Chapter 1 - Blissful Warmth
Pairing: Luffy x Robin
Rating: G (some kissing, but nothing too bad)
This is the kick off for my group of one shots, focusing almost exclusively on Luffy x Robin, but some will just have one or the other. I decided that this would be fun to do, since I think Robin is a great character, and I think she does go well with Luffy (not as much canonical evidence for it as with Nami, but what the heck?) Not nearly enough of this pair, which I hope to remedy to some small extent. Please read and review, please, if you would like more of this subject. Enjoy.
As each kick from the maniacal leader of the Cipher Pol 9 landed, the young woman winced, an intense pain shooting through her entire body. Trying her hardest to stifle the cries, she began to think, as loudly as she could, for someone, anyone to help her. It had only been recently that she had been able to open herself up to such an extent, that she could trust so completely in other people. The pain in her ribs and stomach was so intense, that she found herself crying out more with each blow.
'Somebody help me!' she found herself crying out in her head, hoping that somehow, someone would hear it, and come to her rescue. Thoughts focused on the small band of pirates, who had willingly risked war with the powerful World Government, Robin felt the tears welling up inside of her, blood trailing from open wounds upon her face and head. But just as things seemed hopeless, and she felt the pain increasing, jaws clenched shut upon a corner of a building, trying to resist with her entire being, a flash of hope ran through her head.
'Luffy!' One word, the name of the seemingly invincible pirate captain, ran through her mind, and she knew that, regardless of the pain she was going through now, Luffy was somehow going through much worse. But she also knew, with a warm feeling in her chest, that he would still make it through, and that everything would find a way to work out for the best.
Robin woke with a start, clutching lightly at her chest with one hand, the other resting on her cheek, noticing with some surprise that she was rather warm. It was not a result of just waking up, but was the result of something else entirely.
'Luffy…' his name rang through her mind again, causing her eyes to widen, her face flushing a bright shade of red. Shaking her head from side to side, Robin attempted to shake the thoughts from her head, an oddly warm sensation emanating from inside of her. This was something she had never experienced before, and was unsure of what to call it. Thinking of the other crew members, the young woman did not feel anywhere near the same sense of warmth, which confused her a bit.
Shaking the uncertainty away, she looked over at her roommate and best friend. 'Ah, I will just ask Nami-san later. I am sure she would know at least a little about it.' Robin thought to herself, a small smile creeping across her face as she stood from her bed, walking towards the small bathroom to prepare for the day.
Breakfast that morning was the same as usual. All the guys screamed various things, attempting to guard their morning food from the ever gluttonous rubber boy. Nami sat, trying to enjoy her food, but her tension was clearly rising, a small red stitch on her forehead as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. With the normal antics of the crew, Robin sat as usual, an oddly calm, knowing smile on her face. But she felt a bit odd, as every so often, she would try and steal a glance at the captain, giggling a bit at his grotesquely exaggerated features, his mouth stuffed beyond reason with food.
After the chaotic meal, the members of the Straw Hat crew all went their separate ways, entertaining themselves through various means. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all sat around, playing some game, Luffy still not knowing the rules after all this time. Zoro, as usual, found a seemingly secluded spot and decided to catch some rest. Sanji sat in the kitchen, presumably cooking up some delicious concoction for Robin and Nami. Franky was locked in the engine room, thinking up some strange upgrade for either the ship, or his cyborg body.
Looking around the deck quickly, Robin found Nami at the helm, keeping sure that the ship was on course. Feeling now was a good time, Robin slowly approached the younger girl, coming nearer as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the railing as she watched Luffy's little band playing excitedly.
"Is there something you wanted, Robin?" the ginger haired girl asked, sweeping a stray strand of her fiery locks behind her ear, enjoying the cool sea breeze on her smooth skin.
"Aa. Would you come with me for a minute, Navigator-san?" the older girl asked, eliciting a somewhat confused look from the younger. Nodding gently at the request, Nami followed silently as Robin began to walk towards their shared cabin, figuring it would give them the most privacy of any spot on the ship. Unknown to the girls, a certain rubber boy sat, one eye watching them, and eyebrow raised inquisitively.
