A/N: I do not own One Piece or its Characters.

Never Another Like It

The night breeze was cool on Franky's back as he looked out over the endless expanse of ocean which lay before him. Despite the wind it was a clear evening; the stars and moon twinkled up above, illuminating the world in a muted blue. It was perfect weather for having lookout duty. The man gently patted the railing beneath his arms, and smiled.

"It's nice aye, Sunny?" He said to the ship, in a way that one might speak to a small child. "Never forget it; we don't when there'll be another one like it."

In the ship's cabins the rest of the Straw Hat crew were tucked in their beds. The captain snored particularly loudly, making the shipwright consider the possibilities of installing better sound absorption. Padding would probably also be good for a certain sleepwalking cook. He chuckled thinking of the antics he had witnessed since they had set sail from Water 7. Although he had only recently joined them, Franky felt a spark of warm affection, just as he had for his family back home.

The man wiped a stray tear from his cheek and scolded himself.

"A man should never look back with regret," he assured himself.

After all, here on the Thousand Sunny they also had a little family of their own. There was Luffy, the obnoxious younger brother. The samurai and cook bickered just like twins. Nami, was that poor little sister who had to deal with it all, and the little deer, when he wasn't a big scary monster, could be considered like a little baby. The ladies most certainly treated him as such.

And then there was Nico Robin...

He wasn't quite sure how she fit fully into the dynamic yet. She was most certainly more mature than the rest of them. She gave calm, assuring praise when the situation warranted it. She tickled Chopper. She let Luffy and Ussop show her all the weird stuff they caught, and even managed to lightly brush off Sanji's advances.

"I suppose that would make her the mother then," Franky mused.

"Ufufufu... You seem to be having quite the interesting conversation out here," a smooth voice chimed in from beside him.

All the man's mechanics almost leapt from his skin. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed the statuesque woman approach him. Nico Robin giggled at his surprise and rested her forearms on the railing. Her long delicate fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of something too floral smelling to be her usual coffee, and a long silky robe shielded her from the ocean breeze.

"So I'm the mother," she mused. "I suppose that's true. I never really considered it before."

The man leaned away from her, feeling slightly violated.

"Oi, oi, oi…" he grumbled. "You ever learn it's rude to eavesdrop on people?"

She smiled, no hint of shame to be found. "Sorry."

He groaned, leaning back on the rail.

"So what are you then?" The woman asked, after he had regained his composure.

The cyborg rubbed the back of his neck and flipped himself around so that his back faced the sea. He let out a few grumbles as he tried to come up with a way to respond. Then he finally perked up and turned to her.

"Aniki," he growled, proudly with a thumbs-up.

"Is that so," the woman replied, taking a sip of her drink.

"Of course it is," the man, explained. "Everyone calls me that."

"That's because you were a mob boss," she said.

The cutting simplicity to her statement, was only further emphasized by the sudden gust of cold air which passed through the silence between them.

Franky could his face grow warm. She was right. He began tapping his foot impatiently trying to come up with another answer.

Well, he was always impressing Luffy and Ussop with the cool things he came up with. Zorro respected his strength. Sanji didn't seem to fully care for his antics, and Nami just seemed outright embarrassed whenever dealing with him.

After another moment of silence, Nico Robin straightened up and placed her now empty cup on the deck.

"I could help you figure it out if you would like," she said, with her typical smooth air.

Franky looked up at the brown eyes, which studied him with sparkling curiosity. His breath caught in his throat. He wasn't certain if he was experiencing a malfunction or was just blown away by how the woman's skin glowed in the moonlight. He beat his chest and coughed a couple times just make sure everything was working.

The woman let out a small giggle, masking her smile with one hand. Then she looked back out towards the cabins and the snoring.

"If you were to ask me," she continued. Her gaze was soft. "I would say that I see you as the father. Mostly in a literary way; it just seems they feel very warm and safe around you."

"Are you trying to say that I'm lame?" Franky asked, responding with more disappointment than he had expected. He rocked back onto one hip and struck his signature pose. "I could be the cool... SUPER uncle-!"

A disembodied hand clamped itself over his mouth, muffling the last of his words, and another set of arms pried his from their favorite position. The cyborg scowled down at the woman, who in turn shook her head in disapproval back at him.

