Serious Side of Goofy: Chapter 1 - Cold Winter's Night
Rating: K+
Pairing: Luffy x Robin
Here is the first chapter of the new Luffy x Robin anthology, 'Serious Side of Goofy'. Some of the stories here will be sequels to some found in 'Warmth For A Flower', so if you like the pairing, you might want to read that first just in case. This one is just a simple thing that came to me yesterday. During a cold night on the sea, Robin is sitting on look out. Feeling cold, she is about to go and get some warmer garb, until a certain rubber boy interrupts the peace of the night. Thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to writing more for this awesome pairing. Enjoy.
High above the eerily calm waters of the Grand Line, the moon sat, peacefully keeping watch over those who lived below. Its pure white glow was blocked, finding difficulty in peeking through the inky, ominously dark clouds. Beneath the whitish glow of the lunar object, the clouds hung over a particular patch of sea, as though they were taunting one particular ship.
Or one particular pirate crew, as it were.
Turning her head slightly from her latest tome of knowledge, a pair of blue eyes peered through the darkness, watching as the first flakes of snow began to fall from the sky. A soft, warm smile crept across her lips as she leaned forward, the reddish blanket rustling around her shoulders as she moved.
"My, it looks like it's snowing," she responded softly, her voice holding a small lilt as she tilted her eyes upward a bit. The individual flakes wafted down, only visible as they were illuminated by the soft glow of the small lamp she had brought with her into the lookout nest atop the Sunny's mast.
A soft exhalation of breath escaped her lips as she gazed out the window, mesmerized at the simple beauty of the clean, pure snow. Gradually the occasional petal of frozen water increased to a steady stream, and then a full on snow storm. Warm breaths hit the cold plate of glass in front of her, causing the moisture from within her body to condense on the smoothed surface.
Small, cool shivers passed through her lengthy frame, causing her to tighten the blanket she had brought with her closer to her body. It seemed to her at that moment that the protection she had brought was not nearly enough. The dark purple denim seemed entirely inadequate as she could almost feel the temperature dropping around her.
Light shivers turned quickly to intense shakes, her lips turning a shade to match her usual attire. Placing the thick novel onto the table in the center of the room, the young woman settled more fully into the comfortable couch that sat in the small cabin. Bringing her fingers up to her lips, she cupped them around her soft lips, blowing into the space with a deep breath.
The action provided some comfort, but it was all too fleeting as the coldness quickly found its way back into her slender digits. "Maybe I should get another blanket, or at least some warmer clothes," she pondered aloud. Now she knew why none of the rest of the crew were particularly interested in taking the night watch in these conditions.
A deep sigh escaped her lips as she shrugged off the blanket, wishing she had some means of keeping warm without escaping into the cold of the night for any length of time. Soft wisps of jet black hair fell down in front of the cerulean pools, and she reached up, pushing them back in place behind her ears.
"Ah! It's cold!" a familiar, high-pitched whine filled the small room, her eyes involuntarily widening as she shifted her gaze down towards the deck of the comfortable ship. Squinting a bit, she noticed a lone figure darting across the lawn towards the mast. A soft smile graced her bluish lips as she watched him scurrying around, like an animal on the run from a large predator.
Before she could think of what she was doing, the ship's resident scholar had opened the door, porcelain flakes accumulating on the back of her head as she watched the Captain's movements. Just as suddenly as he had begun scurrying around, he had come to a stop, as though the thought processes had simply taken a break. A light giggle filled the night air, and Luffy looked up towards the cabin.
"What's so funny, Robin?" he asked, his bluish purple lips pursed as he listened to the oddly enchanting sound of laughter. Calloused fingers rubbed harshly against bared arms, trying to spark some warmth in his ever chilling body. As his teeth began to chatter together, he noticed the warm smile that the older woman was offering, a sight that all on the crew had come to cherish. It was not something given easily, though the woman had grown closer to the shipmates after they had survived Enies Lobby.
"If you're cold, why don't you just get back to bed?" she asked, cupping her left hand beside her mouth to help the sound carry. The ebony haired beauty felt the snow melting against her head, reminding her that she was still pumping blood throughout her body, even if it didn't feel as such.
