It was a normal day aboard the Thousand Sunny, and the Strawhat crew were going about their regular daily business. Especially the captain, Luffy, who was sneaking into the kitchen to no doubt try to steal some food that Sanji hadn't managed to hide in time, like usual.
When he entered the room, he spotted a sundae on the counter, and he began to drool as he made a beeline towards the delicious looking dessert that had been left unguarded. However, just before he could take the sundae that was almost within his reach, a hand grabbed him from behind and began pulling him backwards and away from the food.
"Sanji! I'M SORRY! It just looks so good, I couldn't resist it! Please don't be angry!" Luffy apologised frantically as he cowered, but he realised that it wasn't Sanji that had grabbed him. It was someone far, far scarier than the ship's cook.
Nami grinned as Luffy tried to escape from her grasp.
He almost wished it was Sanji that had found him.
"Firstly, that's my sundae you're trying to take." She pointed out, and Luffy dropped his head in defeat, prepared for the beating he'd probably receive. "Secondly, I have a proposition for you."
He looked up, confused but also still on guard. "Propo-what? Is it food? Can I eat it?"
"What? No. Jeez you're an idiot." Nami sighed.
She knew it was a bad idea asking Luffy of all people for help.
"I mean, I have a deal for you." She clarified. "Look, I'll make this simple for you, m'kay? You know I'm always up for a little wager, especially when there's money involved. I made a bet with Usopp for a whole lot of cash. I said that I'm sure Zoro and Robin secretly like each other, but their problem is simple; he's too stupid and stubborn, so he won't confess to her, and Robin is too afraid of rejection to confess to him, so they end up stuck in a situation where neither of them are willing to be the first person to tell the other how they feel." She explained, then continued after she noticed her captain was still following what she was saying.
"That's my theory, but Usopp's certain I'm wrong; he said there was no way they would feel that way about each other, and he said he's even willing to part with a few thousand beli if he's wrong, but I know there's something going on. Call it a girl's intuition."
She had determination on her face, but for the wrong reasons. She didn't want to be right about their feelings for the sake of getting the two of them together, she only cared if she was right because there was money on the line.
Now that Nami had finished, it was Luffy's turn to respond. He gave her a sceptical look. "You're crazy, there's no way that Zoro would like anyone. And Robin wouldn't like Zoro either, he's too boring, and stupid." He stated matter-of-factly and Nami rolled her eyes. Like Luffy would know anything at all about relationships or the complexity of emotions.
"Besides, even if you are right about those two, what does this have to do with me anyway?" He asked.
Nami gave a sly smile. "You want my dessert, right?" She held it out in front of him. "You can have it, if you agree to try and get info out of Zoro." She bribed. "If you do manage to get the information I need, and you help me win the bet, then I'll make sure you get the sundae and unlimited access to the fridge."
All Luffy could think about was what was in the fridge. Sanji never let him near it anymore, and he had gone so far as to put a lock on it so that Luffy couldn't help himself to its contents when he wasn't looking.
Unlimited access meant that he could eat everything in there on a daily basis and Sanji wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Deal." Luffy said immediately, reaching for the sundae. He didn't even have to think about his answer. "But how?"
Nami shrugged, letting him take the dessert. "You figure it out. I'm going to do the same for Robin, so Zoro's your problem. Now, please don't screw it up; I've got a lot on the line here."
"No problem!" Luffy replied as he began spooning the ice cream into his mouth. "You can count on me!"
"Yeah, whatever you say." She sighed. She highly doubted that she could, but she had stuff to do so she had to put her faith in him whether she liked it or not.
There was no reply from the captain as he continued to shovel food into his mouth, so Nami, having finished what she had came in to do, walked out of the kitchen leaving Luffy alone with the sundae in his possession.
Zoro was in his training room doing sit-ups. He was completely focused on his exercises, so much so that he didn't notice the raven-haired woman that had made her way into the room and was now sat on the bench opposite him with an open book in her lap.
It took a couple more seconds for him to even realise that she was there, and when his concentration subsided, he looked up and his eyes met with hers. She smiled sweetly at him, but didn't say anything as to not distract him any further from his training.
Upon seeing her genuine smile and realising she had been there for longer than he had been aware of, his face flushed red and he averted his eyes, continuing with his sit-ups as if nothing had happened.
