@devilslcg continued from x
Polka was so small and light that Sanji didn’t realize she was in the kitchen until she was wrapped around him, sudden presence causing him to jump. His recently poured coffee sit abandoned on the able as he lifted his arms, eyes peeking under to find a mess of blonde hair. Through his shirt he could feel her shaking; it was a little chilly that morning, but this wasn’t the type of shaking that came with waking up before sunrise. Why she would be so shaken up was a mystery to him, but he was determined to find out.
“What’re you doing up so early? C’mere.” He grabbed his mug with one hand and scooped her up with the other. His drink was set aside for a second time once he sat at the table, Polka nestled in his lap. “You’re shaking, angel. You know you can tell me if something’s wrong. Did you have another bad dream?”
Whether or not she wanted to talk about it right away didn’t matter. He still held her tight to his chest, fingers combing through her hair. Their morning routine was going to be a little delayed, he worried, but the crew could wait an extra half an hour for breakfast if it meant their youngest member was being comforted.
❀ - Polka let herself be picked up silently. Normally she’d apologize, or try to pretend she wasn’t as upset as she really was - but the nightmare was too fresh in her mind. She could still see the beach, see the back of the Thousand Sunny as it left her behind -
She wrapped her arms around Sanji’s shoulders tightly. He was here. She was fine. She wasn’t back in Ritardando. She wasn’t at the bullies’ mercy. Everything was okay.
“...I’m sorry,” Her voice trembled slightly, “I-I know it’s s-silly, b-but the dream was so real and I...”
A lump formed in her throat and she had to fight with herself to keep talking. Now that she was a little calmer she realized just how embarrassing she was acting, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. If she were with anyone other than Sanji she’d have run away to hide until she was in control of herself again - but she trusted him enough to stay.
Swallowing her nerves, she finally raised her head. Now that she wasn’t hiding her face, it was easy to tell that she’d been crying.
“I dreamed you left me back in Ritardando, a-and it scared me a lot...”
