Reckless

By: Liete

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters mentioned.

The last thing Sanji remembered was snow. He had left Nami to Luffy and been swallowed by the avalanche. Luffy might have yelled his name, he didn't know, before he lost consciousness completely. To die for Nami's sake would be a fitting end that he wouldn't regret.

So it came as something of a shock when he woke up alive and relatively well.

Even more of a shock when he found his captain completely bandaged up in the bed beside him.

"Hey, Luffy! Luffy? What happened? Where's Nami?" Sanji felt too sore to get up and kick the boy, but he didn't need to: Luffy stirred and, upon noticing Sanji, scowled and was at his side in a moment.

"Sanji! You asshole! Why did you do something like that?"

Sanji blinked. "Something like what?"

"You could have died!"

Sanji sighed. "If I hadn't, you and, more importantly, Nami would have been in big trouble. And what about you? Why are you so bandaged up?"

Luffy completely ignored everything Sanji said and went on with his interrogation. "Why were you so reckless?"

"You're asking me that, you dumbass?" Luffy's reply was a blank look, and Sanji realized that he'd get nowhere by asking Luffy why he did the things he did. Still, judging from all the bandages, Luffy had done something pretty self-destructive while he was unconscious. "We all depend on you, you know. What if you had died?"

"And I depend you," Luffy said with such blunt honesty that Sanji was taken aback. It was true that Luffy loved his nakama and blindly believed in every one of them, but knowing that Luffy might actually value him in some other way made an unknown hope rise in Sanji.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah? Who would feed me!"

Ah, so that was it. Sanji grinned to himself. What purpose would a cook have on a pirate ship other than to feed the crew? Somehow he didn't feel disappointed, though. There were so many cooks in the Baratie restaurant that Luffy could have chosen, but it had been him who he had decided on in the end.

"Of course, of course. How could I forget?" He smiled fondly and ruffled the boy's hair. "You'll be the death of all of us."

The moment was broken when what appeared to be a deer entered the room, noticed the two injured boys who were awake, and froze.

There was a pause and tension as they got caught in a stare down with this new creature. Thoughts of what he could do with the venison filled Sanji's head, but before he could properly process anything, said food possibility shrieked and ran away.

"MEAT!" And Luffy took off after it, completely ignoring his wounds.

For better or for worse, Sanji couldn't help but follow after.