After a few more reps, his blush had died down enough that he was able to turn his attention towards her again, but he didn't stop with his exercises.
"When did you come in?" He asked, looking at her but also focusing on maintaining a rhythm with his movements.
"Not too long ago, I've only been here for a couple of minutes." Robin replied. "If I'm getting in your way or disrupting you I can leave, just let me know if I am." She offered, and Zoro sat up straight.
"No, it's okay, you're fine to stay here. I just never noticed you come in, that's all." He replied. "You're free to sit in here if you'd like. But, why? It's not that I don't want you in here, but I'd assumed you'd rather be out in the sun with the rest of the crew than stuck in a stuffy, sweaty training room with me."
She giggled. "Not at all; I just thought I'd find it easier to focus on my book if I was sat up here. Plus, I guessed it could be interesting to see what you get up to in here." She teased. It wouldn't be Robin without some kind of flirty remark here and there.
Of course, Zoro didn't mind that, although he hated the fact he blushed so easily whenever she said anything remotely flirtatious towards him. And it wasn't just his cheeks; his whole body turned a deep shade of pink at her comment.
She giggled again at his lack of response and his embarrassed demeanour. "Don't worry, I'll just be reading, you can forget I'm even here."
He raised an eyebrow questioningly, but shrugged it off. If she wanted to stay in here with him then he had no problem with that. He didn't dislike her company after all, he actually kind of liked being around her. She was strange, but a good kind of strange. He got back to his training regime and began doing push-ups while Robin got comfortable and started reading again.
Although they were sat in silence, it wasn't awkward. He was absorbed in his training and she was absorbed in her book, but the two were happy to be in each other's company despite the lack of conversation.
As soon as Nami left the kitchen, she entered spy mode.
In her quest to catch Robin and Zoro together, she made her way to the other side of the ship, watching as Robin entered Zoro's training room. She needed proof that her theory was correct, but she knew that'd be difficult. The only real proof she would be able to use would be a confession from both of them.
"Jeez, I am in way over my head. This was a stupid bet." She sighed, but then the thought of money gave her strength and she put any doubts she had aside. She wasn't going to give up that easily.
"I'll find a way." She muttered to herself. "I'll get a confession out of the two of them if it kills me!"
She made her way up to the training room and poked her head through the window, being careful not to make herself overly noticeable as she observed the two of them.
Zoro had finished training now, and was wiping himself down with a towel while Robin finished her book and put it down beside her.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, a hint of curiosity coming from the swordsman. "What is so interesting about those anyway? I always see you reading, what's the appeal?"
Robin smiled, glad that he'd asked her. "Reading is a good way to immerse yourself into a new and exciting world. It forces you to change your way of thinking a lot of the time; it makes you see things from a different perspective." She explained. She saw the look of doubt on his face and giggled. "I know, it sounds strange, but I promise you, you'll see what I mean if you give it a go."
"Maybe I'll give it a try, at some point." He hedged. He wanted to know more about her interests, but books seemed so boring, and if the book she chose for him was a complicated one he'd just look stupid not knowing what all the big words meant.
"Well, if you're ever curious, I can pick one out for you." She offered, before looking out the window and noticing that the rest of the crew – minus her, Zoro and of course Nami who was still spying on them – were gathering in the kitchen for dinner.
"We should probably go get something to eat, before there's nothing left." She pointed out as she looked up at the swordsman in front of her. He nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let's go." He replied as he threw on his green coat and made his way towards the door.
"Thank you, for keeping me company." She uttered, and he stopped in his tracks.
'Shit', he thought to himself. The blush was back again. He didn't turn to face her in case she made fun of him for blushing, but he nodded in response.
"Don't mention it, thank you for the same I guess." He replied, before the two of them left the room and made their way down to the kitchen.
When Nami noticed they were leaving, she jumped down and hid behind the orange trees. She couldn't let them find out she'd been spying on them, but she felt smug nevertheless. She hadn't expected much to happen during that encounter, but she could tell that there was at least a little bit of chemistry between them from the way they acted around each other.
Once they had shut the door to the training room behind them and began to head down to the kitchen, she made her way down too, being careful not to let them notice her.