This idea came to me when I was looking at how the Straw Hats look after two years. I thought it was interesting to see that one of Robins signature looks is now a pair of sunglasses on her head. This is just my story of why I think she has them. :)
Nice Sunglasses
Robin walked down the busy market street with a backpack slung across her shoulder. She was almost done with the supplies she needed to get for the day. On this particular day she was feeling exceptionally lonely. She understood the importance of these 2 years of personal training but it didn't make her feel all that much better. She missed her crew.
The raven haired girl was usually strong and rationalized with herself that this was for the best but today she just wanted to see them. Robin didn't realize how the simplest things her crew did became such a big part of her everyday life. It wasn't until they stopped happening that she began to miss those things. She missed how her captain would constantly ask for meat and how the sniper would tell the most ridiculous if not most entertaining lies to their young and absolutely adorable doctor. She missed how Chopper would hop around to each of his friends after a fight to make sure they were okay, and ignoring their confirmation and checking for himself that they were indeed fine. She missed Brookes laugh as silly as it was but the musician had the most unique laugh she had heard besides Saul's, and it strangely made her feel nostalgic hearing the skeleton chuckle at his own jokes. She missed Franky's confidence in their ship the Thousand Sunny and his many SUPER inventions. She missed that she could silently giggle at every pointless argument the cook and swordsman would get into, calling each other names and throwing half-hearted attacks at the other. She even missed Nami's violent punch that would come down upon all these boys and her sigh of desperation of how she could have wound up on such a crew in the first place. This was her family and she supposed that it was exactly how a family acted.
A small yet sort of sad smile formed on the blue-eyed beauty's lips. Remembering these things usually made her happy, which right now it still did but at the same time she felt lonely. It wasn't the same kind of lonely she felt for most of her life before meeting them all, in some ways it was worse. Worse in the sense that she knew she had nakama, she had friends who cared so much for her and yet she couldn't be with them.
Robin began to feel tears well up in her eyes and she shook her head furiously. This was not the time or place for that and she shouldn't even feel sad at all really. She would see them again and in fact very soon. It had almost been two years since the separation of the crew. She held her head up high, again remembering how this was a blessing. Suddenly a familiar scent filled her nose. The smell of tangerines.
She instantly thought of Nami and turned towards the source of the smell expecting to see the fiery orange-haired girl. Of course what she found was just a stand of tangerines in the market place she had been traveling down. Robin sighed but walked over the stand with the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. She bought a tangerine and began to eat it feeling nostalgic all over again though this time it made her happy. Nami's voice echoed through her head stating the she would eat a tangerine a day to preserve her good looks. The girl said it every time as if she were quoting. Robin now wondered what the story behind that very quote could be. She would have to remember to ask the navigator once they were all together again.
Walking further she passed by a small group of children as they gathered around a man giving out pink cotton candy. The over-excited kids grinned and their eyes sparkled at the tasty treat. Robin then thought of Chopper and how he would have loved to have some of the pink sugar on a stick. Her smile got even bigger passing by a stand that was selling cooked meat. Little things were always reminding Robin of the others. She missed them all so dearly although there were a few she would admit she missed the most. Luffy, being the one to really save her both in the secret chamber in Alabasta and then again at Enies Lobby, she missed most of all. But she also missed the man who built and kept their beautiful ship the Thousand Sunny.
The shipwright's image was before her crystal eyes in an instant. His tall frame, large forearms with the silly blue tattoo of a star on each, his skinny legs and uncovered feet, his large smile and dark eyes, his blue hair that stuck up almost naturally and the small black sunglasses he kept at his hairline. Everything about him had her heart sore through the clouds. Who knew such an eccentric man would have such an effect on her. It was unbelievable how much she missed his loud outbursts and overwhelming soul.
Sure he could be somewhat of a cry-baby and yes he was also a little bit of a perv but he could express more emotion than she ever could. He was mature when it counted, making smart decisions and sometimes seeming to be the only other adult on the ship other than herself. Besides their resident talking skeleton, they were the oldest members of the crew. And Brooke was such a child at heart too. The others were all young and she often found herself feeling like a mother hen always checking on her chicks. Now she knew they didn't need it but she did so anyway. It looked as if she wasn't the only one that saw her crew as her family. She caught Franky glancing around at everyone just as she did making sure everyone was safe…. that everyone had what they needed. He had a fatherly protective nature about him that she could relate to.
Her mind suddenly came to the memory of their separation. The fear that came with that memory was still just as painful as it was at the moment it happened. All of her friends disappearing before her eyes, and she could do nothing. But when Kuma had closed in on Franky her heart was crushed into a million pieces. She wanted to scream out, but her voice was caught in her throat. Her eyes showed all the pain that wouldn't come out in her voice. Not until only she and Luffy were left was she able to regain control over her vocal chords and cry out that last word to her captain.
Robin shook her head vigorously willing the memory to vanish. She did not want to think of that. She wanted to remember the good times and think of the ones that were to come when she was reunited with her family. Reaching into her unzipped shirt at a special place near her heart she pulled out a small square of blank white paper. Staring at it a smile formed on her face once again. She would see them all again.
Sighing and putting the Vivre Card back in its place Robin brought her thoughts back to her Cyborg friend. That man never seemed to have a negative thought to think. Smiling brightly almost as much as their captain his eyes always alit with a new idea for some invention that was just crazy enough to work. It amazed her how his mind worked. It also amazed her how passionate he was. For a man that was part robot he didn't act like it.