"I had to pee, but then I decided to try and get a snack," he responded, earning another light-hearted chuckle from the older woman. The always energetic young man felt the blood flow begin to fade out, his fingers growing stiffer with each passing second.
"It's not much, but I have a few treats up here if you'd like," Robin offered, her eyes closing as she smiled down at her captain. A gust of wind gave her pause, and she felt her body lean back in towards the slight warmth of the lookout cabin. Luffy's deep eyes were staring into hers, his face alight with excitement.
"Oh, Robin, thanks a lot," he responded, as though he had entirely forgotten that he was cold in the first place.
"A-ah, it's nothing," she said, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. Slipping back into the small room, she watched curiously as he closed the door behind him. 'How does he have so much energy?' she asked herself, finding his endless sources of enthusiasm to be a true wonder of the world.
Settling back into her seat on the large sofa, Robin pulled the dark cloth tightly around her, trying to gain some warmth. Clasping her hands together, she rubbed them back and forth, adding the miniscule warmth to that gained from her breath. Beneath her lilac toned blouse, she could feel an uncomfortable tightness as all her skin seemed to tense at once. Most notably she found the hardness at the tips of her breasts most uncomfortable, grateful at least that Luffy seemed disinterested in such things.
"Nah, Robin, do you have anything else to eat?" Robin was shaken from her thoughts as Luffy's voice filled her ears. Crystalline eyes widened as she realized how close he was sitting, his face right in front of hers as he seemed to be looking right through her.
"No, I'm sorry, but that was all I had," she answered, unable to hide a smile at his visible disappointment. The young captain slid from his perch atop the table next to her, heading towards the door to the small cabin. As his hand grasped the handle, he turned towards her, offering a warm smile of gratitude.
"Well, I'll get back to bed. Thanks for the snacks," he said, his lips curling wide as he spoke, the smile seemingly growing with each second. Robin smiled in return, suddenly feeling even colder than she had before. A gust of cold wintry air burst into the room as Luffy opened the door, his red shirt billowing in the small gust.
"It's no problem. Good night, Luffy," she said, pulling the blanket up towards her chin, trying to keep all her bodily warmth from escaping. For a moment, Luffy froze, seemingly thinking over some kind of plan. A moment later, his face lit up, the well-known mischievous grin that usually signaled trouble for the crew. Small, barely perceptible shivers ran up her spine, wondering what he was going to do.
With the same speed at which he had climbed the mast to reach the cabin, Luffy had closed the door and seemingly disappeared from view. The young scholar looked around the room, wondering if perhaps he had fallen off the mast and landed on the deck. She shook that notion off almost immediately, knowing that a loud whine would have accompanied such an event.
Before she could regain sight of the young man, she felt her blanket being pulled away from her body, allowing the cold to brush against her. Turning her head to the left, she noticed the red clothed young man, his fingers gripping the edges of the blanket as he pulled it up towards his own chin.
"Luffy, what are you doing?" she asked, bewildered by the suddenness of his actions. The young man responded simply by laughing his usual, goofy laugh, the soft blanket rustling as he shifted his body beneath it, trying to find a comfortable position.
"Well, it's cold out there, and I figured you might be cold up here all by yourself," he said, the simplicity of his argument not debatable. After a minute of rustling, he seemed to settle, a contented sigh escaping his lips as the fabric settled just beneath his chin.
"I could have just gotten another blanket," she tried to counter, finding the cold from earlier quickly dissipating. She was aware of the heat from his strong but wiry frame, passing through her blouse and seeping into her body. A different shiver coursed through her body, as her skin seemed to tingle with the new source of warmth.
"Hmmm, but I was cold, too, and the best way to get warm is with body contact," he responded, laughing again as he spoke. Robin couldn't help but laugh in return, grateful that Luffy would not make too much of the situation.
"There is certainly no arguing that," she answered, finding herself leaning more closely to the young man. Small, contented sighs escaped both their lips as they sat in comfortable silence, Robin's eyes focusing on the steady falling of snow past the window. If she strained her eyes, she could almost make out each individual flake.
Shifting herself slightly, she looked up towards the face of her young captain, his eyes shut as sleep had already claimed him. A soft, almost girlish giggle escaped her lips at the sight of his innocent face, his scar sitting lazily beneath his left eye. Reaching from beneath the now warm blanket, she traced the small bit of flesh with her slender fingers, her mind showing her all the past incidents that Luffy had been part of.
