You were distracted, even when you thanked the swooning cook. If he'd thought to come out of his stupor for two seconds, he might have noticed. Then again, perhaps he wouldn't. You were used to being surrounded by…well, for lack of a better term, incredibly dense idiots. Not that you'd say you were the smartest person, but at least you were reassured that you were one of the smarter members of the Straw Hat crew. The only person smarter than you on the ship was the reason you were distracted.
Nami.
You had joined the crew just after her, tagging along with Usopp when he was brought aboard. She made you believe in love at first sight - in spite of the fact that sounded like something Sanji might say.
Of course, though, you hadn't told anyone. No-one on the crew cared about that stuff except, perhaps, Sanji, and you weren't even sure if telling him was a good idea for a number of reasons. This was a pirate crew. No-one was falling in love with anyone, and no-one cared if anyone even was. There wasn't room for that stuff out on the Grand Line. So, you remained silent, thankful Nami was too busy pointing the ship in the right direction, shouting at someone for doing something stupid, or getting something out of Sanji to notice your wistful stares. So, you were used to everyone being ignorant to you.
That was, until she joined the crew.
Nico Robin. Too smart for your good. She knew everything it seemed. If you ever took your eyes off Nami for a minute, you'd glance over and see Robin giving you that knowing smile that frustrated you to no end.
You were up early one morning, and your first thought was to go to the galley. You didn't like being alone very much, so you always checked the galley when you woke up early. You could always count on Sanji being there, after all. What you didn't count on was Nico Robin sitting there, as well: Conversing with the chef casually and sipping her coffee.
You froze. The older woman always made you feel uneasy. She knew so much about you and you'd hardly said a word to one another.
"Good morning," she greeted, causing Sanji to turn around to see you. "Did you come here to get some coffee as well?"
You reluctantly took your seat, unable to leave now that everyone in the room had their eye on you.
"No…I was just coming in here because that's what I usually do…" you replied quietly. "I mean, when I get up early…"
"Are you sure, [NAME]?" Sanji asked. "I could make you some coffee, too. It isn't too much trouble, my dear."
You shook your head.
"It's okay…"
You looked back over at Robin, sipping her coffee, reading her book, occasionally glancing over at you with a slightly unnerving smile.
"What is it?" you finally asked her after too long a time dealing with this odd silence.
Sanji glanced back at the two of you from cooking breakfast, but otherwise kept to himself.
Robin, on the other hand, gave you a sort of puzzled look and set her book down, obviously prepared for a conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...you keep giving me that look. Like you know something I don't."
"Who's to say you don't know it?" Robin replied evenly, her smile seeming to grow a little.
"I don't!" you retorted, feeling a little testy for some reason.
Really. Who does she think she is?
Robin coolly took another sip of coffee and glanced from you to Sanji and then back again.
"I'm not sure if you want to discuss this here," she told you simply.
"No, no, no. I have to know. You've been here for all of a week and you've been giving me that look every time I turn around. What's going on in that mind of yours?"
It didn't help you very much that Nami seemed to favour Robin a good deal. You couldn't bring yourself to appreciate all of Robin's qualities because you were so consumed by jealousy and frustration towards her you wanted to tear your hair out. If Nami didn't care about her so much, you wouldn't be so worked up right now. After all, if she won Nami over so fast and she looked like, well, that...how were you supposed to compete?
"Alright, then," she agreed, finally putting the mark in her book. "Let's start with a question of my own. Are you self aware?"
You blinked at the question, clueless.
"Am I...am I what?"
"I mean, when you're gaping at Miss Navigator the way you always do. Are you self aware?"
"I-I..."
You glanced around the room nervously, fidgeting in your seat. You didn't think you'd be starting that conversation.
"Sort of..." you admitted reluctantly.
"Mmmhmm," she replied as though she'd discovered something interesting, leaning forward with her chin resting on her hands. "So you don't mind if anyone sees you in such a state, I'm assuming, even Miss Navigator herself."