"You'll wake everyone up," she stated, when he attempted the free himself from her grasp.

"Dammit, woman, is nothing sacred?" He snapped once she released him.

Robin smirked, crossing her wrists in a light threat.

"Is there something in particular to which you are referring?" She said coyly.

"Yeah there is," the man hissed. "First you manhandle the jewels and now my pose?"

"It seemed appropriate at the time," she replied nonchalantly.

"There's never an appropriate time for that!"

"Oh, there's not?" Robin asked, a dark glimmer in her eye.

Franky stopped, unsure of to which instance the woman was referring to. His temperature was rising. He had dealt with a lot of crap over the years, but never such an audacious woman. She had been quite the charmer and damsel in distress at Enies Lobby, but now he could see the sick sense of humor the intelligent woman had developed in her life of running from the law.

It made his gears physically grind. It was frustrating. It was wrong. It was oddly arousing.

The smirk on the woman's lips told him that she knew how bothered he was. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and began to walk away in a manner that was way too languid to actually leave.

"Oi, Nico Robin," he called after her. She stopped and looked back at him. "What's your game?"

She raised her eyebrows, in a questioning challenge. Franky cocked his head back in response.

"Why would I play a game," she replied.

Then she glanced down at his feet, and lifted a hand to her face. She then walked back to wear he stood, bent over gracefully, back straight so her assets were quite obvious, and picked the coffee cup off of the floor. Franky dared not even breathe while she was that close. She glanced back up at him, her face almost directly underneath his chin. Her eyelashes batted lightly over her dark eyes.

"Oops, I forgot my cup," she whispered.

Her breath puffed across the cyborg's neck. He gulped.

Something like recognition flashed in Robin's eyes and she ran a finger up his exposed chest while disembodied arms wrapped around his body. A chill ran down his spine.

"From the game you talked back at Water 7, I would have thought you would have loved to be the father," she cooed, turning her back to him once again. "Or are my six kids too much for you, Franky?"

Franky began to reach for the woman's shoulder, but hesitated. Getting physical on a ship could spell trouble. He knew; he had been the product of it. He lowered his hand to his hip.

"You're acting awful mischievous," he said, trying to ignore the hands all over him. "You sure you're their mother?"

"Can't mothers have a bit of fun?" She chided over her shoulder. Franky groaned; he was in way over his head with this woman. "You seem to be avoiding my question."

A hand ran a finger down his back, causing the man to shudder. Evil woman. She was luring him in slowly but surely, and he wasn't positive that he would be able to fight it off much longer.

"And if I agree to be the father?" He finally conceded.

Robin's smile widened, and the hands which covered the man disappeared. "The children will be very happy."

Franky looked her over with great skepticism. Then chuckled. Then outright laughed. He had been completely played by this woman in every way. She never ever ceased to amaze him.

"I'll be the most super father I can be then," he said, with another thumbs up and a wink. "They won't know what to do with all the love."

Robin covered her mouth, her eyes smiling just as much as her lips for once.

"Good."

She then began to retreat towards the cabins once more. After a few steps she stopped and turned around. The fingers of her free hand flicked out in a languid motion as she blew a small kiss. Fingers traced their way up the bottom of the man's chin.

Franky seized the disembodied hand in one of his own; she had made squirm enough for one night. It was time to pay her back. He forcefully lifted the hand to his lips and kissed it, causing the woman's eyes to grow wide. The hand dissolved into flower petals.

Despite the blue tint of the light, Franky was sure that he saw her face getting redder.

"Goodnight, mother," he whispered.

Nico Robin laughed with such a sweet sound it could have been mistaken for a bell. She then wrapped her robe tighter around herself.

"Goodnight, father," she replied, and continued on her way back to bed.

Franky then watched as the archeologist walk away, admiring the perfect body which hid beneath that silky sheath.

"Super…"

As soon as she was out of sight, the cyborg collapsed on the deck with a sigh of relief. However, despite his trial being over, his heart still raced. He placed a hand on one of the railing's pillars.

"Sunny," the man breathed. "You definitely can't forget this night; there will NEVER be another one like it."

A/N: Whew... this fic is a bit more my speed. I am trying to improve my writing for the characters; they are all so unique it's a little bit difficult to get into the swing again. Please leave a review if you feel there is anything I can improve. :)