I do not claim to have created or own any names, characters or other intellectual properties belonging to One Piece.

This fic was written for the Frobin Fortnight event on Tumblr. Please enjoy my first ever fic for this lovely pair!

Flights of Song

"They're doing it AGAIN!" Nami hissed in irritation as she covered her ears.

Robin sighed and put down her book. She loved her boyfriend, but his antics for the last few days was testing even her generous amounts of patience. She heard Brook's low murmur before the pair began to whistle back and forth once more. Two notes - it was always only two notes. If it was a whole song it wouldn't be so annoying.

Luffy whistled tunelessly all the time. Usopp whistled songs that had been popular among the children of his island. Even Sanji would whistle while he cooked. None of these things were all that irritating. The constant repitetion of two random notes, was.

Robin swung her legs over the side of her deck chair and gracefully rose to her feet. She couldn't enjoy her reading like this. Nami watched her from under the brim of her floppy sun hat. "Thanks, Robin. Those two don't ever take me seriously."

"It's no trouble, Miss Navigator. I needed a stretch anyway."

Nami made a satisfied sound and lounged back against her chair. Robin slipped into her favorite heeled sandals and calmly made her way toward the obnoxiously musical pair by the Sunny's rail. "Yohohohoho! That's very close, but perhaps something like this would be more accurate?"

Brook whistled those two infuriating notes once more just as Robin drew close. "Franky, may I have a word with you?"

Franky flicked up his sunglasses with his massive thumbs and grinned, "Sure thing, sweetcheeks!"

Robin smiled her sweetest smile and ignored Franky's pained yelp when she summoned a hand to pinch his ear; guiding him toward the hold with firm tugs. "Owowowow! Honey that hurts! This is super uncool!"

She released her complaining lover as soon as they stepped into the relative privacy of the hold. Frank rubbed his throbbing ear with a frown. "What did I do now?"

"You know my studies are important."

"Well... yeah."

"Then perhaps you and Brook could be more considerate and not repetitively whistle the same two notes over and over so loudly? It is... distracting."

Franky actually looked hurt. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bother you while you're relaxing."

"Studying."

"Come on, love-dove, we both know that what you're studying in those books is more for pleasure and super not acedemic!"

Robin's calm expression turned cold; her anger apparent in her blue eyes. "I don't know what you're implying, but I do not appreciate my profession being mocked!"

"Why are you making this a big deal? So you read romance novels in public all day? Why chew me out for saying so? No one has a problem with you reading for fun, Robin!"

"So that's what you think I do?"

Robin's eyes were huge and hurt as she stared up at him. Franky instantly realized that he had gone too far. "Robin, I..."

But she had already fled.

"Oh man..." Franky awkwardly scratched at his thick hair. This wouldn't be as simple as fixing broken doors and rails. He really needed to start thinking before he opened his big, dumb mouth. He sighed and scrubbed at his face with one hand.

Brook cautiously peeked into the hold. "Is everything okay?"

Franky shook his head. Brook hummed thoughtfully - or perhaps he was just unsure on how to comment on the couple's troubles. After a moment he chuckled nervously, "Well perhaps you can patch things up with this special suprise or yours?"

Franky sighed again and switched to unhappily rubbing at his neck. Brook cleared his non-existent throat and clapped his boney hands together, adopting a tone of forced cheeriness. "Well then, shall we practice in the aquarium room? Nami threw a book at my head. I feel she no longer appreciates our efforts on deck."

Franky managed a small grin. "Yeah that sounds super. Thanks again for doing this, Brook."

The skeleton waved his hand dismissively as he lead the way. Franky followed, lost in worried thoughts about Robin. Maybe if he put his heart and soul into it he could make things right.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Robin carelessly kicked off her shoes and dropped into her chair with a soft thump, curling up with her arms around her knees. She stared out across the ocean and hoped that the breeze would explain away her welling tears. Nami opened one eye and only needed that one look to know something was wrong. "What happened?"

Robin hugged her knees tighter. "I guess I never realized how little he knew about me."

"Oh, Robin!" Nami shot upright, "Franky is an oblivious idiot, but he really loves you!"

"I know that." Robin's lower lip quivered slightly, "I just feel like he doesn't care about understanding me. He's too involved with his designs and his weapons..."

Nami got up and wriggled her way into the chair next to Robin. Neither woman said a word as Nami stroked her friend's long hair and Robin tried not to cry. Nami stayed at the older woman's side until Sanji called the crew in for dinner.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Proving his caring nature, Sanji seemed to pick up on Robin's sad mood. The blonde cook was extra sweet; showering her with fresh coffee and fresh fruits topped with hand-whipped cream. She noticed Franky watching out of the corner of her eye when she allowed Sanji to press a fond kiss to her hand, but the big cyborg averted his gaze the minute she turned to catch his gaze. So Robin allowed herself to be spoiled, and she told herself that no doubt Franky would be falling over himself to apologize that night after dinner.

She waited for hours - alone.

When he finally showed up, Robin was curled up in bed with her book. She tensed when she heard the heavy tread in the passageway, and the knob rattled loudly when he tried to open the door. Robin waited. She had locked the door in a fit of frustration, and now she held her breath to see what her boyfriend would do. There was a moment of silence before she heard a low sigh and Franky walking away from their room. So he wasn't going to call out to her? He didn't want to speak to her at all?

Did he not care about their relationship as much as she had first thought?

She pressed her face into her pillow and let a few silent tears wet the bedding.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

After several restless hours of fruitlessly trying to sleep. Robin got out of that too large, too empty bed and slipped into her favorite silk robe. She stepped out onto the deck and breathed in the night air. As she moved to lean on the ship's rail she heard a soft thump on the lawn behind her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Zoro rested his forearms on the rail by her side, and she gratefully leaned against his solid warmth. They hadn't started as friends, but once Zoro had accepted her as part of the crew, Robin found that he was a wonderful person to confide in. He was quiet, respectful and surprisingly insightful.