Your heart was pounding and your face was hot. You felt indignant, and it made it worse that Sanji was taking an interest in this conversation.
"What are you getting at?"
"Why do you stare?"
You swallowed a lump in your throat, bringing your hands together and beginning to wring them.
"What...what does it matter?" you asked her, your voice small.
"You wanted to talk about it, did you not?"
You shivered a little, your hands letting go of each other so they could grip the bench instead.
"How was I supposed to know what you were gonna say?" you asked quietly.
"I'm sure you did. You're quite an intelligent young woman. More than you seem to give yourself credit for."
You bit the inside of your cheek, and the galley was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"Are you falling for Nami, [NAME]?" Sanji piped up.
You felt the heat in your face spread to your ears, and Robin chuckled slightly. The darker woman stood from the table, leaving her coffee on the table.
"She's awake you know."
"I-I know, I saw her on my - what are you trying to do?!"
At this point, Robin was using her powers to push you up away from the table.
"It's entertaining to see you gape the way you do, but I'm afraid I must end it here. You had to know you couldn't hide forever."
In actuality, you thought you were safe in hiding forever. But, reality was rushing at you fast and practically punched you right in the face as the tall woman had you standing in the room all three of you shared.
Nami, as you expected, was working to a stopping point on her current map. You caught yourself 'gaping', as Robin had put it, again. But, who could blame you? She looked so beautiful by the first rays of sunlight trickling through the portholes. Strands of her short hair were falling into her face, and she occasionally reached up to brush them back behind her ear. You could've sat there with her all day, watching her work. But, Robin wasn't about to let that happen.
"Miss Navigator," she greeted, nodding to the both of you before leaving the room.
Nami looked up, puzzlement serving to make her face look cuter than it already was. She blinked at you a moment before setting her pen on the table.
"What is it, [NAME], why'd Robin bring you in here?"
You cleared your throat, pulling up a chair.
"Well, ah...Sanji's, y'know, and Robin's just, yeah..."
You bit your lip.
"I like it. Your map, I mean. And, watching you work. You're very...very...dedicated..."
Nami smiled at you, something slightly uneasy behind it.
"Thanks, [NAME]. You can sit with me whenever you want, you know. I wouldn't mind it. It gets kinda...lonely down here."
She cleared her throat.
"Not that I don't enjoy the quiet," she laughed.
You smiled at her, feeling more comfortable as time went on.
"And I like you, too," you continued, encouraged by her attempts at being friendly.
"What...? Oh, well...I guess...I like you, too, [NAME]."
"Wha - oh, I'm sorry, I just meant..."
You swallowed a lump in your throat and stared into your lap diligently.
"Just...that..."
You sighed heavily and looked back up into Nami's big brown eyes. You had to be able to face her with this. You had to.
"Nami...I'm crazy."
Uncomfortable silence followed, and you took a moment to mull over what you had just said. Had you left a bit off of that?
"Uhh...what?"
"No! I didn't mean...! Dammit..."
You huffed and turned away from her, the heat creeping back into your face again. Maybe you really couldn't face her after all. Not if you were being this dumb about it.
"[NAME]?" Nami asked, tilting her head a little to get a better look at your face. "You're trying to tell me something...right?"
You cleared your throat.
"Y-yeah! I..."
Nami shook her head and laughed a little.
"I want to tell you something, too. And I have a feeling we're going in the same direction. Want me to go first?"
"Yes, please," you answered almost too quickly.
Nami giggled before cupping your face in her hands, forcing you to face her again. She pulled you forward a bit and brushed her lips softly against yours. You could feel the same heat in your face take over the rest of your body.
"Hope that got my point across," she murmured into your ear before pulling away altogether.
You could see that her own face was reddening as well, and you just couldn't seem to help yourself: You threw your arms around her and kissed her again, your eyes shut tightly. It felt better than you could have imagined after all that time daydreaming. When you broke it off, you left your arms where they were, resting your chin on her shoulder.
"It did," you assured her. "Believe me."