Gradually her fingers slipped from the scar, her palm resting idly upon his cheek. The warmth she felt from his body was greater here, and her fingers almost instantly warmed up at the contact. In his sleep, the younger boy shifted a bit, bringing his body into closer contact with her own. A small blush stained her cheeks, finding the contact not at all unpleasant to her.
"I guess this is fine," she said, nestling up closer to the boy, her head leaning up against his shoulder. It was the first time she could recall falling asleep with a smile on her face. "It's not fair for you to always be helping me though," she whispered, her right arm draping itself across his body as she drifted off.
The next morning, the crew gathered on the snow covered deck, all garbed in their winter clothes as they wondered to one another where Luffy had snuck off to.
"It's not like there's anywhere to go, since we're on the ocean," Nami concluded, figuring it was nothing really to worry about. "I'm sure he'll show up when it's time to eat," she said, the others concurring with that sentiment.
"Well, I'll go relieve Robin and do a little exercising," Zoro said, waving lazily as he made his way towards the large mast. Gradually climbing the tall wooden pole, he found himself looking forward to that day's workout, figuring it would help warm him up a bit. As he reached the top, he peered into the small window, his right brow quirking upward as he noticed the amounts of fog on the window.
Not thinking too much of it, he opened the door, ready to get to his work-out routine right away. But the sight that greeted him was almost entirely unexpected, not that anything was REALLY unexpected with Luffy. The green haired swordsman blinked a few times, making sure he wasn't just hallucinating or something.
There on the lounge couch sat Luffy, with Robin innocently leaning against his upright frame. Reddish fabric surrounded them, as though holding the pair together. Once he was satisfied that it was not simply a dream, he smirked, closing the door before leaping down towards the deck.
"Oh, Zoro? I thought you were going to relieve Robin?" Nami inquired, drawing a passing interest from the rest of the crew. Zoro looked around for a moment, before snickering a bit to himself.
"Well, I was going to, but I didn't want to disturb them," he said, hiking his thumb up towards the top of the mast.
"Them?" Chopper asked, wondering who else could be in the lookout cabin with Robin on such a cold night.
"It's nothing, but I did find Luffy," Zoro responded before making his way towards the cabin, leaving the rest of the crew speechless. Sanji and Nami's eyes widened in shock as the information sunk in.
"Ah, way to go straw hat aniki," Franky said good naturedly, his imagination putting a more romantic spin on the situation. Chopper curiously asked Franky what he meant, the older man crouching down to impart his wisdom on the young animal. Usopp didn't think much of it and went about his business. Sanji and Nami simply stood, planted in place with vacant stares pointed towards where Zoro had been standing.
"Luffy and Robin…" Nami muttered, her mind unable to fully comprehend the concept.
As the crew took the information in different ways, Robin's clear blue eyes fluttered open, the same smile on her face as she had when sleep had claimed her. Turning her head, she again looked up towards the young man, his lips curled into an innocent, goofy smile.
"Thank you for the good night's sleep," she said, before leaning up and placing a soft, sweet kiss on his cheek. The action brought another slight blush to her cheeks as he seemed to chuckle a bit. Her eyes widened as she felt his arms moving, wrapping themselves around her shoulders and pulling her body closer to his.
"No problem. I slept really well, too," he said, chuckling in his usual way as his cheek leaned against the top of the young woman's head. "I could really get used to this," he said, his voice still holding a bit of sleepiness. If Robin hadn't known the young man better, he might have sounded a bit flirtatious. But as she considered getting up, she found herself not wanting to move.
"Me too, Luffy," she said softly, her cheeks strained a bit with the wideness of her smile.
There you go, just a short little fluff piece. Luffy and Robin together always makes me smile, so I hope some of that gets to you guys as well. So much fun to write, and I hope to get more written at a bit quicker pace. Still putting together the beginning of the on-going story from 'Luffy x Robin Halloween', so look forward to that eventually. Also still want to do a Ryuuma story, but that would probably be the hardest story to write for me. One last thing, I also plan on doing a bit more Luffy x Nojiko, as well as getting into Luffy x Hancock eventually (maybe a bit of it in this anthology), so also look forward to that. Until next time, good readers.