'What are they up to?' Luffy asked to himself. Even with his normal antics, he had noticed during breakfast that Robin had occasionally laid a subtle glance on him. It was strange, as normally Robin was very aloof, only observing the actions of the crew, not focused on any one in particular.
"Oi, Luffy, it's your turn." Usopp's voice woke him from his slight bit of spacing out. Turning back towards the two other boys, Luffy couldn't get his mind off of how Robin had been acting, and decided he would just ask her about it.
"Sorry, guys. I have something to do." he said bluntly, excusing himself from the game, to a confused looking Usopp and Chopper. Looking at each other, the other two simply shrugged before starting a new game with the two of them.
"So, what's up Robin?" Nami asked, a slight tone of concern on her voice as she sat on her bed, crossing her legs as she considered the girl in front of her. It was rare that Robin would talk to her willingly, much less ask for privacy.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to get your opinion on." the older woman started, an unusually nervous tone in her voice. The fidgeted her fingers a bit as she walked over towards her own bed, sitting down before attempting to continue. As Nami nodded her head for Robin to continue, the archaeologist took a deep breath before speaking.
"Nami, lately whenever I think of a certain person, I feel very warm inside. I have dreams, and when I wake up, my cheeks are flushed and I feel so uncomfortably hot." as she spoke, Nami felt her eyes widening, her brown eyes showing her surprise at the situation. Was Robin actually experiencing these things?
"Robin, how often does this happen?" the red head asked, hoping to get some kind of measure of the problem.
"Almost every day." came the response, a faint blush creeping across the older woman's pale, soft skin. Nami smiled, realizing Robin's problem was something as small, yet meaningful as this.
"Robin, I think you have a crush." she stated, almost sarcastically, causing Robin to blush a deeper shade of red. Was it true? Did she have a crush on a boy who was more than a decade her junior? Feeling embarrassed, Robin brought her hands up to her face, feeling extremely warm, realizing that she was blushing, the red of her face nearly as dark as the raven color of her hair.
"So, does Zoro know about it?" Nami asked, bringing Robin's blush down a bit, looking over at the red head with some mild confusion.
"What does Zoro have to do with anything?" Robin asked straightly, causing Nami to look over at her confused.
"Sanji?" Nami asked, trying to ascertain the identity of Robin's crush.
Robin did not answer about Sanji, simply raising an eyebrow at the ginger headed girl, to which Nami instantly dismissed the notion, 'Yeah, Sanji is certainly not a possibility.' Nami racked her brain trying to think of who it could be. Everyone knew Usopp and Kaya had a thing going, so that pretty much ruled him out. As open about things as Robin was, she figured that would rule out Chopper. That left two choices, between Franky and Luffy. Knowing in her soul that it couldn't be Luffy, the navigator of the crew smirked to herself as she began to speak again.
"Ah, Franky is a lucky guy, Robin." Nami's confidence was shaken as Robin merely blinked, a light giggle then escaping her cool, pink lips. At the sound of Robin's laughter, Nami's eyes widened, not able to fully believe that HE was the one that Robin had a crush on.
"Luffy!?" she nearly yelled at full volume, clapping a hand to her mouth as she jumped out of her bed, staring in disbelief at the older woman, whose face seemed to be glowing from her blush, head tilted down facing the floor as she nodded slowly. Nami was speechless. Collapsing back onto her bed slowly, she took a good look at Robin. It was just unbelievable. Robin and Luffy? Was it even possible?
"So, you have a crush on Luffy, is that right?" she asked, somewhat exasperated by the situation, an oddly tight feeling in her own chest as the older woman nodded. "Does he know?" Nami asked, a bit bothered by this new feeling.
"No!" Robin all but yelled, her own embarrassment over the situation clear. Whether it was because of who Luffy was, or her own confusion Nami could not tell, but she did want to help her friend however possible.
