying to keep as much sand as possible out of the wound.
The wound is ugly when they unwrap it, yellow and red staining the bandage as they pull it away. Luffy groans, trying to curl in on himself when Usopp lifts his leg up. Nami shushes him with what she hopes are soothing words, re bandaging it as quickly as she can. They really should clean the gash out, or at least change the wrappings more frequently, but they have supplies to spare for neither, they’ll just have to make do with the best that they can.
Usopp breaks her out of her thoughts.
“Oi,” his voice is barely above a whisper, as if he was forcing himself to speak. “Will….will he be ok?”
Nami breathes in and out, forcing what she hopes is a reassuring smile and places a hand on Usopp’s shoulder.
“Of course he will, he’s Luffy. We just have to get him to Chopper. It’s not that far along now. C’mon, we should get some sleep.”
Usopp’s shoulders drop, giving her a tired smile.
“I’ll take the first watch.”
Usopp watches Nami’s eyes droop, falling asleep within moments, curled around Luffy’s side. Usopp settles in beside them, he watches Luffy whimper in his sleep and wonders how the hell it came to this.
They weren’t actually looking for trouble, for once.
They had docked at an island that was mostly desert terrain, and whilst happily recalling their time with Vivi had stumbled across Marco and Ace who were there on division commander business according to them. Luffy couldn’t care less as to why Ace was there, tackling his brother before he could even finish explaining and calling for a party.
It had looked like they would actually manage to have a peaceful stay somewhere. Usopp shouldn’t have jinxed it, because when has anything ever been peaceful when Luffy was involved?
Of course there was an underground terrorist group trying to overthrow the capital, of course they had to stage their coup while they were staying there, of course Luffy wanted to get involved.
They had split up, Nami, Usopp, and Luffy had gone to the capitol, whilst the others went to secure the ports and block the terrorists reinfo from reaching them. Nami had perfectly planned the route that they would take to meet up again at the Sunny, it was through steep terrain but it was a two days trip tops by Lizard, and they could avoid any marines that would no doubt pour in after the commotion.
It was perfect, everything was going smoothly, terrorists defeated, royal family freed, supplies secured and the journey back started.
Then it all went to shit, because Usopp can never catch a fucking break, apparently.
Because of course, of fucking course the remaining terrorists had hid in the exact straight that they were taking, and had jumped at the opportunity to get their own back.
They were taken by surprise and outnumbered, and Luffy, poor Luffy, who had already fought to the bone, was in no shape to keep up with this many foes.
Their best bet had been to retreat down the straight and take a different path. When one of those bastards had tried to get a hit in on Nami while her back was turned. Luffy had reacted before Nami could, and because his Captain is a self sacrificing idiot he pushed himself in front of her and took the hit himself, resulting in a nasty gash down his leg. Usopp finally managed to throw a smoke bomb that covered them enough to make a break for it. They were forced to leave the lizards behind, and Usopp thanked every star that they had chosen to secure their supplies to their persons.
The only other path that they could take to avoid further conflict was a five day trek through the scorching sand.
Luffy’s wound got infected after the second. He had scared them both half to death, suddenly collapsing on the ground with a pained cry. Why the hell he had insisted to walk unassisted Usopp will never know, but there was nothing that could have been done about it, so he handed his supplies to Nami, loaded his Captain onto his back and kept moving.
He was shaken out of his half awake state by Nami telling him that it was her turn on watch.
As soon as the sun sets into the horizon they pack up their things and get ready to set out again. Usopp helps Nami steady Luffy on her back, making sure that he’s properly protected against the night’s chill.
“We’re almost there Luffy, one more day, alright?”
Luffy doesn’t even twitch. Usopp presses the palm of his hand to his forehead, worrying his bottom lip.
“I think the fever’s getting worse.”
Nami settles him more firmly against her back, eyes looking out across the sand.
“Let’s get going.”
———————-
They’re catching a break, leaning against a small boulder, when Luffy starts thrashing.
Nami snaps out of her half doze, jumping to her feet. Usopp is already by his side, rolling him onto his back. Luffy’s panting, eyes moving rapidly beneath his eyelids, breathing fast and labored.
‘Luffy,” Usopp says his name with desperation, shaking his shoulders trying to wake him. ”Luffy!”
Luffy just whimpers, curling into himself, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. He’s mumbling nonsense, words too low for either of them to hear, but whatever images were plaguing him clearly hurt and it made ice claw at Nami’s throat.
Suddenly, he shouts, jerking upwards and smacking into Usopp in the process. Wet gasps turn into gags, and Nami has to scramble to tip his head forward as he throws up whatever meager rations and water they had managed to coax into him onto the sand.
When the retching finally stops, Luffy collapses back into Nami’s arms, trembling.
Nami swallows the lump in her throat, glancing over to Usopp, who had shuffled over beside them. “Luffy?”
Luffy blinks, gaze faraway and distant when he looks up at her, brow furrowed.
“Dadan?”
Usopp looks at her quizzically. “Who’s Dadan?”
Nami frowns, “No clue. Luffy, it’s me, Nami.”