"Do you think I'm selfish?"

Zoro glanced over at her before looking back over the moonlit sea. "Why should I think that?"

Robin struggled against another wave of painful emotions rising in her throat. "Do you think that what I do is needed? Am I useful to this crew?"

That earned her an incredulous look. "Do you really think I would get myself sliced up by a swordsman giraffe if I didn't?"

"I suppose not." Robin smiled and Zoro gave a curt nod of satisfaction in response.

They continued to stand there in silence, and Robin took comfort from his calm presence. However the night air was cool, and even with Zoro's warmth at her side, Robin shivered in the night breeze. Pulling her robe tighter around herself, she considered going back inside. Zoro affectionately wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Are you okay now? No more doubts?"

"Yes, thanks to you. You are very kind, Mr. Swordsman."

"S'nothing." The first mate mumbled and pulled away. Robin could see Zoro's embarassed blush in the dim light of the deck lanterns as he fidgeted, uncomfortable with her open gratitude. She pecked him on the cheek before he could escape, and watched with a smile as he ungracefully hurried up to the crow's nest. She had wonderful friends.

Her world had stopped falling apart. Her heart still ached, but now she felt like maybe she could face tomorrow. All these pieces of her relationship were not yet lost. Robin smiled up at the light shining from the windows of the crow's nest one more time before returning to bed.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Franky straightened and cracked his neck. He'd been working all night and it showed in the numerous grease stains on his person ranging from head toe as well as the bags under his eyes, hidden behind his glasses. He walked over to the skeleton snoring in the corner. "Wake up bro. I need you to check things over one last time."

A short time later Franky watched anxiously as Brook sat very, very still. He imagined that if the undead musician still had eyes they would be tightly closed in concentration. "Well? What do you think?"

"Hmmm..." Brook tilted his head from side to side. Franky held his breath and did his best to not show his impatience. Brook's jaw parted in a skeleton grin. "It's quite extraordinary! This is something very special indeed. I don't think any more adjustments are needed!"

Franky gave a little hop and slammed his forearms together overhead in his exuberance. "SUUUUUUUPER!"

"Yohohohohoho!" Brook couldn't resist joining in Franky's excitement as he struck a pose at the cyborg's side.

"I've got to find Robin!" Franky scooped up the tiny object from his workbench, cradling it carefully in his massive palms as he rushed out the door.

Brook followed quickly. There was no way he would miss witnessing the lovely archeologist's reaction. Also when she heard of his involvement maybe she would show her panties...

The rest of the crew was gathered in the galley for breakfast. Sanji turned a murderous glare on them as the shipwright and the musician burst through the door. He snarled at them from around his cigarette, "YOU'RE LATE!"

"Ah, sorry about that, Sanji." Brook took a seat next to Zoro and made a grab for Usopp's plate of fluffy pancakes.

"HEY!"

Sanji involved himself in the minor squabble between the sniper and the musician, delivering vicious kicks along with threats and insults. Franky ignored the growing chaos - his eyes were only on Robin. She was sitting, unmoving with her hands clasped together in her lap. Nami shot a glare in his direction as she soothingly patted Robin's shoulder. Franky swallowed nervously. He was bad with serious stuff like this, but he would do anything to prove to his most precious girl how strongly he felt for her.

Robin's eyes widened as Franky gently lifted Chopper's chair away so he could get down on one knee at her side. "Hey baby."

She stared down at him in shock. "Hey..."

The brawl at the other end of the table fell silent, and even Luffy ceased eating to watch the pair with curious eyes. Franky shifted uncomfortably. "Robin, I said some dumb stuff yesterday. I'm not as clever with my words so I could only try to finish this early..."

Franky carefully placed the object in his hands in Robin's trembling palms. He spoke softly and the whole crew leaned in to try and catch his words. "Back there, on Thriller Bark, you were my angel. I know you've been through lots of painful things, but you told us that you want to live anyway. I wanted to give you something that maybe will remind you that there aren't only bad things to remember. I want you to remember that you're my angel, and you were an angel for anyone who got to see that pretty smile."

Tears sparkled on her cheeks as Robin held up the tiny, mechanical bird with trembling fingers. It sat on a metal tree branch that sprouted from a small, round base. There were delicate swirls and little birds in flight etched around the sides of the cylinder. The bird itself shone and shimmered like a jewel. Purple shells were inset for the eyes, and polished until they flashed - even in the subdued light of the galley. Metal feathers were carefully scribed entirely over the metal bird's body - ending at the base of the tail and just beyond a small joint where two little wings were clapsed against the machine's body. Real feathers fleshed out the tail and wings, dyed in brilliant patterns of purple and blue.

"Push the switch." Franky urged gently.

Robin pressed the tiny switch with her thumb and watched in awe as the little bird spread its wings. The silver beak parted and the wings fluttered gently as a cheery tune spilled from the bird's metal throat. Robin couldn't hold in a sob. She knew this song... It had rang out from the branches of the great Tree of Knowledge while she studied ancient texts as a little girl. "Oh, Franky...!"

The cyborg grinned. He knew happy tears when he saw them. "I love you, my super angel."

Robin smiled through her tears and leaned down to press a kiss to her beloved's lips. She was deeply loved - more so than she had ever realized. "I wouldn't be an angel if you hadn't been there to build my wings. I love you too, Mr. Shipwright."

They embraced while their crewmates cheered and the little bird continued to sing its nearly forgotten song from West Blue.