She remembered being told the story of how that all came to be. His struggle with Spandam, like herself, had connected their pasts. While her initial problem was with his father, Spandine, Spandam had no shame in gloating about the fact that his father was the one to bring everything she knew and loved burning to the ground. People like him who could be proud of something like that were the definition of pure evil. Not an innocent 8 year old child. She also hadn't forgotten his treatment of her while at Enies Lobby. His betrayal of the already broken promise, his harsh words and physical abuse, all of it was unforgivable. But not only her blood was on his hands. Franky had suffered his own kind of trials caused by Spandam. Being framed for something a man like him couldn't possibly do and having the only person to care for him ripped from his very eyes and killed, along with facing a speeding seatrain in final desperation to keep a hold on that feeling of belonging. The kind of courage the shipwright must have had to put himself back together with scraps of metal was incredible and hard to fathom. If she were so close to death, she probably wouldn't have had the strength to continue on. Not like him. She was glad he did though.
Being tricked by CP9 and Spandam was by no means fun but she met an undeniable friend and realized her true place in this world. The events at Enies Lobby would never be forgotten. Her nakama standing on the Court Tower ready to rescue her whether she wanted it or not, and their undying loyalty to get her away from the Gates of Justice were indescribable. Her crew was there for her. Her whole crew. Robin couldn't comprehend how the cyborg was so protective of someone he just met. His honest words upon the seatrain were only the beginning. The best part was that he knew exactly who she was. Franky knew that she was the Demon Child Nico Robin, he knew the rumors that were spread throughout the world of how dangerous she was and yet he truly believed that only existing couldn't possibly be a crime. He looked at the archeologist and saw her only as his fellow prisoner. Not someone he thought should have been killed years ago on her home island Ohara.
Throughout their whole trip up to the Judicial Tower all he said were encouraging words to her. At first they hurt. For some reason he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Luffy and the others would stop at nothing to get to her. She didn't want that but he wasn't wrong. Still not only those feelings of hope were given to her. Franky announced his faith in her captain's victory and said he would help them out. On a number of occasions he came to her rescue. Jumping in front of the oncoming bullets to block their path to her, and then staying by her side while Spandam used his magical elephant sword to attack them, he saved her life over and over again. Finally her nakama got the keys to Franky and she was freed of the seastone handcuffs that restricted so many things she wanted to do.
Slapping the bastard that treated her so unkindly never tasted so sweet. She loved that she was able to fight again, to help the ones that were risking their lives to save her. As the Buster Call showed her fear grew. Yet everything worked out. She was saved all the way up to the point where she jumped into the ocean willingly, trusting the words of friend and being thrown up into the air to land in strong and capable arms. Even upon coincidence he was there for her.
She would never be able to repay her friends for all they did for her. For saving her from a hell that was Impel down and a hell that was the darkness inside herself. That dark eyed man became a part of their crew, after some pretty harsh persuasions on her part, and became a best friend to the raven haired woman. Their relationship was the most mature on the ship and he was the only one who could really understand her. She didn't realize how much she missed him until this fateful day in the market place.
Walking on she would glance into windows she passed searching for the last thing she needed before heading back. She passed a random store when something glinted in the sunlight at caught her eye. Looking back she found that it was a pair of sunglasses. The lenses were large and an orangey tan color. She could hear in her mind the shout from their robotic shipwright echo as she looked at the eyewear.
"Those look SUPER!"
Without a second thought she went inside the store and purchased the sunglasses. She put them on and looked up towards the sun with a smile that could almost match its wattage. It felt so right to have them on. The archeologist hadn't felt this more at home in the almost two years she had been separated from her friends. Pushing the sunglasses up to her hairline had an even bigger effect on her heart. She missed Franky so much but having these sunglasses on made her feel as safe as if he was right next to her walking in this small marketplace in a not so important town.
The new feeling caused her to long for him and her crew all the more. The Archeologist glanced up to the orangey sunglasses atop her head and smiled instinctively instantly feeling better. With these she always had a part of her nakama with her. It was almost funny how a pair of sunglasses could make her feel like nothing in this world could go wrong. Willing her heart to go out to Franky she came to the realization that it was already there. That blue haired man stole it away more than two years ago. Robin brought her new purchase back over her eyes and looked up into the brightening sun smiling in a way that had a child-like quality to it picturing the shipwrights ginning face and felt more happy than she thought possible without the companionship of her nakama.
The few last month's past and it was finally time to be reunited with her crew. Robin made her way through Sabaody Archipelago picking up a few suspicious flyers; one revealing that Brook was to have a concert there on the island and the other calling for new Strawhat crew recruitments. Shrugging she continued walking to where the Thousand Sunny sat for two years and found it in exactly the condition they left it. A smile graced her lips at its familiar face.
"Sunny….. Sorry to keep you waiting for two years." She apologized. Suddenly she heard a loud outburst.
"Ow!" A voice she recognized all too well yelled. "What an attractive woman before me! It's our super archeologist, Robin!"
The crystal orbed woman stared at their now massive shipwright as he posed in his favorite way. The silly blue stars still on his now boxy forearms. He was indeed now much larger yet his exclamation told Robin that he was still the same, his black sunglasses covering his eyes. A joyous smile broke across her face.
"You haven't changed, Franky." She said happily. Said man immediately began to protest saying that he's changed immensely not understanding that she wasn't talking about his physical appearance.
The two discussed the others and how Robin was number eight to arrive leaving only Luffy to return to the island. Robin brought up the flyer she saw on Brooke and asked why he was called the Soul King. Franky stated that he had become a popular rockstar during their time apart and feared that he wouldn't be returning to the crew.
"Brooke is quite a character, who knows what he'll do." Robin smiled trying to sound reassuring. Franky gazed at her for a moment, really looking at her. He stood up and walked closer staring at an exact spot just above her eyes. He brought a hand up and touched the sunglasses on her head with a large red finger. Looking down at her a wide grin stretched across his face.
"Nice sunglasses."
Robin returned his smile brightly.
I hope you guys liked it. (: Please leave a review!