"Well, do you think he might return your feelings, Robin?" she asked sweetly, a gentle smile on her lips.
"I… don't know…" the normally confident girl spoke, trailing of as she did. To hear Robin sound so deflated made Nami a bit sad, and she stood, walking over to capture her friend in a warm hug. She wanted Robin to be happy, and she knew, somehow, that Luffy was going to be good for her.
"Well, the only way to know for sure is to ask him, Robin." Nami spoke simply, looking directly into Robin's deep blue orbs, admiring their simple beauty, like the endless sky above. "Luffy is pretty simple after all, but I don't think he ever considered things like that. But, if you think it is worth it, you should give it a try." she said, attempting to encourage her best friend. She was surprised as she felt Robin wrapping her arms gently around her.
"Thanks, Nami-san." she said simply, the gratitude clear on her voice. Nami smiled as she thought that Robin was going to gain something wonderful, but she herself felt a little empty, which made her a bit confused. She watched as Robin stood up, walking towards the door, stopping as she grasped the knob in her hand to look back at Nami.
"If there is ever anything I can do for you, just ask Nami." Robin said, a sweet smile on her face as she turned the knob, opening the door slowly.
"Just be prepared if he doesn't get what you are saying at first." Nami responded, a small giggle from both of them as she did, realizing that was entirely possible. "I will keep it in mind. And thank you again, Nami." Robin spoke, exiting the small room, leaving Nami to consider things on her own.
Laying back, the young navigator clutched idly at her chest, an oddly empty feeling in her heart. She didn't understand it. Why did it hurt her, to imagine Robin and Luffy together? She rolled over onto her side, sighing as she drifted off to sleep.
As Robin approached the doorway to enter out onto the deck of the small ship, she smiled to herself, hoping that things went alright. But before she could enter onto the sunny deck, she felt herself stopped by someone grabbing her wrist from behind. Looking back, her eyes widened as widely as one could imagine, surprised to see him standing there.
"L-Luffy? What are you doing?" she asked, hoping her nervousness didn't sound too apparent on her voice. Feeling the slight pressure of Luffy pulling her towards him, she walked forward, until they were only a few inches apart, her face feeling as though it were on fire. She closed her eyes, gulping down nervously as she felt his breath against her lips, causing her to shudder ever so slightly.
"This…" he spoke gently, pressing his lips firmly against hers, sending a shock through her body. It was unbelievable. She thought there was no way he would have any experience in romantic affairs, but the feeling of his lips against hers was like heaven. The heat in the pit of her stomach swelled, engulfing her entire being as she wrapped her arms loosely around the neck of the younger boy.
After a few blissful minutes, they broke for air, looking lazily into each other's eyes. Luffy smiled his wide, toothy grin, which made Robin feel a warmth from within her, that only grew as she leaned forward, kissing him lightly again. This one was not as passionate or long as the other, but it said enough. As the kiss ended, Luffy laughed his trademark laugh, placing his worn straw hat atop her head, ruffling her smooth black hair a bit as he did.
"Luffy…" she said simply, surprised by his gesture. His eyes looked seriously into her soul through her blue eyes, making her blush at the pure intensity. Luffy leaned forward, pressing his lips gently to her ears as he spoke, barely above a whisper.
"Remember, I always protect my treasure." his words, though simple, held so much meaning for the young woman, that she could barely contain herself, a few stray tears running down her pale cheeks. Grinning widely again, Luffy nodded as he grasped her hand, leading her out onto the deck, Robin willingly following after him. She knew that everyone in the crew was about to get a big shock, but she didn't care. She was his treasure, and she knew that meant that they would be together forever.
Wasn't too pleased with this one, as I meant to type an update for my other story when I woke up, but this one just kind of came to me. Hopefully the second one will be better (more well thought out, anyway). After I get 3 or so done for this one, I plan to alternate between this and Outside Influences. Look forward to it, for all those Luffy x Robin fans.