Luffy doesn’t seem to be listening, instead nuzzling into Nami’s hold. “It’s cold,” he mutters, despite the unhealthy heat radiating off of him in waves. Nami instinctively wraps herself tighter around him as he whimpers, “I don’t feel so good.”
Gentle hands wipe away the hot, fevered tears that start to run down his cheeks. Usopp’s heart clenches painfully when Luffy sobs and leans into his touch, chasing the coolness of his hand. God he’s so sick.
Nami and Usopp only need to glance at each other before they’re packing their things and heading out again with a newfound determination. Luffy needs help, every whimper or moan of discomfort spurring them on.
“It’s ok,” Usopp finds himself muttering, “it’s ok, you’ll be ok, Luffy.”
Nami didn’t know whether he was trying to reassure Luffy or himself.
She doesn’t ask.
———————-
They don’t stop even as the sun rises, tucking Luffy’s hat over this neck to protect it from the harsh rays. He had started to mumble incoherently again sometime around sunrise, crying out against invisible enemies and whimpering apologies.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t go.”
And Usopp’s heart breaks a little more with every word, and can’t help but wonder if he’s dreaming about him. Usopp isn’t stupid, he knows how much he had hurt Luffy. He remembers so clearly how after, through hugs and tears, Luffy had clung to him for days, sleeping in his bed, following him around like a duckling would it’s mother. It had been a good week before Luffy had let him out of his sight for more than ten minutes at a time. It’s what he had done to Nami too, after she had come back, and to Robin and finally, Sanji.
It had taken him far too long to understand, Luffy loved like each and every person was the last he’d ever meet, with an uncanny knack for finding those who need it most, and Usopp had betrayed that.
But Luffy hadn’t cared, readily accepting him again with open arms.
His Captain’s love was all consuming, so bright that it would blind you if you weren’t careful.
Usopp doesn’t know what he had done to be deserving of such unwavering faith, taken for granted until it was no longer there, but he’ll be damn sure to hold onto it tight and cherish it until he does. Maybe one day he’ll understand.
“Usopp, Usopp look, it’s Marco!”
Usopp’s eyes snap to the sky, and enough a ball of bright blue flames is coming into a dive before them. Usopp could cry, he’s pretty sure that Nami is. Their explanation is hasty as they unload Luffy into Marco’s hold, begging him to get him to Chopper as quickly as he can.
Marco nods, “I’ll be back for you.” And he’s off.
Relief fills Nami so quickly that she feels dizzy with it, knees buckling, Usopp catching her before she can fall onto the scorching sand. She looks up at him and his smile looks more free than it has been in days.
They’re going to be ok.
———————-
Consciousness comes to him in fits and bursts.
He remembers a sweltering heat, familiar hands and voices lifting him and pouring cool liquid down his throat, not enough and gone too soon. A fierce ache takes over his body, right leg throbbing in pain.
The next time he’s semi-aware all he sees is blue, wind whipping against his face. A voice calls out to him, but he’s out before he can recognize it.
He’s passed once more between hands, frantically moving him to soft sheets, something blissfully cool passing along his face. Pain cuts through the relief when his leg is moved, he hears someone cry out, if it’s him he doesn’t know, as strong hands push him down on the bed.
His vision is blurred when he opens his eyes, a deep voice coaxing him to stay calm. His head is tipped back, bitter liquid pouring down his throat.
He blinks, and he’s asleep again.
———————-
The next time he wakes up it’s for real. He blinks a few times, lifting a hand to rub the blurriness from his vision and someone beside him gasps.
“You’re awake!”
It takes a minute for his swimming eyes to focus, first on the wooden ceiling, then the blue sheets, to finally fall on the person sitting next to him. He smiles. “Hi Nami.”
She runs a hand over his forehead, smiling back at him. “Good, your fever’s gone down, I wouldn’t try to get up yet, you’re still in a bad way.”
Luffy sinks back into the pillow at her word, she eyes the way his shoulders slump tiredly. “What happened Nami? Where’s Usopp?”
“We were attacked while leaving the city. You got hurt. Marco found us and took you back to the Sunny. Usopp went to sleep a while ago, we’re both fine.” She adds, before he can ask.
“Oh, ok. It was good that you two were there with me then!” And his smile is as bright as it’s always been, blinding and so full of faith.
“Thank you for looking after me.”
Silly, Nami wants to say, it’s the least I could do.
Instead, she huffs. “Just for making me worry, I’m doubling your interest rates. Oh, by the way, your brother was waiting outside for you to wake up. He wouldn’t stop pacing so Chopper had to kick him out, if not he would have been here.”
Luffy immediately perks up. “Ace is still here?”
“Shall I send him in for you, Captain?”
“Yeah!”
She barely opens the door before Ace is barreling past her to sweep Luffy into his arms.
“You had me so worried you idiot!”
Luffy laughs. “It’s ok, I had my nakama with me.”
Nami steps out to give the two some privacy, Sanji immediately bounds over to her, compliments on his tongue and drinks in hand, though she sees how he glances through the window on the door.
“He’s ok Sanji-kun.” She plucks the elegant glass off the platter as Sanji blushes at having been caught out.
“We’re ok.”