This fanfic is read in Robin's point of view. It takes place the first time the crew sails out after the Enies Lobby arc.

It was my turn to be on night watch. After finishing up the last paragraph in the book I'd been lost in the past several hours, I set it aside and let myself outside. Finding the main mast, I'd begun to climb the ladder upward.

Once I'd reached the top, however, I was surprised to see Zoro fast asleep in the top castle. Using my devil fruit abilities, I bloomed a hand out to tap his shoulder lightly to wake him.

"Good evening swordsman," I greeted him once his eyes peeled open. "I thought you might want to know that everyone else has retreated to their rooms for the night, and you may want to as well."

He shifted his head around in confusion then looked to me curiously. "How come you aren't asleep already?"

"I'm supposed to keep watch tonight."

"Is that so.." he drawled. "Actually, I think I'll stay here for a while."

"Oh, it's quite alright, swordsman." I replied, waving my hands in reassurance. "You really should head inside where it's warm."

"I'm not afraid of a little cold." Zoro grunted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

I sighed, then couldn't help the smirk that played across my lips. "I see, so you want to protect me while I protect the ship, hm?"

"Thats not why!" the swordsman shouted, a light blush dusting his tan cheeks. "I'm just... comfortable here already, I don't want to move."

I chuckled. It was so easy to tease this man; I never have to do much to get him flustered.

"Alright then, have it your way." I made myself comfortable, sitting down next to the green haired man.

We sat in silence for quite some time. Eventually I found myself gazing up toward the night sky, and my thoughts wandered deep. Zoro must have been watching me, because it wasn't long before he pulled me out of my daze. He sounded slightly concerned, though I didn't bother looking away from the direction of the stars.

"Hey Robin, is everything alright?"

"...Do you remember when we all went to Skypiea?"

"Skypiea? Yeah, what about it?"

"That was the first major adventure I'd been a part of with the crew." I brought my knees up to my chest. "I remember in the beginning, I thought of it as just another place; another step toward trying to track down the real poneglyph. I hadn't even considered it to be any sort of fun-filled journey. That is, until I saw the way the captain did things."

"Maybe it was because before I'd met all of you, I'd only hopped around with various different criminals; outlaws who were real cruel souls on the inside out, unlike this crew. I'd never experienced how much fun something like this could be until I met the strawhat pirates." I flashed a small grin toward Zoro, and noticed he'd been actively listening to me the whole time. I ran a few fingers over my knuckles.

"So much happened up there in the sky... and so much has happened since then. I never imagined I'd ever be a part of this crew again. I don't even think I've felt this free for over twenty years." I exhaled in both joy and relief. "..For the first time in a long time, I feel truly happy."

The swordsman took his time thinking over his thoughts before replying. "Since you stepped foot on our ship, it was already decided that you were officially part of our crew. Our family."

I felt a small skipping beat in my heart at that last word.

"And a family protects one another. There's no way any of us would ever leave you to that fate alone."

"ROBIN! THERE'S STILL SOMETHING I WANNA HEAR YOU SAY! TELL ME YOU WANNA LIVE!"

"I... I WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME! TAKE ME AWAY FROM HERE!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I understand that now. It's all thanks to you, swordsman, and the rest of the crew that I'm still alive. That Iwant to be alive."

I sensed the green haired swordsman blush a tiny bit once again at the expense of my comments. He shifted his weight for a moment next to me before saying modestly,

"I uh.. I really didn't do much of anything."

I thought about back when Aokiji tried to kill me with his ice saber, how Zoro was the first one to rush in to protect me. I remembered him standing alongside Luffy, when he declared war on the world government; fully backing the captain up.

"You did enough."

And then I thought; despite him being the only one who was still skeptical of my true motives the entire time, he was still there. Fighting for me. I couldn't help but wonder...

"Hey, swordsman?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you fight for me?"

The swordsman seemed a tad shocked at my question. "What do you mean? What kind of a question is that?"

"I know that until then, I'd been traveling with you all for quite a while. However, you were the only one who didn't fully trust me. I figured the second you heard about my 'betrayal' you would have fully come to accept that I was no good from the start, and not bother trying to bring me back."

Zoro paused. "..Well because, just like the rest of the crew, you're important to me. I was unsure about trusting you at first, that's true. When you left us, I thought I would have decided right then, too." he smirked. "I guess a small part of me didn't want to believe it. And then Nami told us the real truth. I'd say you would have done the same for me, but after everything that happened in Enies Lobby, you already were more than willing to sacrifice your own life so that we could all be safe."

While processing these words, my face gradually molded into a relaxed but more than joyous expression. "...Thank you, Zoro. For being there for me, even when I didn't want it at the time."

He shifted his gaze from the ground to my eyes.

"I want you to know how truly grateful I am."

And then he smiled charmingly, accepting my grattitude.

Eventually my eyes drifted back up to the sky, allowing myself get lost in it once again. I noticed how much more beautiful it looked when out at sea, gliding through the waves. The entire sky almost engulfed me at this viewpoint. Thinking about this after some time, I realized how many things I now started to see in a new perspective, a better perspective; because now I finally had the privilege to be who I really am. And with all this new found freedom, I felt like I could do anything.

"I really do look forward to what adventures lay ahead for us, don't you... uh.."

I looked beside me only to realize that the swordsman was asleep again. I was stunned for a moment, it didn't take him very long to completely fall under a heavy slumber. I grinned a pitying grin.

"Already out, are we..?"

I didn't mind much. I never said this out loud, but I always thought he looked rather cute when completely relaxed like this. Less lethal and stoic. I pulled out a blanket from behind me. I'd initially brought this out for myself in case I got cold, but for right now I felt rather fine for the moment. And so I wrapped the blanket gently around the man, feeling a small flicker of hope flutter inside me when he didn't instinctively reach for his weapons this time. Watching him for a few seconds too long, I began debating something else in my mind.

"Should I...?"

After a little more staring, I decided to go for it. I leaned in slowly and placed a soft, sweet kiss on his cheek; wishing him good night.

And a small, breathless laugh escaped me.

I'm personally very happy with how this turned out. Fave/Review if you enjoyed it!